Questions on Ben Franklin Task 1 1. Read the first excerpt from The Autobiography in the textbook and answer 1) What are the ideas conveyed by each of the three paragraphs? 2) What do they reveal altogether as to Franklin’s belief and secret to success?
2. Read the second excerpt from The Autobiography in the textbook and answer 1) What are the ideas conveyed by each of the five paragraphs? 2) What do they reveal altogether as to Franklin’s belief and secret to success?
3. Extending : Read the following excerpt from The Autobiography
• “ Then I walked up the street, gazing about till near the market-house I met a boy with bread. I had made many a meal on bread, and, inquiring where he got it, I went immediately to the baker’s he directed me to, in Second Street, and asked for biscuit, intending such as we had in Boston; but they, it seems, were not made in Philadelphia. Then I asked for a three-penny loaf, and was told they had none such. So not considering or knowing the difference of money, and the greater cheapness nor the names of his bread, I made him give me three-penny worth of any sort. He gave me, accordingly, three great puffy (膨胀的) rolls. I was surpriz’d at the quantity, but took it, and, having no room in my pockets, walk’d off with a roll under each arm, and eating the other. Thus I went up Market-street as far as Fourth-street, passing by the door of Mr. Read, my future wife’s father; when she, standing at the door, saw me, and thought I made, as I certainly did, a most awkward, ridiculous appearance.
• Then I turned and went down Chestnut-street and part of Walnut-street, eating my roll all the way, and, corning round, found myself again at Market-street wharf( 码头), near the boat I came in, to which I went for a draught (一口)of the river water; and, being filled with one of my rolls, gave the other two to a woman and her child that came down the river in the boat with us, and were waiting to go farther.
• Thus refreshed, I walked again up the street.”
• Questions: 1) What do you think is the background for this selected piece? 2) Comment on the stylistic features 3) Use some adjectives to describe Franklin’s character based on his behaviors in this little piece. 4) How can writing an autobiography contribute to self-knowledge? By way of example, explain what Ben Franklin the autobiographer comes to see about Ben Franklin the young man?
Task 2
1 1) Translate the following sayings from Poor Richard’s Almanac by Franklin
– “A little neglect may breed mischief:
• for want of a nail the shoe was lost;
• for want of a shoe the horse was lost;
• for want of a horse the rider was lost.
• For want of a rider the battle was lost.
• “Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise.”
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• “God helps those who help themselves.”
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• “Little strokes fell great oaks.”
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• “Three may keep a secret if two of them are dead.”
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• “Where there’s marriage without love, there will be love without marriage.”
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• “Never leave that till tomorrow which you can do today.”
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• “The sleeping fox catches no poultry.”
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• “There are no gains without pains.”
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• “He that lives upon hope will die fasting.”
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• Lost time is never found again.
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• A penny saved is a penny earned.
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• To err is human，to repent divine，to persist devilish．
• “Fish and visitors smell in three days.”
2) As a self-made man and cultural hero, Franklin set the keynote of American dream and has influenced generations of Americans. Can you 1) Find out what American dream is? 2) Name some great people in American history who are also successfully self-made? 3) Think about why American dream is more easily realized in America, but not in such European countries like Britain?
Questions on Thomas Jefferson:
Task 1 Study questions: Recalling 1) According to the first paragraph, what does “a decent respect to the opinions of mankind” require? 2) According to the second paragraph, what truths are self-evident? What is the purpose of government, and when should a government be replaced? 3) Moving from a theory of government to the situation in 1776, what does Jefferson claim King George’s “direct object” has been in the colonies? How does Jefferson set out to prove his claim? 4) What does Jefferson say the Americans have done “in every stage of these Oppressions”? To what does he say “our British brethren” have been deaf? 5) What does the final paragraph “publish and declare”?
3 Interpreting 6) Why does including Jefferson’s bill of particulars make the Declaration more effective? 7) How is the faith in reason characteristic of the eighteenth century reflected in the opening paragraph? In Jefferson’s remarks about Prudence in the second paragraph? In the description of the colonists’ peaceful attempts to redress their grievances?
Extending 8) In the final sentence of the Declaration, the signers pledge their “Fortunes,” or fate. What do you think their fate would have been if Britain had been the victor in the Revolution? 9) The historian Garry Wills explains the following about the Declaration of Independence: When Jefferson spoke of pursuing happiness, he had nothing vague or private in mind. He meant a public happiness which is measurable, which is, indeed, the test and justification of any government. — Inventing America: Jefferson’s Declaration of Independence List three statements from the Declaration that suggest what Jefferson’s idea of “public happiness” was.
Vocabulary Loaded words A loaded word has a particularly strong set of associations for the reader. Such a word arouses strong feelings and appeals to the emotions. A writer often deliberately uses loaded words to move people to action by appealing to their feelings, to their fears and prejudices, or to their hopes and illusions. Jefferson uses very strong, loaded nouns when describing the behavior of King George. For example, he writes about usurpations, despotism, and tyranny. Jefferson also selects verbs with very negative associations. He says, for example, that King George “has refused” and “has endeavored to prevent.” Find five more verbs that describe the king’s actions in such a way as to rouse Jefferson’s audience to anger.
Task 2
1) Showing the class what methods of persuasion Jefferson adopts in “The Declaration of Independence” First, learn the following methods of persuasion: Methods of Persuasion Concrete examples. Good persuasion supports general statements with facts, quotations, and other examples to convince the audience that the general statements are true. Vivid language. Vivid language and images appeal to the audience’s emotions and make persuasive writing powerful. Exaggeration. Persuasive writers often exaggerate in order to rouse the emotions of their audiences. Repetition. By repeating words and ideas, the persuasive writer emphasizes their importance and lodges them even more firmly in the minds of the audience.
4 Parallelism. Parallelism is the repeating of phrases or sentences so that the repeated parts are alike in structure or in meaning. By using balanced sentences with parallel structures, a persuasive writer creates a rhythm that reinforces the message. Parallel structures add a feeling of completeness and sureness of thought to what the writer has to say.
Please compose or find a short speech, a radio or television commercial, or a newspaper editorial intended to persuade someone to take action on something. You may want to analyze a few examples from recent media before writing your own Try to include concrete examples, vivid language, exaggeration, repetition and parallel structure to make your argument more persuasive
2) Composition- Citing evidence Writing a brief composition in which you give three reasons why you think the Declaration of Independence is a successful political statement. Is it its clarity, its reasonableness, its passion, its rhetoric? State your opinion, and then cite specific examples to support it.
Questions on Philip Freneau’s poems
Task 1: 1) What do the three poems show Philip Freneau as a poet? Please comment on his concerns and beliefs.
2) Please find out some romantic elements in the selected poems by Freneau.
3) Among the three poems by Freneau, which one do you like the best? Why?
Task 2:
Please paraphrase “The Indian Burying Ground” in fluent Chinese. ” (诗歌意译)
Prepare for a recitation of “To a Caty-did”
Questions on Washington Irving’s works
Task 1 Recalling 1. How did Tarry Town get its name? How did Sleepy Hollow get its name? 2. What mood does the setting of this story create? 3. Who do the villagers believe the headless horseman is? How did he lose his head? 4. What do the villagers think he is doing out at night? Why is he said to be in such a
5 hurry? 5. What is Ichabod Crane’s job? What other job did he do to earn a little more money? 6. Where does Ichabod Crane live? Why does he need to be able to have all of his belongings in a small bundle? 7. What are two things that Ichabod would do to make himself useful to the farmers? How does he help the wives? 8. Why do the women in the countryside think he is an important person? How do the mothers treat him as a result? How do the younger girls respond to him? 9. What subject does Ichabod like to read about? What has increased his interest in this? subject? 10. What would happen to Ichabod when he would walk home at night after spending the afternoon reading? How would he handle that? 11. What are the two main things that Katrina Van Tassel is known for? What different things does she wear that demonstrate each of these? 12. The author, Washington Irving says, “When he entered the house, the conquest of his heart was complete.” What does the rest of that paragraph on page 18 tell us about why Ichabod liked Katrina? 13. What two things make it difficult for Ichabod to fulfill his goal of marrying Katrina? 14. Why would it have been crazy for Ichabod to be open about his feelings for Katrina? What gives Ichabod an excuse to visit Katrina at her house? 15. What approach does Brom Bones (Brom Van Brunt) want to take when he discovers Ichabod is interested in Katrina? Why can’t he do that? 16. What are two things Brom Bones does to get back at Ichabod for trying to steal Katrina? 17. Ichabod takes great care in his appearance as he gets ready for the party at Baltus Van Tassel’s. What is funny about the horse he is riding as he starts off like a “knight in quest of adventures”? 18. How is Brom Bone’s horse, Daredevil, similar to him in its appearance and actions? 19. What explanation is given for why there are more ghost stories in a long-settled village? 20. What story is told about Brouwer’s encounter with the headless horseman? 21. What story does Brom Bones tell about his encounter with the headless horseman? 22. What mood is Ichabod in when he leaves Katrina’s house that night? What evidence is there of his mood? What speculation does the author make as to what happened? 23. What logical explanation is there for three of the things Ichabod sees or hears when he is near the old, large tree? 24. What happens when Ichabod tries to get across the bridge? 25. When Ichabod sees something huge and black by the brook, why doesn’t he turn and run away? What two things does he do instead? 26. What happens when Ichabod slows down or speeds up in an attempt to get away from the dark horse and its rider? What does Ichabod see that makes him so terrified that he sends his horse into full flight? 27. Instead of following the road to Sleepy Hollow, where does Gunpowder go? What makes it even harder for Ichabod to hold onto his run-away horse?
6 28. What four traces of the chase do the searchers find the next day? 29. When news of Ichabod is reported years later, what do we learn about why he left? 30. What makes it seem that Brom Bones knew something about what happened that night? 31. What did the people of the town believe about what happened that night?
Extending 1. Read the PPT on Romanticism and answer the following questions 1) What characteristics of Romanticism can you detect in Irving’s “The Author’s Account of Himself”? 2) What elements of Romanticism can you discover in “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow”? Please support your answers with examples
2. Read “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow”, and Watch the movie version of the story. 1) Find at least three differences between the two 2) Make a comparative comment on the two from such aspects as plotting, characterization, mood and atmosphere. 3) Which one do you like better? Why?
Task 2 • Please dub or dramatize part of “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” in any of the three ways:
– Faithfully represented
– Partially adapted
– Totally recreated
– Dubbing
Questions on Cooper’s The Last of the Mohicans
Task 1
1) About the uniqueness of the novel Cooper is considered the first successful American novelist, and The Last of the Mohicans is often read as the first truly American novel. What is American about it?
2) Your own reflections
7 What do you like and dislike about The Last of the Mohicans? You may comment on the language style, characterization, plotting, or anything else.
3) About the historical background of the novel The Last of the Mohicans is often seen as a tribute to the doomed cultures of Native Americans. Research the history of Native American clearances in the eighteenth century. How historically accurate is Cooper's depiction?
Task 2 Please dub or dramatize any part of The Last of the Mohicans in one of the three ways: Faithfully represented Partially adapted Totally recreated
Questions on Bryant’s poems: Task 1 Study Questions Recalling 1) According to lines 1-8, to whom does nature speak? To what two different human moods does nature respond? 2) What do lines 14-17 recommend to those who “grow sick at heart” when they think of death? 3) According to lines 22-30, what will happen to all people? What two points should people remember, according to lines 31-33? 4) What do lines 61-66 tell the readers will happen after their own deaths? 5) What simile does Bryant use in the last two lines to suggest the way the reader should “approach thy grave”?
Interpreting 6) What lesson about death does the poet expect us to learn from closely observing nature? What is the overall relationship between human beings and nature, according to the poet? 7) What comforting observation about human experience does the poet make repeatedly throughout the poem (lines 31-32, 48-50, 60-61, 64-66, 70-72, and 75-76)? 8) With what emotion does Bryant suggest people face death? 9) In what way does the subject matter of the poem reflect the Romantic interest in the self or the individual?
Vocabulary Antonyms are words that have opposite or nearly opposite meanings. The following words in capitals are from “Thanatopsis.” Choose the word that is an antonym of each word in capitals, as the word is used in this selection.
8 10) Blight: (a) disease (b) light (c) health (d) darkness 11) Vales: (a) dreams (b) hills (c) valleys (d) laughter 12) Pall: (a) boredom (b) paleness (c) brightness (d) shroud 13) Insensible: (a) aware (b) stupid (c) mighty (d) unconscious 14) Hoary: (a) elderly (b) white (c) frosted (d) youthful
Extending 15) Poets often use the image of the seasons of human life. Tell in your own words what this expression means. How does the image of human seasons reflect the central idea of Bryant’s poem?
Viewpoint In his biography of Bryant, critic Charles H. Brown writes: To him, as he said in his lectures on poetry, “the great spring of poetry is emotion.” . . . Nevertheless, Bryant’s practice in composition was not to warble as a bird does, for he held that poetry not only appeals to “the passions and the imagination” but also to the understanding. — William Cullen Bryant Find at least two passages in “Thanatopsis” that show how Bryant blends emotions and ideas. First find a controlled and thoughtful presentation of a feeling; then find an emotional presentation of an idea.
Task 2 Composition — Writing about theme Write a composition about the theme of “Thanatopsis.” Begin by stating the theme. Then discuss lines 1-17 and 66-81, which Bryant added during a revision. Tell what those lines add to the poem’s theme. Show how Bryant illuminates his theme through setting, through the specific events that he discusses, and through the kinds of people he refers to.
Writing about Nature Like Bryant, many artists have heard the “voice” of nature. Find a paragraph describing one natural phenomenon — for example, the seasons, a storm, plants, or animals — and tell what you think the “voice” of nature seems to be saying about life itself.
Questions on Poe’s “The Fall of the House of Usher” Task 1 Study Questions Recalling 1) What adjective does the narrator first use to describe the house of Usher? According to the third paragraph, what do the peasants mean when they say “House of Usher”? 2) Upon meeting the narrator, what does Roderick say about the nature of his “malady”? To what
9 terror is he a “slave”? What does he admit is the natural cause of his gloomy condition? 3) What three things does the narrator do in an attempt to alleviate Roderick’s melancholy (page 140)? What does the narrator understand for the first time when he hears Roderick perform “The Haunted Palace”? 4) What does the narrator notice while turning aside the lid of Madeline’s coffin? What does Roderick explain? 5) What “observable change” comes over Roderick after the entombment of Madeline? What does his condition do to the narrator? 6) What interruptions occur when the narrator reads passages from “Mad Trist” to Roderick? What does Roderick reveal about Madeline’s entombment? 7) What does the narrator see when the doors open “their ponderous and ebony jaws”? what happens to Roderick? 8) What happens to the house in the last paragraph?
Interpreting 9) What does Roderick’s condition when the narrator arrives reveal about his relationship with his sister? Why is it significant that they are twins? 10) Why might Roderick have put Madeline in the tomb while she was alive? What other mysteries or supernatural elements does the story contain? 11) Name at least three character traits the narrator reveals about Roderick, either directly or indirectly. Does the narrator really understand his friend? How do you know? 12) Try to explain Roderick’s deterioration. What in hi sown behavior might be the cause of his destruction? 13) What is the dual meaning of the story’s title? Why is it significant that the Usher family has no “collateral issue” (paragraph 3)? 14) The English Romantic writer, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, said that we experience a “willing suspension of disbelief” when we read literature. In other words, we ignore our doubts about the possibility of events happening and willingly accept what the author tells us. Did you suspend your disbelief as you read “The Fall of the House of Usher”? Do you think the suspension of disbelief is necessary for the full enjoyment of a work of fiction? Why or why not?
Viewpoint An expert on Poe, Arthur Hobson Quinn, writes of this story: One of the most common errors in Poe criticism lies in the assumption of the absence of heart in his characters. But the narrator has come a long distance simply because the appeal of Roderick Usher has clutched at his friendship through that quality — “It was the apparent heart that went with his request.” — Edgar Allan Poe 15) Do you agree that the narrator and Roderick are believable characters with genuine, heartfelt emotions? Or do you find the characters artificial and mechanical? Support your opinion with details from the story itself.
Extending
10 Literary focus — Setting: atmosphere and mood In “The Fall of the House of Usher” the setting — the time and place in which the events occur — is as important as the characters themselves. It would be impossible, for example, to imagine the Ushers living anywhere else than in their ancient house near the black tarn. If they did, they would not be the same people we find in this story. As characters, they not only contribute to the setting, but they are created in part by the setting. In what country is the story set? It is certainly not America, for in Poe’s time the United States was not old enough to have produced this ancient family and crumbling mansion. Where is the House of Usher? Nowhere, except within the pages of the story itself. Yet the setting seems “real,” with highly specific details about the rooms and the furnishings. The setting is a combination of reality and unreality that contributes to the unearthly effect of the story. Notice, too, how Poe uses the setting to control the atmosphere, or mood — the general feelings — of the story by surrounding almost every object with adjectives piled upon adjectives: dull, dark, dreary, bleak, decayed, pestilent, leaden-hued. Each adjective has a separate meaning, of course, but more important is the way they merge, building an atmosphere of gloom and unreality. That atmosphere conveys not only the physical appearance of the house, but the Ushers’ mental and spiritual conditions as well. Thinking about setting 16) Choose a passage in the story — the description of Usher’s studio, for example — and point out the adjectives that create the atmosphere and mood.
Vocabulary Recognizing shades of meaning Though several adjectives can combine to create a single effect, it is equally important to be aware of the shades of meanings of individual adjectives. Dull and bleak, for example, do not mean exactly the same thing. Dull suggests a quality of light; bleak suggests a wider picture of emptiness and hopelessness. Use your dictionary to define the following words from “The Fall of the House of Usher,” paying special attention to the differences in meaning among the words in each group: 17) Group 1: decayed, morbid, pestilent 18) Group 2: pallid, ghastly, insipid 19) Group 3: dreary, somber, grim
Task 2: Composition: writing about the total effect 20) Describe the total effect of “The Fall of the House of Usher.” How does Poe use the following literary elements to achieve this effect: (1) the setting, (2) the characters, (3) the plot, and (4) the theme of the story?
Questions on Poe’s poems Task 1 Study Questions on “To Helen” Recalling
11 1) To what does the poet compare Helen’s beauty in the first stanza? Who is brought “to his own native shore”? 2) What images describe Helen in the second stanza? Who is brought home in this stanza? To what is he brought home? 3) What is Helen doing in the third stanza? With whom is she associated in line 14? From where does she come? Interpreting 4) State in your own words the condition the speaker was in before encountering Helen. 5) Considering the places to which Helen brings the speaker and the place from which she comes, name the three kinds of joys or comforts she seems to provide. What might the agate lamp represent? What has Helen done for the speaker to explain why he calls her Psyche? 6) In what way is this poem idealistic? Which of the other characteristics of Romanticism (listed in the Introduction to this unit) does this poem display?
Study Questions on “The Raven” Recalling 7) In stanzas 1-3 what is the speaker doing when he first hears the tapping? What does he seek “to borrow”? What does he say “to still the beating” of his heart? 8) In stanzas 4-5 what does the speaker see when he opens the door? What does he whisper? 9) What does the speaker hope is making the tapping noise in stanza 6? What happens when he opens the shutter? 10) What is the only word the raven speaks? In stanza 9 to what does the speaker think the word relates? How does he explain the word when the raven first repeats it (lines 62-66)? 11) About what does the speaker begin to think when he wheels his chair in front of the raven (lines 69-72)? 12) What question does the speaker ask in lines 88-90? In lines 93-95? What does the raven reply? What does it say when ordered to leave? 13) Where is the raven now? What will never be lifted from the raven’s shadow?
Interpreting 14) Does the speaker believe the words he says in lines 16-18 and line 36? How do you know? 15) Who is “she” in line 78? Who is the “wretch” in line 81? Trace the speaker’s thoughts in lines 78-83. 16) What does the speaker interpret “nevermore” in line 84 and in line 96 to mean? What do you know about the raven’s answers that the speaker does not realize? 17) What does the raven come to represent for the speaker? What does “Plutonian shore” (line 98) suggest about the speaker’s final evaluation of the raven? Of himself? 18) Evaluate the speaker’s emotional state at the beginning of the poem, in the next-to-the-last stanza, and in the last stanza. What does the future probably hold for the speaker? 19) Describe the mood of the poem. Which expressions in stanzas 1-2 help establish the mood? Extending 20) Poe felt the death of a beautiful woman was “the most poetical topic in the world.” What do you think makes a topic “poetical”? Name at least three topics you find poetical, and tell why they are suitable for poetry?
12 Literary focus Poe and the single effect In a review of Twice-Told Tales by his contemporary, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Poe asserted that a work of literature must arrange all of its elements so that they combine to achieve a single effect. In fact, Poe believed that a poet or a short story writer must begin with an idea of a single effect and then create the characters and incidents to produce that effect. He said, “in the whole composition there should be no word written, of which the tendency, direct or indirect, is not to the one preestablished design.” He added, “If [an author’s] very initial sentence tend not to the outbringing of this [single] effect, then he has failed in his first step.” Poe believed, in other words, that one clear, powerfully felt emotion should carry the reader through the work. Of course, literature may display many different emotions, but Poe believed they must all ultimately combine into one overwhelming feeling for the reader.
Thinking about single effect 21) What is the single effect of “The Raven”? 22) Discuss the first sentence of “The Raven,” pointing out how each element of it contributes to the single effect.
Sound devices Poe’s use of sound devices in poetry is as important as his subject matter. The particular music of his verses creates mood, reveals character, and conveys ideas, in addition to providing that pleasure in sound that only poetry can provide. Most sound devices are kinds of repetition. Alliteration, for example, is the repetition of consonant sounds at the beginnings of words and of sounds within words. Poe uses alliteration to create an almost hypnotic effect in phrases like “weak and weary” and “silken, sad, uncertain rustling.” (Consonance is the repetition in nearby words of similar consonant sounds preceded by different accented vowels.) Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds, and Poe uses assonance mainly to create mood. The most conspicuous example in “The Raven” is the open “o” sound, with its deep mournful effect: “sorrow-sorrow for the lost Lenore.” Poe uses the assonance of the o sound as the basis for the poem’s most common rhyme. Rhyme is a kind of repetition, and it also can be sued to create mood. Notice, for example, how many times the poet rhymes that long moaning sound: “nevermore,” “door,” “Lenore,” “implore,” “yore,” “bore,” and so on. Rhyme can reinforce meaning; the poet emphasizes the absence of his beloved when he rhymes Lenore with nevermore. Internal rhyme is rhyme that occurs within a single line: Ah, distinctly I remember it was in the bleak December. Poe uses internal rhyme as another kind of repeated sound, like alliteration or assonace, for hypnotic effect, for mood, and simply for the pleasure of the repetition itself. Poe also employs onomatopoeia, the use of words with sounds that suggest their meanings. For example, the words tapping and rapping, in addition to meaning “knocking,” actually suggest the sound of someone or something knocking at the door.
13 Poe repeats the words in the first stanza, just as a knock at the door is repeated.
Thinking about sound devices 23) Find at least two more examples in “The Raven” of alliteration, assonance, internal rhyme, and onomatopoeia. Tell how Poe’s use of each of these sound devices contributes to the meaning or the mood of the poem.
Questions on Emerson Task 1 Study Questions On Nature Recalling 1. According to paragraph 1, what does Emerson say would happen if the stars appeared one night in a thousand years? 2. According to paragraph 2, why does Emerson believe the stars awaken a reverence in people? When do natural objects make a similar impression of reverence? 3. According to paragraph 4, how does Emerson describe the lover of nature? 4. Summarize the first sentence of paragraph 5. Be sure to use your own words in the summary. Interpreting 5. Near the end of paragraph 4, what does Emerson mean when he describes himself as “a transparent eyeball” when in the woods? How does this state of mind affect his relationship with God? 6. Where does Emerson believe the power for a true relationship between man and God comes from, according to paragraph 6? Extending 7. what do you think is the difference between the kind of meaning Emerson finds in nature and the meaning a botanist, a geographer, or an astrophysicist finds in nature?
On “Self-reliance” Recalling 1. According to paragraph 2, to what “iron string” does every heart vibrate? 2. According to paragraph 10, what is “the hobgoblin of little minds”? What does the paragraph say about Pythagoras, Socrates, and Jesus? Interpreting 3. Explain two lessons that great figures of the past teach us about the concept of self-reliance. 4. Explain two lessons that nature teaches about self-reliance. 5. In your opinion does Emerson express optimism or pessimism about human nature and human potential? What seems to be the basis of his belief? Support your answer to this question with specific references to the essay. Extending 6. explain to what extent the concept of self-reliance can be considered a fundamental American idea. Support your answer with references to works that you have read in this book as well as to other aspects of American life and history.
14 Task 2: Find at least three examples of figurative language in “Self-reliance.” Tell why each image is appropriate to the idea it makes concrete.
Questions on Thoreau Task 1 1. Read closely the last paragraph on Page 186, list at least five reasons that Thoreau gives for going to live in the woods. 2. According to the second paragraph on Page 187, by what is life “frittered away”? What does the exclamation in this paragraph call for?
Extending: What are some of the things that surround us in China today about which Thoreau might cry, “Simplify, simplify”?
Task 2 Write a composition discussing the purpose of Walden. Cite techniques Thoreau uses to accomplish the purpose. Discuss sensory details, facts, statistics, examples and opinions.
Questions on Hawthorne Task 1 1. Write a plot summary for the excerpt “Hester at Her Needle” collected in our textbook. 2. Please describe the character Hester based on the details presented in this selection. Extending: 1. Do you think Hester is a sinner? Why or why not? What would her life be if she were a contemporary woman? 2. What are the symbolic significances of “the scarlet letter” in this novel?
Task 2 1. Choose a person, place, thing, or event to serve as a symbol. Then write a short composition or a story, (if you wish) describing how that symbol can mean different things to different people at different times. For example, a cane: to a boy it may symbolize his father’s authority; to the father it may symbolize old age; to the mother it may symbolize elegance. Remember that the best symbols are not only universal but also a natural part of the lives of people.
2. Please dramatize or dub a part of The Scarlet Letter in any of the three ways: Faithfully represented Partially adapted
15 Totally recreated
Questions on Melville Task 1 1. Write a plot summary for the selection of Moby-Dick in our textbook. 2. One element of Moby-Dick that contributes to its success as a work of art is its extraordinary diction. Diction is word choice: It is the use of exactly the right word to fit the character, the meaning, and the tone the writer is trying to achieve. Find three examples in the selection from Moby-Dick in which diction tells something about a character.
Extending: 1. What are the symbolic meanings of Moby-Dick, the whale? 2. Why do you think the ocean and its creatures have so often provided writers with material for serious thoughts about time, evil, life and death?
Task 2 1. Write a short composition about any literary character, either in Moby-Dick or in any other literary works we have learned this semester. Organize your composition by first telling what we learn about the character directly from the author. Then tell what we learn indirectly from what the character and other characters say and do. Conclude with a general statement about the character. 2. Please dramatize or dub a part of Moby-Dick in any of the three ways: Faithfully represented Partially adapted Totally recreated
16 17