When I am too sad and too skinny to keep
keeping, when I am a tiny thing against so
many bricks, then it is I look at
trees.
-- Sandra Cisneros, The House on Mango Street
http://www.google.com/imgres?q=tree+against+brick+wall&hl=en&biw=1366&bih=635&gbv=2&tbm=isch&tbnid=PGuCXXl0XWObIM:&imgrefurl=http://www.visualphotos.com/image/1x4535014/single_scrawny_tree_against_brick_wall&d
ocid=KN_yK1VF8vh8SM&itg=1&imgurl=http://www.visualphotos.com/photo/1x4535014/single_scrawny_tree_against_brick_wall_j27326172.jpg&w=499&h=354&ei=2uarT9cVzNCIAr3mzOsC&zoom=1&iact=rc&dur=0&sig=109585407005609205848&page=1&tbnh=137&tbnw=187&start=0&ndsp=18&ved=1t:429,r:4,s:0,i:82&tx=972&ty=245
Question #1: What kind of grammatical structure is repeated in this
sentence? What is the effect of this repetition?
Question #2: This is a periodic sentence, a sentence that delays the
subject and verb to the end. What idea is emphasized by the end-focus
in this sentence?
Application: Write a periodic sentence about getting a bad grade on a test.