“Ascension in the Moonlight” response

The theme illustrated throughout Winchester’s essay is that meaningful rewards can be hiding in the unexpected, and that one has to be careful not to brush off the unexpected because of these often later revealed rewards. When Winchester arrives at Ascension Island, it is merely an in between location in his journey homeward; it doesn’t strike him as much to look at, in fact he describes it as feeling incredibly lonely. When Winchester first meets Paul and Angela, he seems underwhelmed. Yet, these people unexpectedly lead him to “the greatest wealth of expirence any one individual could ever know in one moment” (270). In a place and with people he didn’t much value, Winchester experienced perhaps one of the most memorable moments of his lifetime.

“this postcard-sized field of the purest white shell powder, illuminated by the immense pale moon, and with a clear sky full of a blizzard of stars” (268). This exert about the beach is packed with descriptive language that allows the reader to visualize the author’s other-worldly experience.

“moving slowly and almost painfully the the sloping sand, like wounded soldiers of an invasion force”(268). This simile was very effective in providing striking imagery to the mind, making the moment of the turtles reaching the beach accessible to the reader.