"Ascension in the Moonlight"

Ascension in the Moonlight's theme is that a person's companions are what make a trip most worthwhile. The beginning of the essay is very pessimistic. Winchester spends multiple paragraphs criticizing the lonely and uneventful nature of the island. Nonetheless, the story ends on a positive note. On the second to last page, Winchester reflects on his trip: "And that state of grace had all come about purely and simply because one man and one woman [...] had decided to offer me, for one unrewarded moment, no more and no less than their kindness." Although Winchester found Ascension Island very unappealing at first, he was still granted a wonderful experience there thanks to the kindness of the couple that accompanied him. One technique that struck me as effective was his use of simile. While describing the vastness of the ocean while looking down from the mountain's peak, Winchester says, "If the clouds part for long enough, it is possible to see a hundred kilometers in all directions, and the ocean - looking like an unblemished sheet of hammered pewter - stretched empty to every horizon." I chose this because I felt that it did a great job painting a picture of the setting for the reader. From his description, I could much more easily understand why he found the island so unenjoyable. Winchester also does a great job with using imagery throughout the story. Towards the end of the paper, he says, "Only (the runway lights) and the stars broke the velvet blackness of the night." His descriptive language at this point in the story allows the reader to better comprehend the beauty of what he's seeing. Because I've never experienced the complete darkness of a lunar eclipse, I have a hard time imagining what it would feel like. From his descriptive language, however, I'm given a very good sense of what it would've been like for him.