Literary Devices Used In Patric's 'The Rattler'

There has been a time at one point in a person’s life where they were given a task they did not want to do. Sometimes it has to be done. The the short story The Rattler, a mane is talking a walk through a desert setting. His walked was suddenly stopped when he saw a dangerous looking snake, at first glance anyway. He was faced with the task of killing the snake. When the task was complete, he was not thrilled. In The Rattler, the author creates the effect of empathy for the man and sympathy for the snake. The techniques used to achieve that are the description of the man, description of the snake, the setting.

In the morosely reluctant passage, “The Rattler,” the author depicts a conflict between a man’s consciousness and his duty to kill the snake. With the detailed images of the scene, the reader comes to understand the man’s internal conflict. He must decide whether or not it is necessary to kill an innocent rattlesnake; however, when the obligation to protect others is greater than the life of the snake, the man has no other choice but to kill the snake. Throughout the passage, “The Rattler” brilliantly utilizes diction, detail, syntax and overall organization to convey his message.

When in times of danger, people must often take the actions they see best fit. In "The Rattler," the author depicts a vivid story of a man who has to make a difficult choice while facing a rattlesnake in the desert. Despite the man seeing a threat in the snake, it is him that becomes a threat to the other. By using the descriptions of the man, the snake and the specific setting, the author affects the reader by creating a sense of empathy for the narrator and sympathy for the snake. With such a connection, it adds a greater depth to the story for the reader to analyze.

Depth of a story relies greatly on the author’s unique way of conveying a tone. There are many great examples of diction in any genre of literature, whether is be of someone’s feelings, a setting, a mood, a person, or an object. Without it, a story would be dull. Diction connects our senses to the actions, the setting, and the mood of a story, thus enveloping the reader into it, which is exemplified beautifully in “The Scarlet Ibis,” “The Most Dangerous Game,” and “The Necklace.”

In " The Rattler ", the author uses both connotative and denotative middle writings which seem to have made the syntax more interesting. The author uses a mixture of poetic work, and with the neutral level of formality, creates an easy descriptive scene in the reader's mind, making it seem brighter than if it was only in connotative style. The syntax, working along with the diction, emphasizes the abrupt changes in the man's relieving walk, allowing the reader to feel the shock and the contemplation to walk away or confront the rattlesnake for the good of others. The brief introduction emphasizes this point while the author goes a bit more into detail about the confrontation with the rattlesnake. The word choice adds a more clear description

The author’s diction heightens the intensity and power the snake brings as it also aids in describing the inner thoughts of the protagonist. When the main character saw that the snake was “waiting for him”, he “stopped short” and the snake continued to “[hold] his ground”. The snake created anticipation as he completed these actions, therefore causing the man to feel curious and uneasy. Like a “live wire” the snake “drew his head back,” preparing to strike, this action seemed effortless and almost as if it was a “mechanical reflex”. The reptile is seen as being extremely lethal due to its quick and natural reflexes. Snakes similar to this one are born with the same instinct as their hominid adversaries; to survive. The diction in “The Rattler” effects the tone that is understood by the audience. Detail is another key factor when trying to convey the deeper meaning within the narrative.

As the initial path of conflict between snake and man is developed, literary devices such as imagery allow the reader to more easily visualize and connect to the story. Descriptive imagery is the first literary device used in “The Rattler”. The use of “ Light was thinning; the scrub’s dry savory odors were sweet on the cooler air. In this, the first pleasant moment for a walk after long blazing hours” (The Rattler 1) in the opening of the piece encourages the reader to delve into the narrator’s life and experience what he feels. After the narrator abruptly sees the snake, the imagery changes from the peaceful rural life to a dark, intense description of the snake, “a six-foot black snake thick as my wrist, capable of long-range attack and armed with powerful fangs” (The Rattler 2), changing to the viewpoint of the snake for the reader. The switch in the use of imagery takes the reader through a completely different path and alters their emotional response to the story. The snake’s presence illustrates the narrator’s obvious fear and anxiety while allowing the reader to feel the same emotions

In the novel, The Pearl, John Steinbeck uses symbolism to convey the ubiquitous theme that evil can manifest itself in many forms. In the beginning of the parable, Kino and Juana encounter a deadly scorpion threatening their young son, Coyotito. Kino “begins to approach the hanging box, the ‘Song of Evil’... in his ears”. This scorpion is the first of many hosts of evil throughout the book. It represents an endangerment of family and destruction of security.

In “The Rattler”, the sudden and fulfilling tones reflect the reasons why the man decided to kill the snake. Seeing the snake was sudden for him, but the man had to choose between his morals and his duties in order to protect one life or the other. He decides to choose his duties of helping others to keep them from being in the situation as him in the future.

Kino has been ambushed during the night and has killed someone. Juan Tomas recommends him to get rid of it because it has caused a lot of trouble. “"I was attacked in the dark," said Kino. "And in the fight I have killed a man." "Who?", asked Juan Tomás quickly. "I do not know. It is all darkness – all darkness and shape of darkness." "It is the pearl," said Juan Tomás. "There is a devil in this pearl. You should have sold it and passed on the devil. Perhaps you can still sell it and buy peace for yourself."” (Steinbeck 64) Yet, Kino’s actions still don’t convince him to take Juan Tomas’s advice, as a result Kino faces the biggest tragedy he has experienced which is losing his son, Coyotito.

There are three snakes, two copperheads and a timber rattler, squirming around in the plastic bin. Her brother knows snakes because he liked to catch them when he was a kid, and he’d told her that if you wanted to keep them still, the best way to go about it was to keep them in a sack or a pillowcase. The Preacher liked them riled up though—made the act look more impressive.

Kelly J. Mayes defines plot in The Norton Introduction to Literature as the way the author sequences and paces the events so as to shape our response and interpretation. Every piece of literature contains a plot pattern that follows Freytag’s pyramid. This pyramid consists of an exposition, rising action, a climax, falling action, and a conclusion. Though each story displays this pattern of organization, authors use many different literary devices to differentiate their work and to acquire the response they want to achieve from their audience. The author of “The Jewelry,” Guy De Maupassant, correctly followed Freytag’s Pyramid and used varied literary devices to create a suspenseful read for the audience.

Death and temptation have a jaw with an unforgiving clench. It sucks people into a trap they cannot leave, despite any retaliation they might give. Temptation is an evil force and is often symbolized in a story as a serpent. These creatures embody temptation because society already associates them with evils. In The Little Prince, the snake symbolizes just that. By listening to the comments of the snake, a reader can determine that she is trying to tempt the prince into better deals. The snake in Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s The Little Prince shows temptation by displaying the power, isolation, and pain temptation can inflict.

According to the text, a man placed in a life threatening situation decides to chanted the Kannon Sutra with promises to “save suffering being is as deep as the sea” (Tyler 196). Chanting the sutra and promising to do good deeds to all beings are sign of devotion to buddhist teaching of moral behaviour. Hence, a snake allowed the man to plunge a dagger to use the the snake’s body as a handhold to be brought down the ravine (196). Rather than the portrayal of snake retaliating with vengeance or evil intentions, the snake in this narrative is a life saver. Therefore, the snake in deep as the Sea can be view in a much more positive light by being helpful to those devoted to buddhism. Not only does the snake seem to function as a helpful agent of karma, snakes are use to reinforce lessons of honesty and devotion to buddhist teaching that was violated in Red

The pearl turns Kino from a happy father to a savage man. The pearl had the power to do good for Kino, but Kino’s constant feeling of more was what destroyed the pearl, which, in turn, destroyed his family. Furthermore, Kino’s greed lead to his son’s death and to Kino’s separation from his culture and traditions. The scorpion symbolizes evil harming innocent.