Author's Style: Word Choice- The Writing on the Wall

• Alliteration: the occurrence of the same letter or sound at the beginning of adjacent or closely connected words.

In my own words, alliteration is using several words in a row that start with the same consonants.

Example~ Sally sells seashells on the seashore.

• Assonance: rhyme in which the same vowel sounds are used with different consonants in the stressed syllables of the rhyming words.

In my own words, assonance is a repeating vowel sound in the middle of the words but all the words begin with a different letter.

Example~ “Men sell the wedding bells.”

• Consonance:  repetitive sounds produced by consonants within a sentence or phrase.

In my own words, consonance is the same sounds at the end of a word.

Example~ cheer, beer, sent, went

• Mood:  a literary element that gives off certain feelings or vibes to readers through words and descriptions.

In my own words, the mood is how the story makes you feel personally after reading the story.

Example~ loneliness, unfulfilled, depressed, jubilant.

• Tone:  an attitude of a writer toward a subject or an audience through the choice of words.  The tone can be formal, informal, serious, comical, sarcastic, sad, and cheerful or any other attitudes.

In my own words, the tone is how the writer addresses the story which influences how the reader will comprehend it.

Example~ scared, anxious, tired, positive or negative



Examples of Sound Devices from the Story:

• An example of alliteration is shown in the story when it says,” “The Chinese immigrants, in particular, raised with a tradition of public poetry, composed carefully crafted verses that drew on Classical traditions, forms, and allusions.” or  “Scholars are researching the poems, and people and poets like me, who need to believe in the power of poetry to speak beyond the here and now, can stand in front of those walls and understand the power of poetry; to calm, to communicate, to commiserate, and to conserve.”

• An example of assonance is showing in paragraph 3 when it says, “Feeding on the wind and sleeping on dew, I tasted hardships.”

• An example of consonance in the story is when it says, “Likely separated from friends and family by thousands of miles and piles of bureaucracy, these writings turned to the ancient tradition of public poetry to reconstruct their sense of self.”

• The mood of the story is emotional and sympathetic.The use of sound devices helps influence how the reader feels after reading the story. It really highlights the difficulties of immigrating to America. For example, the quote used for the example of assonance focuses on the challenges immigrants would be facing. While I was reading the story, I felt so bad for the immigrants. It also makes me emotional to know that I have a place to live everyday with my family and friends.

• The tone of this story is very serious. The author has a strong opinion on the hardships of immigration so she shows no signs of silliness. The use of sound devices helps with the tone of the story as well. The example of consonance that I pulled from the story showed how being “miles and piles” from your family and friends was no laughing matter.