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The Dogs Could Teach Me

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When compared, the descriptive writing in Gary Paulsen’s “The Dogs Could Teach Me” is a clear winner against pieces “The Flowers” and “The Sniper”. Paulsen exemplifies mastery in descriptive writing. Paulsen’s powerful descriptive writing skills are first apparent early in the piece, during the exposition. The first paragraph sets the reader up by creating great visuals. When Paulsen describes the small canyon, the threatening drop, and how the dogs were “fairly smoking” as they came the edge, he sets the scene perfectly to start the action. Through his description of the setting in the exposition, he creates a scene as easy to picture as a movie scene, thus making it easy to get lost in the rest of the story. …show more content…
However O'Flaherty's use of figurative language is near non existent. Figurative language is a very important part of descriptive writing, and where O'Flaherty lacks it, Paulsen utilizes it well. After the main character (Gary himself) has cracked his ribs, broken his leg, and more, he says, “I don’t think I passed out so much as my brain simply exploded.” This use of hyperbole emphasizes the insufferable pain the character is going through, and helps the reader create a visual of what is happening to the character that goes beyond simply passing out. This hyperbole has power and purpose. Paulsen also utilizes the hyperbole when saying that the walk home “may as well been ten thousand miles.” His use of figurative language adds drama and emphasis to what the character is going through. While suspenseful and descriptive, “The Sniper”’s lack of figurative language made it difficult to really feel the pain, pride, and mania of the protagonist. Furthermore, Paulsen’s vivid word choice, descriptive exposition, and interesting figurative language puts “The Dogs Could Teach Me” above “The Sniper” and “The Flowers” when it comes to descriptive

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