Detail and Style
12/10/12 AP English
Detail-Lesson 1
Consider:
"Whenever he was so fortunate as to have near him a hare that had been kept too long, or a meat pie made with rancid butter, he gorged himself with such violence that his veins swelled, and the moisture broke out on his forehead."
--Thomas Babington Macaulay, "Samuel Johnson"
1.) What effect does the detail( the spoiled hare, the rancid butter, the swollen veins, the sweaty forehead) have on the reader?
Ans: The details the “spoiled hare”, “the rancid butter”, “the swollen veins”, “the sweaty forehead” gives a specific effect on the reader. The “spoiled hare” and “the rancid butter” make it seem like the place is old and way past the prime. The details of “the swollen veins” and “the sweaty forehead” give an effect that the man being described is miserable and stressed, but also mad and irritated.
2.) How would the meaning of the sentence be changed by ending it after himself?
Ans: If the sentence was ended after himself, the details of the man would not be there and it would have the effect of the man being poor and not as negative as the first part when the details were described about him.
3) Write a sentence describing someone with disgusting eating habits. It must be one, correct sentence; and it must contain at least three vivid details.
Ans: Dissatisfied with the capacity of his fork and spoon, the man raised the plate of spaghetti to his face, inhaled it with the gusto of a ravenous dog, licked the plate clean and emitted an earth-shaking
Detail-Lesson 1
Consider:
"Whenever he was so fortunate as to have near him a hare that had been kept too long, or a meat pie made with rancid butter, he gorged himself with such violence that his veins swelled, and the moisture broke out on his forehead."
--Thomas Babington Macaulay, "Samuel Johnson"
1.) What effect does the detail( the spoiled hare, the rancid butter, the swollen veins, the sweaty forehead) have on the reader?
Ans: The details the “spoiled hare”, “the rancid butter”, “the swollen veins”, “the sweaty forehead” gives a specific effect on the reader. The “spoiled hare” and “the rancid butter” make it seem like the place is old and way past the prime. The details of “the swollen veins” and “the sweaty forehead” give an effect that the man being described is miserable and stressed, but also mad and irritated.
2.) How would the meaning of the sentence be changed by ending it after himself?
Ans: If the sentence was ended after himself, the details of the man would not be there and it would have the effect of the man being poor and not as negative as the first part when the details were described about him.
3) Write a sentence describing someone with disgusting eating habits. It must be one, correct sentence; and it must contain at least three vivid details.
Ans: Dissatisfied with the capacity of his fork and spoon, the man raised the plate of spaghetti to his face, inhaled it with the gusto of a ravenous dog, licked the plate clean and emitted an earth-shaking