In writing, descriptive language is used in order to engage the reader in the story. Most authors practice this is their writing, whether it be fiction or nonfiction. When authors include descriptive language, it helps tell the story that the reader is trying to communicate in a vivid manner. Blue Highways by William Least Heat-Moon, Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer, and Wild by Cheryl Strayed all used descriptive language in the narratives. Heat-Moon’s, Krakauer’s, and Strayed’s use of imagery, personification, and symbolism helps portray their narratives and communicate the message that they intended.
The imagery used in the narratives helps the picture the scene that the author is describing. Imagery appeals to the senses and the readers experiences the episode as if they are actually there. One sense that all the authors appeal to is the sense of sight. For example, Heat-Moon uses imagery in his narrative in order to describe the scenes that he sees on his drive. For example, when describing the sky, Heat-Moon writes, “The sky was cloudless, not in the usual way, but rather bleached by glare to the color a pair of facing mirrors make between them- either blue nor gray but rather an absence of color” (371).
The example helps the reader to see exactly what Heat-Moon saw. The sky will never be exactly like Heat-Moon saw it, so his imagery communicates the beauty of that day. Krakauer also uses imagery in his narrative as he describes Mount Everest. When describing what he sees on the summit he writes, “The ink-black wedge of the summit pyramid stood out in stark relief, towering over the surrounding ridges. Thrust high into the jet stream, the mountain ripped a visible gash in the 120-knot hurricane, sending forth a plume of ice crystals” (31-32).
Krakauer creates an image that helps the reader understand the conditions on Mount Everest. Cheryl Strayed also exposes the reader to the sights on the trail with her use of imagery. Strayed appeals to sight in her description of the trail on which she is backpacking, and includes what the trail feels like as well. Strayed describes how the trail looks and feels by writing, “Sometimes the trail was sandy, other times rocky or muddy or pebbly or cushioned with layers upon layers of pine needles.
It could be black or brown or gray or blonde as butterscotch, but always the PCT” (137). The colors that she uses helps the reader picture what the trail looks like, and the different textures that she describes helps the reader feel what it would be like to backpack on the PCT. The use of imagery in Into Thin Air and Wild help the reader relate to the narrative in a deeper way. Krakauer and Strayed both use imagery to describe the object that they were conquering.
By using imagery, the authors help the reader understand how difficult it is to finish Mount Everest and Pacific Crest Trail. In all three narratives, the authors use several kinds of imagery. The authors use the imagery to further he connection that the reader feels to the narrative, and help the reader be transported into the narrative with the main character. Also, the authors use imagery to communicate what they saw. All the authors show their motion as they are climbing or driving by using imagery. The authors also all show the motion of their travels in their imagery.
In each narrative, the main character is moving constantly throughout the book. By using imagery, the authors appeal to all of the senses that the readers have so that the narrative that they are telling connects with the people. Jon Krakauer uses personification to show the relationship that the people of Nepal have with Mount Everest. In the narrative Into Thin Air, the mountain itself is a religious figure for the people in Nepal. Mount Everest is a god to them and it has feelings and can show emotions.
For example, Lopsang, a Sirdar, communicates his feelings, which can be seen in his statement, “Mount Everest is a God-for me, for everybody” (Krakauer 133). Lopsang is disappointed with the actions of the climbers and he states that they offend Mount Everest and bring bad luck. Krakauer shows how important that Mount Everest is to the people in Nepal by including this example of personification. Cheryl Strayed also uses personification in her narrative that also becomes symbolism. Her backpack is known as “Monster,” and it controls how far she can go on her travels.
Straye trouble with carrying her pack and that influences the distance that she can cover in a day. Her backpack represents her physical struggles and her emotional struggles that she will deal with on her journey to hike the Pacific Crest Trail. An example of this is how massive her backpack is and how she did not think of he weight. Strayed writes, “It hadn’t occurred to me that I wouldn’t be able to. I’d simply thought that if I added up all the things I needed in order to go backpacking, it would equal a weight that I could carry” (43).
Strayed did not consider how heavy her pack would be, and she did not think about all of the has emotions that she would have to come to terms with on her trip. Her backpack is filled with materials that she does not need to carry with her. As she travels, she will get rid of items that she does not need, just as how she will come to terms with some of er emotional struggles. As her pack gets lighter, so does the baggage that she carries with her in her mind. Strayed uses her pack to symbolize how she changed throughout her journey on the Pacific Crest Trail.
In Contrast to Krakauer’s and Strayed’s examples of symbolism, William Least Heat-Moon uses an actual picture as a symbol in his narrative. He includes a labyrinth-like symbol on the cover for each section of the book. Heat-Moon writes, “Its lines represent the course a person follows on his ‘road of life’ as he passes through birth, death, rebirth. Human existence is essentially a series of journeys, and the emergence symbol is kind of map of the wandering soul” (185). He directly uses an actual symbol for his journey.
His journey is to escape his problems and he does not have to think about them for the months that he was gone. His journey also represents his life. His travels around the country helps him complete the process of life. The symbol represents his journey as well as the journey that the readers can also accomplish. All of the authors use symbolism in their narratives, but include different aspects of symbolism. Krakauer explains how the mountain directly represents a god to the people of Nepal.
Strayed however uses objects to symbolize what affects her the most on her journey. Heat-Moon uses a symbol to represent his whole journey. Although each author uses a different form of symbolism, it assists the reader’s connection with the emotions that the author is experiencing by using an external object to represent their inside struggles and accomplishments. William Least Heat-Moon, Jon Krakauer, and Cheryl Strayed all use descriptive language in their writing, but they all use it in a ifferent way in order to convey their individual message to the reader.
William Least Heat-Moon uses imagery and symbolism to represent his journey, Jon Krakauer also uses imagery and symbolism, but he uses them to communicate the dangers and beauty of Mount Everest. Cheryl Strayed uses the descriptive language to help the reader peek into her mind and understand the long journey that she took on the Pacific Crest Trail. The authors’ abilities to uses descriptive language helps make Blue Highways, Into Thin Air, and Wild the amazing narratives that they are.