Show and Tell

Here are three quotations from John Updike's novel THE CENTAUR, to illustrate showing versus telling. (The longer, "showing" quotes are all from Updike; the shorter, "telling" lines are my translations.)

"I remember I was propped up on two pillows in my parents' great double bed. The wallpaper and bedposts and picture books on my covers beside me all wore that benevolent passive flatness that comes with enough fever; no matter how I wiped and swallowed, my mouth stayed dry and my eyes stayed m...