Description of Place

MOTIVE I
Description of Place.
—. Unity of effect is secured by assigning to the picture pre¬sented in the following quotation a fundamental quality or characteristic which pervades the whole.
MODEL
"The village was falling asleep on both sides of the road, tranquil as a child. You only heard, from time to time, the crowing of some cock, waked too soon. From the great woods hard by came long breaths that passed like caresses over the roofs. The meadows, with their black shadows, put on a mysterious and secluded majesty, while all the running waters that gushed forth into the darkness seemed to be the cool and rhythmic breathing of the sleeping country. At moments, the mill-wheel, fast asleep, seemed to be dreaming, like those old watchdogs that bark while snoring. It creaked, it talked all by itself, lulled by the falls of the Morelle, whose sheet of water gave forth the sustained and musical note of an organ-pipe. Never had more widespread peace fallen over a happier corner of the earth."
- EMILE ZOLA, The Attack on the Mill.
ANALYSIS OF THE MODEL
i. Paragraph structure.
a.	The first sentence states briefly and definitely the fundamental quality, of the picture. Such a sentence is called a Topic Sentence. This fundamental quality gives unity to the paragraph, " The village was falling asleep."
b.	The other sentences enforce this quality. Note the words which express or suggest sleep.
c. The last sentence summarizes; that is, gives the gen¬eral impression which the description is' meant to convey : "Never had more widespread peace fallen over a happier world." Such a sentence is called a Summarizing Sen¬tence,
2.	The material used to develop the fundamental quality consists of
Items of -the landscape ; of buildings, etc.
In the above model the wind and the water are the items emphasized and are, therefore, put in the main statements. The other items are subordinated by being mentioned in phrases and clauses. 
Devices used in the handling of the material.
By the term devices used in the handling of material we mean devices used for mentioning, with special vividness, certain details that enter into the picture. Many of these devices are what we call figures of speech, which are unusual modes of expression for the sake of greater emphasis, clearness, or beauty. In this description of the village we find two of these devices— personification and simile.