Diction Handout

1.  An example of jargon in the story is, "The cigar dropped out of my gaping mouth with a tiny plop and a short hiss...".

2. opaque-not able to see through; not transparent.
   elongated-unusually long in relation to its width.
   elusive-difficult to find, catch, or achieve.
   cadaverous-resembling a corpse in being very pale, thin, or bony.

 The boat made a shadow on the sea at night. Then he saw something long and pale floating towards the boat. As he started to wonder what it was, a flash that looked like lightning in the sky. He gasped as he saw a pair of feet, long legs, and someone's back. The man that he saw grabbed the ladder, but he didn't have a head. Surprised by this headless corpse, his cigar dropped out of his mouth. The corpse raised up his head aside the ship, and the man tried to look closer to see what it was aside the boat. The man held on to the ladder of the boat as if he were a resting swimmer, and the sea lightning shined on him and he appeared like a ghost.

3. It makes the tone more dreary and almost scary. When paraphrasing, the tone becomes more casual and less frightening.

4. 1)One hand, awash, clutched the bottom rung of the ladder.
    2)The cigar dropped out of my gaping mouth.
    3)...leaned over the rail as far as I could...
    4)As he hung by the ladder...

5. The author chose to leave the captain and the group's names out of this passage because he wanted to focus more on the visionary or imagery in the story.

6. The denotation of secret is something kept private, sharing is, however, a public act. This brings to light the dialect of the public versus the private world.

Cadaverous: resembling a corpse in being very pale, thin, or bony: corpse/body

Darkling: of or relating to growing darkness: dark

Pale: light in color or having little color: white

Phosphorescence: light emitted by a substance without combustion or perceptible heat: glow with light without becoming hot to the touch

Ghastly: resembling a ghost, especially in being very pale: white

Headless: without a head: lacking good sense or prudence

Fishlike: any of various cold-blooded, aquatic vertebrates, having gills, commonly fins, and typically an elongated body covered with scales: any of various other aquatic animals