"Style Mapping"

The three different excerpts that I am choosing to compare are Neil Gaiman's Stardust, Annie Proulx's "The Mud Below," and John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men. Stardust has a literal denotation in this excerpt, with a scholarly, intricately-designed level of elevation, and a sound neither glorious nor dull. For example, the line "to the south is a treacherously placid lake served by the streams that drop from the hills behind Wall to the north," represents the straightforward denotation and elegance that is medium in sound. Contrastingly, "The Mud Below" has a poetic, imagistic connotation, a common, familiar elevation with a country twang, and a sweet, musical sound that creates an overall sense  of contentment. Here is an example: "Diamond took the end, mad his wrap, brought the rope around the back of his hand and over the palm a second time, wove it beween his third and fourth fingers, pounded the rosined glove fingers down over it and into his palm." The last excerpt, from Of Mice and Men, Steinbeck uses a picturesque, attractive connotation of nature, an elevated yet familiar altitude, and a melodious sound producing a beautiful scene filled with wildlife. A major example of this use of language would be in this sentence: "The water is warm too, for it has slipped twinkling over the yellow sands in the sunlight before reaching the narrow pool."