What impression is the author leaving you with?

The atmosphere of a literary work intended to evoke a certain emotion or feeling from the audience or reader.

A

Sensory language

Action verbsVivid adjectives

Specific, concrete details

Figures of speechYou should be

writing this down!

Snowfall – Example 1Gentle, sparkling, and romantic

Snowfall – Example 2Blinding, whipping, and

suffocating

A wet, dull day greeted Mary as she stepped into the grey light. Men huddled by in drab rain coats or stood in dismal doorways waiting for a bus which never seemed to arrive.

The Mood is

B

Dreary / Depressing / Meloncholy

Andy Hunt lived next door. I loved the way his eyes crinkled up when he heard something funny. When Andy laughed, the whole world lit up, like the sun coming from behind a cloud. His black hair hung straight down, and he’d shake water out of it, like a wet dog, after we went swimming.

The Mood is

Happy / Nostalgic

The Mood is

…The itch Chain of heat and burn crawl

like hairy caterpillars. Don’t scratch Don’t scratch or you’ll have scars for the rest of your life.

Annoying / Angry

Like much of my life until that sixteenth year, it was a sunny day. A Sunday afternoon, I was in Carol Echert’s house on Pine Street. We were in the sun-filled living room. Carol was telling me about her new boyfriend, and I, as always, was the good listener.

The doorbell rang. It was my younger brother, Bill, panting. “Lucky was hit by a car!” Lucky was our dog.

The mood goes from what to what?

Relaxed then Panicked

I am outside in the yard. There is the smell – sour, vaguely rotten. And then the sound. It is high-pitched, but that is not the problem. The radio makes high-pitch sounds, too, and so does my mother when she sings to me. The problem is the loudness, a force as feelable as a blizzard. Every morsel of me shrivels and shakes. And even so, maybe I could stand it if only it would stop.

The dominant impression is

Nervous / Uncomfortable

Notice the figurative language

here!The simile is even

unpleasant!

Imagine you were describing a loud and busy intersection. Underline the words that would create the mood.

C

smooth bristled smoke

tremble

warm bark boos

blare

bus chatting clink clunk

crack whisper faint

gush

howl humming strummedwild

sparkle moonlit sluggish

screech

bubbly slammed breezy

twisted

If I wanted to describe my hand as unattractive, which details should I include?

D

_____ Pieces of skin stick out like needles on a cactus.

_____ Below my pinkie and index finger, the lines sag from extra skin, wrinkles that will become more pronounced with age.

_____ Lines form patterns which remind me of a mosaic piece. Like pieces of glass and tile, the shapes decorate the fingers’ bases.

√

√

_____ A short way below my ring finger’s nail sits a callous, developed from years of holding my pencil incorrectly.

_____ In kindergarten I traced my hand to create a turkey, a Thanksgiving decoration my mother hung on her refrigerator.

_____ On my index finger, the dried skin looks like a barnacle, riding the side of my hand as it trudges through its many jobs.

√

√

The following paragraph is trying to create the impression that…

My dog Drake and I enjoy our walks.

Cross off two sentences that should not be included.

E

My favorite walks with Drake are in the fall, when the

cool weather has chased away mosquitoes, when the

see grass rustles, and the Long Island Sound sparkles in

ripples. Exploring the nature preserve by our house, I

study the vines climbing tree trunks; Drake sniffs the

animal tracks on the ground. Often I’m too busy looking

at the sun’s touch on the water to notice that Drake’s

on the trail of a rabbit or squirrel. Close to his prey, he

squawks so loudly I am frightened. By the shore I sit

and watch the seagulls ride the waves. Drake skips

from rock to rock, searching for chicken pieces left by

crabbers. When we finally must leave, Drake finds a

stick to carry home, our souvenir from the trip. The

stick’s branches look like oversized whiskers growing

from his snout.

Sensory language

Action verbsVivid adjectives

Specific, concrete details

Figures of speech

Independently complete the remainder of the packet.

Read the excerpts and answer the questions that follow each reading.

F