10.4.1 Journal: Respond to the Reading Journal
English III (2013) (S2453406) Sierra Turner
Points possible: 20 Date: ____________
This is your journal activity. Complete the prewriting steps below before moving on to the journal response.
Read and Paraphrase
Read the text below from The Way to Rainy Mountain by N. Scott Momaday:
Great green and yellow grasshoppers are everywhere in the tall grass, popping up like corn to sting the flesh, and tortoises crawl about on the red earth, going nowhere in plenty of time. Loneliness is an aspect of the land. All things in the plain are isolated; there is no confusion of objects in the eye, but one hill or one tree or one man. To look upon that landscape in the early morning, with
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5)
Notes: What colors did you mark? What other descriptive words did you mark? Do these words help create a sense of how the narrator feels about his setting?
Green, yellow, and red. Tall, popping, sting, crawl, one hill, one tree, one man. The use of descriptive word help create the wonder and magical feeling the narrator is experiencing.
Write the Response
Journal Question: How does Momaday use adjectives and descriptive phrases to show profound respect for Rainy Mountain?
Using your paraphrase and notes of the text, write a four- to six-sentence journal entry. Write your own topic sentence. Then provide two supporting examples and a closing sentence to back up the topic sentence.
Topic Sentence:
Momaday uses well written descriptive phrases and words to express his feelings of respect and wonderment for Rainy Mountain.
Example #1:
Momaday uses a colorful description to explain what he sees while he’s visiting Rainy Mountain. These descriptions paint a bright image in the readers mind.
Example #2:
Momaday also uses descriptive words that help explain the magnificence of the simplest things. He describes grasshoppers as great, yellow and green. Momaday brings the brightest imagery to mind with his descriptions.
Closing Sentence: Momady used very deep descriptions of the things he saw around him. This gave the readers a better picture of what he was seeing.
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Paste all of your revised body paragraphs and conclusion in the space below. Bold the
ii) Prepare this assignment according to the MLA guidelines found in the GCU MLA Style Guide, located in the Student Success Center. An abstract is not required.
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