Pillsbury Crossing Description

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I chose Pillsbury Crossing for my descriptions in this paper. I enjoyed writing about Pillsbury Crossing because it seemed to offer many positive and negatives, and I had never been there before. This allowed me to record my own first impressions, both pleasant and unpleasant. The floodplain is an amazing natural environment, but it can also be less than relaxing at times.

I wrote my first sentence as an overt statement which explained the mood of the rest of the paragraph. For my pleasant impression, I stated “Nature’s beauty surrounds me,” emphasizing the beauty on can find in a place such as this. In contrast, for my negative impression, I wrote “Death has had her way here.” The notion of death immediately makes the tone grim and unpleasant, even though death is also a fundamental aspect of the natural world.

With my tone clearly established, I next had to consider my word choice very carefully. In order to show the reader what I experienced, I had to choose words that fit the mood of the description as set by my overt statements of meaning. In my pleasant description, I discuss the sun’s rays and how they are “warm” and “comforting.” These words make the sun’s rays seem pleasant and positive. However, in the negative description, the sun’s rays were “scorching.” This description emphasizes the fact …show more content…

In the pleasant description, I wanted the impression to be welcoming and lively, so I wrote “the leaves flutter as if they were applauding the breath of the land.” I wanted to make Mother Nature have a personality. By using similes like “symphony of nature,” it gives Mother Nature a graceful, caring attitude, which makes the description seem more pleasant. In the negative paragraph, I describe the fallen foliage as a “leaf cemetery.” This makes Mother Nature seem like a wrathful, murderous