The Rattler

The Rattler
The passage is based on the conflict and decision a man has to make towards whether or not he should kill a snake, which was something he had and never wanted to do or should he let the snake go. The writer uses organization, point of view, and selection of detail to make the reader feel sympathy for the snake but empathy for the man and to have a calm and peaceful mood/tone towards the setting.
The setting has a peaceful and calm effect on the reader. The event takes place in the desert after sunset; the writer describes the setting in a way where if you were in the desert on a cool evening you wouldn’t think that you would come upon any danger or threat to your life. The writer writes, “Light was thinning; the scrub’s dry savory odors were sweet on the cooler air. In this, the first pleasant moment for a walk after long blazing hours, I thought I was the only thing abroad.” The writer used a series of selection of detail and language to create an atmosphere that at first showed that the man was alone and relaxed until he came upon the snake.
The rattler was as still as a cactus that peaceful evening as the man stopped upon him in the desert. The snake didn’t come as a threat to the man or anyone else, just as the man wanted to enjoy his evening walk, the snake wanted to enjoy his life and evening as well. The man didn’t really have a strong excuse for killing the snake unless there was a previous situation where a snake got into the ranch. The snake had a right to be in the desert because the desert is partly his home. As the essay says, “the rattler felt no necessity of getting out of anybody’s path. He held his ground in calm watchfulness; he was not even rattling yet, much less was he coiled; he was waiting for me to show my intentions.” The rattler didn’t feel the need to leave because he belonged in the desert; the snake was waiting for the man’s intentions in a case where if the man was threatening the snake’s life then it would be