Practice Diction Analysis

In Cormac McCarthy's "Blood Meridian" the dark, hopeless diction emanates the desperate solitude the man finds himself stuck in. The author describes the nature around the man with words like "dark" and "thunderclap" as a way to paint a picture much like the ones found in many of today's horror films. The word "gnashing" puts a fierceness into the passage, letting it be known that this is no calm evening about town but a daunting, unwanted venture.