The Great Bear

“She took a deep, calming breath, trying her best to ward off shaky hands, shaky cheeks, and shaky vision. She would never hit the bird like that. She had the leather pocket pinched firmly between her thumb and index finger, ready to let the stone fly toward the target.”

The repetition of the word “shaky” in the phrase “shaky hands, shaky cheeks, and shaky vision” is an example of anaphora, emphasizing the physical manifestations of Morgan’s nervousness. This repetition mirrors the rhythm of her escalating anxiety and creates an image of her struggle to maintain composure. The sentence “She took a deep, calming breath” employs imagery, painting a sensory picture to aid in envisioning and feeling her attempt to steady herself. This imagery, focusing on the act of breathing, suggests a moment of self-awareness and grounding amid tension.

“The animal beings had enough to eat now, and eat they did, but just enough and never more. They would never fall into the sort of greed they had observed in Mason, the man who had stolen the summer birds. They ate only their fill, and kept stores of food for the White Time.”

The structure of the sentence “The animal beings had enough to eat now, and eat they did, but just enough and never more” is an example of chiasmus, a reversal in the order of words in two otherwise parallel phrases. This structure emphasizes the balance and moderation in the animals’ behavior.

The phrase “They would never fall into the sort of greed they had observed in Mason” is a clear moral juxtaposition, contrasting the animals’ moderation with Mason’s greed. This comparison serves as a moral

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