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PART 1 Class, Colonialism, and the Great War PART 1 Class, Colonialism, and the Great War La Mitrailleuse, 1915. Christopher R. W. Nevinson. Tate Gallery, London. “What passing-bells for these who die as cattle? Only the monstrous anger of guns.” —Wilfred Owen, “Anthem for Doomed Youth” 1043 Tate Gallery, London/Art Resource, NY 11043043 U6P1-845482.inddU6P1-845482.indd Sec2:1043Sec2:1043 11/29/07/29/07 1:55:321:55:32 PMPM Comparing Literature Across Time and Place Connecting to the Reading Selections What is the best way to respond to a person in need? The four selections compared here—a short story by Katherine Mansfield, an essay by Bessie Head, a parable from the Bible, and verses from the Qur’an—explore this issue and offer insights about life. Katherine Mansfield A Cup of Tea ..................................................................short story ............... 1045 A chance meeting—a painful realization England, 1922 Bessie Head Village People .........................................................................essay ............... 1054 Sharing the individual’s pain Botswana, Africa, 1967 King James Version of the Bible The Parable of Lazarus and the Rich Man ....parable ............... 1057 The tables turned England, 1611 from the Qur’an What is true generosity? ..................................................... sacred text ............... 1059 Arabia, c. 650 COMPARING THE Big Idea Class, Colonialism, and the Great War Wealth and poverty can generate rigid classes that divide people and erode society. The writers of these selections examine the misery of poverty, the power of wealth, and the true meaning of compassion. COMPARING Tone Tone is a reflection of the writer’s attitude toward a subject as conveyed through such elements as word choice, punctuation, sentence structure, and figures of speech. These four selections reflect different attitudes toward poverty and the poverty-stricken. COMPARING Past and Present Though advances in technology have improved the quality of life for many people throughout the world today, the widening gulf between the haves and the have-nots is still a grim reality. These selections reveal how different cultures of the past viewed wealth and poverty. 1044 UNIT 6 THE MODERN AGE (t to b) Ignace Henri Jean Fantin-Latour/Fitzwilliam Museum, University of Cambridge, UK/Bridgeman Art Library; Indianapolis Museum of Art, USA, Gift of Mr and Mrs Harrison Eiteljorg/Bridgeman Art Library; Scala/Art Resource, NY; Bildarchiv Preussischer Kulturbesitz/Art Resource, NY 11044044 U6P1App-845482.inddU6P1App-845482.indd 10441044 66/27/06/27/06 1:22:171:22:17 PMPM BEFORE YOU READ A Cup of Tea MEET KATHERINE MANSFIELD atherine Mansfield lived for only thirty-four Woolf, Mansfield years, but in her short life she became one often felt alien- Kof the greatest short story writers and an ated from it, and innovator in the form. Her stories have been she criticized the called delicate, beautiful, and profound. She revo- intellectual lutionized the concept of the short story, moving it snobbery she away from the strictures of plot and external perceived in action. She was able to capture the meaning of a some of her artist relationship in a series of sensations, illuminating friends. the inner truth of a character’s life. The death of her soldier brother in 1915 affected “Life is, all at one and the same time, Mansfield deeply. Dedicating herself to preserving far more mysterious and far simpler her memories of him and their shared childhood, she wrote a series of short stories that beautifully than we know.” portray her family life in New Zealand. Regarded today as masterpieces of the short-story form, these —Katherine Mansfield stories were published in 1920 in the collection Bliss and Other Stories. Setbacks and Success Born Katherine Illness and Critical Acclaim Never in good Mansfield Beauchamp in Wellington, New health, Mansfield contracted tuberculosis in her Zealand, she was the daughter of a domineering early thirties. Despite her illness, she continued to father and an aloof mother. As a young child, write, producing some of her best works, including Mansfield was nurtured primarily by her maternal “A Cup of Tea,” while desperately seeking a cure grandmother. She tasted her first literary success at for her illness. During this period, she published age nine: first prize in a school composition con- the critically acclaimed collection The Garden test. When she was fourteen, her family sailed to Party. She completed her last story only months London, and she enrolled in Queen’s College. before her death. Two more collections of stories, There, she edited the school magazine and, to her The Dove’s Nest and Something Childish, were pub- delight, discovered such authors as Oscar Wilde. lished posthumously. Literary historian Saralyn Mansfield returned briefly to New Zealand, but in Daly offered this assessment of Mansfield’s work: 1908 moved to England for good. Her life there “In her variety of treatment, depth of perception, got off to a rough start. She married hastily, then and formal precision, but most of all in the con- left her husband after only a few days, suffered a tinuing aliveness and immediate relevance of her miscarriage, and became increasingly disillusioned. stories, rests [Mansfield’s] claim to a place in liter- Then in 1911 her life improved—Mansfield pub- ary history.” lished her first book and met the man who would Katherine Mansfield was born in 1888 and died in 1923. become her second husband, John Middleton Murry, editor of two magazines in which she pub- lished her stories. Though a member of a literary Author Search For more about circle that included D. H. Lawrence and Virginia Katherine Mansfield, go to www.glencoe.com. KATHERINE MANSFIELD 1045 Topical Press Agency/Getty Images 11045-1053045-1053 U6P1App-845482.inddU6P1App-845482.indd 10451045 33/7/06/7/06 44:44:07:44:07 PPMM LITERATURE PREVIEW READING PREVIEW Connecting to the Story Reading Strategy Connecting to What motivates someone to be charitable toward a Contemporary Issues person in need? In Mansfield’s short story, the main One reason that great literature endures is that genera- character helps a destitute young woman she meets tions of readers recognize its relevance to their own on the street. As you read, think about the following times. When you connect literature to contemporary questions: issues, you relate events and issues in a story to those • What prompts you to help others? in society today. • What acts do you consider altruistic, or done with unselfish regard for the good of others? Reading Tip: Identifying Connections Use a chart to record connections between Mansfield’s story and Building Background contemporary issues. This short story is set in England at the beginning of the twentieth century. At this time, people from differ- Event in Story Contemporary Issue ent social classes did not socialize with one another, and it was considered improper for upper-class A stranger asks Homeless people women to work inside or outside the home. Rosemary for money. today sometimes ask passersby for Mansfield is credited with writing a new kind of short handouts. story—one more concerned with the emotions and psychological makeup of its characters than those of the past. Through the use of images, dialogue, mono- logue, and metaphors, Mansfield focused on her char- acters’ emotional states, subtle shifts of mood, and Vocabulary epiphanies—that is, their sudden, significant realizations. quaint (kwant¯ ) adj. pleasingly unusual or odd; p. 1047 Tourists are amused to find a quaint bun- Setting Purposes for Reading galow nestled among the downtown skyscrapers. Big Idea Class, Colonialism, and odious (o¯ de¯ əs) adj. causing hate, disgust, or the Great War repugnance; p. 1048 The odious sight of the gar- As you read, consider what this story suggests about bage dump offended us. the upper class and class conflict in early-twentieth- exotic (i zot ik) adj. strangely beautiful or fas- century Britain. cinating; p. 1048 I had never before seen that exotic flower, with its unusual leaves and petals. Literary Element Motivation retort (ri tort ) v. to reply in a witty, quick, A character’s motivation is his or her reason for acting, or sharp manner; p. 1052 When her father thinking, or feeling in a certain way. This motivation refused to agree with her, the frustrated teen may be stated in the story or implied. As you read, retorted sarcastically, “You always take my side.” consider the motivations of the characters in this story. Vocabulary Tip: Analogies An analogy is a like- See Literary Terms Handbook, p. R11. • ness between two things that are unlike in other ways. Interactive Literary Elements Handbook To review or learn more about the literary elements, go to www.glencoe.com. OBJECTIVES In studying this selection, you will focus on the following: • analyzing motivation • analyzing literary periods • connecting literature to contemporary issues 1046 UNIT 6 THE MODERN AGE 11045-1053045-1053 U6P1App-845482.inddU6P1App-845482.indd 10461046 11/10/07/10/07 8:35:268:35:26 AMAM Marguerite Kelsey, 1928. Meredith Frampton. Oil on canvas, 120.8 x 141.2 cm. Tate Gallery, London. Katherine Mansfield Rosemary Fell was not exactly beautiful. No, you couldn’t have called her beautiful. Pretty? Well, if you took her to pieces . But why be so cruel as to take anyone to pieces? She was young, brilliant, extremely modern, exquisitely well dressed, amazingly well read in the newest of the new books, and her parties were the most delicious mixture of the really important people and . artists—quaint creatures, discoveries of hers, some of them too terrifying for words, but others quite presentable and amusing. Vocabulary Literary Element Motivation Why do you think Rosemary invites “really important people” to her parties? quaint (kwant¯ ) adj. pleasingly unusual or odd KATHERINE MANSFIELD 1047 Tate Gallery, London/Art Resource, NY 11047-1052047-1052 U6P1App-845482.inddU6P1App-845482.indd 10471047 66/27/06/27/06 1:27:591:27:59 PMPM Rosemary had been married two years.
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