Signatures 8

unit Signatures 8

author’s style and voice

• In 19th-Century Writing • In 20th-Century Writing

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VA_L10PE-u08_uo.indd 847 3/29/11 10:47:23 AM unit Share What You Know

8 Who’s got STYLE?

People in the public eye often cultivate an image that sets them apart from others. Some do it with the way they dress, others through the way they speak or act, and some with what they design or create. You recognize these people or their work by their style—that special blend of appearance, expression, and attitude that makes each person unique. ACTIVITY Choose an individual whose personal or professional style you admire. This person could be someone you know, or a public figure such as a performer, a politician, or a businessperson. Draw a sketch or create a collage or illustration like the one shown to represent the elements of that person’s style.

Find It Online! Go to thinkcentral.com for the interactive version of this unit.

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VA_L10PE-u08_uo.indd 848 3/29/11 10:47:08 AM Virginia Standards of Learning

Preview Unit Goals

text • Identify elements of style, including diction, tone, analysis and imagery • Recognize style of specific authors, including Poe, Whitman, Frost, and Cisneros

reading • Make inferences about speaker • Identify author’s purpose • Paraphrase; distinguish between a summary and a critique

writing and • Write an online feature article language • Incorporate quotations • Incorporate links to external sources • Use a variety of phrases

vocabulary • Determine or clarify the precise meaning of foreign words used in English • Use a dictionary to determine or clarify a word’s etymology

academic • clarify • style vocabulary • feature • transmit • precise

media • Update on online feature article literacy

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VA_L10PE-u08_uo.indd 849 3/29/11 10:46:45 AM unit 8 Text Author’s Style and Voice Analysis Jane Austen, Edgar Allan Poe, and Maya Angelou—why do works by authors such Workshop as these continue to captivate generations of readers? Not only have these authors crafted compelling stories reflecting the societies in which they lived, but they have expressed themselves in such individual, memorable ways. Austen’s witty observa- tions of society, Poe’s dark tales of terror, and Angelou’s deeply personal anecdotes all leave lasting impressions largely because of each author’s distinctive style. Virginia Standards of Learning Included in this workshop: Part 1: Style in Literature 10.4 The student will read, comprehend, and analyze literary texts of different Style refers to the way a work of literature is written—not what is said, but cultures and eras. 10.4d Analyze the cultural or social function of how it is said. The “how” depends on many elements, including a writer’s tone, literature. 10.4g Explain the influence sentence structures, and language. In the first example shown, notice how of historical context on the form, style, and point of view of a literary Ernest Hemingway’s direct, journalistic style results from his use of simple text. 10.4h Evaluate how an author’s words and sentences, among other elements. specific word choices, syntax, tone, and voice shape the intended meaning of the text, achieve specific effects and support Distinctive styles extend beyond individual writers, however. Sometimes the author’s purpose. 10.4i Compare writing produced during a particular time period, such as 19th-century England, and contrast literature from different cultures and eras. has a recognizable style, as you’ll notice in the second example.

style of an individual style of a time period Ernest Hemingway Victorian England Hemingway, who wrote during the Much of the writing produced 20th century, is known for his in 19th-century England has simple style. He avoided flowery an elaborate, formal style. language in favor of no-frills Sentences are complex, and storytelling and short sentences. the vocabulary is sophisticated.

Example Example “Don’t talk about the war,” I said. The war was a Anyone who had looked at him as the red light long way away. Maybe there wasn’t any war. There shone upon his pale face, strange straining eyes, and was no war here. Then I realized it was over for me. meager form, would perhaps have understood the But I did not have the feeling that it was really over. mixture of contemptuous pity, dread, and suspicion —from A Farewell to Arms with which he was regarded by his neighbors. . . . —from Silas Marner by George Eliot

Characteristics of Hemingway’s Style Characteristics of Victorian Style • everyday words and sparse details • elevated language and vivid imagery • simple sentence structures • complex sentence structures • informal tone • formal tone • matter-of-fact descriptions of characters’ feelings • involved focus on the narrator’s and characters’ observations and thoughts

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VA_L10PE-u08-lw.indd 850 3/29/11 11:35:10 AM model 1: style of an individual Now that you have learned the characteristics of Hemingway’s style and have read a passage from A Farewell to Arms, examine this excerpt from one of his short stories.

from Big Two-Hearted River Short story by Ernest Hemingway Close Read Nick was hungry. He did not believe he had ever been hungrier. He opened 1. Identify two and emptied a can of pork and beans and a can of spaghetti into the frying pan. characteristics of “I’ve got a right to eat this kind of stuff, if I’m willing to carry it,” Nick said. Hemingway’s style His voice sounded strange in the darkening woods. He did not speak again. that are evident in the 5 He started a fire with some chunks of pine he got with the ax from a boxed text. stump. Over the fire he stuck a wire grill, pushing the four legs down into the 2. Compare the excerpt ground with his boot. Nick put the frying pan on the grill over the flames. He from A Farewell to Arms was hungrier. The beans and spaghetti warmed. Nick stirred them and mixed with this one. What is them together. the most striking stylistic similarity between them? Explain.

model 2: style of a time period Like George Eliot, Emily Brontë wrote in the sophisticated, ornate style that characterizes 19th-century English literature. In this excerpt from one of Brontë’s novels, the narrator visits the estate of his landlord, Heathcliff. from Wuthering Heights Novel by Emily Brontë

Yesterday afternoon set in misty and cold. I had half a mind to spend it Close Read by my study fire, instead of wading through heath and mud to Wuthering 1. In what ways do 1 Heights. On coming up from dinner, however, (N.B. —I dine between twelve Brontë’s sentences— and one o’clock; the housekeeper, a matronly lady, taken as a fixture along with especially the one in 5 the house, could not, or would not, comprehend my request that I might be the box —differ from served at five)—on mounting the stairs with this lazy intention, and stepping Hemingway’s? into the room, I saw a servant-girl on her knees surrounded by brushes and 2. Identify two stylistic coal-scuttles, and raising an infernal dust as she extinguished the flames with similarities between heaps of cinders. This spectacle drove me back immediately; I took my hat, Brontë’s writing here 10 and, after a four-miles’ walk, arrived at Heathcliff’s garden-gate just in time to and Eliot’s writing in the escape the first feathery flakes of a snow-shower. excerpt from Silas Marner on the preceding page.

1. N.B.: an abbreviation of the Latin nota bene, “take notice.”

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VA_L10PE-u08-lw.indd 851 3/29/11 11:35:52 AM Part 2: Style and Voice You’ve started to consider how elements such as sentence structure and word choice help to create style. A closer look at the unique blend of three other key elements—diction, tone, and imagery—will help you to compare writing styles. You will also grasp how these elements contribute to a writer’s or narrator’s voice­—the personality that comes across on the page. Here, notice how diction, tone, and imagery help to distinguish Nathaniel Hawthorne’s formal, ornate style from Gloria Naylor’s playfully informal one.

comparing styles

She had dark and abundant She loaded that baby down hair, so glossy that it threw with every name in the off the sunshine with a book: Charles Somebody gleam, and a face which, Harrison Somebody- besides being beautiful Else Duvall. We called from regularity of feature him Chick. That’s what and richness of complexion, he looked like, toddling had the impressiveness around: little pecan head belonging to a marked sitting on a scrawny neck, brow and deep black eyes. two bright buttons for eyes, and a feathery mess of hair she couldn’t keep slicked down —from The Scarlet Letter for nothing. by Nathaniel Hawthorne —from Mama Day by Gloria Naylor

diction Diction includes both a writer’s choice of words and his or her syntax, or arrange­ment of words into sentences. Hawthorne’s formal style comes from his use of elevated vocabulary (“abundant hair”), complex phrases (“richness of complexion” rather than “great skin”), and long sentences. In contrast, Naylor’s use of informal language, such as “slicked down for nothing,” creates a conversational style. tone Tone is a writer’s attitude toward a subject, as expressed through choice of words and details. Naylor establishes a playful tone in her description of Chick’s real name: “Charles Somebody Harrison Somebody-Else Duvall.” Naylor’s tone also helps readers to “hear” the no-nonsense voice of the narrator. Hawthorne’s elegant diction, however, conveys a formal tone and style. imagery You already know that imagery consists of words and phrases that re-create sensory experiences for readers. “Abundant hair, so glossy that it threw off the sunshine with a gleam” and “little pecan head”—image-laden descriptions like these are signatures of both Hawthorne’s and Naylor’s styles. The kinds of images the writers include, though, dramatically set their styles apart.

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VA_L10PE-u08-lw.indd 852 3/29/11 11:36:08 AM Text Analysis Workshop

model 1: elements of style Jamaica Kincaid’s writing is rich with images that evoke the settings she describes. In this excerpt from one of Kincaid’s novels, the narrator is leaving her home on the island of Antigua. As she rides a launch to her ship, she is overcome with emotion.

from

from Annie John Novel by Jamaica Kincaid Close Read 1. Identify two images that . . . My heart shriveled up and the words “I shall never see this again” allow you to visualize the stabbed at me. I don’t know what stopped me from falling in a heap at my setting. parents’ feet. Reread the boxed details, When we were all on board, the launch headed out to sea. Away from the 2. noting such words as 5 jetty, the water became the customary blue, and the launch left a wide path in stabbed and bobbed. it that looked like a road. I passed by sounds and smells that were so familiar What does Kincaid’s that I had long ago stopped paying any attention to them. But now here they unique diction tell you were, and the ever-present “I shall never see this again” bobbed up and down about the narrator? inside me. There was the sound of the seagull diving down into the water and 3. Would you describe 10 coming up with something silverish in its mouth. There was the smell of the Kincaid’s tone as sea and the sight of small pieces of rubbish floating around in it. sympathetic or harsh? Explain your answer.

model 2: elements of style Here, David Copperfield, the narrator of Charles Dickens’s classic novel, reflects on an exciting time in his childhood—when he was preparing to leave his home. As you read, pay attention to the stylistic elements that help distinguish Dickens’s writing from Kincaid’s. from David Copperfield Novel by Charles Dickens Close Read 1. Consider Dickens’s The day soon came for our going. It was such an early day that it came formal, dramatic diction, soon, even to me, who was in a fever of expectation, and half afraid that an particularly evident in the earthquake or a fiery mountain, or some other great convulsion of nature, boxed phrases. Through might interpose to stop the expedition. We were to go in a carrier’s cart, which this stylistic element, 5 departed in the morning after breakfast. I would have given any money to have what do you learn about been allowed to wrap myself up overnight, and sleep in my hat and boots. young David? It touches me nearly now, although I tell it lightly, to recollect how eager I 2. What is the greatest was to leave my happy home; to think how little I suspected what I did leave difference between for ever. Kincaid’s and Dickens’s styles? Explain.

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VA_L10PE-u08-lw.indd 853 3/29/11 11:58:32 AM Part 3: Analyze the Text Apply what you now know about style as you analyze these two excerpts. Each describes a connection between three people, one of whom will end up disappointed and unlucky in love. As you read, also consider how each piece expresses of the social culture of the time as part of your analysis. This excerpt is taken from Jane Austen’s novel Emma. Austen, who wrote during the early 19th century, is known for her ironic, amused observations of middle-class society in England. Here, Emma bemoans her foiled attempt to pair the sought-after Mr. Elton with her friend Harriet. Mr. Elton has fallen for Emma instead.

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Emma Close Read Novel by Jane Austen 1. Consider the tone The hair was curled, and the maid sent away, and Emma sat down to think Austen uses to describe Emma’s predicament. Is and be miserable.—It was a wretched business, indeed!—Such an overthrow it mocking or serious? of every thing she had been wishing for!—Such a development of every thing Support your answer. most unwelcome!—Such a blow for Harriet!—That was the worst of all. Every 5 part of it brought pain and humiliation, of some sort or other; but, compared with the evil to Harriet, all was light; and she would gladly have submitted to 2. Describe Austen’s feel yet more mistaken—more in error—more disgraced by mis-judgment, than diction, citing details in she actually was, could the effects of her blunders have been confined to herself. the boxed text. What “If I had not persuaded Harriet into liking the man, I could have born any does her diction help to emphasize about Emma’s 10 thing. He might have doubled his presumption to me—But poor Harriet!” current state of mind? How she could have been so deceived!—He protested that he had never thought seriously of Harriet—never! She looked back as well as she could; but it was all confusion. She had taken up the idea, she supposed, and made every 3. Austen’s use of dashes thing bend to it. His manners, however, must have been unmarked, wavering, and exclamation points helps to suggest Emma’s 15 dubious, or she could not have been so misled. personality and manner. What does this stylistic element tell you about the kind of person Emma is?

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VA_L10PE-u08-lw.indd 854 3/29/11 11:48:54 AM Text Analysis Workshop

F. Scott Fitzgerald lived and wrote more than a century after Austen. Like Austen, he was a keen observer and recorder of society’s manners and constraints. Though the authors explored similar subjects, their writing styles differed dramatically. As you read this excerpt from a short story by Fitzgerald, notice the stylistic elements that help to create this difference.

from bernice bobs

her hairShort story by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Warren, who had grown up across the street from Marjorie, had long been Close Read “crazy about her.” Sometimes she seemed to reciprocate his feeling with a faint 1. Reread lines 1–8. In gratitude, but she had tried him by her infallible test and informed him gravely your opinion, is the that she did not love him. Her test was that when she was away from him she writer’s tone mocking or 5 forgot him and had affairs with other boys. Warren found this discouraging, sympathetic toward the especially as Marjorie had been making little trips all summer, and for the emotions and attitudes first two or three days after each arrival home he saw great heaps of mail on of young people in (and the Harveys’ hall table addressed to her in various masculine handwritings. To out of) love? make matters worse, all during the month of August she had been visited by her 10 cousin Bernice from Eau Claire, and it seemed impossible to see her alone. It 2. Through the boxed image, was always necessary to hunt round and find some one to take care of Bernice. Fitzgerald helps readers As August waned this was becoming more and more difficult. to understand Warren’s Much as Warren worshiped Marjorie, he had to admit that Cousin Bernice feeling of disappointment. was sorta dopeless. She was pretty, with dark hair and high color, but she was no Identify two more images. 15 fun on a party. Every Saturday night he danced a long arduous duty dance with her to please Marjorie, but he had never been anything but bored in her company. 3. Describe Fitzgerald’s “Warren”—a soft voice at his elbow broke in upon his thoughts, and he style, explaining whether turned to see Marjorie, flushed and radiant as usual. She laid a hand on his you see any similarities shoulder and a glow settled almost imperceptibly over him. between his writing and 20 “Warren,” she whispered, “do something for me—dance with Bernice. She’s Austen’s. been stuck with little Otis Ormonde for almost an hour.” Warren’s glow faded. “Why—sure,” he answered half-heartedly.

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VA_L10PE-u08-lw.indd 855 3/29/11 11:49:10 AM Before Reading

Video link at The Pit and the Pendulum thinkcentral.com Short Story by Edgar Allan Poe The Lake Poem by Edgar Allan Poe

VIDEO TRAILER KEYWORD: HML10-856 What breeds TERROR? Virginia Standards of Learning 10.4b Make predictions, draw What causes your heart to race and your palms to sweat? Perhaps inferences, and connect prior it’s a deserted alley, a snarling dog, or a shadowy stranger. In the knowledge to support reading comprehension. 10.4g Explain the following selections by Edgar Allan Poe, you will read about both the influence of historical context on physical and the psychological effects of fear. the form, style, and point of view of a literary text. 10.4h Evaluate how an author’s specific word DISCUSS With a large group, categorize the things that terrify choices, syntax, tone, and voice shape the intended meaning of the people. What distinguishes the fear of snakes from the fear of being text, achieve specific effects and support the author’s purpose. buried alive, for example? What categories do you come up with? 10.4m Use reading strategies to monitor comprehension throughout the reading process.

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VA_L10PE-u08s1-brPtL.indd 856 3/29/11 11:07:28 AM Meet the Author text analysis: poe’s style A writer’s style is the particular way he or she uses language Edgar Allan Poe to communicate ideas. Some writers are famous for their 1809–1849 distinctive, innovative styles. This is true of Edgar Allan Poe, Living a Nightmare whose dark, suspenseful works helped create the genre Edgar Allan Poe was born in Boston, the son of modern horror literature. The following characteristics of traveling actors. Following Poe’s birth, his frequently mark his style: father deserted the family, and his mother moved to Virginia. She died in 1811, shortly • a first-person point of view in which the narrator expresses after the move. An orphan, Poe was raised emotional intensity, creating a tone of horror and terror by his mother’s friend Frances Allan and her husband, John, a merchant. In 1831, after • repeated or italicized words brief studies at the University of Virginia • unusual choice of words, phrases, and expressions and West Point, Poe, 21, sought work as a writer. Allan did not approve of Poe’s literary • long sentences or sentences with interruptions ambitions and, in time, severed all ties with • strange or grotesque sensory images his foster son. As you read, think about how Poe’s choice of a narrator affects A Valuable Legacy the tone of the work. The 1845 publication of his eerie poem “The Raven” made Poe famous. His success, reading strategy: paraphrase however, was soon marred by personal tragedy. In 1847, his wife, Virginia, fell victim Poe’s works can be challenging because they often feature to tuberculosis. Two years later, at, the unfamiliar words and complex sentences. One way that you can age of 40, Poe himself grew ill and died. make sense of his writing as you read is to paraphrase, or restate Although Poe’s life was brief, his contribution information in your own words. A paraphrase is usually the to literature was great. He is widely credited same length as the original text but contains simpler language. with the invention of modern horror and detective literature. Poe’s Words Paraphrase background to the story “Very suddenly there came back I very quickly regained Tortured Times to my soul motion and sound. . . .” consciousness and was able “The Pit and the Pendulum” is set in the (line 66) to see and hear. Spanish city of Toledo during the grim age of the Spanish Inquisition. Since the Middle Ages, the Roman Catholic Church had Review: Make Inferences authorized priests to try heretics—people who opposed the teachings of the church. vocabulary in context The priests, or inquisitors, frequently misused their power. Some suspects were Many of Poe’s words may seem unusual or old-fashioned. tortured, and those found guilty were often Review the list, noting any familiar roots, prefixes, or suffixes executed at elaborate public ceremonies that might help you unlock the meanings of these words. called autos-da-fé.

word confound lethargy pervade Author list eloquent lucid supposition Online indeterminate pertinacity voracity Go to thinkcentral.com. insuperable KEYWORD: HML10-857

Complete the activities in your Reader/Writer Notebook.

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VA_L10PE-u08s1-brPtL.indd 857 3/29/11 11:07:07 AM The Pit and the Pendulum Edgar Allan Poe

Impia tortorum longos hic turba furores Sanguinis innocui, non satiata, aluit. Sospite nunc patriâ, fracto nunc funeris antro, Mors ubi dira fuit vita salusque patent.1 [Quatrain composed for the gates of a market to be erected upon the site of the Jacobin2 Club House at Paris.]

I was sick—sick unto death with that long agony; and when they at length unbound me, and I was permitted to sit, I felt that my senses were leaving me. The sentence—the dread sentence of death—was the last of distinct accentuation which reached my ears. After that, the sound of the inquisitorial voices seemed merged in one dreamy indeterminate hum. It conveyed to indeterminate my soul the idea of revolution—perhaps from its association in fancy with (Gn’dG-tûrPmE-nGt) adj. the burr of a millwheel. This only for a brief period; for presently I heard no not precisely known or determined more. Yet, for a while, I saw; but with how terrible an exaggeration! I saw the lips of the black-robed judges. They appeared to me white—whiter than the 10 sheet upon which I trace these words—and thin even to grotesqueness; thin with the intensity of their expression of firmness—of immoveable resolution—of stern contempt of human torture. I saw that the decrees of what to me was Fate, 3 were still issuing from those lips. I saw them writhe with a deadly locution. a a POE’S STYLE I saw them fashion the syllables of my name; and I shuddered because no Reread lines 1–13, noting sound succeeded. I saw, too, for a few moments of delirious horror, the soft Poe’s use of repeated words and dashes. What and nearly imperceptible waving of the sable draperies which enwrapped the do these reveal about the 4 walls of the apartment. And then my vision fell upon the seven tall candles narrator’s state of mind? upon the table. At first they wore the aspect of charity, and seemed white

1. Impia . . . patent Latin: Here the wicked crowd of tormentors, unsated, fed their long-time lusts for innocent blood. Now that our homeland is safe, now that the tomb is broken, life and health appear where once was dread death. 2. Jacobin (jBkPE-bGn): belonging to a radical French political group famous for its terrorist policies during the French Revolution. What details create the 3. locution (lI-kyLPshEn): speech. frightening mood of this 4. apartment: room. illustration?

858 unit 8: author’s style and voice Illustrations © Cliff Nielson.

VA_L10PE-u08s1-pit.indd 858 3/29/11 11:13:24 AM VA_L10PE-u08s1-pit.indd 859 3/29/11 11:13:03 AM slender angels who would save me; but then, all at once, there came a most 20 deadly nausea over my spirit, and I felt every fiber in my frame thrill as if I had touched the wire of a galvanic5 battery, while the angel forms became meaningless specters, with heads of flame, and I saw that from them there would be no help. And then there stole into my fancy, like a rich musical note, the thought of what sweet rest there must be in the grave. The thought came gently and stealthily, and it seemed long before it attained full appreciation;6 but just as my spirit came at length properly to feel and entertain it, the figures of the judges vanished, as if magically, from before me; the tall candles sank into nothingness; their flames went out utterly; the blackness of darkness supervened; all sensations appeared swallowed up in a mad rushing descent as of 30 the soul into Hades.7 Then silence, and stillness, and night were the universe. b b PARAPHRASE Paraphrase lines 23–30. What are the narrator’s had swooned;8 but still will not say that all of consciousness was lost. What thoughts immediately following his trial? How I of it there remained I will not attempt to define, or even to describe; yet all do these thoughts affect was not lost. In the deepest slumber—no! In delirium—no! In a swoon—no! him? In death—no! even in the grave all is not lost. Else there is no immortality for man. Arousing from the most profound of slumbers, we break the gossamer web of some dream. Yet in a second afterward, (so frail may that web have been) we remember not that we have dreamed. In the return to life from the swoon there are two stages; first, that of the sense of mental or spiritual; secondly, that of the sense of physical, existence. It seems probable that if, 40 upon reaching the second stage, we could recall the impressions of the first, we should find these impressions eloquent in memories of the gulf beyond. And eloquent (DlPE-kwEnt) adj. that gulf is—what? How at least shall we distinguish its shadows from those vividly expressive of the tomb? But if the impressions of what I have termed the first stage, are not, at will, recalled, yet, after long interval, do they not come unbidden, while we marvel whence9 they come? He who has never swooned, is not he who finds strange palaces and wildly familiar faces in coals that glow; is not he who beholds floating in midair the sad visions that the many may not view; is not he who ponders over the perfume of some novel flower—is not he whose brain grows bewildered with the meaning of some musical cadence which has never 50 before arrested his attention. Amid frequent and thoughtful endeavors to remember; amid earnest struggles to regather some token of the state of seeming nothingness into which my soul had lapsed, there have been moments when I have dreamed of success; there have been brief, very brief periods when I have conjured up remembrances which the lucid reason of a later epoch assures me could lucid (lLPsGd) adj. clear; have had reference only to that condition of seeming unconsciousness. These mentally sound

5. galvanic (gBl-vBnPGk): electric. 6. attained full appreciation: was fully understood. 7. Hades (hAPdCz): the underworld in Greek mythology. 8. swooned: passed out from weakness or distress. 9. whence: from where.

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VA_L10PE-u08s1-pit.indd 860 3/29/11 11:12:25 AM shadows of memory tell, indistinctly, of tall figures that lifted and bore me in silence down—down—still down—till a hideous dizziness oppressed me at 10.3a the mere idea of the interminableness of the descent. They tell also of a vague Language Coach 60 horror at my heart, on account of that heart’s unnatural stillness. Then comes Etymology Reread a sense of sudden motionlessness throughout all things; as if those who bore the sentence in lines me (a ghastly train!) had outrun, in their descent, the limits of the limitless, 56–59. The word and paused from the wearisomeness of their toil. After this I call to mind interminable comes flatness and dampness; and that all is madness—the madness of a memory from the Latin root terminus, “a boundary which busies itself among forbidden things. or end.” Using your knowledge of prefixes and suffixes, tell what ERY suddenly there came back to my soul motion and sound—the interminable and then tumultuous motion of the heart, and, in my ears, the sound of its interminableness mean. V Use a dictionary to beating. Then a pause in which all is blank. Then again sound, and motion, check your answer. and touch—a tingling sensation pervading my frame. Then the mere 70 consciousness of existence, without thought—a condition which lasted long. pervade (pEr-vAdP) v. to Then, very suddenly, thought, and shuddering terror, and earnest endeavor spread throughout to comprehend my true state. Then a strong desire to lapse into insensibility. Then a rushing revival of soul and a successful effort to move. And now a full memory of the trial, of the judges, of the sable draperies, of the sentence, of the sickness, of the swoon. Then entire forgetfulness of all that followed; of all that a later day and much earnestness of endeavor have enabled me vaguely to recall. c c MAKE INFERENCES So far, I had not opened my eyes. I felt that I lay upon my back, unbound. In lines 66–77, the I reached out my hand, and it fell heavily upon something damp and hard. narrator regains consciousness after 80 There I suffered10 it to remain for many minutes, while I strove to imagine having fainted. How does where and what I could be. I longed, yet dared not to employ my vision. this account help create I dreaded the first glance at objects around me. It was not that I feared to tension, or suspense? look upon things horrible, but that I grew aghast lest there should be nothing to see. At length, with a wild desperation at heart, I quickly unclosed my eyes. My worst thoughts, then, were confirmed. The blackness of eternal night encompassed me. I struggled for breath. The intensity of the darkness seemed to oppress and stifle me. The atmosphere was intolerably close. I still lay quietly, and made effort to exercise my reason. I brought to mind the inquisitorial proceedings, and attempted from that point to deduce my real 90 condition. The sentence had passed; and it appeared to me that a very long interval of time had since elapsed. Yet not for a moment did I suppose myself actually dead. Such a supposition, notwithstanding what we read in fiction, is supposition altogether inconsistent with real existence;—but where and in what state was (sOp’E-zGshPEn) n. I? The condemned to death, I knew, perished usually at the autos-da-fé,11 and something supposed; an assumption

10. suffered: allowed. 11. autos-da-fé (ouQtIz-dE-fAP) Portuguese: acts of faith—public executions of people tried by the Inquisition, carried out by the civil authorities.

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VA_L10PE-u08s1-pit.indd 861 3/29/11 11:12:16 AM one of these had been held on the very night of the day of my trial. Had I been remanded to my dungeon, to await the next sacrifice, which would not take place for many months? This I at once saw could not be. Victims had been in immediate demand. Moreover, my dungeon, as well as all the condemned cells at Toledo, had stone floors, and light was not altogether excluded. 100 A fearful idea now suddenly drove the blood in torrents upon my heart, and for a brief period, I once more relapsed into insensibility. Upon recovering, I at once started to my feet, trembling convulsively in every fiber. I thrust my arms wildly above and around me in all directions. I felt nothing; yet dreaded to move a step, lest I should be impeded by the walls of the tomb. Perspiration burst from every pore and stood in cold big beads on my forehead. The agony of suspense grew at length intolerable, and I cautiously moved forward, with d POE’S STYLE my arms extended, and my eyes straining from their sockets, in the hope of Reread lines 100–110. catching some faint ray of light. I proceeded for many paces; but still all was What unusual words and phrases express the blackness and vacancy. I breathed more freely. It seemed evident that mine narrator’s dread of the 110 was not, at least, the most hideous of fates. d dungeon? And now, as I still continued to step cautiously onward, there came thronging upon my recollection a thousand vague rumors of the horrors of Toledo. Of the dungeons there had been strange things narrated—fables I

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VA_L10PE-u08s1-pit.indd 862 3/29/11 11:12:03 AM had always deemed them—but yet strange, and too ghastly to repeat, save in a whisper. Was I left to perish of starvation in the subterranean world of darkness; or what fate, perhaps even more fearful, awaited me? That the result would be death, and a death of more than customary bitterness, I knew too well the character of my judges to doubt. The mode and the hour were all that occupied or distracted me. e e PARAPHRASE 120 My outstretched hands at length encountered some solid obstruction. Paraphrase lines 111–119. It was a wall, seemingly of stone masonry—very smooth, slimy, and cold. What important I followed it up! stepping with all the careful distrust with which certain realization about his situation does the antique narratives had inspired me. This process, however, afforded me no narrator come to? means of ascertaining the dimensions of my dungeon; as I might make its circuit, and return to the point whence I set out, without being aware of the fact; so perfectly uniform seemed the wall. I therefore sought the knife which had been in my pocket, when led into the inquisitorial chamber; but it was gone; my clothes had been exchanged for a wrapper of coarse serge.12 I had thought of forcing the blade in some minute crevice of the masonry, so as to 130 identify my point of departure. The difficulty, nevertheless, was but trivial; although, in the disorder of my fancy, it seemed at first insuperable. I tore a insuperable part of the hem from the robe and placed the fragment at full length, and at (Gn-sLPpEr-E-bEl) adj. right angles to the wall. In groping my way around the prison I could not fail impossible to overcome to encounter this rag upon completing the circuit. So, at least I thought: but I had not counted upon the extent of the dungeon, or upon my own weakness. The ground was moist and slippery. I staggered onward for some time, when I stumbled and fell. My excessive fatigue induced me to remain prostrate; and sleep soon overtook me as I lay.

PON awakening, and stretching forth an arm, I found beside me a loaf 140 U and a pitcher with water. I was too much exhausted to reflect upon this circumstance, but ate and drank with avidity. Shortly afterward, I resumed my tour around the prison, and with much toil, came at last upon the fragment of the serge. Up to the period when I fell I had counted fifty-two paces, and upon resuming my walk, I counted forty-eight more;—when I arrived at the rag. There were in all, then, a hundred paces; and, admitting two paces to the yard, I presumed the dungeon to be fifty yards in circuit. I had met, however, with many angles in the wall, and thus I could form no guess at the shape of the vault; for vault I could not help supposing it to be. f f POE’S STYLE I had little object—certainly no hope—in these researches; but a vague In lines 139–148, the 150 curiosity prompted me to continue them. Quitting the wall, I resolved to cross narrator seems more clear the area of the enclosure. At first I proceeded with extreme caution, for the minded than in earlier passages. What aspects floor, although seemingly of solid material, was treacherous with slime. At of Poe’s style help you length, however, I took courage, and did not hesitate to step firmly; endeavoring understand this change in the narrator?

12. serge (sûrj): a woolen cloth.

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VA_L10PE-u08s1-pit.indd 863 3/29/11 11:11:40 AM to cross in as direct a line as possible. I had advanced some ten or twelve paces in this manner, when the remnant of the torn hem of my robe became entangled between my legs. I stepped on it, and fell violently on my face. In the confusion attending my fall, I did not immediately apprehend a somewhat startling circumstance, which yet, in a few seconds afterward, and while I still lay prostrate, arrested my attention. It was this—my chin rested 160 upon the floor of the prison, but my lips and the upper portion of my head, although seemingly at a less elevation than the chin, touched nothing. At the same time my forehead seemed bathed in a clammy vapor, and the peculiar smell of decayed fungus arose to my nostrils. I put forward my arm, and shuddered to find that I had fallen at the very brink of a circular pit, whose extent, of course, I had no means of ascertaining at the moment. Groping about the masonry just below the margin, I succeeded in dislodging a small fragment, and let it fall into the abyss. For many seconds I hearkened to its reverberations as it dashed against the sides of the chasm in its descent; at length there was a sullen plunge into water, succeeded by loud echoes. At 170 the same moment there came a sound resembling the quick opening, and as rapid closing of a door overhead, while a faint gleam of light flashed suddenly through the gloom, and as suddenly faded away. g g POE’S STYLE I saw clearly the doom which had been prepared for me, and congratulated Reread lines 157–172, myself upon the timely accident by which I had escaped. Another step before noting Poe’s sensory my fall, and the world had seen me no more. And the death just avoided, was images—words and phrases that appeal to of that very character which I had regarded as fabulous and frivolous in the the senses. Which tales respecting the Inquisition. To the victims of its tyranny, there was the details communicate choice of death with its direst physical agonies, or death with its most hideous the foulness of the pit? moral horrors. I had been reserved for the latter. By long suffering my nerves 180 had been unstrung, until I trembled at the sound of my own voice, and had become in every respect a fitting subject for the species of torture which awaited me. Shaking in every limb, I groped my way back to the wall; resolving there to perish rather than risk the terrors of the wells, of which my imagination now pictured many in various positions about the dungeon. In other conditions of mind I might have had courage to end my misery at once by a plunge into one of these abysses; but now I was the veriest of cowards. Neither could I forget what I had read of these pits—that the sudden extinction of life formed no part of their most horrible plan. h h PARAPHRASE 190 Agitation of spirit kept me awake for many long hours; but at length I again Paraphrase this brief slumbered. Upon arousing, I found by my side as before, a loaf and a pitcher paragraph. Think about of water. A burning thirst consumed me, and I emptied the vessel at a draft. It the narrator’s opinion of himself. Do you agree or must have been drugged; for scarcely had I drunk, before I became irresistibly disagree with his view? drowsy. A deep sleep fell upon me—a sleep like that of death. How long it lasted of course, I know not; but when, once again, I unclosed my eyes, the

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VA_L10PE-u08s1-pit.indd 864 3/29/11 11:11:31 AM objects around me were visible. By a wild sulphurous luster,13 the origin of which I could not at first determine, I was enabled to see the extent and aspect of the prison.

10.3b N its size I had been greatly mistaken. The whole circuit of its walls did not Language Coach 200 exceed twenty-five yards. For some minutes this fact occasioned me a world I Multiple-Meaning 14 of vain trouble; vain indeed! for what could be of less importance, under Words Some words the terrible circumstances which environed me, than the mere dimensions of have more than one my dungeon? But my soul took a wild interest in trifles, and I busied myself meaning, but you can in endeavors to account for the error I had committed in my measurement. figure out the right one by looking at the The truth at length flashed upon me. In my first attempt at exploration I had word’s context. You counted fifty-two paces, up to the period when I fell; I must then have been may have heard the within a pace or two of the fragments of serge; in fact, I had nearly performed word circuit used in the circuit of the vault. I then slept, and upon awaking, I must have returned contexts involving electricity. Reread upon my steps—thus supposing the circuit nearly double what it actually was. lines 199 and 208–209. 210 My confusion of mind prevented me from observing that I began my tour with What do you think the wall to the left, and ended it with the wall to the right. circuit means here?

13. sulphurous (sOlPfE-rEs) luster: fiery glow. 14. occasioned . . . trouble: caused me a great deal of useless worry.

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VA_L10PE-u08s1-pit.indd 865 3/29/11 11:11:15 AM I had been deceived, too, in respect to the shape of the enclosure. In feeling my way around I had found many angles, and thus deduced an idea of great irregularity; so potent is the effect of total darkness upon one arousing from lethargy or sleep! The angles were simply those of a few slight depressions, or lethargy (lDthPEr-jC) n. niches, at odd intervals. The general shape of the prison was square. What I prolonged sluggishness; had taken for masonry seemed now to be iron, or some other metal, in huge unconsciousness plates, whose sutures or joints occasioned the depression. The entire surface of this metallic enclosure was rudely daubed in all the hideous and repulsive 220 devices to which the charnel superstitions15 of the monks has given rise. The figures of fiends in aspects of menace, with skeleton forms, and other more really fearful images, overspread and disfigured the walls. I observed that the outlines of these monstrosities were sufficiently distinct, but that the colors seemed faded and blurred, as if from the effects of a damp atmosphere. I now noticed the floor, too, which was of stone. In the center yawned the circular pit from whose jaws I had escaped; but it was the only one in the dungeon. i i GRAMMAR AND STYLE In lines 225–226, Poe uses personification— LL this I saw distinctly and by much effort: for my personal condition describing the pit as an open mouth—to A had been greatly changed during slumber. I now lay upon my back, and make the image seem at full length, on a species of low framework of wood. To this I was securely particularly disturbing. 230 bound by a long strap resembling a surcingle.16 It passed in many convolutions about my limbs and body, leaving at liberty only my head, and my left arm to such extent that I could, by dint17 of much exertion, supply myself with food from an earthen dish which lay by my side on the floor. I saw, to my horror, that the pitcher had been removed. I say to my horror; for I was consumed with intolerable thirst. This thirst it appeared to be the design of my persecutors to stimulate: for the food in the dish was meat pungently seasoned. Looking upward I surveyed the ceiling of my prison. It was some thirty or forty feet overhead, and constructed much as the side walls. In one of its panels a very singular figure riveted my whole attention. It was the painted figure of 240 Time as he is commonly represented, save that, in lieu of a scythe, he held what, at a casual glance, I supposed to be the pictured image of a huge pendulum such as we see on antique clocks. There was something, however, in the appearance of this machine which caused me to regard it more attentively. While I gazed directly upward at it (for its position was immediately over my own) I fancied that I saw it in motion. In an instant afterward the fancy was confirmed. Its sweep was brief, and of course slow. I watched it for some minutes, somewhat in fear, but more in wonder. Wearied at length with observing its dull movement, I turned my eyes upon the other objects in the cell. j j PARAPHRASE Paraphrase lines 227–248. What situation does the narrator find himself in?

15. charnel (chärPnEl) superstitions: ghastly irrational beliefs. 16. surcingle (sûrPsGngQgEl): a band used to tie a pack or saddle to a horse. 17. dint: force.

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VA_L10PE-u08s1-pit.indd 866 3/29/11 11:11:04 AM A slight noise attracted my notice, and, looking to the floor, I saw several 250 enormous rats traversing it. They had issued from the well, which lay just within view to my right. Even then, while I gazed, they came up in troops, hurriedly, with ravenous eyes, allured by the scent of the meat. From this it required much effort and attention to scare them away. It might have been half an hour, perhaps even an hour, (for I could take but imperfect note of time) before I again cast my eyes upward. What I then saw confounded and amazed me. The sweep of the pendulum had increased in confound (kEn-foundP) v. extent by nearly a yard. As a natural consequence, its velocity was also much to confuse or astonish greater. But what mainly disturbed me was the idea that it had perceptibly descended. I now observed—with what horror it is needless to say—that its 260 nether extremity was formed of a crescent of glittering steel, about a foot in length from horn to horn; the horns upward, and the under edge evidently as keen as that of a razor. Like a razor also, it seemed massy and heavy, tapering from the edge into a solid and broad structure above. It was appended to a weighty rod of brass, and the whole hissed as it swung through the air. I could no longer doubt the doom prepared for me by monkish ingenuity in torture. My cognizance of the pit had become known to the inquisitorial agents—the pit whose horrors had been destined for so bold a recusant18 as myself—the pit, typical of hell, and regarded by rumor as the Ultima Thule19 of all their punishments. The plunge into this pit I had avoided by the merest 270 of accidents, and I knew that surprise, or entrapment into torment, formed an important portion of all the grotesquerie of these dungeon deaths. Having failed to fall, it was no part of the demon plan to hurl me into the abyss; and thus (there being no alternative) a different and a milder destruction awaited me. Milder! I half smiled in my agony as I thought of such application of such a term. k k POE’S STYLE What boots it20 to tell of the long, long hours of horror more than mortal, In lines 254–275, Poe during which I counted the rushing vibrations of the steel! Inch by inch— includes various italicized line by line—with a descent only appreciable at intervals that seemed ages— words. What effect do they have on you as a down and still down it came! Days passed—it might have been that many reader? 280 days passed—ere it swept so closely over me as to fan me with its acrid breath. The odor of the sharp steel forced itself into my nostrils. I prayed—I wearied heaven with my prayer for its more speedy descent. I grew frantically mad, and struggled to force myself upward against the sweep of the fearful scimitar.21 And then I fell suddenly calm, and lay smiling at the glittering death, as a child at some rare bauble.

18. recusant (rDkPyE-zEnt): a religious dissenter; heretic. 19. Ultima Thule (OlPtE-mE thLPlC): according to ancient geographers, the most remote region of the habitable world—here used figuratively to mean “most extreme achievement; summit.” 20. what boots it: what good is it. 21. scimitar (sGmPG-tEr): a curved, single-edged Asian sword.

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VA_L10PE-u08s1-pit.indd 867 3/29/11 11:10:55 AM HERE was another interval of utter insensibility; it was brief; for, upon Tagain lapsing into life there had been no perceptible descent in the pendulum. But it might have been long; for I knew there were demons who took note of my swoon, and who could have arrested the vibration at pleasure. 290 Upon my recovery, too, I felt very—oh, inexpressibly sick and weak, as if through long inanition.22 Even amid the agonies of that period, the human nature craved food. With painful effort I outstretched my left arm as far as my bonds permitted, and took possession of the small remnant which had been spared me by the rats. As I put a portion of it within my lips, there rushed to my mind a half formed thought of joy—of hope. Yet what business had I with hope? It was, as I say, a half formed thought—man has many such which are never completed. I felt that it was of joy—of hope; but I felt also that it had perished in its formation. In vain I struggled to perfect—to regain it. Long suffering had nearly annihilated all my ordinary powers of mind. I was an 300 imbecile—an idiot. The vibration of the pendulum was at right angles to my length. I saw that the crescent was designed to cross the region of the heart. It would fray the serge of my robe—it would return and repeat its operations—again—and again. Notwithstanding its terrifically wide sweep (some thirty feet or more) and the hissing vigor of its descent, sufficient to sunder these very walls of iron, still the fraying of my robe would be all that, for several minutes, it would accomplish. And at this thought I paused. I dared not go farther than this reflection. I dwelt upon it with a pertinacity of attention—as if, in so pertinacity dwelling, I could arrest here the descent of the steel. I forced myself to ponder (pûr’tn-BsPG-tC) n. 310 upon the sound of the crescent as it should pass across the garment—upon the unyielding persistence peculiar thrilling sensation which the friction of cloth produces on the nerves. or adherence I pondered upon all this frivolity until my teeth were on edge. Down—steadily down it crept. I took a frenzied pleasure in contrasting its downward with its lateral velocity. To the right—to the left—far and wide— with the shriek of a . . . spirit; to my heart with the stealthy pace of the tiger! I alternately laughed and howled as the one or the other idea grew predominant. Down—certainly, relentlessly down! It vibrated within three inches of my bosom! I struggled violently, furiously, to free my left arm. This was free only from the elbow to the hand. I could reach the latter, from the platter beside 320 me, to my mouth, with great effort, but no farther. Could I have broken the fastenings above the elbow, I would have seized and attempted to arrest the pendulum. I might as well have attempted to arrest an avalanche! Down—still unceasingly—still inevitably down! I gasped and struggled at each vibration. I shrunk convulsively at its every sweep. My eyes followed its outward or upward whirls with the eagerness of the most unmeaning despair; they closed themselves spasmodically at the descent, although death would How effectively does this image convey the have been a relief, oh! how unspeakable! Still I quivered in every nerve to think terror of the narrator’s how slight a sinking of the machinery would precipitate that keen, glistening situation?

22. inanition (GnQE-nGshPEn): wasting away from lack of food.

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VA_L10PE-u08s1-pit.indd 868 3/29/11 11:10:36 AM VA_L10PE-u08s1-pit.indd 869 3/29/11 11:10:15 AM axe upon my bosom. It was hope that prompted the nerve to quiver—the frame 330 to shrink. It was hope—the hope that triumphs on the rack23—that whispers to the death-condemned even in the dungeons of the Inquisition. l l POE’S STYLE I saw that some ten or twelve vibrations would bring the steel in actual Reread lines 313–331. contact with my robe, and with this observation there suddenly came over Which stylistic devices help convey the narrator’s my spirit all the keen, collected calmness of despair. For the first time during growing fear? many hours—or perhaps days—I thought. It now occurred to me that the bandage, or surcingle, which enveloped me, was unique. I was tied by no separate cord. The first stroke of the razor-like crescent athwart24 any portion of the band, would so detach it that it might be unwound from my person by means of my left hand. But how fearful, in that case, the proximity of the 340 steel! The result of the slightest struggle how deadly! Was it likely, moreover, that the minions25 of the torturer had not foreseen and provided for this possibility! Was it probable that the bandage crossed my bosom in the track of the pendulum? Dreading to find my faint, and, as it seemed, my last hope frustrated, I so far elevated my head as to obtain a distinct view of my breast. The surcingle enveloped my limbs and body close in all directions—save in the path of the destroying crescent. Scarcely had I dropped my head back into its original position, when there flashed upon my mind what I cannot better describe than as the unformed half of that idea of deliverance to which I have previously alluded, and of which a 350 moiety26 only floated indeterminately through my brain when I raised food to my burning lips. The whole thought was now present—feeble, scarcely sane, scarcely definite,—but still entire. I proceeded at once, with the nervous energy of despair, to attempt its execution. For many hours the immediate vicinity of the low framework upon which I lay, had been literally swarming with rats. They were wild, bold, ravenous; their red eyes glaring upon me as if they waited but for motionlessness on my part to make me their prey. “To what food,” I thought, “have they been accustomed in the well?” They had devoured, in spite of all my efforts to prevent them, all but a 360 small remnant of the contents of the dish. I had fallen into an habitual see- saw, or wave of the hand about the platter, and, at length, the unconscious voracity (vô-rBsPG-tC) n. uniformity of the movement deprived it of effect. In their voracity the vermin greed for food frequently fastened their sharp fangs into my fingers. With the particles of the oily and spicy viand27 which now remained, I thoroughly rubbed the m PARAPHRASE bandage wherever I could reach it; then, raising my hand from the floor, I lay Paraphrase lines 359–366. What does the narrator breathlessly still. m hope to accomplish by At first the ravenous animals were startled and terrified at the change—at wiping his greasy hands the cessation of movement. They shrank alarmedly back; many sought the on his bindings?

23. rack: a device for torturing people by gradually stretching their bodies. 24. athwart: across. 25. minions (mGnPyEnz): followers; servants. 26 . moiety (moiPG-tC): half. 27. viand (vFPEnd): food.

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VA_L10PE-u08s1-pit.indd 870 3/29/11 11:09:58 AM well. But this was only for a moment. I had not counted in vain upon their 370 voracity. Observing that I remained without motion, one or two of the boldest leaped upon the framework, and smelt at the surcingle. This seemed the signal for a general rush. Forth from the well they hurried in fresh troops. They clung to the wood—they overran it, and leaped in hundreds upon my person. The measured movement of the pendulum disturbed them not at all. Avoiding its strokes they busied themselves with the anointed bandage. They pressed—they n MAKE INFERENCES swarmed upon me in ever accumulating heaps. They writhed upon my throat; Consider the narrator’s their cold lips sought my own; I was half stifled by their thronging pressure; thoughts and behavior disgust, for which the world has no name, swelled my bosom, and chilled, up to this point in the with a heavy clamminess, my heart. Yet one minute, and I felt that the struggle story. Why might the church have considered 380 would be over. Plainly I perceived the loosening of the bandage. I knew that him dangerous? What in more than one place it must be already severed. With a more than human details help you make resolution I lay still. n an inference? Nor had I erred in my calculations—nor had I endured in vain. I at length felt that I was free. The surcingle hung in ribands28 from my body. But the stroke of the pendulum already pressed upon my bosom. It had divided the serge of the robe. It had cut through the linen beneath. Twice again it swung, and a sharp sense of pain shot through every nerve. But the moment of escape

28. ribands (rGbPEndz): ribbons.

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VA_L10PE-u08s1-pit.indd 871 3/29/11 11:09:44 AM had arrived. At a wave of my hand my deliverers hurried tumultuously away. With a steady movement—cautious, sidelong, shrinking, and slow—I slid 390 from the embrace of the bandage and beyond the reach of the scimitar. For 10.3a the moment, at least, I was free. o o AFFIXES Free!—and in the grasp of the Inquisition! I had scarcely stepped from my Affixes are letters added wooden bed of horror upon the stone floor of the prison, when the motion of to the beginning or end the hellish machine ceased and I beheld it drawn up, by some invisible force, of a word to form a new through the ceiling. This was a lesson which I took desperately to heart. My word. An affix added to the beginning of a every motion was undoubtedly watched. Free!—I had but escaped death word is a prefix, while an in one form of agony, to be delivered unto worse than death in some other. affix added to the end With that thought I rolled my eyes nervously around the barriers of iron that of a word is a suffix. The hemmed me in. Something unusual—some change which at first I could not word tumultuously in line 388 combines the 400 appreciate distinctly—it was obvious, had taken place in the apartment. For base word tumult with many minutes in a dreamy and trembling abstraction, I busied myself in vain, two affixes, the Latin unconnected conjecture. During this period, I became aware, for the first time, suffix -ous (meaning “full of the origin of the sulphurous light which illuminated the cell. It proceeded of”) and the Old English from a fissure, about half an inch in width, extending entirely around the suffix -ly (meaning “like”). Use tumultuously in a prison at the base of the walls, which thus appeared, and were, completely sentence of your own. separated from the floor. I endeavored, but of course in vain, to look through Use a dictionary to help the aperture.29 you if necessary. As I arose from the attempt, the mystery of the alteration in the chamber broke at once upon my understanding. I have observed that, although the 410 outlines of the figures upon the walls were sufficiently distinct, yet the colors seemed blurred and indefinite. These colors had now assumed, and were momentarily assuming, a startling and most intense brilliancy, that gave to the spectral and fiendish portraitures an aspect that might have thrilled even firmer nerves than my own. Demon eyes, of a wild and ghastly vivacity, glared upon me in a thousand directions, where none had been visible before, and gleamed with the lurid luster of a fire that I could not force my imagination to regard as unreal. Unreal!—Even while I breathed there came to my nostrils the breath of the vapor of heated iron! A suffocating odor pervaded the prison! A deeper glow 420 settled each moment in the eyes that glared at my agonies! A richer tint of crimson diffused itself over the pictured horrors of blood. I panted! I gasped for breath! There could be no doubt of the design of my tormentors—oh! most unrelenting! oh! most demoniac of men! I shrank from the glowing metal to the center of the cell. Amid the thought of the fiery destruction that impended, the idea of the coolness of the well came over my soul like balm. I rushed to its deadly brink. I threw my straining vision below. The glare from the enkindled roof illumined its inmost recesses. Yet, for a wild moment, did my spirit refuse to comprehend the meaning of what I saw. At length it forced—it wrestled its way into my soul—it burned itself in upon

29. aperture (BpPEr-chEr): opening.

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VA_L10PE-u08s1-pit.indd 872 3/29/11 11:09:32 AM 430 my shuddering reason.—Oh! for a voice to speak!—oh! horror!—oh! any horror but this! With a shriek, I rushed from the margin, and buried my face in my hands—weeping bitterly. p p POE’S STYLE The heat rapidly increased, and once again I looked up, shuddering as with Reread lines 418–432. a fit of the ague.30 There had been a second change in the cell—and now the What does the punctuation used by change was obviously in the form. As before, it was in vain that I, at first, Poe suggest about the endeavored to appreciate or understand what was taking place. But not long narrator’s emotional was I left in doubt. The Inquisitorial vengeance had been hurried by my two- state? fold escape, and there was to be no more dallying with the King of Terrors. The room had been square. I saw that two of its iron angles were now acute— 440 two, consequently, obtuse. The fearful difference quickly increased with a low rumbling or moaning sound. In an instant the apartment had shifted its form into that of a lozenge. But the alteration stopped not here—I neither hoped nor desired it to stop. I could have clasped the red walls to my bosom as a garment of eternal peace. “Death,” I said, “any death but that of the pit!” Fool! might I have not known that into the pit it was the object of the burning iron to urge me? Could I resist its glow? or, if even that, could I withstand its pressure? And now, flatter and flatter grew the lozenge, with a rapidity that left me no time for contemplation. Its center, and of course, its greatest width, came just over the yawning gulf. I shrank back—but the closing walls pressed 450 me resistlessly onward. At length for my seared and writhing body there was no longer an inch of foothold on the firm floor of the prison. I struggled no more, but the agony of my soul found vent in one loud, long, and final scream of despair. I felt that I tottered upon the brink—I averted my eyes— There was a discordant hum of human voices! There was a loud blast of many trumpets! There was a harsh grating as of a thousand thunders! The fiery walls rushed back! An outstretched arm caught my own as I fell, fainting, into the abyss. It was that of General Lasalle. The French army had entered Toledo. The Inquisition was in the hands of its enemies. 

30. the ague (APgyL): a feverish illness.

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VA_L10PE-u08s1-pit.indd 873 3/29/11 11:09:21 AM The

Lake Timeless, 2002, Lee Campbell. Private collection. Photo © The Bridgeman Art Library. Edgar Allan Poe In youth’s spring, it was my lot To haunt of the wide earth a spot The which I could not love the less; So lovely was the loneliness 5 Of a wild lake, with black rock bound, And the tall pines that tower’d around. But when the night had thrown her pall Upon that spot—as upon all, And the wind would pass me by 10 In its still melody, My infant spirit would awake To the terror of that lone lake. q POE’s style Yet that terror was not fright— Reread lines 1–16. But a tremulous delight, Which words and phrases help communicate the 15 And a feeling undefin’d, emotional intensity of Springing from a darken’d mind. q the speaker? Death was in that poison’d wave And in its gulf a fitting grave For him who thence could solace bring r PARAPHRASE Paraphrase lines 17–22. 20 To his dark imagining; What comfort does the Whose wild’ring thought could even make speaker find in visiting An Eden of that dim lake. r the eerie lake?

874 unit 8: author’s style and voice

VA_L10PE-u08s1-Lake.indd 874 3/29/11 11:08:28 AM After Reading

Virginia Standards Comprehension of Learning 1. Recall What are the first two dangers the narrator faces in the story? 10.4b Make predictions, draw inferences, and connect prior 2. Clarify Who or what seems to save the narrator at the end? knowledge to support reading comprehension. 10.4g Explain the 3. Summarize In the poem, what effect does the lake have on the speaker? influence of historical context on the form, style, and point of view of a literary text. 10.4h Evaluate how an author’s specific word choices, Text Analysis syntax, tone, and voice shape the intended meaning of the text, 4. Make Inferences About Character Consider the narrator’s words, thoughts, achieve specific effects and support and actions in “The Pit and the Pendulum.” What can you infer are his greatest the author’s purpose. 10.4m Use reading strategies to monitor strengths in his battle against the inquisitors? Support your answer with comprehension throughout the details from the story. reading process. 5. Paraphrase the Ending Paraphrase the story’s conclusion, lines 454–458. Do you think the narrator is truly saved, or is he simply imagining a rescue as he falls? Cite evidence to support your opinion. 6. Examine Sound Devices Reread “The Lake,” looking for examples of alliteration (repetition of consonant sounds at the beginnings of words) and assonance (repetition of vowel sounds). Which sound device does Poe use more extensively? What effect does this have on the reader? 7. Analyze Imagery and Mood Find several examples of sensory imagery— words and phrases that appeal to the senses—in the story and in the poem. In what way do these images help convey the tone of the story?

8. Analyze Poe’s Style Poe has fascinated readers with his tales of horror and haunting poetry. Identify the stylistic characteristics that are common to both selections you have just read. Use the following list to help you: • a first-person point of view that expresses emotional intensity • repeated or italicized words • unusual choice of words, phrases, and expressions • long sentences or sentences with interruptions • strange or grotesque sensory images Text Criticism 9. Critical Interpretations One literary critic has noted that Poe’s “imagination is visual and three-dimensional. . . . If he had been alive today he probably would be a filmmaker.” Do you think “The Pit and the Pendulum” would succeed as a movie? What would have to be changed in order to adapt the story for the screen? Explain.

What breeds TERROR? What could a person do to overcome his or her fear?

the pit and the pendulum / the lake 875

VA_L10PE-u08s1-arPtL.indd 875 3/29/11 11:05:14 AM Vocabulary in Context word list vocabulary practice confound Indicate whether the words in each pair are synonyms or antonyms. eloquent indeterminate 1. precise/indeterminate 6. insuperable/unconquerable insuperable 2. eloquent/inarticulate 7. lethargy/excitement lethargy 3. lucid/clear 8. bewilder/confound lucid 4. spread/pervade 9. reluctance/pertinacity pertinacity 5. supposition/evidence 10. hunger/voracity pervade academic vocabulary in writing supposition voracity • clarify • feature • precise • style • transmit

Imagine that you are able to view the narrator in the dungeon. Write a paragraph to transmit your feelings about him and his circumstances. Highlight one feature that makes a strong impression on you, and choose precise words to describe it. Use at least one Academic Vocabulary word in your response.

Virginia Standards vocabulary strategy: foreign words used in english of Learning The English language changes all the time. Over its history, it has continually 10.3g Use knowledge of the acquired new words from other languages and from historical events. For evolution, diversity, and effects of language to comprehend and example, in line 94 of “The Pit and the Pendulum,” Poe uses the term autos-da-fé elaborate the meaning of texts. (literally, “acts of faith”), which arose during the Spanish Inquisition to describe public executions, and then made its way into English usage. Other words that entered English from Spanish and Portuguese languages include armada, galleon, and guerilla.

PRACTICE Match each word below with its original meaning from Spanish. You can use a dictionary to help you.

1. armada a Spanish ship of war 2. galleon a Spanish-Portuguese irregular army member Interactive who fought against Napoleon Vocabulary 3. guerilla a Spanish fleet of ships sent against England Go to thinkcentral.com. KEYWORD: HML10-876 in 1588

876 unit 8: author’s style and voice

VA_L10PE-u08s1-arPtL.indd 876 3/29/11 11:05:05 AM Virginia Standards Language of Learning grammar and style: Use Personification 10.6 The student will develop a variety of writing to persuade, Review the Grammar and Style note on page 866. Poe uses a type of figurative interpret, analyze, and evaluate language known as personification, in which a writer gives human characteristics with an emphasis on exposition and analysis. 10.6c Elaborate ideas to an animal, a thing, or an idea. To create personification, choose nouns, verbs, clearly through word choice and vivid and adjectives that are usually used to refer to people. In the following example, description. Poe refers to the pendulum that moves to “fan” the narrator with its “breath”: Days passed—it might have been that many days passed—ere it swept so closely over me as to fan me with its acrid breath. (lines 279–280) Notice how the revisions in blue make the images in this first draft more memorable. Revise your response to the prompt by incorporating examples of personification.

student model hungry In “The Pit and the Pendulum,” the narrator is trapped between the pit menacing, , sadistic and the enclosing walls, with the added danger of the sharp pendulum above him.

reading-writing connection YOUR Broaden your understanding of Poe’s works by responding to this prompt. Then use the revising tip to improve your writing. TURN

writing prompt revising tip

Extended Constructed Response: Write Review your response. Across Texts Have you used According to one critic, Poe’s work is concerned with personification to “death-in-life” and “life-in-death.” How do “The Pit make your descriptions and the Pendulum” and “The Lake” deal with these memorable? If not, themes? Using examples from the texts, write a revise to give human Interactive Revision three- to five-paragraph response. characteristics to an animal, thing, or idea. Go to thinkcentral.com. KEYWORD: HML10-877

the pit and the pendulum / the lake 877

VA_L10PE-u08s1-arPtL.indd 877 3/29/11 11:04:55 AM Before Reading When I Heard the Learn’d Astronomer Poem by Walt Whitman

Video link at The Artilleryman’s Vision thinkcentral.com Poem by Walt Whitman What do we learn from EXPERIENCE?

Virginia Standards of Learning We often gain valuable information through reading, watching 10.4g Explain the influence of television, and listening to people share their knowledge. But historical context on the form, sometimes experience can be the most powerful teacher. In the style, and point of view of a literary text. 10.4h Evaluate following poems by Walt Whitman, you will meet two men who how an author’s specific word learn very different lessons through their life experiences. choices, syntax, tone, and voice shape the intended meaning of the text, achieve specific Q effects and support the author’s UICKWRITE Think about a time in which experiencing something purpose. 10.4k Compare and firsthand helped you to learn about it. For example, maybe you contrast how rhyme, rhythm, sound, imagery, style, form, and other gained appreciation for a distant city by actually visiting it. Or literary devices convey a message perhaps breaking a leg made you aware of some barriers to the and elicit a reader’s emotions. disabled. Explain to a classmate how experience fostered your new understanding.

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VA_L10PE-u08s2-brAst.indd 878 4/7/11 12:36:50 PM Meet the Author text analysis: whitman’s style Like other poets of his day, Walt Whitman was deeply com- Walt Whitman mitted to celebrating the beauty and richness of America. Yet, 1819–1892 while many of his contemporaries relied on conventional poetic Jack-of-All-Trades forms such as sonnets and ballads, Whitman did not. Instead, Born in 1819, Walt Whitman grew up in a hurry. he invented a new form to capture the spirit of the nation. He left school at age 11, and within a few years Called free verse, this poetic form lacks traditional prosody— he was living on his own in New York City. He drifted from job to job, working as a printer, the regular patterns of rhyme and meter. As a result, the lines journalist, and carpenter. He loved to stroll in free verse flow easily, resembling natural speech. Other around the city, taking in sights and sounds aspects of style that distinguish Whitman’s work are as follows: that he would later use in his poetry. • repetition—or repeated words and phrases Pioneer of Poetry In 1855, Whitman published Leaves of • parallelism—or ideas phrased in similar ways Grass, a volume of poems that captured • onomatopoeia—or words that imitate sounds the variety and tumult of 19th-century • catalogs—or lists of things, people, or attributes American life. Upon receiving a copy, the poet Ralph Waldo Emerson declared, “It is As you read each poem, notice how Whitman’s choice of form the most extraordinary piece of wit and and stylistic devices help convey the speaker’s experience. wisdom that America has yet contributed.” However, other writers denounced the book reading skill: analyze sensory details for its unorthodox form and content. Over the years, Whitman added to, revised, and In his poetry, Whitman praised life in all of its diversity. He often rearranged the poems in Leaves of Grass, relied on sensory details to communicate a wealth of experiences producing nine editions in total. Today, it to readers. You probably remember that sensory details is often regarded as the most influential are words and phrases that appeal to the five senses: sight, collection of poetry in American literature. hearing, taste, smell, and touch. As you read Whitman’s poetry, Whitman and the Civil War record various examples of sensory details and analyze their When Whitman learned that his effectiveness. For each poem, use a chart like the one shown. younger brother had been wounded in Fredericksburg, Virginia, he immediately “When I Heard the Learn’d Astronomer” traveled to the front. There he saw the aftermath of one of the war’s bloodiest Details Sense(s) Why Effective battles. This experience convinced him to “When I heard . . . hearing and sight They clearly place work in Washington, D.C., as a volunteer When the proofs, the the speaker in a nurse. In caring for the wounded, Whitman figures, were ranged lecture hall. witnessed the effects of war on men’s bodies in columns before me” and minds. During this time, he wrote (lines 1 2) – numerous poems, including the poignant “The Artilleryman’s Vision.” His years of nursing, he once wrote, were “the greatest privilege Complete the activities in your Reader/Writer Notebook. and satisfaction . . . and, of course, the most profound lesson of my life.”

Author Online Go to thinkcentral.com. KEYWORD: HML10-879

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VA_L10PE-u08s2-brAst.indd 879 3/29/11 11:18:12 AM n I Heard the Lea Whe rn’d Astronomer Walt Whitman

When I heard the learn’d astronomer, 1 When the proofs, the figures, were ranged in columns before me, a WHITMAN’S STYLE When I was shown the charts and diagrams, to add, divide, and Notice Whitman’s use of measure them, parallelism in lines 1–4. What other distinctive When I sitting heard the astronomer where he lectured with much features of his style can applause in the lecture-room, a you see in this poem? 5 How soon unaccountable I became tired and sick, Till rising and gliding out I wander’d off by myself, In the mystical moist night air, and from time to time, Look’d up in perfect silence at the stars. b b SENSORY DETAILS Of the various sensory details, which most effectively conveys the speaker’s enjoyment of the night sky?

1. proofs: formal scientific statements of evidence.

880 unit 8: author’s style and voice

VA_L10PE-u08s2-Astro.indd 880 3/29/11 11:17:08 AM VA_L10PE-u08s2-Astro.indd 881 3/29/11 11:16:41 AM THE Artilleryman’s Vision Walt Whitman

While my wife at my side lies slumbering, and the wars are over long, And my head on the pillow rests at home, and the vacant midnight passes, And through the stillness, through the dark, I hear, just hear, the breath of my infant, There in the room as I wake from sleep this vision presses upon me; 5 The engagement1 opens there and then in fantasy unreal, The skirmishers2 begin, they crawl cautiously ahead, I hear the irregular snap! snap! c c SENSORY DETAILS I hear the sounds of the different missiles, the short t-h-t! t-h-t! of Reread lines 1–6. Which the rifle balls, sensory details help I see the shells exploding leaving small white clouds, I hear the great you to understand the situation described at the shells shrieking as they pass, beginning of the poem? The grape3 like the hum and whirr of wind through the trees, (tumultuous now the contest rages,) 10 All the scenes at the batteries4 rise in detail before me again, The crashing and smoking, the pride of the men in their pieces, The chief-gunner ranges and sights his piece and selects a fuse of the right time, 10.3b After firing I see him lean aside and look eagerly off to note the Language Coach effect; Multiple Meanings In Elsewhere I hear the cry of a regiment charging, (the young colonel special contexts, some 5 words that are usually leads himself this time with brandish’d sword,) nouns become verbs. What context gives you a clue to the meanings of ranges and sights in line 12? What do you 1. engagement: battle. think these words mean 2. skirmishers: soldiers sent out in advance of a main attack. in this line? 3. grape: grapeshot—small iron balls shot in a bunch from a cannon. 4. batteries: groups of cannons. 5. brandish’d: raised and waving.

882 unit 8: author’s style and voice

VA_L10PE-u08s2-artil.indd 882 3/29/11 11:14:43 AM 15 I see the gaps cut by the enemy’s volleys,6 (quickly fill’d up, no delay,) I breathe the suffocating smoke, then the flat clouds hover low concealing all; Now a strange lull for a few seconds, not a shot fired on either side, d d WHITMAN’S STYLE Then resumed the chaos louder than ever, with eager calls and Reread lines 7–17, noting orders of officers, the long catalog of While from some distant part of the field the wind wafts to my ears combat activities. In what way is this stylistic a shout of applause, (some special success,) element in keeping with 20 And ever the sound of the cannon far or near, (rousing even in the poem’s speaker —a dreams a devilish exultation and all the old mad joy in the depths dreaming soldier? of my soul,) And ever the hastening of infantry shifting positions, batteries, Language Coach cavalry, moving hither and thither, Multiple Meanings In (The falling, dying, I heed not, the wounded dripping and red I heed special contexts, some not, some to the rear are hobbling,) words that are usually Grime, heat, rush, aide-de-camps7 galloping by or on a full run, nouns become verbs. With the patter of small arms, the warning s-s-t of the rifles, (these e WHITMAN’S STYLE What overall effect does What context gives you in my vision I hear or see,) a clue to the meanings Whitman create by using of ranges and sights in 25 And bombs bursting in air, and at night the vari-color’d rockets. e free verse in this poem? line 12? What do you think these words mean in this line?

6. volleys: groups of cannonballs fired at the same time. 7. aide-de-camps (AdQdG-kBmpsP): assistants to military commanders.

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VA_L10PE-u08s2-artil.indd 883 3/29/11 11:14:25 AM Reading for Information LETTER In this letter to his mother, Walt Whitman describes a meaningful encounter with a wounded Union soldier following the Battle of Fredericksburg.

January 29, 1865 Dear Mother— Here is a case of a soldier I found among the crowded cots in the Patent hospital—(they have removed most of the men of late and broken up that hospital). He likes to have some one to talk to, and we will listen to him. He got badly wounded in the leg and side at Fredericksburg that eventful Saturday, 13th December. He lay the succeeding two days and nights helpless on the field, between the city and those grim batteries, for his company and his regiment had been compelled to leave him to his fate. To make matters worse, he lay with his head slightly down hill, and could not help himself. At the end of some fifty hours he was brought off, with other wounded, under a flag of truce. We ask him how the Rebels treated him during those two days and nights within reach of them—whether they came to him—whether they abused him? He answers that several of the Rebels, soldiers and others, came to him, at one time and another. A couple of them, who were together, spoke roughly and sarcastically, but did no act. One middle-aged man, however, who seemed to be moving around the field among the dead and wounded for benevolent purposes, came to him in a way he will never forget. This man treated our soldier kindly, bound up his wounds, cheered him, gave him a couple of biscuits, gave him a drink and water, asked him if he could eat some beef. This good Secesh,1 however, did not change our soldier’s position, for it might have caused the blood to burst from the wounds where they were clotted and stagnated. Our soldier is from Pennsylvania ; has had a pretty severe time ; the wounds proved to be bad ones. But he retains a good heart, and is at present on the gain. . . .

1. Secesh (sG-sDshP): a secessionist from the Union; a Confederate.

884 unit 8: author’s style and voice

VA_L10PE-u08s2-c1Let.indd 884 3/29/11 11:20:16 AM After Reading

Virginia Standards Comprehension of Learning 1. Recall In “When I Heard the Learn’d Astronomer,” what methods does the 10.4g Explain the influence of astronomer use to teach about the stars? historical context on the form, style, and point of view of a literary text. 10.4h Evaluate 2. Recall In “The Artilleryman’s Vision,” where is the artilleryman when he how an author’s specific word experiences his vision? choices, syntax, tone, and voice shape the intended meaning Describe the sequence of events in “The Artilleryman’s Vision.” of the text, achieve specific 3. Summarize effects and support the author’s purpose. 10.4k Compare and contrast how rhyme, rhythm, sound, Text Analysis imagery, style, form, and other literary devices convey a message 4. Interpret Mood Reread “When I Heard the Learn’d Astronomer.” At what and elicit a reader’s emotions. point does the mood, or atmosphere, of the poem change? Explain which words and phrases signal this shift. 5. Understand Whitman’s Style In his poetry, Whitman often celebrates nature and its beauty. Which aspects of Whitman’s style in “When I Heard the Learn’d Astronomer” help communicate the beauty of nature? If necessary, review the list of aspects of Whitman’s style on page 879. 6. Examine Diction and Tone Reread lines 18–22 of “The Artilleryman’s Vision,” reviewing Whitman’s diction, or choice of words. Considering phrases such as “devilish exultation” and “old mad joy,” describe Whitman’s tone, or attitude, toward war. 7. Analyze Sensory Details Review the charts that you created and your conclusions about Whitman’s use of sensory details. Select one poem and explain how sensory details help make the speaker’s firsthand experience vivid and engaging. Use examples from the poem to support your answer. 8. Generalize About Poetic Form Whitman uses free verse in both selections. How might your sense of the speakers and their experiences be different if the poems had been written in a form with a conventional metrical pattern and rhyme scheme? 9. Compare Literary Works Compare Whitman’s depictions of Civil War soldiers in “The Artilleryman’s Vision” and in his letter to his mother on page 884. Which offers a more disturbing view of the after-effects of war—the poem or the personal letter? Use information from both pieces to support your response. Text Criticism 10. Historical Context When Whitman wrote “The Artilleryman’s Vision” in the mid-1860s, psychology had yet to become a modern science. What does this fact reveal about Whitman and his handling of the poem’s subject?

What do we learn from EXPERIENCE? What could your life experiences teach someone else?

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VA_L10PE-u08s2-arWhi.indd 885 3/29/11 11:15:26 AM Before Reading Birches Poem by Robert Frost Mending Wall Poem by Robert Frost How can NATURE inspire you?

Virginia Standards of Learning Spending time in nature often inspires us to think of things beyond 10.4b Make predictions, draw our ordinary routines. Whether it’s hiking through woods or inferences, and connect prior canoeing down a river, for example, being in “the great outdoors” knowledge to support reading comprehension. 10.4g Explain the can help us appreciate our place in the world at large. In the influence of historical context on following poems by Robert Frost, the speakers gain new insights into the form, style, and point of view of a literary text. 10.4h Evaluate how their own lives through their experiences with nature. an author’s specific word choices, syntax, tone, and voice shape the intended meaning of the text, QUICKWRITE Think of an outdoor activity that says something about achieve specific effects and support the author’s purpose. you and what you’re like—such as birdwatching, fishing, climbing, or swimming. Write a paragraph describing the activity and what it has helped you realize about yourself.

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VA_L10PE-u08s3-brbir.indd 886 3/29/11 11:23:38 AM Meet the Author text analysis: frost’s style In many ways, Robert Frost is a transitional figure between the Robert Frost 19th and 20th centuries. Like his predecessors, Frost loved and 1874–1963 wrote about the natural world, particularly rural New England. Unruly Youth His poems, however, contain more than his impressions of Although Robert Frost is linked with rural simple country life. In them, Frost often uses humor to point to New England in the public imagination, he more serious matters, such as themes of solitude and isolation. spent his early years in cities. At age 11, Frost moved with his mother and sister from his In this way, his writing anticipates later works of modern poetry birthplace, San Francisco, to the industrial city and fiction. The following are key aspects of Frost’s style: of Lawrence, Massachusetts. Undisciplined in • conversational or colloquial language grade school, Frost became co-valedictorian of his high school graduating class. However, • rich sensory imagery he dropped out of the two universities • imaginative similes and metaphors he attended—Harvard and Dartmouth— because he disliked the discipline of • realistic dialogue academic life. • a playful, mocking tone Farmer-Poet As you read, notice how these stylistic techniques help In his 20s and 30s, Frost worked a 30-acre make “Birches” and “Mending Wall” works of rare beauty farm in Derry, New Hampshire. Captivated by Derry’s inhabitants and rugged landscape, and complexity. Frost wrote many of his most beloved poems while living there. He used traditional poetic reading skill: make inferences devices—such as rhyme and meter—to In modern poetry, speakers do not often make direct capture the speech patterns of rural New statements about how they view the world. Instead, readers Englanders. Frost’s immense achievement must use clues in the texts to make inferences, or logical was recognized with 4 Pulitzer Prizes in poetry and 44 honorary college degrees. guesses, about the speakers’ ideas and feelings. For example, speculate about what the following lines from “Birches” reveal background to the poems about the speaker’s desires: Nature’s Splendor In the selections, Frost captures the stark So was I once myself a swinger of birches. beauty of rural New England. In “Birches,” And so I dream of going back to be. he paints a vivid picture of the white-barked trees that adorn much of the countryside. As you read each poem, try to “read between the lines” and The birch is a tall, delicate tree with a record your inferences in a chart like the one shown. slender white trunk that can bend easily in a moderate wind. The title “Mending Wall” “Birches” refers to the act of repairing the stone walls Poem Details My Associations Inferences that divide farms and fields in New England. Farmers typically build these walls “When I see birches Birches are white, Seeing bent birches with stones removed from bend to left and right/ flexible trees. makes the speaker their own land. Across the lines of invent a playful straighter darker trees/ explanation for I like to think some boy’s them. been swinging them.” Author Online Go to thinkcentral.com. Complete the activities in your Reader/Writer Notebook. KEYWORD: HML10-887

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VA_L10PE-u08s3-brbir.indd 887 3/29/11 11:23:22 AM BirchesRobert Frost

When I see birches bend to left and right Across the lines of straighter darker trees, I like to think some boy’s been swinging them. But swinging doesn’t bend them down to stay 5 As ice-storms do. Often you must have seen them Loaded with ice a sunny winter morning After a rain. They click upon themselves a frost’s style As the breeze rises, and turn many-colored Frost uses plain and As the stir cracks and crazes their enamel. colloquial words— such as 10 Soon the sun’s warmth makes them shed crystal shells contractions— throughout Shattering and avalanching on the snow-crust— this poem. Find one or two examples in lines Such heaps of broken glass to sweep away 1–13. What effect do these You’d think the inner dome of heaven had fallen. a everyday words create? They are dragged to the withered bracken1 by the load, 15 And they seem not to break; though once they are bowed So low for long, they never right themselves: You may see their trunks arching in the woods Years afterwards, trailing their leaves on the ground Like girls on hands and knees that throw their hair 20 Before them over their heads to dry in the sun. b b Frost’s style But I was going to say when Truth broke in Which sensory details presented so far help With all her matter-of-fact about the ice-storm the image of the birches I should prefer to have some boy bend them come alive for you? As he went out and in to fetch the cows— c make inferences 25 Some boy too far from town to learn baseball, Reread lines 21–27. What Whose only play was what he found himself, can you infer about the Summer or winter, and could play alone. c speaker?

1. bracken: weedy ferns having large triangular fronds and often forming dense thickets.

5 5 Treetop Flier, Rod Frederick. Paper, 22 /8˝ × 4 /8˝. Courtesy of The Greenwich Workshop, Inc.

VA_L10PE-u08s3-birch.indd 888 3/29/11 11:22:23 AM One by one he subdued2 his father’s trees By riding them down over and over again 30 Until he took the stiffness out of them, And not one but hung limp, not one was left For him to conquer. He learned all there was To learn about not launching out too soon And so not carrying the tree away 3 35 Clear to the ground. He always kept his poise d Frost’s style To the top branches, climbing carefully In lines 28–40, Frost With the same pains you use to fill a cup describes a boy swinging Up to the brim, and even above the brim. in the birches. Which words or phrases convey Then he flung outward, feet first, with a swish, Frost’s playful and 40 Kicking his way down through the air to the ground. d energetic tone? So was I once myself a swinger of birches. And so I dream of going back to be. It’s when I’m weary of considerations, And life is too much like a pathless wood 45 Where your face burns and tickles with the cobwebs Broken across it, and one eye is weeping From a twig’s having lashed across it open. e e Frost’s style I’d like to get away from earth awhile Identify the simile used And then come back to it and begin over. in lines 41–47. What ideas beyond the literal meaning 50 May no fate willfully misunderstand me of the words does this And half grant what I wish and snatch me away simile communicate? Not to return. Earth’s the right place for love: I don’t know where it’s likely to go better. I’d like to go by climbing a birch tree, 55 And climb black branches up a snow-white trunk f make inferences Toward heaven, till the tree could bear no more, Reread lines 48–59. Think But dipped its top and set me down again. of what this final passage suggests about the That would be good both going and coming back. speaker. Does he accept One could do worse than be a swinger of birches. f or deny reality? Explain.

2. subdued: brought under control. 3. poise: balance.

birches 889

VA_L10PE-u08s3-birch.indd 889 3/29/11 11:22:06 AM Mending WallRobert Frost

In what ways might the setting shown in the painting represent that of “Mending Wall”? In what ways might it be different? Cotswold Landscape (1981), Derold Page. Private collection. Photo © The Bridgeman Art Library.

Something there is that doesn’t love a wall, That sends the frozen-ground-swell under it And spills the upper boulders in the sun, And makes gaps even two can pass abreast. g g frost’s style 5 The work of hunters is another thing: Think about Frost’s I have come after them and made repair decision to use the Where they have left not one stone on a stone, informal, plain word something in line 1. But they would have the rabbit out of hiding, In your opinion, would To please the yelping dogs.1 The gaps I mean, a more descriptive 10 No one has seen them made or heard them made, word have provided a But at spring mending-time we find them there. better effect? Explain your opinion.

1. The work . . . yelping dogs: The speaker has replaced the stones hunters have removed from the wall when they have been pursuing rabbits.

890 unit 8: author’s style and voice

VA_L10PE-u08s3-wall.indd 890 3/29/11 11:24:42 AM I let my neighbor know beyond the hill; And on a day we meet to walk the line And set the wall between us once again. h h make inferences 15 We keep the wall between us as we go. Describe the speaker’s To each the boulders that have fallen to each. feelings so far about And some are loaves and some so nearly balls mending the stone wall. Which words and phrases We have to use a spell to make them balance: helped you make your “Stay where you are until our backs are turned!” inference? 20 We wear our fingers rough with handling them. Oh, just another kind of outdoor game, One on a side. It comes to little more: There where it is we do not need the wall: He is all pine and I am apple orchard. 25 My apple trees will never get across And eat the cones under his pines, I tell him. He only says, “Good fences make good neighbors.” Spring is the mischief in me, and I wonder If I could put a notion in his head: 30 “Why do they make good neighbors? Isn’t it Where there are cows? But here there are no cows. i i make inferences Before I built a wall I’d ask to know Reread lines 23–31, What I was walling in or walling out, looking for details that And to whom I was like to give offense. convey the speaker’s opinion of his neighbor. 35 Something there is that doesn’t love a wall, Does the speaker admire That wants it down.” I could say “Elves” to him, him? Why or why not? But it’s not elves exactly, and I’d rather He said it for himself. I see him there, Bringing a stone grasped firmly by the top j frost’s style 40 In each hand, like an old-stone savage armed. Consider Frost’s overall He moves in darkness as it seems to me, tone, or attitude, in this Not of woods only and the shade of trees. poem. Do you think the He will not go behind his father’s saying, poet himself approves or disapproves of walls And he likes having thought of it so well between neighbors? 45 He says again, “Good fences make good neighbors.” j Explain.

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VA_L10PE-u08s3-wall.indd 891 3/29/11 11:24:26 AM After Reading

Virginia Standards Comprehension of Learning 1. Recall In “Birches,” what two explanations does the speaker give for the 10.4b Make predictions, draw bent trees? inferences, and connect prior knowledge to support reading comprehension. 10.4g Explain the 2. Clarify Which explanation does the speaker seem to prefer? Explain. influence of historical context on the form, style, and point of view of 3. Recall According to the speaker of “Mending Wall,” what two forces cause a literary text. 10.4h Evaluate how the stone wall to fall apart? an author’s specific word choices, syntax, tone, and voice shape the intended meaning of the text, 4. Clarify Why is there no practical need for the wall? achieve specific effects and support the author’s purpose. Text Analysis 5. Make Inferences Review the charts you made as you read. Think about the key inferences that helped you understand each speaker. What personality traits and values does each speaker appear to have? 6. Interpret In “Mending Wall,” the neighbor reminds the speaker that “good fences make good neighbors.” Paraphrase this statement. Do you agree or disagree? Explain your response. 7. Analyze Tone Through Imagery In his works, Frost often reveals a mischievous attitude toward his subjects through his choice of images. Review lines 23–42 in “Birches” and lines 15–26 in “Mending Wall.” Which sensory details in each poem strongly convey Frost’s playful tone?

8. Analyze Frost’s Style One hallmark of Frost’s style is his use of imaginative similes and metaphors. Identify two similes and two metaphors in the poems. Explain how they convey ideas beyond the literal meaning of the words. 9. Generalize About Poetic Form Frost often relied on conventional verse forms in his work. Both “Birches” and “Mending Wall” are written in blank verse— a form of unrhymed iambic pentameter favored by many English poets, including William Shakespeare. What does Frost’s regular use of this poetic form suggest about him and his writing style? Text Criticism 10. Biographical Context Sharing his understanding of good poetry, Frost once said: “A poem is never a put-up job, so to speak. It begins as a lump in the throat, a sense of wrong, a homesickness, a lovesickness. . . . It is at its best when it is a tantalizing vagueness.” Select either poem and explain how it might fit Frost’s standards. Use examples from the poem to support your response.

How can NATURE inspire you? What can nature teach you about humanity?

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VA_L10PE-u08s3-arbir.indd 892 3/29/11 11:21:21 AM Virginia Standards Language of Learning grammar and style: Use Verbals Effectively 10.4h Evaluate how an author’s specific word choices, syntax, tone, Poetry consists of words and phrases that are carefully chosen to create and voice shape the intended particular rhythms and effects. One kind of phrase that often appears in meaning of the text, achieve specific effects and support the author’s poetry is the infinitive phrase, which consists of an infinitive—a verb form purpose. 10.6f Revise writing for that begins with to—plus its modifiers and complements. Infinitive phrases clarity of content, accuracy, and depth of information. function as nouns, adjectives, or adverbs, but often they are able to provide more information than would one-word examples of these parts of speech. Here are some instances of Frost’s use of infinitive phrases. Note how they function as a noun and adverbs in the poem. I should prefer to have some boy bend them As he went out and in to fetch the cows— Some boy too far from town to learn baseball (“Birches,” lines 23–25) In the following revision, notice how the writer uses an infinitive phrase to better describe the neighbor’s wish. Use similar techniques to revise your responses to the prompt.

student model to maintain the wall between their properties The speaker in “Mending Wall” doesn’t understand his neighbor’s wish.

reading-writing connection YOUR Broaden your understanding of Frost’s poems by responding to this prompt. Then use the revising tip to improve your writing. TURN

writing prompt revising tip

Extended Constructed Response: Analysis Review your response. How does the dialogue and imagery in “Mending Did you use infinitive Wall” help illuminate the differences between the phrases to enhance speaker and his neighbor? How do the differences your writing style? between them help reveal the poem’s theme? If not, revise your Interactive Revision Using examples and direct quotations from the response. poem, write a three- to five-paragraph response. Go to thinkcentral.com. KEYWORD: HML10-893

birches / mending wall 893

VA_L10PE-u08s3-arbir.indd 893 3/29/11 11:21:11 AM Before Reading The Pond Poem by Amy Lowell

Video link at Fourth of July Night thinkcentral.com Poem by Carl Sandburg The Red Wheelbarrow Poem by William Carlos Williams Can you paint a PICTURE with words?

Virginia Standards of Learning Think of a favorite photo and picture in your mind the scene it 10.4g Explain the influence of shows. What details help you visualize the scene? As you’ll see, historical context on the form, through carefully chosen details, a poem can capture the image of a style, and point of view of a literary text. 10.4h Evaluate how an moment in time. author’s specific word choices, syntax, tone, and voice shape the intended meaning of the text, QUICKWRITE William Carlos Williams famously remarked that a achieve specific effects and support the author’s purpose. 10.4m Use poem can be made out of anything. With a group, think of an animal reading strategies to monitor or object that could be the subject of a poem. Without naming the comprehension throughout the reading process. animal or object, list details that illustrate its physical qualities and the feeling it creates in people who view it. Then, see if other groups can guess your subject from the details you chose.

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VA_L10PE-u08s4-brPon.indd 894 3/29/11 11:26:38 AM Meet the Authors text analysis: imagism Amy Lowell A style can be unique to an author, or it can reflect the shared 1874–1925 artistic vision of a literary movement. Imagism was a style Imagist Leader embraced by several influential English and American poets in Born into a well-known New England family, the 1910s and 1920s. Rebelling against structured verse forms Amy Lowell was 28 when she like the sonnet, imagists wanted poetry to be “swift, uncluttered, decided to become a poet. She functional.” Different poets interpreted the style in different learned about imagism early in her career and became a tireless ways, but most imagist poems include these characteristics: advocate for the new style. Her • simple, unpretentious language literary lectures and essays, as much as her creative • flexible, natural rhythms instead of strict meter and rhyme work, helped transform • concise, precise descriptions American poetry. • clear, vivid images, usually drawn from everyday life While many poets use imagery, imagists wrote poems about single striking images or series of images. Every element of a Carl Sandburg 1878–1967 poem—words, rhythm, structure—was carefully chosen to re-create the experience of seeing an image, whose meaning American Bard was never stated but only implied. A poet, reporter, folk musician, and traveler, Carl Sandburg chronicled the Imagism borrowed from several poetic traditions, including lives and landscapes of everyday classical Greek lyric, Japanese haiku, and French symbolist America. His simple verse forms poetry. Free verse, or unrhymed lines with irregular rhythms, captured the bracing reality of was a hallmark of imagist style. As you read, note the elements a world he observed firsthand. of imagist style you find in each poem. Sandburg’s colorful career and his best-selling biographies of reading strategy: visualize Abraham Lincoln made him an American icon. When you visualize, you form mental pictures based on the details a writer supplies. Visualizing can help you understand the experience an imagist poem presents. Use the following strategies to visualize the scenes in these poems: William Carlos Williams 1883–1963 • Note sensory details in each poem, such as the “cold, wet Local Visionary leaves” in Amy Lowell’s “The Pond.” William Carlos Williams wrote • Think about the mood or idea each detail conveys. nearly 50 books of fiction, drama, poetry, and essays • Sketch the mental images you “see” as you read each poem. while working full-time as a For each poem, use a chart to record descriptive phrases and doctor in Rutherford, New Jersey. words and the mental images that they evoke for you. Using informal language and experimental forms, Williams Title: “The Pond” wrote poems about objects, scenes, and people from his Descriptive Words Mental Pictures own life. “cold, wet leaves” shivering; fallen leaves

Authors Online Go to thinkcentral.com. KEYWORD: HML10-895 Complete the activities in your Reader/Writer Notebook.

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VA_L10PE-u08s4-brPon.indd 895 3/29/11 11:26:19 AM The Pond Amy Lowell

Cold, wet leaves Floating on moss-coloured water, a IMAGISM What elements of And the croaking of frogs— imagist style can you Cracked bell-notes in the twilight. a identify in this poem?

Compare this image with the one on page 897. Which elements, such as color, subject, and com- position, help establish the mood of each image?

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VA_L10PE-u08s4-Pond.indd 896 3/29/11 11:28:45 AM Fourth of July Night Carl Sandburg The little boat at anchor in black water sat murmuring to the tall black sky.

A white sky bomb fizzed on a black line. 5 A rocket hissed its red signature into the west. Now a shower of Chinese fire alphabets, a cry of flower pots broken in flames, a long curve to a purple spray, three violet balloons— 10 Drips of seaweed tangled in gold, shimmering symbols of mixed numbers, tremulous arrangements of cream gold folds of a bride’s wedding gown— b b VISUALIZE Reread the second stanza. A few sky bombs spoke their pieces, Which image is most vivid, and why? 15 then velvet dark.

The little boat at anchor in black water sat murmuring to the tall black sky.

the pond / fourth of july night 897

VA_L10PE-u08s4-Pond.indd 897 3/29/11 11:28:17 AM The Red Wheelbarrow William Carlos Williams

so much depends upon

a red wheel barrow

5 glazed with rain water

beside the white chickens. c c VISUALIZE What visual contrast does this poem present?

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VA_L10PE-u08s4-Pond.indd 898 3/29/11 11:27:55 AM After Reading

Virginia Standards Comprehension of Learning 1. Recall What phrase does the speaker of “The Pond” use to describe the 10.4g Explain the influence of historical context on the form, croaking of frogs? style, and point of view of a literary text. 10.4h Evaluate how an 2. Clarify What contrast does “Fourth of July Night” include? author’s specific word choices, syntax, tone, and voice shape the 3. Recall What sensory details does “The Red Wheelbarrow” provide? intended meaning of the text, achieve specific effects and support the author’s purpose. 10.4m Use reading strategies to monitor Text Analysis comprehension throughout the 4. Describe Mood Amy Lowell’s “The Pond” uses one simple image to reading process. communicate its message. Describe the mood of this poem. How does the image chosen help establish this mood? 5. Interpret Form In what way does the structure of “Fourth of July Night” mimic the action it describes? 6. Make Inferences Reread “The Red Wheelbarrow” without its opening stanza. How does the first stanza change your understanding of the poem? 7. Visualize Imagist poems present compact descriptions that leave many details implied or unstated. Choose an image from one of the charts you created earlier. Using the visualization strategy, write a more detailed description of the image.

8. Evaluate Imagist Style Use a chart to identify features of imagist style in each poem. Which of the poems is the best example of imagist style? Cite details to support your conclusion.

Title: Imagist Element Example Simple language Free verse Concise descriptions Striking images

Text Criticism 9. Historical Context In the early decades of the 20th century, Europe and the United States experienced rapid technological and social change, as well as a devastating world war. How might these challenges to established traditions have fueled an experimental artistic movement like imagism?

Can you paint a PICTURE with words? Would you prefer to use words or images to depict a scene? Why?

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VA_L10PE-u08s4-arPon.indd 899 3/29/11 11:25:17 AM Before Reading Only Daughter Personal Essay by Sandra Cisneros

from Caramelo Fiction by Sandra Cisneros What is your ROLE in your household?

Virginia Standards of Learning Think about the different roles that you play in your family and how 10.4b Make predictions, draw you feel about them. Has your gender helped to determine these roles? inferences, and connect prior In the following selections by Sandra Cisneros, you will learn what it knowledge to support reading comprehension. 10.4d Analyze means to be a daughter in a traditional Mexican-American family. the cultural or social function of literature. 10.4h Evaluate how an author’s specific word DISCUSS During the 1960s, many people began reexamining the choices, syntax, tone, and voice shape the intended meaning role of women both at home and in society. Since then, ideas about of the text, achieve specific the proper roles of males and females have changed dramatically. effects and support the author’s purpose. 10.5b Recognize an In a large group, share your thoughts about the roles of males and author’s intended audience and females today. Discuss gender roles at home, at school, in the purpose for writing. workplace, and in the community.

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VA_L10PE-u08s5-brOnC.indd 900 3/29/11 11:30:46 AM Meet the Author text analysis: style and voice Sandra Cisneros is a contemporary writer who is known for her Sandra Cisneros vibrant writing style. Her work is easily recognizable because born 1954 of her distinctive voice. In literature, a voice is a writer’s use of A Writer Under Wraps language in a way that allows readers to “hear” a personality in Born in Chicago in 1954, Sandra Cisneros (sGs-nDPrôs) his or her writing. In “Only Daughter,” Cisneros states: grew up with her Mexican father, Mexican-American mother, and At Christmas, I flew home to Chicago. The house was throbbing, six brothers. As a young girl, she had same as always; hot tamales and sweet tamales hissing in my few friends because her family moved mother’s pressure cooker, and everybody—my mother, six frequently between Chicago and Mexico City. To ward off loneliness, she often read brothers, wives, babies, aunts, cousins—talking too loud and stories and wrote poetry. As a teenager, she at the same time. . . . continued to write but was careful to keep Cisneros’s use of conversational language, vivid images, and her work away from family members, who disapproved of her writing. lyrical sentences gives readers a sense of her own lively spirit. As you read the two selections, think about the other stylistic A Proud Latina elements that contribute to her voice. While in graduate school, Cisneros began to embrace her own cultural heritage and experiences. She learned that the people and reading skill: identify author’s purpose events that had shaped her life were different You may recall that an author’s purpose is the reason why he from those that had influenced the lives of or she creates a particular work. Often, an author’s purpose her classmates. This discovery helped her find directly relates to the form, or genre, of a text, as well as its her own literary voice—one that reflected her structural pattern. Cisneros is a versatile writer whose body of unique Mexican-American background. In 1984, Cisneros published The House on Mango work comprises different forms, including poetry, nonfiction, Street—a series of prose vignettes told by a and fiction. As you read each selection, jot down answers to girl living in a Chicago neighborhood. Since the following questions: then, she has continued to tell stories drawn from her personal history. • What is the form, or genre, of this work? • Why do writers usually write this type of work? background to the selections Traditional Roles • Which words or phrases suggest a specific tone? In “Only Daughter,” Cisneros describes • Does the tone of the work suggest a specific purpose? her father’s ideas about the proper role of Later, you will use your answers to help you draw conclusions females. Coming from the culture of old Mexico, Cisneros’s father held the patriarchal about Cisneros’s purpose in each selection. beliefs of many traditional cultures—that is, he considered men the heads of families and vocabulary in context the leaders of society. According to his values, The words in boldface help reveal what it’s like to grow up in a woman needed only to “become someone’s a traditional household. Restate each phrase, substituting a wife” and devote herself to her home and family. different word or words for each boldfaced word.

1. an anthology of short 4. a trauma to the head Author stories 5. nostalgia for earlier days Online 2. fulfilling one’s destiny Go to thinkcentral.com. 3. viewing events in KEYWORD: HML10-901 retrospect

Complete the activities in your Reader/Writer Notebook.

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VA_L10PE-u08s5-brOnC.indd 901 3/29/11 11:30:25 AM ONLY

DAUGHTERSandra Cisneros

Once, several years ago, when I was just starting out my writing career, I was asked to write my own contributor’s note for an anthology I was part anthology (Bn-thJlPE-jC) of. I wrote: “I am the only daughter in a family of six sons. That explains n. a collection of written everything.” works—such as poems, Well, I’ve thought about that ever since, and yes, it explains a lot to me, short stories, or plays— in a single book or set but for the reader’s sake I should have written: “I am the only daughter in a Mexican family of six sons.” Or even: “I am the only daughter of a Mexican father and a Mexican-American mother.” Or: “I am the only daughter of a working-class family of nine.” All of these had everything to do with who I 10 am today. a AUTHOR’S PURPOSE I was/am the only daughter and only a daughter. Being an only daughter in Reread lines 11–15. What a family of six sons forced me by circumstance to spend a lot of time by myself specific experience is the because my brothers felt it beneath them to play with a girl in public. But that subject of this personal essay? Identify the aloneness, that loneliness, was good for a would-be writer—it allowed me time details that helped you to think and think, to imagine, to read and prepare myself. a draw your conclusion. Being only a daughter for my father meant my destiny would lead me to become someone’s wife. That’s what he believed. But when I was in the fifth destiny (dDsPtE-nC) n. the determined fate of grade and shared my plans for college with him, I was sure he understood. I a particular person or 1 remember my father saying, “Que bueno, mi’ja, that’s good.” That meant a lot thing; lot in life 20 to me, especially since my brothers thought the idea hilarious. What I didn’t realize was that my father thought college was good for girls—good for finding a husband. After four years in college and two more in graduate school and still no husband, my father shakes his head even now and says I wasted all that education. In retrospect, I’m lucky my father believed daughters were meant for retrospect husbands. It meant it didn’t matter if I majored in something silly like English. (rDtPrE-spDkt’) n. a After all, I’d find a nice professional eventually, right? This allowed me the view or contemplation liberty to putter about embroidering my little poems and stories without my of something past father interrupting with so much as a “What’s that you’re writing?”

1. Que bueno, mi’ja (kD bwDPnô mCPhä) Spanish: That’s good, my daughter. (Mi’ja is a shortened form of mi hija.)

Sandra Cisneros (2000), 902 unit 8: author’s style and voice Raquel Valle Sentíes. Oil, 20˝ × 20˝. www.soycomosoyyque.com

VA_L10PE-u08s5-only.indd 902 3/29/11 11:33:28 AM VA_L10PE-u08s5-only.indd 903 3/29/11 11:33:18 AM 30 But the truth is, I wanted him to interrupt. I wanted my father to under­ stand what it was I was scribbling, to introduce me as “My only daughter, the writer.” Not as “This is only my daughter. She teaches.” Es maestra2—teacher. Not even profesora.3 In a sense, everything I have ever written has been for him, to win his approval even though I know my father can’t read English words, even though my father’s only reading includes the brown-ink Esto sports magazines from Mexico City and the bloody ¡Alarma! magazines that feature yet another sighting of La Virgen de Guadalupe4 on a tortilla or a wife’s revenge on her 5 6 philandering husband by bashing his skull in with a molcajete (a kitchen (trôPmE) 7 8 trauma n. severe 40 mortar made of volcanic rock). Or the fotonovelas, the little picture physical or emotional paperbacks with tragedy and trauma erupting from the characters’ mouths distress in bubbles. b My father represents, then, the public majority. A public who is disinterested b style and voice in reading, and yet one whom I am writing about and for and privately trying Reread lines 34–42. Describe Cisneros’s tone, to woo. or attitude, toward her When we were growing up in Chicago, we moved a lot because of my father and his reading father. He suffered bouts of nostalgia. Then we’d have to let go our flat, store habits. Which details the furniture with mother’s relatives, load the station wagon with baggage and strongly convey her bologna sandwiches, and head south. To Mexico City. feelings? 50 We came back, of course. To yet another Chicago flat, another Chicago nostalgia (nJ-stBlPjE) n. neighborhood, another Catholic school. Each time, my father would seek out a wistful longing for the the parish priest in order to get a tuition break and complain or boast: “I have past or the familiar seven sons.” He meant siete hijos,9 seven children, but he translated it as “sons.” “I have seven sons.” To anyone who would listen. The Sears Roebuck employee who sold us the washing machine. The short-order cook where my father ate his ham-and-eggs breakfasts. “I have seven sons.” As if he deserved a medal from the state. My papa. He didn’t mean anything by that mistranslation, I’m sure. But 60 somehow I could feel myself being erased. I’d tug my father’s sleeve and whisper: “Not seven sons. Six! and one daughter.” c c author’s purpose When my oldest brother graduated from medical school, he fulfilled In personal essays, writers my father’s dream that we study hard and use this—our heads, instead of often express opinions on this—our hands. Even now my father’s hands are thick and yellow, stubbed subjects. Which details in lines 46–61 suggest by a history of hammer and nails and twine and coils and springs. “Use this,” Cisneros’s opinions?

2. Es maestra (Ds mä-DsPträ) Spanish: She is a teacher. 3. profesora (prô-fD-sôPrä) Spanish: professor. 4. La Virgen de Guadalupe (lä vCrPhDn dD gwä-dä-lLPpD) Spanish: the Virgin of Guadalupe—a vision of Mary, the virgin mother of Jesus, said to have appeared on a hill outside Mexico City in 1531. 5. philandering: engaging in many casual love affairs. 6. molcajete (môl-kä-hDPtD) Spanish. 7. mortar: bowl for grinding grain. 8. fotonovelas (fô-tô-nô-vDPläs) Spanish. 9. siete hijos (syDPtD CPhôs) Spanish. (Hijos can mean either “children” or “sons.”)

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VA_L10PE-u08s5-only.indd 904 3/29/11 11:32:56 AM my father said, tapping his head, “and not this,” showing us those hands. He always looked tired when he said it. Wasn’t college an investment? And hadn’t I spent all those years in college? And if I didn’t marry, what was it all for? Why would anyone go to college 70 and then choose to be poor? Especially someone who had always been poor. Last year, after ten years of writing professionally, the financial rewards started to trickle in. My second National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship.10 A guest professorship at the University of California, Berkeley. My book, which 10.3c sold to a major New York publishing house. Language Coach At Christmas, I flew home to Chicago. The house was throbbing, same as Connotations The images 11 always; hot tamales and sweet tamales hissing in my mother’s pressure cooker, and feelings connected and everybody—my mother, six brothers, wives, babies, aunts, cousins— with a word are its talking too loud and at the same time, like in a Fellini12 film, because that’s connotations. Throbbing just how we are. and pulsating both mean “beating,” but throbbing 80 I went upstairs to my father’s room. One of my stories had just been implies strength and 13 translated into Spanish and published in an anthology of Chicano writing, energy, and pulsating and I wanted to show it to him. Ever since he recovered from a stroke two implies regularity. How years ago, my father likes to spend his leisure hours horizontally. And that’s would pulsating change how I found him, watching a Pedro Infante14 movie on Galavisión15 and eating the meaning of line 75 if it were substituted for rice pudding. throbbing? There was a glass filmed with milk on the bedside table. There were several vials of pills and balled Kleenex. And on the floor, one black sock and a plastic urinal that I didn’t want to look at but looked at anyway. Pedro Infante was 10.4h about to burst into song, and my father was laughing. d d IMAGERY IN 90 I’m not sure if it was because my story was translated into Spanish or NONFICTION because it was published in Mexico or perhaps because the story dealt with Imagery is the descriptive Tepeyac,16 the colonia my father was raised in and the house he grew up in, words and phrases a but at any rate, my father punched the mute button on his remote control writer uses to create a sensory experience and read my story. for the reader. Reread I sat on the bed next to my father and waited. He read it very slowly. As if he lines 86–89, noting were reading each line over and over. He laughed at all the right places and read how Cisneros used vivid lines he liked out loud. He pointed and asked questions: “Is this So-and-so?” sensory images to allow “Yes,” I said. He kept reading. the reader to visualize the father’s room. Why do When he was finally finished, after what seemed like hours, my father you think Cisneros chose 100 looked up and asked: “Where can we get more copies of this for the relatives?” to relate these specific Of all the wonderful things that happened to me last year, that was the most details of her father’s wonderful.  room to the reader?

10. National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship: The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA)—a U.S. government agency—awards money in the form of fellowships to artists and writers. 11. tamales (tä-mäPlDs) Spanish: rolls of cornmeal dough filled with meat and peppers and steamed in cornhusk wrappings. 12. Fellini: the Italian movie director Federico Fellini (1920–1993), famous for his noisy, energetic films. 13. Chicano: Mexican-American. 14. Pedro Infante (pAPdrI Gn-fänPtA): a popular Mexican film star. 15. Galavisión: cable TV network that features movies and programs in Spanish. 16. Tepeyac (tD-pD-yäkP): a district of Mexico City.

only daughter 905

VA_L10PE-u08s5-only.indd 905 3/29/11 11:32:48 AM CarameloAcuérdate de Acapulco, Sandra Cisneros de aquellas noches, María bonita, María del alma; acuérdate que en la playa, con tus manitas las estrellitas las enjuagabas.1 —“ María bonita,” by Augustín Lara, version sung by the composer while playing the piano, accompanied by a sweet, but very, very sweet violin

We’re all little in the photograph above Father’s bed. We were little in Acapulco. We will always be little. For him we are just as we were then. Here are the Acapulco waters lapping just behind us, and here we are sitting on the lip of land and water. The little kids, Lolo and Memo, making devil horns behind each other’s head; the Awful Grandmother holding them even though she never held them in real life. Mother seated as far from her as politely possible; Toto slouched beside her. The big boys, Rafa, Ito, and Tikis, stand under the roof of Father’s skinny arms. Aunty Light-Skin hugging Antonieta Araceli to her belly. Aunty shutting her eyes when the shutter 10 clicks, as if she chooses not to remember the future, the house on Destiny Street sold, the move north to Monterrey. e e AUTHOR’S PURPOSE Here is Father squinting that same squint I always make when I’m photo- Reread lines 3–11. graphed. He isn’t acabado2 yet. He isn’t finished, worn from working, from Consider your own worrying, from smoking too many packs of cigarettes. There isn’t anything on reaction to phrases such as “making devil his face but his face, and a tidy, thin mustache, like Pedro Infante, like Clark horns” and “the Awful Gable.3 Father’s skin pulpy and soft, pale as the belly side of a shark. Grandmother.” What The Awful Grandmother has the same light skin as Father, but in elephant purpose do they suggest? folds, stuffed into a bathing suit the color of an old umbrella with an amber handle. 20 I’m not here. They’ve forgotten about me when the photographer walking along the beach proposes a portrait, un recuerdo, a remembrance literally. No f STYLE AND VOICE one notices I’m off playing by myself building sand houses. They won’t realize Cisneros’s style is often I’m missing until the photographer delivers the portrait to Catita’s house, and characterized by loosely I look at it for the first time and ask,—When was this taken? Where? structured sentences, such Then everyone realizes the portrait is incomplete. It’s as if I didn’t exist. It’s as those in lines 20–27. What aspect of Cisneros’s as if I’m the photographer walking along the beach with the tripod camera on voice comes through in my shoulder asking.—¿Un recuerdo? A souvenir? A memory?  f this type of writing?

1. Acuérdate de Acapulco . . . las enjuagabas Spanish: Remember Acapulco, those nights, beautiful Maria, Maria of my soul; remember that in the sand, you washed the stars with your hands. 2. acabado (ä-kä-bäPdô) Spanish: finished. 3. Clark Gable: an American film star of the 1940s.

Black Jumper, Lucy Willis. British. Private collection. 906 unit 8: author’s style and voice Photo © Curwen Gallery/The Bridgeman Art Library.

VA_L10PE-u08s5-caram.indd 906 3/29/11 11:32:06 AM VA_L10PE-u08s5-caram.indd 907 3/29/11 11:31:45 AM After Reading

Virginia Standards Comprehension of Learning 1. Recall According to “Only Daughter,” what expectations did Cisneros’s 10.4b Make predictions, draw father have for her? inferences, and connect prior knowledge to support reading comprehension. 10.4d Analyze 2. Recall In what way did Cisneros go against her father’s expectations? the cultural or social function of literature. 10.4h Evaluate how 3. Summarize Describe the different family members included in the souvenir an author’s specific word choices, photograph in the excerpt from Caramelo. Who is missing from the picture? syntax, tone, and voice shape the intended meaning of the text, achieve specific effects and 4. Clarify Reread lines 25–27 of the excerpt. Why does the narrator compare support the author’s purpose. herself to the photographer? 10.5b Recognize an author’s intended audience and purpose for writing. Text Analysis 5. Identify Theme In “Only Daughter,” what theme about female roles does Cisneros communicate through her relationship with her father? Support your answer with evidence from the essay.

6. Examine Style and Voice Cisneros’s writing style is often marked by a use of conversational language and fragmented sentences. How might your sense of Cisneros and her experiences be different if “Only Daughter” had been written with more formal words and sentence structures? 7. Interpret Symbol A person, a place, an activity, or an object that represents something beyond itself is called a symbol. In the excerpt from Caramelo, what does the souvenir photograph seem to symbolize to the narrator? 8. Relate Imagery and Tone Reread lines 12–19 of the excerpt, reviewing Cisneros’s use of vivid sensory images. Considering words such as “squinting,” “elephant folds,” and “the color of an old umbrella,” describe the narrator’s tone, or attitude, toward her father and her grandmother.

9. Compare Author’s Purposes Review your answers to the questions on page 901. Identify Cisneros’s purpose for writing each selection. What similarities or differences in purpose do you see between “Only Daughter” and the excerpt from Caramelo? Explain your response. Text Criticism 10. Social Context “Only Daughter” was first published in Glamour, a monthly magazine that is read almost exclusively by women, many of whom are young and single. Does this information affect your understanding of Cisneros’s purpose for writing the personal essay? Explain your response.

What is your ROLE in your household? What has shaped the way your family members take on different roles?

908 unit 8: author’s style and voice

VA_L10PE-u08s5-arOnC.indd 908 3/29/11 11:29:45 AM Vocabulary in Context word list vocabulary practice anthology Select the vocabulary word that best completes each sentence. destiny nostalgia 1. Josh believed that his ______would lead him to become a famous actor. retrospect 2. Someone with ______often relives happy memories of earlier times. trauma 3. Shirley is often seen carrying a(n) ______of the works of Langston Hughes, her favorite author. 4. In ______, I wish I had done things differently. 5. The ______of the accident would never completely leave Kyra.

academic vocabulary in writing

• clarify • feature • precise • style • transmit

Write a short narrative that shares a positive or negative experience from your childhood. Use your own personal style to help readers understand what happened. Specific details will help clarify the events for anyone who was not there. Use at least one Academic Vocabulary word in your response.

Virginia Standards vocabulary strategy: etymology of Learning Etymology is the history of words, and knowing this history can often help you 10.3g Use knowledge of the remember a word’s meaning. For example, the word nostalgia derives from two evolution, diversity, and effects of language to comprehend and Greek words: nostos, which means “homecoming,” and algos, meaning “pain, elaborate the meaning of texts. grief, or distress.” In modern English, this translates to “a sad or wistful yearning for the past.” nos•tal•gi•a (nJ-stBlPjE) n. 1. a bittersweet longing. 2. a sad or wistful yearning for the past. [Greek nostos, homecoming + Greek algos, pain, grief, or distress.]

PRACTICE Use the dictionary or an online reference to research the etymology of each word below. Study each word’s derivation, meaning, and spelling. Interactive 1. anthology Vocabulary 2. retrospect Go to thinkcentral.com. KEYWORD: HML10-909 3. trauma

only daughter / caramelo 909

VA_L10PE-u08s5-arOnC.indd 909 3/29/11 11:29:35 AM Reading for Author Brings Back Memories Information of Not So Long Ago Critique

ONLY DAUGHTER SandraSandra CisCisnerosneros What’s the Connection?

(Bn-thJlPE-jC) I was part anthology Once, several years ago, when I was just starting out my writing career, I n. a collection of written was asked to write my own contributor’s note for an anthology explains works—such as poems, of. I wrote: “I am the only daughter in a family of six sons. That short stories, or plays— everything.” in a single book or set Well, I’ve thought about that ever since, and yes, it explains a lot to me, but for the reader’s sake I should have written: “I am the only daughter in a Mexican family of six sons.” Or even: “I am the only daughter of a Mexican father and a Mexican-American mother.” Or: “I am the only daughter of a a AUTHOR’S PURPOSE In the previous selections by Sandra Cisneros, you discovered how working-class family of nine.” All of these had everything to do with who I Reread lines 11–15. What 10 am today. only a daughter. Being an only daughter in specific experience is the I was/am the only daughter and subject of this personal a family of six sons forced me by circumstance to spend a lot in of public. time by But myself that essay? Identify the because my brothers felt it beneath them to play with a girl details that helped you draw your conclusion. aloneness, that loneliness, was good for a would-be writer—ita allowed me time to think and think, to imagine, to read and preparedestiny myself. would lead me to destiny (dDsPtE-nC) n. Being only a daughter for my father meant my the determined fate of become someone’s wife. That’s what he believed. But when I was in the fifth a particular person or thing; lot in life the author and one of her fictional characters feel about living in a grade and shared my plans for college with him,,1 Ithat’s was suregood.” he understood.That meant Ia lot remember my father saying, “Que bueno, mi’ja 20 to me, especially since my brothers thought the idea hilarious. What I didn’t realize was that my father thought college was good for girls—good for finding a husband. After four years in college and two more in graduate school and still no husband, my father shakes his head even now and says I wasted all retrospect that education. (rDtPrE-spDkt’) n. a I’m lucky my father believed daughters were meant for In retrospect, view or contemplation husbands. It meant it didn’t matter if I majored in something silly like English. of something past Mexican-American family. In the newspaper column you are about After all, I’d find a nice professional eventually, right? This allowed me the liberty to putter about embroidering my little poems and stories without my father interrupting with so much as a “What’s that you’re writing?”

Mi’ja is a shortened (kD bwDPnô mCPhä) Spanish: That’s good, my daughter. ( 1. Que bueno, mi’ja mi hija.) Sandra Cisneros (2000), form of ˝ ˝. Valle Sentíes. Oil, 20 × 20 Raquel www.soycomosoyyque.com 902 unit 8: author’s style and voice to read, you will learn what one Latino writer thinks about Cisneros’s 1984 novel The House on Mango Street. CCaarraammeelloo Sandra Cisneros Acuérdate de Acapulco, de aquellas noches, María bonita, María del alma; acuérdate que en la playa, con tus manitas las estrellitas 1 las enjuagabas. —“ María bonita,” by Augustín Lara, versionsweet, sungbut very,by the very composer sweet violin while playing the piano, accompanied by a

We’re all little in the photograph above Father’s bed. We were little in Acapulco. We will always be little. For him we are just as we were then. Here are the Acapulco waters lapping just behind us, and here we are sitting on the lip of land and water. The little kids, Lolo and Memo, making devil horns behind each other’s head; the Awful Grandmother holding them even though she never held them in real life. Mother seated as far from her as Standards Focus: Identify the politely possible; Toto slouched beside her. The big boys, Rafa, Ito, and Tikis, stand under the roof of Father’s skinny arms. Aunty Light-Skin hugging Antonieta Araceli to her belly. Aunty shutting her eyes when the shutter e AUTHOR’S PURPOSE 10 clicks, as if she chooses not to remember thee future, the house on Destiny Reread lines 3–11. Street sold, the move north to Monterrey. Consider your own Here is Father squinting that same squint I always make when I’m photo- reaction to phrases 2 yet. He isn’t finished, worn from working, from graphed. He isn’t acabado such as “making devil worrying, from smoking too many packs of cigarettes. There isn’t anything on horns” and “the Awful Grandmother.” What his face but his face, and a tidy, thin mustache, like Pedro Infante, like Clark purpose do they suggest? Gable.3 Father’s skin pulpy and soft, pale as the belly side of a shark. The Awful Grandmother has the same light skin as Father, but in elephant folds, stuffed into a bathing suit the color of an old umbrella with an amber handle. f STYLE AND VOICE 20 I’m not here. They’ve forgotten about me when a remembrancethe photographer literally. walking No un recuerdo, Cisneros’s style is often Characteristics of a Critique along the beach proposes a portrait, characterized by loosely one notices I’m off playing by myself building sand houses. They won’t realize structured sentences, such I’m missing until the photographer delivers the portrait to Catita’s house, and as those in lines 20–27. I look at it for the first time and ask,—When was this taken? Where? What aspect of Cisneros’s Then everyone realizes the portrait is incomplete. It’s as if I didn’t exist. It’s voice comes through in  f this type of writing? as if I’m the photographer walking along A souvenir? the beach A memory?with the tripod camera on my shoulder asking.—¿Un recuerdo?

Remember Acapulco, those nights, beautiful Maria, . . . las enjuagabas Spanish: 1. Acuérdate de Acapulco Maria of my soul; remember that in the sand, you washed the stars with your hands. Spanish: finished. 2. acabado (ä-kä-bäPdô) ilm star of the 1940s. 3. Clark Gable: an American f Black Jumper, Lucy Willis. British. Private collection. A critique is a writer’s response to another’s work. While a summary Photo © Curwen Gall ery/The Bridgeman Art Library. 906 unit 8: author’s style and voice simply states the main points of a book or article, a critique allows a Use with ““Only Daughter”” and excerpt from Caramelo, writer to add personal observations, opinions, and perspective on the pages 902–906. subject at hand. The essay you are about to read, “Author Brings Back Memories of Not So Long Ago,” is a positive critique. Virginia Standards of Learning Most writers include a balance of negative and positive comments 10.4h Evaluate how an author’s in their critiques. However, whether a writer’s comments are positive specific word choices, syntax, tone, or negative, he or she must offer support, or evidence, for the and voice shape the intended meaning of the text, achieve specific opinions offered. If a critique contains unsubstantiated opinions, or effects and support the author’s opinions without evidence, then that critique is not valid. purpose. 10.4j Distinguish between a critique and a summary. 10.5h Use As you read Yvette Cabrera’s critique, consider what descriptions of reading strategies throughout Cisneros’s writing she provides, and what parts of the column are her the reading process to monitor comprehension. own observations and opinions. Take notes in a chart like this one.

Descriptions of Cisneros’s Writing Cabrera’s Observations and Opinions

910 unit 8: author’s style and voice

VA_L10PE-u08-rl3Aut.indd 910 3/29/11 5:23:04 PM Reading for Information

Author Brings Back Memories of Not So Long Ago by Yvette Cabrera

Forget the boxes and the cobwebs; I was determined to find the book. I looked at my watch and out the window at the gray, misty morning outside my garage. It was already late. I dived in frantically. It has to be here somewhere, but where in this mass of boxes and old furniture? Five minutes later, still no luck. From Author Sandra Cisneros 10 behind an old bookcase my boyfriend heard me half scream/half wail in frus- Dostoyevsky’s Crime and Punishment and tration, as I pulled out box after box Thomas Hardy’s Tess of the d’Urbervilles. 10.4h searching through my old college books. It was literature with profound mean- Language Coach Finally, the last box of books. My last ing that imparted important lessons. But Formal Language 40 hope. Please, I prayed, let this be my still, I felt a disconnection. Beowulf was Reread lines 38–39, lucky day. In the last box, there it was: an epic poem, but as my high school and note the words The House on Mango Street by Sandra teacher went into great detail explaining “profound” and Cisneros. what a mail1 shirt was, I wondered what “imparted,” both formal Slightly yellowed, with that com- that had to do with my life. word choices. Rewrite 20 fort ing, worn appeal of your favorite It was that way all through high the same sentence using pajamas, the book was just as I had left it. school, until the day in college when informal language. Why A $9 soft-cover (the best a “working- I was assigned to read The House on did Cabrera chose to use these words here? What three-jobs-a-week” college student Mango Street. a point about “literature” could afford), its pages were dog-eared, Mango. The word alone evoked does her choice of words my favorite paragraphs highlighted in 50 memories of my childhood—weekends emphasize? fluorescent purples and pinks, and my when my family and I would pile into notes scribbled on the borders. our sky-blue Chevrolet Malibu and head With little time to spare, I sped off to Olvera Street’s plaza in downtown a CHARACTERISTICS OF A CRITIQUE to work. Today, I was going to meet the Los Angeles. On the basis of lines 30 author of one of my favorite books. At the time, the plaza was home to 16–48, what seems to Growing up, I studied books my high the Mexican consulate where my parents, be the subject of the school English teachers said were written Mexican immigrants, would deal with critique? by the literary “greats”—must reads for passport and residency paperwork. a well-rounded education. Books like The treat, for my sisters and I, for J.D. Salinger’s Catcher in the Rye, Fyodor 60 behaving ourselves during the long

1. mail: flexible armor made of metal rings.

reading for information 911

VA_L10PE-u08-rl3Aut.indd 911 3/29/11 10:56:21 AM waits at the consulate, was a juicy mango It’s about relishing truck-stop dough- on a stick sold at a fruit stand near the nut shops and bologna sandwiches on plaza’s kiosk. Peeled and impaled on a this side of the border, just as much as stick for easy grip, we would squeeze the strawberries in cream, the gelatins, lemon and sprinkle chile and salt over and fruity tejocote bathed in caramel the bright yellow slices. sauce on the other side of the border. b CHARACTERISTICS b OF A CRITIQUE Later, as an adult, whenever I had 110 It was an hour of humorous story- Describe the kinds of a reporting assignment near Olvera telling that had the students busting words Cabrera uses in Street, I’d always take a minute to stop. with laughter and then crowding in line lines 49–66. What do 70 There, amid the smell of sizzling carne afterward, giddily waiting to get her they reveal about her asada2 in a nearby restaurant, the sounds autograph. . . . or personality? voice, of vendors negotiating prices in Spanish, Later, as I talk to Cisneros, she and children licking a rainbow of explains how much the literary world raspados (shaved ice treats), I would bite has changed since she finished writing 10.4h into my mango and feel at home. The House on Mango Street 20 years ago. c TONE IN That’s what The House on Mango Back then, forget trying to get The New NONFICTION Street did for me. A coming-of-age, 120 York Times to review your book if you Tone is the attitude or Chicana-feminist novel, the protagonist were Latino or getting a major bookseller feelings that a writer Esperanza, like Cisneros, grows up in a to carry it, she says. has toward his or 80 3 her subject. You can mainly Latino neighborhood in Chicago. “I never questioned the Jim Crow determine the tone From the first page, when Esperanza aspect of how our books were never of a nonfiction piece explains how at school they say her name reviewed—I was young,” says Cisneros, by noting the words funny “as if the syllables were made out 47, of San Antonio. and details the writer of tin and hurt the roof of your mouth,” One thing has remained constant, chooses. Reread lines I was hooked. . . . c something that Cisneros can see by the 76–85. How would you That was a dozen years ago. Today, question that’s most asked by students. define the tone of this Latinos are the majority in cities like 130 “They want to know, ‘Is this real? critique? (Hint: Tone can Santa Ana, California, where Cisneros Did this happen to you,’” Cisneros says. usually be described in spoke last week at Valley High School to “They’re so concerned and want to one or two words.) 90 more than 1,000 students, as part of the make sure this is my story, because it’s Pathway Project, a collaborative effort their story, too.” d CHARACTERISTICS OF A CRITIQUE among the University of California, As Cisneros autographed my book, I Reread lines 86–100. Irvine, Santa Ana College and the city’s felt that same excitement I felt 12 years What audience school district. ago when I first discovered The House on does Cabrera seem Today, these students can pick from Mango Street. particularly interested bookstore shelves filled with authors “Para la Yvette,4 Sandra Cisneros,” it in reaching? such as Julia Alvarez, Victor Villaseñor 140 read. I chuckled. Mexicans just love to and Judith Ortiz Cofer—authors who give nicknames, but sans5 a nickname you e CHARACTERISTICS OF A CRITIQUE go beyond census numbers to explain attach a simple “la” in front of the name Reread lines 135–145. 100 what U.S. Latino life is about. d and suddenly you’re extra special. Not just Which details reveal It’s about, as Cisneros explained to “Sandra,” but “la Sandra” (that Sandra). Cabrera’s tone, or the students as she read from her novel Even her autographs are authentic! e attitude, toward Sandra Caramelo, a journey between two worlds. Cisneros and her writing?

2. carne asada (kärPnD ä-säPdä): grilled marinated steak. 3. Jim Crow: upholding or practicing discrimination against a minority population. 4. para la Yvette Spanish: for that Yvette. 5. sans (sBnz): without.

912 unit 8: author’s style and voice

VA_L10PE-u08-rl3Aut.indd 912 3/29/11 10:55:54 AM After Reading Reading for Information

Virginia Standards Comprehension of Learning 1. Recall What childhood memory does the word mango evoke for Cabrera? 10.5f Draw conclusions and make inferences on explicit and implied 2. Clarify What question do students typically ask Cisneros, and why? information using textual support as evidence. 10.5g Analyze and synthesize information in order to solve problems, answer Text Analysis questions, and generate new knowledge. 10.6b Synthesize 3. Identify Author’s Purpose Scan the first page of Cabrera’s critique, including information to support the thesis. its title. What, in your opinion, is the main purpose of the critique? Explain your response. 4. Analyze a Critique Review the chart you developed as you read the article. What is Cabrera’s perspective on Sandra Cisneros and her work? Why does she have this perspective? 5. Compare Authors What does Yvette Cabrera have in common with Sandra Cisneros? How were their childhoods different?

Read for Information: Synthesizing Information from Multiple Sources

writing prompt Many writing instructors believe that students should “write what they know.” Find evidence in the nonfiction works of Sandra Cisneros and Yvette Cabrera that shows they have followed this advice.

The following steps will help you respond to the prompt: 1. Reread Cisneros’s “Only Daughter” and Cabrera’s critique, looking for direct 1. statements, facts, and anecdotes about living as a Mexican American.

2. Record direct quotations and summarize Source 1 Source 2 longer passages that seem relevant to your response. For each, note the author, 2. source, and page number. 3. 3. Synthesize the information from both sources, and make connections between them. Your Notes

4. As you compose your response, support 4. your statements with direct quotations and citations of facts or anecdotes in the two sources. Make sure to use quotation marks around any direct Your Paper quotations.

reading for information 913

VA_L10PE-u08-rl3Aut.indd 913 3/29/11 10:55:19 AM Writing Online Feature Article Workshop In this unit, you learned about the distinctive styles of Edgar Allan Poe, Walt informative text Whitman, and Robert Frost. To learn more about these authors, you could turn to the vast network of information available on the World Wide Web. Now you will add your voice to this network by producing an online feature article on a topic that interests you.

Complete the workshop activities in your Reader/Writer Notebook.

write with a purpose key traits

writing task 1. development of ideas Write an online feature article that informs your audience • begins with a compelling about a topic that interests you. introduction and a clear controlling idea Idea Starters • develops the topic with evidence, • What are the physical and psychological effects of fear? such as relevant facts, definitions, • What is imagist poetry? quotations, and examples • How has Edgar Allan Poe influenced pop culture? • provides a concluding section • How can a beginning runner train for a 5K race? that supports the information the essentials 2. organization of ideas Here are some common purposes, audiences, and formats for • logically organizes complex informative/explanatory writing. information • includes formatting, multimedia, purposes audiences formats links, and graphics • uses varied transitions to • to increase • classmates and • magazine article connect ideas your own teacher • news report • cites and links to sources understanding • friends and • wiki article of a topic family on 3. language facility and • encyclopedia • to inform a social conventions entry readers and networking site • uses precise language and domain-specific vocabulary provide them • members • maintains a formal style and with new of online objective tone insights communities • uses absolute phrases to convey • to develop interested in specific meanings and add detail and maintain the topic • employs correct grammar, an online spelling, and punctuation readership

Writing Online Go to thinkcentral.com. KEYWORD: HML10N-914

914 unit 8: author’s style and voice

VA_L10PE-u08-WW.indd 914 3/29/11 11:03:26 AM Writing Workshop

10.6a–b The student will develop a variety of writing to persuade, interpret, analyze, and evaluate with an emphasis on exposition and analysis. 10.8a Use technology as a tool to research, organize, Planning/Prewriting evaluate, synthesize, and communicate information.

Getting Started

choose a topic tips for generating topic ideas: Brainstorm ideas that interest you and are likely • Read popular news Web sites or RSS (really simple to appeal to others. Once you’ve selected a syndication) feeds. topic, do a quick online search to see how much • Visit blogs or wikis that your teachers or information is available on it. Make sure your classmates recommend. topic isn’t too broad to cover well in a short • Review school and community Web sites for article. Frame your topic with a focused research interesting topics of conversation. question to guide your planning and writing. • Consider interests, sports, or hobbies that you (Consult the Idea Starters on the previous page pursue outside of school. for sample research questions.)

think about audience and purpose ask yourself: As you explore your topic, consider your audience • Who will be interested in my topic? and purpose. Understanding your audience • How knowledgeable is my audience about this will help you to determine what information topic? What background information should I to include or define, as well as where to post include? your final product. Consider online forums and • What domain-specific, or specialized, terms will I community Web sites that are popular with your need to define? audience and that your teacher approves of. • Where will I publish, or post, my article?

find multiple sources what does it look like? Begin researching your topic by looking for Sources Notes sources in the library or on the Web. Determine Book: Getting Unstuck: Breaking Discusses ten the strengths and limitations of each source Through Your Barriers to Change effects of fear and consider whether it is appropriate for your by Dr. Sidney B. Simon audience and purpose. Web site: Fear and Phobia Talks about Look for credible sources that have been how fear written by experts in their fields or maintained by http://kidshealth.org affects the official government and educational institutions. brain Also, try to locate online sources that have graphics or multimedia that you could link to or obtain permission to include. Record the title, author, and URL (Web address) or page number of each source. Take notes so that you know which information came from which source. See pages 1323–1337 for more information on locating and evaluating potential sources.

writing workshop 915

VA_L10PE-u08-WW.indd 915 3/29/11 11:03:06 AM Planning/Prewriting continued

Getting Started collect and synthesize what does it look like? information When people are exposed “Fear keeps you from asserting Use a graphic organizer to record relevant to fear, they experience yourself and persuades you to quotations, facts, definitions, and faster heart rates and settle . . .” examples. Try to synthesize information— breathing issues. Sidney B. Simon, Getting to draw conclusions using your prior —http://kidshealth.org Unstuck knowledge and evidence from several sources. Keep your research question in Fear affects our actions and reactions in many ways. mind as you review your notes.

draft a controlling idea what does it look like? Use your research question to write a Fear can have severe, negative effects on both mental and controlling idea that states the main physical health. point you want to communicate. Modify your controlling idea as you develop your article.

generate a storyboard what does it look like? Create a storyboard to map out the The Debilitating Effects of Fear contents and layout of your article. Use Sidebar Introduction text features, such as headings and links, Contents Introductory text to allow for easy reading and navigation. Photo Links Decide what multimedia or graphics Discussion you will include. Keep in mind that Web Next users are more likely to notice elements along the top and left side of a screen.

PEER REVIEW Exchange storyboards and ask: Does my article seem easy to navigate? Is the organization clear? Is my plan appropriate for my purpose and audience?

YOUR List possible research questions in your Reader/Writer Notebook. Choose one that interests you, and locate a variety of reliable sources. Collect and TURN synthesize evidence, and develop a controlling idea. Create a storyboard to plan your article.

916 unit 8: author’s style and voice

VA_L10PE-u08-WW.indd 916 3/29/11 11:02:50 AM Writing Workshop

10.7d Differentiate between in-text citations and works cited on the bibliography page. 10.8b Develop the central idea or focus. Drafting The following chart shows a structure for outlining a clear and coherent online feature article.

Organizing Your Online Feature Article

introduction • Grab your audience’s attention with a compelling quotation, question, or anecdote. • Establish a formal style and an objective tone by using precise, unbiased language. • Supply background information and definitions of domain-specific terms. • Include a clear controlling idea that states the main point of your article.

body • Develop your ideas with relevant facts, quotations, examples, and multimedia. Organize your ideas and support in a logical way. • Utilize text features, such as headings and links, to help readers navigate your article. • Use varied transitions, such as in addition and furthermore, to link related ideas, sentences, and paragraphs. • Document the source of each idea. See pages 1362–1363 for information on citations.

concluding section • Restate your controlling idea and explain the significance of your topic.

grammar in context: incorporating quotations Incorporating quotations into your article gives your writing more depth and authority. When using quotations, make sure to cite your sources both in the running text and in your Works Cited section. Use these guidelines to help you: • Place quotation marks at the beginning and end of someone else’s words. • Integrate short quotations into your own sentences. • Use ellipses to indicate that you’ve omitted words from the quotation. • Enclose the author’s last name and the page number of the quote in parentheses at the end of the sentence. If you mention the author, include only the page number, as shown below. • Link your in-text citation to your Works Cited section. Dr. Sidney B. Simon said of the psychological effects of fear: “Fear is the great paralyzer” (212).

See pages 1362–1363 for Modern Language Association guidelines for creating a Works Cited list.

YOUR Draft your article in a word-processing document. Cite sources correctly. Follow your storyboard to input your draft into an online forum. Experiment with layout and TURN navigation.

writing workshop 917

VA_L10PE-u08-WW.indd 917 3/29/11 11:02:41 AM Revising The willingness to revise, rewrite, and try new approaches is an essential quality for effective writers. When you revise your online feature article, make sure your information is well organized and supports your controlling idea. The following chart can help you strengthen your draft.

online feature article Ask Yourself Tips Revision Strategies

1. Does my introduction grab Highlight attention- Add a compelling question, quotation, the audience’s attention? grabbing quotations, or detail to engage your audience. questions, anecdotes, or facts.

2. Is my controlling idea clear Underline your controlling Add a controlling idea if one is missing. and appropriate for my task, idea. Rework your existing controlling idea purpose, and audience? if it is unclear or doesn’t fit your task, purpose, and audience.

3. Is my organization logical, Circle headings, links, and Group related paragraphs under effective, and easy to menu options. boldfaced headings. Add menu links to navigate? help users easily navigate your article.

4. Do I use relevant evidence and Underline evidence or Delete information that isn’t relevant to multimedia to support my multimedia that doesn’t your controlling idea. Add details and controlling idea? support your controlling multimedia for unsupported ideas. idea.

5. Does my concluding section Highlight your restated Add a restatement of your controlling restate my controlling idea controlling idea. Draw a star idea. Insert an explanation of your and explain my topic’s next to your explanation of topic’s significance. significance? the topic’s significance.

6. Are all my sources correctly Underline each piece Add in-text citations and/or Works Cited documented? See pages of evidence. Circle the entries for evidence that hasn’t been 1362–1363 for additional corresponding citation and properly cited. support. Works Cited entry.

YOUR PEER REVIEW Exchange drafts with another student. Answer each question in the chart to decide how your drafts can be improved. Ask: TURN Is my controlling idea clear? Is my use of multimedia effective? Is my article easy to navigate?

918 unit 8: author’s style and voice

VA_L10PE-u08-WW.indd 918 4/7/11 12:39:14 PM Writing Workshop

10.7e Analyze the writing of others. 10.8a Use technology as a tool to research, organize, evaluate, synthesize, and communicate information. analyze a student draft Read this draft. Note the comments on its strengths and the suggestions for improvement.

The Debilitating Effects of Fear by Cameron L.

Contents Introduction Cameron grabs the Background In his first inaugural address, President Franklin D. Roosevelt asserted attention of his Introduction that, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” How afraid should Psychological Effects we be of fear? Can a fear of heights cause lifelong problems? Does audience with a Physical Effects always worrying about what might happen increase our likelihood of compelling quotation Emerging Research suffering from heart disease? Studies show that fear can have a severe and engaging questions. Concluding Section negative effect on both our mental and physical health.

Additional Resources Unfortunately, many people choose Photos to ignore their fears rather than Recent Studies address them. As a result, people Cameron makes Personal Stories often experience problems that effective use of a Discussion Board harm all areas of their life, including work and school, relationships with dramatic photo to family and friends, and their overall Fear can have a paralyzing reinforce his main ideas. wellness: People who don’t face effect. their fears end up suffering more in the long run. According to Dr. Sidney B. Simon in his book, Getting Unstuck, Cameron could add “Fear is the great paralyzer” (212). more depth to his Read on to find out exactly how fear Next: Psychological Effects negatively impacts our lives and article by providing what we can do about it. additional links to external Web sites.

LEARN HOW Link to External Sites In his first paragraph, Cameron embeds links to other sites with more information or multimedia related to his topic. He could add more dimension to his article by following this approach in his second paragraph. Notice how he includes another link to a reliable source.

cameron’s revision to introduction According to Dr. Sidney B. Simon in his book, Getting Unstuck, “Fear is the great paralyzer” (212). Link to more information on this expert and his books

YOUR Use the “Learn How” lesson and feedback from your teacher and peers to revise or rework your article. TURN

writing workshop 919

VA_L10PE-u08-WW.indd 919 4/7/11 12:39:45 PM 10.7 The student will self- and peer-edit writing for correct grammar, capitalization, punctuation, spelling, sentence structure, and paragraphing. 10.7h Proofread and edit final product for intended Editing and Publishing audience and purpose. Errors in spelling, grammar, and punctuation can distract your audience from understanding and appreciating your ideas. In the editing stage, you proofread your article to eliminate these kinds of errors. You also should make sure that all your links and multimedia are functioning properly. Before you publish your article for the world to read, verify that your pages are formatted consistently and easy to navigate.

grammar in context: absolute phrases An absolute phrase consists of a noun or pronoun, a participle, and any modifiers of that noun or pronoun. The entire word group is used as an adverb to modify an independent clause of a sentence. An absolute phrase has no direct grammatical connection to any word in the independent clause it modifies. Rather, the phrase modifies the entire clause by telling when, why, or how. Example: Sophia ran with confidence, her fears disappearing with each stride. As he edited his article, Cameron tried to add more variety and detail to his writing using absolute phrases. Here is one change he made:

People who don’t face their fears end up suffering more in the long run. , their coping mechanism ultimately damaging their mental and physical health.

publish your writing After you have finished proofreading your article, you are ready to post it online. Consider the following ideas: • Send an e-mail or text message to friends and family notifying them that your article has been posted. • Update your status on social media networks that you participate on to include a link to your article. • Post a link to your article in forums or online communities that you frequently visit.

YOUR Carefully proofread your article and correct any errors in conventions. Try to include at least one absolute phrase to add detail and variety to your TURN writing. After you’ve completed these final touches, publish your online feature article for your audience to read.

920 unit 8: author’s style and voice

VA_L10PE-u08-WW.indd 920 3/29/11 11:01:28 AM Writing Workshop

Scoring Rubric Use the rubric below to evaluate your online feature article.

online feature article score key traits

• Development Effectively introduces a topic; states a well-researched controlling idea; develops the topic with relevant, varied evidence; ends powerfully • Organization Logically organizes information; uses varied transitions; includes formatting and multimedia that enhances the information; correctly cites sources • Language Ably uses precise language; maintains a formal style and objective tone; 4 shows strong command of conventions

• Development Sufficiently introduces a topic; states a controlling idea; offers mostly relevant evidence; has an adequate concluding section • Organization Is mostly logically organized; needs a few more transitions; could use more formatting and multimedia; cites most sources • Language Uses vague language in some places; mostly maintains a formal style and 3 objective tone; includes a few distracting errors in conventions

• Development Has a weak controlling idea; does not support most ideas; ends abruptly • Organization Has serious flaws in organization; lacks transitions throughout; lacks formatting and multimedia; neglects to cite many sources • Language Lacks precise words or uses them incorrectly; uses an overly informal style 2 and tone; has many errors in conventions • Development Lacks a controlling idea, supporting evidence, and a concluding section • Organization Has no organization, formatting, or multimedia; plagiarizes or does not credit sources • Language Uses vague words; has an inappropriate style and tone; has major problems 1 in conventions

writing workshop 921

VA_L10PE-u08-WW.indd 921 3/29/11 11:01:16 AM Technology Updating an Online Feature Article Workshop Because of the fluid nature of the World Wide Web, online content is continually being added, updated, reorganized, or deleted. As the author of an online feature article, you have a responsibility to maintain your published work and keep it current. In this workshop, you will learn how to effectively update, improve, and enhance your online feature article.

Complete the workshop activities in your Reader/Writer Notebook.

produce with purpose key traits task a successful update . . . Update your online feature article to • repairs dead links and removes outdated provide new information about your information topic, replace dead (broken) links, and • adds or revises content, using current and reliable improve your site design and navigation. sources • responds promptly and politely to readers’ questions and feedback • modifies the site design to improve navigation • seeks new audiences and encourages return visitors

Virginia Standards of Learning Maintaining Your Article 10.2a Use media, visual literacy, Revisit your online article so that you can respond to feedback or problems as and technology skills to create products. 10.8a Use technology as they arise. Use these guidelines to help you: a tool to research, organize, evaluate, synthesize, and communicate • Update Your Links Because many Web sites undergo changes in content and information. organization, some of your links might break over time. Dead links make your article look unprofessional and outdated—and can frustrate your readers. For this reason, regularly verify that the Web addresses, or URLs, still function and connect to the correct information. Update each broken link to reflect the new URL, find a suitable replacement, or delete the link from your article. • Respond to Feedback Promptly read and reply to all appropriate questions and comments posted on your article; delete inappropriate comments immediately. Thoughtful replies can stimulate discussion and promote reader participation, which in turn can attract new readers and encourage return visitors. • Include a Last Updated Date Include a line of text at the beginning or end of your article that tells when your article was last updated. This note lets your Media readers know how current your information is. Tools Go to thinkcentral.com. KEYWORD: HML10N-922

922 unit 8: author’s style and voice

VA_L10PE-u08-TW.indd 922 3/29/11 5:10:33 PM Modifying and Improving Your Article Part of publishing online is the ability to modify and improve your article as you receive user feedback and as new information about your topic becomes available. Regular updates can encourage return visitors and attract new readers. You might modify your article for a variety of reasons, including: • To Improve Content As you learn more about your topic, replace Danielle (reader) said... outdated information with new content, including links and multimedia. If you have chosen a topic about something that is This is an interesting article, but do you know likely to change frequently (such as a scientific phenomenon or a of any research on practical strategies for facing fears? Many people would find that current event), you might add a Recent News or Updates section. useful! Subscribing to a Web or RSS feed is a good way to stay current on June 7, 3:59 p.m your topic. • To Address User Feedback Readers might question your facts or Cameron (Site Administrator) said... suggest improvements to your navigation and design. Be willing Thanks for your feedback, Danielle! I have to revise your work or even try a new approach to address valid read some articles that include the kind of feedback. strategies you’re talking about. I’ll add links to the articles that are online. Watch for • To Redesign Your Article You might apply a more contemporary updates! design, try a new font, or reorganize your links and menu options June 7, 8:37 p.m. for easier navigation. Make sure that any changes suit your overall purpose and don’t distract from the content. • To Grow Your Readership Whenever you make a change to your article, let readers know about it. To attract readers and to encourage them to return, try posting an update on social media networks, sending e-mail updates, or posting a link to your article on forums that your audience frequently visits.

news feed Cameron How much does fear affect your life? Check out my article on the debilitating effects of fear on our lives. I just added a new section with practical strategies for facing fears.

YOUR Regularly review your online feature article. Verify that your links still function and then promptly update or delete dead links. Revise content to TURN correct mistakes or add new content as more information on your topic becomes available. Politely respond to readers’ comments, questions, and feedback.

technology workshop 923

VA_L10PE-u08-TW.indd 923 3/29/11 10:59:05 AM virginia standards Assessment Practice of learning DIRECTIONS Read the following selections, and then answer the questions. from The House of the assess Taking this practice test will help you assess your Seven Gables by Nathaniel Hawthorne knowledge of these skills and determine your 1 On entering the shop, she found an old man there, a humble resident of readiness for the Unit Test. Pyncheon-street, and whom, for a great many years past, she had suffered to be review a kind of familiar of the house. He was an immemorial personage, who seemed After you take the practice always to have had a white head and wrinkles, and never to have possessed but test, your teacher can help a single tooth, and that a half-decayed one, in the front of the upper jaw. Well you identify any standards you need to review. advanced as Hepzibah was, she could not remember when Uncle Venner, as the neighborhood called him, had not gone up and down the street, stooping Virginia Standards a little and drawing his feet heavily over the gravel or pavement. But still there of Learning was something tough and vigorous about him, that not only kept him in daily Use structural analysis of 10.3a 10 roots, affixes, synonyms, antonyms, breath, but enabled him to fill a place which would else have been vacant, in and cognates to understand the apparently crowded world. To go of errands, with his slow and shuffling complex words. 10.3b Use context, structure, and connotations to gait, which made you doubt how he ever was to arrive anywhere; to saw a determine meanings of words and small household’s foot or two of firewood, or knock to pieces an old barrel, phrases. 10.4 The student will read, comprehend, and analyze or split up a pine board, for kindling-stuff; in summer, to dig the few yards of literary texts of different cultures garden-ground, appertaining to a low-rented tenement, and share the produce and eras. 10.4m Use reading strategies to monitor comprehension of his labor at the halves; in winter, to shovel away the snow from the sidewalk, throughout the reading process. or open paths to the wood-shed, or along the clothesline; —such were some of the essential offices which Uncle Venner performed among at least a score of families.

Old Man at the Bridge by Ernest Hemingway

1 An old man with steel rimmed spectacles and very dusty clothes sat by the side of the road. There was a pontoon bridge across the river and carts, trucks, and men, women and children were crossing it. The mule-drawn carts staggered up the steep bank from the bridge with soldiers helping push against the spokes of the wheels. The trucks ground up and away heading out of it all and the peasants plodded along in the ankle deep dust. But the old man sat Practice there without moving. He was too tired to go any farther. Test 2 It was my business to cross the bridge, explore the bridgehead beyond and Take it at thinkcentral.com. find out to what point the enemy had advanced. I did this and returned over KEYWORD: HML10N-924

924 unit 8: author’s style and voice

VA_L10PE-u08-tap.indd 924 3/29/11 10:58:20 AM the bridge. There were not so many carts now and very few people on foot, but the old man was still there. 3 “Where do you come from?” I asked him. 4 “From San Carlos,” he said, and smiled. 5 That was his native town and so it gave him pleasure to mention it and he smiled. 6 “I was taking care of animals,” he explained. 7 “Oh,” I said, not quite understanding. 8 “Yes,” he said, “I stayed, you see, taking care of animals. I was the last one to leave the town of San Carlos.” 9 He did not look like a shepherd nor a herdsman and I looked at his black dusty clothes and his gray dusty face and his steel rimmed spectacles and said, “What animals were they?” 10 “Various animals,” he said, and shook his head. “I had to leave them.” 11 I was watching the bridge and the African looking country of the Ebro Delta and wondering how long now it would be before we would see the enemy, and listening all the while for the first noises that would signal that ever mysterious event called contact, and the old man still sat there. 12 “What animals were they?” I asked. 13 “There were three animals altogether,” he explained. “There were two goats and a cat and then there were four pairs of pigeons.” 14 “And you had to leave them?” I asked. 15 “Yes. Because of the artillery. The captain told me to go because of the artillery.” 16 “And you have no family?” I asked, watching the far end of the bridge where a few last carts were hurrying down the slope of the bank. 17 “No,” he said, “only the animals I stated. The cat, of course, will be all right. A cat can look out for itself, but I cannot think what will become of the others.” 18 “What politics have you?” I asked. 19 “I am without politics,” he said. “I am seventy-six years old. I have come twelve kilometers now and I think now I can go no further.” 20 “This is not a good place to stop,” I said. “If you can make it, there are trucks up the road where it forks for Tortosa.” 21 “I will wait a while,” he said, “and then I will go. Where do the trucks go?” 22 “Towards Barcelona,” I told him. 23 “I know no one in that direction,” he said, “but thank you very much. Thank you again very much.” go on

assessment practice 925

STOP VA_L10PE-u08-tap.indd 925 3/29/11 10:58:06 AM 24 He looked at me very blankly and tiredly, then said, having to share his worry with some one, “The cat will be all right, I am sure. There is no need to be unquiet about the cat. But the others. Now what do you think about the others?” 25 “Why they’ll probably come through it all right.” 26 “You think so?” 27 “Why not,” I said, watching the far bank where now there were no carts. 28 “But what will they do under the artillery when I was told to leave because of the artillery?” 29 “Did you leave the dove cage unlocked?” I asked. 30 “Yes.” 31 “Then they’ll fly.” 32 “Yes, certainly they’ll fly. But the others. It’s better not to think about the others,” he said. 33 “If you are rested I would go,” I urged. “Get up and try to walk now.” 34 “Thank you,” he said and got to his feet, swayed from side to side and then sat down backwards in the dust. 35 “I was taking care of animals,” he said dully, but no longer to me. “I was only taking care of animals.” 36 There was nothing to do about him. It was Easter Sunday and the Fascists were advancing toward the Ebro. It was a gray overcast day with a low ceiling so their planes were not up. That and the fact that cats know how to look after themselves was all the good luck that old man would ever have.

Reading Comprehension

Use the excerpt from The House of the Seven 2. From the imagery in lines 9–11, you can infer Gables (p. 924) to answer questions 1–4. that Uncle Venner — A. succeeds through his charm 1. The author’s style includes his use of sentences B. survives by being useful that are — C. is somewhat overweight A. all short sentences D. has breathing problems B. all long sentences C. mostly short sentences 3. The author’s style can best be characterized D. a mix of long and short sentences by his use of — A. long descriptions and a harsh tone B. lyrical language and an informal tone C. flowery language and a monotonous tone D. detailed descriptions and a good-natured tone

926

VA_L10PE-u08-tap.indd 926 3/29/11 10:57:54 AM Assessment Practice

4. The author’s purpose in this excerpt is most 9. The author’s primary purpose in writing this likely to — story is to — A. paint an affectionate portrait of a local A. describe an elderly man’s fondness for his character animals B. ridicule an eccentric old man B. persuade readers that politics is unimportant C. illustrate the hardships of poverty C. portray the effects of war on the citizens D. highlight the indifference of the of a country community D. evaluate the duties of a soldier in times of war

Use “Old Man at the Bridge” (pp. 924–926) Use both selections to answer question 10. to answer questions 5–9. 10. What can you infer about the old men in the 5. One element of the author’s style is his use two selections? of — A. They are tired from all of the work that A. mostly long sentences they do. B. all very short sentences B. One of them is sad and one is angry C. long sentences and some incomplete because they must work for other people. sentences C. Because they are elderly, both must rely D. mostly short, simple sentences and some on others to care for them. long sentences D. Both take their work and responsibilities seriously. 6. The author’s choice of words can best be characterized as — SHORT CONSTRUCTED RESPONSE A. conversational C. flowery Write three or four sentences to answer each B. exaggerated D. technical question. 7. The tone in paragraph 1 is — 11. Why do you think the author has a soldier narrate “Old Man at the Bridge”? In what A. bitter C. sarcastic way does this choice help the author achieve B. playful D. somber his purpose? 8. The author repeats variations of the phrase 12. List five words or images from the excerpt “the old man sat there” in paragraphs 1, 2, from The House of the Seven Gables that and 11 to create an impression of — describe Uncle Venner. What can you infer A. foolishness C. sorrow about Venner from these words and images? B. impatience D. weariness Write two to three paragraphs to answer this question. 13. Describe the differences in the two authors’ writing styles. Give examples of word choice, sentence structure, and tone in your answer.

go on

927

VA_L10PE-u08-tap.indd 927 3/29/11 10:57:45 AM STOP Vocabulary

Use the etymology clues to help you choose 5. Which of the following words from “Old the correct modern English word from the Man at the Bridge” is an alteration of the Old reading selections. Norse word stakra, staka, meaning “to push”? A. Advanced 1. Which of the following words from The House B. Plodded of the Seven Gables comes from the Old French word grave, meaning “pebbly shore”? C. Staggered A. Gravel D. Swayed B. Kindling-stuff 6. The Latin prefix con- means “together” and C. Paths the past participle tangere means “to touch.” D. Pavement Which of the following words from “Old Man at the Bridge” comes from con- + tangere? 2. The Latin word famulus means “servant.” A. Bank Which word in The House of the Seven Gables B. Bridgehead comes from the word famulus? C. Contact A. Familiar D. Signal B. Famous C. Personage 7. Which of the following words from “Old D. Resident Man at the Bridge” comes from the Greek word polis, meaning “city”? 3. Which of the following words from The House A. Business of the Seven Gables comes from the Latin word B. Planes humilis, meaning “low”? C. Politics A. Garden-Ground D. Towns B. Humble C. Immemorial D. Vigorous

4. The Old English word stupian means “to bow or bend.” Which word in The House of the Seven Gables comes from the word stupian? A. Appertaining B. Entering C. Shuffling D. Stooping

928

VA_L10PE-u08-tap.indd 928 3/29/11 10:57:34 AM Assessment Practice

Revising and Editing DIRECTIONS Read this passage, and answer the questions that follow.

(1) Pablo Picasso’s painting Guernica portrays the destruction of a town during the Spanish Civil War. (2) It is an abstract composition of colors and forms. (3) Tormented animals and tortured human image fill the canvas. (4) In the painting, a snorting bull and a writhing horse seem pained. (5) The painting also depicts human suffering. (6) Picasso painted a woman clutching her dead child. (7) His purpose was to expose the horrors of war.

1. What is the most effective way to combine 3. What is the most effective way to revise sentences 1 and 2 into a complex sentence? sentence 5 to include personification? A. Pablo Picasso’s painting Guernica portrays A. The painting also shows human suffering the destruction of a town during the in great detail. Spanish Civil War; however it is an B. The painting also cries out against human abstract composition of colors and forms. suffering. B. Pablo Picasso’s painting Guernica portrays C. The painting also demonstrates examples the destruction of a town during the of human suffering. Spanish Civil War, it is an abstract D. The painting also displays images of composition of colors and forms. human suffering. C. Pablo Picasso’s painting Guernica, which is an abstract composition of colors and 4. Which transitional word or phrase should be forms, portrays the destruction of a town added to the beginning of sentence 6? during the Spanish Civil War. A. For instance, C. Nevertheless, D. Pablo Picasso’s painting Guernica portrays B. In conclusion, D. On the other hand, the destruction of a town during the Spanish Civil War in an abstract 5. What change, if any, should be made to composition of colors and forms. sentence 7? A. Change horrors to horrors’ 2. What change, if any, should be made in sentence 3? B. Change expose to exposing A. Change tortured to torturing C. Change war to wars B. Insert comma after animals D. Make no change C. Change image to images D. Make no change go on

STOP

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VA_L10PE-u08-tap.indd 929 3/29/11 10:57:24 AM unit

Ideas for Independent Reading Great Reads8 Extend your exploration of authors’ styles and of provocative questions raised in this unit by reading the following works.

Virginia Standards of Learning What breeds terror? 10.4 The student will read, comprehend, and analyze literary Dracula It The Collector of texts of different cultures and by Bram Stoker by Stephen King Hearts: New Tales eras. 10.5 The student will read, of the Grotesque interpret, analyze, and evaluate Though books, films, and Readers could argue forever nonfiction texts. television series about about which of King’s horror by Joyce Carol Oates vampires are now common, novels is the most terrifying. Oates, who claims Edgar Allan nothing terrifies readers like This one pits seven teenagers Poe as an influence, offers 27 the original tale of Dracula, against a clown-faced evil. macabre tales written in her the undead count who hunts They unite to banish it, only to own distinctive style. Several for young women he can turn see it reappear after they’ve stories center on children, into vampires. grown to adulthood. such as “Handpuppet,” in which a ragged toy alters its young owner.

What do we learn from experience? On the Blue Shores of . . . And the Earth Did A Raisin in the Sun Silence: Poems of the Sea Not Devour Him by Lorraine Hansberry by Pablo Neruda by Tomás Rivera In this famous play, an Chile’s national poet, who This kaleidoscopic collection African-American family in admired Walt Whitman, loved of stories centers on a Chicago dreams of what they to watch the sea outside his Mexican-American migrant will do with a $10,000 life island home. In these poems community. The stories detail insurance check. The son’s Neruda captures the sea’s the people’s hardships and rash decision teaches the continual movements—at hopes as they complete the family a painful yet ultimately times wild, at times calm— yearly cycle of travel, labor, ennobling lesson. and its changes of color. and return to Texas.

What is your role in your household?

The Joy Luck Club Invent Radium, or The Prize Winner by Amy Tan I’ll Pull Your Hair of Defiance, Ohio This novel-in-stories explores by Doris Drucker by Terry Ryan the relationships of Chinese- Doris Drucker grew up in an Ryan’s mother began entering immigrant mothers and their assimilated German-Jewish contests as a young wife. She American-born daughters. family who hoped they could wrote jingles for products and The mothers struggle with outlast the Nazis. Her mother earned enough to support ten painful memories as they wanted her to be a scientist children through years when adjust to a new culture. The and forbade Doris to have her husband was unable to Get Novel daughters struggle with their opinions that differed from work. The family lived on her Wise mothers’ high expectations hers. This witty memoir gives monetary winnings and the of them. insight into German culture products that came with them. Go to thinkcentral.com. under Hitler. KEYWORD: HML10-930

930

VA_L10PE-u08-gr.indd 930 3/29/11 10:48:57 AM