Exercise 1

In this excerpt from Annie Proulx's "The Mud Below," Proulx illustrates the adrenaline rushing, uneasy nostalgic life that Diamond Felts has become a part of. He "kept his butt cocked to one side, his feet up on the shut rails so that the bull couldn't grind his leg, brad him up, so that if it  thrashed he could get over the to in hurry." Diamond Felts "slapped his face forcefully, bringing the adrenaline roses up on his cheeks, glanced down at his pullers and said, "I guess." Proulx gives the character traits that are quite different than how most people would act in these situations, making the character a restrained meekness and calm. Diamond Felts "took the end, made his warp, brought the rope around the back of his hand and over the palm a second time, wove it between his third and fourth fingers, pounded the rosined glove fingers down over it and into his palm." The way the words are written make the relaxed, laid back character seem as if he doesn't care about the outcome of the rodeo, and he only wants to go back to Wyoming, where his home is.