Night Trucks Response

Kent Meyers' Night Trucks is a coming-of-age story, which is told through the author's experience of selling cattle. One of the admirable aspects of this piece is the author's intelligent writing style in descriptions.

Shadows of crooked branches slid over the wall above my bed, over the ceiling, over my sleeping brothers, over the model cars and airplanes we had built and placed on our shelves, over the chifforobe where we each had a drawer to store thing. (pg 124)

In this sentence, readers are not only given a description of the scene through the use of a shadow, but the repetition of the word 'over' also gives a moving image of a shadow elongating its reach. Aside from that, I think Meyers does a good job addressing conflicts and contrast in this piece, which creates a unity between reader and writer. 

There was always a feeling of loss in selling. At the same time we knew it was necessary, like so many other necessary things. (pg 126)

Not everyone knows how cattle selling is done, but feelings of excitement/sadness in giving away things that one has spent a considerable amount of time for other gains is a universal feeling when transitioning into adulthood. This relatable conflict, additionally, creates intimacy with readers as well.