Note: Your teacher will grade your response to the question below to ensure that your receive proper credit for your answer. Evaluate the following descriptive paragraph. How well does it appeal to the reader's senses? What is the overall effect? "About 15 miles below Monterey, on the wild coast, the Torres family had their farm, a few sloping acres above a cliff that dropped to the brown reefs and to the hissing white waters of the ocean. Behind the farm the stone mountains stood up against the sky. The farm buildings huddled like the clinging aphids on the mountain skirts, crouched low to the ground as though the wind might blow them into the sea. The little shack, the rattling, rotting barn were gray-bitten with sea salt, beaten by the damp wind until they had taken on the color of the granite hills. Two horses, a red cow and a red calf, half a dozen pigs and a flock of lean, multi-colored chickens stocked the place. A little corn was raised on the sterile slope, and it grew short and thick under the wind, and all the cobs formed on the landward sides of the stalks." — John Steinbeck, “Flight”

Answer 1

The descriptive paragraph effectively appeals to the reader's senses by using vivid imagery and descriptive language. The mention of the "brown reefs" and "hissing white waters" of the ocean engages the sense of sight and sound. The mention of the "stone mountains" and the "clinging aphids" appeals to the sense of touch and creates a strong visual image. The mention of the "gray-bitten" buildings and the "color of the granite hills" engages the sense of sight and touch. The description of the animals, such as the "red cow and a red calf" and the "lean, multi-colored chickens," appeals to the sense of sight. The mentioning of the corn growing "short and thick under the wind" engages the sense of touch and depicts the harsh conditions of the environment. Overall, the paragraph effectively appeals to the reader's senses by providing detailed and descriptive imagery. The overall effect is to create a vivid and immersive picture of the setting.