A+Mountain+Journey



Short Stories - Literary Devises Title: A Mountain Journey

Point of View: Omniscient (3rd person)

Protagonist: Dave Conroy What type of character is the Protagonist? Round and Dynamic

Antagonist: Nature and Himself

Describe the setting: Hoodoo Creek in Northern Alberta near Jasper National Park, eighty miles from Snake Indian River. During the middle of the night, reaching morning. Freezing cold and lonely making it a dark atmosphere. T ime period

Type of Conflict: Man vs. Himself Man vs. Environment

Describe the main conflict: Man vs. Environment because everything started going wrong when he fell in the river because the ice broke when it looked as if the whole river was frozen. He also got frostbite on his feet and hands due to the freezing cold water and extreme conditions, which made him even more tired and wanting rest.

Describe the Climax of the Story: The climax of the story is when he finally gets home to his cabin and sees that it has burnt down. We think that because after this part of the story there is only falling action. Also, this was his goal to get to from the beginning of the story.

How does the Protagonist change over the course of the story? He realizes that he was wrong when he didn’t go for the first good resting spot because in extreme conditions like the one he had it is better to be safe and find somewhere quick other then being risky and taking unnecessary risks.

Describe the relationship between the title and the theme. We think the theme is survival and achievement because the whole journey is him trying to get home safely. Also, the relationship between the theme and title is he is traveling on a mountain and his goal is to get back safely with his pack and the fifty pounds of fur on his back. Every mountain journey is trying to get back with something you have achieved.

How does the main conflict help to illustrate the theme? The main conflict is man vs. environment and that illustrates the themes because in every battle the goal is to survive and achieve or learn something from it.

How does the climax help to illustrate the theme? The climax of the story is when he finds his cabin has burned down and his will of survival diminishes. If this is the climax then everything that follows is conclusion. Does this make sense?

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

Simile: “That tree like a strong and lonely women”

Metaphor: “The shadow became a burden”

Personification: “ The loud wind howling”

Symbol: When he says “How good to rest” it’s a symbol of him giving up on his life.

Foreshadowing (give both elements): “The pain in his shoulders was the only reality of his existence” foreshadows he is dying because at this point all he can feel is pain.

Irony: How a trapper is trapping in the mountains but in the end he get trapped by the mountain he is trapping in.

Imagery: When he thought of supper- brown curled bacon, brown bannock, rice with butter melting in it and red tea as strong as rum.

Describe the relationships between the class theme and the story. The relationship between the two is that, in this story the power in Dave Conroy pushes him to get through the cold and get to where he believes is right, even though it ends up being burnt he manages to get through the cold wind, with frostbite and he makes it. The story also describes how powerful nature can be against a human by setting him up with difficult challenges and many descriptive metaphors, similes and symbols. This story was powerful because it shows Dave trying three different ways of survival, he pushes himself to get back to the cabin, trying to set the forest on fire so he warms up and does not freeze to death and him trying to make it to a friend for help. In the end he dies but it shows how he used all the power inside of him to pull through until his last moment. A Mountain Journey shows how much power and strength some people will try to survive, it shows us we should all cherish out lives. :)

 by: Jerry and Angela

Completion 5/5 Effort 5/5 Content 4.5/5 total 14.5/15

**Character Sketch **  After reading the story "A Mountain Journey",  one might notice the amount of time the author put into describing the location, weather and overall atmosphere, but one might wonder __is__ who the character really is.  Dave Conroy seems to be determined, self-absorbed, and independent/lonely person.  After spending 6(write out numbers)  weeks in the mountains, it’s  not hard to imagine how badly he wants to be back at his cabin. “He thought that if he had waited another two weeks to come out, the snow would have had a crust for traveling, the days would have been longer, the cold less severe… when a day or two’s delay in the time of his arrival made no difference at all” He knew that waiting would make his job a whole lot easier(too informal) but he reasoned with himself and decided he would keep going because the rest of the journey was downhill. He looked back and before he knew it(too informal) the ice had broken and he was on the ground, startled. His hands and wrists were so cold they actually started to burn. His feet were cold and clammy. He knew he should stop, make a fire and change his socks and mittens yet he didn't, it was dark, he’d already spent so many nights uncomfortable and he knew that his cabin would be warm and comfortable so he pushed himself and kept going. “It was as though he were engaged in some fantastic pursuit…” It’s cold, late and dark but he feels as if it’s his life goal to make it home. This shows what a determined person Dave is . After realizing his hands and feet were frozen, he decided he would set the forest in a blaze knowing there are other people on the mountain. When he saw his fingers were incapable of bending, only then did he decide he would go for help, he’d  climb up 10  miles and he figured of course, this other trapper whose done the same as him, who is cold and tired would take him in, feed him, and make him a fire for him to sit beside. When the tired trapper gives up and decides to take a rest, he believes someone’s  going to look for him and come and get him he believes someone will see his trail so he can just wait until they get there, this shows all readers that Dave thinks only of himself, he tries to look at both aspects of things that only concern him, for the rest, he thinks others will do whatever they can for him, Showing  what a self-absorbed guy he is. With all that has been said, one can see that Dave is a lonely guy, he would have burned down the forest if he had been able to which shows there is no one on the mountain he cares about, when he thought about his cabin, all he thought about was the warmth, comfort, and the food that would be there and didn’t think about anyone that would be there waiting for him, no friends, no family. “… a man was a fool to travel alone in the mountains, especially with a heavy pack…” he knew this and he knew another trapper on the mountain 10 miles away but he chose to be alone and do this journey by himself(run-on).  Al so h <span style="font-family: Georgia,helvetica,sans-serif;">e when he says “a day or twos delay makes no difference at all!” shows that no one is anxiously waiting for him to come home. Finally when he lies down to rest and dies, the only people he thinks would notice and come and get him would be Macdonald or MacM oran tw <span style="font-family: Georgia,helvetica,sans-serif;">o trappers on the mountain, proving to readers that Dave Conroy had no one out there that really cared for him. Overall, Dave Conroy seems like a nice person who just didn't really have anyone for him.

A well structured paragraph. Pay attention to sentence structure and punctuation, especially commas. Be careful not to include too much plot summary. 4.5/6

<span style="font-family: Georgia,helvetica,sans-serif;">5.5/6 This character sketch had a few run on sentences, but still had lots of detail, quotes and examples supporting the idea.