صور الصفحة
PDF
النشر الإلكتروني

and serve to show the general method of this kind of exposition:

The woodchuck always burrows on a side-hill. This enables him to guard against being drowned out, by making the termination of the hole higher than the entrance. He digs in slantingly for about two or three feet, then makes a sharp upward turn and keeps nearly parallel with the surface of the ground for a distance of eight or ten feet farther, according to the grade. Here he makes his nest and passes the winter, holing up in October or November and coming out again in April. This is a long sleep, and is rendered possible only by the amount of fat with which the system has become stored during the summer. The fire of life still burns, but very faintly and slowly, as with the draughts all closed and the ashes heaped up. Respiration is continued, but at longer intervals, and all the vital processes are nearly at a standstill. Dig one out during hibernation . . and you find it a mere inanimate ball, that suffers itself to be moved and rolled about without showing signs of awakening. But bring it in by the fire, and it presently unrolls and opens its eyes, and crawls feebly about, and if left to itself will seek some dark hole or corner, roll itself up again, and resume its former condition.1

But Nature's most common device for the protection and preservation of her desert brood is to supply them with wonderful facilities for finding and sapping what moisture there is, and conserving it in tanks and reservoirs. The roots of the greasewood and the mesquite are almost as powerful as the arms of an octopus, and they are frequently 'three times the length of the bush or tree they support.

1 From Pepacton, by John Burroughs.

They will bore their way through rotten granite to find a damp ledge almost as easily as a diamond drill; and they will pry rocks from their foundations as readily as the wistaria wrenches the ornamental woodwork from the roof of a porch. They are always thirsty and they are always running here and there in the search for moisture. A vertical section of their underground structure revealed by the cutting away of a river bank or wash is usually a great surprise. One marvels at the great network of roots required to support such a very little growth above ground.1

In writing which aims to explain a method or process of any kind, we have another variety of exposition which deals with the type. The process or method explained is, of course, always that which is regarded as the normal or usual one followed in bringing about such and such results. The most familiar example of this kind of exposition, perhaps, is the ordinary recipe of the cook-books. In this case, the exposition takes the form of directions to be carried out in action. It is not necessary, however, that in the explanation of a process there should be any idea that the directions given are to be actually translated into action; the explanation of the working of a plan, for instance, may be given without any thought that the plan is ever to be put into operation. The ordinary form of this kind of exposition may be illustrated by the following:

The country before us was now thronged with buffalo, and a sketch of the manner of hunting them will not be out of place. There are two methods commonly practised

1 From The Desert, by J. C. Van Dyke.

"L running" and "approaching." The chase on horseback, which goes by the name of "running," is the more violent

Indeed, of all American

and dashing mode of the two. wild sports this is the wildest. Once among the buffalo, the hunter, unless long use has made him familiar with the situation, dashes forward in utter recklessness and selfabandonment. He thinks of nothing, cares for nothing, but the game; his mind is stimulated to the highest pitch, yet intensely concentrated on one object. In the midst of the flying herd, where the uproar and the dust are thickest, it never wavers for a moment; he drops the rein and abandons his horse to his furious career; he levels his gun, the report sounds faint amid the thunder of the buffalo; and when his wounded enemy leaps in vain fury upon him, his heart thrills with a feeling like the fierce delight of the battlefield. A practised and skilful hunter, well mounted, will sometimes kill five or six cows in a single chase, loading his gun again and again as his horse rushes through the tumult. An exploit like this is quite beyond the capacities of a novice. In attacking a small band of buffalo, or in separating a single animal from the herd and assailing it apart from the rest, there is less excitement and less danger. With a bold and well-trained horse the hunter may ride so close to the buffalo that, as they gallop side by side, he may reach over and touch him with his hand; nor is there much danger in this as long as the buffalo's strength and breath continue unabated; but when he becomes tired and can no longer run with ease, when his tongue lolls out and the foam flies from his jaws, then the hunter had better keep a more respectful distance; the distressed brute may turn upon him at any instant; and especially at the moment when he fires his gun. The wounded buffalo springs at his enemy; the horse leaps violently aside; and then the hunter has need of a tenacious seat in the saddle, for if he is thrown to the ground there is no hope for him. When he

sees his attack defeated the buffalo resumes his flight, but if the shot be well directed he soon stops; for a few moments he stands still, then totters and falls heavily upon the prairie.

The method of "approaching," being practised on foot, has many advantages over that of "running"; in the former, one neither breaks down his horse nor endangers his own life; instead of yielding to excitement, he must be cool, collected, and watchful; he must understand the buffalo, observe the features of the country and the course of the wind, and be well skilled, moreover, in using the rifle. The buffalo are strange animals; sometimes they are so stupid and infatuated that a man may walk up to them in full sight on the open prairie, and even shoot several of their number before the rest will think it necessary to retreat. Again, at another moment, they will be so shy and wary that in order to approach them the utmost skill, experience, and judgment are necessary.1

With regard to the method of that type of exposition which aims to show the operation of a general law or its application to particular cases, nothing special needs to be said. Examples of the type are given among the specimens reprinted below.

5. LITERARY CRITICISM

Literary criticism is a kind of writing almost distinctive enough to deserve recognition as a species by itself. As its main purpose is expository, however,

1 From Parkman's Oregon Trail.

it may properly enough be regarded as a particular variety of exposition. Certain of its forms, as for instance, what is often called appreciation or interpretation, might, indeed, more fittingly be regarded as making their appeal to the feelings rather than to the understanding; but even in such cases, if the main purpose be not expository, there is always a very definite appeal to the understanding.

Criticism is of course one of the most common, as it certainly is one of the most useful, kinds of writing. No one can read all the books published nowadays; and if one wishes to be informed as to what is best worth reading, one must look largely to criticism for guidance.

We should make a distinction between the criticism of books which are accepted as classics, or are at least well-known, and the criticism which deals with the books of the day, that is to say, the ordinary book review. The criticism of a classic implies, on the part of the reader, some knowledge of the work criticised; the critic justifies his notice of the work either by giving us some fresh information about it or by giving us an appreciation of it from a new point of view. The ordinary book review is on a much lower plane, usually, than criticism of this kind. Its first aim, naturally, is to tell the reader something about the contents of the book it discusses; but it should also aim to give him an idea of the writer's style and of the skill or power with which he treats his subject.

In the specimens given below, the reader will find an example of the appreciation of a classic, and an example, also, of the ordinary book review.

« السابقةمتابعة »