Hi again. This just intrigues the hell out of me. Truly tantalizing, because I seem to recall reading exactly the kind of passage you described. I tried to check out the Bedford Reader -- your possible source? -- but all I could find was that the 1985 edition seemed to include Twain's "Corn Pone Opinions" essay. Not what we're looking for, alas. *_________________________________* *Peter Salwen /* salwen.com *114 W 86, NYC 10024 | 917-620-5371* On Wed, Aug 24, 2016 at 8:33 PM, Wesley Britton <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > > > I have a question about one passage in Life on the Mississippi. I suspect > it > will be very familiar to many of you. > > > > 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 one > house, then a sleeping man on a porch. > > > > 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. > > > > Any ideas? > > > > > > > > > > Dr. Wesley Britton > > Author, Beta-Earth Chronicles > > www.drwesleybritton.com > > >