“Travels with a Donkey in the Cevennes” was written by Robert Louis Stevenson in the 1800s. It is about his (and his accomplice Modestine’s) journey to somewhere a mile south of Bouchet St. Nicolas, France.
The Location
The passage’s setting occurs at dusk in a wilderness in France dotted with hills along a stony path. Here, a mother and her adult child pass by Robert, ignoring his plea for directions. In the next location, Robert and Modestine are standing on a plateau overlooking Mount Mézenc and the peaks beyond St. Julien in the east. The hills are so close together that with the angle of the sun, it looks like a massive brush of black paint. The dark shadows of sugar loaf mountains loom over the hilly terrain; a white square can be seen below a cultivated farm. Blots and splotches in the terrain were where the Laussonne, Loire, or Gazelle rivers wandered into a gorge. The final location is the front of the village of Bouchet St. Nicolas. The high road seemed to smoke in the twilight; children rounded up their cattle for the night, and women ran home from the market and church.
Tone
The tone of the passage is very informative. I think this is because Robert makes such an effort to describe every detail, even the time: “And after a sharp ascent of twenty minutes, he reached the edge of a plateau.” Every aspect of his journey flowers from one point in time to the next. It reminds me of The Lord of the Rings a bit; it’s long because there are no time skips at all.
Sense of place
The passage gives a strong sense of place because it is told in the first-person. All the scenes in the passage are being described through Robert’s eyes. His journey is well described in the passage, so that you can envision the same scenes.
Characters
Robert Louis Stevenson is the narrator and the writer of this passage. He is patient usually but will do extreme things when angry. He describes scenes well and is quite the writer. The rude mother-son duo were the first new characters in the passage. They seem to want nothing to do with Robert and are only helpful when threatened. Modestine is a character that we never get much information about either from that she travels with Robert. The final character is the random child at the village of Bouchet St. Nicolas. We don’t get much of his personality because of his short appearance, unfortunately.
About the Author
Luis Joaquin Arbon is an 8th grade student, and he has been homeschooled since 2019. He is enrolled in Ben Button Online Tutorial Services (BUBOTS) from January 2022 to improve his writing skills.
He loves to read and especially enjoyed the Horrible Histories books and The Hobbit. He also likes to play board games (popular and DIY) with his sisters. His favorite is Clue.