The author’s intended effect on the reader was greatly impacted by imagery and diction. These elements came together to alter the emotions of the audience. After reading the excerpt, it will leave a person to feel sorrow, sympathy, and passion for those soldiers. Louisa May Alcott manipulated imagery to make a distinctive description of how she felt, what she saw, and how the others perceived and appeared, “over his face I saw a gray veil falling that no human hand can lift.” Additionally, she enhanced the illustrations in the sentences by using words such as bonny, countenance, and heartily not only to demonstrate the emotions of the soldier but also show how she felt, “never, on any human countenance, have I seen on swift and beautiful a
