More Detail

I am a weird child who wants detail. SUE ME!


The author of the “Christopher Columbus” article persuades the reader to look at the subject from their point of view through the focal lens they have used to guide the passage. With added details and clarification on vague ideas with descriptive nouns and adjectives, vivid imagery, appeals to pathos, and diction, the reader can sense the view-point the author may carry- even if it is not always as obvious as others.
The author uses vivid imagery to give the reader a mental image of what and/or whom they are reading in order to better understand the context behind the image. Some of the lines even create mental pictures that allow the reader’s own opinions to form. ,Columbus soon found himself under arrest, sent in chains to Spain in 1500 to answer yet more charges. (Paragraph 1 line 18-19) This description gives the reader of the passage a mental picture of the way Columbus was treated when the Spaniards broke away against his authority, it may even spark curiosity to find out more on why and how Columbus was being treated so harshly. The author, however, plays a biased role in the biography of the famous sailor by telling more of what bad had happened than good. The West Indies , as his discoveries were called, remained disordered and bloody. (Paragraph 2 line 31-32) This uses of imagery gives the reader a focal lens to look through to view the end result of the four voyages Columbus had done. It almost, if not already had, persuaded their opinion about Columbus’ journey to America to be a bad thing for the future of this country.
Next, the author uses appeals to pathos in order to appeal to the reader’s emotions for that “heart-wrenching” effect on the passage. Letters to Ferdinand and Isabella were sent from the first voyage and the last voyage in order to contrast each other. The first letter contained to the details of the unexplored land while emphasizing that Columbus is seen as a royal to the natives in order to give the effect that these people are subservient. The last letter, however, conveyed a different message that showed Columbus’ loss of power amongst his fellow Spaniards while portraying the current condition of the once thriving land of America. The author adds these letters in the passage to give the reader a chance

to view the outcome of the expedition while, almost, having a chance to feel sorry for the way the famous navigator had been treated. He lost his authority over his crew from a rebellion, had his honor and dignity stripped bare like he were a slave, and disordered the peace and harmony the Americas once possessed before he had inhabited the land.