What you called the"birds-eye view" might also be called an establishing shot Not by Twain, though. On Aug 25, 2016 1:27 AM, "Joe Alvarez" <[log in to unmask]> wrote: How about "zoom in"? That is what is happening in your description. Joe Alvarez 900 Havel Court Charlotte, NC 28211-4253 Telephone: 704.364.2844 FAX: 704.364.9348 Sent from my iPad > On Aug 24, 2016, at 8:33 PM, Wesley Britton <[log in to unmask]> wrote: >=20 >=20 >=20 > I have a question about one passage in Life on the Mississippi. I suspect i= t > will be very familiar to many of you. >=20 >=20 >=20 > It's the passage where we first get a birds-eye view of a place along the > river before Twain narrows his focus to one town, then one street, then on= e > house, then a sleeping man on a porch. >=20 >=20 >=20 > Back in grad school, a professor used a term to define this technique of > moving from the general to the specific, but I can't figure out now what > term he meant. >=20 >=20 >=20 > Any ideas? >=20 >=20 >=20 >=20 >=20 >=20 >=20 >=20 >=20 > Dr. Wesley Britton >=20 > Author, Beta-Earth Chronicles >=20 > www.drwesleybritton.com >=20 >=20