DESCRIPTION ESSAY
Authors read:
Kate ChopinThe Storm
Assignment:
Select one author and discuss the elements of style and structure as they relate to his/her purpose.
Structure:
Use the following paragraph order and content:
Introduction (1 paragraph)
Author and title
Subject matter of authors essay
Purpose of authors essay
Your papers thesis: Discussion of authors purpose by analyzing elements of style and structure
Development
(5 paragraphs, one on each element; give at least one citation for each)
1. Order of subject matter presented
2. Use of the 5 physical senses and/or psychological feelings
3. Use of comparisons
4. Role of the author in the essay
5. Atmosphere
Conclusion (1 paragraph)
Your evaluation, including the following elements
Success of author in putting across his/her purpose
Your enjoyment or lack of enjoyment of the essay
Relationship or lack of it to anything in your life
Length:
1000 words, approximately 3 pages (typed and double spaced)
Description Example Paper
Once More to the Lake, by E.B. White, is about a man who revisits a lake in Maine where he was taken as a child, and now he is visiting that lake with his own son. Whites purpose is to show that life is beautiful, but, at the same time, we will all grow old and die. This paper will discuss how the elements of style and structure help White put across his purpose; the elements include the order of the subject matter, the use of the senses, the use of comparisons, the role of the author, and the atmosphere.
White writes in chronological order. He begins by explaining how he, the main character as a child, experienced camping: the things he saw and did. Then he shows how he, as an adult, experiences camping. Now he takes his own son camping, and his son now sees and does a lot of the same things he used to do as a child. White is also very careful when he switches back and forth in time; he is very specific about which time frame and which character he means. At one point, he realizes that he is living in the present, that it is not a dream (4,5).
White uses all senses to recreate different scenes. For example, when he was a child in the bedroom, he smelled the lumber. He also hears his son sneak out quietly, which he used to do himself when camping all those years ago. He uses the senses of smell and sound to help us as readers be a part of what he, the main character was living. He writes about what he sees. He sees hills, streams, tarred road, and a placid lake. He is very specific about these sights because he most likely wants us to have a vivid impression (1,2). He also writes about how the girls on the farm look the same to him in the past and in the present. He feels as if no time had passed.
White uses comparisons between the man and the boy, father and son. He compares the things he saw and experienced as a young boy to the things the son is now seeing and experiencing. He also compares the things that were in the past to the things that are now available. For example, when he was a young boy, the boats were quiet; now they make a lot of noise. He also compares the thunderstorm to the revival of an old melodrama (12).
The role of the author is clear. He was organized and detailed, and this made the essay easy to follow. He lists specific changes that he went through. He repeats how he feels to make it clear that he is not living an illusion. At the end of the essay, he writes that he feels the chill of death to let us know that he accepts the fact that he is no longer a young boy, but that he is the father of the young boy who is swimming (13).
The atmosphere is pleasant. The essay takes place where the main character had a lot of good and happy memories. Although he is reliving the past, he feels somewhat as if time never did pass by. It is comforting for the main character to know that now his son is enjoying the fresh water because he, the son, had not been in it before. He also seems a little sad when he, the father, realizes that he is no longer a young boy (2).
I enjoyed the story very much. White successfully conveys the enjoyment of nature, the joy of being both a child and a parent, and the sobering thought that we will not be on earth forever through his vivid descriptive use of five elements. The essay reminded me of when I was young, and my family and I would gather around a campfire near a beach. It reminded me of the cold breeze, the scent of the beach, and the love that surrounded me. Now, as a parent of two, I have also experienced these wonderful things with my two daughters. I can see in their eyes the joy and peace they are experiencing.
