A+Mountain+Journey



Short Stories - Literary Devises Title:__A Mountain Journey

Point of View: 3rd person (Omniscient/Limited?)

Protagonist: Dave Conroy What type of character is the Protagonist? He is a round and dynamic character Antagonist: the Environment

Describe the setting Time: late 1800's, early 1900's Place: The Rocky Mountains Mood: stressed, tired, lonely, impatient, sad, and regretful

Type of Conflict: Man v.s. Environment ...and man versus himself

Describe the main conflict:

Dave is trying to get home after a winter of trapping furs, but he is running into problems with the environment because of the extreme cold.

Describe the Climax of the Story: The climax of the story is when Dave's hands freeze so he can't make a fire at the clearing, where the cabin used to be before it was burnt down; this means that he can't rest or else he will freeze so his only hope is to climb 10 miles up the mountain to reach his friend's cabin.

How does the Protagonist change over the course of the story? The protagonist realizes that he should have made camp at the bottom of the river, when he fell into the river and froze his hands and feet, instead of carrying on his journey. If he had done so, he wouldn't have froze and died.

Describe the relationship between the title and the theme. The theme of the story is that each choice you make no matter how small can lead to different paths that may significantly change your life; this means that you should not be overconfident in yourself, and think about the possible outcomes of each choice. The theme is related to the title "A Mountain Journey" because on a mountain, there are ups and downs and different trails and paths, or choices, which can lead you to different places ( like the top of the mountain peak or trapped at the foot of the mountain).

How does the main conflict help to illustrate the theme? The main conflict of Dave trying to overcome the environment helps to illustrate the theme because he had to make different decisions that ended up leading him to his death because they were unwise choices. This suggests the internal conflict may be the main conflict.

How does the climax help to illustrate the theme? The climax helps to illustrate the theme by showing the consequences of a choice he made earlier on in his journey.

Give examples of each of the the following literary terms in the story (use quotes):

Simile: " Mist, like the shadow of universal darkness."

<span style="display: block; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; letter-spacing: 0px; margin: 0px;">Metaphor: " The cold was an old man's fingers feeling craftily through his clothes."

<span style="display: block; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; letter-spacing: 0px; margin: 0px;">Personification: " Mist... searched every crevice of the mountain land, roamed in great billows, formed in the blindness and suffering of eternal homelessness."

<span style="display: block; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; letter-spacing: 0px; margin: 0px;">Symbol: "Across the valley he saw a cottage he had never seen before- a white cottage, low-roofed, with green trees beside it and an open door." <span style="display: block; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; letter-spacing: 0px; margin: 0px;">The white cottage with the open door is a symbol for something very welcoming and inviting; the open door is inviting Dave in.

<span style="display: block; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; letter-spacing: 0px; margin: 0px;">Foreshadowing (give both elements): " He would travel till he could travel no more, for the mere sake of travelling, when a day or two's delay in the time of his arrival made no difference at all". This is foreshadowing because later in the story he traveled until he could travel no more and died; he could have made camp and carried on the next day but he wanted to keep going and ended up never arriving at his destination.

<span style="display: block; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; letter-spacing: 0px; margin: 0px;">Irony: situational irony; "The world was growing small, dying slowly in the darkness of the sunlight"

<span style="display: block; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; letter-spacing: 0px; margin: 0px;">Imagery: " He tucked his ski poles under his arms, leaned upon them, sinking their discs into the creaking snow, and while he rested there panting, the cold was an old man's fingers feeling craftively through his clothes."

<span style="display: block; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; letter-spacing: 0px; margin: 0px;">Describe the relationships between the class theme and the story. <span style="display: block; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; letter-spacing: 0px; margin: 0px;">The Choices that we make and paths that we take shape and form our future. Our class theme of choices is greatly related to the story "A Mountain Journey" because in the story Dave decided to keep going on his journey instead of making camp at the river when he got wet (and was tired); because of his decision his hands and feet froze so that he couldn't warm himself or make camp and he ended up being so tired that he fell asleep, froze, and died. If he had made a different chioce and made camp, he would have lived and made his journey home. Using our class theme, we will learn more about how to make the right choices so that we dont end up making the wrong chioce just because we were impatient like Dave was in the story. Completion 5/5 Effort 4.5/5 Content4/5 total: 13.5/15

Each trait that one has influences their choices and future. Dave Conroy, a trapper on his way home through the Rocky Mountains, faces the challenges of the cold environment and is forced to make life or death choices. His characteristics influenced many of his choices but because of some bad luck, most of his choices led him to an unfavorable future. One of Conroy's characteristics is that he is unexperienced. First of all, he was skiing alone in a remote area so he could easily get lost, trapped, or hurt, and have no one there to help him. Dave doesn't do what he thinks he should do "... he knew what he should do. He should stop, make a fire, dry his hands and feet, change his socks and mittens. But it was late. ...he slammed his foot back back into his ski iron, bent down to clamp it to his ski, but his fingers were already numbed with the cold. He rose again...". Even though Conroy is unexperienced, he is very brave. One would think that Dave Conroy is brave because he has travelled far and is alone in the mountains in the winter. Though tired and cold, he pushes onward to safety knowing that if he doesn't he may die. Conroy remembered " ...he thought that if he had waited another 2 weeks to come out, 'till March, the snow would have had a crust for travelling, the days would have been longer, the cold less severe..." but knowing that, he travelled in the winter in harsher conditions, thus gambling with his life. Dave is also overconfident in himself physically and mentally. One would think that Dave is mentally overconfident because he doesn't think of the consequences of his actions or about what the right decision is and often regrets the choices he makes, "...he knew as he stood on the summit that he should have made camp two miles back in the timber and crossed the divide in the morning...". One would also think that Dave is physically overconfident because he thought that he would be stong enough to make it back up the mountain to MacMoran's cabin, but instead he rested and fell asleep "... he tried to rise, but his arms stayed still at his side. Snow had drifted over them. A weight was on them that he could not lift... the world was growing small, dying slowly in the darkness of the sunlight.". Conroy's dilemma was the choice between stopping and making camp and being in the cold, or to continue on in the hope that he would make it to the comfort of a cabin. His bravery led him to keep going in the hope that he had the strength to carry on, but he was too overconfident in his strength. He froze and died all because of bad luck, overconfidence, and inexperience.
 * A Mountain Journey Character Sketch**

5﻿/6 Jenna and Manmeet A little choppy, but good content. - Jenna :) IT SOUNDS REALLY GOOD COMPARED TO MINE.....MANMEET  A little choppy, could flow a little better. Good support..Shelby :P

This is good work Shelby! You integrate your quotes into your writing very well. 5.5/6