Whether and When to Use The Definite Article?

The problem of 'the' isever with us. The definite article, as opposed to the indefinite 'a' and 'an',tends to place a claim of specificity on the attached noun, rendering it aspecial item. So, 'an oak tree' is an entirely different proposition from 'theoak tree'. The former is just one member of the forest, without distinction andlacking the importance of that definite article. The latter, of course, iselevated into a position of superiority by its adjective, which identifies itas not just one of the crowd, but a particular tree. It may be that thisspecimen has some dubious history, perhaps once employed to suspend the bodies,if not the disbelief, of those who were hanged from one of its lower boughs. Or,it may bear the initials of passion-consumed lovers now long dead but in theirtime renowned for their displays of alfresco affection. Maybe it was thelocation chosen by furtive agents who secreted their folded and encryptedmessages within that famous knot hole only five feet from the ground and thusalmost brought the State to a state of collapse.
You get the drift.
The 'the' can, and oftendoes, convey an idea of importance on the subject it describes.But, what of thoseoccasions when writers use it to describe the ordinary? 'Jonathan walked thelength of the lake shore, skimming the flat stones over its surface.' Here wehave a sentence with three instances of 'the' in just 15 words: 20% of thesentence consists of the definite article! Can we improve it without alteringthe sense?
'Jonathan walked thelength of the lake shore, skimming flat stones over its surface.' Because, inthis case, the 'the' is immaterial with regard to the stones, we can exclude itwithout detriment to the sentence and, thereby, improve pace. The other two'the's, however, are necessary to the sentence in its current construction, as,without them, it wouldn't make sense.
'Jonathan skimmed stonesover the lake surface, as he walked its (entire) shore.' Reduced wordage,cutting the definite article to one example, but saying the same thing. Whetherit's a better sentence, I leave to your judgement.
Let's try another:
'The weary travellerwandered lost in the forest, surrounded by the trees; the leaves cutting outthe light of the sun and making the experience frightening.'
This is a terriblesentence. Oh, it says everything the writer intended. But the pace is poor andthere are far too many words, especially definite articles. Let's try toimprove it.
'The weary travellerwandered lost in the forest, surrounded by trees; leaves cutting out sunlightand making the experience frightening.'
Better: the pace is betterafter removal of the unnecessary definite articles, but the sentence stilllacks sparkle. It tells the reader what is happening, but fails to show it.
'Lost amongst endlesstrees, Aglydron trembled and longed for rest and an end to his difficult journey.'I'm not suggesting this isby any means perfect. But, I think you'll agree it's an improvement. We've lostthe subject's anonymity by naming him (he's a character from the epic fantasyI'm writing at present) and, in so doing, removed another 'the'. We've shownthe reader how he feels, instead of telling him, giving the whole a greater emotionaldepth. And we've reduced the original 26 word sentence to 17 words, therebyincreasing pace. The final sentence retains not a single definite article, butthe original contained no fewer than seven 'the's.
Okay, you're turn next.Here's an excruciating sentence for you to work on and improve. Let me haveyour suggestions, if you wish, along with your comments.
'The sexy woman walkedacross the sand of the beach, conscious of the eyes of the men following the progressshe made, as the bikini barely concealed the parts of the lovely body she movedquickly toward the sea, so the waves would hide the shyness she felt.'
Another silly questionfor you to ponder: Why, oh why, do we always press harder and harder on aremote control when we know the batteries are dying?