When you watch a movie or television show, what kinds of things do you see? What kinds of details do the filmmakers include to capture the time and place and to create the atmosphere? Think of a favorite movie, and consider these questions as they apply to it. Discuss the way that writers capture the time and place and create atmosphere. How does a writer spark readers’ imaginations, creating vivid scenes that come to life in readers’ minds? Jot down your thoughts about this question. Look at the photograph on page 341. Then, view some photographs of Grand Central Station from the 1940s or 1950s. Close your eyes and imagine how these two settings would look if the people in the photographs came to life.
1. Close your eyes and listen as your teacher reads through the first column of text on page 342. Visualize the actions of the narrator as he makes his way through the busy streets of New York. Then, visualize Grand Central Station as the narrator describes it. Roll a mind movie of the action and the setting described in the text. Concentrate on the details that the author presents to spark this visualization.
2. Continue reading the rest of this story on your own. As you read, visualize the settings and the events as described in the text. Jot down the details that the author uses to create the two different settings. How do the atmospheres of the two settings differ?
If you have difficulty visualizing the settings and events in the text, take a break from reading. Read several paragraphs. Jot down the descriptive details the author includes. Then, close your eyes and try to create a mind movie of the action based on those details. If necessary, reread the passage and try again. Continue using the Fix-Up Idea whenever you have difficulty visualizing a passage.
Write two paragraphs, one describing your visualization of the third level of Grand Central and the other describing your visualization of the narrator’s life. Note the details that the author uses to spark these visualizations in your mind. Then, share your paragraphs with a partner and discuss the similarities and differences.