In the “Rattler,” Donald Peattie used a cautionary and a sympathetic tone which reflects back to the defensive strategies used by the snake, and the man’s reluctance to kill the reptile but also his willingness to protect others. In the story, the narrator ends up crossing paths with a snake, and in order to save the people around him, he ends up slaughtering it with his hoe.

Moreover, the author’s diction indicates the watchful tactics used by the snake in this unfortunate duel, and the shifting attitude of the man as he doesn’t want to kill it but feels obliged to. In addition, the snake waited for the man to ‘show [his] intentions’. This indicates that the snake was cunning and unwilling to make the first move－however－this could also lead some to favor the reptile as it didn’t strike at first but waited to see if the man would change his mind .
Furthermore, the man heard the snake’s ‘song of death’ as he waited to ‘[strike it] passionately’ since he felt that it was ‘his duty’ thus implying that the snake was aware of the fight that …show more content…
The readers did develop a sense of fear from the snake as it moved in ‘wave like motions’ and ‘[twitched its] tail’ which depicts how the snake was prepping for the duel by making its presence known and the reptiles power was exceptionally well rendered by the author. However, after killing the snake, the man ‘let him drop into the close green...over the desert sand’ which strongly suggests that the man was trying his best to console himself because deep down, he knew that his actions were uncalled for but to sugar-coat the situation, he decided to atleast give the snake a proper fairwell by droping it into the protection of the bushes－nonetheless－he soon realized that no matter what he did, the snake had passed away and where ever it was buried, wouldn’t make a difference to its