Why Leaves Turn Color in the Fall

" Why Leaves Turn Color in the Fall" by Diane Ackerman(1990), informs us of the reasons behind the brightly colored process of change that occurs in leaves during the season best known as Fall. It was important to note that the author created a colorful setting earlier on in the narrative by employing every descriptive words she could conjure up, like ' red-winged blackbird ', or a ' goldfinch perching 'producing a great scene. This sets the story up nicely. Several reasons were given for this slow and colorful dying of the leaves. The starving of the leaves by the tree and the redistributing of nutrients to other parts of the tree as the main reason. She also points out the unique change in the leaves because of not producing chlorophyll and the presence of a pigment that is responsible for the bright colors of the leaves.

I got a strong sense of purpose from the author's view point that every thing in life has its own reason for happening. Researching the reasoning behind the causes and effect of what goes on around us will definately give us a better understanding of the beauty of dying, as in this case the dying of the leaves. This point of view was evident in the first four paragarphs of the narative. I felt like a new world of information was now opened to me or any reader because of Ackerman's story. I also felt that it was her intention for the reader to connect other notable stories in the bible when she made reference to Adam and Eve in the garden dressed with leaves. " Leaves have always hidden our awkward secrets", the author stated profoundly to provoke the reader I thought, to want to read more of this narrative.

I was impressed with her careful mixture of poetry and science in presenting a story that had color and contrast which probably was intended for the wider audience and not any specific group. She wrote of children liking to play in falling leaves and pilots doing a maneuver called a "falling leaf" to give us a picture of how wide her topic was and points of interest that covers just about everyone. Anyone who has experienced this happening, the dying leaves,the fading green, slowly drying and finally falling off will see Ackerman's analogy of the leaves to life itself and the unchanging cycle of those things that fall away and cease to exist.