I believe the theme/message of "Ascension in the Moonlight" is to cherish the small details of a journey. The little things make all the difference in making a trip more memorable. Winchester wrote, "And it was in that instant I realized something: that in this astonishing grand conjunction- of new friendship, of tropical warmth, of strawberries and cream and cool white wine, of white sand and sea swimming, and of Brazilian turtles, an eclipse of the moon and the rising of a comet- was perhaps the greatest wealth of experience that any one individual could ever know in the moment" (270). He is recalling the little details and found them to be what made his trip amazing.

I liked the similes and imagery that Winchester used in his essay. They made the essay easier and more pleasurable to read. For example, Winchester wrote, "...until there were maybe fifteen of them, moving slowly and almost painfully up the sloping sand, like wounded soldiers of an invasion force" (268) when referencing the sea turtles.

-Rachael Adkins