For instance, Washington Irving wrote, in The Devil and Tom Walker, “One hot summer afternoon in the dog days, just as a terrible black thunder-gust as coming up, Tom sat in his counting house in his white linen cap and India, silk morning gown.” Considering that the season, summer, can be referred to as growth and reflection, the reader can construe that Tom is about to experience change. The twelve months can also be related to the seasons; by its nature, the reader is able to recognize which months are in each season, due to their location. For instance, in The Raven, by Edgar Allen Poe, “Ah, distinctly I remember it was in the bleak December; and each separate dying ember wrought its ghost upon the floor.” Despite the fact that Edgar Allen Poe did not verbatimly mention one of the four seasons, the reader can obtain the same mood from the …show more content…
Jon used the season, winter, in his book to help set the mood. In American Literature, the winter can be described as despair and hope. This season brings painful messages as well as rebirth and renewal. Therefore, Jon Krakauer said, “Two years out of England, winter overtook his small party as they plodded across an expanse of tundra so vast and empty that they christened it the Barrens, the name by which it is still known.” Hence, the reader can infer, from the context clues, the difficulty and desolation that the character is