Hi. Please help out

Question

Sitting on a chair by the window, staring blankly out at a big city glowing quietly in the night, is a man, 30s, looking disheveled.

- Does the sentence seem clumsy?

- Is "glowing" a natural choice here? Can it be used only to refer to light and not heat?

- Could I replace "staring blankly out at..." with "lost in the view of..." to mean the same?

CalifJim · Accepted Answer

anonymous- Does the sentence seem clumsy?

Yes. For one thing, you delay the appearance of the subject a bit too long. Splitting it into shorter sentences might also help.

anonymous- Is "glowing" a natural choice here? Can it be used only to refer to light and not heat?

It's natural enough. "glowing" describes an effect of light, yes. Not heat. Even in an expression like "the glowing [coals / embers] (of a fire)" it refers to the red light emitted by the coals or embers, not to the fact that they are still emitting heat.

anonymous- Could I replace "staring blankly out at..." with "lost in the view of..." to mean the same?

No. Those are not the same. "lost in the view of" makes it sound like he is somehow less noticeable because the light of the city hinders our ability to see him.

CJ

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