Timmy's Essay 6

Timmy O’Brien
Mr. Salsich
English 9
12 November 2008

Discovering the Message:

An Essay on the “The Way to Rainy Mountain”

        1. When you read a book, you tend to look at the more important aspects of the story. 2. The trivial [FAST] details seem to melt away in your summary. 3. This was not the case when I read “The Way to Rainy Mountain” by N. Scott Momaday. 4. I tried to pay attention to every single word and pick out the lines that meant the most to me rather than the ones that were the most influential to the story.
        TS While reading this essay, I came across some lines that I found very captivating. SD First, I thought the line, “At a distance in July or August the steaming foliage seems almost to writhe in fire” was particularly fascinating. CM It was a great example of imagery that presented me with a vivid picture, explained Rainy Mountain’s weather, and allowed me to see through the Momaday’s eyes [three action sentence]. CM I was actually very surprised to see such a powerful sentence so near the beginning of the essay. SD Another line I found quite interesting was, “Their migration was the fruit of an old prophecy, for indeed they emerged from a sunless world.” CM This sentence caught me by surprise because it was an idea that I hadn’t even thought about. CM Right before this, Momaday says that this tribe, the Kiowas, acquires a sun-dance doll and came from a hollow log, and it never occurred to me how opposite these two concepts were or how indicative it was of their feelings of their old lives. SD Finally, the line, “A cricket had perched upon the handrail, only a few inches away from me,” caught my attention. CM It brought out that fact that, when something bad happens, people tend to focus on insignificant details in their lives. CM When Momaday went back to the small house; all he contemplated [FAST] was one little cricket and its place in the world. CS So much can be learned about the individual writer by paying close attention to the seemingly superfluous [FAST] lines, and all one needs to do is try.
        1. When reading, paying attention can have numerous benefits. 2. You could understand the writer, the story, or even a mountains climate better. 3. You may even uncover things that haven’t ever been discovered before. 4. All you have to do is ignite your thinking and take the first step.