Taste the Rainbow

We were given the task to pick a picture that we found online and use that to inspire us to write a narrative story. After looking around for a while I found this picture. It immediately caught my attention. When I first started to analyze the picture I thought that it was very interesting, but confusing. I couldn’t wrap my hand around what was really going on. I saw the car coming up a hill. At the top of the hill it appeared as though a rainbow was starting or ending from the car. I thought that this could be a very interesting and intriguing storyline for the paper.

When I first started to draft this paper I had an idea of what I wanted to write about, but it was difficult for me. I struggled with coming us with an ending. I knew that somehow I wanted the picture to be something the characters saw, so I had to come up with a plot. I used descriptive writing to help enhance the imagery of the piece. One place where my descriptive writing is very strong is when I said, “I look up at the sky and there are no clouds in sight. I look towards the horizon and there it is. This majestic rainbow. It is perfect. The separate colors are so definite and exuberant.” I think that my strengths of this paper are the plot, storyline, and use of imagery. The reader can really connect with this piece and imagine this sight in their head.

Honestly when I was writing this paper I had no idea of where it was going. I knew that I wanted the main character to meet the people in the “rainbow car,” but I had no idea how they were going to explain why there was a rainbow coming out of it. Then, I had a thought. I knew that the slogan of skittles was “Taste the Rainbow.” With this I figured that this slogan can define the rainbow. Not only did this quote guide my paper, I think that it would work as a possible title. “Taste the Rainbow” is a slogan that catches people’s eye and is recognizable. It will encourage the reader to keep reading the rest of the paper.

After I distinguished that the Skittles were creating the rainbow, I had to think of a conclusion. I needed to decide how I wanted to wrap up my thoughts and end the story. This was difficult for me. I had absolutely no clue how I was going to wrap up this crazy, interesting story. I think I did a good job ending it. Concluding the story with a dream setting was very subtle. I don’ think that the reader would know that the whole thing is a dream until the end when I say, “My mom says, “Wake up, we are home.” I opened my eyes, so confused. What had just happened?  Was all of this a dream? I had to ask. I explained this whole story to my family and honestly had no clue what was real and not. I finished telling them the story of our fantastic family excursion. I looked at their faces and everyone just began to laugh.” I think that ending the narrative this way really allows the reader relate. I am sure that everyone has woke up after a long night sleep and questioned whether their dream was reality or fantasy. The story line is kind of ridiculous and the reader will be questioning if it is true or not, so having this ending will clear up the confusion.

One thing that I need to improve on in this paper is my structure. I think that the story line is well written, but most of the beginning is being narrated and the end is all dialogue. I need to find a way to blend them both. One place that this is really prominent is at the beginning when I said, “My whole family got into the car and we were off, heading back home. I did have a fun time hanging out with my family, but I’m not exactly a fan of sleeping on the hard, rock solid ground.” I just narrated this part, but at the end this is an example of where I used dialogue well, “We introduced ourselves to them and explained this incredible sight. I said, “There is this incredible image that we have been following. It appears to me that the rainbow is coming out of your car.”  In my revised draft I need to change this format and be sure that I incorporate both narration and dialogue throughout the whole narrative.

With narrative writing you have to develop a plot, setting, and characters. I think that my characters are fairly developed, but I need to add a little background information about the family. I think that with the picture and imagery I used throughout the paper that I quoted above allows the setting to be dominant. As I said I think that my story line is very cleaver and interesting. I am sure that people can relate to this story and will enjoy reading it.

 I would like feedback on my dialogue. I'm not sure if I need more or less dialogue and if the dialogue that I have makes sense. Also, I would like to know what you think about my ending. I think that it works well, but it is kind of cheesy. Finally, I would like feedback on whether people would think that it is intriguing and interesting.

It was one day in early April when I was driving home from a camping trip in the mountains. It was pouring rain the whole trip. I just wanted to get inside the safe car where it would be warm and dry. My whole family got into the car and we were off, heading back home. I did have a fun time hanging out with my family, but I’m not exactly a fan of sleeping on the hard, rock solid ground. I just kept thinking about my nice soft, warm bed. I couldn’t wait.

            We got into the car and were on our way. Of course as soon as we got into the car the rain stopped and the sun cam out. Don’t you just love how that always happens. We are now on our 5 hour drive in the mountains in nice sunny weather. As we are driving down the highway before we get to the expressway, I see the most magnificent sight. I look up at the sky and there are no clouds in sight. I look towards the horizon and there it is. This majestic rainbow. It is perfect. The separate colors are so definite and exuberant. I follow the rainbow with my eyes for a few minutes. I have always wondered how rainbows form and if everyone around is looking at this exact rainbow and seeing the same thing I see.  The rainbow is such a mysterious object. It seems so close, yet so far away. I wonder how far away it actually is.

            As we kept driving, I kept following this mysterious sight. I kept thinking about how in movies and stories there is always a pot of gold and a leprechaun at the end of a rainbow. How strange would that be if it was real? Is there really a start and end to a rainbow or does it just fade into other colors of the world? I look up and we keep getting closer and closer to the rainbow. This never happens. I always feel like when I see a rainbow it is moving further and further away. How can this be possible? Why am I getting closer to it?

Then all of a sudden when we drive up a hill through the mountains the sight was nothing I have ever seen before. The car coming the other way was the starting point of the rainbow. How is this possible? I was so intrigued, yet so confused and perplexed. It looked like the rainbow was coming out of the car. As soon as I saw this sight, I thought to my self, “is this really happening? This kind of thing only occurs in movies. There is no way this is real.” My dad who was driving immediately stopped the car to look at this sight. I wonder if the two men in the car know that this rainbow is “following” them. We had to turn around and follow them. I know that this sounds kind of creepy, but I wanted to see what was going to happen.

            We followed the car for 25 minutes until we passed a McDonald's when they finally stopped. We pulled into the parking spot right next to them. The rainbow was still following them. Two guys got out of the car. We introduced ourselves to them and explained this incredible sight. I said,

            “There is this incredible image that we have been following. It appears to me that the rainbow is coming out of your car.”

My little sister added, “Are you leprechauns?” The two guys just looked at each other and laughed. They told us to take a peak into their front seat cup holder and tell them what we saw. There it was, a red wrapped package. What could it be? Of course, they had a package of skittles that they had been eating. We looked back at the guys with our shocked looks upon our faces.

They just laughed and said, “Skittles! Taste the rainbow.”

I looked at my sister and laughed. I couldn’t believe what we had just discovered. How could this happen, it is too good to be true. So we hopped back into the car knowing that we had solved this mystery of where the end of the rainbow comes from.

            My mom says, “Wake up, we are home.”

I opened my eyes, so confused. What had just happened?  Was all of this a dream? I had to ask. I explained this whole story to my family and honestly had no clue what was real and not. I finished telling them the story of our fantastic family excursion. I looked at their faces and everyone just began to laugh.

My dad said, “This is the most ridiculous dream that I have ever heard. You must have been exhausted from camping because you slept the whole way home. This is quiet a journey for a 5 hour drive. Hahah. What an event, that is the funniest thing ever and I can’t believe that you actually thought that this dream could be real.”

I am so embarrassed. I can’t believe that I just admitted to my family that skittles make up the rainbow. What a dream.