Carrying upward
The author vividly describes Hans’ trip to the sanatorium: “This being carried upward into regions where he had never before drawn breath, and where he knew that unusual living conditions prevailed, such as could only be described as sparse or scanty—it began to work upon him, to fill him with a certain concern… He wished he were at the end of his journey; for once there he could begin to live as he would anywhere else, and not be reminded by this continual climbing of the incongruous situation he found himself in.” This imagery helps the reader to imagine Hans’ rapid changes in living conditions. The reader seems to feel that Hans’ life will be completely different there, at the height of the mountains.
Davos
Davos, the village, near which the sanatorium was, is shown very brightly. The author describes the view, which Hans saw, in colorful details, shows the character’s feelings influenced by this view: “ Before them rose a low, projecting, meadow-like plateau, on which, facing south-west, stood a long building, with a cupola and so many balconies that from a distance it looked porous, like a sponge. In this building lights were beginning to show. It was rapidly growing dusk. The faint rose color that had briefly enlivened the overcast heavens was faded now, and there reigned the colorless, soulless, melancholy transition-period that comes just before the onset of night … Behind them, where the valley narrowed to its entrance, the more distant ranges showed a cold, slaty blue. A wind had sprung up, and made perceptible the chill of evening. ” The landscape helps the reader to imagine the general mood of the place where further events will be developing.
Dining hall
When Hans describes the dinning hall during his 1 st lunch in the sanatorium, he dos it with so many details that it seems to be weird, how he has noticed all of them: “ The hall was done in that modern style which knows how to give just the right touch of individuality to something in reality very simple. It was rather shallow in proportion to its length, and opened in great arched bays into a sort of lobby surrounding it, in which serving-tables were placed. The pillars were faced halfway up with wood finished to look like sandalwood, the upper part white-enameled, like the ceiling and upper half of the walls. They were stenciled in gay-colored bands of simple and lively designs which were repeated on the girders of the vaulted ceiling. The room was further enlivened by several electric chandeliers in bright brass, consisting of three rings placed horizontally one over the other and held together by delicate woven work, the lowest ring set with globes of milky glass like little moons …” As many events take place right in this place, Hans’ description helps the reader to feel the atmosphere of that place, thus – to understand better different moments of the plot.
