Final answer:
The author of 'The Chance of a Lifetime' uses language and details to create contrasting moods, with positive imagery for a pleasant mood and violent descriptions for a tense atmosphere, as well as a frantic narrator's voice to convey panic. These emotive choices shape the reader's perception and underscore the author's stance.
Step-by-step explanation:
In The Chance of a Lifetime, the author crafts a mood by carefully selecting language and details that evoke certain emotions in the reader. For example, the description of the rain in two different ways demonstrates how word choices can shape the narrative's atmosphere. Positive imagery creates a pleasant mood, while violent descriptions evoke a negative, intense mood. This technique is further exemplified when the narrator's voice becomes frazzled and frantic, as seen in the sentence with the repeated use of 'dropped' and 'seized'. This sense of panic is reinforced by the short, connected clauses, which mimic the narrator's hurried actions.
Additionally, the leadsman's 'sepulchral cry' intensifies the atmosphere by using a word with bleak connotations, thereby adding to the overall sense of danger and urgency. The author's stance is conveyed through these emotive choices, influencing how the reader experiences the unfolding events. Garrison's analysis in "Artists at Work" also highlights the importance of using literary evidence, such as these descriptive choices, to support the thematic interpretation of a text.
Contact with literary criticism can aid an author in constructing grounded arguments and interpretations, just as Gwyn Garrison explains the symbolism behind the storm in her work. The textual analysis helps to unpack the layers of meaning behind the author's choices, and it guides readers through the text's complexities, elevating their understanding and engagement with the literature.