A+Mountain+Journey



Short Stories - Literary Devises A Mountain Journey Ana and Sabrina

Point of View: This story is in third person.( Omniscient/Limited?)

Protagonist: What type of character is the Protagonist? Dynamic and round.

Antagonist: Himself, the environment.

Describe the setting Place- Hoodoo Creek on the Snake Indian River, in Jasper National Park, Alberta. Time- early 1900's, when they did a lot of hunting and trapping. Atmosphere- In the beginning, the mood is hopeful. Dave Conroy hopes he can get to the cabin soon because he is cold and tired. As the story progresses, it turns into frustration as he falls into the river, becoming even colder. At the end of the story, the mood seems rather peaceful. He’s just lying in the snow bank, waiting to die even though he doesn’t realize it, but he’s not panicking or anything.

Type of Conflict: Man v.s. Himself Man v.s. Environment

Describe the main conflict: We think the main conflict is Man v.s. Himself because Winter comes even year, and he should have been more ready for it. He keeps persevering even though he should have stopped to rest, so really it’s his fault he dies, not the weather/environments/nature. He should have been more careful and responsible with his journey.

Describe the Climax of the Story: We think the climax is when he sits down to rest (page 97) because at that point, even though we know he will die, he does not. After that it is all conclusion because it’s pretty much just explaining how he fell asleep, and how in the end he dies.

How does the Protagonist change over the course of the story? He becomes regretful over not sitting down to rest

Describe the relationship between the title and the theme. We think that the theme is survival. The title does not have very much to do with the theme, more to do with the plot. The title ‘A Mountain Journey’ just tells you that it’s about a journey in the mountains, but it could also imply a journey where survival is very important. What about the internal journey?

How does the main conflict help to illustrate the theme? We think the main conflict is Man v.s. Himself, and our theme is survival. We think that the fact he SAYS it’s hard to travel without a partner (who can tell you when it’s time to stop) illustrates the theme of survival, because you have to fight against yourself to stop moving and rest, and with a partner you could keep each other back.

How does the climax help to illustrate the theme? The climax, when he sits down to rest, helps illustrate the theme of survival because when he sits down, we know that that is not a good idea. That makes it the most tense moment because we know that he will have little chance of surviving if he falls asleep.

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

Simile: “Had sunk a foot in the new snow, white and soft as flour.” (page 91)

Metaphor: “The cold was an old man’s fingers feeling craftily through his clothes.” (page 91)

Personification: “He could stand back on his skis and let them carry him where he wished to go.” (page 91)

Symbol: The frozen river could symbolize death, because so many people have died from falling into rivers.

Foreshadowing (give both elements): On page 92, in the first paragraph, he had the perfect opportunity to stop, yet he didn’t. We think that this foreshadows that something bad will happen to him, because he didn’t take that great opportunity.

Irony:

Dramatic irony: we knew he was going to die when he sat to rest, yet he did not. Situational irony: the fact that his cabin burned down when he was freezing, and how he needed fire more than anything.

Imagery:

“A beggared moon from behind a grey rack of clouds wandered in the sky above the earth’s desolation and in its light he perceived on the slope above him, where the fire had leaped from the cabin, stiff, branchless trees, like a parade of skeletons climbing up the mountainside.” (page 95)

Describe the relationships between the class theme and the story.

There are a few relationships between the class theme and the story, but not many. We think that the stories theme is survival, and of course you can't have power without survival. Dave Conroy also has no power over himself, because he can't make himself stop to rest even when he really needs to. The weather also has power over people in the story- it can be deceiving (like when he was skiing over the river and the ice broke) and it can also cause death. If the weather had been maybe a bit worse, it would have forced him to seek refuge sooner. In this way, the weather could have changed his life. The river also the power to change the story, because when he fell through the ice everything changed for the worse. This is how the class theme ties into the story.   Completion 5/5 Effort 5/5 Content 4.5/5 total 14.5/15