Diane Ackerman's Why Leaves Turn Color In The Fall

Every day we look at the trees, the ground, the flowers blooming, and we think of how brightly colored and blossomed they are. Not very many people think about how nature works or all of the different processes and cycles it goes through to give us the magnificent shades and hues all year round. One aspect of nature that people will often travel for just to see are leaves. Most people do not know what exactly the leaves go through to get to the beautiful colors they are, especially in the fall. Unless studying or reading about nature and leaves is a hobby of yours, then you probably do not know about all of the complex, scientific processes that they go through. If you are not familiar with all of the scientific terms and labels used when
This example of imagery alone has already pulled in the reader, piquing their interest by creating a picture that we have all, without a doubt, seen before. Another form of figurative language used by Ackerman is at the end of paragraph three when she writes, “With their camouflage gone, we see these colors for the first time all year, and marvel, but they were always there, hidden like a vivid secret beneath the hot glowing greens of summer.” (p 981). By pointing out to her readers that the true colors of the leaves that we are so fascinated by have actually been there all year long, she sums up her previous description that explains how chlorophyll gradually breaks down, thus revealing these magnificent colors. Through her explanation and use of figurative language, Diane Ackerman points out to her readers how much change is going on around us without us even realizing