So my freshman comp class is talking about what sort of opening line makes us want to keep reading and a student offers the following from Dan Brown: "Physicist Leonard Vetra smelled burning flesh, and he knew it was his own."
"Gross," they say, but we agree that the line arouses curiosity and appeals to the senses. "It creates a visceral reaction," I said, but then I pause. Does "visceral" mean anything to these first-year college students?
So I ask, and it turns out that "visceral" is peripheral to my students' experience. But it's not every day that I get to use words like "guts" and "entrails" in a writing class, so I guess I ought to enjoy it while I can.
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