“Description begins in the writer’s imagination, but it should finish in the reader’s.” - Stephen King. It’s up to the author to create their own image in their own imagination as they’re writing, and then to do their best to place their image of a place or characters into the reader’s mind. Authors do so by using descriptive adjectives. In the short stories “The Treasure of Lemon Brown” by Walter Dean Myers and “Lemon Tree Billiards House” by Cedric Yamanaka, the authors use descriptive adjectives and word choice to develop the setting and characters.
In the short story “The Treasure of Lemon Brown” author Walter Dean Myers uses descriptive word choice to establish setting and characters. For example, “He had seen this man before, picking through trash and pulling …show more content…
For example, “she had one of those big, black Cadillacs you saw in the seventies….we wound up at a large beach house with watermills and bronze buddhas in the yard.” This quote suggests that the girl the main character, Mitch, is with, is very wealthy and rich. SInce Mitch is with this girl to play pool against her father, it suggests that her father is very wealthy and has experience. The family’s suggested wealth creates an aura of intimidation as well. Secondly, “all 6-5, 265c pounds of him. Wearing of all things, a purple tuxedo and a red carnation in his lapel.” This helps develop the girl’s father, Locust, is very wealthy and has experience. He is described as a very big guy, which creates a slight feeling of intimidation and makes Locust seem superior to Mitch. Finally, “just nine tables, a ceiling fan and a soda machine.” This establishes the small little pool bar, and suggests that it may be in a poor area and doesn’t have much business or money. In his short story, “Lemon Tree Billiards House,” Cedric Yamanaka uses word choice to establish setting and