1st SECTION


our impressions about the first paragraph...
it's a description of nature.
it speaks about spring as green, and winter as white.
it seems easier than E.A. Poe.
lost & confused / vocab is difficult, will I understand the rest of the story?


The very first paragraph is a depiction of a solitary place in Steinbeck's favourite playground : the state of California. Here, we are introduced to a little "sandy bank" of the Salinas River. The words used by Steinbeck are vivid, almost poetical : the water "twinkles" and the foothills are "golden." It gives that incipit a lyrical twist (=touch)/ This incipit has a lyrical twist to it. Steinbeck describes the scene the way a painter would, using light and colours to convey (=transmettre) a feeling of harmony and tranquility to the reader. Everything is still and quiet. Everything is where it should be.

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