Detail: A

Consider: Whenever he was so fortunate as to have him 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”

Discuss:

1.)    What effect does the detail( the spoiled hare, the rancid  butter, the swollen veins, the sweaty forehead) have on the reader?

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?

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.

Detail: B

Consider: An old man, Don Tomasito, the baker, played the tuba. When he blew into the huge mouthpiece, his face would turn purple and his thousand wrinkles would disappear as his skin filled out.

-          Alberto Alvaro Rios, “ The Iguana Killer”

Discuss: 

1.)    The first sentence is a general statement. How does the second enrich and intensify the first?

The second sentence intensify the first sentence by using details like “face would turn purple” and “his thousand wrinkles would disappear as his skin filled out”. With these details it gives the effect that the man is blowing extremely hard.

2.)       Contrast the second sentence with the following.

When he blew the tuba, his face turned purple and his cheeks puffed out.

Which sentence more effectively expresses an attitude toward Tomasito? What is that attitude and how is it communicated?

            The second sentence effectively expresses and attitude toward Tomasito. The attitude about the man is that he has been playing the tuba for a long time and he knows what he is doing and instead of his cheeks just puffing out they fill out and the wrinkles disappear.

Detail: C

Consider: CHARLEY(to WILLY): Why must everybody like you? Who liked J.P. Morgan? Was he impressive? In a Turkish bath he’d look like a butcher. But with his pockets on he was very well liked. Now listen, Willy, I know you don’t like me, and nobody can say I’m in love with you, but I’ll give you a job because – just for the hell of it, put it that way. Now what do you say?

-          Arthur Miller, Death of a Salesman

Discuss:

1.)    Who was J.P. Morgan? What is a Turkish bath? What picture comes to mind when someone is said to look like a butcher? How do these details contribute to the point Charley is trying to make?

J.P. Morgan was a rich banker at the turn of the century and he was one of the richest men in America. A Turkish bath is a public sauna. When some one is described as a butcher the picture of a large man with a white apron covered in blood stains and meat holding a big knife covered in blood in a had forever stained in blood. It shows that without all the riches and his stuff in the Turkish bath sitting with all the other guys he just looks like a butcher, a common man.

2.)      How would the passage be different if Charley said J.P. Morgan would look like a baker in a Turkish bath?

If Charley said that J.P. Morgan looked like a baker it would seem like that Morgan was a nice and jolly man instead of a blood covered butcher.

Detail: D

Consider: To those who saw him often he seemed almost like two men: one the merry monarch of the hunt and banquet and procession, the friend of children, the patron of every kind of sport; the other the cold, acute observer of the audience chamber or the Council, watching vigilantly, weighing arguments, refusing except under the stress of great events to speak his own mind.

-          Winston Churchill, “ King Henry VIII,” Churchill’s History of the English- Speaking People’s

Discuss:

1.)    Churchill draws attention to the contrasting sides of Henry VIII through detail. How is the impact of this sentence strengthened by the order of the details’ presentation?

Churchill describes Henry as a nice, kind person that likes kids and like sports but then he describes him as a sort of dark observer that watches every thing which makes him seem like liking kids and every thing is all fake and untrue that its just an act.

2.)    What is Churchill’s attitude toward Henry? What specific details reveal this attitude?

Churchill’s attitude toward Henry is that he respects the man as a leader. Some details that describe him are “acute observer of the audience chamber or the Council” and “watching vigilantly, weighing arguments, refusing except under the stress of great events to speak his own mind” but he can do all of this but he can still seem like a nice person that is liked.