Reaction Paper

Imagery is the use of concrete details that appeal to the five senses. In Earth without People by Alan Weisman there are many examples of imagery. It’s basically about what would happen to the environment if people just completely disappeared. Throughout the story Weisman uses lots of sight imagery. He will describe something with so much detail that it will force you to make a mental picture in your head. In my opinion using sight imagery in a story helps readers understand and comprehend it more, especially if some people are visual readers. It is good information to add to stories.

            The first example Weisman uses in his story is “…for 5,000 years, the area was populated by rice farmers who carved the land into paddies.” I think this is an example of sight imagery because immediately after I read that sentence I pictured a farm sectioned off with paddies. At first I did not know what paddies were, so I looked it up. After I saw pictures of it I had an even better mental picture in my head. Also Weisman continues to talk about the paddies which help you have a better understanding of what they are. He says, “Today those paddies have become barely discernible, transformed into pockets of marsh, and the new occupants of these lands arrive as dazzling white squadrons of red-crowned cranes that glide over the bulrushes in perfect formation.” How much better could a description get?

            Another example of sight imagery that Weisman uses is actually a quote by a guy named Edward O. Wilson who is a biologist from Harvard University. The story was talking about how North Korea was building an industrial mega peace park and Wilson described it as “a Korean Gettysburg and Yosemite rolled together.” By him saying that makes people think of Gettysburg and Yosemite in their head. Also the first three words in that sentence are “Imagine it as…” Weisman is telling you to picture it in your head. This quote by Wilson gives you a good idea of what the industrial mega peace park is going to look like.

            Lastly, in Earth without People marine paleoecologist Jeremy Jackson of the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama states “At least a dozen species in the ocean Columbus sailed were bigger than his biggest ship.” The first thing that came to my mind was a giant school of fish. The specific details that he gives like “a dozen species” and “bigger than his biggest ship” are examples of imagery. Also another thing that helps with making a mental picture in your head is context clues. The sentences following the sentence will more than likely have more examples of sight imagery.

            Sight imagery helps me follow the story better. The concrete details are probably the most interesting parts of the story in my opinion. There are so many ways you can go with sight imagery. I think it is very popular and used in lots and lots of stories. So yes Alan Weisman’s Earth without People uses sight imagery throughout the story.