Elements Of Literature 2nd Course.pdf

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Digitized by the Internet Archive in

2010

http://www.archive.org/details/elementsofliterOOprob

ELEMENTS OF

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Second Course

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We sang songs that carried in their melodies

all

the sounds of nature

the running of waters, the sighing of winds,

and the

calls

of the animals.

— The Grand Council

Fire

of American Indians

ELEMENTS OF /

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i-/ /.

^y Jy Jy y Second Course

WINSTON & Company

HOLT, RINEHART AND Harcoitrt Brace

Austin

•

New York • Orlando

•

Atlanta

•

San Francisco

•

Boston

•

Dallas

•

Toronto

•

London

/

Credits EDITORIAL Project Director: Kathleen Daniel

Managing Editor:

Richard Sime

Executive Editor: Laura Mongello Editorial Staff: Patricia McCambridge, Robert Schirmer, John Haffner Layden, Robert R. Hoyt, Kathryn Rogers, Christopher LeCluyse

Editorial Support: Laurie Muir, Dan Hunter, Leila Jamal, David Smith Editorial Permissions: Tamara Blanken, Sacha Frey, Mark Hughs

Research and Development: Joan

Burditt

Index: Bob Zolnerzak

PRODUCTION. DESIGN, AND PHOTO RESEARCH Director: Athena Blackorby

Design Coordinator: Betty Mintz

Program Design: Design:

Jeffrey

Kirchoff/Wohlberg,

Inc.

Rutzky

Electronic Files: TSI Graphics,

Inc.

Photo Research: Kirchoff/Wohlberg, Inc. Photo Research Coordinator: Mary Monaco Manufacturing: RR Donnelley & Sons Company,

Willard,

Ohio

COVER Cover Artist: Greg Geisler Photo Credits: Coyotes Howling

Davis Mather Folk Art Gallery, Santa

Mamatiuk/Earth Scenes;

Y.

sky,

Moon by Alonzo Jimenez. Courtesy Fe, NM; rock formations, J. Eastcott/

at the

David Makris/SuperStock; moon, Chad Ehlers/

Tony Stone Images; (back cover)

Acoma

Pueblo ceramic

ov^l,

Michal Heron/

Woodfin Camp and Associates.

Quotation on Cover: from "The

First

Americans" (page 63

I

),

courtesy of

Jeannette Henry Costo.

Copyright

All rigfnts

© 2000

reserved.

by Holt, Rinehart and Winston

No

part of this publication

may be reproduced or transmitted

in

any form or by

any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system,

without permission

in

writing from the publisher.

Requests for permission to make copies of any part of the work should be mailed to the following address: Permissions Department, Holt, Rinehart and Winston,

I

1

20 South Capital of Texas

Highway, Austin, Texas 78746-6487.

Acknowledgments appear on pages 827-829. which are an extension of the copyright Printed

in

the United States of America

ISBN 0-03-052059-2

IV

page.

3

4 048 02 01 00

Program Authors Robert E. Probst established the pedagogical framework for the 1997 and 2000 editions of Elements of Probst

Literature. Dr.

is

Professor of English Education at

Georgia State University. For several years he was an English teacher in

for the

Maryland and Supervisor of English

and Senior High

junior

He

Norfolk, Virginia, Public Schools.

author of Response and

Analysis:

He

School.

on

Teaching

the

Transactions with Literature:

M.

For Louise

Rosenblatt.

A

A Focus

Instruction:

on Student Response; Reader Response

of Research

in

the Classroom:

in Literature;

Handbook

Language

English

Probst

is

and

member

a

of

the National Council of Teachers of English and has

worked on the

council's

Committee on Research,

the

Commission on Reading, and the Commission on Curriculum.

Dr

Probst has also served on the board of

directors of the Adolescent Literature Assembly and

member

of the National Conference

He was

awards.

a critic of

poetry and

is

on Research

College,

included

Dylan Thomas T.

&

S. Eliot

in

a in

the Elements of Literature instructional

Mr Anderson

is

include Tea and Sympathy; Silent Night. Lonely Night; You

Hear You When

My

the Water's Running; and

Workshop American Theater Wing

Iowa, the

Program, and the Salzburg Seminar

Mr Anderson

Workshop 1

He

is

has

Professional Training

Brinnin's

books include

&

Others.

1970, he

Mr

Leggett

is

instructional

a novelist, biog-

work there

Iowa

in

the spring of

for a single semester. In

assumed temporary charge of the program,

and for the next seventeen years he was

director.

its

Leggett's novels include Wilder Stone; The Gloucester

Took the Gold Away?; Gulliver House; and

He

also

wrote the

highly

acclaimed

biography Ross and Tom: Two American Tragedies.

Judith L. Irvin established the conceptual vocabulary and

reading

strands

basis for the

and developed the

and Strategies exercises for grades 6-8.

Skills

Dn

Irvin

teaches courses

in

curriculum, middle school

education, and educational leadership at Florida State

was

chair of the Research

Committee of

the National Middle School Association and was the editor of Research in

Middle Level Education for

five years.

Studies.

a past president of the Dramatists' Guild, past vice

president of the Authors' League of America, and a

member

Mr

at the University of

969, expecting to

University. She

American

She taught middle school for eight years before seeking her

doctorate

of the Theater Hall of Fame.

Reading-Language Arts.

in

writes a column,

"What Research

Dr

Malcolm

Literature essays

Brinnin

wrote

the

Elements

on poetry and contributed to the

structional materials

on poetry.

Mr

Brinnin

of six volumes of poetry, which received

is

of in-

the author

many

prizes

many books

include

to the

Her

Reading and the Middle School

Student: Strategies to Enhance Literacy

Research Says

Irvin

Says to the Middle

Level Practitioner," for the Middle School Journal.

John

of

former teacher He went to the Writer's

rapher, and

at the University of

in

University

/

Father His screenplays include The

Nun's Story and The Sand Pebbles.

the

at

the Elements of Literature essays

materials on short stories.

Reading

taught at the Writer's

famous

a

playwright, novelist, screenwriter, and teacher His plays

for

terms

on the short story and contributed to the

Robert Anderson wrote

Can't

York's

America: An Intimate Journal and Sextet:

John Leggett wrote

Believe.

I

also

Boston University, where he suc-

Truman Capote

Who

Never Sang

He was

ceeded Robert Lowell as Professor of Creative Writing

Branch;

Know

New

director of

and Contemporary Letters.

Making

materials for The Diary of Anne Frank.

American

of the

biographer of poets and was for

long

Connecticut and

Language and Literacy

drama and contributed to the

member

Arts and Letters.

Poetry Center His teaching career, begun at Vassar

Mr

essay on

a

number of years

a

a

Institute of

Arts;

Fifty-Year Perspective;

Dr.

in

has also contributed

chapters to such books as Literature

Evoking and Interpreting Meaning

the

is

Teaching Literature

and

Academy and

and What Current

Middle Level Practitioner

Special Contributor David

Adams Leeming wrote

Literature essay

on

the Elements of

Dr Leeming was

folk tales.

and Encyclopedia of Creation Myths. For several years he taught English at Robert College

a

He

Professor of English and Comparative Literature at the University of Connecticut for

•

many

years.

He

is

also served as secretary

James Baldwin

the

in

New

Turkey.

in Istanbul,

and assistant to the writer

York and

Istanbul.

He

is

the

author of several books on mythology, including

author of the biographies jomes Baldwin and Amazing

Mythology: The Voyage of the Hero; The World of Myth;

Grace:

A Biography of Beau ford

Delaney.

Writers The writers prepared

instructional materials for the text

Rusty Clark Hallsville

Independent School

District Hallsville,

Phyllis

Texas

Goldenberg

under the supervision

of"

Dr. Probst

and the

editorial staff.

Erin Hurley

Margaret Pickett

David Snyder

Former Faculty Member Brown University Providence, Rhode Island

Wellesley Middle School

Wellesley Middle School

Wellesley, Massachusetts

Wellesley, Massachusetts

Keylan Qazzaz

Diane Tasca

Jan

Meeks

Educational Multimedia Content

Educational Writer and Editor

Educational Writer and Editor

Fairmont Junior High School

Miami, Florida

Boise. Idaho

Rockville. Maryland

Sara Tutek

Lynn Hovland

Peter Mitchell

Mara

Washington Elementary School

Former Teacher

Wellesley Middle School

Educational Writer and Editor

Educational Writer and Editor

Wellesley, Massachusetts

Louisa. Virginia

Berkeley. California

Pam

Designer

Palo Alto, California

Rockliff

Montebello, California

Ozaroff

Educational Writer and Editor

Newton Center, Massachusetts

Reviewers and Consultants The reviewers evaluated selections

for use in the text

and

all

the editorial staff in securing student aaive-reading models Virginia Ruth

Anderson

instructional materials. Consultants assisted

and provided advice on current pedagogy.

Sara Brennan

Nancy Harper Forest

Hills

Austin, Texas

Murchison Middle School Austin, Texas

Grand

Rapids, Michigan

Kay Atteberry

Cathy Buchholz

Linda

Hermann

Holmes Middle School Colorado Springs, Colorado

Silas

West

Ridge Middle School

Phyllis

Ayers

Hanover County Public Schools Hanover County, Virginia

Deane Middle School

Schools

English

Department

Utah State University Logan. Utah

Wilmington Area Middle School

Guadalupe Neidigh

Wethersfield, Connecticut

Wilmington, Pennsylvania

Gail Craig

Judith Hernandez Foshay Middle School

Dobie Middle School Round Rock, Texas

Joan Patriarch

Los Angeles, California

St. Paul's

LaSalle Springs Middle School Glencoe, Missouri

Catholic School

Mary D'Amour

Yvette Irizarry

Leesburg. Florida

Audubon Middle School

Sanford Middle School

Norland Middle School

Evelyn Pittman

Culver City, California

Minneapolis, Minnesota

Miami, Florida

Paterson School District

Terry Bigelow

Jan Dickson Crockett Junior High School Irving, Texas

Judy LeBoeuf

Paterson.

Pinellas Park, Florida

Region 14 Education Service

Susan Gage

Jane Lee Safety Harbor Middle School

Abilene. Texas

Sheila

Berman

Middleton Middle School of

Technology Tampa, Florida Elisabeth Blandford McKinley Middle School

Fulmore Middle School Austin, Texas

Pinellas

Park Middle School

New Jersey

Kay Price-Hawkins Center

Linda Garza

Sarah Logan

Mary Schultz Our Lady of the Greenwood

Kathleen Bouska

Faye Ross Junior High School

Kealing Junior High School

Artesia, California

Formerly of Bronte High School Bronte, Texas

Emma P. Spears

Racine, Wisconsin

Austin, Texas

Susan Braun Milford Junior High School Milford.

Ohio

Safety Harbor, Florida

Angelia Grey

Ramona Lowe

Bret Harte Preparatory Middle

Tomlinson Junior High School Lawton. Oklahoma

School Los Angeles, California

Elise

Martens

West

Ridge Middle School

Austin, Texas

VI

Lynn Langer Meeks, Ph.D.

Indianapolis. Indiana

Israel

Augustine Middle School

New

Orleans. Louisiana

Lois

Thompson

Dunbar Magnet Junior High School Little

Rock, Arkansas

Lena Williams

Clearwater. Florida

Churchland Junior High School Portsmouth, Virginia

Frances Witherington Formerly of Solomon Schechter Day School

Raffy Vizcaino

Karen Wiseman

West Orange, New Jersey

Web Junior

Dade County

Judith Underhill Oak Grove Middle School

High School

Austin, Texas

Public Schools

Homestead, Florida

Maureen Young Troy School

District

Troy, Michigan

Clarinda Wright Goliad Middle School Big Spring,

Texas

Field-Test Participants The

following teachers participated in field-testing of prepublication materials for the series.

Janet Blackburn-Lewis Western Guilford High School Greensboro, North Carolina

Dana

E. Bull

Terry Juhl Bella Vista Fair

High School

Oaks, California

Elizabeth Keister

Joan Mohon Todd County Central High Elkton.

Spokane. Washington

Kentucky

Terrence

Blair

Norfolk, Virginia

John Muir High School

Maura Casey

Jane

Pasadena. California

Skyline High School

Oakland, California

Warner Robins High School Warner Robins, Georgia

Deborah N. Dean

Janet

Warner Robins Middle School Warner Robins, Georgia

Reading High School

Gloria

J.

Dolesh

S.

King

Reading, Pennsylvania

Cheryl

L.

Lambert Academy

R.

Jeffrey S.

Riverdale, Mai7land

Seabrook. Maryland

Lewis and Clark High School

Kay T. Dunlap

Margaret

Norview High School

Roger

Massachusetts

Maryland

Miami. Florida

Parkdale High School

High School

CharlaJ. Walton

Norton

Spokane. Washington

John C. Fremont Junior High School

Barbara Powell Todd County Central High

William

Las Vegas.

Roger

School

Joseph Fitzgibbon

Springfield.

West West

Donna J. Magrum

Elkton.

Linn High School

Suitland,

Apollo High School Glendale. Arizona

Sarah A. Long Robert Goddard Middle School

Technical High School

Andrew Jackson Middle School

Jan Nichols

Christina Donnelly

Norfolk, Virginia

New York Thompson

Elmhurst.

Sally

Blanca M. Valledor G, Holmes Braddock Senior

Baltimore. Maryland

McKinnon

Sister Eileen Stephens, CSJ Cathedral Preparatory Seminary

Beverly Mudd Western High School Las Vegas. Nevada

Milford Mill

E.

Smith

Orlando. Florida

Countryside High School Clearwater. Florida

Friendly High School

Putnam Vocational-

B.

Dr. Phillips Ninth-Grade Center

Gayle C. Morey

Fort Washington, Maryland

L,

Barbara

Moore

Turner High School J. Beloit, Wisconsin

S. Kilgore

Lewis and Clark High School

School

F.

Middle School

Barbara A. Slaughter

Kentucky

Nevada

Ward

L Putnam

Massachusetts

Rogers High School

Gloria S. Pridmore

Springfield.

Toledo. Ohio

Morrow

Lynn White

Taft High School

Nancy Maheras

Morrow. Georgia

San Antonio, Texas

Dee Richardson

Linn,

Oregon

Paul Garro

Suzanne Haffamier

Western High School Las Vegas. Nevada

Agoura High School

Mara Malone

Agoura, California

Robert

K.

Jordan

Land O' Lakes High School Land O' Lakes. Florida

Vocational-

Technical High School

High School

Tascosa High School Amanllo. Texas

Moore High School Moore. Oklahoma

Noretta M. Willig

Central High School

Carole A. Scala

Pittsburgh. Pennsylvania

Baton Rouge. Louisiana

Southwest Middle School

Deborah

LourdesJ. Medina

Orlando. Florida

Baldwin High School

K. Woelflein Merrimack High School Merrimack. New Hampshire

Pat Neff Middle School

San Antonio. Texas

Student Contributors The

following students wrote annotations for the active reading

Candace Ayers

Alesha

Stonewall Jackson Middle School

Alfred

Irvin

B.

Maclay Day School

models (Dialogue with the

Text).

Romero

Joshua Roberts

Ricardo

Discovery Middle School

Foshay Middle School

Mechanicsville. Virginia

Tallahassee, Florida

Orlando, Florida

Los Angeles. California

Sabrina Braswell

Marina Pecson

Cory

Mansfield Middle School

Traner Middle School Reno, Nevada

Solomon Schechter Day School

Enefiok Udi Audubon Middle School

West Orange. New Jersey

Los Angeles, California

Storrs, Connecticut

Rockliff

VII

Contents One

Collection

We All Need Somebody to Lean On Reading Skills and Strategies Dialogue with the Text Toni Cade Bambara

Omar Kelly

Raymond's Run Reward They Get Is Just

short story /

Connections

2

newspaper article

..II

Elements of Literature Conflict The Energy of a Story by John Leggett Robert Frost

Maya Aiigelou

Gary Soto Gary Soto

15

A Time to Talk

POEM

Mrs. Flowers from I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

autobiography

Broken Chain Oranges Connections /

Elements of Literature

Fame Is

Daniel Keyes

I

Skills

Don't

28

POEM

37

and Strategies This Word!"

Know

.

short story /

More

41

,43

.

Flowers for Algernon Meets the

41

poem

Literature and Psychology

1

Figures of Speech

a Bee

Reading "Help!

....

short story

Making Connections by John Malcolm Brinnin

Emily Dickinson

16

to IQ

44

Than 52

"I"

No Emily Dickinson

?

If

I

She

Questions Asked Can Stop One Heart from Breaking Is

Watching Us by Theresa

Ireland

poem

77

SHORT STORY

78

/

Student to Student

Language/Grammar

Read

Links

Three Common Usage Errors

•

or

•

Its

•

When

Dialogue

Writing

viii

COMMUNICATIONS WORKSHOPS Speaking and Listening Workshop

Use

Apostrophes •

79

27

It's?

to

1

On

in

Writer's

Workshop

Interpersonal

Communication

Narrative Writing: Autobiographical Incident

80 82

Your

76

Contents

40

Sentence Workshop Sentence Fragments

87

Reading for

88

Life Making Outlines and Graphic Organizers

Learning for Life

Conflict Resolution

89

Collection

Two

From Generation to Generation

Walter Dean Myers

Reading Skills and Strategies Dialogue with tlie Text The Treasure of Lemon Brown

short story

Elements of Literature Character Living Many Lives by John Leggett

Edna

Vi)icent Millay

St.

Leroy

Robert

P

V.

Qiiintana

Tristram Coffin

Sandra Cisneros Virginia Driring

106

The Courage That My Mother Had

poem

1

Legacy

II

poem

1

The Secret Heart

poem

112

A Smart Cookie / Bien aguila

short story

115

Hank Snere The Medicine Bag Am Kwakkoli Bisco

Hill

fay

I

Amy Ling

/

Student to Student

Grandma Ling Reading

Skills

119 1

No retold by Yosbiko

Ucbida

retold by Leo Tolstoy

134

.

137

short story /

Live

by Shandin Pete

by Jaqueta Oliver

/

and Learn

Student to Student

Language/Grammar • Style;

Said • Style;

Don't Dread

48

148

FOLK TALE

152

.

.

FOLK TALE

1

1

58 59

COMMUNICATIONS WORKSHOPS Workshop

Persuasive Writing: Supporting a Position

160

Sentence Workshop Run-on Sentences

165

Reading for

Life Reading to Take Action

166

Learning for Life Generations Interview

167

105

Choosing

Precise • Style;

1

POEM

On

Writer's

Links

38

Questions Asked

/

i

1

145

POEM

Student to Student

/

The Wise Old Woman (traditional Japanese) The Old Grandfather and His Little Grandson (traditional European) Connections. Read

29

and Strategies

Literature and Health

Na Na

09

ESSAY

poem

The Moustache Grandpa

08

short story

"Help! I'm Stuck!"

Robert Cormier

92

Words

133

Connotations

151

Contents

ix

Collection Three Tales of the Strange Reading

Skills

and Mysterious

and Strategies

Dialogue with the Text

RoaldDabl Walter cle la Mare

The Landlady The Listeners Reading

SHORT STORY /

POEM

Connections

Skills

I

I

70

80

and Strategies

Reading Actively: Establishing a Purpose and Making Predictions

184

W WJacobs, dramatized by Mara Rockliff

The Monkey's Paw

play

World Cultures / What Does Add Up To? Significant Numbers

Literature and

W. W.Jacobs

Edgar Allan Poe

from

The Monkey's Paw /

191

Connections

STORY EXCERPT .... 96 1

SHORT STORY

Elements of Literature

There Will

short story

Home Improvement

Experiment 02368! by Peter Leary

Namioka

217

The Inn of Lost Time Literature and

No Saki

Links Regular and Irregular

•

Verbs • Lie

and

Rise •

1

83

200

and Raise

Keeping Tense Consistent

•

Set,

211

Don't or Doesn't?

225 •

Active and Passive

Voice

X Contents

245

Samurai:

Honor

SHORT STORY

222

short story

226

229

First

Questions Asked short story

On

246 25

I

COMMUNICATIONS WORKSHOPS Speaking and Listening Workshop Oral Writer's

and

Lay, Sit

/

The Open Window Read

Language/Grammar

Geography

214

/

Student to Student

Lensey

I

212

Come Soft Rains /

20

The Short Story

Reading? by John Leggett

Literature and Technology

.185

All

The Tell-Tale Heart

What Keeps Us

Ray Bradbury

It

Workshop

Interpretation

Expository Writing: Analyzing a Character

252 254

Sentence Workshop Combining Sentences

259

Reading for

260

Life Taking Notes

Learning for Life Using

Multiple Intelligences

In

a

Group

261

Collection Four

Talk to the

Animals Reading

Skills

and Strategies

Dialogue with the Text

Laurence Yep

We Are All One The Cormorant

in

My

Bathtub by Brooke Rogers

Student to Student

Gary Paulseti Diana Nyad

The Dogs Could Teach Me from Woodsong The Last Great Race on Earth Connections /

Elements of Literature

Who Tells the Shel Silversteiii

Joseph Bruchac

Ode

short story

270

autobiography

.

.

288

Grampa

poem

288

POEM

290

POEM

292

/

Student to Student Skills

and Strategies

Vocabulary: Using Context Clues

Paul Zindel

Let

294

Me Hear You Whisper

Literature and Science

/

295

teleplay

Animal Rights

vs.

Animal 318

Research

Pamela

Stacey,

ABC/Kane Productions

from

Touched by a Dolphin

No T. S.

?

.275

radio transcript. .284

Point of View

to a Toad by Anne-Marie Wulfsberg

Reading

264

Story? by John Leggett

Point of View Birdfoot's

folk tale /

Eliot

/

Connections

.

.32

Questions Asked

The Naming of Cats Read

TV documentary

poem

.327

On

329

Language/Grammar

COMMUNICATIONS WORKSHOPS

Links •

Using

Commas

Items

in a

with

Series

274 •

Using

Commas with

Adjectives •

Using

287

Commas with

Interrupters

Writer's

Workshop

Expository Writing:

How-To

330

Essay

Sentence Workshop Combining Sentences

335

Reading for

Life Understanding Induction and Deduction

336

Learning for Life Researching and Sharing Information About Animals

337

326

Contents

I<^

Collection Five

^

I Still

Believe Drama

Elements of Literature Literature

1

in

Reading

Action by Robert Anderson Skills

340

and Strategies

Dialogue with the Text Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett

Anne Frank

The Diary of Anne Frank

play

/

Fighting

Literature and Social Studies

/

Taking a Stand

from

The Diary of a Young Girl

Reading

Skills

/

379

Back

Literature and Social Studies

389

Connections.

.

.

.

diary excerpt

i

Language/Grammar Links Dangling and

•

•

A Tragedy Revealed: A Heroine's Last Days.

4

439

438

Speaking and Listening Workshop Writer's

Workshop

Reading for

Persuasive Communication

Expository Writing: Comparison-Contrast Essay

442

448

Life Using Text Organizers

449

Literacy

._^itj^/%^j)r-;p'

440

447

Stringy Sentences

Learning for Life Media

Contents

433

On

Sentence Workshop

xii

ESSAY

1

Avoiding Double

Comparisons

417

/

Student to Student

Read

ARTICLE

COMMUNICATIONS WORKSHOPS

Misplaced Modifiers

416

Walking with Living Feet by Dara Horn 5

410

and Strategies

Using Prior Knowledge

Ernst Schnabel

342

^

I//.

^OO//

Collection Six

Sneaky Tricks and Whopping Lies Reading Skills and Strategies Dialogue with the Text retold by Jackie Torrence

Brer Possum's Dilemma (traditional African

American).

.

452

FABLE

Elements of Literature Folk Tales Stories of a People by David Adams Leeming retold by Richard Erdoes

460

and

Alfonso Ortiz

Coyote Steals the Sun

and Moon retold by Jt dins Lester

(traditional Zuni)

.

.

American)

Charles

Elements of Literature

folk tale

.466

short story

472

Humor 480

Getting a Laugh

Q

Henry

Carl Sandburg

.462

Brer Rabbit and Brer Lion (traditional African

Shirley Jackson

creation myth

The Ransom of Red Chief

They Have Yarns Reading

Skills

from

The People, Yes

48

short story

poem

/

tall tale

. .

1

.496

and Strategies 500

Vocabulary: Prefixes and Suffixes

Contents

xiu

Harold W. Felton Shel Silverstein

Robert

W Service

Pecos

Bill

and the Mustang

Paul Bunyan

poem

The Cremation of Sam McGee Literature and Science

Northern

/

Sunlit Nights

Incin Shapiro

I

poem

.

.

.506

512 515

A

Ballad 6/ Jenny Ellison

/

BALLAD

519

LEGEND

52

Questions Asked

Davy Is Born from Yankee Thunder: The Legendary Life of Davy Crockett Read

tall tale

and

Student to Student

No

/

Lights

Maiden-Savin' Sam:

50

tall tale

On

1

525

Language/Grammar

COMMUNICATIONS WORKSHOPS

Links Personal Pronouns

•

Writer's

459

Two Pronoun

•

Problems •

Pronoun Reference

495

Don't Double Your Subject with a

Pronoun

xiv

Contents

526

Sentence Workshop Varying Sentence Length

531

Reading for

532

Life Reading for Different Purposes

Learning for Life Community

Pronoun-Antecedent

Agreement •

Descriptive Writing: Observational Writing

471

479 •

Workshop

5

1

Folklore

533

Collection Seven

The American Hero:

Myth and Reality Reading

Skills

and Strategies

Dialogue with the Text

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Paul Revere's Ride

POEM

Elements of Literature The Music

Dorothy M. Johnson

of Language by John

Sound

Effects

Malcolm Brinnin

Too Soon a Woman Reading

Skills

536

544 short story

.546

and Strategies

Previewing and Reviewing

A)in Petry Traditional Africa)}

American

555

Harriet Tubman: Conductor on the Underground Railroad Go Down, Moses Connections from

/

Freedom Walk

by Heather Melchert

Hamilton

Ray Bradbury Irene

Hnnt

John Greoileaf Viljittier

^

•

Using Colons Before Lists

• Joining

569 573

The Drummer Boy of Shiloh

short story

580

The Deserter from Across Five Aprils

novel extract

Barbara Frietchie

poem /

.

.

.

586 60

Stars and Stripes Forever

603

Questions Asked

Casey

at

the Bat

poem

.606

On

.609

COMMUNICATIONS WORKSHOPS Speaking and Listening Workshop

Informative Communication

610

554 Independent

Clauses

572

•Joining Independent

Clauses •

.

folk tale

Read

Links

.

The People Could Fly

No

Language/Grammar

568

fictional diary.

Literature and Social Studies

Ernest Lawrence Thayer

556

/

Student to Student

Virginia

biography spiritual

579

Capitalizing and

Writer's

Workshop

Expository Writing: Informative Report

Sentence Workshop Varying Sentence Reading for

Life Reading Graphs and

Structure

Time

Lines

Learning for Life Researching Modern Heroes

612

617 618 619

Punctuating Titles

600

Contents xv

Collection Eight

We Shall Overcome: American Struggles

and Dreams Reading

Skills

and Strategies

Dialogue with the Text

Abraham

Lincoln

Walt mjitnian

The Gettysburg Address

O Captain! My Captain! Reading Thinking

The Grand Council Fire of American Indians

The

Skills

Monica Sone

/

Student to Student

Camp Harmony from Nisei Daughter In Response to Executive Order 9066

Elements of Literature

Contents

.626

.

.

.

.

speech

630

POEM

633

photo

636

essay

poem

637

newspaper article .640

Connections

xvi

.622 .

629

Human Spirit

Just the Facts?

.

and Opinions

The Golden Door: A Nation of Immigrants The New Colossus After Ellis Island: A Triumph of the

Divight Okita

POEM

Americans

Indians by Ophelia Rivas

Emma Lazarus The Palm Beach Post

speech

Connections

and Strategies

Critically: Facts

First

/

autobiography

.

.

.644

/

POEM

652

Nonfiction 656

Francisco Jinietiez

The Circuit

short story

Literature and Social Studies

/

Cesar Chavez:

/

Connections

Organizing Farm Workers

Judith Ortiz Cofer

Sandra Cisneros Langs ton Hughes

The Habit of Movement

66

665

Three Wise Guys

short story

669

Refugee in America

poem

676

speech

678

ORAL history

681

I Have a Dream The Power of Nonviolence

from

John Lewis

from

Jatiet Bode

No Questions Asked Coming to America from New Kids on the

/

Connections

.

Block: Oral Histories of Immigrant Teens

I

1

poem

Alartin Luther Kiug.Jr

Neil Diamoiui

658

America Connections /

Read

.

.

.

.

oral history

686

SONG

694

On

695

Language/Grammar

COMMUNICATIONS WORKSHOPS

Links .

Good

or We/I? Bad or

635

Badly? •

Avoiding Double Negatives

• Style;

Using

655

Workshop

Sentence Workshop Reading for

Persuasive Writing: Problem Solution

696

Parallel Structure

701

Life Searching the Internet: Reading Electronic Texts

Words

from Other Languages

702

for Information

Learning for Life Using Community Resources to Solve Problems

668 • Style;

Writer's

703

Avoiding Cliches

675 • Style;

Avoiding

Wordiness

685

Contents

xvii

Resource Center Handbook of Literary Terms Communications Handbook Putting Together a Multimedia

705

719

Elements ofLiterature on the Internet To THE STUDENT Discover more and essays

in

about the

stories,

poems,

Elements of Literature by

go.hrw.com we help you complete your homework assignments, learn more about your favorite logging on to the Internet. At

writers, and find facts that support

and inspire you with

new

your ideas

ones. Here's

to log on: I .

Start your

Web

go.hrw.com

S

--

-

L.-

in

browser and enter the location

field.

how

Collection

-..',

iM.WKiWMw

m^^.

R#

not strong, Lean on me when you're

on III help you carry yourfriend, be And I'll For it won't be long Till

to lean on. I'm gonna need somebody

—BtU Withers, "Lean on Me"

—

Before You Read Raymond's Run tell

Make the Connection

the class what you learned

Reading Skills

about your partner.

You Can't Judge a Book by Its Cover

Save your

to

it

list

when you

—

and Strategies

you'll refer

get to page

1

3.

The story you're about to read takes place section of

Harlem, a

in

New York City.

main character

is

smart, funny, streetwise

a

is

Conflict

When

a

number

of conflicts

struggles or disagreements

what other people are like just from the way they look

to resolve.

tell

talk.

She doesn't take into

account the

fact that there

much more

to people than

what appears on the

is

surface.

flicts

are with other

your hidden

What

qualities

and

things you're

enjoy doing.

Tell a

good

at or

classmate

you.) Afterward,

your head:

own

experience.

You picture what

•

You ask yourself questions and make predictions.

•

You challenge the

•

You

is

happen-

reflect

text.

on the meaning

of the text. 's

You can monitor your

reading comprehension by having a dialogue with a text

Keep

a sheet

of paper next to each page so

V,^ onflict

is

a struggle

between opposing for

your partner doesn't already

with your

you're reading.

list

(Try to pick something

know about

tell

you about her?

about one of the items on your list.

them

tal-

ents? Take five minutes to

some

are

some some

are with herself. Think about

dealing with

in

•

girls,

how you would resolve these conflicts. What does Squeaky

on

You connect what you read

ing in the text.

of these con-

are with her family, and

way of Think-pair-share.

Some

•

—

opinions. She thinks she can

and

you read, a great

deal goes

with strong

girl

Your Comprehension

As you read "Raymond's Run," you'll notice that Squeaky has

girl

called Squeaky.

Squeaky

Elements of Literature

Its

a tough,

Dialogue with the Text: Monitoring

more on

Conflict,

forces.

see

page 15 and the Handbook of Literary Terms.

that you can write

down your

thoughts and questions. For

example, as you read "Ray-

mond's Run," you might com-

ment on how some

of the

characters remind you of yourself or people you know.

You might make predictions about

how Squeaky

her conflicts.

will

handle

you run into

If

problems understanding a passage, try reading

One

reader's

it

aloud.

comments

appear at the beginning of

"Raymond's Run." go.hrw.com

much work

have

Jdont

some

My

house

like

Aiid

don't have to earn

I

girls.

do around the mother does that.

to

my

pocket

Dialogue with the Text

money

It

by hustling; George runs errands for the big boys and sells Christmas cards. And amthing else that's got to get done,

have to do in

my father does.

All

if

this

girl

doesn't do enough

around the house, but she has an important pb. She has to take care of her brother, and

I

mind my brother Raymond,

life is

seems as

can

I

know how hard that

be.

which is enough. Sometimes I slip and say my little brother Raymond. But as any fool can see he's much bigger and he's older too. But a lot of people call him my little brother cause he needs looking after cause he's not quite right.

smart mouths got

lots to say

And

about that too,

when George was minding

pecially

a lot of es-

in

arms and the

my

rather just

chances even

I

a

face doing a lot of talking.

if I

am

a

little girl

squeaky voice, which

I

brother

is

physically challenged,

There

is

first-place

on two feet. no track meet

medal.

when

Nowadays,

1

I

was

stands up for Raymond.

how

I

got She's smart.

If

situation where

was

I

I

1

don't

a

little

I

wouldn't

win the

kid in kindergarten.

its the fift>'-yard dash.

in

play the dozens: trade

And tomor-

first,

second, and

I

can

tell

she's a strong young

she's got a positive attitude.

third.

insults (slang).

iaslosi: afflf iliat: g?(Mis loi*

OiMitolKiii, loo,

woman, and

all

Ricardo

going to win

a very tough

stick around either

that

subject to run the quarter-meter relay

1;h(i

in

faced danqer,

used to win the twenty-yard

by myself and come

I'm

and

would stand up for him just as she

with skinny is

fastest thing

1.

My

I

name Squeaky. And if things get too rough, And as anybody can tell you, I'm the

row I'm

that have problems.

knock you down and take my

run.

dash

insensitive to people

or believe in standing around with

somebody

much

people can really be cruel and

him. But

now, if anybody has an)thing to say to Raymond, anything to say about his big head, they have to come by me. And 1 don't play the

dozens

Some

who says

iliis

slio's

yoar. Kiilionlons.

Romero

Foshay Middle School Los Angeles, California

she's got freckles. In the

beat

me

and

that's

all

place,

first

there

is

to

no one can

it.

I'm standing on the corner admiring the

weather and about to take a stroll down Broadway so I can practice my breathing exercises, and I've got Raymond walking on the inside close to the buildings, cause he's subject to

fits

of fantasy and starts thinking he's a circus per-

former and that the curb liigh in the

air.

likes to step

is

a tightrope strung

And sometimes

down

after a rain

he

off his tightrope right into

the gutter and slosh around getting

liis

shoes

and cuffs wet. Then I get hit when I get home. Or sometimes if you don't watch him hell dash across traffic to the island"* in the middle of

Broadway and give the pigeons a fit. Then I have to go behind him apologizing to all the old people sitting around trying to get some sun and getting aU upset with the pigeons fluttering aroimd them, scattering their newspapers and upsetting the waxpaper lunches in their laps. So I keep Raymond on the inside of me, and he pla}'S like he's driving a stage coach wliich is OK by me so long as he doesn't run me over or interrupt my breathing exercises, which I have to do on account of I'm serious about my running, and I don't care who knows it.

The

big kids call

me

knows

that

better,

my

— except

Everybody

two people who know

father and me.

He can

beat

me

to

Amsterdam Avenue with me having a two-firehydrant headstart and him running with his hands

and

pockets

his

in

whistling.

But that's private information. Cause can you

imagine some

thirt>'-five-year-old

himself into PAL shorts to race far as

man

little

stuffing

kids? So as

everyone's concerned, I'm the fastest and

that goes for Gretchen, too,

the tale that she

medal

this

is

year.

who

has put out

going to win the first-place Ridiculous.

In

the second

place, she's got short legs. In the third place, 2.

Mercury:

known

in

Roman

Now some people like to act Like things come

Mercury" cause I'm the

swiftest thing in the neighborhood.

m}T:hology,

easy to them, won't

let

on

that they practice.

Not me. I'll high-prance down 34th Street like a rodeo pom' to keep ni)- knees strong even if it does get my mother uptight so that she walks ahead like she's not with me, don't know me, is all by herself on a shopping trip, and I am somebody else's craz}' child. Now you take Cynthia Procter for instance. She's just the opposite. there's a test like,

"Oh,

I

tomorrow, she'U say sometliing

guess

I'll

play handball this afternoon

and watch television

know last

she

tonight," just to let

ain't tliinking

about the

test.

Or

3.

PAL: Police Athletic League.

4

We All Need Somebody to Lean On

4.

you like

week when she won the spelling bee for the

millionth time,

A good

thing you got receive,'

messenger of the gods,

for his speediness.

If

island:

of a road.

traffic island, a car-free

area in the middle

Squeaky, cause

I

would have got it wrong. I com-

And

pletely forgot about the spelling bee."

clutch the lace

row

on her blouse

like

it

was

escape. Oh, brother. But of course

on my

pass her house

aroimd the block, she

is

early

when

morning

music

she

class

bumped around

always

so she

falls

lets

is

on

Then

herself get

accidentally

pose onto the piano stool and

1

trots

practicing the scales

the piano over and over and over and over. in

she'll

a nar-

on

pur-

so surprised to

find herself sitting there that she decides just for

fun to try out the ole keys.

know — Chopin's^

And what do you

waltzes just spring out of her

most surprised thing Ln the world. A regular prodigy. 1 could kill people like that. 1 stay up all night studying the words fingertips

and

she's the

for the spelling bee.

And

}'Ou

can see

me

any

time of day practicing running.

1 never walk if 1 and shame on Raymond if he can't keep up. But of course he does, cause if he hangs back someone's liable to walk up to him and get smart, or take his allowance from him,

can

trot,

or ask him where he got that gieat big head. People are so stupid sometimes.

So I'm

strolling

down Broadway

is

5.

and here comes Gretchen sidekicks: Mary Louise, who used to be

m\' lucky number,

Chopin's: Frederic Francois Chopin (sho-pa»')

(1810-1849), Polish composer and

pianist.

iJ dJi^^ ^Z"

friend of mine when she first moved to Harlem from Baltimore and got beat up by everybody till 1 took up for her on account of her mother and m}' mother used to sing in the same choir when they were young girls, but people ain't grateful, so now she hangs out a

breathing

out and breathing in on counts of seven, which

and her

'%

pumpkin

with the

new girl Gretchen and who is

dog; and Rosie.

like a

skinny and has a big

concerned and is

is

talks

about

as fat as

1

me am

mouth where Raymond

too stupid to

know that

is

there

not a big deal of difference between herself

and Raymond and

throw stones. So they are steady coming up Broadway and 1 see right away that it's going to be one of those

Dodge

that she can't afford to

City scenes' cause the street ain't

that big

and they're close

we are.

First

1

think

and look over the 6.

I'll

to the buildings just as

step into the candy store

new comics and

Dodge City scenes: slKJwdowns

like

let

them

those in the

western Gimsmokt'. which was set in Dodge (;ity, Kansas, hi a topical scene, a marshal and an outlaw tace ott with pistols on an empty street. television

Raymond's Run

5

"

"You got anything to say to my brother, you it to me, Mary Louise Williams of Raggedy

say

Town, Baltimore." "What are you, his mother?" "That's right. Fatso.

and

I've

got a reputa-

I think I'll just walk on through them or even over them if

tion to consider. So then straight

necessary. But as they get to me, they slow

down. I'm ready to fight, cause like I said I don't feature a whole lot of chit-chat, I much prefer to just knock you down right from the jump and save everybody a lotta precious time.

"You signing up for the May Day races?"

A

smiles

Mary

dumb

question like that doesn't deserve an an-

Louise, only

it's

swer. Besides, there's just

standing there

really,

not a smile

me

at

all.

and Gretchen

so no use wasting

my

breath talking to shadows. "I

don't think you're going to

win

this time,"

says Rosie, trying to signify with her

her hips

have salt

completely forgetting that

whupped her behind many

than

"I

all salt)',

hands on I

times for less

always win cause I'm the best,"

who

I

say

word out

I'll

"

toward the ice man on l45th with not a care in the world cause I am Miss Quicksilver herself. I take my time getting to the park on May

Day because the track meet is the last thing on the program. The biggest thing on the program is the May Pole dancing, which I can do without, thank you, even if my mother thinks it's a shame I don't take part and act like a girl for a change. You'd think my mother 'd be grateful not to have to make me a white organdy dress with a big satin sash and buy me new white baby-doll shoes that can't be taken out of the

box

till

the big day. You'd think she'd be glad

her daughter

that.

the next

be their mother too." So they just stand there and Gretchen shifts from one leg to the other and so do they. Then Gretchen puts her hands on her hips and is about to say something with her freckle-face self but doesn't. Then she walks around me looking me up and down but keeps walking up Broadway, and her sidekicks follow her. So me and Raymond smile at each other and he says, "Gidyap to his team and I continue with my breathing exercises, strolling down Broadway of anybody and

pass. But that's chicken

And

sasses Rosie.

May

ain't

out there prancing around a

Pole getting the

new

clothes

all

dirty

and

grown-up

sweaty and trying to act like a fairy or a flower or whatever you're supposed to be when you should be trying to be yourself, whatever that is, which is, as far as I am concerned, a poor black girl who really can't afford to buy shoes and a new dress you only wear once a lifetime cause it won't fit next year. I was once a strawberry in a Hansel and

look

Gretel pageant

straight at

Gretchen

is,

as far as I'm con-

cerned, the only one talking in this ventrilo-

quist-dummy routine. Gretchen smiles, but it's girls never really smile at each other because they don't know how and don't want to know how and

not a smile, and I'm thinking that

there's probably

no one

to teach us how, cause

girls don't know either. Then they all Raymond who has just brought his mule team to a standstill. And they're about to see

at

what trouble they can get into through him. "What grade you in now, Raymond? someone

7.

signify: act boastful or insult

6

We All Need Somebody to Lean On

(slang).

when

I

was

in

nursery school

and didn't have no better sense than to dance on tiptoe with my arms in a circle over my 8.

Quicksilver: another

name for mercury,

liquid metal that flows rapidly

a

silver- colored

head doing umbrella steps and being a perfect fool just so my mother and father could come dressed up and clap. You'd think they'd know better than to encourage that kind of nonsense. I am not a strawberry. I do not dance on

my toes. always

run. That

I

come

in time to get

the grass I

till

is

what

late to the

squeeze

tliis 1

little

fifty-)'ard

just

dash. is

a

year and will be impossible

Mr

Pearson,

on. I'm really looking for

you want to know the

she's not around.

1

lay in

swings, wliich

look around for

who pins the numbers if

about. So

all

pinned on and

they announce the

next year. Tlien

Gretchen

am

May Day program,

my number

put Raymond in the

tight

I

The park

is

truth, but

jam-packed. Par-

ents in hats and corsages and breast-pocket

handkerchiefs peeking up. Kids in white dresses

and liglit-blue suits. The parkees unfoldmg chairs and chasing the rowdy kids from Lenox' as if they had no right to be there. The big guys with

on backwards, leaning

their caps

against the

fence swirUng the basketballs on the tips of their fingers, waiting for

all

these crazy people to clear

out the park so they can

my

play.

class are carrying bass

Most of the kids

in

drums and glocken-

and flutes. You'd think they'd put in a few bongos or something for real Uke that. Then here comes Mr. Pearson with his clipboard and his cards and pencils and whistles and safety pins and fifty million other things he's always dropping all over the place with his clumsy self. He sticks out in a crowd because he's on stilts. 'We used to call him Jack and the Beanstalk to get him mad. But I'm the only one that can outrun him and get away, and I'm too grown for that silliness now. 'WeU, Squeaky," he says, checking my name off the list and handing me number seven and spiels"*

two

pins.

And

call

me Squeaky,

if I

can't call

him

Beanstalk.

"Hazel Elizabeth Deborah Parker,"

him and

tell

him

to write

it

down on

I

correct

his board.

"WeU, Hazel Elizabeth Deborah Parker, going to give someone else a break this year?" I

him

he is seriously thinking I should lose the race on purpose just to give someone else a break. "Only six girls running this time," he continues, shaking his head sadly like it's my fault all of New York squint at

real

hard to see

didn't turn out in sneakers.

should give you

a

if

"That

new

girl

run for your money" He

looks around the park for Gretchen like a

periscope in a submarine movie. ""Wouldn't

it

you were ... to ahhh I give him such a look he couldn't finish putting that idea into words. Grown-ups got a

be

a nice gesture

."

if

.

.

number seven to myself and stomp away, I'm so burnt. And I go straight for the track and stretch out on the grass while the band winds up with "Oh, the Monkey Wrapped His Tail Around the Flag Pole," which my teacher calls by some other name. The man on the loudspeaker is calling lot

of nerve sometimes.

I

pin

everyone over to the track and I'm on my back looking at the sk)', trying to pretend I'm in the country, but city feels

I

can't,

because even grass

hard as sidewalk, and there's

pretending you are anywhere but crete jungle

"

as

in the

just

no

in a "con-

my grandfather says.

I'm thinking he's got no right to

Lenox: Lenox Avenue, a major street in Harlem called Malcolm X Boulevard). 10. glockenspiels (glak'sn-spelz'): musical instruments with flat metal bars that are struck with small hammers and produce bell-like sounds. Glockenspiels are often used in marching bands.

9.

(now

Raymond's Run 7

The twenty-yard dash utes cause most of the

takes

little

all

of two min-

kids don't

know no

better than to run off the track or run the

wrong way or run smack

down

and

cry.

One

into the fence

little kid,

and

fall

though, has got

the good sense to run straight for the white

rib-

bon up ahead so he wins. Then the secondgraders line up for the thirt)'-yard dash and I don't even bother to turn my head to watch cause Raphael Perez always wins. He wins before he even begins by psyching the runners, telling

them

they're going to trip

shoelaces and

on

fall

shorts or something,

have to do since he I

am. After that

used to run

is

on

their faces or lose their

which he doesn't

really

almost as

fast as

very

fast,

the forty-yard dash

is

their

which

I

when was in first grade. Raymond I

is hollering from the swings cause he knows I'm about to do my thing cause the man on the loudspeaker has just announced the fifty-yard dash, although he might just as well be giving a recipe for angel food cake cause you can hardly

make out what

he's say in for the static.

I

get

up

and slip off my sweat pants and then I see Gretchen standing at the starting line, kicking her legs out like a pro. Then as I get into place I see that ole Raymond is on line on the other side of the fence, bending down with his fingers on the ground just like he knew what he was doing. I was going to yell at him but then I didn't. It burns up your energy to holler.

Every time, always

just

before

I

take off in a race,

I'm in a dream, the kind of

feel like

dream you have when you're and

feel all

I

hot and weightless.

sick I

with fever

dream I'm

fly-

ing over a sandy beach in the early m<jrning sun, kissing the leaves of the trees as

And

I

fly by.

there's always the smell of apples, just like

country

when

I

knees then

down

to

was

and used to think I was a choo-choo train, running through the fields of corn and chugging up the hill to the orchard. And all the time I'm dreaming this, I get lighter and lighter until I'm flying over the beach again, getting blown through the sky like a feather that weighs nothing at all. But once I spread my fingers in the dirt and crouch over the Get on Your Mark, the dream goes and I am solid again and am telling myself, Squeaky you must win, you must win, you are the fastest thing in the world, you can even beat your father up Amsterdam if you really try. And then I feel my weight coming back just behind in the

my

my

little

feet

then into the

earth and the pistol shot explodes in

am

my

blood

and weightless again, flying past the other runners, my arms pumping up and down and the whole world is quiet except for and

I

off

the crunch as track.

the

I

I

glance to

right, a

zoom over

my left and there is no one. To

blurred Gretchen, who's got her

chin jutting out as

by

itself.

And on

Raymond with

if it

his very

own

saw

and

arms

his

Raymond on is

down

to his side

and

it's

the

first

almost stop to watch

his first run. But the

I

is

in

ever

my brother

white ribbon

me and tear past racing till my feet with a mind of

bouncing toward

into the distance

time

all

and

up behind him, running

style, I

would win the race

the other side of the fence

the palms tucked

that

the gravel in the

I

it,

own start digging up footfuls of dirt and brake me short. Then all the kids standing on the side pile on me, banging me on the back and slapping my head with their May Day programs, for have won again and everybody on their

I

151st Street can walk

8

We All Need Somebody to Lean On

tall

for another year.

"In first

speaker

is

place

." .

.

man on

the

pauses and the loudspeaker

Then

the loud-

he to whine.

clear as a bell now. But then starts

And I lean down to catch my and here comes Gretchen walking back,

static.

breath

for she's overshot the finish line too, huffing

and puffing with her hands on her hips taking it slow, breathing in steady time like a real pro and

sort of like her a

I

little

for the first time.

and then three or four voices get all mixed up on the loudspeaker and I dig my sneaker into the grass and stare at Gretchen who's staring back, we both wonder"In

first

ing just

place

who

."

.

.

did win.

arguing with the

I

can hear old Beanstalk

man on

the loudspeaker and

then a few others running their mouths about

what the stopwatches

mond

yanking

wave

at

sa}'.

Then

the fence to

to shush him, but

he keeps

fence like a gorilla in a cage

I

call

like in

me

and

I

rattling the

them

gorilla

climbing up nice and easy but very

fast.

it occurs to me, watching how smoothly he climbs hand over hand and remembering how he looked running with his arms down to

And

and with the wind pulling his mouth back and his teeth showing and all, it occurred his side

me

Raymond would make a very fine runner. Doesn't he always keep up with me on my trots? And he surely knows how to breathe to

in

that

counts of seven cause he's always doing

the dinner table,

which

drives

my

it

at

brother

George up the wall. And I'm smiling to beat the band cause if I've lost this race, or if me and Gretchen tied, or even if I've won, I can always retire as a runner and begin a whole new career as a coach with Raymond as my champion. After all, with a little more study I can beat Cynthia and her phony self at the spelling bee. And if I bugged m\' mother, I could get piano lessons and become a star. And I have a big rep

'

as the baddest thing around.

And

I've got

11. rep: reputation (slang). People often create slang by

clipping off parts of words.

roomful of ribbons and medals and awards.

But what has Ra}'mond got to

So

hear Ray-

movies, but then like a dancer or something he starts

a

I

stand there with

call his

own?

my new plans,

laughing

Raymond jumps down

out loud by this time as

from the fence and runs over with his teeth showing and his arms down to the side, which no one before him has quite mastered as a running style. And by the time he comes over I'm jumping up and down so glad to see him my brother Raymond, a great runner in the family tradition. But of course everyone thinks I'm jumping up and down because the men on the loudspeaker have finalh' gotten themselves together and compared notes and are announcing 'In first place Miss Hazel Elizabeth DeboMiss rah Parker." (Dig that.) "In second place Gretchen R Lewis." And I look over at Gretchen

—

—

—

wondering what the "P" stands for. And I smile. Cause she's good, no doubt about it. Maybe she'd like to help me coach Raymond; she obviously

is

serious about running, as any fool can

And she nods she smiles. And I see.

to congratulate smile.

We

me

and then

stand there with

between us. It's about can do for each other,

this big smile of respect

as real a smile as girls

considering

we

don't practice

every day, you know, cause maybe

being flowers or

fairies

real

smiling

we too

busy

or strawberries instead

of something honest and worthy of respect .

.

.

you know

.

.

.

like

being people.

Raymond's Run 9

/ Meet the Writer "I

Deal in Straight-Up Fiction Myself'

Cade Bambara

Toni in

New York

City,

(1939-1995) grew up

where "Raymond's Run"

takes place. She began writing very early:

44

It's

been

a long apprenticeship.

on

News. Then

wait by the

I'd

strips

bedroom

chewing on a number two

began Daily

door,

those

pencil, for

my mama's

sturdy white squares

I

from my daddy's

scribbling tales

stockings

came wrapped around. ... In junior high, overwhelmed English teachers with three-forI

-/

one assignments. lit

journal.

In

high school,

I

hogged the

99

Bambara's writing drew on the voices of her childhood: street-corner speechmakers,

\

barbershop storytellers, performers at Photograph

Harlem's legendary Apollo Theater. She said her stories came from her imagination, though:

44 It does no good to write autobiographical fiction, cause the minute the book hits the stand here comes your mama screamin how could you. And it's no use using bits and snatches even of real events and real people, even if you do cover, guise, switch-around, and change-up, cause next thing .

you know your best ain't ringing

friend's laundry cart

so you trot

cold pressure front the says

in this chilly

you

in

cause

way

down

that

it's

I

value

my

.

bell

the block after her and there's this drafty

weatherman

the back with a pen.

squeaking past but your

is

.

really

surely did not predict and your friend

something when your

... So

I

deal

in

own

friend stabs

straight-up fiction myself,

family and friends, and mostly cause

I

lie

a lot anyway.

99

Cade adopted the name Bambara from a signature on a sketchbook she found in her great-grandmother's trunk. The Bambara are a people of northwestern Africa known for their skill in woodcarving. Toni

More by Toni Cade Bambara "Raymond's Run" comes from a collection of short stories

My Love (Random House). Other like

Squeaky are "Blues Ain't

My

Love."

No

stories

in

called Gorilla,

the collection with characters

Mockin Bird" and the

title

story, "Gorilla,

©

1994 by Jill Krementz.

— A NEWSPAPER

(Connections

Reward They Get Bob Johnson

is

sure he has the

Mainly,

as an

of a student

world's highest-paid staff of volunteers.

Is Just

He gave

OMAR KELLY

because

ifs

ARTICLE

example the

who

story

despised attend-

ing school until he reached high

made him eligiOlympics. Now, be-

school age, which for the

ble

everyone involved with the Special Olympics goes home feeling like a

cause of training involved for the Special Olympics, that student is

million bucks.

one of the

Many who

will

donate

their

time and effort for this weekend's 28th annual Special Olympics

Summer Games Massachusetts come expecting to give only of themselves, but they walk

away

much more

than

having

taken

donated to the Games, which begin today and wrap up Sunday.

they've

"Athletes are the focal point,

home touched by the experience," said Johnson,

but everyone goes

of Special Olympics Massachusetts, who has orchestrated the eight events of the president

competition taking place on the

campuses of MIT and Boston University. "These events teach our athletes that they can do much more than they can't." This summer's event has an added bonus. The athletes competing this weekend will be \'ying for a chance to qualify for the

World Summer Games Durham. N.C.

in

1999

Raleigh-

on the bus

first

are so

happy

get out of the house

to

Glendie.

the regular high school athletes football

—and

it

and basketball play-

makes them

while because they

feel

know

worth-

that they

The experience

is

what the job. Tony Camevale, volunteer spokesman for the Summer Games, told a story about a firstyear volunteer who thought he had an unrewai'ding job on the track.

become

arrive

at

the

Special

on MIT's campus early in the morning and report to the volunteer desk. There they'll be put right to work, Johnson said. If they're lucky, they might get to do something as rewarding as hold-

Olympics event

ing a rope.

site

—from The Boston 19,

Globe.

1998

Getting ready for Special Olympics long jump event, San Marcos, Texas,

January 1993.

"His assignment was to hold the

Camevale said. "When you them their responsibility, they kind of look at you funny. They say, T can't believe I gave up my time to hold a rope." Then a blind runner tell

uses that rope as their eyes

guide

—

—

as a

flying along the rope during

The person

that's

"my little family," a group of 30 who compete in volleyball and track and field. According to Glendie, participating in the Summer Games is an

done.

experience his students anticipate

teers, it's

socially

outgoing,

confident, and they

ropes,"

the competition.

it's

more

just as reward-

ing for the volunteers, no matter

go by them, and instantly, they realize what a great deed they've just

year round because

come back more

June

are athletes, too."

Lawrence Public Schools Special Olympics, will be coaching a team

all

hves," Johnson said. "The

athletes

should

holding the rope watches the runner

rewarding.

throughout

in their

to

two nights a said

for training,"

be able

Phil Glendie. supervisor for the

he calls

experience

willing to take chances."

"The excitement is like going to Disney World for them. They see

ers

that

other challenges that they will meet

Individuals wishing to volunteer

"They

the

carry

to

school.

week

"The Games give our athletes hope for the future, and they will

It's

a great feehng."

Johnson's that train

it

staff

has

estimated

takes 42,400 hours just to

the

17,025 athletes for the

Summer Games. But

to the

volun-

considered a priceless experience, considering the feedback they receive.

Raymond's Run

I

I

.

Meanings

IVIaking ^

First 1

Thoughts Use your reading notes to help you complete one of the following statements; •

If

I

•

I

a.

were Squeaky, would/would not

I

why taking Raymond is not an Explain

I

have •

Reading Check

.

.

job.

.

How

care of

easy

does Squeaky

protect Raymond?

was surprised when didn't understand

.

.

.

.

b. .

How

does Squeaky react

when she

.

sees Gretchen

and her friends coming up

Shaping Interpretations 2.

What do you conflict

think

in this

ing in this form:

k

and

.

.

because 3.

How

.

.

is

the most important

story?

The .

.

Why?

conflict .

is

in

between

.

.

.

d.

the course of the story? Use a

one to organize your thoughts

What

Sc^ueaky thinks of

What does Mr

Pearson

want Squeaky to do

important

.

like this

c.

Try answer-

do Squeaky 's opinions of people

change chart

about

.

Broadway?

race?

How

to

suggestion?

his

the

does she react

What does Squeaky to do for

in

Raymond?

decide

Choices: Writer's 1.

Building Your Portfolio

Notebook

Collecting Ideas for an

Autobiographical Incident Write

briefly

about an incident

(something that happened)

in

your

life in

which a

first

im-

pression turned out to be wrong or someone you thought

you knew well did something that surprised you. •

What happened

•

Why was this learn

•

from

What said)

during this incident?

incident important to you?

if

details of the incident (sights, feelings, things

people

Speal
Stories

3.

the writing prompt above

doesn't spark your interest, in

your Writer's

Notebook about one

a time

Go

back to the

list

made before you story. Pick list,

4.

you

read the

and prepare

a

or stood up for a

friend, a brother,

or a

sis-

or when someone

stood up for you

on

it

aids

for the class.

or props

if

a three-

Use

visual

possible. For

example, you could bring bread to share

if

good

or pass

at baking

you're

in

how

participating in a

summer canoe

trip.

in

community or

the coun-

try

who

in

are physically or

mentally challenged. For ex-

ample, you might want to

do research about in

the Special Olympics (see

Start your search

you had with

how

it

I).

the

in local

newspapers. You

Internet,

or

could also ask your teacher a

friend or an acquaintance

and

I

on the

or a conflict

in

library,

sense of self-confidence •

athletes

Connections on page

sport or being good at

something gave you a

your

ments of people

around snapshots of your •

Meeting the Challenge

Find out about the achieve-

one item from

minute oral presentation

when you made

sacrifice

Writing a Report/ Health

Get Loud and Proud

the

of

these topics:

ter,

you

do you remember?

freewrite

•

did

it?

Creative Writing 2. Life

What

librarian to help

you

lo-

cate published sources or

people to contact.

was resolved

Write your in

a brief

findings,

report on

and display

it

the classroom for other

students to read.

Raymond's Run

1

3

Grammar Link

MINI-LESSON

Common Usage Errors

Three

Can you spot three errors somewhere "Congratulations!" Gretchen Language

"Thanks

alot,"

Handbook

"That's alright.

HELP

Squeaky

dialogue?

said, smiling.

replied.

You deserved

in this

wish you could of won, too."

"I

it."

Many beginning writers have trouble with the phrases

See Glossary

could have

—and should

of Usage, pages 81"

they've heard

and 818.

seen them

(When

it

Try

speaking, people

might be spelled could

Note to computer Technology

HELP

users.

If

will

all right.

out a

spelling

just before printing

catch could of {can you figure out why?), so

CD-ROM.

that's

final draft.

It

response to "Raymond's lot, all

and could have (or should

must have) at

least

once each.

Exchange papers with another

won't

See Language

in

have, would have, might have, or

checker

Workshop Key word

right,

catch misspellings

Run the

Out

Run." Use the phrases a

gram's spelling checker

and

own

you write

word processing pro-

lot

It

Write three sentences of your of.)

using a computer, your

of a

— because

they've

often shorten could have to could've, which

sounds as though

and

lot, all right,

have, would have, might have, and must have

them more often than

in print.

a

student, and check your part-

if

he or she

ner's spelling while

your trouble spot, ask a classmate to

checks yours.

check your writing.

entry: usage.

Spelling

HOW TO OWN A WORD

Spelling Strategies

A Language

Handbook

HELP See Spelling Rules,

lot, all right,

own

set of

and could have are very commonly misspelled, but

words

that give us trouble.

with your spelling; you •

•

may develop others to

fit

Keep

all

have our

you

style.

first draft.

If

you're not sure

to spell a word, take a guess, circle the word, and look

it

up later

—

a spelling log

a

list

of the correct spellings of

you trouble. (You might set aside for

we

strategies to help

your learning

Don't worry about spelling while you're writing a

how

pages

812-816.

Below are some

your

a

spelling log.) Refer to this

words

that often give

page or two of your Writer's Notebook list

whenever you proofread

a piece of

writing.

Note to computer users. Remember that most computer spelling checkers do not correct errors automatically. Instead, they stop at a word and highlight it. The word may not be

misspelled, however;

ary simply does not include the word. (This nouns.)

ware

1

4

If

it is

may be

that the program's diction-

often the case with proper

any of the words from your spelling log are missing from your soft-

dictionary, customize

We All Need Somebody to Lean On

your dictionary by adding them.

5

.

CONFLICT: The Energy of a Story by John Leggett "Little

Red Riding Hood,"

Conflict:

mind, on the other hand,

The Energy of a

called an

Story

Revised

Once upon named

a time, a girl

Little

Red Riding Hood

gives any story

makes

set off into the forest with a

basket of goodies for her

rily

1

Grandma's house. usually

energy and

a conflict

3),

in

people

character and a group or a

whole society

species.

between two

4. a conflict

imagine that your favorite novel or movie like this

was written,

revised tale of Little

Red Riding Hood, with

main problem or struggle out.

Would you

teresting?

still

find

left

it

in-

Most readers would

probably say no.

What

keeps us reading these

stories,

even

when we should

be attending to other business

or turning out the going to sleep?

tries to

whether to

a

face

decide

Gretchen

character and a natural force or event, such as a

into a store until they pass

flood or the law of gravity

(pages 5-6).

between

in life, this

a

character and something

in

himself or herself: perhaps

In literature, as

kind of conflict,

between opposing desires or emotions, can be the most interesting of

shyness, homesick-

fear,

make

all.

a decision

whether they

are true stories or fiction?

What

when she

ness, or an inability to

quality attracts us to

certain stories,

between

too. For example, she ex-

and her friends or to duck

5. a conflict

its

"get smart" with

periences an internal conflict

groups or cultures

No Problem, No Story

who

her brother Raymond.

self,

3. a conflict

also

Squeaky struggles with her-

a

lecture about endangered

is

conflict with others, such as

a

in

New York that week, giving

the

named

Gretchen. Yet Squeaky

between two

between

several in

the main character.

conflict with a rival

characters 2. a conflict

may contain

For example,

Squeaky, has a major external

prowled

the forest pathways was

story

conflicts.

story "Raymond's Run" (page

interesting.

types of conflicts:

on her way and arrived

The wolf who

it

its

Here are some common

grandmother. She went mer-

safely at

A

conflict, or struggle, that

It is

is

internal conflict.

lights

and

Conflict Inside

The

first

ples of

and Out

four items are exam-

external conflict.

In

an external conflict a character struggles with an outside force.

A

conflict that takes

A

Writer on Conflict

"l

work

to

tell

about people's

the truth lives;

I

work

to celebrate struggle.

—Tom Cade Bambara, author of "Raymond's

Run" (page

3)

place within a character's

Elements of Literature: Conflict

1

Before

You Read A Time to Talk Make the Connection

What Makes

a Friend?

you had to choose one word

If

to describe the

most impor-

tant thing a friend

is

or does,

what would it be? (Consider: What makes a friend different from an acquaintance?)

Quickwrite Before discussing

it

with anyone, write

down your word and a brief explanation of why you picked Then, share your response

it.

with a classmate

if

you wish.

Elements of Literature

Rhyme Every

line in this

"friend"

rhymes with the

poem

—another

poem

it.

has a

line that

Be sure to read

aloud at least once,

listening for these

end

rhymes, or rhymes at the lines. Can you hear the one rhyme that echoes across ends of

the space of

five lines?

V V hen words rhyme, the accented vowel

sounds and

all

sounds

fol-

lowing them are repeated. For

more on Rhyme, see pages

544-545 and

the

Handbook of

Literary Terms.

1

6

We All Need Somebody to Lean On

7

A Time to Talk Robert Frost

when a friend calls to me from the road And slows

meaning walk, don't stand still and look around

I

his horse to a

On all the hUls I haven't hoed, And shout from where I am, "What is No, not as there

it?"

a time to talk.

is

thrust my hoe in the mello^v ground, Blade-end up and five feet tall. And plod: I go up to the stone ^vall For a friendly visit. I

10

''i^!(!'di

Meet the Writer The New England Poet Although Robert Frost 1963) was born lived in

New

was known

in

(

1

874-

San Francisco, he

England most of

as "the

New

landscapes and people of

his

life

and

England poet." Frost found

New

England.

his subjects in

He once wrote

the

that a subject for

poetry .-.

''-^

(4

.

.

books.

should be

.

...

It

common

in

experience and

uncommon

should have happened to everyone but

it

in

should have

occurred to no one before as material. 99 In

1

96

1

Frost read one of his

,

inauguration. in

He was

the

first

a presidential inauguration

poems

at

John R Kennedy's

poet to be invited to participate

ceremony. (Maya Angelou, whose work ap-

pears on page 20, has also been honored

in this

way.)

fiflS^?^ The Stone Fence

(

1

946) by

Andrew Wyeth. Tempera on

panel.

A Time to Talk

1

.

Making IVIeanings •

First

Thoughts In

1

your opinion, what

Why?

you

(If

the

is

prefer, state in

most important word or phrase in this poem? your own words what the poem says to you.)

Shaping Interpretations 2.

Frost describes

two ways

to act toward a friend.

one does he seem to think 3. •

4.

is

Which rhyme echoes across five lines? emphasize the main idea in the poem?

What

might the stone wall

What are

they?

Which

better?

in line

How does this

9 represent?

What

rhyme help to

kinds of "walls"

do

people build that keep them apart?

Challenging the Text 5.

What,

if

anything,

would be

someone you care about? when you're with friends?

Choices: Writer's 1.

Notebook

an Autobiographical

Incident

Do

Why

you

not to take time to talk with

feel that

2.

A Tune for

Poetry a

poem

about what you think being a

occasion

friend means.

when you

the

took time or

Quickwrite

or

didn't

when someone took

time or didn't take time to talk with you. Jot

down your

memories of and

feelings

about the incident.

was

it

talk

Creative Writing

Think of an

one

you always need to

or why not?

Creative Writing

Write

take time to talk with some-

Why

important to you?

If

you

word you chose in

the

like,

use

for your

title:

may want to use which

is

I

Loyal."

You

poem:

We All Need Somebody TO Lean On

is

there

someone you

to you? Write a

would

listen

letter

telling that

what you'd

wish

like

to

person say.

Art 4.

"Collage" Education

Using words and pictures

newspapers, make a collage

about friendship or about

don't

I

Is Just to

cut out of magazines and

a friend

No, not

This

this format,

like Frost's

When

Say

3.

for

example, "A Time to Listen"

or "A Time to Be

to

18

good reason

Building Your Portfolio

Collecting Ideas

for

a

Or:

talk.

as there

is

a time .

.

the

Present your collage to

class,

and explain why

you chose the images you used.

I

9

.

iL Before You Read Mrs. Flowers Make the Connection

Elements of Literature

A Matter of Opinion

Imagery

Rate each of the statements

In

To

from

to

1

number

"Mrs. Flowers," Angelou de-

scribes a

summer

12

3

4

agree

Young people need older

ated an

image

our senses: 2. Friends should be the

same

4.

in

my mem-

As you

—

how

to

closely at the details

•

will

why

help you iden-

the important

details.)

Think about what the add up

bring an important experience

feel

tify •

read, notice

Look

questions

sight, smell, taste,

Angelou uses other images to

Everyone deserves to

the writer

what, when, where, and

one or more of

how young

feel.

•

a description

Adults can't understand

people

for direct statements

that the writer gives. {Who,

hearing, and touch.

age.

Look

made by

ory" (page 20). She has cre-

that appeals to

role models.

3.

you

afternoon as

"sweet-milk fresh

4.

disagree

idea,

can do the following: •

that follow with a

main

find the

details

to.

Try to put the main idea into

your

own words.

life.

special.

Background Record your

ratings

on

a I

piece of paper Then, with your class, tally

all

the responses to

magery

is

writing that

Literature and Real Life

uses descriptive language

"Mrs. Flowers"

to appeal to the senses.

Don't discuss your responses yet; wait until

more on Imagery, see the

When

Handbook of Literary Terms.

Angelou (born

Marguerite Johnson) was a

you've done the

little girl,

Quickwrite.

Reading

Skills

her parents sepa-

rated.

She and her brother,

were sent to Stamps,

Quickwfite

and Strategies

Bailey,

Respond to one of

Determining the Main Idea: What's It All About?

grandmother

the four statements.

You could explain your

posi-

The main idea

is

A

sage, opinion, or insight that

perience.

the focus or key concept It's

in

Arkansas, to

who owned

the mes-

tion or describe a related ex-

piece of writing.

from Maya

Angelou's autobiography.

each statement on the board. for

is

live

with their

(called

a general store.

year before meeting Mrs.

is

a

the most

Momma),

Flowers, Marguerite

was the

victim of a violent act. She

reacted by retreating behind

important idea that the writer a wall of silence.

wants you to remember. This developed by

go.hrw.com

important idea

LEO 8-1

supporting details.

is

Mrs. Flowers

1

/

was

liked,

difference

and what a

it

made.

chose to smile on me, her.

The

action

I

was so

always wanted to thank graceful

and

inclusively

benign.

She was one of the few gentlewomen

I

have

my

ever known, and has remained throughout life

the measure of what a

One summer

from

I

Maya Angelou sopped around the

I

the Store, the school, and the

church, like an old biscuit,

Then I met, or rather got

me my first

threw

to

dirt)' and inedible. know, the lady who

lifeline.

Mrs. Bertha Flowers

was the

aristocrat of

Black Stamps. She had the grace of control to

appear warm Arkansas

and on the seemed she had a pri-

in the coldest weather,

summer

days

it

which swirled around, cooling her She was thin without the taut look of wiry people, and her printed voile' dresses and flowered vate breeze

hats

were

denim overalls for a answer to the richest

as right for her as

farmer. She

white

was our

side's

woman in town.

Her skin was a rich black that would have like a plum if snagged, but then no one would have thought of getting close enough to Mrs. Flowers to ruffle her dress, skin.

She didn't encourage

wore gloves I

let

alone snag

familiarity.

She

I

ever saw Mrs. Flowers laugh,

but she smiled often. thin black lips to

though." it.

"I've

A

show

slov/

and Mrs. Flowers walked in front swinging her arms and picking her way over the stones. She

without turning her head, to me, "I hear you're doing very good schoolwork. Mar-

20

(v(MI): thin,

said,

guerite, but that

it's

aU written. The teachers

re-

port that they have trouble getting you to talk in "We passed the triangular farm

class."

on our

left

and the path widened to allow us to walk toI hung back in the separate unasked and unanswerable questions. "Come and walk along with me, Marguerite." I couldn't have refused even if I wanted to. She pronounced my name so nicely. Or more corshe spoke each word with such clarity

rectly, I

was

certain a foreigner

sheer fabric.

We All Need Somebody to Lean On

who didn't

stand English could have understood her.

Words to Own taut

(tot) adj.: tightly stretched.

benign voile

prefer Marguerite,

My name was beautiful when she said been meaning to talk to her, anyway."

widening of her

even, small white teeth,

then the slow effortless closing. Wlien she 1.

I'd

They gave each other age-group looks. There was a little path beside the rocky road,

that

too.

don't think

you, Mrs. Henderson.

gether

peeled

her

she stopped at the Store to buy Another Negro woman of her health and age would have been expected to carry the paper sacks home in one hand, but Momma said, "Sister Flowers, I'll send Bailey up to your house with these things." She smiled that slow dragging smile, "Thank provisions.

Bird Sings

a year,

afternoon, sweet-milk fresh in

my memory,

Know Why the Caged

nearly For house,

human being can be.

(bi

•

nin') adj.: kind.

under-

Woman

in

Calico

(

1

944) by William H. Johnson. Oil.

Mrs. Flowers 21

mma^rr'

"Now no one is going to malce you sibly

no one

talk

— pos-

can. But bear in mind, language

is

man's way of communicating with his fellow

man and

it

language alone which separates

is

him from the lower

animals." That

was

a totally

new idea to me, and I would need time to think about

it.

"Your grandmother says you read a lot. Every chance you get. That's good, but not good enough. Words mean more than what is set

down on paper.

It

takes the

human voice

to in-

them with the shades of deeper meaning." I memorized the part about the human voice infusing words. It seemed so valid and poetic. She said she was going to give me some fuse

books and that I not only must read them, I must read them aloud. She suggested that I try to

make

ways to

a

sentence sound in as

many

different

as possible.

"I'U

accept no excuse

me

that has

if

you return

been badly handled."

nation boggled

deserve

if

at

in fact

I

the punisliment did abuse a

a

book

My

imagi-

I

would

Death would be too kind and brief The odors in the house surprised me. Somehow I had never connected Mrs. Flowers with food or eating or any other common experience of common people. There must have been an outhouse, too, but my mind never recorded Flowers

The sweet scent of vanilla had met us as she opened the door. "I made tea cookies tliis morning. You see, I had planned to invite you for cookies and lemonade so we could have this little chat. The lemonade is in the icebox." followed that Mrs. Flowers would have ice on an ordinary day, when most families in our It

town bought

ice late

on Saturdays only

summer wooden ice cream freezers. times during the

She took the bags from through the kitchen door.

22

1

s.

it.

room

Little Girl in Green (1 944) by William I .. Johnson. Oil on paperboard (3 Vg" x 22 ^1^).

book of Mrs.

that

I

had never

in

to

me I

be used

a

few

in the

and disappeared

looked around the

my

imagined

I

would

We All Need Somebody to Lean On

Browned photographs

leered or threatened from the walls and the

done curtains pushed against themselves and against the wind. I wanted to gobble up the room entire and take it to Bailey, who would help me analyze and enjoy it. "Have a seat. Marguerite. Over there by the white,

table."

freslily

She carried

a platter

towel. Although she tried

was

her hand

at

covered with a tea

warned

that she hadn't

baking sweets for some time,

I

certain that like everytliing else about her

the cookies would be perfect.

They were flat round wafers, slightly browned on the edges and butter-yellow in the center. With the cold lemonade they were suffi-

WoRDS TO Own infuse (in-fyooz')

wildest fantasies

see.

v.; fill.

"

cient for childhood's lifelong diet.

my

ing

manners,

off the edges.

kitchen that

So

1

1

took nice

little

and that she had a few

the rough crumbs scratched

and

if

I

As

ate she

I

called

to

in

hadn't had to swallow,

have been a dream come

in the

my brother my mouth and the insides of my

home

could take

jammed one whole cake

jaws,

Remember-

ladylike bites

would

it

true.

began the

first

of what

"my lessons in living." She

we

said that

I

later

must

always be intolerant of ignorance but under-

some people, unable were more educated and even

standing of illiteracy. That to

go to school,

more

intelligent than college professors.

She

me to listen carefully to what coun-

encouraged

people called mother wit. That in those homely sayings was couched the collective wistry

dom of generations. Wlien

1

have

I

The essence escapes To be allowed, no, invited, into the private lives of strangers, and to share their joys and fears, was a chance to exchange the Southern bitter wormwood^ for a cup of mead with Beowulf^ or a hot cup of tea and milk with Oliver Twist. When I said aloud, easily

but

found

"It is

a

ever done

." .

.

I

do, than

tears of love filled

my selflessness. On that first day,

down

my

I

have

eyes

at

and into and had the good sense to stop running before I reached 1

ran

the road (few cars ever

the

hill

came along

it)

the Store.

child or Bailey's sister but for just being Mar-

guerite Johnson.

had read

A

Tale of

Cities

first

time in

my life.

.

.

Childhood's logic never asks to be proved (all

conclusions are absolute).

why Mrs.

was the best of times, it was the worst of times. Her voice slid in and curved down through and over the words. She was nearly singing. 1 wanted to look at the pages. Were they the same that I had read? Or were there notes, music, lined on the pages, as in a hymn book? Her sounds began cascading gently. "It

"

knew from

listening to a

thousand preachers

was nearing the end of her

reading,

and 1 hadn't really heard, heard to understand, a single word. "How do you Uke that? It occurred to me that she expected a response. The sweet vanilla flavor was still on my tongue and her reading was a wonder in my ears. 1 had to speak. said, "Yes,

ma'am."

It

was the

was the most also. more thing. Take

"There's one

least

I

could

1

didn't question

me out for attenme that Momma might have asked her to give me a little talking-to. All I tion,

Flowers had singled

nor did

it

occur to

cared about was that she had for

was enough 2.

to prove that she liked

aura: feeling or

tea cookies

me.

mood that seems to surround some-

glow

thing like a 3.

made

me and read to me from her favorite book. It

1

it

far better thing that

far,

Two

etry for the

do, but

in those gifts.

aura" remains.

its

book from

1

and found it up to m}' standards as a romantic novel. She opened the first page and 1 heard po-

I

behind the soenchantment I so

tried often to search

phistication of years for the

I was liked, and what a difference it made. I was respected not as Mrs. Henderson's grand-

the bookcase.

that she

me. Next time

for

me a visit, I want you to recite."

finished the cookies she brushed off

the table and brought a thick, small

.

poems and memorize one you pay

She said she had made them ex-

me

pressly for

I

wormwood:

bitter-tasting plant.

Angelou

is

referring to

the harshness of life for African Americans in the South

at

that time.

Beowoilf (ba's-woolf): hero of an Old English epic. During the period portrayed in the epic, people drank mead, a drink made with honey. ever done": another quotation from Charles 5. "It is 4.

.

.

.

Tale of Two Cities. One of the characters says these words as he goes to die in place of another man.

Dickens's

/I

WORDS TO OWN intolerant (in-tal'sr-ant)

adj.:

unwilling to put up with

something. illiteracy (il-lit'ar-3-se)

this

book of

n.:

inability

to read or write.

Mrs. Flowers 23

#

MEET THE WRITER "When You Get, On January

20,

(1928-

Give"

and recited her

Hill

Morning"

poem "On

honor of

in

dential inauguration.

moment

at that

Maya Angelou

993,

1

stood at a podium on Capitol

)

Bill

the Pulse of

Clinton's presi-

She may have thought

come

that she had

way from her childhood

in

a long

Stamps,

Arkansas. Angelou has been an actor, a teacher, a speaker, a

above

a writer

all,

—

worker, and,

rights

civil

of poems, plays, songs,

newspaper and magazine

screenplays, and

four autobiographies.

articles, as well as

Angelou says that the two writers who have had the greatest influence on her work are William Shakespeare and the African

American poet title

/

the

Caged

from a poem by Dunbar of

in

Bird Sings

turn influenced the in

through her writing. Six feet

and commanding, Angelou

Flowers.

was

In

as her

tells

44

I

in

about

And crying. risk

cry'

And

gracious

as

much

Clinton's inauguration.

time

a

lifeline"

I

when she

to a young

we've got, baby'

know who has cried for him. how much he means people say, when you get, give;

don't let

him see

Black

.

learn, teach.

ing takes place, then

heal

all

started crying and said to me, 'Don't

when you

a

As soon

we

.

.

as that heal-

have to go out and

somebody, and pass on the idea of a

healing day

and passes

—so it

that

on.

somebody

else gets

it

99

More by Maya Angelou Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

California:

said,

I

said, 'Baby,

'Come

on,

may

/

I

He dropped let's

his

I

started talking to him and started said,

'Do you know how much

Do

you know

how

first

sixteen years of Angelou's

tobiography continues

walk.'

I

you are?

He

person and

tall,

is

speak to you for a minute?' 1

Bill

cursing and fighting on a

went over and

head, and

at

you are to us? You're

lives

childhood friend Mrs.

"throw a

able to

man she found movie set

taken

an interview with Essence maga-

Angelou

zine,

is

called "Sympathy.")

many young people, both

gentlewoman

Morning"

Paul Laurence Dunbar. (The

Know Why

Angelou has

Maya Angelou reads her poem "On the Pulse of

at

valuable

My Name and

(Bantam) and

Gettin'

You may

in

Merry

covers the life.

Her

au-

Gather Together

Singin'

Like Christmas (Bantam).

also enjoy her

in

and Swingin'

Poems (Bantam).

Making Meanings First

Thoughts

Go

back to your Quickwrite. Did reading "Mrs. Flowers" change your opinion or strengthen

it?

Reading Check Draw

Did the

Or:

page

story remind you of the

ages

Shaping Interpretations Think about the stone wall

How did

Marguerite build a

1

the

left,

copy

in

your mind.

On

the right, identify

or touch.

7).

How

Double-Entry Journal

did

Mrs. Flowers help her knock

"The sweet scent it

smell

met

of vanilla had

down?

Go

On

sight, smell, taste, hearing,

to Talk" (page

herself?

the middle of a blank

the sense or senses the words appeal to:

in

"A Time

around

down

your notebook.

one or two of your favorite descriptive sentences from "Mrs. Flowers," and underline the key words that create im-

experience you described?

wall

a line

in

us as she opened

back to the text and

the door." (page

find

the only two words spoken by Marguerite. What do you think

22)

Angelou means when she writes "It

was the

least

I

could do, but

it

was the most also"(page

23)?

At the beginning of "Mrs. Flowers," Maya Angelou says that she "sopped around" until Mrs. Flowers threw her a "lifeline." What main idea does Angelou suggest here? What supporting details throughout the memoir develop 5.

this

main idea?

your opinion, would Maya Angelou have become a famous writer if Mrs. Flowers hadn't singled her out for attention when she was young? Support In

your answer with evidence from the

text.

Connecting with the Text 6.

Who

is

doesn't have to 7.

human be someone you know

"the measure of what a

What do you

think Mrs. Flowers

being can be" for you?

Why?

(It

personally.)

means when she

tells

Marguerite that she

"must always be intolerant of ignorance but understanding of illiteracy" (page 23)? Is that good advice for today? Draw on your own experience to support your answer.

Extending the Text 8.

Like Marguerite and the

young man

many young people today person

like

are at

Mrs. Flowers help

risk.

in

California (see

How could

someone who

is in

Meet the Writer),

a friendship with an older

trouble?

Mrs. Flowers 25

Choices:

Building Your Portfolio

Writer's Notebook 1.

Collecting Ideas for

an

Autobiographical Incident briefly about a time when somebody threw you a lifeline, singled you out for attention, or made you feel that you were liked and respected

i

Write

yourself. sights,

Be sure to include

details

for

What

and images.

sounds, tastes, smells, or feelings do you associate

with this experience? (You may want to include sketches

in

your notes.)

Expressing an Opinion 2.

Pass

It

On

Oral Interpretation Literature in

3.

Motion

Reread Meet the Writer on

With

page 24, and pay special

the meeting between Mar-

at-

a partner, role-play

Critical Thinking/Art 4.

tention to

what Maya An-

gelou says about the young

from the time they leave the

man

store together to the

California. (See the

in

passage

in

marks.)

What words

large quotation in this

ment when Marguerite The person

playing Mrs.

Flowers should read her

Write

dialogue from the text,

you

tell

how

talk with

in

which

Mrs. Flowers's

Maya

what Angelou

is

similar to

says here. In

your paragraph

tell

what

you think of the idea of "going out" and helping

focusing on speaking expres-

stories that

you think are

repre-

senting Marguerite should try to convey her feelings

through gestures and

facial

Write

a brief reflection

for your portfolio. Starters: •

especially important.

What

I

liked best

this activity

because •

.

was

.

The hardest .

We All Need Somebody to Lean On

.

.

a sketch of Mrs.

Flowers, using details from

Angelou's description. Label

from the autobiography: for example, "Her skin was a rich black that

peeled

like

a

would have

plum

.

about .

.

.

part

because

.

.

was .

if

snagged" (page 20). You

will

need to review the text carefully to find details.

You

can also use your imagination to add details.

expressions.

other people. Be sure to

quote passages from both

The person

sively.

Draw

each part with a quotation

speaks.

finally

passage connect with the

26

mo-

story of Mrs. Flowers? a paragraph

Picture Perfect

guerite and Mrs. Flowers

Grammar Link Its

MINi-LESSON

or It's'i Confusing I

a

It's is

.

its

and

one of the most common errors writers make.

it's is

contraction of

one

placing

letter

or

it is

it

has.

Contractions shorten words by re-

or more with an apostrophe.

Handbook

HELP

EXAMPLES

It's [It is]

wonderful to be

been years, Angelou

See Apostro-

Although

phes, pages

taste of those cookies.

it's [it

has]

liked for yourself. still

remembers the

808-809.

The apostrophe in it's shows where or letters were taken out. 2.

Its is

the possessive form oi

shows ownership:

HELP

possessive

something

indicates

Its

A

Try

It

Copy

Out

the following para-

graph, choosing the correct

form from each underlined

belonging to

Technology

it.

a letter

it.

pair

Marguerite loved the novel for

EXAMPLE

See Language

[the novel's] exciting plot.

its

Workshop

The possessive form

CD-ROM. Key word

noun

of a

as

as

its

— has an apostrophe. The possessive — form of personal pronoun — such a

homonyms.

enough has (3)

you're unsure

try using

which Its

is

it is

in

whether

its

or

it's is

correct,

the sentence. For example,

correct:

It's

author

is

Maya Angelou or

is Maya Angelou? Since It is author make sense. Its is correct.

author

doesn't

Vocabulary Word Bank

not and

Spoken language

its /it's

importance, too.

Reading a sentence aloud

helps bring out

meaning.

(4)

deeper

its /it's

Marguerite

found out that

its /it's

possi-

ble to read a sentence

many

different ways.

HOW TO OWN A WORD

t

tout I

benign

its/it's

just to read

write. (2)

does not. If

Mrs. Flowers told Mar-

guerite that

—such

novel's

entry:

(I)

\

infuse

Getting Help with Words:

When

you are learning new words, you can

book and I

.

Go

The Glossary and the Dictionary

in

find help in

your text-

outside reference aids, such as dictionaries.

to the Glossary, on pages 82 1-826, and find the entries for

I

intolerant illiteracy

the five words

1

fined

]

on pages

in

the

Word Bank (You'll also find these words deand 23.) What kind of information does

20, 22,

each Glossary entry provide? 2.

Now, look up

the words from the

Word Bank

in

a

dictionary to

see what additional information you can discover Take notes on

other pronunciations, additional meanings, different parts of speech, and 3.

Show

synonyms (words with similar meanings). own each word by using it correctly in a

that you

sentence.

Mrs. Flowers 27

Before You Read Broken Chain Make the Connection

Quickwrite

Dying of Embarrassment

Freewrite a re-

Gary Soto writes

In this story,

about

a boy's first date. Al-

many

of us face

— he worries

about

how

to

and everythmg seems to

say,

sponse to the car-

compares something to

toon on

another, very different

this

page or to the

uation your skit

fonso's problems are like those

he looks and what

figure of speech

sit-

was about.

thing.

(If

of speech

you prefer to draw, respond with a cartoon of your own.)

stood For

is

literally.

more on

Figures of Speech,

see pages 4 1-42 and the

Elements of Literature

go wrong.

A figure

not meant to be under-

4

Figures of Speech

Role-play. With a classmate

or two, prepare a

one of these •

talking

skit

Have you ever thought that

about

teeth could look

situations:

wrecked

cars or be herded like sheep?

on the phone with a

member

like

Such comparisons of very

of the opposite sex

dif-

ferent things are called figures •

•

asking

someone

to dance

of speech.

being introduced to a

As you read "Broken Chain"

friend's family

Try to make your

morous or as

and the

"Oranges," jot

skit as hu-

realistic

poem

it,

down two or

(or both)

speech

figures of

in

your read-

Skills

and Strategies Summarizing: Just the Essentials, Please

When story,

that follows

three of Gary Soto's surprising

you can.

Reading

summarize

you you

tell

"what happens"

your

characters are, what the se-

quence of events

ing notes.

is,

the main problem I'll

BE OOT&IDB.MOM

IF

>fcU SEaM&RRKlNSTHE k FROSTT LPiUJN fi BIT

THFTTSWHRTl'LL

BEDOIN&

I

MISKTSlTONTHE.fbPCH

FORfl WHILE THERE'S

fl

MBGBZiMe aoKTH WANT ,To PteFO. SO MiSHT Read it I

ON The rofKH.

I

flLSOMlSHTWIFE-OFF

The car Yeah cculd .

POTHfTT

i

WOULDN'T WASH IT,aUST Wipe IT OFF MflVseiFyou 1

UJRivlThlETo.

U)HE^1 l/OU'REWFIITiNS FOR,

VOUR DFTTeTO pick

NOT ODOU To LOOK UKE ycu'RE WRITING- FOR ycOR DRTeToPCK, you

Vf, ITS

a

own words. A summary of a story tells who the in

solved.

When

is

and

how

finally re-

you write a

summary, you avoid including

minor

details. You'll find that

ycuur!

summarizing

will

help you un-

derstand "Broken Chain" and

other stories you read. <^ynaJ For Better or For tions, Inc./Dist.

•^!A*

Worse

© Lynn Johnston

Produc-

by United Features Syndicate,

Inc.

?^s,',-:-'

go.hrw.com LEO 81

28

We All Need Somebody to Lean On

\

^%

Handbook of Literary Terms.

|

Broken chain Gary Soto ''You got

•

-£7

a girlfriend?"

^

Ifonso sat

,

!

of^^^H^^^IKPush his crooked teeth to

Iwhere he thought they belonged. He hated the way he thinking that he looked. Last week he did fifty sit-ups a day, to would burn those already apparent ripples on his stomach at swhnming even deeper ripples, dark ones, so when he went notice. And the the canal next summer, girls in cut-offs would could take a guys would think he was tough, someone who seen punch and give it back. He wanted "cuts like those he had a with pyramid on a calendar of an Aztec' warrior standing on a woman in his arms. (Even she had cuts he could see beneath her register at La thin dress.) The calendar hung above the cash "

have the calendar at Plaza. Orsua, the owner, said Alfonso could take it first. the end of the year if the waitress, Yolanda, didn't 1.

Artec:

member of an American Indian people of what is now Mexico.

|

Broken Chain 29

"

Alfonso studied the magazine pictures of

rock stars for a hairstyle. Prince looked

— and

He

liked the

way

hair razored into a

ills

streaked

wouldn't go for

V

in the

But he knew

purple.

And

it.

what he saw the

first

all

angles in the mirror.

until

trees?

His mother clipped

coupons from maga-

zines and newspapers, kept a vegetable garden

and shopped

K-Mart. Their family ate a lot of frijoles,^

He

liked

he smiled and realized

for

time that his teeth were crooked, like a

wrecked cars. He grew depressed and turned away from the mirror He sat on his bed and leafed through the rock magazine until he came to the rock star with the hutched top. His mouth was closed, but Alfonso was sure his pile of

teeth weren't crooked.

Alfonso didn't want to be the handsomest

was determined to be betThe next day he spent his lawn-mowing money on a new shirt and, with a pocketknife, scooped the moons of kid at school, but he ter looking than

from under his fingernails. He spent hours in front of the mirror trying to herd his teeth into place with his thumb. He asked his mother if he could have braces, like Frankie Molina, her godson, but he asked at the wrong time. She was at the kitchen table licking the envelope to the house payment. She

30

"What happened?"

We All Need Somebody to Lean On

which

stickers^

and thought they were the next best

food in the world.

He

didn't ask his

when

even

cided to

mother

for braces again,

He deby pushing on them with

she was in a better mood.

fix his teeth

thumbs. After breakfast that Saturday he

his

went

room, closed the door

to his

quietly,

turned the radio on, and pushed for three

hours

straight.

He pushed

for ten minutes, rested for five,

and every half hour, during a radio commerchecked to see if his smile had improved.

cial, It

hadn't.

grew bored and went outside with an old gym sock to wipe down his bike, a ten-speed from Montgomery' Ward. His thumbs were tired and wrinkled and pink, the way they Eventually he

got

when he

stayed in the bathtub too long.

Alfonso's older brother, Ernie, rode

up on

Montgoinery 'Ward bicycle looking deHe parked his bike against the peach tree and sat on the back steps, keeping his head down and stepping on ants that came too his

pressed.

close.

Alfonso

when

knew

better than to say anything

Ernie looked mad.

over, balancing

it

He turned

his bike

on the handlebars and

seat,

and flossed the spokes with the sock. Wlien he finished, he pressed a knuckle to his teeth

was

until

they tingled.

Ernie groaned and said, "Ah, man." 3.

frijoles (fre-hol'as): Spanish for "beans."

4.

pot stickers: dumplings

Words to Own Cka' pa-s6'): Spanish for

Penney's and

because nothing else tasted so good, though one time Alfonso had had Chinese pot

sullen (sul'an)


at

OK

was

average.

dirt

2.

money grows

in the simimer,

tQue paso?"" Alfonso had pretended not to hear his father and had gone to his room, where he studied from

him. "Do you think

at

mother who was

his

his father,

up

back and

puro Mexicano, would sit in his chair after work, sullen as a toad, and call him "sissy." Alfonso didn't dare color his hair. But one day he had had it hutched on the top, like in the magazines. His father had come home that evening from a softball game, happ)' that his team had drilled four homers in a thirteen-tofive bashing of Color Tile. He'd swaggered into the living room but had stopped cold when he saw Alfonso and asked, not joking but with real concern, "Did you hurt your head at school?

his hair

on

the bass placer from Los

Lobos. Alfonso thought he would look cool

with

glared

adj.:

sulky; resentful.

'

Alfonso waited a few minutes before asking,

He pretended not to be He picked up a wad of steel

"Wliat's the matter?"

too interested.

wool and continued cleaning the spokes. Ernie hesitated, not sure if Alfonso would it came out. "Those girls And you better not laugh."

laugh. But

show

up.

didn't

"Wliat girls?"

Then Alfonso remembered

his brother brag-

how he and Frostie met two girls from Kings Canyon Junior High last week on Halloween night. They were dressed as Gypsies, the costume for all poor Chicanas^ they just had to borrow scarves and gaudy red lipstick from their abuelitas. Alfonso walked over to his brother He compared their two bikes: His gleamed like a handful of dimes, while Ernie's looked dirt}'. "They said we were supposed to wait at the corner But they didn't show up. Me and Frostie waited and waited. They were playing games with us." Alfonso thought that was a pretty dirty trick but sort of funny too. He would have to try that ging about

—

.

.

.

someday.

"Were they "1

guess

cute?' Alfonso asked.

had lost their softball game. Alfonso got off the porch in a hurry because he knew his father would be in a bad mood. He went to the back yard, where he unlocked his bike, sat on it with the kickstand down, and pressed on his teeth. He punched himself in the stomach, and growled, "Cuts." Then he patted his butch and whispered, "Fresh." After a while Alfonso pedaled up the street, hands in his pockets, toward Foster's Freeze, where he was chased by a ratlike Chihuahua.^ At his old school, John Burroughs Elementary, he found a kid hanging upside down on the top of a barbed-wire fence with a girl looking up at him. Alfonso skidded to a stop and helped the kid untangle his pants from the barbed wire. The kid was grateful. He had been afraid he would have to stay up there all night. His

mother

she had to go

couldn't get

my school, "Yeah.

I've

seen

moved

tell

Datsun with a team

different-colored front fender, that his

live

on

that street, but

he

to Stockton." it?"

"You been there?

on the porch

Alfonso's father drove up. Alfonso could

Chicanas

to live

"Stockton's near Sacramento, isn't

pressing on his teeth. Press, relax; press, relax.

sat in his truck, a

You

you around.

nearby?"

ones you meet on Halloween.

was on, but not loud enough make Mr Rojas come down the steps and wave his cane at him.

her

huh?"

"My uncle used

to

tell

Alfonso remembered her from his school and noticed that she was kind of cute, with ponytails and straight teeth. "Alfonso. You go

"Over on Madison."

by the way he

home and

also

"Thanks," she said. "'Wfiat's your name?"

ants with their floppy high

His portable radio

was

was stuck on a fence and down, she would get scolded.

them smearing

Later that day, Alfonso sat

Alfonso's age,

that Frankie

Alfonso sat with his brother in silence, both tops. Girls could sure act weird, especially the

5.

who was

sister,

grateful. If

to

so."

"Do you think you could recognize them?" "If they were wearing red lipstick, maybe." of

1

"

"No." Alfonso looked

down

at his

shoes.

He

wanted to say something clever the way people do on TV. But the only thing he could think to say was that the governor lived in Sacramento. As soon as he shared this observation, he winced inside. Alfonso walked with the girl and the boy as they started for home. They didn't talk much.

(chi-ka'naz): Mexican American girls and

women. 6.

abuelitas (a'bwa-le'tas): in Spanish, an affectionate for "grandmothers," like grandmas in English

term

7.

Chihuahua

(chi wa'wii): small •

dog with

large pointed

ears.

Broken Chain

3

Ai

-V Every few steps, the dra,

would look

him out of the corner of her would look away. He learned

was

seventh grade,

bike has a

in

and that she had

Her

was

a pet terrier

mechanic Repair, and her mother was father

San-

at

eye, and Alfonso that she

whose name was

he asked, "You wanna go bike riding?" "Maybe." She played with a pon^tail and crossed one leg in front of the other "But my

girl,

a

just like

him,

named Queenie.

at

Rudy's Speedy

When

they came to the at

"I live

him stop

in the

he guessed was

their

if

enough nerve

to ask her

she'd like to go bike riding tomorrow.

32

bike.

He won't

mind."

thirty?"

"OK," he said.

"Four-tliirty."

Instead of part-

said, pointing.

Alfonso looked over her shoulder for a long time, trying to muster

brother's

"How about after school on Monday?" "I have to take care of my brother until my mom comes home from work. How "bout four-

leaves into a pile.

over there," she

my

Alfonso and

street,

ran home. Alfonso watched

mother She was raking

flat."

can get

She thought a moment before she said, "OK. But not tomorrow. I have to go to my aunt's."

her corner, but her brother

front yard to talk to a lady

"I

a teacher's aide at

Jefferson Elementary.

Sandra stopped

Shyly,

We All Need Somebody to Lean On

WoRDs TO Own muster

(mus'tar)

v.:

call

forth; gather.

"

"

"

ing immediately, they talked for a while, asking

questions like "Wlio's your favorite group?"

"Have you ever been on the Big Dipper

at

Santa

Cruz?" and "Have you ever tasted pot stickers?"

"I'm going to get even with her!"

"You better not touch her," Alfonso snarled, throwing a wadded Kleenex at him. "I'll run you over with my bike."

ended mother called her home. Alfonso took off as fast as he could on his bike, jumped the curb, and, cool as he could be, raced away with his hands stuffed in his pockets. But when he looked back over his shoulder, the wind raking through his butch, Sandra wasn't even looking. She was already on her lawn, heading for the porch. That night he took a bath, pampered his hair into place, and did more than his usual set of exercises. In bed, in between the push-and-rest on his teeth, he pestered his brother to let him borrow his bike. "Come on, Ernie," he whined. "Just for an

For the next hour, until their mother threatened them from the living room to be quiet or else, they argued whether it was the same girl who had stood Ernie up. Alfonso said over and over that she was too nice to pull a stunt like that. But Ernie argued that she lived only two blocks from where those girls had told them to wait, that she was in the same grade, and, the clincher that she had ponytails. Secretly, however, Ernie was jealous that his brother, two years younger than himself, might have found a

hour."

sewing at the kitchen table, warned them to knock it off At church they made faces at one

But

question-and-answer period

the

when

Sandra's

Q

might want to use it." "Come on, man, I'll let you have "Chale,

I

my

trick-or-

treat candy.

"Wlio's going to use

the outline of his

"She

on

when

Their mother,

the priest. Father Jerry, wasn't

punched Alfonso in the arm, and eyes wide with anger, punched

on

live

too

far."

stomach and stared brother, whose head was his

his elbow. "}c
ain't

my girlfriend,

just a girl."

hurried to school on

though they rode side by side. In first period, Alfonso worried himself sick. How would he borrow a bike their bikes, neither saying a word,

for her?

He considered

asking his best friend,

Raul, for his bike. But Alfonso

perboy with

knew

Raul, a pa-

dollar signs in his eyes,

would

"'What does she look like?"

charge him, and he had less than sixty cents,

"Like a

girl."

counting the soda bottles he could cash.

"Come

on,

"I

think

so."

Ernie sat

up

Alfonso

felt

going to be

ing

another

last tortilla.

Monday morning they 'I

what does she look like?" "She's got ponytails and a little brother." "Ponytails! Those girls who messed with Frostie and me had ponytails. Is she cool?"

8.

they fought over the

back.

it?"

She doesn't

this girl.

Ernie rolled over

resting

Sunday morning, Ernie and Alfonso stayed other, though over breakfast

away from each

Alfonso, his Skittles.

Alfonso hesitated, then risked the truth.

at

girlfriend.

looking. Ernie

"What you got?" "Three baby Milky Ways and some

met

,

chale "it's

in bed.

his

"I

bet )'ou that's her."

say to her?

If

he weren't mad

at his brother,

he

stomach knot up. "She's

my girlfriend,

(chii'la);

Between history and math, Alfonso saw Sandra and her girlfriend huddling at their lockers. He hurried by without being seen. During lunch Alfonso hid in metal shop so he wouldn't run into Sandra. What would he

not yours!"

Spanish slang expression roughly mean-

Words to Own clincher (klinch'ar) argument.

n.:

fact

or point that decides an

not possible."

Broken Chain 33

could ask Ernie what

and guys

girls

talk about.

But he was mad, and anyway, Ernie was pitching nickels with his friends.

Alfonso hurried

home

after school.

He

did

the morning dishes as his mother had asked

and raked the leaves. After finishing his chores, he did a hundred sit-ups, pushed on his teeth until they hurt, showered, and combed his hair into a perfect butch. He then stepped out to the patio to clean his bike. On an impulse, he

removed the chain to wipe off the gritty But while he was unhooking sprocket, like a

it

it

oil.

from the back

snapped. The chain lay in his hand

dead snake.

Alfonso couldn't believe his luck. Now, not only did he not have an extra bike for Sandra,

he had no bike

for himself. Frustrated

and on

and left the bedroom with his head down. He went outside, slamming the screen door behind him, and sat in the alley behind his house. A sparrow landed in the weeds,

his shirt pocket,

and when it tried to come close, Alfonso screamed for it to scram. The sparrow responded with a squeaky chirp and flew away. At four he decided to get it over with and started walking to Sandra's house, trudging slowly,

as

if

he were waist-deep

Shame colored

his face.

How

in

water.

could he disap-

would probably laugh. him menso. He stopped at the corner where they were supposed to meet and watched her house. But there was no one outside, only a rake leaning point his

first

date? She

She might even

call

against the steps.

the verge of tears, he flung the chain as far as

Wliy did he have to take the chain off? he

he could. It landed with a hard slap against the back fence and spooked his sleeping cat, Benny. Bemiy looked around, blinking his soft gray eyes, and went back to sleep.

He always messed things up when he tried to take them apart, like the time he tried to repad his baseball mitt. He had un-

Alfonso

retrieved

hopelessly broken.

the

chain,

which was

He cursed himself for being

stupid, yelled at his bike for being cheap,

and

slammed the chain onto the cement. The chain snapped in another place and hit him when it popped up, slicing his hand like a snake's fang. "Ow!" he cried, his mouth immediately going to his hand to suck on the wound. After a dab of iodine, which only made his cut hurt more, and a lot of thought, he went to the bedroom to plead with Ernie, who was

"Come

on,

man,

let

me

I'll

do

use

it,"

Alfonso

Although Ernie could see Alfonso's desperahe had plans with his friend Raymundo.

canal.

him

He

felt

a stick of

there

was

became tangled showed the mess

like

kite

string.

to his mother,

to catch frogs at the Mayfair

gum

notliing

to

make him

feel better,

but

he could do. The canal was

Alfonso took the stick

were waiting. of gum, placed it in

We All Need Somebody to Lean On

"When he

who was at the

stove cooking dinner, she scolded

him but put

back together and didn't tell his father what a dumb thing he had done. Now he had to face Sandra and say, "I broke my bike, and my stingy brother took off on it

his."

He waited

at

the corner a few minutes, hid-

what seemed

like for-

ever Just as he was starting to think about

knew

it

was too late. His hands, moist from worry, hung at his sides and a thread of sweat raced

down his armpit.

sorry for his brother and gave

three miles away, and the frogs

34

the pocket with cotton

filled

when he tried to put it back together, he had forgotten how it laced up. Everything But

going home, he heard footsteps and

anything."

tion,

They were going

laced the mitt and balls.

ing behind a hedge for

changing to his after-school clothes. pleaded. "Please, Ernie,

scolded himself.

9-

menso (men'so):

Spanish for "stupid."

Words to Own gritty

(grit'e)

oof/.:

containing sand or

dirt.

fe^

He peeked through the

hedge. She was wear-

ing a sweater with a checkerboard pattern.

A

red purse was slung over her shoulder

He

could see her looking for him, standing on

tip-

he was coming around the corner. What have 1 done? Alfonso thought. He bit

toe to see

if

his lip, called himself

palm

menso, and pounded

his

Someone slapped He turned around and

against his forehead.

the back of his head.

saw Ernie. "We got the frogs, up a wiggling plastic at

the

bag. ill

he

said,

holding

show you

girl.

"She's not the

messed with Frostie and me," he "You still wanna borrow my bike?"

later."

Ernie's

What

one

who

What

a

He promised to take turn next time it was his turn to do the a pal!

now

had come through, Alfonso emerged from behind the hedge with Ernie's bike, which was mudFree of worry

splashed

but

better

that his brother

than

nothing.

Sandra

waved. she

said.

he said back. She looked cheerful. Alfonso told her his bike was broken and asked if she wanted to "Hi,"

ride with him.

said finally.

Alfonso couldn't believe his luck. brother!

without looking back.

"Hi,"

Alfonso,"

Ernie looked through the hedge, with one

eye closed,

hopped on Raymundo's handlebars and said he would remember that promise. Then he was gone as they took off dishes. Ernie

Words to Own emerged

(e-murjd')

v.:

came

into view.

Broken Chain 35

"Sounds good," she

said,

and jumped on the

down of Alfonso's strength to steady the

hole,

Whenever he ran over a potwhich was often, she screamed with de-

started off slowly, gritting his teeth,

light,

and once,

crossbar.

took

It

bike.

the handlebars, as they sped up one street and

all

He

because she was heavier than he thought. But once he got going, it got easier. He pedaled

another.

when

it

looked

like

they were

going to crash, she placed her hand over

and

it

his,

felt like love.

smoothly, sometimes with only one hand on

m^

^.\

N

-'^'s\

v.. O^ft*'

^:

Meet the Writer "Your Lives Are

Work, Too"

at

Gary Soto (1952-

)

was born and raised in many of his sto-

Fresno, California, the setting of ries,

poems, and autobiographical Soto

writing,

pieces.

tries to re-create the sights

In his

and

sounds of the Mexican American neighborhood in

which he grew

to "look to your

up.

He

own

advises young writers

lives,"

which

is

day latching onto a girlfriend or boyfriend. I

was Alfonso's

girlfriend

exactly

tle

what he does;

4( What are your

life

stories?

Can you remem-

will say that

your

lives

Some

of you

are boring, that nothing

has happened, that everything interesting hap-

pens

far away.

too.

59

Not

so.

Your

lives

are at work,

comment on page 37), but "Broken Chain" is more loosely drawn from

Chain.'

(see his

stirring in

36

as

my

had

a

lit-

chipped-tooth

my

parents went off to

More by Gary Soto "Broken Chain" comes from

a

book of short

stories about growing up called Baseball

his

in

April

(Harcourt Brace).

pure

you

known

I

often

take care of him while

•

I'm not Alfonso in the story 'Broken

It's

who

Instead,

hopped onto my bike and cruised the streets of my hometown, Fresno, California. He was no 'Sandra.' Instead, Jimmy was a heavy problem, because it was my job to

experience:

44 No,

would have loved to have

work. 99

Soto based "Oranges" on an actual incident in his life

I

on my handlebars.

brother, better

Jimmy,

ber incidents from your childhood?

age,

When

fiction,

with the wild purpose of

—the reader—the

feeling of

We All Need Somebody TO Lean On

one

•

You'll find

"Oranges," along with other

poems

and some

suggestions for young poets,

in

Fire in

My Hands

(Scholastic).

A

— A Poem

(Connections Oranges Gary Soto

it a date' or >iot. but the first her ivas named Margie. I couldti't walk with girl who allowed me to think of anything to do hut walk aroiDul the block three orfour times."

Soto writes.

"I

t

kiioir if you ccdi call

walked With a girl I \\ as twehe. Cold, and weighted do\Mi With xsso oranges in m\ jacket. December. Frost cracking Beneath my steps, my breath Before me. then gone. As I walked toward Her house, the one whose Porch light burned yello-u' Xiglit and da), in any weather. A dog barked at mc. until She came out pulling Tlie first time

10

doii

I

30

Of her mouth.

I

fingered

A nickel in my pocket, And when she lifted a chocolate That cost 35

a

amihing

I

didn't say

I

took the nickel from

My pocket, And

40

dime,

set

then an orange,

them

quietly

on

The counter. Wlien I looked up. The ladys eyes met mine, And held them, knowing Very well -what

it

^^'as all

About.

At her gloves, face bright 15

W ith rouge.

1

Outside,

smiled.

A few cars hissing past.

Touched her shoulder, and led Her down the street, across

A used car lot 20

and a

Fog hanging 45

line

Of newly planted trees. Until we were breatliing

Bringing a saleslady

1

a

narrow

aisle

50

Tiered" like bleachers.

And asked what she wanted Light in her eyes, a smile

55

Starting at the corners 26. tiered: arranged in

tiers,

or

my girls hand

ro\\'s.

I

peeled

my orange

That was so bright against

of goods.

turned to the candies

like the seats in a ballpark.

took

hi mine for two blocks. Then released it to let Her unwrap the chocolate.

Entered, the tiny bell

Down

Coats ber^'een the trees. I

We

Before a drugstore.

like old

The gray of December That, from some distance, Someone might have thought I was making a fire in m\ hands.

IVIaking IVIeanings First

Thoughts one or more of these sentences:

Finish •

"Broken Chain" because

•

I

.

is

Reading Check

realistic/unrealistic

Summarize

.

.

know how

feels to

it

.

.

because

.

(restate)

the main events of "Broken .

.

Chain" by completing •

Alfonso reminds

me

of

.

.

.

sentence:

Alfonso wanted

Shaping Interpretations

but 2.

Compare

Ernie

the saleswoman

in

3.

Choose one

37).

is,

Consider the theme of the collection:

of the figures of

notes, and identify the

(That

can you see

two

how

the comparison a stretch? ture

in

so

.

.

.

.

"Oranges" (see Con-

become "somebody

each of them

...

.

.

"Broken Chain" with

in

nectious on page

this

does

to lean on"?

speech you wrote down

things

How

it is

comparing.

in

Do you

your reading

think

it

works?

two things being compared are alike, or is Does the figure of speech help you form a pic-

the

your mind?)

Connectmg with the Text in

what ways

is

Alfonso's situation similar to or different from the situation

you discussed

in

seem

to you? Explain.

realistic

Do

your Quickwrite?

Alfonso's feelings and behavior

Extending the Text 5.

This story

is

told

from a boy's viewpoint.

In

your experience, which of

Alfonso's feelings are shared by girls? 6.

Alfonso doesn't have any trouble talking to

about what to say to Sandra.

Why

his brother,

might boys and

girls

but he worries have trouble talking

with one another?

Challenging the Text 7.

Soto says that he wrote find a girlfriend

what would you 8.

If

his

readers

title

feel

what

it is

like

say to him?

do you think

We All Need Somebody to Lean On

is

to

Soto asked you whether he had succeeded,

"Broken Chain" has also been published under the

Which

38

story to help

this

or boyfriend.

better?

Why?

title "First

Love."

Choices:

Notebook

Writer's 1.

Building Your Portfolio

Collecting Ideas for

an

Autobiographical Incident Gary Soto got the idea for "Oranges" by remembering the first time he went

Make

a

list

you might

of important "firsts" like

in

your

girl.

one that

Pick

life.

down

to write about, and jot

you remember of the

for a walk with a

anything that

incident.

Explaining a Problem

Performance

2.HelpftilHints

3.

identify a

problem that Al-

fonso has

in

the story (for

example, worrying about

his

Try to See

We

It

My Way

hear only the boy's side

of the story

in

"Broken

Art

Chain." To present a differ-

Worth a Thousand

appearance or not knowing

ent viewpoint, perform a

4.

what to

skit showing Sandra speak-

Words?

say to Sandra). Pre-

on the telephone with

tending you are Alfonso,

ing

write a letter to an advice

her best friend after she

column explaining your

meets Alfonso

problem. Switch papers with

and walks

a classmate, and take the

What does

Sandra think of

role of the columnist, re-

Alfonso?

she looking for-

sponding with

ward to going bicycle riding with him on Monday? You

practical, en-

couraging advice.

at the school

home

Is

with him.

could perform your

skit as a

dialogue, with you and a

t'^ ?-^

Go

back to the story and

the poem, and find a figure

of speech that particularly appeals to you.

comparison it.

as

Draw

this

you picture

(For example,

in

"Or-

anges," Soto describes the

fog as "hanging

like

Coats between the

A

drawing of

this

old

/

trees."

image

classmate taking the roles

might show misty forms

of Sandra and her friend.

the shape of coats hanging

Another option

from the branches of trees.)

form

it

as a

is

to per-

monologue,

showing only Sandra's end of the conversation.

If

in

you have access to draw-

ing

or paint software, you

may want to create your picture on a computer

Gramiviar Link

MINI-LESSON

When to Use Apostrophes Contractions Language

Handbook

HELP See Apostrophes, pages

808-809.

Technology

HELP See Language

Workshop

CD-ROM. Key word entry:

apostrophe.

——

1

FIGURES OF SPEECH: Making Connections Metaphors

A metaphor

with

Orioles Fly Away World Series

If

in

you read the headline above

want

the paper, you wouldn't

rush outside to catch a

last

glimpse of the baseball players as they soared

nections without the use of

horizon, trailing a stadium

derstand that to

"fly

World

to win

with ease.

it

away"

Series

Our everyday

meant

language

in-

cludes thousands of figures

of speech

like this

one

—ex-

pressions that suggest unex-

pected similarities between

Many figures used so com-

monly that we don't even notice that

they are based on

unusual comparisons and are

metaphors, personifi-

A

simile

is

a

comparison of

fresh,

unexpected connections. They

When

tion.

metaphors ex-

they are fresh and

are based on a writer's

this

than midnight, a voice

/;ke

fame

strong hidden rela-

like a

is

Fame

a bee.

is

It

has song has a sting

Ah, too,

"Broken Chain" the bro-

ken bicycle chain

lies in

—

Al-

it

has a wing.

Emily Dickinson

fonso's hand "like a dead

Dickinson uses an

snake" (page 34). Then

metaphor,

up and cuts Alfonso

The

were an

it

pops

"like a

similes help

in

evil

a

new

light,

creature

a

extended

metaphor

which the comparison veloped In

in

how

bee:

It

a

blackboard.

if it

first-

often

short poem, for example,

the

sound of fingernails scraping

as

we

you may suddenly see

or resembles: fingers as

us see the chain

speech to make

as sullen as a toad."

tend the range of our imagina-

cold as ice cubes, hair blacker

In

re-

by the writer. After reading

two unlike things that links them with the words like, as, than,

or

a sullen toad,"

tionship has been discovered

snake's fang."

figures of

is

feel that a

literally.

new

not "He

is

hand observation,

Similes

not meant to be understood

Writers try to create

speech used

most frequently by writers are

unrelated things. of speech are

"He

Like similes,

figures of

similes,

as, than,

//7<e,

sembles:

ways.

full

of fans behind them. You'd un-

with the

us to see everyday things

new The

cation, and symbols.

beyond the

unlike things.

contrast to similes,

the words

in

a direct iden-

metaphors make their con-

«sss§ja;--Ki-'

Unexpected Connections

two

tification of In

is

a

what ways

number is

fame

is

in

de-

of ways. like a

bee, according to Dickinson?

bent on ruining Alfonso's plans.

(continued on next page)

Elements of Literature: Figures of Speech 4

by John Malcolm Brinnin Personification

Symbols

We

A symbol

use personification

A

thing,

read that "browned photo-

symbols are

and also stands for

something beyond

Many

itself.

traditional.

understand them be-

from the walls" (page

cause people have agreed on

really leer

their meaning. Uncle

Sam

or threaten, but to the main

symbol of the United

States.

character they seem if

to, just as

they were people.

ries:

their sto-

tell

Automobiles have eyes

that blink and jaws that

dove with an

Many writers

own

symbols.

Talk" (page

open

lampposts and talk

wall

nique

is

used

The same in

tech-

can be used to

serious points about the

personification

speech.

An

in

ing

a real wall in

but to Frost

may

it

in

everyday

We are speak-

ple,

the wall

The stone the poem, also repre-

Frost's

exam-

poem

might have special meaning for

someone living in East Germany when the Berlin Wall came down.

were human.

We All Need Somebody to Lean On

space. There-

little

word

in

a

poem

very important and

chosen very convey

is

carefully to

just the right

meaning. For example,

for

word tree might stand more than a tree in an

orchard. ize

It

might symbol-

life itself,

or

it

might

symbolize the strength of

poetry can ac-

in

packed into

is

/

quire deeper meanings from

about something nonhuman if it

the speaker

brings to the text. For

of

the wind "sighs"; fortune

as

to

the experiences a reader

engine "coughs";

"smiles" on us.

is

Symbols

make

human experience. We hear many examples

"A Time

people apart.

is

not necessarily used for it

create their

visit."

is

the

sent the barriers that keep

writing, ex-

cept that personification

humor;

a

branch

goes "up to the stone wall For a friendly

like

In

7),

1

wide; rabbits lean against

philosophers.

olive

is

represents peace.

Cartoonists often use personification to

A

meaning

fore, each

easily

a concentrated

is

form of writing; so much such a

We

graphs leered or threatened 22).

Poetry

or event that has mean-

ing in itself

Writer on Symbols

a person, place,

is

when we speak of a nonhuman thing as if it had human qualities. In "Mrs. Flowers" we

Photographs can't

42

(continued from previous page)

your grandfather or your father. Rain

tears; dusk

may symbolize may symbolize

approaching death.

— Gary

Soto, author of

"Broken Chain" (page 29) and "Oranges"

(page 37)

:m\

*

-

i

Booking space on the In:

"Help! No

matter

Don't

I

how

.'^i^'f^

Know

to understanding the sen-

impressive

your vocabulary

is,

tence's meaning.

prob-

you'll

come across an unfamiliar word in your reading every now and then. (Did you know ably

2.

If

the following strategies: •

largest dictionaries of the English

language?)

If

Sound

panic; it

follow these steps instead. I

.

Decide

word and

still

grasp the •

know

is

Look

for family resem-

Does any

a bluish purple

fluttered as she precipice.

precipice

fell

For example, educable

cliff,

Even

on

if

you've never seen

word

before, you could

essential

guess that

it

means "capa-

ble of being educated." •

Use context

clues. Con-

sider the general meaning

of

what you're

reading, and

check the surrounding

words and sentences context clues. Philip carefully

If

Look

it up. Use various reference aids to help

learn

new words. First, word

guess what the

means; then, look dictionary

his silk

(in

up

it

in

a

book form,

a software program, or

on the Internet) to see you were correct. You

if

might also look up the

word in a thesaurus or a synonym finder to discover the word's

words

synonyms

that have the

—

same

or similar meanings. You'll learn

for

you read

knotted

•

a kind of necktie.

on

educate and able.

like

that a

the is

meaning.

skirt

looks

a steep

the other hand,

a similar

over the

Knowing is

and have

It

word you know

lated to a

color to understand this

word may be re-

part of the

that

sentence: Her mauve

probably guess that a cravat is

look familiar?

mauve

in

blances. Ask yourself:

For example, you

don't need to

that you've

print before.

general meaning of the text.

may be one

heard but haven't seen

you can skip the

if

out. Apply what

it

you know of phonics, and try sounding out the word;

you see a word

you don't know, don't

the meaning of the

word, use one or more of

the

in

you think you need to

know

that there are over five hun-

dred thousand words

This Word!"

more about

strategies like these

Reading

Skills

in

the

and Strategies

features throughout this book.

cravat around his throat, you'd

Apply the strategy on the next page.

I

Reading Skills and Strategies 43

.

Before You Read Flowers for Algernon Reading

Make the Connection If

You Had to Choose

Take a

class poll:

better to be the

person

in

and Strategies be

it

most popular

your school or the

smartest person

On

Would

in

your school?

a small piece of paper,

write either S for "smartest"

or P for "most popular." (Even if

you'd

one

like

to be both, choose

for now.) Tally the class's

How

votes on the board.

close

was the vote? •

I

Right at the start of "Flowers for Algernon," you'll notice

that Charlie has trouble with spelling.

Would

it

were

for

did.

be possible to be

the smartest and the most

popular?

To

figure

words

misspelled

out what are

his

meant to

sounding out each

be, try

word. (Charlie usually

spells

words the way they sound.)

answering as they •

"Help! Don't Know This Word!": Using Context Clues

Discuss what you think people's reasons

Skills

Why or why

not?

If

you're

still

stuck,

the word's context.

check

The

often give you

context

will

enough

hints,

or context

clues, to help you figure

out the word's meaning. For example, on page 45,

Quickwrite Respond

What

3.

out that

this

are the advantages

and disadvantages of popu-

2.

word

You could briefly to

one of these questions. 1

Charlie uses the

larity?

of intelligence?

What

sacrifices

do people

make to

fit in?

What

good or bad about

is

is

figure

his spelling of fa/7ed

by sounding out the word. (It

sounds

spelled

even

just like the

f-a-i-l-e-d.)

find a

context clue

the sentence just before "I

had a test today."

Accompanying the story are scenes from the movie Charly, starring Cliff

44

word

You could

being unusual?

go.hrw.com

fa\ed.

Robertson.

We All Need Somebody TO Lean On

in it:

Flowers for

>.

^,

K\v

^

AlgernoXI Daniel Keyes

All my life I wanted to be smart.

progris

ripot-t 1

.

.

— niarlch 5 1965

shud rite down what I think and happins to me from now on. I dont know why but he says its importint so they will see if they will use me. I hope they use me. Miss Kinnian says ma}'be they can make me smart. I want to be smart. My name is Charlie Gordon. I am 37 years old and 2 weeks ago was my brithday I have nuthing more Strauss says Dr.evrey thing

I

that

to rite

now so

I

will close for today.

progris riport 2 I

had a

test today.

— niartch 6 I

think

I

faled

it.

and

I

think that

maybe now they wont use me. Wliat happind is a nice young man was in the room and he had some white Flowers for Algernon, Part

I

45

cards with ink spilUed

all

over them.

He sed

me

to say

what was

in the ink.

dint see

I

Charlie

nuthing in the ink but he said there was picturs

very skared even tho

there other pepul

ni}'

what do you see on this card. I was in I had my rabits foot pockit because when I was a kid I always

faled tests in school

and

1

spillled ink to.

1 told him I saw a inkblot. He said yes and it made me feel good. 1 thot that was all but when 1 got up to go he stopped me. He said now sit down Charlie we are not thru yet. Then 1 dont remember so good but he wantid

1.

46

The hind foot of a rabbit charm.

rabits foot:

as a good-luck

is

sometimes used

We All Need Somebody to Lean On

see any picturs.

1

saw some

picturs.

reely tr^ed to see.

1

1

card close up and then far away. Then

coudnt

held the I

said

if

1

had ni)' glases 1 coud see better 1 usally only ware m}' glases in the movies or TV but I said they are in the

Then find

it

I

said let

now.

closit in the hall.

me

1

got them.

see that card agen

1

bet

111

with ink leeking got I

up and went dont think

I

all

over a table cloth. Then he

out.

passd the

progris report 3

raw shok

— niartch 7

Dr Strauss and Dr Nemur say about the inkblots. ink

on the cards and I They said that I

Miss Kinnian told that

I

was her

the adult nite scool becaus I

I

glases. I

coudnt find the picturs him maybe I need new He rote somthing down on a paper and

tryed hard but

I still 1

told

got skared of faling the

very nice inkblot with

test. littel

I

told

him

points

all

it

was

around

the eges. He looked very sad so that wasnt said please let

me

try agen.

minits becaus Im not so

slow reeder too

in Miss

Ill

fast

get

it

a

in a

it. I

few

somtimes. Im a

Kinnians class for slow

He gave me

chance with another card that on it red and blue. He was very nice and talked slow like Miss Kinnian does and he explaned it to me that it was a raw shok.' He said pepul see things in the ink. I said show me where. He said think. 1 told him I tliink a inkblot but that wasnt rite preeather. He said what does it remind you a

had 2 kinds of ink spillled

—

tend something. to pretend.

I

I

told

closd

my eyes for a

him

pretned

I

a

long time

fowntan pen

bestist pupil in

tryed the hardist

I

be smart and not dumb. But its very hard to be smart. They said you know it will probly be tempirery. I said yes. Miss Kinnian told me. I to

Later lady

asked her

my

if it

herts.

had more crazy

I

who

gave

it

dont

me

know

the

me

the so

spellit

can

I

frist

words but

2

to pass

it

I

the picturs. tell

this

man

yesterday said

She said

I

I

I

coud see

me up.

I

me

to

said the

him what I saw dont make no difrence.

shoud

she said that

make up

in

know what

time she dint want

her the picturs. That mixd

it

test.

or you get bad

marks. This test lookd easy becaus

Only

rite

thematic apperception

means. You got

test

The nice name and I

tests today.

told

how do you

progris riport.

in the ink raiv shok: Rorschach (ror'shiik') test, a psychological test in which people describe the images suggested to them by a series of inkblots. 2.

said

and I reely wantid to lern. They said how come you went to the adult nite scool all by yourself Charlie. How did you find it. 1 said I askd pepul and sumbody told me where I shud go to lern to read and spell good. They said why did you want to. I told them becaus all my life I wantid

dont care

adults but I'm trying very hard.

me tests like

said Miss Kinnian never gave

one only spelling and reading. They

that

only saw the ink.

dont matter

it

them I dint spill the coudnt see anything in maybe they will still use

told

I

the ink.

me.

test.

tell

storys about the pepul in the

picturs.

Flowers for Algernon, Part

I

47

how

told her

I

can

)()u tell storys

about

pepul you never met. I said why shud I make up lies. I never tell lies any more becaus 1 al-

ways get

caut.

me

She told

this test

and the other one the

raw-shok was for getting personalty. hard.

said

I

how

can

)'oii

I

laffed so

get that thing from

inkblots and fotos. She got sore and put her picturs awa)'.

I

dont care.

It

was

sily.

I

gess

1

faled that test too.

Later

some men

in wliite coats

difernt part of the hospitil and gave

me to a me a game to

took

called the

like a race with a white mouse. They mouse Algernon. Algernon was in a

box with a

lot

play. It

was

of twists and turns like

all

kinds of

me a pencil and a paper with said start lots of boxes. On one side

walls and they gave

it and and on the other end it said i-inish. They said it was amazed and that Algernon and me had the same amazed to do. I dint see how we could have the same amazed if Algernon had a box and I had a paper but I dint say nothing. Anyway there wasnt time because the race started. One of the men had a watch he was trying to hide so I wouldnt see it so I tryed not to look

lines

and that made me nervus. An^-way that test made me

feel

the others becavise they did

it

worser than

over 10 times

with difernt amazeds and Algernon time.

be

I

dint

thats

Maybe

know

that

all

won

every

mice were so smart. Mayis a white mouse.

because Algernon

wliite

mice are smarter then other mice.

progis rtport 4

—Mar 8

Their going to use me! Im so exited

experament you mite get smart. They dont know if it will be perminint but theirs a chance. Thats why I said ok even when I was scared because she said it was an operashun. She said dont be scared CharUe you done so much with so little I think you deserv it most of all. So

I

got scaird

can

it.

down some

Dr

Strauss said

Strauss

I

of the words.

Dr Nemur I know Charlie is not what mind as the first of your new brede of intelek** (coudnt get the word) superman. But most people of his low ment** are host**

He

said

you had

in

and uncoop** they are usualy dull apath** and hard to reach. He has a good natcher lies intristed and eager to please. Dr Nemur said remember he will be the first human beeng ever to have his intelijence trippled by surgicle nieens. Dr Strauss said exakly. Look at how well hes lerned to read and write for his low mentel age its as grate an aclieve** as you and I lerning einstines therey of **vity^ without help. That

shows the I

when Dr Nemur and Dr

had something that was very good. He said I had a good motorvation: I never even knew I had that. I felt proud when he said that not every body with an eye-q of 68 had that thing. I dont know what it is or where I got it but he said Algernon had it too. Algernons motor-vatioti is the cheese they put in his box. But it cant be that because I didnt eat any cheese this week. Then he told Dr Nemur something I dint understand so while they were talking I wrote argud about

a

intenss motor-vation.

tremen** acliev**

I

Its

comparat**

say w^e use Charlie.

Nemur and Dr Strauss had a argament about it first. Dr Nemur was in the office when Dr Strauss brot me in. Dr Nemur was

words and they were talking to fast but it sounded like Dr Strauss was on my side and like the other one wasnt.

me but Dr Strauss told him Miss Kinnian rekemmended me the best from all the people who she was teaching. I

3.

Miss Kinnian becaus shes a very smart

4.

hardly write. Dr

I

dint get

all

the

w^orryed about using

like

teacher.

And she

48

your going to you volenteer for this

said Charlie

have a second chance.

If

We All Need Somebody to Lean On

motor-ration: motivation, the force or inner drive that v^ant to do or accomplish something; here,

makes someone

Cliarlie s desire to learn.

einstines therey of 'Vity: Einstein's theory of relativwhich was developed by the German-born American physicist Albert Einstein (1879-1955) and deals with matity,

ter,

time, space,

and energy.

Then Dr Nemur nodded he saitl all right maybe your right. We will use Charlie. Wlien he said that I got so exited I jumped up and shook his hand for being so good to me. I told him thank you doc you wont be sorry for giving me a second chance. And I mean it like I told him. After the

be smart,

gonna

hii

operashun Im gonna

try to

awful hard.

tr)'

—Mar 10

progris ript 5

came

who

to bring

me my

luck.

and

my

I

rabits

crossed hospitil.

the tests

me candy and

wish

^

" ^

|,

^

v

hope I have luck. I got foot and my lucky penny

me when was comming I

Dr

Charlie this

Strauss says dont is

if 111

*

as smart as

he

is.

to the

beat Algernon in the If

111

words good

and know lots of things and be like other people. I want to be smart like other people. If it works perminint they will make everybody smart

all

over the wurld.

The}' dint give

me

any

thing to eat this morning.

I

dont

know what

that eating has to

with

do

smart.

getting

Im very hungry and Dr Nemur took away my box of candy. That Dr Nemur is a grouch. Dr Strauss says I

can have

it

back

the operashun. eat befor a

after

You cant

operashun

.

.

my

can make a

I

Nemur who looked

at

its

ok

me

happin to

to tell about

but he says

I

all

the things

shoud

tell

more

I feel and what I think. When told know how to think he said try. All the time when the bandijis were on my eyes tr\'ed to think. Nothing happened. dont know

him

I

I

dont

Maybe if I ask him he will can think now that Im suppose to get smart. Wliat do smart people think about. Fancy things suppose. I wish I knew some tell

be supersitis

abel to read better and spell the

was

some of my other ones says I spell progress wrong and he told me how to spell it and report too. I got to try and remember that. I have a very bad memary for spelling. Dr

what

show that mouse I can Maybe smarter. Then 111 be

the operashun works

I

from

I

race after the operashun and he said maybe.

be

head today so

PROGRESS REPORT. Dr

to think about.

me how

I

I

fancy things alredy

with me.

asked Dr Strauss

while

it

I

Anyway Im keeping my

sience.

my

did

bandijis

about what

i

horse shoe. Only a black cat

rabits foot I

me

gave

eyes and

that '

—Mar 15

The operashun dint hurt. He sleeping. They took off the

Strauss says

Im skared. Lots of people who work here and the nurses and the people

Progress Repots 6

— mar 19

Progress Report 7 Nothing

had lots of tests and different kinds of races with Algernon. I hate that mouse. He always beats me. Dr Strauss said I is

happining.

I

I

1

Progress Report 8

—Mar 23

Im going back to work at the factery. They said it was better I shud go back to work but I cant tell anyone what the operashun was for and I have to come to the hospitil for an hour evry

gonna pa) me mony ever)' month for lerning to be smart. Im glad Im going back to work because I miss ni)' job and all my frends and all the fun night after work.

we

They

are

have there.

Dr

shud keep writing things but I dont have to do it every day just 1 think of something or something

Strauss says

down when

speshul happins.

because says

it

it

He

says dont get discoridged

takes time and

it

happins slow. He

took a long time with Algernon before

why Algernon

beats

me

all

the time be-

cause he had that operashun too. That makes

me

coud probly do that amazed mouse. Maybe some day 111 beat Algernon. Boy that would be something. So far Algernon looks like he mite be smart perfeel better

1

faster than a reglar

Mar 25

packiges.

Mar 28 Dr Strauss came to my room tonight to see why dint come in like was suppose to. I 1

dont have to write progress report

(1

1

him I dont like to race with Algernon any more. He said 1 dont have to for a while but 1 told

shud come in. He had a present for me only it wasnt a present but just for lend. 1 thot it was a television but

little

on when

turn

it

ding

why shud

Who

sleep.

he

said

says.

if

He

said

comming

Mar 29

bered Dr Strauss said no.

him but I rememThen Frank Reilly said tell

what did you do Charlie open your door the hard laff.

Their really

forget your key wa)'.

my friends and

That made they

like

and

me

erashun but

How

wont go

I

tures.

up so

to see

I

But

what he was going to get

got to do

I I

my

at

sholder and

Miss Kinnians

He

their

I

me when

I

her so maybe

like

TV

That crazy

can

things

said that

kept

got the op-

we

me up

will

all

be

night.

sleep with something yelling crazy

my ears. And the nutty picWow. dont know what it says when Im how am I going to know when Im sleepall

night in I

ing.

Dr

me.

Sometimes somebody will say hey look at Joe or Frank or George he really pulled a Charlie Gordon. 1 don't know why they say that but they always laff This morning Amos Borg who is the 4 man at Donnegans used my name when he shouted at Ernie the office boy. Ernie lost a packige. He said Ernie for godsake what

that.

soon Miss Kinnian will come to the hospitil to start and teach me speshul. I was mad at her for

We had a lot of fun at the factery today. Joe Carp said hey look where Charlie had his operashun what did they do Charlie put some to

dint think

I

can go back to the class

frends again.

was going

on when

to get smart

got to

1

your kidIm going to

) ou dont know it )'et but your getting smarter all the time. You wont notice for a while. I think he was just being nice to make me feel good because I dont look any smarter Oh yes I almost forgot. I asked him when I

the date on. That saves time)

1

it

said said

1

said Charlie

not

in.

He

wasnt.

smart and he put his hand on

on top any more just when 1 hand it in once a week for Dr Nemur to read. 1 just have to put

brains

turn

I

want him

I

it

go to sleep.

1

ever herd of a thing like

told

I

school.

minent.

be a Charlie Gordon. I dont said that. 1 never lost any

to

why he

understand

I

he got 3 times smarter then he was before. Thats

you trying

are

Strauss says

lerning

when

I

its

ok.

He

says

my

brains are

sleep and that will help

me

when Miss Kinnian starts my lessons in the hospitl

(only

tory).

1

I

found out

think

when your

its all

to

watch the

late

I

isnt a hospitil its a laba-

crazy. If

sleeping

school. That thing

it

why

you can get smart do people go to

dont think will work.

show and

the late late

I

use

show

Flowers for Algernon, Part

I

5

on TV all the time and it never made me smart. Maybe you have to sleep while you watch it.

-

irURE

A

r^

PROGRESS REPORT 9—April 3 keep the TV dont hear a thing. And 1 still dont understand what it says. A few times 1 play it over in the morning to find out what I lerned when I was sleeping and 1

Dr

Strauss

showed me how

now

turned low so

dont think

so.

1

to

can sleep.

Miss Kinnian says

r

1

Maybe

its

More Howard tion at

an-

sounds american.

It

talks so fast faster

wrong

then

told

my

in

awake.

Dr

sleep.

He

1

says

conscious^ (thats

dont

tell

be boiled

IQ

what good is it to get smart want to be smart when Im its the same thing and 1 have

two minds. Theres the

siibcoiiscioiis

how you

spell

the other one what

its

it).

doing.

time. girls

how

The subconscious (siib-kan'shas) is mental activity below the level of the conscious

that takes place

(kan'slias). or full awareness.

52

intelligences,"

you have

loves to write poetry

soccer (kines-

and draw pictures

(spatial intelligence).

do

ence (logical-mathematical play

first

(lin-

trumpet

in

well

in sci-

intelligence),

the school band

(musical intelligence), and are always

not present in consciousness; as, subconscious conflict of desires.) Theres more but 1 still dont know what it means. This isnt a very good dictionary for dumb people like me. Anyway the headache is from the party. My frends from the factery Joe Carp and Frank Reilly invited me to go with them to Muggsys Saloon for some drinks. 1 dont like to drink but they said we will have lots of fim. I had a good

5.

the

too complicated to

You, on the other hand,

him if it was only me or if everybody had those two minds. (1 just looked up the word in the dictionary Dr Strauss gave me. The word is siibcoiiscioiis. adj. Of the nature of mental operations yet

shoud show the

who

of superheroes

1

show.

1

well,

to the results of an

guistic intelligence), play

forgot to ask

Joe Carp said

just

thetic intelligence),

And boy have 1 been having craz}' dreams. Wow. Ever since that night TV The late 1

is

down

intelligences. Let's say

dream.

late late late late

—

test.

a friend

They

why

is

Everyone has a number of different

and the And one

don't even talk to each other. Thats

University, thinks the

question. According to Gard-

intelligence

Strauss

T

Gardner; professor of educa-

Harvard

theory of "multiple

ner's

even Miss Gold who was my teacher in 6 grade and 1 remember she talked so fast 1 coudnt understand her 1

Than Meets the

whole question of IQ

other langwidge or something. But most times it

to IQ

We All Need Somebody to Lean On

I

called

on to resolve

conflicts (interper-

sonal intelligence).

Howard Gardner has identiNow, doesn't make you feel smarter already?

So

far

fied eight intelligences.

that

mop a

out the toilet in the factory and he got

mop.

when

I

I

me

showed them and everyone laffed Mr Donnegan said I was the

told that

best janiter he ever had because

and do it good and never come day except for my operashun.

I

like

late

my

job

or miss a

1 said Miss Kinnian always said Charlie be proud of your job because you do it good. Everybody laffed and we had a good time and they gave me lots of drinks and Joe said

Charlie

what

we

a card

is

when

hes potted.

means but everybody

that

have fun.

I

I

know me and like my

dont

likes

cant wait to be smart

best trends Joe Carp and Frank Reilly.

how

dont remember

was over but I think I went out to buy a newspaper and coffe for Joe and Frank and when I came back there was no one their. looked for them all over till late. Then I dont remember so good but I think I got sleepy or sick. A nice cop brot me back home. Thats what my landlady Mrs I

the part\'

I

Flynn says.

lump on my head and black and blue all over. I think maybe I fell but Joe Carp says it was the cop they beat up drunks some times. I don't think so. Miss Kinnian says cops are to help people. Am-way I got a bad headache and Im sick and hurt all But

over.

I

got a headache and a big

dont think

I

April 6 beat

drink anymore.

beat Algernon!

1

him

111

I

even know I me. Then the

dint

until Burt the tester told

second time

because

lost

I

off the chair before

I

I

got so exited

I

fell

finished. But after that

I

him 8 more times. I must be getting smart mouse like Algernon. But I dont

beat

to beat a smart

feel smarter. I

wanted

to race

Algenion some more but

Burt said thats enough for one day.

They

let

me

hold him for a minit. Hes not so bad. Hes soft like a ball of cotton.

He

blinks

and when he

and pink on the eges. I said can I feed him because I felt bad to beat him and I wanted to be nice and make trends. Burt said no Algernon is a ver)' specshul mouse with an operashun like mine, and he was the

opens

of

told

me Algernon

all

the animals to stay smart so long.

has to solve a

on non goes a lock

I

a

is

if

so smart that every day he

door that changes every time Algerhe has to lern something

in to eat so

made me sad

be-

he couldnt lern he would be hungry.

dont think

to eat.

He

test to get his food. Its a thing like

to get his food. That

cause

eat.

I

think

III

be frends with Algernon. April 9 Tonight after work Miss Kinnian was at the laboratory. She looked like she was glad to

me

see

but scared.

I

worry Miss laffed. She

told her dont

Kimiian Im not smart yet and she said

have confidence

I

in

way

Charlie the

)'t)u

you struggled so hard to read and right better than all the others. At werst you will have it for a littel wile and your doing somthing for sience.

We

are reading a very hard book.

read such a hard book before.

son Crusoe about

on

a

Its

man who

I

never

called Robin-

merooned

gets

Hes smart and figers out all kinds of things so he can have a house and food and hes a good swimmer. Only I feel sorry because hes all alone and has no frends. But I think their must be somebody else on the iland because theres a picture with his funny umbrella looking at footprints. 1 hope he gets a frend and not be lonely. a dessert Hand.

April 10 Miss Kinnian teaches me to spell better. She says look at a word and close your eyes and say it over and over until \'ou remember. I

have

lots of truble

with through that you say

threw and enough and tough that you dont say enew and tew. You got to say enuff and tuff Thats

how

get smart.

use to write

I

it

before

I

started to

Im confused but Miss Kinnian

says

theres no reason in spelling.

his eyes their black

first

new

pass a test every time he wants to

its

right to

How woud

make

Dr Nemur

}()u pass a test

like

it

to have to

Apr 14

Finished Robinso)i Crusoe.

find out

more about what happens

Miss Kinnian says thats

Apr 15 read

Miss Kinnian says

some of

looked

all

at

me

person and

111

there

Im

is.

want to him but

I

to

Why

lerning

She

fast.

the Progress Reports and she

kind of funny. She says Im a fine

show them

She said never mind but

I

all. I

asked her why.

shoudnt

feel

bad

if I

everybody isnt nice like I think. She said for a person who god gave so little to you done more then a lot of people with brains they never even used. I said all my frends are smart people but there good. They like me and find out that

Flowers for Algernon, Part

I

53

they never did anything that wasnt nice. Then

she got something in her eye and she had to run out to the ladys room.

Apr 16 Today I lerned, the comma, this is a comma (,) a period, with a tail, Miss Kinnian, makes writing better, she said, sombeody coud lose, a lot of money, if a comma, isnt, in the, right place, I says

its

importent, because,

it

dont have, any money, and I dont see, comma, keeps you from losing it. But she use,

them

says,

Miss

words

everybody, uses commas, so

spell. I

takes a long time to write that

It

think

Im remembering.

once and

after that

how come (Its that

I

way

says a period

a lots of

I

got the

111

You got

to

way but

only have to look up

it right. Anyway thats word punctuation right.

in the dictionary). Miss is

Kinnian

punctuation too, and there are

other marks to lern.

I

tails

told her

I

thot

all

but she said no.

mix them up, she showed? me" up,, and now; 1 can! mix up

how. to mix! them(

comma wrong. Its punctuaKinnian told me to look up long the

in the dictionary to lern to spell

them.

I

all

kinds"

There, are

them

in

One

of punctuation, lots!

my

of rules? to lern; but

thing

I?

way

like about. it

writing?

Im getting

Dear Miss Kinnian:

goes in a business

ever go into business)

We All Need Somebody to Lean On

in!

my head.

(thats the

54

I

get

the periods had to have

too,

Apr 17 I used tion.

how

whats the difference if you can read it anyway. She said its part of your education so now on 111 look up all the words Im not sure how to said

is

letter if

she, always gives

I

me' a

1

reason"

when —

coud be

smart"

(Punctuation,

I

ask. She's a

genius!

I

wish!

I

why because no one else was dancAnd

ing besides Ellen and me.

like, her; is;

understand

all

I was was always

the time

tripping because somebody's foot

fun!)

sticking out.

April 18 What

dope I am! I didn't even understand what she was talking about. I read the grammar book last night and it explanes the whole thing. Then I saw it was the same way as Miss BCinnian was trying to tell me, but I didn't get it. I got up in the middle of the night, and the whole thing straightened out in my mind. Miss Kinnian said that the TV working in my a

sleep helped out. She said

Thats like the After

I

flat

top of a

I

punctuation

Dr Nemur

wants them just as they are. That's why he let you keep them after they were photostated, to see your own progress. You're coming along fast, Charlie."

good. After the lesson

feel

my

punched and

chest a

Not sick it

like for a

feels empt)' like

heartburn

wasn't going to write about

first

to,

because

time

I

at

the same

it's

it,

but

important. Today

ever stayed

I

guess

was the

home from work.

me to a part}'. men from the factory. remembered how sick I

I

time I drank too much, so I told Joe I want anything to drink. He gave me a plain Coke instead. It tasted fimny, but I thought it was just a bad taste in my mouth. We had a lot of fun for a while. Joe said I should dance with Ellen and she would teach me the steps. I fell a few times and I couldn't last

my stom-

off for the

newspaper

we

that night at

Muggsy's and ditched him."

"Look

him. His face

at

is red."

"He's blushing. Charlie

never saw him act

is

blushing."

you do

to Charlie?

I

like that before."

I didnt know what to do or where to turn. Everyone was looking at me and laughing and I felt naked. 1 wanted to hide myself I ran out

into the street and

I

threw up. Then

I

walked

home. It's a funny thing I never knew that Joe and Frank and the others liked to have me around all the time to make fun of me. Now I know what it means when they say I'm ashamed.

April 21

Still

Mrs. Flynn

my

go into the factory. I told landlady to call and tell Mr Don-

didn't

negan I was sick. Mrs. Flynn looks fimny lately like she's scared of me. I

at

me

very

think its a good thing about finding out

how it

Carp and Frank Reilly invited There were lots of girls and some

didn't

him

sent

I

Last night Joe

got

in

We

time.

got

fimny feeling

PROGRESS REPORT 1

feel sick inside.

doctor, but inside

I

a

Everybody was laughing. Frank said, "I ain't laughed so much since

I

don't race anymore.

getting

me

saw the look on Joe's

I

"to pull a Charlie Gordon."

me

went down and played with Algernon.

I

gave

up

got

"Hey, Ellen, what'd

how

takes but she said, "No, Charlie,

April 20

it

I

"He's a scream," one of the girls said.

ack.

reached a plateau.

worked, I read over all my old Progress Reports from the beginning. Boy, did I have crazy spelling and punctuation! I told Miss Kinnian I ought to go over the pages and fix all the mis-

That made

face and

hill.

out

figgered

Then when

ever)'body laughs

a lot. It's

at

me.

because I'm so

I

thought about

dumb and

I

don't

even know when I'm doing something dvmib. People think it's fimny when a dumb person

do things the same way they can. Anyway, now I know I'm getting smarter every day. I know punctuation and I can spell good. I like to look up all the hard words in the dictionary' and I remember them. I'm reading a lot now, and Miss Kinnian says I read very fast. Sometimes I even understand what I'm reading about, and it stays in my mind. There are times can't

Flowers for Algernon, Part

I

55

I

when I can and

it all

my

close

comes back

"

eyes and think of a page like a picture.

Besides history, geography, and arithmetic,

Miss Kinnian said

should

1

more tapes

to play while

how

I

few

start to learn a

me some

foreign languages. Dr. Strauss gave sleep.

I

still

don't un-

and unconscious mind works, but Dr Strauss says not to worry yet. He asked me to promise that when 1 start derstand

that conscious

learning college subjects next

week I wouldn't

on psychology

read any books

— that

until

is,

he gives me permission. feel a lot better today,

I

little

angry that

all

ing and making fim of

Wlien

smart.

but

me

become

I

1

because

111

ple will like

me

it

a

still

wasn't so

my

Dr

like

I.Q.

of 68,

be like everyone else and peoand be friendly.

I'm not sure what an I.Q.

was something

gent you were

1

intelligent

Strauss says, with three times

then maybe

guess I'm

the time people were lavigh-

that

— like

is.

Dr.

measured

Nemur

how

said

intelli-

a scale in the drugstore

weighs pounds. But Dr Strauss had a big argument with him and said an I.Q. didn't weigh intelligence at all. He said an I.Q. showed how much intelligence you could get, like the numbers on the outside of a measuring cup. You still had to fill the cup up with stuff. Then when I asked Burt, who gives me my intelligence tests and works with Algernon, he said that both of them were wrong (only I had to promise not to tell them he said so). Burt says that the I.Q. measures a lot of different things including

learned already, and

some of the it

really isn't

things you

any good

at

all.

So

mine want

I still

is

don't

know what

I.Q. is

except that

going to be over 200 soon.

to say anything, but

they don't don't see

I

don't see

I

didn't

how

know what it is, or where it how they know how much

is

if

—

of

it

you've got.

Dr Nemur Test

56

says

tomorrow.

I

I

have to take a Rorschach

wonder what that is.

We All Need Somebody to Lean On

April 22 the test

I

1

found out what

a

Rorschach

took before the operation

is. It's

— the one

with the inkblots on the pieces of cardboard.

The man who gave me the

test

was the same

one. I

was scared

to death of those inkblots.

I

knew he was going to ask me to find the pictures and I knew wouldn't be able to. was thinking to myself, if only there was some way I

I

knowing what kind of pictures were hidden Maybe there weren't any pictures at all. Maybe it was just a trick to see if I was dumb enough to look for something that wasn't there. of

there.

Just thinking about that right,

"All

Charlie,"

made me

sore at liim.

he

"you've seen

said,

these cards before, remember?

"Of course

I

remember."

it, he knew I was angry, and he looked surprised. "Yes, of course. Now I want you to look at this one. Wliat might this be? Wliat do you see on this card? People see

The way

I

said

sorts of things in these inkblots. Tell

all

what

it

think

of."

I

might be for you

— what

it

me

makes you

was shocked. That wasn't what

pected him to say

at all.

I had ex"You mean there are

no pictures hidden in those inkblots?" He frowned and took off his glasses. "What?" "Pictures. Hidden in the inkblots. Last time you told me that everyone could see them and you wanted me to find them too."

He

used ahiiost using now.

I

me

he had the exact same words he was didn't believe it. and I still have

explained to

that the last time

the suspicion that he misled for the fun of

it.

Unless

—

me I

at

the time just

don't

know any

more — could I have been that feebleminded? 'We went through the cards slowh'. One of them looked like a pair of bats tugging at something. Another one looked like two men fencing with swords.

guess

I

I

imagined

all

got carried away. But

sorts of things.

didn't trust

I

I

him

I kept turning them around and even looking on the back to see if there was an}tliing there I 'was supposed to catch. "Wliile he was making his notes, I peeked out of the

any more, and

my

corner of

code

eye to read

it.

But

it

was

all

in

that looked like this:

April 27 I got up the nerve today to ask Miss Kinnian to have dinner with me tomorrow night to celebrate

At

first

my bonus.

was right, but I it was okay. Dr Nemur don't seem to be getting

she wasn't sure

it

asked Dr. Strauss and he said Strauss

and

Dr.

along so well. They're arguing e^'ening

when

I

came

all

the time. This

in to ask Dr.

about having dinner with Miss Kinnian,

Strauss I

heard

them shouting. Dr. Nemur was saying that it was his experiment and his research, and Dr. Strauss was shouting back that he contributed much, because he found me through Miss Kinnian and he performed the operation. just as

Words to Own misled

(mis'led')

v.:

led to believe

something wrong.

WF + A DdF-Ad orig. WF-A SF + obj The seems

test

to

still

me

make sense to me. It anyone could make up lies

doesn't

that

about things that they didn't really see.

could he

know

I

wasn't making a fool of him

mentioning things that ine? Maybe FU understand b}'

lets

How

I

it

didn't realh' imag-

when

Dr. Strauss

me read up on ps} chology.

April 251 figured out a

new way to line up

the

and Mr. Donnegan says it will save him ten thousand dollars a year in labor and increased production. He gave me machines

in the factory,

a twent}'-five-dollar bonus. I

wanted

to take Joe

Carp and Frank

Reilly

out to lunch to celebrate, but Joe said he had to buy some things for his wife, and Frank said he was meeting his cousin for lunch. 1 guess it'll take a little time for them to get used to the changes in me. Everybody seems to be frightened of me. "Wlien I went over to Amos Borg and tapped him on the shoulder, he jumped up in the

air.

People don't kid around the

talk to me much anymore or way they used to. It makes the

job kind of lonely.

Flowers for Algernon, Part

I

57

Dr.

Strauss said that

someday thousands of

neurosurgeons might be using his technique over the world.

Nemur wanted

Dr.

the experiment Strauss sure.

wanted

Dr

at

all

to publish the results of

to wait a while longer to

be

ton than he was in the experiment. tunist

Dr

Dr Nemur

was nothing but an opporwho was trying to ride to glory on bis Strauss

coattails.

When

58

I

I

left

afterwards,

pushing him

all

the

time to get things published so that he could

her

life

was

Was Dr

to

Burt said that the dream of

have a big shot husband.

Strauss really trying to ride

on

his

coattails?

April 28 ticed

I

found myself trem-

don't

We All Need Somebody to Lean On

how

I

don't understand

why

I

never no-

beautiful Miss Kinnian really

She

is.

brown eyes and feathery brown hair that comes to the top of her neck. She's only thirtyhas

four!

know why for sure, but it was as if I'd seen both men clearly for the first time. I remember hearing Burt say that Dr Nemur had bling.

who was

Dr Nemur was more

interested in the Chair of Psychology at Prince-

said that

shrew of a wife

become famous.

the end of this month. Dr.

Strauss said that

a

I

think from the begimiing

1

had the

feel-

—

was an tmreachable genius and Now, every time I see her she grows younger and more lovely. ing that she

very, very old.

We

had dinner and a long

talk.

"Wlien she

said that

was coming along so

I

be leaving her behind,

I'd

reader than

you

elderly people that this

want

to think of death.

was only the beginning.

she meant about levels because

am. You can read a whole page

of

I

a glance while

I

can take

in only a

few

And you remember every

time.

soon

Charlie. You're already a better

true,

"It's

fast that

laughed.

1

read. I'm luck}'

can

if I

at

lines at a

single thing

recall the

them

already.

hind made

me

I

I'd

I

knew

knew what seen some

The thought of leaving her

be-

sad.

I'm in love with Miss Kinnian.

main

thoughts and the general meaning." don't feel intelligent. There are so

"I

tilings

I

She look out

a cigarette

"You've got to be a

little

mal people to do it

and

I

lit

it

patient. You're

weeks what

plishing in days and

makes

many

don't understand."

it

for her.

accom-

takes nor-

what sponge

in half a lifetime. That's

so amazing. You're like a giant

now, soaking things in. Facts, figures, general knowledge. And soon you'll begin to connect them,

too.

how

see

You'll

the

different

branches of learning are related. There are

many

levels, Charlie, like steps

on

a giant lad-

der that take you up higher and higher to see

more and more of the world around

you.

can see only a little bit of that, Charlie, and won't go much higher than I am now, but "I

I

you'U keep climbing up and up, and see more

and more, and each step will open new worlds you never even knew existed." She frowned. T hope ... I just hope

that

to

"

God "Wliat?"

hope I advise you to go into

"Never mind, Charles. wasn't wrong to

I

just

this in the first place." I

laughed.

"How

worked, didn't still

It

is

smart."

We and

could that be?

Even Algernon

it?

sat there silently for a

knew what

I

while

she was

thinking about as she

watched

me

toying

with the chain of rabbit's foot and

my my

want

to think of

that possibility any

more than

keys.

I

didn't

Flowers for Algernon, Part

I

59

PROGRESS REPORT 12 April 30

I've quit

my

"But

job with Donnegan's

Box Company. Mr. Donnegan insisted would be better for all concerned if I left. Wliat did I do to make them hate me so? The first I knew of it was when Mr. Donnegan showed me the petition. Eight hundred Plastic

that

it

names, everyone connected with the factory, except Fanny Girden. Scanning the list

and

tort)'

quickly,

I

saw

at

missing name.

once

was demanded

that hers

All the rest

how

wrong with

can you say a

Fanny? What's

that,

man becoming

and

intelligent

wanting to acquire knowledge and understanding of the world around him?" She stared down at her work and I turned to leave. "Without looking at evil

me, she

said: "It

was

when Eve listened to the snake and ate from It was evil when she saw

the tree of knowledge.

that she was naked. If not for that none of us would ever have to grow old and sick, and die."

the onl)' that

I

be

Once

again

now

I

have the feeling of shame

fired.

burning inside me. This intelligence has driven

Joe Carp and Frank Reilly wouldn't talk to me about it. No one else would either, except Fanny. She was one of the few people I'd known who set her mind to something and believed it no matter what the rest of the world proved, said, or did and Fanny did not believe that I should have been fired. She had been against the petition on principle and despite the pressure and threats she'd held out.

a

—

"Wliich don't "that

I

mean

wedge between me and all the people I once knew and loved. Before, they laughed at me and despised me for my ignorance and dullness; now, they hate me for my knowledge and understanding. "What in God's name do they want of me? They've driven

me

out of the factory.

I'm more alone than ever before

.

.

Now

.

to say," she remarked,

don't think there's something mighty

Them

strange about you, Charlie.

don't know.

You used

able, ordinary

honest. Wlio

to

man — not

be

a

changes.

I

good, depend-

too bright maybe, but

knows what you done

to yourself to get so smart

all

of a

sudden. Like everybody around here's it's

not

been right."

saying,

m

Charlie, i

^j^v-.-..wajl

1

Making IVIeanings (Part First

1)

Thoughts

Reading Check

Reread your Quickwrite; then, add two

a.

or three sentences connecting what you

wrote

earlier with

your thoughts about b.

Shaping Interpretations

Draw half,

thought bubble and divide

a

so that

it

looks

in

the one on the

like

c.

bols that lie is like

before the operation.

right,

the

words and symbols or suggest what Charlie in

fill

scribe

he becomes more

Go

On

Dr

does

Strauss

think Charlie

would be

good subject

for the ex-

a

Who

is

Algernon?

What first

races Algernon?

the

d.

that deis

Why

for Charlie?

happens when Charlie

side with

left

the operation

periment?

words and symdescribe or suggest what Char-

left. Fill

3.

it

is

meant to do

the story.

2.

What

What

Charlie

like as

some

are is

signs that

changing after

the operation?

intelligent.

back to Charlie's March 7 entry

(pages 47-48). What context clues did you use to figure out what "crazy *~ tests" Charlie is taking (such as the "omozed" with Algernon the rat)? Give

some other examples Charlie

is

of

how you

used context clues to figure out what

reporting.

Reread Fanny's comments about the changes Charlie's experiences similar to those of Charlie's entry for April 20.

the Biblical account, Charlie writes, laughs at

me"

"I

in

You may want to compare

think

it's

a

Do

good

scientific

as

much

Why

or

why

How are

description with

Nemur that

his

how everybody

not?

Charlie's learning to

of an achievement as their learning a

theory without help would be (page 48).

Challenge or defend

his

thing about finding out

you agree?

Early in the story, Dr. Strauss tells Dr. is

Charlie (page 60).

and Eve? (Look especially at

Genesis 2:25-3:24.)

(page 55).

read and write

in

Adam

What does

difficult

he mean?

statement.

Does Charlie have "somebody

to lean on"? Explain.

Extending the Text 8.

Think about the

one who

is

last

different

few

lines in Part

I

.

Why

do people often

from them? What do you think of such

dislike any-

attitudes?

Challengmg the Text 9.

Why do

almost

Charlie fired?

Is

all

the workers

in

the factory sign the petition to have

their behavior believable? Explain.

Flowers for Algernon, Part

I

6

62

We All Need Somebody to Lean On

May

15

Dr. Strauss

very angry

is

at

me

for not

having written any progress reports in two

weeks. paying

Hes

me

because the lab

justified

a regular salary.

I

him

told

I

now

is

was too

busy thinking and reading. When I pointed out that writing was such a slow process that it made me impatient with my poor handwriting,

he suggested

that

sevent)'-five

words

because

a minute.

me

reminds

ually

learn to type, h's

I

now

easier to write

I

much

can type nearly

Dr

Strauss contin-

of the need to speak and

write simply so that people will be able to un-

Hebrew, and that he knows almost nothing of mathematics beyond the elementary levels of the calculus of variations. When he admitted this to me, 1 found myself almost annoyed. It was as if he'd hidden this part of himself in order to deceive me, pretending as do many people, I've discovered to be what he is not. No one I've ever known is what he appears to be on the surface. Dr Nemur appears to be uncomfortable around me. Sometimes when I try to talk to him, he just looks at me strangely and turns

—

—

away.

1

was angry

me was

derstand me. I'll

try to

plex.

review

all

the things that happened

me during the last two weeks.

Algernon and I were presented to the American Psychological Association sitting in convention with the World Psychological Association last Tuesday. to

We

Nemur and

created quite a sensation. Dr.

were proud of us. suspect that Dr. Nemur, who

Dr. Strauss 1

years older than

Dr

Strauss

is sixt)'

— finds

it

— ten

necessary

Undoubtof pressure by Mrs. Nemur.

to see tangible results of his work.

edly the results

Contrary to realize that

my earlier impressions

Dr Nemur

is

not

has a very good mind, but

at all a it

of him,

He

genius.

struggles under

He wants people

the specter of self-doubt.

1

to

him for a genius. Therefore, it is important for him to feel that his work is accepted by the world. 1 believe that Dr. Nemur was afraid of take

I

thought he was mocking

How

was

surd

when you

done

in India

I

the

1

are too limited.

tradition

of narrow

feel that his areas of

He was educated specialization;

in

Nemur was

and China today

unac-

It's

is

ab-

being

in the very field

Strauss

how Nemur

could refute

method and results if Nemur couldn't even read them in the first place. That strange look on Dr Strauss's face can mean only one of two things. Either he doesn't want to tell Nemur what they're saying in India, or else

Strauss doesn't to speak

on

his

— and

know

and write

this

clearly

worries

me — Dr.

must be careful and simply so that

either

I

people won't laugh.

last

knowledge

Dr

asked

nian

called a genius, although

that a highly respected

consider the work that

Rahajamati's attack

I

on the other hand might be

know

and I'm

of his study.

might make a discovery along these lines and take the credit from him. Strauss

to

me

of.

quainted with Hindustani and Chinese?

18

Dr

I

psychoexperimentalist like

May

else

made fun

oversensitive at being

further delay because he worried that some-

one

when Dr. Strauss told Nemur an inferiority com-

at first

giving Dr.

1

I

am

very disturbed.

night for the

tried to avoid

all

first

I

saw Miss

Kin-

time in over a week.

discussions of intellectual

concepts and to keep the conversation on a simple, everyday level, but she just stared at

me

blankly and asked

me what meant I

about

the

broader aspects of background were neglected far

more than necessary — even

for a neuro-

surgeon. I

was shocked

to learn that the only ancient

Words to Own tangible (tan'ja-bsl) adj.: capable of being felt, observed, or understood. refute (ri-fyoot') v.: prove v^rong with evidence.

languages he could read were Latin, Greek, and

Flowers for Algernon, Part

2

63

"

the mathematical variance equivalent in Dor-

bermann's

Wlien

I

laughed.

1

Fifth

Concerto.

tried to explain she

guess

1

stopped

got angry, but

approaching her on the wrong

I

me

and

suspect I'm

level.

No matter

what I try to discuss with her, I am unable to communicate. I must review Vrostadt's equations on Lerels ofSenuintic Progression. I find that I don't communicate with people much anymore. Thank God for books and music and things

can think about.

I

apartment

I

am

alone in

my

Mrs. Flynn's boardinghouse most

at

of the time and seldom speak to anyone.

May 20 would not have noticed the new dishI

washer, a boy of about sixteen, diner

where

I

take

my

at

the corner

evening meals

if

not for

the incident of the broken dishes.

*^V^

They crashed sending

bits of

to the floor, shattering and

white china under the

tables.

The boy stood there, dazed and frightened, holding the empty tray m liis hand. The whistles

and

from the customers (the

catcalls

of "Hey, there go the profits!" tov!

""

long

.

.

.

.

.

."

and

'Well,

which

.

.

.

be didn't work here

invariably

seem

cries

"Mazel ver)'

to follow the

breaking of glass or dishware in a public restau-

seemed to confuse him. owner came to see what the excitement was about, the boy cowered as if he rant)

all

"Wlien the

1. catcalls: shouts and whistles made to express disapproval or ridicule, so called because people used to make noises like a cat's cr)* to show disapproval.

2.

Mazel tov (ma'zal

tov'):

Yiddish expression meaning

"Congratulations!

WORDS TO Own invariably (in-ver'e-a-ble)

We All Need Somebody to Lean On

odv.: always.

"

"

expected to be struck and threw up his arms as if

to

ward

off the blow.

and sweep broom, you all

broom mess up. A broom ... a It's in the kitchen. Sweep up

just

that idiot!

stand there! Get the

out of

the pieces."

The

saw

bo)'

punished.

he was not going to be

that

expression disap-

frightened

His

hummed

he came back with the broom to sweep the floor. A few

peared and he smiled and

amusing themselves

at his

as

up the remarks,

of the rowdier customers kept

expense.

"Here, sonny, over here there's a nice piece

behind you

"C'mon, do

.

it

"He's not so

than to wash

again

dumb.

em

.

Its easier to break

em

.

his vacant eyes moved across the crowd amused onlookers, he slowly mirrored their

smiles and finally broke into an uncertain grin at

the joke which he obviously did not under-

stand. I

felt

sick inside as

I

looked

at his dull,

ous smile, the wide, bright eyes of certain but eager to please.

vacu-

a child, un-

They were

laugh-

him because he was mentally retarded. laughing at him too. Suddenly, I was furious at myself and all those who were smirking at him. I jumped up and shouted, "Shut up! Leave him alone! It's

ing at

not his fault he can't understand!

human

is!

But for God's sake

.

He can t help .

.he's

still

The room grew

illiteracy,

silent.

I

cursed myself for I

tried not

to look at the bo}' as I paid my check and walked out without touching my food. I felt ashamed for both of us. How strange it is that people of honest feelings and sensibilit)', who would not take advantage of a man born without arms or legs or eyes how such people think nothing of abusing a man born with low intelligence. It infuri-

at that

had been. /

I

the childish naivete,

intelligence peering

room, through the keyhole,

the dazzling

at

see that even in

I

the

from a dark

my

dullness

I

knew that I was

inferior, and that other people had something I lacked something denied me. In my mental blindness, I thought that it was somehow connected with the ability to read and write, and I was sure that if I could get those skills I would automatically have intelligence too. Even a feeble-minded man wants to be like other men.

—

A

may not know how to feed eat, yet it knows of hunger.

child

what

to

This then

Even with never

what gift

was

like.

I

or

never knew.

of intellectual awareness,

was good I

I

for

me. Seeing the past my knowl-

have decided to use

skills to

human

I

itself,

knew.

clearly,

edge and ing

is

my

really

This day

more

losing control and creating a scene.

saw what

I

Only a short time ago, I learned that people laughed at me. Now I can see that unknowingly I joined with them in laughing at myself. That hurts most of all. I have often reread my progress reports and

a

being!

time

was just like him!

And I had been

what he

first

light outside.

." .

mind. But today in looking

mind of low

." .

As of

my

boy, for the

seen the

.

.

to think that not too long ago I, like had foolishly played the clown. And I had almost forgotten. I'd hidden the picture of the old Charlie Gordon from myself because now that I was intelligent it was something that had to be pushed this boy,

you dope," shouted the

"All right! All right,

owner, "don't

me

ated

work

in the field of increas-

intelligence levels.

Wlio

is

better

equipped for this work? Wlio else has lived in both worlds? These are my people. Let me use my gift to do something for them. Tomorrow, I will discuss with Dr. Strauss the manner in which I can work in this area. I may be able to help him work out the problems of

—

3.

naivete (na-ev-ta'): simplicity: foolish innocence.

Flowers for Algernon, Part

2

65

widespread use of the technique which was used on me. I have several good ideas of my

own. There

is

much

so

this technique. If

I

might be done with

that

could be made into a genius,

what about thousands of others

What

myself?

like

might be achieved by

fantastic levels

On

using this technique on normal people?

May

29

I

have been given a lab of my

own and

permission to go ahead with the research. I'm

on

geniuses?

There are so many doors to open.

I

am impa-

tient to begin.

PROGRESS REPORT 13

to something. Working da\ and night. I've had a cot moved into the lab. Most of my writing time is spent on the notes which I keep in a separate folder, but from time to time I feel it necessary to put down my moods and my

thoughts out of sheer habit.

May

23

happened

It

today.

Algernon

bit

me.

I

him as I do occasionally, and when I took him out of his cage, he snapped at my hand. I put him back and watched him for a while. He was unusually disvisited the lab to see

turbed and vicious.

May 24

mental animals,

He

changing.

is

in

is

charge of the experi-

me

tells

Algernon

that

is

he refuses to

less cooperative,

run the maze any more; general motivation has decreased.

one

is

And he

hasn't

been

upset about what this

eating. Every-

may mean.

of our kind. They're

first

tending that Algernon's behavior

me. But

sarily significant for

the fact that

were used

some

in

it's

is

not neces-

hard to hide

of the other animals

this

pre-

all

who

experiment are showing

strange behavior. Dr. Strauss

to

come

and

to the

they're thinking

Nemur have asked me not lab anymore. I know what but can't accept it. am

Dr.

going ahead with

I

my

search forward. 'With these fine scientists,

it

I

plans to carr\' their

re-

due respect to both of am well aware of their

all I

with aU

We All Need Somebody to Lean On

I

have acquired. In a

my life.

working too cram a lifetime of research and thought into a few weeks. I know I should rest, but I'm driven on by something inside that won't let me stop. I've

31

hard. Dr.

Dr. Strauss thinks I'm

Nemur

says I'm trying to

got to find the reason for the sharp regression

will

happen

to

know

//

and when

it

me.

June 4 LETTER TO DR. STRAUSS (COpy)

Dear

Dr. Strauss:

Under separate cover I am sending you a copy of my report entitled, "The AlgernonGordon Effect: A Study of Structure and Function of Increased Intelligence," which I would like to have you read and have published.

As you see, my experiments are completed. I have included in my report all of

my formulae,

as well as mathematical analy-

regression (ri -gresh'sn) advanced condition.

I'll

fas-

the problem I've been concerned

out for myself. Suddenly, time has be-

an answer,

be a

the place for the applica-

the knowledge

all

it's

WoRDS TO Own

is

come very important to me. 66

sense

have to

limitations. If there

find

tion of

is

in Algernon. I've got to

May 25 They've been feeding Algernon, who now refuses to work the shifting-lock problem. Everyone identifies me with Algernon. In a way we're both the

find the calculus of intelligence to

May

who

Burt,

I

cinating study. Here

n.:

return to an earlier or less

the

in

sis

should be

appendix.

Because of

and

Dr.

too?)

I

sults a

an

Of

these

course,

its

Nemur

importance to both you

(and need

I

say to m)'self,

have cliecked and rechecked

dozen times

error.

I

am

theory was as important to the advance-

ment of learning

verified.

in the

my

re-

hope of finding

be.

I

know now that this is true. am sorry, however, that my own contribution to the field I

must rest upon the ashes of the work of two men I regard so highly.

1

Yours

am

little bit that I here add to knowledge of the function of the human mind and of the laws governing the

the

increase of

recall }'our

human

intelligence.

once saying

to

me

that an

experimental^/7//re' or the disproinng of a

truly,

Charles Gordon

grateful for the

I

would

sorry to say the results must

stand. Yet for the sake of science,

artificial

as a success

end.: rept

Words to Own verified (ver'a-fid') ness; confirmed.

v.:

checked or tested for correct-

must not btconic emotional. The facts and the results of my experiments are clear, and the more sensational aspects of my own rapid climb cannot obscure the fact that the tripling of intelligence by the surgical technique developed by Drs. Strauss and Nemur must be viewed as having little or no practical

June

5

I

applicabilirv' (at the

crease of

As non,

I

human

present time) to the

cal infancy, activity' is

is still

is

a general reduction

of glandular activity; there

is

an accelerated

loss of coordination.

There are also strong indications of progres-

I

As long

as

I

am

to record

my

ports.

one of

It is

able to write,

by the application of

my

I

surgical stimulus to

which we were

both subjected has resulted in an intensification and acceleration of all mental processes. The unforeseen development, which I have

my few pleasures. own mental

instability

right. His brain

there

was

ening of brain

had decreased in weight and smoothing out of cerebral well as a deepening and broad-

fissures.^

guess the same thing

pening to me.

want

it

predictions were

a general

convolutions as

1

my

Now

or will soon be hap-

is

that

it's

here proven

may be described

simpl}' in the

definite,

I

dont

to happen.

put Algernon's body in a cheese box and

buried him in the back yard.

I

wouldn't open the door and

The hypothesis

first

June 10 Deterioration progressing. I have become absent-minded. Algernon died two days

June 15

entire intelligence speed-up.

However, deteriora-

and forge tfulness, the

Gordon

the logical extension of the

re-

have already begun to notice signs of emo-

taken the liberty of calling the AlgeruotiEffect, is

continue

symptoms of the burnout.

I

The

will

indications, m}'

tional

for-

mula.

I

tion will be very rapid.

will

significant results

dis-

thoughts in these progress

ago. Dissection sho\vs

be seen by my report, these and other physical and mental deterioration syndromes can be predicted with statistically

an important

feel that this, in itself is

covery.

sive amnesia.

As

intelli-

of time directly pro-

at a rate

portional to the quantity of the increase.

in his physi-

he has regressed mentally. Motor

impaired; there

gence deteriorates

b}' all

review the records and data on Algersee that although he

I

in-

intelligence.

following terms: Artificially increased

Dr. Strauss

came

cried.

to see

me

again.

I

1 told him to go want to be left to myself. 1 have become touchy and irritable. 1 feel the darkness closing in. It's hard to throw off thoughts of suicide. I keep telling myself how important this intro-

away.

I

spective journal will be.

4.

brain fissures

(fish'arz):

grooves in the surface of the

brain.

Words to Own obscure (ab-skyoor')

v.;

hide.

deterioration (de-tir'e-s-ra'shan)

n.

used as

adj.:

worsening; decline.

hypothesis

(hi

-path's

-sis) n.;

explanation or theory to

be proved.

N6<-T«-ttiltOIMMy SL iOSTQM

68

We All Need Somebody to Lean On

introspective (in'tro-spek'tiv) adj.: looking inward; observing one's own thoughts and feelings.

It's

a strange sensation to

you've read and enjoyed

pick up a book that

just a

few months ago

and discover that )ou don't remember it. I remembered how great thought John Milton was, but when I picked up Paradise Lost I couldn't understand it at all. I got so angry I

Motor activit)' impaired. I keep tripping over and it becomes increasingly difficult to

things,

type.

I

Some

hold on to some of it.

of the things I've learned. Oh, God, please don't take

it

all

I've

completely.

given up using the typewriter

My

derstand what

June 19 Sometimes, I

couldn't

A policeman

lived.

at night,

go out

I

for a

remember where

me home.

took

I

I

have the

me

all happened keep telling myself I'm the only person in the world who can describe what's happening to me.

strange feeling that this has

before

— a long time ago.

to

I

in

lie

or where

can't I remember? I've got to bed for days and I don't know who

am. Then

I

comes back to me in Symptoms of senilcan watch them com-

it all

a flash. Fugues of amnesia.^ ity

— second childhood.

ing on.

and so rapidly.

Now my

fast. I

I

so cruelly logical.

It's

won't

let

it

I

mind

happen.

much

learned so is I'll

deteriorating fight

it. I

can't

help thinking of the boy in the restaurant, the

blank expression, the ple laughing at him.

again

.

.

the

peo-

No — please — not

that

silly

smile,

.

I'm forgetting things that

cently.

seems

It

I

be following the

— the last things learned are the

forgotten. it

to

up

Or

again.

.

is .

learned

classic patfirst

things

that the pattern? I'd better look .

re-read

Effect

5.

fugues

(fS'oogz)

feel that

a terrible

1

if it

had done.

would help me unFirst

I

thought there

myself in other languages.

June 30 A week

since

I

All

gone.

dared to write again.

away like sand through my fingers. Most of the books I have are too hard for me now. I get angry with them because I know that I read and understood them just a few weeks ago. I keep telling myself I must keep writing these reports so that somebody will know what is happening to me. But it gets harder to form the words and remember spellings. I have to look up even simple words in the dictionary now and it makes me impatient with myself. Dr. Strauss comes around almost e\'ery day, but I told him I wouldn't see or speak to anybody. He feels guilty. They all do. But I don't blame anyone. I knew what might happen. But It's

slipping

it

hurts.

re-

my paper on the Algernon-Gordon and I get the strange feeling that it was written by someone else. There are parts I don't even understand. I

Had

I

was something wrong with my eyes. Then I realized I could no longer read German. I tested

how June 22 tern

bad.

I

June 21 Why fight.

is

shock today. I picked up a copy of an article I used in my research, Krueger's Uber psychische Ganzbeit, to see

away.

walk. Last night

coordination

I'm moving slower and slower.

threw the book across the room. I've got to try to

June 23

July 7 I don't know where the week went. Todays Sunday I know becuase I can see through m}' window people going to church. I think I stayed in bed all week but I remember Mrs. Flynn bringing food to me a few times. I keep sa}'ing over and over Ive got to do something

maybe its just easier not to Im going to do. I think of my mother and father a lot these days. I found a picture of them with me taken but then

do what

I

I

forget or

say

of amnesia (am-ne'zha): temporary'

A person who experiences fugues has no memorj- of them afterward. states of disturbed consciousness.

at a

beach.

My

father has a big ball under his

arm and my mother

is

holding

me

b)'

the hand.

Flowers for Algernon, Part

2

69

I

dont remember them the way they are in the I remember is my father drunk

picture. All

most of the time and arguing with mom about money. He never shaved much and he used to scratch my face when he hugged me. My mother said he died but Cousin Miltie said he heard his mom and dad say that my father ran away with another woman. When I asked my mother she slapped ni}' face and said my father was dead. I dont think I ever found out which was true but I don't care much. (He said he was going to take me to see cows on a farm once but he never did. He never kept his promises

.

.

.

July 22 Mrs Flynn called a strange doctor to see me. She was afraid I was going to die. I told the doctor I wasnt too sick and that I onl)' forget sometimes. He asked me did 1 have any friends or relatives and I said no I dont have any. I told him I had a friend called Algernon once but he was a mouse and we used to run races together. He looked at me kind of funny like he thought I was craz}'. He smiled when I told him I used to be a genius. He talked to me like I was a baby and he winked at Mrs Flynn. I got mad and chased him out because he was making fun of me the way they all used to.

)

July 24 July 10 My landlady Mrs Flynn is very worried about me. She says the way I lay around all da}' and dont do anything I remind her of her son before she threw him out of the house. She said she doesn't like loafers. If Im sick its one thing, but if Im a loafer thats another thing and she wont have

it. I

try to read a

I

ries,

told her

little bit

but sometimes

I

I

think

it

means. And

should look up

its

sick.

every day, mostly

sto-

I

know know

dont

hard to write.

I

I

the words in the dictionary Im so tired all the time. Then I got the idea that I would only use the easy words instead of the long hard ones. That saves time. I put flowers on Algernons grave about once a week. Mrs Flynn thinks Im crazy to put flowers on a mouses grave but I told her that Algernon was special.

but

its

all

so hard and

July 14 Its Sunday again. I dont have anything to do to keep me busy now because my television set is broke and I dont have any money to get it fixed. G think I lost this months check from the lab. I dont remember) I get awful headaches and asperin doesnt help me much. Mrs Flymi knows Im really sick and she feels very sorry for me. Shes a wonderful

70

money and Mrs

Flyrm

to

got to go to

I

do

money.

to get

have to read the same

thing over and over again because

what

Im

have no more

I

work somewhere and pay the rent because I havent paid for over two months. I dont know any work but the job I used to have at Donnegans Plastic Box Company. I dont want to go back there because they all knew me when I was smart and maybe theyll laugh at me. But I don't know what else says

woman whenever someone is sick.

We All Need Somebody to Lean On

July 25

was looking

I

progress reports and

read what

wrote.

I

I

its

at

very funny but

away

I

I

cant

can make out some of the

words but they dont make Miss Kinnian

some of my old

came

sense.

to the

door but

I

said

go

dont want to see you. She cried and

I

I wouldnt let her in because I want her to laugh at me. I told her

cried too but didn't 1

didn't like her any more.

want

I

told her

I

didnt

be smart any more. Thats not true. I still love her and I still want to be smart but I had to say that so shed go away. She gave Mrs Flynn money to pay the rent. I dont want that. I to

got to get a job. Please

.

.

.

read and write

please let .

.

me

not forget

how

to

.

July 27 Mr Donnegan was very nice when I came back and asked him for my old job of janitor First he was very suspicious but I told him

1

what happened to me then he looked very sad and put his hand on my shoulder and said Charlie Gordon you got guts. Everybody looked at me when I came downstairs and started working in the toilet sweeping

it

they

out like

I

used

to.

I

told myself Charlie

make fun of you dont

you remember

if

get sore because

you once thot they were. vXjid besides they were once your friends and if they laughed at you that doesnt mean anything because they liked you

One

of the I

new men who came

went away made

to

work

a nasty crack

he

hey Charlie

I

real quiz kid. Say

hear your a very smart

something

fella a

intelligent.

I

felt

bad but Joe Carp came over and grabbed him by the shirt and said leave him alone you lousy cracker or

111

Joe to take

break your neck.

my

part so

I

I

didn't expect

guess hes really

my

friend.

their not so smart as

too.

there after

said

Later Frank Reilly

came over and said

Charlie

anybody bothers you or trys to take advanyou call me or Joe and we will set em straight. I said thanks Frank and I got choked up so I had to turn around and go into the supply room so he wouldnt see me cry. Its good to if

tage

have friends.

Flowers for Algernon, Part

2

7

July 28 I did a dumb thing today I forgot I wasnt in Miss Kinnians class at the adult center any more like I use to be. I went in and sat

down

in

my

old seat in the back of the

and she looked Charles.

I

at

me

remember she ever

dint

room

funny and she said

that before only Charlie so

1

called

me

said hello Miss

my lesin today only I lost we was using. She startid to cry

Kinnian Im red) for

my

reader that

and run out of the room and everybody looked at me and I saw they wasnt the same pepul who used to be in my class.

Then

rememberd some

1

about the operashun and

tilings

smart and Charlie

she

of a suddin

all

I

Gordon

come back

I

I

getting

that

to the room.

Thats wh}' Im going awa)- from

good.

me

smoke 1 reely pulled a time. I went away before

said holy

dont want to do nothing

dont want Miss Kinnian to

New York for

like that agen.

me. dont

feel sorry for

Evry body feels sorry at the facter}' and I want that eather so Im going someplace where nobody knows that Charlie Gordon was once a genus and now he cant even reed a book or rite

know why Im dumb agen

or what

I

did

wrong

maybe

its becaus I dint try hard enuff. But if I and practis very hard maybe 111 get a littl smarter and know what all the words are. 1 remember a littel bit how nice I had a feeling with the blue book that has the torn cover when I red it. Thats why Im gonna keep trying to get smart so I can have that feeling agen. Its a good feeling to know things and be smart. I wish I had it rite now if I did I would sit down and reed all the time. Anyway I bet Im the first dumb person in the world who ever found out somthing importent for sience. I remember I did somthing but I dont remember what. So I gess its like I did it for all the dumb pepul like me.

try

Good-by Miss Kinnian and Dr Strauss and evreybody. vVnd P.S. please tell Dr Nemur not to be such a grouch when pepul laff at him and he woud have more frends. Its easy to make trends if you let pepul laff at you. Im going to have P.

lots

P.S.

of frends

Please

if

where

you get

I

go. a

chanse put some

flowrs on Algernons grave in the bak yard

.

good.

I

Im taking a cuple of books along and even if cant reed them 111 practise hard and maybe I

w^ont forget every thing

hard maybe

111

be

I

lerned.

a littel bit

If I

try reel

smarter then

my

I

was

and my luk}' penny and majbe they will help me. If you ever reed this Miss Kinnian dont be sorry for me Im glad I got a second chanse to be smart becaus I lerned a lot of things that I never even new were in this world and Im grateful that I saw it all for a littel bit. I dont

before the operashun.

72

I

got

rabits foot

We All Need Somebody to Lean On

\

.

.

MEET THE WRITER Human Mind

Fascinated by the Daniel Keyes

(

1

927-

)

says that he

is

"fascinated by the complexities of the

Many people share his interest, as the enormous popularity of "Flowers for Algernon" shows. The story won

human

mind."

959 Hugo Award, given by the Science Fiction Writers of America, and it has been

the

1

widely translated. Keyes expanded

won another

novel,

which

prize,

the Nebula Award,

story was also

made

television play. The

it

into a

science fiction in

1966.

The

into a movie, Charly, a

Two Worlds of Charlie

Gordon, and even a Broadway musical, Charlie

and Algernon.

Daniel Keyes was born York. a

He

has

worked

in

Brooklyn,

New

as an English teacher,

merchant seaman, an

editor,

and a fashion

photographer.

Flowers for Algernon, Part

2

73

.

Meanings (Part

IVIaking First 1

2)

Thoughts

What do you

think

the story ends?

becomes

of Charlie after

Why?

Shaping Interpretations 2.

Why

3.

What does

is

Algernon important to Charlie? Charlie want

most

•

when we

•

after

•

after his intelligence declines?

Fill

in

how

first

meet him?

he becomes

intelligent?

a chart like the

one below to show

Charlie's goals change.

Choices:

Building Your Portfolio

Writer's Notebook 1.

Collecting Ideas for

an

Autobiographical Incident Freewrite about a time •

when you

suddenly understood something that had been too hard for you (as Charlie does

on page 55)

•

were rejected by or excluded from

•

made

fun of

group

a

someone, or defended someone

whom

other people were making fun of •

outgrew

a friend or felt that

you couldn't communicate

with him or her anymore

Creative Writing 2.

Dear Diary

This story

is

.

.

Research /Science 3.

.

made up

of

What Is

Make

a

list

Intelligence??

about

which are

ligence tests.

Pick

another character from the and write

story,

a diary

intelligence

and

intel-

Conduct

re-

search to find the answers, using printed materials,

databases, the Internet, and

sponding to one of Charlie's

other sources. Then,

reports. For example,

what

chiatrist

What

in

phone, or by electronic mail.

work

at the factory?

Use the first-person pronoun to write from your /

character's

point of view.

Prepare a

tions

list

new

job:

a character reference

of ques-

you couldn't answer

recommendation letter from Mr Donnegan or a

Miss Kinnian

a

might Frank have written

your audience, write one

from Mrs. Flynn

as a psy-

the day Charlie returned to

employer

pos-

—such or guidance counselor— person, by

written the night she and

a potential

Charlie get a

arrange to interview

an expert

Position Wanted

of these items to help

•

sible,

might Miss Kinnian have

Charlie had dinner?

as

•

entry for him or her corre-

if

4.

With

of questions

Charlie's progress reports, like a diary.

Learning for Life

•

a medical

Dr

report from

Strauss explaining

Charlie's condition

and

capabilities

using other resources, and

add any new questions that

your research has

raised.

Present your findings to the class (for

in

a creative

example, as a

format

TV news

report or a poster).

Flowers for Algernon 75

Grammar Link

MiNI-LESSON

Dialogue in Your Writing Put quotation marks around direct quotations of words spoken aloud.

The man

EXAMPLES Language

explained, "People see

sorts of things

all

these

in

inkblots." [Sentence contains a direct quotation.]

Handbook

The man explained

HELP

that people see

sorts of things

all

in

these

inkblots. [Sentence does not contain a direct quotation.] See Quota-

Begin a quoted remark with a capital letter

tion Marks,

pages

EXAMPLE

805-807.

"Why

Charlie said,

didn't

how

realize

I

beautiful Miss Kinnian

was?"

Use

a

comma,

a question mark, or an excla-

mation point (but not a period) to set

HELP

"What

EXAMPLE

See Language

"He won't run

CD-ROM. Key word

the

Begin a

tion marks.

maze

new paragraph whenever

ing the rules, write four lines of dialogue that

sadly.

could use

the speaker

ing

changes. (See the example just above.)

Vocabulary

from the

the four rules. Then, apply-

anymore," Burt responded

entiy: quota-

Out

story to illustrate each of

the matter with

is

It

Find examples

Algernon?" Charlie asked.

Workshop

in

you

a piece of writ-

you are working on.

HOW TO OWN A WORD

Word Bank

Word Analogies: Perfect Pairs

misled

An analogy

tangible

same

word

a

is

relationship.

refute

meaning, or they might share

and effect or whole to

regression

as hate

verified

show the same

obscure

hate. I

.

to

is

2.

introspective

3. Asl<ed

,"

part.

start

some other

Defend

in

the second pair

is

6. Likeness

is

is

8. See

to

is

We All Need Somebody to Lean On

to to to

to similarity as theory

is

as touch

is

is

.

to

to

to

.

.

to imagined as deceived

to beautiful as

love,

to is

is

visible

9. Pretended 0. Ugly

is

is

is

is

.

to occasionally as always

is

is

to stop

is

is

to

.

to improvement

will

the opposite of

word from the Word

a

to

to progression as backward

to quiet as outgoing

7. Noisy is

is

to inquired as confirmed

Sometimes

the analogy "Start

in

and stop are opposites, so the word that

relationship

to protect as disprove

is

is

relationship, such as cause

For example,

to close as reveal

is

4. Forward

1

pairs of words that have the

Complete each analogy below with

Open

hypothesis

5.

two

puzzle with

They might have the same meaning or an opposite

invariably

deterioration

76

Try

off a

quotation from the rest of the sentence.

Technology

Bank.

Li uestions ASKED

If I

Can stop One Heart

from Brealdng Emily Dickinson If I

I

can stop one heart from breaking

shall not live in vain

If I

can ease one

life

the aching

Or cool one pain

Or help one

fainting robin

Unto his nest again I

shall not live in vain.

MEET THE Writer A Hidden Talent Although Emily Dickinson (1830-1886)

most respected American poets completely unknown during her an extremely private, quiet

life in

is

today, she lifetime.

one of the

was almost

Dickinson led

her family

home

in

Amherst, Massachusetts. After she died, her sister, Lavinia, discovered the almost seventeen hundred

poems Dickinson had written on envelopes and bits newspaper and gathered into handmade booklets. ij^ go.hrw.com J5t/ LEO 8-1

If

I

of

Can Stop One Heart from Breaking 77

'^

' t

-

I

i

—

I

—

RWM^ ON Unlikely Acquaintances You know friend. In

her: the

kid in class

no one wants for

a

Guy (Bantam), the new from the West Indies. The only

The Friends by Rosa

girl is Phyliisia

person

new

who

Cathy,

will

befriend her

is

Edith, a

Harlem-born

girl

trying to keep her family together despite the hardships

of poverty.

Forbidden Friendship

MTEGBEENE

:

\s\';j^>>N--"^.v>;:\^'^

World War and everyone knows Nazis so why does Patty Bergen, a Jewish girl in are the enemy Arkansas, take a risk by hiding a young German prisoner of war from the FBI? In Summer of My German Soldier by Bette II

It's

—

Greene

(Dell), Patty learns

compassion from

a stranger

With a Little Help from Our Friends It's

important to have friends to lean on

especially

if

you don't have a

family.

This

is

painfully true for

Buddy, street kid by day,

mentor to other

inner-city

night, in

orphans by

Virginia Hamilton's The Planet of

junior Brown (Aladdin Books).

Other Picks Elizabeth

Straus

&

Borton de Trevino,

about the friendship between an and the great seventeenth-century Spanish painter Diego

Giroux).

enslaved artist

l,]uan de Pareja (Farrar,

A

historical novel

Velazquez Katherine Paterson, Bridge of friendship. Published

in

to Terabithia

Spanish as

(Harper Trophy).

Un puente

A classic

novel

hasta Terabithia

(Alfaguara)

Read

On

79

BUILDING YOUR PORTFOLIO

dUstenfog Wo

.1

Interpersonal comiviunication It's

Try

It

Out

Not Just What You

Think back to when you

first

remember most

What

sion at first

Form

a

group with two

and

facial

is

clearly?

Say,

It's

How You

Say

It

friend. What do you makes the strongest impres-

met your best

body language

usually

—

looks, clothing, posture, gestures,

expressions.

or three classmates. Using only body language (movements, gestures, facial expressions,

and posture), convey a feeling to

Make your movements and expressions obvious

—

^try

to

help the group identify

Duane mumbles, jamming

"Pleased to meet you,"

pockets and staring at

his

his fists into

his feet.

means what he says? Probably not. nonverbal parts of a speaker's message. If our words send one message but our body language sends another, people will be less likely to believe what Are you convinced

your group.

and exaggerated

Being Clear: Avoiding Mixed Signals

We

we

that he

interpret both the verbal and

say.

the emotion as quickly as possible.

Some

ideas:

Being Confident: Assertive Communication

•

anger

People

•

boredom

they

who communicate

like

clearly

other people and expect other people to

too. Frowning and looking •

joy

•

surprise

•

shyness

•

confusion

•

embarrassment

•

fear

•

exhaustion

your

listener

may

think

it

They stand or

sit

up

away may

just

mean

means you don't

Confident speakers look •

and confidently show that

like

like

them,

you're shy

him or

— but

her.

like this:

straight,

with their shoulders back and

their heads up. •

They look

at their listeners frequently.

(If

you're not

com-

fortable making eye contact, try looking at the bridge of

your

listener's

nose

—the person won't be

tell

the

difference.)

Confident speakers sound •

80

able to

like this:

They make statements that sound like statements, not questions. When you ask a question, your voice rises at the end of the sentence. When you make a statement, your voice falls. A

We All Need Somebody to Lean On

1

statement that sounds

like a

question

is

unclear and shows a

Try

lack of confidence.

They avoid

•

tion,

and

words and sounds.

"filler"

probably hear these

you'll

Listen to any conversa-

common

Often we're not aware of

fillers:

how

see like

kind of

maybe

uh

you know

sort of

just

um

Instead of using your favorite

more

us.

other people

Ask

a friend to

observe you

in

a social

situation and to

try pausing. You'll

filler,

Out

It

sound

tell

you about habits that

keep you from commu-

thoughtful and sure of yourself.

nicating clearly and confidently.

Active Listening Try

with a classmate: Take a few minutes to describe your

this

vorite activity or something that

happened to you. Your

fa-

listener

should give no feedback: no nodding, shaking the head,

changes roles,

in facial

expression, or speaking. Then, switch

and repeat.

finished, discuss

When

how

it

IM A GOOP CONVERSATION, ONE PERSON TALKS WHILE THE OTHER LISTENS

you and your partner have

felt

THEN THAT PERSON TALKS UJHILE THE FIRST PERSON LISTENS.,

not to give or receive any

feedback.

Most people find it listener. They assume feedback

is

difficult

that

not interested

tive listener,

to talk to an unresponsive

someone who in

is

not giving

them. As an ac-

listening to

you can give positive feedback by looking

and sounding interested. •

Look frequently

•

Smile and nod

•

Lean

•

Let the speaker

slightly

person

at the

when

who

is

speaking.

appropriate.

toward the speaker

know

that you're following by using Peanuts reprinted by permission of UFS.

such expressions as "Yes," •

Ask questions or share

"I

know," "Right," and

similar experiences of

"I

Inc.

see."

your own.

Try the listening exercise with your partner again. This time, give positive feedback as

you

listen.

Discuss the difference between the

feedback and no-feedback rounds.

How

make you feel as a speaker? Did "hear" more of your partner's message? listening

did

your partner's active

active listening help

you

Speaking and Listening

Workshop

8

B

IT I

]f.

D

I IV

G Y O U R J? O R T

F

O L FO

;^Mij^!^igip NARRATIVE WRITING

Autobiographical Incident

Technology

HELP

Most of

See Writer's Workshop

1

ings

CD-ROM. Assignment: Autobiographical Incident.

us love to

tell

about ourselves

and memories, the

details of

autobiographical incident you'll

our

—our experiences, our

lives.

When

feel-

you write an

(also called a personal narrative),

recount an important experience you've had and describe

how you

felt

about

it.

Assignment

Professional Model

Write a narrative describing an

Nonno Frankie and Nonno Mamie had made the best meal I had ever seen or eaten on earth. Mom,

experience you have had.

Aim

Betty,

To express

yourself;

to inform.

Audience Your teacher, friends;

people

other

who were

Involved

in

the

came

our

attention.

large hot plates

—setting and people — tion

is

provided.

Detailed description

of spaghetti with shimmering

of the food appeals to

lakes of tomato sauce ladled out

our senses of taste

from a ten-gallon pot bubbling on

and smell and makes us feel as if we were

top of the stove.

incident.

rat's

dack^round informa-

sat

around the big kitchen table while Connie and her mother and father put a breathtaking Sicilian gourmet feast before us. After the eel appetizer

classmates, family,

and

me, and the twins

First line

Nonno

Frankie

there.

ran around with a big slab of

Parmesan cheese, rubbing

it

like

crazy against a metal-toothed rack. I

had never seen fresh-grated

Writer tells us what

cheese before.

he was thinkin0.

"Ho! Ho! Ho! What's a ghost's

A play by Paul Zindel,

Let

Me

he quizzed. None of us knew. "Spookghetti!" he howled.

favorite food?

Hear You Whisper, appears on

page 297.

Dialogue brings the

"

experience to

82

We All Need Somebody to Lean On

Paul Zindel,

from The Pigman and

and

reveals character.

"Spookghetti!"

—

life

Me

.

—

.

'i

y3 The history of the writteni word is rich ancr*^

anw

•"vw*-

P rewriting Writer's

1.

Choosing a Topic

Notebook Ask yourself these ques-

Go

back to your Writer's Notebook entries

for this collection.

Would you

like

tions as you think about

to write fur-

ther about an incident you described

which incident you want

one of these

in

entries?

If

to write about:

from one or more of the prompts that follow or

not, freewrite

•

on another topic of your choice.

Does my mind keep going back to one particular incident?

Freewriting

2.

•

Write

a.

listed

freely for

two minutes about one or two

Does one conflict

•

standing up for yourself

•

confidence

loss

•

waiting

•

off

•

surprises

tense

friendly visits

•

•

moments

competition •

peer pressure

making new friends

time to talk

a

•

•

•

one of these

starters

in

incidents

reveal

something

about

my

special

personality?

love

first

as

Do any of the

•

•

Finish

b.

or a surprise?

• •

showing

my

freewrites suggest a

below. Write without stopping.

chores

of

of the topics

many ways

as

you can:

Am

willing to share

I

any of these incidents •

I

•

I

get upset just thinking about the time really learned

The best

•

something when

thing that ever

.

.

.

with an audience?

.

.

happened to

me was

.

.

The Good 3.

and the Bad

Choosing a Topic

Your next step

is

to choose one of these incidents as your

See the box on the right for some help

topic.

in

Few experiences

choosing.

either

we 4.

What Does This Incident Mean to Me?

You chose your incident because you.

If

clear,

your reader

—

had a special meaning for

will say,

for example,

my cousin was

/

in

a

sentence or

disappointed myself by not being a hero

when

As you draft, keep looking back at this statement to see whether what you've written is in line with it. If

in trouble.

not, either rewrite

your draft or rethink your statement.

are all

bad;

Your readers

get a

more complete

picture of

what

really

happened to you

"So what?"

what the incident means to you

will

good or

often have mixed

feelings.

your writing doesn't make the significance of the incident

Explain

two

it

all

if

you

compare and contrast both the good and the bad

—the

positive

and the negative things

about your

Writer's

incident.

Workshop 83

•

Drafting Strategies for

A first draft is

Elaboration

a discovery piece, an

experiment to

out what

find

you have to say about your topic. Exercises in

Take a blank sheet of paper, and begin to

Observation and

happened? Where were you? Who was thoughts down as quickly as you can.

Description

tell

your

involved?

story.

What

Get your

By including images, or

sensory details, you

Evaluating and Revising

your readers see,

iielp

hear, feel, smell,

and

perienced.

Now you're

pretend that you are

first draft.

You have your

come

tive

ready to

fill

made up

the details that

in

and place) of your

will

inci-

Look to your

What do you

see?

thinking at the time? left.

down. Be

specific.

•

Look

Writer's

Re-

Notebook

few minutes to If

recall

What were you

what people

in

as

you think aloud, or take

down your

a

break every

Return to the spot where the incident took place. Bring

Notebook

to record details.

If

just being

there doesn't bring details to mind, try jogging your

Look above you.

•

Look behind you.

Now, again,

c. Talk to

whom

close your eyes

details of sound, smell,

people

who were

you told about

directly involved in the incident

Record bits of

their

photographs,

letters, diaries.

they trigger? Write Sift

down

remembered

dialogue.

—

souvenirs,

What memories

anything you

or

feelings

remember

through the material you have gathered, and decide what

you can use

in

your second

draft.

Remember,

it is

easier to

relate their autobiographical

incidents

in

write out of abundance than out of poverty. You can always

chronological

order, from beginning to end.

One

alternative to consider

starting v^ith the

moment, then

rest

in

telling

the

flashback, as Alison

Conway does

in

2.

Writing Your Second Draft

The excerpts on pages 85-86 are from the drafts of an autobiographical incident.

the Student

Model on pages 85-86.

84

details.

is

most impor-

tant

weed out unnecessary

We All Need Somebody to Lean On

or

memories. You may

Gather objects that remind you of the incident

d.

Most writers

it.

even be able to capture

and try to capture

tip.

memory

by acting out the scene.

touch, and taste.

Writing

your

recollections yourself.

front of you.

•

or

said

possible, also use these strategies:

b.

right.

jot

along your Writer's in

you

it

using these prompts:

Look to your

your imagination.

in

Do

or others')? Ask a friend to record your thoughts

peat the procedure,

•

narra-

movements, gestures, postures, or expressions (your own

Open

your eyes and write

make your

alive.

Reconstruct the event

a.

—the —on paper

basic narrative

the incident

the setting (time

in

dent.

Look over your

people, places, and events that

Close your eyes and

back

Elaborating with Description

1.

even taste what you ex-

first

and second

do

student Model

Framework for an Autobiographical

Round and Round

Original title:

Incident

Redraft title: Horsing Around

What to me:

Original introduction:

As to

usual, every

Mew Jersey

summer

to visit

the incident nneans

take a trip

I

my

and grandmother. These

Introduction

cousins

words

(in

the

you'll actually use):

trips are

usually restful and not particularly exciting, but

one summ.er

it

Order of events:

took a

startling turn. I

was horseback

cousin Alaina

We were and

I.

riding with

when

it

all

my

2.

began.

3.

to take the horses out

4.

ride.

Conclusion

Redraft introduction: "Help! Help!"

Her

words

cries pulled at

already flustered heart.

I

my

knew she

Attention-

opener.

every summer to visit my cousins and grandmother. These trips are

information.

and relaxation took a

Evaluation Criteria

rest

A good autobiographical incident

startling

turn.

1.

Original conclusion:

2.

Finally, after

what seemed

you'll actually use,

possible):

dack^round

usually restful and not particularly

summer my

the

qrabbinq

was in danger, and I had to help! I was at my grandmother's house in New Jersey, where I go almost

exciting, but this

if

(in

is

usually narrated in

chronological order

like ages,

the horse slowed, probably from

focuses on a single incident

3.

includes enough back-

pure exhaustion. Slowly, shakily, Alaina climbed down off the back of

ground information

the horse.

story

"W-why

didn't

you help

me?" she

4.

weakly inquired as she checked her body for any visible damage. Finding none, she looked at me for an answer. My reply was more regret than I

had

to let

the reader understand the

includes sensory details that

make the people, and events de-

places,

scribed seem real 5.

uses dialogue to reveal

character

realized. "I couldn't,"

I 6.

stuttered. (continued on next page)

ccmveys what the incident

means

to the writer

Writer's

Workshop 85

.

.

.

.

Student Model (continued) Redraft conclusion: That night I sat in bed wide awake, even though I had long since been

Sentence Workshop

HELP Sentence fragments: page

of feelings

sent to bed. replayed in my mind the day's course. I slowly played a scene where I was the hero. Then I replayed the scene that had actually happened. I was so angry with myself for not doing anything to help

87.

and insights

I

Language/Grammar Link

HELP

Slowly, a

problems: pages 14,27,

and

the writer

had at the time of the incident.

my cousin.

Common proofreading 40,

Description

76.

unsurely,

little

realize that

I

would have

what had happened.

let

I

began

I

to

to accept

myself

fall

asleep with that thought.

—

Alison

Conway

Wellesley Middle School Wellesley, Massachusetts

Proofreading Tip If

you're working on a

computer, use the spelling

Now you're

checker to catch like

spelling mistakes.

ready to redraft your narrative, adding many of the

significant details you've gathered. Filling in a writing

the one on page 85

It

help you organize your second

will

draft.

You can make changes to

stage

it

won't catch any words

will give

framework

this

framework

later,

but at

this

force and direction to your narrative.

that are spelled correctly but used in the

wrong way, however (see the Language

Grammar

Links

collection).

/

in this

Reread your

final draft carefully.

3.

Peer Editing

Read your

group of classmates. Ask the members

draft to a small

of your group to

tell

you what they

liked best

about your paper.

Then, ask them to complete one or more of these starters: •

•

I

I

wanted to know more about didn't understand

•

How

•

What happened

4.

Self-Evaluation

did

you

feel

.

.

.

.

when

after

.

.

.

.

Communications Handbook

HELP See Proofreaders

'

Marks

Ask yourself good autobiographical incident. (See the Evaluation Criteria on page 85.) Add, delete, or rearrange details, and make other neces-

Remember

that revision

is

re-vision: seeing again.

whether your narrative has the

sary changes

86

We All Need Somebody to Lean On

in

characteristics of a

wording or organization.

BUILDING YOUR PORTFOLIO

Sentence Fragments A complete sentence a verb is

a

a

is

group of words that has a subject and

and expresses a complete thought.

A sentence fragment

group of words that has been punctuated

plete sentence but

is

as

if it

were

a

Language Handliook

HELP

com-

See The Sentence, page

only part of a sentence.

really

779.

FRAGMENT

Always wanted to be smarter [The sentence's subject is

missing.

Who

always wanted to be smarter?]

SENTENCE

Charlie always wanted to be smarter

FRAGMENT

Alfonso's brother missing.

What

on

[The sentence's verb

his bicycle.

did Alfonso's brother do

on the

SENTENCE

Alfonso's brother arrived on his bicycle.

FRAGMENT

After Squeaky a subject

and

won

bicycle?] Technology

HELP

the race. [This group of words has

a verb, but

plete thought.

is

it

See Language Workshop

does not express a com-

What happened

after

Squeaky

won

CD-ROM. Key word en try: sentence fragment.

the

race?]

SENTENCE

After Squeaky

won

Sometimes writers chop in

a period

and

the race, she smiled at Gretchen.

off part of a

a capital letter at the

Marguerite was

thrilled.

When

sentence by putting

wrong

point:

Mrs. Flowers invited

Try

It

Out

her over for cookies.

Copy The fragment

in

heavy type should actually be a part of the

sentence that comes before Marguerite was thrilled

it:

when

the following paragraph onto a

separate sheet of paper, correcting

any sentence fragments. Mrs. Flowers invited her

over for cookies.

Emily Dickinson saw friends and

went on

Writer's Workshop Follow-up: Proofreading

child.

outings.

When

she was a

She had changed. By her

late

twenties. She hardly spoke with her family. Instead

sent

them

letters

and

Take out your autobiographical incident, and exchange pa-

packages of cookies. She would talk

pers with a classmate. Circle any sentence fragments

from behind

(except

came. Dressed

in

dialogue), and suggest a correction for each. Ex-

change papers found

in

again,

your paper

and revise any fragments your partner

her house.

a

door in

When

visitors

white and rarely

Now we know she

left

spent

her time writing poetry.

Sentence Workshop 87

Situation

Suppose you want to teach

a

how

group of fourth-graders

to

make sure you

write poems. To

can explain figures of speech clearly,

you reread pages 4 —42. 1

You want to put the

ideas

form you can review

quickly.

a

in

Strategies

Find a form that fits. • Graphic organizers show information

visually.

For

example, a time line (see pages 344-345) shows events

in

the order

they take place.

agram

in

(see page 92)

similarities

which

A Venn

di-

shows

Speak •

them

shows con-

into

nected ideas and can help

you brainstorm and organize

just

copy the writer's

etc.)

words. Instead, paraphrase

and differences.

A cluster map

lowercase letters

for yourself.

Don't

•

—

that

is,

When

you write

outline, use only as

For more on the use of

entries,

and only

as

•

•

A

check page 137.

topic outline

main ideas

in

lists

words

you

2.

which the writer presents them.

A topic

outline

works

especially well with nonfic-

Focus on the outline's framework. •

In

Roman numerals

broad topic into subtopics.

etc.) for

essay on pages

41—42

divides figures of speech into subtopics, so

put these ideas

in

you could the form

(or more) or none.

Continue the outline above

Compare your a classmate's.

outline with

How

similar

are they?

one other way you could use your

3. Suggest at least (I,

III,

II,

the main ideas. Indi-

outline.

cate subtopics with capital

letters (A, with

We All Need Somebody to Lean On

B,

C,

etc.),

then

Arabic numerals

2, 3, etc.),

of a topic outline.

88

one subtopic.

a topic outline, use

tion writing that divides a

The

just

page 42.

clean

in

numerals and

all

by rereading and outlining

need to make the outline

the

the order

for each entry, as

a

Using the Strategies 1 .

visual aids,

Never use Use two

many many

Use

letters.

a topic

your ideas (see page 676).

(a, b, c,

that order.

in

period after

put the ideas

your own words.

—

and then with

(

I

,

Extending the Strategies Review and outline

a section of

your science textbook.

—

Problem Conflict

is

A mediator someone who a natural part of

life

not involved

is

in

a conflict

and

—can

as well as of literature. Conflict

who

can help bring about positive

often help people arrive at a

changes, but

fair solution.

often leads to

it

anger and violence instead.

How

can people resolve dis-

agreements constructively?

listens to

both sides

List

examples of

a solution, using the

in

movies, or

Discuss effective ways to handle disagreement, and

(for instance, a

what you

signment

work

most of the

left

how

the

in

is.

2.

Each person presents

his

these disagree-

they could have been

one of these

the problem-solving plan.

Afterward, ask the class to

fun of

me") rather than "you"

comment on how

statements

you and your partner were

criticizing

the

other person ("You are

ways picking on me"). Each person summarizes

what the other person said to

show

that

it

in

al-

was

3.

successful

resolving the conflict.

Adapt the problem-solving plan, making changes suggested by the discussion and the role-play.

Presentation Both people brainstorm and discuss possible solu-

Complete one of the following activities (or

tions until they can agree

about one.

effective.

Poster

2.

illustrating

one or more steps of the problem-solving plan. You

want to include

may

a slogan of

Display your poster

another that your

teacher approves).

a

your classroom or school hallway. 3.

in

Song

Write and perform

a

song

that explains the steps of the

problem-solving plan, to convince your audience to try

it.

Processing Discuss these questions with a

group of classmates:

understood. 4.

it

peaceful conflict-resolution.

a classmate, role-play

using "I" statements

when you make

what makes

With

her view of the problem,

bad

cuss

a solution, dis-

your own or a quotation by famous person promoting

conflicts for the class, using

("/ feel

group present

handled better

a solution to

or

class

developed. After you and your

Design a poster

ments were handled and

conflict decide together

what the problem

how

problem-

you and your

a class as-

to you).

mates

Problem-Solving Plan

3.

when

Discuss with your class-

Preparation

2.

time

your partner on

have learned.

involved

each situation. Then, act out

conflicts in

from your own experience

The people

act out several conflicts for a

solving plan

the news,

1.

group of classmates,

a

group of younger students. in

Project

creatively share

With

Ask them what they would do

Procedure I .

Role-Play

I.

you ect? Tell

like

What

did

best about this proj-

What

did

you

like least?

the group about one thing

you learned.

Learning for

Life

89

Barbacoa para cumpleanos (Birthday Barbecue) by

Carmen Lomas Garza. Alkyds on canvas

(36"

x

48").

1

.

^

*-:

»v->

\

etore You Rea The Treasure of Lemon Brown Make the Connection SJ^

Generation Gap Like

many

the father and son

in

Adults value

Value: music

adults and teenagers,

my

the story

clean room

friends

c\ear\

c\othee

cheee

you are about to read have

some

differences of opinion

on what

Make

important.

is

a

Venn diagram

like

the one on the right, showing what is important to you, what is

important to the adults

your

family,

and what

in

is

Reading

•

Skills

and Strategies Dialogue with the Text: Monitoring Your

Monitoring your comprehen-

how Character Myers creates detailed tures of the this

'^:

story

pic-

characters

— how they

in

•

look,

read, think

thoughts. Pay special attention to your responses to the

to what you are reading.

comments appear on the

like this." "I

"I

don't get that."

characters.

person or an animal

who

a

a

is

in

the

pages

1

Character, see

06- 07 and \

famous section of

New York

City Walter Dean Myers,

action of a story.

more on

student's first

page as an example.

the sounds of hundreds of children streaming

the

Hand-

book of Literary Terms.

grew up 1

in

who

Harlem during the

940s, describes

it

this

way:

44 Thinking back to my boyhood days, remember the I

bright sun

on Harlem

streets,

the easy rhythms of black and

brown bodies moving along

':^?^'IMIS

miij^rs a !J« .,'

in

and out

of red-brick tenements I

For

One

the tar-and-asphalt pavement,

Background

"The Treasure of Lemon Brown" takes place in Harlem,

takes part

questions and

Respond to the text. Write down your responses

Literature and Geography

character

next to the page you're on. Jot

down your

Here are some

about your

responses to these characters.

La ^

read, ask

notebook or sheet of paper

well you are understand-

strategies that can help you:

how they act, what they say, and how others react to them. As you

means being aware of

ing a text.

Question. As you

what you don't understand. As you read this story, keep a

your reading process and of

Elements of Literature

you get stuck,

yourself questions about

important to both you and sion

If

important information. •

Comprehension

them.

Reread.

go back over the text to see if you missed some

remember

ball in it

.

.

playing basket-

Morningside Park

until

was too dark to see the

basket and then climbing

over the fence to go home.

"Harlem was affirmation.

of city

living

teeming

a place of

The excitement exploded

streets.

99

in

the

^[[«]fj_(S'Tre^^

a small step

'^"-'

igr^^aaSS^S^^KIfe^P^

dark The clouds,

sky, filled

with angry, swirling

reflected Greg Ridley's mood as on the stoop of his building. His father's voice came to him again, first reading the let-

he

Dialogue with the Text

sat

had sent to the house, then lecturing endlessly about his poor efforts in ter the principal

math. I'm

thirteen

—

had to leave school when I was thirteen," had said; "that's a year younger than you are now. If I'd had half the chances that you have, I'd Greg had sat in the small, pale-green kitchen "1

cool!

his father

-SSj

You'ct

what?

."

.

".'ki

Is

this present tense or past tense?

.

knowing the lecture would end with he couldn't play ball with the Scorpions. He had asked his father the week before, and his father had said it depended on listening,

his father saying

I

w-U

thought he was twelve yeare

Sorry, looked back

and

I

read

old.

it

—

wron^.

his next report card.

ons took on year-olds,

and

He

Greg.

school

new this

It

wasn't often the Scorpi-

players, especially fourteen-

was a chance of a

lifetime for

hadn't been allowed to play high

ball,

which he had

really

wanted

to do,

but playing for the Community' Center team

was the next best

thing. Report cards were due week, and Greg had been hoping for the best. But the principal had ended the suspense early when she sent that letter saying Greg would probably fail math if he didn't spend in a

Nowadays a dad

in

would not say that. in

this position It is

not

realistic,

my opinion.

more time studying. "And you want to play basketball?" His father's brows knitted over deep-brown eyes. "That must be some kind of a joke. Now you just get into your room and hit those books." That had been two nights before. His father's words,

like the distant thunder that echoed through the streets of Harlem, rumbled softly in his ears.

This would be a great movie scene.

/},&A^^J AJMJV\

—Alesha Alfred

Irvin B.

Maclay Day School

Tallahassee, Florida

now still

was beginning to cool. Gusts of wind made bits of paper dance between the parked cars. There was a flash of nearby lightning, and It

soon

large

jeans.

He stood

drops of rain splashed onto his to

go

upstairs,

lecture that probably awaited

him

thing except shut himself in his

math book, and

thought of the if

he did any-

room with

started walking

down

his

the

Children

Down

and Their Moments Alone Dare

was an old tenement that had been abandoned for some months. Some of the guys had held an impromptu checkers tournament there the week before, and Greg had noticed that the Street instead.

the block there

once boarded over had been slightly ajar up as high as he could, he checked for traffic and made a dash across the street. He reached the house just as another flash of lightning changed the night to day for door,

Pulling his collar

an instant, then returned the graffiti-scarred building to the grim shadows.

He

vaulted over

the outer stairs and pushed tentatively

door

It

The

was open, and he

let

himself

inside of the building

on the

in.

was dark except

(

1

978) by Gilbert Fletcher.

dim light that filtered through the dirty windows from the street lamps. There was a room a few feet from the door, and from where he stood at the entrance, Greg could see a squarish patch of light on the floor He entered the room, frowning at the must)^ smell. It was a large room that might have been someone's parlor at one time. Squinting, Greg could see an old table on its side against one wall, what for the

Words to Own impromptu

(im-pramp'to6')

made or done without

adj.:

unplanned;

preparation.

tentatively (ten'ta-tiv-le) uncertain way.

adv.: in a hesitant

or

The Treasure of Lemon Brown 95

"

looked

like a pile

of rags or a torn mattress in

the corner, and a couch, with one side broken, in front of the

window.

He went to the couch. The side that wasn't broken was comfortable enough, though a little creaky. From this spot he could see the neon

blinking corner. first

He

sign over the bodega'

sat awhile,

on the

watching the sign blink

green, then red, allowing his

mind

to drift

Could he have been imagining the sounds? He listening, but heard nothing and thought that it might have just been rats. Still, he thought, as soon as the rain let up he would leave. He went to the window and was about to look out when he heard a voice behind him. continued

"Don't try nothin', cause

sharp enough to cut a knees, stood

had been a postal worker for all Greg's life and was proud of it, often telling Greg how hard he had worked to pass the test. Greg had heard the story too many times to be interested now. For a moment Greg thought he heard something that sounded like a scraping against the

brittle, like

He

listened careftilly, but

it

was gone.

wind had picked

Outside, the

shook the

glass in

tires hissing

up, sending

window with a force that its frame. A car passed, its

over the wet street and

its

red

tail-

glowing in the darkness. Greg thought he heard the noise again. His stomach tightened as he held himself still and listened intently There weren't any more scraping noises, but he was sure he had heard something in the darkness something breatWng! lights

.

—

He tried to figure out just where the breathing was coming from; he knew it was in the room with him. Slowly he stood, tensing. As he turned, a flash of lightning frightening

him with

saw nothing,

just the

its

lit

sudden

overturned

bodega

got a razor here

The voice was high and

dry twigs being broken, surely not

one he had ever heard before. There was a shuffling sound as the person who had been speaking moved a step closer. Greg turned, holding his breath, his eyes straining to see in the dark room.

still

him was The lower half was in the dim

part of the figure before

in darkness.

rectangle of light that

fell

unevenly from the

window. There were two feet, in cracked, dirty shoes from which rose legs that were wrapped in rags.

"Wlio are you?

"

Greg hardly recognized

brilliance.

He

table, the pile

(bo-da'ga): small grocer>' store.

96 From Generation to Generation

his

own voice. "I'm

Lemon Brown," came

the

answer.

"Wlio'reyou?

"Greg

Ridley."

"What you doing here? The "

figure shuffled

forward again, and Greg took a small step

backward.

up the room,

of rags, and an old newspaper on the floor. 1.

stock-still.

The upper

the rain against the

I

into nine days!"

Greg, except for an involuntary tremor in his

to the Scorpions, then to his father. His father

wall.

week

Words to Own intently (in-tent'le) adv.: with close attention. brittle (brlt''l) adj.: sharp and hard. Brittle also means "touchy or difficult to deal with."

"

"It's raining,"

"I

can see

Greg

that,"

said.

the figure said.

The person who called himself Lemon Brown peered forward, and Greg could see him clearl)'. He was an old man. His black, heavil}' wrinkled face was surrounded b}' a halo of crinkly white hair and whiskers that seemed to separate his head from the lasers of dirty coats

on his smallish frame. His pants were bagged to the knee, where they were met with piled

rags that went down to the old shoes. The rags were held on with strings, and there was a rope around his middle. Greg relaxed. He had seen the man before, picking tlirough the trash on the corner and pulling clothes out of a Salvation Army box. There was no sign of the razor that

could "cut a

week

into nine days."

"Wliat are you doing here?" Greg asked.

where I'm staying,"' Lemon Brown you here for?" Told you it was raining out," Greg said, leaning against the back of the couch until he felt it "This

said.

is

"Wliat

give slightly.

you got no home?" "I got a home," Greg answered. "You aint one of them bad boys looking for my treasure, is you?" Lemon Brown cocked his head to one side and squinted one eye. "Because I told you I got me a razor." "I'm not looking for your treasure," Greg answered, smiling. "If you have one." "Wliat you mean, if 1 have one," Lemon "Ain't

said. "Every man got a treasure. You know that, you must be a fool!"

Brown don't

"Sure,"

Greg

said as

he

sat

on the

sofa

and

put one leg over the back. 'Wliat do you have, gold coins?"

"Don't worry none about what

got,"

I

Lemon

said. "You know who I am?" "You told me your name was orange or lemon or something like that."

Brown

"Lemon Brown," the

old

man

said, pulling

he did so, "they used to Sweet Lemon Brown."' "Sweet Lemon?" Greg asked. "Yessir Sweet Lemon Brown. They used to say I sung the blues so sweet that if I sang at a funeral, the dead would commence to rocking with the beat. Used to travel all over Mississippi and as far as Monroe, Louisiana, and east on over to Macon, Georgia. You mean you ain't never heard of Sweet Lemon Brown? what hap"Afraid not," Greg said. "Wliat back call

his shoulders as

me

.

pened

.

.

to you?"

"Hard times, boy. Hard times always after a poor man. One day I got tired, sat down to rest a spell and felt a tap on my shoulder. Hard times caught up with me." "Sorry about that."

"What you doing here? How come you didnt go on home when the rain come? Rain don't bother you young folks none." "Just didn't." Greg looked away. "I used to have a knotty-headed boy just like

The Treasure of Lemon Brown 97

Studio

you."

Wew

(1977) by Gilbert Fletcher (24"

Lemon Brown had

fled back to the corner

x

20").

half walked, half shuf-

and

sat

down

against

them big eyes like you got. I used to call them moon eyes. Look into them moon eyes and see anything you want." "How come you gave up singing the blues?" the wall. "Had

Greg asked. "Didn't give

Greg

listened,

and he heard

was carrying

a length of pipe.

back toward Lemon Brown, it

up,"

Lemon Brown

said.

"You

up the blues; they give you up. After you do good for yourself, and it ain't

a noise outside.

He looked at Lemon Brown and saw the old man was pointing toward the window. Greg went to the window and saw three men, neighborhood thugs, on the stoop. One

etly across the

room

Greg looked

who moved

qui-

window. The old then beckoned frantically for to the

don't give

man looked

a while

Greg to follow him. For a moment Greg couldn't move. Then he found himself follow-

nothing but foolishness singing about hard you got it. Ain't that right?" "I guess so." "Wliat's that noise?"

suddenly

Lemon Brown

sitting upright.

98 From Generation to Generation

how

asked,

ing

out,

Lemon Brown

and up darkened stairs. Greg followed as closel)' as he could. They reached the top of the stairs, and Greg felt Lemon Brown's hand first lying on his into the hallway

"

down

his

arm

took Greg's hand into his

own

shoulder, then probing finally

"

until

he

as they

crouched in the darkness. "Theys bad men," Lemon Brown whispered.

was warm

His breath

against Greg's skin.

"Hey! Ragman!" a voice called.

you

'We know

you got up under them

in here. Wliat

rags?

You got any money?"

"Yeah.

"HEY,

You

Silence.

'Watch

my back,

I'm going up."

There was a footstep on the stairs, and the the flashlight danced crazily along

beam from

the peeling wallpaper Greg held his breath. There was another step and a loud crashing

man banged

noise as the

SOence.

tliink he's upstairs?"

OLD MAN, ARE YOU UP THERE?"

the pipe against the

and hurt you, old man, but we don't mind if we have to." Lemon Brown squeezed Greg's hand in his

wooden

own hard,

would do when the man reached them what he could do. Then Lemon Brown released his hand and moved toward the top of the stairs. Greg looked around and saw stairs going up to the next floor. He tried waving to Lemon Brown, hoping the old man would see him in the dim light and follow him to the next floor. Maybe, Greg thought, the man wouldn't follow them up there. Suddenl)-, though. Lemon Brown stood at the top of the stairs, both arms raised

"We

don't want to have to

gnarled

come

in

calling for the

light

nois-

ragman.

"We heard you talking about your treasure." The voice was slurred. "We just want to see it, that's aU."

"You sure he's here?

come from

the

"

One

room with

voice seemed to

the sofa.

"Yeah, he stays here every night."

"Theres another room over there; I'm going to take a look.

You got

throb as the

man

Greg could

feel his

temples

slowly neared them. Greg

thought about the pipe, wondering what he

—

fist.

There was a banging downstairs and a as the men entered. They banged around ily,

banister.

that flashlight?

"Yeah, here, take the pipe too."

Greg opened his mouth to quiet the sound of his breath as he sucked it in uneasily. A beam of light hit the wall a few feet opposite him, then went out.

nobody in that room," a voice said. "You think he gone or something? "I don't know," came the answer. "All I know is that I heard him talking about some kind of treasure. You kno'w they found that shopping"Ain't

bag lady with that money

in

her bags."

high above his head.

"There he

is!" a

voice cried from below.

"Throw down your money, old man, so won't have to bash your head in!" Lemon Brown didn't move. Greg

felt

himself

near panic. The steps came closer, and

Lemon Brown sight, a stairs,

didn't

shadow on

Greg wet

his

at

the top of the

the wall looming over

him. Maybe, the thought

scene could be even

still

move. He was an eerie

bundle of rags standing his

I

came

to Greg, the

eerier.

lips,

put his hands to his

The Treasure of Lemon Brown 99

mouth, and

make

tried to

a sound.

Nothing

out. He swallowed hard, wet his lips once more, and howled as evenly as he could.

came

"What's that?"

"They were talking about treasures," Greg said. "You really have a treasure?" "What I tell you? Didn't I tell you every man got a treasure?" Lemon Brown said. "You want

As Greg howled, the light moved away from Lemon Brown, but not before Greg saw liim hurl liis bod)' down the stairs at the men who had

to see mine?"

come

window first, see what them scoundrels be doing," Lemon Brown said. They followed the oval beam of the flash-

to take his treasure. There

and then footsteps.

noise,

came

in as the

A

was

a crashing

rush of

warm

air

downstairs door opened; then

was onl)' an ominous silence. Greg stood on the landing. He listened, and after a while there was another sound on the there

staircase.

"Mr.

Brown?" he

you want

to

show

it

to

me,"

Greg

shrugged. "Let's

look out the

light into one of the rooms and looked out the window. They saw the men who had tried to take the treasure sitting on the curb near the corner. One of them had his pants leg up, look-

ing at his knee.

called.

came

"If

got their

"You sure you're not hurt?" Greg asked Lemon Brown.

Greg exhaled in relief as Lemon Brown made his way slowly back up the stairs. "You OK?" "Few bumps and bruises," Lemon Brown

been hurt before," Lemon Brown said. "When you get as old as me, all you say when something hurts is. Howdy, Mr. Pain, sees you back again.' Then when Mr. Pain see he can't worry you none, he go on mess with somebody else." Greg smiled. "Here, you hold this." Lemon Brown gave Greg the flashlight. He sat on the floor near Greg and carefully untied the strings that held the rags on his right leg. Wlien he took the rags away, Greg saw a piece of plastic. The old man carefully took off the plastic and unfolded it. He revealed some yellowed newspaper clippings and a battered

"Yeah,

it's

me,"

the answer

"I

flashlight."

said, "I

think Id better be going," Greg said, his

breath

returning

normal.

to

leave, too, before they

come

"You'd

better

back."

"They may hang around outside for a while," Lemon Brown said, "but they ain't getting their nerve up to come in here again. Not with craz)' old ragmen and howling spooks. Best you stay

awhile

till

the coast

west tomorrow, out

is

clear I'm heading out

to East

St.

Louis."

"Nothing that

ain't

harmonica.

Words to Own ominous

(am'a nas)

indicate that

1

•

adj.:

"There threatening; seeming to

something bad

will

happen.

00 From Generation to Generation

"There

it

it

be,"

he

said,

nodding

his head.

be."

Greg looked

at

the old man, saw the distant

"

"

look in his eye, then turned to the clippings.

Sweet Lemon Brown, a bines singer and harmonica player who was appear-

They

told of

ing at different theaters in the South.

One

of

the clippings said he had been the hit of the

show, although not the headliner.

were

clippings

reviews

Brown had been

of

more than

in

All of the

shows Lemon fift)'

years ago.

into the plastic. ""Well, you got to guess, 'cause you sure don't know nothing. Don't know enough to get home when its raining." "I guess ... 1 mean, you're right."" "You OK for a youngster," the old man said as he tied the strings around his leg, "better than those scalawags what come here looking tor

my treasure.

That"s for sure."

Greg looked at the harmonica. It was dented badly on one side, with the reed holes on one end nearly closed. "I used to travel aroimd and make money for that's my boy's to feed my wife and Jesse name. Used to feed them good, too. Then his mama died, and he stayed with his mama's sister. He growed up to be a man, and when the war come, he saw fit to go off and tight in it. 1 didn't have nothing to give him except these things that told him who I was, and what he come from. If you know your pappy did something, you know you can do something too. "Anyway, he went off to war, and 1 went off still playing and singing. 'Course by then I wasn't as much as I used to be, not without somebody to make it worth the while. You know what I mean? "Yeah," Greg nodded, not quite really know-

"You really think that treasure of yours was worth fighting for?" Greg asked. "Against a

ing.

"Don't that sound

—

"I

traveled around,

home, and there was

and one time

I

come

this letter saying Jesse got

Broke my heart, it truly did. "They sent back what he had with him over there, and what it was is this old mouth fiddle killed in the war.

and these clippings. Him carrying it around like that told me it meant something to him. That was my treasure, and when I give it to him, he treated it just like that, a treasure.

with him

Ain't that something?

"Yeah,

1

guess

so,"

Greg

said.

"You guess so? Lemon Brown's voice rose an octave as he started to put his treasure back "

2.

octave

(ak'tiv): eight

whole

notes.

pipe?"

"What else a man got "cepting what he can pass on to his son, or his daughter, if she be his

Lemon Brown

oldest?"

said.

"For a big-headed

you sure do ask the foolishest questions." got up after patting his rags in place and looked out the window again. "Looks like they "re gone. You get on out of here and get yourself home. I'll be watching from the window, so you'll be all right." Lemon Brown went down the stairs behind Greg. "When they reached the front door, the old man looked out first, saw the street was clear, and told Greg to scoot on home. "You sure you'll be OK? Greg asked. "Now, didn't I tell you I was going to East St. boy,

Lemon Brown

"

Louis in the morning?

"

Lemon Brown

asked.

OK to you?"

"Sure it does," Greg said. "Sure it does. And you take care of that treasure of yours."

"That

I'll

do,"

Lemon

said,

the wrinkles

about his eyes suggesting a smile. "That

The

night had

warmed and

stopped, leaving puddles

at

I'll

do."

the rain had

the curbs. Greg

even want to think how late it was. He thought ahead of what his father would say and wondered if he should tell him about Lemon Brown. He thought about it until he reached didn't

and decided against it. Lemon Brown would be OK, Greg thought, with his memories and his treasure. Greg pushed the button over the bell marked "Ridley," thought of the lecture he knew his father would give him, and smiled. his

stoop,

The Treasure of Lemon Brown

1

1

Meet the Writer "He Gave Me the Most Precious

Gift"

Walter Dean Myers

was born in Martinsburg, West VirMyers's mother died when he was two,

ginia; lie

was one of

(

937-

1

)

eight children.

and when he was three,

his father

sent him and

two of

his sisters

to

New

When he became a show how important

York City to be raised by foster parents, the Deans.

name

published writer, Myers added their

to his to

they were to him.

He gave me the most precious gift any father could give to a son: He loved me. ... My foster mother understood the value of education, even though neither she nor my 66 My foster

father had

was

father

more than

value of story,

how

it

a

a wonderful man.

•*e-iif"

rudimentary education. She also understood the

could serve as a refuge for people,

couldn't afford the finer things in

life

or even

all

of

like us,

who

what came to be the

everyday things. 99

Myers has been an editor and a teacher children and

young

adults.

down

He

as well as a writer of

says;

:^

44 Every time may write about

a

TV

that a certain kind of value system

I

people

what

sells

know

sit

moral

to write,

kid.

I

think of television as a value setter.

Good. But TV

beer and bluejeans.

books for

I

says being tough

—

have to counter that.

'cool'

is

better.

masculine

I

The

—

is

99

More by Walter Dean Myers •

•

Fallen Angels (Scholastic), a novel

who

Hoops

(Dell), a novel

basketball

•^

..

New York

Richie

leaves

title

in

Vietnam

Harlem teenager contending for a citywide both on and off the court powerful opposition

about

against

about a seventeen-year-old named

City to fight

a

—

m

••>>

I

.

Making Meanings First

Thoughts

Why

1

at the

does Greg smile

the lecture he

thought of

get from his father?

will

Reading Check a.

Why are

Greg and

his

father upset with each

other?

Shapmg Interpretations 2.

3.

your opinion, why does Greg decide not to tell his father about Lemon

b.

Brown?

c.

In

What

5.

What do you think is Greg's treasure? What is Greg's father's treasure?

Connectmg with the Text 6.

What do

you treasure?

What does

your family treasure? For ideas, look at the Venn diagram you made before

you read the 7.

story.

Lemon Brown

says, "If

you know your

pappy did something, you know you can do something too" (page 101).

What does

he mean?

Do you

agree?

Explain.

Challengmg the Text 8.

Myers ing

says (page

1

in his

writ-

he has to "counter" the values

Do

conveyed by TV.

worthwhile goal? his

02) that

If

you think that is a Myers asked you if

story presents a strong challenge

to the values communicated by TV,

9.

him?

what would you

tell

Do you

find these

vincing?

That

characters condo you think they act

is,

the way people do

in real life?

Go

back

to the text and your reading notes for

examples to support your opinion.

men who

How do Lemon Brown

e.

What

is

Lemon Brown's

treasure?

(page 97)?

the

and Greg scare them away?

What does Lemon Brown mean when he says that everyone's got a treasure

What do

living?

enter the building want? d.

Brown? 4.

once make a

Greg learned from Lemon

has

How did Lemon Brown

Choices: Writer's

Building Your Portfolio

Notebook

Collecting Ideas for a

1.

Persuasive Essay

Lemon Brown treasure

is

When

convinces Greg that

worth

fighting for

his

and passing on

you convince other people that something you you persuade them. You can only persuade

believe

is

people

when you

true,

about some issue and can back

feel strongly

up your position with supporting evidence.

What do you believe in strongly? In your Writer's Notebook, down some issues or positions you could support. you're

jot

If

stuck for ideas, look back over the story. Perhaps the story

makes you think about the homeless. Maybe

details in

Dean Myers's biography (page 02) make you 1

Writing a Description

Walter

think about the values

Role-Play

Family Keepsakes

3.

A

keepsake

With a classmate, write a dialogue between Greg

an item that

may not be worth a lot of money but is valued as a reminder of someone or something.

Do

you or your

family have any keepsakes?

Write

visit •

found a hundred

years from now.

What

•

would you want the finder to

know about

stories

in

your

it?

What

life

does

What

his

Lemon Brown.

does Greg's father

in his

it

•

How How

does Greg respond?

tively

work out

You may want to attach a photograph or a drawing of

Is

can they constructheir

make both

Those Sweet Blues

Research some aspect of blues music that interests

you. You might find out

about the

of

them

like

"Sonny

like

their "harp" (harmonica) playing.

Perform the dialogue with

your partner for your

class.

findings,

and present them to the class in

to get

happy?

04 From Generation to Generation

of classic

Lemon Brown, were known for

Wells, who,

an oral report. Try

some

classic blues

recordings by blues greats,

and play them for the as part of

1

lives

blues musicians

Write up your

there a solution that

will

4.

Boy" Williamson and Junior

lecture?

disagreement?

represent?

the keepsake.

the scene

Greg returns from

with

say •

it is

his father for

after

keepsake of yours. Imagine that

Conflict Resolution

and

a description of a

TV.

Research/Music/ Oral Presentation

2.

is

we get from

class

your presentation.

.

Language Link Style:

MINI-LESSON

Don't Dread 5flM

Some

inexperienced writers try to avoid using said frequently because they

want

don't

seem boring or

their writing to

The

repetitive.

result can be

clumsy, as this dialogue {not written by Myers) shows:

"Did you say your name was Grapefruit?" Greg quizzed. "I told you my name is Lemon!" Greg retorted. "You don't have to exclaim."

"Lemon," the old man exclaimed. "It

was

The use

just a mistake,"

of too

many

substitutes for said can

distract the reader Said

word past

—

it

it is

how

we

often

read right

Go

used.

the

it's

substitutes.

much more

often than

(Sometimes a writer

will

keep them simple; words

Vocabulary impromptu

substitutes?

if

Would you make

said,

like asl<ed, replied,

to draw attention to the sound of the speaker's voice.

HOW TO OWN A WORD Vocabulary for the Workplace: The Job Interview 1

Imagine that you have an appointment

tomorrow

to be inter-

you rehearse what you want to

tentatively

viewed for

intently

your remarks to your potential employer be completely

brittle

impromptu? Explain your

ominous

How

and shouted are usually best. Save bellowed and sighed for occasions

when you want

Word Bank

said.

the same choices he does?

you do use replacements for

told, called,

back to the text, and count

often does Myers use these

simply

out the phrase identifying the speaker

When

Out

the substitutes for

its

clear who's speaking.)

it's

It

number of times Myers uses the word said. Then, find all

If

at published stories, you'll find that

writers use said

leave

Try

an invisible

simple and clear, so

without noticing

you look

is

2.

Do

a job. Will

is

likely

Why or why

on an interviewer?

or

will

decision.

you think speaking tentatively

sion

say,

to

make

a

good impres-

not?

3.

As an employer, what would you think of a job candidate who listened intently, took notes, and asked questions?

4.

Would you

rather hire

someone with

a brittle personality

or an

easygoing type? Explain. 5.

Which words would sound ominous "Don't

call us, we'll call

you" or

to a hopeful job seeker:

"When

can you start?"

Why?

The Treasure of Lemon Brown

1

05

I

CHARACTER:

Living

The Human Experience

Many Lives by John Leggett

even your grandparents also

A

loved.

Writer on Character

Most people are fascinated by human nature. They like to

know how other people

Creating Cliaracters

respond to problems, disap-

Creating characters

is

pointments, and temptations.

portant but

part of

A good

writing.

true, in

whether

story,

made

up,

it's

or somewhere

between, reveals some

truth about the rience.

It

does

the people pages

—

its

who

live in its

characters.

A well-drawn comes mind.

When

How

character

you read a story,

find yourself thinking

that the main character

does

in

a story.

a character to

is

the writer must be able to

enemies. You may even lose yourself

in

a story and begin

to think and feel as

were

in

Some

if

you

become

the acquaintances of generations of readers.

You may have

met famous characters

in

books that your parents or

ing colors for the hair

I

have both

— Robert Cormien

and the

eyes, and adding a voice and a

also invent a

sonality.

author of "The

The writer

style of dress.

Moustache" (page 139)

whole per-

The character may be

snobbish or heroic or happy-

The writer

Characterization:

The Breath of Life

must choose from an enor-

The way

mous number

character

of possibilities

a writer reveals is

called

character-

while trying to put together a

ization. Poor characteriza-

believable character

tion can

Sometimes writers are prised by the

way

acters turn out.

sur-

their char-

Some

writers

say that their characters just

seem to create themselves a story

is

being written.

as

even a

06 From Generation to Generation

make

real

a description of

person seem

and unconvincing.

Good

flat

char-

make readers feel that the most unlikely characters an enormous acterization can

—

talking egg, a

bear

1

toward an unknown

destination.

laughed and wept while

a character's shoes.

characters

Adam

his bi-

sitting there.

personality traits.

friends or your

those

character's appearance, pick-

the characters

become your

sell

she may start by picturing the

go-lucky, or have a mixture of

the story

—

chocolates and Kate For-

cycle

He or

the character As you read, in

refusing to

Farmer pedaling

must

—

lives

hostaged bus and

life? First,

much like you or someone you know or you may wish you could be more like very

typewriter,

many

have lived

rester trying to start that

a writer bring

imagine the character.

the reader's

alive in

you may

through

to populate the

world portrayed

I

have been Jerry Renault

Writers create brand-

new people

human expe-

this

difficult

my

Sitting at

an im-

—

live

bumbling teddy

and breathe.

^

Showing

Show, Don't Tell

2.

"Don't say the old lady screamed. Bring her on and her scream."

let

— Mark Twain A writer may simply tell us rectly that a character

tempered or

thrifty

is

Describing the appearance

to the character:

of the character:

"Team up with

The woman's coat was

Jorge. "Well,

gathered about her thin

can't get

body and fastened with

when she was my partner before, did all the work

a

di-

safety pin. 3.

Showing the character

acterization, called direct

Toni glanced around, then

characterization, was often

tossed her

used by writers before the

the grass and kept walking.

and

in

let

hear the character speak:

action

don't have to do what

you

themselves what kinds of

say,"

declared Darlene,

glaring at the

people they are meeting. This

new baby

"fitter is

called

5.

Methods of

almost always undergoes a significant

change

in

course of the story.

who

known

changes

as a

the

A

charac-

in this

way

is

dynamic charwho

acter. (A character

much

is

character.)

A

doesn't change

called

dynamic character may grow in

feelings:

like

decided to eat to reveal what a character

a story

Revealing the character's

the looks

of the squash pudding but

Writers use several methods

in

thoughts and Tyler didn't

Characterization

But

Who Change

The main character

a static

indirect

characterization.

Characters

ter

readers decide for

method

gum wrapper on

4. Allowing the reader to

"I

you

if

else.

in

action:

day writers generally prefer to

OK,

anyone

while she socialized."

or honest. This kind of char-

twentieth century. Present-

Erica?" said

I

mean-

or brave

show their characters

Showing how others react

6.

some

to

some

way, gain

standing,

in

under-

make an important

decision, or take a crucial action.

please the cook.

is

like.

THERE ARE TOO

Telling

MANV CHARACTERS IN

I.

Stating directly

character

what the

THIS BOOK, ANIT

TOO MUCH 60IN6 0N..1 CAN'T KEEP

TRACK OF THEM

is like:

ALL...

Sergeant Randolph was the cruelest drillmaster

regiment.

in

the

^— Peanuts reprinted by permission of UFS.

Inc.

Elements of Literature: Character 107

Before You Read The Courage That My Mother Had Legacy II Make the Connection

The Courage

Legacies

What do you know about the word if

legacy''.

That My Mother Had

Using a dictionary

necessary, brainstorm with

two or three classmates

Edna St. Vincent Millay

re-

in

sponse to the questions below.

The courage that my mother had Went with her, and is with her still: Rock from New England quarried;"

Quickwrite

Who

•

Now granite in a granite

might

hill.

leave a legacy?

How

•

might someone

about receiving

What

•

cies?

feel

5

are examples of lega-

(Does

The golden brooch° my mother wore She

a legacy?

I

a legacy have to

left

behind

have no thing

Yet,

it is

Oh,

if

me to wear;

for 1

treasure more:

something

1

could spare.

be something you can see?)

Elements of Literature

10

Read aloud "The Courage That

My Mother

Had," and you'll

hear a regular rhythm that like

The thing she took That courage

Rhythm

sounds

poetry.

you'll

II,"

Read aloud

of ordinary speech.

you know, to pause

in

when you

Kyk^hythm

is

brooch (broch):

worn

at

the neck.

when

read aloud?

a rise

and

fall

of the voice produced by

repeated sound patterns. For

more on Rhythm, see pages

54^545

and the Handbook of

go.hrw.com

Literary Terms.

LEO 8-2

1

08 From Generation to Generation

me

large

—

which she and I have.

quarried: dug from a quarn', from which building stone or marble is taken.

How do

each poem,

of,

3.

decorative pin, usually

hear the natural rhythms

to

into the grave!

a pit

contrast, and

in

left

like a rock,

Has no more need

5.

"Legacy

instead she'd

/f/'/f^Aife

X^/%>--ro/tie-Ktc

C/f^ie-xte.

tt

ou/

Spanish Octogenarian by Oil

E.

Martin Hennings.

on canvas.

Stark

Museum

of Art. Orange, Texas.

Legaq n Leroy V. Quintana He spoke

Grandfather never went to school

spoke only

a

few words of English

man needed

1

s

Now

I

if

they were

to

know

look back

planting corn or about the weather

only two generations removed

sometimes about herding sheep

realize

as a child

I

am

who went One day pointed taught

nothing but a poor fool

to college

to the four directions

me their names El

10

as

man; when he talked

talked about simple things 5

names

one of only a handful of things a

a quiet

their

trying to find

Norte

Poniente

20

Oriente El

Sur

my way back

to the center of the

world

where Grandfather stood that day

The Courage That My Mother Had/ Legacy

II

109

Meet the Writers Family Ties Vincent Millay ( 892- 950) was born and grew up in Rockland, Maine. She

Edna

St.

1

1

started writing poetry as a child. Millay

wrote

"Renascence" (ri nas'ans), one of her most famous poems, when she was only nineteen, •

and published her

first

book of poetry the

year she graduated from Vassar College.

As you might have guessed from "The Courage That My Mother Had," the strength of women is an important theme in Millay 's writing. Millay

New

worshiped her mother,

Englander

who worked

a strong

as a practical

nurse to support her three daughters after their father deserted the family.

Leroy

Quintana

V.

(

1

944-

)

was born

in

Albu-

querque,

New

Many

of his

tional

way

poems contrast his Mexican ancestors' tradilife with the way people live in big cities many ways I'm still basically a small-town New

today. "In

Mexico, and raised by

I

grandparents.

of

Mexico boy carrying on the

44

his

heard Grandmother

oral tradition," he says.

tell

me

dreds of times, over and over To

the old stories hun-

me

it

was

like

turning

on

the TV. She had the nuances of language, though she had

no education; she knew the story,

to be

how lost,

little bit

to keep you

and

I

in

Quintana,

11"

"A

how

would hope that could I

of that on paper

"Legacy

inflections,

builds

to

tell

at least put a

59

on the theme of another poem by

Legacy," about an educated

to return to the time

when

his

man who

1

From Generation to Generation

longs

grandfather told him

cuentos (kwen'tQs), Mexican American folk tales.

I

the

suspense. You know, that seems

—

Making

IVIeanings

First 1

Thoughts Which poem do you

.

like

better?

Why? Consider the feelings and ideas rhythm you feel in each poem.

expressed by the speakers and the

Shapmg Interpretations What

2.

legacy did the speaker of each

poem

What

receive?

legacy does each

speaker want instead?

What does

3.

Millay

compare her mother's courage

to?

What does

her com-

parison suggest to you about the nature of courage?

What do you

4.

think the speaker of "Legacy

I!"

means when he

says that his

grandfather stood at the center of the world that day (lines 20-22)?

Extending the Text Review what you wrote about

5.

it's

possible for qualities like courage and

legacies? Why or why

Choices: Notebook

(

you think

Creative Writing

for the four directions

"Legacy

^h-

2.

Collecting

Thanks a Million

Think of a

gift

11"

indicates

someone gave

Write

a concrete

you that was

Persuasive Essay

perhaps knowledge, love, or

or a group of words

when you needed someone to listen. Write a thank-you note

language you

no\.

an object

just attention

Refer to your Quickwrite

one

of these statements: explaining •

The most important

what the

gift

meant to you.

legacies are those that can't be seen. •

—

Anyone young or old, rich or poor can leave

—

a legacy.

Write down supporting evidence for your position. Be sure to think about the two

poems

you've just read.

World Languages 3.

Make It Concrete

In

a

concrete

poem

the

arrangement of the words

on the page

reflects their

meaning, the way the place-

ment

of the Spanish

in

what

the words mean.

Ideas for a

notes, and respond to

as

not?

"^^ 1.

Do

wisdom to be handed down

Building Your Portfolio

>^i

Writer's

your Quickwrite.

legacies in

words

know

poem word

designed to teach a

in

(it

a

can

be English) to speakers of

other languages.

«

Before

You Read The Secret Heart Tlie Secret Heart

Make the Connection Little

Things Mean a Lot

Sometimes

it's

surprising

Robert

what

Robert

P.

When

His father one

the poet

Tristram Coffin was a

came

boy, his father

little

In the to

check on him one night as he

Coffin that a

many years

poem about

it

5

hour of night a light.

Half in dreams, he saw his sire°

With

he

later

of all.

lay

meant so much to

sion of love

stillest

way best

The boy awakened to

sick in bed. This simple expres-

wrote

Tristram Coffin

Across the years he could recall

people remember from their childhood.

P.

— "The

The man had

Secret Heart."

If his

Quickwrite

He

Describe a happy

his great

10

hands

full

of fire.

struck a match to see

son slept peacefully.

held his palms each side the spark

His love had kindled in the dark.

memory from your childhood.

Who was

there?

happened?

Why was

it

What

His

important

two hands were curved

apart

In the semblance" of a heart.

to you?

He wore,

seemed to his small son, A bare heart on his hidden one,

Elements of Literature

it

Symbol As you read self:

this

What does

heart"

poem, ask your-

15

the "secret

symbolize

(represent) It showed a look upon a face Too tender for the day to trace.

for the son?

A

symbol

is

a person,

a place, or a thing that has

meaning

in itself

well.

1

2

about,

heart

went

out.

it shone long enough for one To know that hands held up the sun.

But

more on Symbol, see page 42

and the Handbook of Literary Terms.

I

20

One instant, it lit all And then the secret

but that

stands for something else as

For

A heart that gave out such a glow No son awake could bear to know.

From Generation to Generation

5.

12.

sire: father.

semblance: form.

I

.•>^

3

Meet the Writer "Saying the Best"

Tristram Coffin (1892-1955) was born in

Robert

P.

Brunswick, Maine, and called himself "a

New

Englander by

birth, by bringing up, by spirit."

Coffin enjoyed growing up rural

in

Maine so much that as an

adult he bought the red-brick

schoolhouse he'd attended, to preserve

it

in

honor of

his child-

hood. (Can you imagine buying

your school Coffin a writer

in

thirty years?)

was an

artist as well as

and often drew the

jacket designs and illustrations

for his books. Prize for a

He won

book

a Pulitzer

of poetry called

Strange Holiness (1935).

He once

said:

44 Poetry is saying the best one can about life. 99

The

Fire in

Time (1993) by Jim Dine. Charcoal, enamel, and water'/2" x 23").

color on paper (3

I

The Secret Heart

I

1

.

Making Meanings First 1

Thoughts In

your opinion, what

is

word or phrase

the most important

in

the

poem?

Explain your choice.

Shaping Interpretations 2.

What does

the boy realize about

his father?

How

does he come to

this

realization? 3.

What do

4.

What do you

the father's hands holding the match

realizes that 5.

think

is

the meaning of the

"hands held up the sun"?

last

two

Whose

How

does the expression

Does

the expression also relate to the

"Little things

symbolize

mean

lines, in

for the son?

which the son

hands are they? a lot" relate to this

memory you

described

in

poem? your

Quickwrite? Explain.

Connecting with the Text 6.

The speaker trace."

Choices:

Why

was "too tender for the day to do people sometimes hide their feelings from those they says that the father's love

Building Your Portfolio

Writer's Notebook

love?

5

S^

;.

f

Before You Read A SMART COOKIE BlEN AGUILA

s

ish,

Make the Connection want my

everything

a nonliteral

missed." Have you

ever heard an adult say something

In "A Smart Cookie" a mother talks about her missed in

hopes that

her daughter, Esperanza,

ranza,

means "hope"

±

:i

Do

you

the expression

means?

Poniatowska could have simply used the Spanish words in

"intelligent pastry."

Spanish speaker

To

a

would make

it

no sense. She chose instead to change the aguila"

Quickwrite

ish

^

^1

know what

mean in

I m

meaning unique to

Spanish the phrase would just

Spanish.)

^

an

for smart and cookie, but

will

have a better future. (£spein fact,

it is

a particular language.

smart cookie

like this?

opportunities

special

idionn, an expression that has

children to have I

posed a

title

problem because

Hopes and Dreams "I

the

Write briefly about someone's hopes for you or your own hopes for

title

to "Bien

("good eagle"), a Span-

idiom

whose meaning

is

similar to that of smart cookie in English.

your future. ^n

idiom

is

an expres-

sion peculiar to a particu-

Background/

lar

Elements of Literature

language.

An

idiom

Literature and

means something different from the literal meaning of

World Languages

each word.

"A Smart Cookie" appears

For

here both language

in English,

in

more on Idiom, see the Handbook of Literary Terms.

which Sandra

Cisneros writes, and ish,

the

'•">-i;"—((

in

Span-

her parents' language.

When

Elena Poniatowska

translated the story into Span-

go.hrw.com LEO 8-2

Smart Cookie Bien Aguila /

I

1

A Smart Cookie Sandra Cisneros

'

:

could ve been somebody, you know?

my

mother says and sighs. She has lived in her whole life. She can speak two

this

cir\'

guages. She can sing an opera. She

way

train to take to get

hand very

tight

while

knows how

know which

to fix a TV. But she doesn't

downtown.

we

lan-

I

sub-

hold her

wait for the right

train to arrive.

She used to draw

when

she had time.

she draws with a needle and thread, ted rosebuds, tulips

day she would she would

made

like to

like to

of

silk

go to the

little

thread.

ballet.

Now knot-

Some-

Someday

see a play. She borrows

opera records from the public library and sings

with velvety lungs powerful as morning

glo-

ries.

Today while cooking oatmeal she is Madame until she sighs and points the wooden spoon at me. 1 could've been some(detail) 992) by Nick Quijano. body, you know? Esperanza, you go to school. Study hard. That Madame Butterfly was a fool. She stirs the oatmeal. Look at my comadres." She means Izaura whose husband left and Yolanda whose husband is dead. Got to take care all your own, she Butterfly'

(

1

says shaking her head.

Then out of nowhere: Shame is a bad thing, you know.

know why

I

clothes, but

1

quit school? Because

had

It 1

keeps you down. You want to didn't have nice clothes.

Yup, she says disgusted, stirring again. 1.

Madame Butterfly:

cini. In

tragic heroine of an

I

was

a smart cookie then.

opera of the same name

b)'

Giacomo Puc-

the opera a U.S. naval officer stationed in Japan marries a young Japanese

woman,

Butterfl);

then returns to the United States. She waits faitlifuUy for him. with he returns to Japan with an American wife. Butterfly commits

their child, for years. After suicide. 2.

comadres

(ko ma'dras): Spanish for "close female friends" •

mother and godmother).

§ 1

1

6

No

brains.

From Generation to Generation '"%..

(literally,

a child's

Bien aguila Sandra Cisneros, translated by Elena Poniatowska

Yo

pude haber sido alguien, ,;sabes? dice mi madre y suspira. Toda su vida ha vivido en esta ciudad. Sabe dos idiomas. Puede cantar una opera. Sabe reparar la tele. Pero no sabe que metro tomar para ir al centre. La tomo muy fuerte de la mano mientras esperamos a que llegue el tren. Cuando tenia tiempo dibujaba. Aliora dibuja con hilo y aguja, pequeiios botones de rosa, tulipanes de hilo de seda. Algun dia ir al

ballet. Algiin dia

teatro. Pide discos

pLiblica y canta

poderosos

la

le

como glorias

biblioteca

azules. la

avena, es

Madame

Butterfly hasta que svispira y me senala con la cuchara de palo. Yo pude haber sido alguien,

Ve

mauna tonta. Menea la avena. Fijate en mis comadres. Se refiere a Izaura, cuyo marido se largo, y a Yolanda, cuyo marido esta muerto. Tienes que (jsabes?

cizo.

Esa

cuidarte

a la escuela, Esperanza. Estudia

Madame

era

moviendo la cabeza. nada mas porque si:

solita,

Y luego,

Butterfly

dice

La vergiienza es mala cosa, isabes?

No

si.

Yo entonces

meneando de nuevo.

era bien aguila.

J-

i

\

46

I've

)

in

grew up

managed to do a lot of things in my was capable of and which

many others

I

didn't think

either. Especially

because

me capable of am a woman,

a Latina, an only daughter

men.

My

Mexican Ameri-

a

in

Chicago. She writes:

didn't think

I

I

in

a family of six

father would've liked to have seen

me

married long ago.

and

women

In

our culture, men

don't leave their father's house

except by way of marriage.

I

crossed

my

ther's threshold with nothing carrying

but

my own two

feet.

fa-

me

99

More by Sandra Cisneros "A Smart Cookie" comes from The House on Mango Street (Vintage), a collection of ranza.

te

que deje la escuela? Porque no tenia ropa bonita. Ropa no, pero iUfa! dice disgustada,

(1954can family

Sandra Cisneros

vignettes, or short sketches, about Espe-

deja levantarte. iSabes por

cerebro

Like Esperanza,

gustaria

con pulmones aterciopelados y

Hoy, mientras cuece

Crossing the Threshold

life

tambien, a ver una obra de

de opera en

Meet the Writer

en

It

was published

Mango

in

Street (Vintage).

Spanish as La Casa

Making Meanings First I .

Thoughts Look back

at

your Quickwrite.

What

connections,

if

do you see

any,

between what you wrote there and "A Smart Cookie"?

Shaping Interpretations 2.

When

3.

mother uses the idiom "smart cookie" to describe what does she mean?

Esperanza's

herself,

What does

Esperanza's

your own"?

How

does

mother mean when she this

says

"Got to take care

all

statement relate to her comments about

education? 4.

What advice

is

Esperanza's

mother

ence, do you think Esperanza

is

From your

giving her daughter?

likely

experi-

to follow her mother's advice?

Extending the Text 5.

Describe Esperanza's mother's attitude toward education. think she 1

Choices:

would

say

How would

09)?

What do you

about education to the speaker of "Legacy

I!"

(page

he reply?

Building Your Portfolio

Writer's Notebook

made so they can

Speaking and Listening

avoid

making the same mistakes. 1.

Collecting Ideas for a

•

Persuasive Essay Think about Cisneross

^rS«»~~>^ ^==-v»=-

V^^^ own down

your responses to one of these opinions: Parents can put too

much

pressure on children by

wanting their children to have better

lives

than

they had. •

Children need to

know

the mistakes their parents

I

1

8

3. Life

the key to

Before Me?

interview an older

member about

Art

life

(

experience, and jot

•

is

independence.

short story

and your

Education

2.

his

family

or her

before you were born.

You may want to concen-

Hearts and Cookies

trate

on one or two of

Respond to "A Smart Cookie" or "The Secret

these areas: education;

Heart" (page

terests,

I

1

career plans; or talents,

2) with a

drawing or a sculpture (perhaps of

mache).

clay,

wire, or papier-

Illustrate

one of the

scenes as you envision

it,

or

in-

and hobbies.

Write up the interview either

in

a question-and-

answer format or

in

paragraph form, using a

creatively interpret feelings

combination of your words

and memories that came to

and the words of the per-

mind

son you're interviewing.

From Generation to Generation

as

you read.

I

IV

4

Before You Read The Medicine Bag Make the Connection

Coming "Today

I

am

say those

dynamic character

of Age an adult."

words?

In

When

some

will

marked by a ceremony, such

static

character does

%

not change much. is

for

as the

Jewish bar mitzvah or bat mitzvah

A

events.

and

families

cultures the passage into adulthood

J*

changes as a result of a story's

you

more on

Character, see pages

106-107 and

rit-

the

Handbook of

if

Literary Terms.

ual. In

adult

others you're recognized as an

when you

finish high

your

get a driver's license,

Reading

school or college, or get

first job.

Skills

and Strategies

Comparing and Contrasting: Before and After

Quickwrite Write

When

for a

few minutes

about your

own coming

age.

Did

rituals?

it

or

will

it

you

you show of

are

include any special

Who was or will

be involved?

alike.

compare

their similarities

When

— how they

you contrast people

or things, you show different.

people or things,

how

they are

As you read "The Medicine

Does more than one event mark

Bag," pay attention to

adulthood for you?

main character, changes. Compare the

Elements of Literature

story to the person Martin

person Martin

Dynamic and

is

how

at the beginning of the

Background

A dynamic

Literature and Culture

character is one who changes because of what happens in story. Usually, the

main character

in

characters are static

—they

is

What

signs

-7

a

boy named

of his Teton Sioux (te'tan' soo) greatgreat-grandfather. Iron Shell.

In

the

Sioux tradition a teenage boy becomes Bag,"

important ways. Ask

coming of age?

"The Medicine Bag"

Martin learns about the coming of age

look for clues that Martin's character

yourself:

end.

In

same.

in

its

a

stay

As you read "The Medicine changing

at

a

story changes, while less important

is

is

Static

Characters

basically the

Martin, the

show

that Martin

a

man by making

a vision quest, going off

alone to find spiritual

power and

guid-

ance through a dream. Sometimes he also finds medicine, an object believed

to provide protection or power.

mvismmsfiMmfmi^rtwmnM, .j'WUs

MMmJke gave it to me..." /

f^Licinp

Virginia Driving

Hawk Sneve

1

\

4.'iJ

J,

kid sister Cheryl and

My

I

always bragged about our Sioux grandpa, Joe Iron Shell. Our friends, who had always

and only knew about Indians from movies and TV, were impressed by our stories. Maybe we exaggerated and lived in the city

made Grandpa and

the reser-

sound glamorous, but

vation

when we'd return home to Iowa after

our yearly svimmer visit to we always had some

Grandpa,

exciting tale to

tell.

We tic

always had some authenSioux article to show our lis-

had new moccasins that Grandpa had made. On another visit he

One

teners.

gave

me

a

year Cheryl

small,

round,

flat

rawhide drum which was decorated with a painting of a warrior riding a horse.

He

taught

me

a real Sioux chant to sing while

beat the :

*-^;

drum with

I

a leather-

covered stick that had a feather on the end. Man, that really

made an

We

impression. never showed our friends

Grandpa's picture. Not that we were ashamed of him, but because

orous

we knew that the glamwe told didn't go with

tales

the real thing.

Our

have laughed

at

friends

cause Grandpa wasn't

When

would

the picture, be-

the Eagle Spoke to

tall

Me

(

1

and

979)

by Jerry Ingram.

The Medicine Bag

1

2

stately like

TV Indians.

His hair wasn't in braids but hung in stringy gray strands on his neck,

and

was

lie

father,

old.

He was our

and he didn't

great-grand-

live in a tepee,

but

by himself in a part log, part tar-paper shack on the Rosebud Reservation in South Dakota. So when Grandpa came all

to visit us,

was so ashamed and

I

embarrassed

could've died.

I

There are

of yippy poodles and dogs in our neighborhood, but they usually barked singly at the mailman from the safety of their own yards. Now it

other fancy

sounded

a lot

little

whole pack of mutts were barkone place. 1 got up and walked to the curb to see what the commotion was. About a block away I saw a crowd of little kids yelling, with the dogs yipas

if

a

ing together in

ping and growling around someone who was walking down the middle of the street. I watched the group as it slowly came closer and saw that in the center of the strange procession was a man wearing a tall black hat. He'd pause now and then to peer at something in his hand and then at the houses on either side of the street. 1 felt cold and hot at the same time as I recognized the man. "Oh, no! I whis"

pered.

"It's

Grandpa!"

Dakota Sioux drum

191 0).

(c.

"Hau, Takoza, Grandchild," he greeted

me

formally in Sioux. All I could do was stand there with the whole neighborhood watching and shake the hand of the leather-brown old man. I saw how

his gray hair straggled

from under

his big black

wanted to run and hide. Then I got mad when I saw how the yippy dogs were growling and nipping at the old man's baggy pant legs and how wearily he poked them away with his cane. "Stupid mutts," I said as I

which had a drooping feather in its crown. His rumpled black suit hung like a sack over his stooped frame. As he shook my hand, his coat fell open to expose a bright-red satin shirt with a beaded bolo tie' under the collar His get-up wasn't out of place on the reservation, but it sure was here, and I wanted to sink right

ran to rescue Grandpa.

through the pavement.

I

hat,

stood on the curb, unable to

though

move even

I

When

kicked and hollered at the dogs to get away, they put their tails between their legs I

and scattered. The kids ran to the curb, where they watched me and the old man. "Grandpa,"

I

said,

my voice cracked.

and

felt

pretty

I

bolo

tie:

my head down.

I

tried

cord with a decorated fastening, worn as a

necktie.

dumb when

reached for his beat-up old tin suitcase, which was tied shut with a rope. But he set it down right in the street and shook I

my hand.

1

1.

muttered with

"Hi,"

22 From Generation to Generation

Words to Own stately

(stat'le) adj.: majestic; dignified;

stooped habit.

(stoopt)

V.

used as

adj.:

grand.

bent forward from

—

"

to pull

my hand away when I felt his bony hand up

trembling, and looked face.

I

crying.

felt like

thing to

say,

so

I

to see fatigue in his

Wlien

1

couldn't think of any-

collar,

1

picked up Grandpa's suitcase,

I

took his arm, and guided him up the driveway to our house.

Mom

skinny and

was standing on the

steps.

don't

I

ran to us.

"Grandpa," she gasped.

"How

world

in the

loosened his felt

tie

and opened

pouch

a small leather

I

I

was

so tight. Each one

fit

stuffed with

money. 1 looked at the bills that lined the boots and started to ask about them, but Grandpa's eyes were closed again.

Mom came back with a basin of water. doctor thinks Grandpa

barrass him.

Martin.

exhaustion,"

We

is

suffering

explained

How do you suppose found

out

after

the

Mom tried to feed him some soup.

howl felt.

"Tonight you

spoke

see us!"

Grandpa smiled and Mom and 1 let go of him as he stretched out his arms to my ten-year-old sister, who was still young enough to be

up

Marie feed

who

in

visit.

bed while

\'ou.

Grandpa,"

had gotten home from

doctor was leaving. "You're

sick," he said as he gently pushed Grandpa back against the pillows. "The doctor said you just got too tired and hot after your

little

girl,"

he greeted

Mom

and

1

carried

Grandpa relaxed, and between

him

into

what our home was like. Besides, he admitted sheepishly, he was lonesome after we left.

we had a spare bed. we had Grandpa on the bed, Mom Mom?" 1 sugseem to know what

the doctor.

gested, since she didn't

I

knew everybody felt as guilt)' as 1 did Mom. Mom was all Grandpa had left.

especially

So even after she married

stood there helplessly patting his shoulder. call

soup

sips of

and

her sewing room, where

we

trip."

her,

then collapsed. fainted.

long

he told us of his journey. Soon after our visit to him Grandpa decided that he would like to see where his only living descendants lived and

hugged.

"Shouldn't

dad,

just as the

hinh,

not really

"Grandpa!" she yelled happily. "You came to

After

my

let

"Oh

doctor's

As we supported him up the steps, the door banged open and Cheryl came bursting out of the house. She was all smiles and was so obviously glad to see Grandpa that 1 was ashamed

work

from heat bathed

he got here?"

Grandpa was

angrily sitting

"The

she

as

Mom gave a big sigh,

Grandpa's face.

Moms

"Hau, Marie," he said as he shook

she

hand. She smiled and took his other arm.

He had

why

put the boots on the floor and saw

they

She checked her move to embrace Grandpa, and I remembered that such a display of affection is unseemly to the Sioux and would em-

"Wicincala,

hung

put pressure on his legs to jerk them off

did you get here?

of

his shirt

that

from a thong" around his neck. I left it alone and moved to remove his boots. The scuffed old cowboy boots were tight and he moaned as

know how

long she'd been watching, but her hand was over her mouth and she looked as if she couldn't believe what she saw. Then she

that his coat slipped off easily.

frail

white

man and after

Cheryl and

thong: narrow

strip of leather

city,

and

my

dad, who's a

teaches in the college in our 1

were born.

Mom

to do. "Yes,"

she agreed, with a sigh. "You

Grandpa comfortable, I

reluctantly

make

Martin."

moved

Grandpa wouldn't want him, but 1 didn't want

to the bed. to have

Mom

to, either.

1

knew

undress

He was

2.

Words to Own fatigue (fa -teg') n.: exhaustion; tiredness. reluctantly (ri-luk'tant-le) adv.: unwillingly.

so

The Medicine Bag

1

23

a

made sure

that every

summer we

spent a

week

with Grandpa. never thought that Grandpa would be I visits, and none of us noticed and weak he had become. But Grandpa knew and so he came to us. He had ridden on buses for two and a half days. Wlien he arrived in the cit)', tired and stiff from sitting for so long, he set out, walking, to fmd us. He had stopped to rest on the steps of some building downtown and a policeman found him. The cop, according to Grandpa, was a good man who took him to the bus stop and waited until the bus came and told the driver to let Grandpa out at Bell View Drive. After Grandpa got off the bus, he started walking again. But he couldn't see the house numbers on the other side when he walked on the sidewalk, so he walked in the middle of the street. That's when all the little kids and dogs followed him. I knew everybody felt as bad as I did. Yet I was proud of this eighty-six-year-old man, who had never been away from the reservation, hav-

lonely after our

how

old

ing the courage to travel so far alone.

"You found the money asked

in

my

boots?" he

Mom. "Grandpa, you shotildn't have

much

ried so

mone}'.

What

if

car-

someone had

from you?" Grandpa laughed. "I would've known if anyone tried to take the boots off my feet. The stolen

it

money

what

is

hundred

dollars

I've

saved for a long time

— for my funeral.

—

But you take

now to buy groceries so that I won't be a burden to you while I am here." "That won't be necessary. Grandpa," Dad said. "We are honored to have you with us and you will never be a burden. I am only sorry that we never thought to bring you home with us this summer and spare you the discomfort of a it

long

me

then.

It

with you, for 1 would not have come was not time." He said this in such a way that no one could argue with him. To Grandpa and the Sioux, he once told me, a thing wotild be done when it was the right time to do it and that's the way it was. "Also," Grandpa went on, looking at me, "I

have come because

you,"

24 From Generation to Generation

he

an-

it is

soon time for Martin to

have the medicine bag."

We

all

knew what

that

meant. Grandpa

thought he was going to die and he had to

low the

fol-

tradition of his family to pass the medi-

cine bag, along with

its

history, to the oldest

male child. "Even though the boy," he said, still looking at me, "bears a white man's name, the medicine bag will be

his."

1 didn't know what to say. I had the same hot and cold feeling that 1 had when I first saw Grandpa in the street. The medicine bag was the dirt)' leather povich 1 had found around his neck. "1 could never wear such a thing," 1 almost said aloud. 1 thought of having my friends see it in gym class, at the swimming pool, and

could imagine the smart things they would

say.

swallowed hard and took a step toward the bed. I knew I would have to take it. But Grandpa was tired. "Not now, Martin," he said, waving his hand in dismissal, "it is not 1

time.

just

Now

I

will sleep."

that's how Grandpa came to be with us two months. My friends kept asking to come see the old man, but 1 put them off. 1 told myself that 1 didn't want them laughing at Grandpa. But even as 1 made excuses, 1 knew it wasn't Grandpa that I was afraid they'd

So

for

laugh

at.

Nothing bothered Cheryl about bringing her friends to see Grandpa. Every day after school started, there

d be

or round-eyed old

trip."

Grandpa was pleased. "Thank

1

bring

But

"Martin did," she answered, and roused herself to scold.

swered. "But do not feel bad that you didn't

man on

a

little

crew of giggling

little girls

boys crowded around the

the patio,

where he'd gotten

habit of sitting ever}' afternoon.

in the

"

Grandpa would smile in his gentle way and answer their questions, or he'd tell them storie:, of brave warriors, ghosts, animals, and the kids listened in awed silence. Those little guys thought Grandpa was great. Finally, one day after school, my friends patiently

came home with me because nothing

I

said

stopped them. "We're going to see the great dian of Bell

View

Drive," said

Hank,

In-

who was

supposed to be my best friend. "My brother has seen him three times, so he oughta be well enough to see us." "Wlien we got to my house, Grandpa was sitting on the patio. He had on his red shirt, but today he also wore a fringed leather vest that

was decorated with beads. Instead of his

cowboy boots he had casins

on

solidh'

usual

beaded moc-

his feet that stuck out of his black

Of course, he had his old black hat on he was seldom without it. But it had been brushed and the feather in the beaded headband was proudly erect, its tip a brighter trousers.

—

Dakota Sioux vest

(c,

1

880-

1

900).

"

white. His hair lay in silver strands over the red shirt collar 1 started just as my friends did and 1 heard one of them murmur, "Wow! Grandpa looked up and when his eyes met mine, they twinkled as if he were laughing inside. He nodded to me and my face got all hot. I could tell that he had known all along I was

afraid he'd

embarrass

me in front of my friends.

"Hau, hoksilas, boys," he greeted, and held out his hand.

My

buddies passed

hand

his

polite

I

as

1

in a single file

and shook

introduced them. They were so

almost laughed. "How, there, Grandpa,"

and even a "How do you do, sir." "You look fine, Grandpa," I said as the gtiys sat on the lawn chairs or on the patio floor. "Hanh, yes," he agreed. "When I woke up this morning, it seemed the right time to dress in the good clothes. I knew that my grandson would be bringing his friends." "You guys want some lemonade or something?" I offered. No one answered. They were listening to Grandpa as he started telling how he'd killed the deer from which his vest was made. Grandpa did most of the talking while my friends were there. I was so proud of him and amazed at how respectfully quiet my buddies were. Mom had to chase them home at suppertime. As they left, they shook Grandpa's hand again and said to me: "Martin, he's really great!"

"Yeah, man! Don't blame you for keeping

him

to yourself.

"Can

we come back?"

But after they

left.

Mom

tors for a while, Martin. it,

said, "No more visiGrandpa wont admit

He

likes

to his

room

but his strength hasn't returned.

having compan)', but

it

tires him."

That evening Grandpa called

me

before he went to sleep. "Tomorrow," he said,

"when you come home, you the medicine bag."

it

will

be time to give

The Medicine Bag

1

25

^ I

•

|;'*-'l:-«''l(il^'

I felt a hard squeeze from where my heart is supposed to be and was scared, but I an-

swered, "OK, Grandpa." All night I had weird dreams about thunder and lightning on a high hill. From a distance I heard the slow beat of a drum. When I woke

up

in the

morning,

At school

all.

never end and

it

I

felt as if

seemed

when it

as

1

if

hadn't slept

at

would home.

the day

finalh did,

ran

1

Grandpa was in his room, sitting on the bed. The shades were down and the place was dim and cool. I sat on the floor in front of Grandpa, but he didn t even look at me. After what seemed a long time, he spoke. "I sent your mother and sister away. What you

hear today

will

is

only for a man's ears.

Wliat you will receive hands."

He

and

fell silent

is

only for a man's

felt

I

shivers

down my

back.

"My

manhood," Grandpa

father in his early

began, "made a vision quest to find a

guide for his

life.

spirit

You cannot understand how

was in that time, when the great Teton Sioux were first made to stay on the reservation. There was a strong need for guidance from it

Wakantanka, the Great the

young men were

tred. The)'

thought

Spirit.

filled it

But too

many

of

with despair and ha-

was hopeless

to search

when the glorious life was gone and only the hated confines of a reservation lay for a vision

ahead. But m)' father held to the old ways.

"He

carefully prepared for his quest

a high butte^ top to fast

and

pray. After three

days he received his sacred dream

he found, iron.

3.

He

after long searching, the

— in which

white man's

did not understand his vision of find-

butte (byoot): steep, flat-topped hiU standing alone on

plain.

Words to Own confines Sioux pipe bag.

1

26 From Generation to Generation

with a

sweat bath and then he went alone to

purifj'ing

(kan'fFnz')

n.:

borders; boundaries.

a

ing something belonging to the white people, for in that time they

came down from at

were the enemy. Wlien he

and the broken

This

was

a sign

which reinforced

his

dream. He

which he had made of elk

skin }'ears before, to

it.

Again Grandpa was

He

"My

he went on

son,"

"He returned to his village, where he told his dream to the wise old men of the tribe. They gave him the name Iron Shell, but neither did they understand the meaning of the dream.

held

Iron Shell kept the piece of iron with

first

at all

times and believed

it

gave him pro-

unhappy days. happened to Iron other young men were

tection from the evils of those

"Then Shell.

He and

several

sent far

away

homes by

the soldiers and

to a white man's boarding school.

He was angry and lonesome for his parents and the young girl he had wed before he was taken away. At

first

Iron Shell resisted the teachers'

attempts to change him and he did not try to learn.

One day

it

was

his turn to

work

in the

As he walked into his medicine had brought him there to learn and work with the white man's iron. "Iron Shell became a blacksmith and worked at the trade when he returned to the reservation. All of his life he treasured the medicine bag. When he was old and I was a man, he gave it to me, for no one made the vision quest anyschool's blacksmith shop.

the place, he

knew

that

more."

Grandpa quit talking and I stared in disbelief he covered his face with his hands. His shoulders were shaking with quiet sobs and I looked away until he began to speak again.

as

"I

kept the bag until

my

son, your mother's

was a man and had to leave us to fight in the war across the ocean. I gave him the bag, for I believed it would protect him in battle, but he did not take it with him. He was afraid

father,

it

in his

memorizing

felt

his grief

after clearing his

iron kettle,

it

hand, turning

how

it

he

it

if

said as

he opened

objects, "is the

down and

"After the

over and over as

looked.

piece of the sacred sage."^

upside

He

over his head.

it and rebroken shell of the a pebble from the butte, and a

"In the bag,"

moved two

a terrible thing

taken from their

I

throat, "had only a daughter and it is not proper for her to know of these things." He unbuttoned his shirt, pulled out the

leather pouch, and lifted

him

and

still

prepare for his quest.

This

died in a faraway

around me.

shell of an iron kettle.

took a piece of the iron for his medicine bag,

he would lose

place."

the butte to cleanse himself

the stream below, he found the remains of a

canipfire

that

bag

He

held the pouch

dust drifted down.

is

yours, you must put a piece

open it again you pass it on to your son." He replaced the pebble and the piece of iron and tied the of prairie sage within and never until

bag. I stood up, somehow knowing I should. Grandpa slowly rose from the bed and stood upright in front of me, holding the bag before my face. I closed my eyes and waited for him to slip it over my head. But he spoke. "No, you need not wear it." He placed the soft leather bag in my right hand and closed my other hand over it. "It would not be right to wear it in this time and place, where no one will understand. Put it safely away until you are again on the reservation. Wear it then, when you replace the sacred sage." Grandpa turned and sat again on the bed. Wearily he leaned his head against the pillow. "Go," he said, "I will sleep now." "Thank you. Grandpa," I said softly, and left with the bag in my hands. That night Mom and Dad took Grandpa to the hospital. Two weeks later I stood alone on the lonely prairie of the reservation and put the

sacred sage in

4.

my medicine bag.

sage: plant with fragrant leaves.

The Medicine Bag

1

27

Sioux war

pony

effigy.

Meet the Writer on the Heritage

Passing Like

Grandpa

(1933and

a

is

lived in

"The Medicine

in

Bag,"

member

of the

Hawk Sneve

Virginia Driving

was born on the Rosebud Reservation

)

Rosebud Sioux. Sneve

Iowa for many years. Their children,

in

South Dakota

(sna've) and her

like

husband

Martin and Cheryl,

grew up knowing Rosebud only from summer visits. "The Medicine Bag" was inspired by Sneve's oldest son and his excitement over a great-uncle's

visit,

44 The day

of

my

uncle's arrival, there

were about

on each side of our driveway waiting for

sitting

show

as she explains:

up.

—

driving up

in

a great big blue air-conditioned

aunt, too, had

on

the bustle of the

slacks

visit

and a blouse.

we

found out from

I

son had primed

up on

all

the

didn't pay

my

little

Oldsmobile, and

neighbor,

I

who was

Prairie'

daughter was

like

in

the third grade, she read

Wilder books, the

'Little

House on the

books, which are about South Dakota pioneers,

the white settlement period. She was fascinated with in

history and

wanted to know more. There

much in the books about Indians, and she wanted know why. So when started writing for children, did so with the specific purpose of informing my own children about their heritage and trying to correct some misconceptions about how they saw Indian people and how others thought about Indians. 99

wasn't to

I

Sioux war shield (c.

1

1850).

come

in

kids.

my

riding

Those little boys were disgusted and anybody else. hadn't thought about what my children

Ingalls

that period

My

non-Indian, that

this uncle to

thought about Indians.

When my

when

We welcomed them, and

a horse, in a breechcloth.

Until then,

shirt.

too much attention to the

boys to expect

upset because this uncle looked

the Laura

boys

I

he got out, he was wearing a pair of slacks and a sports

Later

little

uncle to

thought it was kind of neat too much about it welcoming committee was there. My uncle came

didn't think

I

that this

dozen

a

this Indian

^

28 From Generation to Generation

I

There are many traditions comiected to the Naming Ceremony. For one

,\^/

ihlIC-ui

thing, there are a limited

KXiid^ui

among

number

names

of

the Oneida people. Wlien a person

dies, that

name

returns to the pool of avail-

names and can be given to someone else. The medicine person decides whose energy fits which available name, or a perable

lAmKwakkoli months Hfew my

after

dad began to

my tenth birthday, talk to me about

my case, I my grandfather through my

son may ask for a certain name. In

was named

after

receiving my hidian name. He said had to be done in a ceremon}' by a medicine person or an elder in our tribe. My older sister, Megan, had received her Indian name, Maqiiegquay (Woman of the Woods),

Anglo name, but I also wanted to take his Indian name, which was available and had been waiting for me for seven years. I felt

when

and to

this

she was only three. At that time

family lived

on the Oneida Reservation

outside of Green Bay, Wisconsin.

was

ther

just

the arrangements. Indian

I

always thought

name was

'was told the

my

sis-

so perfect for her.

I

man meditated for name came to him. moved from Wisconsin to

medicine

three days before the

My

family

Colorado three years before born.

My grandfather

two and

died

when

I

I

it

was hard

to pull

it

together long-

distance. Because of the sacred

and traditional aspects of this, it is not as if anyone can just call and order a Naming Ceremony, Like ordering a pizza! As it happened, my uncle Rick became the chairman of the tribe when I ^vas ten, and he was able to talk to the right people and select the time. The right time

was the summer solstice, near it was also the time of the an-

my

family.

A few

The name

June of 1990,

made me

was

that

his

is

in English.

"

days before the ceremony, in

my parents

the Oneida Reservation.

A

and

I

flew to

friend of

my dad

a beautiful "ribbon shirt."

It

was

a

shade of deep turquoise, stitched with pink,

My

purple, and green ribbons.

thought

good

in

it

was very

special

family and

and that

I

I

looked

it.

Two

was only

a half,

had both of his names, it made a full and I was wholly connected to him I

Kwakkoli, or "WliippoorwiU

was

and both of these major events delayed my Naming Ceremony. My dad talked about naming me for several years, but

circle

medi-

a

cine-man friend of his to name her and made ter's

if

My grandfa-

and he asked

alive then,

my

that

days before

name,

my

I

was given my Indian

my

uncle Rick,

drove around and looked

at

dad, and

I

certain land-

marks on the Oneida Reservation. I saw where my dad had grown vip. There is a statue in the middle of the reservation of

my

great-grandmother. Dr. Rosa Minoka HiU. She

was the United

female Indian physician in the

first

States.

Oneida

is

very small and different from

any other city I have known.

one school, several baseball

It

has only

fields, a

small

convent, a store, a post office, two churches, three

cemeteries,

June 20, and

about

nual Strawberry Ceremony.

brother

twenty

knew

a

tribal

houses. the

My

building,

dad

and

and his

names of everyone. They

I The Medicine Bag

1

29

— whom and who and parents were. They remembered all kinds of funny stories and laughed a lot. I thought it must be nice to live in a small town where everyone knows everyone for all those years. It is also a place where everyone is connected by common heritage, customs, and beliefs. The night before the ceremony, 1 got very nervous. My stomach hurt as if I had the flu, but 1 think it was just butterflies. I finally fell asleep at about 3:30 in the morning. I don't know what I was afraid of knew who was married

to

ever\'one's grandparents

maybe just not knowing what was going to happen or what I would have to do. My mother could not come to the ceremony, because only tribal members were allowed. We had just learned about this and I was upset that she couldn't come. She was disappointed, but told me to remember the deand

tails

tell

her about

it

woke up

sound of a shower running. 1 quickly put on my ribbon shirt, a pair of black pants, and moccasins. The cere-

mony was

to the

set for 9:30 that

morning, so

had to

flies flying in

ious,

to the reservation, if it

were going

at least get

formation!

1

was

pretty anx-

but really excited about getting

dian name.

We and

to

those butter-

my

In-

arrived at the long house a

my

dad and one of his friends while other people finished setting up tables and chairs. little early,

I

sat

with

all

It

I

am

named

in

Wolf.

Next,

we

drinks

was

f

the

in the

30 From Generation to Generation

It

and drank. One of the

a kind of strawberry juice.

gift

of the straw-

berry to the Oneida people. The drink was

very good.

Wlien

was time

it

my

grandfather,

special

whom

I

barely

of the

stand.

tion as

I

I

I

have a

name

that

me to knew. My

heritage and

lot to learn

look forward to visiting

grow

will

many traditions

my

beliefs that are part of

about which

and

received,

family and connects

name also reminds me and

thanked

the Faithkeeper and the Chief and gave

runs through

my

we

to go,

them gifts. The gift that I be mine for life, is a very

and under-

my

reserva-

up.

—

i Bisco

Hill

Southern Boulder,

Hills

Middle School

Colorado

i

FaithFirst

Bear

and drum music.

all

sacred and part of the ceremony be-

is

and the would be

second group. The

keeper named aU the children

1

I

ate

few

we

tiring after a while.

cause the Creator gave this

Bear, the Turtle,

in the Turtle Clan, so

as the Chief said a

to Indian songs

was ftm but became

The ceremony finally began. The Faithkeeper called up the three clans of the Oneida Tribe: the

down

sat

prayers. After about an hour,

danced

HBI

On our short drive my stomach felt as I

we more

we

had to hurry.

explode!

guage with unusual sounds like no other language I have ever heard. Most of the words were not understandable to me. He later translated them as, "You must try to learn the Oneida language and our ways. I would like you to come to some of the other ceremonies and events. You now have an Oneida name, Kwakkoli, and the Creator will know you by that name." I was proud to have both my grandfather's names, because he was an important man in our tribe. The Faithkeeper named the others and

later

After getting about four hours of sleep, I

moved on to the Turtles. He named two people, then stepped in front of me. He spoke to me in Oneida. It is a lan-

Clan, then

appeared

Student Writing.

in

Merlyn's Pen: The National Magazines of

Making Meanings First

Thoughts

What thoughts

Medicine Bag" and to mind

—

Reading Check

and memories did "The "I

Am

Kwakkoli"

With

call

of people, events, feelings?

scene

Do

a partner, role-play a in

which Martin,

him the

call details

How

is

Martin's

Grandpa's?

life

different

from

What problems do

Why

is

What does

Martin ashamed of Grandpa at the

Why does

Martin

and the order of

through and continue. it

Martin to hand

mean

down

to

the

medicine bag to the next

beginning of the story? 4.

back

necessary to re-

events. Switch roles halfway

these

differences cause for Martin? 3.

if

tells

Go

bag's history.

to the text

Shaping Interpretations 2.

son and

cine bag to his

piece and your Quickwrite? Explain.

an

on the medi-

old man, passes

you see any connection between either

now

feel like crying after

greets Grandpa? (Can you think of

generation?

he

more

than one reason?) 5.

Martin

character. Draw a thought bubble like the one on the right. Fill it with words, sketches, and symbols that

Dynamic

g^^ ^^^ contrast what Martin

is

like at

the beginning of the story

way he is at the end, after he receives the medicine You might focus on his changed feelings about Grandpa

to the bag. 6.

Martin's friends are impressed by Grandpa. Describe

Martin might

Do

you think

feel

about Grandpa

his friends'

if

his friends

opinion should

how

laughed at him instead.

make any

difference? Explain.

Connecting with the Text 7.

Describe what goes through Martin's mind as he medicine bag. How would you feel if you were in

is

about to receive the

his place?

Extending the Text 8.

9.

What do you think Grandpa would do were a girl? Why?

Compare

the experiences of

two

•

Martin

•

Sneve's son

•

Cheryl

•

Sneve's daughter

with the medicine bag

if

Martin

of the following people: •

Bisco

Hill

The Medicine Bag

131

Choices: Writer's 1.

Building Your Portfolio

Notebook

(^^) ^^^^^

CoUecting Ideas for a

Persuasive Essay

Some ing

people think that our society doesn't have ways of help-

young people cross the threshold

into adulthood.

We need

traditions and meaningful rituals for this important rite of passage, they say In

what ways do people today mark the passage

into adulthood?

Do you

think there should be other ways of

helping children to accept the duties and responsibilities of adult life?

Do you

are?

Write down some

think, instead, that things are

Creative Writing

all

right the

way they

your point of view.

ideas supporting

Research /Social Art/Critical Thinking

Studies 2.

A Tough Decision

Grandpas

father's

medicine

bag contains several items of special

importance to him

3.

Researching a Culture

With

list

group of

class-

everything you

What's in a Name?

in

some

cultures, people

one name when

are given

(the iron and the pebble) or

learned about Sioux cus-

they are born and take

to his people (the sacred

toms and history from the

another name when they

sage). Imagine that, like

story.

Then, brainstorm

Martin, you have a

pouch

questions you

that you can

just once,

about the Sioux

open

to add one item to pass on

own

about

still

have

— perhaps

how they

live

today

come

of age. Like the

Iron Shell

in

name

the story, the

"earned" name

reflects

something about the

Describe the item, and explain why you chose it. You may want to make a drawing of the

group should choose one

who you

item to accompany your

question to explore. Use

could reflect your personal-

explanation.

resources such as history

ity,

books and computer data-

interests,

to your

child.

*

or their traditional religious

North Cheyenne

Each

Invent a

if

member

of the

possible, consult

name

life.

that says

something important about are.

cultural

On

The name

background,

or

talents.

unlined paper, design

knowledgeable members of

a T-shirt

your community. Share with

new name,

your group what you have

with an appropriate picture

learned; then,

ceremonial

gourd

person's character or

beliefs.

bases;

1

a small

mates,

4.

rattle (c

32 From Generation to Generation

work

to-

gether to create a presentation for the class.

or jacket with your decorating

it

or symbol. Attach a note

what the name means to you. explaining

Language Link Style:

MINI-LESSON

Choosing Precise Words

Which

creates a clearer,

more

vivid picture in

your mind:

Try •

house or mansion^.

•

walk or shuffled

Handbook

See Using

Out

Take out a piece of

Language

HELP

It

your writing, and

Choosing precise words when you write

will

help your

circle four

reader "get the picture," too.

When

Specific

you

revise,

or

five

general words.

make sure you

haven't used modifiers

Substitute precise

Nouns, page

(adjectives and adverbs) to do the job of precise nouns

words (or add

738.

and verbs. Sneve could have begun her story, "My kid

well-chosen modi-

sister

Cheryl and

I

always talked boastfully about our

efficiently.

Add

modifiers only

when your nouns and

to create a

fiers)

more

Sioux grandpa," but bragged says the same thing

clearer picture.

verbs

are already doing everything they can: "part log, part tar-

paper shack," for example, or "beat-up old

m IV

tin suitcase."

\ «s^ mm' f^~^

HJRNING ON.

/4"

HERE OSES

I

SEtM \

Doh'I

mtS

<

THt

UfnUG WOBB I WAS Off TMfi IS \smmk foR. VEW PECULIAR L-^

-o

ii

TO BE

^

I

y

1

/

UJ OD CO

^ ^ D

O

-> _i

i3

Q.

oo

>^uj -o I-

— <

IW

t/1

Q.

ti

"^

,-

5§£l

Vocabulary

HOW TO OWN A WORD

Word Bank

Tracing Word Histories:

stQtt\y

You can track down

stooped

etymology

—

its

a

Word Origins and Roots

word's origin by looking up its in a dictionary. The etymology appears

history

—

The

known root

fatigue

brackets after the word's pronunciation.

reluctantly

given

confines

of a dictionary, you'll find an explanation of abbreviations and sym-

last.

(The root of

a

word

carries

its

oldest

core meaning.)

bols that will help you to read the etymologies.

In

in

is

the front

Sometimes you have

word to find an etymology. word web showing the etymology of stately. Use a word web to analyze each of the other words in the Word Bank. to look at other forms of the

Below

Root:

is

a

Word's meaning:

Latin stare,

"to stand"

stately

H

dignified;

"majestic;

grand"

Sample

use: Grandpa was stately because

he stood

tall

and proud.

The Medicine Bag

1

33

Before You Read

>1H

Grandma Ling in

Make the Connection

A Magic

Mirror

Has anyone

you that

ever told

you have your great-grandnose or that you're

father's

going to be as

The

special

as

tall

much

ter that people

your

like

On

want everyone to

look

like If

sis-

I

identity.

someone who? (The person

doesn't have to be a family

you

resemble a friend or someone

How

do you

feel

about the resemblance?

Elements of Literature

Imagery As you read the poem, notice how the writer uses images words that help you see the grandmother and her home. Which words create pictures

—

go.hrw.com

1

language that

more on Imagery, see the Handbook of Literary Terms. for

so,

famous.)

is

appeals to the senses.

the

told

magery

34 From Generation to Generation

you're about to

young Chinese Ameri-

woman meets

mother

realize that

member; you may be

poem

read, a

people say you

else?

the

can

Quickwrite

Do

In

like best.

you're a unique person with

own

Literature and Geography

her grand-

for the first time.

"Grandma

sometimes

mistake you for her.

Background

three or four images that you

other hand, you probably also

your

details

connection of a

You may be proud of

looking so

What

your aunt?

resemblance can cause mixed feelings.

your mind?

come from your imagination? Read the poem a second time, and write down the

Ling" lives halfway

around the world,

in

Taiwan,

an island off the southeastern coast of China.

Meet the Writer Grandma Ling

>%Mt'

Amy Ling If you

you'll

I

Amy Ling(l939-

reacin China: She'd

deep enough,

reach China, they used to

back yard

Not strong enough 5

Asachild,

tell

me,

in Pennsylvania.

Amy

Ling,

to dig that hole,

China, and

met Grandma. Before she came to view, I heard

a trip to

measure the tatami° floor with even step; the aqua paper-covered door slid open

here was taken during that

and there

the yellow dress, on the

I

my

I

first

six.

softly

faced

square forehead, high cheeks and wide-set eyes;

44 This mother,

me

knew no word

of,

could hug her.

photo of my grand-

cousin

May

Li

on the

pale blue,

Ling

(in

and

right),

We

left).

five

is

aunt's

in

Ling Sugar Factory

and the

sliding

thought

this

in

days

home

in

Taiwan.

office straw.

paper doors.

photo would be

ularly appropriate, since this

paternal

I

particis

the

grandmother was writing

about meeting woven

visit.

See the tatami mats on the floor

She spoke a tongue I and I was sad I could not understand,

10. tatami (ts-ta'me): floor mat

my

I

of her youngest son a quarter century away.

I

a

is

in

The photo shown

birthday

fifty years.

inspired by

are celebrating our twenty-fourth

Da

but

(in

was

— my cousin older than — my

my image stood before me,

She smiled, stretched her arms to take to heart the eldest daughter 20

Ling"

Taiwan the poet made

the early 1960s.

five foot height, sturdy legs and feet,

acted on by

in

to the

age of

her slippered feet

15

moved

then sailed back, halfway around the world.

Taiwan

origi-

United States with her family at the

"Grandma

10

be going home.

whose name was

Ying Ming, was born

nally Ling Beijing,

waited twent)' years,

In

)

had a special reason for wanting to

dig that hole

a child in a

Between Worlds

I

in

my poem. 59

Today Ling studies and writes about other American writers

who

are "between worlds," especially

Asian American

women

writers.

Grandma Ling

135

Making Meanings Thoughts

First I

Briefly describe

.

or draw an

image

poem

that this

calls

to mind.

Shaping Interpretations

Draw

one on the

a thought bubble like the

left. Fill it in

words showing what the speaker might be thinking and

"my image stood before me, acted on by

fifty

with symbols and feeling as she says

years" (lines 15-16).

The speaker in the poem cannot understand her grandmother's words. Write what you think the grandmother is saying to her granddaughter.

3.

Connecting with the Text Look back

someone Look

at

else

compare with the

at the adults

you might be

Writer's 1.

around you.

when

like

Which would you

Choices:

How

your Quickwrite.

like

do your

feelings

Do

expressed

Notebook

poem?

in this

in

to change?

Oral Interpretation

Collecting Ideas for a

2.

Grandma Ling Alive

Performance

4.GettmgtoKnowYou

Persuasive Essay

Work with

One

sent an oral interpretation of

one who speaks

"Grandma

different

that

of your

it's

if

im-

portant to

know

and culture. Someone

else says

it

you

will

doesn't matter

if

a group to pre-

Ling." First,

decide

read individually or

as a group.

something about your heritage

Then, note places

where you want to read slowly or softly or

Watch

Suppose you meet some-

—

it's

what you do that counts. How do you feel about this issue? Freewrite

•

swiftly.

tant to

came from.

you are happy to meet

for punctuation

Art

you want to learn the person's

•

name

you want to

offer the

person a drink

Traveling in Time

What

gestures, facial ex-

pressions, and props

impor-

know where you

show how you

the person

evaluate your performance.

about it is

from yours. With

a partner,

marks. Ask your audience to

3.

whether or not

a language

would communicate that

•

you don't know anything about your ancestors

like

Building Your Portfolio

friends says

What will you fifty

years?

look

Draw

sixty-something.

1

about looking

them any clues about what Which traits do you hope to share?

you see

you're older?

feelings

36 From Generation to Generation

like in

yourself as

would you use?

I

•^

.

'\f\

i

Netscape:

i

„

Booking space on the Tfn: •?t.cravler

n

"Help!

Stuck!"

I'm

(to Earlier

you learned strategies for getting past an unknown word

a text (page 43)

— but what

if

'

1^-'

-*«•

Story Map show sequence)

in

event

you don't understand a sentence, a

whole point of a text you're reading? All readers get stuck sometimes. Being a successful reader means passage, or even the

recognizing

when

event

you're stuck and using the best strategies, such

as those below, to get unstuck. 1

Ask

yourself:

single

is it

that

I

don't understand here?

sentence or an entire paragraph?

lary, topic,

2.

What

Is it

the text's vocabu-

jot

down

Venn Diagram notes or make an outline, a sketch,

or a map. Various kinds of graphic organizers,

3.

Go

event

a

or organization?

You may want to right,

Is it

like

(to

compare and contrast)

those at

can help you check your understanding of a text.

back to the

last

point at which you understood the text.

Reread the troublesome passage more slowly. 4.

Maybe you will

haven't "read

be spelled out

in

between the

lines."

Not

everything

a text; the successful reader always has to

—

make inferences educated guesses. You make inferences when you put together information in the text with what you you guess what it means. already know and then make a leap

Word Web (to

connect ideas)

—

Do

I

understand why something

stand the result of

some

happened?

Do

action or decision? (For

drawing inferences, see page 4

WE.'CE suppose ID \mi xm, mxS. SWPIO K)OK BEAD Bf

just

1

^^?\m^^^

I

under-

more about

6.)

^.

tobje;

mr

good to get OF JVE WM

its

CXJT

.'

./A^

CALVIN

AND HOBBES

<9

Reprinted with permission.

Watterson. All rights

Dist. by

UNIVERSAL PRESS SYNDICATE.

reserved.

Apply the strategy on the next page.

^

Reading Skills AND Strategies 137

.

.

—

. .

Before You Read The Moustache Quickwrite

Make the Connection

A Trip In

Unknown

into the

the story you're about to

read, seventeen-year-old Mike visits his first

grandmother for the

time since

she became

Complete three of these sentences: •

Most

elderly people are

•

They

like

•

They don't

•

Older people

•

They worry about

ill

.

.

really

.

.

and moved into the Lawnrest Nursing Home. Have you ever visited a nursing

ideas

home? What

feel

.

.

.

.

do you have about

nursing

Reading

homes?

Making a map

is

a

good way

to organize your ideas. Create a cluster

map

the one that

like

follov/s, filling

it

in

with

all

Skills

and Strategies Drawing Inferences: Understanding Character

the

words and phrases that come to mind when you think about visiting someone in a nursing

An inference

is

a kind of

guess you make based on clues in

the story combined with

your own experience.

home.

When

you make inferences about characters, you try to find out

what kind of people they •

are.

Take note of information the writer

tells

you directly

for example, that a character •

is

kind or

mean or

fussy.

Pay attention to what the character thinks, says, and does.

Discuss your classmates.

map with your

words and Which of your associ-

think of these

phrases?

ations are like those of other

students?

•

What made you

Which

alone?

are yours

Watch how other people react to the character.

•

Think about people you

know

in real life

As you read "The Moustache," look for evidence that helps

go.hrw.com

you understand Mike, the main character

1

who

resemble the character

38 From Generation to Generation

At

the

last

minute Annie couldn't go. She

was invaded by one of those twenty-fourbugs that sent her to bed with a fever, hour moaning about the fact that she'd also have to break her date with Handsome Harry Arnold that night. We call him Handsome Harry because he's actually handsome, but he's also a

"That

me

nice guy, cool, and he doesn't treat

Annie lar

s

which I am, but

kid brother,

person. Anyway,

I

like

like a regu-

had to go to Lawnrest first of all I had to

alone that afternoon. But stand inspection.

My mother

lined

against the wall. She stood there like a firing squad,

which

she's not like a

and we

have

feel as if

man

is

at all, she's

very feminine,

she really likes me. I

know

I

mean,

I

realize that

I

whose mothstuff for them

gu}'s

them and cook special and worry about them and all but ers love

—

there's

some-

thing missing in their relationship. An^'wa)'.

She frowned and started the routine.

I

Then admitted:

said.

'Well,

it."

have discovered that

it's

better to

sigh than argue.

"And that moustache." She shook her head, i

still

say a seventeen-year-old has

wearing a moustache." "It's an experiment," see

my

tell

no business

just

wanted to 1 had

the truth,

point about being able to

decent moustache, but like

T

said.

1

could grow one." To

if 1

proved

1

grow

a

had learned to

also

it.

costing you money, Mike," she said.

"Its

kind of funny because

this great relationship

sounds strange, but

me up one-man

sighed.

I

she

you combed

at least

flu

hair,"

"1

know,

1

know."

The money was a reference to the movies. The Downtown Cinema has a special Friday night

offer

— half-price

admission

for

high

school couples seventeen or )'ounger But the

woman

in the

box

office

when which

full

full

admission for Cindy's

me

left

at

my

Even drivers license. She

showed her my

1

charged

took one look

me

moustache and charged

price.

ticket, too,

broke and unable to hamburger with the crowd

practically

take Cindy out for a

afterward. That didn't help matters, because

Cindy has been getting impatient recently about tilings like the fact that I don't own my own car and have to concentrate on my studies if

want

I

to

win

that college scholarship, for in-

stance. Cindy wasn't exactly craz)' about the

moustache, either

Now

it

"Look,"

was my mother's turn 1

to sigh.

cheer her up. "I'm thinking off." Even though I wasn't. An-

said, to

about shaving

it

way

other discovery: Yovi can build a

of

life

on

postponement. "Your grandmother probably won't even recognize you," she fall

said.

And I saw the shadow

across her face.

Let

was

me

all

tell

about.

you what the

visit to

Lawnrest

My grandmother is seventy-three

—

which is supposed is a resident be a better word than patient at the Lawnrest Nursing Home. She used to make the greatest turkey dressing in the world and was a nut

years old. She to

1

40 From Generation to Generation

—

1

about baseball and could even quote batting averages, for crying out loud. She always rooted for the losers. She was in love with the

Mets

until

Now she has ar-

they started to win.

teriosclerosis, which the dictionary says is "a chronic disease characterized by abnormal

and

thickening walls."

Wliich

hardening

really

home anymore

means

the

of

arterial

that she can't live at

mem-

or even with us, and her

weU as her body. She didn't recand sometimes used to ognize people. My mother visits her all the time, driving the thirt}' miles to Lawnrest almost every day. Because Annie was home for a semester break from college, we had decided to make a special Saturday visit. Now Annie ory has betrayed her, as

wander

off

was in bed, groaning drama major but 1 told

theatrically

—

way.

1

hadn't seen

mother

ni)-

— she's

I'd

a

go any-

my grandmother since

she'd

been admitted to Lawnrest. Besides, the place is located on the Southwest Turnpike, which meant I could barrel along in m}' father's new Le Mans. My ambition was to see the speedometer hit seventy-five. Ordinarily, I used the old station wagon, which can barely stagger up to fifty. Frankly,

I

wasn't too crazy about visiting a

nursing home. They reminded

me

of hospitals,

and hospitals turn me off. I ether" makes me nauseous, and 1 feel faint at the sight of blood. And as 1 approached Lawnwhich is a terrible, cemetery kind of rest name, to begin with I was sorry I hadn't mean, the smell of

—

—

avoided the

trip.

Then

1

felt

guilty

about

it.

I'm

loaded with guilt complexes. Like driving like a

madman ful.

after

promising

father to be care-

home with

how I'd rather be with

got out of the

car,

guilty as usual.

was surprised by the lack of hospital smell, although there was another odor or maybe the absence of an odor The air was antiseptic, sterile. As if there was no atmosphere at Inside,

all

1

or Id caught a cold suddenly and couldn't

taste or smell.

A nurse at the reception desk gave me directions — my grandmother was in East Three. made ni}"^ way down the tiled corridor and was 1

glad to see that the walls

were painted with

cheerful colors like yellow and pink. chair suddenly

shot

A

wheel-

around a corner,

self-

propelled by an old man, white-haired and toothless,

who

cackled merrily as he barely

Then thought of

my

walked through the corridor seeking East

lot,

looking

at

dread and thinking

Cindy.

I

missed me. I jumped aside— here 1 was, almost getting wiped out by a two-mile-an-hour wheelchair after doing seventy-five on the pike. As

Like sitting in the parking

the nursing

all

my

mother had given me and

1

the Christmas and birthday gifts

grand-

I

Words to Own 1. arterial: of the arteries, the tubes that carry blood away from the heart. 2. ether (e'thar): strong-smelling anesthetic (substance used to deaden pain or cause unconsciousness).

chronic

(kran'ik)

sterile (ster'al)

adj.:

adj.:

lasting a long time; constant.

free

from germs.

Sterile also

means

"unproductive."

The Moustache

1

4

voices like syrup being poured. Slowly. She

was propped up in bed, pillows puffed behind her Her hair had been combed out and fell upon her shoulders. For some reason, this

EAST 3

flowing hair gave her an almost ance, despite

appear-

girlish

whiteness.

its

She saw me and smiled. Her eyes lit up and her eyebrows arched and she reached out her

hands to said.

And

me 1

breathed a sigh of

I

I

she

if

This was

days.

I

took her hands

could actually

as

relief.

My mother had warned might not know who was at first.

one of her good

me that

"Mike, Mike," she

in greeting.

mine. They were

in

her bones, and

feel

they would break

it

fragile.

seemed

pressed too hard.

if I

Her skin was smooth, almost slippery, as if the worn away all the roughness the way the wind wears away the surfaces of stones.

years had

"Mike, Mike,

Three,

and

it

I

couldn't help glancing into the rooms,

was

like

some kind of wax museum — all

these figures in various stances and attitudes, sitting in

as

if

beds or chairs, standing

at

windows,

they were frozen forever in these postures.

began to hurry because I was I saw a beautiful girl approaching, dressed in white, a nurse or an attendant, and I was so happy to see someone young, someone walking and acting normally, that I gave her a wide smile and a big hello and I must have looked like a kind of nut. Anyway, she looked right through me as if I were a window, which is about par for the course whenever I meet beautiful girls. I finally found the room and saw my grandmother in bed. My grandmother looks like

To

tell

the truth,

I

getting depressed. Finally,

Ethel Barrymore.

I

never

knew who

Ethel Bar-

rymore was until I saw a terrific movie. None but the Lonely Heart, on TV, starring Ethel Barrymore and Gary Grant. Both my grandmother and Ethel Barrymore have these great craggy faces like the side of a mountain and wonderful

said,

more, that voice ing

all

tliis

1

stances and attitudes: poses and positions.

42 From Generation to Generation

didn't think you'd come," she still

Ethel Barry-

like a caress. "I've

time." Before

I

could

been

wait-

reply,

she

looked away, out the window. "See the birds?

been watching them at the feeder. I love to see them come. Even the blue jays. The blue jays are like hawks they take the food that I've

—

the small birds should have. But the small birds, the chickadees, at least learn

watch the blue

jays

and

where the feeder is."

She lapsed into silence, and window. There was no feeder

was only the parking on car windshields. She turned to

me

lot

I

looked out the

No birds. There and the sun glinting

again, eyes bright. Radi-

Or was it a medicine brightness? Mike. You look so grand, so grand. Is that

ant, really.

"Ah, a

new coat?"

"Not really," I said. I'd been wearing my Uncle Jerry's old army-fatigue jacket for

months, practically said.

for the visit.

It

was wearing

it, my mother wear my raincoat

living in

But she insisted that

new because 3.

I

so happy, and she was

I

was about a year old but looked didn't wear it much. Nobody

I

raincoats

lately.

"

"You always loved clothes, Mike?" she I

didnt

you,

said.

was beginning

me

to feel

uneasy because she

Those bright eyes. I wondered— are old people in places like this so lonesome, so abandoned that they regarded

with such

intensity.

go wild when someone visits? Or was she so happy because she was suddenly lucid and everylhing was sharp and clear? M)' mother

had described those moments when my grandmother suddenly emerged from the fog that so often obscured her mind. I didn't know the answers, but it felt kind of spooky, getting such

i

an emotional welcome from her. "I remember the time you bought the new coat the Chesterfield," she said, looking away

—

again, as

if

watching the birds

that weren't

there. "That lovely coat with the velvet collar.

Black,

it

was.

St)4ish.

Remember

that,

was hard times, but you could never

Mike?

resist

It

the

I

a

was about

to protest

Chesterfield,

for

—

had never heard of

1

crying out

stopped. Be patient with her, said.

loud.

But

I

my mother had

Humor her. Be gentle.

We

woman: glasses, nothing hair, plump cheeks. Her manner was cheerful but a businesslike "dear"

hate to be called

I'd

by someone getting paid

to

do

it.

"Or-

ange or grape or cranberry, dear? Cranberry good for the bones, you know."

is

much

said, talking to

for

me

as

juices,"

my

if

the

grand-

mother weren't even there. "But she loves her coffee. With lots of cream and two lumps of sugar. But this

Addressing

were interrupted by an attendant who pushed a wheeled cart into the room. "Time for juices, dear," the woman said. She was the standard fort}'- or fifty-year-old

kind of cheerfulness.

"She doesn't care

woman

glitter."

is

juice time, not coffee time."

grandmother

ni)'

again, she said,

"Orange or grape or cranberry, dear? "Tell her I want no juices, Mike," my grandmother commanded regally her eyes still ,

watching

invisible birds.

The woman her

smiled, patience like a label

face. "That's

all right,

dear

I'll

some cranberry for you. Drink leisure. It's good for the bones."

on

just leave it

at

your

She wheeled herself out of the room. My grandmother was still absorbed in the view.

My

grandmother ignored the interruption. She didn't even bother to answer, having turned away at the woman's arrival, as if angry

WORDS TO Own lucid (loo'sid)

about her appearance.

The woman looked

adj.:

clearheaded. Lucid also means "easily

understood." at

me

and winked.

A

was kind of horrible. I didn't think people winked Uke that anymore. In fact, I hadn't seen a wink in years.

conspiratorial kind of wink.

It

conspiratorial (Ion

•

splr'a tor'e •

•

si) adj.:

suggesting a

secret plot.

regally (re'gal-e)

queen or

adv.: majestically; in

the manner of a

king.

The Moustache 143

— Somewhere

a

flushed.

toilet

passed the doorway

—

A

wheelchair

probably that same old

A

driver fleeing a hit-run accident.

television

Then she drifted Maybe she'd fallen asleep. My mother's name is Ellen, but everyone always

melody

didn't recognize.

I

into silence.

exploded with sound somewhere, soapopera voices filling the air You can always tell

calls

soap-opera voices.

my grandfather's

set

I

turned back to find

ing at me.

my

grandmother

star-

Her hands cupped her face, her around her cheeks like

index fingers curled parenthesis marks.

"But you know, Mike, looking back,

you were

right,"

versation as

if

"You always

she

said,

said.

continuing our con-

the things of the spirit

It's

The

spirit!

the baby-grand piano

—a

middle of the Depression. the door and

them

it

And

was the deliveryman.

to get

that piano, Mike.

but you loved to

so you bought

baby grand in the A knock came on

it

I

was never

sit

Ellie

play and sing." She

took

It

into the house."

leaned back, closing her eyes.

day evenings,

think

there had been no interruption.

that count, Meg.'

five of

I

"How

loved

that fine a player,

there in the parlor,

on your

I

She

on Sun-

lap, listening to

hummed a bit,

a

me

fragment of

her

mother

named

"Take

my

hand, Mike,"

Mike," she said, pressing

her feeble strength.

forever.

And here you

again.

.

my hands with I'd lost

you

back with

me

thought

"I

are,

." .

Her expression scared me. I don't mean if I were in danger but scared because of what could happen to her when she realized the mistake she had made. My mother always scared as

said

favored her side of the family. Thinking

I

back to the pictures

my

recalled

in

the old family albums,

grandfather as

tall

and

I

thin. Like

me. But the resemblance ended there. He was thirty-five when he died, almost forty years ago. And he wore a moustache. I brought my hand to my face. I also wore a moustache now, of course. "I sit

here these days, Mike," she

voice a lullaby, her hand

W^

my grand-

Then I remembered name was Michael. I had been

for him.

"All, all

Ellie.

said suddenly.

still

said,

her

holding mine,

and dream. The days are fuzzy sometimes, merging together. Sometimes it's "and

like

drift

I

I'm not here

And

altogether years

we

I

at all

but somewhere else

always think of you. Those

had. Not

enough Her voice was so

enough

years, Mike, not

."

.

.

made sounds

sad, so mournful, that

I

of sympathy, not words exactly

but the kind of soothings that mothers

when

to their children

murmur

they awaken from bad

dreams.

"And

think of that terrible night, Mike, that

I

terrible night.

Have you ever

really forgiven

me

for that night?" ."I began. I wanted to say: "Nana, Mike your grandson, not Mike your hus-

"Listen

^

f

this is

.

.

band."

"Sh

.

.

.

sh

finger as long

1

44 From Generation to Generation

.

." .

she whispered, placing a

and cold

as a candle against

my

— "Don't say anything. I've waited so long

lips.

With you. 1 wonif suddenly you walked other people have done. I've

moment. To be dered what I would say

for this

here.

door like thought and thought about it. And I finally made up my mind I'd ask you to forgive me. I was too proud to ask before." Her fingers tried to mask her face. "But I'm not proud anymore, in that

—

grew

Mike." That great voice quivered and then

strong again.

"I

me

hate you to see

this

way Live

you always said I was beautiful. I didn't believe it. The Charit}' Ball when we led the grand march and you said I was the most beautiful girl

there

If

said.

I

couldn't keep

tense any longer, adding one

old

woman

seem

terrible accusations

The

terrible one.

made. Even

I

in

to cry.

tle Ellie

lifting

in

the

weights

but wanting to

make me

1

990, federal law has all

nursing-home

residents be evaluated each

year and given a plan for maintaining (and,

lit-

improving) their

see the truth.

possible,

if

abilities.

As research shows,

answer you, Mike. I was too proud. I've even forgotten the name of the girl. was it Laura or I sit here, wondering now didn't

I

find

fall.

required that

I

an awful whisper, not wanting to upset

a

Since

Ellie

went to her and rocked her in my arms and you came into the room and said I was wrong. You were whisper-

And

her

might also

her chances of being injured

woke up and began

ing,

memory.

He

exercise room,

me.

"But that other night, Mike.

The

signed to improve

to build muscles and decrease

clinging to memories. She didn't

to hear

of a computer,

working with a program de-

up the premore burden to my load of guilt, leading her on this way, playing a pathetic game of make-believe with an I

grandmother

find his

sitting in front

.

"Nana,"

visited Lav^nrest today,

he might

." .

Mike

and Learn

never too

late

it's

to learn.

—

Evelyn?

I

can't

you were That

I'd

remember

Later,

I

learned that

telling the truth all the time, Mike.

been wrong

.

.

Her eyes were

."

me

brighter than ever as she looked at

but tear-bright, the tears gathering.

never the same after that night, was

The

glitter

"It it,

was gone. From you. From

then the accident

.

.

.

and

1

now,

was

Mike?

us.

And

never had the

chance to ask you to forgive me. My grandmother My poor, poor grandmother Old people aren't supposed to have those kinds of memories. You see their pic."

.

tures in the family are: pictures.

albums and

.

that's

what they

They're not supposed to

come

to

life.

You

drive out in your father's Le

Mans

doing seventy-five on the pike and all you're doing is visiting an old lady in a nursing home.

A

duty

person.

call.

And then you

She's

find out that she's a

somebody.

She's

my

grand-

mother, all right, but she's also herself. Like

own mother and

They exist outside of me. I was scared again. I

father.

their relationship to

wanted

my

to get out of there.

The Moustache 145

— "Mike, Mike,'

my

grandmotiier

"Say

said.

it,

as

I felt

a

if

my cheeks would crack if

uttered

1

you forgive me, Mike. IVe waited

"Say

these years.

all

1

.

was surprised

Just like that.

1

didn't say good-

stalked through the corri-

1

at

how

strong her fingers

'I

man with

five

My voice sounded funny,

it.

as

if I

were

huge Her eyes studied me. Her hands pressed mine. For the first time in my life, I saw love at work. Not movie love. Not Cindy's sparkling tunnel.

talking in a

when

1

tell

"1

forgive you, Meg."

her that we're going to the

1

— no, eighty — most of the way. up

as loud as fill

it

the

left,

the

or not.

the Southwest Turnpike

anything to

forgive you, Meg."'

me down

wheelchair ran

radio

said

eyes

left.

dors, looking neither to the right nor the

On

." .

were. "Say

I

not caring whether that wild old

word.

I

Finally

bye or anything.

Mike."

did seventyI

turned the

could go. Rock music

air.

When

1

got home,

my

mother was vacuuming the living-room rug. She shut off the cleaner, and the silence was deafening. "Well, how was your grandmother?" she asked. I

told her she

things.

How

was fine. 1 told her a lot of Nana looked and how she

great

beach on a Simday afternoon. But love like something alive and tender, asking nothing in return. She raised her face, and I knew what she wanted me to do. 1 bent and brushed my lips against her cheek. Her flesh was like a leaf in autumn, crisp and dry. She closed her eyes and 1 stood up. The sun

seemed happy and had called me Mike. 1 wanted to ask her hey. Mom, you and Dad

wasn't glinting on the cars any longer. Some-

mas and shaved

body had turned on another

—

each other, don't you?

really love

there's

there? But

Instead

1 I

went

electric razor

upstairs

still

hear the soap-opera dialogue on the other

tele-

vision set. I

waited awhile. She seemed to be sleeping,

her breathing serene and regular.

my

Suddenly she opened her eyes

raincoat.

again and looked at me. Her eyes bright, but they

merely stared

recognition or curiosity. at her,

buttoned

I

at

Empty

were

still

me. Without

eyes.

but she didn't smile back. She

I

smiled

made

a

kind of moaning sound and turned away on the bed, pulling the blankets around her

counted to twenty-five and then to

and did it all over again. I cleared my throat and coughed tentatively. She didn't move; she didn't respond. I wanted to say, "Nana, it's me." I

thought of saying, "Meg,

But

I

didn't.

But

I

couldn't.

1

1

46 From Generation to Generation

fifty

it's

is

and took out the

Annie had given me for Christoff my moustache.

the voices were the show-off voices of the

panel shows. At the same time you could

mean

didn't.

and

television set,

I

nothing to forgive between you,

me." ;'y.iv-pw^?r^^^" ':;''

.

.

Meet the Writer "The Stuff of Fiction"

Robert Cormier in

(

1

925-

lives

)

Leominster, Massachusetts, just

three miles away from the house

in

which he was born. Although he has traveled all over the world, he says he gets the ideas for his stories from

"watching and

listening,

pondering the

comings and goings of my hometown."

"The Moustache" was

inspired by

events very close to home:

44

When my son,

Peter,

was a

teenager, his maternal grandmother

became a resident in a local nursing home. The victim of an accident from which she never

was struck by street

really

recovered

—she

a car as she crossed a

—she had more

ing days for us

who

visited

Those were

all,

her

particularly

daily

my wife, little

people.

not

One

Saturday, Peter visited her

the nursing home.

He

returned

in

have used real

—

not recognize

.

I

on the printed page story

.

In effect,

emotions but the people are

comfort because her mother often did her.

own

and not carbon copies of the actual

shatter-

but found

to have the characters appear as

distinct personalities of their

recently

suffered the terrible onslaught of arteriosclerosis.

is

his

the boy

not Peter and the

is

in

More by Robert Cormier

visibly

story

had been uncommunicative, ravaged

Cormier introduces each story

by the disease, only a dim echo of the

collection with a

Memere he had known and

you've just read.

boyhood.

.

loved

.

Thus the stuff of actuality is transformed into the stuff of fiction.

The

is

grandmother. 59

"The Moustache"

his

the

woman

moved, shaken. Her condition had affected him greatly. His grandmother

throughout

only

real

underlying problem, of course,

collection called

8

is

the

Plus

first

I

comment

The Chocolate War (Dell) winning

classic novel

named Jerry and

in

a

(Bantam).

is

like

in

the

the one

an award-

about

a

teenager

his lonely fight against

peer pressure and violence.

The Moustache

1

47

——

—

^^Hident^

Grandpa

NaNa

His eyes glow like pearls in the water

If

had magic powers 1 could Get my Na Na an elevator chair

sitting like a majestic eagle

for her stairway.

staring into nothing

She would eat

dusty old hat 5

that's

seen

many

years.

5 I

Knobby

10

for

lizard

bows

soon he

will

like the lady

he

to the aging

enough so she could

flat.

man

eat hard things like carrots.

10 I

would

loves.

like a trail

some more

is

receding.

She would be free of pills,

of ants

the sound of kids playing

5

give her

hair because her hairline

1

eat.

they would be strong

be gone

Cars zooming by

the cooked

all

cabbage she wanted to would give her another set of teeth;

old cane shines in the sun;

he walks through the small sand canyon which once was

The

1

Very healthy.

15

like the

sound of a storm he only can hear

She would be able to drink

the thought of the years.

KOOL-AID

other things, like

— Shandin Pete Arlee Junior High School Arlee,

Instead of drinking orange juice

20

all

the time.

School would end on

Montana

Thursday So 1 could

visit

my Na Na

more often. And when I'd go over to my Na Na's house, I'd be so strong I'd pick up the

25

REFRIGERATOR And clean behind it.

—

^jaqueta Oliver

Weston Middle School Weston, Massachusetts

First

appeared

Writing.

1

48 From Generation to Generation

in fA6r\\in%

Pen: The National

Magazines of Student

Making Meanings First

Thoughts

Draw

a line

page.

On

down

the

left,

the middle of a blank

copy two or three

short passages from the text that strong impression on you.

On

made

the right,

down your thoughts about each passage. An example follows.

jot

Double-Entry Journal

a

Choices:

Building Your Portfolio

Writer's Notebook 1.

Collecting Ideas for a

Persuasive Essay

A position statement

i

a brief, direct statement of

is

The

following are position

where you stand on an statements on three issues raised by "The Moustache." Where do you stand on these issues? Write your own position statement about one of them. Jot down several issue.

you could use to support your position.

details

better to

older people stay at home.

•

It is

•

Health care for

•

We should forgive others instead of judging them.

let

elderly people should be free.

all

Performance

Creative Writing 2.

A Poem poem made

Found:

A found

is

3.

up

It's

a Tableau

With two or three

class-

of words, phrases, or sen-

mates, choose a scene from

tences from a piece of writ-

the story to perform as a

ing that are

tableau

chosen and

arranged to communicate the essence of the piece.

Go

(tab'lo'). In a

Character Sketch 4.

What to Make of Mike

Write

a brief

character

sketch of Mike. Skim back over the story for evidence

tableau the actors create a

of the following:

frozen scene, silently holding

back to "The Moustache,"

the positions and wearing

•

what Mike looks

and choose the ten words,

the expressions of the char-

•

how Mike

phrases, and sentences that

acters they are representing.

•

what Mike

you

feel

best communicate

what the story means to you.

Copy each onto

rate strip of different

a sepa-

paper Try out

arrangements of

the strips until you find one

you use

like. all

(You don't have to

your

strips.)

Glue

your arrangement onto a sheet of paper, and give your found

1

Freeze!

poem

a

title.

The

director brings the

tableau to

life

moves and speaks in character, telling what the characis

thinking and feeling at

moment, while the

other actors remain frozen.

The actor who was tapped freezes when tapped again.

50 From Generation to Generation

about

says

by tapping the

being tapped, each actor

that

acts

himself •

what he

•

what others

actors one at a time. After

ter

like

says to others

Mike and

say about

how

they

respond to him

You might want to gather details about Mike in a word web before you begin writing.

.

Language Link Style:

Connotations

Connotations their

literal

in

addition to

(dictionary) meanings. Petite and runty are both

one word has and the other has negative connotations. As

of

words

are the feelings or ideas associated with

denotations, or

words Handbook

MINI-LESSON

used to describe small people, but

positive connotations

a result, their meanings are very different.

Literary

Words' connotations can

Terms

HELP

shades of difference. Cute, gorgeous are

tation.

ate very different images

One way

to find a

connotations

is

convey

attractive,

finer

and

positive words, but they cre-

See Conno-

all

also

in

a reader's mind.

word with

just the right

to look up the word you're

thesaurus (book of synonyms and antonyms) and see whether any of the word's synonyms express your meaning even more precisely. If you're not sure what the connotations of some of the synonyms are, look up the words in a dictionary. Use thesaurus words in moderation. If you use too many, you'll drown out your using

in

Try

Go

It

Out

back to the story, and look

for the sentences

in

which Mike

discusses the connotations of

the following expressions: 1

a

"one-man

firing

squad"

(page 140) 2. "resident" (page 140)

3.

Do

"Lawnrest" (page 14!) the

words have the same

connotations for you as they

do

for Mike? Explain your

responses.

natural voice.

Vocabulary

HOW TO OWN A WORD

Word Bank

Digging into the Past: Greek and Latin Roots

chronic

The root of every word carries the word's core meaning. Many English words are based on root words that have their origin in the ancient classical languages of Greek and Latin. Here are six Greek and Latin roots that are found in many English words.

sterile

lucid

conspiratorial regally

Greek Roots

"

have no use for old people in my village. '7

^eWise Old

Woman

long years Many rogant and cruel

ago, there lived an ar-

hills

traditionalJapanese,

Yoshiko Uchida

lord

who

of Japan.

"I

lage,"

retold by

young

ruled over a small village in the western

have no use for old people in

he

said haughtily.

useful nor able to fore decree that

work

my

vil-

"They are neither for a living.

I

there-

anyone over seventy-one

go.hrw.com lEO 8-2

\4H^ ''^^1

must be banished from the in the mountains to die."

village

and

left

"Wliat a dreadftil decree! Wliat a cruel

and

hard-working

bragged. "Soon in

all

village of

it

young, healthy,

people

will

be the

I

have,"

he

finest village

Now, there lived in this village a kind young farmer and his aged mother. The)' were poor, but the farmer was good to his mother, and the two of them lived happily Peach Blossom Spring silk,

after the

grew

(detail)

"If

only

I

artist

Qiu

went

by,

and before long she

somehow

could

deceive the

cruel lord," the farmer thought. But there

were records

books and mother had turned

the village

in

everyone knew that

his

seventy-one.

Each day the son put off

telling

his

mother that he must take her into the mountains to die, but the people of the village began to talk. The farmer knew that if he did not take his mother away soon, the lord would send his soldiers and throw them both into a dark dungeon to die a terrible death.

tried to tell

he would begin,

"

as

he

her what he must do, but he

could not go on.

Then one day

the mother herself spoke

of the lord's dread decree. "Well,

(1780s) by Tani Buncho. Handscroll;

Chinese

as the years

older,

reached the terrible age of seventy-one.

"Mother

of Japan."

gold on

However,

the mother

and unreasonable lord we have," the people of the village murmured. But the lord fearftilly pimished anyone who disobeyed him, and so villagers who turned sevent)'one were tearftilly carried into the mountains, never to return. Gradually there were fewer and fewer old people in the village and soon the)' disappeared altogether. Then the young lord

was pleased. "What a fine

together.

ink, color,

my

son,"

and

Ying.

"Av-

-^^.•p^{f§.\A^ ^hWi :'/ \

^

/

/A>w....

1

53^

time has

she

said, "the

me

to the mountains.

come for you

We

to take

must hurry be-

fore the lord sends his soldiers for you."

And she

did not

seem worried

she must go to the mountains to

at all that

die.

"Forgive me, dear mother, for

must

what

the farmer said sadly, and the

do,"

next morning he

lifted his

mother

to his

shoulders and set off on the steep path

ward

I

the

to-

Up and up he

mountains.

climbed, until the trees clustered close and

was gone. There was no longer even the sound of birds, and they heard only the soft wail of the wind in the trees. The son walked slowly, for he could not bear to think of leaving his old mother in the mountains. On and on he climbed, not the path

wanting to stop and leave her behind. Soon, he heard his mother breaking off small twigs from the trees that they passed.

"Mother, what are you doing?" he asked.

"Do not worry, my gently. "I

am

just

son," she answered marking the way so you

will not get lost returning to the village."

The son stopped. "Even now you

are

thinking of me?" he asked, wonderingly.

The mother nodded. "Of course, my son," she replied.

thoughts.

"You

How could

be in be otherwise?"

will always

it

my Peach Blossom Spring

At that, the young farmer could bear

no

longer. "Mother,

the mountains to die are going

I

cannot leave you

all

alone,"

home and no

lord does to punish me,

you

he

said.

it

in

will

I

Qiu

silk,

after the

Ying.

never desert

The work in

the farmer carried meals to her there. until the

the dark shadows of night, the farmer car-

mother down the

turned quietly to their

hill

little

and they

re-

house. The

farmer dug a deep hole in the floor of liis kitchen and made a small room where he

could hide his mother From that day, she spent all her time in the secret room and

1

artist

(1780s) by Tani Buncho.

and gold on

"We

sun had set and crept into the silent sky. Then, in

So they waited

ried his

Chinese

(detail)

ink, color,

matter what the

again."

a lone star

Handscroll;

54 From Generation to Generation

rest

of the time, he was careful to

the fields and act as though he lived alone.

two years he kept

his

hidden and no one in the

vil-

In this way, for almost

mother lage

safely

knew that she was

there.

Then one day there was a terrible commotion among the villagers, for Lord Higa of the town beyond the hills threatened to conquer their village and make it his own.

"Only one thing can spare you," Lord Higa announced. "Bring

me

a

box

contain-

ing one thousand ropes of ash and

spare your

The

village."

young

cruel

together

will

I

all

lord quickly gathered

the wise

men

of his village.

and

find

one thousand pieces of

rope."

The farmer shook his head in amazement. "Mother, you are wonderfully wise," he said, and he rushed to tell the young lord what he must do.

"You are men of wisdom," he said. "Surely }'ou can tell me how to meet Lord Higa's de-

the

mands

the farmer's solution, and he rewarded him

is

so our village can be spared."

But the wise

men shook

impossible to

make even one rope

sire,"

they answered.

their heads.

"It

of ash,

"How can we

ever

make one thousand?"

And he posted

if

you cannot help

me

who

could help him save their

village.

But

the people in the village whis-

all

pered, "Surely,

it is

ash crumbles

at

an impossible thing, for

the touch of the finger.

How

could anyone ever make a rope of

ash?"

They shook their heads and sighed, alas, we must be conquered by yet

"Alas,

another cruel

when he

the lord said

The young

farmer, too, supposed that must be, and he wondered what would happen to his mother if a new lord even

than their

own came

was spared. few days, however, there was another great commotion in the village as lage

Lord Higa sent another

threat. This

bent seven times through

demanded

its

that a single piece of silk thread

"Again

we

are faced with an impossible de-

"And again you are stupid fools!" the lord stamping his foot impatiently. He then posted a second notice in the village square said,

with the problem to his mother

Once more

my son?"

So the farmer told her of the impossible

demand made by Lord Higa if the village was to be spared, but his mother did not seem troubled at all. Instead she laughed and

said,

"Why, that

possible task. All

nary rope in

Wlien there

it is

is

one has

salt

burned,

and he

be threaded through the hole. "If you cannot perform this task," the lord threatened, "1 shall come to conquer your village." The young lord hurried once more to his wise men, but they all shook their heads in bewilderment. "A needle cannot bend its way through such curves," they moaned.

Wlien his mother saw the troubled look on his face, she asked, "Wliy are you so

softly

time he

length,

asking the villagers for their help.

over them.

worried,

heard

with many pieces of gold. The thousand ropes of ash were quickly made and the vil-

to rule

terrible

of

mand."

lord."

this

more

village,"

men

the wise

all

sent a log with a small hole that curved and

a notice in the village

square offering a great reward of gold to

any villager

"You are wiser than

In a

the lord cried angrily. "What

"Fools!"

good is your wisdom now?" )K^!

to hurry

is

to

will

her

se-

piece of

silk

other end.

He

thread and put will

weave

his

it

in at the

way in and out

of the curves to get to the sugar and he will

do

take the silk thread with him."

hold

your rope of ash!

in

room. "Why, that is not so difficult," his mother said with a quick smile. "Put some sugar at one end of the hole. Then tie an ant to a cret

not such an imis

soak ordi-

water and dry it

the young farmer hurried

its

it

well.

shape and

Tell the villagers

"Mother, you are remarkable!" the son

and he hurried off to the lord with the solution to the second problem. cried,

The Wise Old

Woman

1

55

Once more the lord commended the young farmer and rewarded him with many pieces of gold. "You are a brilliant

you have saved our

solved each of your problems and saved the

he said

from Lord Higa." He trembled as he spoke, for he feared the lord's displeasure and rage. Surely now the soldiers would be summoned to throw him into the dark dungeon. But when he glanced fearfully at the lord, he saw that the young ruler was not angry at all. Instead, he was silent and thoughtful, for at last he realized how much wisdom and knowledge old people possess. "I have been very wrong," he said finally. "And I must ask the forgiveness of your mother and of all my people. Never again will I demand that the old people of our village be sent to the mountains to die. Rather, they will be treated with the respect and honor they deserve and share with us the wisdom of their years."

village again,"

But the lord's troubles were not over

even then, for a few days later Lord Higa sent still another demand. "This time you will undoubtedly fail and then 1 shall conquer your village," he threatened. "Bring me a drum that sounds without being beaten." is

not possible," sighed the peo-

ple of the village.

"How can anyone make

drum sound without This time the wise in their It is

beating

men

a

it?"

held their heads

hands and moaned,

"It is

hopeless.

hopeless. This time Lord Higa will con-

quer us

all."

The young farmer hurried home lessly.

"Mother, Mother,

we must

breath-

solve an-

other terrible problem or Lord Higa will

conquer our village!" And he quickly told his mother about the impossible drum. His mother, however, smiled and answered, "Why, this

Make

a

drum with

bumblebee

inside.

is

the easiest of them

sides of

As

it

all.

paper and put a

tries to

escape,

it

buzz and beat itself against the paper and you will have a drum that sounds with-

will

village

And

so

it

was. From that

were no longer forced

small village there clared, "and

to live in peace."

56 From Generation to Generation

to

the villagers

abandon

their

became once more a happy, cheerful place in which to live. The terrible Lord Higa stopped sending his impossible demands and no longer threatened to conquer them, for he too was impressed. "Even in such a

The young farmer was amazed at his mother "s wisdom. "You are far wiser than

men of the village," he said, and he hurried to tell the yoving lord how to meet Lord Higa's third demand. When the lord heard the answer, he was greatly impressed. "Surely a young man like you cannot be wiser than all my wise men," he said. "Tell me honestly, who has helped you solve all these difficult problems?" The young farmer could not lie. "My lord," he began slowly, "for the past two years I have broken the law of the land. I

da)',

parents in the mountains, and the village

out being beaten."

any of the wise

1

my aged mother hidden beneath my house, and it is she who

the floor of

man and

gratefully.

"But that

have kept

And his

that

exactly

mother and

did for

all

much wisdom," he

de-

people should be allowed

its

is

is

all

what the farmer and

the people of the village

the years thereafter.

Bamboo (1835) by Tani Buncho. Folding fan; ink on paper.

$^

Meet the Writer Preserving the Magic

Yoshiko Uchida (1921-1992) was born

in

Alameda, California, and grew up

in

War

Berkeley. During II,

World

Uchida and her family

were imprisoned in one of the camps set up for the 10,000 I

Japanese Americans the

West

The

on

Coast. She later

wrote about in

living

experience

this

Invisible

Thread

(

1

99

). 1

After the war, Uchida traveled to Japan to rediscover

her roots and to collect

Japanese folk tales to add to life,

the ones she had heard as a child from

her mother "The Wise Old

one of these Late

in

Woman"

life,

to an opera or concert

with in

I've

remember.

was

ten,

I

and being the I

'Jimmy

I

still

can

when

I

have them. The

Chipmunk and

not only wrote stories,

I

began the day tary school.

I

also kept a

read of the special events of

I

moments

in

my

life,

guess that's really what books and all

about.

99

More by Yoshiko Uchida

Woman" comes

The Sea of Gold and Other

from

Tales from

japan

(Creative Arts). The Magic Listening Cap:

I

saver self kept

the journal as well, and even today

sadness, of certain

"The Wise Old

graduated from elemen-

Of course my

serve the magic, as well as the joy and

is

Short Story for Small Children.' I

special happenings I

writing are

His Friends:

journal of important events which

wreaths.

words and writing them down, was on to and somehow pre-

into

and

am

first

floral

trying to hold

cut up and I

San Francisco,

got

By putting these

I

child of frugal im-

into booklets, and because

such a saver, titled

stories

I

wrote them on brown

wrapping paper which

bound

as long as

was writing

migrant parents,

A

been interested

books and writing for

I

I

Uchida reflected on

seems to me

It

in

parents took us

my first dog, or the sad day he died, when drew a tombstone for him in my journal and decorated it or the day

her lifelong love for the written word:

44

my

is

tales.

her

such as the times

I

can

More Arts)

Folk Tales from is

a

japan (Creative

book Uchida both wrote and

illustrated.

my young The Wise Old

Woman

157

(Connections

The Old Grandfather and His

Little

Grandson

traditional European, retold by Leo Tolstoy Count Leo (Lev) Nikolayevich Tolstoy (1828-1910) was a Russian writer and philosopher whose ideas greatly influenced Russian society and literature. He is best known for his novels War and Peace and Anna Karenina. The grandfather had become very old. His legs would not carry him, his eyes could not see, his ears could not hear,

and he was toothless. When he ate, bits of food sometimes dropped out of his mouth. His son and his son's wife no longer allowed him to eat with them at the table. He had to eat his meals in the corner near the stove.

One day they gave him his food in a He tried to move the bowl clos-

bowl. er;

Tolstoy with his grandson.

it

fell

to the floor

and broke. His

daughter-in-law scolded him. She told

him that he spoiled everything in the house and broke their dishes, and she said that from now on he would get his food in a wooden dish. The old man sighed and said nothing. A few days later, the old man's son and his wife were sitting in their hut, resting and watching their little boy playing on the floor. They saw him putting together something out of small pieces of wood. His father asked him, "What are you making, Misha?" The little grandson said, Tm making a wooden bucket. Wlien you and Mama get old, I'll feed you out of this wooden dish." The young peasant and his wife looked at each other and tears filled their eyes. They were ashamed because they had treated the old grand-

father so meanly,

them

at

and from that day they again

let

the old

man

eat with

the table and took better care of him. iPI

1

58 From Generation to Generation

REAP ON Gapless Generations In

Paul Zindel's novel The Pigman (Bantam), John and Lor-

raine befriend Mr. Pignati, a

widower with

jokes and miniature pigs. (The Pigman Library.)

available in the

HRW

Then tragedy tears the Pigman away John and

Lorraine's story continues

The Pigman and

Me

The Pigman's Legacy (Bantam).

in

(HarperCollins)

the year the teenage Zindel met find an

is

bad

a passion for

his

tells

own

the true story of

"pigman." You'll

excerpt on page 82.

Together in a Strange Land The year leaves his

is

1903. Eight-year-old

in China and journeys across the ocean to Laurence Yep's Dragonwings (HarperCollins)

mother

join his father, in In

Moon Shadow

the land of the golden mountain

ica

— Moon Shadow comes

and understand

his

—Amer-

to love his father

dream of flying.

Parent Past Perfect you ever think that your parents can't possibly understand what it's like to be young?

Do

Victoria does,

in this

book by Francine

Pascal,

until a freak accident sends her spinning back in

time and she finds herself Hangin' Out with

girl

her

own

age

who seems

Cici (Puffin), a

strangely familiar.

Other Picks •

Pat

Derby

elderly

Visiting

woman

in

Miss Pierce (Farrar, Straus a nursing

home and

&

Giroux).

•

visits

an

»

Will Hobbs, Bearstone

American

boy

gradually uncovers the truth about

her past. •

A

Indian youth

(HRW is

Library). In this coming-of-age story an

helped by an elderly farmer.

A Gathering of Family Poems (Bradbury Press), selected by Paul B. George Janeczko. Poems by such poets as Gary Soto, Anne Sexton, and Strings:

Ella

Lyon

tell

about the ups and downs of family

life.

Read

On

159

Ny

'

BUILDING YOUR_JORTFOLIO

^l^

=4^1

PERSUASIVE WRITING

Supporting a Position In

your everyday conversations, you probably spend

supporting your positions

— maybe about school

work, or people and events write an essay

Assignment Write an essay

the news.

in

In this

a lot of

rules,

time

home-

workshop,

you'll

which you support your position on an impor-

in

tant issue and try to convince an audience to agree with you.

Professional Model

supporting your position, or opinion, on an important

We dont look up in wonder nearly enough these days. We look down

issue.

instead,

of our

Aim

focus

To persuade.

Audience Your classmates, teachers, parents,

school board, readers

As

minutiae

own demanding lives. Our

is in,

not out.

a result

we miss

things.

Amaz-

eral times a year, a

Topic sentence.

Specific example.

group of brave

women and men will climb aboard a spaceship

and ride a

into the dark It

choose.)

in the

ing things. Such as the fact that sev-

of a school or local

newspaper, etc. (You

absorbed

Tfies/s statement and elaboration.

so

happens

of fire

unknown. all

the time, after

we forget to be

Except

pillar

that, there

awed.

.

.

all,

Topic sentence.

.

went John Glenn

Anecdote.

rocketing into space again the

other day, and didn't folks.

we aU watched,

we? School kids and grown Maybe we felt something

something quiet and proud and strangely familiar. Something that felt good. If thirn-six years ago, he bol-

Emotional appeal-

stered our flagging confidence,

uses loaded words.

stirring in us,

perhaps by

this return

engage-

ment, Senator Glerm does

1

60 From Generation to Generation

— /

'^ The history of the written I word is rich ana^^,

something equally important

Strategies for

Elaboration To support, or elaborate, your reasons, use

3.

Create An Argument to

Choose

a specific audience,

•

What are

•

What

their

Fit

Your Audience

and think about the following:

main concerns about the issue?

reasons are most

likely

to persuade this audience?

the following kinds of

evidence:

4. Elaborate:

•

Facts

•

Statistics

The key to argument.

examples

•

Specific

•

Quotations

Appeal to Reason

successful persuasion

Once you

is

developing a strong

have stated your thesis, your task

is

to

two or three strong reasons to support your position. The Framework at the top right on page 63 outlines the

find

1

(pre-

bare bones of a logical argument. Each paragraph begins with a

senting an expert's

topic sentence that clearly states the reason being presented in that paragraph. The rest of the paragraph contains the sup-

opinion or the opinion of

someone who

has had firsthand

porting evidence

(facts, statistics,

examples, quotations, and

anecdotes) that backs up and elaborates the reason.

experience with the issue) •

•

5.

Personal experiences

Elaborate: Appeal to Emotions

It's

okay to appeal to your audience's emotions as well as to

or negative

—words have strong — can be powerful persuasive connotations

true stories that focus

when used

thoughtfully and

on the

words

Anecdotes

(brief,

topic)

•

Results of a survey

•

Interviews

their reason.

6.

in

Loaded words

in

that

positive

tools

moderation. Note the loaded

the Professional Model, including brave, proud, glorious.

Organize Your Argument

way that works best for the topic. One effective way to present an argument is order of importance, in which you present the most important reason Organize your argument

first

Language/Grammar Link

and follow

least

it

in

a logical

with less important reasons or begin with the

important reason and build up to the most important.

HELP Connotations: page 151-

7.

End with a Punch

You can end your paper

forcefully with a call

your audience to take a

specific action

certain way, for instance, or to write

action

in

on the

to action. Ask issue: to

vote

in

a letter. You'll find a call

the Student Model on pages 163-164.

Drafting Whenever you're trying to persuade an audience, use a confident tone as if you're very sure that you're right. Avoid hesitant

—

words such

as probably, maybe,

your argument.

162 From Generation TO Generation

and perhaps

—they

will

weaken

a

to

student Model Distinguished

Framework for an

Members

Essay Supporting

of the

a Position

School Board:

am in favor of the proposed requirement that eighth-graders spend fifteen hours during the school year volunteering to help I

Introduction

Thesis

statement.

State issue and position in

Body

the elderly.

One reason idea

is

that

statement.

a thesis

feel

I

would be a good it would be an

this

awesome learning

experience.

Students could learn how to work with and relate to older people. My mother works at a nursing home, so I have had the opportunity to help her in the summer. I have learned

with the residents there, and I also learned interesting things from the people themselves and things about their lives. Another reason I think this rule would be magnificent is that it is a good way to help others. Eighthgraders can help people who cannot do things for themselves. Students could do yardwork, housework, run errands, or just spend time with the elderly so they would not be alone. Finally, I think just spending at least fifteen hours a school year with the elderly would improve students' people skills. Students would to help

Reason #1-

Paragraph

topic

•

Topic sentence

sentence.

•

Supporting evidence (facts,

I

:

Reason

statistics,

experience.

quotations)

Paragraph writer

anecdotes,

2:

Reason #2

•

Topic sentence

•

Supporting evidence

iearned.

Paragraph

Reason #2-

3:

Reason #3

•

Topic sentence

•

Supporting evidence

topic

Conclusion

sentence.

Restate position;

end with a call to exampies.

action.

Reason #3topic

sentence.

Sentence Workshop

HELP Run-on sentences:

They would learn how to be less shy, too. In a recent Time magazine

page

sixty percent of people becom-

ing nurses in care

learned

how

to

homes

said they

and

165.

Supportinq, survey, statistic.

Language/Gpammar Link

be able to talk to

more confidently A woman who works with my mother did volunteer work residents

may

Specific

learn to talk to and relate to others.

poll,

I

examples,

Fersonal

What

#

HELP

their families

Anecdote.

Altenuitiivs to said:

page

105. Choosing precise

words: page Ijj.

(continued on next page)

Writer's

Workshop

1

63

Student Model (continued)

Evaluation Criteria

A good persuasive 1.

has a

thesis

when she was

essay

has told

statement

2.

an

strong reasons to support

theposition 3- supports each reason

with evidence

(J'acts,

is

may contain

Conclusion.

Call

to action.

—Teresa Lacey

sta-

examples, anec-

Franklin Middle School

dotes, quotations, etc) 4.

grateful for

For all these reasons, I believe the proposed requirement for volunteering would make a good rule. I hope that you will consider my reasons and vote to accept the proposed requirement.

issue

develops at least two

tistics,

she

that experience.

that clearly states a

position on

me

and

in high school

Abilene, Texas

emotional

as well as logical appeals

Evaluating and Revising

clearly organized

5.

is

6.

ends with a ccmclusion

1.

Peer Response

that restates the writer's

Make copies

position

aloud to them.

may also end with a

7.

call

to action

of your draft for your If

v\/riting

group, or read

it

you're not sure about certain issues or parts

of your paper, ask specifically for feedback about them. For

example, you might ask

if

the group thinks you have enough

strong supporting evidence. You might ask

how

the order

in

which you've presented your argument might be improved.

Proofreading Tip 2. If

you're writing on a

computer, look for errors caused by cutting

and moving material.

Self-Evaluation

Check your

ideas. Read your essay, looking for places to

strengthen

Does your opening paragraph

it.

position and grab the readers' attention?

supporting evidence? Are the ideas

in

clearly state

your

Have you used strong

each paragraph clearly

presented? (For example, have you used transition words such as

first,

next, another, finally,

Check your Communications Handliooii

HELP See Proofreaders' Marks.

and

correctness. Be sure to check your paper

carefully for correct

grammar and

punctuation. For example,

fragments are not usually considered correct tions.

pages

Yet you 1

60-1 6

may have noticed 1

(a

newspaper

Fragments are often used for

Publishing Tip

therefore^.)

especially

in

article) includes

formal composi-

some

will

persuasive speech to an

paper carefully to be sure you have used

full

appropriate audience.

exercise

64 From Generation to Generation

fragments.

news magazines and newspapers. However,

in editing,

if

your

have to check your sentences.

As an

you might go back to the Professional Model

and correct the fragments. Does the tone of the

1

Model on

effect by professional writers,

teacher does not accept fragments, you

Present your essay as a

in

that the Professional

article

change?

.

O

BUILDING YOUR PORTFOLIO

Run-on Sentences A

run-on sentence is made up of two complete sentences run if they were one sentence. In some run-on sentences, no punctuation is used to connect the two sentences. In others,

Language Handbook

HELP

together as

called

comma splices, the sentences are joined with

comma. Run-ons are confusing because the reader one idea ends and another one begins.

1.

two

can't

789. tell

revise run-on sentences.

There are several ways you can are

See Run-on Sentences, page

only a

where Here Technology

of them.

You can

HELP

divide the run-on sentence into

two sentences. See Language Workshop

Lemon Brown had a treasure, it was a harmonica and some old newspaper clippings. CORRECT Lemon Brown had a treasure. It was a harmonica and some old newspaper Try It Out RUN-ON

CD-ROM^ Key word

entry:

run-on sentences.

clippings.

Revise the following run-on sentences, 2.

You can connect the ideas with

comma

a

nating conjunction such as and, but, or

RUN-ON

Mike thought

his

and a coordi-

or.

using either of the

methods you've

learned.

grandmother recognized 1

him she'd actually mistaken him for her husband.

Count Leo Tolstoy's parents died when he was young, he was raised by relatives.

CORRECT Mike thought his grandmother recognized him, but she'd actually mistaken him for

2.

He

fought

later

her husband.

in

the Russian Army,

he became a farmer and

opened a school

Writer's Workshop Follow-up: Proofreading The

easiest

aloud.

way to catch run-ons

When

is

you hear a clear pause

He had thirteen children of his own they all lived on his family estate

probably reached the end of a thought.

in

the province of Tula.

your voice, you've If

you don't see

end punctuation at that point, you may have found a run-on sentence.

3.

to read your writing in

for peasant

children.

wrote books opposing viohe said we can improve soci-

4. Tolstoy

lence,

ety only by improving ourselves. 5. Tolstoy

gave up

was all

a successful writer he

his

property to

work

in

the fields with the peasants.

Sentence Workshop 165

5

Situation

Memo

Suppose you want to recommend that your school set up a

program that

special

kids into the

involve the

school. gies

bring

will

community and

community

Here are some

in

We

ics

list

there,

like

project. ings

topic.

you are doing your

First,

you

re-

for

pets. in

located on the Internet.

will use. list

Then, once you

of possible

What are

•

specific action

that will probably offer the

recommend.

you

what will

tions in written form.

e-mail the contact person

Using the Strategies

listed. I.

You might also

talk directly

to people involved

in

2.

What

specific

recommenda-

tion for action have the stu-

your

66 From Generation to Generation

What

details

support their

3.

What

key words do you

guess these students used

Extending the Strategies Research a community prob-

lem that interests you, and

Present your recommenda-

write or

details,

memo

search for information?

a group, decide

sources, check those sources

For more

the

to conduct their on-line

Take a stand.

•

in

recommendation?

You may want to put your data in a chart form for easy

As

made

above?

about your ideas?

access.

•

information you need.

dents

their feel-

together.

decide what key words

have a

1

we have

Gather information

conduct an on-line search.

•

community and ask

at school.

such as put on plays and sing holiday songs and share our

twelve schools that

to

search on the computer,

•

our school set up a volunteer program.

We think this program will work because it is working right now

Search for information.

•

that

at least three

answer about each

If

recommend

would contact senior-citizen groups in our

The seniors would help teachers tutor volunteers to kids that need help. They would also help us do an oral history of our community. The kids would go to the senior centers and do things

of specific top-

questions you would

•

like to

you want to research.

Next,

•

1

work

a group, brainstorm to list

October

would

and to make

Focus your research. develop a

Date:

it

in-

Strategies

In

Grade Eight

We have been researching ways our school can contribute to our community. We agree that would be good to get kids and seniors together so that kids can help seniors and seniors can help kids. We

strate-

your recommendation.

•

From:

Subject: Getting Kids and Seniors Together

formation that you need for a like this

Mr. Thaddeus Conklin, Principal

your

you can use to gather

project

To:

make a recommendation on what action your city council should take.

.

tL|!)7iJl3^ ,J;^

Problem

2.

and probably

In this collection,

your own

in

life,

it

the person

If

something

move

What are some ways our relationships

Write

follow

in conflict.

communities can strengthen

you've prepared as just a

says

generations working together

and generations

2,

general guide.

you've seen

interesting,

view

cision

JONAS:

you

every word. Instead, in

just take notes.

Interview an older person about his or her experiences, feelings about the

community, and ideas on what can be done to bring the generations together.

be sure

to send a thank-you note.

role of older people in the

If

1

.

would

like

Prepare a

list

of questions

that cannot be

answered

Present your interview

If

you plan to use a tape

make sure you

have permission to record.

.

(...)

each place where you cut

Introduce the interview with a paragraph

in

your

own words.

of the interview. 3.

Monologue

Write and perform a monologue from the point of view of the person you interviewed.

Tape Recording

Create a cover for your tape

You can either use your interviewee's actual words or

A

interpret the information you

recording of the interview.

and a photograph or draw-

or no.

recorder,

ellipsis

.

one

in

approves).

ing of

3.

was

impressions of the person and

title

just yes

it

information, and describe your

Presentation

I .

2.

use an

say

Give any necessary background

to interview, and

arrange a meeting.

edit,

I'd

your presentation.

another that your teacher

Think of a person you

guess

possible, include a copy of

of the following formats (or

Preparation

I

you ever made?

words.

Project 4. After the interview,

inter-

HOLLY: What's the hardest de-

If

down

your

question-and-answer

in

to another topic.

the interview by writing

generations?

a report of

format:

up before you

3. Don't interrupt the flow of

between the

Q-and-A Article

Think of the questions

your subject should ap-

collected

pear on the front. Inside the

On

cover, include liner notes iden-

made

tifying

the voices heard on the

in

the interview to

write lines for the monologue.

your

script,

up.

note what you

You may even want

to use a costume and props.

tape and the place, date, and

Procedure I .

When

you begin the

occasion of the interview. Prointer-

view, introduce yourself, if

necessary, and begin with

friendly conversation

vide any other information or

comments

that you think

be helpful to someone

would

listening

to your taped interview.

Processing

What

you learn from this Write a reflection

did

project?

on the experience for your portfolio.

to help you and your inter-

viewee

relax.

Learning for

Life

1

67

,if>lf

->/ Collection

Three ^^^

ni I

I*

aiej 01

I

1.

^^•^

>^i?^

Th't!

niDol h'dcnuijul ibing iwe

:>u!irfje!

ufaUlni'dM/'t

cW) mj

and 'jci'env'-!.

—

Alb'tirt liljijlf^ln

Before You Read The Landlady self in

Make the Connection

the place of

Billy,

the main character.

Pay close attention to what

Open House

senses.

Picture this: You've just arrived in

new town

a

by train and

Be on your toes

Billy

—

over the many

yourself tripping

sees and

you may

find

cleverly

disguised clues.

you're looking for a place to

As you walk down the street, you see this sign in a boardinghouse window: stay.

loreshadowing

the

is

use of clues or hints suggesting events that wi

AND BREAKFAST

BED

in

the

curtains.

in

a

window and green

later in the plot.

more on Foreshadowing, see

For

There are yellow flowers vase

occur

pages 2 1 2-2 1 3 and the

Handbook of Literary Terms.

You walk up to the in. What do What sort of a

window and look you see

inside?

place

this

is

Draw like

boardinghouse?

an outline of a house

the one below.

Fill it

with

words and symbols showing what and whom you

—

—

imagine you would find

in

the

Reading

Skills

and Strategies Dialogue with the Text: Monitoring Your

Comprehension "The Landlady" that you'll

boardinghouse.

is filled

with clues

want to pay close attention

to as you read.

In

order to

your comprehension

monitor

of the

unfolding events, keep a piece of paper handy. Jot

down your questions,

your predictions about what might happen, and any other

Elements of Literature

down any

questions

Foreshadowing

you

Foreshadowing, the use of what will hap-

dent's notes

clues to suggest

pen

later in a plot,

is

a tool used

by writers to build suspense or anxiety

in

their readers.

As you

read "The Landlady," put your-

comments

or responses. At the end, write

One

^^

have

still

stu-

appear on the

first

page

of the story as an

example go.hrw.com

1

70 Tales of the Strange and Mysterious

LEO 8-3

1

had traveled down from London on the slow afternoon train, with a change at Reading on the way, and by the time he got to Bath, it was about nine o'clock in the evening, and the moon was coming up out of

Dialogue with the Text

Billy Weaver

a clear starry sky over the

trance. But the air flat

houses opposite the station en-

was deadly cold and the wind was

said, "but is there a fairly cheap hotel away from here?" "Try The Bell and Dragon," the porter answered, pointing down the road. "They might take you in. It's about a quarter of a mile along on the other side." BUly thanked him and picked up his suitcase and set out to walk the quarter-mile to The Bell and Dragon. He had never been to Bath before. He didn't know anyone who lived there. But Mr Greenslade at the head office in London had told him it was a splendid town. "Find your own lodgings," he had said, "and then go along and report to the branch manager as soon as you've got yourself settled." Billy was seventeen years old. He was wearing a new

in

it

makes me

my

mind.

sounds as

if

this would hurt.

He doesn't have much money.

far

navy-blue overcoat, a

down

picture the scene

It

"Excuse me," he

brown

the description;

like a

blade of ice on his cheeks.

not too

like

I

suit,

new brown

and he was feeling

He was

and a new He walked briskly

Bell

and Dvaqon" sounds

like

the Middle Ages.

He must not have a

lot of

things

to have only one suitcase.

I

ivould be lonely

Billy

I

must

thought

be

in

if

I

were

Billy.

Bath for a job.

Billy ivas

much

older.

trilby hat,"

fine.

do everything briskly these days. Briskness, he had decided, was the one common characteristic of all successful businessmen. The big shots up at the head office were absolutely fantastically brisk all the time. They were amazing. There were no shops on this wide street that he was walking along, only a line of tall houses on each side, all of them identical. They had porches and pillars and four or the street.

"The

trying to

porter: person employed to carry luggage. 2. trilby hat: soft hat with the top deeply indented.

The word briskly reminds me of the wind.

— Candace Ayers Stonewall Jackson Middle School Mechanicsville, Virginia

1.

The Landlady

1

7

— The name itself conjured up images of watery cabbage, rapacious landladies, and a powerful smell of kippers' in the

going up to their front doors, and it was obvious that once upon a time they had been very swanky residences. But now, even in the darkness, he could see that the paint was peeling from the woodwork on their doors and windows and that the handsome white facades were cracked and blotchy from neglect. Suddenh', in a downstairs window that was brilliantly illuminated by a street lamp not six

frightened of them.

yards awa), Bilh' caught sight of a printed no-

And now a queer thing happened to him. He was in the act of stepping back and turning away from the window when all at once his eye was catight and held in the most peculiar manner by the small notice that was there, bed AND BREAKFAST, it Said. BED AND BREAKFAST, BED AND BREAKFAST, BED AND BREAKFAST. Each word was like a large black eye staring at him

five steps

tice propped up against the glass in one of the upper panes. It said bed and breakfast. There was a vase of yellow chrysanthemtims, tall and

underneath the notice.

beautiful, standing just

He stopped

walking.

He moved

a

Green curtains (some were hanging down on either side of the window. The chrysanthemums looked wonderful beside them. He went right up and peered through the glass into the room, and the first thing he saw was a bright fire burnbit

closer.

sort of velvety material)

ing in the hearth.

On

house to

stay

it

in.

and

all

in

would be Certainly

it

across from the

like

to

walk away

window to

the front

—

ing there.

3.

would be more

4.

pub would be more boardinghouse. There would

be beer and darts in the evenings, and lots of people to talk to, and it would probably be a good bit cheaper, too. He had stayed a couple of nights in a pub once before and he had liked it. He had never stayed in any boardinghouses, and, to be perfectly honest, he was a tiny bit

1

him,

door of the house, climbing the steps that led up to it, and reaching for the bell. He pressed the bell. Far away in a back room he heard it ringing, and then at once it must have been at once because he hadn't even had time to take his finger from the bell button the door swung open and a woman was stand-

decent

the other hand, a

congenial than a

holding

looked to

a pretty

comfortable than The Bell and Dragon.

On

glass,

he knew, he was actually moving

in a cage. Ani-

all, it

the

from that house, and the next thing

mals were usually a good sign in a place told himself;

to go.

the carpet in

corner he spotted a large parrot

though

two or three minutes, Billy decided that he would walk on and take a look at The Bell and Dragon before making up his mind. He ttirned

where he was and not

fire, a pretty little dachshimd was up asleep with its nose tucked into its belly. The room itself, so far as he could see in the half darkness, was filled with pleasant furniture. There was a baby grand piano and a big sofa and several plump armchairs, and in one

as

After dithering about^ like this in the cold for

compelling him, forcing him to stay

curled

him

room.

through

front of the

this, Billy

living

72 Tales of the Strange and Mysterious

conjured up:

called to

mind

kippers: fish that have been salted and dried or smoked. Kippers are commonly eaten for breakfast in Great Britain. 5.

dithering about: acting nervous and confused.

Words to Own facades (f8-sadz') n.: fronts of buildings. Facades also means "false fronts or appearances." congenial (kan-jen'yal) odj.; agreeable; pleasant. rapacious (ra pa'shas) adj.: greedy. •

Normally you ring the

and you have at the door

bell

before

wait

half-minute's

a

least

dame was like a jack-in-the-box. He pressed the bell — and out she popped! It made him jump. opens. But this

She was about forrj'-five or fifty years old, and the moment she saw him, she gave him a

warm, welcoming

come

''Please

smile.

she said pleasantly. She

in,"

stepped aside, holding the door wide open, and Billy found himself automatically starting forward.

The compulsion

or,

more

accurate!}',

the desire to follow after her into that house

was

extraordinarily strong.

saw the notice

"1

window," he

in the

^^

holding himself back.

said,

"Yes,

1

know."

was wondering about

"I

"It's

had

a

a room."

my dear," she said. She round pink face and very gentle blue all

ready for you,

eyes. "I

was on my way

Billy told

to

The

Bell

her "But the notice

in

and Dragon," your window

happened to catch my eye." "My dear boy," she said, "why don't you

just

come in out of the cold?" "How much do you charge?" "Five

and sixpence

a night, including break-

fast."

was fantastically cheap. It was less than half of what he had been willing to pay. It

"If that is

too much," she added, "then per-

haps I can reduce it just a tiny bit. Do you desire an egg for breakfast? Eggs are expensive at the

moment.

It

would be sixpence

less

without

the egg." "Five

should "I

and sixpence

like

very

much

is fine,"

he answered.

knew you would. Do come

She seemed

"I

to stay here."

terribly nice.

in."

She looked exactly

the mother of one's best school friend welcoming one into the house to stay for the

like

Christmas holidays.

Billy

took off his hat and

stepped over the threshold.

The Landlady

1

73

— hang

"Just

she

there,"

it

said,

and

me

let

"Mr. Weaver. tle

There were no other hats or coats in the hall. There were no umbrellas, no walking sticks

Weaver.

"We have it all to ourselves," she said, smiling at him over her shoulder as she led the way "You

upstairs.

see,

it

isn't verj'

often

pleasure of taking a visitor into

The old

I

have the

my little

girl is slightly dott\',*' Billy

nest."

told him-

How

nice. I've

between the sheets

help you with your coat."

nothing.

—

"

It's

bed with clean sheets, don't you agree? And you may light the gas fire at any time if you feel chilly. "Thank you," Billy said. "Thank you ever so much." He noticed that the bedspread had been taken off the bed and that the bedclothes had been neatly turned back on one side, all

politely.

worried."

"Oh,

I

am,

the trouble

my dear, am, of course am. But is that Im inclined to be just a

teeny-weeny see what

I

—

if

you

ready day and night in this house

come

will

such

dear,

again

I

just

is

always

on the

And

it is

my when now and

such a pleasure,

very great pleasure

who

halfway up the

hand on the smiling

the

way down

and she paused with one turning her head and liim with pale lips. "Like you,"

at

again.

second-floor landing she said to him,

"This floor

is

mine."

to get anything to eat before

dow, Mr. Perkins. It is Mr. Perkins, isnt "No," he said. "It's "Weaver."

"I'm not a bit hungry, thank you," he said.

think

I'll

just

"I

go to bed as soon as possible be-

cause tomorrow

I've got to get

and report to the

office."

up rather

early

do we?" She gave him a little wave of the hand and went quickly out of the room and closed

it?"

Now, the be

fact that his landlady

slightly off

the

least.

there

After

dotty: crazy.

appeared to

her rocker didn't worry all,

Billy in

she not only w^as harmless

was no question about

that

— but she was

and generous soul. He guessed that she had probably lost a son in the war, or sometliing like that, and had never also quite obviously a kind

gotten over

it.

So a few minutes

1

you came

here?"

the door.

They climbed up another flight. "And this one is «// yours," she said. "Here's your room. I do hope youU like it." She took him into a small but charming front bedroom, switching on the light as she went in. "The morning sun comes right in the win-

6.

suit-

it.

ing any laws at this stage in the proceedings,

was

stairs,

and then up

On the

open

the length of Billy "s body, to his

stand-

exactly right." She

she added, and her blue eyes traveled slowly

feet,

brightly.

all

is just

stair rail,

down

answered

"Very well, then. I'U leave you now so that you can unpack. But before you go to bed, would you be kind enough to pop into the sitting room on the ground floor and sign the book? Everyone has to do that because it's the law of the land, and we don't want to go break-

open the door and I see someone

ing there

Billy

to get

"You mustnt worry about me." He put his

off

an acceptable young gentleman

along. a

was beginning

case on the chair and started to

manage

"But I'm always ready. Everything

that

right,"

all

"I

"And what about supper, m)' dear? Did you

"All, yes."

chance

"Thats

mean."

1

in.

"I'm so glad you appeared," she said, lookingearnestly into his face.

I

choosy and particular

bit

out, Mr.

such a comfort to have a hot-water

ready for someone to get

at five

them

bottle in a strange

and sixpence a night, who "1 shouldve thought you'd be cares about that? simply swamped with applicants," he said But

self.

put a water bot-

to air

suitcase

unpacking his hands, he trotted

later, after

and washing

his

74 Tales of the Strange and Mysterious

/

"They sound somehow familiar," he "They do? How interesting."

downstairs to the ground floor and entered the living

room. His landlady wasn't there, but the

was glowing in the hearth, and the little dachshund was still sleeping soundly in front of it. The room was wonderfully warm and

before somewhere.

cozy. I'm a lucky fellow, he thought, rubbing

in

is

a bit of

all

right.

He found the guest book lying open on the piano, so he took out his pen and wrote down his name and address. There were only two other entries above his on the page, and as one always , does with guest books, he started

One was

to read them.

a Christo-

I i

'*'

'

Isn't that

in the newspapers. They weren't famous any way, were they? I mean famous cricketers or footballers or something like that?"

was

"Famous," she said, setting the tea tray

on the low

table in front of the sofa.

both of them,

They were handsome, my

at

Once more,

he thought sud-

is

It

name

rather unusual

before?

is

a

friend of his father's? No, no, those.

He glanced down

dear,

Billy

exactly

just

down

glanced

over two years

last

entry

old."

it

wasn't any of

years ago." "Dear me," she heaving a dainty

thought

again at the book.

And Christopher Mulholland's — more than three

nearly a year before that

doesn't

Christopher Mulholland 23 1 Cathedral Road, Cardiff

Gregory

and young and

the book. "Look here," he said,

"Yes, indeed.

that

boy at school? No. Was it one of his numerous young men, perhaps, or a

sister's

I

"It is?"

where on earth had he heard

it

tall

noticing the dates. "This

rings a beU.

'Was

no,

can promise you

I

that.

\^^^\^

^

Bristol.

Now

"Oh

they were incredibly handsome,

like you."

denly. Christopher Mulholland.

down

don't think they were famous. But

pher Mulholland from Cardiff The other was Gregory W. Temple from That's funny,

names odd? Maybe it

"I'm almost positive I've heard those

fire

his hands. This

said.

"It's

it.

it,

How

said,

shaking her head and

would never have time does fly away from us all, little

sigh. "I

Mr. "Wilkins?"

Weaver," Billy said. "W-e-a-v-e-r."

"Oh, of course

it

is!"

she cried,

sitting

down

on the sofa. "How silly of me. I do In one ear and out the other, that's me,

W Temple

apologize.

27 Sycamore Drive,

Bristol

Mr

Weaver."

As a matter of

he wasn't

it,

now he came

fact,

at all

about

it

as the

much

of a familiar ring

he

said aloud, searching

memory. "Christopher Mulholland?

." .

.

answered, and he turned and saw his landlady in her hands.

and rather high up, as though the were a pair of reins on a frisky horse.

front of her, tray

room with a large silver tea tray She was holding it well out in

something?"

Billy said.

"Some-

quite extraordinary about

all

this?"

"No, dear, "

"Such charming boys," a voice behind him sailing into the

know

thing that's really

first.

"Gregory Temple? his

name

sure that the second

didn't have almost as

"You

to think of

I

don't."

—

you see, both of these names Mulholland and Temple— I not only seem to remember each one of them separately, so to "Well,

speak, but

somehow or other,

in

some

peculiar

way, they both appear to be sort of connected

7.

cricketers: people

popular

in

who play cricket, a game

that

is

Great Britain.

The Landlady

1

75

I

1

76 Tales of the Strange and Mysterious

"

together as well. As though they were both

fa-

mous for the same sort of thing, if you see what like Dempsey and well I mean — hke .

.

.

.

.

.

Tumiey, for example, or Churchill and Roosevelt."^

"How

here now, dear, and sofa

and

come over

amusing," she said. "But

I'll

down

sit

give you a nice

beside

me on

cup of tea and

the

a gin-

ger biscuit before you go to bed."

"You

really shouldn't

"I

mean you

second. I'm sure

There

to

I

thing like this that lingers just outside the bor-

ders of ones memory.

"Now

He hated

to give up.

wait a minute," he said. "Wait just a

minute. Mulholland

.

sofa,

and waiting

.

Christopher Mulhol-

.

"

we

"There

co2y

this

.

of a

all

."' .

.

"Milk?" she said. "And sugar? "Yes, please.

And then

all

"Eton schoolboy?" she dear, that can't possibly

Mr.

be

of a sudden said.

right,

"Oh

." .

nice and

She did the

started sipping his tea.

neither of

so,

them

Billy knew that she was looking at body him. Her was half turned toward him, and he could feel her eyes resting on his face, watching him over the rim of her teacup. Now and again, he caught a whiff of a peculiar smell that seemed to emanate directly from her person. It was not in the least unpleasant, and it reminded him well, he wasn't quite sure what it reminded him of. Pickled walnuts? New leather? Or was it the corridors of a hospital? At length, she said, "Mr. Mulholland was a great one for his tea. Never in my life have I seen anyone drink as much tea as dear, sweet

spoke. But

no,

because

when he came

to me.

my my

He was

suppose he

"I

a

Cambridge undergraduate. Come over here now and sit next to me and warm yourself in front of this lovely fire. Come on. Your tea's all

left fairly recently," Billy said.

puzzling his head about the two

still

names. He was positive

now

them

— in the headlines.

in the

"Left?"

.

Mulholland was certainly not an Eton

schoolboy

"How

said.

same. For half a minute or

He was

sudden

she

are,"

through the West Country, and then

.

there smiling

isn't it?"

is,

Mr. Mulholland."

.

sat

for

the table in front of him.

wasnt that the name of the Eton schoolboy who was on a walking tour

land

and she

him to come over. room slowly and sat down on He crossed the the edge of the sofa. She placed his teacup on at Billy

—

will."

nothing more tantalizing than a

is

on the

side her

Billy

bother," Billy said.

do anything like that." He stood by the piano, watching her as she fussed about with the cups and saucers. He noticed that she had small, white, quickly moving hands and red fingernails. "I'm almost positive it was in the newspapers I saw them," Billy said. Til think of it in a didn't

ready for you." She patted the empty place be-

newspapers

she

said,

dear boy, he never ple

is

that

he had seen

arching her brows. "But left.

He's

also here. They're

still

here.

my

Mr Tem-

on the fourth

floor,

both of them together." Billy set his

and stared

cup down slowly on the

at his landlady.

table

She smiled back

at

Words to Own 8. Dempsey and Tunney Churchill and Roosevek: Jack Dempsey and Gene Tunney were American boxers who competed for the world heav>'weight championship in 1926. Winston C.hurchill was prime minister of Britain and Franklin Delano Roosevelt was president of the United States during World War II. 9. biscuit: British term meaning "cookie." 10. Eton: boys' prep school near London 11. Cambridge: famous university in England. .

.

.

tantalizing (tan'ta-llz'ir)) adj.: teasing by remaining unavailable or by withholding something desired by someone; tempting. (In Greek mythology, Tantalus was a king condemned after death to stand in water that moved away whenever he tried to drink it and to remain under branches of fruit that were just out of reach.)

emanate

(em'a-nat')

v.:

come

forth.

The Landlady

1

77

him, and then she put out one of her white hands and patted him comfortingly on the

"How old are you, my dear?"

knee.

she asked.

"Seventeen!" she cried. "Oh,

it's

the perfect

age! Mr. Mulholland was also seventeen. But

1

you are; in weren't his teeth and fact I'm sure he was, quite so white. You have the most beautiful teeth, Mr. Weaver, did you know that?" "They're not as good as they look," Billy said. "They've got simply masses of fillings in them

was

at

it

gently

on the top of

its back. The back was hard and cold, and when he pushed the hair to one side with his

he could see the skin underneath, grayish black and dry and perfectly preserved. "Good gracious me," he said. "How absolutely fascinating." He turned away from the

fingers,

"Seventeen."

think he

out a hand and touched

a trifle shorter than

dog and stared with deep admiration at the little woman beside him on the sofa. "It must be most awfully difficult to do a thing like that.'"

the back." "Mr. Temple, of course,

she

whole

a

ignoring his remark. "He

said,

twenty-eight.

guessed

was

it

if

life.

And

yet

1

little older,"

was

actually

never would have

he hadn't told me, never in There wasn't a blemish on

my his

body."

"A what?" Billy said. "His skin

was Just like

a baby's."

There was a pause. teacup and took another set

it

Billy

picked up his

sip of his tea;

then he

down again gently in its saucer. He waited

for her to say

something

else,

but she seemed

to have lapsed into another of her silences.

He

ahead of him into the far corner of the room, biting his lower lip. "That parrot," he said at last. "You know sat there staring straight

It had me completely fooled when saw it through the window. 1 could have sworn it was alive." "Alas, no longer." "It's most terribly clever the way it's been done," he said. "It doesn't look in the least bit dead. "Who did it?"

something? I first

"I did."

"You did?" "Of course," she little

said.

"And have you met

dachshund curled up so comfortably in the

fire. Billy

looked

at

it.

And

front of

suddenly, he re-

had all the time been just and motionless as the parrot. He put

alized that this animal as silent

1

my

She nodded toward the

Basil as well?"

78 Tales of the Strange and Mysterious

Meet the Writer Advice to Young Writers Roald born

(roo'ol)

in

Wales,

wegian parents. old,

Dahl (1916-1990) was in

Great

When

Britain, to

Nor-

he was nine years

Dahl was sent to boarding school.

Many people believe that Dahl's dark humor had its source in his unpleasant experiences at the two boarding schools he attended. The strict and often brutal discipline practiced at these schools

apparently didn't help his wridng at

the dme, however

When

Dahl /;«

"Not in the

least,"

pets myself

tle

she

when

said. "I stuff all

my

that almost every day

lit-

they pass away. Will you

Mr.

have another cup of tea?"

much

what you were

was fourteen, his

his English

report card,

called,

"I

happen

if I

then

I

al-

I still

do

up.

it

teacher wrote on

have never

met

a

4.

You must be

rewritten

In

sentences mal-

He reminds me

5.

of a camel."

"Lucky Break," the true story of

my dear,'

"No,

good

negligible,

as

if

sional writer, Dahl offers advice to

it

again and again,

tick

you

young 6.

2.

You should have

of the qualities you

off

No

that a

I

it

as

one

is

No one

em-

is

around to

fire

if

is

slacking.

you have a keen sense of not essential

when

writ-

grown-ups, but for children,

it's

vital.

7.

By

mean you should be able to make come alive in the reader's mind.

You must have writer

who

velous

is

a degree of humility.

thinks that his

work

is

The

mar-

heading for trouble. 99

scene

Not everybody gift,

3.

making

self-discipline.

you start

if

helps a lot

humor. This

a lively imagination. well.

It

ing for

if

a fiction writer:

You should be able to write

That

you don't turn up for work, or to

writers:

1.

"Only you."

you possibly can.

ploying you.

you

you wish to become

said.

a perfectionist.

You are working alone.

how

should possess or should try to acquire

she

You must have strong

the "persistent muddler" became a profes-

4( Here are some

inclin-

she looked up

at

opposite of what he means." Another

Vocabulary

one hand,

in

slightly to the left,

means you must never be sadsfied with what you have written until you have

boy

so persistently writes the exact

constructed.

head

him out of the corners of her eyes and gave him another gentle little smile.

to

could

teacher commented, "A persistent muddler.

been any the last two

asking, but haven't there

Holding her teacup high ing her

yes."

ways come down here and look

who

.

or three years?"

"That's good. Because later on, forget

with Mr. Mulholland and

" .

other guests here except them in

it.

"You did sign the book, didn't you?" "Oh,

my

cuse

tea tasted

of bitter almonds, and he didn't

care for

Mr

.

"Temple," Billy said, "Gregory Temple. Ex-

The

"No, thank you," Billy said. faintly

.

.

has this

and you either have

You must have stamina. you must be able to

ability. It is it

or you don't.

In

other words,

stick to

are doing and never give up, after hour, day after day,

a

what you for hour

week

week, and month after month.

after

More by Roald Dahl •

Dahl wrote about attending boarding school and other childhood experiences in his

•

autobiography Boy (Viking Penguin).

The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar and Six

More (Bantam) includes "Lucky

Break" and

six

short stories.

'^\

The Landlady

1

79

—

The Listeners Walter de la Mare there anybody there?" said the Traveler, Knocking on the moonlit door; And his horse in the silence champed the grasses Of the forest's ferny floor: And a bird flew up out of the turret ° Above the Traveler's head: And he smote° upon the door again a second time;

"Is

"Is

there anybody there?" he said.

But no one descended to the Traveler;

No head from the leaf-fringed siU Leaned over and looked into his gray eyes, Where he stood perplexed and stUl. But only a host of phantom" listeners That dwelt in the lone house then Stood listening in the quiet of the moonUght To that voice from the world of men: Stood thronging" the faint moonbeams on the dark stair. That goes down to the empty haU, Hearkening" in an air stirred and shaken By the lonely Traveler's call.

And he felt in his heart their strangeness, Their stillness answering his cry, While his horse moved, cropping the dark turf, 'Neath the starred and leafj^ sky; For he suddenly smote on the door, even Louder, and lifted his head "TeU them I came, and no one answered, That I kept my word," he said. Never the least stir made the listeners, Though every w^ord he spake Fell echoing through the shadowiness of the stUl house From the one man left awake: Ay, they heard his foot upon the stirrup, And the sound of iron on stone. And how the silence surged softly backward. When the plunging hoofs were gone.

1

80 Tales of the Strange and Mysterious

small tower. smote: struck; here,

5- turret:

7.

knocked loudly. 13. phantom: imaginary. 17. thronging:

crowding;

filling.

19.

hearkening

Chark'anir)): listening.

1

Meanings

IVIaking First I

Thoughts

.

Reading Check

Review your reading notes. a.

At what point

•

become

in

the story did you

suspicious that things

in

first

What Were

of the boardinghouse?

predictions did you make? Did

any questions

left

b.

unanswered

at

though he

c.

3.

One

What happens to how do you know?

relevant fact you

her

faint

bitter-almond taste.

text,

and

the story that

(Can you

is

What

not what

it

in

the house

appears to

d. Billy keeps thinking he

may not know

mystery and suspense

find

likes staying in

be?

knows something about

is

that potassium cyanide, a favorite poison in

enter the

Describe the landlady's house.

to be the landlady's idea of a

perfect guest? guests, and

Billy

pubs?

Shaping Interpretations

What seems

Why does

boardinghouse, even

the end of the story?

2.

Billy's first

when he peers through the window

the

events turn out as you predicted? •

are

impressions

boardinghouse were not quite normal? •

What

Mulholland and Temple.

stories, has a

What

Go

but can't

back to the

is it

that he

knows

recall?

other clues throughout

foreshadow

find a hint in the

Billy's fate.

very

first

paragraph?) 4.

What do you

think happens just after the story ends? (Does

the danger he faces? 5.

If

he does,

is it

too

late,

Billy realize

or does he escape?) Explain.

Skim back through the story to find the points at which Billy makes fateful and decisions. Choose one of these moments, and describe what Billy does why he does it. How might a different decision have changed the outcome of the story?

Connecting with the Text 6.

How

does the

Open House you drew

before you read the story compare

"The Landlady"? What do you think Dahl's reasons were for not making the house seem frightening from the

with the boardinghouse

in

beginning?

Extending the Text 7.

Both "The Landlady" and "The Listeners" {see Connections on page 180) present a lone traveler arriving at a house that hides a secret. What poem descriptions of the "phantom listeners" and the "lone house" in the could also be applied to the landlady and her "bed and breakfast"?

The Landlady

1

8

Choices:

Building Your Portfolio

Writer's Notebook 1.

Collecting Ideas for a Character Analysis

Roald Dahl often writes about very ordinary people

who do

traordinary things.

very ex-

"The Land-

In

lady" he introduces us to

two very

ordinary people, Billy and his landlady. Suppose you want to analyze the character of the landlady First, you might review the story and take notes on what

she looks like,

inside

like.

Then, note exactly what her house

and outside.

Finally,

her guests. After you gather these generalizations:

What do

details,

these details

tell

make some you about

the landlady's traits, or personal characteristics?

notebook

shows one

at the right

very different character

in this

Creative Writing 2.

your

local

for example,

paper and The

National Enquirer or

The

on

a

book.

Supporting a Position

3.Just the Facts,

Choose two newspapers or two magazines or two TV news shows with very dif-

—

reader's notes

Role-Play

Write All About It

ferent styles

is

note what she does to

60

Ma'am

Since the branch manager

expecting

good will

Billy,

is

chances are

that a police detective

eventually

landlady's

gate

4.

knock on the

door to

Billy's

investi-

disappearance.

Minutes and Hard Copy.

With

Write an account of

dialogue between the land-

Billy's

disappearance for each audience.

Remember

to

include answers to the

5W-How?

a partner, prepare a

Television Terror

Would "The Landlady" make a good episode in

a

television suspense series?

Write

a letter that

you

might send to a television producer, supporting a pro

or con position on adapting

"The Landlady"

TV

for an hour-

lady and the investigator

long

Perform the dialogue for

address such issues as tar-

your

get audience, sponsors, and

class.

questions: who,

episode. Be sure to

any changes that might have

made

what, where, when, why,

to be

and how.

Support your position with

in

the story.

convincing reasons and with specific

story.

1

82 Tales of the Strange and Mysterious

examples from the

Grammar Link

MINI-LESSON

Regular and Irregular Verbs

A

regular verb forms

ticiple

HELP See Irregular Verbs.

pages 755-757.

/59 Technology

HELP See Language

Workshop

CD-ROM. Key word entry: verb

forms.

past tense and past par-

by simply adding -d or -ed to

Base Form Handbook

its

its

base form.

—

seisct

H^tSi

Booking space on the rW:

^*F^"

n

ebcravler

Reading Actively: Establishing a Purpose and Making Predictions to find out what happens next.

Imagine an airplane pilot taking off with

ignoring air

no

flight plan,

traffic,

steering the plane.

to

sit

and not "I

just

back and enjoy the

the pilot says.

Your own

world of reading

smoothly

if

book

a

would

ride,"

read

more

fully.

You might even reread to

evaluate

you take control

slowly and care-

its

scientific accuracy.

Sometimes you read to

the

go more

will

same novel to write

report, however, you

flight?

flights into

you decide to read that

want

Would you

expect a smooth, safe

If

find

an answer to a particular question, such as

To

by reading actively: set your

penguins

purpose, make and confirm

answer, you

predictions, and think about

an index or table of contents

your thinking.

first

live?"

find the

may need

Establishing

and

and then skim (read

get information, to understand

Predictions

something

When

—

and, of course, to

good

story.

you read the you

flip

title

a

book,

and covers,

through the pages, you

glance at the pictures and

reading helps you to

headings

purpose for

—and you use

you

decide your reading rate.

ask yourself

you are reading a science

all

you're doing

is

your thinking

in

What

thinking about

—

a process

metacognition

When

you have problems undertions of

it,

ask for

reread

sec-

someone

else's help, and use refer-

aids, such as a diction-

ary and an encyclopedia.

will find in

about

Adjusting and ConfirmYour Predictions

ing

the text. You

"What do know I

this topic?"

fiction novel just for fun, you

make some

might read quickly and eagerly

this story will

Then, you

predictions:

be scary.

I

as

you read a

think

text.

in mind Are events

turning out as you expected? not, did

clues? this

information to predict what

reading, which helps you to

If

your understanding.

called

you con-

watch for problems

Keep your predictions

you preview

Being aware of why you are

establish a

active reader,

tinually

4.

Previewing and Making

2.

problems

As an

mation you want.

We read for many reasons: to

simply enjoy a

Thinking About Your

ence

Adjusting Your Purpose

better, to solve

3.

Thinking: Metacognition

standing the text,

to use

quickly) to locate the inforI.

i

(met'akag-nish'an).

"Where do

^Cctte

I

Can you make new

dictions

If

you miss some major

now

pre-

that you have

more

information? You should

make,

adjust,

and confirm

your predictions throughout your reading of any

text.

That

process makes reading fun

you match your wits with the writer's.

Apply the strategy on the next page.

1

84 Tales of the Strange and Mysterious

I

—

^'4fW/t>^

The Monkey's Paw a theater

Make the Connection

suspense that

It's

to this page, and find the ques-

keep us turning the pages of a

tion appearing next to the

book long into the night. As you read this play, notice

ample, that the symbol next

object that had the

how

to the

grant

the powers of the ugly

Three Wishes Suppose you received an

its

power to owner three wishes.

What would you

do?

the suspense builds as

paw

are slowly revealed.

same symbol. (Note,

is

title

on page

the

first

question below.) Re-

briefly to

the question

Quickwfite

in

Take a nnoment to

tinue reading to see

imagine the possibilities. it

tainty

Then, without discussing

with anyone, write

is

the uncer-

will

happen next

a story.

in

might go wrong

if

Look

your

events

Handbook of Literary Terms.

and the

at the title

illustration

on page

What do you

more on Suspense, see pages 2 1 1-1 1 3 and the For

three wishes. (Also consider:

if

turn out as you predicted.

or anxiety that a

what you would do with your

What

your notebook. Then, con-

reader feels about what

down

186, a dot,

the same as the one next to

spond

Suspense

for ex-

186.

think this story

What

will

be about?

will

the monkey's

paw

What do you

think the

role play?

wishes were granted?)

Round

robin.

Now,

your wishes with

a

consequences of

share

group of

Reading

three or four classmates.

Are any of

wish

Skills

Scene

Making Predictions:

similar to yours?

What

will is

a

and dreading

That "what's going to happen

happen next. Try playing

—the

keeps the reader guessing

—what

curiosity,

suspense.

It's

—

is

called

suspense that

keeps us glued to our seats

game with

you read. Look

or even anxiety, that a good story makes us feel

guessing

in

a

When

symbol

in

down your

do

next.

What would

What do

you think

will

be

the result of the second wish? will

a

the play as

at the

symbols

next to the questions on the right.

3, jot

you do?

masterpiece of suspense that

Suspense: That Gluedto-Your-Seat Feeling

next?" feeling

White's

thoughts on what the Whites

Next?

The Monkey's Paw

Elements of Literature

Mr

be?

Before you start reading

and Strategies

their wishes

will

What was

the third wish?

Did you predict

it?

I

go.hrw.com LEO 8-3

you come across the

play,

turn back

The Monkey's Paw

1

85

z

JV

O

n

Kc)

drcmiatizeiimv^Miara Rockliff

me f0)iJ.

}

CliaraGters

^

Mr. White ^ Mrs. White Herbert, their son, about nineteen years old. Sergeant Major Morris, a tall, heavy man with a ruddy complexion who served with the British

Army in India for 21 years.

MJ::ssi

Stranger Setting: The White family's home, in a newly developed English

suburb, around 1920.

1

86 Tales of the Strange and Mysterious iS:

\

J

.

Scene

guiltily

1

A gate

and heavy footsteps are

bangs,

heard approaching the door]

A dark and stormy winter night. Herbert. Sounds

The sound of heavy rain can be heard and an occasional thunderclap. The Wliites' living room is cozy and bright, mr. white and Herbert play chess, while mrs. white knits by the fire.

HERBERT

is

winning.

he made

like

it

after

all!

SERGEANT MAJOR MORRIS,

door and greets who comes in and be-

gins wiping his

shaking out his um-

[MR.

WHITE goes

the

to

feet,

brella, etc.]

Herbert. Not looking too good for you,

is it,

Dad? Mr. White. Could you please be quiet? I'm trying to concentrate. {He pauses another moment, then makes a move.) Listen to that wind

Mr. White (introducing them). Sergeant Major Morris, my wife, and this is our son, Herbert. [They shake hands, sit

down

and the three older people

while Herbert ^oe^ to fix

tea.]

howling out there.

Herbert (keeping board).

I

hear

his attention

I

chess-

in a

storm

like

bet.

Herbert. Maybe, maybe not.

Check

.

Mr. White. Glad you made if

Mr. White. He won't show up this,

on the

it.

(He tnoves.)

.

you'd

come

it.

We

didn't

know

out in this storm.

Morris. Storm? This

little

shower? (Chuckles)

You wouldn't think much of this if you'd ever been holed up in Bombay during the monsoon season. Now there are some storms, let me tell you.

[MR.

WHITE reaches for a chess piece.]

Mrs. White. Did you

live in India a

long time,

Sergeant Major?

Herbert (triumphant). [MR.

WHITE pulls his

.

.

.

Mate!

Mr. White. Twenty-one years he's been gone. Wlien he joined up with the army, he wasn't a day older than Herbert there and neither was

—

hand back.]

I,

Mr. White (angrily). That's what I can't stand about living out in the middle of nowhere like this!

Every time

it

rains,

the road gets flooded

and no one can get out here. And what do those politicians in town do about it? Nothing! I suppose our three votes just don't count. Mrs. White (soothingly). Never mind, dear Maybe you'll win the next game.

for that matter

We

started out in the ware-

house together. Morris. Well, time flies, time Herbert (bringing the tea). India. See the old temples,

flies.

I'd like

to

go to

maybe catch one of

men performing miracles. Morris (shaking his head and those holy

sighing).

You're better off here.

Herbert. But you must have all kinds of great stories to tell the places you saw, the people

—

WHITE looks Up sharply and sees mrs. WHITE and HERBERT smiling at him in amusement His annoyance fades, and he smiles [MR.

1. mate: short for "checkmate," the winning chess game.

move

in a

you met. Mr. White. Does he ever! What was that story you started telling me the other day, Morris? About a monkey's paw or something? Morris (quickly). Nothing, really. Nothing worth hearing. .

.

.

The Monkey's Paw

1

87

1

88 Tales of the Strange and Mysterious

Mrs. White. A monkey's paw? Morris. Well, it's just a bit of what you might call

magic,

I

guess.

Herbert. Magic! [The WHITES look at morris ivitb interest]

Morris (fumb/iiig just

an ordinary

in his pocket}.

little

paw all

It

looks like

the fire.)

dried up.

mummified monkey's paw out of his pocket and holds it out. mrs. white draws back in horror, &m? Herbert takes the paw and [He pulls a

looks at

it

buy it. Some people think it's just a fairy tale, and the ones who do think anything of it want to try it first and pay me afterward. Herbert. If you could have another three wishes, would you use them? Morris. I don't know. (Pauses) I don't know. (He takes the paw, dangles it between his finger and thumb, then suddetily throws it into Mr. White. Hey! (He jumps up and grabs the paw out of the fire before it starts to burn.)

Morris (solemnly). Better let it burn. Mr. White. If you don't want it, Morris, give to

curiously.]

Mr. White. So what's so special about

it?

{He

takes the paw from Herbert a)id examines

it,

then puts it down on the table. ) Morris (solemnly), h had a spell put on it by an old holy man. He wanted to show that fate ruled people's lives, and that anyone who tried to interfere with fate would be sorry He put a magic spell on the paw so that three people

could each have three wishes from

it

me.

Morris (stubbornly). I won't. I threw it on the fire. If you keep it, don't blame me for what happens. If you're smart, you'll throw it back in the

fire.

Mr. White (shaking his head and looking closely at the paw). How do you do it? Morris. Hold out loud. But

your right hand and wish warning you, you won't like

in

it

Im

the consequences.

Mrs. White. Sounds like the Arabian Nights.' don't you wish for a few extra pairs of hands for me?

it.

Why [MR.

WHITE laughs uneasily]

why don't you wish on it, then? Morris (sadly). I have. Mrs. White. And did you really have your

[She gets up to set the table for supper. MR. WHITE starts to raise his arm, and morris,

three wishes granted?

three whites laugh.]

Herbert. Well,

Morris.

I

wishes, yes. for,

how I got

I

don't

know what

the

first

two

Morris.

wish for to

you must wish, for heaven's sake, something sensible. But I don't want

If

be here to see

it.

If

you've had your

no good to you now, then, Morris. What do you keep it for? Morris (shaking his head and shrugging). No good reason, I guess. I did have some idea of but

I

enough trouble

don't think

I

will. It's

already. Besides,

caused

no one

will

down and

monkey's paw forgotten for the moment, the WHITES listen eagerly to more of morris '5 [The four

three wishes, that thing's

it,

him. The

but the third was for death. That's the paw.

Mr. White (after a pause).

selling

to stop

did.

Mrs. White. And has anyone else wished on it? Morris (seriously). The first owner had three

were

alarmed, Jumps forward

2.

sit

Arabian Nights:

Arabia, India, Persia,

eat supper. The

collection of ancient tales from

and other countries;

also

The Thousand and One Nights. Many of the wishes and magic.

known

as

stories involve

The Monkey's Paw

1

89

adventures. After supper, morris

WHITE accompanies him to the door

rises.

MR.

and

they

say their goodbyes, mr. white returns to the

and sits down.]

fireside

Herbert. Well, Morris is quite a storyteller For a minute there he almost had me believing that

one about the monkey's paw. Mrs. White. Did you give that disgusting thing back to him? Mr. White. I tried to, but he wouldn't take it.

And he

told

me

Mrs. White {to mr. white, anxiously). You must have imagined it. Mr. White {shaking his head). I felt it move. Never mind, though. I'm all right. [They

sit

down by

siloice settles over them.

A

depressing

The howling of the

wind grows louder A door bangs, them all. Herbert laughs.] Mrs. White.

I

that nonsense.

again to get rid of it.

the fire.

don't

How

know why we

startling

listened to

could wishes be granted

Herbert {in mock horror). Get rid of it! And give up our chance to be rich and famous and happy? Wish to be an emperor. Dad, to start off with then Mum can't boss you around. Mrs. White. Thanks a lot! Mr. White (taking the paw from his pocket

in real life? And if they could, how could two hundred pounds hurt you, anyway? Herbert. It could drop on his head from the sky! Mr. White. Morris said the things happened so naturally that you might think it was coinci-

know

Mrs. White. Well, I've had enough of magic and fate and monkey's paws for one night. It's

—

and looking what

to

at

wish

all

I

want

and

for,

fondly at his wife got

doubtfully).

it

don't

I

that's a fact.

and son)

It

seems

{Looking to

me

I've

like to

pay off the mortgage,

though, wouldn't you? Well, wish for two hun-

dred pounds, then.

Mr. White. This facedly)

is

That'll

do

You'U probably find the

bag

in the

money tied up

middle of your bed. Dad

in a big

—

and some up on top of the you pocket your ill-

horrible creature squatting

it.

ridiculous. {Smiling shatne-

No harm

time for bed.

Herbert. Well, good night, then. {Teasing)

already.

Herbert. You'd

dence.

trying, though,

I

suppose.

dresser,

watching you

as

gotten gains.

{He holds up the paw as Herbert taps a drum-

on the table with Mr. White {loudly). roll

his hands.) I

wish

for

two hundred

Scene 2

pounds.^

The next afternoon. [HERBERT finishes with MR. WHITE cries

a dramatic

out shuddering,

flourish.

and drops the

paw. His wife and son run toward him.] Mr. 'White. twisted in

It

moved! "When

my hand,

I

wished,

it

3.

table.)

two hundred pounds:

one thousand

1

shelf, ignored.

like a snake!

Herbert. Well, I don't see the money, and I bet I never will. {He picks up the paw and puts it

on the

The sun shines into the living room. mr. and WHITE are drinking tea and sorting through the day's mail. The paw lies on a MRS.

British

money worth about

dollars at the time of this story.

90 Tales of the Strange and Mysterious

Mrs. White. Plenty of bills so far, but no check for two hundred poimds. I suppose Herbert will have more of his funny remarks for you when he gets home from the factory. Mr. White. I'm sure he will. But the thing moved in my hand I'd swear to that.

—

1

Literature and World Cuj-tures what Does It All Add Up To? If

you've read or heard

number three

many

folk tales,

Significant

you probably recognized the use of the

The Monkey's Paw. Things often happen

in

three attempts to

fulfill

Numbers

in

threes

in

folktales:

a quest, three helpers that assist the hero, three magical

objects, three witches, three brothers or sisters.

Three has a powerful symbolic meaning has plenty of famous "threes."

goddesses

who

Norns

called

in

In

in

almost

world

all

Mythology

cultures.

Greek and Norse mythology there are three

control the fates, or destinies, of everyone on earth. (They are

Norse

stories,

and the Fates

in

Greek

ones.) Ancient peoples

may

number three to the idea of fate because so many important things seem to occur in threes: birth, life, and death; childhood, adulthood, past, present, and future; body mind, and soul; man, woman, and child;

have linked the in

human

life

and old age;

beginning, middle, and end.

Of course,

other numbers have special meanings

the most sacred

number

in

many American

directions and the four winds. Seven

and

it is

a sacred

number

in

world

cultures, too.

Four

is

considered a perfect

number

in

Islamic belief

both Western and Eastern cultures (think of the Jewish

menorah, the seven-branched world cultures because of

is

in

Indian cultures, representing the four

its

candlestick).

Twelve

is

also important

throughout

association with time: twelve months, twelve signs

of the Zodiac, twelve hours of the day and night. Keep your eye out for recurrences

Round Table and the twelve Greek gods and goddesses of Mount Olympus are just two examples. of the

number twelve: the twelve

You don't have to have

knights of King Arthur's

a calculator by

of numbers. Their real value

is

symbolic, not mathematical. You might say that

e quality not the quantity of the

number that

Mrs. White (soothingly). You thought it did. Mr. White. It did! There was no thought about it. I

had just— What

[MRS.

WHITE

is

your side to appreciate the significance

is it?

it's

counts.

before.

.

.

.

He's acting very strange— as

can't decide

whether

to

he

if

open the gate or

not.

Here he comes up the path now.

looking past him, out the win-

dow.]

[There

goes

Mrs. White. There's somebody outside. A man in a business suit. I've never seen him

is

to

a knock at the door and let

the stranger

///.

jvirs.

white

Inside,

the

STRANGER Stands silently for a moment, looking uncomfortable.

]

The Monkey's Paw

1

9

—

I was asked to come see you. come from Maw and Meggins. Mrs. White (alarmed). Is anything wrong? Has something happened to Herbert? What is

Stranger.

it?

Wliat

I

I

Stranger.

Two hundred pounds.

[MRS. WHITE screams mr. white holds out hands and falls to the floor in a faint.]

his

is it?

No

Mr. White. Now, now. Calm down.

point

jumping to conclusions. (Looking hopefully at the STRANGER) I'm sure our visitor hasn't brought us any bad news. Stranger. I'm sorry

.

.

a

Scene 3 Nighttime, a

week and a half later.

.

Mrs. White (frantic). Is he hurt? Stranger (nods). Badl)' hurt. But he is not in any pain. Mrs. White. Oh, thank goodness! Thank good-

[MRS.

WHITE stands in the doorway, iveeping as

she looks out into the darkness, mr. white

comes

He goes to her and closes then puts his arms around her.]

doivnstairs.

the door,

ness for that! Thank

Mr. White off, suddenly understanding, and stares at the stranger in growing horror The

[She breaks

STRANGER looks at the floor MRS. vraiTE turns to

and

her husband

takes his hand. There

a

is

long pause.]

Stranger

a low

(in

voice).

He was caught

in

the machinery.

Mr. White (dazed). Caught

in the

machinery.

(He squeezes his wife's hand and stares blankly out the window, then turns to the

Yes.

STRANGER.)

Mr. white. He was our only is

child,

you know.

It

hard.

Stranger (clearing his throat). The company wants me to convey their sincere sympathy with you in your great loss. I hope you understand that I'm just doing my job. (Pauses) I'm supposed to tell you that Maw and Meggins disclaim

all responsibility'.

They admit no

liability,^

but in consideration of your son's work, they

would

like to give

you

a certain

sum

as

com-

Mr. White (barely able to speak). .

.

.

Come

back to bed.

Mrs. White. It is colder for my son. (She sobs. Suddenly she straightens and turns, clutching her husband's arms.) Mrs. White (wildly). The paw! The monkey's paw! Mr. White. 'Wliat? 'Where? Mrs. White. I want it. You didn't get rid of it, did you?

Mr. White.

It's

upstairs,

I

think. 'Why?

Mrs. White (crying and laughing hysterically). I only just thought of it. 'Wliy didn't I think of it before? Why didn't you think of it? Mr. White. Think of what? Mrs. White. The other two wishes. We've only had one. Mr. White (fiercely). Wasn't that enough? Mrs. White. No! We'll have one more. Go get it down and wish our boy alive again. Mr. White (stepping back in horror). You're insane!

Mrs. White.

I

want my son back.

I

want

A

certain

How much?

Mr. White. You don't

We

Mrs. White.

or

1

liability

(li

to see

know what you're saying.

had the

first

wish granted!

Why not the second? 4.

It's

my son.

pensation.

sum

(gently).

cold out there tonight.

'a

•

bil'a te): legal responsibility for

damage

loss.

92 Tales of the Strange and Mysterious

Mr. White.

It

Mrs. White.

was

a coincidence.

Go and get it and wish!

Mr. White (facing her and taking her by the arms). He's been dead ten days, and besides ... I didn't want to tell you this, but I could only recognize

him by his

clothes.

He was man-

he was too terrible for you to see then, how would it be now? Mrs. White. Bring him back! Do you think I gled in the machinery.

would [MR.

fear

If

my own son?

He

takes the paw

band. Finally, a quiet knock

is

heard, mrs.

WHITE jumps up.]

mouse

It's

just

a

in the wall.

and stares at it.]

Mrs. White. Wish! Mr. White {weakly). It is foolish and wicked. Mrs. White. Wish! Mr. White (holding up the paw). I wish my son alive again.

^

and sinks trembling into a chair mrs. white runs to the window and stands looking out The clock ticks. A stair creaks, mrs. white comes and sits by her hus-

Mrs. White. What's that? Mr. White (shakily). A mouse.

WHITE goes slowly upstairs, foUoived by

his wife.

[He drops the paw

[Another knock, louder this time.]

Mrs. White. It's Herbert! It's our son! (She starts toward the stairs, but mr. white grabs her by the arm.)

The Monkey's Paw

1

93

1

94 Tales of the Strange and Mysterious

Mr. White. What are you going to do? Mrs. White. It's Herbert! Wliat are you holding me for? Let go so I can open the door. Mr. White {hoarsely^. Don't let Mrs. White. How can )'OU be

own son?

Let

in.

your

afraid of

me go.

[The knocking

breaks free

it

louder

is

and runs down

and

louder.

She

He picks up the monkey's paw and holds it up in his right hand. His lips move, but we can't hear him over the thunderous knocking. He drops the paw. At once the knocking stops, and the door springs open. There is a pause, and then a long, loud wail from mrs. white. Beyond her, to his knees.

from

the floor

the road

to the door.]

Mrs. White. I'm here, Herbert, I'm

[As she struggles with the lock, mr. white falls

is

empty]

right here!

Meet the Writer Escaping Captivity The son of a dock manager on the River Thames in London, William Wymark Jacobs ( 863- 943) grew up watching ships 1

1

and listening to

Jacobs

sailors' stories.

referred to his civil-service

job as "captivity" and wrote stories after

work

as an es-

comic

cape. Eventually his

tales of seaside characters

made him famous, and

read-

ers of the Strand Magazine

eagerly awaited the next

were

yarn. (The editors

eager too. Jacobs wrote slowly, in horrible handwriting that only

one

typist could decipher,

and

William

Wymark Jacobs

(1910) by Carton

Moore-Park. Oil on canvas.

pushed deadlines to the minute.) the tardy Jacobs wrote

Still,

owed

his tales

more

than 150 stories. 'While his seafaring stories overshad-

of mystery and horror, "The Monkey's Paw"

is

a classic of the suspense genre

and the reason he is still famous. (A rock band took the name Third Wish in Jacobs's honor.) Whether writing about the sea or the spooky, Jacobs was a master of physical detail:

44 get the I

idea of setting first

If

you begin by inventing

something mentally before you can possibly make a

start.

a plot

You

You'll find the beginning of Jacobs's original story version of

pages

1

96 and

1

you have got to

.

.

.

see

from nowhere. 99 "The Monkey's Paw" on

can't begin

97.

The Monkey's Paw

1

95

A Story

onnections

Excerpt bawled sudden and unlooked-for vio-

"That's the worst of living so far out,"

Mr. White, with lence; "of

the beastly, slushy, out-of-the-way

all

places to live

in, this is

the worst. Pathway"s a

1 dont know what people are thinking about. I suppose because only two houses on the road are let,"

bog, and the roads a torrent.

they think

it

doesn't matter."

"Never mind,

from

dear," said his

wife soothingly;

"perhaps you'll win the next one."

The Monkey's Paw

up sharply, just in time to intercept a knowing glance between mother and son. The words died away on his lips, and

W.W.Jacobs

he hid

Mr. AXThite looked

Here

is

the beginning

ofW WJacobs's original As yon compares

story version of "The Monkey's Paw."

read the story, think about with the play.

Without,

the night

how

it

was cold and wet, but

Lakesnam Villa the blinds were drawn and the fire burned brightly. Father and son were at chess, the forin the small parlor of

who

a guilty grin in his thin gray beard.

"There he

is,"

said Herbert White, as the gate

banged to loudly and heavy footsteps came toward the door. The old man rose with hospitable haste and, opening the door, was heard condoling with the new arrival. The new arrival also condoled with himself, so that Mrs. tut!"

and coughed gently

"Wliite said,

as her

tered the room, followed by a

"Tut,

husband enburly man,

tall,

volving radical changes, putting his king into

beady of eye and rubicund of visage.^ "Sergeant Major Morris," he said, introducing

such sharp and unnecessary perils that

him.

mer,

possessed ideas about the

game it

in-

even

provoked comment from the wliite-haired old lady knitting placidly by the fire. "Hark

at

who, havwas too late,

the wind," said Mr. Wliite,

ing seen a fatal mistake after

it

was amiably desirous of preventing from seeing

his

latter,

grimly survey-

ing the board as he stretched out his hand.

"Check." "1

should

hardly

think

tonight," said his father,

that

edly while blers

hed come

"Mate," replied the son.

copper kettle on the fire. his eyes got brighter, and he

a small

began to talk, the little family circle regarding with eager interest this visitor from distant parts as he squared his broad shoulders in the chair and spoke of strange scenes and doughty^ deeds, of wars and plagues and strange peoples.

amiably: good-naturedly.

96 Tales of the Strange and Mysterious

rented.

2.

let:

3.

condoling: expressing sympathy (here, about the bad

weather). 4.

1

host got out whiskey and tum-

with his hand poised

over the board.

1.

liis

and stood

At the third glass

son

it.

"I'm listening," said the

The sergeant major shook hands and, taking by the fire, watched content-

the proffered seat

5.

rubicund of visage (viz'ij): red faced. doughty (dout'e): brave.

"Twenty-one years of it," said Mr. White, nodding at his wife and son. "When he went awa), he was a slip of a youth in tlie warehouse.

Now look at him."

separate

"He don't look to have taken

harm,"

go

"I'd like to

look round a

"just to

"Better

where you

are,"

major, shaking his head.

empty

The

said the sergeant

He put down shook

it

the

again.

fakirs^ and jugglers," said the old man. "What was that you started telling me the other day about a monkey's paw or something, Morris?"

"Nothing," said the soldier hastily.

"Least-

ways, nothing worth hearing."

so that three

have three wishes from

don"t you have three,

it."

youth.

sir?"

said

way

that

cleverly.

soldier regarded

middle age

wont

is

"I have,""

him

in the

to regard

he said

quietly,

presumptuous and his blotchy

face whitened.

"And did you

those old temples and

like to see

why

Herbert Wliite

you know."

glass and, sighing softly,

should

"I

bit,

it

somewhat.

"Well,

to India myself," said the old

on

manner was so impressive that his hearwere conscious that their light laughter

jarred

said Mrs. Wliite politely.

man,

men could

a spell

His ers

much

He put

their sorrow.

really

have the three wishes

granted?" asked Mrs. White. "I did,""

said the sergeant major,

and

his glass

tapped against his strong teeth. "And has anybody else wished?" inquired the old lady.

"The

man had

"Monkey's paw?" said Mrs. White curiously. "Well, it's just a bit of what you might call magic, perhaps," said the sergeant major off-

dont know what the first two was were, but the third was for death. Thats how I

handedly.

got the paw." His tones

His three listeners leaned forward eagerly.

The

absent-mindedly put his empty and then set it down again. His

visitor

glass to his lips

host

filled

it

"To look

for him. at,"

said the sergeant major, fum-

bling in his pocket,

"it's

just

an ordinary

little

paw, dried to a mummy."

He took something proffered

it.

out of his pocket and

drew back with a gritaking it, examined it

Mrs. White

mace, but her son, curiously.

"And what

Mr

Wliite, as

is

there special abovit

he took

it

from

his

it?"

inquired

son and, hav-

examined it, placed it upon the table. had a spell put on it by an old fakir," said the sergeant major, "a very holy man. He wanted to show that fate ruled people "s lives and that those who interfered with it did so to ing

"It

6.

fakirs (fa-kirz'): Muslim or Hindu holy people, thought

by some

to

first

the reply.

his three wishes,

yes,"'

"I

were so grave

that a

hush

fell

upon

the group. it's no old then, Morris," said the you now, good to man at last. "What do you keep it for?" The soldier shook his head. "Fancy,^ I suppose," he said slowly. "I did have some idea of

"If

you've had your three wishes,

selling

it,

enough

but

I

don't think

mischief

I

already.

will. It

has caused

Besides,

people

some

of won't buy. They think them, and those who do think anything of it want to try it first and pay me afterward." "If you could have another three wishes,'" said the old man, eyeing him keenly, "would a fairy tale,

it's

you have them?" "I

don't know,"

know."

7.

.

.

said

the other

"I

don't

.

Fancy: here, whim or impulse.

perform miracles.

The Monkey's Paw

1

97

Reading Check

Choices: Writer's

Building Your Portfolio

Notebook

Collecting Ideas for a Character Analysis

1.

We

learn about characters

•

what they do what they say

•

what they think

•

how

•

what other characters

•

At

from

they are described

different points

in

how

has ideas about

say about

the

play,

them

each of the Whites

to use the monkey's paw. Their

about them. Jot down what

ideas reveal a great deal

you learn about Herbert, Mr. White, and Mrs. White

from their reactions to the paw. At the

right you'll see

notes on a character from another story

in this

book.

Comparing and

Performance

Contrasting 2.

Acting Out the

by dozens of world folk

Paw •

With

several classmates, re-

3.

Story to Stage

Read the opening section of

Monkey's Paw. Consider

the original short story by

•

•

Who will

WW

•

What sound

play each part?

Jacobs (see

tions on page

1

you use? •

What costumes props will

and

you need?

How

you create the main

prop •

will

—the

What

awful paw?

kind of set will you

design? •

Will you keep the time

in

you reset

present day?

it

in

the

their first

granted

in

a

it

way they

didn't expect.

which

you compare and contrast

They make

is

Then,

•

The second wish

is

a stu-

or hasty response to

the opening of the play ver-

pid

sion and the story version.

the problems created by

What decisions

the

dramatist

make

did the in

adapting

the story? Explain whether

•

The

first

wish.

third wish

must be

used to prevent the

you prefer one version over

catastrophe caused by

the other, and why.

the

Creative Writing

first

two

wishes.

Write your own humorous or scary "three wishes"

period of the story, or will

given

is

wish unintentionally, or

Connec-

96).

write a paragraph effects will

elderly couple

three wishes.

hearse and perform The

these questions:

An

tales:

4.

Wish CareMy

The Monkey's Paw draws on a "formula" that

is

shared

Use the basic cause and effect structure story.

described above.

The Monkey's Paw

1

99

Grammar Link Lie

and Zflj', Lie

and

sion.

Handbook

HELP

lay, sit

and

set,

and

rise

and

are verb pairs that often cause confu-

raise

that the second verb

directed toward an object in

md Raise

mdSet, Rise

Remember

named See Special

Sit

MINI-LESSON

—

the sentence; the

a

in

each pair expresses an action

person or thing

first

verb simply ex-

with Verbs,

presses an action. (For example, you lie down, ^ ^ f X on the table first.)' but you loy your school bag "

pages

Below are some of the forms of these

'60-761.

tense of Notice that the past ^

Problems

'II

,

,

,

_ Copy the .

Base Form

HELP

six verbs.

l

u

•

l.

graph, choosing the correct j

j verb from each underlined ,

,

u

i-

//e is lay. '

pair.

White

chess piece

)

(

sat/set his

I

down

as he (2)

raised/rose to answer the

door.

The sergeant major the shriveled paw

(3) laid/lay

Workshop

on the

CD-ROM. Key word

down

fusing verbs

•

following para-

See Language

entry: con-

n

r

,

Mr.

Technology

Qut

i-,.y |^

Soon

table,

then

(4) sat/set

to begin his story. after,

Herbert

laid/lay lifeless

ground.

(5)

beneath the

Before You Read The Tell-Tale Heart Make the Connection

Elements of Literature

Reading

Top Ten Terrors

Narrator

and Strategies

Many people

now and

like

a

good scare

then, which probably

When we rely

read a story,

on the narrator

we

(the

helps explain the popularity of

character telling the story) to

everything from Stephen

let

King's novels to

amusement

park rides and Halloween parties.

to

Conduct

come up

a class poll

with a

"top ten terrors"

list

in

of the

popular

—choose from TV shows, books, our —

us

What

know what if

going on.

is

the narrator can't be

trusted, though?

As you begin

reading this story, decide

Previewing: What's

Ahead? Before you begin reading the

next story, try previewing the text by doing the following:

if

the narrator seems to be a reliable

source of information.

1.

2.

movies,

3.

that tap into

craving for scary

thrills.

Jot

a story.

the

like

Read the quotation

in

large

Glance at the story's

is

a person

who

is

telling

On jot

the basis of your preview,

down

in

your reading notes

happen

in

will

the story.

you have about

list

with.

title.

your predictions of what

down some

ideas

at the

illustrations.

narrator or character

Quickwrite

Look

type on the next page.

culture

events

Skills

came up do some people

the class

Why

being scared? (Can a

good scare ever be

healthy?)

The Tell-Tale Heart 201

>m-

J^n

fi^

*>

i^*'

'i> >A

Edgar Allan Poe

Msd

Why will jOM say that I am mad?

/y.Ai

'i .VyySi'i*.^^..

202 Tales of the Strange and Mysterious

,'^^H

'

.>J-l1--

—

1

)

True! — nervous — very,

very dreadfully

had been and am; but why will you say that I am mad? The disease had sharpened my senses not destroyed not dulled them. Above all was the sense of nervous

I

—

hearing acute.

heaven and

in

things in hell.

I

—

heard

things in the

all

the earth.

I

How, then, am

I

him

as

he

I

undid the

upon

creaked)

I

fell

upon the

was none. Passion there was none. I loved the old man. He had never wronged me. He

who

it

had never given me insult. For his gold I had no desire. I think it was his eye! Yes, it was this! One of his eyes resembled that of a vulture it.

— a pale blue eye, with a film over

Whenever

cold;

it

upon me, my blood

fell

and so by degrees

ran

— very gradually —

wisely

proceeded

I

— with what caution — with what dissimula-

with what foresight tion"

I

went

to work!

the old

man

before

killed him.

I

midnight,

opened

it

I

I

was never kinder

than during the whole

And every

to

week

night, about

turned the latch of his door and

— oh, so gently! And then, when

I

had made an opening sufficient for my head, I put in a dark lantern, all closed, closed, so that no light shone out, and then I thrust in my head. Oh, you would have laughed to see how cunningly I thrust it in!

moved

I

that

I

it

slowly

— very,

very slowly, so

might not disturb the old man's sleep,

object: purpose or goal. dissimulation: disguising of intentions or feelings. (Look for a similar word at the end of the storv. 1.

2.

— oh,

vulture eye.

— but

always closed; and so

it

so

I

And

— every

found the eye

was impossible

to

do the work; for it was not the old man vexed me, but his Evil Eye. And every morning, when the day broke, I went boldly into the chamber and spoke courageously to him, calling him by name in a hearty tone and inquiring how he had passed the night. So you see he would have been a very profound old man, indeed, to suspect that every night, just

made up my mind to take the life of the old man and thus rid myself of the eye forever. Now this is the point. You fancy me mad. Madmen know nothing. But you should have seen me. You should have seen how

the room,

cautiously

did for seven long nights

night just at midnight

impossible to say

Would a And

this?

it

how first the idea my brain; but once conceived, haunted me day and night. Object there It is

could see

his bed. Ha!

lantern

I

gle thin ray this

entered

I

— cautiously (for the hinges — undid just so much that a sin-

cautiously

— how

lay

my whole head

far that

madman have been so wise as then, when my head was well in

mad? Heark-

calmly

to place

within the opening so

heard many

and observe how healthily I can tell you the whole story.

en!

h took me an hour

at

twelve,

I

upon him while he slept. Upon the eighth night I was more than

looked

in

opening the door.

usually cautious in

A

watch's minute hand moves more quickly

than did mine. Never before that night had \felt the extent of

sagacity.

I

my own powers — of my my feel-

could scarcely contain

ings of triumph. To think that there I was, opening the door, little by little, and he not even to dream of my secret deeds or thoughts. I fairly chuckled at the idea; and perhaps he heard me; for he moved on the bed suddenly, as if startled. Now you ma\

think that

was

I

drew back— but

as black as pitch

no. His

room

with the thick dark-

ness (for the shutters were close fastened.

Words to Own acute (a-kyoot') adj.: sharp; sensitive. vexed (vekst) v.: disturbed; annoyed. sagacity (ss-gas'a-te) judgment.

n.:

intelligence

and good

The Tell-tale Heart 203

—

— through fear of robbers), and so

knew

I

he could not see the opening of the door, and I kept pushing it on steadily,

—

him, had stalked with his black shadow be-

him and enveloped the

And

that

fore

steadily.

was the mournful influence of the unperceived shadow that caused him to feel although he neither saw nor heard to feel

had

I

my head in, and was about to open when my thumb slipped upon man

the tin fastening, and the old in the bed, crying out

I

have done, night

and

knew

I

mortal

heard a

I it

terror.

no!

—

it

sound

that arises

of the soul

knew

when

when

welled up from ing,

low,

with

its

I

say

what the old man

I

knew

it

it

1

has

knew al-

though 1 chuckled at heart. 1 knew that he had been hing awake ever since the first slight noise,

when he had

dim

—

wind

in the

chimney

crossing the floor," or

—

turned in the

bones; but

1

it

is

only a

mouse

merely a cricket

which has made a single chirp." Yes, he has been trying to comfort himself with these suppositions; but he had found all in vain. ill

dull

over

marrow

ray,

as

if

by

you mistake

for

I

my ears

death'watches: beetles that burrow into wood and make tapping sounds, which some people beUeve are 3.

approaching death.

204 Tales of the Strange and Mysterious

blue, it

that

in

my

had directed

upon

the

not told you that w^hat

madness

ness of the senses? to

I

instinct, precisely

— now,

a low, dull,

but overacute-

is I

say,

there

came

quick sound, such as

watch makes when enveloped in cotton. I knew that sound well too. It was the beata

the beating of a

It

drum

increased

my

stimulates the

soldier into courage.

But even yet

I

refrained and kept

scarcely breathed. tionless.

I

tried

tain the ray

still.

steadily

upon the

eye.

I

could main-

Meantime the

hellish tattoo' of the heart increased. tattoo: stead)' beat.

Words to Own refrained

(ri-frand')

v.:

I

held the lantern mo-

I

how

vain; because Death, in approaching

a sign of

the

could see nothing else of the

damned spot. And now have

4.

All

a

veil

old man's face or person, for

the

nothing but the

"It is

ray, like

all

hideous

a

ing of the old man's heart.

is

— you

full upon the vulture eye. was open — wide, wide open and 1 grew furious as 1 gazed upon it. 1 saw it with perfect

fury, as

"It

it

thread of the spider, shot from out the

upon him. He had been trying to fancy them causeless but could not. He had been

—

re-

1

very, very little

bed. His fears had been ever since growing

saying to himself

down,

opened

1

chilled the very I

deepen-

well.

lie

stealthily, stealthily

distinctness

and pitied him,

felt,

how

with

a night, just at

my own bosom,

—a

until, at length, a single

— oh,

Many

a little

cannot imagine

stifled

dreadful echo, the terrors that

distracted me.

open

-'^

the world slept,

all

a long time, very' pa-

crevice in the lantern. So

^fc*>j^

from the bottom overcharged with awe.

the sound well.

midnight,

solved to

It

was the groan of It was not a

was the

had waited

without hearing him

slight groan,

groan of pain or of grief

1

within the room.

crevice and

ening to the deathwatches in the wall. Presently

When tiently,

after night, heark-

my head

the presence of

sprang

— "Wlio's there?"

I kept quite still and said nothing. For a whole hour 1 did not move a muscle, and in the meantime 1 did not hear him lie down. He was still sitting up in the bed listening

just as

it

—

the lantern,

up

victim.

held back.

It

^
*li^

ti

iii^

% The

illustrations

on pages 205 and 206 are from a short movie based on "The

grew quicker and quicker and louder and louder every instant. The old man's terror must have been extreme! It grew louder, 1 do you mark say, louder every moment! me well? I have told you that I am nervous: So I am. And now at the dead hour of the night, amid the dreadful silence of that old

—

house, so strange a noise as this excited to uncontrollable terror. Yet for

me

some min-

I refrained and stood still. But grew louder, louder! 1 thought the heart must burst. And now a new anxithe sound would be heard ety seized me by a neighbor! The old man's hour had come! With a loud yeU, I threw open the

utes longer

the beating

—

Tell-Tale Heart.'

and leaped into the room. He shrieked once once only. In an instant I dragged him to the floor and pulled the heavy bed over him. I then smiled gaily to find the deed so far done. But, for many minutes, the heart beat on with a muffled sound. This, however, did not vex me; it lantern

—

would not be heard through the wall. At length it ceased. The old man was dead. I removed the bed and examined the corpse. Yes, he was stone, stone dead. I placed my hand upon the heart and held it there many minutes. There was no pulsation. He was stone dead. His eye would trouble me no more.

The Tell-Tale Heart 205

It still

you think

so no longer cautions body.

I

The

when

me I

mad, you

will think

describe the wise pre-

took for the concealment of the

waned, and

night

hastily but in silence. First of

bered the corpse.

arms and the

I

all

I

worked

I

dismem-

cut off the head and the

whatever 1 had been too wary for that. A tub had caught all— ha! ha! Wlien I had made an end of these labors, blood

spt)t

—

was four o'clock still dark as midnight. As the bell sounded the hour, there came a knocking at the street door went down to open it with a light heart for what had it

1

—

legs.

then replaced

now to fear? There entered three men, who introduced themselves, with perfect suavity, as officers of the police. A shriek

the boards so cleverly, so cunningly, that no

had been heard by a neighbor during the

I

then took up three planks from the

flooring of the

between the

chamber and deposited

scantlings.

human eye — not even

his

I

— could have de-

tected anything wrong. There to

wash out — no

all

I

stain of

was nothing — no

any kind

WORDS TO Own wary

(wer'e)

adj.:

cautious.

suavity (swav'a-te) 5.

scantlings: small beams of wood

1

206 Tales of the Strange and Mysterious

n.:

smoothness; politeness.

— suspicion of foul play had been

night;

aroused; information had been lodged

at

—

trifles, in a high key and with violent gesticulations, but the

arose and argued about

the police office, and they (the officers)

noise steadily increased.

had been deputed'' to search the premises. I smiled— for what had I to fear? I bade the gentlemen welcome. The shriek, I said, was my own in a dream. The old man, I

not be gone?

mentioned, was absent

my

took

visitors all

them search

in the country.

over the house.

— search

ivell.

length, to his chamber.

I

I

I

I

bade

led them, at

showed them

his

treasures, secure, undisturbed. In the en-

thusiasm

of

my

to rest

confidence,

room and

chairs into the

I

desired

brought

them here

from their fatigues, while I myself,

the wild audacity of

my own

placed

seat

my

in

perfect triumph,

upon the very spot

neath which reposed the corpse of the

bevic-

tim.

The

officers

were

satisfied.

My manner

had convinced them. I was singularly at ease. They sat, and wliile I answered cheerthey chatted familiar things. But, ere

ily,

long,

myself getting pale and wished

felt

I

them gone. My head ached, and

my ears;

ringing in

The

chatted. tinct

—

tinct:

it

I

feeling:

but

ringing

still

I

fancied a

they sat and

became more

continued and became more

talked

but

it

more

tiveness— until,

at length,

I

strides, as

Oh

steadily increased.

foamed

I

the chair grated

it

raved

1

fro

men — but

the noise

God! what could

—

I

swore!

I

swung

I

upon which I had been sitting and upon the boards, but the noise

arose over

and continually increased.

all

grew louder

men

—

they

and

to

excited to fury by

if

the observation of the

do?

Why would

paced the floor

— louder

louder! And

still

It

the

Was

chatted pleasantly, and smiled.

it

possible they heard not? Almighty God!

—

They heard! they suspected! they were making a mockery

no, no!

they knew!

my

of

—

— this

horror!

I

thought, and this

I

was better than this agony! Anything was more tolerable than think. But anything

this derision! cal

smiles

scream or

I

could bear those hypocriti-

no

longer!

die!

— and

that

felt

I

louder! louder! louder! louder! "Villains!"

more!

I

I

I

must

now — again! — hark!

admit the deed!

planks!— here, here!- it

dis-

his

—

"dissemble

shrieked,

still

is

— tear

no

up the

the beating of

hideous heart!"

dis-

freely to get rid of the

continued and gained

with heavy

I

defini-

found that the

was not within my ears. No doubt I now grew ve7y pale but talked more fluently and with a heightened and what voice. Yet the sound increased dull, quick low, could I do? It was a sound — much such a sound as a watch makes when enveloped in cotton. I gasped noise

—

1

WORDS TO Own audacity (o-das'a-te)

n.;

boldness.

vehemently (ve'a-mant-le)

adv.: forcefully;

passionately.

gesticulations (jes-tik'yoo-la'shsnz)

n.:

energetic

gestures.

derision (di-rizh'an)

n.;

contempt;

ridicule.

—

for breath not.

I

— and

talked

yet the officers heard

mently; but the noise steadily increased.

6.

deputed

it

more quickly— more veheI

(de-py(X)t'id): appointed.

The Tell-Tale Heart 207

—

f

Meet the Writer The Dark Side Born in Boston, Edgar Allan Poe ( 809- 849) was the son of traveling 1

1

When

actors.

Poe was

deserted the family;

a baby, his father

mother died bewas taken in

his

fore his third birthday. Poe

by the wealthy Allan family of Rich-

mond,

and given a

Virginia,

first-class

education. At the age of twelve, he had

poems

already written enough love

poems

to

girls

(mainly

he knew) to

a

fill

book. By the time he was twenty, he had published two volumes of poetry.

Poe constantly argued with father,

John

Allan,

eventually broke ing in

with

in

tempt to

ties 1

find a

I

,

Poe moved

new

in

an at-

He married Clemm five

family.

Virginia

tuberculosis

as celebrated for his

tales of

horror and mystery as for

poetry.

Poe made very

little

1847 brought on a in his

emotional health.

unconscious rainy day

in

in 1

physical

He was

and

found

lying

a Baltimore gutter

on a

849; he died four days

unknown

causes.

More by Edgar Allan Poe

his

money

—

from

in

general decline

later of

later.

Poe became

,••

with Poe, leav-

83

Baltimore, probably

young cousin

years

In

Maria Clemm, and her

his aunt,

children

his

all

him penniless.

his foster

about money. Allan

Poe was one of the

first

American writ-

his writing, though one of his most famous poems, "The Raven,"

ers to explore the dark side of the

earned him only about

"The Masque of the Red Death," "The Pit and the Pendulum," and "The Fall of

fifteen dollars

and he seemed to

live

disaster. His wife's

death from

on the brink of

208 Tales of the Strange and Myster

imagination. His horror tales include

the

House

of Usher."

.

Making Meanings First

Thoughts

1

^^^k ^^^^

Go

Reading Check

back to your reading notes. Did the Poe's story provides only lim-

way you predicted? Did previewing the story help you make accurate predictions? Why or why not? story turn out the

ited information;

information

is

some

cause the only source unreliable narrator.

Shapmg Interpretations 2.

To whonn

down

nnight the narrator

Where do you

story?

be

think he

telling his

is

would

as he

3.

an

like

to ask a

more

how

reli-

each

question would help you bet-

The narrator

tries desperately

vince his listener that he

evidence does he give?

ments

is

Write

three questions you

able source. Explain

tells it?

of the

suspect be-

actually

How does

How do

demonstrate

his

ter understand the

to con-

sane.

is

What

motiva-

tions behind the murder.

his argu-

madness?

the opening paragraph foreshadow, or hint

at,

the events of

the story?

What

your explanation for the "heartbeat" noise that drives the narrator to confess? Draw on evidence from the text to support your opinion.

Why

is

is

this

think of

story called "The Tell-Tale Heart,"

more

in

your opinion? (Can you

than one mean-

ing for the title?)

The mood, or atmosphere, is

the overall feeling

For example, the

in

a story.

mood

might

be happy or sad or scary.

Writers create piling

mood

by

up carefully chosen

details.

How would

describe the story?

What

you

mood

of this

details

does

Poe use to create that mood?

Connecting with the Text 8.

Go

back to your Quickwrite

notes.

you

What,

if

anything, did

find scary, unsettling,

or

otherwise memorable about this story? Explain

Edgar Allan Poe

in

a

moment

of writer's block.

what you

think this story shares with

other stories that scare people.

The Tell-Tale Heart 209

Choices:

Notebook

Writer's 1.

Building Your Portfolio

Collecting Ideas for a Character Analysis

What

kind of person

is

the narrator?

Reread the story looking for

details

XJI^br^

that reveal the nature of this strange

man. Gather your notes under headings such as these: •

what he

•

what he does

•

what

his conflicts

•

what

his

When

are

motivation seems to be

you have gathered your and name at

ization,

details,

who

is

make

a general-

you

least three character traits

person. Collect your data as

in this

atrist

says

if

you were

find

a psychi-

trying to put together a profile of the

murderer's personality.

At the

right are a reader's

Art

Creative Writing 2.

Scene of the Crime

3.

Imagine that you are one of the police officers

who

re-

sponded to the neighbor's call.

Write

filed after

a

notes on a different kind of character

report to be

you return to the

4.

a poster advertising a

movie version of "The Tale Heart."

Who will

Tell-

play

each of these roles? •

and what you found when

Crime and Punishment

With

group of classmates,

a

mock trial

stage a

narrator for the murder of the old man. Will the

guilty?

man

•

the old

•

the police officers

What witnesses

Choose an

Include descriptions of

from the story to

the suspect's appearance

your poster. Will you use

and of your impressions.

the original

When

did the suspect's

exciting scene illustrate

These are other characters you may want to defense team

•

prosecution team

one that you think would

•

judge

behavior begin to strike

attract a larger audience?

•

jury

you

What mood

•

bailiff

•

court reporter

title

or invent

will

your

poster create?

2

1

include:

•

odd?

will

be called to the stand?

you arrived on the scene.

as

of the

defense plead guilty or not

the narrator

station. Explain the circum-

stances of the investigation

book.

Speaking and Listening

Hollywood Poe

Make

in this

Tales of the Strange and Mysterious

Gramiviar Link

©

MINI-LESSON

Keeping Tense Consistent Like

most

writers,

Poe

tells his

the past

in

Try

tense; the events have already happened.

Handbook

HELP

"It

grew louder

— louder

See Consis-

men

tency of

possible they heard not?"

Tense,

story

louder!

And

still

Select a story

the

tell

a story in the

present tense instead, to make the reader

feel as

if

How

the events are happening right now:

men

Technology

HELP

— louder

louder!

chat pleasantly, and smile.

And

Is it

still

the

possible

Workshop

CD-ROM. Key word

rewrite the

paragraph

in

first

the past

How does

"Broken

Chain" (page 29) sound

you write the

first

graph

or they're happening now.

After you rewrite your

entry: con-

sistency of

It

tense.

grew louder

men

You'll

confuse your

—louder

louder!

And

Was

chat pleasantly, and smile.

the present tense?

paragraph, exchange

you switch tenses repeatedly:

if

in

it

a partner's. still

if

para-

Whichever tense you choose to write in, use it consistently. Either the events happened before, reader

3).

does the story sound

when you tense?

they hear not?

See Language

You might turn to

"Raymond's Run" (page

759.

grows louder

book,

opening

paragraph using a different

Writers sometimes choose to

It

in this

its

it

tense.

page

Out

and rewrite

Was

chatted pleasantly, and smiled.

It

Check

it

for

to see

the that your partner used

possible

one tense

consistently.

they heard not?

When

are the

men

—

chatting

after the story

is

over? By keeping tense consistent, you allow your reader to concentrate

on the events of the

story, rather than

on trying to

out when they

figure

occurred.

Vocabulary Word Bank

HOW TO OWN A WORD Editing Edgar: Searching for

Synonyms

acute

Imagine that you are the editor of a magazine for teenagers. You

vexed

want to include "The

sagacity

but you think Poe's vocabulary Divide the words

refrained

wary suavity

audacity

vehemently gesticulations

derision

Tell-Tale

in

the

Heart" is

in

your Spooky Stories

issue,

too hard and old-fashioned.

Word Bank

with a partner

(five apiece).

in the story in which your words appear (look Own), and copy the sentences onto a blank sheet of paper Rewrite each sentence to make it easier. Substitute more commonly known words or phrases for the Word Bank words as well as for any other difficult words in the sentence. To locate synonyms words with similar meanings use a thesaurus (a

Find the sentences

for

Words

to

—

dictionary of synonyms), a

—

synonym

finder, or a thesaurus that

is

part of your computer's software.

The Tell-Tale Heart

21

I

THE SHORT STORY: What Keeps Us Reading? Plot:

vore, there

A Chain of Related

the pigs

Events Plot

the chain of related

is

events that

make up

a story.

When

a plot

out,

keeps us reading by

it

is

well

mapped

down

The

pigs

follow their per-

his throat.

and aluminum

The suspense

laid

siding.

No

sooner had they

the foundations, however,

than a black sedan pulled up.

Out stepped Mr

next?

Mr Wolf returned With

olition crew. ball

drying,

with a dema wrecking

they knocked the

first

pigs

huddled

in

a lovely idea

suddenly into your

flit

storyteller stirs

our curiosity by making us pigs

two

grab

it

didn't have the

pigs

proper building

The pigs politely handed Mr Wolf their paperpermits.

work, which he swallowed

one

gulp.

in

Then, sneering, he

roared off

in his

black sedan.

Now complications develop. will

We fear that the wolf

wreck the

pigs' plans.

Also, since the wolf

is

a carni-

2 2 Tales of the Strange 1

is

most ment

mowhich the outcome of is

decided.

We are

materials hold out against the

Mr

tight.

it.

Dahl, author

of The

Landlady"

(page 17!)

time to stop him? The second

outcome would make

a satis-

fying resolution, at least for

readers

who

you know,

relieved that the space-age

enraged

it

The trick is to write it down at once; otherwise

demol-

exciting point, the

the conflict

it

house.

the plot's climax, or

at

when

with both hands

and hang on to

— Roald

and the wolf.

Wolf growled that the

going

the fiberglass

puffed, but he couldn't ish that third

golly,

is

does come along, you

phone. Mr. Wolf huffed and he

This Mr.

by.

you'll forget

fear that a conflict will arise

between the

You never know

to

lawyer on their cellular

At once the

to find

plots are very hard to

house, dialing a real estate

^^nd shifrv

is

come when

mind, but by

was

houses down. The frightened

Wolf, the

building inspector, his eyes

menn

building:

What will happen Just as the paint

urbs to build their dream

homes.

is

tant and difficult thing

the plot. Good, original

happen next.

Once upon a time, three wellto-do pigs came to the sub-

Writer on Plot

about writing

pig

with straw, the second

fiberglass

A

To me, the most impor-

rushed to complete

new homes. One

their built

good chance

with wood, and the third with

making us curious about what will

will

mits

a

is

favor the pigs.

that's

the

way

As

fairy

tales usually end: happily ever

after

Wolf.

You may want to decide the

Suspense: The Page Turner

resolution, or end, of the story for yourself.

Wolf dynamite the

Does Mr last

house?

Will the pigs' lawyer arrive

and Mysterious

in

Conflict creates suspense story,

and suspense

is

in

a

what

keeps us turning those pages.

by John Leggett or must

and the police suspect noth-

Writers use several methods

about

to create suspense.

choose between two dangerous courses of action. At the

ing

end of The Monkey's Paw,

heart beating.

we hold our breath as the old woman strains at the door.

about what

Will her husband stop her

the narrator, or

1.

Foreshadowing

A writer may give sometimes even

clues

false clues

outcome.

that hint at a story's

When we

read

The

in

Monkey's Paw (page

owner

that the first

time, and

86)

1

after his first

we

if

not,

in

what waits

two wishes were

expect that the

4.

Reversal

A

reversal

in

will also

lead to misfortune.

Mystery

a

is

sudden change

a character's situation

good to bad or "The

Tell-Tale

202),

it

crime.

narrator hears the sound of a

We worry

lies

ahead: Will

there be another reversal for things get

will

even worse for him?

The word suspense is related to the word suspended. When from

vice versa. In

Heart" (page

seems

as

if

the narra-

tor has gotten away with his

Writers sometimes create sus-

—and then suddenly the

side?

of the

new owners' wishes

2.

peril

on the other

for her

magic paw wished for death

granted,

is in

The corpse

is

hidden

a story keeps us

we

feel

in

almost as

suspended

in

if

suspense,

we were

midair

We

even hold our breath without realizing

it

as

we

read on

eagerly to find out

how

story ends.

pense by withholding information

from the reader

—

for in-

stance,

who the murderer

story

or how the crime was

is

in

a

committed. Unusual or myste-

iw?rii>- t

'

fFi

i

itwQsadark and stormy nj^t. Suddenly, a snot

rarr^out!

rious circumstances can also

create suspense.

In

"The Land-

lady" (page 171), for example,

why does the

landlady

the door so quickly? the

last

signature

in

open

Why

is

the guest

book over two years

old?

We

read on to satisfy our curiosity. 3.

Dilemma

Suspense

when

is

especially intense

a character

we

care

Suddenly, a pirate ship

appeared on

iheliorizon!

may

The maid screamed. A door slammed.

the

Before You Read There Will Come Soft Rains Make the Connection

Elements of Literature

Future Shock

Personification

Imagine the world of 2026.

what ways

will

it

Could

In

gies,

if

kinds of

new technolo-

any, will have

about an empty

house be interesting? Ray Bradbury thought so. As you

be different

from the world of today?

What

a story

read, notice

how

changed

way people live? What would you find in a home of

action.

the future?

the "characters"

empty house with

the

I

Quickwfite Jot

What

human

story?

in this

ersonification

speech

spoken of as benefits

the

and

life

in

is

if it

a

which

an object or animal

ideas

on the pros and cons of technology.

fill

Who—or what— are

figure of

^

down your

he uses

personification to

is

had

qualities.

has technology brought us?

For

What

pages 41-42 and the Handbook

are

its

drawbacks?

more on

Personification, see

of Literary Terms.

Reading

Skills

and Strategies

Using Chronology: Timing Have you ever asked

It

Right

a question like this after seeing a movie:

"Did the holdup take place before or

after

the phone rang?"

If

you

you were asking about chronology. Chronology is time order what happens first, next, and last. A story written in chronological order presents events in the time sequence in have,

—

which they occurred, one after the other

As you read "There Will

Come

Soft Rains," use your reading

notes to keep track of what's happening from hour to hour.

AND Mysterious

THHE

Hi \WE SOFT BflJffi^ Ray Bradbury

In

the living

room

clock sang, Ticktock, seven

o 'clock, time to get up, time to get up, seven o'clock! as

if it

were

body would. The morning house

afraid that no-

lay empty.

clock ticked on, repeating and repeating into the emptiness. Seven-nine,

its

The

sounds

breakfast time,

seven-nine! In the kitchen the breakfast stove gave a hissing sigh

and ejected from

pieces of perfectly

its

browned

warm

,^iffl

the voice-

The rain tapped on the empty house, echoing.

interior eight

toast, eight

eggs sunny

side up, sixteen slices of bacon, and two coffees. "Today is August 4, 2026," said a second voice

from the kitchen California."

It

ceiling, "in the city of Allendale,

repeated the date three times for

memory's sake. "Today is Mr. Featherstone's birthday. Today is the anniversary of Tilita's marriage. InThere Will Come Soft Rains 2

1

surance

is

payable, as are the water, gas, and

Somewhere

the

in

walls,

relays

memory tapes glided under electric

clicked,

eyes.

Eight-one, tick-tock, eight-

one to

o'clock, off to school, off

work, run, run, eight-one!

But no doors slammed, no carpets took the soft tread of rubber heels.

It

was

raining outside.

The weather box on the

front door sang quigo away; rubbers, raincoats for And the rain tapped on the empty

etly: "Rain, rain,

today

." .

.

running

down

the

Outside, the garage chimed and lifted its door to reveal the waiting car. After a long wait the door swxmg down again. At eight-thirty the eggs were shriveled and

was

burned evenly free of its white paint. The entire west face of the house was black, save for five places. Here the silhouette in paint of a

man mowing a lawn. Here, as in a photograph, a woman bent to pick flowers. Still farther over, their images burned on wood in one tihands flung into the air; higher up, the image of a thrown ball, and opposite him a girl, hands raised to catch a ball which never came down. tanic instant, a small boy,

— the man, the woman, the children, the ball — remained. The The

house, echoing.

the toast

windowpanes,

pelted

charred west side where the house had been

light bills."

like stone.

down

of

spots

paint

was a thin charcoaled layer The gentle sprinkler rain filled the garden

rest

with

An aluminum wedge

scraped them into the sink, where hot water

five

falling light.

Until this day, its

peace.

how

well the house had kept

How carefully

it

had inquired, "Who

a metal throat which dithem away to the distant sea. The dirt)' dishes were dropped into a hot washer and emerged twinkling dry.

goes there? Wliat's the password?" and, getting

Nine-fifteen, sang the clock, time to clean. Out of warrens in the wall, tiny robot mice

protection which bordered on a mechanical

whirled them

gested and flushed

darted.

The rooms were acrawl with the

cleaning animals,

thudded against

all

small

rubber and metal. They

Ten o'clock. The sun came

left

rain.

standing. At night the ruined

in

with

quivered

at

choirs. But the ritual

each sound, the house

The garden

golden founts, scatterings

did. If a

gods had gone away, and the

of the religion continued senselessly,

uselessly.

filling

Twelve noon.

A dog on the

cit>'

seen for miles. Ten-fifteen.

It

The house stood alone in a and ashes. This was the one

gave off a radioactive glow which could be

up

paranoia.

tendants, big, small, servicing, attending, in

out from behind the city of rubble

self-

into their burrows. Their

pink electric eyes faded. The house was clean.

house

an old-maidenly preoccupation with

in-

mous-

tached runners, kneading the rug nap, sucking

popped

in

sparrow brushed a window, the shade snapped up. The bird, startled, flew off! No, not even a bird must touch the house! The house was an altar with ten thousand at-

chairs, whirling their

gently at hidden dust. Then, like mysterious vaders, they

no answer from lonely foxes and whining cats, it had shut up its windows and drawn shades

The

whined, shivering,

front porch.

door recognized the dog voice and opened. The dog, once huge and fleshy, but front

sprinklers whirled

the soft morning

of brightness.

air

The water

Words to Own paranoia

(par'a-noi'a)

n.:

mental disorder that often

causes people to believe they are being persecuted; false suspicions.

warrens:

1.

small,

crowded

spaces.

2 6 Tales of the Strange 1

and Mysterious

now gone

bone and covered with

to

sores,

and through the house, tracking mud. whirred angry mice, angry at having to pick up mud, angry at inconvenience. For not a leaf fragment blew under the door but what the wall panels flipped open and the

moved

in

Behind

it

copper scrap fending dust,

rats flashed swiftly out.

The

of-

or paper, seized in miniature

hair,

was raced back to the burrows. There, down tubes which fed into the cellar, it was dropped into the sighing vent of an incinerator which sat like evil Baal" in a dark corner The dog ran upstairs, hysterically yelping to

Home Improvement

steel jaws,

each door,

at last realizing, as

ized, that only silence

was

the house

real-

here.

sniffed the air

door, sniffmg,

its

eyes turned to

wildly in circles, biting at

and died.

frenzy,

Two

It

its

fire.

tail,

ran

It

spun

in a

lay in the parlor for an hour.

Delicately sensing decay at

hummed

the regi-

last,

out as softly as blown

will

a house"?

In

when

1950,

Brad-

bury published "There Will

Come

many peo-

Soft Rams,"

houses would become a ity

glowed sudwhirl of sparks leaped up the

In the cellar, the incinerator

real-

within twenty or thirty

years.

Today homes controlled by

computer networks are becoming

available at

last. If

you

one of these homes, you can program it to turn on live in

lights

when you come

in

or to lower the TV's volume

when

the phone

rings. isn't

the only

home

tomation. By turning off

The dog was gone.

aulights

and appliances when they're not needed, automation can

conserve energy and save

chimney.

money

thirty-five.

Bridge tables sprouted from patio walls. Play-

shower of Martinis manifested on an oaken bench

ing cards fluttered onto pads in a pips.^

house-

mean "work done by

benefit offered by

Two-fifteen.

Two

when

Convenience

gray leaves in an electrical wind.

denly and a

work

the

o'clock, sang a voice.

ments of mice

the day near

ple believed that automated

and scratched the kitchen door, the stove was making Behind the door. pancakes which flUed the house with a rich baked odor and the scent of maple syrup. The dog frothed at the mouth, lying at the It

Is

with egg-salad sandwiches. Music played. But the tables were

silent

and the cards un-

phone

can also

make

response to a

spoken command. This ture,

which

IS

around

easily

fea-

of particular

value to people

lives in

touched.

It

calls in

who

can't get

can actually save

an emergency

At four o'clock the tables folded like great butterflies

2.

Baal

Israelites 3.

back through the paneled

(ba'al): in the Bible, the

came

walls.

god of Canaan,

whom the

V'

/

to regard as a false god.

pips: figures on cards.

There Will Come Soft Rains 2

1

Four-thirty.

The nursery low

giraffes,

walls glowed.

Animals took shape:

yel-

blue lions, pink antelopes,

lilac

panthers cavorting in crystal substance. The

They looked out upon color and fantasy. Hidden films clocked through well-oiled sprockets, and the walls lived. The nursery floor was woven to resemble a crisp cereaf meadow. Over this ran aluminum were

walls

glass.

'

roaches and iron crickets, and in the hot, air butterflies

still

of delicate red tissue wavered

among the sharp aromas of animal spoors!' There was the sound like a great matted yellow hive of bees within a dark bellows, the lazy bumble of

And

a purring lion.

patter of okapi feet and the

there

murmur

jungle rain, like other hoofs, falling

summer-starched

Now

grass.

was the

of a fresh

upon

the walls

the dis-

solved into distances of parched weed, mile on mile,

and

warm

endless sky. The animals

drew

away into thorn brakes and water holes. It was the children's hour.

The voice preference,

Five o'clock.

The bath

filled

with clear hot water. seven,

5/.V,

and

like

magic metal

now

blazed up warmly, a cigar

where popped

inch of soft gray ash on

smoking, waiting.

Nine

it,

a tire

out, half an

The beds warmed their hidden nights were cool here.

o'clock.

circuits, for

Nine-five.

A

voice spoke from the study

"Mrs. McClellan,

As

1

recall,

There will

poem

at

your

favorite.

.

.

.

come soft rains and the smell

And frogs in the pools singing at night, And wild plum trees in tremulous white; Robins

will

wear their feathery fire, whims on a low fence-

wire;

And not one silent.

sprockets: wheels with points designed to fit into the holes along the edges of a tllmstrip. 5. cereal: of grasses that produce grain. 6. spoors: tracks. 7. okapi (o ka'pe): African animal related to the giraffe but with a much shorter neck. 8. thorn brakes: clumps of thorns; thickets. 4.

•

2 8 Tales of the

no

random."

of the ground, And swallows circling with their shimmering sound;

which poem would you

evening?"

The house was

1

shall select a

Wljistling their

ceiling:

like this

"Since you express

Quiet music rose to back the voice. "Sara Teasdale.

in the study a click. In the

stand opposite the hearth

I

last,

eight o'clock.

The dinner dishes manipulated tricks,

said at

Strange and Mysterious

will

know of the war, not

one Will care at last

when

it is

done.

Words to Own tremulous also

(trem'yoo-las)

means

a6\.:

trembling. Tremulous

"fearful" or "timid."

flashed, water ings.

pumps

shot water from the

ceil-

But the solvent spread on the linoleum,

licking, eating,

under the kitchen door, while

the voices took

it

The house

up

in chorus: "Fire, fire, fire!

tried to save itself.

Doors sprang

windows were broken by wind blew and sucked upon

tightly shut, but the

the heat and the the

fire.

The house gave ground

as the fire in ten

bil-

moved with flaming ease room and then up the stairs.

lion angry sparks

from room to While scurrying water

squeaked from the walls, pistoled their water, and ran for more. And the wall sprays let down showers of merats

chanical rain.

Somewhere, sighing, a pump shrugged to a stop. The quenching rain ceased. The reserve water supply which had filled baths and washed dishes for many quiet days was gone. The fire crackled up the stairs. It fed upon Picassos and Matisses'" in the upper halls, like But too

Not one would mind, neither bird nor

delicacies, baking off the oily flesh, tenderly

crisping the canvases into black shavings.

tree.

Now

If mankind perished utterly;

And Spring herself, when she woke at dawn Would scarcely know that we were gone.

"

fire

fell

^BMBMH^ At

^^^

ten

o'clock

WtSBIl began The wind tree

house

the stove. "Fire!"

blew.

A

falling

solvent,'^ bottled, shattered

The room was screamed

over

ablaze in an instant!

a voice.

The house

lights

solvent: something that can dissolve something else

something that dissolves dirt). Solvent, dissolve, and solution have the same Latin root, solvere, which means "to (here,

loosen."

fire lay in

beds, stood in windows,

And then, reinforcements. From attic trapdoors, blind robot

faces

peered down with faucet mouths gushing green chemical. The fire backed off, as even an elephant must at the sight of a dead snake. Now there were twenty snakes whipping over the floor, killing the fire with a clear cold venom of green froth. But the fire was clever It had sent flame out-

up through the attic to the pumps there. An explosion! The attic brain which directed the pumps was shattered into bronze shrapnel on the beams. The fire rushed back into every closet and felt of the clothes hung there. side the house,

to die.

bough crashed through the kitchen win-

dow. Cleaning

9.

the

the

changed the colors of drapes!

burned on the stone hearth, and the away into a mound of quiet ash on its tray. The empty chairs faced each other between the silent walls, and the music played.

The

cigar

late.

10. Picassos and Matisses: paintings by Pablo Picasso (1881-1973), a famous Spanish painter and sculptor who worked in France, and by Henri Matisse (aw -re' ma-tes') (1869-1954), a famous French painter.

There Will Come Soft Rains 219

Ten more voices under the

died. In the last instant

avalanche,

fire

other

choruses,

be heard announcing the time, playing music, cutting the lawn by remotecontrol mower, or setting an umbrella frantically out and in, the slamming and opening front door, a thousand things happening, like a clock shop when each clock strikes the hour insanely before or after the other, a scene of oblivious, could

maniac confusion, yet unity; singing, screaming, a few last cleaning mice darting bravely out to carry the horrid ashes away! And one voice, with sublime disregard for the situation,

read poetry aloud in the fiery study, until film spools burned, until

and the

all

all

the

the wires withered

circuits cracked.

The fire burst the house and let it slam flat down, puffing out skirts of spark and smoke. In the kitchen, an instant before the rain of

and timber, the stove could be seen making breakfasts at a psychopathic " rate, ten dozen eggs, six loaves of toast, twenty dozen bacon strips, which, eaten by fire, started the stove working again, hysterically hissing! The crash. The attic smashing into kitchen fire

The parlor into cellar, subcellar Deep freeze, armchair, and

The house shuddered, oak bone on bone, bared skeleton cringing from the heat, its

nerves revealed as

if

a surgeon

its

its

wire,

had torn the

skin off to let the red veins and capillaries

quiver in the scalded run! Heat

winter

air.

Help, help! Fire! Run,

snapped mirrors

ice.

And

like the first brittle

the voices wailed.

Fire, fire,

run, run, like a tragic nursery rhyme, a

dozen

voices, high, low, like children dying in a forest,

alone, alone.

wires nuts.

popped

And

the voices fading as the

their sheathings

One, two, three,

four, five voices died.

bounded

off.

The pan-

Dawn showed faintly in

the east.

off

toward

running before the

a distant

steaming

fire,

river.

.

.

vanished

"Today

is

2026, today

August is

5,

2026, today

." .

.

12.

psychopathic

(si'ko-path'ik): insane.

Words to Own

.

11. sheathings: protective coverings.

220 Tales of the Strange and Mysterious

Among the

one wall stood alone. Within the wall, a last voice said, over and over again and again, even as the sun rose to shine upon the heaped rubble and steam: ruins,

thers ran in circles, changing color, and ten million animals,

film tapes,

and all like skeletons thrown in a cluttered mound deep under. Smoke and silence. A great quantity of smoke.

In the nursery the jungle burned. Blue lions roared, purple giraffes

cellar into

circuits, beds,

hot chest-

like

parlor.

oblivious (9-bliv'e-8s)

sublime

(s3-bllm')

adj.:

adj.:

unaware.

majestic; grand.

is

August

5,

oo oooooooc Meet the Writer "My Stories Have Led Me Through My Life" At the age of twelve, Ray Bradbury stories,

about the planet Mars,

been writing stories since.

—and

(

1

920-

pencil

in

novels,

)

wrote

his first

short

on brown wrapping paper. He's

poems,

plays,

and screenplays

—ever

Their settings range from Mars and Venus to Ireland and Green Town,

town based on

a fictional

advances

in

his birthplace,

Come

"There Will

bury's writing, like

Waukegan,

come

science and technology should never

human

beings. For another

Shiloh"

on page 581.

Bradbury

Illinois.

Much

of Brad-

Soft Rains," expresses his belief that

favorite, see

at the

expense of

"The Drummer Boy of

Bradbury advises young writers to keep writing:

44

If

you write a hundred short

stories and they're

doesn't

only

if

all

mean you've

you stop

bad, that

failed.

fail

writing. I've written

about two thousand short

stories;

only published about three hun-

I've

dred, and

He

You

feel I'm

I

follows his

own

learning.

still

99

advice and

writes nearly every day. Although he has been writing for over sixty years, he says he

having fun.

is still

Disney character

44 Writing

is

supposed to be

cult, agonizing, a

stories have led bite

me on

my

dreadful exercise, a terrible occupation. But, you see,

me

the leg

during the bite.

© Disney Enterprises. Inc. Tophan/Tlie iniage Works

diffi-

through

—

I

my

life.

They shout,

I

follow.

They run up and

respond by writing down everything that goes on

When

I

finish,

the idea

lets

go and runs

off.

99

More by Ray Bradbury Bradbury's best-known books include the short-story collections The

Martian Chronicles (Bantam) and The Fahrenheit

45

1

(Ballantine).

Illustrated

(The novel

is

Man

(Bantam) and the novel

about a future society

in

books are burned because they are thought to contain dangerous

The

title

is

a reference to the

which ideas.

temperature at which paper burns, 45

1

° F.)

ooooooooo There Will Come Soft Rains 22

Experiment 023681 "They're

still

raised his

wore

regressing,"

he

said Martak, as

head from the viewing screen. He

a look of disappointment

on

his face.

"1

much use in the continued fimding of Experiment 023681. We have others which are working much better." "Very well," rumbled the deep voice of Marcan't see

tak's

supervisor

it's

too bad, though. They

seemed so promising." "I

know,

isn't

He ambled

to

the porch, cleaned his shoes, and began to

walk inside. On some unexplainable impulse, he turned and looked at the sky once more.

little

on

killing

each other

in

things called wars,' and look

on the

outside, ninety-five of

their years'!"

agree.

mother

Martak. "But living conditions are

at their life span:

"1

"Noiv, John!" yelled his

"I'm coming!" he responded.

know. Disappointing,

horrible, they insist

these pett}'

first stars.

it?"

1

commented

Johnny sighed and dropped his shovel as he slowly trudged toward his house. He knew his mother meant it when she just said "John." He looked up at the darkening sky and saw the

OK. You now officially have permis-

sion to terminate Experiment 023681."

Johmiy gazed on his mostly finished sand castle and felt all the pride a four-year-old could have. He noticed it was getting dark, though, so he proceeded at top speed. at the small mass of swirling and whites for one last time. Then he slowly pushed the red button and en-

Man, that's a bright star up there! Hmmm, it seems to be growing larger! 1 guess it's an airplane, he decided. He opened the door and

went in. He then moved out.

Man,

flashlight

to the window and looked even bigger! It looked like a big had been shone on the house. it's

Martak looked blues, greens,

tered his access code.

He heard

mother yell at him to get away from the window, and his father yell something about invaders, but he was entranced. his

"Request?" questioned a tinny voice from a grill in

^'

the wall.

"Terminate Experiment 023681."

"Request confirmed

Martak watched as the small, perfect sphere was engulfed in a yellow flame. The flame

." .

.

slowly turned orange, then red, then finally tled into a black

Johnny looked up. Did he hear his mother calling him? He couldn't be sure, so he went back screamed

his

cloud which died, leaving be-

He

sighed regretfully, as Johnny

had done, and turned to the next experiment.

—

to playing in his sandbox.

"John!"

hind only dust.

mother from the

house.

222 Tales of the Strange and Mysterious

set-

Peter Leary

Athens Academy Athens, Georgia

Making Meanings First I

Thoughts

.

Reading Check

Complete any two of these statements: a.

As

•

read "There Will

I

Rains,"

I

thought of

.

Come

Soft

clues suggest that

.

well

This story interested/did not interest

•

me •

because

One

.

b. I

have about the story

is

.

at the

listing, in

little digital

indicate the hours.

has happened to the

Explain

why there

activity in

chrono-

How

it

Who

house? d. Describe

clocks that

long did

is still

the house.

or what controls the

logical order, the main events that took place in the house on August 4, 2026.

Now, look

the McClellan

in

What

c.

Review the story by

not

family?

.

Shaping Interpretations 2.

all is

household?

.

question

As the story opens, what

finally

how

the house

is

destroyed.

take

for the house to be destroyed?

Go

back to the text, and

find three places in the story

and the appliances are personified—that were living beings, even human. the

fire,

is,

where the house, described as

if

they

Bradbury describes the house as "an altar with ten thousand attendants" happened (page 2 6). Who are the "gods" who are worshiped? What has 1

to these "gods"?

What

and differences do you see between the visions of the

similarities

future offered

in

Bradbury's story and those

in

Sara Teasdale's

poem

(pages 218-219)?

Connecting with the Text 6.

Do

you think there

story? Explain 7.

ever be automated houses

why or why

not.

How would

you

like

feel

the one

about

in

the

living in

one?

Turn back to your Quickwrite on the benefits and drawbacks of read technology. What would you add to your list now that you have

"There Will 8.

will

Come

Soft Rains"?

How old will you be and what do you think you'll be doing in the year 2026? How do you expect the world of 2026 to compare with the one Bradbury envisions?

Extending the Text 9.

deliver are Bradbury and Peter Leary (see page 222) trying to that your through their stories? What do you think should be done to ensure stories? generation's future is different from what is described in the

What warnings

There Will Come Soft Rains 223

Choices:

Building Your Portfolio

Writer's Notebook 1.

Collecting Ideas for a Character Analysis

This story

is

remarkable because

human characters

doesn't have any

Yet think of that house and the that ruins

it.

in

I

it.

evil fire

Take notes on one of them

What

as a "character." as?

it

kind of person

the

is

fire

portrayed

Take notes on the words used to describe the

fire

and

What kind of person is the house? How it described? What does it do as its life is threatened and then destroyed? The notes at the right show how two on v^hat

it

nonhuman

does.

characters

in this

book

are

like

is

people.

Performance

Creative Writing

Technology/Critical

Thinking 2.

Dear Diary

3. It

Write a diary entry dated August 4, 2025, from the point of view of one of the McClellans

—the mother,

you on

a script for a thirty

second

or radio com-

one of

the devices mentioned

in

The Cutting Edge

Invent a

new

toy or labor-

saving appliance for Bradbury's world of 2026.

Make

a drawing of

your commercial for the

and attach a written expla-

one year

class,

this day,

What are

videotaping or

audiotaping

your hopes

and fears?

The Dog Wasli Program with five cycles to ing

TV

mercial advertising

4.

happens to

What

before the events of the story?

Write

Bradbury's story. Perform

the father, the son, or the

daughter

Pays to Advertise

is

a macliine

make doq wash-

an eae\er chore. The eye protecshampoo, shampoomq

tors, flea

massage, dog positioners, and drying towel are the five cycles the dog goes through under running water to make your job much easier and clean the dog better.

— Kimberly Canyon

Swift

Vista Middle School

Austin, Texas

224 Tales of the Strange and Mysterious

it if

possible.

nation of

how

it

your invention,

what

works.

it

does and

Grammar Link

MINI-LESSON

Don't or Doesn'tl

The contractions

don't

and doesn't should

Try

agree with their subjects. Language I

Use

.

Handbook

don't with plural subjects

the pronouns

HELP

/

and

and with

you.

Copy

the following sentences,

ing in

each blank with the correct

fill-

contraction, don't or doesn't.

EXAMPLES

Science fiction stories don't

See Prob-

always take place

lems in

I.

the

in

future.

Agreement,

page

Out

It

750.

Don't you wish your house

would clean up

The McClellans

live

in

the house anymore.

It

seems

though the house

as

realize they are

after you?

gone. L.

^^

Use

2.

doesn't with other singular subjects.

know how

It

Mrs. McClellan doesn't hear

EXAMPLES

Technology

HELP See Language

It

Workshop

work, but they

doesn't

in

that

phrases do not and does not for the

care

contraction. For example, she does not

Vocabulary

serve

Bradbury seems to be saying

a sentence, try substituting the

correct; she do not

still

any purpose.

you're unsure whether to use don't or

subject-verb

agreement

The amazing gadgets

is

hungry. If

and reading

poetry.

doesn't matter to the

house that the dog

CD-ROM. Key word entry:

cleaning, cooking,

her poetry reading that day.

to stop

is

than

make sense to more about technology about human life.

it

isn't.

HOW TO OWN A WORD

Word Bank

Analogies

paranoia

Complete each sentence by filling in the blank with the word that fits best from the Word Bank. Use each word only once. (You may want to review the explanation of analogies on page 76.)

tremulous oblivious

sublime

1

Weary

is

to

2. Depression

3. Afraid

4. Hit

is

is

tired as is

shaky

is

to

.

to sadness as

to frightened as majestic

to miss as aware

is

to

is

is

to

to suspicions. .

.

There Will Come Soft Rains 225

Before You Read The Inn of Lost Time Make the Connection

^\ framework story

Time Warp What would you do awoke one day to you had

slept for

if

is

you

frame story and an inner story. The inner story is often told by one

a

find that fifty

a story that contains

years?

Brainstorm the advantages

of the characters

and disadvantages of such a

frame

in

the

story.

strange situation.

Quickwfite if

you woke up

Reading in

Skills

and Strategies

the distant future,

would you want to remain there or return to your own time?

Why? Write

briefly

Drawing Inferences: Your Best Guess Mystery stories

make

about your responses.

Time" is a with two story framework inner stories a short folk tale told by one of the characInn of Lost

—

ters to his children and a

by another character. As you read the inner stories (which are indented on the page), in

each story

ence

is.

who is and who

mind

Doing

telling his audi-

this will help

you understand what the

is

when you return frame story.

pening

carefully

When

you draw

go beyond what the text states direcdy. You make an educated guess based on what you read in

the text combined with

your own knowledge and experience.

longer personal narrative told

keep

placed clues.

on

inferences from a story, you

Framework Story "The

you to

guesses, or inferences,

that are based

Elements of Literature

invite

hap-

inferences

is

In a like

way, making

being a

detective.

As you read this strange story, keep a notebook or piece of paper handy. Note clues that might help you

solve the mystery before

Zenta himself does.

to

go.hrw.com LEO 8-3

216 Tales of the Strange and Mysterious

The Inn of Lost Time 227

Will you promise

to sleep

story?" said the father.

if

tell

1

you

He pretended

a

to

"Yes! Yes!" the three little

boys chanted

in

sounded like a nightly routine. The two guests smiled as they listened to the exchange. They were wandering ronin, or unemployed samurai, and they enjoyed watching It

cozy family scene. The father gave the guests

this

a helpless look.

them a story, or "What can 1 do? I have to these little rascals will give us no peace." Cleartell

ing his throat, he turned to the boys.

The

story tonight

is

"All right.

about Urashima Taro."

Instantly the three

boys became

still.

with their legs tucked under them, the three little boys, aged five, four, and three, looked like a

descending row of stone

suzo, the younger of the

statuettes. Mat-

two

ronin,

minded of the wayside half-body Jizo,

the

God

was

re-

statues of

of Travelers and Protector of

rewarded

sea,

where he

lived happily

with

the Princess of the Undersea. But Taro soon

became homesick

for his native village

and

asked to go back on land. The princess gave him a box to take with him but

warned him not to peek inside. "When Taro went back to his

village,

he

found the place quite changed. In his home he found his parents gone, and living there

was another old couple. He was stunned to learn that the aged husband was his own son,

Sitting

turtle

Taro by carrying him on his back to the bot-

tom of the

put on a stern expression. unison.

with stones. The grateful

whom he had last seen as a baby!

Taro

thought he had spent only a pleasant week or two undersea with the princess. On land,

seventy-two years had passed! His

parents and most of his old friends had

long since died. Desolate, Taro decided to

open the box

given him by the princess. As soon as he

Children.

looked inside, he changed in an instant

Behind the boys the farmer's wife took up a pair of iron chopsticks and stirred the ashes of

from

the

fire in

the charcoal brazier.'

A momentary

glow brightened the room. The lean faces of the two ronin, lit by the fire, suddenly looked tierce and hungry. The farmer knew that the two ronin were supposed to use their arms in defense of the weak. But in these troubled times, with the country torn apart by civil wars, the samurai didn't always live up to their honorable code.

Then the fire died down again and the subdued red light softened the features of the two ronin. The farmer relaxed and began his story. The tale of Urashima Taro is familiar to every Japanese.

No doubt

heard their father

tell

the three it

little

a young man more than ninety.

to a decrepit old

man

At the end of the story the boys were close

Even Matsuzo found himself deeply touched. He wondered why the farmer had told his sons such a poignant bedtime story.

to tears.

Wouldn't they worry

all

evening instead of

going to sleep? But the boys recovered quickly. They were

soon laughing and

jostling

each other, and they

when their mother shooed

made no them toward bed. Standing in order of age, they bowed politely to the guests and then lay down on the mattresses spread out for them on objections

boys had

before— and more than

once. But they listened with rapt attention.

Urashima Taro, a fisherman, rescued a turtle from some boys who were battering it

Words to Own desolate (des'a-lit) adj.: lonely; miserable; deserted. decrepit (de-krep'it) adj.: broken down or worn out from old age or long use.

poignant brazier (bra'zhar): metal container that holds burning coals or charcoal, used to warm a room or cook food. 1.

228 Tales of the Strange and Mysterious

of

(poin'yant)

touching.

adj.:

causing sadness or pain;

Samurai: This story

is

set

Honor First

sixteenth-century Japan.

in

member

The

story's

mam

character Zenta,

is

The samurai protected the '), a feudal lords. They followed a code called Bushido, which required them to show absolute obedience and loyalty to their lords and to place their honor above anything else, including their own lives. The samurai class lost its privileges and began a sannurai (sam'a-ri

of the warrior

class.

when feudalism was abolished in Japan in 87 You may be surprised to hear that these disciplined warriors produced many

to die out

Japan's

famous

One is

1

arts, including the tea

In

(

1

the movie, set

group of samurai

who

954), directed by Akira Kuroin

the sixteenth century a

are looking for

themselves out to protect a bandits.

of

ceremony and flower arrangement.

of the great movies of the twentieth century

The Seven Samurai

sawa.

1

The movie

village

work

hire

threatened by

has been called an "eastern

western" because the seven samurai remind people of the heroic cowboys of American western movies.

""^SB*^

said Matsuzo,

the floor. Within minutes the sound of their

of the Urashima Taro

regular breathing told the guests that they

picking up his cup and sipping the

were

that Taro lost not only his family

asleep.

two renin, sighed as he glanced at the peaceful young faces. "I wish I could fall asleep so quickly. The story of Urashima Taro is one of the saddest that I know Zenta, the older of the

"They're

stout

lads.

them much." The farmer's wife poured

life

as

tea.

"It's

and friends well. He had lost

the most precious thing of all: time."

Nothing bothers

The farmer nodded agreement. "I wouldn't even one year of my life for money. As for losing seventy-two years, no amount of gold will make up for that!" Zenta put his cup down on the floor and

tea for the guests

looked curiously at the farmer. "It's interesting that you should say that. I had an opportunity

among our folk tales." The farmer looked proudly sons.

but a big piece of his

stor)'?"

at his

sleeping

and apologized. "I'm sorry this is only poor tea made from coarse leaves." Zenta hastened to reassure her. "Its warm and heartening on a chilly autumn evening." "You know what I think is the saddest part

sell

once to observe exactly how much gold a person was willing to pay for some lost years of his life."

went

He smiled as far as

grimly. "In this case the

one gold piece

for

man

each year he

lost."

The Inn OF Lost Time 229

"You never

"That's bizarre!" said Matsuzo. told

me

about

happened long before I met you," said Zenta. He drank some tea and smiled ruefully "Besides, I'm not particularly proud of the part .

played in that strange

hear

"Let's

"You've

made

the

us

all

quietly

urged

Matsuzo.

bears

expectantly. His wife sat

some resemblance

to

of

that

." .

.

happened about seven years ago, when I was a green, inexperienced youngster not quite eighteen years old. But I had had a good training in arms, and I was able to get It

a job as a

bodyguard for a wealthy mer-

chant from Sakai. As you know, wealthy merchants are

new

rel-

our country. Traditionally the rich have been noblemen, landowners, and warlords with thousands of followers. Merchants, regarded as parasites in our soatively

ciet>',

in

are a despised class. But our civil

wars have made people unusually mobile and stimulated trade between various parts of the country. The merchants have taken advantage of this to conduct business on a scale our fathers could not imagine.

of

if

more expe-

the need should

arise, he could always write a message to his clerks at home and have money for-

to him.

important to remember

It's

this.

The second day of our journey was

behind her husband and folded

Urashima Taro.

he had, I'm sure he

rienced bodyguard. But

curious.'

her hands. Her eyes looked intently at Zenta. "Very well, then," said Zenta. "Actually, my story

If

have hired an older and

warded

affair."

story!"

The farmer waited

down

gold with him.

would

it."

"It

I

much

Some

them have become more wealthy than

a

warlord with thousands of samurai under

command. The man I was escorting, Tokubei, was one of this new breed of wealthy merchants. He was trading not only with out-

ticularly grueling one,

a par-

with several steep was drawing to its

hills to

climb. As the day

close,

we began

to consider

where we

knew

that within

should spend the night.

I

an hour's walking was known to have several attractive inns. But Tokubei, my employer, said he was a hot-spring resort

wanted to stop. He and knew the iims had there were expensive. "Wealthy as he was, he did not want to spend more money than already very tired and

heard of the resort

he had to. While we stood talking, a smell reached our noses, a wonderful smell of freshly cooked rice. Suddenly I felt ravenous From the way Tokubei swallowed, I knew he was .

feeling just as hungry.

"We looked around eagerly, but the area forested and we could not see very far

was

any direction. The tantalizing smell seemed to grow and I could feel the saliva

in

my mouth.

filling

"There's

inn

an

around

where," muttered Tokubei.

We

here

"Im

some-

sure of it."

We

had to leave take a narand the well-traveled highway followed our noses.

his

lying provinces but

even with the Por-

tuguese^ from across particular journey

the

sea.

he was

On

this

not carrying

WORDS TO Own ruefully (roo'fsl-e)

adv.:

with regret and embarrassment.

parasites (par'a-sTts') n.: people who live at others' expense without making any contribution. (In ancient Greece, parasites was the term used for someone

who

flattered and

amused

a host

in

return for free

meals.)

grueling (groo'sl-iq) 2.

Portuguese: The Portuguese were the

to reach Japan, arriving in 1543- Until they in the 1630s,

first

Europeans

were expelled,

they traded extensively with the Japanese.

230 Tales of the Strange and Mysterious

adj.:

exhausting; extremely de-

manding.

ravenous

(rav'a-nas)

adj.:

extremely hungry.

But the mouth-

row, winding footpath.

watering smell of the rice and the vision of aired

freshh'

fluff)',

cotton

quilts

drew

us on.

The sun was passed a

evening

just

bamboo

light

beginning to

We

set.

low

grove, and in the

the thin leaves turned into

lit-

saw a gilded^ clump of bamboo shoots. The sight made me think of the delicious dish they would make tle

golden knives.

when boiled

We

in

I

soy sauce.

we

hurried forward. To our delight

soon came to a clearing with a thatched house standing in the middle. The fragrant smell of rice

were certain

was now so strong that we a meal was being prepared

inside.

girl

turned around, but she didn't seem to

have heard.

The inn was peaceful and quiet, and we soon discovered the reason why. We were the only guests. Again, I should have been suspicious. 1 told you that I'm not proud of the part

seems

beaming at us with a welcoming honor us with your pres-

face

"Please

grinned.

no other

guests.

"It

We

entered. Despite his vigorous-looking his

back was a

little

guessed his age to be about

and I bow-

bent,

fifty.

After

ence," she said, beckoning.

ing and greeting us, he apologized in ad-

There was something a little unusual about one of her hands, but, being hungry

vance

and eager

to enter the house,

I

did not stop

to observe closely.

You

will say, of course, that

it

was my

for the service.

"We have not always

been innkeepers here," he said, "and you may find the accommodations lacking. Our good intentions must make up for our inexperience. However, to compensate for our

we

will charge a

lower fee

duty as a bodyguard to be suspicious and to

inadequacies,

look out for danger Youth and inexperi-

than that of an inn with an established

ence should not have prevented me from wondering why an inn should be found hidden away from the highway. As it was, my stomach growled, and I didn't even hes-

reputation."

itate

but followed Tokubei to the house.

Before stepping up to enter, given basins of water to the

girl

Tokubei had noticed girl

we were

wash our

turned away to

it

left

as well.

empty the

As saw

feet.

handed us towels for drying,

what was unusual about her had six fingers.

I

hand: She

nodded graciously, highly pleased by the words of our host, and the evening began well. It continued well when the girl came back with some flasks Tokubei

of wine, cups, and dishes of salty snacks. Wliile the

When

the

he hand? She

basins,

"

as the

served the wine, the host at

my

the few remarks he made,

I

swords. From

gathered that

former samurai, forced by circumstances to turn his house into an inn. Having become a bodyguard to a tightfisted

a

merchant,

I

was

in

no position

to feel

superior to a ronin-turned-innkeeper Socially,

gilded: here, appearing to be coated with gold.

girl

looked with interest

he was

nudged me. "Did you see her left had He broke off in confusion 3.

that there are

me and

same amount of money. The girl led us to a spacious room which was like the principal chamber of a private residence. Cushions were set out for us on the floor and we began to shed our traveling gear to make ourselves comfortable. The door opened and a grizzled-haired

man

smile.

played.

should be able to get extra service for the

Standing in front of the house was a pretty girl

I

Tokubei turned to

therefore,

we were more

or less

equal.

The Inn of Lost Time 23

I

232 Tales of the Strange and Mysterious

We

exchanged

host while snacks.

we

polite remarks

drank and tasted the

looked around

1

with our

at

salty

the pleasant

showed excellent taste, and 1 espeadmired a vase standing in the

room.

It

cially

alcove.^

My

my

host caught

eyes on

it.

"We

still

have a few good things that we didn't have to sell," he said. His voice held a trace of bitterness. "Please look at the panels of these

doors.

They were painted by

Tokubei and

I

looked

at

a fine artist."

the pair of

slid-

ing doors. Each panel contained a land-

scape painting, the right panel depicting a

one the same scene in late summer. Our hosts words were no idle boast. The pictures were indeed beautiful. Tokubei rose and approached the screens for a closer look. Wlien he sat down again, his eyes were calculating. No doubt he was trying to estimate what price

winter scene and the

the paintings After

my

would

left

fetch.

third drink

1

began

to feel very

was the result of drinking on an empty stomach. 1 was glad when the girl brought in two dinner trays and a lactired.

Perhaps

it

quered^ container of rice container, she

rice.

began

Uncovering the our bowls.

filling

left hand Any other girl would have tried to keep that hand hidden, but this girl made no effort to do so. If anything, she seemed to use that hand more

Again

with

its

I

noticed her strange

six fingers.

than her other one

The

extra

little

the hand, as

The hand

my

if

when

she served us.

finger always stuck out inviting

fascinated

eyes on

from

comment.

me

so

much

that

1

and soon forgot to eat. After a while the hand looked blurry. And then everything else began to look blurry. kept

it

alcove: nook: hollow in a wall. lacquered (lak'ard): covered with lacquer, a varnish used to give a hard, smooth, sliiny coating to wood.

4. 5.

The Inn of Lost Time 233

Karaori. Japanese,

period

18th century). Museum

of Art.

Edo

of the

(first half

Silk.

Rhode

of Design. Gift of Lucy

Island School

Truman

Aldrich.

The

last

thing

I

remembered was the

of Tokubei shaking clear

head, as

if

sight

trying to

it.

When that time

time.

liis

I

opened my eyes

knew how much

again,

had passed, but not

I

My next thought was that it was cold.

was not only extremely cold but damp. I rolled over and sat up. I reached immediately for my swords and found them safe on the ground beside me. On the ground? Wliat was I doing on the ground? My last memory was of staying at an inn with a It

merchant called Tokubei. The thought of Tokubei put me into a panic. I was his bodyguard, and instead of

234 Tales of the Strange and Mysterious

watching over him, 1 had fallen asleep and had awakened in a strange place. I looked around frantically and saw that he was lying on the ground not far from where I was. Had he been killed? I got up shakily, and when I stood up, my head was swimming. But my sense of urgency gave some strength to my legs. I stimibled over to my emplo}'er and to my great relief found

him breathing

— breath-

ing heavily, in fact. >XTien I shook his shoulder, he grunted and fmally opened his eyes. 'Wliere am I?" he asked thickly. It

was

a reasonable question.

I

looked

As we walked from the bamboo grove, I saw the familiar clump of bamboo shoots, and we found ourselves standing in the same clearing again. Before our eyes was the thatched house. Only it was somehow

around and saw that we had been lying in a bamboo grove. By the light I guessed that it was early morning, and the reason I felt cold and

damp was

that

my

clothes

were

wet with dew.

around slowly, and with

and

cold!" said Tokubei, shivering

"It's

climbing unsteadil)' to his

his eyes

disbelief. "Wliat

we were

different.

He looked became wide

happened?

I

staying at an imi!"

that the thatching

other before

Tokubei had already taken his wallet out was peering inside. "That's here!"

did

had not

lost

we had

anything except a

my head

deeply enough

too. Exactly

I

— and

how much

had certainly long enough

moment we heard

shuffling foot-

It

peared beside the old woman. At

time had elapsed

we drank wine with our host? All we had to do now was find the

pale,

and crooked with the arthritis of old age and it had six fingers. I heard a gasp beside me and knew that Tokubei had noticed the hand as well. The door opened wider and a man ap-

comfortable night's sleep, although from the heaviness in

He was

was the sight of her left hand holding on to the frame of the door. The hand was wrinkled

outside?

We

closer

each

however, was not her voice.

in-

tend to do by drugging us and moving us

feared.

we went

at

steps and the front door slid open. The face of an old woman appeared. "Yes?" she inquired. Her voice was creaky with age. What set my heart pounding with panic,

of his sash and

At least things were not as bad as

stopped to look

there?"

After a

the innkeeper and his strange daughter

I

it

and 1 knew that I looked no less frightened. Something was terribly wrong. I loosened my sword in its scabbard. We finally gathered the courage to go up to the house. Since Tokubei seemed unable to find his voice, I spoke out. "Is anyone

asked.

slept

and new.

Tokubei and

There was nothing I could say to that. But at least we were both alive and unharmed. "Did they take all your money?" I

What

Now

was dark with age. Daylight should make things appear brighter, not darker The plastering of the walls also looked more dingy.

"They must have drugged us and robbed us," said Tokubei. He turned and looked at me furiously. "A fine bodyguard you are!"

still

was much darker On the

previous evening the thatching had looked fresh

tresses in the inn?

My money is

dusk.

at

But the difference was more than a

words came as a relief. One of the possibilities I had considered was that I had gone mad and that the whole episode with the inn w^as something I had imagined. Now I knew that Tokubei had the same memory of the inn. I had not imagined it. But why were we out here on the cold ground, instead of on comfortable mat-

This was certainly unexpected.

than

change of light. As we approached the house slowly, like sleepwalkers, we saw

thought

His

funny!

Perhaps things looked different

in the daylight

feet.

first

I

since

way

again

and

continue

Tokubei suddenly chuckled.

our "I

6.

journey.

didn't

scabbard: case

for the blade of a sword.

high-

even

Words to Own elapsed

(e-lapst')

v.:

passed (said of time).

have to pay for our night's lodging!"

The Inn of Lost Time 235

was our host of the previous man was much younger, although the resemblance was strong. He carried himself straighter and his hair was black, while the innkeeper had been grizthought

it

night. But this

zled and slightly bent with age.

my

excuse

"Please

mother,"

the

said

man. "Her hearing is not good. Can we help you in some way?" Tokubei finally found his voice. "Isn't this the inn

where we stayed

The man

stared,

"hiii?

last

We

night?"

are not inn-

keepers here!"

you

"Yes,

are!" insisted Tokubei.

"Your

daughter invited us in and served us with ^vine.

You must have put something

in the

wine!"

The man frowned. "You

are serious? Are

you didn't drink too much at your inn and wander oft?" "No, I didn't drink too much!" said

you

svire

Tokubei, almost shouting. at all!

Your daughter, the one with six finstarted to pour me a sec-

on her hand, ond cup of wine gers

hardly drank

"I

.

.

and he stared again

."

His voice trailed

at

the

left

off,

hand of the

woman.

old

"I

six fingers

hardly think

when

on her it

and began to

left

hand, although

polite of you to

mention

I

it."

come

in

and

rest a

the man said to him gruffly. He glanced me. "Perhaps you wish to join your

friend.

You don't share

the inn, "I

I

his delusion about

hope?"

wouldn't presume to contradict

my el-

I said carefully. Since both Tokubei and the owner of the house were my elders, I wasn"t committing myself. In truth, I

ders,""

didn't

was almost the same as it was differences were there

the

looked

I

closely.

We

entered the

torn screen convinced Tokubei that our host had not played a joke: valuable painting

The owner of a

would never vandalize

it

for a trivial reason.

more disturbed by the sight of the sixth finger on the old woman's hand. Could the young girl have As

me,

for

was

I

far

disguised herself as an old crone? She could

powder

put rice

in

her hair to whiten

straight

with

fingers

arthritis.

now was

it,

was

old fingers twisted

The woman here with us

genuinely old,

older than the It

into

this

at least fifty

know what to believe,

but

I

did want

a look at the inside of the house.

236 Tales of the Strange and Mysterious

that

years

girl.

same old

woman who

gave us our greatest shock.

totter.

think you'd better

bit,"

at

but

same room with the alcove and the pair of painted doors. The vase I had admired was no longer there, but the doors showed the same landscapes painted by a master. I peered closely at the pictures and saw that the colors looked faded. What was more, the left panel, the one depicting a winter scene, had a long tear in one corner. It had been painstakingly mended, but the damage was impossible to hide completely. Tokubei saw what I was staring at and he became even paler. At this stage we had both considered the possibility that a hoax of some sort had been played on us. The

"I'm getting dizzy," muttered Tokubei,

"I

inside

but she could not transform her pretty

man 'My mother here is the one who has

don't have a daughter," said the

slowly.

The before

"It's

you should mention an

finally

interesting

inn, gentle-

men," she croaked. "My father used to oper-

he died, my husband and I turned this back into a private residence. We didn't need the income, you see." "Your your f-father?" stammered ate an inn. After

.

.

.

.

.

.

Tokubei. "Yes," replied the old

woman. "He was

a

go into inn keeping when But he never liked the work. Besides, our inn had begun to acronin, forced to

he

lost his position.

quire an unfortunate reputation.

our guests disappeared, you

Some

The

woman's next words confirmed my fears. T recognize you now! You are two of the lost guests from our inn! The other lost ones I don't remember so well, but I remember yon because your disappearance made me so sad. Such a handsome youth, I thought; what a pit}' that he should have gone the way of the others! A high wail came from Tokubei, who

of

see."

Even before she finished speaking, a horrible suspicion had begun to dawn on me.

Her father had been an innkeeper, she said, her father who used to be a ronin. The man wlio had been our host was a ronin-turnedinnkeeper. Could this mean that this old woman was actually the same person as the young girl we had seen? I

sat

stunned while

implications.

Was

I

tried to

What had happened

possible that Tokubei and

began

absorb the to us?

life

keen and rock himself back and

went by while

I

my

slept at this accursed

inn!

I

who was now an adult? If that was the case, then we had slept for fifty years!

to

forth. "I've lost fifty years! Fift}' years of

had slept while this young girl grew into a mature woman, got married, and bore a son, a son it

old

The inn was indeed accursed. Was fate of the

7.

keen:

the

other guests similar to ours?

wail.

Nuihaku. Japanese, Edo

period (mid- 8th century). 1

Silk.

Museum

of Art.

Rhode

of Design. Gift of Lucy

Island

School

Truman

Aldnch,

The Inn OF Lost Time 237

"Did anyone else return as years later?"

I

we

did, fifty

bamboo grove

dwelling in the

spirit

asked.

The old woman looked uncertain and turned to her son. He frowned thoughtfully. "From time to time wild-looking peo-

a long, unnatural sleep.

ple have come to us with stories similar to yours. Some of them went mad with the

his case," said Tokubei.

up twenty,

Tve lost my busimy wife, my young and beauWe had been married only a

Tokubei wailed again.

couple of months!"

impatient.

A gruesome chuckle came from the old woman. "You may not have lost your wife. It's just that she's become an old hag like

that

me!

large

tionship with

my

characterized by side,

I

my

on

respect

rela-

either

He had lost his world. me, the loss was less traumatic. 1 As had left home under extremely painful circumstances and had spent the next three years wandering. 1 had no friends and no one I could call a relation. The only thing 1 had was my duty to my employer Somehow, someway, 1 had to help him. "Did no one find an explanation for right:

for

these disappearances?"

we knew

1

we

the reason why,

back to his

might find

into a river."

would work "Wliat?

in

man, "I'm not sure

your case.

spell

of money, for she said that she

cackled the old

woman. "Maybe he went time. Maybe he walked

own

Tokubei's eyes narrowed further

much money he asked

priestess!"

said the

in

"At least the stranger disappeared again,"

some way to reverse the process." The old woman began to nod eagerly. "The priestess! Tell them about the shrine ""Well,"

sum

if

asked. "Perhaps

something worked

said

had to burn some very rare and costly incense before she could begin the spell." At the mention of money Tokubei sat back. The hectic flush died down on his face and his eyes narrowed. "How much money?" he asked. The host shook his head. "In my opinion the priestess is a fraud and makes outrageous claims about her powers. We try to have as little to do with her as possible." "Yes, but did her spell work?' asked Tokubei. "If it worked, she's no fraud!"

did begin to feel very sorry for him.

He was

later."

would undo the work of the evil spirit," said the man. "But she demanded a

employer had not been

much

years

"The priestess promised to make a

That did not console Tokubei, whose

keening became louder Although

fifty

The man seemed reluctant to go on. "1 don't like to see you cheated, so I'm not sure I should be telling you this." "Tell me! Tell me!" demanded Tokubei. The host's reluctance only made him more

ness! I've lost

wife!

you

They would wake

or even

thirty,

"Yes, but

shock."

tiful

here.

This spirit would put unwary travelers into

if it

"How

did the priestess demand?"

again.

"I

think

year

lost,"

it

was one gold piece said

the

host.

He

for every

hurriedly

." .

.

What would work?

demanded

"

8.

hectic: feverish.

Tokubei. His eyes were feverish.

"There was a case of one returning guest

who

consulted the priestess

slirine,"

said the

at

our local

man. "She went into

trance and revealed that there

was an

238 Tales of the Strange and Mysterious

a

evil

Words to Own traumatic shock.

(tro-mat'ik)

adj.:

emotionally painful; causing

added, "Mind you,

still

I

wouldn't trust the

"Then it would cost me get back to my own

He looked up. much money with me."

Tokubei.

"I

fift}'

gold pieces

muttered

time,"

don't carry that

"No, you don't," agreed the host.

me

Something alerted said that. that

It

was

as

if

Tokubei did not

about the way he

knew already carry much money on the host

him. sighed. He had do have the means to obtain more money, however. I can send a message to ni}- chief clerk and he will remit the mone}' when he sees my seal." "Your chief clerk may be dead by now,' I reminded him.

Meanwhile

come

Tokubei

moaned Tokubei. "My business will be under a new management and nobody will even remember my "You're right!"

name!" "And your wife will have remarried," said the old woman, with one of her chuckles. I found it hard to believe that the gentle girl

who had

served us wine could

"Sending the message

may be

a

waste of

"Wliat waste of time!" cried Tokubei.

fifty

I

waste time?

I've

years already! An^n^^ay, Ive

my mind. Im i

still

wasted

made up

sending that message."

think you shouldn't

trust

I

shoots In the

went

vious

straight to the

bamboo

grove.

On

clump of the previ-

— or what perceived as the prenight — had noticed that clump of

ous night

I

I

bamboo

shoots particularly, because

I

had

been so hungry that I pictured them being cut up and boiled. The clump of bamboo shoots was still in the same place. That in itself proved nothing, since bamboo could spring up anywhere, including the place where a clump had existed fift)' years earlier. But what settled the matter in my mind was that the climip looked almost exactly the

had seen

I

way

it

did

before, except that

it

every shoot was about an Inch taller That

was

time," agreed the host.

shouldn't

Outside,

when

turn into this dreadful harridan.'

"Why

the

you back thirt)' years, and your wife will only be middle-aged." Willie Tokubei was still arguing with himself about the exact sum to send for, I decided to have a look at the bamboo grove. "I'm going for a walk," I announced, rising and picking up my sword from the floor beside me. The host turned sharply to look at me. For an instant a faint, rueful smile appeared on his lips. Then he looked away.

to a decision. "I

young

woman. "Then

priestess will send

priestess."

to

pieces?" cackled the old

a

reasonable

shoots to

grow

amount

for

bamboo

overnight.

had slept on the ground here overnight. We had not Overnight. Tokubei and

I

slept here for a period of fifty years.

Once

the

I

knew

that,

I

was

able to see an-

priestess," said the host.

other inconsistency: the door panels with

That only made Tokubei all the more determined to send for the money. However, he was not quite resigned to the amount.

the painted landscapes.

"Fift)'

gold pieces

priestess can

is

a large

buy incense

sum. Surely the

for less than that

The painting with

the winter scene had been on the right night and

it

was on the

left this

last

morning.

It

wasn't simply a case of the panels changing places,

because the depressions

in

the

amount?" ""Why don't you

tr)'

giving her thirty gold

Words to Own remit

9-

(ri-mit')

v.:

send as payment.

harridan: spiteful old woman.

The Inn of Lost Time 239

Karaori. Japanese,

Edo

period (early 19th century). Silk.

Museum

of Art.

Rhode

of Design, Gift of Lucy

Island

School

Truman

Aldrich.

panel for the handholds had been reversed. In other words,

what

I

saw

just

now was

not a pair of paintings faded and torn by age.

They were an

entirely different pair of

how did the pretty young girl change

into an old

woman? The answer was

the screens could be

could the

young

that

different ones,

if

so

It

I

claimed to be his grandson today. a simple

matter for a young

240 Tales of the Strange and Mysterious

a

make

pieces of gold, of to accuse

let

re-

Tokubei send his message.

couldn't even feel angry toward the

man and

would be

fift)"

was clever of the man

luctance to

wife,

woman, an old hag. The darkening of the thatched roof? Simply blow ashes over the roof. The grizzledhaired host of last night could be the same

and assume

the shrine priestess of fraud and pretend

a

I

hair

the purpose of the hoax? To

a

morning

different

It

And

Tokubei send for

saw

night. This

liis

stoop.

women. I had seen one woman,

girl, last

man who

to put gray in

course.

paintings.

But

man

his daughter— or mother, sister, whatever He could have killed me and taken my swords, which he clearly admired. Perhaps he was really a ronin and felt sympathetic toward another one. Wlien I returned to the house, Tokubei was looking resigned. "I've decided to send for the whole fifty gold pieces." He sighed.

"Don't bother,"

be

leaving

said. "In fact,

I

soon

as

we should We

possible.

as

shouldn't even stop here for a drink, espe-

I

Tokubei stared. "Wliat do you mean? If go back home, I'll find everything

changed!"

"Nothing wiU be changed,"

I

told him.

"Your wife will be as young and beautiful as ever." "I

years

understand,"

don't

he

said.

"Fifty

.

He held his cup out for more and the farmer's wife came forward to pour Only now she used both hands to hold the pot, and for the first time Matsuzo saw her left hand. He gasped. The hand had six fingers.

tea,

"Wlio was the old woman?" Zenta asked the "She was

my

grandmother,"

my family."

said.

I

us."

mouth hung open. Finally closed it with a snap. He stared at the host, and his face became first red and then puryou were trying to swindle ple. "You me!" He turned furiously to me. "And you let them do this! Tokubei

he

s

—

"I'm not letting them,"

I

pointed out.

you going to let them get away with demanded Tokubei. "They might try swindle someone else!" "They only went to this much trouble

"Are this?"

they heard of the arrival of a fine

fish like you,"

said.

I

I

same

fat

looked deliberately

the host. "I'm sure they

At

she replied.

something that runs

in

Matsuzo found his voice. "You mean the very house you visited? This is the

last

this is

inn

is

where time was

lost?"

thought we lost fifty years,"" said I should have warned you first. was almost certain that wed be safe this

""Wliere

we

Zenta. "Perhaps

But

I

time.

And

I

see that

I

was

right."

to the woman again. "You and husband are farmers now, aren't you? your What happened to the man who was the host?"" "Hes dead," she said quietly. "He was my brother, and he was telling you the truth when he said that he was a ronin. Two years ago he found work with another warlord, but he was

He turned

why we're leaving right now."

to try the

curiosity," said

Zenta, smiling.

played a joke on

when

your

satisfy

"Having six fingers

to

"Maybe curious

about that family now."

"The people here have a peculiar sense of humor, and they've "Its a joke,"

"That's

me

farmer's wife.

." .

didn't you?" asked Matsuzo.

could go together You've made

"Then you can

not of wine."

cially

"Why

we

at

wont be tempted

killed in battle only a

month

Matsuzo was peering

trick again."

at

later."

the pair of sliding

which he hadn't noticed before. "I see that youve put up the faded set of paintings. The winter scene is on the left side." The woman nodded. "We sold the newer pair of doors. My husband said that we're farmers now and that people in our position don't need valuable paintings. We used the money to buy some new farm implements." She took up the teapot again. "Would you like another cup of tea?" she asked Matsuzo. doors,

"And thats the end of your story?" asked just went away?

Matsuzo. "You and Tokubei

How

did you

know

the so-called innkeeper

wouldn't try the trick on some other luckless traveler?

Zenta shook his head.

"I

didn't

know.

I

merely guessed that once the trick was exposed, they wouldn't take the chance of trying it

again.

Of course

the place to check leading an honest

I

thought about revisiting

if

life."

the people there were

Staring at her

left

hand, Matsuzo had a sud-

den qualm. "I— I don't think I want any more." Everybody laughed.

The Inn OF Lost Time 241

Meet the Writer "I

Didn't Have a Book;

Although Lensey

born set

in

in Beijing,

Had a Short Story"

I

Namioka

(

1

929-

)

was

China, several of her novels are

feudal Japan and recount other adventures

of Zenta and Matsuzo.

"The

Inn of Lost

Time"

was originally meant to be a novel as well, as she explains:

ii The story of Rip Van Winkle has always fascinated me. The Japanese version of the story, 'Urashima Taro,' is another favorite of mine. They are both sad stories, because the main character lost the I

most precious

thing of

all:

time.

had written several teenage books featuring

Zenta and Matsuzo, a

pair of jobless samurai

wandering around Japan looking for work. I

When

needed an idea for a new book about the two

samurai,

thought of using the theme of lost

I

time. But

I

worked out

a twist

on the

idea,

to

give the story a happy ending.

When

started

I

work on

the book, however,

I

one central idea. Furwas necessary to have all the action

couldn't get beyond the

thermore, take place

it

in less

than twenty-four hours. This

did not give the characters an opportunity to

grow and

develop.

short story.

I

didn't have a book;

I

had a

99

More by Lensey Namioka •

In Island

of Ogres (HarperCollins), Matsuzo and

Zenta are sent to investigate strange doings on a •

mysterious

island.

Who's Hu? (Random House), a novel for young adults, girl

is

based on Namioka's experiences as a

studying mathematics.

(Background) Koraori. Japanese, Edo period (second century). Museum

half of 18th

Silk.

of Art.

Rhode

Island School of Design. Gift of

Lucy Truman Aldrich.

Making IVIeanings First

Thoughts

What inferences

did

Reading Check

you make that

Pretend that you are Tokubei.

helped you to realize what was actually

(Who

going on?

figured

it

out

first,

Write

you or

a short note to

wife, telling

Zenta?)

trick that

was played on you

at the inn of lost time.

Shapmg Interpretations 2.

your

her about the

The frame story here is the story that contains two other stories. What is the frame

story?

What two

stories

are contained within the frame story? 3.

How

4.

By the end of Zenta's story, what connection have you discovered between

is

the inn 5.

In

Zenta's story

in his

like

the story of Urashima Taro?

story and the inn

Zenta's story,

what

in

the frame story?

clues convince

Zenta that he and Tokubei are the

victims of a clever hoax? 6.

Were you

surprised to discover the identity of the farmer's wife

frame story? 7.

Why

At the end of the his

did her family change their ways,

in

in

the

your opinion?

what might Zenta be thinking when he holds out Why doesn't Matsuzo want any more?

story,

cup for more tea?

Chailengmg the Text 8.

Matsuzo

calls

time "the most precious thing of

What do you Why?

position.

have?

believe

is

all."

Challenge or defend

his

the most precious thing a person can

Travellers in the Sr]Ow at Oi (c.

1840) by Hiroshige. Japanese

Oban

color print.

The Inn OF Lost Time 243

Choices:

Building Your Portfolio

A

Writer's Notebook 1.

Collecting Ideas for a Character Analysis

When

you analyze a character, you might want to compare him or her to another character, either in that story or in another story.

Millay's

Quintana's

mother

grandfather

There are several characters in this ones we learn the most about

story, but the

are Zenta and Tokubei.

Draw

a

Venn diagram

to help you compare Zenta and Tokubei.

Venn diagram

at the right

between the mother Millay's in

poem

in

shows

Edna

St.

The

comparison

a

Vincent

(page 108) and the grandfather

Leroy Quintana's

poem

Differences

Differences

Similarities

(page 109).

Comparing Texts

Creative Writing

Creative Writing

Across Cultures 2.

The Motel of Lost

4.

Bedtime Stories

Time?

3.

Rewrite the story of "The

Find and read

Inn of Lost

place

in

Time" to take

the present-day

United States. You might try writing

it

as a

progressive

story: Write the

first half;

many

your

Refer to the notes

Quickwrite before you

sleeps for

years and wakes up

•

"Urashima Taro"

started this story. in

(tradi-

tional Japanese)

Then

write a story of

your

an unfamiliar world:

then, exchange papers with a classmate, and finish

who

Time

you made for the

one of the

following stories about a

character

Lost in

own

in

which you wake up

in

the distant

future. Tell •

partner's story while he or

"Rip Van Winkle"

(Washington

she finishes yours.

Irving, •

In

American)

what

you miss about the past.

do you

What

like

"Oisin" (tradi-

about the future?

tional Irish)

How

a brief essay,

story end?

compare your story with "The Inn of Lost Time." Consider: setting

•

plot

•

characters

244 Tales of the Strange and Mysterious

•

does your

Grammar Link Active

MINI-LESSON

and Passive Voice

When

a

verb

in

is

the active voice, the subject of

When

the verb does something. language

passive voice, something

Handbook

ACTIVE

HELP

verb

done to

is

is

its

in

Try

the

is

done by the

writing. Underline

the verbs

subject, the

verbs PASSIVE

in

The sons were

voice twice. is

done

to

the

all

the

the passive

in

told a story by their

father [The action

all

the active

voice once and

father]

760.

Out

It

Take out a piece of your

subject.

father told a story to his sons.

[The action

See Voice,

page

The

a

The num-

ber of single underlines

subject, the sons.]

much greater number of dou-

should be

The two sentences convey the same information, but with different emphases. The first sentence

than the

stresses the doer of the action; the second sentence

rewrite

stresses the receiver of the action.

passive-voice sentences,

You should use the writing a direct, sparingly, to

lively

active voice to give

tone.

Use the

ble underlines.

your

putting

passive voice

them

If it

isn't,

of the

in

the

active voice.

emphasize the receiver of the action.

Vocabulary

HOW TO OWN A WORD

Word Bank

Mapping Words: Pinning Down Word Meanings

desolate

A word map

decrepit

some

can help you to

used. Study this

clarify

sample word map

all

the ways a

for the

word

word can be

desolate.

poignant

When

ruefully

m

a pereon

parasites

desolate?

grueling

ravenous

•

elapsed

•

empty abandoned

•

run-down

traumatic

•

best friend moves away pet

is killed

by car

nothing to do on weekend

remit '

What worde mean the opposite

What words mean the same as

of desolate?

desolate?

•

cheerful

miserable

•

joyful

wretched

for each of the other words in make up some of your own questhe Word Bank. (You will need to tions.) Exchange your word maps with other teams. Can they think of new questions to ask about a word?

With

a partner,

make

a

word map

The Inn of Lost Time 245

uestions ASKED

The

en

Window

246 Tales of the Strange and Mysterious

LEO 8-3

I

My

aunt will be

down

presently, Mr. Nuttel,"

young lady of fifmeantime you must try and put up

said a very self-possessed

teen; "in the

with me."

Framton Nuttel endeavored to say the correct something which should duly flatter the niece of the moment without unduly discounting the aunt that was to come. Privately he doubted more than ever whether these formal visits on a succession of total strangers would do the nerve cure

much toward

which he was supposed

helping

be un-

to

dergoing.

know how it will be," his sister had said when he was preparing to migrate to this rural retreat; "you will bury yourself down there and not "I

speak to a living soul, and your nerves will be worse than ever from moping. I shall just give you letters of introduction to all the

Some

people

know

I

I can remember, were quite nice." Framton wondered whether Mrs. Sappleton, the lady to whom he was presenting one of the letters of introduction, came into the nice divi-

there.

of them, as far as

sion.

"Do you know many of the people round here?" asked the niece,

when

she judged that

they had had sufficient silent comnuinion. "Hardly a soul," said Framton. staying here, at the rectory,^

years ago, and she gave to

"My

sister

was

you know, some four

me letters of introduction

some of the people here." He made the last statement

in a

tone of distinct

regret.

"Then you know practically nothing about my aimt?" pursued the self-possessed yoimg lady. "Only her name and address," admitted the caller. He was wondering whether Mrs. Sappleton was in the married or 1.

rectory: house

in

widowed

state.

which the minister of a parish

An

un-

WMfwanv I.

lives.

The Open Window 247

room seemed

definable somctliing about the

"Her great tragedy happened ago," said the child; "that

just three years

would be since your

"Her tragedy?" asked Framton; somehow,

in

country spot, tragedies seemed out

of place.

quite

warm

for the time of the year,"

said Framton, "but has that

window

got any-

thing to do with the tragedy?"

"Out through that window, three years ago to a day, her ers

went

husband and her two young broth-

off for their day's shooting.

They

never came back. In crossing the moor to their favorite snipe-shooting

ground, they were

three engulfed in a treacherous piece of bog.

all It

had been that dreadful wet summer, you know, and places that were safe in other years gave way suddenly without warning. Their bodies

were never recovered. That was the dreadful part of

all

walk

in

through

that

"

She broke off with a little shudder. It was a Framton when the aunt bustled into

room with

a whirl of apologies for being

making her appearance. hope Vera has been amusing you?" she

late in "I

said.

"You may wonder why we keep that window wide open on an October afternoon," said the niece, indicating a large French window" that opened onto a lawn. "It is

will

relief to

the

sister's time."

this restful

they

that

window

to suggest masculine habitation.

Here the

it."

child's voice lost

its self-

possessed note and became falteringly human. "Poor aunt always thinks that they will

come

back someday, they and the little brown spaniel that was lost with them, and walk in at that window just as they used to do. That is why the window is kept open every evening till it is quite dusk. Poor dear aunt, she has

me how they went out,

"She has been very interesting," said Framton. "I

said

hope you don't mind the open window," Mrs. Sappleton briskly; "my husband and

home directly from shooting, always come in this way. They've

brothers will be

and they been out

marshes today, so they'll make a fine mess over my poor carpets. So like you menfolk, isn't it?" She rattled on cheerfiilly about the shooting and the scarcity of birds and the prospects for duck in the winter To Framton, it was all for snipe in the

purely horrible.

He made

a desperate but only

onto a he was conscious that his hostess was giving him only a fragment of her attention, and her eyes were constantly straying past him to the open window and the lawn beyond. It was certainly an unfortunate coincidence that he should have paid his visit on this partially successful effort to turn the talk less ghastly topic;

tragic anniversary.

"The doctors agree in ordering me complete rest, an absence of mental excitement, and avoidance of anything in the nature of violent physical exercise,"

amiounced Framton, who

her husband

labored under the tolerably widespread delu-

with his white waterproof coat over his arm, and Ronnie, her youngest brother, singing,

sion that total strangers and chance acquain-

often told

'Bertie,

why do you bound?'

tease her, because she said

it

as

he always did to

got on her nerves.

Do you know, sometimes on evenings like

this,

I

still,

quiet

almost get a creepy feeling

tances are hungry for the least detail of one's ailments and infirmities, their cause and cure.

"On the matter of diet they

French window:

pair of doors that have glass

from top to bottom and open in the middle. 3- snipe-shooting: A snipe is a kind of bird

panes

that lives in

swampy areas.

248 Tales of the Strange and Mysterious

much in

agreement," he continued.

"No?" said Mrs. Sappleton, in a voice which only replaced a

2.

are not so

yawn

at

the

last

she suddenly brightened into

moment. Then

alert attention

but not to what Framton was saying.

"Here they are

at last!"

she cried. "Just in

Miss Cicely Alexander:

Harmony

in

Gray and

Creen (1872) by James McNeill Whistler. Oil

»

Jl

A J

7^

»

on canvas.

The Open Window 249

time for tea, and dont they look as

muddy up

if

tliey

were

to the eyes!"

and turned toward the niece with a look intended to convey sympathetic comprehension. The child was staring out through the open window with dazed horror in her eyes. In a chill shock of nameless fear Framton swamg round in his seat and looked in

Framton shivered

slightly

the same direction.

were walking across the lawn toward the window; they all carried guns under their arms, and one of them was additionally burdened with a white coat hung over his shoulders. A tired In the deepening twilight three figures

brown

spaniel kept close at their heels. Noise-

they neared the house, and then a hoarse young voice chanted out of the dusk: T said, lessly

Bertie,

why do you bound?"

Framton grabbed wildly

at his stick

and

hat;

the hall door, the gravel drive, and the front

were dimly noted stages in his headlong A cyclist coming along the road had to run into the hedge to avoid imminent collision.

gate

retreat.

"Here

we are, my dear,"

"fairly

muddy, but most of

it's

dry.

Wlio

was that who bolted out as we came up?" "A most extraordinary man, a Mr Nuttel," said Mrs. Sappleton; "could only talk about his illnesses

and dashed

off

Mischief and Mayhem Saki

the pen

Ganges

(gan'jez): river in northern India

and

Bangladesh. 5.

pariah (pa- ri'9) dogs: wild dogs.

250 Tales of the Strange and Mysterious

of Hector

Hugh

was posted. Saki's mother died when he was a toddler, and he and his brother and sister were sent to England to be raised by their grandmother and Scottish military officer,

two

strict aunts.

Sickly as a child, Saki received

little

for-

mal education before he was sent to boarding school at age fourteen.

of his time with his

He

spent most

brother and

sister,

veloping the mischievous sense of that later

made

de-

humor

his writing famous.

Although Saki was forty-three when

World War broke out, he enlisted in the British Army. He was killed by a German sniper two years later on a dark morning in France. His last words before he was shot were "Put that bloody cigarette out." I

More by If

you

Saki

liked Vera's imaginative stories in

"The Open Window,"

you'll

enjoy watching

her have fun with a stuffy politician Lull."

You can

Stories of Saki 4.

name

1

without a word of

goodbye or apolog}' when you arrived. One would think he had seen a ghost." "I expect it was the spaniel," said the niece calmly; "he told me he had a horror of dogs. He was once hunted into a cemetery somewhere on the banks of the Ganges^ by a pack of pariah dogs' and had to spend the night in a newly dug grave with the creatures snarling and grinning and foaming just above him. Enough to make an) one lose their nerve." Romance at short notice was her specialty.

is

Munro ( 870- 1916). He was born in Burma (now called Myanmar), where his father, a

said the bearer of the

white mackintosh, coming in through the win-

dow,

Meet the Writer

find this story in

in

"The

The Complete

(Wordsworth). Also look for

the mischief-making characters Reginald

and Clovis.

Riap •N :

Valley of Fear What would world

it

be

like

(Collier),

war?

own on

to survive on her

from radioactive winds.

Ann

is

devastated

in a

Robert C. O'Brien's Z for sixteen-year-old Ann Burden has been

after a nuclear

Zachahah

to find yourself alone In

her family's farm

When

in a valley

a stranger appears

happy to have a companion at

last.

left

protected

one morning, Then she finds

out there are worse things than loneliness.

Into the Fourth

Dimension

Meg's father, a scientist, has disappeared while on secret government business. Now Meg, her friend Calvin, and her

brilliant

younger brother, Charles Wallace, must search for him through A but can they save him from the dark terror Wrinkle in Time (Dell)

—

beyond?

want to

(If

you enjoy

this novel

try the sequels,

A Wind

may

by Madeleine L'Engle, you the

in

Door and A

also

Swiftly Tilting

-^—

Planet.)

The Water of Life Have you ever wished you could Natalie Babbitt (Farrar, Straus family are granted this wish (This

title is available in

the

&

live

forever?

Giroux), the

when

Tuck Everlasting by

members

of the Tuck

they drink from a hidden stream.

HRW Library)

Tuck para siennpre (Farrar, Straus

In

&

Published

in

Spanish as

Giroux).

Other Picks Isaac

Asimov,

/,

Robot (Bantam).

In

nine short stories, a

celebrated science fiction writer shows

how

robots of the

future might be just a litde too human.

Robert Louis Stevenson, The Strange Case ofDr.jekyll and Mr Hyde (Dover). In this classic novel a kindhearted, respectable gentleman drinks a potion and unleashes his dark side.

James M. Deem,

How to

Catch a Flying Saucer (Houghton

Mifflin).

This

about those mysterious

guide includes everything you need to know moving lights that some claim are visitors from other worlds

how

to assemble your

own UFO

sighting

—

including

kit.

Read

On

25

I

B

R

r

^1

PORTFOLIO

^stepfiig Vy

^

Try

It

Oral Interpretation

Out

Use the instructions in workshop to pre-

this

pare and present an oral interpretation of

the stories

one of

in this

lection (or of

col-

another

piece of literature ap-

Reading Aloud: When

It's

Not Just for Kids

you present an oral interpretation of a

literary

work, you

share with an audience your understanding of and feelings about the work. Oral interpretations can take a variety of forms, such as these: •

One

Dramatic reading.

person reads

a

work

of literature

proved by your

aloud, using his or her voice, facial expressions, and gestures to

teacher).

convey the words and their meaning to the audience. •

A group

Choral reading.

presents a reading of a literary

work, usually a poem. The group members may recite unison, speak •

one

at a time,

A

Reader's theater.

lines in

or combine the two techniques.

small

group prepares and reads a script

based on a scene from a narrative. The scene

is

generally

one

with a lot of dialogue and just a few characters. Usually a narrator gives background information about the setting, characters,

and

Try

It

Out

plot.

With two or three

Creative enactment. A creative enactment can be a pantomime, a skit, a monologue, or another kind of dramatic

classmates as your audi-

presentation of a literary work.

ence, practice

•

two

speaker's

dif-

ferent dramatic readings

own words,

An enactment

can include the

the words of the text, or a combination

of the two.

of a poem. Try varying

your pauses, tone,

volume, and emphasis,

.

.

Follow these steps to prepare your oral interpretation:

and ask for feedback

from your •

Planning: Get Ready, Get Set

Which

listeners.

1

Read the work of

literature at least twice, either by yourself

or

aloud with a group. During your second reading, think about reading did

how

to present the work, and jot

down your

ideas.

your audience prefer? 2.

Why? •

Which vocal effects did

your

most

Write

a script.

word or make

You can either write out a

all

the lines

word

for

rough outline of what you plan to do and say

whichever works better for you. The script

is

used during

listeners find

rehearsal and can also be used during the actual presentation. effective?

252 Tales of the Strange and Mysterious

If

copy of the

work. Then, add marks to guide you

original

reading. For example,

you can underline

reminder to emphasize 3.

If

make

you're preparing a script for a dramatic reading,

your audience

it

and use

a

a slash

prepare a brief introduction, giving the

as a

as a signal to pause.

(/)

may want to

and author and

title

any background information your audience

your

in

word or phrase

unfamiliar with the piece, you

is

a

with

emotional

little

—

content a page

in

for example,

a dictionary or

an instructional man-

ual.

understand your presentation.

Out

It

Find a piece of writing

in

need to

will

Try

Read

a short sec-

tion aloud several times, 4.

one complete dress rehearsal with any props or costumes you plan to use. Time your presentation to make sure Hold

at least

you don't exceed your time

limit.

using a different tone of

voice or conveying a different

mood

with

each reading. Try these:

Presenting: Act As If You Even

if

you're reading

to bring those •

Mean It

words written by someone

words to

life

else,

it's

through your presentation.

Imagine that your listeners don't understand the language you speak.

Ask

through

yourself:

my tone

How much

meaning am

I

communicating

of voice, facial expressions, and

alone? These signals should

tell

spooky

sarcastic

happy

bored

suspenseful

soothing

amused

surprised

up to you

gestures

your audience whether you're

asking a question or making a statement, for example, and

whether the work of •

literature

is

funny or scary or sad.

Try speaking twice as slowly and twice as loudly as you normally would, making your pauses twice as long and your gestures and expressions twice as forceful, putting twice as

each word.

(If

be "bigger than

comment on your

life."

•

ask

someone Don't be

Make sure to look

at

it,

You want everyone

to get your message, even the people

in

feeling into

reading.)

you think you might be overdoing

to observe a rehearsal and afraid to

much

in

your audience

the back of the room.

your audience, not

at the floor.

How Did You Do? Be sure to ask your audience for feedback after your performance. Which techniques and which parts of your interpretation were the

most

effective?

Which were

the least effective?

Why?

Speaking and Listening

Workshop 253

BUILDING YO UR PORTFOLIO. T

EXPOSITORY WRITING

Assignment Write an essay

in

which you analyze a character in a novel, short story, television

show, or movie.

Analyzing a Character book (or movie) to end" because you cared about a character so much? Have you ever gotten hooi<ed on a series of books because you wanted to keep Have you ever thought,

"I

want

don't

this

following the adventures of a character you liked?

Aim

characters

seem so

To analyze a

workshop,

you'll

character; to use

character

critical

who

real that

we

write an essay

has

feel in

we know

Some

them.

which you analyze

made an impression on

fictional

In this

a fictional

you.

thinking

skills.

Prewriting

Audience Your teacher and classmates, the

members

of a

book

club, or the readers

of a school or local

newspaper. (You choose.)

1.

Choose a Character

Look back

at

your Writer's Notebook entries

for this collection.

Is

there a character

notes you want to analyze?

If

in

not, get together

with classmates, and brainstorm a long favorite characters

or

TV

2.

from books,

shows. Pick a character

seems

your

stories,

who

of unforgettable or

list

comic books, movies,

really interests

you

—who

as real as a flesh-and-blood person.

Look Closely at the Character

To analyze something means to break order to understand

how

it

it

down

into parts in

works.

Before you begin your character analysis, reread the essay "Character: Living Many Lives" on pages 106-107.

Then, for the character you have chosen, take notes on the following: •

What the character looks like. This

•

How the character behaves or acts. tant.

is

not always important. This

is

Think about what motivates your character

very impor-

—

that

does the character behave the way he or she does? does your character want^

How

What does

does the character change

in

why

he or she do to get

the story?

What

it?

has the

character learned or discovered by the end of the story?

254 Tales of the Strange and Mysterious

is,

What

The history fly of the writteni

word

is

rich ana^^l^

7.K

•

What the

character says. Look

for key speeches that

reveal the character's wants or fears or •

What the character thinks.

•

How other people acter. This is

•

let •

is

if

people avoid him or

her,

and so on.

us directly about the character.

was mean." character is like. Many

for direct statements, such as "Harold

all

writers

us figure

Finally,

it

tell

us directly

what

a

out for ourselves, which

is

much more

think about an important question:

Is

fun.

your

character believable? Does he or she behave the way people behave? traits,

the

Is

Put these details filling in

Character

in

real

your character a mixture of good and bad

way most people are? Is he or she all good or all bad?

one-dimensional

about

this.

in

What the writer tells Not

Sometimes we don't know

the story respond to the charimportant. It tells you whether the character

well liked or hated,

Look

conflicts.

instead only

—

a chart like the

every column;

profile of

one below. (Don't worry

some won't

apply.)

On tUe QuiEf

3.

Character Analysis

work

(title,

filled

out your

profile,

look over your notes, and

statements that could serve as your main

idea.

EXAMPLES

and

This character

the way

author).

my

teenager

a believable

is

friends and

who

behaves exactly

behave.

I

This character changes from being self-centered to generous.

introduces the essay's

This character

is

not

in his

right mind.

idea.

You might

Body At

have

down some

Include a sentence that

main

MEAN, WHM DOES HE LDOiCUHE?

decide which aspect of your character interests you. Write

Introduction Identify character

I -,

Decide on Your Main Idea

Once you

Framework for a

sidE.

SoMEv'ha+ ItCuLiqR. A Good CoMpONiioM, iN a WEiRd SOBtof way.

find

your main idea

right in the profile chart

itself.

EXAMPLES

least three details sup-

This character's

way

of speaking reveals that he

is

insane.

porting your main idea.

Conclusion

The

actions of this character are not at

The

actions of this character

show

all

believable.

that she

is

heroic.

Summary/restatement of main

idea; final

comment.

4.

Elaborate: Find Supporting Details

Once you

are satisfied with your main idea, you can begin to

gather details to elaborate and support

it.

Your chart should

help you here. You should be able to cite at least three details

from the story that support your main

idea.

Drafting Your introduction should include a

what you

will

discuss

in

your

essay.

Roald Dahl's "The Landlady," the main

THESIS

In

STATEMENT

character,

Billy

Weaver,

is

so polite and

unquestioning and really dim that he

not

like a real-life

Keep your chart and rough write.

Remember

sums up

thesis statement that

outline

to focus on

in

is

person. front of you as you begin to

the character, not the plot.

If

you

need to summarize the plot for an audience unfamiliar with the work, keep your plot summary

256 Tales of the Strange and Mysterious

brief.

student Model

Evaluation Criteria

An Insane Narrator Edgar AHaji Poe had a very hard life, and maybe that's why he wrote so many dark stories. In the first paragraph of Poe's short story "The Tell-Tale Heart,"

the narrator

tells

someone (a

A good character analysis Attention-

0raMn0

tell

his

prove that he

is

work, 2.

and

main

supports the thesis

details from the text clearly organized

4.

is

5.

concludes by summarizing or restating the

main idea

Thesis

statement. Language/Grammar

conceived by the narrator's

Link

HELP

itself.

the story begins, the

narrator has killed the old

man

Regular and irregular verbs: page

Drlef plot

summary.

he has been living with, an

man

narrator is very annoyed by the eye, and then it drives him. to murder. First, I think the narrator was already insane before the murder because a little thing

IH.]. Lie ami lay, sit and set, rise and msc.page 200. Keeping tense

consistent: page 211. Don't or doesn't?:

with a strange eye. The murder is motivated by the old man's eye. At first, the old

the

statement with specific

what the narrator is really like just by letting lis hear how he speaks. He tries to prove that he is not insane, but then he says the idea of murder "haionted me day and night."

When

sums up

idea

writer.

reveals

insanity

writer

includes a thesis statement that

whole story to not insane. Poe

me to believe that the idea to murder the old man was

and the

character, story,

3-

This leads

identifies the character, the

Identifies

psychiatrist?) that he will

"calmly"

1.

opener.

page 225- Active and

passive voice: page 245.

First detail sup-

porting thesis

statement.

an eye couldn't possibly lead him to murder an old man

like

he says he loved: "I loved the old man. He had never wronged me. He had never given me insult. For his gold I had no desire.

Yes,

it

I

think

was

it

was

Quotation from story to elaborate.

his eye!

this!" This

makes

no sense. (continued on next page)

Writer's

Workshop 257

Student Model (continued) Sentence Workshop

HELP Combining sentences: page 259.

Second, the narrator becomes increasingly nervous

Second detail

and strange after the officers come to his door. Then, he be-

statement.

supporting thesis

gins to hear the beating of the old

Proofreading Tip

man's heart.

Finally,

Make

a

essay,

and proofread

copy of your

when you come error

in

spelling,

it

Stop

ing of his hideous heart!"

to an

statement.

He

has given himself away. This story is very dark and eerie, like all of Poe's work. I enjoyed reading "The Tell-Tale Heart." It's classic Poe. The use

grammar, or punctuation,

and correct

Third detail

supporting thesis

narrator can't take it anymore. He breaks down completely, shows the officers the body, and yells, "It is the beat-

partner reads aloud, silently.

really

story, the

with a partner. As your

read along

It isn't

mind it is. by the end of his

there, but in his

it.

of

an insane narrator

is

Summation of main

also

idea.

classic Poe.

—

Taylor Roderick

Martin Junior High School Gommunications Handbook

Austin, Texas

HELP See Proofreaders Marks. '

Evaluating and Revising 1.

Peer Response

Publishing Tips

Make copies

Some

Internet sites

of your essay, and exchange papers with

three classmates. Before you read your partners'

welcome reviews and essays. Check with

feedback. Be sure to point out passages

your teacher before

clear.

submitting your

the Evaluation Criteria on page 257. Afterward, give your partners

Be sure also to

Start a literary criti-

Read your essay

crit)

club to

print and discuss

your essays.

each essay that are un-

the writer what you

//ked

about the

essay.

Self-Evaluation

2.

(lit

tell

in

work

on-line.

cism

two or

essays, discuss

carefully.

into a tape recorder

and

You may find

it

helpful to read

it

aloud

listen to the results with a critical ear.

Can you improve it by combining sentences or eliminating repetition? Can you do a better job of tying your ideas together? You may need to add some subordinating conjunctions (such as afttr, btCQuse, though, and whenever) and transitional words (such as first, next, and finally) to connect your ideas more logically.

258 Tales of the Strange and Mysterious

Situation After reading "The Inn of Lost

Time," you're interested learning

in

more about Japanese

samurai. You'd even

to try

like

iMas+ers. T^o^^n.—><^ar»viersy irioi\Ws— soone_

writing a samurai story of your

own. You

will

wandered—>bai\ci"\+s, Tecfy

have to take

ron."\n.

notes as you do your research.

couueoe

i

io \ry

ei\trai\ce e.KBt*\j wa'\t'\t\a

Strategies

Get

ready.

Before you

•

start, jot

down

p. 7-3$ S. Couu.K^b'\a

questions to guide your reading. You'll think of other

Press.

l/Kvv.

'•w^K^^s^^^w*«¥^WK»^^'V^^^^««^wx?sw«K^^^

questions as you read. •

Use

a different index card

•

for each source you cite. •

If

you are taking notes on

computer, use a different page for each source.

Get to the •

When

why and how

a

Get •

point.

it in

As you

this

in

your

line, a chart,

writing. read,

line to

paraphrase them

own

Using the Strategies 1

time by using short phrases,

sections that interest you.

abbreviations, and symbols.

over

a

you skim, you look

.

page quickly, not

If

you do want to use

direct quote, copy

reading every word. You

it

a

its

source.

in

Get organized.

boldface.

• •

When you find an section,

main

important

read closely

ideas.

following:

is

Wfiot happened?

where did

it

this

each index card, record

the author, the

for

title,

the

date, the publisher (or Inter-

Take notes on the

Who

On

net address), and the page(s)

about?

of the source you used.

When and

happen?

•

It's

best to use only one side

260 Tales of the Strange and Mysterious

What symbol

does the

What do you

think the

arrows mean?

glance at headings and

words

the source for the

definition? 3.

note

is

reader use to indicate a

exactly

within quotation marks, and

look for key words and

What

notes above about ronin? 2.

•

or a time

summarize and

organize the information.

words). Save

sources, sl
When

Consider making an out-

•

happened.

the writer's ideas (put

you locate your

of an index card for notes.

Don't overlook important

supporting details. Ask

4.

Are any words quoted directly from the source?

How

can you

tell?

Extending the Strategies Read and take notes on one of the Elements of Literature features

in this

book.

Problem

•

sports or dance

Presentation

Have you ever heard the ex-

•

thoughts and feelings

Here are some

pression

"Two heads

ter than one"?

are bet-

How can we

pool our resources to accomplish more together than any

one of us could achieve alone? Project

include •

a group of classmates to create a response to a work of

Then, with your teacher's

science

dancing

sculpture

drawing

storytelling

items are different from yours. Your group's task is to create a

graphics

talking

music

teaching

painting

videotape

pantomime

writing

a

which

in

at least

of the seven intelligences

are used.

Be prepared to explain to

abilities.

abilities

and

in

have different

skills,

learn best

through different methods, and enjoy different types of activities.

Listed

below are seven

types of intelligence.

On

a

in

(That

ing with

is, if

music

own

abili-

you think workis

types of intelligence

in

possible choices until you

reach a

consensus

make

If

the

work

is

If it's

Processing it

a

first item.)

your group may want

ters, setting,

Plan.

and events.

If

how

•

•

words (spoken or written)

•

its

•

numbers or problem

•

a character?

music

•

•

another aspect of the work?

setting or

it

in

important contri-

My most

bution to this project

feel?

people

to keep this

following prompts:

•

made you

•

like

your portfolio, respond in writing to two or more of the

was the work's message?

•

solving

you would

project or a record of

Will you focus on

•

it

your

wider au-

a

to simply review the charac-

3.

possible, share

presentation with a

short story, an essay, or a poem, you may want to read

play,

If

dience, such as other classes.

Review.

or a

the planning stage count,

too.)

(general

agreement). 2.

pre-

in its

sentation. (Intelligences used

the group has read. Discuss

your favorite

activity or greatest talent,

music your

work

longer work, such as a novel

the order you think

best describes your ties.

a

aloud with your group.

blank sheet of paper, copy

them

Choose

Select.

of literature that everyone

intelligent in different

We each

your teacher and classmates how your group has used five

Procedure

Multiple intelligences. ways:

photography

computers

five

Preparation

all

acting

group with several classmates whose top three

form

1.

We're

you might

help,

literature, using your

combined

things

your presentation:

pictures

presentation

Work with

in

.

.

.

because

The best/worst working

mood?

because •

.

.

part of

in

the group was

.

.

.

This project belongs portfolio because

.

in

.

my

.

Learning for

Life

26

w*f

^•^a

rk

1h^v

Before You Read We Are All One Make the Connection Sketch to Stretch

On

a blank sheet of paper,

draw

a large circle to repre-

sent the earth.

write in

We

are

In

the center,

one.

all

Then,

fill

the circle with words and

symbols that show what you think this statement means.

Share your drawing with

your classmates, explaining your words and symbols.

Reading

Skills Painting of a

and Strategies

official.

Dialogue with the Text: Monitoring Your

Comprehension As you read tale,

this

Chinese folk

keep your notebook or a

sheet of paper handy to jot

down your

the student's first

Look at comments on the

reactions.

page as an example, but

remember

that

read a story

in

no two people exactly the

same way. go.hrw.com LEO 8-4

264 Talk to the Animals

man wearing

a coat signifying that

Manchu

Leaf from a

probably K'ang-hsi period The Metropolitan Museum

Museum

of Art.

(

1

662-

Anonymous

1

723).

is

a fourth-degree military

Gift,

i

Color and

ink

on paper

952. (52.209.3c) Photograph

©

1

980 The Metropolitan

of Art.

may

Elements of Literature

While plot a story,

is

what happens

theme

is

themes

in

in

the mes-

—what the writer

sage

about

find different

the same work.

Theme

is

saying

I

he

work

theme

of a

of literature

V is

life.

A story's theme

its is

message, or

usually

implied, not stated direcdy.

story

he

family album. Unidentified artist. Ch'ing Dynasty,

A

may have more than one

theme, and different readers

main idea about

life.

more on Theme, see the Handbook of Literary Terms. For

''We

are one, you and I, " a voice said faintly

.

We Are All One Laurence Yep was a rich man with a disease in his Long ago there many years, the pain was so great that he

Dialogue with the Text

eyes. For

could not sleep

at night.

He saw every doctor he

could, but

none of them could help him. "What good is all my money?" he groaned. Finally, he became so desperate that he sent criers through the cit}' offering a reward to anyone who could cure him. Now in that cit)' lived an old candy peddler He would walk around with his baskets of candy, but he was so kindhearted that he gave away as much as he sold, so he was always poor. When the old peddler heard the announcement, he remembered something his mother had said. She had once told him about a magical herb that was good for the eyes. So he packed up his baskets and went back to the single tiny room in which his family lived. When he told his plan to his wife, she scolded him, 'If you go off on this crazy hunt, how are we supposed to eat?" Usually the peddler gave in to his wife, but this time he was stubborn. "There are two baskets of candy," he said.

wonder how he got the d\eeaee.

Why didn't

he think of that

sooner?

l-le's

kind,

but not very smart.

wonder what the herb

is

called.

She seems more concerned about her

stomach than her husband's

safety.

be back before they're gone." The next morning, as soon as the soldiers opened the gates, he was the first one to leave the city. He did not stop imtil he was deep inside the woods. As a boy, he had often

They must be small baskets.

wandered there. He had liked to pretend that the shadowy forest was a green sea and he was a fish slipping through

second home to the man.

"I'll

It

would seem the forest

is like

a

the cool waters.

— Joshua Roberts 1.

criers: people

towns and

who called

villages before

out public announcements

in the streets of

modern means of communication were

invented.

Discovery Middle School Orlando, Florida

\

We Are All One Jl

265

As he examined the ground, he noticed ants On their backs were larvae" like white grains of rice. A rock had fallen into scurrying about.

a stream, so the

now

water

spilled into the

"We're

all

the kindhearted peddler

one,"

So he waded into the shallow stream and

put the rock on the bank. Then, with a sharp

he dug a shallow ditch that sent the rest of the water back into the stream. Without another thought about his good deed, he began to search through the forest. He looked ever^'where; but as the day went on, he grew sleepy. "Ho-hum. I got up too early. I'll take just a short nap," he decided, and lay down in the shade of an /'i old tree, where he fell right asleep. stick,

In his dreams, the old peddler found himself

standing in the middle of a great

He

ings rose high overhead.

sky even

when he

cort of soldiers

tilted

back

marched up

city. Tall

build-

couldn't see the

to

his head.

An

him with

a loud

es-

of their black lacquer armor. "Our queen wishes to see you," the captain said. The frightened peddler could only obey and let the fierce soldiers lead him into a shining palace. There, a woman with a high crown sat clatter

upon fell

a tall throne. Trembling, the old

and touched

to his knees

peddler

his forehead

against the floor

But the queen ordered him to stand. "Like the great Emperor Yii of long ago, you tamed the great flood.

We

only to ask, and

come

to

your

1

are

all

one now. You have

or any of

my

people will

aid."

The old peddler cleared looking for a certain herb.

It

"I

am

any

dis-

his throat. will cure

ease of the eyes."

The queen shook her head

regretfully.

"I

have never heard of that herb. But you will

you keep looking for it." And then the old peddler woke. Sitting up,

surely find

2.

it if

larvae ( lar've): insects

at

an early stage of life.

266 Talk to the Animals

in his

wanderings he had come It was there he had

ants' nest.

taken his nap. His dream

cit}'

had been the

ants' nest itself.

"This

ants' nest.

said.

he saw that back to the

is

a

good omen," he

said to himself,

and he began searching even harder He was so determined to find the herb that he did not notice how time had passed. He was surprised when he saw how the light was fading. He looked all around then. There was no sight of his city only strange liills. He realized then that he had searched so far he had gotten lost. Night was coming fast and with it the cold. He rubbed his arms and hunted for shelter In the twilight, he thought he could see the green tiles of a roof He stumbled through the growing darkness until he reached a ruined temple. Weeds grew through cracks in the stones and most of the roof itself had fallen in. Still, the ruins would

—

provide some protection.

As he started

inside,

he saw a centipede with

bright orange skin and red tufts of fur along

its

dozen tiny eyes. It was also rushing into the temple as fast as it could, but there was a bird swooping down toward it. The old peddler waved his arms and shouted, scaring the bird away. Then he put down his palm in front of the insect. "We are all one, you and I." The many feet tickled his skin as the centipede climbed onto his hand. Inside the temple, he gathered dried leaves and found old sticks of wood, and soon he had a fire going. The peddler even picked some fresh leaves for the centipede from a bush near the temple doorway. "I may have to go hungry, but you don't have to, friend." back. Yellow dots covered

its

Stretching out beside the

sides like a

fire,

the old ped-

head on his arms. He was so he soon fell asleep, but even in his sleep he dreamed he was still searching in the woods. Suddenly he thought he heard footsteps near his head. He woke instantly and dler pillowed his

tired that

looked about, but he saw only the brightly

col-

ored centipede.

"Was

it

you, friend?"

led and, lying

The old peddler chuck-

down, he closed

liis

eyes again.

T must be getting nervous."

"We are

one, you and

1,"

a voice said faintly

from a long distance. Tf you go south, you will find a pine tree with two trunks. By its roots, you will find a magic bead. A cousin of mine spat on it years ago. Dissolve that bead in wine and tell the rich man to drink it if he as

if

wants

to heal his eyes."

The old peddler trembled when he heard the voice, because he realized that the cen-

tipede

was

magical.

He wanted

to run

temple, but he couldn't even get up.

It

from the

was

as

if

he were glued to the floor. But then the old peddler reasoned with himself: If the centipede had wanted to hurt me, it could have long ago. Instead, it seems to want to help

me.

So the old peddler stayed where he was, but he did not dare open liis eyes. Wlien the first sunlight fell through the roof, he raised one

There was no sign of the cenup and looked around, but the

eyelid cautiousl}'. tipede.

He

sat

magical centipede was gone.

He followed the centipedes instructions when he left the temple. Traveling south, he kept a sharp eye out for the pine tree with two

He walked until late in the afternoon, but all he saw was normal pine trees. trunks.

Wearily he sat

found the pine

down and

tree,

sighed.

Even

he couldn't be sure

if

that

he he

would find the bead. Someone else might even have discovered it a long time ago. But something longer. Just

made him

when he was

look a

little

/

thinking about

turning back, he saw the odd tree.

Somehow

his tired legs

managed

to

him over to the tree, and he got down on his knees. But the ground was

Returning Through

carr}'

cov-

ered with pine needles and his old eyes were too weak.

Dynasty) by

Tai

Snow

to the

Bamboo

Retreat (Ming

Chin (1388-1462). Ink on

silk.

The Metropoliun Museum of Art. Purchase, John M. Crawford. Jr Bequest, 1

992.

(

1

992. 32) Photograph 1

©

1

992 The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

The old peddler could have wept

We Are All One

267

pj,;\,

Wi£

*1*

S'aiD f^.i]

m ilf-=M

'•'>-

Twin Pines, Level Distance (Yuan Dynasty, Museum

-^^^---

~::-.&l^f*KS^-....

The Metropolitan Museum

of Art.

New

c.

1

3 10)

by

York. Gift of the Dillon Fund,

1

__.;

,

Chao

973.

R\

(

1

Meng-fu. Handscroll; ink on paper.

973. 20 5) Photograph 1

©

1

982 The Metropolitan

of Art.

with frustration, and then he remembered the

that the gatekeeper only laughed at him.

ants.

could an old beggar

He began

to

call,

"Ants, ants,

we

are

all

one."

Almost immediately, thousands of ants came boiling out of nowhere. Delighted, the old

man

held up his fingers. "I'm looking for a bead.

might be very tiny." Then, careful not to crush any of his

man

helpers, the old

sat

down

It

The old peddler rich

man,

But

it

to wait. In

no

mean

"I

said

"How

my master?"

one."

happened

so

you help

tried to argue. "Beggar or

passing by the gates. peddler.

little

we are all

like

that the rich

He went over

man was to the old

anyone could see me. But it'll your back if you're wasting

a stick across

my time."

With trembling fingers, the old man took the bead from them and examined it. It was colored orange and looked as if it had yellow eyes on the sides. There was nothing very special about the

The old peddler took out the pouch. "Dissolve this bead in some wine and drink it down." Then, turning the pouch upside down, he shook the tiny bead onto his palm and handed it to the rich man. The rich man immediately called for a cup of

bead, but the old peddler treated

wine. Dropping the bead into the wine, he

time, the ants reappeared with a tiny bead.

jewel. Putting the

peddler

bowed

bead into

his head.

thank your queen," the old

his

"I

it

like a fine

pouch, the old

thank you and

man

said. After

I

the

among the pine needles, he made his way out of the woods. The next day, he reached the house of the ants disappeared

rich

man. However, he was so poor and ragged

268 Talk to the Animals

waited a

moment and then drank

it

down.

In-

stantly the pain vanished. Shortly after that, his

eyes healed.

The rich man was so happy and grateful that he doubled the reward. And the kindly old peddler and his family lived comfortably for the rest of their lives.

Meet the Writer An Outsider Laurence Yep grew up

in

(

1

948-

)

was born

Catholic school

Chinatown. "As

in

time

He

San Francisco, California.

a result,"

thing of an outsider." Like his parents,

was an

in

the mainly African American Fillmore District but attended a

The

enthusiastic reader

who

he

says,

"I

was always some-

read four daily newspapers. Yep

children's stories that

were popular

at the

though:

failed to interest him,

44 When was a child, there weren't any books about Chinese American when went to the library, could never get interested in I

children; but

books about

I

I

Homer

Price or other such children. Every child had a bicycle

and no one seemed to worry about locking their front doors. As a these and other such details seemed Ironically,

because

in

what seemed

'truer' to

like

fantasy to me.

me were

science fiction and fantasy

those books, children were taken to other lands and other

worlds, where they had to learn strange customs and languages

was something

I

did every time

More by Laurence Yep "We Are All One" comes book, Yep

result,

I

—and

got on and off the bus. 99

from The Rainbow People (HarperCollins).

retells folk tales originally

immigrants to the United States.

that

recounted

in

In this

the 1930s by Chinese

"When my father

picked fruit

in

the Chi-

nese orchards near Sacramento," he says, "the workers would gather

in

the

shack after a hot, grueling workday;

one of the ways that the old-timers would pass the time before sleep

came was to

tell

stories."

Yep has also written

fantasies,

science fiction, and mysteries for children and for adults. His

first

published novel, Sweetwater (HarperCollins), flict

on

is

about the con-

between the human colonists

a planet called

Harmony and

the spiderlike Argans, the original inhabitants of the planet.

We Are All One

]U

269

s tap—-?WH5SB^^ \

Student

dent

The Cormorant in My Bathtub When was about eight, I went to live with my I

grandparents

at

the beach.

ocean before, and to vivid.

this

I

had never seen the

memory

day the

We pulled into the driveway at

is

dusk, and

1 could see behind the house an exciting expanse of untouched water. 1 shivered. Since my parents' death, I had not felt any emotion; I had been only a breathing vegetable. But now I

could

the

feel

my

blood

beginning to

warm and

pump

The colors of the horizon and the dying sun were a shimmer of pinks and purples. The sun, arrayed in its most beautiful gown, was ready to die valiantly. I was sure even the Garden of Eden could not have been more beautiful. From that moment on I was madly through

in love

veins.

I felt

with the ocean.

I

tingly.

lay in the

their world.

on

its

was a Wednesday night when the tanker sank. The rain was falling in solid sheets, the wind blowing at nearly filiy knots! All the power lines were out; even the glow of the lighthouse was not strong enough to pierce the storm. The captain of the tanker lost his course and ran aground on Lookout Point. The side of the tanker split on the rocks, It

spilling

hundreds of thousands of

The next day the ocean was calm, but the waves that lapped

wa-

They did not know fear or sadness; they onl}' life, sun, and the ocean. They would plummet into the sea at tremendous speeds. But not once did they miss their prey. They always

were tainted. Ridon the waves were the black re-

against the beach

ing

appeared

in

in

Merlyn's Pen: The National Magazines of Student

Writing.

270 Talk to the Animals

i

gal-

lons of oil into the raging sea.

knew

First

speared

da}'

ters.

succeeded

Each one

minnow

from sunup to sundown 1 haunted the beach. I never tried to make new friends; I was always alone. I dreaded the first day of school. I was always dreaming that I would become a cormorant and fly away over the ocean, never to be seen again.

morants circling over the lapping waves How I envied those birds their graceful black brilliant

failures.

beak.

Every

sand for hours watching the cor-

bodies circling and diving into the

There were no

always emerged with a silver

^

.

.

/,i.

''^

'

mains of the

oil

tanker "s cargo.

I

watclied in

iiorror as lielpless seabirds struggled to stay afloat,

flapping their wings in frenzied splashes to free themselves

as they tried desperate!)

from the clinging oil. Tears streamed down my cheeks as I dashed into the ocean and gathered

up

many

as

to the

birds as

house and

Then

fresh water. as

I

could.

1

I

could capture.

filled

returned

the bathtub with clean,

pried open as

I

watched

1

They would often stop and look in on my bird, but they never tried to take him away. I fed him sardines and tuna fish. He ate greedily and slowly became stronger Sadly 1 realized that my new friend would need to leave me. A few kids in my neighborhood stopped by to see the bird. Grandma encouraged them to

many beaks

helplessly as the birds sur-

rendered to the clinging grease that clogged

and held fast their beaks. My whole body shook with grief. 1 lifted their limp bodies and tenderly set them on a towel. Among the dead were three gulls, two sandpipers, and one brown pelican. One bird remained in the tub, a black bird their nostrils

who would

He

lay quietly in the

alert,

and he was wide

not give up.

tub, but his eyes

were

awake. He was

a

cormorant. To take

off the others,

I

my mind

picked him up and began to

rub his back with tissue and detergent.

seemed

hours, but the bird trying to help.

He

wipe every

drop of

When

1

last

lay

to sense that

and allowed

still

oil

took

It 1

was

me

to

off his glossy back.

deeply, enjoying the strange, sweet taste of

Wlien

me

first

my grandma

time.

foimd me, she did not

for hiding from her or for making a

mess of her guest bathroom. She simply asked if I would like some help burying the dead birds. Without asking, I knew she would let the cormorant stay in her bathtub. The bird was

He

clearly exhausted.

head tucked under six birds,

I

lay

his wing.

As

we

buried the to

the seventh.

week my grandparents forbade me to the beach. I knew that the oil was still

For a visit

thick

and

that the

quite as pure.

white sand would never be

We had numerous

wildlife repre-

beach and collect water samples and gather up dead fish and birds. sentatives visit our

and

had.

Still, I

did not

think about losing him.

like to

Two weeks

after the storm, school started.

I

was excited by new classes and new friends. I was spending very little time on the beach. Instead 1 had been playing baseball in the lot behind our house. 1 felt needed and wanted for time since my parents" death; the black my bathtub needed me, and my friends wanted me to play third base and share adventhe

first

bird in

tures with them.

On

motionless with his

wondered what would happen

we

splashing about in our bathtub.

placed him back in the tub he drank

fresh water for the

scold

I was surprised at how much The more time I spent with the neighborhood kids, the more I looked forward to the opening of school. The water was regaining its purity and soon it would be safe to let my bird go. He would once again be searching the sea for a school of minnows instead of

stay for tea,

fun

the third day of school

1

returned

home

to find the bird gone. The door was shut tight, but the window was open and the curtain was blowing in the breeze. On the floor below the

window

a long black feather rested.

up and stroked the smooth edge as all

1

1

picked

it

thought of

the bird had given me.

— Bfooke Rogers Charles Wright

Academy

Tacoma, Washington

We Are All One

271

Making Meanings First

Thoughts

1

^^^1

^^™^

Take out the

circle

drawing you made

before you read the story. ideas

are

Add any new

"We

you have about the statement

all

one." (You

may want to

refer to

Reading Check

When home

3.

Like almost

all

all

know

of questions she might his trip.

exchange papers with the peddler

"we are

on

list

ask him about

Shaping Interpretations believes

with the reward, his

wife probably wants to

a

How does

comes

what happened to him. Make

your reading notes.)

2.

the peddler

show

that he

Then, a

classmate, and answer your

one"?

stories,

partner's questions.

"We Are

All

One"

causes and effects. Think of how the peddler's good deeds affect what happens to him. Copy is

built

a series of

the chart below, adding other examples of the peddler's actions and their

consequences. Action (Cause)

Choices:

Building Your Portfolio

Writer's Notebook 1.

Collecting Ideas for a

How-To Essay

"We Are All One" shows how

kind actions

toward others can lead to a positive outcome. Try writing simple instructions on

"we

are

all

how to

live life

with the philosophy

one." Base your how-to instructions on what you

own

learned from the story as well as from your

Art/Critical Thinking

Creative Writing 2.

We Are iVof All One

3.

Universal Lessons

The peddler's wife doesn't seem as concerned about

Which

the welfare of others as her

expresses the

husband

"We Are

is

is.

the one

Imagine that she

who

goes looking

of the proverbs

below do you believe best

•

for the magic herb, hoping

"It

is

tale.

All

theme

of

do great

^traditional Liberian

•

help the ants and the cen-

What are

"Never do to others what you would not like them

—

Is

she rewarded or punished for her behavior?

Adventures

"choose your own

a

adventure" story,

in

book

"we are all Use the characters,

teach the lesson one."

to do to you."

the conse-

quences of her actions?

4. Literary

or hypermedia form, to

a

tipede?

Technology

Write

things."

—

new version of the Does the wife stop to

Creative Writing/

One"?

not only giants that

to receive the reward.

Write

experiences.

•

Confucius, Analects

"The trees and

all

nature

are witnesses of your

thoughts and deeds."

—

traditional

Winnebago

settings,

and events of the

folk tale.

On

each page or

screen, give readers a

choice of actions to take (will

they stop to help the

ants or

move

on?); each ac-

tion should lead to certain

Make

a drawing or a collage

that connects the proverb

you choose with the tale.

ing

folk

Attach a note explain-

consequences. You may

want to check a published "choose your own adventure" story for format.

your choice.

We Are All One

273

Grammar Link

MINI-LESSON

Using Commas with Items in a Series Use commas to separate items in a series. The items may be single words or groups of words. language

He

EXAMPLES

slept,

Try

See

Out

Copy the sentences below, adding commas

awoke, and began searching

Handbook again.

HELP

It

separate the items

He saw

Commas,

tall

buildings, fierce soldiers, a

shining palace, and a

pages

queen on

a throne.

Without commas to separate the items, the words would slide together in a jumble. By showing where one item ends and another begins, commas help the reader make sense of a sentence. When a series of adjectives all modify the same

Technology

HELP

noun, don't use a

comma

after

the

a

series. 1.

798-799.

in

to

The

old peddler

helped the ants the

centipede and the rich

man. 2.

The centipede was orange red and

last adjective.

yellow. See Language

He had

INCORRECT

Workshop

always loved the cool, dark, 3.

mysterious, forest.

CD-ROM. Key word

The peddler scared the bird away by

(You wouldn't write

entry:

ous, forest,

He had

always loved the mysteri-

running waving and

would you?)

shouting.

commas.

CORRECT

He

had always loved the cool, dark,

4.

mysterious forest.

Hint: Use a

word

kind gentle

helpful peddler

comma where

and. (You

The

you could also use the would not say "the mysterious and

rewarded

in

was

the end.

forest.")

Spelling

HOW TO OWN A WORD

Words witli/e and e/ The rhyme on the /

before

e,

Except after Handbook

HELP

ful c,

with

Or when sounded As

in

like a,

1

page

812.

an old one, but

2.

obou-f-

a use-

or

ei.

Using

it

as a

word from each underlined

The candy peddler

didn't

pair

mind the weight/wieght

He trembled when he saw

the feirce/fierce ant

soldiers. 3.

ci rv.cf

,

-)

4.

The ant queen reigned/riegned with dignity. The peddler laughed and called the centipede freind/friend

5.

He

.

could hardly beleive/believe

centipede answered him.

274 Talk to the Animals

it's still

most (but not all!) words guide, choose the correct

of his baskets.

See Spelling Rules,

ie

spelling of the

neighbor and weigh.

left is

device to help you spell

it

when

the

his

Before You Read The Dogs Could Teach

IVIe

Reading

Make the Connection Ask

How On

Now the intelligent

Beasts

.

and Strategies

.

do you think animals are?

a piece of paper or

in

a

rate each of the statements

number from

Animals

know

A Writer's

Perspective:

Be Aware of it!

notebook,

below with

a

4.

Perspective simply means how

3

4

agree

things that people don't.

From your

perspective, dogs might be

something

else.

As you read

this

you about dogs.

3.

Animals can teach

be glad to accept his conclusion.

4.

People are much smarter than animals.

us.

account,

be aware of what Paulsen wants to

Animals have a sense of humor.

2.

a writer

looks at a topic. Dogs, from Gary Paulsen's perspective, are wonderful.

12

disagree

1

to

Skills

don't,

tell

you love dogs, you

If

If

will

you

you might question some of

his

Whatever your perspective on Paulsen still can make you enjoy

reasoning.

dogs,

Quickwrite

sharing his experiences.

*

For each of the four statements, write the reason for

your opinion.

Background Literature and Real Life

Elements of Literature

This selection

Point of View

is

taken from Woodsong, a

book Gary Paulsen wrote about "The Dogs Could Teach Me"

is

told

from ventures

the first-person point of view, that

by a narrator using the pronoun true story the narrator

Gary

is

/.

is,

in

Paulsen.

northern Minnesota.

Paulsen

is

trapping coyotes and beavers

He had been

miles of his route

from which For

more on

is

the vantage point

a story

is

When

begins,

for Minnesota's predator control pro-

gram.

foint of view

ad'%:-i

"The Dogs Could Teach Me"

In this

the writer,

his

covering the sixty

on foot or on

a friend gave him a

team of four

skis until

sled dogs.

told.

Point of View, see

pages 288-289

go.hrw.com

and the Handbook of Literary Terms.

The Dogs Could Teach Me 275

276 Talk TO THE Animals

/ don't think I passed out so

as

^

much

my brain simply exploded.

'*«Wf-"

^«

f

/«r

J

The Dogs Could /

Teach Me from Woodsong

Gary Paulsen

Cold can be very strange.

Not the cold felt running from the house to the bus or the car to the store, not the chill in the air on a fall morning, but deep cold. Serious cold. Forty,

not wind brittle

fifty,

chill

even

sixty

below zero— actual temperature,

— seems to change everything. Steel becomes

and breaks,

shatters; breath taken straight into the

throat will freeze the lining and burst blood vessels; eyes

exposed too long will freeze; fingers and toes freeze, turn black, and break off These are all known, normal parts of intense cold.

The Dogs Could Teach Me 277

But

changes beauty as well. Things are

it

new

Sound seems to ring and the very air seems to be filled with diamonds when ice crystals form. On a river in Alaska, while training, I once saw a place where a whirlpool had frozen into a cone, open at the bottom, like a beautiful trap waiting to suck the whole team down. steeped in a

\xnien

clarity, a

stopped to look

1

clear focus.

at

it,

with the water

roaring through at the bottom, the dogs be-

came nervous and as

if

stared

moved

into the center

on.

After

change

down

were very glad when we

mystified and

a

time

stopped

I

trapping.

— as with many changes —

cause of the dogs. As mentioned,

when

That

occurred beI

had hunted

was young, trapping and killing many animals. 1 never thought it wrong until the dogs came. And then it was a simple tiling, alI

most a sill}' thing, that caused the change. Columbia had a sense of humor and I saw In the area,

summer

the dogs live in the kennel

each dog with his

that allows

him

to

it.

own

move

house, on a chain

in a circle.

They can

run only with the wheeled carts on cool nights, and sometimes they get bored being tied up. To alleviate the boredom, we give the dogs large beef bones to chew and play with. The}' get a new bone every other day or so. These bones are the center of

much

contention

— we

call

them Bone Wars. Sometimes dogs clear across the kennel will hold their bones up in the air, look

at

each other,

growling

at

raise their hair,

and

start

each other, posturing and bragging

about their bones. But not Columbia.

chewed on his bone meat was gone. Then he buried it and waited for the next bone. I never saw him fight or get involved in Bone Wars and I always thought him a simple perhaps a better word would be primitive dog, basic and very wolflike, until one day when I was sitting in the Usually Columbia just

had a notebook and I was sitting on the Cookies roof, writing the dogs are good company for working when 1 happened to notice Columbia doing something strange. He was sitting quietly on the outside edge of 1

—

side of

—

his circle, at the

maximum

length of his chain.

With one paw he was pushing his bone which still had a small bit of meat on it out and away from him, toward the next circle. Next to Columbia was a dog named Olaf. Wliile Columbia was relatively passive, Olaf was very aggressive. Olaf always wanted to fight and he spent much time arguing over bones, females, the weather an}1:hing and

—

—

ever}thing that caught his fancy.

He was much

scarred from fighting, with notched ears and

he was a ver}' good dog strong and honest and we liked hirn. Being next to Columbia, Olaf had tried many times to get him to argue or bluster, but Columlines

on

his muzzle, but

—

—

bia always ignored him.

Until this morning. Carefully, slowh',

toward

And

Olaf's circle.

of

all

the things that Olaf

strong, honest

some still

Columbia pushed the bone

— he wasn't

was

— tough,

smart. As they say,

are smarter than others,

and some are

not so smart, and then there was Olaf.

wouldn't be

fair to call

Olaf

dumb — dogs

It

don't

—

measure those things like people but even in the dog world he would not be known as a whip. Kind of a big buUy who was also a bit of a doofus.

Wlien he saw Columbia pushing the bone toward him, he began to reach for it. Straining against his chain, turning and tr}'ing to get farther and farther, he reached as far as he could

until the

—

—

kennel.

278 Talk to the Animals

WORDS TO Own mystified

(mis'ts-fid')

alleviate (a-le've-at')

v.

v.:

used as

adj.:

puzzled.

relieve; reduce.

contention (lon-ten'shan) n.; conflict; struggle. Paulsen is playing on the phrase bone of contention, meaning "subject about which there

is

disagreement."

with the middle toe on his right front

claw going out as But not quite

ured

far as possible.

enough. Columbia had meas-

far

He

to the millimeter

it

bone

imtil

was so

it

foot, the

slowly pushed the

close that Olaf's claw

with Olaf straining so hard his eyes bulged just barely touched it.

Columbia

back and watched Olaf

sat

ing and pushing and fighting, and

strain-

when

this

—

had gone on for a long time many minutes and Olaf was still straining for all he was worth, Columbia leaned back and laughed. "Hell, heh, heh Then Columbia walked away. ."

.

And I could

not

.

kill

or trap any longer.

happened almost

It

that fast.

I

had seen dogs

would have trapped

were going to trap. I took many imaginar>' beaver and muskrat but I did no more sets and killed no more animals. I will not kill anymore. Yet the line existed. Somehow in my mind and until writing this I have never told another person about this the line still existed and when I had "trapped" in one area, I would ex-

where

I

if

I

—

is

proper

the

phony

tend the line to "trap" in another, as

when you

Somehow

actually trap.

me

purpose for running the dogs and would until I began to train them for trapping gave

a

the Iditarod, a dog-sled race across Alaska,

which I had read about in Alaska magazine. But it was on one of these "trapping" runs that

I

my third lesson,

got

or awakening.

with compassion for each other and their

young and with anger and joy and hate and love, but this humor went into me more than the other things.

was so complicated. To make the joke up in his mind, the joke with the bone and the bully, and then set out to do it, carefully and quietly, to do it, then laugh and walk away — all of it was so complicated, It

so complex, that

my

it

triggered a chain reaction in

mind.

Columbia could do that, I thought, if a dog that, then a wolf could do that. If a wolf could do that, then a deer could do that. If a deer could do that, then a beaver, and a squirrel, and a bird, and, and, and If

could do

.

And I It was wrong for me

.

.

kill.

had gone over some kind of line with the dogs, gone back into some primitive state of exaltation that I wanted to study. I wanted to run them and learn from them. But it seemed to be wasteful (the word immature also comes to mind) to just run them. I thought I had to have a trap line to jusBut

tify

had

I

this

problem.

running the dogs, so

But

I

did not trap.

I

I

I

kept the

line.

ran the country and

camped and learned from

—

gully

— a drop of

fifty

or so feet

— then scooted

across a frozen stream and tip the other side.

might have been a

gariie trail that

was

It

slightly

widened or an old foot trail that had not caved in. Whatever it was, I came onto it in the middle of January. The dogs were very excited. New trails always get them tuned up and they were fairly smoking as we came to the edge of the I

gully.

did not

ting

them

them, and

know it was there and had been let-

run, not riding the sled brake to slow

we virtually shot

off the edge.

The dogs stayed on the trail, but I immediately lost all control and went flying out into

quit trapping then. to

There was a point where an old logging trail went through a small, sharp-sided gully a tiny canyon. The trail came down one waU of the

space with the

caught

wood

sled.

As

my knee on

a

1

did,

I

kicked sideways,

sharp snag, and

felt

the

enter vmder the kneecap and tear

it

loose. 1. my third lesson: The first lesson two previous chapters of Wnnclsnng.

is

described in the

Words to Own exaltation

(eg'zol -ta'shan)

n.:

great joy.

the dogs and studied

The Dogs Could Teach Me 279

280 Talk to the Animals

I may have screamed then. The dogs ran out on the

i^

stream but often

seem

I

onto

fell

to

ice of the

As these things

it.

happen, the disaster snow-

balled.

The

trail

crossed the stream directly

at

the top of a small frozen waterfall with I

saw the

falling lobes' of

blue ice

about a twent}'-foot drop. Later beauty of it, the

had grown as the water froze and refroze, layering on itself. But at the time I saw nothing. I hit the ice of the stream bed like dropped meat, bounced once, then slithered over the edge of the waterfall and dropped another twenty feet onto the frozen pond below, landing on the torn and separated that

.

.

.

kneecap. I

have been injured several times run-

ning dogs leg,

a

— cracked

broken

left

ribs, a

broken

left

wrist, various parts

frozen or cut or bitten while trying to

stop fights

— but

nothing ever

like

felt

landing on that knee. I

don't think

I

passed out so

much

as

my brain simply exploded. Again, I'm relatively certain

I

must

have screamed or grunted, and then I wasn't aware of much for two, perhaps three minutes as

I

squirmed around

try-

my mind. When things settled down to someopened my eyes thing I could control, and saw that my snow pants and the ing to regain

some

part of

I

m% ^^

jeans beneath line for

about

out of the

tear,

were ripped a foot.

in a jagged

Blood was welling

soaking the cloth and the

underneath the wound. Shock and pain came in waves and I had to close my eyes several times. All of this was in minutes that seemed like hours, and I realized that I was in serious ice

-^w

2.

lobes: rounded pieces that

jut out.

The Dogs Could Teach Me 281

trouble. Contrary to popular belief, generall}'

who

dog teams a musher

do not stop and wait for They keep going, often

falls off.

for

many

—

miles.

Lying there on the walk.

didn't think

1

I

kind of crutch, but

was

hugged him and was never so happy to see anybody probably in my life. Then I felt something and looked down to see one of the other dogs named Duberry licking the wound in

good

a

ice,

I

knew

I

could not

could stand without some I

knew

twent>^ miles

I

couldn't walk.

from home,

I

at least

—

ni}' leg.

She was licking not with the excitement that prey blood would cause but with the gentle licking that she

wound

would use when cleaning

a

eight or nine miles from an}' kind of farm or

pup. a

dwelling.

brushed her head away, fearing infection, but she persisted. After a moment I lay back

lick.

I

It may as well have been ten thousand miles. There was some self-pit}' creeping in, and

and

let

her clean

it, still

holding on to Obeah 's

holding on to a friend.

chagrin at being stupid enough to them run when I didn t know the country. I was trying to skootch myself up to the bank of the gully to get into a more comfortable position when I heard a sound over my

And later I dragged m}'self around and untangled them and unloaded part of the sled and crawled in and tied my leg down. "We made it

head.

later,

not a

little

just let

I

looked up, and there was Obeah looking

over the top of the waterfall, I

couldn't at

He whined

first

believe

down at me.

it.

a couple of times,

moved back

and forth as if he might be going to drag the team over the edge, then disappeared from view. I heard some more whining and growling, then a scrabbling sound, and was amazed to see that he had taken the team back up the side of the gully and dragged them past the waterfall to get on the gully wall just over me. They were in a horrible tangle, but he dragged them along the top until he was well below the waterfall, where he scrambled down the bank with the team almost literally falling on him. They dragged the sled up the frozen stream bed to where I was lying. On the scramble down the bank Obeah had taken them through a thick stand of cockleburs. Great clumps of burrs wadded between their ears and down their backs. He pulled them up to me, concern in his eyes and making a soft whine, and I reached into his ruff and pulled his head down and 3.

musher (mush' ar):

dog

person

who travels over snow by

sled.

282 Talk to the Animals

ruff,

home

that way, with

when my

leg

me

sitting in the sled;

and

was sewed up and healing

and I was sitting in my cabin with the leg propped up on pillows by the w^ood stove; later, when all the pain was gone and I had all the time I needed to think of it later I .

.

.

thought of the dogs.

How they came back to help me,

perhaps to

I knew that somewhere in the dogs, humor and the way the}' thought, they

save me. in their

had great, old knowledge; they had sometliing we had lost. And the dogs could teach me.

Words to Own chagrin

(shs-grin')

n.:

embarrassment and annoyance

caused by disappointment or

failure.

Meet the Writer "I

Had Been Dying of Thirst"

Gary Paulsen (1939-

)

the United States, as well as

lived in

over

all

the Philip-

when he was growing up. His father officer who moved the family with each new assignment. Paulsen calls his pines,

was an army

boyhood

a "rough run":

44 The longest time spent in one school was for about five months. was an 'Army brat,' and it was a miserable was unbelievably shy, and terrible at life. School was a nightmare because sports. had no friends, and teachers ridiculed me. One day, as was walking past the public library in twenty-beiow temI

I

I

.

I

.

I

peratures, I

went

in

I

could see the reading

a beautiful

golden

light.

warm, and to my absolute astonishment the librarian and asked if wanted a library card. She didn't care if wore the right clothes, dated the right girls, was popular at

right,

me

I

I

sports — none of those prejudices existed

handed

in

to get

walked up to looked

room bathed

me

liberating

it

me

the card, she handed was. She

in

the public

the world.

I

can't

recommended westerns and

library.

When

even describe

she

how

science fiction but

now and then would slip in a classic. roared through everything she gave me and in the summer read a book a day. It was as though had been dying of thirst and the librarian had handed me a five-gallon bucket every

I

I

of water

I

drank and drank. 99

More by Gary Paulsen ^oodsong his

is

an autobiography, but Paulsen

young adult novels drawing on

These are two of the most •

Hatchet

(Puffin),

surviving alone •

Dogsong

own

best

known

for

experiences.

popular:

the adventures of a thirteen-year-old boy

in

(Puffin),

his

is

the Canadian wilderness.

about an

Inuit youth's trek

across Alaska

by dog sled.

r-^

The Dogs Could Teach Me 283

A Radio

(Connections

Transcript

The Last Great Race on Earth Diana Nyad They call the Iditarod the Last Great Race on Earth, and for good reason. Its an experience beyond sport, a tribute really to the survival way of life familiar to many Alaskans. For ten days or so, no musher is

down

allowed to accept any help from any

cass

vidual

indi-

— no dog food, no firewood, no one

to carry even a pail of water, absolutely nothiiig. Each team runs with twelve to twenty dogs for four or five hours at a stretch, the vmspoken law being that a musher jumps off and runs up every hill, often in hip-deep snow. At night, tempera-

tures dipping to as zero, a

low

as sixty-five

below

musher might crouch on the

run-

ners behind the sled and doze as the dogs tread along a flat stretch, but those un-

comfortable catnaps are virtually

all

the

sleep the lead mushers take in ten days.

during this three-hour rest period.

moose attacks the team out on the trail and the musher must shoot the animal, he must also take the three or four hours necessary to skin the moose and bury its carIf a

in

the

wilderness

is

snow.

Disrespect

for

the

not tolerated in Alaska.

Yet as sturdy and as self-sufficient and

mushers

as inspirational as the Iditarod are,

my most

of the

is

vibrant

memory

of the race

To me, watching the

dogs.

Alaskan husk}' in action

is

as thrilling as

watching the magnificent thoroughbreds at Churchill Downs. These are the greatest

endurance

athletes

Barely able to stand

in

the

on wobbly

world.

legs in

mo-

ments of extreme exliaustion, the husk}' push headlong into a blizzard if his

will

master asks him

to.

the tiring

remember when Libb}' Riddles became the first woman to win the Last

process of healing and feeding their team.

Great Race. She cried as she hugged her

They

lead dog, and the

At the end of each running period, they pull

the dogs

hurr}',

numb

up and

start

with swollen and

partially

unhook all the dogs" leads and get them nestled on a ground cloth. They check paws for ice cuts, dress them with medicine and bandages and little

fingers,

to

protective booties. As the dogs sleep,

the}'

and make animals. Sometimes

then hustle to build a

hot gruel for their

they have to chop

down

fire

a tree for

fire-

wood. By the time the dogs are fed and the sled is repacked, they rehook the team and run again. The musher hasn't even sat

284 Talk to the Animals

1

first

anated from her blue

lips

"He would die for me out and I would die for him."

—from National Morning

words were, there,

Public Radio,

Edition

that

em-

Reading Check

Choices:

Building Your Portfolio

Writer's Notebook 1.

Collecting Ideas for a

How-To Essay Suppose you would

to create a children's

like

illus-

trated how-to guide to pet care. You could focus on

one animal or make

a general

manual of pet care.

You might get information from an animal

shelter,

pet

owners, a veterinarian, or books on pet care. Take notes you'd

now on some of the basic like to cover. One writer's

book about

gerbils are

shown

Supporting a Position

kinds of information

notes for a children's

at the right.

Creative Writing

2.

A Not-So-Great Race?

3.

in

"The Last Great Race on

How might one

Let the

Dogs Talk

Creative Writing/ Art

of the dogs 4.

The Perfect Pet

Connections on page 284), Diana Nyad

describe the experiences

celebrates the Iditarod, ap-

account? Rewrite one of the

dogs for their intelligence,

plauding the courage and

episodes so that one of the

strength, and loyalty.

endurance of the huskies

dogs

Earth," (see

Paulsen

and their mushers. Not

everyone sees the race positive light, though.

people

feel that

it

in a

Some

it

takes

injuries

in

What do you

think?

a

story of

dogs

Do

research for evidence

286 Talk to the Animals

you

retell

the

how Columbia

/.

If

rible accident,

Radio supporting or oppos-

to back up your opinion.

If

tor-

Olaf, let tell

you

the

retell

will

the

tale,

tell

have

using

/.

Obeah If

the

the story, what

we know

that Paulsen

could not have known?

member

What

ideal animal

be

a picture of the

perfect animal

tell

some

Draw

or her first-person point

letter to National Public

ing Nyad's point of view.

would your

of view.

the story of Paulsen's ter-

Write

Paulsen admires his sled

like?

story, using

the dogs.

in this

the story from his

Columbia or Olaf

deaths and

among

tells

ments the doofus

should

not be run because of the toll

us about

tells

—

it

can be a

of a real species or

one that you

invent.

Then,

write a paragraph describing qualities the animal has

that can't be

shown

in

a

picture. (Don't forget to

give

your imaginary animal

a name.)

Grammar Link

MINI-LESSON

Commas with Adjectives

Using

Sometimes an

adjective and

as a unit, as

orange juice, fried chicken, or mouse

When

in

you use adjectives to modify these

Language

pad.

Handbook

of words, you should not use a

HELP See

Commas,

page

noun are thought of

its

last adjective {cold

orange

EXAMPLES

my

This

is

juice,

comma not

cold,

Try

It

Copy

pairs

Out

the following

commas where needed. paragraph, adding

before the orange juice).

Hatchet

favorite Paulsen book.

^99.

is

Brian eats raw, slimy turtle eggs.

Paulsen.

You can use either of these methods to decide

if

you

1

HELP

Insert the in

the series.

jectives,

See Language

use a

If

and

fits

logically

comma between

Workshop

example above,

CD-ROM. Key word

make

sense.

boy

word and between the

In

favorite

adjectives

(In

the

is

He

learns to fend in

the harsh

unforgiving Canadian

wilderness.

not between slimy

entry:

and

commas. 2.

turtle.)

Change the order of the when {Slimy,

adjectives.

the order of the adjectives

raw

turtle

eggs

book don't). \ STOKE

is

If

the phrase

reversed, use a

makes sense, but

turtle slimy

a

survives a ter-

for himself

and Paulsen book doesn't

slimy but

who

crash.

first

the second, and seems logical

between raw and

hero

rifying disastrous plane

between the ad-

them.

Its

thirteen-year-old city

need to use a comma. Technology

a popular ad-

venture novel by Gary

still

makes sense

comma between

them.

eggs and Paulsen favorite

POINT OF VIEW: Who Tells the Story? Who's Talkins?

1 -*n

by John Leggett story.

That character

usually

is

the main character, but not always.

fl*)-:ir

Woodsong

as a novel, he might

choose to

tell it

from the

person point of view of

first-

his

i

down

that

new

life

trail at

the head of the team. All of a

sudden

I

make the

corlrMic

In

\A/-ic

This point of view

is

After

i-rr-iiiKIo

popular

with fiction writers because

them to

it

noticed

how

light

the

would be vide his

unlikely to pro-

—such

or her

as a description of

own

life

all,

stories realistic.

we

each go through

seeing things from only

one person's point of view our own.

give the reader

information that the character

was having the time of my

tearing

Kd

allows

lead dog:

minutes that seemed

in

hours, and he realized

like

Paulsen rewrote

If

was

appearance.

("I

have beautiful, shiny black hair

A

Writer on

Point of View "l sold my first story when was eighteen, to I

sled

felt.

I

looked around, and

there was our musher lying on the ice

down

in

the

and

big

brown eyes with long

lashes" sounds a

little

unless the character

gully.

strange

is

sup-

posed to be conceited.)

When

He Said, She Said in

the third-person limited

point of view, the story told

from

a single character's

standpoint character

also

is

— but here the

is

referred to

third person, as he

in

you read

third-person limited point of view, you share the thoughts

and feelings of the

or she:

ter and

know

a single charac-

only

in

waves

and Paulsen had to close eves

<;Gvei-nl rime:;. All

his

of rhis

what he or

she knows. Most writers of fiction published

Shock and pain came

a story told

from the first-person or the

their stories

today

tell

from the point of

view of one character to help

a

science fiction magazine,

and

I

just

kept on writing

and publishing science tion.

I

fic-

didn't realize until

later that

when was I

writing these first-person narratives of aliens, really writing ir

"

I

was

about my-

self.

— Laurence "We Are

Yep, author of All

(page 265)

One"

Before

Birdfoot's

You Read

Joseph Bruchac

GRAMPA

BIRDFOOT'S

The old man must have stopped our car two dozen times to climb out and gather into his hands

Make the Connection Lend a Helping Hand? "Next time you see help

it

a

bug on

out. Gently pick

it

a sidewalk,

up and move

out of the way, where no one it.

You've just saved a

Grampa

will

it

step on

the small toads blinded

by our lights and leaping, live

drops of rain.

life!"

—The Earthworks Group 50

Simple Things Kids Can

Do

to

Save the Earth

The rain was

falling,

itiV:*

a mist about his white hair

and I kept saying you can't save them

all

back in

Quickwrite

accept

What do you

w e've got places to go.

seem

think of the

made above? Does

suggestion

it

sensible? ridiculous? nice but im-

your opinion

practical? Explain

book or on

in

a note-

a separate piece of paper.

Elements of Literature Alliteration Alliteration, musical effects "Birdfoot's

rhyme, can create

like

poem. As you read

a

in

Grampa"

repeated m,

I,

g, s,

aloud, listen for the

and

/Alliteration

is

t

sounds.

the

repetition of consonant

sounds

in

words

that are

close together For

more on

Alliteratior),

see the

Har)dbook of Literary Terms.

go.hrw.com

290 Talk to the Animals

it,

get

#^ But, leathery 15

hands

full

Bowl by

Elfa

Pueblo,

New

Boone, Zuni Mexico.

brown life, knee deep in the summer

of wet

roadside grass, he just smiled and said they have places to go to 20

too.

Meet the Writer "One Lesson I Was Taught" Joseph Bruchac (1942born

in Saratoga Springs,

and was raised there by father, a

member

)

New

his

was

York,

grand-

of the Abenaki

people. Bruchac studied wildlife

conservation a

well-known

in

college.

Today he

is

editor, publisher,

poet, and collector of folk tales.

Bruchac says that

this

poem

44 describes one lesson was in the way most good lessons I

taught

come

to you

pect them.

—when you

least ex-

^9

Birdfoot's Grampa 29

%

Making Meanings First I .

Thoughts

Go

back to your Quickwrite.

the same question?

How would

How do you

Birdfoot's

Grampa respond

to

know?

Shapmg Interpretations 2.

What

does Birdfoot's Grampa refuse to accept?

What do you

think of his

attitude? 3.

Whom

does Bruchac seem to agree with: the speaker or Birdfoot's

Grampa? 4.

How

do you know?

Read the poem aloud. What uses of alliteration Which sounds in the poem do you like best?

can you find

in

the

poem?

Extendmg the Text 5.

How

is

the jogger

different

6.

from

Many people,

someone you know

this

person taken?

Notebook

of Birdfoot's

/^^^X\r\^ (

is

of)

who

a

Toad" (see page 292)

closer to your

make a someone you know

has acted on this

belief.

What

^^^%

2.

Places to

Go

3.

Write a short rhymed or unrhymed poem describing the incident

in

the road

Gentle Persuasion

With

a partner, role-play

either a continuation of the

conversation between the

poem and Grampa or a

from the toads' point of

speaker of the

a difference to the

view. Be sure to include the

Birdfoot's

—and perhaps

also to

the speaker of the poem.

If

you were writing a how-to manual entitled

Make

"How to

a Difference,"

actions has

Role-Play

Grampa make ^^i^Ocfn*$^ toads

own?

believe that their actions can

Creative Writing

How-To Essay actions

Grampa,

attitude

Building Your Portfolio

Collecting Ideas for a

The

Grampa? Whose

they can't save everyone. Think of

if

(or

Choices:

1.

Anne-Marie Wulfsberg's "Ode to

Birdfoot's

like

difference, even

Writer's

in

Birdfoot's

toads' feelings toward Birdfoot's

Grampa. You might

begin,

"We were on

way

our

discussion between Bird-

Grampa and the speaker of "Ode to a Toad."

foot's

."

to.

.

.

what

steps might you include?

Freewrite your ideas.

Pipe from the Hopewell culture, which flourished from 300 B.C. to A.D. 500 in what is now southern Ohio.

Birdfoot's Grampa 293

•t«%eri

Ii(K)king

space on the r9n:

--

.-';:*!::it.v

^bcrawler

It'j^

Vocabulary: Using Context Clues

—

The context of a word the words and sentences sur-

—can

rounding ure out

it

its

someone

help

a in

fig-

meaning. Suppose

in

your family has

just received a

from

help you

new

credit card

bank and asks you for reading the bank's

tences.

suggests that unauthorized use

holder's permission and that

might occur

you come across an

if

the card

is

it

lost

.

Looking carefully at what is on the page.

a sentence:

them

stolen, or

if

you think

someone

is

using your card

"I

in

began to train

for the Iditarod, a dog-

sled race across Alaska"

lost or

about cooking.

VCR

•

Look ment

at the word's placein

the sentence.

What

without your permission, notify us immediately by

that suggest the term's

modifier?

telephone or

meaning by comparing or

From the context you know word must relate to

tion that context clues pro-

that the

vide

•

credit cards.

it's

it

surrounding words and sen-

word would

the surrounding

Can use my knowledge of word structure (word I

roots, prefixes, and suffixes)

about the meaning of a

word and go on with your

to figure out what the

might mean?

In

word

the case of

reading.

use of the card. find clues in the

you

make an educated guess

describes a kind of

You may

let

Do

kind of

a noun? a verb? a

words and sentences give clues to what the unknown word means?

may be incomplete, but

often enough to

unknown manual than

cookbook.

fit:

that

have

yourself these questions:

•

•

a

Me," page 279). Other times

The fact that unauthorized comes before use tells you

You'll

you already know by asking

other words. The informa-

•

Sup-

what's on the page and what

contrasting the term with

•

a

in

the context provides clues

in writing.

is.

about

You can make the most of

("The Dogs Could Teach

that

lot

Making the connection.

of a term actually appears

unau-

useful

electronics and nothing

in 1

thorized use of your credit is

context

word

three things:

UNAUTHORIZED USE.

card. If your card

more

to figure out an

Using context clues involves

Occasionally the definition

liable for

a topic, the

an easier time using context

or stolen.

unfamiliar word, unauthorized.

You may be

know about

pose you know a

use without the card

is

terms of agreement. As you read,

The second sentence

unauthorized, for example, 2.

Using what you already know. The more you

you should recognize un-, meaning "not."

Apply the strategy on the next page.

294 Talk to the Animals

I

',

}

Before You Read I

iIet Me;

hear Ypu Wh ISPER

I )

Make the Connection

Reading

What Do You Know?

and Strategies

One

of the main characters

.

in

the teleplay (play written for television)

you are about to

I

I

/f

is

very

intelligent;

many

scientists

Me

than chimpanzees, which are

among

the most

intelligent animals.

dolphins? V

,,

'

1

mates, as

',"'•

word

you read Let

as

Hear You Whisper, try using

context clues

(see the strat-

egies discussed

on page 294)

to figure out what the

I.

What do you know

you come across an un-

familiar

believe that they are smarter

considered

Vocabulary: Using Context Clues If

a dolphin. Dolphins are

read

Skills

word

means. Then, check your guess

about

With your classmany facts

against the word's definition at

1

recall as

you can from your own

or

in

in

a dictionary.

the

You

can also use context to figure

experience and from reading,

out which meaning of a word I

TV, and other sources.

the bottom of the page, glossary,

with multiple

meanings

is

I

the best choice. I

Quickwrite Suppose you woke ;>'

<

<>/

»'

•

'

I

dis-

covered that you could speak the language of dolphins (or

It »

up one day and

other animals).

What would

you do with your new

ability?

PAIN. PLEASURE

ANGER.

Let

FEAR

Me Hear You Whisper 295

»

'

i

)

\

V 296 Talk to the Animals

I

NE JUST 'CAUSE IT DOESN'T TALK,

nr

YOU THEY'VE GOT TO KILL IT?

SPER Paul Zindel

Characters Helen, a cleaning woman Miss Moray, her briskly efficient supervisor Dr. Crocus, a dedicated lady of science Mrs. Fridge, her Danielle,

a talky porter'

A Dolphin, Setting:

assistant

the subject of an experiment

The

play

building near the

is

set in the laboratory of a

Hudson River

hattan—the home

in

lower Man-

of the Atnerican Biological

Association Development for the Advance-

ment of Brain

Anal>'sis.

such tasks as 1. porter: person c-niploycd to perform sweeping, cleaning, and running errands

Let Me Hear You Whisper 297

Scene

Dr. Crocus. Resistance to electrodic impulses.

1

DCuftain

rises

on

dr.

crocus

MRS. FRIDGE, Conducting

an

aud

exper-

iment on the DOLPfflN in the laboratory. The DOLPHIN is in a long,

narrow tank, with little room to mot^e. A head sling lifting his blowhole' out of the water and several electrodes^ implanted in his brain further the impression of a trapped and sad animal, dr. crocus is observing closely as

on

cue.

.\irs.

An

vkidge presses various buttons

oscilloscope^

is

bleeping in the

background.

Possibly destroyed tissue. Continue impulse intervals of seven

and auditory suggestion at minutes until end of week.

If

no response by

Friday, termination.

[The dolphin '5 special discomfort at this is

unnoticed by

FRIDGE

others, dr.

crocus

word

and

head toward elevator on other

mrs.

side of

the stage. The elevator doors open and .mor.\y emerges with helen.]

Miss Moray. glad

weve

Dr. Crocus. Mrs. Fridge.

run into you.

I

want you

miss

I'm so

to

meet

Helen.

Helen. Hello. Dr. Crocus. Pain. (mrs. fridge presses a button.

No

[dr.

response from the dolphin) Pleasure.

{Another button) Anger. {Another)

crocus a>id mrs. fridge tiod

been

)io

satisfactory

response

an automatic recorder starts to play a charming melody. When the accompanying vocal commences, however, it is an eerily precise enunciation of the words.]

from

the dolphin, but

Record. Let

me call )'ou sweetheart,

I'm in love with you. Let

me

hear you whisper.

That you love me, too. [Disappointed at the lack of response, dr. crocus crosses toward mrs. fridge.] blowhole: breathing hole

in the top of the head. electrodes: connecting devices through which electric current flows. 4. oscilloscope (a- sil'a- skop'): screen displaying an electrical wave. 2.

3.

298 Talk to the Animals

get on

Fear.

Miss Moray. Helen [There has

and

elevator]

the newest

is

member

of

our Custodial Engineering Team. So if you two "coaches" have any suggestions, well be most grateful. We want everything to be perfect, don't we, Helen?

Helen. I do the best I can. Miss Moray. Exactly. The doctor is one of the {The elevator doors most remarkable close and mrs. fridge and dr. crocus are .

.

.

gone.) Remarkable.

Helen. She looked remarkable.

a peasant, kerchief and all. As they walk, helen begins to remove the ker[HELEN looks like

WORDS TO Own termination (ttr'ma-na'shan)

n.;

ending (here, of the

experiment and perhaps of the dolphin's

life).

WE WANT EVERYTHING TO BE PERFECT

\

/mK»fixmg

mii/i

chief and she

would like

m

:

to fold

KimammmBSi^^ji^'.'^^f»'^

iiiigi

it properly,

that to be her only activity, but she tracted by a shopping coat,

and the

bag she

carries,

for

is dis-

a bulky

voice of mss, moray.]

Miss Moray. Dr. Crocus is the guiding heart here at the American Biological Association Development for the Advancement of Brain Analysis.

We call

Helen.

guess you have

I

it

ABADABA, to.

for short.

[They stop at a metal

Miss Moray. This

locker.]

be your locker and your key. Mrs. Fridge has been with ABADABA only three

months and already

deared part of our is

will

in this closet.

little

she's a

family.

much

en-

Your equipment

{She opens a closet next to the

locker.)

Helen. pose.

.

have to bring

I

.

my own

hangers,

I

sup-

.

Let

Me Hear You Whisper, Scene

I

299

Miss Moray. Although it was somewhat embarrassing to me, it was Mrs. Fridge's inventorial excellence that uncovered what Margauyour predecessor did and why she had rita to leave us. She'd been drinking portions of the ethyl alcohol there's a basin under the sink

—

—

— rinsing — the denatured

for rag

ethyl alcohol,^

and she almost burned out her esophagus. (Pause) I wouldn't have minded so much if she had only asked. Didn't you find Personnel pleasant?

Helen. They asked a lot of crazy questions. Miss Moray. For instance. Helen. They wanted to know how I felt watching TV.

Miss Moray. What do you mean, bow you felt?

Helen. They wanted to know what went on in my head when I'm watching television in my living room and the audience laughs. They asked

if

1

ever thought the audience was laugh-

ing at me.

Miss Moray {laughing). My, oh my! Wliat did you tell them? Helen. I don't have a TV.

She has culminated a series

tents of the closet

of small actions which have put things in order for her by running water into a pail

which fits into a meted stcnul on wheels.] Helen. She left a dirt}' mop. Miss Moray. I beg your pardon? Helen. The one that drank. She mop. Miss Moray. How ugly. I'll report in the

but

if

morning. she ever

may seem

It

tries to

left a dirty

first

thing

like a small

point

it

use us as a reference, she

may be amazed at the specificity of our files. Helen. It's not that dirty. Miss Moray. Ill start you in the main laboratory area. We like it done first. The specimen section next. By that time we'll be well toward morning and if there are a few minutes left you can polish the brass strip. (She points to brass strip which runs around halfway between ceiling and floor) Margaurita never once got to the brass strip, (helen has completed her very professional preparations

and

looks im-

patieid to get moving.) Ready? Fine. (They

toward the dolphin area, miss MORAY thumbing through papers on a clipboard.) You were with one concern for four-

start moiring

teen years, weren't you? Fourteen years with

WHAT'S BEHIND THERE?

the Metal Climax Building. That's next to the

Radio Cit)' Music Hall, isn't it, dear? Helen. I'h huh Miss Moray. They sent a marvelous letter of recommendation how you washed the corriand the dor on the seventeenth floor Metal Climax Building is a very long building. My! Fourteen years on the seventeenth floor You must be very proud. Wliy did you leave? Helen. They put in a rug. .

Miss Moray. I'm sorry. Helen. I'm not. Miss Moray. Yes. Now,

.

it's

really quite simple.

act as Staff.

self

One

table-

to a gallon of hot water for ordinary

cleaning,

if I

an

New

may

suggest.

assist to

ideas.

I

so

much

prefer to

.

.

the Custodial Engineering

Techniques.

I

try to

keep my-

mouth pauses wide

open,

helen has

been busy familiarizing herself with the condenatured (de-na'chard) ethyl alcohol: alcohol containing added substances that make it unfit to drink 5.

300 Talk to the Animals

[MISS

MORAY leads HELEN into the laboratory

area as danielle

open.

[Her

.

—

That's our special soap solution.

spoon

.

Miss Moray.

enters.]

Danielle,

Helen will be taking

Margaurita's place. Danielle for the fifth

might find

through ninth

distasteful.

is

the night porter

floors. Duties

you

Danielle. Hiya!

Helen. Hello, (helen looks over the place.) Miss Moray. By the way, Danielle there's a crock on nine you missed and the technicians on that floor have complained about the odor. iBack to HELEN) You can be certain we'll .

.

.

assist in

.

.

.

every

way

Helen. Maybe .

.

.

)'ou

Helen. I don't need a coffee break. Miss Moray. I beg your pardon? Helen. I said I don't need a coffee break. Miss Moray. Helen, we all need Perk-You-LJps. All of us. Perhaps you never liked them at the Metal Climax Building, but you'll learn to love

them

possible.

could get

me some

hangers

here. Perk-You-Ups

much more Helen.

?

be glad to do anything. Just say the word and Helen. What's behind there? Danielle.

I'll

.

.

.

a

dolphin, dear

don't you

worry about

I

to

fit

But [She

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

with .

a

colony of

{She indicates cage.)

nice lady, though. Lived in

"Village.

Miss Moray. Yes, she did

live in

down

scrub the Jloor Danielle spots a ceiling bulb out and prepares to remove it by using a

it,

long stick with a grip on the end of designed to unscrew bulbs one cannot

reach. a

getting

on her hands and knees

and she was incessantly feeding them pop-

the East

and

to

corn.

Danielle. Kinda

mov-

ing her ecjuipnient into l)lace

was an other shortcoming of Margau rita's. Recently the doctor was .

helen ininiedi-

exits,

ately gets to work,

or the animals. That

cage

You're such a nice

any-

touch either the equipment

in that

little

person.

Crocus prefers us not to

mice

with our

right in

family.

thing except the floor. Dr.

experimenting

the employees

Helen

don't want one. Miss Moray. They're compulsory. Oh, Helen, I know you're going

iOpeniug the dolphin area) Miss Moray. 'What? Oh, that's

make

efficient. Besides,

the East

Vil-

|

Danielle. Margaurita wasn't half as bad as Miss

Moray thought she was. Helen. I'm sure she wasn't.

lage.

Danielle. She was twice as bad. (She laughs.

Helen (attention still on the dolphin). Do you keep him cramped up in that all the time? Miss Moray. "We have a natatorium'' for it to

Pause) You

exercise in at Dr. Crocus's discretion.

two years

Helen. He really looks cramped. Miss Moray {closing the dolphin area). "Well, you must be aixxious to begin. I'll make myself available at the reception desk in the hall for a few nights in case any questions arise. Although my hunch is that before you kno^v it, I'll be coming to yon with questions. Coffee break at 2 and 6 a.m. Lunch at 4 a.m. All

Helen. That's too bad. Danielle. Yeah, two years in June. He blew up. Helen. Oh, I'm sorry. Danielle. Wlien you want that water changed, just lemme know. I'll take care of it. Helen. Thanks, but just like to get the tem-

.

.

Helen.

live in

the city?

.

.

.

Yes.

Danielle. That's nice.

.

.

.

My husband

died

ago.

1

.

clear?

WORDS TO Own incessantly (in-ses'ant-le) adv.: constantly; continually. (iom-pul'sa-re) adj.: required.

compulsory 6.

natatorium

(nat'a tor'e am): indoor svvimniinj; pool •

•

Let Me Hear You WnrsPER, Scene

I

30

perature right so

my hands

don't get boiled.

Danielle. Biggest mistake married.

.

.

.

I

ever made, getting

You married?

Helen. No. Danielle. Good, if a woman ain't suited for it, she shouldn't do it. Helen. I didn't say I wasn't suited for it. Danielle. My husband was set in his ways, too.

.

.

.

Helen.

If you'll

excuse me,

I

have to get

my

work done. Danielle. Guess

I'd

better see about that crock

on nine. You don't like to talk, do you? Helen. I'm used to working alone and

my work

the

way

Not

realizing she's already gone) 'What

I

get

return to the dolphin. She becomes uncomfortable again under his stare

You must miss your husband.

done. (Danielle

and still

then shoots a look at the dolphin. He is looking at her She tries to ease her dis-

comfort by playing peekaboo with the dolphin /or a moment. There is no response and she resumes scrubbing and humming. The DOLPHIN then lets out a bubble or two and moves in the tank to bring his blowhole to the surface. Any sounds he does make, including words, are like a haunting whisper and never

exits.

do you

gone. She glances at the cur-

tain shielding the dolphin, then continues

scrubbing. After a beat, the record begins to play.]

Record. Let

me call you

sweetheart,

Dolphin. Youuuuuuuuuuuu. (helen hears the is mistaken, and goes on with her work.) Youuuuuuuuuuuu.

me

hear you whisper.

machinery with

suspicion but goes on working.

Viljen

the

song is finished, she looks at the curtain again and again until her curiosity makes her pull the curtain open and look at the dolphin. He is looking right back at her She becomes uncomfortable and starts to close the curtain again. She decides to leave it partway open so that she can still see the dolphin while she scrubs. She glances out of the corner of her eye after a few moments of scrubbing and notices that the dolphin is looking at her She pretends to look away and sings "Let Me Call You Sweetheart" to herself— missing a word or two here and there but her eyes

—

302 Talk to the Animals

clearly this

on the dolphin '5 tank and is quite disturbed. The elevator door suddenly opens and miss moray enters.] closes the curtain

noise.

That you love me, too. [HELEN eyes the automatic

sound more

time. She is puzzled, contemplates a moment, and then decides to get up off the floor She

Miss Moray. What is it, Helen? Helen. The fish is making some kinda funny

I'm in love with you. Let

]

sound, assumes she

[HELEN has heard the is

crawls on

enunciated so that they are absolute. that's

mean, your husband blew up? [But DANIELLE

and

her hands and knees to the other side of the room: she scrubs there for a moment or two

Miss Moray. Mammal, Helen. It's a mammal. Helen. The mammal's making some kinda funny noise.

Miss Moray. Mammals are supposed to make funny noises.

Helen. Yes, Miss Moray.

hangs awkwardly a moment and then miss moray exits officiously to another part of the floor A tnoment later, from behind the curtain, the dolphin is [HELEN

continues scrubbing,

heard.]

WORDS TO Own officiously (a-fish'as-le)

way.

adv.: in a

bossy and interfering

Dolpliin. YouuuuuuuuLiuuuu. (helen

is

quite

worried.) Youuuuuuuuuuuuu. [She apprehensively approaches the curtain

and opens goes to get

it,

when

danielle barges

iier reacl.iing

pole

and

She

in.

helen hur-

riedly returns to scrubbing thejloor.]

Danielle. Bulb out on ten. Helen. What do the> have

over here a moment?

that thing for?

Danielle. Wliat thing?

Helen. That. Danielle.

Yeah,

he's

They're tryin' to get

it

something,

MORAY ope)i the door and watch them.) This one don't say anything at all. It bleeps, beeps, barks, and blats out of the mouth, but it don't talk out of the blowhole. They been playing that record every seven minutes for months and it cant learn beans. Miss Moray. Helen? (helen and Danielle turn around.) Helen, would you mind stepping

he?

ain't

to talk.

Helen. Talk? Danielle. Uh-huh, but this one don't. They

had one last year that used to laugh. ltd go heh hell heh heh heh heh heh. I'd be in here doing

Helen. Yes, Miss Moray. Danielle. I was just showing her something. Miss Moray. Have you attended to the crock on nine? Danielle. Yes, ma'am. Miss Moray. Then hadn't we better get on with our duties? (miss moray guides helen aside, putting her arm around her as though

THIS IS A SCIENTIFIC ATMOSPHERE YOU'RE EMPLOYED IN .

o

O something and hehing.

He

it'd start

heh heh heh heh heh

died a year ago May.

Then they

another one that used to say "Yeah,

got

four

it's

Everybody took pictures of that one.

o'clock." All the

magazines.

Helen. Wliat'd Danielle.

Helen.

it

say "four o'clock" for?

Nobody knows. just

It

Danielle. Until

kept saying, "Yeah,

it

four

it's

died of pneumonia. (Pause)

The}' talk outta their blowholes, talk, that

is.

when they can

Did you see the blowhole?

Helen.

I

whispers.) Helen,

I

have to

talk to you. Frankly,

need your help. Helen. She was just showing me Miss Moray. It's something about Danielle I need your assistance with. I'm sure you've noI

.

.

.

take a look.

Look

at

it,

.

.

Yes, an idle chatter breeder.

Crocus

all

How many

her, "Danielle, this

mosphere you're employed

Come on and

.

Helen. Yes? Miss Moray. Well, that she's the type of person who will do anything to breed idle chatter. we've told

Helen. No. Danielle.

taking her into great confidence. She even

ticed that she

o'clock!"

the

way down

is

times

a scientific at-

and from Dr. to the most insignifiin

don't want to look at any blowhole.

Danielle. You can see gets

.

,

up and goes

it

right there, (helen

to the tank.

As she and

DANIELLE Stand at the tank, their backs are to

WORDS TO Own apprehensively (ap're-hen'siv-le)

adv.: uneasily;

fearfully.

one of the entrances, and they don't see

miss

Let Me Hear

You Whisper, Scene

I

303

member of the Custodial Engineering Staff we would appreciate a minimum of subjective cant

—

—

you can help, Helen and I'm sure you can, enormously we'd be so and science means grateful. This is science don't you, progress, progress. You do want intercourse." So

if

—

—

she sees the jars of all sizes. Various animals and parts of animals are visible in their

formaldehyde here

—

is

baths.)

A

feather

duster

marvelous for dusting, though

a

damp

rag ma)' be necessary for the glass surfaces. But

—

whatever do be careful. Margaurita once dropped a jar of assorted North Atlantic eels.

dear?

Helen. Yes, Miss Moray.

Miss Moray. Danielle.

served specimens, helen looks ready to gag as

1

I

knew you

just

wanted

did.

to

show her

hole.

Miss Moray. I'm sure

that's all

(DANIELLE exits.) Helen,

why

it

was, Danielle.

don't you dust for

your labors. {She swings open a shelf area to reveal rather hideously prea while? Vary

304 Talk TO THE Animals

MORAY smiles and exits in the elevator, leaving helen alone. She is most uncomfortable in tf.ie environment The sound of music and voice from beyond the walls falls over] [miss

the blow-

7.

formaldehyde (for-mal'da-hid):

liquid

germs and preserve laboratory speeimens.

used to

kill

Record. Let

(Wlyen her expectation

me

unfulfilled, she is Then) Polly want a cracker at four o'clock? (She laughs at her own joke, then is reminded of the past success with laughter in working with dolphins. She

you sweetheart,

call

Let

me

disappointed.

slightly

I'm in love with you.

hear you whisper,

That you love me, too.

is

can't resist trying

it, so she goes to the doltank and notices how sad he looks. She diverted from her initial intention by a

phin's

Scene 2

is

It is

guilty feeling of leaving the scrubbing. She

the next evening.

HELEN gets off the elevator carrying a few hangers and still

and coat She looks around for anyone, realizes she is alone, and then proceeds to her locker She takes her coat off and hangs it up. helen pushes her equipment into the lab. The curtain on the dolphin's tank has Ijeen closed. She sets her items up. then goes to the tank ivearing her kerchief

-^

and

pulls the curtain open a momefit. The

DOLPHIN tain

is

looking at her She closes the cur-

and starts

scrubbing. The thought of the

DOLPHIN amuses her a moment, relieving the tension she feels about the

appears

to

bumming

be in good "Let

Me

mammal, and she

spirits

as she starts

Call You Sweetheart"

scrubs in rhythm to

it.

She

sets

and

a one-two-

three beat for the scrub brush.

This

mood

and

the dolphin stare at

each other afid helen appears rious than worried. Finally,

to

be more cu-

it

make

his skin feels

like.

She reaches her hand

and just touches the top of squirms and likes it, but she's

his head.

He

interested in

drying off her finger She even washes it in her soap solution. She returns to scrubbing for a minute, then can't resist more fully petting the DOLPHIN. This time

he reacts even

more enthusiastically. She is half afraid and half happy She returns to scrubbing. Then, at the tank) Heh heh heh heh heh heh heh heh lieh. (Beat) Heh heh heh heh. (Beat) Heh heh heh heh heh heh [miss

MORAY

Then

says,

.

.

.

She sees what's going on.

enters.

with exaggerated praise]

the night before:

how

Miss Moray. Look

comNot a

nicely the floor's

ing along tonight! There's not a streak! streak!

nique,

she decides to try to imitate the

sound she heard

what in

and she opens

passes quickly

the curtain so that she can watch the dolphin

as she works. She

bends down and looks directly into the dolphin's face. He lets out a bubble at her She sticks her tongue out at him. She makes an exaggerated smile and is very curious about

You must have a special rinsing techHelen. You do, don't you? Why you cer-

tainly do.

1

can smell something.

Helen. Just

a

little

.

.

.

vinegar in the rinse

water.

Helen. Youuuuuuuuuuuuu. (She pauses, watches for a response.) Youuuuuuuuuuuuu. {Still no response. She returns her attention to her scrubbing for a moment Then)

want want

Polly Polly

Miss Moray. You brought self just so the floors

going in your

dear

file,

.

that vinegar your-

they are sparkling,

down

in

a pad) This

— and from now on,

I'm going to requisition vinegar as a staple in a cracker?

the Custodial Engineering Department's sup-

a cracker?

(She wrings out a rag it's

.

Helen. Sparkling! (Jotting is

ply

Yeah,

.

and resunws

four o'clock. Yeah,

it's

work.)

four o'clock.

list.

(She pauses

then at helen.)

It's

you've adjusted.

.

— looks

at the dolphin

marvelous, Helen, .

Let Me Hear

—

how well

.

You Whisper, Scene

2

305

Helen. Thank you, Miss Moray. Miss Moray. Not everyone does, you know. Just last week I had a problem with a porter on five,

they

who became .

.

.

too fond of a

worked on

.

.

.

and

Bernard

St.

.

(pause)

.

.

seem Helen {still scnibbiug). Wliat do you mean, worked on? well, even Margaurita. Miss Moray. Well

well, Helen, a lot of people can't

.

She had

.

fallen in love

.

with the mice.

All three

hundred of them. She seemed shocked when using she found out Dr Crocus was them at the rate of twenty or so a day in connection with electrode implanting. She noticed them missing after a while and when 1 told her they'd been decapitated,** she seemed terribly upset. It made one wonder if she'd thought we'd been sending them away on vaca.

.

.

.

.

.

Helen. They chopped the heads dred mice?

Miss Moray. Now, Helen, you wanted progress, remember? Helen. That's horrible. Miss Moray. Helen, over a thousand individual laboratories did the same study last year. Helen. A thousand labs chopping off three hundred mice heads. Three hundred thousand mice heads chopped oft? That's a lot of mouse heads. Couldn't one lab cut off a couple and then spread the word? Miss Moray. Now, Helen, this is exactly what I mean. You will do best not to become fond of the subject animals. Wlien you're here a little

longer,

you'll

learn

—you

have such

insight.

(She

is

at the

To look at these mammals, you'd never suspect they were such rapatank.') It's funny, isn't

cious carnivori

Me

there

some accept on are

faith.

[She exits. After

a moment,

the dolphin starts

in again.]

it?

...

Helen. Wliat do they want with

it?

You Sweetheart record commences playing but MISS MORAY talks over it.] [The Let

— well,

things in this world you have to

tions or something. But I'm sure )'ou under-

stand

off three hun-

Call

Miss Moray. 'Well, they may have an intelligence equal to our own. And if we can teach them our language or learn theirs we'll be able to communicate. (Raising her voice higher over record) 'Wouldn't that be wonderful, Helen? To be able to communicate? Helen. 1 can't understand you. Miss Moray (louder). Communicate! Wouldn't

—

—

be wonderful? Helen. Oh, yeah. Miss Moray (with a cutting device). 'When Margaurita found out they ^vere using this on the mice, she almost fainted. No end of it

.

.

.

Dolphin. 'Wliisper Helen. What? Dolphin. Wliisper

to

[DANIELLE burges in,

pushing a hamper.]

.

.

.

me.

.

.

.

Danielle. Hi, Helen.

Helen. Hello. Danielle (emptying wastes into hamper). Miss Moray said she's got almond horns for our Perk-You-Up tonight.

Helen. That thing never body?

said anything to any-

Danielle. 'What thing?

Helen. That mammal fish. Danielle. Nope. Helen. Not one word? Danielle. Nope. Helen. Nothing that sounded

like

"Youuuuuu-

uuuuuuu." Danielle. What?

trouble.

Helen. "Youuuuuuuuuuuuu?" Or "Wliisper?" 8.

decapitated(de-kap'3-tat'id): beheaded.

9.

carnivori (kar-niv'a-ri'): meat

306 Talk to the Animals

eaters.

Danielle. about.

1

I

don't

know what

you're talking

got here an hour too early so

I

sat

down by the

the docks.

You can see the moon

in

[The record goes on again, without the hamper.]

and

Danielle exits

me call you sweetheart, me

up by

jars set

hamper

[She exits with

Helen. You wouldn't

hear )'ou whisper,

helen returns to the

about leaving the piece

bite Helen,

Helen's got to get that

would you?

ham out of there. know that. Helen I

wouldn't hurt you. You

That you love me, too. [HELEN opens the curtain to see the Dt)LFHiN.

He is staring at her It is as though the dolphin is trying to tell her something, and she can almost suspect this from the intensity of his She goes to her locker, unwraps a sandwicfj she brought, and takes a slice of ham from it. She approaches the tank and offers stare.

moves and startles her, the bottom of the tank.]

knows you you? Hear

talk.

.

.

.

You do

me

hear

Dolphin. Hear

.

.

.

talk to .

Helen, don't

.

.

Helen. That's a good boy. That's a goodie goodie boy.

Dolphin. Hear me Helen. Oh, what a prett}' boy. Such a pretty boy. .

.

.

the /yam. The dolphin

[At this point, the elevator

but the Jjam falls

MISS

to

Friday.

of ham at the bottom of the tank. She begins to reach her haiid into the tank.]

I'm in love with you. Let

MORAY

doors zip open and

enters.]

O

o_

.

.

.

me

o

WHEN YOU'RE HERE A LITTLE LONGER, YOU'LL LEARN

cy

Dolphin. Hear Helen. Huh? Dolphin. Hear

some

are ya? That reminds me. Gotta get

DOLPHIN, apprehensive

Record. Let

How

formaldehyde

river.

Miss Moray. Wliat

.

are

.

.

you doing, Helen?

[HELEN looks ready to cry] .

.

.

gooey things. Helen. What do they eat?

Helen. 1 uh Miss Moray. Never mind. Go on with your work. (MISS MORAY surveys everything, and then sits on a stool and calms herself. As helen scrubs) You know, Helen, you're such a sympathetic person. You have pets, I imagine? Cats?

Danielle. Wliat?

Lots of cats?

.

[DANIELLE bursts

and HELEN darts

back to

in,

carrying a crock,

her scrubbing.]

Danielle. Ugh. This

— gotta rinse this one out.

Full of little

Helen. What do dolphins

eat?

Danielle. Fish.

Helen. What kind offish? Danielle. These. (She opens a freezer chest packed with fish.) Fly em up from Florida. (DANIELLE

is

at the dolphin's tank.) Hiya,

fella!

.

.

.

.

.

Helen. They don't allow them in my building. Miss Moray. Then plants. I'm sure you have himdreds of lovely green things crawling up the windows? Helen. If there were green things crawling up my windows, I'd move out.

Let Me Hear You Whisper, Scene 2 307

Miss Moray. No plants, either? Helen. Two gloxinias. Miss Moray. Gloxinias! Oh, such trumpets! Such trumpets! Helen. They never bloom. My apartment's too cold.

Miss Moray. Oh,

that

a

is

shame. (Pause) You

don't you, Helen?

live alone,

Helen (almost hurt). Yes. 1 live alone. Miss Moray. But )'Ou have friends, of

course.

custodial colleagues, perhaps Other activsocial clubs clubs you belong to .

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

ities?

Helen {continuing

to scrub). I'm

used to

.

.

.

being alone. ? Miss Moray. Nothing once. Helen. 1 took a ceramic course Miss Moray. Isn't that nice. A ceramic course (Pause) Oh, Helen, you're such a nice per.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

son. So nice. (Pause)

much more

It

does seem unjust that

You must environment here feel overwhelmed b}' this ... of oscilloscopes and sonar and salinity meters. To have so many personal delicacies and then be forced to behold the complexity of an so

than that

is

required.

electronic and chemical world tating. Nevertheless,

1

must be devas-

.

.

of the

.

formaldehyde

I

figure

up tonight so

on

I'll

get the

I'll

only have to

worry about the dissection stuff tomorrow. Miss Moray. Very good, Danielle. Danielle. I'm gonna need a twenty-liter one for the lungs and there ain't any on this floor.

Helen (noticing

that the dolphin

What's the formaldehyde

is

.

.

308 Talk to the Animals

.

fond

kill it?

Won't have any trouble getting through the skull on this one, no sir. Ever)T;hing's gonna be perfect. (She exits.)

Helen. What for? Because it didn't say anything? Is that what they're killing it for? Miss Moray (so sweetly). Of course, you wanted to be kind. You didn't know what what deliharm you might have caused cate rh>thm you may have disturbed in the experiment. Helen, no matter how lovely our intentions, no matter how lonely we are and how much we want people or animals ... to like we have no right to endanger the us genius about us. Now, we've spoken about this .

.

.

.

.

.

before.

And

ber, aren't

this time,

we're going to remem-

you? Get your paraphernalia

ready.

minute you're going upstairs to the main specimen room.

In a

[HELEN

is

dumbfounded as

miss

moray

exits in

the direction Danielle went, helen gathers her

equipment and looks at the dolphin, who

is

Dolphin. Help. Please help me. MORAY returns, pauses a moment, and

then takes the

mop

to relieve helen'5 burden.]

me

Miss Moray. Come, Helen. Let up to the main specimen room.

help you

[As they get into the elevator, the record plays

again.

]

stirring).

Record.

for?

Miss Moray. That's what I'm trying to tell you, Helen ... to make it easier on you. The experiment series on the dolpliin will terminate ... on Friday. Dr. Crocus left the orders with us tonight. That's why it has concerned .

.

Danielle. Gonna sharpen the handsaws now.

[MISS

set

.

mammal.

Helen. They're gonna

table.]

Danielle. 'Cuse me, but

grown

that you've apparently

stari)ig desperately at her]

can't

[DANIELLE rus/jcs in with several large jars

a wheeled

me

.

.

Let

me

call

)

ou sweetheart,

I'm in love with Let

.

10.

}'ou.

me hear you whisper

paraphernalia

.

.

.

(par'3- for- nal'ya): equipment.

Making Meanings (Scenes First

Thoughts

Do

1

why

or

and

2)

Reading Check

you think the dolphin

Why

1

be

will

killed?

a.

not?

Describe the experiment with the dolphin.

b.

Shaping Interpretations 2.

Why

regarding the dolphin?

he did for these characters?

3.

Miss Moray

•

Dr Crocus

•

Mrs. Fridge

In

c.

^^A

d.

your opinion, why What would you name him?

Skim back through the places

Helen begin

dolphin?

doesn't the dolphin

play,

where Miss Moray

^^^ "You're such

Why does

paying attention to the

have a name? 4.

instructions does

Miss Moray give Helen

might Zindel have chosen the names

•

What

a

n'tce

and

tells

find the

What does

Helen learn

that makes her start to question what is happening at

ABADABA?

Helen,

person." Think about

what the word nke means. Use context clues (such as the other things Miss Moray reaWy Miss Moray says to and about Helen) to determine what thinks of the cleaning woman. 5.

We sense irony when we see a contrast between what we expect and the actual situation.

What

is

ironic

about the song that

is

played for the

dolphin?

Connecting with the Text what you think you would catch on more quickly than Helen does to happening at ABADABA? Why or why not?

6.

Do

7.

If

Helen asked you for advice at the end of Scene

2,

what would you

is

tell

her to do?

Extendmg the Text 8.

Miss Moray

have no

tells

right to

Helen,

"we

endanger the

genius about us" (page 308).

What

does she mean?

What

do you think of her statement? (When, if ever, do people have the right to question

the actions of experts such as scientists, doctors,

and

politi-

cians?)

Let Me Hear You Whisper, Scenes

I

and

2

309

Scene 3

Miss Moray.

c

a

At

rise, miss

DR.

CROCUS

moray

and

is

walking with

Engineering

Yoii can is

items

be assured the Custodial

anxious to contribute

technical wxy. (The elevator doors open

HELEN ^e/^s O;^) Just a moment, Helen.

in

and

I'd like to

with you. {To the others as they get on) If you think of anything else between now and talk

morning, please don't hesitate to call. Extra scalpels, dissection scissors, autoclaved glassPleasant dreams. {The doors close ware on DR. crocus a}id mrs. fridge, a)id miss moray turns to HELEN.) I hope youre well this eve.

Helen. Maybe he can type with

his nose.

Did

Miss Moray. Now, now, Helen Helen. Miss Moray, I don't mind doing the

dol-

.

.

every nontechnical way possible. Every non-

.

open

the> try that?

She is jotting clown on a clipboard.

Staff

looks like you're ready to

It

of steel wool.

mrs. fridge to the

elevator

Miss Moray.

new box

.

.

phin area.

Miss Moray. Absolutely your

limits for ally

own

not! I'm placing

it

off

good. You're too emotion-

involved.

Helen. I'm not emotionally involved. Miss Moray. Trust me, Helen. Trust me. Helen. Yes, Miss Moray.

and

makes a beeline which is closed off' by portable walls. She opens the area enough to slide in. The lights are out and moonlight [miss

MORAY

exits

helen

for the dolphin area,

from the window

casts

many shadows.]

ning.

Helen. Wlien they gonna kill it? Miss Moray (going with her to her locker). Don't say "kill," Helen. You make it sound like murder. Besides, you won't have to go into the dolphin area

at all this

evening.

Helen. Wlien they gonna do it? Miss Moray. They'll be back, but don't worry. I've decided to let you go before they start, so you won't have to be in the building when .

.

Dolphin. Help, (helen moves slowly toward the tank.) Help me. (helen opens the curtain. The dolphin and she look at each other) Help me. Helen. You don't need me. Jvist say something to them. "Whatever you want. Say "Help." Any-

\

n

.

HELP. HELP ME. Helen. "Wliat do they do? Miss Moray (a hesitating laugh). "Why, what do you mean, what do they do? Helen. How do they kill it? Miss Moray. Nicotine mustard, Helen. Nicotine mustard. It's very humane. They inject it. Helen. Just cause it don't talk, they've got to kill it?

Miss Moray. There's that word again. Helen. Maybe he's a mute. Miss Moray. Do you have all your paraphernalia?

Helen. Some human beings are mute, you know. Just because they can't talk, we don't kill

3

1

them.

Talk to the Animals

o-

o

need to hear you say something. (She waits for a response, which doesn't come.) You want me to tell em? I'll tell them. I'll just say I heard you say "Help." OK? I'll go tell them. (She starts to leave the area, turning back to give opportunity for a thing.

They .

.

just

.

response.)

Dolphin. Noooooooooooo. (helen stops. Moves back toward tank.) Noooooooooooo. Helen. The\ 're gonna kill )'Ou! (Puzzled, helen moves a bit closer to the tank. Pause) Dolphin. Boooooooooook.

Helen. Wliat? (There

SHE'S GONNA BE MAD.

a long pause. No

is

re-

mores Dolphin. Boooooooooook. Helen. Book? Dolphin. Boooooooooook. Helen. Boooooooooook? What book?

sponse. She

closer)

through a door and snaps

[DANIELLE charges

on the

light.]

Uh

Moray said she don't you have to not be in the lab and I'm not to talk to you about what they're gonna do because I make you nauDanielle.

want you

oh. Miss

in here. Said

seous. [HELEN ^oe5 to DR. CROCUS

desk in the lab

A'

begins to look at various books on

and

it.]

Helen. Do you know anything about

a book,

Danielle?

Danielle. She's gonna be mad. 'Wliat book?

Helen. Something

do with

to

.

.

.

{She indi-

cates the DOLPHIN.)

Danielle. Hiya,

fella!

{To helen)

Do

really

I

make you nauseous? Helen. About the dolphin Danielle. You talking about the experiment folder? They got an experiment folder they .

write

.

.

in.

Helen. Wliere? DanieUe. I don't know. Helen. Find it, please. Danielle. stuff.

I

know where

don't

Sometimes she puts

other times she puts

Helen. Please find

it

it.

in the

it

she keeps that

in the

top and

bottom.

Please. (She steps outside

the area.)

Danielle. to do,

what

I'll

try.

I'll

try,

but

I

got other things

you know. Can't spend time looking ain't

any of

my

business anyway.

knew made anybody I

[DANIELLE runiniages

I

for

never

nauseous.

through the desk, niuni-

bling to herself, and finally finds the folder She hands the folder out to helen as the elevator doors spring open and miss moray enters.

Let Me Hear You Whisper, Scene

3

311

DANIELLE extts quickfy through

a door

m

the

DOLPHIN area as helen conceals the folder.]

Miss Moray. Helen? Helen. Yes, Miss Moray? Miss Moray. Would you

Helen. Yes, Miss Moray. Miss Moray. We have ladyfingers. Helen. Oh, good. Miss Moray. Such a strange thing to call a confectionery," isn't it? It's almost macabre Helen. Miss Moray Miss Moray. Yes, Helen? Helen. I was wondering Miss Moray. Yes? Helen. I was wondering why they wanna talk .

feel

better

we

if

.

talked about

it?

Helen. About what? Miss Moray. Helen, you're such a nice person. I understand just what youre going through. well, I'm going to tell you Really, I do. And my something I've never told anyone else love with an I fell in ABADABA, week at first .

.

An

.

.

Pussy Cat. That's

alley cat.

—

what I called it Pussy Cat. Helen. Did they cut the head

off

it?

MORAY removes a plastic covering from an object on a shelf to reveal an articulated cat skeleton. As she talks, she sets it in view [MISS

and gently dusts Miss Moray.

it

with the feather duster.]

sense a touch of bitterness in

I

your voice, Helen, and don't think I wasn't bitter when I saw what had happened to Pussy Cat.

Helen.

Ill

bet

it

didn't

sit

well with Pussy Cat

either.

Miss Moray. But when I thought about it for a while, I had to realize that was just being selfwhat happened to Pussy Cat ish. Before happened, I was the only one benefiting from her whereas now she's borrowed at least once a month. Last week she went to an anatomy seminar at St. Vincent's Medical I

.

.

.

—

School.

the ages. (Then, solemnly)

I

hope

that's

some

.

2 Talk to the Animals

.

.

Now now

now! I was the same Right up to the final mo"Wliat good is vivisec-

way about Pussy Cat. ment I kept asking, tion?"^ "Wliat good is vivisection?

Helen. Wliat good is vivisection? Miss Moray. A lot of good, believe me. Helen. Like what? Miss Moray. Well, like fishing, Helen. If we could communicate with dolphins, they might be willing to herd fish for us. The fishing industry would be revolutionized. Millions of fish being rounded into nets by our little mammal friends.

Helen. Is that Miss Moray. blessing to the

all?

All?

Heavens, no. They'd be a

human

race.

A blessing.

Helen. 'Wliat kind? Miss Moray. Oh. WTiy, oceanography. They would be worshiped in oceanography. Checktaking water temperaing the Gulf Stream tures, depths, salinity readings. To say nothing of the contributions they could make in marine biology, navigation. Linguistics! Oh, Helen, it .

me

the

.

.

chills.

Helen. ltd be good if they talked? Miss Moray. God's own blessing. God's own blessing, (miss moray exits and helen returns

3.

will

be

here soon. articulated (iir-tik'yoo-lat'id): here, with nected.

.

Miss Moray.

2.

Helen. Oh, it's very comforting. Miss Moray. Well, Perk-You-Up time

1

.

confectionery (k.in-fek'shan-er'e): sugary food. vivisection (viv'a-sek'shan): surgical operations and other experiments performed on living animals.

comfort to you.

1.

with

gives

Helen. It's nice you let her out once in a while. Miss Moray. In life, she was unnoticed and worthless except to me. Now she belongs to

3

.

.

.

animal myself.

.

.

Words to Own its

joints con-

macabre

(ma-kab'ra)

odj.:

gruesome; horrible.

scrubbing for a moment. Vf^Jyeti she feels safe, she sets the folder in front of her and l?egins reading. Commence fantasy techniques to establish that the ensuing events are going on in HELEN '5 mind concerning the benevolent to

what miss about uses. Soiaul: Sonar beeping luiderwater It has the urgency of a beating heart. Sweet strains of "Let Me Call You Sweetheart" in. Projection: Underivater utilization^ of dolphins. Relate to .\K)R.AY

told her

and fish gliding by. All voices Doors open and miss moiuy, dr. crocus,

dolphins

shot,

echo.

and And

had

MRS. FRIDGE if

we

could make friends with them,

might be willing to herd

to them, they tlsh for us.

Dr.

Crocus

friends

appear phantasmagorically)

.

.

all

talk

those

Helen. Wliat? Miss Moray. It has

Fat,

ones suitable for controlled portion and get em! [Projection of dolphins

mammal

little

— today we want swordfish.

meaty

sizing.

Go

swimming, a school

of large fish panicking in the water]

Helen. Thank you. Miss Moray Miss Moray. Yes, dear? Helen. You sure it would be good .

floor

Up

.

.

?

for us

if

.

.

.

dolphins talked?

Miss Moray. Helen, are you about

that!

still

thinking

Perhaps you'd better leave now. Its

almost time.

Helen. No! I'm

almo.st finished.

opcus the DOLPHIN area and

[DANIELLE

over helen'5 head to Danielle.

I

yells

miss moray.]

got everything except the head

Miss Moray. I beg your pardon? Danielle. The vise for the head. I can't find it. They can't saw through the skull bone without the head vise. Miss Moray. Did you look on five? The)' had it there for what they did to the St. Bernard .

.

My dear dolphin

dear dolphin friends.

The

vi.se.

.

{lovingly). All right,

Mrs. Fridge.

a nice sheen.

here where its dried.

at

the bottom of the

Mariana Trench. But do be careful. We're un-

they had.

[The record plays again

and

the others try to

talk over it]

Record.

sure of the weather above that area.

Let

me call you sweetheart,

I'm in love with you.

[Projection of dolphins racing, deep under-

water shots, sounding

.

.

My dear,

friends.

We re most curious about

seismographic readings

.

.

Let

bell noises]

me

hear you whisper,

That you love me, too.

Miss Moray

{sweetly).

Our

linguistics lesson

today will consider the most beautiful the English language: love. Love

is

word

in

a strong,

complex emotion or feeling causing one to appreciate and promote the welfare of another. Do you have a word like it in dolphinese? A word similar to love'^ (The fantasy disappears, leaving miss moray and iielen /// the reality of the play) 4.

It

has a nice sheen.

benevolent utilization (bs nev' ;5 bnt •

yoot"l-i-za'sh,in): use for the 5.

•

purpose of doing good

phantasmagorically (fan-taz'ms-gor's-kle):

rapidly changing, dreamlike way.

in a

Danielle. Can't hear you.

Miss Moray. The the

St.

St.

Bernard.

They used

it

for

Bernard.

Danielle.

On five?

Miss Moray. That's what I said. Danielle. I looked on five. I didn't see any head vise. Miss Moray. You come with me. It must have been staring you in the face. Just staring you right in the face. (Danielle tiptoes over the wet portion of the floor

and she and

miss mc^ray

get on the elevator^ We'll be right back, Helen.

Let Me Hear You Whisper, Scene

3

313

[The doors close

cnicl

helhn hurries into the

DOLPHIN area. She stops Just within the door and it is obvious that she is angry. There is a

pause as s/w looks at

the silhouette of the

tank behind the closed curtain. Then]

and fear subside into frustration. Wlyen it appears the dolphin is going to say nothing else, HELEN starts to leave the room. She turns around and looks back at the dolphin. Then she looks at the folder on the desk. She is to

again when she decides to go the folder once more. She picks it up, opens

it,

closes

going

Dolphin. Boooooooooook. [HELEN charges to the curtain, pulls

and prepares Helen.

to

looked

I

reprimand the at

your book.

I

it

open,

dolphin.]

looked

at

your

book all right! Dolphin. Boooooooooook. Helen. And you want to know what I think? I don't think much of you, that's what I think. Dolphin. Boooooooooook. Helen. Oh, shut up. Book book book book book. I'm not interested. You eat yourself silly— but to get a little fish for hungr}- humans is just

too

much

for you. "Well, I'm going to tell

'em you can talk. {The dolphin moves in the tank, lets out a few warning bubbles.} You don't like that, eh? Well,

I

don't like

laz>^ selfish

away go and half

people, mammals, or animals. (She starts

from

the tank, half intending to

watching for a reaction. The dolphin looks increasingly desperate ajid begins to make loud blat and beep sounds. He struggles a bit i>i the tank, starting to splash water.) Oh, you'd do anything to avoid a

little

dolphin blasts at

the

to date,

her.]

Dolphin. Boooooooooook! Helen. Cut it out; you're getting water

all

over

down

again.]

.

.

.

Helen (picking up

the folder

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

[HELEN'S voice

.

.

.

.

4 Talk to the Animals

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

becomes echoed

in the

middle

of the last speech, theatrical effects creeping in to establish fantasy

cept

now

sequence

like the first ex-

and appear sinwar oriented.]

the characters enter

Their requests are all

Miss Moray (demanding). And if we could talk to them, we'd get them to herd fish all right. One way or another, they'd do exactly as they were told!

Me

Call

in

You Sweetheart plays "

in back-

a discordant version, with projec-

reprimand (rep'ra-mand') discordant (dis-k6rd"nt)

1

(helen

nuclear torpedoes war submarines or surface vessels attach bombs to terrorize enemy waters, beaches war war war

heads

Words to Own

3

.

.

closer to the tank again. They experience a sustained visual exchange.^ Helen's anger a sustained visual exchange: The\ look into each other's eyes for a long time.

.

.

[HELEN is a little scared and stops ward the door As she stops, the dolphin calms down. She waits a moment and then moves

They experience

.

.

.

tion of dolphins sivimming.]

6.

us.

She returns to the folder Reading) Miliplants mines in enemy tary implications useful as antipersonnel self-directwaters war deliver atomic waring weapons

stops.

ground to-

and skimming

reflexively). Yes.

Dolphin. Hate. Helen. I guess you do hate

["Let

moving

.

.

.

Dolphin. Hate.

the floor

Dolphin. Boooooooooook!

it

rather than help us.

work, wouldn't you?

most violent gyrations

and sets

it,

Helen. I guess you don't like us. (Pause) I die guess you don't like us enough to

ister

[In his

to leave

sounding; not

in

v.:

adj.:

harmony.

scold; correct sharply.

harsh; disagreeable

Dr. Crocus. All right, you dolphins. Today

we

want }'ou to herd fish. Herd all the fish you can away from the enemy's waters. Remove their food

water

foul the

unfit for

map

[A

IS

underwater poison

Detonate

supply.

bombs and

life

enemy

coastline.

Make

the

of any kind.

imposed over projection of

dol.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

Ham

.

.

purrrrr?

.

Mrs. Fridge. Enemy fleets are located here and here and here. You'll have twenty-seven

you're talking about?

hours to attach the nuclear warheads before

purrrrr.

automatic detonation. Our objective:

Helen.

Ham

[HELEN

is

total an-

nihilation.

[Projection of dolphins racing

off,

deep under-

water shots, frogmen examining ships

'

halls,

Our

linguistics les-

son today will consider the most basic word in the English language; hate. Hate

is

a strong

emotion which means abhorrence, anger,

ani-

mosit>, detestation, hostilit}, malevolence, malice,

malignity odium, rancor, revenge, repug-

nance, and dislike. in

dolphinese?

If

Do you you

have a word

I

know what

don't

Dolphin (even more annoyed). Ham

MORAY

is

.

.

.

like

it

you

don't, we'll teach

word

hate.

leaving

.

most upset and recalls that miss due back. Confused and scared, she

and

DANIELLE,

MRS.

miss

DANIELLE

FRIDGE.

pushes a dissection table loaded with shiny instruments toward the lab.] Miss Moray. Clean the

vise

up,

Danielle.

Immediately. I didn't leave the blood on it. Miss Moray. I'm not accusing you. I just

Danielle.

said

whoever was the porter the night they did you know what to the St. Bernard was (To MRS. .

.

friix.h) It's the first dirt)' vise since I've led the

Custodial Engineering Department!

[The fantasy sequence evaporates,

.

purrrrr. Wliat's a purrrrr?

.

every nuance of ours. Every nuance of the

.

returns to scrubbing the floor Just as the

MORAY, (fanatically).

Ham

doors of the elevator open, revealing

planting mines]

Miss Moray

can do? Something

purrrrr.

Helen.

]

I

you want me to do? Dolphin. Hamm Helen. What? Dolphin. Hamm Helen. Ham? I thought you ate fish. Dolphin {moving with a)inoyance). .

phins.

something ...

there's

Is

the good

doctor in yet?

sadly closes the folder

Mrs. Fridge. She's getting the nicotine mustard on eighteen. I'll have to see if she needs as-

tank,

sistance.

each

Miss Moray. I'll come with you. Oh, Helen. You can go now. It's time. (She smiles and the elevator doors close on mrs. fridge and miss

HELEN alone on stage with the dolphin. She

and moves slowly to the a bit asha)ned about the way she had reprimanded the Dt)LPHiN. They look sadly at other.

pets his

She reaches out her hand and Just

head gently.]

MORAY.)

Helen. They're already thinking about ways to use you for. .war. Is that why you can't talk to them? 'What did you talk to me for? You won't talk to them but you you talk to me because want something you .

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

Danielle (pushing the dissection talkie into the DOLPHIN area). I never left a dirty head vise. She's trying to say she's getting

I

left it like that.

I

know what

at.

.

Words to Own frogmen: people equipped work underwater. 7.

to

do exploration or

otlier

nuance

(noo'ans')

n.:

shade of meaning.

Let Me Hear You Whisper, Scene

3

315

purrrrr? Helen. Did you ever hear of Ham Danielle. Wait'll I get my hands on Kazinski. Kazinski does the fifth floor and he should be cleaning this, not me. It's all caked up. .

.

Helen. Would you listen a minute? purrrrr. Do you know what a ham .

.

.

out in the

hall,

by

dicated

DANIELLE.)

Fivc

an

But what '11

do with you? 'Where can

I

take you?

looking for what the dolphin could want her

.

purrrrr

scalpels,

is

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

had mucus all over it. (Danielle exits.) Helen (rushing to the dolphin). You want me to do something with the hamper. Wliat? To You want me to put you in it? get it? To put

of celebration.} The river ... to the

.

.

.

.

small clamps

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

Dolphin. Sea Helen. See? .

.

.

.

.

.

sea

.

The

talking about! {There

.

.

what you're almost an atmosphere

sea! That's

is

and

[She darts into the hall

hamper pushes

it

.

out the window.}

to see. Finally, she looks

.

.

.

bone saws dissection needles, two dozen scissors Kazinski left the high-altitude chamber dirty once and I got blamed for that, too. And that clamps

I

large

.

ever heard of

I

(helen looks toward

.

exit in-

.

is?

Danielle. The only hamper

.

Dolphin. Sea Helen. See? See what? purrrrr Dolphin. Sea ham I saw the hamper. Helen. See ham Dolphin. Sea Helen. See what? What do you want me to see? (She walks about the room, mumbling,

Ham .

.

sea!

returns with

next to the dolphin. She

pulls closed the curtain as

.

.

.

.miss

moray gets

off the elevator miss moray looks very calm. Everything is under control and on schedule

from her point of view. She then

there, though her mop and pail wonders //helen has gone and just She

HELEN are.

notices that

not

is

carelessly left the items out]

Miss Moray (sweetly}. Helen? (Wljen there is no response, she starts into the dolphin area.} Helen? (helen is not there, though her coat is still hanging in her locker She is little concerned at this point For a second she as-

sumes since

it is

it

was

unlikely helen ivould be in there,

but then She notices the

strictly placed off limits,

she decides to

investigate.

closed curtain in front of the tank.} Helen? Are you there? (Pause} Helen? Helen? (miss

MORAY moves There

is

and pulls it open. arms around the lifting him a good

to the curtain

helen, with her

front part of the dolphin, part of the way out of the

tvater.}

Helen, what

do you think you're hugging? [HELEN gets so scared that she drops the dol-

phin back into the tank, splattering miss moray

with water miss moray as DR. CROCUS 3 6 Talk 1

to the Animals

and mrs.

lets

out a scream just

fridge enter]

Mrs. Fridge. Is anything wrong. Miss Moray? (MISS MORAY is iDiable to answer at first.) Is an)'thing wrong? Miss Moray {not wishing to admit an irregunothing wrong. Nothing at all. larity)- No (She hurriedly composes Ijerself. not watiting to l.nnig

.

.

.

any

dirty

wash

oft/.ie

Department.) Just

neering

water. Right, Helen? Just a

Custodial Engia

little

trodes into his head. His distress signals are

MORAY leads her out to the hall, miss MORAY is trying to get control of herself to resist yelling at helen, as she gets on her coat and kerchief) You can leave that. Helen. 1 never left a dirty mop. Never. (MISS

ami

lab

the

water around the tank. dr. crocus l^egins to filling

a hypodermic

sy-

ringe while MRS. FRIDGE expertfy gets all equipDanielle enters.]

Mrs. Fridge. Danielle, get the formaldehyde jars into position, please.

didn't spill anything. Don't try to

blame that on me. Miss Moray. I didn't say you did. Danielle. You spilled something? Miss Moray. Just do as Mrs. Fridge Hurr}', Danielle, you're

I'm

of

door show where

tells

you.

blame

getting

is.]

Miss Moray. Well,

for

I

know what

hardly

—

hoped

that by being lenient with you and heaven knows I have been that you'd develop a heightened loyalty to our team. I mean, do you think for one minute that putting vinegar in rinse water really is more effective? If you ask me, it streaks. Streaks. Helen (bursting into tears and going to the

—

me alone.

Miss Moray (softening as she catches up to her). You really are a nice person, Helen. A very nice person. But to be simple and nice in a world where great minds are giant-stepping the micro- and macrocosms, well one would

Mrs. Fridge. Would you like to get an encephalogram during the death process, Dr

expect you'd have the humility' to yield questioning awe.

I

Crocus?

Helen, but you're

fired, (^all

Dr. Crocus.

Why not?

And was going to you to know that. I

truly

am

in un-

very fond of you,

Personnel after

bring you in hangers.

I

9.

want

fridge begins to iniplant electrodes into

the dolphin'5 head. The dolphin

making

commences

high-pitched distress signals, which

send shivers up and down helen'^ back.] Miss Moray.

That'll

do

it.

No harm

Helen. (To the doctor)

outside,

everything

is

Record.

I

crocus

power. .(She is still 1 11 see you to the elevator, (helen looks at the ' ,

.

dolphin as MRS. fridge

is

call

you sweetheart,

Let

me

hear you whisper

.

.

.

its

iiinored.)Co\ne, Helen.

.

me

I'm in love with you.

Custodial

Engineering Staff has done everything in .

Let

do hope

satisfactory. Doctor, (dr.

MORAY heads back toward the dolphin

[As miss

area, the record starts to play]

done. Step

looks at her, gives no reaction. ) The

t,„

I'd

—

Kazinski.

[.MRS.

to say.

Helen, I'm deeply disappointed.

elevator). Leave

so slow.

tired

quick rinse and puts

sounds coming out of it

the

her attention

Frankly,

Danielle.

mop a

[HELEN gives the

and MISS MORAY grab sponges from sink and begin to get up some of

I

go now.

the things in their place. Cuts to the lab

[HELEN

Danielle.

is terrified.) Let's

spilled water.

the

ment into place.

helen

spilled

little

Get those sponges, Helen. Immediately!

occupy herself with

and

pathetic,

,

,

^ WORDS TO OWN

\\, ,

^

lenient

,,-

,

\

j-

r

(len yant) adj.: forgiving;

u not i.harsh

in

upunishing.

sticking the elec-

Let

Me Hear You Whisper, Scene

3

317

Animal Rights vs. Animal Research Have you ever taken

Have you been immunized

antibiotics?

and wtiooping cougii? Does anyone you l<now insulin injections

tiave a

to control diabetes? Animal research

many other medical treatments Yet not everyone

is

in

against polio

pacemal<er or use

made

these and

possible.

favor of animal research.

Many people

are troubled

by reports of cruel or neglectful treatment of laboratory animals. years, animal rights activists

number of scientists have responded by painful

procedures

research

methods

rather than Still,

in

in

difficult

recent

A

using fewer animals and new, less

Some

their experiments.

scientists

which computer models and

living animals,

In

have repeatedly clashed with researchers.

cell

have developed

and tissue

cultures,

are used.

What rights, if any do animals have? come first? Where do we draw the line?

questions persist:

Should people's needs always

""5^

i^^r

[The record HELEN

7^

is

roughly interrupted.

contemplating

at

that

What

moment

Helen. I'm very

tired of

being a nice person,

Miss Moray. You kept telling

now know what you

me how nice was I

causes the expression on her face to turn

and

from sadness to thought to strength to anger and— as the elevator doors open — to fury. In-

going to report the bunch of you to the

stead of getting on the elevator, she whirls around and marches back to the dolphin area, miss moray, mrs. fridge, Danielle,

and

dr.

CROCUS, ivith hypodennic needle poised to stick the dolphin, turn

and

look at her with

surprise.]

Helen. Wlio do you think you are? Wlio do you tliink you are? I think you're murderers, that's what I think. Miss Moray. Doctor, I assure you this is the first

psychotic outburst the Custodial Engineer-

ing Department has ever had.

3

1

8 Talk to the Animals

I

meant. {Pause) I'm

ASPCA — or somebody. Because cided

I

.

.

.

I've de-

don't like you cutting the heads off

mice and sawing through skulls of St. Bernards and if being a nice person is just not saying anything and letting you pack of butchers run around doing whatever you want, then I don't want to be nice anymore. You gotta be very stupid people to need an animal to talk before you know just from looking at it that it's saying something that it knows what pain feels like. I'd like to see you all with a few electrodes stuck in your heads. I really would. (HELEN starts crying, though her features won't give way to weakness.) Being nice isn't .

.

.

.

.

.

any good. ^Looking at the dolphin) They kill

you

off

you do

if

coward. You gotta

wrong or you gotta

try.

And

that.

that's

just

being a

back against what's

talk

can't ever stop

At

it.

least

.

.

.

Helen, dear

.

.

from

and starts

.

A sound comes

to leave.

the dolphin 's tank. ]

Dolphin

fault.

[The record starts. ]

Helen. Get your hands off me. iYelliug at the DOLPHIN) You're a coward, that's what you are. [She turns

Miss Moray. The water on the floor was her

you've

(She bursts into tears.^

Miss Moray. Nothing like this has ever happened with a member of the Custodial Engineering

Dr. Crocus. Try to get another word out of it.

Dr. Crocus. Try the fear button.

Miss Moray. She could have damaged the rib cage if I hadn't stopped her. Dr. Crocus. One more word try anger. Miss Moray. The last thing in the world I want is for our problems in Custodial Engineering .

to

{whispering). Loooooooooooveeeeee.

{Everyone turns to stare at the dolphin

and

freezes for a second.) Love.

.

.

.

.

.

Dr. Crocus (furious).

"Will

you shut up and get

her back here?

MORAY appears stunned momentarily]

[MISS

Dr. Crocus. Get the recorder going.

[The laboratory becomes a bustle of activity concerning the utterance of the dolphin. Plaits for dissection are obviously canceled

and HELEN has a phin.

visual exchange with the dol-

Then she continues toward the elevator]

Dolphin. Love Dr. Crocus. Is the tape going? .

.

.

.

Mrs. Fridge. Yes, Doctor.

Miss Moray. I'm enormously embarrassed about

the

Doctor.

incident.

taken steps to see this won't

Mrs.

.

Miss Moray. Immediately, Doctor. (She hurries to HELEN, waiting for the elevator.) Helen? Oh, Helen? (She goes to helen, who refuses to pay any attention to her) Don't you want to hear what the dolphin has to say? He's so cute! Dr. Crocus thinks that his talking might have something to do with you. Wouldn't that be exciting? (Pause) Please, Helen. The doctor Helen. Don't talk to me, do you mind? Miss Moray. It was only in the heat of argument that I distorted the ineffectiveness of the vinegar and ... of course, you won't be dis-

Naturally, .

Lve

.

.

.

opening the blowhole

charged. All right? Please, Helen, you'll embar-

Dolphin. Love Dr. Crocus. That scrubwoman's got something to do with this. Get her back in here. Miss Moray. She won't be any more trouble. I

HELEN gets on to face miss moray. She looks at

Fridge.

He's

sphincter.

rass .

.

.

fired her.

Dolphin. Love Dr. Crocus. Just .

.

.

get

her.

(To mrs.

fridge)

You're sure the machine's recording?

Miss Moray. Doctor, derstand. That

mal

.

.

.

Lm

afraid

woman was

me

her a

.

.

.

(The elevator doors open

and

moment and then

the button for the

lifts her hand to press ground floor.) Don't you

Helen, the team needs you, don't you Everyone see? says the corridors have never looked so good. Ever. Helen, please. What will I do if you leave? Helen. Wliy don't you put in a rug? dare

.

.

.

you don't un-

hugging the mam-

[She presses the button. The elevator doors close.]

Let

Me Hear You Whisper, Scene

3

319

Meet the Writer "My Books Have a Secret" Paul Zindel (1936-

was born in

Staten

in

New

Island,

)

York. Early

Zindel's childhood, his

father

the family; his

left

mother had to

struggle

to support Zindel and

older

his

wrote

Zindel

sister.

his first play, a ver-

"The Monkey's

sion of

Paw" (another dramatization appears 1

86),

on page

when he was

Zindel on the set of the off-Broadway stage

a teenager.

He

taught

production of Let

Me

Hear You Whisper with

a

high school chemistry for ten years, then

dolphin puppet created and operated by Peter

turned to writing plays and young adult

Baird.

novels

time.

full

When

problems they pose.

asked what he

to young people

in his

is

trying to say

writing, Zindel

librarians

I'm telling the kids that

I

love the

underdog and sympathize with gle

because

many ways

that's still.

I

what was and am in want my kids to feel I

as they travel the plots of

I'm trying to

tell all

all

my books

kids that they don't

have to consider themselves

is

and parents and see that there

a beautiful

tomorrow

for them.

misfits, that

More by Zindel 1

97

1

Paul Zindel

won

a Pulitzer Prize

who

The

play

about

is

finds happiness in spite of her trou-

when she

nition for a science project.

secret

I

—and

the kids that

tell

a secret

—

to read

my

a very useful

them to

find the

lessons they teach, or to examine the

in

a high school girl

technique and patience to make those reality.

drama

Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds (Bantam).

bled family

books have

in

for his play The Effect of Gamma

they deserve hopes and dreams and the

dreams

99

his strug-

worthy, to search for hope against

odds

ask the kids to

share the books with their teachers and

responded:

44

I

provoke discussion among themselves, to

is

life

receives recog"I

suspect

it

autobiographical," Zindel says, "be-

cause whenever

I

see a production of

laugh and cry harder than anyone else

it,

I

in

the audience." iV

I:»l-.^'r! •

<

•

V

(Connections

Zi

TV DOCUMENTARY

from Touched by a Dolphin ABC World of Discovery Special ABC/Kane Productions

International, Inc.

Pamela Stacey What follows of a

is

an

excerpt from the script

documentary. Sharon Laivrence, the on-screen host, guides viewers into the water world of the television

graceful, curious,

Documentary Terms video the images you see on-screen

audio the words and sounds you hear (The words in roman type are spoken by an unseen narrator; the words in italic type are spoken by someone on-screen.)

and friendly dolphin.

VO

voice-over, the voice of an unseen narrator

on camera shown on

the

TV

screen

c/u close-up shot

fade-out the gradual disappearance of an image from the screen

VIDEO

AUDIO

Dolphins swimming.

Sharon VO: Dolphins. What magical beings! Creatures born in the sea and yet so much like us. But until now, they've carried the secrets of their lives deep into their water world.

Sharon on camera.

All of my

life I've

to flipper,

and on

been fascinated by the sea and by dolphins. Hi. I'm Sharon lawrence and I'm going to do something I've ordy dreamed of^see a dolphin eye to eye, face to face, hand their terms in the ivild.

Sharon VO: Coast of

Brazil.

On the

southern

tip of Brazil, a

dolphin culture and

human culture

have met. Aerial view of channel.

In the coastal

town of Laguna, an amazing partnership has formed.

Fishermen standing

Almost every

day,

in line.

dolphins.

m}wr mmi*u!i!

dozens of fishermen Une up to wait for the

m

>

^vmf»-y

'

"S^

A-:'-,

-'IVfr

'

Iar You Whisper 321

VIDEO

AUDIO

Low

They stand

angle of

fishermen

water so murky that only the dolphins, with their

in

know

echolocation,

in line.

The men wait

Dolphin moving

if

fish are there.

for a signal as the dolphins

herd

fish to

them.

toward camera.

Only when the dolphins

Net throws.

signal

and

roll

away in

safety

do they throw

their nets.

The dolphins wait to

Fishermen

be caught

for the fish,

who

try to

escape the nets

In this cooperative fishery, each fisherman catches

pull in fish.

pounds

forty

Fish in nets.

it's

families

depend on

How

(over camera).

a love story.

Canoe and

Group singing folk song VO: No fish had been seen

fisherman.

this fishery to

began

is

a mystery, tmless

you believe an

For a thousand days

And

the fisherman worried so.

Fisherman unloads

Still,

in joy she'd

boat with daughter.

The angel who

Over shoulder

One morning the girl

stranger,

girl

Girl looks

of

over

run to the water. was his daughter

Met the steady gaze Of a stranger she seemed to know. Eyes that burned like the sky above liim. She knew she was born to love him.

looks up. c/u.

There were stories of old That grandmothers told

Fade-out on stranger.

Of dolpliins

disguised.

Their touch mesmerized

Young To Girl

Men

1

.

who fell prey

and stranger dance.

The

conspire.

A plan was made

echolocation (ek o

unci

girls,

their passionate ways.

And '

!(i(_".i!f •^]^i

-I-

'yh.r

•

lo

•

ka

villagers

whispered,

the stranger thrown to the waves.

process by which dolphins and bats navigate emit sound waves, wliich are reflected back as echoes

shall):

,!;ii-il.il: -

'•[-—"' il

322 Talk TO THE Animals

earn a

living.

been happening here since 1847.

Fisherman throws net

it

more than

offish to sell in the local markets.

About one hundred

And

— only

easily in their jaws.

rHllMli'

1

'

I'iilfl

..

intriguing

myth

.

.

.

VIDEO

AUDIO

Waves

Alih ahh ah

breaking.

finds hat.

Alih ahh ah

in

From her

dolphins jump

Came

silhouette.

Fisherman stands up

Dolphin

.

fish.

.

.

^

and her desolation

a glorious transformation"

.

.

.

And the

soul of a loving daughter

Brought

new life

Alih ahh ah

c/u.

.

tears

Ahh ahh ah

and enters water to

.

She wept by the water The fisherman's heartbroken daughter

Girl walks at shore,

Two

.

.

.

to the barren water.

.

Sharon VO:

And

Net throws. Fishermen

so they have fished here for 150 years.

pulling in nets.

Just as generations of fishermen have passed this tradition to their children, so have the dolphins.

dolphins 2.

transformation: change

in

live

Pamela Stacey explains

here in a unique culture of cooperation.

form or appearance. The

Writing a Documentary: how she came

on

Now fishermen and

"A

girl

has turned into a dolphin.

Little Like

Poetry"

to write this documentary:

(4 1 was drawn to writing about the natural world out of a passionate belief we must care for it as lovingly as we care for each other. Dolphins always fascinated me, and I read everything I could in scientific journals about new research. Because of the research and my experience as a writer, I was given the challenge to produce and write this film. The greatest fun was working with cameramen who know how to tell a story without words through the images they capture on film. that

—

In addition to constructing the story, the greatest challenge in writing a natural-history doctmientary

begins

work only when the

is

to blend the

film

is

words with the images. A writer

nearly complete but perfectly silent

no words, music, or sound effects. The writing becomes a little like poetry in its brevit)' and compression, and the information conveyed is always just the tip of the iceberg. To understand what it's like, turn off the sound on the television and imagine what you'd write. It's exhilarating and terrifying and a great privilege. Wliatever the medium, the power of writing comes in part from paying careful attention to the world around you and what you can learn from it. 99 •A)' ^'tf^'2?'-';

Let Me Hear You Whisper 323

Making Meanings (Scene First

3)

Thoughts

I.

If

Reading Check

you were Helen, would you leave the

job or would you stay?

On

a.

Why?

page 3

1

4,

why does

Helen become angry

at the

dolphin?

Shaping Interpretations 2.

b.

Why does using the

Miss Moray

word

tell

Helen to stop

change her mind? responses c.

to Miss Moray's story about Pussy Cat.

her sarcasm

her feelings toward 4.

How

find in

the folder that makes her

/c/7/?

3. Find three of Helen's sarcastic

What does

What does Helen

has Helen

tell

Why

does Dr. Crocus

want Helen to come back?

you about d.

ABADABA?

What does

Helen decide

to do?

changed

in

the course

of the teleplay? 5.

What do

you think happens to Helen after the teleplay ends?

many stories, one character is cast as a hero, and one person is the villain. The hero is called the protagonist. The villain is called the antagonist the one who tries to keep the hero from getting what he or she wants. In this play who is the hero, and who is the villain? In some stories the hero has both good and bad qualities, and the villain is not all bad. Discuss the way the hero and the villain are presented in this story is one all good and one all bad? How do you feel about the way Zindel

6. In

—

created the characters

this play?

in

Connecting with the Text 7.

Which you

character

feel

is

sort of

play

in this

like

you?

If

do you

identify with

you don't

—

that

identify with

is,

which one do

anyone, explain why.

Extending the Text 8.

Review the portion of the

TV documentary

"Touched by a Dolphin" (see

Connections on pages 321-323). Discuss connects with Zindel's

play.

How

all the ways the documentary do both the documentary and the play

connect with the theme "Talk to the Animals"? 9.

Describe Helen's two fantasies about the ways communication with dolphins could be used (pages 3 3 and 3 4—3 1

1

compare with what you wrote about

in

1

5).

How

do her

ideas

your Quickwrite (page 295)?

Challenging the Text 10.

What do you animals

324 Talk to the Animals

in

think

is

Zindel's

experiments?

How

perspective, or point of view, on using is it

different

from or

similar to yours?

Choices:

Building Your Portfolio

Writer's Notebook 1.

Collecting Ideas for a

How-To Essay In Let

Me

Hear You Whisper, Helen estab-

lishes a relationship with a dolphin.

selections

in this

In

other

collection, "Talk to the

Animals," you read about other relationships

between humans and animals. Draw several comic-strip panels showing one or more steps how-to process suggested by one of the topics below. (If you don't enjoy drawing, in

a

simply describe the steps

how how how how

• • •

•

in

the process.)

to be an animal's best friend

to go on a trip with your pet to learn about

from an animal

life

to train your pet

Supporting a Position

Research/Science

Expressing Your

Response 2.

To the Editor

Do you

3.

believe that people

always have the right to animals?

Is

right only

killing

to

animals

under certain

cumstances, or

wrong

kill

kill

is it

cir-

always

in

and Fiction

Brainstorm a

list

4.

of

Dear Mr. Zindel

questions you have about

On

dolphins after reading this

tells

teleplay. •

animals? Ex-

press your opinion

Fact

How

For example: intelligent are

Can dolphins

writing.

really learn

his

is.

read.

Write

to logic and to emotion to

dolphins for their possible

feel

persuade your readers to

usefulness to humans?

page 320 and

agree with you. For help

How

about

in

writing an essay supporting

•

has the information

been used?

just

a letter to

Zindel telling him

that appeal

his

Then, think

Have people ever studied

Use arguments

com-

about the play you have

to speak English?

school or local newspaper

Reread

main idea

a let•

what he is trying to young people in his

us

say to

ment, and decide what

dolphins?

ter to the editor of your

page 320 Paul Zindel

how you

about what he says on

his play.

how you

Do

feel

you think

he accomplishes what he

a position, see pages

Choose one or two ques-

says he'd like to accomplish?

160-164.

tions to research. Present

Be

your findings to the

what you

like

about

work.

class.

specific in telling

his

him

(or dislike)

Let Me Hear You Whisper 325

Grammar Link

MINI-LESSON

Using Commas with Interrupters

A

pair of

commas

interrupter

—

can be used to set off an

word, phrase, or clause

a

in

Try

the

It

Out

middle of a sentence that could be omitted

Copy

Handbook

without changing the basic meaning of the

tences, adding

HELP

sentence.

where needed before or

EXAMPLES

the interrupters.

See

Commas,

Moray asked Helen to

Miss

pages

clean

the laboratory.

the following sen-

commas after

Paul Zindel the writer of

1.

799-800. this teleplay,

Miss Moray, the supervisor, asked

new town

Helen to clean the laboratory.

moved

as a teenager.

2. His autobiography, Technology

HELP Workshop

Dolphins nurse their young.

Pigman and

Dolphins, which are mammals,

story of this move.

nurse their young.

See Language

3. Zindel,

entry:

commas that set off interrupters always come in pairs. Make sure to put commas both before and after

commas.

interrupter.

CD-ROM. Key word

Word Bank

*

termination ;

incessantly

1

officiously

;

macabre ;

reprimand discordant

1

I

nuance

\

lenient

:

When

did

make

friends at his

school.

you come across an unfamiliar word, you can apply several

strategies.

(

Search the word's context for specific clues.

)

Sound the word out

you are

familiar with. (3)

to see

Look

if it

at the

sounds (and looks)

word

like a

word's structure to see

if

you recognize any parts of the word. Of course, you should also determine the word's part of speech.

Go back to the text, and locate where Word Bank is used. Work with a partner clues that

bottom of the

a

page).

The

termination (noun): "ending"

Clues: The the

each of the words to see

would help you define the word

defined at the

Word:

dolphin

is

Also,

in

(p.

(if it

first

if

you can

in

the

find

any

weren't already

word

is

done

for you:

298).

uncomfortable when he hears the word;

word looks and sounds

fatal illness.

"terminates" people.

326 Talk to the Animals

shy didn't

Context: Finding Clucs to Meaning

(2)

apprehensively

who was

the

HOW TO OWN A WORD

',

\

tells

4. Zindel despite his fears,

an

new

I

compulsory

Me

The

think anyone liked him.

Like parentheses,

Vocabulary

to a

like terminal,

and a "terminal

the movie The Terminator, the

title

illness"

is

character

LI ^

4

uestions ASKED

The Naming of Cats EUot

T. S.

The Naming of Cats isn't just

It

is

I

a difficult matter,

#

one of your holiday games;

You may tliink at first I'm as mad as a hatter Wlien I tell you, a cat must have three different names. First

i ,

*

'

i

of all, there's the

as Plato,

But But

I

all

tell

Admetus,

1

.1

25

Demeter—

Electra,

i

of them sensible everyday names.

name that's particular, and more dignified,

you, a cat needs a

A name that's peculiar, Else how can he keep up his Or spread out Of names of this

20

that the family use daily.

Such as Peter, Augustus, Alonzo or James, Such as Victor or Jonathan, George or Bill BaileyAll of them sensible everyday names. There are fancier names if you think they sound sweeter. Some for the gentlemen, some for the dames: Such

15

name

tail

41

perpendicular.

his whiskers, or cherish his pride?

kind,

I

can give you a quorum,"

17.

quorum (kwor'am):

here, a select group.

Such as Munkustrap, Quaxo, or Coricopat, Such as Bombalurina, or else Jellylorum— Names that never belong to more than one cat. But above and beyond there's stiU one name left over, And that is the name that you never will guess; The name that no human research can discover But THE CAT HIMSELF KNOWS, and will never confess. When you notice a cat in profound meditation.

t

#

The reason, I tell you, is always the same; His mind is engaged in a rapt contemplation Of the thought, of the thought, of the thought of his name: 29. ineffable (in

His ineffable" effable

too

30

awesome

to

•

ef a

•

bal):

be spoken.

Effanineffable

Deep and

inscrutable" singular

Name.

31. inscrutable (in-skroot's-bal): mysterious; can't be understood

w

w

The Naming of Cats 327

#

Meet the Writer The

Poet's Secret

Name Is

"George Pushdragon."

Thomas Steams

.

.

That's the alias

888- 965) used when entering crossword competi tions it was also the name of one of Eliot

(

1

1

—

his

beloved

cats.

(Wiscus and Pettipaws

were others.) Eliot, an American who moved to England in 1914 and later became a British citizen, was a truly revolutionary poet

who won

Prize

composed the

in

1948. Eliot

a

Nobel

comic Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats for his godchildren and

—

perhaps for

drawing

his father,

who

liked

cats. Eliot himself loved

nonsense verse and music-hall shows, so he would probably have

wanted

a

front-row seat for the

smash Broadway is

based on

hit Cats,

his cat

which

poems.

Cat drawings by Edward Gorey from Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats by

328 Talk to the Animals

w

T. S. Eliot.

^p

A Boy and His Fawn Have you ever seen bring

it

home and

(Macmillan) fate.

— but

a baby animal

raise in

it?

available in the

the wild and wanted to

Jody Baxter does

the end he must decide

Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings

this novel, set

in

near her

home

won

in

The Yearling

his

tamed

a Pulitzer Prize in

fawn's

1939 for

in rural Florida. (This title

is

HRW Library.)

Homeward Bound If

you want to read more about

from

how

things might look

an animal's point of view, try The Incredible journey by

Sheila Burnford (Bantam).

Two dogs and

a cat brave the

hazards of the wilderness to find their way back to the

Compare the novel with Disney's 1993 Homeward Bound: The Incredible journey.

people they love. film version,

BUILDING YO UR ^ORTFOLPO tiifii

'i'A")

3NSOL-DF EXPOSITORY WRITING

HOW-TO ESSAY How

Assignment

How

Write an essay

loween costume for under ten

explaining, step-by-

from the Internet or program

step,

how

to

do

something.

do you make

questions

like

pizza?

can you put together a great Haldollars?

VCR?

a

these: questions about

to use something

most

effectively.

How

We how

do you download data often ask and answer to do something or

Such questions are best an-

swered through step-by-step instructions that explain

Aim To inform; to explain.

When more •

Audience

how

a

process.

you give how-to instructions, you should use one or

of the following three approaches:

Demonstrate

the process as you explain what you're doing.

You'd use this show-and-tell approach to teach a young

Your teacher or other adults, your classmates, or younger

cousin •

Show

how to

swing a baseball

The cartoon below relies Someone who can't word of English can follow

the process using pictures.

on pictures to explain

children. (You choose.)

bat.

a visual process.

read or doesn't understand a

these picture directions successfully. •

Explain the process using

words,

as

in

a set of written

directions or instructions. In this workshop you'll use the third approach: You'll write a how-to essay that provides clear, step-by-step instructions that tell

how

to perform a certain task.

^M^^m^^£ o CIRCLES

Dors

00 Qfn EYES

CURVED LIMES

IHil Jff II TRIAN«£

330 Talk to the Animals

—

-^

-i-

r

-+=-

1

'

The history niH of the writteni

word ii.]

y'-M

'^'^

Page

is

rich

ana '[Ay^Ffi

1

Prewriting 1.

Writer's

Notebook

Look over your Writer's Notebook entries for this collection. Does one of the how-to topics

come up with interest you enough to write about it? Do you know enough about the process to explain it to sonneone else? you've

2.

Searching for Topic Ideas

One •

of these strategies

Ask

friends or family

think you •

Keep

Do •

do

well.

may

give

members

you additional topic to

Then, add your

a journal for a day.

any of your ordinary

ideas:

name three

things they

own

activities.

"best"

Write down everything you activities

suggest a topic?

Take a walk through your home, and make a

list

of twenty

pieces of equipment that you use regularly (such as a

Do 3.

do.

any of them suggest a process you'd

like

VCR).

Strategies for

to explain?

Elaboration

Checking Your Topic

Exercise in

Observation

For each possible topic, ask yourself these questions:

something that

know

well

and can teach others to do?

•

Is

•

Can break the process down

•

Can

•

Will this process or activity interest

this

I

I

I

explain the activity

in

Take notes as you

observe someone (or into clear steps?

yourself!) completing

only three or four paragraphs?

my

audience?

a familiar process,

as those listed below.

Try to break 4.

Organizing Your Essay

Once •

process into

you've chosen a topic, think about these

What

two

questions:

steps.

Note

down its

in

the

separate

specific

details related to

are the different steps involved

such

each

the process? step.

•

What

materials, ingredients, equipment, or tools are needed?

one on page 332. Be sure to list the steps of your process in chronological order the exact order in time in which they must be followed. (You can make the order clear by using words like You can organize your information

—

first, next,

and

in

•

washing a car

•

doing a load of laundry

•

mowing

•

making an omelet

a chart like the

a lawn

last.)

Writer's

Workshop

331

How to Make a Cast of Animal

Strategies for

Elaboration

Use Clear Transitions •

Transitional

words

and phrases

(such as

next, then, after,

first,

later, finally, in

the

meantime, as soon

and

as,

at this point) are

essential for guiding

readers through a process. •

Specific

time mark-

ers (such

as

in five

minutes and the next day) let readers

how

know

long each step

takes or

when

to

begin the next step.

Tracks

student Model

Framework for a How-To Essay

How TO Have a Snake as a Pet In this paper

I

am

going to

tell

you,

from experience, how to have a snake as a pet. I will tell you where to find a snake, what equipment you need, and how to take care of your snake. If you ever consider having a snake as a

pet,

The

/ntroduct/on

Introduction

sets forth

•

Grabs reader's attention

•

Identifies

•

Lists

purpose of

thing you have to do

is

in

the body of the essay) is

Step

1:

finding

a hard task, hut the best place to look for a snake is in a store that sells exotic animals. These animals include everything most people woxild not want for a pet, like lizards, frogs, turtles, and sometimes spiders. Not only is this the best place to buy snakes, but it is

enake.

is

Body

a •

Step

I

Equipment in •

(if

•

(if

listed

Step 3

in

(if

not

listed

introduction)

[Add

Some people you meet there might even want to sell their snakes for much, much less than the

not

introduction)

Equipment

ing people.

listed

Step 2

in

detai\e.

not

introduction)

Equipment

Specific

also a cool place to talk to interest-

as

many

steps as

you need.]

Conc\u%\on

normal price. Snakes can be expensive, so you might want to start with something

Step 2:

small. Garter snakes go for about

snake.

if

equipment

with each step

listed

get a snake. Finding the right snake

ten dollars each, but

equipment needed

(unless the

take this advice seriously. first

process

essay.

•

Sums up the process

•

May

choosing a •

you have the

tell

process

May

why is

the

useful

explain

how

to

solve possible problems

money

to spend and feel strongly about having a snake, the ball python or any other type of python

a good choice. (Of course, you want a nice, nonpoisonous snake.) The next thing to do is to find a terrarium, which is a glass enclosed box. These are expensive, and the biggest problem in getting a large snake is that the bigger the terrarium (obviously), the more expenis

Step

3:

getting your e(\uipment.

your project will be. Next you need a water bowl for drinking and sive

(continued on next page)

Writer's

Workshop 333

Student Model (continued)

Evaluation Criteria

A good how-to essay

for fish-eating snakes like the garter

snake.

has an introduction that

1.

identifies the process

and

presents each step in

find identifies all necessary

uses transitions skillfully to

show chronological

order 5.

is

clear

and easy

die.

Important point.

To

what temperature you need,

ask the people at the store. The final thing that you need is a shelter or a place for the snakes to hide in. Finally, you should clean out your terrarium whenever it gets dirty and feed your snake about every two weeks.

materials or tools 4.

need bark for

exact temperature or they

chronological order 3.

will also

up lander the terrarium. All snakes have to have their terrariums at an

grabs readers' interest 2.

You

the ground and a heater pad to set

to follow

Overall,

I

think you will find

5tep

4:

caring for

your enake.

Conclusion.

that snakes are the coolest, the

Proofreading Tip

funniest,

and the

take care

of.

As you proofread, check

—Joshua Nichols

your use of commas

Pacific •

with items

•

with interrupters

•

with conjunctions that

in

easiest animals to

Academy Preparatory School

Richmond, California

a series

Evaluating and Revising

combine sentences

1.

Self Evaluation

Reread your

first draft,

checking to be sure you've met

Evaluation Criteria on the

2.

all

the

left.

Peer Review

CommuniGatlons

Handbook

Exchange papers with a partner. As you read your partner's

HELP

essay, imagine that you're actually

doing the

activity,

or take the

home and try to follow the steps yourself. Give your partfeedback: Were you successful in carrying out the process?

essay See Proofreaders' Marks.

ner

Are there any steps or details that aren't absolutely you have any unanswered questions?

Publishing Tip

As

a class, sort

your

papers into subject areas

5H0UJ ME WHERE YOU SPRINKLE IN THE LITTLE CURVY MARKS..

YOU PROBABLY SHOULD 5TARTANEWPARA6RAPH MERE, ANP THEN MAYBE

—

CAPITALIZE THIS WORP.,

ur-

(science, art, sports, etc.).

into

Bind the essays

how-to anthologies. Peanuts reprinted by permission of UFS,

334 Talk to the Animals

Inc.

clear?

Do

BUILDING YOUR PORTFOLIO

^^^'t^^' Combining Sentences Two

sentences that express closely related ideas can be connected

with a

comma

Language Handbook

and and,

but,

or

or.

By combining sentences

in this

HELP

way, you help your reader see their relationship. See

The rich man saw all the doctors them could cure his disease.

in

the

city.

None

COMBINED The rich man saw all the doctors of them could cure his disease.

in

the

city,

but none

ORIGINAL

of

Combining

Sentences,

pages 789-791.

Technology

ORIGINAL

The

sled flew off the

edge of the gully Paulsen

fell

HELP

onto

the ice below.

COMBINED The

onto the ORIGINAL

See Language Workshop

sled flew off the

edge of the

and

Paulsen

CD-ROM.

fell

Crocus

kill

his

life

Try

him anyway? talking,

or

don't confuse your reader by combining 1

didn't like Zindel's play Let

Hear You Whisper,

I

didn't like Zindel's play Let

but

his

novel The Pigman

is

Me

2.

Ask

intelligent.

are learning

more

Do you know how dolphins Do you know how bats

favorite

3.

Follow-up: Revising Do

S.

Eliot

know

your sentences flow, or do

they sound choppy? Ask your partner to point out sections

seem awkward. Then, look over your paper again. See any sentences could be combined to improve the flow or make the connections between ideas clear

T

use

use

wrote a book of

poems about

your how-to essay aloud to you. Listen

to the sound of your writing:

that

Dolphins are very

echolocation?

Workshop

a classmate to read

but,

echolocation to communicate?

books.

Writer's

and and,

about them.

Hear You Whisper,

one of my

pair of sentences

comma

or.

Humans

Me

but he also wrote the novel The Pigman.

RELATED

entry:

Out

by adding a

sentences that are not closely related. I

It

Combine each

will

or

UNRELATED

word

by talking? Will

COMBINED Has the dolphin saved his life by Dr. Crocus kill him anyway?

Make sure you

At')'

combining sentences

ice below.

Has the dolphin saved Dr.

gully,

a 4.

if

it

cats.

He

didn't

would be turned

Broadway

Would you Would you

into

musical. like a

cat for a pet?

prefer either a

dog, a bird, or a hamster?

Sentence Workshop 335

Situation

Suppose that while reading newspaper, you

two

come

a

across

letters to the editor

about using animals research.

What

medical

in

strategies

can you use to evaluate the

arguments?

Strategies

Recognize a argument. •

A

logical

logical

argument

is

based

on correct reasoning.

When

you argue

logically,

you present reasons or opinions backed up by

facts.

Recognize the writer's aim. •

Writers often use a

logical

argument to persuade you to think or act

in

a certain way.

Identify two common ways of organizing and

presenting ideas to support

arguments. •

Understand induction. Induction goes from the

specific to the general. In

inductive reasoning

the writer starts with a series of specific facts or

observations.

From

this

evidence the writer makes a generalization

—

a general

conclusion that covers

many

situations.

Problem

researching, for instance,

We

"What's

humans

this planet.

aren't alone

We

share

on

millions of different species

important are animals

How

them?

in

this project

our

we treat we learn

you want to do

if

on your own or

can

from them?

visuals (text, photos, drawings,

a live

performance or create

an interactive computer presentation. (For help, see

with a group.

pages 719-721.)

should

What

sound (music, readings) and other graphics). You might do

of an armadillo?"

Decide

4.

How

of animals and plants.

lives?

life

with

it

a typical day in the

Procedure 2.

Find reliable sources of

1.

Children's

Write an

information. You can a fable,

Project

discover information on

Research any topic about animals that interests you. Share your findings with your classmates and your

the Internet,

community.

(a

mentaries, and

Get together with

TV in

docu-

ings,

veterinarian or an animal

trainer),

conduct

or

government

call

a

a group, 2. Put

it all

specific

as the following:

a survey,

together Select a audience and a

interest-

pets and older people

preparing graphics (draw-

•

little-known facts about

appropriate information

ings, charts,

time

lines,

Consider

graphs, maps,

flowcharts) to

convey some of your

Once

topic, brainstorm questions

related to that topic. 3.

facts.

in

you've selected a

Then, focus on one

specific

question that you'd enjoy

About Animals:

Illustrate

for animal owners.

dogs and

problems

that deal with animals; and a list

of

recommended books

and Internet sources.

Processing

Choose one

project.

of the following

formats or another that your teacher approves.

Share your findings

in

a multi-

on

a brief reflection

this

You might use one of

these starters: •

Multimedia Presentation

cats; a directory of

caregivers and organizations

Write

.

You might

include local animal regula-

Presentation

I

and publish a guide

choose the most

•

animal myths

3. All

A Guide for Owners

with animals, including stray

for your audience.

•

photos, or cartoons.

tions; a discussion of

movies

literature

book with draw-

presentation format. Then,

ing,

well-known animals

2.

office.

training animals for the

famous animals

the

also interview an expert

topics about animals, such

•

(factual)

children of a specific age group.

books Illustrate

and brainstorm possible

•

original animal story,

or a nonfiction

book. Write your book for

and magazines. You might

Preparation 1 .

in

Book

I

discovered

.

.

•

The most fun was

•

The hardest

part

.

.

.

was

.

.

media presentation combining

Learning for

Life

337

In spite of everything, I still believe that people are really good at heart.

—Anne Frank July

m/

1

15,

1944

yy Ay /

Watercolor (1944) by Nely

Camp,

Silvinova, age 12, Theresienstadt

Terezin, Czechoslovakia.

The

artist died

Concentration

before her thirteenth birthday.

339

DRAMA:

Literature in Action by Robert Additional problems, or

A Shared Experience

complications, Literature of

all

kinds can help

us see, explore, and

know

come

to

greatest emotional intensity, is

Drama speaks

a unique way:

As

to us

in

"literature

reached.

it

brings a story to

in

are involved

bringing a playwright's

to

life in

a theater

part of the

life

before our eyes.

Many people

The climax

The pro-

ducer, the director, the ac-

play,

fol-

where

resolved and

the conflict

is

the story

brought to a

in

work

is

close.

is

These steps

—

conflict,

complications, climax, and resolution

—

mem-

audience share

bers of the

basic dramatic principles.

The Principles You can

writer.

principles at

at

Work

easily

recognize these

work

in

TV

The

first

this typical plot.

in

work (whether movie, or a

TV

it's

a play, a

program)

is:

Who wants what? You'll find that the character

something

is

A

lawyer

luck gets

thinking about a dramatic

who wants

opposed by an-

other character or a force. the source

This opposition

is

of the conflict.

The person

proves he

Resolution

The The

jury acquits her client. conflict

lawyer

characters:

life,

who one

is

down on her

last

chance to

prove her worth, by defending a shady-looking client.

If

diffi-

some-

love, family

pride, anything that

she

loses this case, she's through.

arise

While hunting down important

pre-

crisis

may

because the characters

remove

Complications

is

The

want something for which they must struggle with someone else or with themselves. The crisis may also arise because the characters want to a threat to their

safety or happiness.

testimony, she finds that her life is

threatened. At the

same

Making a Change

tion of the play as he or she

both

Still Believe

danger or

culty that places at risk

Most

I

The

resolved:

Every play centers on a crisis,

own doubts about her

340

is

back on top of her

Characters in Crisis

time she must overcome her

the conflict.

is

profession.

with the "want" drives the ac-

tries to resolve

lying.

is

cious to them.

Conflict

question to ask

scene, she brilliantly

cross-examines a witness and

thing of great value to the

shows and movies. Consider

Principles

room

a dramatic court-

a situation of

the act of creation with the

The Basic Dramatic

Finally, in

are called the

tors, the set and lighting

designers, even the

Climax

lowed by the resolution, the final

action,"

then

moment of

the climax, the

ourselves and our

world.

arise;

Anderson

innocence.

client's

plays are in

about change,

the characters and

their relationships.

These

in

changes

come about work out

characters

more

their

see several of the characters

conflicts develop.

change as

conflicts. In

We

as the

the play you are about to

a result,

some

read. The Diary of Anne Frank,

erous, others pettier and

more

dangerous hiding

situation.

in

a

in

a

in Amsterdam durWorld War What is their primary "want"? They want to survive until the

ing

Netherlands.

Under the pressure of the situation, however, many

the future.

Diary of Anne Franl< performed

know what happened to Anne who shared 342-343.) This knowledge

Knowing the Future

II.

Nazis are driven out of the

sometimes, in

her hiding place. (See pages

Dramatic Irony:

small attic

including,

and the others

self-centered.

They are

from the Nazis

—

Most people who see The

be-

coming wiser and more gen-

several characters are

know

what awaits them

Irony

is

between

a contrast

expectation and

reality.

Dramatic irony occurs when the people watching a play know something that the

lends dramatic irony to everything that

onstage

is

said

—the

concerns that

and done and

conflicts will

vanish

in

the face of tragedy, the hopes

and plans that

become

will

never

reality.

characters onstage do not

The Shoclc of Recognition Stage Set for The Diary of Anne Frank if

The Secret

entrance

a play succeeds,

what has been

we

feel

called "the

Van Daans' Upstage

room

shock of recognition."

When

the foolish behavior of a Peter's

room

character onstage reminds us of ourselves or people

know,

we

guish or

laugh.

When

the an-

sorrow expressed by mind

a character calls to

painful

we

memory, we

When we

share

in

a

cry.

the laugh-

ter and tears of other people in

the audience,

we know we

are not alone.

Main room

Downstage

Anne's

room

Elements of Literature: Drama 34

Before You Read The Diary of Anne Frank Make the Connection

entertainment. Jews

A True Story

take part

hope shall be able to confide in you completely, as have never been able to do in

hockey

44

Swimming

I

I

anyone before, and you

will

I

tians.

1942 with sto-

ries of boyfriends, parties,

later, just

captured and imprisoned

in

a

1942.

in

in

Anne Frank was born in

fled: first

the war,

began rounding up Jews and

them to concencamps and death camps, where prisoners died from overwork, starvation, or disease, or were murdered in transporting

1929.

Am-

by the arrival of the Germans,

which

is

when

the sufferings

of us Jews really began. Anti-

Jewish decrees followed each

to escape the anti-Jewish

other

measures being introduced

in

in

quick succession. Jews

must wear

a yellow star, Jews

must hand

in

Amsterdam, Otto Frank, Anne's father, managed a company that sold pectin, a

Jews are banned from trains

making jams

Jews are only allowed to do

In

their bicycles,

and are forbidden to

gas chambers. Escaping Nazi-

occupied territory became nearly impossible. Like

other Jews trapped at the time,

drive. ily

and

jellies.

sister,

Anne and her

1940,

older

Margot, enjoyed a happy,

carefree childhood until

when

much

other German-

in

1

sterdam, the Netherlands,

in

and

tration

her family immigrated to

substance used

this

occupied countries, the Nazis

44 After May 940, good then the capitulation, followed

in

she was four years old,

Germany.

many more

the Netherlands grew

worse. As

times rapidly

Nazi concentration camp.

When

Anne Frank

closes

Germany,

Jews must go to Jewish

Soon, however, the situation

and

two years days before Anne is

Frankfurt,

Chris-

were forbidden to do that. But life went on in spite of it all. 99

girl

Frank. Anne's

life. It

visit

So we could not do

thirteen-year-old Jewish

school

prohibited to

restrictions of a similar kind.

So begins the diary of a

in

and other sports

all

schools, and

comfort to me. 99

diary opens

baths, tennis courts,

fields,

them. Jews may not

hope that

may not

public sports.

grounds are

I

be a great support and

named Anne

in

May

the Netherlands

capitulated (surrendered) to

the invading

German Army.

Anne wrote

in

their shopping

went

lucky, as

and in

five

Europe

Anne and her fam-

into hiding to avoid

capture. Others

between three

in

many

were not so

Anne knew:

o'clock and then only

shops which bear the plac-

Jews must be

ard 'Jewish shop.'

indoors by eight o'clock and

cannot even

sit in

their

own

44 Countless

friends and

acquaintances have gone to a terrible fate. Evening after

evening the green and gray

gardens after that hour Jews

army

lorries [trucks] trundle

the Nazi occupation that

are forbidden to

past.

The Germans

followed:

cinemas, and other places of

her diary about

visit

theaters,

every front door to inquire go.hrw.com

342

I

Still Believe

ring at

LEO 8-5

if

Europe Before World War

Elements of Literature

II

Flashback Most of this

play

told

is

in

the

form of an extended flashSOVIET

UNION

back, framed by opening and closing scenes set at a later

Warsaw

time.

POLAND

how

I

the frame gives the

audience important back-

C&UM

4

Normandy

As you read Scene

notice

Frankfurt^

ground information about the

C^fcHosLOVASX

"^-^

characters and their situation. N

FRANCE

v^^

AUSTRIA HUNGARY

SWITZERLAND

^q^^^,^

^

/\ flashback

YUGOSLAVIA 20G

400 Kilometers

BULGARIA

Also see the maps on page 4

is

an inter-

the present

in

action of a plot to

7.

1

ruption

show

events that happened at

an earlier time. there are any Jews house.

living in

the

other Jews

there are, then the

If

v^hole family has to go at once. If

they don't find any, they go

on to the next house.

No one

has a chance of evading them unless

one goes

family and four

lived for

For

more

two years hidden in a few cramped rooms (now known as "the Secret Annex") behind than

house. lists

In

Nazi police raided their hiding place and sent

they can get a good haul.

occupants to concentration

for cash

seems

let

them

—so much per

It

the slave hunts of

like

the evenings

olden times. ...

In

when

often see

it's

camps.

off

head.

dark,

I

in

the

charge of a couple of these chaps, bullied and

about

No

until

knocked

they almost drop.

—

Otto Frank

Germany

all

eight of

its

in

a

this

Anne's

diary.

As you she began her diary,

show

it

to anyone unless she found a "real friend."

Through

line, historical

photographs, and entries from

fifteen years

didn't intend to

re-

true story. They include a

map, a time

old.

Anne

many

sources supplying facts about

Anne camp in

called Bergen-

was

Dialogue with the Text: Using Resources This text includes

eight, only

survived.

died of typhus

When

chil-

dren, walking on and on,

Of the

Belsen. She

rows of good, innocent people accompanied by crying

Reading Skills

and Strategies

August 1944, the

and only ring when they know

Sometimes they

more on Flashback, see the

Har)dbook of Literary Terms.

Mr. Frank's office and ware-

into hiding.

Often they go around with

The Frank

its

read, jot

down your

thoughts and feelings about the characters and what ing to

is

them. Be sure to note

where the background

dozens of translations and the

happen-

sources

in

re-

the text help you to

old people,

stage adaptation you are about

understand the play The com-

babies, expectant mothers, the

to read, Anne's diary has found

ments on page 348 show one

one

is

spared

—each and

sick

join in the

all

march of death. 99

her generations of friends

all

student's thoughts.

over the world.

The Diary of Anne Frank 343

vjo^iLD ^ June

1

2:

Anne Frank

is

born

in

Frankfurt,

v^j^j-r

1929

Germany.

1930

The National

Socialist

(Nazi) party begins

1932

its

German Workers' rise to power. The

Nazis proclaim the superiority of the Ger-

man "master race" and blame Jews for the German defeat in World War and for the I

Anne

The Franks decide to

troubled economy.

in 1933-

leave

Germany

1933

to

escape Nazi persecution. While Mr. Frank looks for a

new home

in

government) of Germany.

Amsterdam, the

Netherlands, the rest of the family stays with relatives

in

January 30: The Nazi party leader, Adolf Hitler, becomes chancellor (head of the

March

Aachen, Germany.

tration

0: The first concencamp is established by 1

the Nazis, at Dachau, Germany. April: first

The Nazis

pass their

anti-Jewish law, banning

the public employment of Jews.

Adolf Hitler

1934 1935

September

15:

The Nuremberg Laws are German citizenship

passed, denying Jews

and forbidding marriage between Jews and non-Jews.

Anne ifith her father at Miep Santrouschitz and Jan Gies's wedding.

1936

Summer: The

1937

Van Daans

in

Van

25:

Germany and

Italy

form an

alliance (the Axis).

Pels family (called the

Anne's diary) flee

October

Germany

for the Netherlands.

December Dussel

in

8: Fritz Pfeffer (called

Anne's diary) flees

Albert

Germany

for

the Netherlands.

1938

March 12-13: The German Army

September 29-30: The Munich Anne playing tvitb

her

Ledennann Amsterdam.

ment, granting

Germany

part of Czechoslovakia,

friend Sanne in

invades

and annexes Austria. Agree-

the right to annex

is

drafted and

signed by representatives from France,

Great

Britain, Italy,

November

and Germany.

9-10: Kristallnacht (Night of

the Broken Glass). Led by the SS, the Nazi The Granger

special police,

Germans beat and

kill

Jews,

Collection,

New York.

loot Jewish stores, and burn synagogues.

d

I

ENTS

jTDmiJ

^:h]^r}iA^nc'uj,m^:^ 1939

March: Germany invades and occupies most of Czechoslovakia.

September

I:

Germany

invades Poland.

France and Great Britain declare war on

Germany two

1940

days

later.

Spring: Germany invades Denmark, Norway, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxem-

bourg, and France.

September

1941

Anne, second

from

\^f~

left,

27: Japan joins the Axis.

June 22: Germany

invades the Soviet

Union.

with friends on her tenth

December: The

birthday-

war on the

The Granger

cluding Great Britain, the Soviet Union,

Collection,

United States enters the

side of the Allied nations (in-

and other countries) after Japan attacks the

New York,

U.S. naval base at Pearl

June

1

2:

Anne

1942

receives a diary for her

thirteenth birthday.

July 6:

The Franks go

Pels family joins

November

them one week

16: Fritz Pfeffer

murdered. Construction of death camps, equipped with gas chambers and huge incinerators for mass

later.

begins

becomes the

in

<^

1943 1944

4: Nazi police raid the Secret

June

forces land

tration camps.

in

December

will die in

these camps.

in

Normandy,

northern France, and

launch an invasion of

Pels dies in Auschwitz.

western Europe. 20: Fritz Pfeffer dies

in

Bombing of Hiroshima.

Neuengamme. Anne's mother, Edith Frank, dies

1945

in

May

8:

The war

in

Europe

Auschwitz. Three weeks later Otto Frank

ends with Germany's

when Auschwitz is liberated by the Soviet Army Anne and Margot die in Bergen-

to the

Belsen a few weeks before British soldiers

August

1

Japanese

cities

is

and cremation,

6: D-day. Allied

Annex; the occupants are sent to concen-

September: Mr Van

killing

Poland. Millions of people (jews

and non-Jews)

eighth occupant of the Secret Annex.

August

January: The "Final Solution" is secretly announced at a conference of Nazi officials: Europe's Jews are to be "exterminated," or

into hiding after

Margot receives an order to appear for deportation to a labor camp in Germany. The Van

Harbor

freed

erate the camp. Peter Van Pels dies

hausen. Mrs. Van Pels dies

in

in

lib-

Maut-

Theresienstadt.

unconditional surrender Allies.

4: Japan surrenders after the United States drops atomic bombs on the

of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

The Diary of Anne Frank 345

*"

s

ffiRSS^fSS^S^iSSSei

•

S

^'/..

i

Ha

i

Anne. Dear Diary,

my name

si

is

:-1

/

A

h^-

^rank.

I

Anne

am

thirteen years old.

Yesterday Father told >",:

i?

<< •^

346

I

Still Believe

me we were

^oing into hiding.

VSS8SSK

I—-VV:>^

M

Mi-D

Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett

\^-<j

Characters Occupants of the Secret Annex: Anne Frank Margot Frank, her older sister Mr. Frank, their father Mrs. Frank, their mother

Peter Van

Daan

Mr. Van Daan, his father Mrs. Van Daan, his mother

Mr. Dussel, a dentist

Workers in Mr. Frank's Business: Miep Gies, a young Dutchwoman Mr. Kraler,' a Dutchman

^

Setting: Amsterdam, the Netherlands, July 1942 to August

^

1944;

«

November

1.

Miep Gies (mep

2.

Kraler

1945.

khes).

(krii'lar).

- »<>-~./\-~?JllA/W^r»,

-.

^*

W

tyjotyvys—

PtfT jwg'tMHi

'^f

The Diary of Anne Frank 347

Act

One

SCENE Dialogue with the Text I

forgot the proper

comparison: is

name

''roof of

of this

the building

outlined against a sea of other

rooftops."

"Marching feet." Are there soldiers around here?

What

cana\

is it?

Why

are the windows painted or

1

The scene remains the same throughout the play. It is the top floor of a warehouse and office building in Amsterdam, Holland. The sharply peaked roof of the building is outlined against a sea of other rooftops stretching away into the distance. Nearby is the belfry of a church toiver, the Westertoren, whose carillon rings out the hours. Occasionally faint sounds float up from below: the voices of children playing in the street, the tramp of marching feet, a boat whistle from the canal.'^ The three rooms of the top floor and a small attic space above are exposed to our view. The largest of the rooms is in the center, ivith two small rooms, slightly raised, on either side. On the right is a bathroom, out of sight. A narrow, steep flight of stairs at the back leads up to the attic. The rooms are sparsely furnished, with a few chairs, cots, a table or two. The windows are painted over or covered with makeshift blackout curtains. In the main room there a sink, a gas ring for cooking, and a wood-burning

covered?

is

stove for warmth.

Why

is

the door concealed with a

bookcase?

The room on the left is hardly more than a closet. There is a skylight in the sloping ceiling. Directly under this room is a small, steep stainvell. with steps leading down to a door This is the only entrance from the building below. Wfjen the door is opened, we see that it has been concealed on the outer side by a bookcase attached to it. The curtain rises on an empty stage. It is late afternoon, November 1945.

The rooms are dusty, the curtains in

rags.

Chairs

and

tables are overturned.

This

must

be the owner of the

place.

The door at the foot of the small stainvell swings open. Up the steps into view. He is a gentle, cultured European in his middle years. There is still a trace of a German accent in his speech. He stands looking slowly around, making a supreme effort at self-control. He is weak, ill. His clothes are threadMR. FRANK couies

bare.

After a second he drops his rucksack

on the couch and

Marina Pecson Traner Middle School Reno, Nevada

348

I

Still Believe

carillon (kar'9-lan'): set of bells each of which produces a single tone. canal: artificial waterway. Amsterdam, which was built on soggy ground, has more than one hundred canals, built to help drain the land. The canals are used like streets. 3.

4.

moves slowly about. He opens

the

door to one

and then abruptly closes turning away. He goes to the win-

of the smaller roonis it

again,

nant.

Her

toward MR. frank

attitude

is

protec-

compassionate.

tii 'e,

dow

at the back, looking off at the Westertoren as its carillo)i strikes the hour of six;

Miep. Are you all right, Mr Frank? Mr. Frank (quickly controlling himself).

then he mores restlessly on.

Miep, yes.

From

the street below

a barrel organ There

is

nail. MR.

neck.

eye

is

and

we hear the sound of

children 's voices at play.

a many-colored scarf hanging from a FRANK takes

As he

it

putting

it

around

his

back for his rucksack, his caught by something lying on the floor starts

a woman's white glove. He holds it in his hand and suddoily all of his self-control is gone. He breaks down crying. We hear footsteps on the stairs, miep gies It is

comes up. looking for MR. frank, miep is a Dutchivoman of about twenty-two. She wears a coat and hat. ready to go honw. She is preg-

_-f

Miep. Everyone .

.

.

has gone home.

pleading) Don't stay up Frank. What's the use of torturing

after six. (Then,

It's

here,

in the office

Yes,

Mr

yourself like this?

Mr. Frank.

I've

come

to say

goodbye

.

.

.I'm

leaving here, Miep.

Miep. What do you mean? Wliere are you going? Where? Mr. Frank. I don't know yet. I haven't decided. Miep. Mr Frank, you can't leave here! This is your home! Amsterdam is your home. Your business

here, waiting for you.

is

needed here.

.

.

Now

.

there are things that

Mr. Frank.

.

.

something

out there

.

.

.

.

.

suffering

we

is

over,

.

Amsterdam, Miep. It me. Everywhere, the house we lived in

.

.

.

.

.

for

that street organ playing

a bitter old

.

.

.

.

.

Miep. No. No. say

war

You're

man. {Breaking I shouldn't speak to you like all that you did for us the

after .

.

.I'm not the person you used to

.

know, Miep. I'm off) Forgive me. this

that the

.

can't stay in

I

the school

.

.

many memories

has too there's

.

.

It

wasn't suffering. You can't

suffered. (As she speaks, she straight-

ens a chair which

Mr. Frank.

is

overturned.)

know what you went

1

through,

you and Mr Kraler I'll remember it as long as I live. (He gives one last look around.) Come, Miep. (He starts for the steps, then remembers his rucksack, going back to get it.) Miep (hurrying up to a cupbocnxl). Mr. Frank, did you see? There are some of your papers here. (She brings a bundle of papers to hi)n.) We found them in a heap of rubbish on the floor after after you left. Mr. Frank. Burn them. (He opens his ruck.

.

.

sack to put the glove in

it.)

The Diary of Anne Frank, Act One 349

Miep. But, Mr. Frank, there are letters, notes Mr. Frank. Burn them. All of them. Miep. Burn tbis'^ {She hands him a paper.

.

.

bound notebook.} Mr. Frank iquietly). Anne's diary. (He opens the diary and begins to read.) "Monday, the of

sixth

nineteen

July,

fort)'-two."' {To miep) Nine-

teen forty-two.

Is it

possi-

an automobile or even on a streetcar, and a million other things. But

managed to have me we were going wouldn't

say.

At

me

Mother woke

somehow we children

fun. Yesterday Father told

still

and

morning to hurr)' and get was to put on as

o'clock

told

me

dressed.

r

Where, he

into hiding.

five

many

1

tliis

clothes as

I

could.

It

would look too suspicious

we walked

Only three years ago. {As he continues his reading, he sits down

ing suitcases.

It

we were on

our way that

on

I

Miep?

ble,

.

.

if

.

the couch.) "Dear Diary,

you and I are going to

since

be great friends, I will start by telling you about my-

My name is Anne Frank. I am thirteen years self.

old.

was born

I

in

L

Germany to Holland

.

]

.

[During the last lines the curtain

dim

scene. The lights

until

and herbs.

nineteen

m SCENE

rises

on the

2

the Dutch capitula-

It is

early morning, fuly 1942. The

things got very bad for the Jews."

orderly.

MR. van daan,

FRANK '5 voice dies out anne'5 voice continslowly to darkness.

The curtain falls on the scene.}

Anne's Voice. You could not do this and you could not do that. They forced Father out of his business. We had to wear yellow stars. ^ I had to turn in my bike. I couldn't go to a Dutch school I

.

fort\.

Then

anymore.

.

.

Voice. "My father

bare, as before, but they are

dim

.

on. anne'5 voice fades

followed by the arrival of the Germans.

ues alone. The lights

in the

Father

.

tion,

[MR.

where

out]

started a business, importing spice

Then the war came, and

be upstairs

to

used to have his business. Three other people were coming in with us the Van Daans and their son Peter Father knew the Van Daans but we had never met them. .

if coming from the air It is anne'5 voice.

Things went well for us

was

.

{As MR. FRANK reads on, another voice Joins his,

and Anne's

where we were Our hiding place

learned

Miep Gies and Otto Frank.

my family is Jewish, we emigrated when Hitler came to power."

Mr. Frank

wasn't until

going.

building

the twelfth of June, nineteen twenty-nine. As

as

along carry-

couldn't go to the movies or ride in

a

tall,

portly

rooms are

now

clean

man

in his late

and

main room, pacing up and down, nervously smoking a cigarette. His

forties, is in the

clothes

and

overcoat are expensive

and

well

cut.

on the couch, clutching her possessions: a hatbox, bags, etc. She is a pretty woman in her early forties. She wears a fur coat over her other clothes. MRS. van

daan

sits

standing at the windoiv of the room on the right, looking down at the peter van daan

yellow

stars: The Nazis ordered all Jews to sew a large David (a six-pointed star) on their outer clothing so that they could be easily recognized as Jews. 5.

Star of

350

I

Still Believe

street below. teen.

He

is

is

He wears a

a

awkward boy of sixa raincoat, and long

shy,

cap,

Dutch

trousers, like plus fours.

black case, a carrier for his

The yellow Star of David all of their clothes.

'

At his feet

is

a

cat. is

seven o'clock. He said

.

.

etc.,

Mr.

Van Daan. They have two can't expect

.

miles to walk.

.

Van Daan. They've been picked

Mrs.

up. That's what's happened. They've

taken [MR.

.

.

see?

and his school bag, main room as MR. frank stairwell from below. MR. frank

up

his carrier

and goes into

the

comes up the looks much younger now. His nun>ements are

manner confident. He wears an overcoat and carries his hat and a small cardboard Ijox. He crosses to the van daans, brisk,

his

shaking hands with each of them.]

.

You

.

Van Daan. You

[PETER takes

conspicuous on

Mrs. Van Daan (rising, nervous, excited). Somethings happened to them! I know it! Mr. Van Daan. Now, Kerii! Mrs. Van Daan. Mr. Frank said they'd be here at

Mr.

Mr. Frank. Mrs. Van Daan, Mr. Van Daan, Peter. (Then, in expUniation of their lateness) There were too many of the Green Police on

been 7.

.

Green

Police: Nazi police,

who wore

green uniforms.

VAN DAAN Indicates that he hears someone

Words to Own

coming.]

conspicuous (lon-spik'yoo-as) 6.

plus fours: baggy trousers that end

tlie

knees.

in cuffs just

below

adj.:

obvious; notice-

able.

Scene from the movie The Diary of Anne Frank ( 959), starring Millie Perkins as Anne. Other scenes from the movie appear throughout the play. 1

The Diary OF Anne Frank, Act One 351

we had

the streets

to take the long

way

around.

.

[Up the steps come margot erank, mrs. frank, and mr. kraler. All of them cany bags, packages, and so forth. The

MiEP (not pregnant now),

Star of

David

conspicuous on

is

all

of the

down

and

ration books, they'll

Mr. Kraler. There anything

go Upstage to put frank turns back to

call ANNE.]

.

.

the stairs. She

is thir-

quick in her movenwnts. interested in everything, mercurial^ in her emotions. She teen,

wears a cape and long wool socks and carries a school bag.] Mr.

(to mr. kraler).

Mr. Frank. We won't be cording to regulations.

from

his pockets,

Mr. Kraler. This

Anne.

who are

.

little

.

curtsy as she shakes

Then she immediately

MR. VAN daan'5 hand.

tour of investigation of her

on a neiv home, going upstairs

starts off

MIEP

.

.

[ANNE gives a polite

and

to the attic

on

Mr. Kraler. I'm sorry there

the shelves.] is

still

so

Frank. This .

.

.

is

then, the

done anything

living

illegal.

here exactly ac-

handing them

helping

and

to her]

confusion.

Mr. Frank. Please. Don't think of it. After all, we'll have plenty' of leisure to arrange every-

the black market,'" Mrs.

all

call

[The carillon

hour before

of the hundreds and hundreds

is

heard playing the quarter-

eight,

mr. kraler looks at his

watch. ANNE stops at the

Anne.

the white market

hiding out in Amsterdam.

It's

window

as she

stairs.]

the Westertoren!

Mr. Kraler.

much

isn't

what we

comes down the

room.

MR. kraler are putting the various

things they have brought

It's illegal,

Together

various small things, such as matches

and Mrs. Van Daan (mrs. frank hurries over, shaking hands with them.) my daughters, Margot and their son, Peter .

i

wife,

Edith. Mr.

.

we're

[As MR. kraler reassures mrs. frank, he takes

soap,

Frank (introducing them). My

know

.

ration books? 'We've never

up

they see our

isn't

Miep. Don't worry. Your names won't be on them. {As she hurries out) I'll be up later. Mr. Frank. Thank you, Miep. Mrs. Frank

Mrs. Frank. Anne? [ANNE comes running

If

here.

MIEP

their parcels, mrs.

.

for you.

names on

pendable, kindly. MR. KRALER

.

Mrs. Van Daan. Ration books?

MARGOT is eighteen, beautiful, quiet, shy. mrs. frank is a young mother, gently bred, reserved. She, like mr. frank, has a slight German accent mr. kraler is a Dutchnuni, deFRANKS' clothing.

As

Mrs. Frank. Thank you, Miep. the way Mr. Miep. I made up the beds Frank and Mr. Kraler said. (She starts out.) Forgive me. I have to hurry. I've got to go to the other side of town to get some ration books

I

must be out of here the office before the work-

must

go.

I

and downstairs in men get here. (He starts for the stairs leading out.) Miep or I, or both of us, will be up each day to bring you food and news and find out

thing ourselves.

Miep (to

MRS. frank).

We put the stores of food 9.

you sent

in here.

Your drugs are here

soap, linen here.

.

.

.

ration books: books of stamps or coupons issued by

the government during wartime. People could purchase scarce items such as food, clothing, and gasoline only with

these coupons. 8.

mercurial (mar- kyoor'e

352

I

Still Believe

•

al):

changeable.

10. black market: place or system for buying and goods illegall), without ration stamps.

selling

what your needs

are.

Tomorrow

It

needs

a bolt that

you

get

I'll

better bolt for the door at the foot of the

a

stairs.

you can throw yourself and

open only at our signal. (7b MR. frank) Oh You'll tell them about the noise? Mr. Frank. Ill tell them. Mr. Kraler. Goodbye, then, for the moment. I'll come up again, after the workmen leave. Mr. Frank. Goodbye, Mr Kraler Mrs. Frank (shaking his hand). How can we .

.

Mr. Kraler.

when

removed

a

never thought

man

like Mr.

I'd live

to see the

Frank would have to

down

anxiously.]

noise? First let

us take off

some of

these clothes.

evening

me, the w.c.

.

.

.

trash

/

up here

frank are paring. /

.

.

We

.

No

.

live until

is

living

not even a potato must burn everything .

in the stove at night. This

we must

.

must ever be thrown out which

might reveal that someone

sweaters, extra dresses, bathrobes, aprons,

it

is

over,

is if

the

we

way

are to

survive.

etc.]

Mr. 'Van Daan.

It's

a

wonder we weren't

walking along the streets

ronella with a fur coat in July

of Peter's crying

Anne A cat?

The pipes go down It would be heard. No

structions to the group.)

/

rested,

must not

use the sink or even,

the right to look down out of the window. ANNE runs after him, peering out with him. The tramping feet pass without stoppi>ig. The tens/on is relieved, mr. frank, ^ .^^ followed by anne, returns to the main room and resumes his in-

wear several things:

nightgowns,

it

We

lyzed with fear mr. frank ^oe5 quietly into the

underdressed quite simply. The others

when

only

We

be

until

trash (MR. FRANK stops abruptly as he hears the sound of marchi)ig feet from the street below. Everyone is moticmless, para-

^

another yellow Star of

and mrs.

morning

a whisper.

We cannot

through the workrooms.

\

David. MR.

five-thirty. So, to

we must move

must not speak above

their coats, sweaters, blouses, suits, is

about

necessary, and then in stockinged feet.

is

\

[They all start to take off garmerit after garment On each of dresses

at

room on

Mrs. Frank. What did he mean, about the Mr. Frank.

workrooms but in The men come at about eight-

and leave

forgive

going out MR. frank follows him down the steps, bolting the door after him. In the interval before he returns, peter goes over to margot, shaking hands with her As MR. FRANK cotues back up the steps, mrs.

him

to speak.]

there, not only in the

the offices too.

run any water.

off,

FRANK questions

htm

Mr. Frank. Now. About the noise. Wliile the men are in the building below, we must have complete quiet. Every sound can be heard

six in the

go into hiding. Wlien you think [He breaks

have

their surplus clothes, they look to

MR. FRANK, Waiting for

perfectly safe, from eight in the

murmur their goodbyes.] I

on three more.

[She pulls off two more. Finally, as they all

thirty

[The others

right. I've got

It's all

.

thank you?

day

Anne.

{as she

is

all

.

.

.

.

.

.

[There

Pet-

and that cat

the way.

removing a pair of panties).

Mrs. Frank (shocked). Anne, please!

is

silence for

a second.]

ar-

Mrs. Frank. Until it is over Mr. Frank (reassuringly). After six we can move about we can talk and laugh and have our supper and read and play games .

.

.

.

11.

W.C: short

for

"water

closet,"

or

.

.

toilet.

The Diary OF Anne Frank, Act One 353

just as

tvatch.) if

we

we would at home. iHe looks at his And now I think it would be wise went

all

and were

to our rooms,

settled

before eight o'clock. Mrs. Van Daan, you and

your husband will be upstairs.

no place up there

there's

I

regret that

for Peter. But

he

will

common

be here, near us. This will be our room, where well meet to talk and eat and read, like one family. Mr. Van Daan. And where do you and Mrs. Frank sleep?

Mr. Frank. This room is also our bedroom. Mrs. Van Daan. That isn't right.

We'U sleep here and you take the

room

Van Daan.

Mr.

Together

upstairs. It's

your place. I've thought

Mr. Frank. Please. weeks.

this

the best arrangement.

It's

out for

The only

arrangement.

Mrs. Van Daan (to MR. frank). Never, never can we thank )'ou. {Then, to mrs. frank) I don't know what would have happened to us, if it hadn't been for Mr. Frank. Mr. Frank. You don't know how your h vis-

band helped me when knowing no one .

.

.

.

came

1 .

.

to this country

not able to speak the

can never repay him for that. (Going to MR. VAN daan) May I help you with your things? Mr. Van Daan. No. No. (To mrs. van daan) language.

1

Come along, liefje. Mrs. Van Daan.

knew yet

1

it

be

all

right,

Peter?

Peter (embarrassed). Please, Mother.

frank

room

me

Mr. Frank. You too must have some rest, Edith. You didn't close your eyes last night. Nor you, Margot. slept,

Father.

glad,

Anne.

bed, and

Now you'll be

able

straighten things in here. (To mrs. .

.

.

You

Wasn't that funny?

the right.}

? Mrs. Frank. You're sure milk And Anne hasn't had her .

above, mr. frank turns to mrs. frank.]

1

my own

and margot) Come with me.

room on

Anne.

night in

and Margot rest in this room for the time being. (He picks up their clothes, starting for the

You're not afraid?

[They start up the stairs to the attic

last

slept soundly.

Mr. Frank. I'm to help

You'll

was the

.

.

I .

could help .

Mr. Frank. I'll give it to her. (To anne it's best that you peter) Anne, Peter off your shoes now, before you forget. leads the way to the room, followed by .

.

.

.

.

.

.

and take

(He mar-

1

got.)

12. lie^e (lef liya);

354

I

Dutch

Still Believe

for

"little

dear one."

Mrs. Frank. You're sure you're not Anne?

tired,

Anne.

I

Im going to help Father. Peter, Im glad you are to be with

feel fine.

Mrs. Frank.

...

Peter.

ways

You were albunch of kids. (He

in the schoolyard.

middle of

in the

a

us.

takes a penktiife from his pocket.)

Peter. Yes, Mrs. Frank.

Anne. Why

FRANK ^^Of tO join

[MRS.

iVlR.

A-

FRANK

and MARGOT.

During the following scene mr. frank helps MARGOT and MRS. FRANK to hang up their clothes. The)! he persuades them both to lie

down and

rest

The van daans, in their room

above, settle themselves. In the

main room

didn't

you ever come over?

Peter. I'm sort of a lone wolf. (He starts to rip off his Star of David.)

Anne. Wliat

are }'ou doing?

Peter. Taking

it

Anne. But you if

off can't

do

you go out without your

ANNE and PETER remove their shoes, peter takes his cat out of the carrier.]

Peter. "Wlio's going out?

Anne. What's your cat's name?

Anne.

Peter. Mouschi.

we

Anne. Mouschi! Mouschi! Mouschi! (She picks up the cat, walki)ig away with it To peter) I love cats. I have one ... a darling little cat. But they made me leave her behind. I left some food and a note for .

.

terribly.

is

yours?

A him

Of course them anymore. (She picks up his knife and starts to take her star off.) I wonder what our friends will think when we don't show up today? don't need

Peter.

like strangers.

from

her,

He

didn't have

I

any dates

with anyone.

Anne. Oh,

had a date with Jopie to go and play pingpong at her house. Do you ^ know Jopie de Waal?

or

a her?

Peter. He's a tom.

table.]

Wliy, of course! You're right!

.I'm going to miss her

What

star.

[He tosses his knife on the

the neighbors to take care of her.

you

that. They'll arrest

I

did.

I

Peter. No.

doesn't

Anne. Jopie s my best friend. I wonder what she'll think when

(He takes the cat it back in its

putting

carrier)

she telephones and there's no

Anne

answer?

(unabashed). Then I'll have to stop being a stranger, won't I? Is he fixed? Peter (startled). Huh?

Anne. Did you have him

der what

she'll

think

.

won-

I

.

we

.

we'd sud-

if

away

called

go

breakfast dishes in the sink

.

.

.

.

.

.

("Peter Van Daan")

Wliere did you go to school?

used to see you did?

.

beds not made (As she pulls off her star, the cloth underneath shows .

clearly the color

Peter. Jewish Secondary.

Anne. You

Probably

she'll

been

denly Peter Van Pels

It's

Anne. But that's where Margot and never saw you around. I

.

ever)'thing as

left

fixed?

Peter. No.

Peter.

.

over to the house. ...

Anne. Oh, you ought to have him fixed — to keep him from — you know, fighting.

.

.

.

sometimes

I

go!

I

14.

.

.

still

and form of the

there! (peter

.

.

star) Look!

goes over to the

Jopie de Waal (yo'pe da

stcjve

viil')

.

Words to Own unabashed

(un'a-basht')

adj.:

unembarrassed;

unashanned. 13.

Mouschi (moo -she).

The Diary OF Anne Frank, Act One 355

with his

star.) Wliat're

you going to do with

you open

yours? Peter. Burn

Anne. not.)

Mr. Frank. Annele,'^ there's a box there. Will

it.

{She starts to throiv hers

It's

funny,

I

in,

and

cant throw mine away.

I

it?

\He indicates a carton on the couch, anne can-

don

brings

the center table. In the street

to

it

t

below, there

is

the

know why. You

Peter.

can't

throw

branded you with

.

.

.

.

?

Something they That they made you .

?

.

wear so they could spit on you? Anne. I know. I know. But after all, of David, [In the

the Star

isn't it?

bedroom,

right,

Anne (as she opens the carton). You know the way

I'm going to think of

think of it is

margot and mrs. frank

are lying down. mr. frank starts quietly out]

sound of children playing.]

Maybe

[MR.

it's

different for a

FRANK comes iuto the

main room.]

Mr. Frank. Forgive me, Peter Now let me see. We must find a bed for your cat. {He goes to a cupboard.) Im glad you brought your cat.

was

T^nne

feeling so badh' about hers. {Getting

a used small washtub) Here we

are.

WUl

it

be

.

.

How wonderftil!

Mr. Frank. There's something more. Go on. Look further. (He goes over to the sink, pouring a glass of milk from a thermos bottle.)

Anne

out a pasteboard-bound (She throws her arms around

(pulling

book).

A

diary!

her father.)

I've

ways longed

And I've allooks around the

never had a

for one. (She

room.)

Peter (gathering up his things). Thanks. Mr. Frank (opening tlie door of the room on the left). And here is your room. But I warn you, Peter you can't grow anymore. Not an

starts

inch, or you'll have to sleep with your feet out

Anne

of the sk)iight. Are you hungry?

building now.

Peter. No.

Mr. Frank.

Mr. Frank. We have some bread and butter Peter. No, thank you. Mr. Frank. You can have it for luncheon then.

ever to go beyond that door.

first

.

.

.

our

supper together

Thanks. Thanks. (He goes into his room. During the following scene he arranges his possessions in his new room.)

Anne. He's Anne.

356

like

I

certainly

isn't

him,

hope

likely to see for

Still Believe

pencil,

the stairs.) I'm going

pencil.

(She

down

to the

Mr. Frank. Amie! No! (He goes after her, catching her by the arm and pulling her back.)

Anne

(startled). But there's

It

doesn't matter

(sobered). Never

.

.

I

.

no one don't

?

in the

want you

Not even

at

when everyone is gone? Or on Sundays? Can't go down to listen to the radio? Mr. Frank. Never am sorry, Anneke. It isn't nighttime,

I

I

safe.

No, you must never go beyond that door.

[For the first time anne realizes

what "going

into hiding" means.]

Peter

he? 15.

know.

so, since he's

the onh'

months and months.

FRANK stts down, taking off his shoes.]

I

down

pencil,

office to get a pencil.

Annele

"Annie

boy I'm [MR.

a nice boy,

awfully shy,

Mr. Frank. You'll

Pencil,

diary.

I

Peter.

Mr. Frank. That's

peculiar

the

like

comfortable in that?

And tonight we will have a real supper

A very

one that we (She breaks off as she pulls out some photographs.) Father! My movie stars! 1 was wondering where they were! I was looking for and Queen Wilhelthem this morning mina!

girl.

here? I'm going to

as a boardinghouse.

it

summer boardinghouse,

.

Peter.

it

(an'3-l3): Yiddish for

"little

Anne"

(like

").

16. Queen Wilhelmina (vil'hel me'na) (1880-1962): queen of the Netherlands from 1890 to 1948. 17. Anneke (iin'a-ka): another affectionate nickname for •

Anne.

Anne. I've never had a diary. I've

And

always

longed for one.

Anne.

member

see.

I

Mr. Frank.

be hard, I know. But always reAnneke. There are no walls, there are no bolts, no locks that anyone can put on your mind. Miep will bring us books.

member

We

It'll

this,

will read history, poetry, mythology.

iHe

gives her the glass of milk.) Here's your milk.

(With his

arm about Ijer, they go over to the down side by side.) As a matter

couch, sitting of

fact,

between

us,

Anne, being here has cerFor instance, you re-

tain advantages for you.

the battle you had with your mother

You wear overshoes? But in the end you had to wear them? Well now, you see, for as long as we are here, you will never have to wear overshoes! Isn't that good? And the coat that you inherited from Margot, you won't have to wear that anymore. And the piano! You won't have to practice on the the other day on the subject of overshoes? said you'd rather die than

piano.

1

tell

you, this

is

going to be a fine

life for

you!

The Diary of Anne Frank, Act One 357

[ANNE '5 panic

doorway of

is

gone, peter appears in the

his room,

He is carrying his cat.]

Peter.

I

.

I

.

.

.

.

thought

.1

a saucer

ivitlj

hand.

water for Mouschi before

.

I'd

.

in his

some

better get

and jump.

most. Every time

on the

street outside, I'm

sure they're

coming

for us.

The days

bad. At least

we know that Miep and

are

[As

he

starts

toward the

sink, the carillon be-

the street below. in

pantomime

He

that

turns to peter, indicating it is

too

peter starts

late,

back for his room. He steps on a creaking board. The three of them are frozen for a minute in fear As peter starts away again, ANNE tiptoes over to him and pours some of the milk from her glass into the saucer for the cat.

PETER squats on the floor, putting the milk

before the tain

cat. MR. vkanv.

pen and

right For

gives anne his foun-

room

then goes into the

a second anne watches the

room

then

and mrs.

van

daan have hung their clothes in the closet and now seated on the iron bed. mrs. van daan leans back, exhausted, mr. van daan fans her

are

with a newspaper starts to write in

her diary. The lights

out; the curtain falls.

In the darkness anne '5 voice comes to us again, faintly at first

and then

wit/y

growing

Anne's Voice. I expect I should be describing what it feels like to go into hiding. But I really

know

yet myself.

I

only

know

never to be able to go outdoors breathe fresh

air

18. settee (se te'

);

I

.

.

Friday, the twenty-first of August,

.

nineteen forty-two. Today I'm going to

our general news. Mother sists

on

treating

Otherwise

weather

is

me

.

is

are

tell

you

unbearable. She

like a baby,

things

which

going

I

in-

loathe.

better.

The

.

.

on the scene.

is fading

out, the curtain rises

]

3

a little after six o'clock in the evening, two months later margot is in the bedroom at the right, studying. MR. van daan is lying down in the

It is

attic

room

above.

The rest of the "family" is in the main room. ANNE and peter sit opposite each other at the center table, where they have been doing t/jeir lessons, mrs. frank is on the couch. MRS. VAN DAAN is Seated with her fur coat, on which she has been seiving, in her lap. None of them are wearing their shoes.

.

.

.

.

.

it's .

to give

19. Pirn: family

Still Believe

nickname

never to

never to run and shout

small couch.

them the signal which

funny

Words to Own loathe

358

.

.

Their eyes are on mr. frank, waiting for him

strength. ]

don't

them.

SCENE

Upstairs, in the attic room, mr.

anne

.

at the right, mrs. frank has sat

up quickly at the sound of the carillon, mr. frank comes in and sits down beside her on the settee,^^ his arm comfortingly around her

dim

would happen to them if the Nazis found out they were hiding us. Pirn'' said that they would suffer the same fate that we would. Imagine! They know this, and yet when they come up here, they're always cheerful and gay, as if there were nothing in the world to bother

[As anne'.s voice cat;

her diary. In the

I

at the

and opens

she goes over to the center table

aren't so

Mr. Kraler

down there below us in the office. Our prowe call them. asked Father what

tectors,

gins to chitne the hour of eight. He tiptoes to the window at the back and looks down at

hear a creak in

I

the house or a step

.

Mr. Frank. Of course.

me

frightens

the silence in the nights that

It's

(loth)

v.:

hate.

for Mr. Frank.

will release

tbeinfrom tbeir ctay-long quiet. MR. frank, bis sboes in his band, stands looking down out of tbe ivindoiv at the back, ivatching to be sure that all of the workmen have left the building beloiv.

After a feiv seconds of motionless silence, MR. FRANK

tumsfrom

Mr. Frank

now. The [There

is

the window.

last

workman

has

and

grabs his shoes roughly room.]

starts

Anne

{following him).

going?

Come dance with me. don't know how. tell you

Peter.

Peter,

where

for bis

you

are

I

I

Anne.

to the group). Its safe

iquietly,

He

[Suddenly peter becomes self-conscious.

Ill

teach you.

Peter. I'm going to give Mouschi

liis

dinner.

Anne. Can I watch? Peter. He doesn't like people around while he

left.

an immediate stir of relief]

eats.

{Her pent-up energy explodes.). WHEE! Mrs. Frank {startled, amused). Anne! Mrs. Van Daan. I'm first for the w.c.

Anne.

[She hurries off to tbe bathroom, mrs. frank puts on her shoes and starts up to the sink to

after him.]

Anne

Peter, please.

Peter. No!

[He goes into his room, anne slams his door

prepare supper anne sneaks peter '5 sboes from under the table and hides them behind her

Mrs. Frank. Anne, dear, I think you shouldn't play like that with Peter It's not dignified. Anne. Who cares if it's dignified? I don't want

back. MR. FRANK ^oes into margot!s room.]

to

Mr. Frank

[MR.

{to margot). Six o'clock. School's

over.

dignified.

down

to

put on

his sboes. In the

peter tries to find

know what

you're talking about.

Peter. You're going to be sorry!

Anne.

margot 's school papers. Mrs. Frank

bis.]

Peter. You've taken them, haven't you?

don't

to

room

sits

main room

Have you seen my shoes? Anne {innocently). Your shoes? I

margot goes

right,

the

help her mother

MR. FRANK Starts for tbe center table to correct

{to anne).

Anne.

and MARGOT comc from

FRANK

on tbe

[margot gets up. stretching, mr. frank

Peter

be

Am I?

]

You complain

{to anne).

don't treat you like a grown-up. But

you resent

Anne.

some fun

laugh and clown with all

I

I

do,

it.

only want

I

that

when

.

.

.

.

.

.

someone

After you've sat

to

still

day and hardly moved, you've got to have

some

fun.

don't

I

know what's

the matter with

used to

Give him a

that boy.

[peter goes after

her anne, ii'itb bis sboes in her hand, runs from him, dodging behind her

Mr. Frank. He

mother.]

Anne. Time?

Mrs. Frank {protesting). Anne, dear!

tle

till I

get you!

waiting! (peter makes a lunge for her They both fall to tbe floor peter pins her down, wrestling with her to get the sboes.)

Anne, I'm

Don't! Don't! Peter, stop

Mrs. Frank. Anne!

.

.

.

it.

Ouch!

Peter!

girls.

lit-

time. Isn't

two months time?

I

could

cry. {Catching hold 0/ margot) Come on, Mardance with me. Come on, please. got Margot. I have to help with supper. .

Peter. Wait

isn't

.

.

Anne. You know we're going dance.

.

.

.

'When

we

to forget

get out,

we

how

won't

to re-

member a thing. [She starts to sing

and dance by

herself mr.

The Diary OF Anne Frank, Act One 359

FRANK takes her in bis arms, waltzing with her MRS. VAN daan comes in from the bath-

Mrs. Van Daan. Look

room.]

Peter. Please! I'm not

him

at

Look

blush!

at

him! .

.

anyway ...

.

let

me

alone, will you?

Mrs. Van Daan. Next? {She looks around as she starts putting on her shoes.) Where's Peter?

Anne

Mrs. Van Daan. He acts like it was something to be ashamed of. It's nothing to be ashamed of, to have a little girlfriend. Peter. You're crazy. She's only

{as they are dancing).

Wliere would he be!

thirteen.

Mrs. Van Daan. He hasn't

Mrs. Van Daan. So what? And

fin-

you're

ished his lessons, has he? His

he catches him in there with that cat and his work not done. (mr. frank

Your

and ANNE They bow

much

father'll kill

him

if

finish their dance.

Peter?

crack). 'Wliat

says

to

Mrs. Van Daan. You {She

sits

know what your

father

on the couch, sewing on the

Peter. For heaven's sake,

him since lunch. Mrs. Van Daan. I'm

I

haven't even looked

at

I'll

just telling

you, that's

all.

don't

[He comes back to the table, anne shuts the door 0/ PETER '5 room after her and disappears behind the curtain covering his closet.]

Mrs. Van Daan {to peter). Now is that any way to talk to your little girlfriend? will Peter. Mother ... for heaven's sake you please stop saying that? .

360

I

this

longer, we're going to .

.

Still Believe

be

.

1

wonder

She's usually so

is.

.

.

is for-

sound

of an automobile coming to a screeching stop in the street below. They are tense, motionless in their terror The car starts away. A wave of relief sweeps over them. They pick up their occupations again, anne flings open the door of PETER'S room, making a dramatic entrance.

She is dressed in peter 's clothes, peter looks at her in fury. The others are amused.]

feed him.

want you in there. Mrs. Van Daan. Peter! Peter {to anne). Then give him his dinner and come right out, you hear? I

if

gotten as they hear the

lining of her fur coat.}

Peter.

Frank,

[Suddenly everything else

Mrs. Van Pels ("Mrs. Van Daan"

Peter. I'm giving Mouschi his dinner.

Anne.

Mr

prompt.

door a

is it?

Anne. Your mother come out.

says.

1

where Miep the

I warn war lasts

am. {To MR. frank)

than you,

ing the conversation}.

{at peter '5 door). Peter?

Peter {opening

older

and then Mr. Frank. Mazel tov!" Mrs. Frank {deliberately chang-

extravagant formality.} Anne, get him out of there, will you?

Anne

perfect.

Just

ten years

related

each other with

to

sixteen. father's

Anne. Good don't

stay.

evening, everyone. Forgive

{She jumps up on a chair.)

friend waiting for

me

1

me if 1 have a

My friend Tom. that we look alike.

in there.

Tom Cat. Some people say But Tom has the most beautiful whiskers, and I have only a little fuzz. 1 am hoping ... in time

.

.

.

Peter. All right, Mrs.

Quack Quack!

Anne {outraged^umping down). Peter! how you talked Peter. I heard about you .

20.

Mazel

.

.

tov! (mii'zal tov'): Yiddish expression

"Congratulations!

meaning

so

much

How

Quack.

position

Mr. Frank. You hear your mother, Anne.

you Mrs. Quack Mr. Smitter made you write a com"Quack, quack,' said Mrs. Quack

in class they called

.

.

.

[\^NE flicks out her tongue for a second, then

turns away]

Quack."

—

the stairwell.

Mrs. Frank. (x)me on open up! (^45 anne opens her )nouth very wide) You seem all but perhaps an aspirin right Mrs. 'Van Daan. For heaven's sake, don't give that child any pills. I waited for fifteen minutes this morning for her to come out of the w.c. Anne. I was washing my hair! Mr. Frank. think there's nothing the matter with our Anne that a ride on her bike or a visit with her friend jopie de Waal wouldn't cure. Isn't that so, Anne?

That's right, Anneke!

down into the room. From we bear faint sounds of bombers going over ami a burst of ack-ack.]"

Anne. Well, go on. Tell them the rest. How it was so good he read it out loud to the class and then read

to

it

all

his other classes!

Quack

Peter. Quack! Quack!

Quack

.

.

Anne. You boy

.

Quack

.

.

.

.

.

[\NNEpnlls off the coat

able

.

.

are the

and trousers.]

most

intolerable, insuffer-

ever met!

I've

[She throws the clothes

down

PETER goes doivu affer them.]

Mrs. "Van Give

it

Daan (to anne). all

the boys in the world

.

.

.

why

had to get locked up with one like you! Peter. Quack, quack, quack, and from now on stay out of my room! I

.

[As PETER passes her,

He

tripping him.

on into

hair.

anne puts out her

.

foot,

and goes

picks himself up

(quietly).

Anne, dear

.

.

.

your

{She feels anne's f)rehead.) You're warm.

Are you feeling

Anne.

all

goes over to the

Mrs. Frank {following her). You haven't a fever, have you? Anne {pulling away). No. No. Mrs. Frank. You know we can't call a doctor here, ever There's only one thing to do .

watch carefully. comes. Let me see your tongue.

Anne. Mother,

this

is

Van Daan. Miep not come yet? Mrs. Van Daan. The workmen just Mr.

left,

a little

while ago.

Mr. Van Daan. Wliat's for dinner tonight?

Mrs. Van Daan. Beans. Mr. Van Daan. Not again! Mrs. Van Daan. Poor Putti! 1 know. But what can we do? That's all that Miep brought us. [MR.

VAN DAAN sturts to pucc, his huuds behind

his back,

anne follows behind him, imitating

illness

Anne. We

are

now

before

.

beans with

strings,

is

known

as the

beans without strings

.

Mrs. Frank. Anne, dear, don't be such a baby. Let me see your tongue. {As anne refuses, mrs. ? FRANK appeals to mr. frank.) Otto .

.

.

.

has come out of his room. He slides into his place at the table, becoming immediately absorbed in his studies.] Mr.

Van Daan

{to peter).

there, playing with

your

putting his

1

saw you ...

in

cat.

went in for a second, coat away. He's been out here all

Mrs. Van Daan. He

.

what

[peter

it

perfectly absurd.

.

in

'bean cycle." Beans boiled, beans en casserole,

center table, slipping into her shoes. )

Prevent an

VAN daan comes

him.]

right?

Please, Mother. {She

.

.

his room.]

Mrs. Frank

.

outside

to him!

Anne. With

.

.

1

[MR.

Peter. Quack, quack, quack!

.

just

the time, doing his lessons. 21. ack-ack: slang for "antiaircnitl gunnre."

The Diary of Anne Frank, Act One 36

Mr. Frank ilooking up from the papers). Anne, you got an "excellent" in your history and 'very good" in Latin. paper today Anne {sitting beside him). How about alge.

.

.

have to make a confession.

I'll

Up

now I've managed

until

algebra.

leave

it

Anne.

to stay ahead of you in Today you caught up with me. We'll to Margot to correct.

Isn't

Mr. Frank.

Margot

algebra

(to mr. frank).

How did I do?

up). Excellent, excellent, excel-

lent, excellent!

Mr. Frank

have em.

still

I

I

may not be

still

have

All

right.

as pretty as

my legs. How about

Frank?

Mr. Van Daan.

All

We

right.

see

Margot. Should here ...

I

I?

.

.

...

Mr

didn't use

it

Frank.

Peter. Mother, for heaven's sake.

Mrs. Van Daan. Oh,

hope the

I

thought

here.

.

.

.

.

.

look

I

embarrass you, do

I?

marry has as good. (Then, to anne) My father used to worry about me, with so many boys hanging round. He told me, if any of them gets fresh, you say to him "Remember, Mr So-and-So, remember I'm .

I

just

girl )'ou

.

a lady

Anne. "Remember,

.

I'm a

lady."

Mr. So-and-So,

remember

(She gives MRS. van daan her coat.)

Van Daan. Look at you, talking that way in you know she puts it all down in that diary? Mrs. Van Daan. So, if she does? I'm only Mr.

.

[The two become absorbed in the papers.]

Van Daan, may I try on your coat? Mrs. Frank. No. Anne. Mrs. Van Daan (giving it to anne). It's all right but careful with it. (anne puts it on and

Anne.

Mrs. Van Daan. I'm not asking you. I'm asking

.

You should have used

(to margot).

the subjunctive here.

Mrs.

front of her! Don't

telling the truth!

[anne stretches out, puttitig her ear to the

.

struts with

it.)

My father gave me

that the year

He always bought

the best that

before he died.

money could Anne.

buy.

Mrs. Van Daan, did you have a lot of

bo}^riends before you were married?

Mrs. Frank. Anne, It's

that's a

.

was

sixteen!

.

.

.

We were

very short those days and (She pulls up her

legs.

I

Still Believe

is going on sound of the bombers fades away.]

floor listening to ivhat

.

.

wearing our skirts I had good-looking

skirt,

going

to MR.

below. The

Mrs. Frank (setting the table). Would }ou mind, Peter if I moved you over to the couch? Anne (listening). Miep must have the radio on.

personal question.

not courteous to ask personal questions.

Mrs. Van Daan. Oh, I don't mind. (To anne) Our house was always swarming with boys. Wlien I was a girl, we had Mr. Van Daan. Oh, God. Not again! Mrs. Van Daan (good-humored). Shut up! (Without a pause, to anne. mr. van daan tnimics MRS. van daan, speaking the first few words in unison with her.) One summer we had a big house in Hilversum. The boys came buzzing round like bees around a jam pot. And when I

362

Mr

it,

Well,

vile, Pirn!

Vile!

Anne (getting

.

I

used to be, but

them.

bra?

Mr. Frank.

.

FRANK.) I

[PETER picks

up

couch beside Mr. Van

you

going over

to the

MRS. van daan.]

Daan

finished

his papers,

(accusingly, to peter). Haven't

}'et?

Peter. No.

Mr. Van Daan. You ought to be ashamed of yourself.

Peter. All right. All right. I'm a dunce. I'm a

hopeless case. 'Wliy do

I go on? Mrs. Van Daan. You're not hopeless. Don't talk that way. It's just that you haven't anyone

to help you, like the girls have. (To mr. frank)

Maybe you could help him, Mr Frank? Mr. Frank. I'm sure that his father .

.

.

?

Mr. with .

.

Van Daan. Not me. hini. He won't listen if

.

do anything me. You go ahead

can't

I

to

you want.

Mr. Frank (going to peter). What about Peter?

we make

Shall

it,

our school coeduca-

tional?

Mrs. Van

Daan

{kissing mr. frank). You're an

Mr

Frank.

An

angel,

angel.

don't

I

know why

I

meet you before I met that one there. down, Mr. Frank {She forces biin down on the couch beside peter.) Now, Peter, you listen to Mr. Frank. Mr. Frank. It might be better for us to go into didn't

Here,

sit

.

.

.

Peter "s room. [?ks:ek

jumps up eagerly, leading the

Mrs. Van Daan. That's

right.

Mr

Peter.

You

liighly

educated man.

listen to

way.]

You go

in there,

Frank. Mr. Frank

is

a

[As MR. FRANK is ubout to follow PETER into bis room, MRS. FRANK stops him and wipes the lipstick frorn his lips. Then she closes the door

after them.]

Anne

(on the floor, listening). Shh!

1

can hear

a man's voice talking.

Mr.

Van Daan

(to anne). Isn't

here without your sprawling [anne

sits up.

Mrs. Van

all

it

bad enough

over the place?

]

Daan (to

you didn't smoke so much, you wouldn't be so badmr. van daan).

If

tempered.

Mr.

Van Daan.

all

Am

I

smoking?

Do you

see

me

Van Daan.

Don't

tell

Van Daan. One

brought

Van Daan. Will you shut up? (During this, FRANK and MARGOT have studiously kept

their eyes down. But anne, seated on the floor, has been following the discussion interestedly. MR. VAN daan turns to see her staring up at him.) And what are you staring at? Anne. I never heard grown-ups quarrel before. I

thought only children quarreled.

Mr. Van Daan. This cussion.

isn't a quarrel! It's a dis-

And I never heard children

me

you've used up

indignantly).

package.

Miep only

Mrs. Van Daan. It's a filthy habit anyway. good time to break yourself. Mr. Van Daan. Oh, stop it, please.

Mrs. Van Daan. You're smoking up money. You know that, don't you?

all

I,

rude!

Mr. Van Daan. Yes! Mrs. Frank (quickly). Anne, will you get me my knitting? (anne goes to get it.) I must remember, when Miep comes, to ask her to bring

me some more wool. Margot (going to her room). I need some hairpins and some soap. I made a list. (She goes into her bedroom to get the list.) Mrs. Frank (to anne). Have you some library Miep when she comes? Anne. It's a wonder that Miep has a life of her own, the way we make her run errands for us. Please, Miep, get me some starch. Please take my hair out and have it cut. Tell me all the latest news, Miep. (She goes over, kneeling on the couch beside MRS. van daan.) Did you know she was engaged? His name is Dirk, and Miep's afraid the Nazis will ship him off to Germany to work in one of their war plants. That's what they're doing with some of the young Dutchmen they pick them books

up

for

.

.

off the streets

Van Daan

(interrupting). Don't you ever

get tired of talking? still

me one package.

Suppose you

try

keeping

for five minutes. Just five minutes.

[He starts to pace again. Again anne follows him, mimicking him. MRS. frank

It's

so rude be-

fore.

Anne (rising,

Mr.

those cigarettes.

Mr.

MRS.

.

smoking?

Mrs.

Mr.

Jumps up

a

Words to Own our

indignantly (in-dig'nant-le) adv.: with anger caused by something felt to be unjust.

The Diary of Anne Frank, Act One 363

and

takes her by the

arm up

gives her a glass of milk.

to the sink

and

]

Mrs. Frank. Come here, Aiine. It's time for your glass of milk. Mr. Van Daan. Talk, talk, talk. I never heard ? Every evening such a child. Wliere is my talk. {He looks talk, talk, same, its the .

around.) Where

is

my

.

.

.

.

.

?

Mrs. Van Daan. Y^iat're you looking for? Mr. Van Daan. My pipe. Have you seen my pipe?

Mrs. Van Daan. What good's a pipe? You haven't got any tobacco. Mr. Van Daan. At least I'll have something to hold in my mouth! (Opening margot's bedroom door) Margot, have you seen my pipe?

Margot.

It

was on the

table last night.

[AN^Eputs her glass of milk on the table and picks up his pipe, hiding it behind her back]

know. I know. Aniie, did you Anne! see my pipe? Mrs. Frank. Anne, Mr. Van Daan is speaking to

Mr. Van Daan.

.

1

.

.

you.

Am

Anne.

I

allowed to

Van Daan.

Mr.

talk

now?

You're the most aggravating

The trouble with you is, you've been spoiled. What you need is a good old-fashioned .

.

.

veins! I'm going to Paris

spanking.

Anne imimickiug So-and-So,

Mr.

mrs. van daan).

remember I'm

a

"Remember, lady."

{She

thrusts the pipe into his mouth, then picks

up

her glass of milk.) Mr. Van Daan (restraining himself with difficulty). Why aren't you nice and quiet like your sister Margot? Why do you have to show off all

me give you a little advice, young Men don't like that kind of thing in a girl. You know that? A man likes a girl who'll listen the time? Let lady.

him once

to

in a

while ... a domestic

girl,

who'll keep her house shining for her husband .

.

who

.

Anne.

364

I

I'd

cook and sew and cut my throat first! I'd open

loves to

Still Believe

.

.

.

my

.

.

Mr. Van

Anne.

be remarkable! I'm going to

.

Daan (scojfingly).

Paris!

... to study music and

art.

Mr. Van Daan. Yeah! Yeah! Anne. I'm going to be a famous dancer or singer ... or something wonderful.

makes a wide gesture, spilling the glass on the fur coat in mrs. van daan's lap. milk of MARGOT rushes quickly over with a toivel. anne tries to brush the milk off with her skirt] [She

Mrs. Van Daan. you clumsy .

.

.

Now

coat m)' father gave

Anne. I'm

look what you've done fool!

little

so sorry.

me

.

.

.

My

beautiful fur

Mrs. Frank. 1 don't mean that. I mean the answering back. You must not answer back. They are our guests. 'We must always show the greatest courtesy to them. We're all living under ter{She stops as marc.ot

rible tension.

iiic/icates

that MR. VAN daan can hear Wlien he

why we must

she continues.) That's ourselves.

.

.

is

control

You don't hear Margot

.

gone,

getting

arguments with them, do you?

into

Watch Margot.

She's always courte-

ous with them. Never

She

familiar.

keeps her distance. And they respect her for

Try to be

it.

Margot.

like

Anne. And have them walk all over me, the way they do her? No, thanks!

Mrs. Frank. I'm not afraid that anyone is going to walk all over you, Anne. I'm afraid for other people, that you'll walk on them. I don't what happens to you, Anne. You are

know

wild, self-willed.

mother

as

you

If

talk to

my

had ever talked to

I

me

.

.

.

Anne. Things have changed. People aren't

like

anymore. "Yes, Mother." "No, Mother." "Anything you say. Mother" I've got to fight things out for myself! Make something of my-

that

self!

Mrs. Van Daan. Wliat do you care? It isn't yours. ... So go on, ruin it! Do you know what that coat cost? Do you? And now look at it! Look at it!

Anne.

Fm very, very sorry.

Mrs. Van Daan. could just kill you! [MRS.

I

could

kill

you

for this.

Mrs. Frank. It Margot doesn't

Anne

Van Daan. back

.

Petronella

.

.

.

.

the supper

clutching the

how wonderful

Margot

.

.

.

come

.

.

.

back!

Mrs. Frank. Anne, you must not behave It

accident.

is

accident.

it.

?

.

.

.

.

.

.

"Wliy aren't you

Oh, come on, Anne,

(protesting}.

don't be so

.

.

.

attention). Everything she

and everything I do is wrong! I'm You're all against the goat around here! all! And you worst of me!. is

right,

.

.

.

.

.

[She rushes off into her

was an

.

in

that way.

Anne.

.

Margot?

Anne (paying no

liefje! Liefje!

.

.

hear from everyone

all I

does

Come

she

I

coat MR. VAN DAAN Starts after her] Mr.

and

Margot! That's

like

stairs,

fight,

isn't

(violently rebellious). Margot! Margot!

Margot

VAN DAAN goes Up the

necessary to fight to do

isn't

Anyone can have an

self down

on the

FRANK sighs

room and throws her-

settee, stifling

and starts

her sobs. mrs.

toivard the store.]

The Diary of Anne Frank, Act One 365

Mrs. Frank Qo margot). the stove

...

if

there's

put the soup on

Let's

anyone

who

cares to

Margot, will you take the bread out? iUARGor gets the bread from the cupboard.} I don't know how we can go on living this way. ... I she flies at me can't say a word to Anne Margot. You know Anne. In half an hour she'll be out here, laughing and joking. Mrs. Frank. And (,Sbe makes a motion upward, indicating the van daans.) ... I told but no your father it wouldn't work no ... he had to ask them, he said ... he owed it to him, he said. 'Well, he knows now Tliis bickthat I was right! These quarrels! eat.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

She'll be all right. Mrs. Frank. Is there anything I can do? Mr. Van Daan. Don't worry.

[He turns to meet

comes up

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

looU). Shush. Shush.

\The buzzer for the door sounds. MRS. frank gasps, startled.]

Mrs. Frank. Every time

I

hear that sound,

my

heart stops! {starting for peter t/je

'.«»

door).

It's

Miep.

door) Father?

FRANK comes quickly from

the

room.

]

Mrs. Frank. Mr Bsxaler! Mr. Van Daan. How are you, Mr Kraler? Margot. This is a surprise. Mrs. Frank. When Mr Kraler comes, the sun begins to shine.

room.]

goes into her bedroom on the right anne sits up,

Here's your '5

tears,

list.

Mrs. Frank. Wouldn't you like a cup of coffee? ... Or, better stiU, will you have supper with Mr. Frank.

Mr

Kraler has something to talk Something has happened, he which demands an immediate decision. us.

Mrs. Frank {fearful). Wliat [MR. KRALER sits

down on

as margot comes

in.)

Miep's

[margot picks up her books and goes back. ANNE hurries over to the mirror, smoothing her hair.]

Daan {coming doivn

talks

the stairs).

Is

it

when I come up here, I tr)' you some bit of good news. Wliat's the use of telling you the bad news when there's nothing that you can do about it? But today Mr. Kraler. Usuall}, to bring

something has happened.

in

Anne should never have touched

Mr. Frank. Of course

it.

.

.

.

Dirk

.

.

.

Miep's

you know, came to me just now. He tells me that he has a Jewish friend living near him. A dentist. He says he's in trouble. He begged me, could I do anything for this man? Could I Dirk,

how unhappy I am about Mrs. Van Daans coat.

Still Believe

As he

put away.]

fmd him you ...

I

the couch.

he takes bread, cabbages, milk, etc., from his briefcase, giving them to margot and anne to

Margot. Yes. Father's gone down to let her in. Mr. 'Van Daan. At last I'll have some cigarettes! Mrs. Frank {to mr. van daan). I can't tell you

366

is it?

(,\iargot

here.

Mr. 'Van Miep?

coming?

hands with them.)

says, peter'*"

everyone his list? Margot. I'll get my books. {Giving her mother

hiding her

is

Mr. Kraler. Not tonight, (mr. kraler goes to MARGOT and MRS. FRANK and ANNE, shaking

over with

the steps to open the outer door) Has

and ANNE

comes

bedroom, peter comes fronj his

Mr. Frank. Thank you, Margot. (As be goes

list)

who

us?

{She knocks at

a

not miep

MR. FRANK. Their faces are grave, anne

from

Mr. Van Daan. Miep

Margot (ivith a warning

down

it is

.

ering!

Margot

But

miep.

the steps. It is mr. kraler, followed by

.

.

[.viR.

Mr. Van Daan.

a hiding place? I

know

it's

... So

I've

come

to

a terrible thing to ask of

you, Uving as you are, but

would you take him

with you?

we will.

Mr. Kraler

(rising).

be

It'll

.

until

find

I

just for a

some other

two happened so suddenly where to turn. .

.

that

didn't

I

Mr. Frank. Where is he? Mr. Kraler. Downstairs in the

night or

place. This

know

office.

Mr. Frank. Dussel ...

Mr. Kraler.

I

think

I

.

.

Mr

I'll

come

in

here

Dussel can have

my bed.

Help

Dussel""

is

this'^

with you and Mother, and

Mrs. Frank. No. No. No! Margot will come in here with us and he can have her bed. It's the only way. Margot, bring your things in here.

Mr. Frank. Good. Bring him up. Mr. Kraler. His name

Anne. Then how about

her,

Anne.

.

room

[marcc^t hurries into her

know him.

her

to get

things. ]

get him.

I'll

Anne (to her mother). 'Why Margot? Wliy can't down

[He goes quickly

the steps

and

out. MR.

FRANK suddenly becomes conscious of the others. ]

come

I

in here?

Mrs. Frank. Because it wouldn't be proper for Please, Anne. Don't Margot to sleep with a .

.

.

argue. Please.

Mr. Frank. Forgive me. sulting you. But

1

knew

spoke without con-

1

you'd feel as

[ANNE starts slowly

do.

1

Mr. 'Van Daan. There's no reason for you to consult anyone. This is your place. You have a

do exactly

right to

thing .

.

.

I

feel

and

.

.

.

as

you

there's so

to take in another

The only

please. little

person

food as .

.

it

is

.

You don't mind sharing your room with Mr Dussel, do you, Anne? Anne. No. No, of course not. Mr. Frank

(to anne).

Mr. Frank. Good. (M^'HEgoes off into her bedroom, helping margot. mr. frank starts to search in the cupboards.) Where's the cognac?'

away, ashamed of his father.]

[PETER turns

Mrs. Frank. Mr. Frank.

We can

stretch the food a

little. It's

Van Daan. You want

Mrs. Frank.

think

I

it's

to

make

fine to

have him. But,

where are you going to put him? Where? Peter. He can have my bed. I can sleep on the floor. I wouldn t mind. Mr. Frank. That's good of you, Peter. But your even tovyou. room's too small

Anne.

I

have a

.

.

much

better idea.

I'll

come

in

here with you and Mother, and Margot can take Peter's

room and Peter can go

in

our room with

Mr. Dussel.

Margot. That's right. We could do that. Mr. Frank. No, Margot. You mustn't sleep in that room neither you nor Anne. Mouschi .

has caught

.

.

some

in

rats

m there. Peter's brave. He

It's

there. But, Otto,

I

was saving

case of illness.

time to use

a bet?

Otto,

.

it

Mr. Frank.

only for a few days.

Mr.

away]

I

it.

think

we

Peter, will

couldn't find a better

you get

five glasses for

me? [peter goes for the glasses,

margot comes out

of her bedroom, carrying her possessions, which she hangs behind a curtain in the main room. MR. fy
pours

it

into the fire glasses that peter brings

him. MR. VAN DAAN Stands looking on sourly. MRS. VAN DAAN comes downstairs and looks

around at all the

bustle.]

Mrs. Van Daan. 'Wliat's happening? 'What's going on? Mr. Van Daan. Someone's moving in with us.

Mrs. Van Daan. In here? You're joking. Margot. It's only for a night or two .

doesn't mind.

Mr

Kraler finds

22. Dussel (doo'ssl).

23.

cognac

him another

.

.

until

place.

(kan'yak'): type of brandy (distilled wine).

The Diary of Anne Frank, Act One 367

Van Daan.

Mr.

(to dussel). Pay no attention to Mr. be up tomorrow to see that they're treating you right. (To mr. frank) Don't trouble

Mr. Kraler

Yeah! Yeah!

Frank.

FRANK btiiiies over as mr. kraler

[MR. SEL

come

up. dussel

a

is

man

and dus-

hi his late fifties,

bewildered now.

meticulous, finicky

He

wears a raincoat. He carries a briefcase, stuffed full, and a small medicine case.] Mr. Frank.

Come

Mr. Kraler. This

Mr

Dussel.

in,

is

Mr. Dussel.

.

.

.

.

after

me, won't you, Peter?

Mr. Frank. Thank you, Peter

111

do

^^ ^^ ^

frank.

goes out with mr.

MRS. FRANK glves each one of the "grown-ups" a glass of cognac]

*

.

jT*

l» rel="nofollow">'#'i

3^

Mrs. Frank. Please, Mr. Dussel,

^

^^ O

sit

down.

.

[DUSSEL sinks into

FRANK gives bin?

hands

you

(Etc., etc.)

[MR. kraler

**

.

shakes

it.

night, Mr. Kraler We'll see

tomorrow.

.

[dussel

door

again. Peter will bolt the

Peter. Yes, sir

Group. Good

Mr. Frank.

Otto Frank?

.

come down

Mr. Kraler. Good night. Good night.

Mr. Frank. Yes. Let me take your things. iHe takes the hat and briefcase, but dussel clings to his medicine case.) This is my wife, Editli Mr. and Mrs. Van Daan tlieir son, Peter and ni)' daughters, Margot and Anne. .

to

I'll

with

a chair mrs. a glass of

cognac]

everyone. ]

Dussel. I'm dreaming.

Mr. Kraler. Thank )ou, Mr.

Thank you

Frank. sel,

leave you in

I

Mr

it.

.

.

my

know

I

eyes. Mr.

Otto Frank here! (To mrs. frank)

good hands.

You're not in Switzerland, then?

("Dussel

A woman

Dirk's coat.

.

can't believe

Dus-

all.

Fritz Pfeffer

Oh

I

me

told

.

.

.

She said

she'd gone to your house [DUSSEL hurriedly takes off the raincoat, giv-

ing

dentist's jacket,

on

Underneath is his white with a yellow Star of David

to MR. KRALER.

it

it.]

the door

was open, everything was

paper

it

.

.

.

an address

you must have escaped

couldn't

Mrs. Frank.

.

.

.

.

live.

Mr. Kraler. Please. Please. You make us seem very heroic.

It

isn't that at all.

like the Nazis. (7b mr. frank,

methods.

who

offers

We don't like

him a

We

don't

I

Still Believe

She said

to Zurich.

Anne. Father put that there purposely so people would think that very thing! Dussel. And }'ou've been here all the time? .

All the

time

.

.

.

.

.

just

ever since July.

[ANNE speaks to her father as he comes back.]

Anne. left!

It

worked, Pim

.

.

.

the address you

Mr. Dussel says that people believe

we

caped to Switzerland. .

.

.

Mr. Frank (smiling). I know. I know. "No one's going to tell us Dutchmen what to do with our damn Jews!"

368

in Zurich."^

'We simply don't

drink) No, thanks. (Then, going on) like their

in disorder,

wastebasket with an address scrib-

in the

bled on

.

.

dishes in the sink. She said she found a piece of

Dussel ito MR. KRALER). Wliat can I say to thank you Mrs. Frank (to dussel). Mr. Kraler and Miep They're our lifeline. Without them we .

.

.

24. Zurich (zoor'ik): Switzerland's largest city. Because Switzerland remained neutral during World War II, many refugees sought safet)' there.

es-

Mr. Frank. I'm glad. drink to

little

.

.

.

And now let's have

welcome Mr.

a

Dussel. {Before they

Anne {coming to Waals?

.

.

dussel).

Wliat's

.

can drink, dussel bolts his drink. MR. frank

daugiiter Jopie and

smiles (Did raises his glass.) To Mr. Dussel.

Jopie's

Welcome. We're very honored

Dussel. They Anne. Gone?

are gone.

Dussel. With

all

to

have you

^vith us.

Mrs. Frank. To Mr. Dussel, welcome. VAN DAANS murinur a

[77?^

"grown-ups " drink.

The

welcome.

.

.

.

.

.

[HETER street

Anne. Oh,

walks away, humiliated. Outside, a organ is heard ditnly. ]

to

.

.

characteristic pacing,

his

speak

turns

dussel

to the others.^ Right here in

.

come home from

school to

Hundreds are being ported ..." people that you and I know find their parents gone.

.

the Hallensteins

.

.

the Wessels

.

.

.

to the Jewish theater

day and hour

.

.

.

carry in a rucksack.

up

de.

.

.

.

on such and such

.

home and

a

got so

called

to

comfort her MKROorr goes to anne,

Wagner They lived near us

.

.

.

?

Mr. Frank {interrupting, with a glance at ANNE). I think we should put this off until later. We all have many questions we want to ask. But I'm sure that Mr Dussel would like to .

.

get settled before supper.

Dussel. Thank you.

I would. I brought very litwith me. Mr, Yrsink{ giving him his hat and briefcase). I'm sorr)' we can't give you a room alone. But I hope you won't be too uncomfortable. We've had to make strict rules here ... a schedule of

tle

hours

.

.

.

We'll

you

tell

Mr

)'Ou like to take

Anne

{controlling her tears).

with me,

Mr

Forgive

me

tude to

all

me.

I'd

years.

Anne,

after supper.

would

And if you refuse the callcome and drag you from

Dussel to his room? If

come

you'll

Dussel? {She starts for her room.) haven't really expressed

if I

turn).

my grati-

of you. This has been such a shock to

always thought of myself as Dutch.

I

was

My father was born in Holland, and my grandfather. And now after aU these in Holland.

.

.

.

(//e

b/frt^^q^)

.

.

If you'll

excuse me.

ship you off to Mauthausen. [t)\jssel

We

didn't

know

that things

had

much worse.

Dussel. Forgive

the others.

Mrs. Van Daan. There were some people

born

The death camp! Mrs. Frank.

MARGOT

bring only what you can

notice, then they

your

class.

Not Jopie!

no.

Dussel {shaking hands with each in

.

Mrs. Frank {in tears). Oh, no. No! Dussel. They get their call-up notice

come

.

.

block and search house by

a

house. Children

to

Amsterdam

every day hundreds of Jews disappear.

They surround

same

are in the

1

friend.

putting her arms comfortingly around her]

.

Dussel {rising). Mr. Van Daan, you don't realize what is happening outside that you should warn me of a thing like that. You dont realize what's going on. {As MR. van daan starts .

of them? Their

[She turns away, in tears, mrs. frank motions

]

Mrs. Van Daan. Um. That was good. Mr. Van Daan. Did Mr. Kraler warn you that you won't get much to eat here? You can imagine three ration books among the seven of us and now you make eight. .

my best

Do you know the de

become

me for speaking so.

gives a

Anne

bow and hurries off after and the others are subdued.]

little

ANNE. MR. FRANK

{turning on the

light). Well,

here

we

are.

25. deported: forcibly

and death camps).

.sent

away

(tt>

concentration camps

[dussel looks

around

room MARGOT speaks

the room. In the

to

her

main

tnother.]

The Diary of Anne Frank, Act One 369

Your father spoke of a

Margot. The news sounds pretty bad, doesn't it? It's so different from what Mr. Kraler tells us.

Dussei

Mr. Kraler says things are improving.

Anne (coming away from

Mr. "Van Daan. tells

1

like

better the

it

way

ii)iterrupting).

schedule.

Kraler

yes.

And times

quiet.

it.

now if you [They resume their occupations, quietly, peter goes off into his room. In anne'5 room, anne turns to

dussei..]

Anne. You're going

to share the

man who's

Dussei. I'm a

room with me.

always lived alone.

haven't had to adjust myself to others.

bear with

you'll

Anne. case.)

Let

me

always

learn.

live all

alone? Have you

his bottles

for the w.c.

have to be

You can use

it

like.

No, thank you. suppose you think it's aw^ful, my talking about a thing like that. But you don't know how important it can get to be, especially About this room, when you're frightened. she had it to the way Margot and I did

Anne.

(stiffly).

I

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

you know

lessons,

.

mornings. 'Would that be

Dussei. I'm not

one. {He opens his medicine case

and spreads

we

.

herself in the afternoons for studying, reading

at all?

No

Dussei.

I

hope

help you. {She takes his brief-

Do you

no family

me until

I

I

Dussei

the window). Oh,

mostly about the times

It's

on the dressing table.) You must be terribly

at

.

.

all

.

and

took the

I

right with you?

my best in the morning.

Anne. You stay here in the mornings, take the room in the afternoons.

then.

I'll

lonely.

when you're in here, what happens to me? Where am spending my time?

Dussei. I'm used to

it.

In there, with

Anne.

I

How

Anne.

dreadful.

Dussei.

Tell

me,

I

I

don't think

could ever get used to

Didn't you even have a pet?

Dussei.

I

A cat,

it.

ani-

mals. They give me asthma. Anne. Oh, dear. Peter has a cat. Dussei. Here? He has it here? Anne. Yes. But we hardly ever see it. He keeps it in his room all the time. I'm sure it will be aU

the people?

Yes.

Dussei.

or a dog?

have an allergy for fur-bearing

Anne.

all

1

see.

I

see.

Anne. We have supper at

ten minutes before eating.

much

course.

of a

Dussei. Let us hope

to

Anne.

[DUSSEL lies

That's Margot s bed,

where you're going

back

down on

to her]

Dussei.

these off for your things. (She goes over to the

dren.

windouO The best part about this room you can look down and see a bit of the street

don't you worry about that.

I

sleep

.

and the

canal. There's a

houseboat

...

.

.

.

.

.

you

bargeman lives there with his family They have a baby and he's just beginning to walk and I'm so can see the end of

it

.

afraid he's going to I

watch him

370

I

helps the

the sofa, curled up, his

on the sofa there. (Jndicating the clothes hooks on the wall) We cleared to sleep.

it

hope I'm not going to be I seem to be able

I

to get everyone's back up.

{He takes some pills

find

bother to you.

too so.

I

digestion.

Anne. Of

right.

fortify himself.)

half past six.

Dussei (going over to the sofa). Then, Lf you don't mind ... I like to lie down quietly for

.

.

.

Still Believe

fall

.

a

I

always get along very well with

I

[ANNE leans over him, taking his

shaking

it gratefully]

.

into the canal someday.

chil-

My patients all bring their children to me, because they know get on well with them. So

Words to Own fortify (fort'a-fi')

v.;

strengthen.

hand and

Anne. Nothing is right about

me

.

.

.

i^

Anne. Thank you. Thank you, {The lights

on

dim

to darkness.

the scene, anne'5 voice

atfirst and

The curtain falls

comes

to us, faintly

then with increasing power.]

And yesterday I finished Anne's Voice. Cissy Van Marxvehs latest book. I think she is a .

first-class writer.

.

.

shall definitely let

I

my

chil-

Monday, the twenty-first of September, nineteen forty-two. Mr. Dussel and I had another battle yesterday. Yes, Mr. Dussel! nothAccording to him, nothing, I repeat dren read

her.

.

ing

is

right

character, at

me,

I

about

me

.

my manners.

thought

.

.

.

.

up to the ceiling! Wliy is it that every grown-up thinks he knows the way to bring up children? Particularly the grown-ups that never had any. I keep wishing that Peter was a girl instead of a boy. Then I would have someone to talk to. Marsuch a smack that

Mr. Dussel.

got

s a darling,

To pause for a moment on the subject of Mrs. Van Daan. I must tell you that her atwith Father are getting her nowhere. Pim, thank goodness, won't play.

tempts to

flirt

[As she

saying the last

rises

you

out]

I'll

se-

.

.

sometime

but she takes ever^^hing too

riously.

my appearance, my WhUe he was going on .

you'll fly right

give

is

lines,

the curtain

on the darkened scene, anne'5 voice fades

The Diary OF Anne Frank, Act One 371

IVIaking

Meanings (Act One, Scenes 1-3)

First I .

Thoughts

What do you part of

life in

think

Reading Check

would be the hardest

a.

the Secret Annex: the fear of

characters

hours at a time, the sharing of cramped

pect? Explain. as

(If

some other

Scene

as-

b.

ideas.)

Shaping Interpretations 2.

Do Anne

and Peter seem to have

List

3.

ters

who

c.

the characters by the end of Scene

appear

in

the

does Anne begin to

scribe

What

life in

some

Mr. Frank's and

Mr Van

mean? De-

of the ways

the Secret

from

Annex

life

When

like

the right

way

Daan's

to respond?

Why?

the play opens, only months have passed since Otto Frank was

What do you

makes him return to Amsterthe place where he and his family were captured by the

freed from Auschwitz.

dam and revisit Nazis? Would you do

think

the same? Explain.

Connecting with the Text 6.

If

you were going into hiding and could take only as many items as you

could carry bags,

in

a single trip,

what would they be?

List

the contents of your

and explain why you chose them.

Extending the Text 7.

Mr

Frank

tells

Anne, "There are no

walls, there are

no

bolts,

no locks

on your mind" (page 357). What does he mean? Do you agree? Support your opinion with examples from your own experithat anyone can put

ence or knowledge.

372

I

Still Believe

is

outside.

reactions to the arrival of Albert Dussel.

Which seems

we

these characters,

into hiding will

dangerous for

the Secret Annex?

When

different

Compare

3,

ten charac-

understand what going

other conflicts do you predict might arise? 4.

all

character.

Why are these conflicts in

met

adjectives to describe each

the conflicts that have developed

the people

By the end of Scene

and choose two or three

back to the text for examples to sup-

among

before the flash-

have

typical

port your response. 3.

,

the play from

in

begins?

play. List

teenage attitudes toward their families?

Go

I

back

you've been taking notes

you read, look them over for

about

learn

the basic situation of the

discovery, the need to keep silent for

quarters with strangers, or

What do we

*^

It is

the middle of the night, several

The stage is dark except for a little light which comes through the skylight in peter 5 room.

months

later.

Everyone is in bed. mr. and mrs. FRANK lie on the couch in the main room, which has been pidled out to serve as a makeshift double bed. MARGOT is sleeping on a mattress on the floor in the main room, behind a

^s***-

"lis^

curtain stretched across for privacy.

The others are

all in their

accustomed

rooms.

From

outside

soldiers singing

high giggle

we hear two drunken "Lili

Marlene."

A

girl's

heard. The sound of runheard coming closer and

is

ningfeet then fading in the distance. Throughout the scene there is the dista)it sound of airplanes passing overhead. is

A match suddenly flares up in the attic. We dimly see mr. van daan. He is getting his bearings. He comes quickly down the stairs and goes to cupboard where the food is stored. Again the match flares up, and is as cjuickly blown

the

The dim figure is seen to steal back up the stairs. There is quiet for a second or two. broken only by the sound of airplanes and running feet on the out.

street below.

Suddenly, out of the silence dark, we hear anne scream.

,'

and

the

'W'^'sS^?'i?^w^?^


b^HE Diary OF

Anne Frank, Act One 373

Anne

iscreaming). No! No! Don't

.

.

.

don't

take me!

[She moans, tossing and crying in her sleep. The other people wake, terrified. DUSSEL^to up in bed, furious.]

Dussel. Shush! Anne! Anne, for God's sake, shush!

Anne

{still

in her nightmare). Save

me! Save

me! [She screams

and screams,

going over

bed,

dussel gets out of wake her]

to her, trying to

Dussel. For God's sake! Quiet! Quiet! You

want someone

to hear?

[In the main room mrs. frank grabs a shawl and pulls it around her She rushes in to anne,

taking her in her arms. mr. frank hurriedly gets up. putting on his overcoat, margot sits up, terrified, peter '5 light goes

Mrs. Frank ling,

hush.

turn on the It's

nothing,

in his room.]

(to anne, in

her room). Hush, dar(Over her dussel) Will you be kind enough to

It's all

shoulder, to

on

right. Its all right.

light, Mr.

Dussel? (Back to anne)

my darling.

It

was

just a

dream.

[DUSSEL turfts on the light in the bedroom, mrs. FRANK holds ANNE in her arms. Gradually anne comes out of her nightmare, still trembling with horror mr. frank

comes into the room, and goes quickly to the window, looking out to be sure that no one outside has

Mrs. Prank. Hush,

heard anne '5 screams, mrs. frank holds ANNE, talking softly to her In the main room margot stands on a chair, turning on the center hanging lamp. A light goes on in the van

darling,

hush.

all right.

room overhead. PErmputs his robe on, coming out of his room.] daans'

Dussel (to MRS. frank, blowing his nose). Something must be done about that child, Mrs. Frank. Yelling like that!

374

I

Still Believe

It's

Who knows but there's

somebody on the our

streets? She's

endangering

all

Mrs. Frank. Anne, darling. Dussel. Every night she twists and turns. I don't sleep. I spend half my night shushing her

And now it's

nightmares!

[margot comes

lowed by

to the

PETER. MR.

door o/anne's room, fol-

FRANK goes to them, indi-

cating that everything

is

all right, peter takes

MARGOT back.] Mrs. Frank {to anne). You're here, safe, you see? Nothing has happened. (7b dussel) Please, Mr. Dussel, go back to bed. She'll be herself in a minute or two. Won't you, Anne?

Dussel (picking up a book and a pilloiv^. Thank you, but I'm going to the w.c. The one place where there's peace! [He stalks out mr. van daan, in iDiderwear trousers,

comes down the

Daan

(to dussel).

is

"Wliat

it?

happened? Dussel.

A

nightmare. She was having a night-

mare!

Mr.

Van Daan.

I

thought someone was mur-

dering her.

Dussel. Unfortunately, no. [He goes into the bathroom, mr. van DKM^goes back up the stairs mr. frank, in the main room, sends peter back to his own bedroom.]

Go back

to.

with you

like to stay

.

.

.

didn't.

then. (She leans

night,

anne throws her arm up over her face, turning away. mrs. frank, hiding her hurt, kisses anne'x arm.) You'll be all right? There's nothing that you want? Anne. Will you please ask Father to come. Mrs. Frank (after a second}. Of course, Anne dear (She hurries out into the other room. mr. frank comes to her as she comes in.} Sie verlangt nach Dir! Mr. Frank (sensing her hurt}. Edith, Liebe, schau ..."

down

to kiss anne.

Mrs. Frank. Es macht

to bed.

wenn

nichts! Ich

danke dem

Geh

braucht!

sie Trost

ganz hysterisch vor Angst. (As MR. FRANK hesitates} Geh zu ihr.^ (He looks at her for a second and then goes to get a cup hinein. Otto, sie

ist

of water for anne. mrs. frank sinks down on the bed, her face in her hands, trying to keep from sobbing aloud, margot comes over to her putting her arms around her.} She wants nothing of me. She pulled away when I leaned

down to kiss her You heard Father Margot. It's a phase they turn to Most girls go through it .

.

Mr. Frank. Thank you, Peter

stool over, sitting there.}

Anne. You don't have Mrs. Frank. But I'd very much. Really. Anne. I'd rather you Mrs. Frank. Good

fall

lieben Herrgott, dass sie sich wenigstens an

stairs.]

What

a

asleep. (She brings

Dich wendet, Mr. "Van

Try to sleep, then.

darling.

right here beside you until you

sit

I'll

lives.

and

Mrs. Frank. Poor

.

.

.

.

.

their fathers at this age

.

.

.

.

they give

.

all

their

love to their fathers.

back to his room. MR. frank fi>llows htm, turning out the light and looking out the window. Then he goes back to the main room, and gets up on a chair, turning out the center hanging lamp. [peter ^oes

Mrs. Frank. You weren't shut

like this.

You

didn't

me out.

Margot.

She'll get

over

it.

.

.

.

]

1.

Would you like some her head.} Was it a very water? (anne shakes Mrs. Frank

(to anne).

bad dream? Perhaps if you told Anne. Id rather not talk about it.

me

.

.

.

?

Sie

.

.

.

Dir!:

German

for "She's asking for you!"

Liebe, schau: "dear, look." Angst: "It doesn't matter! I thank the dear Lord . 3. Es that she turns at least to you when she needs comfort! Go to her, Otto, she's completely hysterical with fear." 2.

.

4.

.

Geh zu

ihr: 'Go to her."

The Diary of Anne Frank, Act One 375

bed for

[She smooths the

moment as

beside her a

mrs. frank lies

In ANNE'S room mr. frank comes

down by

and

mrs. frank

anne. ANNEfli)igs Iyer

in,

sits

sound of ack-ack.

can't help

I

want her here

arms around we hear

]

me and

Mr. Frank.

I

Anne. Wliat

me

started to drag

to take this

it

goes back

Mr. Frank to

you

and

turns out the light

Do you want me

(to anne).

to read

awful? Did

Just 1

with

sit

me

Was

for a minute.

Do you

terribly loud?

)'ell

in

I

think

...

I

.

.

.

now. Try to

Lie quietly

sleep.

...

I

coward. I'm so disap-

a terrible

think I've conquered

think I'm really grown-up

then something happens like a baby.

...

I

.

.

.

and

.

.

run to

I

love you. Father.

.

I

my and you

Mr. Frank (reproachfully). Annele! Anne. It's true. I've been thinking about I

it

for a

.

my views on life

plain

.

.

.

.

.

to her, she asks

much

She's crying. She's in there crying.

Still Believe

.

putting the wet

and

I

did that day

this thing

mop now

at least

have a nicer

.

I'll

never do that again!

... a sweeter, show it. I'm afraid

side. Father

at

me

if

I'm

seri-

and the keep on trying to switch them around and have the good Anne outside and the bad Anne inside and might be and be what I'd like to be .

.

.

.if

only

.

.

.

only

is

asleep. MR.

.

.

.

.

.

frank watches her for a mo-

ment and then turns off the light, and starts out The lights dim out The curtain falls on is

and then with growing

heard, dimly at first

strength. ]

The air raids' are getting Anne's Voice. worse. They come over day and night. The noise is terrifying. Pim says it should be music to our ears. The more planes, the sooner will come the end of the war. Mrs. Van Daan pre.

.

.

me if I'm 5.

Mr. Frank. You hurt her very

I

.

I

mean Anne comes to the outside good Anne stays on the inside, and I

constipated.

376

.

the scene, anne '5 voice

love.

Mr. Frank. Its fine to hear you tell me that you love me. But I'd be happier if you said you She needs loved your mother as well. your love your help so mvich Anne. "We have nothing in common. She doesn't understand me. Whenever I try to ex.

am. Every night

people are going to laugh

[She

long time. You're the only one

but

don't love

amone but you.

.

I

nicer side. But I'm scared to

Mr. Frank. No. No.

fear

parents

I say to myself, that was wrong. I make up my mind, I'm never going to do that again. Never! Of course, I may do something

ous. So the

I

we

.

like

.

.

.

that

pointed in myself.

.

of the tilings

all

Mr

anyone outside could have heard?

Anne. I'm

that

little

trying. Really

were wrong Dussel's bed

that

worse

for a while?

Anne. No.

so

is

with Mother.

her bed.]

to

phase! Help me.

character.

think back over

drinks the water In the

main room margot

(Then, with sudden

can do to help our children. We can only try to point the way. The set a good example rest you must do yourself. You must build your

Anne. I'm

and

.

.

just a

Mr. Frank. There

own

pill.

is it?

Mr. Frank. Something to quiet you. [She takes

it's

.

.

did Jopie.

want you

I

change) Oh, Pim, I was horrible, wasn 1 1? And the worst of it is, I can stand off and look at myself doing it and know it's cruel and yet I can't stop doing it. 'Wliat's the matter with me? Tell me. Don't say

way they

only told the truth.

didn't

I

out the

1

down.

Anne. Oh, Pirn. dreamed that they came to get us! The Green Police! They broke down the door and grabbed

it.

sitting

him, clinging to him. In the distance the

Anne.

just

now.

air raids: Allied aircraft conducted air raids, or

bombing

on ground targets, in the Netherlands because the country was occupied by the Germans. attacks

What will be, planes come over, who

tends to be a

when

the

fatalist.

'

No one

frightened?

will be. But is

the most

else but Petronella!

.

.

.

Monday, the ninth of November, nineteen forty-two. Wonderful news! The Allies have landed in Africa. Pim says that

we

can look for

an early finish to the war Just for fun, he asked each of us what was the first thing we wanted

do when we got out of here. Mrs. Van Daan longs to be home with her own things, her to

needlepoint chairs, the Bechstein piano her ther gave her buy. Peter

.

.

would

.

the best that

go to

like to

fa-

money could

a movie. Mr. Dus-

says the blessing. Seated, listening, are all of the "family," dressed in their best. The men

wear hats;

peter wears his cap.

Mr. Frank (reading from a prayer book). "Praised be Thou, oh Lord our God, Ruler of the universe,

who

has sanctified us with Thy

commandments and bidden

us

kindle

the

Hanukkah

lights. Praised be Thou, oh Lord our God, Ruler of the universe, who has wrought wondrous deliverances for our fathers in days of old. Praised be Thou, oh Lord our God,

Ruler of the universe, that

Thou has given

us

and sustenance and brought us to this happy season." (mr. frank lights the one candle of the menorah as he continues.) "We kindle this Hanukkah light to celebrate the great and wonderful deeds wrought through the zeal with which God filled the hearts of the heroic Maccabees, two thousand years ago. They life

wants to get back to his dentist's drill. He's he is losing his touch. For myself, there

sel

afraid

are so

many

things

my

...

to ride a bike again

...

to laugh

new

clothes from the skin

hot tub

till

filled to

... to have out ... to have a

belly aches

overflowing and wallow in

hours ... to be back in school with

for

friends

.

.

it

my

[As the last lines are being said, the curtain

on the

rises

The

scene.

lights

dim on as anne'5

voice fades away.]

SCENE It is

5

the first night of the

table

Hannkkah

celebra-

FRANK

is

Standing at the head of the

on which

is

the menorah.

tion. MR.

shanias, or servant candle,

He lights the and holds it as he

(fat'MsO: person who believes that all events by fate and therefore cannot be prevented or affected by people's actions. 6. fatalist

are determined 7.

fought against indifference, against tyranny

.

Hanukkah (klia'noo-ka'):

joyous eight-day Jevi^ish holi-

December, celebrating the rededication of the holy Temple in Jerusalem in 164 B.C. The Temple had been taken over by the Syrians, who had conquered Jerusalem. The Maccabee family led the Jews in a successful rebellion against the Syrians and retook the Temple.

and oppression, and they restored our Temple to us. May these lights remind us that we should ever look to God, whence cometh our help." Amen. (Pronounced "o-mayn") All.

Amen.

[MR.

frank hands mrs. frank the prayer book.}

Mrs. Frank (reading). "I lift up mine eyes unto the mountains, from whence cometh my help. My help cometh from the Lord who made heaven and earth. He will not suffer thy foot to be moved. He that keepeth thee wiU not slumber. He that keepeth Israel doth neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord is thy keeper. The Lord is thy shade upon thy right hand. The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night. The Lord shall keep thee from all evil.

day, usually falling in

8.

menorah: Hebrew

ing a

menorah

for "candleholder"

Mr

Frank

is light-

that holds nine candles: eight candles,

one

each of the eight nights of Hanukkah, and the shamas, the candle used to light the others.

for

Words to Own zeal

(zel) n.:

tyranny

great enthusiasm; devotion to a cause.

(tir'a-ne)

n.:

cruel and unjust rule or use of

power.

The Diary OF Anne Frank, Act One 377

They fought keep thy soul. The Lord shall guard thy going out and thy coming in, from this time forth and forevermore." Amen.

He

shall

All.

down the prayer book and goes to get the food and wine, margot helps her MR. FRANK takes the men hats and puts FRANK puts

's

them

aside.]

Anne

That was very moving. (pulling him back}. It isn't over yet!

9. Mrs.

Frank

378

Still Believe

Dussel

I

indifference,

against

Amen.

[MRS.

against

(rising).

is

reading Psalm 121 from the Bible.

tyranny and oppression

.

.

Mrs. Van Daan.

Anne. There's

Sit

down! more, songs and

down!

a lot

Sit

\^

LiTlMATURg

presents.

Dussel. Presents?

ANS ioeiAL Studiii

Mrs. Frank. Not this year, unfortunately. Mrs. Van Daan. But always on Hanukkah everyone gives presents everyone! our Nicholas's Day. Dussel. Like St. .

[There

is

.

.

Fighting Back

a chorus of"no"sfrom the group.]

The Jews of Nazi-occupied Europe faced a far more powerful enemy than their Maccabee ancestors did. Yet

Mrs. Van Daan. No! Not like St. Nicholas! 'What kind of a Jew are you that you don't know Hanukkah? Mrs. Frank (as she brings the food). I remember particularly the candles

we

.

.

.

even

one, as

First,

When there are eight

candles,

it is

.

.

The most famous episode

V

Holocaust took place

(

ful.

..

--.

fc

Poland. By

Mrs. Frank. Invite us all next year ... in your own home. Mr. Frank. God willing! Mrs. Van Daan. God willing. Margot. What 1 remember best is the presents eight we used to get when we were little days of presents and each day they got better and better. Mrs. Frank (sitting down). We are all here, alive. That is present enough. .

Anne. No,

it

.

isn't.

city's

been

On

killed.

Jews had

April

1

7,

943, Nazi troops arrived

to deport the few

who

remained to the Treblinka death camp.

Led by twenty-four-yearold Mordecai Anielewicz, the

.

men and women

of the

War-

.

I've got

something.

.

.

saw ghetto fought back from the housetops and the sewers.

Although they were

armed only with

a

few smug-

.

gled revolvers and grenades

(She rushes into her room, hurriedly puts on

a

942, ninety per-

1

cent of the

1

.

the

in

Jewish ghetto of Warsaw,

ever tasted!

.

cir-

of Jewish resistance during the

truly beauti-

Mrs. Van Daan. And the potato pancakes. Mr. Van Daan. Don't talk about them! Mrs. Van Daan. I make the best latkes you

these desperate

to battle tyranny.

and two candles, the next night three on until you have eight candles burning. .

in

cumstances, heroes emerged

have tonight. Then, the second night, you

light

so

^

hat improvised froin the lampshade, grabs a satchel bulging with parcels, and comes running back.) Mrs. Frank. What is it?

and

little

homemade weapons,

their resistance continued for

^

y

'

a

month. In

V

.

the end, only a handful

of Jews survived the

Warsaw

ghetto uprising, but the story Day: Christian holiday celebrated in the Netherlands and other European countries on December 5, on which small gifts are given, especially to children. 10. St. Nicholas's

of their courage

lives

on.

11. latkes (lat'kaz): potato pancakes, a traditional

Hanukkah

food.

V* The Diary OF Anne Frank, Act One 379

Anne.

Anne. Two of them! Pim found some old pipe

Presents!

Mrs. Van Daan. Presents! Dussel. Look! Mr. Van Daan. Wliat's she got on her head? Peter. A lampshade! Anne. (She picks out one at random.) This is for Margot. {She hands it to margot, pulling her to her feet.) Read it out loud.

Anne.

It's

Margot

fluff in

it,

(reading).

You have never lost your temper. You never will, I fear, You are so good.

.

.

that! Light

[MR.

Putti! Light

it,

.

.

.

.

it.

VAN DAAN hesitatcs.] tobacco, really

it

is!

There's a

little

but not much.

[Everyone watches intently as MR. van daan cautiously lights

Everyone laughs.

if

Put

all

Peter.

your cross words here.

A new

cross-

word puzzle book! Wliere did you get it? Anne. It isn't new. It's one that you've done. rubbed it all out, and if you wait a little and forget, you can do it all over again. Margot (sitting). It's wonderful, Anne. Thank

it.

The cigarette flares up.

]

It

works!

Mrs. Van Daan. Look at him. Mr. Van Daan (spluttering). Thank you, Anne.

Thank you. [ANNE rushes back to her satchel for another

I

you. You'd never kno^v

it

wasn't ne^v. street-

car passing.]

Anne (with another gift). Mrs. Van Daan. Mrs. Van Daan (taking it). This is awful haven't amthing for anyone

thought

.

.

...

present.]

Anne (handing her mother a piece ofpaper). For Mother, Hanukkah greeting. (She pulls her

[From outside we hear the sound of a

I

in the pocket lining of his coat and we made them ... or rather, Pim did. Mrs. Van Daan. Let me see Well, look at

you should,

But

(She tears open the package.)

But

tobacco

I

mother to her feet.) Mrs. Frank (she reads). Here's an

lOU

that

promise to pay.

I

Ten hours of doing whatever you .

.

never

Signed,

Anne

Frank.

(MRS. frank, touched, takes

.

Mr. Frank. This is all Anne's idea. Mrs. Van Daan (holding up a bottle). Wliat

say.

.

holding her is

Dussel

anne in her arms,

close.)

(to anne).

Ten hours of doing what

you're told? Anything you're told?

it?

Anne.

shampoo. I took all the odds and ends of soap and mixed them with the last It's

hair

of my toilet water.

Anne.

That's right.

Dussel. You wouldn't want to

sell that,

Mrs.

Frank?

Mrs. Van Daan. Oh, Anneke! Anne. I wanted to write a poem for all of them, but 1 didn't have time. (OJferi)ig a large

Mrs. Frank. Never! This

box

to MR. VAN

ally

something

[She sits, showing her present to the others. ANNE hurries back to the satchel and pulls out a scarf the scarf that mr. frank found in the

daan) Yours, Mr. Van Daan, .

.

.

something you want more

than anything. (As she waits for it)

Look! Cigarettes!

Mr.

Van Daan.

Cigarettes!

12. toilet water: cologne.

380

I

Still Believe

is re-

him

to

open

gift I've

is

the most precious

ever had!

first scene. ]

Anne (offering

it

to

her father). For Pim.

Mr. Frank. Anneke ...

I

wasn't supposed to

have

s/jou'iiig

Anne. neck

to

it

.

round )'our you know. I made it

Peter. I'm going to give Mouschi his present!

to put

myself out of odds and ends. the dark each night, after afraid

it

try

...

an ascot,

like

.

.

Dussel. Look! He can't wait! He's going in to

unfolding

it.

others.)

t/.ie

a muffler

It's

and

{He takes

a present!

.

.

1

.

gone

I'd

knitted

in

it

to bed. I'm

looks better in the dark!

it

Mr. Frank (putting

Thank you,

perfectly.

on).

it

it!

(He goes into his room, slamming the door behind him.) Mr. schi,

(disgustedly).

[In the

Aiinele.

Mousclii,

Mou-

Mouschi.

me

fine. It fits

It's

Van Daan

we hear a dog

distance

persistently

barking, anne brings a gift to dussel.] [ANNE hands peter a ball ofpaper with a string

attached to

Anne. And

but never

last

least,

it]

my roommate,

Mr. Dussel.

Anne.

bow).

to

Anne (/jesitant. this is

yours

he holds

open

Dussel. For me? You have something for me?

That's for Mouschi.

Peter (rising thank you.

it

it .

.

.

.

On

behalf of Mouschi,

him a gift). And from Mrs. Quack Quack. (As

/janding

.

I

.

gingerly in his hands) 'Well

open

Aren't you going to

Peter. I'm scared

to.

.

.

.

.

.

.

(He opens the small box she gives him.) Anne. I made them myself. Dussel (puzzled). Capsules! Two capsules!

Anne. They're Anne. To put

it?

in

your ears so you won't hear

me when

know

I

earplugs!

Dussel. Earplugs?

something's going to jump out

night.

and

a

me.

hit

Anne. No.

nothing

It's

ing

Show

Daan

Wliat

it).

Anne

(as he

is it,

is

Peter?

them work

open-

Go

on.

me

it.

(excitedly).

It's

Dussel.

A what?

in

Anne. A razor! Mrs. 'Van

Daan

didn't

(looking at

make

that

me.

...

(to peter).

out of

It's

Miep got

not new.

It's

Margot Frank.

for

it

upper

lip

.

.

out of

.

.

talk

.

See

.

.

.

.

.

See

if

if

they don't

you can hear

.

.

.

.

so.

out!

Dussel. For what? his

made them

(They laugh as dussel jumps about, trying to shake the plugs out of his ears. Finally /.ie gets them out Putting

second-

hand. But you really do need a razor now.

Anne. Look on

I

and candle wax. Try

Anne. Are you ready? Dussel. Huh? Anne. Are }'ou ready? Dussel. Good God! They've gone inside! I can't get them

it).

odds and ends.

Anne

in

Dussel (putting them in his ears). 'Wait now until I get them

a safety

razor!

You

saw them advertised

I

cotton

Mrs. Van

thrash around at

magazine. They're not real

ones.

like that,

really.

I

.

you can see

them away) Thank you, Anne! Thank you!

the beginning of a moustache.

Dussel. milk on

He wants it

and

let

to get rid of that? Put a

the cat lick

it

little

off.

Peter (starting for his room). Think you're

Words to Own gingerly

(jin'jar'le) adv.: carefully; cautiously.

funny, don't you.

The Diary OF Anne Frank, Act One 38!

Mr. Van Daan. A real Hanukkah! Mrs. Van Daan. Wasn't it cute of her?

Together

Mrs. Frank. she did

know when

don't

I

into his bedroom.)

love

I

my present.

doing

Anne {sitting at the table). And now let's have the song, Father

.

.

.

please

.

.

(to dussel)

.

Have you heard the Hanukkah song, Mr. Dussel? The song is the whole thing! (She sings) "Oh, Hanukkah! Oh, Hanukkah! The sweet celebration

.

song of

.

jubilation, of rejoicing.

become too enthusiastic. Anne. Oh, please, please.

One

ANNE

Starts to sing, she

who

is

snorting

apt to

is

Let's sing the song.

.

.

[As

and

now

.

.

.

I

Ill

.

interrupted by

is

scraps

present before it.) How Out! Out! you .

.

.

.

many times ...

I

.all

.

us.

.

Don't

Damn

Out he goes

tell

me! He gets

cat looks better than

fatter

any of

tonight!

Peter. No! No! Mr.

Van Daan, you

can't

do

that! That's

Peter's cat. Peter loves that cat.

Mrs. Frank (quietly). Arme. Peter (to mr. van daan). If he goes, I go. Mr. Van Daan. Go! Go! Mrs. Van Daan. You're not going and the not going! .

.

Now

Hanukkah .

.

.

please .

.

"Wliat's

.

this

.

.

this is

.

is

cat's

Hanukkah

the time to cele-

the matter with

Come on, Anne. Let's Anne (singing).

all

of you?

have the song.

Oh, Hanukkah! Oh, Hanukkah!

The sweet

told

to peter). "What's the

matter with you? Haven't you any sense? Get that cat out of here.

Peter (innocently). Cat? Mr. Van Daan. You heard me. Get

out of

it

here!

celebration.

I

have no

cat.

Mr. Frank

(rising).

I

think

.

.

should

first

.

burn itself out. Mr. Frank. I'm sure that God understands shortages. (Before blowing it out) "Praised be Thou, oh Lord our God, who hast sustained us and permitted us to celebrate

and pulls out a bath towel The group

val."

at the

we

then we'll have someblow out the candle thing for tomorrow night. Margot. But, Father, you're supposed to let it

[Delighted with his joke, he opens his coat

this

joyous

festi-

table laugh, enjoying the joke.]

Dussel the cat

(still .

.

.

wheezing).

I

doesn't need to be

It

enough

his clothes are

he comes out of that room

382

.

.

Van Daan (going

Peter.

.

.

.

.

every day!

.

.

your mind

in

.

wheezing.]

You! Dussel (pointing to peter). You (peter is coming from his bedroom, ostentatiously holding a bulge in his coat as if he were holding his cat, and dangling anne!s

all

it!

brate

Mr.

for you. That's

(He starts back to his place at the table.) I'm doing it because I'm sick of seeing that cat eat all our food. Peter. Tliat's not true! I only give him bones

of

Anne.

promise not to shout! Mr. Frank. Very well. But quietly, keep an eye on you and when

DUSSEL,

it

(calling after him). I'm not

Mr. Van Daan.

."

Mr. Frank (quieting her). I'm afraid, Anne, we shouldn't sing that song tonight. (To dussel) It's a

Daan

Mr. Van

it.

Margot.

Mr. Van Daan. Don't worry. You won't be bothered anymore. We're getting rid of it. Dussel. At last you listen to me. (He goes off

Still Believe

.

.

.

.

.

.

when

Words to Own ostentatiously (as'tan-ta'shas-le) exaggerated way.

adv.: in a

showy or

[He

is

about

deuly there

to is

blow out the candle when suda crash of something falling

below. They all freeze in horror, motionless. For a few seconds there is complete silence, mr. FRANK slips off his shoes. The others noiselessly follow his example, mr. frank tur>is out a light near him. He motions to peter to turn off the center lamp, peter tries to reach it, realizes he

cannot,

and gets up on a

chair Just as he

is

touching the lamp, he loses his balance. The chair goes out from under him. He falls. The

lampshade ciashes to the floor There is a sound offeet below running down the stairs.] iron

Van Daan (under

Mr.

Almighty! (The only light

Hanukkah

candle,

God comes from the

comes frorn

dussel

his

room. MR. frank creeps over to the stairwell listening. The dog is heard bark-

and stands

ing excitedly.)

Do you hear anything?

Mr. Frank (in a whisper). No.

I

think they've

gone.

Mrs. Van Daan.

Its the

Green

amis.]

Mrs. Frank. Get some water, please! Get some water!

[margot starts for the sink.] Mr.

Van Daan (grabbing margot). No! No! No

one's going to run water! Mr. Frank. If they've found us, they've found us. Get the water (margot starts again for the sink. MR. FRANK, getting a flashlight) I'm going

down.

breath).

his left

faint MRS. FRANK ^oe^ to her quickly, sitting beside her on the floor and taking her in her

Police.

They've

found us. Mr. Frank. If they had, they wouldn't have left. They'd be up here by now. Mrs. Van Daan. I l:now it's the Green Police. They've gone to get help. That's ail. They'll be

[margot rushes

to

him, clinging to him. anne

struggles to consciousness.]

Margot. No, Father, no! There may be someone there, waiting. ... It may be a trap! Mr. Frank. This is Saturday. There is no way for us to know what has happened until Miep or Mr Kraler comes on Monday morning. We cannot

live

with

this uncertainty.

Margot. Don't go. Father! Mrs. Frank. Hush, darling, hush.

down

slips quietly out,

(mr. frank

the steps,

and out

through the door below.) Margot! Stay close to me.

back!

Van Daan. Or

Mr.

it

may have been

Gestapo,'' looking for papers

.

.

Mr. Frank (interrupting). Or a

the

Mr. Van Daan. Shush! Shush!

.

thief,

looking

money. Mrs. Van Daan. We've got to do sometliing

[MRS.

for

Quick! Quick! Before they

Mr.

Van Daan. There

isn't

come

[margot ^oe,s to her mother]

.

.

.

back.

anything to do. Just

FRANK whlspers to margot to get the

water margot goes for Mrs. Van Daan. Get our money.

wait.

Police off, so [MR.

FRANK holds Up his

quiet.

He

is

hand for them

listening intently. There

to

is

plete silence as they all strain to hear

be

com-

any

sound from below. Suddenly anne begins to sway With a low cry she falls to the floor in a 13.

Gestapo (g3-sta'po): Nazi

secret pobce.

I

it.

Putti,

]

where

s

our money?

hear you can buy the Green

much

a head.

Go

upstairs quick!

Get the money! Mr. Van Daan. Keep still! Mrs. Van Daan (kneeling before him, pleading). Do you want to be dragged off to a concentration camp? Are you going to stand there and wait for them to come up and get you? Do something,

I

tell

you!

The Diary of Anne Frank, Act One 383

Mr, Van

keep

Daan (pushing

her aside). Will you

still!

Mr. Frank. The danger has passed, (margot goes to light the small lamp.) Don't be so terrified,

[He goes over to the stairwell to

listen,

goes to his mother helping her up onto the There

sofa.

can stand

is

it

a second of

silence; then ajvne

after Father!

Make Father

Peter (starting for the door). I'll go. Mr. Van Daan. Haven't you done enough? [He pushes peter roughly away. In his anger against his father peter grabs a chair as hit

him with

it,

face in his hands, mrs.

Who

danger has passed?

says the

Don't you realize

we are in greater danger than

Mr. Frank. Mr. Dussel, will you be still! (mr. frank takes anne back to the table, making her sit down with him, trying to calm hen)

Dussel (pointing to peter). Thanks to this clumsy fool, there's someone no^v who knows we re up here! Someone now knows we're up here, hiding!

if to

down, burying his frank begins to pray

then puts

Dussel.

safe.

ever?

no longer]

Anne. Someone go come back!

We re

Anne.

peter

it

softly]

Daan

Mrs. Van

knows we're one?

(going to

here, yes. But

A thief! A thief! You

shocked into silence, mrs. frank pulls her closer, holding her protectively in her [ANNE

think a thief

."

.

.

[She stops as she hears

someone coming.

watch the door tensely, mr. frank comes quietly in. anne rushes to him, holding all

tight.]

Mr. Frank.

It

was

a thief. That noise

must have

didn't stop to shut the street door.

It

was

swinging wide open. (A breath of relief sweeps over them.) I think it would be good to have light.

Margot. Are you sure

I

"I

.

1

going

is

was

heard a

a thief

is

1

think he

Daan

Mrs. Van

will.

(hysterically). You're crazy!

peter follows

Still Believe

pushing dussel

protectively,

aside.)

someday hell be caught and then he'll make a bargain with the Green Police ... if the) '11 let him off he'll tell them where some Jews are hiding! Dussel.

1

think

[He goes off into the bedroom. There

is

a

sec-

ond of appalled silence.] Mr.

Van Daan.

He's right.

Father, let's get out of here!

stay here

now

.

.

.

Let's

go

.

.

We

can't

.

Van Daan. Go! Wliere? Mrs. Frank (sinking into her Mr.

Mrs. Van Daan. Thank God. Mr. Frank. He took the cash box. And the radio. He ran away in such a hurry that he

384

"

Dussel. Yes.

Anne.

scared him away.

some

up over my head? You think going to do that?

.

(She stumbles back to her seat at the table.

Mrs. Frank (softly, praying). "I lift up mine eyes unto the mountains, from whence Cometh my help. M)' help cometh from the Lord who made heaven and earth. He will not suffer thy foot to be mo^'ed ... He that keepeth thee will not slumber

him

.

noise

the some-

is

arms.]

They

is

go to the Green Police and say robbing a place the other night and to

Anne. Please, please, Mr. Van Daan. Get Father Mr. Van Daan. Quiet! Quiet!

Someone

dussel).

who

table). Yes. 'Wliere?

Mr. Frank all

faith?

(rising, to

right?

them

all).

Have

we

lost

AU courage? A moment ago we

WORDS TO Own appalled (a-pold')

it's all

chair at the

v.

used as

adj.:

horrified; sliocl<ed.

Anne. We can't stay

here

thought that they'd it

come

was the end. But

alive, safe. (mr. sits.

for us.

We were

sure

wasn't the end. We're

it

van daan goes to the table

and

"We thank Thee, oh Lord Thy infinite mercy Thou hast

[DUSSEL

now

.

comes from the bedroom. He comes

over to the

table,

standing beside margot,

lis-

tening to them as they sing.]

MR. FRANK pra)'5)

our God, that

in

{He blows out the candle, then turns to anne.) Come on, Anne. The song! Let's have the song! {He starts to again seen

fit

to spare us."

ANNE finally starts falteringly to sing, as MR. FRANK iirges her on. Her voice is hardly

sing.

Together We'll weather Whatever tomorrow may

[As they sing

bring.

on with growing courage, the

lights start to dim.]

audible at first.)

So hear us rejoicing

Anne {singing).

And merrily voicing The Hanukkah song that we

Oh, Hanukkah! Oh, Hanukkah! celebration The sweet .

.

.

.

.

sing.

Hoy! .

on singing, the others gradually their voices still shaking with fear. join in, MRS. VAN daan sobs US She sings.

[The lights are out The curtain starts slowly

[As she goes

]

Hear us rejoicing

And

Group.

merrily voicing

The Hanukkah song

Around the In

to fall.]

feast

complete

.

.

.

Happiest of sea

.

.

.

.

we

.

jubilation .

.

.

.

.

.

sons

are the reasons for

we

sing.

good

[They are

still

singing as the curtain falls.]

Curtain

Now is here. Many

that

gather

.

cheer.

The Diary of Anne Frank, Act One 385

Making Meanings (Act One, Scenes 4-5) First I

.

Thoughts

Now that you've

read Scenes 4 and

have your feelings about

Anne and

5,

Reading Check

how

a.

the

made

do the events

fol-

lowing Anne's nightmare

other characters changed? (Check the notes you

How in

while reading.)

Scene 4 reveal tensions

between Anne and two other members of the

Shaping Interpretations 2.

Go

back to the

tives,

Anne

if

any,

is

Which

the course of the

in

household?

made

b. Describe

adjec-

Scene 5

gift

How

do her

gifts

show

that she has changed?

giving reveal

that

play.

•

What

5.

How

does Peter do to

how will that

it

What

According to Dussel,

—the sudden change fortunes —

did

interrupted.

make matters worse?

about her?

make you

by the police?

central

is

this incident

lead to their discovery

Describe the reversal

to Scene

is

feel?

Imagine that you are watching this play

in

a

What questions do you have as the curtain comes down on Act One? What do you predict will happen in Act Two?

theater.

Connecting with the Text 6.

Reread Anne's conversation with her father on page 376. say that reminds

—or the

you the most

—of

least

What does

she

yourself? Explain.

Challenging the Text 7.

The

play's

pened. (Check the time •

in real life,

Anne was

birthday, several •

The Frank Van

many ways from what actually hapsome of the actual facts.) For example:

version of events differs

family

line for

in

given the diary as a present for her thirteenth

weeks before her

moved

Pels family did.

family

into the Secret

went

Annex

(Anne made up names. She

into hiding.

a

week

before the

called the

Van

Pels family

the Van Daans.) •

Margot was

•

The occupants

sixteen, not eighteen,

of the Secret

when

Annex

the Franks went into hiding.

often ventured to the lower floors

of the office building after working hours.

Why might the writers Do

386

I

Still Believe

have chosen to change each of these details?

you think the changes make the

in

she

is,

to her mother and Peter

the characters'

how the

Hanukkah celebration

would you change now? Why?

does Anne's

in

5.

1-3.

dynamic character;

a

changes

4.

of characters you

you read Scenes

after

3.

list

play

more

effective? Explain.

Act Two SCENE

1

In the darkness

we hear anne's

voice,

again reading from

the diary.

Anne's Voice.

Saturday, the

first

of January, nineteen forty-

we find ourselves Another new still in our hiding place. We have been here now for one year, five months, and twenty-five days. It seems that our year has begun and

four.

life is at

a standstill.

[The curtain rises on the scene. It is late afternoon. Everyone is bundled up against the cold. In the main room mrs. FRANK is taking down the laundry, which is hung across the back.

.mr.

frank

sits in

the chair

down

left,

reading.

on the couch with a blanket over her and MARGOT is the many-colored knitted scarf around her throat, anne is lying

seated at the center table, writing in her diary, peter, mr. and MRS. VAN daan, and dussel are all in their own rooms,

reading or lying down.

As

the lights

dim

on, anne'5 voice continues, without

a

break.]

Anne's Voice.

We

are

all

a

little

thinner.

The Van Daans'

Mother still does not understand me. But then I don't understand her either There is one great change, however. A change in myself. I read "discussions" are as violent as ever.

somewhere

that girls of

themselves. That they

my age

become

think of the miracle that

is

don't feel quite certain of quiet within and begin to

taking place in their bodies.

happening to me is so wonderfiil not only what can be seen, but what is taking place inside. Each time it has happened, I have a feeling that 1 have a sweet secret. iWe hear the chimes aiul then a hymn being played on the think that what

I

.

.

is

.

carillon outside.) for the time

And

when I

-y^

any pain, 1 long that secret within me again.

in spite of

shall feel

rp^lfffrS'

'

'TIhe

Diary of

Anne Frank, Act Two 387

[The buzzer of the door below suddenly sounds. Everyone is startled, mr. frank tiptoes

and

cautiously to the top of the steps

Again the buzzer sounds,

listens.

in tsWF's Vfor-victory

signal]

Mr. Kraler (giving a bouquet of flowers to MRS. VAN DAAN). With my hope for peace in the

New Year. Peter (anxiously). Miep, have

)'Ou seen MouHave you seen him anywhere around? Miep. I'm sorry, Peter. I asked everyone in the neighborhood had they seen a gray cat. But

schi?

Mr. Frank.

Its Miep!

down

[He goes quickly

the steps to unbolt the

they said no.

door. MRS. FRANK Calls upstairs to the van daans

and then

[MRS.

to peter.]

comes up the

Mrs. Frank. Wake up, everyone! Miep is here! (ANNE quickly puts her diaty away margot sits up, pulling the blanket around her shoulders. DUSSEL sits on the edge of his bed, listendisgruntled

ing,

comes up the

miep

,

Miep

.

.

.

a1^d Mr. Kraler

.

.

.

What

a de-

lightful surprise!

Mr. Kraler.

We came

to bring

you

New Year's

greetings.

Mrs. Frank. You shouldn't you should have at least one day to yourselves. {She goes .

quickly to the stove

.

.

and brings down teacups

and tea for all of them.) Anne, Don't them!

say that,

(^Sniffing

at

it's

miep'.s

so v^^onderful to see

coat)

I

can smell the

wind and the cold on your clothes.

Miep {giving her

thefloivers).

There you

(Then, to margot, feeling her forehead) are you, Margot?

.

.

.

steps,

Mr. Frank. Look what Miep's brought for us! Mrs. Frank (taking it). A cake! Mr. Van Daan. A cake! (He pinches miep's cheeks gaily I'll

get

some

and hurries up

Feeling any better?

Im all right. Anne. We filled her ftiU of every kind of pill so she won't cough and make a noise.

and starts out to Join

the others.]

Mrs. Frank. Thank you, Miepia. You shouldn't have done it. You must have used all of your sugar ration for weeks. (Giving it to mrs. van DAAN) It's beautiful, isn't it?

Mrs. Van Daan. It's been ages since I even saw a cake. Not since you brought us one last year. (Without looking at the cake, to miep) Remember? Don't you remember, you gave us one on

New

Year's Day? Just this time last year? it

"

on

it.

(She looks at the cake

'Peace in nineteen forty-four!"

Miep. Well, it has to come sometime, you know. (As DUSSEL comes from his room) Hello, Mr. Dussel.

Mr.

How are you?

Van Daan

and a knife). Now, how many of us

(bringing plates

Here's the knife,

liefje.

are there?

playing.]

Mrs. Van Daan. Well,

hello, Miep. Mr. Kraler.

Words to Own disgruntled (dis-grunt"ld)

1.

V-for-victory signal: three short rings and one long

ring,

388

Morse code

I

tor the letter

Still Believe

T,'

the Allied s)'mbol for victory.

I'll

because you had "Peace in nine-

teen forty-three

and reads)

Mr. Kraler. [She runs into her room to put the flowers in water mr. and mrs. van daan come from upstairs. Outside there is the sound of a ba)id

cupboard.)

room, hastily puts a coat on

are.

Margot.

to the

plates.

[DUSSEL, in his

never forget

How

of tea. .VIR. FRANK carrying a small cake on Clip

a plate.]

steps,

followed by mr. kraler. They bring flowers, books, newspapers, etc. anne rushes to miep, throwing her arms affectionately around her.)

FRANK gives MIEP a

annoyed.

v.

used as

adj.:

displeased;

A f Taking a Stand While many Europeans,

own

fearing for their

safety, did

nothing as the

Nazis tool< away their Jewish neighbors and friends, a courageous few

Miep and Kraler came to the

homes

for

When

aid of Jews.

months or years and shared

Some even

their

Jews

in

their

like

own

rations with them.

Denmark in 943, the Danish As German ships waited in the har-

Nazi police began arresting Jews

population organized a daring rescue.

meager

hid

in

1

bor of Copenhagen to take the country's eight thousand Jews to concen-

more than seven thousand Jews were sneaked onto fishing The boats then carried them to safety in Sweden. The state of Israel has honored many of those who risked their own lives

tration camps, boats.

.

fl

to help Jews hide or escape during the Holocaust. in

their

law);

honor

is

inscribed with this saying from the

"One who

saves a single

Miep. None for me, thank you. Mr. Frank. Oh, please. You must. Miep. I couldn't. Mr. Van Daan. Good! That leaves one

two

.

.

.

three

.

.

.

Mr.

Mrs. Van Daan. .

.

.

Frank's cake, all

I

take

s

the

it

it

for

It's

is it,

not Mrs.

Miep?

It's

for

Dussel. Mrs. Frank divides things DUSSEL). What are

you

trying

to say?

Anne.

Mr. Van Daan. Oh, come on!

I

cake.

better.

Daan {going to

granted Margot

'Wliy wouldn't she! Mrs. Frank. I think it won't harm her Mr. Van Daan. All right! All right! just didn't want her to start coughing again, that's all. Dussel. And please, Mrs. Frank should cut the

> Together

of us.

Mrs. Van out.

Talmud (book of Jewish

difference?

is! I

medal presented

Mr. Van Daan. What

seven of us.

Van Daan. left Margot wont eat any.

silver

saves the entire universe."

life

Dussel. Eight! Eight! h's the same number as always

A

\ Together

Stop wasting time!

Mrs. Van Daan {to dussel). Don't I always give everybody exactly the same? Don't I? Mr. Van Daan. Forget it, Kerli. Mrs. Van Daan. No. I want an answer! Don't I?

The Diary of Anne Frank, Act Two 389

Dussel. Yes. Yes. Everybody gets exactly the except Mr. Van Daan always gets a same .

.

little bit

VAN DAAN advances on dussel, the knife

[MR. still

.

more.

in his hand.]

Mr. Van Daan. That's

a

Anne.

lie!

of the van

DAANS.]

Mr. Frank. Please, please! {Then, to miep) You see v^hat a little sugar cake does to us? It goes our heads! Mr. Van Daan (handing mrs. frank the knife). Here you are, Mrs. Frank. Mrs. Frank. Thank you. {Then, to miep, as she goes to the table to cut the cake) Are you sure right to

everyone!

Mrs. Van Daan (sharply). Putti, where are you going? (She rushes up the stairs after him, calling hysterically.) What do you want? Putti,

what

No,

really,

crazy about that old fur coat.

Dussel. so

Is

I

have to

in the dis-

tance. ]

It's

you say and I'll

Maybe Mouschi went back to Do you ? I mean ... do you ever get over there ? suppose you could Miep. I'll try, Peter. The first minute I get, I'll try. But I'm afraid, with him gone a week Dussel. Make up your mind, already someone miep). .

.

.

they say that cats ... .

.

.

.

.

.

.

has had a nice big dinner from that [peter

ward

furious, inarticulate

.

.

cat!

He

a fur coat in times

Mrs. Frank (to miep). This is delicious, Miep! Mrs. Van Daan (eating hers). Delicious! Mr. Van Daan (finishing it in one gulp). Dirk's in luck to get a girl who can bake like teacup).

.

I

mean

it

.

.

.

.

.

.

I'll

.

.

.

.

a piercing scream from

mrs.

van

is

starting downstairs with

it.]

My

me

father gave

me. You have no

that!

You

right. Let

didn't give

go of

it

.

.

it .

to

you

VAN DAAN pulls the coat from her hands hurries downstairs, mrs. van daan sinks to

comes into the main room, the others look away, embarthe floor, sobbing.

rassed for him.

Mr. Van

As

mr. van daan

]

Daan

(to mr. kraler). Just a little—

Words to Own inarticulate (in'ar-tik'yoo-lit) adj.: unable to speak. Inarticulate also means "unable to speak understand-

this!

have to run. Dirk's taking

.

PETER turns away, embarrassed, miserable.)

and

Still Believe

worry about

Mrs. Van Daan. No! No! No! Don't you dare take that! You hear? It's mine! (Downstairs

DUSSEL as if to hit him. mr. frank stops

Miep (putting down her empty

is

van DAAN

[MR.

.

situation.]

I

possible that anyone

hear?

him. MRS. FRANK spcaks quickly to ease the

390

Is it

DAAN, above. She grabs at the fur coat as mr.

starts to-

is

possible?

and none of your darn business I'll, I'll take you one more thing

.

.

[There

our house

it

as to

silly

Peter.

sound of the band fades out

Peter (to

wrong?

Peter (his sympathy is with his mother). Father says he's going to sell her fur coat. She's

if

[The

to do?

(to PETER). Wliat's

like this?

tea).

minute.

in a

you going

are

Miep

is

you won't have some? go

Remember now what

heavenly!

wearing and what you have to eat and everything, so you can tell us tomorrow. Miep. I'll give you a full report! Goodbye, is

Mr. Van Daan (to miep). Just a minute. There's something I'd like you to do for me. (He hurries off up the stairs to his room. )

[DUSSEL retreats before the onslaught

Miep (drinking her

How

everyone

I

me to a party tonight.

ably or effectively."

discussion over the advisability of selling this

As

coat.

I

have often reminded Mrs. Van Daan, it when people

very selfish of her to keep

it's

outside are in such desperate need of clothing.

.

.

.

(//f gires the

will please to sell

good

cigarettes.

get

for us?

it

And by

price.

coat to

miep.)

So

should fetch a

It

me

the way, will you get

don't care what kind they are

I

you

if

.

.

.

you can.

all

Miep.

them,

terribly difficult to get

It's

Daan. But

I'll

try.

Mr Van

Mr. Kraler. No, advice

door after her

mrs. frank gives mr.

KRALER a cup of tea.]

Mr

Mr. Kraler.

I'd

Van Daan.

Mr.

Kraler?

we all hear it. Mr. Kraler {turning that

the children

You're

still

feeling badly? Wliat

.

apprehension, the stairs

.

don't .

man

the bottom step.

in the

]

storeroom ...

1

know whether or not you remember him about

Carl,

.

a

It's

van daan comes

mrs.

and sits on

heavyset, nearsighted

fifty,

before you

just

left.

Mr. Frank. He was from Utrecht?

when

was

I

in the

the door and asked

.

A couple of weeks

me

.

storeroom, he closed .

Mr

"How's

.

Mr

Frank?

weeks

I

finally

one on the telephone.

I

told

but he thought

Oh,

tried.

1

1

.

.

.

managed him I'd like

wasn't feeling very well.

over the teleYou know what he answers phone "Stick out your tongue!" (They .

.

.

He

.

.

.

turns to mr. frank as mr. frank

comes back.) 1 have some contracts here ... I wonder if you'd look over them with me Mr. Frank (putting out his hand). Of course. Mr. Kraler {he rises). If we could go down.

.

.

ahead; mr. kraler speaks to the others.) Will you forgive us? I won't keep him but a minute. {He starts to fol.

.

(MR. frank starts

low MR. FRANK doWll the StCpS.) Margot {with sudden foreboding). Wliat's happened? Something's happened! Hasn't it, Kraler?

[MR.

.

him I only knew there was a rumor that you were in Switzerland. He said he'd heard that rumor too,

an appointment ...

Mr

tense

down

ago,

{sitting at the table).

they're so busy. After

.

.

MR. KRALER Speaks, they all listen with in-

Mr. Kraler. That's the man.

But you can't get near a doctor these days

stairs

him, quietly). But

?

.

.

... He came with us

better not.

.

Mr. Kraler

laugh.

.

to

Mr. Frank. What they'd imagine would be worse than any reality.

.

does your doctor say? Mr. Kraler. I haven't been to him. Mrs. Frank. Now, Mr Kraler!

to get

.

Mr. Kraler.

Mrs. Frank. Are you sure you won't have cake,

father's

Goodbye.

[She goes. mr. frank follows her down the steps

some

.

want your

1

Margot. Something's gone wrong! I know it! Mr. Frank {coming back, to mr. kraler). If it's something that concerns us here, it's better

[.,45

to bolt the

.

really.

KRALER stops

and comes back,

trying to

Wliat do you hear from

1

might

I

Frank?"

told

1

know something

didn't pay any attention to

it

.

.

.

more.

but then a

happened yesterday He'd brought some invoices to the office for me to sign. As I was going through them, I looked up. He was thing

.

standing staring

at

.

the bookcase

.

.

.

your

He said he thought he remembered door there Wasn't there a door there that used to go up to the loft? Then he told me he wanted more money. Twenty guilders' more a week. Mr. Van Daan. Blackmail! Mr. Frank. Twenty guilders? Very modest bookcase. a

.

.

.

blackmail.

Van Daan. That's just the beginning. Dussel {coming to mr. frank). You know what 1 think? He was the thief who was down there Mr.

re-

assure MARGOT ivith a pretense of casualness.]

2.

guilders

(gil'd.irz):

Dutch money.

The Diary OF Anne Frank, Act Two 391

that night. That's

Mr. Frank

how

he knows we're here.

How was

(Jo MR. kraler).

'What did you

it

left?

him?

tell

I had to think about it. What Take a him the mone\'? chance on firing him ... or what? I don't

Mr. Kraler. shall

I

do?

I

said

Pa>-

.

.

.

know. Dussel {frantic). For God's sake, don't fire him! Pay him what he asks keep him here where you can have )'our eye on him. Mr. Frank. Is it so much that he's asking? What are they paying nowadays? .

.

.

Mr. Kraler. He could get

it in a war plant. But war plant. Mind you, I don't know if he really knows or if he doesn't know. Mr. Frank. Offer him half Then we'll soon

this isn't a

.

find out

if it's

Dussel. And

.

.

blackmail or not.

question of time now. (He goes to the

just a

it's

window at the back and stands looking out.) Margot. Sometimes I wish the end would whatever it is. come Mrs. Frank (^shocked). Margot! .

.

.

[ANNE got^5 to MARGOT, Sitting beside her

on the

couch with her anus around her]

Margot. Then

at least

we'd

know where we

were.

Mrs. Frank. You should be ashamed of yourself! Talking that way! Think how lucky we are! Think of the thousands dying in the war, every day. Think of the people in concentration camps. Anne (Jnterrupting). What's the good of that? What's the good of thinking of misery when

We've got to pay it, haven't we? Anything he asks we've got to pay! Mr. Frank. Let's decide that when the time comes. Mr. Kraler. This may be all my imagination. You get to a point, these days, where you suspect everyone and everything. Again and again ... on some simple look or word, I've found

Anne. We're young, Margot and Peter and I! You grown-ups have had your chance! But look

myself.

at

.

if it is?

.

you're already miserable? That's stupid!

Mrs. Frank. Anne!

ANNE goes on raging at her mother, MRS. FRANK tries to break in, in an effort to quiet [As

her]

us

[The telephone rings in the office below.]

to

Mrs. Van

Daan

.

.

.If

we begin thinking of all the

in the world,

(hurrying to mr. kraler).

.

some kind

.

ideals,

.

the telephone ringing on a holiday?

such a mess!

my

go over some papers

when

there out.)

I

told her

my office ...

I

had to

to call

me

she got out of church. (He starts

offer liim half, then.

I'll

hope

in

wife.

Goodbye

.

.

.

we'll

for the best!

dOOr below During the following scene, mr. frank comes back up and stands listening, disMR. FRANK follows MR. KRALER tO bolt the

turbed.] (to MR.

son for

tliis

392

I

.

.

VAN DAAN). You Can thank your .

smashing the

Still Believe

light!

I

tell

you.

We

.

.

horror

We're trying to hold on .

.

.

when

everything

fault that

it

everything is

being de-

the world

weren't around

So don't try to take

when

all

is

in

this

out on us! {She

rushes off to her room, slamming the door after her She picks

and

hurls

settee,

[The group call their goodbyes halfheartedly.

Dussel

started!

of ideals .

stroyed!

It

lost!

hopes isn't our

There's the telephone! Wliat does that mean,

Mr. Kraler. That's

we're

Mr.

it

up a brush from

to the floor

sits

on the

trying to control her anger.)

Van Daan. She

war! Did cake.

Then she

the chest

we

As he

start

talks as if

we

started the

the war? (//e spots anne'.s

starts to take

it,

peter anticipates

him.) Peter. She

left

her cake. (He starts for anne'5

room with the cake. There is silence main room. MRS. van daan goes up

in the

to her room, followed by MR. van daan. dussel stays

ing to hide the signs of her tears, peter holds

out the cake to

Anne

{dully).

go

[peter starts to

Peter.

You

her.)

left this.

Thanks.

comes

out, then

thought you were fine

I

back.]

now. You

just

know just how to talk to them. You know just how to say it. I'm no good ... never can think especial!)' when I'm mad That Dussel when he said that about Mouschi I

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

someone eating him ... I wanted to hit him. .

.

.

.

all

could think

I

1 wanted to give him such a a that he'd That's what 1 used to do when there was an argument

is

.

at school. .

.

.

.

And an

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

way

That's the

.

old

man

like that

I

.

.

...

.

.

.

it

but here

wouldn't

be so good.

Anne. You're making do

it all

wrong.

hurt people's feelings.

1

to say

.

much.

.

.

.

if it

.

.

to his

.

room.

'Wliat

1

I

.

.

]

want

wasn't for you around here,

What mean

1

far. I

.

.

think you're just fine

don't know.

go too

I

window, going

[dussel leaves the

Peter.

mistake about me.

a big

say too

1

I

.

by dussel '5 turning on the light. DUSSEL stands in the doorway, startled to see PETER. PETER advauccs toward him forbiddingly. DUSSEL backs out of the room, peter closes the door on him. [peter is interrupted

Peter.

You

know just how to talk to

]

them.

Anne. Do you mean mean it? Peter.

I

said

it,

didn't

Anne. Thank you,

it,

Peter?

Do you

really

I?

Peter!

main room mr. and mrs. frank collect the dishes and take them to the sink, washing them. marc;ot lies down again on the couch. room and DUSSEL, lost, wanders into peter takes up a book, starting to read. [In the

looking out the window, mr. frank brings mrs.

FRANK her cake. She eats

it

slowly,

without

rel-

'5

ish.

MR. FRANK takes his cake to

margot and sits

on the sofa beside her peter stands in the doorway o/anne'5 darkened room, looking at her, then makes a little movement to let her know he is there, anne sits up quickly, try-

]

quietly

Peter (looking at the photographs on the wall). You've got quite a collection.

Anne. Wouldn't you

like

some

in

your room?

1

The Diary of Anne Frank, Act Two 393

could give you some. Heaven knows you spend

enough time what .

Peter.

.

in there

.

.

.

doing heaven knows

easier.

A

or an argument

fight starts,

... I duck in there. Anne. You're lucky, having a room to go to. His Lordship is always here ... I hardly ever get a minute alone. Wlien they start in on me, I can't duck away.

I

have to stand there and take

You gave some of

.

.

Peter.

.

.

.

.

with me.

right

said

I

it,

it?

didn't

I?

[He goes out. anne stands in her doorivay

looking after him. As peter gets to his door, he stands for a minute looking back at her Then

he goes into his room, dussel

it

.

It's all

Anne. Do you mean

it.

back just now. Anne. I get so mad. They've formed their opinions about everything but we We have probwe're still trying to find out lems here that no other people our age have ever had. And just as you think you've solved them, something comes along and bang! You have to start all over again. Peter. At least you've got someone you can talk Peter.

how you

say that.

Peter.

.

It's

of steam. You'll have to be careful

lot

.

.

.

.

.

and

in,

rises

as he comes

quickly passes him, going out

starts across for bis

He

room, anne sees bim com-

and pulls her door shut, dussel turns back toward peter 's room, peter pulls his door shut. ing

DVSSEi stands there, bewildered, forlorn.

The scene slowly dims

on the

out.

The curtain falls

scene, anne'5 voice cotnes over in the

darkness

.

.

.

faintly at first

growing strength.

and

then with

]

to.

Anne. Not

Mother ...

really.

anything serious with stand.

Father's

everything

Mother.

.

.

her.

We

right.

all

I

never discuss

She doesn't undercan

about

talk

everything but one

.

He simply won't

talk

about

her.

thing. I

don't

think you can be really intimate with anyone

if

he holds something back, do you? Peter.

I

think your father's fine.

Anne. Oh, he

is,

who's ever given

Peter!

me

He

is!

all sit

He's the only one

the feeling that

I

have any

sense. But anyway, nothing can take the place

of school and play and friends of your

... or near your age

own

age

can it? suppose you miss your friends and all. Anne. It isn't just {She breaks off, staring up at bim for a second.) Isn't it funny, you and I? Here we've been seeing each other every minute for almost a year and a half, and this is the first time we've ever really talked. It helps a lot to have someone to talk to, don't you think? It helps you to let off steam. Peter igoing to the door). Well, any time you want to let off steam, you can come into my room. Peter.

394

I

.

I

.

Anne

.

.

i following

Still Believe

.

.

him).

I

Anne's Voice. We've had bad news. The people from whom Miep got our ration books have been arrested. So we have had to cut down on our food. Our stomachs are so empty that they rumble and make strange noises, all in different keys. Mr. 'Van Daan's is deep and low, like a bass fiddle. Mine is high, whistling like a flute. As we

can get up an awful

around waiting

chestra tuning up.

It

an

or-

only needs Toscanini

to

for supper,

it's

like

baton and we'd be off in the "Ride of

raise his

the Valkyries."

nineteen

Monday, the sixth of March,

forty-four. Mr. Kraler is in the hospital.

seems he has ulcers. Pim says we are his ulMiep has to rim the business and us too. The Americans have landed on the southern tip It

cers.

of

Italy.

Father looks for a quick finish to the

3- Toscanini (tas'ka-ne'ne): Arturo Toscanini (1867-195"'), a famous orchestra conductor.

"Ride of the Valkyries" val kir'ez): lively piece of music from an opera by the German composer Richard Wagner(1813-1883). 4.

(

•

Words to Own forlorn

(for -lorn') ad'y.

abandoned and

lonely.

war. Mr. Dussel

is

waiting every

da)' for tlie

warehouse man to demand more money. Have I been skipping too much from one subject to another? I can't help it. I feel that spring is coming. I feel it in my whole bod}' and soul. I feel utterly confused. I am longing ... so longing .

.

for everything

.

one .

.

.

.

.

.

for friends

.

some-

.for

.

someone who understands someone young, who feels as I do

to talk to

.

.

.

.

.

.

hands, anne turns to margot.)

these last lines are being said, the curtain

rises

on the

scene.

The

lights

dim

on. anne's

Margot. Oh, stop

.

.

Anne. A

.

and a

little

not.

You've got nice

of animation, and

lot

m SCENE 2

self,

and takes a

outside

we

hear the sound of children playing. The "grown-ups" with the exception of mr. van DAAN, are all in the main room. MRS. frank is doing some mending, mrs. van daan is reading a fashion magazine, mr. frank is going over business accounts,

dussel,

in

his

dentist's

pacing up and down, impatient to get into his bedroom, mr. van daan is upstairs working on a piece of embroidery in an embroidery frame.

jacket,

is

In his

room

peter

is

sitting before the mir-

ror, smoothing his hair As the scene goes on, he puts on his tie, brushes his coat and puts it on, preparing himself meticulously for a visit

from

ANNE.

On

his wcdl are )iow

hung some of

motion picture stars. room anne too is getting dressed. She stands before the mirror in her slip, trying various ways of dressing her hair margot is seated on the sofa, hemming a skirt for anne to wear In the main room dussel can stand it no longer. He comes over, rapping sharply on the door of his and anne',s bedroom. anne'.s

In her

Anne (calling to him). No, no, Mr Dussel! am not dressed yet. (dussel walks away, furious, sitting down and burying his head in his I

.

.

brassiere out of

margot'? sewing basket She holds

From

.

vague, aren't you?

[She reaches over

evening, after supper

that?

fishing.

Anne. No. No. Tell me. Margot. Of course you're

voice fades out.]

It is

is

Margot iglanciiig at her briefly). Fine. Anne. You didn't even look. Margot. Of course I did. It's fine. Anne. Margot, tell me, am I terribly ugly?

eyes [^4*^

How

How does that look?

studying the

effect in the

it

up

to her-

mirror Outside,

MRS. FRANK, feelijig sorry for dussel, conies over,

knocking at the girls

'

door.]

Mrs. Frank {outside). May I come in? Margot. Come in. Mother Mrs. Frank {shutting the door behind

Mr Dussel's Anne {still takes the

her).

impatient to get in here.

with the brassiere). Heavens, he

room

for himself the entire day.

Mrs. Frank {gently). Anne, dear, you're not going in again tonight to see Peter? Anne {dignified). That is my intention.

Mrs. Frank. But you've already spent

a great

deal of time in there today.

Anne. I was in there exactly twice. Once

to get

the dictionary, and then three quarters of an

hour before supper Mrs. Frank. Aren't you afraid you're disturbing him? Anne. Mother, I have some intuition. Mrs. Frank. Then may I ask you this much, Anne. Please don't shut the door when you go in. Anne. You sound like Mrs. Van Daan! {She throws the brassiere back in margot sewing Ijasket and picks up her blouse, putting it on.) 'a'

Words to Own animation

(an'i-ma'shan)

n.:

liveliness.

The Diary OF Anne Frank, Act Two 395

Mrs. Frank. No. No. don't mean to suggest anything wrong. I only wish that you wouldn't that you expose yourself to criticism wouldn't give Mrs. Van Daan the opportunity to be unpleasant. Anne. Mrs. Van Daan doesn't need an opportuI

.

.

.

you've got something to get up in the morning for.

But jealous of you and Peter? No.

.

.

[anne ^oe5 back to the mirror]

be unpleasant! Mrs. Frank. Everyone's on edge, worried about Mr. Kraler. This is one more thing

Anne. Maybe there's nothing to be jealous of. Maybe he doesn't really like me. Maybe I'm just taking the place of his cat (^She picks up a pair of short white gloves, putting them on.) 'Wouldn't you like to come in with us?

Anne. I'm

Margot.

nity to

.

room. I'm not going to spoil

.

.

Mother. I'm going to Peter's

sorr),

let

Petronella

Van Daan

our friendship.

FRANK hesUates for a second, then goes out, closing the door after her She gets a pack [MRS.

of playing cards a)id playiJig

In

solitaire.

sits

at the center table,

room mar(;ot anne. As anne is

anne'5

hands the finished skirt to putting it on, margot takes off her high-heeled shoes and stuffs paper in the toes so that anne can wear them.]

Margot

(to anne).

Why

don't you

two

talk in

the main room? ltd save a lot of trouble.

It's

hard on Mother, having to listen to those

re-

marks from Mrs. Van Daan and not say a word. Anne. 'Why doesn't she say a word? I think it's ridiculous to take it and take it. Margot. You don t understand Mother at all, do you? She can't talk back. She's not like you. It's

just

not in her nature to fight back.

Anne. Anyway is

you.

I

.

.

.

the only one

feel awfully guilty

I

worry about

about you. (She

sits

on the stool near margot, puttiJig on margot '5 high-heeled shoes.)

Margot.

'Wliat

about?

Anne.

I mean, every time I go into Peter's room, I have a feeling I may be hurting you. (margot shakes her head.) I know if it were me, I'd be wild. I'd be desperately jealous, if it were me. Margot. Well, I'm not.

Anne. You

don't feel badly? Really? Truly?

You're not jealous?

Margot. Of course I'm jealous

396

I

Still Believe

.

.

.

jealous that

.

I

have

a

.

.

book.

[The souful of the children playing outside fades out In the main room dlissel can stand

no longer He jumps up, going room door and knocking sharply.

to the bed-

it

Dussel. Will you please

Anne.

let

me

]

in

my

Just a minute, dear, dear Mr. Dussel.

(She picks up her mother's pink stole justs

room!

it

and ad-

elegantly over her shoulders,

then

gives a last look in the mirror.) Well, here

...

to run the gantlet.

loived by margot.)

Dussel (^as she appears you so much.

I

go

(^She starts out, fol-

— sarcastic).

Thank

room, anne goes toward peter room, passing MRS. van daan and her parents at the center table.] [dussel goes into his '5

Mrs. Van Daan.

My

God, look at her! (anne pays )io attention. She knocks at peter '5 door.) I don't know what good it is to have a son. I never see him. He wouldn't care if I killed myself. (PETER opens the door and stands aside for ANNE to come /».)Just a minute, Anne. (She goes to them at the door) I'd like to say a few words to my son. Do you mind? (peter and anne stand waiting.) Peter, I don't want you staying up till all hours tonight. You've got to have }our sleep. You're a growing boy. You hear?

Mrs. Frank. Anne won't stay late. She's going to bed promptly at nine. Aren't you, vVnne? 5. run the gantlet from both sides.

(gont'lit):

proceed while under attack

(7b MRS. van daan) May Anne. Yes, Mother we go now? Mrs. Van Daan. Are you asking me? I didn't .

.

.

know I had am thing to say about it. Mrs. Frank. Listen for the chimes, Anne

dear.

her.}

[The two yoiuig people go off into peter !s room, shutting the door after them. ]

Daan {to mrs. frank). boys who called on the

Mrs. Van

In m}' day

Anne. Don't you want some more? Miep just brought me some new ones. Peter. Maybe later {He gii'es her a glass ofpop and. taking some for himself sits down facing

it

Anne (looking up at one of the photographs}. remember when got that ... won bet I

I

Jopie that all

I

could eat

room where they

not what they was young.

called

it

when

I

mrs.

Anne.

'.s

.

Mrs. Frank.

room,

we were

the most awful

still

in the nurs-

ery.

on

the cot. peter gets a bottle of pop

and two glasses. Peter. Don't let

]

bother you.

it

It

doesn't bother

suppose you can't really blame them they think back to what they were like at

Anne. .

.

.

.

.

.

I

Anne. That

am

in

better than

isn't true.

.

.

I

.

am

brains.

You've got

complex.

not smart. You're

dozens of things

gebra and

much

talk that way.

inferiorit}'

know I'm

.

.

.

.

much

better than

arithmetic and

al-

well, you're a millit)n times in algebra.

{With sudden

di-

rectness}

You

like

Margot, don't you? Right

from the

start

you

liked her, liked her

much

better than me.

me.

.

Peter.

1

[She sits

.

.

.

Anne. You shouldn't

Aren't they awful? Aren't they imposif

.

.

.

frank

PETER, indignant, humiliated.]

sible? Treating us as

.

ice

that doesn't take

start to play. In peter

ANNE speaks to

up with

1

brings a chess game to the cen-

He and

'We used to

.

[MRS. VAN DAAN goes off to the bathroom, margot settles clown to react her book. MR. frank puts his papers away and

ter table.

.

.

.

That's

Talk!

.

.

talk.

Mrs. Van Daan.

I

ice-cream cones. We'd

have heavenh' times

finish

they have secrets. Peter's

can

it.

we'd cream at the Delphi or the Oasis, where Jews were allowed there d always be a lot of boys we'd laugh and joke .I'd like to go back to it for a few days or a week. But after that I know I'd be bored to death. I think more seriousl)' about life now. I want to be a journalist ... or something. love to write. "Wliat do you want to do? Peter. I thought I might go off someplace work on a farm some job or something

was the Not the girls on the boys. Mrs. Frank. You know how young people like to feel that the only place

five

been playing ping-pong

girls.

is

I

.

I

our age. They don't realize

how much more

.

I

was going

don't know.

the

main room mrs. van daan comes from bathroom and goes over to the sink, pol-

.

.

forgot.

I

[In the

ad-

vanced we are. 'When you think what wonderful discussions we've had! Oh, .

Peter {uncomfortably}. Oh,

to bring

.

.

ishing a coffeepot.]

1

you some more

Anne.

It's

all

right.

Everyone

feels that way.

pictures.

Margot's so good. She's sweet and bright and

Peter. Oh, these are fine, thanks.

beautiful

and I'm

not.

The Diary of Anne Frank, Act Two 397

Peter.

wouldn't say

I

Anne. Oh,

that.

no, I'm not.

I

know

that.

quite well that I'm not a beauty.

been and never

know

I

never have

I

shall be.

don't agree at

think you're prett}.

Peter.

1

Anne.

That's not true!

Peter.

And another thing. You've changed

from

at first,

all. I

.

.

.

mean.

I

Anne. I have? Peter. I used to tliink you were awful noisy. Anne. And what do you think now, Peter?

How have

1

Peter. Well [Jii

bis

changed? .

.

.

er

.

.

.

you're

.

.

quieter.

.

room dussel takes his pajamas and toiand goes into the bathroom to

let articles

change.]

Anne. I'm Peter.

Anne. you'll

glad

you don't

never said

I

when you

bet

I

just hate

me.

that.

get out of here,

never think of me again.

Peter. That's crazy.

Anne. Wlien you your

get back with

friends, you're

now what

did

of

all

going to say

.

.

.

I

always thought that when two

ever see in that Mrs.

1

people

Quack Quack. Peter.

Peter. I've

.

.

.

haven't got any friends.

Anne. Oh,

Peter,

Everyone has

of course you have.

friends.

Peter. Not me.

1

don't want any.

I

get along

all

right without them.

Anne. Does that mean you can get along without me? 1 think of m)'self as your friend. Peter. No. If they were all like you, it'd be different.

[He takes the glasses

them away. There

is

and

and puts silence and

the bottle

a second's

then ANNE speaks, hesitantly, shyly]

Anne.

Peter. Yes.

you ever kiss Once.

Anne,

cover her feelings^. That picture's

Peter, did

(to

a girl?

Peter. Huh?

Anne. The Peter.

1

girl that

comes back and part}'.

One

Anne

photograph.) Was she pretty?

really counts,

I

Still Believe

sits

1

kissed.

was

down

blindfolded. (He

again.)

It

w^as at a

of those kissing games.

crooked, (peter goes over straightening the

398

you

don't know.

(relieved).

does

Oh. it?

I

don't suppose that

Peter.

been kissed twice. Once a man I'd never seen before kissed me on the cheek when he picked me up off the ice and I was crying. And the other was Mr Koophuis, a friend of Father's, who kissed my hand. You wouldn't say those counted, would you?

Anne.

I've

Peter.

wouldn't say

I

so.

Anne. I know almost for certain that Margot would never kiss anyone unless she was engaged to them. And I'm sure too that Mother

man

never touched a

know

.

.

before Pim. But

things are so different

.

I

don't

now

.

.

do you think? Do you think a girl shouldn't kiss anyone except if she's engaged or something? It's so hard to try to think what to do, when here we are with the whole world well falling around our ears and you think you don't know what's going to happen Wliat do you think? tomorrow and Peter. I suppose it'd depend on the girl. Some girls, anything they do's wrong. But others well ... it wouldn't necessarily be wrong .

.

.

bedroom

.

door, she catches sight of mrs. van

DAAN. She goes quickly to hen taking her face in

.

'What

.

a second anne stands looking up at peter, longing for hitn to kiss hen As he makes no move, she turns away. Then suddenly peter grabs her awkwardly in his arms, kissing her on the cheek, anne walks out dazed. She stands for a minute, her back to the people in the main room. As she regains her poise, she goes to her mother and father and margot, silently kissing them. They murmur their good nights to hen As she is about to open her [For

me.

didn't with

It

her hands

and

kissing hen first

on one

and then on

the other Then she hurries van daan looks after her mrs. her room. off into and then looks over at peter '5 room. Her sus-

cheek

picions are confirmed.]

Mrs. Van

Daan

(she knows).

Ah hah!

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

[The lights

dim out The curtain falls on

strength.]

with them. {The carillon starts to strike nine o'clock.) I've always thought that when two

Anne's

people

other so well that

.

.

.

Anne. Nine

o'clock.

I

have to go. night.

a second's pause; then peter ge/^s up and moves toivard the door.] [There

is

You won't

Peter.

Anne. No. iShe Sometime

many

I

let

them stop you coming?

rises

and starts for

might bring

things in

it

that

I

my

diary.

want

There are so

to talk over with

Peter. Wliat kind of thing? I

wouldn't want you to see some of

thought you were

a nothing, just the

it. I

way you

thought about me.

Anne. Well

.

.

.

You'll see

.

.

.

I

this

if

time

anyone it

we

all

know each

starts to tell a story,

still

for him. We're having to

further

Even Mr. Dussel wishes now that Mouschi was here. Thursday, the twentieth of

food.

Invasion fever

nineteen forty-four.

mounting every

day.

Miep

tells

is

us that people

outside talk of nothing else. For myself,

life

has

become much more pleasant. I often go to Peter's room after supper. Oh, don't think I'm in love, because I'm not. But it does make life more bearable to have someone with whom you can exchange views. No more tonight. PS.

Peter. Did you change your mind, the way changed my mind about you?

down

April,

the door.)

you. There's a lot about you.

Anne.

By

on our meals. What makes it worse, the rats have been at work again. They've carried off some of our precious cut

Anne ^without moving). Good

'Voice.

the rest can finish

Peter. That's right.

the

scene. In the darkness anne'5 voice comes, faintly at first and then with growing

.

.1

.

must be honest.

I

must confess

that

I

actually live for the next meeting. Is there any-

thing lovelier than to feel the

sit

under the skylight and

sun on your checks and have a darling

The Diary of Anne Frank, Act

Two

399

boy in your arms? I admit now that I'm glad the Van Daans had a son and not a daughter. I've outgrown another dress. That's the third. I'm having to wear Margot's clothes after all. I'm working hard on ni) French and am now reading La Belle Nivernaise. '

Dussel (grabbing mr. van daan). You! You! Give

me that. Daan (coming down

Mrs. Van

Putti Putti what is it? Dussel {his hands on \\r. v.\n daan'5 neck}. You dirt}' thief stealing food you .

.

.

.

good-for-nothing \_As

she

rises

is

saying the

on the

scene.

The

last lines, the curtai)i

lights

dim on as anne's

the stairs).

Mr. Frank.

Mr

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

Dussel! For God's sake! Help

me, Peter!

voice fades out.] [PETER ccmies oven trying, with mr. frank, to

separate the two struggling men.] Peter. Let It is night,

a few weeks

later.

Everyone

is

in

bed. There is complete quiet. In the van daans'

rooDi a match flares

then

is

up for a moment and

quickly put out. MR. van daan,

//;

bare

and trousers, is feet, dimly seen coming stealthily down the stairs and into the main room, where MR. and MRS. FRANK and MARGOT are sleeping. He goes to the

him

[DUSSEL drops

go! Let go!

.MR.

VAN DAAN, pushlug him away.

He shows them

the end of a loaf of bread that he has taken from mr. van daan.]

Dussel. You greedy,

selfish

.

.

.

!

dressed in underwear

food

safe atid again lights

cautiously opens the safe,

a match. Thoi he taking out a half

loaf of bread. As he closes the safe, it creaks. He stands rigid, mrs. frank sits up in bed. She sees him.

[.MARGOT turns

on the

Mrs. Van Daan. [All is

lights.]

Putti

.

.

what

is it?

o/mrs. vvMiYi's gentleness, her self control,

gone. She

outraged, in a frenzy of indig-

is

nation.]

Mrs. Frank. The bread! He was

stealing the

bread!

Mrs. Frank (screaming). Otto! Otto!

Komme

Dussel. thought

schnell!

was you, and was the rats!

It it

Mr. Frank. Mr. Van Daan, [The rest of the people wake, hurriedly getting up.]

Mr. Frank. Was

ist los?

Was

all

ist

how could you!

Mr. Van Daan. I'm hungry. Mrs. Frank. We're all of us hungry!

passiert?^

son Peter

.

.

.

I've

see the

I

moan And you come

heard him

sleep, he's so hungry.

night and steal food that should go to

room.]

we

the time

children getting thinner and thinner Your

followed by anne, comes from his

[DLissEL,

.

own

in his in the

them

.

.

.

to the children!

Mrs. Frank {as she rushes over DAAiN). Er stiehit

to mr.

van

das Essen l'

Mrs. Van tively}.

Daan (going

to mr.

van daan protec-

He needs more food than

the rest of us.

He's used to more. He's a big man.

La Belle Nivernaise (ne- ver'nez'): children's story by the French \\ riter Alphonse Daudet (1840-1897). 6.

7.

Komme schiiell!: German for "Come quickly!"

8.

Was

.

.

9.

Er

.

.

400

.

I

.

passiert?: "Wliat's going on?

Essen!:

He

Still Believe

is

[MR.

VAN DAAN breaks away, going

ting

on the couch.]

oi'er

and sit-

What happened?"

stealing the food!

Mrs. Frank (turning on mrs. van daan). And

you

.

.

you're worse than he

.

is!

You're a

Van Daan.

Mrs.

You'd put us

(nit,

on the

mother, and yet you sacrifice your child to this

streets?

man

Mrs. Frank. There are other hiding places. Mrs. Van Daan. A cellar ... a closet. I know. And we have no money left even to pay for that. Mrs. Frank. I'll give you money. Out of my own pocket I'll give it gladly. (She gets her purse from a shelf and comes back with it.) Mrs. Van Daan. Mr. Frank, you told Putti you'd never forget what he'd done for you when you came to Amsterdam. You said you could never repay him, that you Mrs. Frank (counting out money)- If my husband had any obligation to you, he's paid it, over and over Mr. Frank. Edith, I've never seen you like this

.

.

.

this

.

.

this

.

.

.

.

Mr. Frank. Edith! Edith! fMARGOT picks Up the pink woolen putting it over her mother's shoulders.]

stole,

Mrs. Frank {paying no attention, going on MRS. VAN DAAN). Don't think

I

to

haven't seen you!

Always saving the choicest bits for him! I've watched you day after day and I've held my tongue. But not any longer! Not after this! Now I

want him

to go!

I

want him

to get out of here!

Mr. Frank. Edith! Mr. Van Daan. Get out of here? Mrs. Van Daan. What do you

mean? Mrs. Frank. Just

Together

.

before. that!

Take your things and get

don't

.

know you. I

should have spoken out long

ago.

out!

Mr. Frank

(to mrs. frank). You're

speaking

in

Mrs. Frank.

mean

I

Dussel. You can't be nice to some people.

Mrs. Van Daan (turning on dussel). There would have been plenty for all of us, if you

anger You cannot mean what you are saying. exactly that!

hadn't

VAN DAAN tukes u CO I 'er from the franks'

[MRS.

bed, pulling

about her]

it

we have managed to live in we now going to throw it all away? will never happen again, will it, Mr

other's rights

peace. Are

know

this

.

.

come

Mr. Frank. us.

Mr. Frank. For two long years we have lived here, side by side. We have respected each

in here!

We don't need the Nazis to destroy

We're destroying ourselves.

[He

sits

down, with

his

head

in his hands, mrs.

FRANK ^Oes to MRS. VAN DAAN.]

.

Frank (giving

Mrs.

MRS.

van daan

some

I

Van Daan? Mr. Van Daan. No. No. Mrs. Frank. He steals once! [MR.

I

Mrs. Frank.

.

place.

He'll steal again!

VAN DAAN, holding his stomach, starts for

the bathroom, anne puts her

him, helping him up the

nujney). Give this to Miep. She'll find you a

arms around

step.]

Anne. Mother, you're not putting Peter Peter hasn't done anything.

out.

Mrs. Frank. He'll stay, of course. When I say must protect the children, I mean Peter too. [peter rises from the steps

I

where he has been

sitting. ]

Mr. Frank. Edith, please. Let us be calm. We'll

and afterwards we'll sit go to our rooms we'll find down quietly and talk this out all

.

.

.

some way

.

.

them

to leave!

.

.

I'd

have to go

if

Father goes.

[MR.

VAN DAAN comes from the bathroom, mrs.

him and takes him to the Then she gets water from the sink to

VAN DAAN hurries to

.

Mrs. Frank. No! No!

Peter.

.

No more

talk!

I

want

couch.

bathe his face.]

The Diary of Anne Frank, Act

Two

40

Mrs. Frank (while this is going ori). He's no father to that man! He doesn't you know what it is to be a father! Peter (starting for his rooni). I wouldn't feel right. I couldn't .

.

.

stay.

Mrs. Frank. Very

well, then.

I'm sorry.

Anne

{rushing over to peter).

No, Peter! No! (peter goes into his room, closing the door after him. anne

back

tiirtis

to

Map kept by Mr. Frank after the Allied invasion of Normandy. Colored pins her mother, crying.") I don't show the progress of the Allied forces. care about the food. They can have mine! I don't want it! Only don't send them away. It'll be daylight Mrs. Frank. It is trouble. soon. They'll be caught Mr. Frank (as he starts doum to unbolt the Margot (putting her arms cotnfortingly door). I beg you, don't let her see a thing like .

around anne).

.

.

Please, Mother!

this!

Mrs. Frank. They're not going now. They'll stay here until Miep finds them a place. (To MRS. VAN DAAN) But One thing I insist on! He must never come down here again! He must never come to this room where the food is stored! We'll divide what we have ... an equal share for each! (dussel hurries over to get a sack ofpotatoes from the food safe. mrs. frank goes on, to mrs. van daan) You can cook it here and take it up to him. [dussel brings the sack

ofpotatoes back to the

Dussel (counting without stopping). Anne, Peter, Mrs. Van Daan, Mr. Van Daan, .

myself.

.

.

dussel). Stop

.

.

.

it!

Stop

it!

Mr. Frank, Margot, Anne, Peter,

.

Mrs. Van Daan,

Frank

.

.

Margot (to Dussel.

.

Mr Van

Daan, myself, Mrs.

.

Mrs. Van Daan. You're keeping the big ones for yourself! All the big ones Look at the .

size of that!.

.

.

And

[dussel continues

that!

.

.

.

.

.

with his dividing, peter,

with his shirt and trousers on, comes from his

center table.]

Margot. Oh, no. No.

We

haven't simk so far

that we're going to fight over a handful of rot-

room.

]

Margot. Stop

it!

Stop

it!

ten potatoes.

Dussel (dividing the potatoes

into piles). Mrs.

Frank, Mr. Frank, Margot, Anne, Peter, Mrs. 'Van

Daan, Mr. Van Daan, myself

.

.

.

Mrs. Frank

.

.

.

[The buzzer sounds in miep '5 signal]

Mr. Frank. It's Miep! (He hurries his overcoat and putting it on.)

Margot. At

402

I

tliis

hour?

Still Believe

[We hear uiEV's excited voice speaking to mr. frank below. ]

Miep. Mr. Frank the most wonderful news! The invasion has begun! .

.

.

.

.

.

over, getting 10. the invasion: On June 6, 1944, Allied forces landed in Normandy, a region of northern France, to launch a military campaign against the Germans.

Mr. Frank.

Go on,

them!

tell

Tell

four thousand ships! Churchill

them!

comes running up We steps, ahead of MR. FRANK. She has a man 's raincoat on over her nightclothes and a buiuh of orangecolored fowers in her hand.] [MiEP

Miep. Did you hear that, everybody? Did you hear what I said? The invasion has begun! The

General Eisenhower!

be

11

she

miep,

is telling theni.

unable

peier

is

grasp what

to

the first to recover

his wits.]

Miep. Normandy I'll be up the minute

.

.

[As she talks on, the realization of

what she

has said begins to dawn on them. Everyone goes crazy. A wild demonstration takes place. MRS. FRANK hUgS MR. VAN DAAN.] Mrs. Frank. Oh, Mr. Van Daan, did you hear that?

grabs a frying pan and parades around the room, beating on it, singing the Dutch national anthem. ANNE and MARGor follow him, singing, [dussel etnbraces mrs. van daan. peter

and out among the excited groivn-ups. margot breaks away to take the flowers from miep and distribute them to everyone. Vflyile this pandemonium is going on, MRS. frank tries to make herself heard weaving

in

above the excitement. Mrs. Frank (to miep). Miep. The radio

How do you know?

The BBC!" They said the)' landed on the coast of Normandy! Peter. The British? Miep. British, Americans, French, Dutch, Poles, Norwegians ... all of them! More than .

11.

BBC:

to the

.

.

British Broadcasting Coqjoration.

BBC,

illegally,

for

People listened

news of the war that was more

ac-

curate than what German-controlled broadcasters offered.

.

.

that's all I

I

know now

.

.

.

hear some more! (She

I

(to mrs. frank). Wliat did tell

I

tell

you?

you?

door

steps. MR.

after mier

He

hurries

down

the

VAN DAAN, Sitting on the couch, sud-

denly breaks into a convulsive sob. Every-

body looks at him, bewildered.] Mrs. Van Putti!

What

Daan is it?

(hurrying to him).

'Wliat

Putti!

happened?

Mr. Van Daan. Please. I'm so ashamed. [MR.

FRANK couws back Up the

steps.]

Dussel. Oh, for God's sake!

Mrs. Van Daan. Don't, Putti. Margot. It doesn't matter now! Mr. Frank (going to mr. van daan). Didn't you hear what Miep said? The invasion has come! We're going to be liberated! This is a time to celebrate! (He embraces mrs. frank and then hurries to the cupboard and gets the cognac

and a glass.) Mr. Van Daan. To

]

blood

FRANK indicates that he has forgotten to

[MRS.

bolt the

.

Mr.

tell

any

goes hurriedly out.) 'Wliat did

Mrs. Van Daan. When? When, Miep? Miep. It began early this morning

than

did they land, did they say?

Mr. Frank

Peter. Wliere?

better

Mr. Frank (stopping her). What part of Nor-

.

[They all stare at

come!

transfusion.

mandy

invasion!

This

it's

it!

I'm going to

(starting out).

Kraler

spoke, and

D-day, they call

Mr. Frank. Thank God, Mrs. Van Daan. At last!

Miep

'

steal

bread from children!

all done things that we're ashamed of. Anne. Look at me, the way I've treated Mother ... so mean and horrid to her.

Mrs. Frank. We've

12. Churchill: Sir Winston Churchill 187-1-1965), British prime minister during World War II 13. General Eisenhower: Dwight D Eisenhower ( 1890-1969), commander of the Allied forces in western Europe. He later became president of the United States (1953-1961). (

The Diary of Anne Frank, Act

Two

403

Mrs. Frank. No, Aimeke, no. [ANNE runs to her niotl.wn piitt/ng her

ciriiis

aroitiul her.] I

Van Daan, Not

Mr.

me! Dussel

was.

like

was

I

{to MR. VAN daan). Stop

it

now!

.

.

pa\'ing

Let's

be

happ>'!

Mr. Frank {giving MR. van daan a glass of cognac). Here! Here! Schnapps! ^ L'chaim! VAN DAAN takes the cognac. They all watch

He

them a feeble smile, anne puts up her fingers in a V-for- victory sign. As mr. VAN V)\A^ gives an answering V sign, they are startled to hear a loud sob front behind them. him.

gives

FRANK, Stricken with remorse. She

It is MRS.

sitting

on

and then, it's just a matter of time till they get to us. Everyone is low. Even poor Pim can't raise their spirits. I have often been but never in despair 1 downcast myself and can shake off ever)thing if I write. But the

thief,

.

.

.

that

is

[MR. FRANK, ANNE,

said

.

.

I

.

.

will

I

.

.

ever be

I want to so much. I want to even after my death. Another birthday has gone by, so now I am fifteen. Already I know what I want. I have a goal, an opinion.

go on

living

[As this

Mrs. Frank {through her sobs). Wlien

.

able to write well?

think

fades

is

being said, the curtain

the lights

scene,

I

the great question

is

the other side of the room.]

of the terrible things

all

have an operation, which looks bad. The Gestapo have found the radio that was stolen. Mr Dussel says they'll trace it back and back to

.

[MR.

him

.

to

awful.

No one is as bad as

me.

money!

Wednesday, the second of July, nineteen forty-four The invasion seems temporarily to be bogged down. Mr. Kraler has that

Aline. Oh, Mother,

know a thing and we are

doesn't

dim

on,

and

rises

on the

anne',s voice

out.]

.

and MARGOT hurry to

her, try-

ing to comfort her mr. van daan brings her his glass of cognac]

Mr. Van Daan. No! No! You were right! Mrs. Frank. That I should speak that way to you!

.

.

.

Our

friends!

.

.

.

Our

guests! {She

starts to cry again.)

Dussel. Stop

it,

is an afternoon a feiv iveeks later Everyone but Margot is in the nuiin room. There is a sense of great tension. Both MRS. FRANK and MR. VAN DAAN are nervously pacing back and forth, dussel is standing at the window, looking down fixedly at

It

you're spoiling the

whole

inva-

.

the street below, peter

sion!

trying to

dim

[As they are comforting her, the lights

out The curtain falls.]

at the center table,

his lessons, anne sits opposite

him, writing in her diary, mrs. van daan

a feeling that friends are

coming.

Who

tening tensely,

dussel rushes

down

frank.

Words to Own schnapps

(shniips):

strong liquor.

15. L'chaim! (b-kJia'yim):

404

I

Still Believe

Hebrew

is

he sits reading. The sound of a telephone ringing comes from the office below. They all are rigid, lis-

knows? Maybe I'll be back in school by fall. Ha, ha! The joke is on us! The warehouse man 14.

.

seated on the couch, her eyes on mr. frank as

Anne's Voice {faintly at first arid then with growing strength). We're all in much better spirits these days. There's still excellent news of the invasion. The best part about it is that I have

do

is

.

toast

remorse meaning

"To

life!"

(ri

mors')

n.:

deep

feeling of guilt.

to

mr.

Dussel. There Frank,

it

goes again, the telephone! Mr.

is

Mr. Frank Dussel {pleading,

(quietly^. Yes.

I

hear.

insistent). But this

third time, Mr. Frank!

The

succession! Its a signal!

I

the

is

third time in quick

tell

you

its

Miep,

some reason she can't come trying to warn us of something!

and she's Mr. Frank. Please. Please. Mr. Van Daan (to dussel). You're wasting your Dussel. Something has happened, Mr. Frank.

now Miep hasn't been to see us! not a man has come to work. There

For three days

been a sound in the building! Mrs. Frank. Perhaps it's Sunday. We may have hasn't

lost track

of the days.

Mr. 'Van

Daan

(to aniNE).

there. Wliat day

Dussel (going of the days!

I

You with the

steps. MR.

FRANK

trics ineffectually to

diar)

to MRS. frank).

know

exactly

I

don't lose track

what day

It's

is!

it

and not a

work. (He rushes back to mr. frank, pleading with him, almost in tears.) I tell you at

Mr. Kraler's dead. That's the only explanation.

He's dead and they've closed

down

the build-

and Miep's trying to tell us! Mr. Frank. She'd never telephone us. Dussel (frantic). Mr. Frank, answer that! ing,

you, answer

beg

I

it!

up and

listen

listen.

and see

You

if it's

Dussel (speaking at the same time). For God's sake ... I ask you. Mr. Frank. No. I've told you, no. I'll do nothing that might let anyone know we're in the building.

Mr.

Frank's right.

Van Daan.

There's no need to

tell

us

[MR.

FRANK goe^ to MARGOT in

Mr.

Van Daan.

If

So

we

just

bedroom.]

ANNE',?

wait here until

we

die.

Mrs. Van I'll

kill

Daan

myself!

(hysterically).

I'll

Mr.

Van Daan.

[///

the distance,

kill

I

can't stand

it!

myself!

For God's sake, stop

it!

a German military band

heard playing a Viennese

is

waltz.]

Mrs. Van Daan. I think you'd be glad think )Ou want me to die! Mr.

Van Daan. Whose

(MRS.

we

wait patiently, quietly,

come.

We

did!

I

we're here?

it

He follows,

VAN daan Starts for her room.

talking at her.}

could'vc been safe some-

where ... in America or Switzerland. But no! No! You wouldn't leave when I wanted to. You couldn't leave your things. You couldn't leave your precious furniture. Mrs. Van Daan. Don't touch me!

up

the stairs, followed by mr. van it,

goes to his

room. ANNE looks after him, deeply concerned. DUSSEL returns to his post at the

window

mr.

FRANK comes back into the main room and takes a book, trying to read. mrs. frank sits near the sink, starting to peel some potatoes. ANNE quietly goes to peter 's rcjom. closing the door after her peter is lying face down on the cot. ANNE leans over him, holding him in her arms, trying to bring him out of his despair]

Anne. Look,

lieve that help will

fault is

if I

what

side you're on.

Mr. Frank.

it.

The telephone stops ringing, dussel bolts the door and comes slowly back up the steps.) Too late.

daan. PETER, unable to bear it

Miep.

Mr

hold him.

DUSSEL runs to the lower door, unbolting

[She hurries

Mr. Frank. No. Mr. Van Daan. Just pick don't have to speak. Just

Peter.

the

is it?

Friday, the fourth of August. Friday,

man

down

Dussel. I'm going down. (He rushes

breath.

today

all listen

try-

ing to get us! For

And

a tninute as they

silence for

to the telephone ringing. ]

do you hear?

to us

[There

I

be-

through

Peter,

the sky (She looks

the skylight.)

What

up

a lovely, lovely

day! Aren't the clouds beautiful?

You know

The Diary of Anne Frank, Act

Two

405

do when it seems as if I couldn't stand being cooped up for one more minute? I think myself out. I think myself on a walk in the park where I used to go with Pim. Where the jonquils and the crocuses and the violets grow down the slopes. You know the most wonderful part about thinking yourself out? You can have it any way you like. You can have roses and violets and chrysanthemums all blooming It's funny ... I used to at the same time. and now I've gone take it all for granted crazy about everything to do with nature.

sometimes one race sometimes another and yet Peter. That doesn't make me feel any better! Anne {going to him). I know it's terrible, trying to have any faith when people are doing such horrible But you know what I sometimes think? I think the world may be going through a phase, the way I was with Mother. It'll pass, maybe not for hundreds of

Haven't you?

Peter.

what

I

.

.

.

.

Peter. I've just gone

here ...

I

.

can't stand

Anne {softly).

I

.

craz>'.

happen soon

doesn't

.

I

think

something

if

if we don't get much more of it!

out of

.

.

wish you had a

to

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

years, but

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

someday ...

I

still

believe, in spite

of everything, that people are really

good

at

heart. I

want

something

to see

now

.

thousand years from now! {He goes ting doivn again on the cot.)

Anne.

But, Peter,

if

of a great pattern

religion, Peter.

.

.

you'd only look

.

not a

.

it

as part

that we're just a

.

.

at

.

over, sit-

little

Peter. No, thanks! Not me!

minute

Anne. Oh, I don't mean you have to be Orthodox ... or believe in Heaven and HeU and Purgatory and things ... I just mean some religion ... it doesn't matter what. Just to be-

to us, going at each other like a couple of stu-

When

lieve in something!

out there

and sea

.

.

gulls

of you, Peter

.

we know

ple

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

vegetable man,

that's

all

and flowers Wlien I think of the dearness and the goodness of the peo-

the trees

.

.

think of

I

.

.

.

.

.

.

Mr. Kraler, Miep, Dirk, the risking their lives for us

all

Wlien I think of these good things, I'm not afraid anymore ... I find myself, and God, and I every day

.

.

.

.

interrupts,

[peter

.

.

getting

up and walking

aivay.]

Peter. That's fine! But

when

I

begin to think,

Look at us, hiding out Not able to move! Caught here ing for them to come and get us

get mad!

two

for like .

.

.

.

.

and

I

years. .

waitall

for

what?

16.

had to There ve always been people that've had

Orthodox: Orthodox Jews

traditions.

406

I

life

.

.

.

{She breaks

off.)

Listen

pid grown-ups! Look

at the sky now. Isn't it out her hand to him. peter takes it and rises, standing with her at the window looking out, his arms around her.) Someday, when we're outside again, I'm going

lovely? {She holds

to

.

.

.

sound of a comes to a sudthe other rooms also

[She breaks off as she hears the

brakes squealing as

car, its

den

stop.

The people in

it

become aware of

the sound. They listen Another car roars up to a screeching stop. ANNE and peter come from peter '5 room. MR. and MRS. VAN DAAN Creep down the stairs. DUSSEL comes out from his room. Everyone is tensely.

listening,

hardly breathing.

A

doorbell clangs

again and again in the building beloiv. MR. FRANK starts quietly down the steps to the door DUSSEL

and peter follow

him. The others stattd

rigid, waiting, terrified.

Anne. We're not the only people suffer.

in the

Still Believe

strictly

that've

observe Jewish

In a few seconds dussel comes stumbling back up the steps. He shakes off peter help and goes to his room. mr. frank bolts the door below and comes slowly back up the steps. Their eyes are all on him as he stands there '.s

-

for a minute. They realize that what they feared has happened, mrs. van daan starts to

'^k T-'-M-r-^s

whimper MR. van daan puts her gently in a and then hurries off up the stairs to their room to collect their things peter ^oe^ to comfort his mother There is a sound of violent pounding on a door below.] chair

Mr. Frank iquietly^. For the past two years have lived in fear. Now we can Uve in hope. [The

pounding below becomes more

we

insist-

There are muffled sounds of voices, shouting commands.]

ent

Men's Voices. Aufmachen! Da drinnen! machen! Schneil! Schnell!

Schnelll'

Auf-

(Etc., etc.)

is forced open. We hear heavy tread of footsteps coming up. mr. FRANK gets two school bags from the shelves and gives one to anne and the other to margot. He goes to get a bag for mrs. frank. The sound offeet coming up grows louder PFrfER comes to ANNE, kissing her goodbye; then he goes to his room to collect his things. The buzzer of their door starts to ring. MR. frank brings mrs. frank a bag. They stand together waiting. We hear the thud of gun butts on the door, trying to break it down. ANNE stands, holding her school satchel, looking over at her father and mother with a soft, reassuring smile. She is no longer a child, but a woman with courage to meet whatever

[The street door below

the

lies

ahead.

The curtain falls on the scene. We hear a mighty crash as the door is shattered. After a second anne Is voice is The

lights

dim

out.

Voice.

heard. ]

Anne's Voice. And so it seems our stay here is over. They are waiting for us now. They've allowed us five minutes to get our things. We can each take a bag and whatever Aufmachen! You in there! Open 17.

Anne's

.

it

will hold of

Schnell!: German for "Open up! up! Quickly! Quickly! Quickly! .

so

it

And

seems

our stay here is over.

.

The Diary of Anne Frank, Act Two 407

Nothing else. So, dear Diary, must leave you behind. Goodbye

that

clothing.

means

1

while.

P.S.

for a

Please, please, Miep, or Mr. Kraler,

you should find this diary, will you please keep it safe for me, because someday I hope or anyone else.

If

.

.

.

[Her voice stops abruptly. There After a second the curtain

is

silence.

rises. ]

we were

we were to be The men to one camp. The women to another. 1 was sent to Auschwitz. They went to Belsen. In January we were freed, the few of us who were left. The war September

shipped to Poland.

wasn't yet over, so

again the afternoon in November 1945.

The rooms are as we saw them in the first mr. kraler has joined miep and mr.

scene,

FRANK. There are coffee cups

on

the table.

He

We

calm now. His bitterness is gone. He slowly turns a feiv pages of the diary. They are blank. see

a great change

in MR. frank.

is

.

I'd

hoped

.

When police

got back, the block

I .

.

was surrounded by

.

it,

We made

how they knew. who told them.

It

it

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

Yesterday

woman

Anne ...

went

I

there 1

to

.

.

Anne's Voice.

.

to Rotterdam.

She'd been in

know now. and

turns the

find a certain passage. As he

we hear anne'5

lieve that

Mr. Kraler.

.

[He picks up the diary again

Miep.

to the country to find food.

.

heard of a

Belsen with

pages back

gone

.

.

still

finds

I'd

took us a long time to get

it

band? My son? My daughter? That's how 1 foimd out about my wife's death ... of Margot, the Van Daans Dussel. But Anne ... I

No more. {He closes the diary and puts it down on the couch beside him.) Mr. Frank.

.

home. We'd be sent here and there behind the lines where we'd be safe. Each time our train at a siding or a crossing would stop we'd all get out and go from group to group 'Where were you? Were you at Belsen? At Buchenwald? At Mauthausen? Is it possible that you knew my wife? Did you ever see my hus.

It is

told that

.

.

voice.]

In spite of everything,

people are

really

good

stUl be-

I

at heart.

our business to learn

was the

tliief

.

.

.

the thief

[MR.

FRANK slowty closcs the diary.]

Mr. Frank. She puts

[miep goes up to the gas burner, bringing back a pot of coffee.]

[They are silent

me

to shame.

]

Curtain Mr. Frank

a pause).

seems strange to say this, that anyone could be happy in a concentration camp. But Anne was happy in the

camp

in

(jxfter

It

Holland where they

two years of being shut up could be out

.

.

.

first

took

in these

DasTagebuch .

der

us. After

rooms, she

out in the sunshine and the

fresh air that she loved.

Miep

{offering the coffee to mr. frank).

A little

more? Mr. Frank {holding out his cup

to her). The news of the war was good. The British and Americans were sweeping through France. We felt sure that they would get to us in time. In i

408

I

Still Believe

D.AGBOK

4

Meet the Writers The Making of a Masterpiece Frances Goodrich (1890-1984) and Albert Hackett (1900-1995) both started out as actors. They began writing plays and screenplays together in the 1920s and were married soon after Working at desks facing in opposite directions in the same room, they would each write a version of a scene,

comment on

then read and ing. In this

the other's version before revis-

way, Goodrich and

Hackett created the scripts for

many

movies, including

hit

Easter Parade, Father of the

and

Bride,

a Wonderful

It's

The Diary of Anne Frank

Life. is

considered their masterpiece. Before they wrote the

play,

the playwrights spent ten days in

Amsterdam

visiting

the

Secret Annex, studying the

neighborhood, and question-

Otto Frank (who came from Switzerland to help) on ing

memories and impressions. It took them two years his

and eight drafts to complete the

play,

acclaim.

in

1

The

times

in

table)

955 to great

play

Pulitzer Prize

in

won

cast of The Diary of Anne Frank

on Broadway,

Wendy

which opened on

Broadway

The

is

in

a

1997 adaptation by

Kesselman.

Anne

(center,

on

smiling at Mr. Frank.

a

1956 and has since been performed countless

countries around the world.

More About Anne Frank In

addition to her diary,

Anne wrote many short

autobiographical sketches during her time a selection of these in

Anne

in

stories and

hiding. You'll find

Frank's Tales from the Secret

Annex (Bantam).

T>^®Hdli

Anne Frank Remembered (Simon & Schuster) story of

Annex

Anne and

is

the

the other occupants of the Secret

as told by their helper

and protector Miep Gies.

-'IWi

10

l'>

•Wf:

The Diary of Anne Frank 409

-- ,.a<'rtr^'^^rtVir*lV^

-

(Connections

;f^ i-

^

DIARY Excerpt

#^

/rom

The Diary of a Young Girl

Anne Frank 'Why do some people have to starve while there are surpluses rotting in other parts of the world? Oh, why are

Wednesday, 3 May, 1944 Since Saturday we've changed over, and have lunch at half past eleven in the mornings, so we have to last out with .

.

.

one cupful of porridge; meal. Vegetables are

we had

to obtain;

people so crazy?

still

don't believe that the big men, the

I

this saves us a

politicians

vet}' difficult

guilty of the war.

rotten boiled lettuce

is

this afternoon. Ordinary'

spinach,

lettuce,

and

these

we

else.

With

eat

rotten

potatoes, so

it's

imagine,

we

I

murder and all

live

/

mankind, without ex-

ception, undergoes a great

often ask

change, wars will be waged, ever>thing that has been

what

built

the use of the war?

'Why

risen in revolt

easily

ingly: "Wlnat, oh, is

man

an urge to kill, to rage, and until

stroy,

ourselves here despair-

1

just as guilty;

little

otherwise

long ago! There's in people simply an urge to de-

a deli-

As you can

no, the

would have

cious combination! r^^

Oh

the peoples of the world

boiled lettuce, there's

nothing

capitalists alone, are

and the

peacefully

gether? Wliy

all

cultivated,

and

be destroyed and disfigured, after which mankind will have to begin

grown

people

can't

up,

to-

Anne

this

in

will

1940.

destruction?"

all over again. have often been downcast, but never in despair; I regard our hiding as I

The question is very understandable, but no one has found a satisfactory' answer to it so far Yes, why do they make still

more

gigantic planes,

bombs, and,

at the

same

still

heavier

yet there's not a

410

I

Still Believe

diary ing.

penny

able for medical services,

poor people?

interesting at the I

time, prefabri-

cated houses for reconstruction? Wliy should millions be spent daily on the

war and

a dangerous adventure, romantic

I

lead a

all

wives.

and

my

have made up my mind now to different life from other girls and,

from ordinary househas been so very full of

My

start

or °

In

the privations" as amus-

later on, different

avail-

artists,

treat

same

time.

privations (pri-va'shanzy hardships.

and

interest,

that

the sole reason

is

why

have to laugh at the humorous side of the most dangerous moments. I

possess many am young and and strong qualities; am young buried am and am living a great adventure; 1

I

1

I

and can't grumble still the whole day long. I have been given a lot: a happy nature, a great deal of cheerfulness and strength. Every day 1 in the midst of

feel that

I

am

developing inwardly, that

the liberation

how

it

drawing nearer, and

is

beautiful nature

people are about me, adventure

tills

is!

how good the how interesting

is,

Why, then, should

I

Anyone who claims that the older ones have a more difficult time here certainly doesn't realize to what extent our problems weigh down on us, problems for which we are probably much too young but which thrust themselves upon us continually, until, after a long time,

we

think we've found a solution,

but the solution doesn't seem able to

Yours,

Ci^i<^%/i4>

times: Ideals, dreams,

hopes

rise

is

"For in

innermost depths youth

its

lonelier than old age."

1

read this say-

some book and I've always remembered it, and found it to be true. Is ing in

it

true,

then, that grown-ups have a

more

difficult

No.

know

1

it

time here than w^e do? isn't.

Older people have

formed their opinions about everything and don't waver before they act. It's twice as hard for us young ones to hold our ground and maintain our opinions in a

time

when

all

ideals are being shat-

tered and destroyed,

and cherished

within us, only to meet the

It's

really a

wonder

spite of ever)'thing

Saturday, 15 July, 1944 .

to noth-

horrible truth and be shattered.

people are

.

it

ing again. That's the difficulty in these

that

haven't

I

dropped all my ideals, because they seem so absurd and impossible to carry out. Yet I keep them, because in

be in despair?

.

which reduce

the facts

resist

when people

are

showing their worst side and do not know whether to believe in truth and right and God.

I

still

believe that

good at heart. I simup my hopes on a foun-

really

ply can't build

dation consisting of confusion, misery,

and death.

I

see the world gradually

being turned into a wilderness,

I

hear

the ever approaching thunder, which will destroy us too, I can feel the sufferings of millions, into the heavens,

come

and I

yet, if

I

think that

right, that this cruelty

look up it

will

all

too will

end, and that peace and tranquility will return again. In the

I

must uphold

for perhaps the time will

ideals,

when

meantime,

I

shall

my

come

be able to carry them out. Yours,

C

The Diary of Anne Frank 4

1

I

Making Meanings (Act Two) First I

•

Thoughts

Do

Reading Check

you agree with Anne that "people are

good

really

Does

at heart"?

evidence to support

this

a.

the play offer any

statement?

I

Shaping Interpretations In

your opinion,

is

demanding that the Van Daans

Annex? (Why or why

cret

in

est tension.

of a play

What

is

Act One, Scene

"You must 376).

Do

doing

this

On

build

sets off

What do you

Mr

Frank

Scene

of great-

tells

in I

how do

?

Act Two, In

Scene

2,

Mrs. Frank and

Mrs. Van Daan respond

Anne,

to this change?

your own character" (page

you think she has succeeded

conflict.

Peter's relationship

change

this play's climax?

4,

a cake,

How does Anne and

b.

Miep hadn't

moment

is its

two con-

one over

Describe each

with news of the invasion?

The climax

In

if

Kraler's

Act Two, Scene

the other over a coat.

in

leave the Se-

not?)

think would have happened

come

,

flicts:

Mrs. Frank justified

Mr

Miep and visit in

c.

in

At the beginning of Act Two, Scene

by the end of the play? Explain.

4,

what

is

causing tension and fear

Anne says, "I want to go on living even after my death." Do you think her wish has come true? Explain. page 404,

What do you

think

is

the main conflict

the occupants of the Secret

Annex and

in

in

the play?

the conflict between

Is it

the Nazis, or

the household?

is it

something

else?

Extending the Text

Now that you

have finished the

sources that accompany tries,

—

it

think about the re-

play,

for example, Anne's diary en-

the historical photographs, the time

Which

line.

re-

sources did you find most helpful? Are there other resources

you wish had been included? Explain your answers. 8.

Before The Diary of Anne Frank was

Frank wrote

in

him, "Please don't play

pened to

me

me

What

performed. Otto

who would

as a 'hero.'

.

.

.

qualities

Do

portray

Nothing hap-

that did not happen to thousands

sands of other people." hero?

first

a letter to the actor

you see anyone

in

upon thou-

the play as a

or actions make someone a hero?

Challenging the Text 9.

There

is

no evidence

in

Anne's diary that

stole food; the playwrights

for dramatic effect. in fiction

412

1

Still Believe

may have invented

What do you

or drama that

is

Mr

Van Daan this incident

think of such changes

based on

Students real events?

visiting

the

Treblinka death camp.

Choices:

Building Your Portfolio

Writer's Notebook 1.

Collecting Ideas for a Comparison-Contrast Essay

Whenever you compare two people or

When

they're alike.

least

one thing

stance, or the

in

you

tell

how

you contrast them, you point out their

Choose any two

differences.

things,

common

characters

(the

two mothers or

two

play

in this

who

have at

sisters, for in

Think

fathers).

how they're alike and different, and jot down your ideas in a Venn diagram like the

about

one begun

at right. List the

ters are alike

where the

ways your charac-

circles overlap.

Art 2.

Creative Writing

Setting the Stage

The

3. "I

shown on just one pos-

page 341

is

sible design.

Anne

I

make

a

diorama of

a I

stage set for the play ReI

member

that

ing place

onstage must be

all

action takI

I

visible

from every point

"I

Am" poem

for

Frank, using this

in I

am

I

feel

I

I

One

type

in-

.

volves "the destruction of .

.

innocence."

In this

kind of

.

.

tragedy the hero

is

not

.

.

responsible for his or her .

.

.

.

.

.

We feel great pity

.

at the loss of this hero be.

.

.

cause an innocent person

is

.

destroyed by cruel outside

Does this play about Anne Frank meet these criteria for a tragedy? Write forces.

Analyzing a Play

4 Is It a Tragedy? A tragedy in

in

.

dream

am

also feel

.

of tragedy. .

feel

try

horror and

we

good has appeared

disaster. I

de-

our world. .

.

cry

am

we

is

triumphant because some-

the audience. I

feated,

aware.

There are several types

see

am

self

character

.

hear

say

ad-

this

thing .

is

When

sadness, but

framework:

Using the

stage directions on page 348,

mirable and very

Am" Anne

Write an

stage set

tragedy, however,

is

a serious play

which the main character

meets with

failure

or death.

The main character

in

your answer

in

a brief essay.

from

Be sure to

cite details

the play

your response.

in

a

(continued on next page)

lary.

The Diary OF Anne Frank 413

Choices:

Building Your Portfolio

(continued from previous page)

Role-Play 5.

and Answers

Issues

How

do you think Anne

would

feel

about the

fact

that her diary has been read

by millions of strangers?

What

influence has the

diary had that might justify Mr. Frank's decision to have it

published?

role-play a

With

a partner,

dialogue be-

tween Anne and her father about the publication of the diary.

Grammar Link

MINI-LESSON

Dangling and Misplaced Modifiers

A

modifying phrase or clause that doesn't clearly

modify a word

in

a

sentence

is

called a

Try

dangling

Handbook

DANGLING

HELP

Peeking out the

window

,

tences contains a dangling

the church

or misplaced modifier.

tower could be seen. See

Rewrite each sentence so

Plcicc-

iiieiit

Out

Each of the following sen-

modifier.

Language

It

The church tower

of

isn't

peeking out the window.

Modifiers,

Rearranging and adding or changing words

pages

sentence can make the meaning

that

makes sense.

it

the

in

1.

Anne watched

the

clear.

canal boats hiding

768-^69.

Peeking out the window,

CLEAR

Anne could

the Secret Annex.

see the church tower.

Coughing and sneezing,

2.

A misplaced modifier because Technology

it

causes confusion in a

lem for Dussel.

sentence.

HELP

Hoping for

3.

MISPLACED See Language

My grandmother experiences

in

told

me

about her

CD-ROM.

Nazi-occupied Europe

"Peace

CLEAR

entry:

My grandmother

told

me

about her experiences

in

last

diary

Nazi-

in

the Secret

Annex, which had been

occupied Europe.

The best way to

1944."

Miep discovered the

week

dangling modifiers

in

week. 4.

Key word

a better fu-

ture, the cake read

Workshop last

was a prob-

Peter's cat

seems to modify the wrong word

in

thrown on the

floor.

catch dangling and misplaced

modifiers, as with any error that causes confusion for readers,

Vocabulary

is

to ask other people to read your drafts

HOW TO OWN A WORD

Word Bank

Dear Diary

conspicuous

ostentatiously

Divide the

list

of

words

in

the

Word Bank

Write down your

with

words; then,

unabashed

appalled

two

loathe

disgruntled

match each one with the

indignantly

inarticulate

event you think

fortify

forlorn

her diary. Read your

zeal

animation

to your partners, and have

tyranny

remorse

your vocabulary words goes with each item on the

gingerly

classmates.

name

Anne might list

five

of a character or an

apply the

word

to

in

of characters and events

them guess which of

list.

The Diary of Anne Frank 4

1

IJooking siMKe

oil

the

!W:

^^^

:

'.v v,>bcrisifl»r

'

^'CTt«

I'

Using Prior Knowledge You Already Know a Lot

When we

read,

we

knowledge of and a topic.

Without

knowledge,

we

Imagine what would happen, though,

apply our

beliefs

about

this prior

create meaning from a text.

Suppose you saw the item a

ironic.

of a time machine and picked

our knowledge that the occu-

visitor

from

pants would soon be captured

by the Nazis and taken to death

heard of the Holocaust and

camps. From

would probably

we

find the article

to understand.

the contrast between

—

dents to help wipe out racial

the text combined with

prejudice and violence.

you already know. An ence

is

in

what

infer-

you

writers don't always

any trouble understanding

everything they mean. For

information.

In fact,

this

from your

example,

in

tell

topic of a text, of course, the

understanding of current

A Heroine's

events, you'd probably have

Schnabel writes, "Ironically

some

idea of

the article.

If

what to expect

in

you could read

by thinking and writing a topic before

You might ask

Revealed:

What do about

I

you read.

yourself:

already

know

this topic?

Last Days," Ernst •

enough, the occupants of the Secret

You can sharpen your

know

•

"A Tragedy

read next,

to understand the

about

the article you'll

knowledge of history and your

it is

awareness of what you already

important because

You probably wouldn't have

The more you know about the

text.

Drawing inferences when is

Focusing on

easier

an educated guess.

you read

hopes and their

What You Know

conclu-

on information

sions based

connection

actual fate.

Prior knowledge allows you to

draw inferences

this

can infer that the irony

lies in

their rising

Never Again. In Holocaust Remembrance Day speech, community leader urges stu-

statement with

his

the past would never have

Drawing Inferences: Making the Connection

INSIDE

Annex had grown weeks of

When

I

think about this

topic,

what words and

come

to mind?

Do

optimistic

would

their self-imposed confinement"

disagree with the ideas

(page 423). Schnabel doesn't

expressed

tion of the

your interpreta-

words on the

page.

in

the

last

•

I

ideas

expect to agree or

the article, your knowledge affect

is

connect

difficult

newspaper

lived a

why this optimism He expects us to

hundred years ago hopped out up the paper This

could never

below on the front page of

someone who

if

explain

in this

text?

Why?

Apply the strategy on the next page.

416

I

Still Believe

^

Before You Read A Tragedy Revealed: A Heroine's Last Days the

Make the Connection

Quickwrite

And Then What

If

Happened?

survivors of the Holo-

The

article you're

read,

what you want to know about

where Anne

in

you could interview

caust

about to

which was published

Ufe magazine

W column, write down

in

1958, starts

who knew Anne

Anne's fate after the discovery of the Secret Annex. Frank,

what would you ask them?

down some

Jot

of your questions.

Frank's diary and

Then, as you read, make a note

new

in

the L column of any

information that adds to

or contradicts your prior

the play adaptation leave off

Reading

with the discovery of the

and Strategies

umn, check

Using Prior Knowledge

that are

Secret its

Annex and the

occupants.

go.hrw.com LEO 8-5

arrest of

Skills

Make a KWL chart like the one that follows. In the K column, jot down what you already know about Anne Frank's life. In

knowledge.

K

In

off

your

W

col-

any questions

answered

in

the text.

e„ '1 p.

y^.JI

Statue of

Anne Frank by

Pieter L'Hont, Utrecht, the

Netherlands.

418

I

Still Believe

f

A Heroine's Last Days

|sBBW«««4f"

Ernst Schnabel

Last year in Amsterdam reel of

movie

Frank appears. She

seconds and there at

The

is

it

film is

I

found an old

on which Anne

seen for only ten

an accident that she

is

all.

film

was taken

1941, the year before

for a

wedding

in

Anne Frank and

seven others went into hiding in their

Then, for just a moment, the camera seems uncertain where to look. It darts to the right, then to the left, then whisks up a wall, and into view comes a window crowded with people waving after the departing automobiles. The camera swings farther to the left, to another window. There a girl stands alone, looking out into

Anne

has a flickering, Chap-

space.

with people popping

ous smiles and hurried waves of the

camera is about to pass on, the child moves her head a trifle. Her face flits more into focus, her hair shimmers in

departing bride and groom.

the sun. At this

"Secret Annex."

linesque

It

quality,

suddenly in and out of doorways, the nerv-

It is

Frank.

Just as the

moment

she discovers the

camera, discovers the photographer, 1.

Chaplinesque

(chap'lin-esk'): like the old silent

movies starring Charlie Chaplin (1889-1977).

Last year

I

of this girl

covers us watching seventeen years

and laughs

at all

dis-

later,

of us, laughs with sudden

set out to follow the fading trail

who has become a

legend.

A Tragedy

Revealed:

A

Heroine's Last Days 4

1

merriment and surprise and embarrassment at

the

same

all

moment

we

so that

her face more

could stand up to

closely.

above our heads. But

examine

The smile stood still, just when I walked forward

close to the screen, the smile ceased to be a smile.

The

is

It

a story without violence,

background

its

the most dreadful

is

man.

act of violence in the history of

Hitler's

annihilation of six million European Jews.

summer

In the ther,

Anne

of 1942,

her mother, her older

were forced

four others

Frank, her

sister,

fa-

Margot, and

into hiding during the

face ceased to be a face, for the can-

Nazi occupation of Holland. Their refuge was a

was granular and the beam of

tin)'

vas screen split into a

multitude of tiny shadows, as

light if it

had been scattered on a sandy plain. Anne Frank, of course, is gone too, but her spirit has remained to stir the conscience of the world. Her remarkable diar)' has been read in almost every language. I have seen a letter from a teenaged girl in Japan who says she thinks of Anne's Secret Annex as her second home. And the plaj' based on the diar)' has been a great success wherever it is produced.

German

ends.

it

though

time.

asked the projectionist to stop the film for a

I

when

audiences,

who

invariably greet the

curtain of The Diary of Anne Frank

apartment

the)' called

the Secret Annex, in

twenty-five

Amsterdam office building. For months the Franks, the Van Daan

and

later a dentist, Albert Dussel," lived

the back of an

family,

in

the

Annex,

Secret

protected

from the

Gestapo^ only by a swinging bookcase which

masked the entrance to their hiding place and by the heroism of a few Christians who knew they were there. Anne Frank's diar)- recounts the dail)' pressures of their cramped existence: the hushed silences when strangers were in the building, the diminishing

food supply,

led from Holland to Poland and back to Ger-

from the incessant Allied air raids, the hopes for an early invasion, above all the dread of capture by the pitiless men who were hunting Jews from house to house and sending them to concentration camps. Anne's diary also describes with sharp insight and

many, where

final

stricken silence, have

what seems almost Last year this girl

I

become

has

visited the

I

the theaters in

a national act of

penance.

out to follow the fading

set

who

jammed

a legend.

the village of Belsen and saw the

sand others.

b)' I

in

those

of

trail

or

who

at

pride, the tearful reconciliations of the eight

thirr\'

thou-

survived the ordeal

promise.

fulfill

a

They make explicit a truth implied in the diary. As we somehow knew she must be, Anne Frank, even in the most frightful extremity, was indomitable. The known stor\' contained in the diary is a simple one of human relationships, of the poignant maturing of a perceptive

girl

who

is

when her diar)' begins and only fifteen

Still Believe

beings in the Secret Annex.

It tells

of

Anne's wishes for the understanding of her

adored

father, of

her despair

at

the gulf be-

tween her mother and herself, of her tremulous and growing love for young Peter 'Van Daan.

months. In the recollec-

But even these fragments

I

human

the bickerings, the

wounded

camp

common

moment.

420

humor

youtltful

tions of others she appears only for a

thirteen

fire

of

Some had known her intimately

last tragic

the fear of

site

interviewed forty-two people

who knew Anne that killed her.

Anne Frank and

trail

The

moss-grown

the old Bergen-Belsen concentration graves shared

in

2. In

her

were

real!)-

Anne made up names. The Van Daaii family named ^'an Pels, and Albert Dussel was reall)'

diary,

Fritz Pfeffer

3.

Gestapo

for

its

(gs-sta'po): Nazi secret police force,

known

use of terror

Words to Own indomitable (in-dam'i-ta-bsl) annihilation (a-ni'a-la'shsn)

refuge (ref yooj)

n.:

n.:

ad].:

unconquerable.

destruction;

killing.

place of safety.

reconciliations (retc'sn-sU'e-a'shanz) n,: acts of making up after arguments or disagreements.

The gust

actual diar}' ends with an entry for Au-

which Anne

1944, in

1,

her imaginary friend tience with her

The

own

Frank, addressing

Kitty, talks

of her impa-

unpredictable personality.

stage version goes further:

It

attempts to

reconstruct something of the events of August

1944, the day the Secret

4,

Annex was

violated

and its occupants finally taken into a captivit)' from which onh' one returned. What really happened on that August day fourteen }'ears ago was far less dramatic than

what

is

now

depicted on the stage. The auto-

mobiles did not approach with howling sirens, did not stop with screaming brakes in front of

the house on the Prinsengracht canal in

No

sterdam.

door

until

it

rifle

theater every night

The

butt

pounded

reverberated, as

truth was, at

it

Am-

against the

now does

in the

somewhere in the world. that no one heard a

first,

sound. It

world from which they had disappeared. One of the women was Miep, who had just got married a few months earlier. The other was Elli, a pretty t}pist of twenty-three.

The men were

Kraler and Koophuis, middle-aged spice mer-

who

chants

had been business associates of

Otto Frank's before the occupation. Mr. Kraler

was working

one

in

phuis and the two

office

by himself Koo-

women were in another.

I spoke to Miep, Elli, and Mr. Koophuis in Amsterdam. The two women had not been arrested after the raid on the Secret Annex. Koophuis had been released in poor health after a few weeks in prison, and Kraler, who now lives in Canada, had eventually escaped from a forced labor camp. now a mother, whose coloring and Elli, plump good looks are startlingly like those of the )'oung women painted by the Dutch mas-

was posting entries in the rebook when a car drove up in front of the house. But cars often stopped, after all. Then the front door opened, and someone came up the stairs. I wondered who it could be. We ters,^ recalled: "I

was midmorning on

a bright

simimer

day.

In the hidden apartment behind the secret bookcase there was a scene of relaxed domesticity. The Franks, the Van Daans, and Mr. Dus-

had finished a poor breakfast of ersatz coffee^ and bread. Mrs. Frank and Mrs. Van Daan were about to clear the table. Mr. Van Daan, Margot Frank, and Mr. Dussel were resting or sel

reading.

Anne Frank was very likely

one of the short

stories she often

at

work on

wrote

when

she was not bus}' with her diary or her novel.

Van Daans tiny attic room Otto Frank was chiding the eighteen-year-old boy for an In Peter

error in his English lesson. "Why, Peter," Mr.

Frank was saying, "you spelled with onl)'

know

that

double

is

one b"

main two men and two women, were worktheir regular jobs. For more than two

In the

part of the building four other

ceipts

often had callers. Only this time that there

were

several

men.

could hear

1 ."

.

Miep, a delicate, intelligent,

.

still

young-look-

"The footsteps moved along a door creaked, and a moment later the connecting door to Mr. Kraler's office opened, and a fat man thrust his head in and said in Dutch: Quiet. Stay in your seats.' I ing

woman,

the corridor.

started

and

said:

Then

at first

did not

know what was hap-

pening. But then, suddenly,

gaunt,

now in white-haired man

added:

"I

Koophuis

Mr.

is

suppose

I

I

knew."

very poor health, a in

his

did not hear

sixties.

He

them because

people, ing at

years these four had risked their lives to protect

their friends

in

v,ir-mir').

the hide-out, supplied

them with food, and brought them news of

a

ersatz (cr'zats) coffee: artificial coffee Regular coffee beans were unavailable because of severe wartime shortages.

4.

5. Dutch masters: seventeenth-centur) painters including Rembrandt. Frans Hals (fnins hals), and Jan Vermeer (>'an

Words to Own gaunt

(gont)

A Tragedy

adj.:

thin

and bony; hollow-eyed.

Revealed:

A

Heroine's Last Days 42

of the rumbling of the spice mills in the ware-

house. The

fat

man's head was the

knew. He came of us.

in

You three

we

barked. So

first

and planted himself

thing

1

in front

he

stay here, understand?'

stayed in the office and listened

someone

else went upstairs, and doors ratand then there were footsteps everywhere. They searched the whole building." Mr Kraler wrote me this account from Toronto: "A uniformed staff sergeant of the Occupation Police' and three men in civilian clothes entered my office. They wanted to see as

tled,

the storerooms in the front part of the building. All will

want

be well,

see

to

I

thought,

anything

sergeant had looked

at

they don't

if

But

else.

after

everything, he

into the corridor ordering

me

the

went out

again to

come

end of the corridor they drew revolvers all at once and the sergeant or-

along. At the their

##

dered

It

the door behind

knew

it.

1

said:

there!' At that

everything.

case and pulled.

his spelling mistakes

came running up and

I

started to

It

But there's only a

he turned

He took hold

nasty, for

he

of the book-

yielded and the secret door

could first

feel their pistols in

to enter the Franks'

room. Mrs. Frank was standing

and

6.

a great effort

at

and managed

the table. to say:

now

sixty-eight, has

lives in Switzerland.

The

Of the

eight

remarried

who lived

Occupation Police: police organized by the German

I

1

here.'

forces wliile they occupied the Netherlands.

422

the

my

suddenly someone

stairs.

The

feet, for

steps creaked,

was morning,

it

be

quiet. But

man

stood be-

to

then the door flew open and a

aimed at my chest. main room the others were already assembled. My wife and the children and Van Daans were standing there with raised hands. Then Albert Dussel came in, followed by anfore us holding his pistol "In the

Other stranger In the middle of the a

Still Believe

room stood

uniformed policeman. He stared into our

faces.

"'Wliere are your valuables?' he asked.

pointed to the cupboard where

her papers.

1

Otto Frank,

A

when

when everyone was supposed

men followed me. my back. 1 was the

is

the only survivor

handsome, soft-spoken man of obviously great he regularly answers correspondence that comes to him about his daughter from all over the world. He recently went to Hollywood for consultation on the movie version of The Diary of Anne Frank. About the events of that August morning in 1944 Mr Frank told me: "I was showing Peter Van Daan

was

Gestapo

is

intelligence,

was exposed. Perhaps the hooks had not been properly fastened. They opened the door and 1 had to precede them up the steps. The police-

made

Annex, he

yielded and the secret door was exposed/'

me to push aside the bookcase and open

bookcase

in the Secret

kept.

The policeman took

looked around and his eye

fell

my

I

cash box

out. Then he on the leather

it

where Anne kept her diarv' and all He opened it and shook everything dumped the contents on the floor so that

briefcase

out,

Anne's papers and notebooks and loose sheets

our feet. No one spoke, and the policeman didn't even glance at the mess on the floor as he put our valuables into the briefcase and closed it. He asked us whether we had any weapons. But we had none, of course. Then he said. Get ready.' Who betrayed the occupants of the Secret lay scattered at

Bookcase hiding the entrance to the Secret Annex.

Annex? No one is sure, but some suspicion centers on a man I can only call M., whom the living remember as a crafty and disagreeable sneak. He was a warehouse clerk hired after the Franks moved into the building, and he was never told of their presence. M. used to

come

work early in the mornings, and he once found a locked briefcase which Mr. Van Daan had carelessly left in the office, where he sometimes worked in the dead of night. Though to

Kraler claimed

it

was

his

own

briefcase,

is

it

possible the clerk suspected. Little signs lead

teners, slight rearrangements in the office furniture,

and,

of course,

small

inexplicable

sounds from the back of the building. M. was tried later by a war crimes court, denied everything, and was acquitted. No one knows where he is now. I made no effort to find him. Neither did

I

search out Silberthaler, the

German police sergeant who made the arrest. The betrayers would have told me nothing. Ironically

enough, the occupants of the

Se-

Annex had grown weeks of their self-imposed confinement. The optimistic in the

cret

last

to bigger conclusions. In the course of the

months he had worked

in the building,

might have gathered many such

on the 7.

BBC:

office radio left at

M.

signs: the dial

BBC by

nocturnal

lis-

WORDS TO Own inexplicable (in-eks'pli-ka-bal)

adj.:

incapable of being

explained. British Broadcasting Corporation.

A Tragedy

Revealed:

A Heroine's

Last Days 423

terrors of those

nights had largely faded.

first

Even the German army communiques made clear that the war was approaching an end. The Russians were well into Poland. On the

Western front Americans had broken through at Avranches and were pouring into the heart of France. Holland must be liberated soon. In her diary Anne Frank wrote that she thought she might be back in school by fall.

Now

they were

Otto Frank recalled: very

packing.

composed,

and

quiet

Of the capture "No one wept. Anne was

all

only

as

just

was

dispirited as the rest of us. Perhaps that

why

Suddenly,

camp

Jews in Holland, about eighty miles from Amsterdam. Mr Frank said: "We rode in a regular passenger train. The fact that the door was bolted did not matter very much. We were together and had been given a little food for the journey. We were actually cheerful. Cheerful, at least, when I compare that journey to our next. We had already anticipated the possifor

to the end.

But maybe she too had the premonition that now, everything, and so she all was lost

would

her

diary."

As the captives Miep sat listening. said, "first in stairs.

I

filed I

out of the building,

heard them going," she

the corridor and then

down

the

could hear the heavy boots and the

we might not remain in Westerbork We knew what was happening to

bility that

Jews

at

were taken to the railroad The guards named

a train.

their destination: Westerbork, a concentration

she did not think to take along her notebooks, which lay scattered about on the floor

walked back and forth and did not even glance

eight

all

and put on

station

in

Auschwitz. But weren't the Russians

ready deep

into Poland?

We hoped

al-

our luck

hold.

we

Anne would not move from the window. It was summer outside. Meadows, stubble fields, and villages flew by. The telephone wires along the right of way curved up and down along the windows. After two years it was like freedom for her Can you understand "As

rode,

that?"

footsteps, and then the very light footsteps of Anne. Through the years she had taught herself to walk so softly that you could hear her

Among the names given me of survivors who had known the Franks at Westerbork was that of a Mrs. de Wiek, who lives in Apeldoorn,

you knew what to listen for 1 did not see her, for the office door was closed as they

Holland.

only

all

if

passed

At Gestapo headquarters the prisoners

only

briefly.

As

pointed out to his questioners, after twenty-five

months

he would know

that

it

Otto

was

were Frank

unlikely,

in the Secret

Annex,

the whereabouts of any

who were

hiding in Amsterdam. Van Daans, and Dussel were The Franks, the

other Jews

kept the

at

men

police headquarters for several days, in

visited Mrs.

lovely, gracious

de Wiek

woman, she

one

cell,

the

women

in the

in

told

had been

family, like the Franks,

by."

interrogated

I

months before their capture. She said: "We had been at Westerbork three or four weeks when the word went around that there were new arrivals.

News

of that kind ran like wildfire

my daughter Judy came

through the camp, and running to me,

calling.

New

people are com-

Mama!" "The newcomers were standing

ing,

v.

used as

ad\:.

n..'

long

sad and

feeling that

something, especially something bad,

I

in a

Words to own dispirited (di-spir'i-tid)

premonition (prim's- nish'an)

424

in hiding for

discouraged.

alone.

communiques

me

(ka-myoo'ni-kiz'):

Still Believe

official bulletins.

A

that her

other

They were relatively comfortable there. The food was better than the food they had had in the Secret Annex and the guards left them

8.

her home.

will

happen.

row

in the

was entering

clerks

and one of the names on a list. We

mustering square, their

at them, and me. Most of the people in the camp were adults, and 1 had often wished for a young friend for Judy, who was only fifteen. As 1

Judy pressed close against

looked

might see some-

looked along the line, fearing 1 one I knew. 1 suddenly exclaimed, Judy, see!' In the long line stood eight people whose

white as paper, told you at once that they had been hiding and had not been in the

faces,

open

And

I

air for years.

said to Judy,

Among them was Look, there

is

this girl.

a friend for

It

was

as

if

she had been liberated.

new

could see

people and

she

them and

could laugh. She could laugh while the rest of us thought nothing but: Will they send us to the

camps

"Edith

in Poland? Will

Frank,

numbed by

we live through it?

Anne's

seemed

mother,

the experience. She could have

been a mute. Anne's sister Margot spoke little and Otto Frank was quiet too, but his was a reassuring quietness that helped Anne and all of us. He lived in the men's barracks, but once when Anne was sick, he came over to visit her every evening and would stand beside her bed for hours, telling her stories.

you."

talk to

Now

Anne was

so like

ever)'

him. Wlien another child, a twelve-year-old

day in Westerbork. They were always together,

boy named David, fell ill, Anne stood by his bed and talked to him. David came from an Orthodox family, and he and Anne always talked

saw Anne Frank and Peter Van Daan

"I

my

husband, 'Look

and

I

two

beautiful )'Oung people.'

often said to

at

those

"Anne was so radiant that her beauty flowed over into Peter. Her eyes glowed and her movements had a lilt to them. She was very pallid at first,

but there was something so attractive

about her

frailty

and her expressive face that

at

about God."

Anne Frank weeks. Early

"convict Jews

then Antwerp,

Allies,

We

already-

who

had been arrested in wear blue overalls with a red bib and wooden shoes. Our men had their heads shaved. Three hundred people lived in each barracks. We were sent to work at five in the morning, the children to a cable workshop and the grown-ups to a shed where we had to break up old batteries and salvage the metal and the carbon rods. The food was bad, we were always kept on the run. and the guards all screamed Faster, faster!' But Anne was happy. 'convict Jews'

hiding places had to

9.

mustering square: place of assembly

inspection and

roll call.

for

"

September a thousand of the were put on a freight train,

seventy -five people to a car. Brussels

Judy was too shy to make friends. "Anne was happy there, incredible as it seems. Things were hard for us in the camp.

first

stayed at Westerbork only three

in

fell

to the

then the Americans

reached Aachen. But the victories were com-

The Franks and their friends were on the way to Auschwitz, the camp in Poland where four million Jews died. ing too late.

As we rode, Anne would not move from the window. After two years it was iiice freedom ##

for her/'

A Tragedy

Revealed:

A Heroine's Last Days

425

Mrs. de

the Franks

Wiek was in the same freight car on that journey from Westerbork

Auschwitz.

"Now and

then

when

as

my husband. He had vanished.

to

again.

the train

"'Listen!'

I

never saw him

the loudspeaker bawled again.

'It is

stopped," she told me, "the SS guards

came

to

an hour's march to the women's camp. For the

the door and held out their caps and

we had to

children and the sick there are trucks waiting

money and

toss our

valuables into the caps.

Anne and Judy sometimes pulled themselves up to the small barred window of the car and described the

We made

through.

we were

villages

passing

the children repeat the ad-

dresses where we could meet after the war if we became separated in the camp. I remember

the Franks chose a meeting place in

that

Switzerland.

my husband on a small box. On the third day in the train, my husband suddenly took my hand and said, want to thank you for the wonderful life we have had together.' "I sat

beside

I

"I

snatched

ni}

hand away from

Wliat are you thinking about?

It's

"But he calmly reached for

his, crying,

not over!'

my hand

again

Thank it and repeated several times. Thank you for the life we have had together.' Then I left my hand in his and did not try to draw it away. and took

}'ou.

On

the third night, the train stopped, the

doors of the car

slid violently

open, and the

first

the exhausted passengers saw of Auschwitz

was the

glaring searclilights fixed

On the platform, were assigned

on the

train.

kapos (criminal convicts

who

to positions of authority' over

the other prisoners) were rimning back and forth shouting orders.

Behind them, seen

tinctly against the light,

dis-

stood the SS officers,

trimly built and smartly uniformed,

many

of

them with huge dogs at their sides. As the people poured out of the train, a loudspeaker roared,

"Women

to the

left!

Men to the

right!"

Wiek went on calmly: "I saw them all went away, Mr. Van Daan and Mr. Dusand Peter and Mr. Frank. But I saw no sign of

Mrs. de as they sel

at

the end of the platform.'

"We could see the trucks," Mrs. de Wiek said. "They were painted with big red crosses. We all made a rush for them. Who among us was not sick after those days on the train? But did not reach them. People

were

still

we

hanging

on to the backs of the trucks as they started off. Not one person who went along on that ride ever arrived at the women's camp, and no one has ever found any trace of them." Mrs. de Wiek, her daughter, Mrs. Van Daan,

Anne survived the brutal pace of the night march to the women's camp at Auschwitz. Next day their heads were shaved; they learned that the hair was useful as packing for pipe joints in U-boats. Then the women were put to work digging sods of grass, which the}' placed in great piles. As they labored each day, thousands of others were disMrs. Frank, Margot, and

patched with maniacal efficiency in the gas chambers, and smoke rising from the stacks of the huge crematoriums

"

blackened the

sky.

Wiek saw Anne Frank every day at Auschwitz. "Anne seemed even more beautiful there," Mrs. de Wiek said, "than she had at Westerbork. Of course her long hair was gone, but now you could see that her beaut}' was in her eyes, which seemed to grow bigger as she grew thinner Her gaiety had vanished, but she was still alert and sweet, and with her charm Mrs. de

she sometimes secured things that the rest of us had long since given up hoping

for.

we each had only a gray sack when the weather turned cold,

"For example, to wear. But

Anne came

in

one day wearing

a suit of

men's

11. U-boats: submarines.

SS guards: Nazi special police, tion camps. 10.

426

I

Still Believe

who

ran the concentra-

12. crematoriums: furnaces in which prisoners' bodies were cremated (burned to ashes).

V ^^^^ Train destination sign.

long undei-wear.

She had begged

it

some-

where. She looked screamingly funny with

very

last.

To the

last also

moved by the had somehow be-

she was

dreadful things the rest of us

lightfial.

come hardened when the flames

"Though she was the youngest, Anne was the leader in her group of five people. She also

from the crematorivmis? Who was troubled that every day new people were being selected

gave out the bread to everyone

and gassed? Most of us were beyond feeling. But not Anne. I can still see her standing at the door and looking down the camp street as a group of naked Gypsy girls were driven by on their way to the crematorium. Anne watched

those long white legs but

and she did

it

so

fairly

somehow

there

in the

still

de-

barracks

was none of the

usual grumbling.

'We were always

thirsty at Auschwitz, so

thirsty that at roll call

tongues ing,

if it

we would

happened

and many became

when

to

stick out

our

be raining or snowfrom bad water

sick

was almost dead because there was nothing to drink, Anne suddenly came to me with a cup of coffee. To this day I don't know where she got it. "In the barracks many people were dying, some of starvation, others of weakness and despair. It was almost impossible not to give up Once,

hope, and

I

when

a person gave up, his face be-

came empt)' and dead. The

Polish

who had been me, 'You will pull through. You

tor

woman

doc-

caring for the sick said to still

have your

them going and

we marched

to.

shot

cried.

Wlio bothered

up

look

to

into the sky at night

And she

also cried

when

who

past the Himgarian children

had been waiting half a day in the rain in front of the gas chambers. And Anne nudged me and said, 'Look, look!

Their eyes!' Anne cried.

And

you cannot imagine how soon most of us came to the end of our tears. Late in October the SS selected the healthiest of the

women prisoners for work in a muni-

tions factory in Czechoslovakia. Judy de

Wiek

was taken from her mother, but Anne and her sister Margot were rejected because they had contracted scabies.' A few days later there

face.'

"Anne Frank, too,

still

had her face, up to the

13. scabies: skin disease that causes severe itching.

A Tragedy Revealed: A Heroine's Last Days

427

Prisoners arriving at Auschwitz.

428

I

Still Believe

\ was another

selection

Auschwitz. Stripped, the for

for

shipment from

women waited naked

hours on the mustering ground outside the

one by one, they filed into the barracks, where a battery of powerful lights had been set up and an SS doctor waited to check them over. Only those able to stand a trip and do hard work were being chosen for this new shipment, and many of the women lied about their age and condition in the hope that they would escape the almost certain death of Auschwitz. Mrs. de Wiek was rejected and so was Mrs. Frank. They waited, look-

Anne Frank and Mrs. Van Daan and Margot had been selected for shipment to eration.

Bergen-Belsen.

barracks. Then,

ing on.

"Next it was the turn of the two girls, Anne and Margot," Mrs. de Wiek recalled. "Even under the glare of that light Anne still had her face, and she encouraged Margot, and Margot walked erect into the light. There they stood for a moment, naked and shaven-headed, and Anne looked at us with her imclouded face, looked straight and stood straight, and then the}' were approved and passed along. We

Last year

dam

I

drove the 225 miles from Amster-

to Belsen

and spent

over the heath.

'*

The

day there walking

a

site

of the old

camp

is

near the city of Hannover, in the state of Lower Saxony.

was

in

My where

It

was June when

I

arrived,

and lupine

flower in the scrubland. guide fifty

first

showed me

the cemetery

thousand Russian prisoners of war,

captured in one of

Hitler's great early offen-

were buried in 1941. Next to them is a cemetery for Italians. No one knows exactly whether there are three hundred or three thousand in that mass grave. sives,

''Even under the

glare of that light Anne still had her face . • ." About

a mile farther

we came

to the

main

The chronicle of most of the other occupants of the Secret Annex ends at Auschwitz. Mrs. Frank died there of malnutrition two months later Mr Frank saw Mr Van Daan marched to

Amid the low growth of pine and birches many large rectangular patches can be seen on the heath. The barracks stood on these, and between them the worn tracks of thousands of bare feet are still visible. There are more mass graves nearby, low mounds overgrown with heath grass or

the gas chambers. Wlien the SS fled Auschwitz

new-planted dwarf pines. Boards bearing the

before the approaching Russians in January 1945, they took Peter Van Daan with them. It

numbers of the dead stand beside some mounds, but others are unmarked and barely discernible. Anne Frank lies there. The train that carried Anne from Auschwitz

could not see what was on the other side of the light.

Mrs. Frank screamed.

The

children! Oh,

God!'"

and the roads were covered with ice and Peter Van Daan, Anne Frank's shy beloved, was never heard of again.

was

bitter cold

From Auschwitz, Mr

Dussel, the dentist,

site

of the Bergen-Belsen camp.

to

Belsen stopped

14.

heath

at

every second station

was

shipped to a camp in Germany, where he died. Only Otto Frank remained there alive until lib-

(heth): area of

open wasteland covered with

low-growing plants.

A Tragedy Revealed: A

Heroine's Last Days 429

because of

were no

air raids.

At Bergen-Belsen there

no organization, almost no on the heath without hope. The ftict that the Allies had reached the Rhine encouraged no one. Prisonroll calls,

sign of the SS. Prisoners lived

ers died daily

— of hunger,

which, one survivor

recalls,

gave an

camp. One windstorm brought the crashing down, and their occupants were

oddly

gay, carnival aspect to the

night that tents

then put

fall

a great

wooden

in

Am-

barracks. Mrs. B. of

sterdam remembered about Anne: "We lived in

saw each other

the same block and fact,

we had

waited, shivering in the darkness.

"I

often. In

Lies? "I

had saved up some stale bread, and we cut this up and put onions and boiled cabbage on the pieces. Over our feast we nearly forgot our misery for a few hours. We were almost happy. I know that it sounds ghastly now, but we realh' were a little happy in spite of everything."

Anne Frank's dearest childhood Amsterdam was a girl named Lies Goosens. ' Lies is repeatedly mentioned in the diary. She was captured before the Franks were found in the Secret Annex, and Anne wrote of

Where

I

took a

It

heard a voice:

'Lies?

are you?'

ran in the direction of the voice, and then

saw Anne beyond the barbed wire. She was in rags. I saw her emaciated, sunken face in the darkness. Her eyes were very large. We cried and cried as we told each other our sad news, for now there was only the barbed wire between us, nothing more, and no longer any difI

ference in our

a party together at Christmastime.

We

One

Margot was sick but that Anne could probably come and that she would go look for her. long time. But suddenly

thirst, sickness.

The Auschwitz group had at first been assigned to tents on the Bergen-Belsen heath, tents

Margot or Anne could come to the fence. Mrs. Van Daan answered in a breathless voice that

fates.

was

"But there

a difference after

all.

My

had food and clothing. Anne had nothing. She was freezing and starving. I called to her in a whisper. Come back tomorrow. I'U bring you something.' "And Anne called across. Yes, tomorrow. I'll block

still

come."

of

"I

saw Anne again when she came

to the

friends in

fence on the following night," Lies continued.

her great fears for the safety of her friend.

"I had packed up a woolen jacket and some zwieback and sugar and a tin of sardines for her. I called out, Anne, watch now!" Then I threw the bundle across the barbed wire. "But I heard only screams and Anne crying. I shouted, "Wliat's happened?' And she called back, weeping, A woman caught it and won't

the slim and attractive wife of an officer. Lies lives in

army was in

Israeli

Jerusalem. But she

Bergen-Belsen in February

Now

1945,

when

she

'

heard that a group of Dutch Jews had been

give

moved into

the

Lies said,

the next "I

compound.

waited

until night.

Then

I

stole

it

to me.'

woman

Anne caught

barbed wire which separated us from the newcomers. I called softly into the darkness. Is anyone there?'

In the last

I

am here. I am

I

heard rapid footsteps as I

had only a

pair of stockings and zwieback, but this time

out of the barracks and went over to the

"A voice answered,

Then

ran away. Next night

16.

it."

weeks

at

Bergen-Belsen, as Ger-

zwieback (tsve'bak'): sweetened bread

and toasted

after

it is

that

is

sliced

baked.

Mrs. "Van

Daan.'

"We had known dam.

I

told her

the Van Daans in Amster-

who I was

and asked whether

Words to Own emaciated

15. Lies

430

I

Goosens

(e-ma'she-a'tid)

from starvation or gaunt are synonyms. thin, as

(les

kho' sins).

Still Believe

v.

used as adj.: extremely Emaciated and

illness.

Anne in 1942. This may be the last

photograph

ever tal<en of

her

many was

between the Russians and the Western Allies, there was almost no food at all. The roads were blocked, the railroads had been bombed, and the SS commander of the camp drove around the district trying unsucstrangled

out notice. For Anne, as for millions of others,

was only the final anonymity, and I met no one who remembers being with her in that moment. So many were dying. One woman it

said, "I feel certain

she died because of her easy for anyone

the cre-

ter's

death. Dying

matoriums worked night and day. And in the midst of the starvation and the murder there was a great epidemic of typhus. Both Anne and Margot Frank contracted the disease in late February or early March of 1945. Margot lay in a coma for several days. Then, while unconscious, she somehow rolled from

in a

concentration camp." Mrs.

cessfully to requisition supplies.

Still,

shared the

pitiful

Anne, knows a very sick sister's

at

is

sis-

alone

who had

Christmastide feast with

more: "Anne, who was was not informed of her few days later she sensed it

little

the time,

death. But a

and soon afterward she died, peacefully." Three weeks later British troops liberated

her bed and died. Mrs. Van Daan also died in

Bergen-Belsen.

the epidemic.

Miep and Elli, the heroic young had shielded the Franks for two

The death of Anne Frank passed almost with-

B.,

left

A Tragedy Revealed: A

women who years,

found

Heroine's Last Days 43

I

Anne's papers during the week after the police

was terrible when

on the Secret Aiinex. "It went up there," Miep recalled. "Everything had been turned upside down. On the floor lay raid

1

and school notebooks.

clothes, papers, letters,

wrapper hung from a hook on the wall. And among the clutter on the floor lay a notebook with a red-checked cover I picked it up, looked at the pages, and recognized Anne's Anne's

little

handwriting." as she spoke to me: "The table was There were plates, cups, and spoons, but the plates were empt)', and I was so frightened I scarcely dared take a step. We sat down on the floor and leafed through all the papers. They were all Anne's, the notebooks and the colored duplicate paper from the office too. We gathered all of them and locked them up in the main office. "A few days later M. came into the office, M. who now had the keys to the building. He said to me, i found some more stuff upstairs,' and

wept

EUi

still set.

he handed

How one

me

strange,

I

young man, Ernst Schnabel

Zittau, in

the

faring

Germany, to become

German Marines life

(

1

a sailor

during

for a writing career.

1

3- 986)

and

1

—

Amsterdam alone. Thus Anne Frank's voice was preserved out of the millions that were silenced. No Otto

Frank

finally

1

,

Words to Own raucous

(ro'kas)

left his

birthplace of

travel the world.

He

served

he flew around the world

didn't in

More by Ernst Schnabel have followed the

trail

of

Anne

Frank.

It

leads out of

Germany

and back into Germany, for there was no escape." So begins Anne Frank:

A

Portrait in

forty-two people

Courage

whose

larges

on the story told

432

Still Believe

I

(

1

958). Based

lives in

on interviews with

touched Anne's,

the article.

this

speaks for

shouts of the murderers, soaring above the

nine days, then turned his experience into a novel.

"I

it

clamorous voices of passing time.

II,

95

to

those millions and has outlasted the raucous

World War then gave up the seaHe was well-known in Germany for his

1

returned

louder than a child's whisper,

mythology with modern-day situadons. Schnabel's adventures In

took them and

Miep and Elli did not read the papers they had saved. The red-checked diary, the office account books into which it overflowed, the 312 tissue-thin sheets of colored paper filled with Anne's short stories and the beginnings of a novel about a young girl who was to live in freedom all these were kept in the safe until

radio plays, tales of his adventures at sea, and books linking classical

end when he began wridng:

I

locked them up with the others.'

Following the Trail a

thought, that he should be the

to give these to me. But

Meet the Writer As

another sheaf of Anne's papers.

book en-

ad].:

harsh sounding; loud.

v
\StiuienL .

.

'

-^^'-V

^ ':.

.'--• v-^

C/

udeM

":.

Walking with Living Feet

-

had a very unusual fifteenth birthday. During my birthday week, at the end of April, I was traveling with five thousand high school students from around the world, visiting concentration camps in Poland. I learned more there than I learned during my entire life in school; once I stepped out of a gas chamber, I became a different person. Wlien turned fifteen, I discovered that no matter how much you read about the Holocaust, nothing can ever be like seeing it with your own eyes. The day after my fifteenth birthday was the turning point of my life. I was at Majdanek, one of the largest Nazi concentration camps. And I I

>

-.'.,

.»4^

--i- ,«i

1

will

never forget

it.

Majdanek has been left exactly as it was when it was in use, so intact if it were to be "plugged in," it could start gassing people tomorrow. 1 stood in a gas chamber there, at Majdanek. I saw the blue stains of Zyklon B streaking the ceilings and walls, the poison used to kill the people who were crushed into this tiny, gray cement room. I could see how their fingers had scraped off the white paint, trying to escape. The cement floor that I sat on was cold and clammy; the air in the room seemed made of chills. Wlien I first sat down, I did not notice, but soon those chilling waves were seeping into my skin, like so many tiny fingers trying to pull at my nerves and make my bones quiver. All around me, kids were crying hysterically, yet the chills that rankled the air around me hadn't reached my mind, and 1 could not feel. I hated myself for it. Anger, fear, pain, and shock I could have felt all of those and more, but instead I felt nothing. That void was far worse: All the other emotions around me showed the presence of human hearts, but I was almost not there at all. I wanted to feel; I hated the guilt I had at my lack of reaction as much as I hated what happened there. Only my squirming skin could attest to my svirroundings, and the crawling air made my lungs tighten. I wished I could cry, but I couldn't break down my mental blockade. that

—

Why? The camp of Majdanek extends about

it is

actually

that

it's

right in a

town, almost

people of that

» t

a

cit}-,

one of the worst things called Lublin. There are

houses right next to the barbed wire, the fence with city

its

thorns

enough to separate a universe. The would have had to be dead not to notice the death

that stabbed m}' frightened eyes,

^

for miles, but

•

-

,

-5 t^*r,,-5

iT.,! a~

behind their back yards, where I saw children pla> ing. People marched through Lublin from the train station, entered through the same barbed wire gate that I did, and left through the chimney. Nobody in Lublin noticed, because if they had, their fate would

w hich

struck

daily, right

have been the same. And today the camp's long gray, barnlike barracks still extend forever, in endless rows, the sk}' a leaden weight blocking the colors that grace free

life.

Gray

Inside each of the barracks

is

a

is

the color of hell.

new

horror.

Some

are

museum

ex-

with collections of people's toothbrushes (they were told that the) were being "relocated and to bring one suitcase, the contents of which were confiscated) and people's hair. All of the walls in one barracks are covered with people's hats, hanging in rows. But the worst hibits,

"

were the shoes. About five of the barracks are filled with nothing but the shoes of some of the people who were killed there— over 850,000 pairs. In one barracks, I sat on a platform about five feet off the ground, and surrounding it was an ocean of shoes, five feet deep. In the gas chamber I could not

feel,

but in that

room

filled

with shoes,

my

mental blockade

The photographs meant nothing to me, the history lessons and names and numbers were never strong enough. But here each shoe is

cracked.

shoe and shoes like mine. Each pair of those shoes walked a path all its own. guided its owner tlirough his or her life and to all of their deaths. Thousands and thousands of shoes, each pair different, each pair silently screaming someone's murdered dreams. No book can teach me what I saw there different, a different size

^.^0fS^

so tiny that

^ \-

with I

its

and shape: a high

owner couldn't have been

my own eyes! at my own

glanced

shoe, expecting

heel, a sandal, a baby's

old

it

to

enough

be

to walk,

far different

from those I saw that

ocean of death, and my shoe seemed to be almost the same style as one, no, two, three, of the shoes I saw; it seemed as if every shoe there was my shoe. I touched the toe of one nearby and felt its dust}' texture, certain that mine would breath caught in iw' throat as

in that

my

touched ni) own toe, tears welled in my eyes as my fingers traced the edges of my dusty, living shoes. Eight hundred and fifty thousand pairs of shoes, but now I understood: They weren't numbe

different. But as

I

were people. Soon I was crying, but for someone else: for the child whose mother's sandals rested on that pile, for the woman whose husband's shoes swam bers; they

motionless in that sea, like the tears that streaked

whose

best friend's slippers

silence.

I

was

lost to

my face,

for the girl

were buried in that ocean of grayness and I wished I could throw mv shoes

the shoes there.

-V X,-.

into that pile, to grasp

-^

to

become

a part of

to that ocean, but

it,

all

and

feel

to take

each shoe, to jump into the sea of shoes,

it

with me.

I

wanted

clumped on the wooden platform

as

left,

I

and

to

my

could leave there were

I

add

my own shoes My feet

salty tears.

had never been more

I

my shoes fit my living feet.

conscious of how

camp was another gas chamber and the cremasmokestack jutting through the leaden sky. This gas chamber did not have the blue poison stains that streaked the walls in the one I saw first, or maybe it did: The only light in that cement room was from At

tiie

torium,

^'^

very end of the

its

dozens of memorial candles. It was too dark to see. The air inside was damp and suffocating, like a burial cave, and yet the air was savagely alive. It crawled down my neck and compressed me as the walls and

seemed to move closer. No words can express how it felt to step out of that gas chamber alive, wearing my living shoes. And I saw the crematoriimi where the corpses were burned, ovens ceiling

shaped to

my

fingers,

my

felt

As

a person.

fit

tears froze in

soul go

up

I

touched the brick furnaces with trembling

my eyes

and

in flames, leaving

I

could not

cry.

me

an empt>'

shell.

It

was here

that

I

Majdanek reeks of death everywhere. Even the reminders and signs of

life

that exist in a cemetery, like a footprint or rustling leaves, are ab-

Even the wind does not ruffle the grass, which never used to grow here because the prisoners would eat it. But in the crematorium, I felt something I cannot express. No words sent here, every image of

exist to describe

mare

how

I

life

erased.

felt. It

that turned real before

I

was someone

even noticed

it.

else's It

was

nightmare, a nighta stark

and

chilling

me there, standing where people were slaughtered and my mind simply stopped. Have you ever been to Planet

reality that struck

and burned, Hell? My people are numbers here, struck from

and sent out the chimney, their children's bodies roasting. And I was there. You cannot visit this planet through any film or book; photographs cannot bring you here. Planet Hell is beyond the realm of tears. This is why I could not

a

list

cry. left

I

How many people, who had walked in those 850,000 once dreamed of doing what I had just done? And did

the camp.

pairs of shoes,

they, too, forget

In Israel

I

camps. In the old,

and

I

how to

cry?

had taken from concentration were white specks, human bone ash. I am fifteen years can never forget.

planted a tree with soil

know I

soil

I

-Dara Horn Millburn High School First

appeared

in

Merlyn's Pen: The National Magazines of Student Writing.

I

Millburn,

New Jersey

^MrH^y Re^^^d: Afrati[Oine's Last

Making Meanings First

Thoughts

Reading Check

Did reading the pieces by Ernst Schnabel

Fill

and Dara Horn change your feelings

in

\%

the L column of your

about Anne Frank's story or help you

KWL chart. Then, choose

understand the events

one or two

in

the play? Explain.

interesting or

surprising items, and share

them with

Shaping Interpretations

a partner Discuss

your reactions. 2.

Which

description of the concentration

camps

did

you

find

more

Schnabel's or Horn's? 3.

Schnabel says that

effective,

Why?

Anne Frank was

indomitable. Find three examples of her

behavior that Schnabel uses to support this characterization. 4.

How

closely

character of 5.

does the Anne that Mrs. de

Anne

in

Wiek

Reread Otto Frank's comments on Anne's final

moments

in

describes resemble the

the play? Explain.

the Secret

Annex

mood and actions during the What do you think was

(page 424).

Anne's reason for leaving her diary behind?

Choose two quotations from the people Schnabel

interviewed, and write

the question you think he asked to get each response. Are any of these

questions similar to ones you wrote

in

your Quickwrite notes?

Connecting with the Text 7.

Now that you've

read Schnabel's article,

statement that "people are

really

good

how do you

feel

at heart"? Explain

about Anne's

whether your

reading of the article tends to support or contradict Anne's

belief.

Extending the Text 8.

Who

else

do you know of whose

"spirit has

remained to

stir

the con-

science of the world"? Describe the lasting influence this person has had.

Challenging the Text 9.

436

I

Still Believe

you agree that the discovery of the Secret Annex as described by Schnabel is "far less dramatic" than the play's version? Why or why not?

Do

Choices:

Building Your Portfolio

Writer's Notebook 1.

Collecting Ideas for a Comparison-Contrast Essay

Use compare

a chart like the

final

one on the

right to

Schnabel's description of the

moments

in

the Secret

Annex

(pages 421-424) with the corresponding

scene

in

404-^08). differ;

the play The Diary of Anne Frank (pages

List

then, jot

How

three ways

in

which the two versions

down your thoughts on

the compari-

do you account for the differences? Which do you think you will remember longer? (Save your notes for the Writer's Workshop on page 442.) son.

version

Article

MINI-LESSON

Grammar Link

Avoiding Double Comparisons In

language

Handbook

HELP

general, one-syllable modifiers add -er and -est to

more

syllables

add more and most. Comparisons of some

formed by adding

See Comparison of

their

comparative and superlative degrees. Modifiers of three or

syllable modifiers are

Modifiers,

form

two-syllable modifiers are

and more or both

both

766--68.

be formed

-er

in

one of these

NONSTANDARD

I

or

-est.

Other

formed by adding more or

A double comparison

pages

-er

is

-est

incorrect because

and most.

v^ays,

A

it

tv\^o-

HELP

STANDARD

I

most.

contains

comparison should

not both.

think Schnabel's article stays

more

closer

piece of your

and

underline the

words more and most and

-er

and

you

think Schnabel's article stays closer to the

-est. If

find

any

double comparisons, circle

facts than the play does.

the correct

NONSTANDARD

CD-ROM. Ke}' word enhy:

Take out a

the suffixes

See Language

Workshop

Out

It

writing,

to the facts than the play does. Technology

Try

Anne Frank's diary book ever read.

is

the

most movingest

form and cross out the un-

I

STANDARD

Anne

double I

Frank's diary

is

the most moving

ever read.

comparisons.

Vocabulary Word Bank

HOW TO OWN A WORD

book

needed

part.

Under Cover The Netherlands, World War

II.

Anne and Margot Frank go

into hiding with their parents. Meanwhile,

Jewish sisters escape to the country to

with a Dutch family

Collins),

tell

its

Johanna

live

through the war

their farmhouse. The Upstairs Room

in

(HarperCollins) and

another pair of

sequel, The Journey Back (Harper-

Reiss's true story.

Heroes

Real-Life

Under Nazi rule, even to be seen talking to a Jew was dangerous yet all over Europe, non-Jews

—

risked their lives to save neighbors and friends

from the death camps. Gentiles

Saved Jews

in

In

Rescue: The Story of How

the Holocaust (Harper-

Collins), Milton Meltzer tells of their heroism.

.

Perilous Mission

How far would Number

you go to save a

the Stars by Lois

friend's

Lowry

Johansen and Ellen Rosen, best friends peaceful Copenhagen,

Denmark,

themselves with questions Nazis

come

life? In

Annemarie

(Dell),

living in

don't concern

like this

—

until

the

for Ellen.

Other Picks •

Jane Yolen, The

Devil's Arithmetic (Puffin). In this

temporary Jewish

girl

facing Nazi soldiers •

in

novel a con-

opens the door one day to

a Polish village of the 1940s.

Steven Spielberg, Survivors: Testimonies of the Holocaust. This CD-ROM contains annotated excerpts from interviews of

Holocaust survivors filmed by Spielberg. The disk by Leonardo DiCaprio and •

find herself

Hanna Volavkova,

ed.,

/

is

narrated

Winona Ryder

Never Saw Another

Butterfly: Children's

Drawings and Poems from Terezin Concentration Camp,

1942-1944 (Schocken).

Read

On 439

BUILDING

Persuasive Communication Why Should

I?

Persuasive communication

is

the use of words or images to get

people to believe something or to do something. Different people

respond to different approaches. You can increase your chances of success by using the right persuasive technique for your audience.

Persuasive Techniques 1

Appeals to

logic are arguments that emphasize reason and

clear thinking. Evidence such as statistics, examples, and

anecdotes (short true stories)

is

used

in logical

appeals.

"You should do your homework because Department of Labor statistics

Try Try

It

more

Out

this movie-critics

2.

Choose

a

movie that

one of you other

Appeals to emotion feelings

with a partner.

skit

liked

didn't.

and cause

"How will

and the

on to

Take turns 3.

show

that well-educated people earn

than less-educated people."

you

are arguments that

feel

when you watch

high school and you've

Appeals to

stir

an audience's

a gut-level response. all

your friends go

been held back a year?"

credibility ask an audience to believe

presenting to each other (and therefore

in

what you

in

you

say).

three arguments sup-

know

porting your position:

"I

one

haven't

logical appeal,

one

that teacher, and she won't pass you

done your work.

if

you

I'm only thinking of you."

appeal to credibility, and

one emotional appeal. •

Perform your the

class.

skit for

Ask whose

arguments they

more

find

Consider Your Audience Knowing your

•

persuasive,

class to

different appeals.

they agree with you already and just need to be prodded

Do

they oppose your point of view and need to be persuaded

even to

analyze each argument

to identify the three

Do

into action? •

Then, ask the

•

listen

I

Still Believe

to you?

Are they uninformed or uninterested?

Do

they need to be

presented with basic facts and persuaded that the subject important?

440

on your topic before you

begin speaking will help you choose an effective approach.

and why. •

listeners' opinions

is

Critical Listening People are constantly trying to persuade us to do things

somewhere, to buy something, to think

a certain way.

—to go

You need to

evaluate these messages carefully and decide for yourself

Try If

Out

It

you can, videotape a

in

each

you think

case whether you should be persuaded. Ask yourself:

effective, 1.

Is

Does

the evidence presented believable?

it

contain facts?

Don't accept a statement as fact simply because someone says it's

so.

Numbers, words, and pictures can be

of context, or used it

—with

out

altered, taken out

other misleading ways.

in

a reliable neutral source.

Is

If

in

doubt, check

the evidence opinions

rather than facts? 2.

Is

the evidence presented relevant to the argument and to

An advertiser may say that a made of the most durable rubber

you?

matter 3.

if

pair of sneakers has soles available

— but does

that

you outgrow your shoes long before they wear out?

Does the argument

rely

on faulty reasoning, such

assumptions, generalizations based on too

little

as false

who

a politician

calls

herself cout/ous

may be described by her opponent as wishy-washy. Be aware of is using the loaded words and what they want their listeners to do or think.

who

particularly

in class.

If

not possible,

find a

print advertisement, and

read

aloud to a group

it

of classmates.

Show

them the visuals, too. With your classmates, evaluate the message

and effectiveness of the

commercial or •

ad.

Which persuasive techniques are used?

Does the argument use loaded words (word or phrases with emotions? For example,

5.

that's

•

strong positive or negative connotations) to appeal to your

is

and show the

videotape

evidence, or

far-fetched comparisons? 4.

commercial

television

How

believable

is

the content? •

Which statements

are

facts that can be verified?

Which

are

opinions?

—

Are you being swayed by propaganda persuasive techniques that deliberately discourage people from thinking for themselves? Look for these common, often hidden messages: •

Bandwagon:

•

Transfer: "Buy happy, rich

•

"Everybody's doing this

product and

it."

you'll

.

.

Testimonial: "I'm

a

glamorous

celebrity,

product. Don't you want to be just •

be beautiful, popular,

."

Card stacking: supports what

I

"I'll

just tell

want you to

you

like

half

and

I

use this

me?"

the truth

—the

half that

believe."

Speaking and Listening

Workshop 44

BUILDIIVG YO UR

_j»0'RT F O L

I

O T

V t

^m^^ mm^

y

EXPOSITORY WRITING

Comparison-Contrast Essay Assignment Write an essay comparing and contrasting two

You do

it all

someone

the time. You meet

else,

lot like last

works, or movies.

workshop

you'll

movie

you're doing

of

is

a

is

contrasting (seeing

(seeing similarities) and

differences). In this

latest disaster

What

summer's disaster movie.

comparing

characters, literary

someone who reminds you

or you realize that the

compare and contrast two

characters, literary works, or movies.

Aim To inform.

Professional Model

Audience Your teacher, your classmates, and other students your school.

in

This paragraph

by Eleanor H.

from a review o/ Parallel Journeys Ayer, a book ofpersonal narratives.

They grew up

a

is

few miles apart

Nazi Germany. Helen Waterford was Jewish; Alfons

bound

"to

for Auschwitz,

he was

.

.

point out similarities."

Contra%t means "to

troops, ready to fight and die for the

point out differences."

glory of Hitler and the Fatherland.

compare

is

used to mean

compare and to

both to

Whenever you the word com-

contrast.

see just pare

in

a test question

or essay assignment,

out

if

to do both:

compare

and contrast.

442

I

find

you're expected

Still Believe

Difference #1.

Difference #2.

a

teenage commander of front

Sometimes, the word

Similarity #\.

Heck was an ardent

Wliile member of the Hitler Youth. she was crammed in a cattle car .

Watch the Wording Compare means

in

line

Their postwar experiences in the U.S. are just as compelling:

Helen trying to

Difference #5.

pick up the pieces of her shattered self;

Alfons awakening to what he'd

been part of, determined now to Both warn the world about it. Germans speak quietly and honestly, without hand wringing, cover-up, or .

.

.

self-pity.

— Hazel Rochman, Booklist

Similarity #2.

fM^im

\^

Riyj The history of the writteni word is rich and*'

Prewriting 1.

Strategies for

Choosing a Topic

Elaboration

Check your Writer's Notebook

for notes

about possible subjects that have at

Sometimes the most

show how two

least

Exercises in

one thing

in

common.

interesting comparison-contrast essays

seem to be similar are in fact quite or how two subjects that seem to be different are

different;

Observation and Description

subjects that

two

Carefully observe

objects that are similar really similar.

A good theme tions

is

way to find stories with a common subject or to choose two selections from any one of the collec-

in this

book. For example,

all

the selections

but not identical: a pen

and a ple,

in

Collection

Four are about the relationship between humans and animals.

The works you choose do not have to be in the same form. You can, for instance, compare and contrast two works such as the

pencil, for

down

a line

paper

following:

the middle

On

the

left side,

every similarity you

see between the

•

Anne a

Frank's diary and the play version

memoir

you

just read

(or a movie) and a novel about the

same subject

Draw

of a blank sheet of

list

•

exam-

or two trees.

two

objects;

on the

side,

their differ-

list

right

ences. Circle the details 2.

Finding Similarities and Differences

Your next step

compare and

is

that you think

to decide which features, or qualities, to

were writing

contrast. For example, suppose you

an article for the school newspaper about pizzerias

in

your

town. You might compare and contrast any of these features:

the

most

would be

significant in a

comparison-contrast essay of these

two

objects.

overall taste (highly subjective!), freshness, type of crust, variety

of toppings, price, and service. trast

two short

When

you compare and con-

stories, you'll probably discuss the

elements of

fiction (plot, conflict, character, point of view, setting,

so on).

If

and

you're comparing and contrasting characters, you

might discuss each character's appearance,

traits,

motivation,

and actions.

Use

a

Venn diagram

how your

subjects are alike and different.

part of the circles, jot

share

—

(see page 444) to collect ideas about

down your

their similarities.

Note

In

the overlapping

ideas about the features they

their differences

in

the outer

part of each circle.

Writer's

Workshop 443

Block Method

student Model Thirteen-year-old

Transition

Anne Frank and

eighteen-year-old Margot Frank are

growing up in Amsterdam during World War II. Anne and Mar-

Identifies

Words that show

charactere.

similarities: also, both, similarly, like, in addition,

sisters

got are alike

and

different in

many

ways, and in the play version of The Diary of Anne Frank, they are often compared to each other. Margot is a mature, beautiful young lady. Even through the hardest times in the war, she would keep quiet. She was always obedient and polite; she did everything that she was told, like helping with supper and setting the table. Anne, on the other hand, had a mind of her own. She did not need people to tell her what to do. She was often active, loud, and curious. Anne was a daydreamer, and sometimes her dreams caused people to see her as a troublemaker. A perfect example is when Anne tried on Mrs. Van Daan's fur coat. While pretending she was a young Mrs. Van Daan, Anne spilled milk all over the coat. Mrs. Frank would always compare Anne and Margot, which sometimes made Anne feel insecure. Margot was always known as the ladylike one,

States main

too, another, just as,

idea.

in

same way

differences: but, although, however,

Paragraph

instead, unlike,

elaborates

yet,

difference #1:

in

their befiavior

on the other hand

still,

contrast,

in

spite of,

Uses transition

and point-

by-point

method.

Cites specific

example.

M

Evaluation Criteria

A good comparison-contrast essay

Summarizes a characters

1.

has an introduction tlmt identifies tlje subjects

views of two

states tlje essay's

qiris.

2.

I.uis

as the childish one. I do not think that Anne was treated like 3.

Margot's maturity.

a body tlmt discusses

is

clearly organized, using

either the block

had many school friends and grew be Peter Van Daan's good friend.

Margot was charming and polite, but very shy, so it was hard for her

idea

differences

other girls her age because of outgoing. She

and

main

at least two similarities or

known

to

the

Words that show

identifies title.

whereas Anne was

Anne was always

Words

faraqraph

method or

the point-by-point

elaborates 4.

method

includes specific details

difference #2; aiul examples to support their personal-

general statements ities.

5.

concludes with a

summary

of the main ideas (continued on next page)

Writer's

Workshop 445

Student Model (continued) Language/Grammar

When Anne went

Modifiers: pages 415

her room and read a book. Throughout the play Anne was usually cheerful and peppy. It might have been her way of making the war less painful. Though she would never say it, I think that Margot felt like she had been betrayed and had in

and

438.

Proofreading Tip essay for

dangling and misplaced

trouble trusting people.

modifiers. Also look for

that she

problems with compara-

quiet

and superlative

tive

felt

and

All in

forms of modifiers, particularly

to

see Peter, Margot would always stay

HELP

Check your

be sociable.

to

Link

comparisons.

their feelings.

also think

I

all, I

others sort things out. believe that

Anne and

they do share one thing: the strength to survive through the harsh times in the

double

difference #3:

that she should keep

let

Margot are

Faragraph elaborates

Conclusion.

different, but

Similarity.

Secret Annex. I think they should have forgotten their petty differences and concentrated on what they believed in because they were all fighting for

Sentence Workshop

the

Personal

response.

same reasons.

— Hannajamal

HELP

United Nations International School

Stringy sentences: page '

New York, New York

447.

Evaluating and Revising Communications

Handbook

Self-Evaluation

Revise your draft to

HELP See Proofreaders'

1.

make sure your

essay measures up to the

Evaluation Criteria on page 445. To help your readers follow your

Marks

ideas,

look for places where you can insert transitions. (Review

the box of transition words on page 445.) As you revise, check for stringy sentences that have too

many independent

clauses.

Publishing Tip 2.

Peer Response

Place copies of your a binder to be

essays

in

filed in

your school

library

or media center

for other students'

Trade essays with a partner, and answer these questions: •

Did

I

present enough specific examples to support what

wrote about the •

Were you

similarities

and differences?

confused by anything?

How could

I

be clearer?

reference.

Use your

446

I

Still Believe

partner's

comments

to help revise your paper.

I

BUILDING YOUR PORTFOLIO

Stringy Sentences Stringy sentences are sentences that

just

go on and on. They Language Handbook

have too many independent clauses strung together with words like and, but,

or

so.

(An independent clause

is

a

HELP

group of words

See Improving Sentence

that expresses a complete thought and can stand alone as a

Style,

page

791.

sentence.)

STRINGY

Jane

was

Elliot

a third-grade teacher

in

Iowa, and she

wanted her students to understand why prejudice wrong, so she began treating blue-eyed students ently

from brown-eyed students, and

is

Technology

differ-

HELP

at first blue-eyed

students got better treatment, but then brown-eyed stu-

See Language Workshop

CD-ROM. Key word entry:

when the experiment knew how it felt to

dents got better treatment, and

ended,

the third-graders

all

be discriminated against.

To

fix a

more

stringy sentence,

relationships

REVISED

between

Jane

who wanted prejudice

is

it

into

At

eliminate stringiness.

a third-grade teacher

in

The Wave

Iowa

her students to understand

based on

why

first

ter treatment.

the third-graders

the experiment ended,

knew how

it

felt

all

to be dis-

Follow-up: Revising

To check your essay

for stringy sentences, quietly read

your paper aloud.

you

find that a

sentence goes on and

on (maybe even making you run out of breath before you reach the end), you probably have a stringy sentence.

Consider breaking

it

movie, and

events

in

it is

a high school

and the story was

made into a book. The movie is about a

teacher, and he

understand

history

wanted students to

how something

like

Holocaust could happen, so he

it

If

TV

the in-

vented a group called The Wave, and

criminated against.

Workshop

a

also

blue-eyed students got better

When

is

real

class in California,

wrong. She began treating blue-

treatment; then brown-eyed students got bet-

Writer's

Out

Revise the following sentences to

eyed students differently from brown-eyed students.

It

ideas clearer.

was

Elliot

Try

two or add words to make the

you can break

sentences. You can also

stringy sentences.

into shorter sentences to give

reader a chance to pause between ideas.

your

had rules and slogans and a special

salute,

and he told the members they

were better than everyone else. The teacher said that The Wave was part of a national youth movement, and its leader would address the students at a arrived they film of

rally,

but

when they

were shocked to see a

Adolf Hider giving a speech.

Sentence Workshop 447

rhjrr^tiTT

Reading Focus

Situation

Why was the Allies' North

Suppose you want to learn

more about World War now that you've read about

Anne

You can use these

Frank.

when you book on the

history

^

world War

II

campaign so important?

What were the major turning war in Europe?

762

points of the

(1938-1945)

World War

Begins World War U

read a

strategies

Africa

CHAPTER 25

II,

^

Mobilizing

subject.

-y OW*oma!

for War

American Arts

II

Americans

m77';f77<:

,„

"nyjlZ"'""'

'*'''""

,,^

...

North Africa

The Warm and Europe

Strategies

draft,

Biography n-"""'""-' connections

Focus your search. Write down the questions you want to answer

•

the key words

List

questions, such as

in

names

Action unit J Historv in

how they are

organized.

the

Is

How are the arranged

—

Do

begin with an

end with a •

chapters

Scanning

rapidly searching

is

Jot

down

the pages

summary?

ject

is

the numbers of

where your sub-

discussed.

the

five

main sec-

Which

sections include

special-interest material?

for key words. •

What are

tions of Chapter 25 (above)? 2.

•

overview and

include excerpts

letters,

speeches? Does

Does the book

help you

focus your reading? 4. Scan the index.

What page

covers the Blitzkrieg?

Preview the presentation. •

it

and

include

graphic organizers (such

maps, charts, I

Using the Strategies

3.

the chapters

such as diaries,

448

© 2000),

Scan the index.

from primary sources,

as

Winston.

and Linda Kerrigan Salvucci

For example, does

book

the

Freedom.

Sterling Stucl<e)'

1

Note any special features listed.

*-

time lines, and graphs) or photographs? Is there a

region, or by another

method?

^'^Tc;"'"'"""'

-71_.nvasionofPo|and,764in ^"^ J^P^". 767, 778-82 791 1 Ln ^91J^apanese American internment'

glossary or an appendix?

time order), by geograph-

ical

Call to

(Holt, Rinehart and

book

chronologically

Europe

784;

divided into sections?

(in

stern

'^^'^^cans in, -'''^/773]aniT"''"' •///A Japanese surrender,

From

are

covered and

'°'

.790fe^784:o'n,hel^^,,:;;™"-^•'

table of contents.

Note what topics

•

and

'"'°"°<^'^ in-

•»

;kms workshop

and places.

Skim the

'"ti::s,°z^«'

^

your

'

"'""'

HoZlufyT^V'T^

f

'

F'""' Tlif Erislf"

769 dpmnh

volvement 768-fiQ 63-64,

776

Global

•

*es, 782. 785; costs of 78q«^' '«5-86:

, -

Still Believe

tables.

•

Skim

the chapter, noting

Extending the Strategies

the headings and sub-

Make up three questions

headings.

about the text organizers

Notice

how

color or special

this

book, Elements of Litera-

Trade papers, and answer

type styles, such as boldface

ture.

and

a partner's questions.

italic,

are used.

in

Problem

or unintended

TV, movies, radio, newspapers,

conveyed?

and magazines don't

just enter-

3.

The media send messages about what we

tain

and inform

What's missing?

What

im-

or points

of view aren't included?

should believe and should

live.

crease our awareness of the

messages

we

receive, both

product, using words and

images to persuade people not to buy the product. 3.

Presentation Demonstrate what you have learned by completing one of the activities that follow.

positive and negative?

Then, create an "anti-

commercial" for the same

ages, information,

us.

how we How can we in-

—are being

As Time Goes By

View two movies of the same

— example, advenromantic comedy, or horror—one made

genre

for

ture,

recently

Project

1

Analyze and evaluate the mass media's content and messages.

a

discuss

group of classmates,

how the mass media

influence your

Letter from Earth

Imagine that you are an alien circling Earth in ship, picking

learn

Preparation

With

.

lives.

about

your space-

TV signals to how Earth people up

live

and about their customs

and

beliefs.

a

TV

old.

at least

what you've learned about Earth people from it.

How much TV do you watch

2.

Who

in

is

a day? a

month?

your favorite

celebrity?

Try these starters: •

What do you

like

about

or admire about him or her? •

3.

Have you ever bought

a •

Why?

short essay

2.

a product of the

mass media, ask 1

in

is

audience? 2.

What

messages

— intended

Who

villains

and

expected to behave?

How violent is

each movie?

Processing

day on Earth .

.

•

.

is

.

•

.

Does everyone "hear" the same messages in a particular

TV

Were

show, movie, song? the messages that you

found mainly positive or

The Anti-Commercial

negative?

Choose an advertisement

What

messages

surprised you?

a newspaper, or a

What What

magazine, and analyze

product

re-

two movies.

How are men

each?

women

yourself:

Who created the product? Who the intended

the

are the heroes and the

strangest thing about

from TV,

comparing and

contrasting the values in

a

Discuss with your classmates:

A typical The

most

.

Earth people

Procedure To analyze

,

includes

product because of an advertisement?

Earth people care

interesting

modern remake.) Write

plaining

1

it

to watch a classic movie and a

a letter

program, ex-

twenty years

(You may find

flected

Write

home about

and one

is it

selling?

•

If

you could influence the

it.

words and images does it use, and why were they chosen?

mass media, what changes

would you make?

Learning for

Life

449

Collection It is

true that you

may fool all the

people some of the time;

you can even fool some of the people

all

the time;

but you can'tfool all of the

people

all the time.

—Abraham Lincoln

450

Before You Read Brer Possum's dilemma Make the Connection

/\ dialect

SNAKE!

is

speaking that You're walking

Picture this:

country road

a quiet

ical

suddenly you look down

and see snake.

at

—

your feet

What do you

way of

character-

of a certain geograph-

istic

down when

is

a

words. Paraphrasing

way to see

do? With

For

more on

if it's

tale, jot

Sketch to stretch.

Draw

a

on the

Reading

Skills

on the

and

Strategies it

chalkboard or on a sheet of

when you

with words and

come

to mind

Dialogue with the Text: Paraphrasing (In Your

Own Words)

think of snakes.

ing a passage

Elements of Literature Dialect Jackie Torrence tells "Brer in

the

dialect spoken by her family

and by other African Americans

the South. ("Brer,"

living in

for example,

is

a Southern

way

of saying "brother") Dialect

often used

in

written versions

of folk tales as a ing

is

way

of captur-

on paper the voices of the

people

who

first

told the tales.

Block ond Ton (1939-1942)

by

Bill

Traylor Pencil, crayon,

and gouaclie on paper

v>y>y\/s/ 452 Sneaky Tricks AND Whopping

Lies

in

Look

thoughts,

first

restat-

your own

at the

page of the

comments. go.hrw.com

in

example tale,

contains one student's

LEO 8-6

Paraphrasing means

Possum's Dilemma"

comical

— perhaps the passages

dialect.

phrases that

this

down your

you have trouble understanding

in

hard or uses unfa-

and try paraphrasing sections

you've had with snakes.

Fill it

you understand

As you read

Dialect, see the

Handbook of Literary Terms.

your classmates, discuss your reactions and any experiences

paper

good

miliar language.

group of people.

a hissing

large outline of a snake

a

something you've read, especially

area or a certain

if

is

Brer Possum's Dilemma traditional African American,

retold by Jackie

Torrence

Back

when

in the days

the animals could

or Brer Possum. He was a fine

lived

never liked to see no critters

in trouble.

talk,

feller.

there

He was always He

helpin' out, a-doin" somethin' for others.

Possum climbed

Ever' night, ol' Brer

hung by

tree,

his

and slept

tail,

all

Dialogue with the Text

Why, he

is

50 cannq,

kind,

and

gentie.

persimmon And each

into a

night long.

down

mornin", he climbed outa the tree and walked

the

road to sun imself.

One

mornin', as he walked, he

middle of the road. Now,

ol'

come

to a big hole in the

Brer Possum was kind and gen-

but he was also nosy, so he went over to the hole and

tle,

looked

in. All at

bottom of

once, he stepped back, cause

that hole

was

ol'

layin' in

weird. Sometliing

Curiosity

killed

I

bad

is

predict.

the cat.

the

Brer Snake with a brick on his

I

knew something bad was going

to happen.

back.

Brer Possum said to 'cause

Sounds

0o\nq to happen,

ol'

Brer Snake

git to stayin'

is

on outa here, and lowdown, and if I

imself, "I best git

mean and

around im, he

jist

evil

might

So Brer Possum went on down the

git to bitin'

me."

road.

everyone

named 3rer?

&rer Possum said to himself, should leave because

around

But Brer Snake had seen Brer Possum, and he com-

menced

Is

here, E5rer

bite me."

Good

if

I

"I

stick

Snake might

thinking.

to callin" for im.

"Help me, Brer Possum." Brer Possum stopped and turned around. self,

"That's

ol'

Brer Snake a-callin me.

He

said to im-

What do you reckon

E3ad move.

He should have kept on

0o\nq.

he wants?" Well,

ol'

Brer Possum

down the road to the down at Brer Snake. "Was

that

you

was kindhearted, so he went back

hole, stood at the edge,

a-callin'

and looked

me? 'What do you want?"

-Enefiok Udi

Audubon Middle School Los Angeles, California

/s/S/S/\/S/S/S' Brer Possum's Dilemma 453

yyy\/s/S/ Brer Snake looked up and said, "I've been

down with it

here in this hole for a mighty long time

this brick

offa

on my back. Won't you help

git

"Now

listen here, Brer Snake.

mean and

I

knows

you.

evil

Maybe

Maaaaaaaybe not." sure bout you at all. I jist don't know. You're a-goin' to have to let me tliink about it." So ol' Brer Possum thought he thought and jist as he was high, and he thought low thinkin', he looked up into a tree and saw a dead limb a-hangin' down. He climbed into the tree, broke off the limb, and with that ol' stick, not.

Brer Possum said,

not.

"I ain't

—

—

pushed that brick offa Brer Snake's back. Then he took off down the road. Brer Possum thought he was away from ol' Brer Snake when all at once he heard somethin'.

"Help me, Brer Possum." Brer Possum said, "Oh, no, that's him agin." bein'

kindhearted,

so

Brer

Possum

turned around, went back to the hole, and stood

at

I

was

that

you

a-callin'

me? What

a-goin' to

to git

Maybe

Brer Snake looked up outa the hole and

have to give

Maaaaaaaybe

me

been down here for a mighty long time, and I've gotten a little weak, and the sides of "I've

too slick for lift

me

me

to climb.

outa here?"

454 Sneaky Tricks and Whopping

Lies

Do

not."

don't know. You're

time to

tliink

about

Brer Possum thought.

ol'

down

as

he thought, he

jist

happened

to look

there in that hole and see that

ol' dead pushed the limb underneath ol' Brer Snake and he lifted im outa the hole, way up into the air, and tlirowed "im into the liigh

limb. So he

grass.

Brer Possum took off a-runnin'

down

the

road.

he thought he was away from ol' Brer heard somethin'. "Help me, Brer Possum."

Well,

Snake

when all at once he

Brer Possum thought, "That's him agin."

But bein' so kindhearted, he turned around,

went back

and stood there a-lookin' for Brer Snake. Brer Snake crawled outa the high grass just as slow as he could, to

the

hole,

stretched imself out across the road, rared up,

and looked at ol" Brer Possum. Then he hissed. "I've been gotten a

and

git

little

down

me

and

I've

in

your pocket

me warm?" "Now you listen here, mean and

knows you. You's lowdown, and if'n I put you Snake.

there in

cold cause the sun didn't shine.

think you could put

Brer Possum said,

you think you can

not.

"I jist

this."

Do you

hissed.

this ol' hole are

not.

that ol' hole for a might)' long time,

the edge.

"Brer Snake, was do you want now?"

or

"Maybe

And

Brer Snake just hissed.

But

wait a minute. If'n

Brer Possum said,

So

nothin' but bite me."

"Maybe

jist

Brer Snake hissed.

and lowdown, and if' n I was to git down in that hole and git to liftin' that brick offa your back, you wouldn't do

or

"Now, you

down into that hole and lift you outa there, you wouldn't do nothin' but bite me."

me?

Brer Possum thought.

You's

Brer Possum thought.

I

in

my

wouldn't do nothin" but bite me." Brer Snake hissed.

Brer

and pocket you evil

Snake (1939-1942) by

"Maybe

not.

Bill

Maybe

Traylor. Pencil, crayon,

not.

Maaaaaaaybe

"No, sireee, Brer Snake. ain't a-goin' to

do

knows

I

and gouache on paper.

not."

you.

jist

I

it."

Possum was talkin' to Brer Snake, he happened to git a real good look at im. He was a-layin' there lookin' so pitiful, and Brer Possum s great big heart began to feel But

jist

sorry for

as Brer

ol'

my pocket." ol"

Brer Snake coiled up

could, and Brer

jist

as little as

Possum picked 'im

Brer Snake laid quiet and that Brer

Possum even

of a sudden. Brer

Snake commenced to crawlin" out, and he turned and faced Brer Possum and liissed. "I'm a-goin' to bite you."

But Brer Possum

Why

you

are

said,

"Now

a-goin" to bite

that brick offa

your back,

I

wait a minute.

me?

I

done took

got you outa that

and I put you in my pocket to warm. Why are you a-goin" to bite me?"

he

you

Brer Snake hissed.

"You knowed I was me in your pocket."

And when still

git

a

snake before you put

up and put

'im in his pocket.

still

all

hole,

Brer Snake.

"All right," said Brer Possum. "You must be cold. So jist this once Im a-goin" to put you in

So

im around. But

a-carryin'

— so quiet and

forgot that he

was

and you trouble

you're mindin' your

own

business

spot trouble, don't never trouble

til

trouble troubles you.

"^/s/S/S/^/s/S/S/S/^ Brer Possum's Dilemma 455

*^

Meet the Writer "She Told

A

Me This Story"

professional storyteller, Jackie

Torrence

(

1

944-

learned her art

)

by telling Bible stories

in

church and

entertaining small children at the public library

where she worked. Many of her

most popular stories are traditional African American tales she heard while growing up on a farm near Salisbury, North Carolina, with a family that

where was going to get the money to I

buy that jewelry, and

finally

loved storytelling. Torrence has her

my

aunt Mildred to thank for "Brer Pos-

bought the bracelet and

sum's Dilemma," as she explains:

44 When

I

was

in

high school,

me

a sweater. 'I'm goin' to git

to get

'I'm

laid

it

away.'

I

me

But

the sweater

I

didn't see a box.

ring that she wanted. Since she had

here.'

me

the sweater,

I

The

knew

for

bracelet and ring cost $25, and

my

friend for Christmas.

poor, and 'I've

Aunt Mildred

I

me

it

We were

refused.

just said,

'I

know her mama, and

goin' to git

you that sweater. She's

jist

Lies

house,

her,

gift right

it

to me.

I

ripped

open, and instead of the sweater,

paper

I

— something you could buy

I

for

cents.

gave her the bracelet and

when she took

me

left,

in

I

cried.

me this

story.

ring.

And

But Aunt Mildred

her arms and

warned you of her told

talkin'.'

456 Sneaky Tricks and Whopping

her

not

looked at

my

found rocks glued to a piece of

fifty

know she's

got

purse, she pulled a

box and gave

little it

I

buy

I

into

got your

said, 'I've

And from her

I

got to get that bracelet for her!'

Aunt Mildred and

that

She

just as nice.

begged Aunt Mildred to help

my

too.'

when she walked

puzzled.

had to give her something

I

couldn't wait

I

Sure enough,

said, 'That's great, 'cause I've

Then she took me shopping downtown and showed me a bracelet and promised

And

comin' to see you with your

your present

I

she could afford to buy

$25.

ring.

Christmas present.'

Her mother was a teacher and her father was a professional band director, and knew that done

my sweater

me

persuaded

I

friend called.

you that

sweater for Christmas,' she told me. 'I've

uncle Nesbit to give

Christmas came, and

my

best friend promised for months to buy

mmj^Mugmmm

spent nights awake, wondering

I

said,

nature.'

99

'I

And she

Making

IVIeanings

First

Thoughts

Go

back to the notes you took as you

read.

Were you

surprised

Reading Check

when Brer

Snake announced that he was going to bite Brer

Do

Possum?

The number three

you think Brer

Possum deserved to get

appears

bitten? Explain.

three

in

little pigs,

three blind

mice, three wishes.

Shapmg Interpretations 2

Paraphrase the

last

(rewrite

What

happens three times

your

in

own words)

tale?

the

Dilemma." Compare your paraphrase

more

classmates.

What

first

in this

happens the third

time to make

sentence of "Brer Possum's

with that of one or

often

folk literature

it

different

from

two?

How

are your paraphrases different? 3.

A fable

is

a brief story, usually

moral, or lesson about the

last

think 4.

sentence.

it is

a

Do

about talking animals, that ends with a

The moral of "Brer Possum's Dilemma" is in it is a good lesson for this fable? Do you all? Why or why not?

life.

you think

good lesson

at

Meet the Writer Why do you think her aunt Mildred told her this particular story? (What is the connection between Brer Possum's dilemma and Jackie's problem with her friend?) Reread Torrence's comments

in

Connecting with the Text 5.

Describe an occasion when

someone

this

or situation

if

story

you

—or

for

it

would have been appropriate

someone

can't think of a real

to

tell it

for you to

tell

to you. (Make up an event

one you'd

like

to share.)

Extendmg the Text 6.

What

other stories do you know in which a snake do you think snakes got their bad reputation?

is

the bad guy?

How

Brer Possum's Dilemma 457

Choices:

Building Your Portfolio

Writer's Notebook 1.

Collecting Ideas for

Observational Writing Brer Snake and Brer Possum had

models

—the animals found

creators of the folk tales

the rural areas where the

in

lived.

photographs below, and look

real-life

Choose one

at

it

closely. In

Notebook, write down what you see colors, shapes, every detail

of the

the picture

in

you notice.

two

your Writer's

(If

you

prefer, find

another nature photograph to observe.)

Creative Writing 2.

Research/Science

Learning a Lesson

"Brer Possum's Dilemma" illustrates

the saying "Never

trouble trouble

'til

trouble

4.

your classmates and then

What are

ask them to guess what the

Using the Internet and the

lesson, or moral,

library,

is.

troubles you." Write a short

animal fable ending with

one of the following

•

•

•

If

find

Role-Play

research snakes to

See You in Court

mean and

sneaky.

Think of questions you

"Nothing ventured, noth-

Imagine that Brer Possum

have.

ing gained."

survives Brer Snake's bite

ones to get started:

"Look before you

and sues him for damages. •

leap."

With two

"Easy come, easy go."

you

like,

write the fable

classmates, act

out a scene in

in

Possum makes

his

com-

plaint to a judge. Brer

kinds of animals that

defends

your area as characters. You

458 Sneaky Tricks and Whopping

his behavior,

Snake

and the

judge delivers a decision.

Lies

Use the following

How

many

species of

snakes are poisonous?

which Brer

a local dialect, and use the live in

like?

out whether they've

being 3. I'll

snakes really

earned their reputation for

sayings

(or another that you know).

A Snake in the Grass

might read your fable to

•

Are snakes ever

useful to

humans? Share your findings, especially

any interesting

visuals.

Gramiviar Link

MINI-LESSON

Personal Pronouns Here are some rules for choosing between the perpronoun forms and me, she and her, he and

sonal him,

Language

Handbook 1

HELP

Try

/

we and

When

us,

a sentence, use

/,

is

the subject of the verb

she, he, we,

Out

For each of the following

and they and them.

the pronoun

It

or

sentences, choose the

in

correct pronoun from

they.

the underlined

See Case,

EXAMPLES

pages

I

don't

like

1.

762-764.

They can be poisonous. Also use

/,

she, he, we,

pair.

snakes.

or they when the pronoun 2.

follows a linking verb (such as

is,

Gilda and she/her

worked the crowd.

am,

or

are, was,

Gilda and I/me don't

get along.

were) and refers to the subject. 3.

EXAMPLE

—^.^^

2.

Technology

When

The owner

the pronoun

is

thinks

I

am

the object of

(the receiver of an action) or the

HELP

preposition

See Language

in

she.

a sentence, use

the verb

4.

object of a

me,

Everyone believed

was he/him I

gave the books to

Sue and she/her.

her, him, us,

5.

or them.

Worksliop

Sue and he/him are listening to

EXAMPLES

CD-ROM. At')' word

it

.

me

Brer Snake wouldn't have fooled

CDs.

.

Will you read another story to us?

entry: case.

Most problems with personal pronouns come in sentences containing compound constructions, such as "The prize went to Dude and I/me." In such cases, it helps to try just the pronoun alone. EXAMPLES

Spelling

The

prize

went to me.

The

prize

went to Dude and me

.

HOW TO OWN A WORD

Homonyms:

Spelling Checkers Won't Help!

Homonyms are words that sound

same but are spelled differently, such as to and too; hear and here; and their, there, and they're. A computer spelling checker won't help you if you mistake one homonym for another. The word isn't misspelled; it just isn't the word you want. You can help yourself remember the difference between

homonyms

by making up and using mnemonics, or

•

You hear with your

•

Where

•

They're

is

is

the

the place

memory

aids.

For example:

ear.

— here or there?

(All

three place words are spelled with

they are with an apostrophe instead of an

e-r-e.)

a.

To make sure you've chosen the word you want, check

in

a dictionary.

Brer Possum's Dilemma 459

FOLK TALES:

Stories of a People Legends: The Historical

Telling Tales Stories of

all

kinds have always

been an important part of the

A

Writer

tales,

storytelling tradition, using all

When

other groups of

people came to America, they

brought their

own

tales with

them from their homelands. As these groups adapted to life in

this country,

telling of black folk

Legends come from a society's more recent past; most

and indeed

were

The

American peoples began our

tertain.

Connection

Folk Tales

American experience. Native

tales to teach as v^ell as to en-

on

cultures,

was

tales of

and

a social

adults and children.

.

.

ley,

.

were

told by adults to adults.

If

they might be allowed to

new

heroes often bear

—

^Julius

The African Hare became Brer

Lester;

author of

people on

Lion" (page 466)

based.

whom

Some

like

of mouth.

Over time

A Matter of Belief

Myths: Myths,

a society's oldest

stories, reflect

added, omitted, and altered

deep

details to suit their listeners.

beliefs.

Folk tales have no single

has creation

author; they are the creations

that explain

of an entire culture and

came

belong to everyone

beings

is

it.

a kind of folk

some

of

religious traditions

and

myths,

stories

how the world how human

to be or

were created. Other

myths explain different

as-

world. For example, the Zuni

life

and the natural

myth "Coyote

Steals the

Sun

and Moon" (page 463) explains the origin of

460 Sneaky Tricks and Whopping

Lies

believed.

"This Really Happened":

Nearly every culture

animal characters to teach us life.

highly exaggerated

meant to be

pects of

about

tales,

its

tale that usually uses talking

practical lessons

humorous,

in tall

stories that are not even

they have changed as tellers

in

they are

endary figures have been

these are

traditionally passed along by

re-

of these leg-

immortalized

Folk tales

little

semblance to those of the

"Brer Rabbit and Brer

plantation.

A fable

many other Ameriwhose names became

legendary. Yet the abilities

Rabbit, the wily hero of the

word

cans

and achievements of the folk

circumstances. trickster

and Davy Crockett did

the children were quiet,

the stories

reflect their

Pocahontas,

exist, like

listen.

changed to

real events.

Gregorio Cortez, Annie Oak-

event bringing together

Traditionally, tales

inspired by real people

winter

Urban Legends Folk tales aren't just stories

from long ago, told by people to pass the time before

was

TV

invented. Folk tales are

being created

all

the time

and you may have participated in

passing

them on without

even realizing

it.

Have you

ever heard a story about

by David Adams Leeming someone who found

a rat

in

there's

savs

an order of fried chicken?

How

about stories about

gators

an olp le6enp that vou 5tanp in front

of vouk mailbox l0n6 em0u6h, receive a valentine...

Wll

alli-

the sewers, or the

in

tale of the hitchhiker

vanishes

if

who

ghost?

like a

These and other modernday tales of the bizarre, hor-

many able,

SOMEBODV HA5 TO

spooky, or hilarious,

rible,

MAl!:£

UP TWOSe OLP

LeSEND5,P0N'T-mEV?

seem believare known as urban of which

legends.

Motif:

Common

The

Thread

scholars believe that a real

Although a

flood caused

tale reflects the

damage to

civi-

culture of the group of people

lizations across the ancient

that created

world.

it,

certain ele-

(mo-tefs'), appear

from

all

in

stories

over the world. Many

folk tales, myths,

and legends

perilous journey or the

door

or box that should not be

so

many

these

come

common

to run through

different cultures?

Actual events

may have played many so-

a part. For example, cieties tell of a

flood.

Because

tremendous this

motif

widespread, a number of

is

reflect

so

story, each with a different

universal ideas or patterns of

name and with

ing the culture in

being

born with

is

ters, for in

—

clever,

example, seem to ap-

every culture. Another

explanation

How did

may

thought that every human

pear

opened.

threads

motifs

mischievous trickster charac-

include such motifs as the

story of

traveled this way; there are

hundreds of versions of the

Some

ments, called motifs

The Cinderella may have

tions and experiences.

is

that stories

details reflect-

which

told.

Modern works

draw on traditional motifs. The sneaky, foolish cartoon character Wile E. Coyote is trickster

such as through trade or

With each voyage

spread

The tales may have way from one

in this

of literature

and popular culture often

were shared when there was contact between cultures, migration.

it is

in

a

the classic mold. into space,

the starship captains of Star Trek reenact the journey of

society to the next, with each

the hero. These motifs are as

new group

effective

the tales to

of tellers adapting fit

their

own

tradi-

today as they were

centuries ago.

Elements of Literature: Folk Tales 46

Before You Read Coyote Steals the Sun and Moon Brer Rabbit and Brer Lion Make the Connection

IS

Trick or Treat?

The

a troublemaker

you are about to

tales

read are both trickster tales.

Below, Richard Erdoes and

Alfonso Ortiz, the writers of

"Coyote

Steals the

Moon," discuss the

Sun and figure of

the trickster:

^4

Stories about tricks and

pranks, especially

when

played

by the lowly, small, and poor

on the proud,

big,

and

rich,

have delighted audiences from the dawn of storytelling.

The

trickster

.

.

a rebel against

is

authority and the breaker of

He

taboos.

is

ail

what the best-

behaved person may secretly wish to be.

He

is,

especially

in

the western areas of North

America, at the same time imp

and hero bringer

—the great culture

who

make

can also

mischief beyond

belief,

turning

quickly from clown to creator

and back

again.

59

Quickwrite Using what you already

know and

what you've

just read,

work

with a group of classmates to

complete a "trickster" word

map

like

the one above. Save

—

your map

you'll refer

to

it

later

"They

have

all

the light

we need. Let's

steal

it.

Coyotes Howling at the

Moon

{c.

1985)

by Alonzo Jimenez.

Cottonwood and latex

house

paint.

traditional Zuni,

Coyote Steak the

Richard Erdoes and AJfbnso Ortiz

retold by

Sun and Moon

bad hunter who never kills anything. Once he watched Eagle hunting rabbits, catching one after another— more rabbits than he could eat. Coyote thought, ril team up with Eagle so 1 can have enough meat." Coyote

Coyote

is

is

a

always up to something. "Friend,"

Coyote said to Eagle, "we should hunt together.

Two

can catch more than one." said, and so they began to hunt in partnership. Eagle caught many rabbits, but all Coyote caught "Wliy not?" Eagle

was some

little

bugs.

Coyote Steals the Sun and Moon 463

'A

nas. Eagle said, "I believe these are the

who

have

people

light."

who had been

Coyote,

looking

all

around,

pointed out two boxes, one large and one small, that the people opened whenever they wanted light. To produce a lot of light, they opened the lid of the big box, which contained the sun. For less light they opened the small box, which held the moon. Coyote nudged Eagle. "Friend, did you see that? They have all the light we need in the big

box. Let's steal

Original art by Sergio Bustamante and Clint Clemens.

At this time the world was

and

moon had

still

dark; the sun

not yet been put in the

sk}'.

Coyote said to Eagle, "no wonder I cant catch amthing; 1 can't see. Do you know "Friend,"

where we can

get

some

"You're right, friend, there should be

Eagle said.

light,"

"I

think there's a

the west. Lets try and find

And

little

Kachinas" happened to

where the be dancing. The peoa

pueblo,

sit down and have something to eat while they watched the

ple invited Eagle and Coyote to

sacred dances. Seeing the

power of

the Kachi-

1.

pueblo (pweb'lo): Native American

2.

village in the south-

States.

Kachinas (ka-che'naz): gods or

ran after him. After a

my

chief,

and

it's

box; people will

not right for you to carry the call

me lazy.

464 Sneaky Tricks and Whopping

Lies

me have

on and Coyote ran

Eagle flew

So

it

went

it."

do me?" to

this. "Wliat will

don't care

"I

along.

and then Coyote you people think of you and

for a stretch,

started again. "Ho, friend,

isn't right for

it

what people

think. I'm going to

carry this box."

Again Eagle flew on and again Coyote ran after him. Finally

just

me

Coyote begged

carry

Coyote. Let

of ancestors. In

the Pueblo cultures of the southwestern United States, masked dancers imitate the Kachinas in sacred rituals.

Let

"No, no, you always mess everything up."

And

it.

Also,

for the fourth

You're the chief, and I'm

me carry it."

Eagle couldn't stand any spirits

me carry the

way.

while Coyote shouted again: "Friend, you're

time: "Let

western United

to Eagle, "Ho, friend, let

He flew on, and Coyote

"You have wings; I just have hair," Coyote said. "I can't fly without feathers." they came to

up

little

right."

it."

so they

last

a

"No, no," said Eagle, "you never do anything

some

toward

went looking for the sun and moon. They came to a big river, which Eagle flew over Coyote swam, and swallowed so much water that he almost drowned. He crawled out with his fur full of mud, and Eagle asked, "Why don't you fly like me?

At

yelled

box

light?"

it."

"You always want to steal and rob. I say we should just borrow it." "They won't lend it to us." "You may be right," said Eagle. "Let's wait till they finish dancing and then steal it." After a while the Kachinas went home to sleep, and Eagle scooped up the large box and flew off. Coyote ran along trying to keep up, panting, his tongue hanging out. Soon he

more

pestering.

Coyote had asked him four times, and

someone

asks four times,

}

if

ou'd better give liim

what he wants. Eagle said, "Since you won't let up on me, go ahead and carry the box for a while. But promise not to open it.' "Oh, sure, oh yes, I promise." They went on as before, but now Coyote had the box. Soon Eagle was far ahead, and Coyote lagged behind a hill where Eagle couldn't see him. "I wonder what the light looks like, inside there," he said

"Why

to himself

shouldn't

thing

good

that Eagle

as quickly,

was it

wants

to

keep to him-

winter.

back

And Coyote opened

the

lid.

Now, not only

moon

also. Eagle was had put them both together, thinking that it would be easier to carry one box than two. As soon as Coyote opened the lid, the moon escaped, flying high into the sk}'. At once all

the sun inside, but the

r

box. Coyote ran in pursuit as

in the

it

skipped away from him. Meanwhile the sun sky.

It

drifted far

away, and the peaches, squashes, and melons shriveled

up with

cold.

Eagle turned and flew back to see

what had

delayed Coyote. "You fool! Look what you've

done!

he

"

the sun and

said.

"You

now

its cold.'" Indeed,

let

moon

es-

began to snow, and Coyote shivered. "Now your teeth are chattering," Eagle said, "and it's your fault cape, and

self."

the leaves

all

flew out and rose into the

take a peek? Prob-

1

ably there "s something extra in the box, some-

up and turned brown. Just fell off the trees, and it Trying to catch the moon and put

the plants shriveled

that cold has

come

true. If

It's

it

into the world."

werent

and mischief making, ter;

we

it

could enjoy

for Coyote's curiosity

we

wouldn't have win-

summer all the

time.

Meet the Writers "Common Elements and Rich Diversity" Richard Erdoes (1912) was born in Vienna, Austria. Alfonso Ortiz 939- 997) was born in San Juan, a Tewa pueblo in New Mexico. Having studied and written about Native American cul(

tures,

1

1

Erdoes and Ortiz together edited American Indian Myths and

Legends (1984), from which "Coyote Steals the Sun and taken.

Moon"

is

They asked readers to notice "both the common elements that run through stories told at opposite ends of the continent

and the

rich diversity of detail":

44 Legends, of course, vary according to geography and the climate

in

which they

The nomadic

a people's

live,

way

of

life,

the

the food they eat and the

way

they obtain

ries

very different from those of Eastern forest dwellers. To the South-

it.

buffalo hunters of the Plains

tell

sto-

western planters and harvesters, the coming of corn and the changing of seasons are of primal concern, while people of the

make

their living

from the sea

swift harpooners,

L

fill

their tales with

and powerful boat builders.

All tribes

how

have spun

came to when these mountains were formed, how our coasdine was carved. 99

narratives as well for the features of their landscape: be,

Northwest who

ocean monsters,

this river

J

Coyote Steals the Sun and Moon 465

Brer Rabbit

and

Brer Lion traditional African American,

retold by Julius Lester

Illustration (1987)

466 Sneaky Tricks and Whopping

Lies

by Jerry Pinkney.

Brer Rabbit was in the woods

one afternoon when a great wind came up. It blew on the ground and it blew in the tops of the trees. It blew so hard that Brer Rabbit was afraid a tree might fall on him, and he started running. He was trucking through the woods when he ran smack into Brer Lion. Now, don't come telling me ain't no lions in the United States. Ain't none here now. But back in yonder times, all the animals lived every^where. The lions and tigers and elephants and foxes and what nail other like they was family.

So

that's

how come

wasn't

done

like

down next to it.

he

"Brer Rabbit?

Rabbit?"

into

"Run, Brer Lion! There's

Lion

got

I."

"Brer Rabbit?

"Wliat

do

I."

"Brer a leaf

Get close to the ground!" Brer Lion shook his head. "The wind might pick me up and blow

"Hug

a tree.

Brer Lion!

Hug

a

"But

what

if

the wind blows

day and into the night?"

all

the

up. "Sho" aint."

"So untie me." "I'm afraid

to,

Brer

Lion."

Brer Lion began to roar.

He

roared so loud

and so long, the founthe

Earth

shaking.

Least

of

that"s what it seemed like, and the other animals came from all over to see what was going on. "When they got close, Brer Rabbit jumped up and began strutting

around

the

tied-up

Brer

Lion.

the animals saw what Brer

Rabbit had done

to

you'd better believe

tree!"

in

Brer Rabbit looked

Brer Lion.

When

me away."

Aint

Rabbit?

moving

trees."

started

"Lay down. Brer Lion. Lay down!

"Neither

Brer Rabbit listened.

scared.

am I going to do?

dont hear no

I

wind."

dations

"I'm too heavy to run, Brer Rabbit.

"Neither

Brer Rabbit listened.

do

a hurricane coming."

Brer

dont hear no

I

hurricane."'

woods when he ran smack

your hurry Brer

After a while, Brer

Lion got tired of hugging the tree.

through the

that day.

"Wliat's

Brer Lion Liked that idea. Brer Rabbit tied him to the tree and sat

was trucking

unusual for Brer Rabbit to

run up on Brer Lion

me tie you to the tree, Brer me tie you to the tree."

Brer Rabbit

each

with

around

run

"Let

Lion. Let

Brer Lion, it

was the

forty-eleventh of Octorerarry before they

messed with

liim again.

Brer Rabbit and Brer Lion 467

Meet the Writer "Trust the Tale" Julius Lester

(

1

939-

)

was born

Louis, Missouri, but lived

St.

in

in

Kansas,

Tennessee, and Arkansas as a child and a teenager. Lester says he "absorbed so

much

of Southern rural black traditions,

particularly music and stories," father, a

up

in

from

his

Methodist minister Growing

the segregated South of the 1940s

and 1950s shaped Lester's goals and beliefs.

He became

folk musician

in

a political activist

/

and

the 1960s, then turned

to writing for young people as a passing on African

way

of

American history

and traditions.

"The Lester

64 I

If

tales will live only

tells his

they flow through your voice,"

the language you speak

speak,

tell

would, not riches and

the

if

readers.

tale.

the tale I,

its

in

is

different

your language.

and believe

in

the

from the language the tale as you

tale. It will

wonders, regardless of

Trust your love for the

storyteller can do.

Tell

tale.

communicate

who you That

are. Trust

is all

any good

99

More by Julius Lester "Brer Rabbit and Brer Lion" appears of Uncle Remus (Dial).

in

The lQ\t%

The adventures of Brer in More Tales of

Rabbit and his friends continue

Uncle Remus, Further Tales of Uncle Remus, and

The Last

Wooden sisal,

Tales

of Uncle Remus

Rabbit (1981

and latex house

)

(all

Dial).

by Felipe Archuleta. Cottonwood, paint.

468 Sneaky Tricks and Whopping

Lies

its

Making Meanings First

Thoughts

Who do you think deserves a tougher

1

punishment for

his

Reading Check

mischievous behavior,

Coyote or Brer Rabbit? Why?

Tell a

partner about the trick

played by

Rabbit and

Shaping Interpretations Explain

2.

how Coyote

Then,

upsets the order of

tells

Can you

the world by opening the box.

actions, or has he just

made

a

its

listen as

or Brer

consequences.

your partner

you about the other

character's trick and

see any good coming from Coyote's

things, as Eagle said

Coyote

its

mess of

effects.

he would?

what ways are Coyote and Brer Rabbit similar? In what ways are they different? Fill in a Venn diagram like the one below with words and phrases describing the personalities and actions of the two tricksters. (You'll use In

information

this

in

question

4.)

Deer Rabbit

Coyote

different

different

alike

back to the "trickster" word map you made before you read the two tales. Does Coyote have the qualities you expected to find in a trickster?

Go

4. i

Does Brer

Rabbit? Explain.

Connecting with the Text 5.

Erdoes and Ortiz suggest that even the best-behaved people secretly want to be tricksters sometimes (page 462). Do you agree? What do you like, or

dislike,

most about the motif of the

trickster?

Extendmg the Text 6.

Erdoes and Ortiz say that the stories people

tell

are influenced by

where and how they live (page 465). Choose one of the two tales. Then, drawing on the details of the text, describe one thing the tale tells you about the environment or the way of the

life

of the people

who

originated

tale.

Coyote Steals the Sun and Moon Brer Rabbit and Brer Lion 469 /

Choices:

Building Your Portfolio

Writer's Notebook 1.

Collecting Ideas for

Observational Writing Coyote and Brer Rabbit are both

trick-

sters, yet each has unique traits (qualities or characteristics).

person may resemble other people

Similarly, a

but

still

have

traits that set

son you see frequently but don't details you can think of that

(a

in

Lion tries to get even with

revenge or just

who

motif

•

his

"Coyote

Some

Myth Hunt

story from

Steals the

Sun

design your sequel

in

•

ture that explains

how

be.

the

"Coyote

Sun and Moon"

Steals the

a Zuni myth about the

"Pandora's Box" (Greek)

"Urashima Taro"

gin of

is

ori-

winter Research a

that explains the origin of

(Japanese)

comic-

form.

Use one of these stories, or your own, to

a story of

write a script for a

puppet

one of the seasons. Start your search on the Internet or

in

words

library.

will

What

you use

search?

Once

perform your show for your

a myth,

summarize

or for a group of

dren. Don't forget the

containing a

—

Lies

briefly.

a character or setting

illustrate in

the

myth. Collect your sum-

maries to

list

back. unraveled hemp, and latex house paint.

it

most

bol of the secret contents. 1985) by Alonzo Jimenez. Cottonwood,

your

in

You might want to

a

key

you've found

chil-

box picture or sym-

important prop

470 Sneaky Tricks and Whopping

the

show. Make puppets and class

(c.

a

is

a particular cul-

myth from another culture

you prefer to draw,

Cottonwood Lion

mytli

world came to

and Moon" (Zuni)

more

4.

A creation

are

and, of course, do.

•

strip

Research/Summary

stories use the

of characters

embarrassment? If

the

examples:

which Brer

Brer Rabbit. Does he get

all

forbidden to open a box

a

continuation of

the story)

down

special.

Do Not Open

Many

furious about falling for Brer

sequel

well. Jot

person

this

3.

Brer Lion must have been

Write

some ways

Performance/ Art

Brer Lion's Revenge

Rabbit's trick.

know

make

Creative Writing/Art 2.

in

him or her apart. Picture a per-

in

a booklet.

your sources

Be sure at the

Grammar Link

MiNI-LESSON

Two Pronoun Problems I

Language

Handbook

HELP

Try

nouns with

We/Us

EXAMPLES

appos! tires,

underlined I,

You wouldn't

say,

We must

fore,

"Us are

players.

2.

The trophy went to

Technology

2. See Language

Sometimes

it's

hard to

Always use a pronoun

in

entry: case.

pronoun

is

5.

to use

our line.

The opposition wanted

Everyone ate cake ex-

In

the preposition.

The

deal

is

.

between

Fran and he/him.

simple:

the objective case.

following example, between

the It

should be followed by a

the objective case.

in

EXAMPLE

is

players put

cept Jackie and I/me

know which pronoun

CD-ROM. Ke)' word

4.

us players.

following a preposition. The answer

Workshop

Us/we

to crush us/we guards.

yVe students are collecting myths.

EXAMPLES

HELP

3.

say,

to we," so us must be correct.

"The trophy went

The work continued

reputations on the

collecting myths." There-

be correct. You also wouldn't

pair.

without Ted and I/me.

Case, pages

762-764.

Out

pronoun from each

students are collecting myths.

The trophy went to we/us

^65-

It

Choose the correct

the pronoun separately.

See Pro-

page

Sometimes a pronoun is followed directly by a noun that identifies it ("we students," "us players"). Such a noun is called an appositive. If you don't know which pronoun to use before an appositive, remove the appositive and try each form of

Just

between xqu and

rne,

the dinner was a disaster

With between, people often use a nominative-case pronoun because they think it sounds correct. "Between you and I" is not correct, however The correct form is "between you and me" or "between him [or her] and me."

Vocabulary

HOW TO OWN A WORD

Regional and CulUiral Sayings:

What do you

call

a piece of playground

balanced on a support

in

Depending on where you

Many

of our

What Do You

words and

Call

equipment that consists of a long board

the middle and on which live,

It?

you might

call it

two people may

sit at

either end?

a seesow, a teeter-totter, or a teeterboard.

sayings reflect the regions and cultures

we come

from. Read

what the underlined words and phrases mean. Then, tell how you would express the same idea if you were talking to a friend. "So it went for a stretch and then Coyote started again." (page 464) 2. "He was trucking through the woods when he ran smack into Brer Lion." (page 467)

the sentences below, and

1

tell

,

3.

"But back

4.

"The

lions

other

." .

.

in

yonder times,

all

the animals lived everywhere." (page 467)

and tigers and elephants and foxes and what

'nail

run around with each

(page 467)

Coyote Steals the Sun and

Moon

/

Brer Rabbit and Brer Lion 47

Before You Read Charles (If

Make the Connection

you

prefer, write

TV

character from a

Here Comes Trouble

about a sitcom or

a movie.)

You've probably never seen

Brer Rabbit or Coyote walking

down

the

between

hall

but you may have

As

Julius

across

and Strategies

Comparing the

Lester (au-

Trickster Motif

thor of "Brer Rabbit and Brer Lion," page 466) explains,

tricksters don't just appear

in

folk tales:

As you read "Charles": • Look for similarities between the trickster in this story, set in modern-day America, and Brer Rabbit

66 Teachers and parents know

and Coyote.

Trickster well, because there is

one

in

every classroom and

every large

Skills

Jackson's

like Shirley

a trickster "Charles."

come

Reading

classes,

family. Trickster

the class clown, the child

•

Think about why the trickster

is

is

so popular

across cultures.

who

seems to have a genius for walking a thin

line

and trouble, the

between fun

child

who

is

always 'up to something,' but

you can never punish him or her because what he or she

does

is

disruptive but never

rebellious or serious

enough

to merit severe punishment.

And

it is

Plot Twist

Humor

writing often includes

sudden turnarounds that starde us, then

make

us laugh.

As you read "Charles," watch for an unexpected turn

in

the

story.

always entertaining

because Trickster

and

Elements of Literature

likable.

is

charming

95

^\ plot twist

is

an un-

expected development or

Quickwrite

Do you know anyone who matches Lester's description

turn of events. For

more on

Plot,

212-213 and

see pages

the

of a trickster? Freewrite

about

go.hrw.com

this real-life trickster.

LEO 8-6

472 Sneaky Tricks and Whopping

Handbook of

Literary Terms.

Lies

s

T

Charles Shirley Jackson

he day Laurie started kindergarten, lie renounced corduro)- overalls with bibs and began wearing bluejeans with a belt; I watched him go off the first morning with the older girl next door, seeing clearly that an era of my life m}' sweet-voiced nurser}'-school tot replaced b)' a long-trousered, swaggering char-

was ended, acter

who

goodbye

forgot to stop at the corner

He came home slamming open, voice suddenly

bod o^om

lodOv."

and wave

to me.

same way, the front door cap on the floor and the

the

his

become raucous

shouting,

'Isn't

anybody here?' At lunch he spoke

insolently to his father,

spilled Jannie's

milk,

and remarked that

teacher said that

we were

not to take the

name

of the Lord in vain.

Words to Own renounced

(ri-nounsd')

v.:

insolently (in'sa-bnt-le)

gave up; abandoned. with bold disrespect.

adv.:

his

"How was

school today?"

I

"All right,"

"Because she tried to make him color with

asked, elabo-

red crayons," Laurie said. "Charles wanted to

rately casual.

he

color with green crayons so he hit the teacher

said.

"Did you learn anything?" his father asked. Laurie regarded his father coldly.

"1

didn't

and she spanked him and said nobody play with Charles but everybody did."

The

learn nothing," he said.

"Anything,"

I

said. "Didn't learn anything."

"The teacher spanked a boy, though," Laurie said, addressing his bread and butter. "For being fresh," he added with his mouth full. "Wliat did he do?" I asked. "Who was it?" Laurie thought. "It was Charles," he said. "He was fresh. The teacher spanked him and made

him stand in a corner. He was awfully fresh." "What did he do?" I asked again, but Laurie slid off his chair,

his father

was

took a cookie, and

left,

while

young

saying, "See here,

still

week —

head of a teacher

little girl

made him

feet

on the

"Good

hit

heavens,"'

I

said,

mindful of the Lords

name, "I suppose he got spanked again?" "He sure did," Laurie said. "Look up," he

said

to his father.

"Wliat?" his father said, looking up.

"Look down," Laurie said. "Look at my thumb. Gee, youre dumb." He began to laugh insanely.

"Why

in a

floor. Friday

did Charles hit the teacher?"

quickly.

I

asked

corner dur-

pounding

his

Charles was deprived

On

Saturday

I

remarked to

you think kindergarten

is

my

husband, "Do

too unsettling for

and bad grammar, Charles boy sounds like such a bad

Laurie? All this toughness this

"It'll

ingly.

be

my husband said reassurbe people like Charles in the

all right,"

"Bound

to

world. Might as well meet them

the teacher.

during recess.

all

chalk.

influence."

"Today Charles

stay inside

of blackboard privileges because he threw

and

said,

and made her bleed and the

ing story time because he kept

The next day Laurie remarked at lunch, as soon as he sat down, "Well, Charles was bad

He grinned enormously and

it

Thursday Charles had to stand

man."

again today."

—

was Wednesday of the first Charles bounced a seesaw onto the

third day

On Monday

now as later."

came home late, full of news. "Charles," he shouted as he came up the hill; I was waiting anxiously on the front steps, "Charles,'" Laurie yelled all the way up the hill, "Charles was bad again."" "Come right in," I said, as soon as he came Laurie

close enough. "Lunch

is

waiting."

"You know what Charles did?" he demanded, following me through the door. "Charles yelled so in school they sent a boy in from first grade to tell the teacher she had to make Charles keep quiet, and so Charles had to stay after school.

And

so

all

the children stayed

watch him." "Wliat did he do?" I asked. "He just sat there," Laurie said, climbing into his chair at the table. "Hi Pop, yold dust mop." "Charles had to stay after school today," I to

fndoiY

told

my husband.

"Everyone stayed with him."

"Wliat does this Charles look like?

choik.

"

my

hus-

band asked Laurie. "Wliat "s his other name?" "Hes bigger than me," Laurie said. "And he

474 Sneaky Tricks and Whopping

Lies

doesn't have any rubbers and he doesn't even

wear a jacket." Monda> night was the first Parent-Teachers meeting, and only the fact that Jannie had a cold kept me from going; I wanted passionately to meet Charles's mother. On Tuesday Laurie remarked suddenly, "Our teacher had a friend

come

see her in school today.

"Charles's mother?"

my husband and

I

asked

simultaneously.

"Naaah," Laurie said scornfully.

"It

who came and made us do exercises. climbed down from his chair and down and touched his toes. He

"Like

man Look." He

was

a

squatted

this,"

he

said.

got solemnly back into his chair and said,

picking up his fork, "Charles didn't even do exercises."

"That's fine,"

want

to

said heartily.

I

"Didnt Charles

do exercises?"

"Naaah," Laurie said. "Charles

I

to

be a reformation in Charles; Laurie at lunch on Thursday of the

reported grimly

the teachers friend he wasn't "Fresh again?"

seemed

was so fresh to do exercises."

let

said.

third

week, "Charles was so good today the

teacher gave him an apple." "Wliat? 1 said, and "You mean Charles?" "

"He kicked the teachers friend," Laurie said. "The teacher"s friend told Charles to touch his toes like I just did and Charles kicked him." ""Wliat are they going to do about Charles, do you suppose? Laurie's father asked him. Laurie shrugged elaborately. "Throw him out of school, I guess," he said. Wednesday and Thursday were routine; Charles yelled during story hour and hit a boy in the stomach and made him cr}'. On FridayCharles stayed after school again and so did all "

the other children.

when she cried all Charles when he filled

being a Charles Laurie did a full

mud and pulled it my husband, when

of

even

in the telephone cord

ash

tray,

and

said, after

the

a

his

wagon

through the kitchen;

he caught his elbow and pulled telephone,

bowl of flowers

first

afternoon;

minute, "Looks

off the table, like Charles."

husband added

warily,

"Charles," Laurie said. "He gave the crayons around and he picked up the books afterward and the teacher said he was her helper."

"Wliat happened?"

1

asked incredulously

.

"He was her helper, that's all," Laurie said, and shrugged. "Can this be true, about Charles?" I asked my husband that night. "Can something like this happen?" "Wait and see," my husband said cynically. "Wlien you've got

With the third week of kindergarten Charles was an institution in our family; Jannie was

ni}-

a Charles to deal with, this

may mean he's only plotting. He seemed to be wrong. For over a week Charles was the teacher's helper; each day he handed things out and he picked things up; no one had to stay after school.

Words to Own warily (wer'a-le) adv.: cautiously. incredulously (in-krej'oo-las-le)

adv.: unbelievingly.

During the third and fourth weeks there

Charles 475

"The PTA meeting's next week

my husband one Charles's

again,"

know

Laurie

week

know what

demanded

slightly

I

evening as

things

were back

to

Charles did today?"

word teacher washed her

a little girl to say a

and the mouth out with soap and Charles laughed." and she

said

it

My husband came vite

said.

the lunch table, in a voice

at

awed. "He told

word himself three or mouth washed out with

said the evil

soap each time. He also threw chalk.

myself,"

Friday of that

normal. "You

and

little girl

four times, getting his

my hus-

know."

said. "I'd like to

"I'd like to

On

told

mother there."

"Ask her what happened to Charles,"

band

I

evening. "I'm going to find

he

set out for the

I

me

that

PTA meeting.

"In-

door with

her over for a cup of tea after the meeting,"

want

said. "I "If

to get a look at her."

only she's there,"

be

"She'll

see

to the

how

I

said prayerfully.

my husband

there,"

said. "I

don't

they could hold a PTA meeting with-

out Charles's mother." At the meeting

I

sat restlessly,

scanning each

comfortable matronly face, trying to determine

which one hid the secret of Charles. None of them looked to me haggard enough. No one stood up in the meeting and apologized for the way her son had been acting. No one mentioned Charles.

and sought out Laurie's kindergarten teacher. She had a plate with a cup of tea and a piece of chocolate cake; After the meeting

identified

I

I had a plate with a cup of tea and a piece of marshmallow cake. We maneuvered up to one another cautiously and smiled. "I've been so anxious to meet you," I said.

"I'm Laurie "s mother." ""We "re

all

so interested in Laurie," she said.

he certainly likes kindergarten," I said. about it all the time." "We had a little trouble adjusting, the first

""Well,

"He "Wliat word?" his father asked unwisely, and Laurie said,

"I'll

have to whisper

it

to you,

it's

He got down off his chair and went around to his father. His father bent his head down and Laurie whispered joyfully. His father's eyes widened. so bad."

"Did Charles

he asked

the

little girl

to say that?"

her to say

it

it

twice," Laurie said. "Charles told

fine

or

so,"

to Charles?"

With

helper.

little

now

"Laurie usually adjusts very quickly,"

suppose

this

time

its

"Nothing," Laurie said. "He

was passing out

"Yes,"

I

said, laughing,

full in that

"Charles?"

476 Sneaky Tricks and Whopping

Lies

said. "I

"you must have your

kindergarten, with Charles."

she

said.

"We

don't have any

Words to Own (hag'ard)

exhausted.

Charles abandoned the

I

Charless influence."

"Charles?"

haggard

the crayons."

he's a

lapses, of course."

my husband

asked.

Monday morning

she said primly, "but

Charles in the kindergarten."

twice.

happened

week

hands

respectfully.

"She said

"'Wliat

tell

talks

adj.:

looking worn-out and

Meet the Writer From Horror to Humor and Back Again Shirley Jackson

(

1

9 9- 965) 1

1

San Francisco, California.

was born

in

you've ever read

If

her most famous story, "The Lottery," you may

be surprised to learn that the writer of bone-chilling tale of horror

who wrote

Jackson

this

the same Shirley

is

"Charles" and other

comically exaggerated accounts of

with her

life

husband and four children. Jackson's keen sense of irony, the thread that runs through writing,

evident

is

wrote for fellow

44 At

mock

in this

all

her

questionnaire she

suffering mothers:

breakfast

I

raise a considerable

howl

about the general sloppy condition of the back porch and the yard. Laurie, Joanne,

Sally,

Barry promise that after school there

monumental cleaning-up and and porch immaculate.

(

) I

school to

finish his

forgot that today will

be

home

I

will find

Who

) I

his clean shirts

visit,

and

five-fifteen rive? (2)

who will

and

What

are so

More by

lasts will

mad

eat dinner

New

in

till

all

York

in

raises

another

twenty minutes.

Who forgot to call

be? (2)

the laundry?

day for two things: the arrival of

a particular television

in

Who

at breakfast?

Barry has been waiting parents for a

library to say she

house to see David's new

at five o'clock? (5)

has to catch a train for

friends will be visible

from the

calls

Who stops off at David's

howl the next morning

(

Who

(2)

Who

Girl Scouts? (3)

later? (4)

tories in a classroom.

has to stay after

steam engine and has to be sent for

My husband Where will

of her ickson reading one

be a

the yard

chemistry notebook?

was

and

will

the audience. five-thirty. (I)

The

his

grand-

program on which one of

television

What time

will

program goes on

the grandparents ar-

be the general tone of the remarks about

little

children

for television they can't even say hello properly? (3) dignified silence?

his

at

Who

99

Shirley Jackson

"Charles" comes from

Life

Among

the Savages

(Amereon). The adventures

of Laurie and the rest of the Jackson family continue

in

Raising

Demons

(Academy Chicago).

Charles 477

Making Meanings First 1

.

Thoughts

What

the plot twist at the end of the

is

story? Did

it

Reading Check

surprise you? Explain.

a.

Shaping Interpretations 2.

What

behavior

In

b.

4.

Do you

c.

Charles

How does

like?

Laurie's

learn the truth

think Laurie's parents should have

realized the truth

According to Laurie, what is

your opinion, why does Laurie invent

Charles?

how Laurie's at home changes

after he begins school.

clues does Jackson give to Charles's

identity? 3.

Describe

mother

about

Charles?

about Charles sooner?

Explain. 5.

Reread

comments on page 472 Do you or why not?

Julius Lester's

as a trickster?

Why

think Laurie qualifies

Connecting with the Text 6.

How would class?

you have

felt

about Laurie

Would you have wanted

if

he had been

in

your kindergarten

to be friends with him? Explain your

response.

Choices: Writer's 1.

Building Your Portfolio

Notebook

Collecting Ideas for

Creative Writing 2. First

Day of School

Writing a Response 3.

Dear Laurie

Observational Writing

What do you remember

Shirley Jackson based the

Have you ever

about your

character of Laurie on her

known

weeks) of school? Write

class

a

about your

clown,

trickster,

or

troublemaker? Describe

how

this

person looks and acts and

what you think of him or her. (Either expand on your Quickwrite or choose a

new

own

experi-

own son Write

(see page 477).

a letter to her

ences beginning elementary

grown son

school or starting over at a

him

new or /

school. Try writing five

six

sentences beginning

remember

.

.

.

;

then,

Laurie, telling

to

"Charles." Did you think

was funny?

How

silly?

true to

it

life?

does knowing that the

story

further

what you

Lies

now-

how you responded

choose one to write about

subject.)

478 Sneaky Tricks and Whopping

days (or

first

is

about Laurie will say

affect

to him?

^

Grammar Link Language

Handbook

HELP

MINI-LESSON

HUMOR: Getting a Laugh another?

what Is Humor? What

is

humor?

We

part

In

it's

because

they have different expectarecognize

when we see it, but it's hard to explain why something is

what

tions of

ordinary and

is

when we know

that Elmer

is

going to meet an angry bear,

not a delicious

rabbit.

it

funny

—and

if

you've ever

predictable. tations that

It is

those expec-

make the humor

of the unexpected possible.

tried to explain a joke to

someone, you know

that's the

More or Less? Another comic technique is exaggeration, or overstate-

Expect the Unexpected:

ment.

humor out of it. Yet the people who make their living

Three Types of Irony

heavy enough to sink a ship"

by making us laugh don't rely

expectation and

on

can be tragic or profound;

surest

way to

drain every bit

of

instinct alone. Like scien-

tists

analyzing the results of an

Irony

is

a contrast

between

reality.

Verbal irony

humorists analyze successful

contrast between what

and what

get a laugh.

Humor

is

usually

comedy, a play or other literary work that ends central to

happily and often

Someone who shouting

makes us

laugh.

is

A

pect.

The essence of humor is surprise. Not every surprise

humans on

funny

without being surprising.

We

laugh at an unexpected choice

words or combination of ideas or a twist on a seem-

of

ingly predictable situation.

Why

is

a joke

funny to

people of one culture, generation,

or

social

group but not

480 Sneaky Tricks and Whopping

is

very

puppy outwitting

TV sitcom

cari-

most noticeable

opposite of exaggeration

understatement than what

is

—

fea-

The is

saying

meant. The

action hero clinging to a roof

by

his fingernails

who

politely

mentions that he could use a hand up

is

using understate-

ment to get

a laugh.

gets

laughs because of situational irony:

person's

tures for comic effect.

less

using verbal irony.

a

humor

is

from what we ex-

Surprise!

is

"Speak

who

when what happens

funny, but nothing

said

Situational irony occurs

different

is

is

meant.

says

up!" to a person

Tall tales get their

from exaggeration; so do

involves a

really

We expect people to

be smarter than their pets.

A

Writer on

Wit

is

Humor

the sudden

Dramatic irony occurs when the audience or the

marriage of ideas which,

reader knows something a

not perceived to have any

character does not know.

relation.

Dramatic irony

is

what makes

us laugh at Elmer Fudd trying

to sneak up on Bugs Bunny

Lies

is

an example of exaggeration.

catures, which exaggerate a

humor

is

are

it

can also be funny.

experiment, professional

for the elements that

Irony

"My schoolbooks

before their union, were

— Mark Twain

Before You Read The Ransom of Red Chief Make the Connection

Elements of Literature

Reading

Skills

Tales of the

Unexpected

Irony

and Strategies

What do you

predict this

Much of the humor in "The Ransom of Red Chief" comes

Drawing Inferences:

from O. Henry's

Finding Clues

story

will

be about? Look at

the story's

Look

title

and pictures.

irony.

at the quotations fronn

the story that are "pulled

out" and placed next to

some

illustrations.

notes

•

Where

is

verbal irony, where what is

meant

situational irony, where

face?

How will

guess you

story.

When

in

writers use irony,

they are counting on you to

make inferences as you They expect that you'll

read. infer

that certain things will happen

Then they

next.

surprise you

by making something else hap-

the •

dramatic irony, where we know something a character

pen instead. As you read "The

doesn't

about the things that you guess

characters?

want?

is

the opposite of what

what happens is very different from what we expect

Who are the

What do they What problems will

a

the

story

like this:

is

ex-

be about. Organize your

story set?

inference

periences and on clues

is

this

An

learned about:

Quickwrite

will

for examples of

make based on your own

said

you think

use of

the three types of irony you've

•

Take notes on what

Look

skillful

they

Ransom

happen.

will

the story end?

of Red Chief," think

What

happens

instead?

Think-pair-share.

Tell

rony is a contrast between expectation and I

your

story to a classmate, and listen

go.hrw.com LEO 8-6

reality.

to his or her story.

For

more on

Irony,

see page

480

and the Handbook of Literary Terms.

Li

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It

looked

good

like a

We were down

you.

Driscoll

and myself— when

idea struck us.

pressed

thing: but wait

it,

was, as

It

"during a

There was

a

till

this

Bill

moment

mental apparition";' but didn't find that out

—

tell

Bill

kidnapping

afterward exof temporary

we

later.

was

!

town down

there, as flat as a flannel cake, mit, of course.

till I

South, in Alabama

awakf!iii^d

and called Sum-

«^

contained inhabitants of as

It

undeleterious" and seLf-satisfied a class of peasantry as ever clustered around a Maypole. Bill and me had a joint capital of about hundred dollars, and we needed just two thousand

more

dollars

six

to pull off a

scheme in Western Illinois over on the front steps of the

fraudulent town-lot with.

We talked it

Hotel. Philoprogenitiveness.

says we,

is

strong

communities; therefore, and for other reasons, a kidnapping project ought to do better there than in the in semirural

radius"*

of newspapers that

send reporters out clothes to

knew

that

awful

screti

in plain

up talk about such things. We Summit couldn't get after us with

stir

anything stronger than constables and, maybe,

some

lackadaisical

bloodhounds and

a diatribe

or two in the Weekly Fanners' Budget. So,

it

looked good. 1.

apparition (ap'a- rish'an): appearance of a ghost. Bill (ab'ar-a'dian), a departure from what is

means aberration normal. 2.

3.

undeleterious (un-del'a-tir'e-as). harmless. philoprogenitiveness (firo-pro-jen'a-tiv-nis):

parents' love for their children. 4. radius: range; area of

activit)-.

WORDS TO Own diatribe

(dT'a-trib')

U-itij'-

n.:

condemnation; harsh, abusive

criticism.

482 Sneaky Tricks and Whopping

Lies

iii

SF

led

JiliSf O.

Henry

Ransom of Red Chief 483

We selected for our victim the only child of a prominent citizen named Ebenezer Dorset. The father was respectable and tight, a mortgage fancier and a stern, upright collectionplate passer and forecloser The kid was a boy of ten, with bas-relief^ freckles and hair the color of the cover of the magazine )'ou buy at the newsstand when you want to catch a train. Bill and me figured that Ebenezer would melt down tor a ransom of two thousand dollars to a cent. But wait

till I

tell

watching zard

tail

a

me when come

a stick at

I

camp

plains?"

up his trousers and examining some bruises on his shins. "We're playing Indian. We're making Buf"He's

all

a

little

Red

Trapper,

kick hard."

the rear elevation of this mountain was a

rolling

at

and I'm to be

Chief's captive,

boy seemed to be having the time of his life. The fun of camping out in a cave had made him forget that he was a captive Yes, sin that

stored provisions.

One evening after sundown, we drove in a buggy past old Dorset's house. The kid was in the street, throwing rocks at a kitten on the op-

himself.

He immediately

me

christened

Snake-

and announced that when his braves returned from the warpath, I was to be eye, the Spy,

posite fence.

boy!" says

Bill,

'would you

like to

broiled at the stake at the rising of the sun.

have a bag of cand}' and a nice ride?"

The boy catches

Bill

full

"That will cost the old dollars,"

Then we had supper; and he

neatly in the eye with a

piece of brick.

dred

Bill,

daybreak. By Geronimo! that kid can

On

little

right now," says

show look like magic-lantern views town hall. I'm Old Hank, the

falo Bill's

scalped

"Hey,

do you dare to enter Red Chief the terror of the

of

of Palestine in the

you.

About two miles from Summit was

we

He points

up, and says:

"Ha! cursed paleface,

the

mountain, covered with a dense cedar brake. cave. There

pot of boiling coffee, with two buz-

feathers stuck in his red hair

says

man an extra five

Bill,

hun-

climbing over the

He made

thing like

a during-dinner

we

but

I

got him down

last

birthday.

cinnamon bear; but, at last, in the bottom of the bugg)' and drove away. We took him up to the cave, and I hitched the

I

never camped out before;

had a pet possum once, and I was nine I hate to go to school. Rats ate up

welterweight

like a

speech some-

this:

"I like this fine.

That boy put up a fight

mouth

of bacon and bread and grav}' and began to

talk.

wheel.

filled his

sixteen of Jimmy Talbot's aunt's speckled hen's eggs.

Are there any

real

Indians

these

in

buggy to the little village, three miles away, where we had hired it, and walked back to the

woods? I want some more gravy. Does the trees moving make the wind blow? We had five puppies. Wliat makes your nose so red. Hank? My

mountain.

father has lots of money. Are the stars hot?

horse in the cedar brake. After dark

Bill

was

pasting court plaster

scratches and bruises

was

a fire burning

on

I

drove the

over the

his features.

There

behind the big rock

the entrance of the cave, and the boy

at

was

whipped Ed Walker twice, Saturday. I don't like girls. You dassent' catch toads unless with a string. Do oxen make any noise? Wliy are oranges round? Have you got beds to sleep on in this cave?

bas-relief (ba'ri-lef): slightly raised. Brt5-re//e/usually refers to a kind of sculpture in which figures are carved in a flat surface so that the}' project only slight!)- from the back5.

Amos Murray has

got six toes.

can talk, but a monkey or a fish many does it take to make twelve?" rot

A par-

can't.

How

ground.

brake: clump of trees or bushes. court plaster: cloth that sticks to the ering cuts and scratches.

8.

6. 7.

skin,

484 Sneaky Tricks and Whopping

used for cov-

magic-lantern views: t\ pe of projector.

early 9.

Lies

I

dassent: dare not.

slides.

A magic lantern was an

Every few minutes he would remember that

Chief was

sitting

and then he would let out a war whoop that made Old Hank the Trapper shiver That boy had Bill terrorized from the start. "Red Chief," says I to the kid, "would you like to go home?" "A^ what for?" says he. T don't have any fun at home. I hate to go to school. I like to camp out. You won't take me back home again.

take

scalp, according to the

Snake-eye, will you?

dozed

he was a pesky redskin, and pick up his stick rifle and tiptoe to the mouth of the cave to rubber

Now

for the scouts of the hated paleface.

'

"Not right away," says

I.

"'We'll stay

here in

the cave awhile." "All

right!" says he. "That'll

had such fun

We went spread

in

to

all

be

fine.

never

I

my life."

bed about eleven

down some wide

and put Red Chief between us. We weren't afraid he'd run awa}-. He kept us awake for three hours, jimiping up and reaching for his rifle and screeching: "Hist! pard," in mine and Bill's ears,

one hand twined in Bill's hair In the other he had the sharp case knife we used for slicing bacon; and he was industriously and realistically trying to

as the fancied crackle of a twig or

Bill's

Bill's

chest, with

sentence that

had been pronounced upon him the evening before.

got the knife

I

him

lie

down

kid and made from that moment,

away from the

again. But,

was broken. He

Bill's spirit

laid

down on

again in

toward sunup I remembered that Red Chief had said I was to be burned at the stake at the rising of the sun. 1 wasn't nervous or afraid; but I sat up and lit my pipe and leaned against a rock. off for a while, but along

"What you getting up so soon asked

"Me?" says

shoulder

I

I.

"Oh,

thought

"Youre a

was

liar!"

I

says

up would

Bill.

"You "re

rest

afraid.

Sam? Do you think any-

body that

hair

Chief get up and cook breakfast, while

was awakened by a series of awful screams from Bill. They weren't yells, or howls, or shouts, or whoops, or yawps, such Just at

daybreak,

I

from a manly set of vocal orwere simply indecent, terrifying,

as you'd expect

gans

— they

humiliating

when

screams,

women

such as

they see ghosts or caterpillars.

awful thing to hear a strong, desperate,

scream incontinently I

jumped up

to see

in a

cave

at

awful,

will pay out money to get back home?"

"Sure," said

I.

"A

imp

like

is just

the

a little

rowdy kid like

that

kind that parents dote on. Now, you and the

on

I

go up

the top of this mountain and reconnoiter.

I went up on the peak of the little mountain and ran m}' eye over the contiguous vicinity. Over toward Summit I expected to see the sturdy yeomanry of the village armed with

scythes and pitchforks beating the countryside

an

what I saw was a peaceful landscape dotted with one man plowing with a dun mule. Nobody was dragging the creek; no couriers dashed hither and )'on, bringing tidings of no news to the distracted parents. There was a sylvan " attitude

man

daybreak.

what the matter was. Red

10. rubber: short for rubberneck, meaning stretch the neck to look at something curiously." Traffic reports often mention delays caused by rubbernecking drivers slow down to stare at accidents and create jams.

—

it

emit

It's

fat

You

be burned at sunrise, and you was afraid hed do it. And he would, too, if he could find a

and dreamed that 1 had been kidnapped and chained to a tree by a ferocious pirate with red into a troubled sleep,

fell

it."

to

nation the stealthy approach of the outlaw 1

my

got a kind of pain in

sitting

match. Aint

last,

Sam?"

for,

Bill.

the rustle of a leaf revealed to his young imagi-

band. At

his

he never closed an eye sleep as long as that boy was with us. I

side of the bed, but

We

o'clock.

blankets and quilts

on

for the dastardly kidnappers. But

11. 12.

contiguous vicinity: nearby sylvan (sil'v.in): like a forest

area.

The Ransom of Red Chief 485

/

^ ..

:<>

of somnolent sleepiness pervading that sec-

outward surface of Alexposed to my view. "Perhaps,"

tion of the external

abama

that lay

says

to myself,

I

"it

has not

Ml

been discovered that the fix wolves have borne away the tender lambkin from the fold. Heaven help the wolves!" says 1, and I went down the mountain yet

voii.

to breakfast.

says the kid

Wlien I got to the cave, I found Bill backed up against the side of

it,

breathing hard, and the bo)

him with

threatening to smash

a rock half as

big as a coconut.

"He put

down my

potato plained

and

a red-hot boiled

Bill,

boxed

I

BUI.

to

back," ex-

"and then mashed

it

with his

Have you got

his ears.

a

foot;

gun about

you, Sam?" I

took the rock away from the boy and kind

up the argument. "I'll fix you," says the kid to Bill. "No man ever yet struck the Red Chief but he got paid for it. You better of patched

beware!" After breakfast the kid takes a piece of leather with strings

wrapped around

it

out of

his

pocket and goes outside the cave unwind-

ing

it.

"What's he up to now?" says

"You don't think

"No

much

fear of

he'll

it,"

Bill,

anxiously.

run away, do you, Sam?

says

I.

"He don't seem to be

of a homebody. But we've got to fix up

some plan about the ransom. There don't seem be much excitement around Summit on account of his disappearance; but maybe they to

haven't realized yet that he's gone. His folks

may

tliink he's

spending the night with Aunt

Jane or one of the neighbors. Anyhow,

he'll

be

we must get a message demanding the two thousand dol-

missed today. Tonight to his father

Red Chief had pulled out of and he was whirling it around pocket, sling that

such

as

we

heard a kind of war whoop,

David might have emitted

knocked out the champion

Goliath.

486 Sneaky Tricks and Whopping

when he It

Lies

was

a

his

head. I

dodged, and heard a heavy thud and a kind

of a sigh from Bill, like a horse gives out when you take his saddle off. A rock the size of an egg had caught Bill just behind his left ear He loosened liimself all over and fell in the fire across the frying pan of hot water for washing the dishes. I dragged him ovit and poured cold water on his head for half an hour By and by. Bill sits up and feels behind his

lars for his return."

Just then

his

Words to Own somnolent

(sam'na-lant)

adj.:

drowsy.

me for? behave, Snake-eye, if you won't send me home and if you'U let me play the hit

I'll

Black Scout today." "I

don't

you and

know

Mr.

the game," says

to decide. He's

Bill

I.

"That's for

your playmate

away for a while, on busiNow, you come in and make friends with him and say you are sorry for hurting him, or home you go, at once." I made him and Bill shake hands, and then I took Bill aside and told him I was going to for the day. I'm going

ness.

Poplar Grove, a

little

from

village three miles

the cave, and find out what

I

could about

how

the kidnapping had been regarded in Summit. Also,

thought

1

it

best to send a peremptory

let-

ter to old man Dorset that day, demanding the ransom and dictating how it should be paid. "You know, Sam," says Bill, "I've stood by you without batting an eye in earthquakes, tire, and flood in poker games, dynamite outrages, police raids, train robberies, and cy-

—

clones.

I

napped

never

lost

my

nerve yet

till

we

kid-

that two-legged skyrocket of a kid.

He's got

me

going.

You won't

leave

me

long

with him, will you, Sam?" "I'll

be back sometime

this afternoon," says

"You must keep the boy amused and quiet return.

ear and says: "Sam,

do you know who my

fa-

And now

I.

till I

we'll write the letter to old

Dorset."

"You won't go away and leave me here alone, will you, Sam?" I went out and caught that boy and shook

Bill and I got paper and pencil and worked on the letter while Red Chief, with a blanket wrapped around him, strutted up and down, guarding the mouth of the cave. Bill begged me tearfully to make the ransom fifteen hundred dollars instead of two thousand. "I ain't at-

him

tempting," says he, "to decry

vorite Biblical character is?"

"Take

it

easy" says

I.

"You'll

come

to your

senses presently."

"King Herod,"

says he.

until his freckles rattled.

you don't behave," says I, Til take you straight home. Now, are you going to be good, "If

or not?" "1

13. c.

mean AD

hem two years

funning," says he, sullenly.

to hurt

King Herod

4 B c to

the celebrated

moral aspect of parental affection, but dealing with humans, and

it

ain't

we "re

human

for

14. decry: speak out against.

was only

didn't

^

"I

Old Hank. But what did he

Herod, ruler of Judea from 39, ordered the killing of all boys in Bethle(her'aci):

Words to Own peremptory ing

(par-emp'ta-re)

no debate or

adj.:

connmanding; allow-

delay.

old and younger (Matthew 2:16).

The Ransom of Red Chief 487

anybody

up two thousand dollars for chunk of freckled wildcat. I'm

to give

that fort)'-pound

hundred dollars. You can charge the difference up to me." So, to relieve Bill, I acceded and we collabo-

willing to take a

chance

at fifteen

,

rated a letter that ran this way:

"Play

it,

of course," says

I.

"Mr. Bill will play

with you. What kind of a game is it?" "I'm the Black Scout," says Red Chief, "and I have to ride to the stockade to warn the setthe Indians are coming. I'm tired of playing Indian m> self. I want to be the Black tlers that

Scout."

EBENEZER DORSET,

ESQ.:

says

"All right,"

We

have your boy concealed in a place far from Summit. It is useless for you or the most skillful detectives to attempt to find

me. I guess Mr. pesky savages."

him. Absolutely the only terms on which you can have him restored to you are these:

kid suspiciously.

We demand fifteen hundred dollars in large bills for his return;

the

money

to

be

left at

midnight tonight at the same spot and in the same box as your reply— as hereinafter described. If you agree to these terms, send

your answer

by

a solitary mes-

at half-past

eight o'clock.

in writing

senger tonight

""Wliat

Poplar Grove, there are three large trees about a hundred yards apart, close to the fence of the wheat field on the right-hand side. At the bottom of the fence post, opposite

the third tree, will be found a small

pasteboard box.

mit.

you attempt any treachery or fail to comply with our demand as stated, yovi will never see your boy again. If you pay the money as demanded, he will be returned to you safe and well within three hours. These terms are final, and if you do not accede to them, no further comIf

munication will be attempted.

TWO DESPERATE MEN

my

addressed

this letter to

pocket. As

comes up

to

I

Dorset and put

was about

it

Bill,

looking

at

the

in a trap.

"How in a

far is

it

to the stockade, kid?"

he

asks,

husky manner of voice.

"Ninety miles," says the Black Scout. "And you have to hump'' yourself to get there on time. "Wlioa,

now!"

The Black Scout jumps on

"Aw, Snake-eye, you said

was

"For Heaven's sake," says

Bill's

back and

Bill,

"hurry back,

you can. I wish we hadn't made Sam, as soon the ransom more than a thousand. Say, you quit kicking me or I'll get up and warm you good." walked over to Poplar Grove and sat I around the post office and store, talking with as

the chaw-bacons that

came

in to trade.

bacco, 15.

referred

hump:

casually

to

the

here, hurry.

to start, the kid

I

could play the

gone."

488 Sneaky Tricks and Whopping

Lies

One

whiskerando says that he hears Summit is all upset on account of Elder Ebenezer Dorset's boy having been lost or stolen. That was all 1 wanted to know. I bought some smoking to-

in

me and says:

Black Scout while you

to do?" asks

digs his heels in his side.

The messenger will place the answer in this box and return immediately to Sum-

I

I

Bill

"You are the hoss," says Black Scout. "Get down on your hands and knees. How can 1 ride to the stockade without a hoss?" "You'd better keep him interested," said I, "till we get the scheme going. Loosen up." Bill gets down on his all fours, and a look comes in his eye like a rabbit's when you catch it

After crossing Owl Creek on the road to

am

sounds harmless to will help you foil the

"It

I.

Words to Own acceded

(ak-sed'id)

v.:

gave

in;

consented.

price

of

peas, posted my letter surreptiand came awa). The postmaster said the mail carrier would come by in an hour to take the mail to Summit. When I got back to the ca\ e, Bill and the boy were not to be found. I explored the vicinity of the cave and risked a yodel or two, but there was no response. So I lighted my pipe and sat down on a mossy bank to await developments. In about half an hour I heard the bushes rustle, and Bill wabbled out into the little glade in front of the cave. Behind him was the kid, stepping softly like a scout, with a broad grin on his face. Bill stopped, took off his hat, and wiped his face with a red handkerchief The kid stopped about eight feet behind him. "Sam," says Bill, "1 suppose you'll think Im a black-e}'ed

and

tioush',

thumb and hand

renegade, but

couldn't help

I

person with masctiline

of self-defense, but there

is

a

grown

I'm a

it.

and habits

proclivities

time

when

all sys-

tems of egotism and predominance fail. The boy is gone. I sent him home. All is off There

was martATS

goes on

in old times,"

suffered death rather than give lar graft

None

they enjoyed.

up the

em

of

"that

Bill,

particu-

ever was

subjugated to such supernatural tortures as

have been.

I

tried to

of depredation;

''

be

but there

"What's the trouble.

T was rode," says

to

faitliful

came

Bill?"

I

our

a limit."

asks him.

"the ninet}' miles to

Bill,

the stockade, not barring an inch. Then,

was rescued,

the settlers

was given

I

ain't a palatable substitute.

hour

was

I

had to

And

try to explain to

nothin' in holes,

how

human can

when

oats.

Sand

him why there

a road

"But

gone"

he's

two or three

bites

cauterized.

— continues

Bill

my

on

— "gone

showed him the road to Summit and kicked him about eight feet nearer there at one kick. I'm sorry we lose the ransom; but it was home.

I

either that or Bill

Driscoll to the madhouse."

Bill

puffing and blowing, but there

is

is

a

look of ineffable peace and growing content on liis

rose-pink features.

"Bill,"

your

says

family,

"No,"

I,

is

"there isn't any heart disease in

there?

says

'nothing chronic

Bill,

malaria and accidents.

except

Why?"

"Then you might turn around," says I, "and a look behind you." Bill turns and sees the boy, and loses his complexion and sits down plump on the ground and begins to pluck aimlessly at grass and little sticks. For an hour I was afraid of liis have

I told him that my scheme was whole job through immediately and that we would get the ransom and be off with it by midnight if old Dorset fell in with our proposition. So Bill braced up enough to give

mind.

And then

to put the

the kid a

weak

sort of a smile

and

a

promise to

the Russian in a Japanese war with him as soon as he felt a little better I had a scheme for collecting that ransom without danger of being caught by counterplots that ought to commend itself to professional kidnappers. The tree under which the pla}'

17. cauterized: burned to prevent infection

then, for an

can run both

ways, and what makes the grass green. you, Sam, a

I

articles

got to have

I've

I

tell

only stand so much.

I

him by the neck of his clothes and drags him down the mountain. On the way he kicks m\ legs black and blue from the knees down; takes

WORDS TO Own surreptitiously (sor'ap-tish'as-le) adv.: in a secret or sneaky way. renegade (ren'a-gad') n.: traitor; person who abandons a cause and goes over to the other side. proclivities (pro-kliv'a-tez)

n.:

natural tendencies.

palatable

fit

to eat; acceptable.

(pal'a ta

•

bal) adj.:

ineffable (in-ef a-bal)

adj.:

indescribable; too great to

describe. 16.

depredation

(dep'ra-da'slisn): robbery; looting.

phrase articles ofdepivcliition feclenitioii. the

name

of the

is

first

a

The

pun on Articles ufCo>i-

proposition (prap'a-zi^'an)

n.:

proposal; suggested

plan.

U.S. constitution.

The Ransom of Red Chief 489

had a scheme *.

01

collecting

hat ransom

.

.

.

Nb-

"^ -\

J

V

r 'Vi

i' tmtii^,^

490 Sneaky Tricks and Whopping

.

Lies

~^-

'W.

—

answer was to be left and the mone)- later on was dose to the road fence, with big, bare fields on all sides. If a gang of constables should be watching for anyone to come for the note, they could see him a long way off cross-

—

ing the fields or in the road. But no, sirree! At half-past eight

den

was up

I

in that tree as well hid-

as a tree toad, waiting for the

messenger

to

arrive.

on time, a half-grown boy rides up the road on a bicycle, locates the pasteboard box at the foot of the fence post, slips a folded piece of paper into it, and pedals away again Exactly

back toward Summit. I waited an hour and then concluded the

was

thing

square.

I

slid

down

the tree, got

the note, slipped along the fence the woods, and was back half an hour.

I

opened the

note, got near the

and read a crabbed

in

stance of it

was

struck

the cave in another

lantern,

pen

till 1

at

it

to

Bill. It

hand.''^

was written with

a

and the sum and sub-

the most appealing look in

on the

in

Gentlemeti:

by post,

I

received your letter today

in regard to the

EBENEZER DORSET

"Great Pirates of Penzance," says

But 18.

1

I;

at BiU,

and hesitated. He had

crabbed (krab'id) hand: handwriting that

read.

"of aU the

"'

glanced

money.

tleman.

I

think

me

to a

Besides being a thorough gen-

'

Mr

Dorset

is

a spendthrift for

making us such a liberal offer You ain't going to let the chance go. are you? "Tell you the truth. BiU." says 1. "this little he-ewe lamb has somewhat got on my nerv^es too. "VX'e'll take him home, pay the ransom, and

make our getaway. 'We took liim

go by

home that night.

him

him

'We got

to

had bought a and a pair of moccasins for him and we were to hunt bears the next day. It was just twelve o'clock when we knocked at Ebenezer's front door Just at the moment when I should have been abstracting the fifteen hundred dollars from the box under the telling

silver-mounted

that his father

rifle

according to the original proposition.

two hundred and

Bill

dollars

fift\

into Dorset's hand.

ransom you ask for the return of m}' son. I tliink you are a Uttle liigh in your demands, and I hereby make you a counterproposition. which I am inclined to believe you will accept. You bring Johnn}' home and pay me two hundred and fift)' dollars in cash, and I agree to take him off your hands. You had better come at night, for the neighbors believe he is lost, and I couldn't be responsible for what they would do to anybody the\' saw bringing him back. Very^ respectfully,

impudent

ever saw^

night of this kid will send

Bedlam.

w^as counting out

TWO DESPERATE MEN:

I

dollars, after all? 'We've got the

One more bed

eyes

two hundred and

"Sam," says he, "what's fifty-

tree,

this:

liis

face of a dtmib or a talking brute.

is

hard to

otit we were going to home, he started up a howl like a calliope" and fastened liimself as tight as a leech to Bill's leg. His father peeled him away

"Wlien the kid found

leave

him

at

porous plaster hold him?" asks Bill. strong as I used to be," says old

gradually, like a

"How long can you "I'm not as

Dorset, "but

I

think

I

can promise you ten

minutes."

"Enough," says

Bill.

"In ten

minutes

I

shall

cross the Central, Southern, and Middle West-

ern States and be legging

it

tripping!)' for the

Canadian border."

And

as dark as

it

was, and as

fat as Bill

and as good a runner as I am. he was mile and a half out of Summit before catch up with him.

a I

was,

good could

19. Bedlam: an insane asylum. 20. calliope (ka-ll'a-pe): keyboard instrument like an

organ, with a series of whistles sounded by steam or com-

pressed

air.

The Ransom OF Red Chief 491

Meet the Writer "I

Have to Get a Story off My Chest"

O. Henry

is

the pen

ney Porter

(

862- 1910), who wrote almost

1

name

of William Syd-

three hundred short stories brief

life.

O. Henry grew up

in his relatively in

Greensboro,

North Carolina. His mother died when he was young, and his aunt, who ran a private school, took over his education. When he was twenty years old, O. Henry

moved

to Texas.

money from

embezzling

had worked, he to Honduras.

cause of stand

1896, facing charges of

In

fled

He

a

bank where he

the country and sailed

returned to Texas be-

his wife's illness

__^

°-

and was obliged to

^e"^/ ('918-1919) by W. D. Stokes. Oil on canvas.

Convicted of embezzlement, he was sent to

trial.

three years.

Some people

believe that he

took

his

jail

for

pen name from the name

name

of a prison guard, Orrin Henry; others say that he found the

a

in

book. O. Henry

moved

ing streets, cafes,

turned many of

to

New York

his

experiences into

for three or four days to write. this habit,

44 it

I

in

1

902.

He took

to

life in

the

city,

prowl-

and stores and recording snatches of conversation. fiction,

When

often locking himself

a friend expressed

in

a

amazement

He room at

he responded:

have to get a story off

off while

my

interest

out stopping or

it

my

is still

chest as soon as possible. ...

hot.

Once

I

begin a yarn,

kinda goes dead on me.

I

must

I

have to top

finish

it

with-

99

More by O. Henry "The Ransom of Red Chief" and other popular ing

stories by O. Henry, includ-

"A Retrieved Reformation" and "After Twenty

Selected Stories (Penguin).

492 Sneaky Tricks and Whopping

Lies

Years," appear

in his

IVIaking IVIeanings First I

.

Thoughts Rate this story's to

humor

on

a scale of

five,

and discuss your rating with your mates.

one

Reading Check

with five being the funniest. Share

What

class-

Imagine that the local police

made the story funny or not

chief

funny to you?

comes over

for dinner

with the Dorsets the day after the kidnapping and notices (as

who

Shapmg Interpretations

wouldn't) that Johnny

there. With a partner, make up the chief's questions isn't

2.

What

Johnny doing when

we

meet him? How do his actions foreshadow, or hint at, the trouble he will make for his is

first

and Mr. Dorset's responses.

Be sure to mention the con-

kidnappers? 3.

Name two

tents of the

inferences about the

kidnappers' plan that you

made

Mr

early

ransom note and

Dorset's surprising reply.

in

What did you think would Why? What actually happened?

the story.

happen? 4.

Go

back to the text, and

find at least

one example of each of the three Which example do you like best?

kinds of irony discussed on page 480.

Why? 5.

O. Henry spent several years

stories include likable criminal

most

thize with

in this

story?

Meet the Writer), and many of his characters. Whom does he seem to sympa(see

in jail

Do

you think he

is

too forgiving of criminal

behavior? Explain.

Connecting with the Text 6.

Whom father,

7.

Go to

did

or

you sympathize with most as you read

Bill

and Sam?

Whom

did

you

back to your Quickwrite notes.

what happened

in

the story?

like leasts

How

What

this

story

—Johnny,

his

Why?

close did your predictions

details in the story surprised

come

you

the most?

Extendmg the Text 8.

What

could the kidnappers have done to escape their "victim" without

paying his father to take him back? Outline a "plan B" that

Bill

and Sam

could have followed. 9.

What do you page 473)?

1

0.

think would happen

How would

Does "The Ransom

of

if

Johnny met Laurie (from "Charles,"

they get along?

Red Chief"

qualify as a trickster tale? a

tall

tale?

both? neither? Give reasons for your opinion.

The Ransom of Red Chief 493

Choices:

Building Your Portfolio

Writer's Notebook 1.

Collecting Ideas for

Observational Writing Although O. Henry exaggerates

them

for

comic

effect,

the qualities that allow Johnny

to get the best of his kidnappers are those of real children: energy

and an

ability

Observe

and

a child

relative, a friend's

engaging

you know

brother or

everyday

in

curiosity, love of make-believe,

to cause endless trouble.

—perhaps sister,

activities.

younger

a

or a neighbor

Take notes on your

observations and impressions.

Creative Writing

four funniest in

2.

Thanks So Much

moments

the story, and draw

"snapshots" of them. Label

Write one of the following

the pictures with captions

ironic thank-you notes:

Johnny might have written.

•

Usually,

comedies make

us laugh. •

from Johnny to

Bill

and

Sam, for taking him on a

camping •

from

•

Bill

4.

and Sam to

from the Dorsets to and Sam,

inviting

By Any Other Name?

ter

Pick a character from the story,

taking his son back

popular comic plot

for him. In a name poem the first letters of

them to

in this

•

In

Comedy

Design a photo album with 5.

pictures showing Johnny

Dorset's adventure with kidnappers.

his

Choose what

you think are the three or

494 Sneaky Tricks and Whopping

Now That's Funny!

What •

involve

—the bad guy

a brief essay,

tell

why

"The Ransom of Red Chief" is a comedy. Be sure to mention the ways

in

which

O. Henry makes you laugh. is

a

comedy?

A comedy ends

Lies

Comedies often

becomes a hero, or the loser becomes the big winner

Sneaky

Writing About

and schemes to

reversals

example:

Money-hungry

Vacation Snapshots

sorts of

all

character.

Always scheming

Art

young charac-

uses

triumph over an older

the lines spell out a name, as

who

tricks

and write a "name

poem" Bill

come back and spend more time with the boy

3.

One

involves a trip

Ebenezer Dorset, for

•

Creative Writing

is

happily.

a story that

(Review the essay on

humor on page

480.)

Grammar Link

MINI-LESSON

Pronoun-Aiitecedent Agreement

A pronoun

should agree with

antecedent

its

number

in

(singular or plural)

and gender (masculine or feminine). Handbook

EXAMPLES

Johnny did not want to return to

pronoun

HELP

Do

See Agreeineiit

is

used to refer to a masculine singular antecedent.]

you think Mr. and Mrs. Dorset were happy to see their son?

[A plural pronoun

of Pro-

noun and Singular

[A masculine singular

his family.

is

used to refer to a plural antecedent.]

pronouns are used to refer to anybody,

Antecedent,

anyone, each,

751-753-

nobody, no one, one, somebody, and someone.

EXAMPLES

either,

Neither of the Is

girls

S (singular) or P (plural).

Then, draw arrows from

You can often avoid the awkward

CD-ROM. Key word

pronoun, and write above

or her

project?

HELP Workshop

his

Out

written. Underline each

brought her book.

anyone ready to present

It

Take out a draft you've

it

Technology

See Language

Try

everybody, everyone, neither,

pages

her con-

his or

the pronouns to their an-

struction by rephrasing sentences, using plural

tecedents, and write S or P

pronouns and antecedents:

AWKWARD

above each antecedent.

Each student read

or her story to

his

If

you have an S paired with

entry:

the

pronounantecedent

BETTER

agreement.

the

P,

to

the students read their stories to

All

Vocabulary

a

class.

rewrite your sentence

make the pronoun

agree with

class.

its

antecedent.

HOW TO OWN A WORD

Word Bank

Synonyms: Word Twins (But Not

diatribe

A synonym

somnolent

as

peremptory

are synonyms

acceded

format, choose the best synonym for each

surreptitiously

a

is

word

Identical)

same or nearly the same meaning

that has the

another word. For example, peaceful and calm, and

—word

1.

SOMNOLENT:

fix

word in capital (c) awake

renegade

2.

SURREPTITIOUSLY:

(a)

proclivities

3.

PROPOSITION:

schedule

palatable

4.

PROCLIVITIES: (a) tendencies (b) objections (c) fears

ineffable

5.

PALATABLE:

proposition

6.

INEFFABLE: (a) inexpressible (b)

7.

DIATRIBE: (a)

1

(a)

8.

RENEGADE:

9.

ACCEDED:

0.

PEREMPTORY:

openly

(b) carefully (c) secretly

(b)

problem

(c) plan

unpleasant (b) acceptable

condemnation

(a) (a)

newcomer

argued (a)

letters.

nightmarish (b) sleepy

(a)

(a)

and repair

twins. For practice with a standardized test

(b)

weak

humorous

(b) praise (c)

(c)

annoying

speech

(b) traitor (c) patriot

refused

(b)

(c) unlikely

angry

(c) (c)

agreed

commanding

The Ransom of Red Chief 495

Before You Read They Have Yarns Make the Connection

Elements of Literature

That's Outrageous

Tall Tales

What's the most outrageous,

"They Have Yarns"

most

is

yarns, or tall tales,

most

ridiculous,

^\ tall tale

around the United

unbelievable story you've

you read, see

ever heard?

if

a

list

of

States.

As

you recognize

any of the stories Sandburg refers to

Quickwrite

^

Summarize the story

in

If

you

like,

if

they remind

true but it

is

is

obviously un-

told as though

should be believed.

For

more on

460-46

1

Tall Tales,

see pages

and the Handbook of

Literary Terms.

heard.

two or three

sentences.

—or

you of any others you've

an ex-

aggerated, far-fetched

story that

from

is

go.hrw.com

share

LEO 8-6

your summary with your classmates.

They Have Yarns from

The People, Yes

Carl Sandburg The}' have yarns

Of a skyscraper so tall they had to put hinges On the two top stories so to let the moon go by, Of one corn crop in Missouri when the roots Went so deep and drew off so much water The Mississippi riverbed that year was dry, Of pancakes so thin they had only one side, Of "a fog so thick we shingled the barn and six feet out on the fog," Of Pecos Pete" straddling a cyclone in Texas and riding it to the west coast where "it rained out under him," 9.

Pecos Pete

is

more commonly known

496 SneaIyTricKS and Whopping

as

Pecos

Bill

(sec page 502).

Lies

Je^

Of the man who drove 10

a

swarm

of bees across the Rocky Mountains and

the Desert "and didn't lose a bee,"

Of a mountain

railroad curve

where the engineer in

his

cab can touch

the caboose and spit in the conductor's eye,

Of the boy who climbed starved to death

Of the

if

a cornstalk

old man's whiskers:

arrived a day before

Of the hen

growing so

fast

he would have

they hadn't shot biscuits up to him.

he

"When

the

wind was with him

his whiskers

did,"

laying a square egg and cackling, "Ouch!

and of hens laying

"

eggs with the dates printed on them, 15

Of the ship captain's shadow: it froze to the deck one cold winter Of mutineers on that same ship put to chipping rust with rubber

night,

hammers,

Of the sheep counter who was and divide by

20

fast

and accurate:

"I just

count their feet

four,"

Of the man so tall he must climb a ladder to shave himself. Of the runt so teeny-weeny it takes two men and a boy to see him, Of mosquitoes: one can kill a dog, two of them a man. Of a cyclone that sucked cookstoves out of the kitchen, up the chimney and on to the next town. Of the same cyclone picking up wagon-tracks flue,°

in

Nebraska and dropping

them over in the Dakotas, Of the hook-and-eye snake unlocking itself into forty pieces, each piece two inches long, then in nine seconds flat snapping itself together again,

Of the watch swallowed by the cow — when they butchered her a year later the watch was running and had the correct time. Of horned snakes, hoop snakes that roll themselves where they want to 25

and rattlesnakes carrying bells instead of rattles on their tails. Of the herd of cattle in California getting lost in a giant redwood tree that had hollowed out. Of the man who killed a snake by putting its tail in its mouth so it swallowed itself, Of railroad trains whizzing along so fast they reach the station before go,

the whistle.

Of pigs so

30

thin the farmer had to tie knots in their tails to keep them from crawling through the cracks in their pens. Of Paul Bunyan's big blue ox. Babe, measuring between the eyes fortytwo ax-handles and a plug of Star tobacco exactly, Of John Henry's hammer and the curve of its swing and his singing of it as "a rainbow round my shoulder." 21. flue (floo): tube through

which smoke can

pass.

(^

tfw»

fca

kiv

.

.

A&

i

Kr .aam %:•. i.\Mg%\

.M

Meet the Writer What Is Poetry? The son of Swedish immigrants, Carl Sandburg (1878-1967) was born in Galesburg, Illinois. He left school at the age of fourteen and went to work as a milk wagon driver. (Years later he went to college and earned a degree.) He then began to travel around the Midwest, working at dozens of jobs, including washing dishes, painting houses, firefighting, and door-to-door sales. These early experiences influenced

lore,

leaders,

its

which often celebrates American workers. everything about America its history, its folk-

his writing,

Sandburg was interested

in

—

ordinary people.

its

A talented guitarist,

country singing folk songs and reciting

his

poems

he traveled around the

to large, enthusiastic audi-

ences. Sandburg spent thirty years researching and writing a

six-volume biography of

his hero,

won

a Pulitzer Prize for history in

etry

in

Abraham

1951.

Some

critics

have argued that Sandburg's free-verse

lines aren't really poetry. In

Sandburg sets forth

44 Poetry

is

his

Good Morning, America

own

definitions of poetry:

a series of explanations of

fading off into horizons too swift for

explanations. ...

Poetry

is

a search for syllables to

shoot at the barriers of the unknown and the unknowable. .

Poetry in

is

.

a sliver of the

moon

the belly of a golden frog.

Poetry

is

.

who

through to guess about what

moment.

Poetry

is

lost

.

the opening and closing

of a door, leaving those

during a

.

look is

seen

.

a packsack of invisible

keepsakes. 59

More by Carl Sandburg •

Abe

Lincoln

Grows Up (Harcourt

Brace), a biography of Lincoln for •

He

Lincoln.

1940 and one for po-

young readers

The American Songbag (Harcourt Brace), a collection of folk songs,

both serious and funny

life,

(

1

928),

Making IVIeanings First

Thoughts Did the

I .

poem remind you

one, or state which yarn

of any tall tales you've heard before? Describe

in

poem

the

is

your favorite and why.

Shapmg Interpretations Each of the yarns

2.

something

a railroad,

in

exaggerates

poem

the

takes

such as thick fog or

real,

sharp curves

in

it.

and

Choose two

of the

yarns, and identify the real things they

exaggerate.

The long poem

3.

from

is

come Which of

that these lines

called The People, Yes.

the adjectives below could describe the

people

1.

humorous

•

independent

Collecting Ideas for

Observational Writmg

most amazing

/^^^^^ ^^^^^,

(

"^-^Otjuft^X

thing you've

•

tales?

tall

frightened

•

imaginative •

lively

•

North Woods Lumber

serious

meek

•

•

proud

Travers. Oil

two or three minutes, describing everything you

than Sandburg's. You could

Oral Performance

Quickwrite for an idea or start

Write four or lines

five

to add to

the end of "They Have

4. Tell It

Art

in

how you want

Drawing

group

a

Sandburg

You could either

copy the relevant

poem

lines

as a caption

them

off

to present

the poem: You could read

cartoon illustrating one or more of the unbe-

leave

a

performing

Sandburg's poem. Decide

3. Tall

the

m

Proud

interested

describes.

^

your drawing.

Get together with

from scratch.

lievable situations

More Yarns

inspired

either go back to your

Draw

2.

Nancy

classmates guess which lines

it.

Creative Writing

by

make your yarns even more ridiculous, outrageous, and humorous Yarns." Try to

ever seen? Freewrite for

remember about

Camp

on plywood.

Building Your Portfolio

Notebook

What's the

bold

•

•

these

tell

boastful

Choices: Writer's

who

•

and

let

it

as a chorus or with indi-

vidual voices, or

you could

mix the two. You might

want to use props or even

from

background music

or

performance.

in

your

your

They Have Yarns 499

Ikwking space on

thi-

r"*

Vocabulary: Prefixes and Suffixes A

prefix

is

a

word

part added

A

to the beginning of a word. suffix

is

a

word

part added to

the end of a word.

mon

Some com-

prefixes and suffixes are

the boxes at the

listed in

The more suffixes

right.

prefixes and

you know, the more

unfamiliar

words

you'll

be able

to figure out. For example,

you know the words and

if

pay, judge,

heat, learning the prefix

pre-

will

help you guess

what

prepay, prejudge, and preheat

mean.

Similarly,

if

you know

the words happy and

like

and

the suffixes -ly and -en, you can guess what happily and liken

or

mean. Even

suffix

is

if

the prefix

the only part of an

unknown word you understand,

knowing

it

and using

context clues may help you guess the word's meaning.

Prefixes

Before You Read

For activities, see pages 509-5 1

I

Pecos Bill and the Mustang the next selection.

Make the Connection

My

the protagonist?

Hero! just like

—

only better

craftier.

The more

bigger,

is,

they are, the better

hero of Pecos

—

all in

in

a

is

the

more on Protagonist, see the Handbook of Literary Terms.

Background Literature and

a

Social Studies

Reading

classmates,

Mustangs were horses

Skills

that ran wild

brainstorm ideas for the

and

Strategies

plains of the

greatest superhero ever

Quickwrite Use your

details

from

own

imagi-

nation to invent a hero. Give

your hero

a

West. Cowboys would

A

them

prefix

is

a

word

capture and "break"

part added

—tame them

to the beginning of a word.

The prefix super- for example, means "above, beyond, greater

the mustangs while

herding cattle.

Meet the Writer

What

does your hero look

like?

What superhuman powers

"Big Shoes to Fill"

does he or she have?

Elements of Literature

tale seems slightly tall here and may be well to recall that the whole story of America is a tall tale, a tale of seem-

Protagonist

ingly

44

If Bill's

there,

The protagonist

is

who

gets the action

The protagonist is usually the hero. Look at the first

sentence of

a

m

W^V

of the great Pecos

That's the

way Harold

whoppers about the lawyer

in

'Opy^- xjm^T''^

Bill in

99

"biography" of Pecos

lieves

',E0 8-6

little bit

us.

won fame

go.hrw.com

f*i;^ViJwr>.j|l«i

is

each of

going.

and the

it

impossible obstacles overcome. ... So

there

the

main character of a story

title

for

They then rode

riding.

name, and de-

scribe him or her.

the one

on the American

Understanding Words by Using Prefixes: Great Starts

class brain-

storm and your

out what a superhero Knowing what a human can you figure out what

work

larger-than-life way.

With your

can you

superhuman means?

For

can do anything

and everything

is,

of literature.

The

a tall tale, like

Bill,

protagonist

main character

fantastic

a hero

figure is?

/\

what

ing

anyone

stronger, smarter, braver,

Know-

than, or better than."

is

you know?

Heroes are else,

Who

How do

New York

Bill

W.

—

Felton

(

1

902-

a collection of

)

introduces his

hundreds of

king of the cowboys. Felton

tales

worked

and

as a

City long before he started writing, but he

as a folklorist

and writer of history books. Felton be-

ordinary people can possess larger-than-life

spirits, too.

t.

*«™r7T^-^-r-!^,
PODS »»

^'

ffldlf"

Harold W. Felton /'T'^id you ever hear of Pecos Bill? y^ J He was a cowboy. The first cowboy. K.^ He invented cowboys and everything about them and he became the hero of all the other rootin-tootin', high-falootin", straightshootin' cowboys.

He could shoot sixty paces, afraid to

bumblebee in the eye at and he was a man who was not a

shake hands with lightning.

But before he became a man, he was a boy, and before he was a boy, he was a baby.

That seems only reasonable, doesn't Bill

was born

a long

it?

time ago, away out in

wUd and woolly west.

the

was so long ago the sun was only about Of course, money went farther in those days, so naturally a dime was It

the size of a dime.

now. Bill always obeyed his parents. They used to say he was the best child they ever saw, and that was quite a compliment because he had seventeen brothers and sisters. bigger than

it is

One day. Bill's family saw smoke from a new neighbor's chimney. It was beyond the river and two liills but Bill's paw allowed the

'^WEAKY Tricks

and VVhoppihg

Lies

country was getting too crowded. agreed.

They

liked plenty of

they decided to

move

Bill's

maw

elbowroom, so

farther west.

So they loaded their wagon with all their household goods and their eighteen children, and off they went over the Texas plains, across the rivers,

tains

and the

and over the moun-

valleys.

They came to the Pecos River and crossed it. Then the left hind wheel hit a prairie-dog hole. The wagon lurched, and Bill fell out. He landed headfirst on a rock. The rock broke into a thousand pieces, and

Bill's

head

was bruised, a little. The wagon juggled and rumbled away toward the setting sun. Wlien Bill came to, he didn't know where he was or who he was. He didn't know what to do or how to do it. into the distance,

He his

remember

didn't

life,

his

maw

brothers and

He was

all

Pecos River

He

didn't

a single thing

and paw, or

his

about

seventeen

sisters.

alone on the west bank of the

in

West Texas.

know

his age, either, so

no one

HERC ROOTIFTOOT Ti

Tfi

IINOOTI Cb knows little

exactly

how old he was.

But he was a

shaver, only about half as high as the

s

am

"I

coyote and

withers" of a pinto pony.

"If

An old coyote rescued him. The coyote's name was El Viejo, which means "old man"

the

in Spanish.

see a

El Viejo didn't

know what

the

little

boy's

or what to call him. Finally, he him Pecos Bill, and took him to live

with the coyotes. So Pecos

He

Bill

grew up with the coyotes.

He learned He thought he was a

learned to walk like a coyote.

to talk like a coyote.

coyote. That that

he had

of the

was only

lost his

natural, considering

memory when he fell out

wagon and broke the rock

into a thou-

sand pieces and bruised his head, a His

little.

playmates were coyote pups.

was

his arm.

said,

"Who

are you?

Vm a coyote pup," "You don't look

Bill

like a

growled.

coyote to me," said

the man. "You look like a human." "withers: highest part ot

a

horse

'.s

back.

He couldn't see

a

this

tail.

he thought time vmder

Not even

a

There must be some mistake! He backed up to a stream and looked his reflection in the water

was true! He

lit-

didn't have a

tail!

at

No tail at

all!

ote,

man

tail?"

one.

tle

antelope without losing his breath.

man. The

your

grin.

he was. Bill looked around again,

coyote.

a

is

a coyote, wasn't he? At least

yapped and growled playfully at him and nipped each other Bill learned to howl at the moon. He learned to scratch his ear with his foot, and he could run fast enough to catch a rabbit. When he got older he could run down an

met

it!"

tail. He must have a tail. All the coyotes knew had long, bushy tails. He must have a tail. He must. After all, he

If

Bill

to

looked over his shoulder. He couldn't

wrestled with them and they yipped and

Then, one day, Pecos

is

where

Bill

It

He

asked with a

snarled. "I'm a

Bill

that's all there

you're a coyote,

man

Bill

name was called

not a human,"

•

he didn't have

he wasn't human. If

a

tail,

he couldn't be a he must be

a coyote,

a

And that is how Pecos Bill discovered he was a human and not a coyote. Then he decided that if he wasn't a coyhe shouldn't be living with coyotes. So he barked "goodbye to El Viejo and he yipped "so long pals" to his coyote pup friends and started off with the man. "As long as I'm a human, I'm going to be a cowboy," he said. "And if I'm going to be a cowboy, I'll need a horse." "

wwapwiMmj HliM m.iiliijH-i,IWWIJ--

»s

Bill and'

V

<>•».-.• HWTrtj^^

man asked. man who rounds up

"What's a cowboy?" the

the knife

itself

"That's easy. He's a

shadow

to

cattle," Bill

"You won't need a horse," the

man

"We only have tame cows and you for

said.

One

don't

tough,

tame cows." Bill.

"There are wild horses

and other wild critters. No sir! I'll need a horse because I aim to round up and catch those wild longhorns!"

But Pecos

Bill

was too

big for an ordinary

horse.

The

biggest animal in that part of the

country was

a

mountain

long-tailed, long-toothed Bill

was too as

sharp.

was

it

He used its

quite sharp

day, a rattlesnake bit him.

mean

rattlesnake

It

was

a

and challenged

Bill

man. He didn't

like

to a fight.

"There are wild longhorn cattle around these parts," said

it

enough.

answered.

need a horse

—

shave,

A

lion.

long-haired,

mountain

Pecos

Bill

was

a gentle

to fight, but the rattler insisted.

won

and he used the rattlesnake for a quirt, or riding whip. The rattler liked the job. It was something not every rattlesnake got a chance to do. It was quite a sight to see Pecos Bill riding his mountain lion on a dead run, kicking up a cloud of dust and sandburs and using the Bill

that fight, too,

rattler for a quirt.

lion.

captured the mountain lion and broke

him to ride. The mountain lion didn't like it much, at first. He was quite peevish about it. He was

wanted a horse. To be he wanted the Famous Pacing Mus-

But Pecos exact,

Bill

tang of the Prairies.

became quite friendly. He liked to have Pecos scratch him behind the ears. That made him purr Wlien Bill's

No one had ever been able to catch the mustang and ride him. They said even bullets could not stop him. Few men had ever even seen him. Pecos Bill thought the Famous Pacing Mustang of the Prairies was the horse for

mountain

him.

as peevish as a

bee with a

boil.

But he soon learned to like Pecos

lion purred,

freight train

rumbling

Bill

he sounded

and

like a

by.

By this time, Bill was almost full grown, and he was big. No one knows exactly bow big, but he was big enough to chase bears slept

on

great Pacing Mustang.

He gasped when he saw was

with a switch. Bill

He rode far out on the prairie untU he found the herd of wild horses led by the

a gravel bed,

between sand-

paper sheets. He used a soft rock for a pillow. On cold nights, he pulled a blanket of fog over him.

He shaved with

his

bowie

knife.

Not with

the horse.

a palomino. His shining coat

He

was the

color of a new-minted gold coin. His

mane

were snowy white. He had four a white blaze between the eyes, and Bill made up his mind to capture him that very day. and

tail

white stockings and

HS WAS AS AS A t\ "WITH A mi

r-*—««-*-««

mounted

his mountain lion. He lifted and his rattlesnake rattled. The mountain lion roared and dug his claws in the ground. Cactus and tumbleweed swirled up in the dust)- air as he shot

fishing,

forward

Pecos thought the mustang would never stop bucking, so he spoke to him. He told the horse how he wanted to be a cowboy,

Bill

his quirt

like a bullet.

Famous Pacing Mustang of the saw them coming and began to run away. But it was too late. Bills galloping mountain lion rushed toward the mustang. They were running side by side. In another instant, the mustang would draw ahead. There was no time to lose. Bill The

Prairies

had to

act!

At once!

The mountain

lion roared.

The

rattlesnake

dropped his quirt and sprang from the mountain lion to the back of the Famous Pacing Mustang of the Prairies! No one had ever been astride the mustang

rattled.

Pecos

Bill

The mustang jumped and bucked and twisted and turned. But Pecos

Bill

kept his

But

Bill

shouting

the other tricks

all

stayed astride, waving his hat and at

the top of his voice, "Yippee-

ee-ee!"

how

he wanted to ride the range and lasso

wild longhorn cattle and drive them to market.

He

mustang he needed a good If he didn't have a horse that was good enough he might quit trying to be a cowboy and go back to being a coytold the

horse to help him.

ote again.

won't argue with you anymore,' Pecos said. "I won't try to break you anymore. It you don't want to help me, you go your wa), and I "11 go mine "I

Bill

turned away and lay

Bill yelled.

The mustang ran and kicked.

Prairies Bill

stayed

on.

in the It

The mustang reared and pawed the air. Bill could not be thrown off The horse covered the land from the Platte River in

Nebraska to the Pecos River

in

Texas, from the Mississippi River to the Pa-

Ocean.

down

to drink

from the river

The

seat.

cific

and

flying,

"

before.

"Yippee!"

high

of a bucking bronco.

Famous Pacing Mustang of the came to his side. He put his big nose

water and he drank with

was

a sign that the

belong to Pecos

Bill.

mustang wanted

to

Bill.

They both drank. They drank so much the went down three inches.

river

Pecos

And

Bill

that

had is

a

horse

how

at last!

Pecos

horse and became the

first

Bill

got his

first

cowboy.

There was pin wheeling, high diving, sun

yECOZ

iJJLLpjJD

TW=

J'JUjr^.jJa

:^LJii

\

I

-

^

V*-.,.

vtr-WM^tUr*-

PAUL BUNYAN Make the Connection Talk Talk

Standard English

About That

about workin', when he

swung

his

axe

You could hear

and a

it

ring for a mile

Standard English is the most widely accepted form of

half.

in

about"

Silverstein "talking

—and —

the legendary logger tall-tale superhero

Now,

Paul

you're proba-

dialect

ax so hard you could hear a mile

big

away

is

a pretty

exaggeration

—but

Silverstein's just getting

warmed

up.

Wait

you

until

see what else he has to say

In

the

hear

is

contrast,

the kind of

language used

in a

par-

or by a

ticular region

someone could swing an

It's

we

evening newscasts, for

example.

certain

bly thinking that saying

it

English.

kind of English

That's the writer Shel

Bunyan.

Elements of Literature

group of people.

In this

poem

you'll

see

many words and phrases that aren't part of stan-

dard English, talkin'.

like ain't

Notice

and

how these

spellings create the

sound of a

Paul

and Babe

Nancy

at Rest

Travers. Oil

common

suffix

suffix -ing at

Standard

Quickwrite

English

is

the form of English that

Use the phrase "Talk about ..." a

in

few exaggerations of your

is

most widely accepted

in

the United States.

own. Here are some

more on Standard English, see Dialect in the Handbook of

starters:

Literary Terms.

For

•

Talk about big

•

Talk about popular

.

1

992) by

tale told aloud.

about the great Paul Bunyan.

'9

(

on plywood.

is

-ing.

The

the end of a

verb indicates that action

is

becomes becomes walking,

being taken. Talk talking,

walk

and so on.

Sometimes writers the g off -ing to make

leave

word

a

sound the way some people

.

say •

Talk about running

•

Talk about climbing

it

talkin'

or

The

walkin'.

.

apostrophe at the end .

Reading

indicates that the g has

Skills

left off.

and Strategies

like

Understanding Words with Suffixes:

A suffix

LEO 8-6

to the end of a word.

these you can spot as

you read "Paul Bunyan."

word

part added

One RsnmiiiiRBnM

iiev "««eu.- '.«wjtiuN

S06 Sneaky Tricks and Whopping

a

Lies

been

how many words

The End

go.hrw.com

is

See

'mmm

^~«Iv*.,4^-f>»-T.

(M.tMlia*«tiB«(iliki<««M(IM

r

PAUL BrXYAN Shel Silverstein He rode through the woods on a big blue He had fists as hard as choppin' blocks, hundred pounds and nine

Five

5

feet tall

ox,

.

.

that's Paul.

.

Talk about workin', when he swung his axe You could hear it ring for a mile and a half. Then he'd yell "Timber!" and down she'd fall

Talk about drinkin', that man's so

.

.

.

for Paul.

mean

That he'd never drink nothin' but kerosene.

And 10

a five-gallon

is

a

little bit

small

I

a

.

for Paul.

.

thunderstorm on a cold dark night.

ain't sayin'

But

it

"I

who won,

don't storm

at all

.

.

.

'round here

.

thanks to Paul.

.

ninety years old

'Cause sunshine and sorrow, I've seen

He

no man alive can no woman round can thrill me,

says,

Ain't

And

I

"There

ain't

all"

it

kill

think heaven just might be a ball"

So he died

It

.

when he said with a sigh, think I'm gonna lay right down and die

He was

20

.

Talk about tough, well he once had a fight

With

15

can

.

.

.

and

took eighteen

we

men

.

.

.

.

says Paul.

me,

.

.

says Paul.

cried.

just to

bust the ground,

It took twenty-four more just to lower him down. And we covered him up and we figured that was all

But 25

late

one night the

The dogs

And

trees started shakin',

started howlin'

and the earth started quakin',

out of the ground with a "Hi,

\

r:i*«Lrj tiA

'all"

*•

.

4IHM«

.

.

come

Paul!

for Paul.

He shook the dirt from off of his clothes, He scratched his butt and he wiped his nose. "Y'know, bein' dead wasn't no fun

at all"

.

.

says Paul.

.

He says, "Up in heaven they got harps on their knees, They got clouds and wings but they got no trees.

30

I

don't think that's

much of a heaven at all"

.

.

.

says Paul.

So he jumps on his ox with a fare-thee-well, He says, Til find out if they's trees in hell." we ever seen And he rode away, and that was all

35

.

.

.

4 ... of Paul.

But the next time you hear a "Timber! " yell That sounds like it's comin' from the pits of hell.

Then a weird and devilish ghostly wail Like somebody choppin' on the devil's tail, Then a shout, a call, a crash, a fall-

40

That

ain't

no mortal man

at all

.

.

.

that's Paul!

MEET THE WRITER "The Wonderful Stuff... in

Life"

Shel Silverstein (1932-1999) had a huge an amazing array of talents, and an independent

Like Paul Bunyan,

appetite for

life,

streak a mile long.

He once

said:

441 want to go everywhere, look and can go crazy with Silverstein said

some

listen

of the wonderful stuff there

singing, cartooning, acting,

Light in the Attic (Harper), are

was

The camera? Twenty more interviews. 99 1

975 quote

99

is

girls.

He grew up

and once

million people

one of the

Where

to be

good

at

plays. His best-selling

the Sidewalk Ends (Harper)

and

read by young and old.

fiercely private

441 won't go on television, because

That

in life.

and writing songs, poetry, and

collections of poetry and drawings.

Silverstein

is

he turned to writing and drawing because he

wasn't good at sports, dancing, or attracting

A

to everything. You

who am I

I

talking to?

can't see? Uh-uh.

last that

08 Sneaky Tricks and Whopping

said:

LiEir"

Johnny Carson?

And won't give I

he gave any reporter.

any

Making Meanings Pecos Bill and the Mustang Paul Bunyan First 1

Thoughts

What comic-book

or storybook

superheroes do Pecos

Bunyan remind you

Bill

Reading Check

and Paul

of?

Have you

Shapmg Interpretations 2.

Protagonists

Bill in

3.

Paul

is

less.

the story of Paul

retells

Bunyan

fighting?

still

two minutes or

or she

oppose them. What antagonists do Pecos Bill and Paul Bunyan meet? antagonist

the story of Pecos

Then, time your partner as he

usually have to face

antagonists, people or forces that

Which

you as

a partner time

retell

in

one minute or

less.

When

you're finished, check

to see

if

you forgot any

details.

Richard Erdoes (author of "Coyote Steals the

Sun and Moon," page 463)

American legends, especially of Western tales, is exaggeration. Read aloud your favorite exaggeration from "Pecos Bill and the Mustang" or "Paul Bunyan." Explain why it's an exaggeration and says that the essence of

why you 4.

like

it.

Tall tales, like

myths, often

tell

of superheroes

of the earth or think up key inventions. digs

In

one

who

create natural features

story, for

example, Paul Bunyan

out the Great Lakes because he needs watering troughs for

ox. Babe.

What does

Pecos

Bill

his giant

blue

invent?

Extending the Text 5.

Traditional stories

Which

What

of the heroes

many in

cultures feature a hero raised by wild animals.

these

other stories do you

(What 6.

in

two

know

special things might the

Think of what you know about

selections

of

in

is

raised by wild creatures?

which the hero

is

raised by animals?

hero learn from animals?) life

on the American

frontier. In

why would settlers create tall-tale heroes like Pecos Do we tell tales about superheroes like them today?

Bill

your opinion,

or Paul Bunyan?

Challengmg the Text 7.

Read either "Pecos describe the

way

Bill

it's

and the Mustang" or "Paul Bunyan"

again.

Would you

written as funny, babyish, or something else? Give

examples from the story to support your opinion.

Pecos Bill and the Mustang / Paul Bunyan 509

Choices:

Building Your Portfolio

Writer's Notebook

Creative Writing

personality, speech,

and

behavior to support your 1.

Collecting Ideas for

2.

A Super Superhero

Observational Writing

Using ideas from

Much

your Quickwrites

of the

position.

Art/ Language

<^

color and

(see pages 50! and

interest of

506), write your

"Pecos

own

5. It's Bill

story about a superhero.

Wait,

a Bird, It

You might begin the way

If

Bunyan" comes from the wri-

Felton does: "Did you ever

superhuman,

ters' language,

which you may

more fun to read than standard English. Their

find

stories

sound

just like

talking. Listen to

know

—your

family,

people

people you

friends,

your

even yourself. Jot

down some

of the

hear of

.''

a

,

Fill in

the

the

first

Helshe was

first

.

her occupation.

or

Remember

that exaggeration

is

in

a

superbird be?

How about a

superanimal, and describe supercharacteristics.

Use

its

a

dictionary or another

a must.

words and

expressions you hear

what would

is

superworm? Draw your own

your hero's name and the his

superhero

superpuppy, supergiraffe, or

blank with

second and third with

a Plane-

/s a Bird

and the Mustang" and "Paul

a

It's

reference

Art

work

to help you

invent an adjective for your

superanimal. (For example,

casual conversation.

Supertoons

3.

a

Tell

the adventures of one of

these superheroes

form of

in

the

a series of cartoons.

Use quotes from the story your captions.

superdog would be super-

canine.)

Remember

Language Study

as

to

6.

Sht's Fabulous!

exaggerate your hero's looks

Working with

and adventures.

partner or a small

a

group, draw up a

Debate 4.

used to describe a superhero.

American Made

Choose Pecos

Bill,

Here's the catch: Each adjec-

Paul

Bunyan, or another American tall-tale

of adjectives that could be

list

hero (maybe John

tive

must contain a prefix

suffix (or both), which

should underline. (For help,

Henry, Captain Stormalong,

check the

or Davy Crockett). Debate

suffixes

this

question with a partner:

728.)

lists

Use these

1

adjectives to

get started: unconquerable,

he or she uniquely American?

use your adjectives

Use examples of the

own

monstrous,

invincible.

Sneaky Tricks and Whopping

Lies

You might in

your

story or cartoon (see

Choices 2 and

5

of prefixes and

on pages 500, 727, and

Could this hero have come from another country, or is hero's

or a

you

3).

r

Grammar Link

MINI-LESSON

Don't Double Your Subject with a Pronoun What's wrong with these sentences?

INCORRECT

Pecos

One

he was the

Bill

day,

Bill's

first

cowboy.

family they

saw smoke from

a

new

Try

neighbor's chimney.

The wagon

it

correct the double subjects.

into the

Some people

distance.

tall

The problem

is

that

in

unnecessary pronoun subject. This error

subject. Here

is

each sentence an is

used after the

called a

in

double

Pecos

Bill-l=>e-was

the

day,

Bill's

first

family they

saw smoke from

a

in

America.

of these stories they began

is

a tall-tale hero, as are John

Henry and Pecos Bill. Pecos Bill he was created by cowboys. African Americans they created John Henry. Paul Bunyan he was a hero of the Northern lumber

cowboy.

One

they say that the

was invented

the frontier. Davy Crockett

he

sentences:

CORRECTED

tale

Many

one way to correct the

is

Out

Edit the following paragraph to

juggled and

rumbled away

It

camps.

new

neighbor's chimney.

The wagon-ttjuggled and rumbled away

into the distance.

what other way could each sentence be corrected? (Remember is needed.) either a noun or a pronoun subject In

that only

one

—

—

Vocabulary

HOW TO OWN A WORD

Specialized Vocabulary: All About Horses >-

science, and

In history,

math

—

in fact, in all

your classes

—you

vocabulary. For example, you might learn the words underlined

learn specialized

in

the sentences below

You might also find these words in an encyclopedia article about horses or in a novel or movie with a Western setting. Use a dictionary to look up every underlined word you can't define or explain. Then, answer each question. a science or biology class.

in

How can

1

you

a

tell

2.

True or

3.

Which would you

4.

How

false: All

palomino from a pinto?

horses have withers, but only

Define these words.

>-

With

is

a

mustang

a partner,

rather ride different

make up

five

—

a pacing

from

a

some have

horse or

bronco

—or

stockings and a blaze

bucking one?

a

.

Why?

is it?

questions about special terms from a subject you have

studied. Then, exchange papers with another team, and

answer

their questions.

Pecos Bill and the Mustang / Paul Bunyan

5

1

I

Before You Read The Cremation of Sam McGee images often appeal to sev-

Make the Connection

t xaggeration

Going to Extremes /t

was so

hot,

you could

fry

to create a comic

amaze and amuse

For

their listen-

Can you top

Background Literature and Geography

it?

Quickwfite

exaggerations.

•

was so cold

western Canada,

When

Klondike region of the Yukon

It

rained so hard

.

read,

.

.

.

Elements of Literature Exaggeration

The key element of all tall tales is exaggeration

—

stretching the truth as high and as

it

how

As you read

will go.

this tall tale in

rhyme, notice

exaggeration

create a

mood,

may not be

quite

is

or

used to

feeling, that

what you

expected. {Cremation is

the burning of a

body to

512

ashes.)

they use words that ap-

peal to the senses.

The snow was so deep

wide

writers describe some-

.

.

and deep snow.

Describing Mental Images: Appealing to the Senses

thing, It

1896, thousands of fortune

hunters rushed north, braving bitter cold

make up your own humorous

•

In

and Strategies of the

starters below, and

•

feel

more on Exaggeration, see

Reading Skills Choose two

show how they

page 480 and the Handbook of Literary Terms.

that one.

writers often choose details that

effect.

ers with exaggerated claims like

•

once

about what they describe

tales love to

tall

eral senses at

the use

of overstatement, usually

an

egg on the sidewalk. Spinners of

is

When

you

you use those sensory

details to

make mental

Gold had been found

Territory.

in

in

north-

the

The town of Daw-

son, at the center of the region,

became the Yukon's capital. Like many other gold seekers, Sam McGee was

images, or imagined pictures. As you read Robert Service's poem, notice how you use his words to help you picture the

temperature sometimes

frozen Klondike.

as low as -68°

When

you read descriptive

writing, note that •

most images are

unprepared for the Klondike's

seven-month winter, when the

poem

F.

This

tells his story.

go.hrw.com visual,

but

LEO 8-6

falls

The Cremation of Sam McGee Robert W. Service There are strange things done in the midnight sun

By

the

men who moir for gold;

The Arctic trails have their secret tales That would make your blood run cold: The Northern Lights have seen queer sights, But the queerest they ever did see Was that night on the marge° of Lake Lebarge I cremated Sam McGee.

2. moil: labor.

7.

marge: edge.

The Cremation of Sam McGee

5

1

Now Sam McGee was from Tennessee, where the cotton blooms and blows.

Why he left his home in the South to roam God only knows.

Pole,

10

He

'round the

was always cold, but the land of gold seemed to hold him

Though

like a spell;

he'd often say in his

"sooner

homely way

that he'd

live in hell."

On a Christmas Day we were mushing our way over the Dawson

trail.

Talk of your cold! through the parka's fold

it

stabbed

like a driven nail. If

our eyes we'd close, then the lashes froze

till

some-

we couldn't see; It wasn't much ftin, but the only one to whimper was times

15

Sam McGee. And

that very night, as

we lay packed tight

in

our robes

beneath the snow.

And

the dogs were fed, and the stars o'erhead were

dancing heel and toe.

He turned trip,

And 20

if I

I

to me, and 'Cap," says he,

Til

cash in this

guess;

do, I'm asking that

you won't

reftise

my last

request."

he seemed so low that I couldn't say no; then he says with a sort of moan: "It's the cursed cold, and it's got right hold till I'm chilled clean through to the bone. Yet "taint being dead it's my awful dread of the icy Well,

—

grave that pains;

So

I

want you

to swear that, foul or

fair,

you'll

cremate

my last remains." A pal's last need is a thing to heed, 25

not

so

I

swore

I

would

fail;

And we

started

on

at

the streak of dawn; but God! he

looked ghastly pale.

He crouched on the sleigh, and he raved all day of his home in Tennessee; And before nightfall a corpse was all that was left of Sam McGee. 514

Sneaky Tricks and Whopping

Lies

RE

Bci UJCE Sunlit Nights If

and Northern Lights

you went to the Yukon, you might see some strange

self.

summer the

During the

North

Pole's

exposure to the

sun.

As

a result, areas close to the

summer days. The

pole have very long

sights your-

of the earth's axis increases the

tilt

regions north of the Arctic

Circle have twenty-four hours of continuous daylight at least

day a yean during which the sun actually shines If

you

visited during

wonder: the northern green displays of ctrical

the winter you could view another Arctic lights

(aurora borealis). These are red and

that appear

light

disturbances

one

at midnight.

in

the night

sky,

caused by

the atmosphere above the North Pole.

in

'^^^«I^^SS^MWJJ«4II;

**

i^-"'* r.

There wasn

a breath in that land of death,

t

and

I

hurried, horror-driven,

With

a corpse half hid that

couldn't get

I

because

of a promise given;

30 It

was lashed

may

to the sleigh,

tax your

and

brawn and

those

last

it

seemed

it's

up

to

you

own stern

In the days to

heart

come, though

cremate

round their

O God! how

and the

trail

has

I

my

lips

were dumb,

in

my

that load.

In the long, long night,

Howled out

to

code.

how I cursed

huskies,

"You

remains."

Now a promise made is a debt unpaid, its

to say:

brains,

But you promised true, and

35

rid,

by the lone

firelight,

while the

in a ring.

woes to the homeless snows loathed the thing.

And every day that

quiet clay

seemed

to

heavy and

heavier grow;

And on I went, though the dogs were

spent and the

grub was getting low;

The Cremation of Sam McGee

5

1

f»

m

I

trail was bad, and would not give in;

he

And

I'd

felt

half

mad, but

swore

1

often sing to the hateful thing, and

hearkened" with a

40

I

I

it

40. hearkened (hark'snd):

grin.

listened carefully. Till

1

came

there

a derelict"

41. dereUct(der'3likt'):

abandoned ship.

was jammed

It

marge of Lake Lebarge, and

to the

lay;

in the ice, but

I

saw

in a trice

it

was

called the "Alice May."

And 1 looked at

and

it,

I

thought a

bit,

and I looked

at

my frozen chum; Then

"Here," said

I,

with a sudden

cry, "is

my cre-ma-

tor-ium."

Some planks boiler

i5

Some

tore from the cabin floor, and

I

the

1 lit

fire;

coal

found that was lying around, and

I

heaped

I

the fuel higher;

The flames

just soared,

and the furnace roared

you seldom see; And I burrowed a hole in the glowing stuffed in Sam McGee.

— such a

blaze

Then 1 made

a hike, for

I

coal,

and

I

didn't like to hear

him

sizzle

so;

And

the heavens scowled, and the huskies howled, and

the

so

was

It

wind began

icy cold, but the hot sweat rolled

cheeks, and

And

to blow.

the greasy

I

don't

smoke

down my

know why; in

an inky cloak went streaking

down the sky. 1

do not know

how long in the snow I wrestled with

grisly° fear;

But the stars came out and they danced about ere again I

I

I

ventured near;

was sick with dread, but I bravely peep inside. guess he's cooked, and the door

And

I

it's

time

I

said:

Til just

looked";

.

.

take a

.then

opened wide.

there sat Sam, looking cool and calm, in the heart

of the furnace roar;

And he wore 516

a smile

you could see

Sneaky Tricks and Whopping

Lies

a mile,

and he

said:

53. grisly: here, caused by something horrible.

"Please close that door. It's

fine in here, but

I

greatly fear you'll let in the cold

and storm Since 60

I

left

time

Plumtree,

I've

down

in

Tennessee,

it's

the

first

been warm."

There are strange things done in the midnight sun

65

By the men who moil for gold: The Arctic trails have their secret tales That would make your blood run cold: The Northern Lights have seen queer sights, But the queerest they ever did see Was that night on the marge of Lake Lebarge I cremated Sam McGee. The Cremation of Sam McGee

5

1

Born

in

Lancashire, England.

Robert W.

Service (1874-1958) immigrated to Canada at the age of twenty. After traveling along the

took

Canadian

Pacific coast,

bank and was

a job with a

ferred to the Yukon Territory.

he

trans-

He wrote

most popular poems there, including "The Cremation of Sam McGee." The poem was inspired by a story Service heard at a party where he was feeling his

awkward and out 44

I

was

staring gloomily at a fat fellow

across the table. ^^'><:

of place:

He was

a big mining

man

from Dawson, and he scarcely acknowledged his introduction to a little bank clerk. Portly

and important, he was smok-

ing a big cigar with a gilt band. said: got.'

'I'll

tell

Suddenly he

you a story Jack London never a yarn of a man who cremated

Then he spun

surprise climax which occasioned I

much

had a feeling that here was a decisive

remember how

a

The

fat

man who

to bankruptcy, but he had pointed left

did not

had a

join, for

of destiny.

I

still

me

ignored

me went

his

the road to fortune.

way

99

the party and spent the next six hours wandering

through the frozen woods after verse in his head.

in

When

complete and Service was until

I

It

great excitement usurped me. Here was a

perfect ballad subject.

Service

laughter

moment

his pal.

the bright moonlight, writing verse

he

finally

satisfied;

went to bed, the poem was it on paper

he didn't even put

the next day.

More by Robert W. Service "The Cremation of Sam McGee," along with "The ShootDan McGrew" and other poems, in The Best of Robert Service

You'll find

ing of

(Perigee).

5i8

Sneaky Tricks and Whopping

Lies

Sfy4d0M^ dent Maiden-Savin' Sam:

West there lived a man,

In the wild ol'

A man by the

A Ballad

title

of "Maiden-Savin' Sam."

Saving maidens was his hobby and he did

Bragged about his victories

it

very well,

— great stories did he

tell.

chorus:

Sam, Sam, Maiden-Savin' Sam, Greatest maiden saver in all of the land. Saved all the short ones, all the tall ones, too. With his hat on his head and spurs on his shoes.

"One day

herd of buffalo crossed the land. Biggest gaw-darned herd in all the land! a

was a-watchin' them, watchin' was I," Sam began the story, with a twinkle in his I

eye.

chorus:

Sam, Sam, Maiden-Savin' Satn

"Now as I was watchin' — 'Uh-oh,' 'In

the herd's

She's

No

.

.

says

I,

way a prett}' maiden does

gonna get trampled,'

I

lie.

thought to myself.

longer will she be in such radiatin' health.

chorus:

Sam, Sam, Maiden-Savin "I

looked

A big, I

all

Sam

'

around, and what did

I

.

.

.

see?

shiny pitchfork just a-waitin' for me.

picked

it

up, threw

And now them

it

far

and wide.

buffalo are buffalo hide."

chorus:

Sam, Sam, Maiden-Savin Sam '

.

.

Sam now lies deep in his grave. Chased one too many bears into a cave. But never we'll forget him — he was the very best Of all the maiden savers in all of the 'West!

—

^Jenny Ellison

Webb

School of Knoxville

Knoxville,

Tennessee

The Cremation of Sam McGee

5

1

Making Meanings r

First 1

Thoughts

What

did you like best (or least) about "The Cremation of Sam McGee"? Why has it

been popular for so

long, in

Reading Check

your opinion?

a.

Why

is

Sam McGee

in

the

Klondike?

Shaping Interpretations 2.

Pick your favorite details that help

b.

What does Sam ask the speaker to do? Why?

c.

What surprise does

two or three sensory

you picture the frozen

landscape or feel the cold. Describe the

mental images

speaker meet with

these words put into

the

when he

carries out Sam's request?

your head.

poem uses both end rhymes and rhymes rhymes contained within lines, such as done and sun in first line. List three more pairs of internal rhymes in the poem. How do

This

—

internal the

they help to give

it

rhythm?

Connecting with the Text 4.

Do you

feel that

you keep

Choices:

this

Creative Writing/Music

Collectmg Ideas for

2.

Observational Writing in

"The

Cremation of Service helps us see and feel

the frozen setting. Think of

or

Boggling

If

you were the speaker, would

Rehearse and perform a

"The Cremation

dramatic reading of "The

Sam McGee" and "Maiden-Savin' Sam" are both ballads, poems or

Cremation of Sam McGee."

songs that

tell

What mood, will

ballad

son or event. Use plenty of

(such as an earthquake or a

exaggeration. (You might

heat wave). Jot

use your Quickwrite as a

details

starter)

might help readers

feel as

if

they were there.

520 Sneaky Tricks and Whopping

Read your

aloud, or set sing

Lies

it

feeling,

Research/Geography 4.

witnessed or experienced

down all the you remember that

or

your reading create?

a story.

about an extraordinary per-

a natural event you've

Rhyme and Reason

Ballad

Write your own

where you've been

Oral Interpretation 3.

of

Sam McGee,"

a place

promises must be kept?

Building Your Portfolio

Writer's Notebook 1.

all

one? Explain.

it

ballad

to music and

for your class.

Freeze or Fry

Using the Internet or the library,

research one of the

coldest or hottest places

on

earth.

How

survive there?

do people

uestions ASKED

>

Davy Is Born from Yankee Thunder: The Legendary Life of Davy Crockett

Irwin Shapiro

"/

can ride a streak o' lightnin\ hug a bear too close for comfort, and whip my weight in wildcats!" morning Davy The was born, Davy's busting out of

A-

'ir;^'^

'

(

,^J

liis

Crockett

came

Pa

cabin in Ten-

•''

nessee alongside the Nola-chucky River. air,

got

He

fired tliree shots into the

gave a whoop, and

me

a son.

His

said,

name

is

Fve Dav\'

Crockett, and he'll be the greatest

hunter

in

all

creation."

"Wlien he said that, the sun rose

-.

/

up in the sky like a ball of fire. The wind howled riproariously. Thunder boomed, and all the critters and varmints of the forest

let

out a

moan. go.hrw.com

Davy

Is

Born 521

Then Davy's Pa went back into the cabin. Little Davy was stretched out in a cradle made of a snapping turtle's shell. I'here was a pair of elk

"GOAHEAPJl

Vol.a.1

[No.

3.1

THE CROCKETT ALMANAC

1841.

horns over the top, and over the elk horns skin of a wildcat. The cradle was run

was the

by water power, and it was rocking away rockety-whump, rockety-whump. Now, all the Crocketts were big, but Davy was big even for a Crockett. He weighed two hundred pounds, fourteen ounces, and he was as frisky as a wildcat. His Ma and his Aunt Ketinah stood over Davy, trying to get him to sleep. "Sing somethin' to quiet the boy," said Aunt Ketinah to his Uncle Roarious, who was standing in a corner combing his hair with a rake. Uncle Roarious opened his mouth and sang a bit of "Over the River to Charley." That

is, it

sounded worse than a nor'easter howling around a country barn at

was meant for singing.

It

midnight.

"Hmmm,"

said Uncle Roarious.

He reached

and took him a sip of kerosene oil to loosen up his pipes. Davy was sitting up in his cradle. He kept his peepers on his uncle, watching liim pull at the

for a jug

Containing Adventures, Exploits, Sprees & Scrapes in the VTest, & Life and Manners in the Backwoods.

jug.

The Granger

have a sip

"I'll

o'

Published by

rfashville, TeDDcssee.

Collection,

New

Ben

Bardiajr.

York.

the same," said Davy, as

loud as you please.

That kerosene jug slipped right out of Uncle Roarious's hand.

nah

let

Davys Ma and

his

Aunt

Keti-

out a shriek.

"Why, the

little

shaver can

talk!" said

"maybe a

I

speech

the hang of er

Davy's

don't jabber in Congress, It's

slow and easy-

good enough but

I

reckon

I

to

got

nothin' to Dav}' Crockett."

"That's mighty big talk, Son," said Davy's Pa. "It

snappin' turtle!

for comfort,

can

"We-ell," said Davy, talking

make

o'

ought to

be," said Davy. "It's

comin' from

I

little

touch

can wade the Mississippi, hug a bear too close

and whip

my weight

in wildcats!

I

out-eat, out-sleep, out-fight, out-shoot, out-

run, out-jump,

and out-squat any man

here United States!

And

I

in these

will!"

Aunt Ketinah eyed him as

if

he was

a

little bit

of a mosquito making a buzz. "That'll

be enough

kind of sharp-like.

o"

your

"Now

sass,"

said she,

get back into your

cradle and behave."

a big man."

And with

with a

alligator,

ride a streak o' lightnin',

Pa.

like,

I'm half horse, half

he leaped out of his cradle, kicked his heels together, and crowed like a rooster. He flapped his arms and he bellowed, "I'm Davy Crockett, fresh from the backwoods! that

522 Sneaky Tricks and Whopping

Lies

"Yes, ma'am," said Davy. lite

He was always

po-

to the ladies.

"No such tin" in

thing!" said Uncle Roarious. "Set-

the cradle

wont grow him

none! "We've

She's right pretty, and

with wild buffalo's

and water him milk, with boiled corncobs

and tobacco leaves

mixed

snappy-like. "She's the only

got to plant

him

in the earth

in."

do any harm," said Dav^'S Ma. "Might do good," said Daw's Pa. "Suits me," said Dav)'. "Lets give "er a

and planted him in tered him with wild buffalo's milk, with boiled corncobs and tobacco leaves mixed in. The sun shone on him by day, and the moon beamed down on him by night. The wind cooled him and the rain freshened him. And Davy Crockett began to grow proper. One morning Dav) 's Pa got up as usual and looked out the window. Instead of the sun shining, it was like a cloudy night with fog and

no moon. Davy's Pa had never seen it so dark in all his born days. "Hurricanes comin" up," he said to Uncle Roarious, who was standing in a corner buttoning up his cast-iron shirt. "We'd better water Davj' before she breaks,"

Uncle Roarious. Dav)'"s Pa and Uncle Roarious each picked up a barrel of wild buffalo "s milk, with boiled

said

Ma and Aunt

in.

Davys

Ketinah followed along, carrying

another barrel between them. But

when

one you've

got."

ma'am!" roared out Dav)'. His voice it started an avalanche at Wliang-

doodle Knob,

try."

Thunder Shower the earth. They wa-

corncobs and tobacco leaves mixed

er."

was so loud

So they took Dav}' out to Hill

think I'm goin' to like

"You'd better," said Aunt Ketinah, kind of

"Yes,

"Can't

I

they got outside there wasn't a

The

thirty miles away.

trees

all

around flattened out, and Aunt Ketinah, Uncle Roarious, and Davy's Ma and Pa fell over from the force of

it.

Davy's Pa picked himself up and shook his head. "He's too big," he said.

"Oh,

don't know," said Uncle Roarious.

I

"He'll settle some."

"he's too big for a

"No," said Davy's Pa,

hunter.

It

"What

wouldn't be are

we

fair

and square."

goin' to do?" asked Uncle

Roarious.

Da\7 s Pa. uproot him and let him grow

"Only one thing to "We've got to

down to man-size." So Davy's Ma and

said

do,"

Pa, his

Aunt Ketinah, and

his Uncle Roarious uprooted Davy. Soon as his feet were free, Davy leapt high into the air. He

kicked his heels together, flapped his arms,

and he bellowed, "Look out, all you critters and varmints o' the forest! For here comes Dav}' Crockett, fresh from the backwoods! I'm half horse, half alligator, with a little touch o' snappin' turtle!

I

can run

faster,

jump

higher,

sign of a hurricane. There wasn't a hurricane

squat lower, dive deeper, stay under water

coming up, going down, or standing still. There wasn't any hurricane at all. The sk^ was blue with little white clouds, and the sun was shining just as pretry. Only reason it was so dark was that Davy's shadow was falling over the cabin. "Davy must have growed some," said Davy's Ma, and they all hurried over to Thunder Shower Hill. Dav}' was standing on tiptoe with his head poked through a cloud. He was taller than the tallest tree, and a sight friskier.

longer,

Uncle Roarious

let

down. Davy wiped and said, "I've been

out a yip and Dav}' leaned

a bit of cloud out of

liis

eye

lookin' over the country.

and come up drier than any man

in

these here United States! Wlio-o-o-o-o-p!"

Uncle Roarious listened to Davy and he looked at Davy. Then he said, "He's strong, but he's quirky."

Davy's Pa looked

at

Davy and he

listened to

Davy.

he said. "He'll do better one comes along."

"He'll do," till

a

And when flashed

howled

and

for a Crockett

Davy's Pa said that, lightning

boomed.

thunder

riproariously,

varmints of the forest

and let

all

The wind

the critters and

out a moan.

Davy

Is

Born 523

If ^ Meet the Writer "Which Davy Crockett?" Irwin Shapiro (191 1-198 college, but his interest

him to

in

studied painting

1)

American

a career in writing.

He wrote more

forty books, including a collection of

in

folklore led

tall

than

tales

and books for children about such legendary figures as John Henry, Paul Bunyan, and Daniel Boone.

The Legendary

Life

In his

introductory note to Yankee Thunder:

of Davy Crockett, he writes:

44 The biographer of Davy Crockett is immediately confronted with a problem: Which Davy Crockett shall he write about? For if there ever was a man of multiple identity, that man was Davy Crockett. or at least there exists some fairly reliable First of all there was evidence to that effect

— —the flesh-and-blood Crockett, the frontiersman and

hunter of early Tennessee. There was the historical Crockett, with heroic exploits at the political

Alamo

in

history.

.

.

Crockett of legend and almanac stories with a

—the little

.

And then

there was the mythical Crockett, the

folksay, of the tall tales

veritable yaller

and fireside yarns and

blossom of the

touch of snapping

forest, half horse, half

turtle, the ring-tailed roarer

wade

could bring a coon out of a tree, ride a streak of lightning, Mississippi, his

his

There was the

Crockett, a figure alternately built up and deflated by the Jacksonites

and anti-Jacksonites.

alligator,

duly recorded

and

come down

off the

Peak

o'

Day with

who

the

a piece of sunrise

in

pocket. It

was to

this last

Crockett,

in

the grand American tradition of Paul

Bunyan, John Henry, Old Stormalong, and Pecos

Bill,

that

I

turned as being

obviously the most credible, authentic, significant, and true.

524

#

59

RW^n OH i

Cut from tiie Same Cloth

Women of Valor In

Cut From the

Tall

Cloth:

American

Women

V\>ttiEN

or MkTii, Ltce-o, joi Xiu. Tmj-

of Myth, Legend, and

Tale (Philomel), Robert D. San Souci proves that males

aren't the only lies.

Same

j;

ones with

a gift for

sneaky tricks and whopping

Here are the adventures of Molly Cotton-Tail, Brer

Rabbit's

clever wife; Sister Fox, the brains behind Brother Coyote; and

others including the Star Maiden, Annie Christmas, and Sweet

Betsey from Pike.

Fractured Folklore

(KG

You may have heard the stories of the prince, and Cinderella

ber

ugly duckling, the frog

more times than

— but what about the

Stinky

Bv

m mmu

Cheese

and more

Man and

in

Other

like

to

remem-

duckling, the other frog

really ugly

prince, and Cinderumpelstiltskin, "the You'll find these

you'd

girl

who

really

blew

it"?

Jon Scieszka and Lane Smith's The Fairly

Stupid Tales (Viking).

& like smith

Trickster Treats In Tales

ASHANTI

of an Ashanti Father (Beacon Press), Peggy

Appiah reveals

how

Spider outwits the python and

how

he's

for his bad manners. You'll also find out lizard stretches his neck,

and more

in this

FATHER

the great trickster Ananse the

why

punished

why

the

the leopard has spots,

collection of tales

from Ghana.

Other Picks Mark Twain, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (available in the HRW library). Tom gets in and out of more trouble than you can imagine

in this

comic novel set

in

Tall Tales

''^^'

frontier America.

Joseph Bruchac, hloop Snakes, Hide Behinds, Adirondack

1^

&

Side-Hill

Winders:

(Crossing Press). Read about a mosquito the size

of a cow, the pit bulltrout, and other unlikely forms of wildlife.

Richard Chase, American Folk Tales and Songs (Dover). Sample Appalachian

humor and

culture with "Jack tales" (about the trickster hero of "Jack and

the Beanstalk" fame),

tall

tales, ballads,

and jokes.

Read

On

525

l>^

"^^

^fi^

':^^—

'^

^^y

i:yn

BUILDING YOUR PORTFOLIO Kf

l«

DESCRIPTIVE WRITING

Observational Writing

Technology

HELP See Writer's Workshop

For your observational v/riting assignment, 1

you'll

subject closely and write a detailed description of

observe your

what you

see.

CD-ROM. Assignment:

Obsen 'ational

Writing.

Professional Model Assignment Write an essay describing something

In this excerpt, Mark Tivain describes an unusual person he observed in 1861 while traveling through Kansas by stagecoach with his brother

you've observed.

After supper a

Aim

woman got in who

lived about fifty miles ftirther on,

To inform.

we three had to

Audience

Writer clearly

and

observation.

outside with the driver and conduc-

tor Apparently she

classmates.

tive

was not a talkawoman. She would sit there in

Writer helps the

the gathering twilight and fasten her steadfast eyes

on

a

reader picture

the subject by

mosquito rooting

and slowly she would raise her other hand till she had got his range, and then she would launch a slap at him that would have jolted a cow; and after that she would sit and contemplate the corpse with tranquil satisfaction for she never missed her mosquito: she was a dead shot at short range. She never removed a into her arm,

—

sat

her

kill thirty'

watched

there for bait.

I

description of

her behavior.

Writer's choice

of words and selection of

the subject: He

or forty mosquitoes

finds her

her,

— Mark Lies

detailed

attitude toward

and waited for her to say something, but she never did.

526 Sneaky Tricks and Whopping

presenting a

details reveal his

them by this grim Sphinx and watched

carcass, but left

the

subject of the

take turns at sitting

Your teacher and

identifiee

Twain, from Roughing

and It

odd

comical.

The history of the writteni word is rich ancr'^

vi^^yr-?g ^

Prewriting 1.

Writer's

Go

Notebook

Esrly every morning,

back to the notes you made

Notebook

Writer's

^

* *

in

<=.r woman m

your

for this collection.

Is

there a person, a

one of your entries you'd like to assignments give you an idea of the one further? Does explore place, or a thing

mentioned

for a different subject?

If

in

apt.

2C

—


long red hair, long

f:3r

eklrte

—toeeee

<:::r peanuts under

not, try responding to the Freewriting

prompt below.

(^ ^^

trees, calls ec{u\rrele

name

by

'-^ 2.

Freewriting

Write whatever comes to mind about three of these •

someone you see

frequently but don't

know very

•

someone you see

frequently but don't

know

•

a place

where you went on vacation

•

a place

where you go every day

•

a place

where you used to spend

•

the roughest weather you've ever seen

at

^z^ '-^

topics:

well

all

What smile,

•

what you see from

a classroom

time

a lot of

I

Her

voice;

lilting

squirrels hurrying to

her; out

window

recall:

(or from a

window

at

dark,

in rain,

winter

snow

home) •

What

your room

•

an animal you have observed (ant,

•

a scientific scientist,

worm,

observe: From

bird, cat, gerbil)

—she holds

wicker basket with

experiment you've observed

you should be

I

my window

(if

you want to be a

skilled at observational writing)

different kinds of nuts;

dog walkers

say

hi

but

keep their dogs away 3.

Choosing a Subject

Before deciding on your subject, ask yourself these questions: a.

Can

I

observe

clearly

enough

b.

Do

c.

Does the

I

find

it

this subject directly?

If

not, can

to write a vivid description of

interesting?

Would

it

I

picture

it

it?

interest a reader?

subject provide enough sensory details for a

good

description?

Writer's

Workshop 527

4.

Gathering Details

Gather

as

many

details

about your subject as you can, either by

observing your subject directly or by drawing on your memory.

You may

find

it

helpful to use a chart like the

Strategies for Sensory Details

Elaboration Exercises in

Observation and Description

To

polish

your observa-

tional skills, practice

the

most

difficult

on

subject

to see objectively yourself. Picture yourself as

now. like?

you appear

right

What do you

How are

dressed?

If

look

you

you were

observed by

a stranger,

what would he or she be able to

tell

about you

from your appearance? Take notes on your observations.

Sensory Details Sight: face

like

a rosy

apple

Hearing: drip of water

from faucet Smell: sour smell of old milk

Taste: sweet flavor of ice

cream

Feeling: scratchy

sweater

wool

one below.

Drafting

Evaluation Criteria

Before you start your

decide

first draft,

how

to arrange your ideas.

You can use one of the three patterns of organizing described on page 528 or come up with your own arrangement whatever

—

Good observational 1.

clearly identifies the subject

being described

for your subject and details.

works best

writing

2.

uses sensory details to help the reader picture the sub-

Student Model

and perhaps to hear, smell, taste, and feel it as

ject

In this piece the writer describes

an event he

well

observed while celebrating the Chinese New Year with his faniily in Singapore.

3.

organizes the details of the essay in a

A dragon dance was held, starting in the front yard and gradu-

Writer introduces h/s euhject

order

and 4.

making its way inside. This procession was to drive all spirits of evil away from my grandma's house. It was fantastic! In the corner the huge drums were pounded over and over again in steady rhythm as the dragon was dancing aro-und. The dragon was made of a long piece ally

of cloth in a bright design of colors.

describes the

way

the writer

0ive5 hie opinion feels

of it.

about the subject

Sensory details {sounds and siqhte) are used

to help the

reader imagine the scene.

At the front was a wooden

Two

headpiece of a dragon.

acro-

batic professionals would man the dragon, one in the front and one in the back. The headpiece

Writer moves

had

could be

from a close-up

and open or close mouth. The dragon danced

on the draqon's

special features;

made its

clear, logical

it

to blink

around, performing daring feats such as the front part jumping onto the back part and jumping over miniature bridges. The warm weather of the tropics shone down immensely, the

dancers sweating, the heat on my back as I stood watching the dancers from the porch.

—

Chris

San

head to a description of

the dance.

Writer specifies

the settin0 and his position

as

observer.

Hoe

lose, California

Writer's

Workshop 529

Evaluating and Revising 1.

m

a.

Peer Response Read your

first draft

aloud to a classmate. Afterward, ask

your partner these questions:

Language/Grammar

Link

HELP Personal pronouns: page

Two pronoun problems: page 471. Pronoun reference: page

•

What

did

•

What

detail

•

What

confused you?

you picture

as

I

was reading?

can you recall most clearly?

459.

b.

Exchange papers with your partner Find places

in his

or her

paper where you think details should be added. Write

479. Pronoun-antecedent

pencil

agreement: page 495.

or attach stick-on notes. (For example,

know more about what

Don double your subject

the

"I'd like

in

to

you caught looked and

fish

felt

't

like.")

with a pronoun: page 511.

Check to make sure

correctly.

that

all

pronouns have been used

Exchange papers with your partner

again,

and use

your partner's comments to help you write your second draft.

Sentence Workshop

HELP

2.

Revising Sentence and Paragraph Lengtli

Look over your essay one

Varying sentence length,

quickly) to

last

time,

scanning (reading very

check sentence and paragraph length.

page 531. •

Are many of your sentences about the same

length?

Consider

combining some of the short sentences into longer ones or splitting long •

Proofreading Tip

sentences into shorter ones.

Are your paragraphs too long? Give your

Check your pronouns:

reader a break by

Have you used the

dividing long para-

correct form

graphs into shorter

(/

or me,

she or her)? Are

ones, each focusing

antecedents clear? Does

on one main idea.

the pronoun match

antecedent

in

its

•

number

Are your paragraphs short and choppy?

You may want to

and gender?

add more

details

to a choppy para-

graph or combine it

with another

paragraph. Communications

Handbook

HELP "So,

See Proofreaders' Marks.

530 Sneaky Tricks and Whopping

Lies

then

Would that be 'us " 'we the people?'

the people' or

BUILDING YOUR PORTFOLIO

Varying Sentence Length In

earlier

Sentence Workshops, you learned

tence fragment into a

full

sentence and

how

how

to develop a sen-

to divide a run-on

bine short sentences to create longer

how to comones and how to divide a

long sentence into shorter sentences.

At

sentence into two or more sentences. You learned

wondering, In fact,

how

there

long

is

is

a sentence supposed to be, anyway?

no one

"right" length for a sentence. Paragraphs

that include sentences of different lengths

paragraphs

ing reading than

same

you may be

this point

made up

make

more

for

interest-

of sentences that are

all

the

length.

"At the meeting

I

sat restlessly, scanning each comfortable

matronly face, trying to determine which one hid the secret of

words.] None of them looked to me haggard enough. [8 words.] No one stood up in the meeting and apologized for the way her son had been acting. [17 words.] No one mentioned Charles. [4 words.]" Charles. [2

1

—

Shirley Jackson, "Charles" (page 476)

"Philoprogenitiveness, says we,

strong

is

in

semirural

communities; therefore, and for other reasons, a kidnapping project ought to

do better there than

of newspapers that send reporters out stir

that

up

talk

about such

Summit

things. [4

get.

the radius

words.]

clothes to

We

knew

couldn't get after us with anything stronger

than constables and, maybe,

hounds and

1

in

in plain

a diatribe

[28 words.]

So,

some

or two it

in

lackadaisical blood-

the Weekly Farmers' Bud-

looked good. [4 words.]"

—O. Henry, "The Ransom of Red Chief" (page 482)

Try

It

Out

Rewrite the following paragraph, changing

some

compare your rewritten versions class. Are any two versions alike?

Some

of

my

Workshop

Follow-up: Revising

Count the words in each sentence of your observational writing piece. If most of your sentences are similar in length, try adding variety to

your paragraphs by

of the longer sentences or combining

splitting

some

up some

of the shorter

in

favorite novels have

tricksters as their main characters.

Tom Sawyer famous

is

an example of a

trickster in fiction.

He

is

always playing tricks and getting into trouble.

Writer's

of the sentences to

vary sentence length. Be sure to

tells

He

doing

a

his

aunt Polly

him to whitewash the fence.

tricks

Tom Tom

Once,

other children into

for him.

it

Another time

gives his medicine to his cat. is

good

a troublemaker, but he has

heart.

sentences.

Sentence Workshop 531

,^

'Oi'-'--,'

Readingjfor Life

Situation

Reading

Suppose you are and have

a library

in

a reading

list

for

middle school students. (See the sample

Here are

list

at the right.)

strategies to help

you select and read a book.

Strategies

Recognize your own purpose for reading. •

Are you searching for information? Do you want to be entertained? Are you choosing a book for a book report or another project?

Identify the

main purpose

of the bool< you are

examining. •

Skim the book's jacket copy (the

copy on the cover) or

introduction.

Is

the book

or nonaction?

fiction

main purpose

Is its

to inform,

to entertain, or to influ-

ence

(persuade)?

Preview your choice. •

If

you are reading

a

non-

book for information, scan the table

fiction

of contents. Skim the book's

headings and subheadings.

Note

if

the

trations or

book has

illus-

graphic orga-

nizers, such as maps, charts,

and time

lines.

List

H

What

Problem

group?

Folklore includes many kinds

behind them?

are the stories

.

1

Scrapbook

Flat

Make

a "fiat scrapbook":

Tape

photographs or drawings of

jokes, expressions, anecdotes,

As you brainstorm, take notes on your memories and

traditional

recipes, objects with special

ideas.

objects to a poster. Write

of cultural traditions: customs,

captions for the pictures.

meanings. Even small groups,

such as families, schools, and local

communities, have their

own

culture and folklore.

time passes, though, this

unique material

lost

or forgotten.

As

much of may be

How can we

preserve our folklore?

Project

Procedure

belong

to,

such as your

family, school, local

community, or

state.

view two members

of the

graphs describing a single item

What

tell

group.

can they

about the origins of the tions?

What

details

you

tradi-

or com-

3.

questions. For example,

member, you could ask if the person knows any interesting

•

about the following:

how your family came how your

to

parents or other

Record yourself on audiotape or videotape talking about your community

folklore.

Focus on one or two items. instead, record an

interview with

someone who

your community

folklore.

unusual people

in

your

Processing

Round

robin.

With

a small

group of classmates, share your holidays or special

events are most important

•

Oral History

met and married

family's history

start?

Which

a time capsule for

has special knowledge about

or jokes that are unique to •

in

You might,

country

relatives

•

will

if

you're interviewing a family

Are there any expressions did they

as

much detail as possible. Assume that your report

You might also ask other

and ask yourself:

How

in

descriptions?

group you belong to

group?

folklore

be put

this

this

community

future generations to discover.

•

•

of

ments can they add to your

stories

a

Time-Capsule Report

Write two or three para-

Preparation

Choose

2.

To expand your collection of community folklore, inter-

Collect and record folklore

from a community you

ceremonies or

to

my community? How do

we

celebrate them? (Think

•

the effect of any world

1

Presentation

about food, clothing, and

Present what you have learned

activities.)

to your classmates

Are there any objects of special significance to the

responses to these questions.

events on your family

in

one of the

one new thing you learned from someone you

What

is

interviewed? 2.

What

is

the most interest-

you learned from

following formats (or another

ing thing

that your teacher approves).

classmate's presentation?

Learning for

Life

a

533

*Tr^

Collection

Seven lii^^i^'^i v/'-:*-

American

/ love the story of Paul Revere,

whether he rode or not. —U.S. President

Warren

G.

Harding

Midnight Ride of Paul Revere ( 93 by Grant Wood. Oil on composition board. 1

1

The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Arthur Hoppock Hearn Fund, 1950 (50.1 17). Photograph © 988 The Metropolitan Museum of 1

Art.

© Estate of Grant Wood/Licensed by

VAGA, New Yorit, NY.

Paul Revere's Ride Make mc Lonnccuuu

many people like a poem, though, doesn't mean you have to like it (or dislike it). As you read the poem and record your

fact that

1

i

What

Is

a Herot I

Who are your heroes?

thoughts in your notebook, pretend you're the first person ever to read "Paul Revere's Ride." One student's responses appear on the first page as an example.

i

Make a

list

of the people

you consider heroes. Write down the qualities or actions that make each person a hero.

1

i

i

Background j

Round

robin. Share what you have written with a small group of classmates. Work with your group to create a definition of a hero. Consider: •

Literature and Social Studies

i

This

historical events.

!

of April

I

Does a hero have to be

I

famous?

I

Can a

fictional

•

definitions.

Reading

Skills

colonists of a

known as minutemen confronted

volunteers

I

J

Present your definition to the class, and compare it with other groups'

775, Paul Revere

on planned Concord, Massachusetts. The next day armed

;

others?

1

British raid

!

Does a hero have to help

8,

American

character

be a hero?

1

On the night

and William Dawes set out from Boston to warn the

i

I

•

poem is based loosely on

I

the British at Lexington and Concord in the first

•

!

i

battles of the

:

Revolution.

tz^^

American

Elements of Literature j

and Strategies

Dialogue with the Text: Monitoring Your

Comprehension Generations of readers have enjoyed this poem's exciting story line,

dramatic images, and memorable rhythm. The

!

Rhythm

|\hythm

j

The rhythm of this poem

of the voice produced by

!

reflects its subject

repeated sound patterns.

;

long, fast ride

;

back.

I

I

!

I

The

—

a rise and

fall

on horseFor

c/ippety-c/op

ofthe horse's hoofs is heard in the opening line and then echoes through every stanza.

536 The American Hero: Myth and Reality

is

more on Rhythm, see pages the Handbook of

544-545 and

Literary Terms.

go.hrw.com

£

Paul Revere's Ride Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Listen, m)' children,

Of the midnight

and you

Dialogue with the Text

in Seventy-five;

So the poem

Wlio remembers that famous day and

He

said to his friend, "If the British

By land or sea from the tow^n

10

hear

ride of Paul Revere,

On the eighteenth of April, Hardly a man is now alive 5

shall

ivas ivritten

much

after the happening.

year.

march Hoiv car\ they

tonight,

Hang a lantern aloft in the belfry arch Of the North Church tower as a signal One, if by land, and two, if by sea; And I on the opposite shore will be.

MARCH

by sea?

Nice rhyming.

light

Rhyming pattern changes

Ready to ride and spread the alarm Through every Middlesex village and farm. For the countr}' folk to be up and to arm."

Militia,

or just old

men

here.

with

muskets? 15

Then he said, "Good night!" and with muffled oar Silentl}' rowed to the Charlestown shore, Just as the

20

moon

rose over the bay.

Where swinging wide at her moorings" lay The Somerset, British man-of-war; A phantom ship, with each mast and spar° Across the

moon like

Obviously a warship.

Symbolizing hoivthe British

a prison bar.

And

a huge black hulk, that was magnified By its own reflection in the tide.

Meanwhile,

25

through alley and Wanders and watches with eager ears. Till in

30

his friend,

"imprison" the colonists?

street,

—Cory

the silence around liim he hears

moorings: cables holding a ship

in place so that

it

Rockliff

Solomon Schechter Day School West Orange, New Jersey

The muster" of men at the barrack door. The sound of arms, and the tramp of feet, And the measured tread of the grenadiers," Marching down to their boats on the shore. 18.

Ahl They're trying to sneak

around.

doesn't float

away. 20.

mast and spar:

poles supporting a ship's

sails.

27. muster: assembly; gathering. 29. grenadiers (gren'a-dirz'): foot soldiers grenades.

who

carry and throw

Paul Revere's Ride 537

35

40

Then he climbed the tower of the Old North Church, By the wooden stairs, with stealthy tread, To the belfry chamber overhead, And startled the pigeons from their perch On the somber rafters, that round him made Masses and moving shapes of shade By the trembling ladder, steep and tall. To the liighest window in the wall, Where he paused to listen and look down A moment on the roofs of the town.

And

the moonlight flowing over

Beneath, in the churchyard, In their night

Wrapped in 45

encampment on

silence so

-c %*.

the dead.

the

deep and

hill.

still

That he could hear like a sentinel's" tread. The watchful night wind, as it went

Creeping along from tent to

50

la)-

all.

tent.

And seeming to whisper, "All is well!" A moment only he feels the spell Of the place and the hour, and the secret dread Of the

lonely belfry and the dead;

For suddenly

all

his thoughts are

bent

On a shadowy something far away, Wliere the river widens to meet the bay 55

60

65

A line of black that bends and floats On the rising tide, like a bridge of boats. Meanwhile, impatient to mount and ride. Booted and spurred, with a heavy stride On the opposite shore walked Paul Revere. Now he patted his horse's side. Now gazed at the landscape far and near. Then, impetuous," stamped the earth. And turned and tightened his saddle girth; But mostly he watched with eager search The belfry tower of the Old North Church, As it rose above the graves on the hill. Lonely and spectral" and somber and still. And lo! as he looks, on the belfry's height A glimmer, and then a gleam of light!

45. sentinel's: guard's. 62. impetuous (im-pech'oo-as): impulsive; eager. 67. spectral: ghostly.

538 The American Hero: Myth and Reality

The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere

He

(detail)

(1985) by Barbara Olsen. Oil on canvas.

springs to the saddle, the bridle he turns,

But lingers and gazes,

A second lamp

till

full

on

his sight

in the belfry burns!

A hurr}^ of hoofs in a village street, A shape in the moonlight, a bulk in the dark. And

beneath, from the pebbles, in passing, a spark

Struck out by a steed

That was

80

all!

fl)'ing fearless

and

fleet:

And yet, through the gloom and nation was riding that night:

The

fate of a

And

the spark struck out by that steed, in his

Kindled the land into flame with

its

the

light.

flight,

heat.

Paul Revere's Ride 539

v^mr^^—m.,^^.

Jford

^©"^

ion

j'ta^^'«.s;KV«»<.:k'«^w>iVu.i^j«4Uii.i»H'

He has left the village and mounted the steep, And beneath him, tranquil and broad and deep, Is

the Mystic, meeting the ocean tides;

And under the 85

Now soft on Is

alders that skirt

the sand,

edge.

its

now loud on

heard the tramp of his steed as he

the ledge, rides.

was twelve by the village clock, Wlien he crossed the bridge into Medford town. He heard the crowing of the cock. And the barking of the farmer's dog. It

90

And That

It

felt

the

damp

of the river fog.

rises after the

was one by the

sun goes down.

village clock,

When he galloped into 95

As 100

Lexington.

He saw the gilded weathercock Swim in the moonlight as he passed, And the meetinghouse windows, blank and Gaze at him with a spectral glare. if

bare.

they already stood aghast

At the bloody work they would look upon.

was two by the village clock. When he came to the bridge in Concord town. He heard the bleating of the flock, It

105

And the And felt

twitter of birds

among the

trees,

the breath of the morning breeze

Blowing over the meadows brown. safe and asleep in his bed Who at the bridge would be first to fall, Who that day would be lying dead,

And one was

540 The American Hero: Myth and Reality

10

1

Pierced by a British musket

You know the

rest. In

ball.

the books you have read.

How the British Regulars fired and fled How the farmers gave them ball for ball, From behind each fence and farmyard 1

15

Chasing the redcoats

down

wall,

the lane.

Then crossing the fields to emerge again Under the trees at the turn of the road, And only pausing to fire and load.

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow 87 ) by Theodore Wust. Watercolor on ivory. (

So through the night rode Paul Revere; 120

125

130

1

1

And

so through the night went his cry of alarm To every Middlesex village and farm A cry of defiance and not of fear, A voice in the darkness, a knock at the door. And a word that shall echo forevermore! For, borne on the night wind of the Past, Through all our history, to the last. In the hour of darkness and peril and need. The people will waken and listen to hear The hurrying hoofbeats of that steed, And the midnight message of Paul Revere.

Meet the Writer "Footprints

on the Sands of Time"

you went to school a hundred years all your friends would probably be able to recite by heart If

ago, you and

several of the

feet,"

"the forest

primeval," "ships

that pass

"Into each

Many

poems of Henry

the night,"

in

life

as Evangeline

(1807-1882). Born in Portland, Maine, Longfellow became the most popular

Miles Standish

it

was

common for families to entertain themselves by reading poetry aloud in the evening by the fireside. (In fact, Longfellow was one of a group of writers known as the Fireside Poets.) Even today many lines and phrases from his poems are used in writing and conversation: "the patter of little

rain

must fall."

( 847), The Song of Hiawatha (1855), and The Courtship of

Wadsworth Longfellow

poet of his day, at a time when

some

of Longfellow's poems, such 1

(

1

858),

were

inspired

by people and events in American history. As "Paul Revere's Ride" shows, Longfellow believed that one person's actions could make a difference. In an early piece of verse, he wrote: 44 Lives of great men all remind us We can make our lives sublime. And, departing, leave behind us Footprints on the sands of time. 99 Paul Revere's Ride 54

Making

IVIeanings

First 1

Thoughts

Do you

think Paul Revere

friend? Explain

is

why or why

a hero?

his

Is

Reading Check

not.

Shapmg Interpretations 2.

What

does the poet mean when he says

"The

was

fate of a nation

(line 78)?

What

riding that night"

does he mean by saying

that the spark struck by the horse's hoof

"kindled the land into flame" 3.

(line

of each stanza,

Read aloud the

first line

clapping out

rhythm. What

its

does the rhythm give you? pening

in

the story

80)?

when

feeling

What

is

hap-

the rhythm

is

broken? 4.

What do you

think the

word or words

are "that shall echo forevermore" (line

1

24)?

Write what Revere might

have said as he knocked on each door. 5.

Reread the

last six lines

of the poem.

Why

does the poet believe that

the hour of darkness and peril and need," Americans

Revere

s

message?

What

will

remember

"in

Paul

significance do you think this story has today?

Choices:

Building Your Portfolio

Writer's Notebook 1.

Collecting Ideas for an

(

,^^ft_)

many

Like

literary

works

Revere 's ride

that

is

not entirely accurate. Key details have

many people accept as the

account of the midnight ride an encyclopedia.

to

compare

with those

in

Q-

account of Paul

out or changed, and yet

left

Use

in

this

the version

is

Mvth 'Aeroupof

cErVthe poem

inspired by

historical events, Longfellow's

been

d"'

"^^^^^

Informative Report

%

boatmen

'^everejow&^

CL^

himself from

U

Boston to

^

^harlestoivn.

(i

ships.

truth. Find a factual

an

article, a

a chart like the

details of the ride in

British

book, or

one on the

Longfellow's

right

poem

the historical account. Be sure to find

the answers to these questions: •

•

•

Who were Samuel Prescott and William Dawes? Who else helped Paul Revere spread the alarm? Did Revere ever reach Concord that night?

Before you

fill

in

the left-hand column, you

may

find

it

helpful to

go over the notes you took

while reading.

Writing a Reflection 2.

Oral Interpretation

Footprints in Time

Write

a

3.

paragraph or two

responding to the quotation by Longfellow

in

Meet the

And You Shall Hear

With

living

or

today remind

you that people can accomplish great things? •

What do you hope to do in your own life to make "footprints on the sands

of time"?

poem

(and

historical research) as a

Ride."

historical figures

Using Longfellow's

reading of "Paul Revere 's will

people

Colonial Times

prepare a dramatic

considering these questions:

What

4.

group of classmates,

a

Writer. You might start by

•

Creative Writing/Art

Decide

how

the parts

be divided. For example,

you and your partners could take turns reading stanzas solo,

or you can

split into

two groups and perform

a

if

you wish, your

source, design a page for a

newspaper dated 1

April

1

9,

775. Be sure to include an

illustrated

news

article

about the events of the previous night. (Don't for-

choral reading, alternating

get to give

Look for points where you may want to add

You could also include fea-

sound

editor, classified ads,

stanzas.

effects.

(For help, see

pages 252-253.)

it

a headline.)

tures such as letters to the

and a

weather forecast.

Paul Revere's Ride 543

SOUND EFFECTS: The Music of Language marked with

Playing with Words

this

Children love the music of

we

In

own

The following lines are Hear America Singing" by Walt Whitman. Read them aloud to hear how Whitman creates a "I

strong rhythm

listen

I

hear America singing, the varied carols

are

that steed,

The Music of Meter

the midnight message of

singing his as blithe

You can see that Longfellow

humorous greeting

card, or a stirring

sermon,

verse

rhythm comes from the repOne way to is

singsong; instead,

slightly irregular

with meter,

his

plank or

beam, it

echoes the rhythmic but

etition of sounds.

create rhythm

isn't

singing his as

he measures

varied his meter, so that his

should be

it

and strong,

The carpenter song, a

hear.

I

Those of mechanics, each one

Paul Revere.

popular

a

in

sentence

to hear

The hurrying hoofbeats of

And

it's

free verse

in

just by repeating

waken and

combined.

Whether

kind of

patterns.

minds as well as our ears

skillfully

will

its

music.

from

of your

and need,

The people

to please our

when sound and sense

fall

the hour of darkness and peril

As we grow

find that language

power

has the

verse has

voice as you say the words.

over because they enjoy hear-

older,

Read

jingles,

and tongue twisters over and

ing the sounds.

{").

verse aloud to hear the

regular rise and

language. They'll repeat nurs-

ery rhymes, jump-rope

cup

a

"hurrying

The mason singing his as he makes ready for work, or leaves off work .

.

hoofbeats" of Revere's horse.

a regular pattern

Rhyme and Reason

of stressed and

unstressed syllables. In

these lines from "Paul Revere's

Ride" (page

A

Writer on

Sound

Music

is

language of mankind

pastime and delight.

(')

and

the unstressed

— Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, author of "Paul Revere's Ride"

(page 537)

syllables are

544 The American Hero: Myth and Reality

poem. The

effect of

rhyme

rhyme scheme

Free Verse

(pattern of rhymes) helps give

Free verse

structure to a

the universal

stressed

marked with an

Drummer:

adds to the musical quality of a

poetry their universal

accent

The chiming

Effects

537), the

syllables are

A Different

is

so called

because

as a

in

meter; instead, it

poem and Rhyme

aid.

acts

can

also be used to emphasize

it is

not written

memory

imitates the

certain

words or

Most rhymes

ideas.

in

poetry are

end rhymes: The rhyming

natural rhythms

words appear

of speech. Free

lines, as in

at the

ends of

"Paul Revere's

by John Malcolm Brinnin Ride."

Rhymes can

within called

lines.

also

occur

Such rhymes are

internal rhymes.

Rhymes

involving

same are

tion of vowel

sounds

that haven't already been used

assonance.)

Alliteration and

many

assonance aren't used only to

times.

called

The use

rat,

bat and

of

and cat and catch are ap-

meaning

like real

and more

speech than exact

rhymes do. Another reason poets use approximate

rhymes

is

that

it is

difficult

Giving a

When we

(an'o mat'o pe'a). •

we

sizzles,

or

combine

example,

in this line

from

sound with

to

its

Be aware of punctuation,

periods and

especially

his

commas.

Raven," Edgar Allan s

its

a

sense. 1

imitate a sound. For

Poem Voice

Whenever possible, read poem aloud at least once

can use a whole series of

words to

Poe uses words with to

are

A poet

using onomatopoeia.

poem "The

mood

called

onomatopoeia

or that bacon

rhyme is popular with many modern poets. They believe it

of

less artificial

is

Some-

rhythm.

say that a bell clangs or tinkles

proximate rhymes. This kind

sounds

just help to create a

sounds imitate or suggest their

called

times the repeated sounds

words whose

•

bit,

is

imitate natural sounds.

Other Sound Effects

approximate rhymes (or near rhymes, off rhymes, slant rhymes, or imperfect rhymes). Cut and

with exact rhymes

sounds

that are similar but not

exactly the

come up

Periods signal

the ends of sentences

sounds

(which are not always at

to suggest the sound of wind

the ends of

lines).

blowing through curtains:

"And the

silken, sad,

2.

If

a line of

poetry doesn't

end with punctuation, do

uncertain

not make a

rusding of each

very

full

briefly,

purple curtain." This

reading until you reach a line

is

also

mark of punctuation.

an example of allit-

eration, the repetition of

sounds,

usually consonants, in

'I

think that

I

shall

never see, a

poem

several

words

3.

If

the

poem

da-

DUM, da-DUM, da-DUM, for

example

—don't read

it

a singsong way. Try to

in

gether (The repeti-

read the

poem

voice and ©1991 Reprinted courtesy of

has a regular

da-DUM,

rhythm

that are close to-

as lovely

as a b>$, ftea, Sea, Ski, ptBS, U^..!'

stop. Pause

and continue

let

in

a natural

the music

come through on

its

own.

Bunny Hoest and Parade magazine.

Elements of Literature: Sound Effects 545

Before You Read Woman

Too SOON A

Make the Connection

Elements of Literature

Reading Skills

A Typical Teenager

Motivation

and Strategies

Work with

What makes

group to

a small

things they do? In literature, as

create a profile of a typical teenager.

Fill in

a circle with

dislikes,

and

hopes and worries.

Outside the

circle,

teenagers are

like

write what

on the out-

side:

appearance,

how

they are perceived by

adults,

motivation is not always obvious. As you read this story, decide whether the characters' actions make a person's

in life,

words and symbols showing what you think teenagers are like inside: their likes

people do the

Does each charmotivation become

you

clearer as the story continues?

in

lotivation

is

the

more on Motivation, see the Handbook of Literary Terms.

For

today similar to and in

the

in

your notebook.

546 The American Hero: Myth and Reality

a

major

your

own

words, describe the characproblems, state the main

events, and explain

teenagers

ideas

When

summarize

characters. Then,

behavior.

down your

work.

essential ideas in a

ters'

Quickwfite

past? Jot

ment of the main events and

story, briefly identify the

reason for a character's

from teenagers

a short restate-

is

acter's

I

different

A summary

It

sense to you.

activities,

and so on.

How are

Summarizing: Keep Simple

problems are

finally

how

the

resolved.

Remember to keep your summary

simple and to leave

out minor

details.

As you read

"Too Soon a Woman," think about which events you

would include summarize

it

if

you had to

for a friend.

\

\

Dorothy M. Johnson

We

left

the

home

I; *V\^

place behind, mile by

I

slow mile, heading for the mountains,

where the wind blew forever. there were four of us with the one-

across the prairie

At

first

^'

skimpy load. Pa and 1 walked, because I was a big boy of eleven. My two little sisters romped and trotted until they got tired and had to be boosted up into the

wagon and

horse

its

wagon bed. That was no covered Conestoga, like Pa's folks came West in, but just an old farm wagon, drawn by one weary horse, creaking and rum-

V

toward the lithe had an old thought woods town where Pa

bling tle

%'i

westward

to the mountains,

who owned a little two-bit sawmill. Two weeks we had been moving when we picked up Mary, who had run away from some-

uncle

where

that she wouldn't

along, but she stood

up

tell.

to

Pa didn't want her

him with no

fear in

her voice. 1.

Conestoga (kan'as

to'ga);

covered wagon with wide

wheels, used by American settlers to cross the prairies.

Too Soon a Woman

Td rather go with kids,"

she

"but

said,

won't take me,

ain't

I

travel

I'll

and look

a family

going back.

after

If

you

with any wagon that

will."

Pa scowled

and her wide blue eyes

at her,

Mary had saved, when we came to an old, empty cabin. Pa said we'd have to stop. The horse was wore out, couldn't pull anymore up those grades on the

some

was shelter. We and some cornmeal.

At the cabin, at least there

old are you?

she

"Eighteen,"

come you

"

he demanded.

said.

"There's

way sometimes.

this

folks.

But

I

I'd

teamsters"

rather go with

won't go back."

"We're prid'near out of grub," "We're clean out of money.

her.

my father told I

got

all

I

can

anybody else." He he hated the sight of her. "You'll have to walk," he said. So she went along with us and looked after without

handle

turned away as

the

little girls,

On

taking

if

mountains, there was

wind rain.

blew. But in the

Wlien

we

had a few potatoes left There was a creek that probably had fish in it, if a person could catch them. Pa tried it for half a day before he gave up. To this day I don't care for fishing. I remember my father's sunken eyes in his gaunt, grim face. He took Mary and me outside the cabin to talk. Rain dripped on us from branches overhead. "I

think

I

know where we are," he said.

stopped

timber claims along the way, the home-

summer. Crops

four days. There'll be grub in the town, and they'll let still

me

have some whether old John's

there or not."

He looked

There was no cheer anywhere, and little hospitality. The people we talked to were past worrying. They were scared and

me. "You do like he warned. It was the first time he had admitted Mary was on earth since we picked her up two weeks

desperate.

before.

steaders^ said

among

it

had rained

all

the blackened stumps were rotted and

spoiled.

So was

Pa.

He

she

traveled twice as far each day

at

tells you,"

"You're

my pardner,"

he might

wagon, ranging through the woods with he never saw game. He had been depending on venison,^ but we never got any except as a grudging gift from the home-

me, "but it be she's got more brains. You mind what she says."

steaders.

terness, "There ain't any-

as the

his rifle, but

He brought

in a

porcupine once, and that

fat meat and good. Mary roasted it in chunks over the fire, half crying with the smoke. Pa and I rigged up the tarp^ sheet for shelter to keep the rain from putting the fire

was

clean out.

The porcupine was long gone, except 2.

teamsters: people

who drive teams

for

said to

He thing

good

bit-

the

left in

world, or people to care

you

live

or die. But

I'll

if

get

grub in the town and

come back with it." He took a deep breath and added,

you get too

4.

homesteaders: settlers living on and farming pieces of them by the U.S. government. venison (ven'i zan): deer meat.

gry,

5.

tarp: short for tcirpuuliii (tar- po'liii), or waterproof

6.

3.

burst out with

all

"If

fired

hun-

of horses.

land granted to

butcher the horse.

be better than starvin."

•

canvas.

548 The American Hero: Myth and Reality

"I cal-

culate to get to old Jolin's and back in about

but Pa wouldn't talk to her.

the prairie, the

at little

fat' that

deep-rutted roads in the mountains.

stared back.

"How

of the tried-out

tried-out

fat: fat that

been melted down.

has

It'll

He

kissed the

off tlirough the

little girls

goodbye and plodded blanket and the

woods with one

quilt

rifle.

The cabin was moldy and had no kept a

was the

fire

full

fire

The

floor.

We

going under a hole in the roof, so

of blinding smoke, but so as to dry out the

we

third night

scared him. I

The

we had

we

A

bear

wood.

lost the horse.

We heard the racket,

ran out, but

keep

and Mary and

pitch dark. In gray daylight

I

went looking

for him,

and

I

must have walked fifteen miles. It seemed like I had to have that horse at the cabin when Pa came or he'd whip me. I got plumb lost two or three times and thought maybe I was going to die there alone and nobody would ever know it, but I found the way back to the clearing. That was the fourth day, and Pa didn't come. That was the day we ate up the last of the grub.

Mary went looking for the whimpered, huddled in a because they were scared and

fire,

I

never did get dried out, always having to

more damp wood and going out to yell see if Mary would hear me and not get lost.

bring in to

couldn't see anything in the

by the

day,

sisters

hungry.

it

to

fifth

My

horse.

But

I

couldn't cry like the

little girls

did, be-

I was a big boy, eleven years old. was near dark when there was an answer to my yelling, and Mary came into the clearing. Mary didn't have the horse — we never saw

cause It

hide nor hair of that old horse again

— but she

was carrying something big and white looked like a pumpkin with no color to it. She didn't say anything,

and saw Pa wasn't there

just

that

looked around

yet, at the

end of the

fifth day.

"Wliat's that thing?"

my

sister Elizabeth de-

manded.

Too Soon a Woman 549

"Mushroom," Mary answered.

"I

bet

it

do with

"Wliat are you going to

it

now?"

it

in a cor-

I

sneered. "Play football here?"

Her wet hair hung over her shoulders. She huddled by the fire. My sister Sarah began to whimper again. ner.

"I'm hungry!" she kept saying.

"Mushrooms can

kill

ain't

good

eating,"

I

said.

"They

I

I watched, hating her endured the smell of the mushroom frying

as long as

I

could.

me

1

ing the slice of

do you think it her head bowed like scars,"

me.

1

in the

guessed.

Now mind your own

ness.

I

want

Elizabeth

don"t Pa

The

whimpered,

quilts

in the

grub box. "Nothing there but empty dishes,"

I

growled.

there was anything, wed know it." Mary stood up. She was holding the can

"If

"I'm going to have something to

"You kids can't have any don't want any squalling, mind." said coolly.

what she did

eat,"

yet.

she

And

I

mushroom and heated

The smell of it brought the

little girls

out of

hefts: weighs.

550 The American Hero: Myth and Reality

girls.

you know. going to

And

then. She

grease in a pan.

7.

was chewing

with them, they moved

away as far as they could get. I was so scared that my stomach heaved, empty as it was. Mary didn't stay in the quilts long. She took a drink out of the water bucket and sat down by the fire and looked through the smoke at me. She said in a low voice, "I don't know how it will be if it's poison. Just do the best you can with the

with the porcupine grease.

sliced that big, solid

stared at her

Wlien Mary crawled into the

"Wliy

back?"

a cruel thing,

little girls

an old leather glove.

"Hes coming," Mary promised. come in the dark. Your pall take care of you soon's he can." She got up and rummaged around

was

the brown, fried slice

as she ate. Sarah

busi-

"Can't

It

at

any."

to think."

come

have been

her right then and

and said, "By tomorrow morning, I guess you can tell whether you want

she

They whipped

"'Tis scars.

Pa's rifle, I'd kill

for a while

smoke. "Looks

fry-

She didn't eat right away. She looked

is?"

and finished

there.

your dress on the brush." said,

Id had

If

fire

mushroom.

willing to

asked her "You tore

"Wliat

me some."

be."

up to know all about everything, like some people." "Wliat's that mark on your shoulder?"

"Give

said,

I

"Tomorrow, maybe. But not tonight." She turned to me with a sharp command: "Don't bother me! Just leave

don't set

I

Then

"Tomorrow," Mary answered.

"Maybe," Mary answered. "Maybe they can.

cried to

didn't cry.

She knelt there by the

you."

They

in so

break your heart. 1

— maybe," she said, putting

it

go back

to

fierce a voice that they obeyed.

ten pounds."

"Eat

them

their quilt, but she told

hefts

.

Because your pa .

.

You

will

come

back,

better go to bed. I'm

up."

sit

would you sit up. If it might be your on earth and the pain of death might seize you at any moment, you would sit up by the smoky fire, wide awake, remembering whatever you had to remember, savoring life. We sat in silence after the girls had gone to last

so

night

sleep.

Once

I

asked,

"How long does it

take?

"I

never heard," she answered. "Don't think

about

it."

my chin on my Maybe Peter dozed that way at Gethsemane as the Lord knelt praying. Mary's moving around brought me wide awake. The black of night was fading. "I guess its all right," Mary said. "I'd be able I

slept after a while, with

f.

chest.

by now, wouldn't I? answered gruffly, "I don't know." Mary stood in the doorway for a while, looking out at the dripping world as if she found it beautiful. Then she fried slices of the mushroom while the little girls danced with anxiety. We feasted, we three, my sisters and 1, until Mary ruled, "That'll hold you," and would not cook any more. She didn't touch any of the to

tell

I

mushroom

herself.

That was a strange day in the moldy cabin. Mary laughed and was gay; she told stories, and we played ""Who's Got the Thimble?" with a pine cone. In the afternoon sisters

we

screamed and

I

heard a shout, and

my

ran ahead of them across

the clearing.

The rain had stopped. My father came plunging out of the woods leading a pack horse

member the

— and well

1

re-

treasures of food in that

pack.

He glanced

at

us anxiously as he

tore at the ropes that

bound the pack.

"Wliere's the other one?" he demanded. Mary came out of the cabin then, walking sedately. As she came toward us, the sun began to shine. My stepmother was a wonderful

woman. 8.

Maybe Peter

.

.

.

knelt prayLag: According to

Matthew 26:36-46, Jesus spent an entire night praying in the darden of Gethsemane, outside Jerusalem, knowing he would be arrested in the morning. He astccd Peter and two other followers to stay awake with him, but they kept

falling asleep.

,/t

i)uH

Making Meanings First

Thoughts Reread your Quickwrite. Does Mary

seem

like a typical

teenager? Explain.

Reading Check

Summarize

the

main events of the story, using

map below to help Remember to include the

the story you.

main events Characters

only.

Choices:

Building Your Portfolio

Writer's Notebook 1.

^yan White:

Collecting Ideas for an

-just a

Informative Report

Choose

-courageouely a teenager

community,

in

in

your

the national news, or from history

something heroic. Find out three things about tions.

ki'^

What makes

be interested

in

this

person a hero?

his

who

'bittlS^AiPS' did

:^v^enttocou^}^

or her ac-

Why would

people school

reading about him or her?

-educated

Creative Writing

story (An attribute acteristic

2.

Travels with

What

Mary

or personal

a char-

continue

ness.)

Draw

wheel

like

a simple

wagon

the one below.

In

to travel west with Mary?

the center, write the charac-

Write

ter's

a short

sequel to the

story, describing their next

How do

the dleeaee

quality,

such as shyness or rude-

happens to the nar-

rator's family as they

"otheresbout is

name.

write a

On

each spoke,

word or phrase

de-

Performance 4.

Secret Thoughts

Divide the roles of Mary

scribing the character In the

and the narrator with

courage and resourcefulness

space between the spokes,

partner Then, write an

help her face

give evidence

adventure.

•

an angry bear?

•

a pack of

Mary's

from the text

that supports each attribute.

monologue

interior

for your character at the

moment that Mary hungry wolves?

•

a raging river?

•

another dangerous

the slice of

What sit-

is

mushroom. fire?

What

the narrator thinking

watches her?

as he

you

Graphic Organizer/ Analyzing a Character

frying

is

she thinking as she

kneels by the is

uation (your idea)?

a

like,

(If

choose an-

other pair of characters and another

scene, such as the

one with Mary and Pa 3.

A Well-Rounded

at the

Character?

Make an attribute wheel for Mary or one of the other characters

very end of

the story.)

in

With your

partner, perform the

monologues for your

class.

the

Too Soon a Woman 553

Grammar Link

MINI-l_ESSON

Using Colons Before Use

a

Lists

show your reader

colon to

that a

list

of items

Try

follows.

EXAMPLES Handbook

When

we

Pa returned,

had a

Write

feast: salt

ing

pork, beans, and biscuits with molasses.

HELP

It

Out a

sentence

list-

your four favorite

writers (or foods or

There were now See Colons,

people

my two

family: Pa, Mary,

page 803.

five

Don't use a colon before a

list

in

our

sisters,

shows), using a colon

and me.

correctly.

or a series that

EXAMPLE

follows a verb or a preposition.

EXAMPLES

When

Pa returned,

These are my

we

TV

ate salt pork,

writers:

favorite

Robert

Technology

HELP See Language

Workshop

CD-ROM. Key word

beans, and biscuits with molasses.

Cormier, Sandra

Our family now consisted my two sisters, and me.

Cisneros, O. Henry,

The

children

of Pa, Mary,

and Maya Angelou.

Exchange papers with a

were wet, hungry, and

classmate, and check his

frightened.

entry:

or her work.

colons.

Spelling

HOW TO OWN A WORD

Consonant and Vowel Sounds

Someone once suggested women, and

ti

as

in

that

fish

could be spelled

g-h-o-t-i:

gh as

in

laugh, o as in

motion. f

i

sh

gh

Because English has borrowed words from so many other languages, each with

own system

many sounds

of spelling,

in

English can be spelled several ways. For that

reason there are many ear rhymes that aren't eye rhymes, such as

For each of the following words from the story, write different spelling for the prairie

horse

EXAMPLE

prairie

same sound. The

meat smoke

— scary

554 The American Hero: Myth and Reality

its

first

one

is

down

done

a

sigh

and

buy.

rhyme that uses

for you as an example.

road

grease

creek

wood

water

bear

a

S8

I

>

-

rti,

>y^iijJi£>a iJoddi^ space on the ' ii

n

m^

*7?T:

'

•'?bcrav1er

'

'

(^

Previewing and Reviewing When

you preview and

view a

text, strategic reading

starts even before

re-

I

you read

and continues after you've

.

Skim

is

subtitles.

the text about?

What line

words are

you're

Length.

•

they can help you monitor

text?

your understanding of any

read?

How

text

long

is

the

is

and runaways are

clues to

text,

what the

about. You'll need to

know them

the type easy to

Is

slaves

repeated many times. Key

broken up with subheads?

reading for information, but

notice that the

ple, you'll

words

the

Is

information or story

reviewing are especially useful

when

you scan "Harriet Tubman" (pages 557-566), for exam-

and

Title

•

fin-

ished reading. Previewing and

study strategies

for a general

overview:

to understand the

so you may want to look

up unfamiliar ones before you

—even one you're

kind of text

Visuals. Are there any

•

reading strictly for enjoyment.

begin reading.

pictures, charts, diagrams,

maps, or other visuals to

Previewing:

text, take a

few minutes to

2.

help you determine find in the text

your reading

•

When

last

you

first

look at the

first

•

and

last

at the text to get an overall

sentences of a paragraph.

view or to look for particular

Often (though not always)

information. You'll probably

you'll find

make some predictions about what the text will be like based on your skimming and

tant information

the most impora text

there. •

Key words. Do

check to see

if

you've

One way to review is to summarize the text. Restate

its

main ideas

in

your

own words;

leave out minor Going over any notes you took as you read will help details.

you certain

words keep popping up?

you've

ideas

paragraphs of a

in

if

remembered the main

chapters of a book, the

and

check to see

understood a text

chapter, or the first and last

every word. You're glancing

scanning.

•

Introductions and conclusions. When you tion,

skim and scan, you're not reading

portions of a text help you

are reading to get informa-

you'll

and decide on

rate.

Where Have

Reviewing and rereading

for important

information:

will

what

Scan

Reviewing:

You Been?

flip

through the pages and do a quick survey. Previewing

of the

information?

You Going? Before you begin to read a

make sense

help you

Where Are

recall

the major points of

an expository piece or the If

major events of a narrative.

Apply the strategy on the next page.

^

Reading Skills AND Strategies 555

3

-

Before You Read Harriet Tubman Make the Connection

Reading

History Round Table

and

Working with

group of

a small

classmates, write each of the

following phrases at the top of a separate slip of paper:

Harriet

•

Strategies

Previewing and Reviewing: Before and After Before you read Harriet

Tubman's

Tubman

scan

movement

•

the Abolitionist

•

the Underground Railroad

Skills

it

story, sl
to decide

approach the will

and

how to (How fast

text.

you read? Are there any

key words you want to look

Take one of the and write

slips

down

of paper,

anything you

know

(or can guess) about the

topic.

Then, pass

member until

to another

it

you've read the text?)

of your group, and

take a second

up before you start? Do you want to look at the map on page 562 first or wait until

slip.

Continue

As you

on any important information.

everyone has had the You'll

chance to write on

With your

all

knowledge on the it

use these notes later

slips.

summary.

to write a

classmates, compile

a chart of the class's

refer to

read, take notes

after

combined

topics; you'll

you read the

Background Literature and Religion

Book of Exodus, Moses is chosen

selection.

In

Quickwrite

by

Respond to one of

of Israel out of slavery

the following prompts:

Egypt. Pursued by the

•

How

do you define freedom^

What does

it

mean

in

your

the Biblical

God

to lead the people

Egyptians,

in

Moses takes

his

people on a long, perilous desert journey and leads

life? •

Is

there anything you can

imagine giving up your free-

dom

for?

Is

there anything

you would refuse to do for

them to the Promised Land. As you read about Harriet Tubman, ask

was

yourself:

she called "the

of her people"?

freedom? go.hrw.com LEO 8-7

556 The American Hero: Myth and Reality

Why

Moses

coMaht,

Roots (1964) by Charles White. Chinese ink.

Harriet Tubman 557

CAUTION!! 5<«SSi&»>-©_

The Railroad Runs to Canada

^A^ long f

in Dorchester

masters kept hearing whispers

first

man named running off

Moses,

At

slaves.

they did not believe in his ex-

istence.

were

The

stories

about him

fantastic, unbelievable.

Yet

they watched for him. They

of-

fered rewards for his capture.

Watchmen and For

AliDERIUK^,

1.

quarter: area

logs

It

in a plantation

where enslaved Africans

consisted of windowless, one-ruom cabins

thev are

empowered

made

and mud.

558 The American Hero: Myth and Reality

of

to act as

KIDNAPPER8 AND

Slaye Catchers, And

tbey have already been actually employed in

KIDWAPPI^G. CATCHING, ASD KEEPLN^Ci SLAVES. Therefore, if you value your LIBERTY, and the If^elfare of the Fugitives among you, Shun them in every possible manner, as so many HOVj^iMtS on the

traclL

of the most unfortunate of your race.

Keep a Sharp Look Out

KIDNAPPERS, and TOP EYE open.

for

hare

1851. )

wills.

lived.

Police Officers

of Boston, ORDER OF THE 7IAYOR &

Now

and then they heard whispered rumors to the effect that he was in the neighborhood. The woods were searched. The roads were watched. There was never anything to indicate his whereabouts. But a few days afterward, a goodly number of slaves would be gone from the plantation. Neither the master nor the overseer had heard or seen anything unusual in the quarter. Sometimes one or the other would vaguely remember having heard a whippoorwill call somewhere in the woods, close by, late at night. Though it was the wrong season for whippoor-

CAUTIONED and

since the recent

APRIJL 24,

They never saw him.

respectfully

ONE & ALL,

advised, to avoid conversing wltb the

the Eastern Shore of

County, in Caroline County, the

who was

OF BOSTON,

Too are hereby

^A 1 Maryland,

about the

COLORED PEOPLE

I-lACi\Rl)

-

Sometimes the masters thought they had heard the cry of a hoot owl, repeated, and would remember ha\ing thought that the intervals between the low moaning cry were wrong, that it had been repeated four times in succession instead of three. There was never anything more than that to suggest that all was not well in the quarter Yet, when morning came, they invariably discovered that a group of the finest slaves had taken to their heels. Unfortunately, the discovery was almost always made on a Sunday-. Thus a whole day was lost before the machinery of pursuit could be set in motion.

The posters

offering rewards for

r:^^:??;^;;^^^;^^^^:^^

X JK X the fugitives could not be printed until Mon-

The men who made

day.

a living

hunting for

again."

x

-^-

The ones who had agreed

with her put ashcake^ and

salt

go North herring in an old to

runawa}' slaves were out of reach, off in the

bandanna, hastily tied

woods with

then waited patiently for the signal that meant

suit

dogs and their guns,

their

in pur-

of four-footed game, or they were in

camp

meetings saying their prayers with their wives

and families beside them. Harriet Tubman could have told them that

was

there

far

more involved

in this

matter of

running off slaves than signaling the would-be

runaways by imitating the call of a whippoorwill, or a hoot owl, far more involved than a matter of w^aiting for a clear night Star" was visible. December 1851, when she

when

the

North In

started out

with the band of fugitives that she planned to take to Canada, she had been in the vicinity' of

the plantation for days, planning the fully selecting

the slaves that she

trip, care-

would take

with her

She had annoimced her

arrival in the quar-

—

by singing the forbidden spiritual "Go down, Moses, way down to Egypt Land" singing it softly outside the door of a slave cabin, late at night. The husky voice was beautiful even when it was barely more than a murmur borne on the wind. Once she had made her presence known, word of her coming spread from cabin to cabin. The slaves whispered to each other, ear „ ,,,, to mouth, mouth to ear, Moses is here. "Moses has come." "Get ready. Moses is back ter

,

2.

North

Star:

(Polaris) to help

,

.

,

Runaways fleeing north used the North them stay on course.

Star

forbidden spiritual: Spirituals are reUgious songs, some of which are based on the Biblical stor^- of the Israelites- escape from slavery in Egypt. Plantation owners 3.

into a bundle,

it

was time to start. There were eleven in one of her brothers and

and

it

largest

this part}^ including

his wife.

It

was the

group that she had ever conducted, but

she was determined that more and more slaves

should

know what freedom was like,

She had to take them

The

Fugitive Slave Law^

all

the

way

to Canada,

was no longer

a great

many incomprehensible words written down on the country's lawbooks. The new law had become a realit}^. It was Thomas Sims, a boy, picked up on the streets of Boston at night and was Jerry and Shadrach, arrested and jailed with no warning, She had never been in Canada. The route beyond Philadelphia was strange to her But she could not let the runaways who accompanied her know this. As they walked along, she told them stories of her own first flight; she kept painting vivid word pictures of what it would shipped back to Georgia.

be

like to

be

It

free.

But there were so

many

of them

tliis

time,

ashcake: cornmeal bread baked in hot ashes. Fugitive Slave Law: harsh federal law passed in 1850 stating that slaves who escaped to free states could be forced to return to their owners. As a result, those who escaped were safe onlv in Canada. The law also made it a crtoe for a free person to lielp slaves escape or to prevent 4-

5.

their return.

WORDS TO OWN fugitives

(fyoo'ji

•

tivz) n.:

incomprehensible

people fleeing from danger,

(in'kam'pre hen'sa bal) •

•

adj.:

im-

possible to understand.

feared that the singing of spirituals might lead to rebellion.

Harriet Tubman 559

^^^^^^i^^?6^5%?i^^i«;j^?^^^^ X

as:

XX

She knew moments of doubt, when she was half afraid and kept looking back over her shoulder, imagining that she heard the

searched

last

week.

It's

not safe!" and slammed

the door in her face.

She turned awa)' from the house, frowning.

sound

of pursuit. The)' would certainly be pursued.

She had promised her passengers food and

Eleven thousand dollars' and bone and muscle that belonged to Maryland planters. If they were caught, the eleven runawa)'s would be whipped and sold South, but she she would probably be hanged.

and warmth, and instead of that, there would be hunger and cold and more walking over the

Eleven

of

worth of

them.

flesh

—

They

Somehow

frozen ground. instill

rest

she would have to

courage into these eleven people, most

them strangers, would have to feed them on hope and bright dreams of freedom instead of of

tried to sleep during the da) but they

the fried pork and corn bread and milk she had

never could whoU)' relax into sleep. She could

promised them. The)' stumbled along behind her, half dead for sleep, and she urged them on, though she was as tired and as discouraged as they were. She had never been in Canada, but she kept

by the positions they assumed, by their restless movements. And they walked at night. Their progress was slow. It took them three tell

first stop. She had told them about the place where they would stay, promising warmth and good food,

nights of walking to reach the

holding these things out to them as an incentive

keep going. she knocked on the door of a farmhouse, a place where she and her parties of runaways had always been welcome, always been given shelter and plent)' to eat, there was no answer She knocked again, softly. A voice from within said, "Wlio is it? There was fear in to

When

"

the voice.

knew

from the sound of the voice that there was something wrong. She said, "A friend with friends," the password on the Underground Railroad. The door opened, slowly. The man who She

instantly

stood in the doorway looked at her coldly, looked with unconcealed astonishment and

runaways who Then he shouted, "Too

fear at the eleven disheveled

were standing near her.

many, too many. Its not

safe.

My

place

was

560 The American Hero: Myth and Reality

wondrous word pictures of what it would be like. She managed to dispel their fear of pursuit so that they would not become hysterical, panic-stricken. Then she had to bring some of the fear back, so that they would stay awake and keep walking though they drooped painting

with sleep. Yet, during the day,

deep

in a thicket,

when

they lay

they never really

down

slept, be-

snapped or the wind sighed in the branches of a pine tree, they jumped to their feet, afraid of their own shadows, shivercause

a twig

if

WoRDS TO Own incentive

(in-sent'iv)

n.:

reason to do something:

motivation.

disheveled

(di-shev'ald)

instill (in-stil') Stilla is

v.;

adj.:

untidy; rumpled.

gradually put

Latin for "drop";

in

instill

(an idea or feeling).

literally

drop by drop." dispel (di-spel')

v.:

scatter; drive away.

means "put

in

-; 'it\'<^

ing

and shaking.

was very

It

cold, but they

make fires because someone would smoke and wonder about it.

dared not see the

She kept thinking, eleven of them. Eleven thousand dollars' worth of slaves. And she had

them all the way to Canada. Sometimes she told them about Thomas Garrett, in Wilmington.'' She said he was their friend even though he did not know them. He was the friend of all fugitives. He called them Gods poor. He was a Quaker and his speech was a to take

little

different

was brimmed hat clothing

from that of other people. His

different, too.

He wore

the wide-

Quakers wear. She said that he had thick white hair, soft, almost like a baby's, and the kindest eyes she had ever seen. He was a big man and strong, but he that the

had never used his strength to harm anyone, always to help people. He would give all of them a

new

He always

pair of shoes. Everybody.

Once they reached they would be

safe.

his

house

in

He would

did.

Wilmington,

see to

it

that

they were.

She described the house where he lived, told them about the store where he sold shoes. She said he kept

a pail of

milk and a loaf of

bread in the drawer of his desk so that he

would have food ready at hand for am- of God's poor who should suddenly appear before him, fainting with hunger There was a hidden room in the store. A whole wall swung open, and behind it was a room where he could hide fugitives. On the wall there were shelves filled with small boxes

— boxes

of shoes

Wilmington: cir\' in Delaware. Quaker: member of the Society of Friends, group acti\e in the movement to end slavery.

— so

that

6.

7.

Wanted

Poster Series

#17

<

1971) by Charles White,

Oil wash. Fiint Institute

of Art/Courtesy Heriuge Gallery. Los Angeles. California.

a religious

Harriet Tubman 561

wm

M'ZMr

1TW

-'-

•

•

"

.

^'-:

/S/'

TIM ^

J^^nrui^JutpucL

./o>

fto:^

^v^/A;-

The Underground

^//:

3czzi:

•gaar

r ^^-.

IB

Railroad runs to Canada.

you would never guess

that the wall actually

opened.

While she

^izzi

answered

She

quickly,

"A

friend

with

friends."

talked, she kept

watching them.

They did not believe her. She could tell by their expressions. The)' were thinking. New shoes, Thomas Garrett. Quaker, Wilmington what foolishness was this? Wlio knew if she told the truth? Wliere was she taking them anyway?

—

That night they reached the next stop

—

He opened warmly.

the

door

and

greeted

"Eleven,"

she said and waited, doubting,

wondering.

He said, "Good. Bring them in." He and his wife fed them in

the lamp-lit

kitchen, their faces glowing as they offered

farm that belonged to a German. She made the runaways take shelter behind trees at the edge

food and more food, urging them to

of the fields before she knocked

milk, have

at

the door

She hesitated before she approached the door, thinking, suppose that he too should refuse shelter, suppose Then she thought. Lord, I'm going to hold steady on to You and You ve

—

me through and knocked softly. She heard the familiar guttural voice say,

got to see

"Wlio's there?"

562 The American Hero: Myth and Reality

her

"How many this time?" he asked.

there

was

plent)' for everybody,

more

bread, have

eat, saying

have more

more meat.

They spent the night in the warm kitchen. They really slept, all that night and until dusk the next da)-. When the) left, it was with reluctance. The)' had all been warm and safe and well-fed. It was hard to exchange the securit)' offered by that clean, warm kitchen for the darkness and the cold of a December night.

X

JBl:

-jl

-^-'^'i4;«^*?t%.

"Go On or Die I I

^H ^^H

\

^^B

.

*>•)

to have rheumatism. to sign the register at

the hotels, for she could not read or write.

I I I

had found it hard to leave the warmth and friendliness, too. arriet

They

and the cleanliness of that big, warm kitchen lingered on inside them. But as they walked farther and farther away from the warmth and the light, the cold and the darkserenity'

ness entered into them.

They

fell silent,

suspicious. She waited for the

sullen,

moment when

some one of them would turn mutinous It did not happen that night. Two nights later, she was aware that the feet behind her were moving slower and slower.

No one

irritabilit)' in

their voices,

knew

soon someone would refuse to go on. She started talking about William Still and the Philadelphia Vigilance Committee. No one commented. No one asked any questions. She told them the story of William and Ellen Craft and how they escaped from Georgia. Ellen was so fair that she looked as though she were that

white, and so she dressed

up

in a

man's cloth-

and she looked like a wealthy young planter. Her husband, William, who was dark, played the role of her slave. Thus they traveled ing

said anything.

eloquence, of his magnificent appearance. Then

own first, vain effort at memory of that mis-

she told them of her

running away, evoking the erable

life

moment

she had led as a child, reliving

But they had been tired too long, hungry too

them suddenly cried out back.

It is

a sling

and her

right

— her right arm was in

hand was bandaged be-

One of "Let me go

in despair,

better to be a slave than to suffer like

order to be free." She carried a gun with her on these trips. She had never used it except as a threat. Now, as she aimed it, she experienced a feeling

this in

—

of

guilt,

remembering

that time, years ago,

she had prayed for the death of Edward Brodas, the Master, and then, not too long af-

when

terward, had heard that great wailing cry that

came from the

knew from

throats of the field hands,

the sound that the Master

and

was

dead. 9.

rheumatism

(roo'ms-tiz'sm): painful swelling and

Words to own

ill

for a

long, afraid too long, footsore too long.

on the

pretended to be very

it

in the telling.

stiffness of the joints or muscles.

the finest hotels. Ellen

Not one of them

to have heard her She told them about Frederick Douglass, the most famous of the escaped slaves, of his

from Macon, Georgia, to Philadelphia, riding trains, staying at

and

seemed

.

She heard the

finally arrived safely in Philadelphia

then went on to Boston.

But she urged them on. For a

seemed to carry in measure of contentment; some of the

a

JVi*^! •*''^>*;V«!W;a

cause she was supposed Thus she avoided having

while, as they walked, they

them

•^"It'JKL :x

mutinous

(myoot''n-3s) ady. rebellious.

/Vlut/ny usually

refers to a revolt of soldiers or sailors against their officers.

Philadelphia Vigilance Committee: group that offered help to people escaping slavery. Still, a free African American, was chairman of the committee. 8.

eloquence (el'a-kwans)

n.;

ability

to write or speak

gracefully and convincingly.

Harriet Tubman 563

a:

X

m -•^..

-»

"

Hornet (1972) by Charles White. Oil drawing.

564 The American Hero: Myth and Reality

m ;'0".''ii*

One

of the runaways said again, "Let

back. Let

me

go back," and stood

turned around and

me go

and then

still,

over his shoulder, i

said,

am going back." She

lifted

the gun. aimed

it

at

the despairing

"Go on with us or

slave.

She

husk)',

low-pitched voice was grim.

He

said,

die."

The

him

doctor

who was

ing,

knowledge of the

name

of the

German

who had fed them and sheltered them. These people who had risked their own secufarmer

runaways would be ruined,

to help

rir\'

fined,

said,

"We

got to go free or die.

And

free-

doms not bought with dust." "

on the old

slave ships,

about the black horror of the holds, about the

They too knew these stories. But she wanted to remind them of the long, hard way they had come, about the long, hard way they had yet to go. She told them about Thomas Sims, the boy picked up on the chains and the whips.

streets of

said

10.

Boston and sent back to Georgia. She

when

they got him back to Savannah, got

Middle Passage: route

traveled by ships carr)ing cap-

Ocean to the Americas. The captives endured the horrors of the Middle Passage crammed into holds, airless cargo areas below decks. tured

.\frican.s

sang to

hind her blending she

knew

across the Atlantic

softly

that for the

with hers, and then

moment

was well

all

with them.

She gave the impression of being a short, indomitable woman who could

never be defeated,

"^'et

at

any

moment

she was

liable to

be seized by one of those curious

of sleep,

which might

last for a

fits

few minutes or

for hours.

Even on

this trip,

she suddenly

The runaways,

gry, cold, did

fell

ragged,

asleep in

dirty,

hun-

not steal the gun as they might

by themselves or turn back. They sat on the ground near her and waited patientl)' until she awakened. The)' had come to trust her implicitl)', totally. They, too, had come have and

This time she told them about the long agony of the Middle Passage

a

Sometimes she told them make them laugh; sometimes she them and heard the eleven voices be-

the woods.

imprisoned.

She

become nothing but

threatening.

muscular,

full

standing by watching said,

kill

she thought she had

ping places, the hiding places, the corn stacks farm, the

they whipped him until a

him if you strike him again!" His master said, "Let him die!" Thus she forced them to go on. Sometimes "You will

things to

owner of the

^yj-^v^v ^

^

in prison there,

They started walking again. She tried to explain to them why none of them could go back to the plantation. If a runaway returned, he would turn traitor; the master and the overseer would force him to turn traitor. The returned slave would disclose the stopjoined the others.

they had used with the

- '

'--

voice speaking in the darkness, cajoling, urg-

moment and then he

hesitated for a

*^/^'f^Qiw^i-^

~"

set off

"We got to go free or die." She was leading them into freedom, and so they waited until she was ready to to believe her repeated statement,

go on. 11. Harriet s losses of consciousness were caused by a serious head injury that she had suffered as a teenager. Harriet had tried to protect another slave from punishment, and an enraged overseer threw a two-pound weight at her head.

Words to Own cajoling

(ka-jol'ir))

v.

used as

adj.:

coaxing.

Harriet Tubman 565

X Finally,

a:

X

they reached Thomas Garrett's house

Wilmington, Delaware. Just as Harriet had promised, Garrett gave them all new shoes, in

and provided carriages to take them on to the next stop.

By slow stages they reached Philadelphia, where William Still hastily recorded their

met the Reverend J. W. was the

In Syracuse she

known as

Loguen,

"Jarm" Loguen. This

beginning of a lifelong friendship. Both Harriet

and Jarm Loguen were to become friends and ^* supporters of Old John Brown.

From Syracuse they went north

again, into a

—

published

snowier city Rochester. Here they almost certainly stayed with Frederick Douglass, for he wrote in his autobiography: "On one occasion I had eleven fugitives at the same time under my roof, and it was necessary for them to remain with me until I could

it

collect sufficient

names, and the plantations whence they had come, and something of the life they had led In slavery.

Then he

ten, for fear

it

carefully hid what he had writmight be discovered. In 1872 he

this record in book form and called The Underground Railroad. In the foreword to his book he said: "WTiile I knew the danger of keeping strict records, and while I did not then dream that in my day slavery would be

blotted out, or that the time I

would come when

could publish these records,

me

it

used to afford

them down, fresh from the lips of fugitives on the way to freedom, and to preserve them as they had given great satisfaction to take

them."

William

colder,

It

was the

and I had some difficult)' in providing so many with food and shelter, but, as may well be imagined, they were not very fastidious in either direction, and were well content with very plain food, and a strip of carpet on the floor for a bed, or a place on the straw in the barn loft." time,

Late in Still,

station stops

who was

familiar

with

on the Underground

supplied Harriet with

money and

all

the

Railroad,

sent her and

her eleven fugitives on to Burlington,

money to get them to Canada. largest number I ever had at any one

December 185 1

,

Harriet arrived in

Catharines, Canada West

(now

the eleven fugitives.

had taken almost

month

to

complete

It

this journey.

New

Jersey.

now, though there were danger spots ahead. But the biggest part of her job was over. As they went farther and farther north, it grew colder; she was aware of the wind on the Jerse}' ferry and aware of the cold damp in New York. From New York they went on to Syracuse,^" where the temperature was even lower. Harriet

felt safer

12. Syracuse: city in central

New York.

566 The American Hero: Myth and Reality

Old John Brown (1800-1859): abolitionist (oppowho was active in the Underground Railroad. In 1859, Brown led a raid on the federal arsenal at Harpers Ferry, Virginia, in hopes of inspiring a slave uprising. Federal troops overpowered Brown and his followers, and Brown was convicted of treason and 13.

nent of slavery)

hanged.

Words to Own fastidious (fas-tid'e-ss)

adj.: fussy;

St.

Ontario), with

hard to please.

a

Meet the Writer "A Message in the Story"

A native of Old Saybrook, Connecticut, Ann Petry 908- 997) was the grand(

1

1

daughter of a man slavery

on

who

escaped from

a Virginia plantation

and came

north by way of the Underground road.

As

a

young

pharmacist

woman

Rail-

she worked as a

her family's drugstores

in

before moving to

New York, where

she became a writer

of books for young people and adults.

44 My

About her

writing she said:

writing has, of course, been influenced by the books

has been

much more

but

it

and

my growing

We always

up, by

my

had relatives

I've

influenced by the circumstances of

family.

.

.

read

my

birth

.

visiting us.

They added excitement to our

They brought with them the aura and the customs of a very They were all storytellers, spinners of yarns. So were my mother and my father. Some of these stories had been handed down from one generation to the next, improved, embellished, embroidered. Usually there was a lives.

different world.

message

in

the story, a message for the young, a message that would

help a young black child survive, help convince a young black child that

black

is

truly beautiful.

99

More by Ann Petry Tituba of Salem Village (HarperCollins)

another heroic witchcraft

in

1

woman

is

based on the true story of

of African descent,

who was

accused of

692.

Harriet Tubman 567

Connections

A Spiritual

Go Down, Moses traditional African

E-gypt

Let

land

my

peo-ple B-

Em

Op

-

pressed

Em

could not stand

way down Em

so

hard they Em

Ij-

Let

in

my peo -pie

E -gypt

go

land;

American

Freedom Walk A fictional diary based on

"Harriet Tubman.

•

December 10, 1851 and is spraying pretty colors on the horizon. It's getting dark out, and the stars are starting to come out. Moses called us, singing, "Go down, Moses, way down to Egypt land. Me and my brother, Philip, are only packing hard bread and salted fish. Maybe a little water. I learned to write and read from the master's only white maid. She taught me in her spare time. Master Anderson never knew. If he found out, I would be whipped, and she would have to

The sun is

setting

"

leave.

God bring us luck, so that we don;t get caught. Sarah

December 18, 1851

We have a day's head start under our belts, more than we do said that there was a house that we could stop at for a warm place to sleep and a good meal. We've been sleeping on cold, hard earth. If any-

food.

Our

leader, Harriet

Tubman,

thing makes the slightest noise, we're up and ready to run to the next county. We're almost there. The house she promised we would be able to stay in is not far from here. We can see some of the windows lit up with candles. Harriet went up to the house, and they wouldn't let us in. They got scared and said they might get caught. My brother is very doubtful and wants to turn back. I tell him we're almost

— only a

while more. I don't know if that's true or not. She had one of her sleeping spells. It lasted for an hour or so, but she insisted she was fine. God help us. Sarah

there

little

—Heather Melchert Moscow Junior

High School

Moscow, Idaho

Harriet Tubman 569

Making IVIeanings First

Thoughts

Why

1

might someone

who was

Tubman,

like

Reading Check

Harriet

What

already free, risk her

What do you

think of her actions?

ming

How was Tubman Bible?

What was

We sense

3.

should be.

Why

we

families find

text?

Using the notes you took

we

notice that

while reading, write

money

men who hunted

or three sentences

summarizing

of Tubman's story.

need

on Sundays (page 559)? Can you in

Go

primary sources mentioned by

What

these topics from Petry's

account?

on her topic? In

the

new

in-

says that the

stories her family told usually had a

idea, or message, do you see

in

message for young people.

What main

the story of Harriet Tubman? Put

it

in

own words.

What do you

6.

Add

formation to the chart.

Meet the Writer, Petry

your

What

have you learned about

other sources

might she have used to get information

5.

class

before you read.

(firsthand accounts)

Petry.

back to the chart you

made with your

two

find

you

Petry's

Go

back to the text, and

to,

If

review or reread

parts of the text.

account? 4.

this part

fugi-

said prayers with their

any other examples of irony

two

it

do we sense irony when

read that the

tives for

did previewing

her Promised Land?

the opposite of what

is

In

help you understand the

the Moses of the

like

irony when

something

and scanning?

what ways

Shaping Interpretations 2.

you

when you previewed the text by skim-

to lead other people to freedom?

life

did

notice

think

the difference between a leader and a hero?

is

Was

Harriet Tubman a leader or a hero or both? Explain.

Do

7.

the runaways

who

followed

Tubman

qualify as heroes, in

your opinion?

Were the people on the Underground Railroad who broke the law and risked imprisonment heroes? Find examples to support your opinion.

Connecting with the Text

One

8. ,

of the fugitives says,

order to be think of

it?

free."

What

"It

is

better to be a slave than to suffer

does Tubman think of

this attitude?

like this in

What do you

(Reread your Quickwrite before you answer.)

Extending the Text 9.

What

other people do you

or take other

risks

know

of

who

have had to flee their homeland

so that they could be free?

570 The American Hero: Myth and Reality

Choices:

Building Your Portfolio J

Notebook

Writer's 1.

Collecting Ideas for an

Informative Report

most historical accounts, Petry's account many topics for further investigation. Choose one of the following topics or another that your teacher approves. Make a list of questions Like

suggests

about your

topic.

Internet or

in

Then, research your topic on the

the library. Record the three most

you

interesting facts

find.

•

Tubman's early

life

•

Tubman's

life

•

Frederick Douglass

•

code songs and

•

Thomas Garrett

•

the Philadelphia Vigilance

•

the Middle Passage and the slave trade

later

spirituals

Creative Writing

Committee

Music

2.

Living History

3.

In

"Freedom Walk" you

With

Geography/Art

Spirituals

4.

a group, plan a musical

That Lonely Road

The

eleven fugitives from

read entries from an imagi-

event for the class or for a

Maryland

nary diary kept by one of

group of family members.

escaping from the northern-

the eleven runaways. Write

You'll

need people

your own diary entry or

group

who

can

your

in

sing, re-

most

letter from the point of

search music, read music,

in

and guide singers. Practice

tion

people

and perform the

Draw

•

the

Petry's account:

man who wants

to

return to the plantation •

the plantation

•

Harriet

•

the farmer

owner

Tubman

group away

who

turns the

spiritual

"Go Down, Moses"

(see

the story were

slave state. Find

out

which states allowed slavery

view of one of the following in

in

1

85 in

and choose

,

1

one of those a

a locastates.

map showing a

route a fugitive could take to

Connections on page 568)

reach freedom from that

along with other spirituals

location.

(Look

at the

map

or freedom songs. Ask the

on page 562

audience to rate your

sure to take natural features

group's performance.

such as rivers and mountains

as a model.)

Be

into account.

Harriet Tubman 571

Grammar Link

MINI-LESSON

Joining Independent Clauses To

join

two independent clauses

closely related language

and

Handbook

for, so,

HELP

in

that are

meaning, either use a

a coordinating conjunction {and, but,

or

Try

comma

dependent

can stand by

Conjunction.

itself as

pages 801-802.

The

first

farmer turned the

fugitives

1

If

there are

commas

Tubman never

she helped free hundreds

away; the

of people 2.

within the clauses, use a

One

from

slavery.

of the runaways

wanted to turn back the

semicolon to prevent confusion.

HELP

Harriet

learned to read or write

second welcomed them. Technology

and a

a semicolon.

The first farmer turned the fugitives away, but the second welcomed them.

Semicolons.

clauses, using

coordinating conjunction or

a sentence.)

EXAMPLES

page ~46:

pair of in-

comma

either a

dent clause expresses a complete thought and

See The

Out

Combine each

or, nor,

or use a semicolon. (An indepen-

yet)

It

others were ready to

See Language

CONFUSING

Workshop

Harriet Tubman,

CD-ROM. Key word

Still

were important

slavery,

entries: con-

continue despite the

Thomas

and

Garrett, and William

danger

figures in the fight against

Harriet Beecher Stowe,

3.

who

is

not mentioned by Retry, was also important.

junctions:

Tubman talked about Canada she had never been there

semicolons

herself.

CLEAR Harriet Tubman, Still

Thomas

were important

slavery;

4.

Garrett, and William

figures

in

the fight against

and Harriet Beecher Stowe,

who

Word Bank fugitives

incomprehensible incentive dislieveled

fugitives

were

cold,

and hungry they

were

glad to eat, drink,

and

sleep.

HOW TO OWN A WORD Word Maps: Make Your Own "map" of each word in the Word Bank. Rrovide a definition of the word, and then answer at least one question about the word. You will have to make up different questions for each word. You might want to work with a partner. Here is a map of fugitives:

Draw

a

instill

dispel

fugitives: "people fleeing from danger"

mutinous eloquence cajoling fastidious

tired,

is

not mentioned by Retry, was also important.

Vocabulary

The

Who

is

a fugitive?

•

escaped convict

•

person fleeing slavery

•

person fleeing persecution

572 The American Hero: Myth and Reality

Who is not a fugitive? •

person

safe at

home

Before You Read The People Could FLy Make the Connection

Elements of Literature

Reading

Reaching for the Stars

Style

and Strategies

"Once you have

Style comes mainly from a

flown, you

walk the earth with

will

writer's choice of

words

Skills

Comparing and Contrasting Texts:

your eyes turned skyward,

and the way he or she puts

Alike and Different

for there you have been, and

sentences together The

When

there you long to return."

writer of this folk tale uses

— Leonardo da

Vinci

Many ancient myths tell of humans attaining and then losing the power of flight. With your classmates,

—

—

common

brainstorm

pressions relating to

example, "The

(for

limit"

tell

who came

up with them?

one morning and discovering that you can it

feel?

What's the

i\

go.hrw.com LEO 8-7

in

and

different.

a folk tale, think

how

it is

like

about

and different

from the biography of Harriet Tubman. Focus on

these elements: is

the

way

a

writer uses language. For

more on

Style,

Handbook of Literary Terms.

V

•

characters

•

setting

•

theme, or main idea

•

author's purpose

•

the work's effect on you

see the

\A

r/ ^V

.~

vt^-^^o'.. i-i-.-^-iLi

V

Write for

two or three minutes notebook.

fly!

and

As you read "The People Could Fly,"

of

tale.

^tyle

of the people

thing you do?

to bring

air").

Imagine waking up

How does

speech out the wonder

compare

look for the ways they are alike

uses figures of

ex-

Quickwrite

first

She also

flight

these expressions

flight

teller speaking.

the

you about the attitude

toward

the impression of a story-

sky's the

or "walking on

What do

an informal style to create

you

contrast two works, you

U'

your

^*/^^

^

^H

The People Could

Fly 573

Tke^

Virginia Hamilton

They forgot about flyin when they could no longer breathe the sweet scent of Africa.

574 The American Hero: Myth and Reality

say the people could

They long ago knew on the

fly.

Say that

some And they would walk up climbin up on a gate. And they of the people

in Africa,

magic.

air like

flew like blackbirds over the

fields.

shiny wings flappin

the blue

against

Black,

up

there.

Then, many of the people were captvired for Slavery. The ones that could fly shed

They couldn't take their wings across the water on the slave ships. Too crowded, don't you know. The folks were full of misery, then. Got sick with the up and down of the sea. So they forgot about flyin when they could no their wings.

longer breathe the sweet scent of Africa.

who

Say the people

could

power, although they shed They kept their secret magic slaver)'.

who couldn't. One such who

wings.

in the land of

as the other

who had been comin you couldn't could fly from one

skin. Say

who

anymore one

could was an old man,

call

him Toby. And standin tall, yet afraid, was a young woman who once had wings. Call her

Now

Sarah.

Sarah carried a babe tied to her

back. She trembled to be so hard

stop to feed

worked

fell

pile,

labored in the fields from

to

lump of clay.

it

to the earth.

The old man

was

that

there, Toby,

A hard,

glinty coal.

A hard rock

wouldn't be moved. His Overseer on

horseback pointed out the slaves who were slowin down. So the one called Driver cracked his whip over the slow ones to

make them move

faster.

came

and helped her to her feet. "I must go soon," she told him. "Soon," he said.

up straight any longer. She was too weak. The sun burned her face. The babe cried and cried, "Pity me, oh, pity me," say it sounded like. Sarah was so sad and starvin, she sat down in the row. "Get up, you black cow," called the Overcouldn't

He pointed

stand

and the Driver's whip snarled around Sarah's legs. Her sack dress tore into rags. Her legs bled onto the seer.

earth.

his hand,

She couldn't get up.

Toby was there where there was no one to help her

and the babe.

"Now, before "Now, Father!

it's

too

late,"

"Yes, Daughter, the time

slaves

sundown. The owner of the slaves himself their Master. Say he was a hard

callin

loud. Sarah couldn't

Couldn't stop to soothe and

it.

down. She let it cry. She didn't want to. She had no heart to croon to it. "Keep that thing quiet," called the Overseer. He pointed his finger at the babe. The woman scrunched low. The Driver cracked his whip across the babe anyhow. The babe hollered like any hurt child, and the woman quiet

and scorned.

The sunup

up bawlin too

started

Sarah

kept their

their

They looked the same

people from Africa over, who had dark tell

fly

Say the child grew hungry. That babe

answered. "Go, as you

is

panted Sarah. come," Toby

know how to go!"

He raised his arms, holdin them out to yali, kum buba tambe," and her "Kum more magic words, said so quickly, they .

.

.

sounded like whispers and sighs. The young woman lifted one foot on the

Then the

That whip was a

She flew clumsily at first, with the child now held tightly in her arms. Then she felt the magic, the African

move

mystery. Say she rose just as free as a bird.

slice-open cut of pain. So they did

Had to. Sarah hoed and chopped the row babe on her back slept.

air.

As

faster.

as the

other.

light as a feather.

The Overseer rode

after

her,

hoUerin.

Sarah flew over the fences. She flew over

The People Could

Fly 575

the woods. Tall trees could not snag her. Nor

could the Overseer She flew

like

an eagle

now, until she was gone from sight. No one dared speak about it. Couldn't believe it. But it was, because the) that was there saw that it was. Say the next day was dead hot in the

fields.

A

man slave fell from the heat. The Driver come and whipped liim. Toby come over and

}'Oung

spoke words to the fallen one. The words of ancient Africa once heard are never remembered

The young man forgot them as he heard them. They went way inside him. He got up and rolled over on the air. He rode it awhile. And he flew away. Another and another fell from the heat. Toby was there. He cried out to the fallen and reached his arms out to them. "Kum kunka yali, completely.

soon

kum

as

.

.

.

tambe!" Wliispers and sighs.

And

they too rose on the air They rode the hot

The ones

were black and shinin wheelin above the head of the Overseer.

breezes. sticks,

flyin

They crossed the rows, the the streams, and were away.

fields,

the fences,

"Seize the old man!" cried the Overseer.

"1

heard him say the magic words. Seize him!"

The one callin himself Master come runnin. The Driver got his whip ready to curl around old Toby and tie him up. The slaveowner took his hip gun from its place. He meant to kill old,

They flew

black Toby.

heavenly blue. Black crows or black shadows.

But Toby

in a flock that

he threw back his head and said, "Hee, hee! Don't you know who 1 am? Don't you know some of us in this field?" He said it to their faces. "We are ones who fly!" And he sighed the ancient words that were a dark promise. He said them all around to the others in the field under the whip, "... buba yali buba tambe. There was a great outcryin. The bent backs straighted up. Old and young who were called slaves and could fly joined hands. Say like they

wasn't laughin.

would

to

just laughed. Say

."

.

.

circle.

.

.

ring-sing.

They

.

But they didn't shuffle in a

didn't sing.

They rose on the

576 The American Hero: Myth and Reality

air.

It

didn't matter, they

the plantation,

was black

went so

way over

against the

high. 'Way above

the slavery land. Say

they flew away to Free-dom.

And

the old man, old Toby, flew behind

them, takin care of them.

He

wasn't cryin.

He

He was the seer. His gaze fell on the plantation where the slaves who could not

fly

waited.

"Take us with you!" Their looks spoke

it

but

it. Toby couldn't take them with him. Hadn't the time to teach them

they were afraid to shovit

fly.

The}' must wait for a chance to run.

"Goodie-bye!"

The old man

called

Toby

spoke to them, poor

And he was

souls!

flyin gone. say.

the people

who

could

fly to their children.

Meet the Writer

(

1

936-

)

grew up

Yellow Springs, Ohio, an Underground

Railroad stop

where her grandfather had

tled after escaping

from slavery

it.

They did so love

who

could not

set-

in Virginia.

in-

this tale,"

she

tells

readers,

wanted you to understand the

beings."

in

darkness.

one

tales of slaves disap-

plausible explanation might be the

slaves running

Folktales

human

combined with

A

away while

wrote

to you.

rate accounts of flying Africans and slaves

The People Could

I

it

the black folk tale literature. Such accounts

cluding the award-winning folk tale collection

"I

and Free-

44 'The People Could Fly' is one of the most extraordinary, moving tales in black folklore. It almost makes us believe that the people cou/d fly. There are numerous sepa-

pearing.

American Black

told

I

are often

Fly:

firelight

told their children.

fly

And now, me, have

Hamilton grew up to be a celebrated writer

(1986).

sat

dom, and tellin. They say that the children of the ones

of books for children and young adults,

"because

they

horrors of slavery and to be touched by

Horrors of Slavery" Virginia Hamilton

told

these courageous

i Wanted You to Understand the

in

When

free.

close before the fire in the free land, they

The Overseer told it. The one called Master said it was a lie, a trick of the light. The Driver kept his mouth shut. The slaves who could not fly told about So they

Wlien they were

in

In

away from

slavery, slipping

the fields or under cover of

code language murmured from

slave to another,

'Come

away!' might

fly

have been the words used.

Another explanation wish-fulfillment

The Fly' is a

is

the

modf

People Could

detailed fantasy of

suffering, of

magic power

exerted against the so-called

Master and Finally,

it is

his underlings.

a powerful testa-

ment to the slaves

who

millions of

never had the

opportunity to

'fly'

They remained

slaves, as did

away.

their children. 'The People

Could

Fly'

was

retold by those

first

told and

who

had

only their imaginations to set

them

free.

99

The People Could

Fly

577

Making Meanings r

First

Thoughts

How did

1

told

—

you

about

feel

this folk tale?

(Consider style

— the way

it's

as well as content.)

Shapmg Interpretations 2.

The people who could fly have forgotten how to use you think makes them remember?

3.

Were you

Do you 4.

surprised that Toby didn't stay behind to help everyone escape?

think he

Why would

made

the right decision? Explain.

the people

left

behind

even after winning their freedom? opinion?

What do

their power.

(What purpose does the

in

slavery continue to

Why

is

the story

still

story

tell this

told today,

in

your

telling serve?)

Connecting with the Text Describe a story that

5.

is

told and retold

6.

You've

now

Writer's

to.

family,

What

your

is its

religious

message?

read both a biography about an escape from slavery ("Harriet

Tubman," page 557) and a

Choices:

your

in

community, or another group you belong

folk tale.

Which

did

you

find

more

effective?

Why?

Building Your Portfolio

Notebook

Creative Writing

Comparing and Contrasting

1.

Collecting Ideas for an

2.

Up, Up, and

Informative Report

Away

Read Meet

If

the Writer

power

on page 577,

you use

it?

and learn about Virginia

others,

like

Hamilton, a famous Ameri-

tale

can novelist and "teller" of

journal entry describing

folk tales.

Write down

least three questions

at

you

3.

Tubman

you had the to

how would Would you help

fly,

Toby

in

the folk

or Superman? Write a

your imaginary adventures in flight.

(You

Toby vs.

may want to

Both Toby and Harriet Tub-

man

led

people out of

ery into freedom.

other

similarities

slav-

What can you

between Toby and Tubman? How are they

find

different?

Name

three ways

could use to guide your re-

use your Quickwrite as a

in

search on Virginia Hamilton's

starter.)

are alike or different. You

life

and work or on black

American folklore

in

general.

578 The American Hero: Myth and Reality

which the two characters

might begin by collecting details in a

Venn diagram.

i

Grammar Link

MINI-LESSON

Joining Independent Clauses Use

a semicolon

between independent

clauses joined by such

words

Try

It

Copy

Language

after

all •

besides

Handbook

for instance

HELP

in fact

See Semi-

•

nevertheless

for

example

furthermore

instead

•

•

•

•

meanwhile

adding semicolons and

otherwise

where

to begin with

801-802.

•

therefore

they're needed.

•

on the other hand

• still •

commas

•

Many

1

•

colons,

pages

the following sentences,

•

however

•

Out

as these:

cultures have tales of

people

•

flying for

example the

ancient Greeks told the story

unfortunately

of Daedalus and his son, Icarus.

Toby couldn't take the other

EXAMPLES

people with him; after they didn't

Technology

know how

Daedalus wanted to free himself

2. all,

to

and Icarus from imprisonment fly.

therefore he created wings of

HELP

It

would probably have taken

See Language

too long to teach them;

Worksliop

he could have

feathers and wax.

still,

Icarus didn't listen to his father's

3.

tried.

warnings instead he flew away to

CD-ROM. Key word

(Notice that the connecting words are

entiy: semi-

always followed by a comma.)

try his wings. Icarus flew higher and higher

4.

colons.

unfortunately he flew so high that the sun melted his wings.

Spelling/Vocabulary

HOW TO OWN A WORD

Verbs with -cede, -ceed, and sede Only one verb

in

English

ends

in

-sede: supersede.

proceed, and succeed. All other verbs that

Only three verbs end

end with

this

in

sound have -cede

-ceed: exceed,

as their final

Complete each of the following sentences by filling in the blank with the best choice from the words below. (Use each word once.) You may want to use a dictionary. letters.

concede 1

intercede

precede

Frederick Douglass was born into slavery

in

secede

Maryland only a few years before

Harriet Tubman, but his escape would 2.

Many people, both continued to

3.

In its

more than a decade. Slave Law of 850 and

hers by

black and white, defied the Fugitive

on behalf of runaway

succeed

1

slaves.

1857 Dred Scott decision, the Supreme Court refused to

any rights

to African Americans, whether free or enslaved. 4.

John Brown hoped to march south and arm slaves for an uprising, but he did not ;

5. After

he was captured after he attacked a federal arsenal.

Abraham

Lincoln

was elected president

in

I860, six Southern states voted to

from the Union.

The People Could

Fly

579

^

Before You Read The Drummer Boy of Shiloh Make the Connection You Are There It is

a

warm

nessee.

April night

The year

ing the Civil

is

War

1

in

Ten-

862, dur-

a

drum

march

is

You

things.

New Ways

awake

When

two

Describing Mental Images

unlike

Bradbury says the

tures

we

we form in our minds as Two people reading

read.

is

the same text can form very different mental images. That's

comparing the drum to a

because readers combine their

own

beneath a tree, surrounded by

be aware of the figures of

You're thinking about the battle

speech

that will take place the next day.

you

this story,

—comparisons

visualize the night

personal knowledge and

experience with the writer's

that help

descriptions. You'll probably

scene

notice, for example, that the

and the terrible batde that

will

take place the next day.

A

mental images you form as

you read the next story and writing you

do you feel? What do you notice around

compares one thing to

Data Bank

What do Can you see by the moon, or

something very different. A figure of speech often

The

helps us see things

Date

you hear? smell?

too dark? Record your im-

pressions as

if

in

unusual ways.

you were there.

for

I>

just did.

figure of speech

How

is it

will

be affected by the thinking

are you thinking?

you?

are the pic-

is

thousands of sleeping soldiers.

Now write. What

Mental images

has a "lunar face," he

moon. As you read

Quickwrite

Skills

using a figure of speech; he

drum

to beat

lie

and Strategies

in

parisons between

for the soldiers as they into battle.

Figures of Speech: Seeing

Figures of speech are com-

You are only

the army. Your job

Reading

Things

fourteen years old, but you are in

Elements of Literature

go.hrw.com

more on

Figures of Speech,

Battle of Shiloh April 6-7, 1862

Location

In

Tennessee

near the Mississippi border

see pages 4 1-42 and the

beside the Tennessee River

Handbook

(Shiloh

of Literary Terms.

was

a nearby church.)

Generals •

—Ulysses Grant Confederate—Albert

Union

S.

with 65,000 troops

o Jackson

SITE OF THE BATTLE OF SHILOH, 1862

NESS

•

Sidney Johnston with

45,000 troops

Casualties 23,746 Shiloh Church

4^

Pittsburg Landing

Corinth • I

S S

S S

I

P P

Largest, bloodiest battle of

the Civil

(Larger battles, burg,

I

580 The American Hero: Myth and Reality

War to that point

were

still

like

Gettys-

to come.)

MliillilMI

Ill 'tn

the one of all the rest

k

ril live

I

who won't die.

through

it."

Ray Bradbury April night, more than once, blosfell from the orchard trees and llighted with rustling taps on the drumhead. At midnight a peach stone, left miraculously on a branch through winter,

n the soms

and unseen; it struck once, like panic, and jerked the boy upright. In silence he listened to his own heart ruffle away, away at last gone from his ears and back in his chest again. After that he flicked

by a

him whenever he opened his eyes. His face, alert or at rest, was solenui. It was a solemn time and a solenm night for a boy just turned fourteen in the peach orchard near Owl Creek, not far from the

church at Shiloh.

bird, fell swift

"... thirty-one

^

K,

—

turned the

:,

^ /'

great lunar

face peered at

,,

V ~

.

thirty-two

Unable to

shadows, forty thou-

|Sand men, exhausted by nei^ \ vous expectation and unable

on its side, where its

.

he stopped counting. Beyond the thirty-three

liliar

^"~'

drum

.

thirty-three."

r sleep JF

for romantic

dreams

battles yet unfbught, lay

Drummer Boy of Shiloh

5.

askew in their uniforms. A niile farther another army was strewn helter-skelter, turn-

the boy

move

crazily

these

on,

one of those great prairie-burning trains had chanted them away, never to return— leaving him with this drum, which was worse than a toy in the game to be played tomorrow or someday much too soon. The boy turned on his side. A moth brushed his face, but it was peach blossom. A peach blossom flicked him, but it was a moth. Nothing stayed put. Nothing had a name. Notliing was as it once was. If he stayed ver}' still when the dawn came up and the soldiers put on their brav-

ing slowly, basting themselves with the thought

of what they would do leap, a yell, a blind

when

came

the time

plunge their

—

raw

strategy,

youth their protection and benediction.

Now

and again the boy heard a vast wind come up that gently stirred the air. But he knew what it was the army here, the army there, whispering to itself in the dark. Some

—

men

murmuring to was like a natural

talking to others, others

themselves, and

all

so quiet

it

element arisen from South or North with the motion of the earth toward dawn. Wliat the

last,

than a

said a voice.

night, stood over him.

good

their rifles

strewn

steel

with bayonets fixed

like

time once

And

the voice

elbow. The

man

"Me" thought the boy, "/ got only a drum, two sticks to beat it, and no shield." There wasn't a man-boy on this ground tonight who did not have a shield he cast, riveted, or carved himself on his way to his first attack, compounded of remote but nonetheless firm and fiery family devotion, flag-blown patriotism, and cocksure immortality, strengthened by the touchstone of very real gunpowder, ramrod, Minie ball,^ and flint. But without

bending near

askew

bindled: bundled together. Minie (niin'e) ball: cone-shaped

3.

it

over Won't be

was about

to

move on when drum at his

the boy, startled, touched the

The boy could

1.

above, hearing

feel

liis

A hand must

in

the 1800s.

582 The American Hero: Myth and Reality

him slowly

have come

out of the night, for there was a

little

down

rat-tat as

the fingernails brushed and the man's breath

fanned the boy's "WTiy,

it's

the

face.

drummer boy,

isn't it?"

The boy nodded, not knowing seen. "Sir

is

if liis

nod was

he said. The man's knees cracked as

that you?"

"I assume it is." he bent still closer He smelled as all fathers should smeU, of salt-sweat, tobacco, horse and

Words to Own used

stopped.

this,

eyes, sense

(a-skvoo'): crookedly; not in straight lines. rifle bullet,

'Well," said

starts."

it all

eternal lightning lost in the orchard grass.

2.

him-

the voice quietly, "here's a soldier crying

before the fight. Good. Get

For with the careless bones of the young men, harvested by night and bindled' around

bones of

The boy shut

self, but it was too late. Someone, walking by in the

very well for them, they can give as as they get!"

similarly

himself.

by thunder now,"

his eyes to hide inside

thought the boy, "that's all

were the

to}'

"Well,

one of all the rest who won't die. I'll live through it. I'll go home. The band wiU play. And I'll be there to hear it."

campfires,

far-

no more

lying small here,

was

"Me, I'm the one, I'm the

"Yes,"

yet

if

might go away, the war with them, and not notice him

the boy could only guess, it

his family

ery with their caps, perhaps they

men whispered

and he guessed that

felt

ther off in the dark, as

benediction (ben'a-dik'shan) a;

blessing.

leather, and the earth he walked upon. He had many e^es. No, not eyes, brass buttons that watched the boy. He could only be, and was, the general. "What's your name, boy?" he asked. "Joby, sir," whispered the boy, starting to sit up. "All right, Joby, don't stir." A hand pressed his chest gently, and the boy relaxed. "How long you been with us, Joby?" "Three weeks, sir." "Run off from home or join legitimate, boy?"

boot

months; they should do the same. But here blood

lust,

taking our sulfur with cannons

stead of with molasses,^ as to

be

row "I

ing around in

boys

And

the others

not caring takes

general a

stopped pile of

little

>

moment strike fire to them to see his way through the coming days when the sun might not show its face because of what was happening here and

"God's truth. Thinking of everything ahead. Both sides figuring the other side will just give up, and soon, and the war done in weeks and us all home. Well, that's not how it's going to

And maybe

that's

why I

cried."

The general must have taken out a cigar now, for the dark was suddenly filled with the Indian smell of tobacco unlighted yet, but chewed as the man thought what next to say. "It's going to be a crazy time," said the general. "Counting both sides, there's a hundred thousand men give or take a few thousand out there tonight, not one as can spit a sparrow off a tree or knows a horse clod from a Minie ball. Stand up, bare the breast, ask to be a target, thank them, and sit down, that's us, that's them. We should turn tail and train four

—

just

beyond.

The boy watched the hand stirring the leaves and opened his lips to say something, but did not say it. The general heard the boy's breath and spoke himself.

am

what you wanted to ask, eh? Well, when you got a bunch of wild horses on a loose rein somewhere, somehow you got to bring order, rein them in. ""Why

said Joby.

—

of

winter leaves and twigs in the dark, as if he might at any

sir."

sir?"

sir,"

The

and made

for tomor-

last night."

"Yes,

full

them."

\

or the next day, Joby? think so,

be

will

it

where the current

much older. Raw,

You ready

fear

I

again, just floating, at sim-

down tomorrow,

"You want to cry some more, go on ahead. I did the same

be.

was full of boys splashthe noonday sun just a few

hours ago.

right off the tree

fell

"You,

see

out of pure Cherokee enthusiasm than ever got

raw, darn raw, the lot of

you.

— going

And I can

them over there nodding agreement, save the other way around. It's wrong, boy, it's wrong as a head put on hind-side front and a man marching backward through life. Sometime this week more innocents will get shot

"Darn-fool question," said the general.

here, not

should be

all

"Do you shave yet, boy? Even more of a fool. There's your overhead.

it

a hero, going to live forever.

it

in-

shot before. Oil Creek

Silence.

cheek,

we

taken with spring fever and thinking

arc,

These

I

telling

lads, fresh

you

out of the milkshed, don't

know what know; and I

actually die in

this? That's

I

can't

war So each

is

tell

his

them— men own army.

them. And

I

make one army of need you." "Me!" The boy's lips barely twitched.

got to boy,

for that,

I

"You, boy," said the general quietly. "You are 4.

Sulfur

and molasses was used to

treat constipation

and

other illnesses.

The Drummer Boy of Shiloh 583

the heart of the army. Think about that.

You

are

the heart of the army. Listen to me, now."

And

lying there,

Joby

listened.

eral spoke. If he, Joby, beat

And

the gen-

slow tomorrow, the

would beat slow in the men. They would by the wayside. They would drowse in the fields on their muskets. They would sleep forever after that in those same fields, their hearts slowed by a drummer boy and stopped by enemy lead. But if he beat a sure, steady, ever-faster rhythm, then, then, their knees would come up in a long line down over that hill, one knee after the other, like a wave on the ocean shore. Had he seen the ocean ever seen the waves heart lag

—

—

rolling in like a well-ordered cavalry charge to

was it, that's what he what was needed. Joby was his

the sand? Well, that

wanted;

that's

right

hand and

Joby

set the pace.

his

left.

He gave

the orders, but

So bring the right knee up and the right foot left knee up and the left foot out, one following the other in good time, in brisk time. Move the blood up the body, and make the head proud and the spine stiff and the jaw resolute. Focus the eye and set the teeth; flare the nostril and tighten the hands; put steel armor all over the men, for blood moving fast in them does indeed make men feel as if they'd put on steel. He must keep at it, at it! Long and steady, steady and long! Then, even though

out and the

wounds got in hot blood stir — would feel less pain. If their blood was cold, it would be more than slaughter: It would be murderous nightmare shot or torn, those in

God willing, many nights from many years from now, when you're as far much older than me, when they ask

"Good. And, tonight,

old or

you what you did in this awful time, you will tell them one part humble and one part proud I was the drummer boy at the battle of Owl Creek or of the Tennessee River, or maybe they'll just name it after the church there. I was the drummer boy at Shiloh. Good grief that has a beat and sound to it fitting for Mr Longfellow. I was the drummer boy at Shiloh.' 'Who will ever hear those words and not know you, boy, or what you thought this night, or what you'll think tomorrow or the next day when we must get up on our legs and move."

—

—

The general stood you, boy.

"Good

Good night,

And

sir."

polish, salt-sweat,

away

up. "Well, then,

God

bless

night."

and

tobacco, brass, boot

leather, the

man moved

throvigh the grass.

moment staring, but unable to see where the man had gone. He swallowed. He wiped his eyes. He cleared his throat. He Joby

lay for a

Then, at last, very slowly and he turned the drum so it faced up to-

settled himself. firmly,

ward the

He

sky.

arm around it, feeling the tremor, the touch, the muted thunder as all lay

next to

his

it,

the rest of the April night in the year 1862, near

Owl

the Tennessee River, not far from the

Creek, very close to the church the peach blossoms

fell

named

Shiloh,

on the drum.

blood he'd helped

and pain best not told and no one to guess. The general spoke and stopped, letting his breath slack off Then, after a moment, he said, "So there you are, that's it. Will you do that, boy? Do you know now you're general of the army when the general's left behind? The boy nodded mutely. "You'll run them through for me then, boy? "Yes,

sir."

584 The American Hero: Myth and Reality

5. Mr. Longfellow: Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-1882), popular American poet who was known for writing poems with strong, regular rh>'thms. (See "Paul Revere s Ride." page 5.^7.)

Words to Own resolute (rez'a-loot')

tremor

(trem'ar)

n.:

adj.:

purposeful; determined.

quiver; vibration.

For a biography of Ray Bradbury, see page 22

1

Making Meanings First

Thoughts

Go did

back to your Quickwrite notes.

your

feelings

compare

feelings at the start of the story?

you

feel

How Reading Check

with the boy's

How

do

Where and when does

a.

now?

story take place?

How

b.

Shaping Interpretations 2.

The

you think

Find the place

in

thinks of fathers.

about Joby 's 4.

the

drummer

he

is

d.

just trying

Why

is

the boy so afraid?

(What do the story

What

tell

the soldiers have

that he does not have?)

where Joby

could this

the next

day?

he mean?

to help the boy? 3.

is

What will happen

c.

the

is

What does

true, or

it is

old

boy?

general says that the boy

"heart of the army."

Do

this

According to the general,

e.

you

why does he need drummer boy?

feelings?

the

After the Battle of Shiloh, the orchards

and

fields

near

Owl Creek were

littered

with the bodies of over 23,000 young men. Find passages where the general indicates that he knows the battle will be a bad one. Do you think the

drummer boy

survives?

Why, or why

not?

How

5.

do you think the writer wants you to and the general and the war itself?

6.

Bradbury's story

is

rich in

uses a figure of speech

figures of speech.

when he

right off the tree overhead."

What comparison find

comparisons to help you see things will

about the drummer boy

On

page 583 the general

says to the boy: "There's

Skim back through the story, and story do you think you

feel

in

is

your cheek,

fell

the general making?

other places where Bradbury uses

new

ways.

What image from

the

remember most?

Connecting with the Text 7.

were drummer boys in both armies during the Many of them were runaways or homeless boys. What clue

There

really

you that Joby is probably a runaway? After reading you feel about the practice of using boys as drummers?

tells

Civil in

War

the story

this story,

how do

Challenging the Text 8.

Bradbury never Confederate.

good

tells

Why

us which side the

do you think he

decision? Explain

why or why

for CnuiLc:. uLuviuc^, u <j,u,n,,,u, story,

drummer boy

left

is

on

—Union or

that out of the story?

Was

it

a

not.

^„i/< activity,

and a Vocabulary

activity

based on

this

see pages 599-600.

The Drummer Boy of Shiloh 585

W^

Before You Read The Deserter the time. They try to help us

Make the Connection

see

Deserter!

how

people of that time

thought and

What does the word

deserter

felt

Reading Skills

and what their

and Strategies

problems were.

mean to you? When have you heard the word used? Would

Ray Bradbury's "The Drummer Boy of Shiloh" (page 58 is also a good example of his-

Using Prior Knowledge: You Know a Lot Already

1

you want to be

called a deserter?

torical fiction.

It

already

Quickwrite

the

With your

view of a young drummer boy.

class-

mates, brainstorm

the things the

you could

If

War from

the point of

your head that

you brainstormed and

wrote about the word

deserter

you're stuck,

start by finding a

rlistorical fiction is

Record the group's ideas on

historical characters

and

a cluster map.

prior knowledge and experi-

includes both

It

ence.

more on

What you

already

about the American

fictional characters. will

For

deserter,

you were tapping into your

set during a real histori-

definition in a dictionary.

in

—the information

in

helps you understand a text.

When

cal era.

the board

what you

is

know

you have

all

word

brings to mind.

Civil

Prior knowledge

helps us see

Historical Fiction,

as

know

Civil

you read the next

story.

see the Handbool< of Literary

Elements of Literature

go.hrw.com

Terms.

Historical Fiction:

But

True?

Is It

Irene

Hunt wrote

Aprils to give

readers a personal

knowledge of the

The it is

novel set

is

Civil

historical

War. era

real historical

peo-

ple (in this section. President

Lincoln).

It is

also includes

ters

fiction

it

made-up charac-

—

^Jethro, Eb,

members

because

and

all

of their family.

the

The

best writers of historical fiction try to depict the

customs of

Literature and Social Studies During Lincoln's presidency, the

because

in a real historical

and features

Background

Across Five

Civil

War dramatically

divided the nation as states declared their allegiance either

to the Union or to the Confederacy. Families, too, were

sometimes divided when support different

sides. In

Jethro Creighton

lives

Illinois.

His brothers

friend. Shad,

army.

Bill,

and

his

individual

his family

and John,

to fight for the Confederacy.

number

on

a farm

in

to

southern

his sister Jenny's

cousin Eb are fighting

his favorite brother,

opens, the

members chose

"The Deserter" eleven-year-old

with

Tom

in

boy-

the Union

has disappeared, presumably

In

1

863,

when

this

story

of deserters from both the Union and

Confederate armies was alarmingly high

—and

War

make connections

help you

still

growing.

f-

I

r

from Across Five Aprils

Irene Hunt

nen a skeleton came among the trees.

outfrom

"It is.

This has bin Eb's

lad of ten or

"Have you seen him "Why, no. Him and

night in February of '63, as the family sat

One around down

open

the

fire,

a

wagon

clattered

the road from the north and stopped

Opening the door, Jethro saw three young men jump down from the wagon and stride up to the pt)rch. "Is this the home of Matthew Creighton? one of them asked. Jethro noticed the crispness in front of the house.

of the voice "Yes,

come

sir,

father's right here. Will

you

They came

inside

with a great

clatter of heavy

Nancy and

fa-

Ellen held the small boys

Matt tried to

are representatives of the Federal Regis-

we

a

lately?"

my

son Thomas

August of

in

'61.

left to-

My own

officer has reason to be-

he has been making his he way toward this part of the state we assume toward his home." Matt lifted a shaking hand and covered his eyes. Jenny glanced at him anxiously and then is

and

that

suddenly blazed out

rise.

you a few questions." The young man who spoke threw back his coat to show his uniform and insignia. trars;

Army

commanding

lieve that

"We

"Stay seated, sir 'We're here to ask

"We

was

—

boots. Jemiy stood, wide-eyed, beside her

tightly in their arms.

since he

boy was kilt at Pittsburg Landing; we ain't heered from Eb but once since then." "You know the penalty for shielding a deserter from the United States Army?" "I do. Air you tellin' me that Eb is a deserter?" "His

indoors?"

ther's chair;

gether for the

— an upstate voice, he thought. my

home

so.""

are charged with hunting

down

the questioner.

haven't seen Eb. He's not here, and

this

talk.

you want

to look

through

this

"

house

"We

If

I'll

my father with more of

thank you not to worry

de-

from the United States Army" "Will you take chairs, gentlemen?" Matt said evenly, but Jethro noticed the sudden paleness

at

do.

Miss— this house and all other build-

serters

ings around here."

of his father's face.

Jenny grasped the kerosene lamp with a firm hand. "Jeth, you come with me. We'll show these soldiers through the house; they can

is

"Thank you, no. We are here to inquire if this the home of Ebenezer Carron, 17th Illinois

Infantry,

Army

of Tennessee."

hunt outside for themselves." 1.

Pittsburg Landing:

6-~, 1862). See "The

site

of the Battle of Sliiloh (April

Drummer Boy

of Shiloh," page S80.

The Deserter 587

mmwn

Her anger made Jenny a very grand lad)', He had never seen her more beautiful than she was that night, with her cheeks flaming and her eyes large and black with mixed anger and fear. The soldiers grinned a little among themselves and followed her and Jethro to the sleeping rooms in the loft, then down to the kitchen and pantry, where Jenny took down the big key to the smokehouse and handed it to one of the men. "We lock the smokehouse these nights. It's true there are deserters in these parts, and there's thievin' around everywhere. But we're not shieldin' anyone. Go look in the smokehouse for }'ourselves; go tlirough the barn, the grainery, everywhere you think someone might be hidin'. After that I could say you'd best go down to the Point Prospect campground. The talk is that there are plent}' of de-

Jethro thought.

serters there."

The Federal Registrars looked imcomfortable. "Yes, we've heard," one of them muttered. Jenny nodded. "It is easier to come to a house and upset a sick old man and scared womenfolk. Nobody in this neighborhood thinks

it's

healthy to go

down to Point Prospect, just now — I thought

but you sounded so brave

588 The American Hero: Myth and Reality

you might want to do your duty down there. The man who had done the questioning

bowed mockingl)

before Jenn}'.

"We'll see to our duty, Miss,

and

if

we

find

Ebenezer Carron on this place, we'll take him back with us and maybe you, too." He turned toward Jethro. "Will you get a lantern, young man, and light us out back?"

—

Jetliro

took

down

the lantern that

hung on

the outside wall of the kitchen and started the path toward the barn.

The

followed, laugliing with one another

them fell

One

of

into step with Jethro after a time.

"Is that girl

"Yes,

down

Federal Registrars

your

sister?"

sir."

"Well, she's quite a

little

beauty."

Jethro did not answer His silence

seemed

to

provoke the young man. "I said that your sister is quite a little beauty, did you hear me?" "She's spoke fer," Jethro answered shortly. The young man shrugged and called out to the others. "I've just

come upon some

very

in-

The beautiful little spit" up at the ancestral mansion is spoke fer." They laughed a great deal over that, and ex-

teresting information: fire

aggerating the southern Illinois drawl and the

backwoods

diction, thev

made

considerable

sport over the boy's remark. Jethro

his face

felt

burn with anger, but something new had been pointed up to him, something in the long process of learning to which he would be sensitive for the rest

of his days. Until then he had

not thought of his speech as being subject to

and listen. Once when he halted his team and walked a little distance toward the woods, the calls came furiously, one after the other; then when he returned to his team and moved toward the west, they stopped until he had made the round of the field. After

ridicule.

soldiers searched the place thoroughly

The

several

and then started back to their wagon. One of them spoke sternly to Jethro on the way. if this man, Ebenezer Carron, turns up, you

rifle,

know what

was giving him

"No,

to do?"

listen.

You

get

word

to

the Office of the Federal Registrars in Chicago right away, telling

You

them where the man

fail

to report him,

is

or ex-

and you and

your family will be up to your necks

Do you

walked into the woods. His heart beat fast he walked, and his slim brown hand clutching the rifle was wet with sweat. Ed Turner

as

a day's help in the field across

the road, but Jethro chose not to

sir."

"Then you'd better

pects to be.

of this pattern,

repetitions

Jethro tethered his team and, taking up his

in trouble.

understand?"

He was deeply antagomen, but he knew they were

Jethro nodded briefly.

nized by these

simply carrying out a job assigned to them.

the throat of a man.

was glad when the wagon carried away— to the north. Evidently they were them not going down to the deserters' camp at Point

nally. ""VCTiat is

Anywa}', he

Prospect, not that night anyway.

call

him

al-

though he had a guilt)' feeling that he was taking a foolish and dangerous chance. He walked slowly and carefully, pausing now and then to listen. The calls stopped for a while, and he was half convinced that they had actually come from a wild bird; he made no move for a few minutes, and they began again, softer now and more certainly coming from still. "Hello," he called fiyou want of me?" There was no answer Then the call came again, softly, insistently, from a clump of trees, one of which was a tremendous old oak long since hollowed out, first b)' lightning and then

Jethro stood quite it

—

there

was

an early spring that year

By the

of March the weather was warm, and the

first

liigh-

er fields were dry enough for plowing. Jetliro carried a rifle with him when he went down to John's place to work: EUen fretted a great deal

about

it,

but Matt insisted. Jethro had learned

was always how to handle a gun possible that he might bring down some kind of wild game for the table, or that he would have properly,

need

and

it

to defend himself against a desperate

man.

March by dense woods, and

The field he plowed was bordered on the east Jethro became conscious that each time he approached the woods side of the field, the sharp, harsh call of a wild turkey would sound that day in early

out with a strange kind of insistence as

if

some

stupid bird

demanded

by decay. Jethro walked closer, his gun raised, and after a minute, the

been

he stop

voice which he had

"Put yore gun down, Jeth;

hurt ye.

1

1

ain't aimin' to

didn't dast take the chancet of

Ed

Turner hearin' me call to ye." He thought joyfully of Bill at first. He shouldn't have; almost every night he heard liis parents

Eb and of what uncertainties they would face if he were really a deserter and if he should suddenly appear But Jethro had forgottalking of

moment; the possibility of Bill's rewas always a hope far back in liis mind. "'Who is it?" he asked again. "Come out and

ten Eb for the turn

— almost

that

human

half expecting to hear called out to him.

let

me see your face." The Deserter 589

Then

came out from among the

a skeleton

was the skeleton of a Union soldier, though the uniform it wore was so ragged and filthy it was difficult to identify. The sunken cheeks were covered with a thin scattering of fuzz; the hair was lank and matted. It fell over trees.

It

the skeleton's forehead and

The boy "Jeth,

stared at

it

it

you've growed past

exclaimed in Eb, ain't

realized

eyes.

and

I

a voice hardly

"Yes,"

he

above

a

whisper

said, "I

reckon

in the soldier's voice. it's

Eb

— what there's

Army of the United States."

Abe's

could find no words. "Desertin' ain't a purt}'

and the

fact that not only the

Eb, but his

word

method of announc-

he was a deserter But

few seconds was Eb, a part of the family, the boy who had been close to Tom, the soldier who would have more vivid stories to teU of the war than ever a newspaper would be able to publish. He held out liis hand. "Eb, it's good it's so good to see you. Pa for those first

Jethro could only remember that

—

to:

made

believable.

this

word

to you,

is it?

—

I done it I don't jest know why. We'd had another skirmish and there was dead boys that we had to bury the next day and we'd

—

stand a

it

man

time

of him.

gave credence

OF

bin licked agin. All at oncet

ing liimself gave credence to' the suspicion that

2.

left

Well,

was. "Eb," he

it

it?

which preceded

up and

couldn't git

For a few seconds Jethro forgot the Federal Registrars

"

Jethro could only stare at his cousin; he

believin'. I've

all

off,

who

There was utter despair left

its

— how you've growed."

Then Jethro "It's

into

will

—

without speaking.

bin watchin' you from fur

over

down

Ma

be he stopped suddenly. He noticed that Eb ignored his outstretched hand. "Yore pa and ma will be scairt that's what you mean, ain't it? Scairt fer themselves and ashamed of me." He paused for a second and then added defiantly, "I deserted, you know; I

and

no has

gittin'

I

knowed I couldn't

and I jest up and left. Oncet done fer. I've bin a long home, and now that I'm here, it

longer, left,

he's

no comfert." "Eb, couldn't you just come up to the house and see them for a few hours or so? Couldn't you have a good meal and get cleaned up and tell the folks all you know about Tom?" ain't

"I cain't. I

Besides, they

could

would

git

em

into awful trouble.

prob'ly jest as soon not set

eyes on the likes of me agin. "But, Eb, if you can't come up to the house, what did you come for? Eb's face showed quick anger. "I come because I couldn't help myself, that's why. You

\)Wm

don't

know what

it's

like

bab) and the pet of the

— you that was alius the fam'l)'.

There be things

that air too terr'ble to talk about

— and you want

where you used to be happy, you want to smell the good air of old Illinois so much that you tergit you go craz>' fer an hour or so and then you don't dare go back." He shivered and leaned back against a tree trunk as if just talking had taken more strength than he had to spend. "Have }'Ou been down to the Point Prospect camp? Jethro asked after a while. "A couple days. It's worse than the war down there, with fellers afraid and gittin' meaner as they git more afraid. I didn't come back to be with soldiers any^vay. I'm sick of soldiers, livin' and dead; I'm sick of all of em.' He threw himself down on a thick padding of dead leaves and motioned Jethro to do the same. Uncle "I want ye to tell me about em, Jeth Matt and Aunt Ellen, Jenny "You knew Pa had a heart attack; he's not been himself since. Ma's tolerable, and Jenny's fine. We do the work of the farm together, Jenny and me." "And John, Shad where air they? They to see the tields

—

—

"

—

."

.

.

—

jined up, didn't they? 'Yes,

named

John's in Tennessee under a general

Rosecrans.

And

Shad's in the East with

the yVrmy of the Potomac.

He was

at

Antietam

Creek and Fredericksburg; you heard of them two battles, didn't you? ""We hear precious little except what's happenin' in the part of the country we're

in. I've

heered of Ol' Abe kickin' out that fine McClellan;^ it's a pity he don't kick out a passel of 'em out in the West." Eb seemed absorbed in his

Antietam (antet'^m) Creek and Fredericksburg: battle fought at Antietam, in western Maryland, on vSeptember 17, 1862, was one of the bloodiest of the war, leaving more than 23,000 dead or wounded. The battle fought at Fredericksburg, Virginia, on December 13, 1862, ended in a major C^onfederate victory. 3-

The

McClellan: Ceorge B. McClellan (1826-1885), Union general removed by Lincoln in November 1862 for being too cautious and slow to act. 4.

angry thoughts for a while; then he looked up at

Jethro again.

"And Bill, did ever you hear from him?" "Not a word," Jethro replied in a voice that

was hardly "I

audible.

guess you took that hard. You was

alius a

pet of Bills." "All

of us took

hard."

it

Tom and me

"Yore pa wrote tried to did.

He

pretend he didn't keer, but cried oncet

—

1

wouldn't

Tom know he

about I

tell

it.

that "cept

now it"s no matter." "No," Jethro agreed dully,

Eb took

a

"now it's no matter."

dry twig and broke

up

it

into a

dozen pieces, aimlessly. "How did you git the word about Tom? he "

asked

finally.

"Dan Lawrence was home on sick leave. His pa brought him over; he told us all about it." "I was at Pittsburg Landing too, but I didnt know about Tom not fer two or three days. I wanted to write, but somehow I couldnt do it. Tom and me had bin in s-wimmin" the day before the Rebs suprised us; we was both of us in good spirits then, laughin" and carryin' on like we done in the old days back home. Somehow all the spirit in me has bin gone ever since. I could

—

stand tilings as long as

He

I

had

Tom along with me."

ran his hand across his eyes as

out a picture or a memory. "Tell

me

if

to shut

about

little

is she still in love with Shad Yale?" "More than ever, I guess. She writes to him a lot; he sets great store by her letters." "He ought to. A man needs a girls nice letters when hes sufferin' with the homesick. I wisht Id had a girl like Jenny to write to me, but there aint many such as her, I reckon." Jethro studied Ebs sunken cheeks and dull

Jenny;

eyes.

"How do you manage to "I

the

don"t do

it

land— steal

eat,

Eb?"

reglar, that's shore. a

little,

shoot

me

I

live off

a rabbit or

and cook em over a low fire late at night. It ain't good eatin', but nothin's good these days like it used to be." squirrel

The Deserter 591

Jethro's insides twisted in sympathy.

hungry now, Eb?" i'm alius liungry. Ye

"Are

camps of

and sick as I am; they

)'Ou

used to

git

it

after a

Point Prospect.

I'll

let

me some grub

weak

fellers as

me know that quick at

either freeze or starve

be ketched. Id gi\e

while."

want

deserters don't

about an^thin'

just

my old outfit and pitch A soldier don't have to

— or if

I

"Nancy tixed with me; I'll go get it for you." He ran to the fencerow where he had left two pieces of bread and the cuts from a particularly tender haunch of beef that Nancy had

could walk back to

into

the fightin' agin.

feel

wrapped in a white cloth for him. Ordinarily he would have eaten the snack by midafternoon, but the wild-turke}' calls had made him forget it. He returned to Eb minutes later with

hopeless the more he thought.

the food and a jug of water.

the pounding of his heart

to bring to the

field

They

sat

together in the shadows, while

Eb ate with an appetite

was

that

like a hungr)'

"Eb, I've got to after a while.

tell

you," Jethro said quietly

"The soldiers that

the Federal Registrars was

at

call

themselves

the house lookin'

you last month." Eb seemed to shrink within

himself.

hands

he

for

at his

carefully, as if

cared about inspecting them, and his

worked

Jethro sat for a while trying to think of

way out

of the situation;

He

really

mouth He

in a strange, convulsive grimace.

wouldn't look

at Jethro

when he

— at

was an awful fool chancet in battle — maybe "I

it's

but its a chancet. This way,

no place on

this earth fer

I

finally

least

one

spoke.

you got

in a

a

hunderd,

got none. There's

me

to go.

Even the

some

appeared more

it

He was

fright-

— for the despairing man in front of him,

ened

for himself

and

his

family.

When

he

finally

spoke, he tried hard to sound reassuring, but

you

""Well,

grub

and

can

I

a

stay here

Im

Eb.

thin",

things from

animal's.

looked

ashamed."

made his voice shake.

we can think of some-

goin' to get

Nancys

lay

till

you some

and you what

quilts

place; 111 bring

hands on

chicken for you.

I

—

I

can always get eggs

think

youd

best eat

all

you can and rest for a spell; well think of what "s to be done when once you get a little stronger. Eb looked up then. "You all but fool me into believin' that somethin' kin be done, Jeth, but 1 know better. You ner no one else kin help me now not even Ol" Abe liisseLf."

—

or Abe.

Mr. Lincoln. Mr. President.

ought to go back to work now, Eb." "I guess so," Eb looked at him with a sviggestion of a smile. "I caint git used to it you bein" seem alenough handle a team alone. You big to most a man these days, Jeth; even yore hair ain't quite as yaller and curly as it used to be." Jethro turned away. "I'll bring you a quilt from Nancys before I go in for the night," he "I

—

said shortly.

He walked back was

time to plow a dozen furrows before

still

sunset

to his waiting team; there

— and to think.

He had the night

faced sorrow

Guy Wortman

when

Bill left

tried to pull

from the wagon; he had

felt

and fear

him down

a terrible empti-

WoRDS TO Own grimace

(grim'is)

or disgust.

n.;

twisting of the face expressing pain

went away and deep anger the night he watched the barn burn ness the day Shaclrach and Jolin

at

the hands of the count)- rutTians. But in his

eleven years he had never been faced with the responsibility- of

making

a fearful decision like

the one confronting him.

The

loomed big

in his

be

brother

in

serious

Tom and

fought to the

last

trouble."

the

Loyalt)'

to

his

many thousands who had

ditch at Pittsburg Landing, at

Antietam, Fredericksburg, and

all

the other

places that were adding length to the long list

— how could loyalty to these men be true

one w^ere going

man who

to harbor

simply

and give comfort to

if

a

boys

little

I

it

up

to you'

— and then what could he do? Why,

he'd be caught in the

old man;

it

same

trap

Fm

now;

in

I'd

and leave the decidin' to a sick

put him in the spot where any

I'd

he decided would be bad

— hurtful

way

to a man's

conscience. No, there ain't an answer that's any plainer to an old

was

it

that

man

man

than

it

is

me. And what

to

said the day of the barn-raisin?

'It's good that you're a boy and don't have to worry yourself about tliis war.' Wliy yes, no doubt about it, eleven-year-old boys ain't got a thing to worry about; tliis year of 1863 is a fine,

carefree time for eleven-year-old boys.

said, "I quit."

alone

is left all

how do you feel when things like that come up? "Of course, right now could say to Pa I leave

wriggle out of

authority of the law

mind; he remembered, "You and your family will

and Nancy and her

." .

.

on the other hand, how did one feel at night if he awoke and remembered, "Fm the one that sent my cousin to his death." Eb was

Jenny noticed his preoccupation at supper that night. She waited until the others were out

— not now, an^^way. People

on your mind, Jeth?" He threw himself down in front of the fireplace and closed his eyes. He knew it would be hard to deceive his sister; there was a determination about Jenny. "You'd better tell me, Jeth. I'll find out, you

But,

not a hero, certainly

scorned

the likes of Eb; sure, so didjethro,

and

yet

"How do I know what I'd be like if was sick and scared and hopeless; how does Ed Turner or Mr. Milton or cmy man know that ain't been I

We

remember that Eb has been in battles for two years; maybe he's been a hero in them battles, and maybe to go on bein' a hero in a war that has no end in sight is too much to ask

there?

got to

.

.

.

.

Sure,

deep down

in

me,

me free of feelin'

I

want Eb

to get out,

of the kitchen and she andjethro were

"What

"You don't give "Jeth,

scared like a wild animal that's bein' hunted.

little

—

more and more soldiers quit and go into the woods and leave the fightin' to them that won't quit? What do you say to yourself when you remember that you fed and helped someone like Eb and maybe "But what's

it

goin' to

be

like if

you get a letter from the East that Shad is and you see Jenny grievin', or that John is

killed

any worry;

there's

have you had some news about Shad

or John?"

come."

—

me

nothin' to find out."

him grub, or takin' the risk of keeptn' it a secret that he's here. Yes, it would leave me free if he'd just move on but no, it wouldn't I ain't goin' to be free when he moves on; I can't set down to a table and forget that someone sick as Eb looks to be is livin' off the land, that he's livin'

give

tired."

know."

"No,

that I'm doin'

alone.

that's

"Nothin. Just

wrong to

to leave

is it

left

how

could

I?

You know what mail has

"You might ha' talked to someone." "Well, I ain't. Not to anyone that knows a word about Shad or John." She worked at her dishpan for a while in silence; then she walked over and poked him a with the toe of her shoe.

"There's somethin', Jeth. too.

Now

about Eb?

I

Is

want

to

Nancy noticed

know — is

it

it

somethin"

he here with the deserters?

Words to own preoccupation (pre-ak'yoo-pa'shan) absorbed

in

n.:

state of being

thought.

killed

The Deserter 593

He turned couldn't

his head away from remember when he had lied

her;

he

to Jenny,

was

Milton, but there

Newton

trip to

at this

little

chance to make a

time of year Wliat about

and he wasn't sure that he could do it well. "Jenny, you vex me when I'm not feelin' so well. Can't I have an upset stummick without

Ed Turner, staunch, levelheaded neighbor? No, Ed had two sons in the army; it wouldnt do to

me? She stood looking down at him thoughtfulh for a while, and then an idea stemming from

thought of Eb's words. "You ner no one else

you

firin'

a passel of questions at

experience

with

older

struck her She dropped

brothers

down

suddenly

Jenny was triumphant. "That's it! I know without your sayin' it," she crowed. "You look white, the way Tom and Eb did once when they tried it." It was ver}^ simple to lie without words; he merely opened his eyes and grinned sheepishly at her "I'm su'prised you would be that silly, Jeth. With so much spring work to do, you don't have the time to get sick over smokin." She shook her head. "How do you expect to keep goin' when you didn't more than touch your meal tonight?" for

seized the opportunity to get

some food

Eb without detection. ""Would you fix me a bread and meat and sUp it up to my room

little

later on,

Jenny?

Ill

Im goin"

likely feel better after a

be hungr\' when I do." She sighed, but with a certain satisfaction. There w^as an adventurous streak in Jenny; she would have liked to try smoking herself if she had dared, and she was a little amused that her sober young brother had been tempted in this direction of most young males. Jetluo lay awake in his room that night and wrestled with his problem. He wondered if, after all, it wouldn't be better to ask his father"s advice, but he decided against that almost immediately and as firmly as he had rejected the idea that afternoon. He wondered about Ross while, and

to

594 The American Hero: Myth and Reality

upon Eds

shoulders.

He

me now — not even Ol" Abe hisself." or Abe. Mr Lincoln. Mr President. Not even

kin help

Mr. Lincoln himself!

beside him and

whispered her suspicion gleefully in his ear "Jeth Creighton, have you been smokin" on the sly? Is that what's givin' you an upset stummick?" He kept his eyes closed and did not answer, knowing liis silence would confirm her guess.

He

lay this responsibility

What

Jethro turned restlessly in his bed.

if

Mr

Lincoln? What if one said, word of liim who is highest in this land"? But wasnt that word already known? Wasnt the word from the highest in

one put "I

it

up

to

will abide b}' the

the land just will

be

this:

Turn

But Mr. Lincoln was a

like

or there

you and your family?

man who looked at prob-

was not a faraway General McClellan or Senator Sumner

lems from

man

in deserters

terrible trouble for

all

sides. Mr.

Lincoln

or Secretary' of State Seward.' Mr. Lincoln had

plowed

he had thought of the

fields in Illinois;

problems men came up to say, "Everything

on

against;

tliis

he was not ready

side of the line

and everything on the other side But would one dare?

southern

Illinois

farm

A

is

is

right,

wrong."

nobody, a boy on a

— would he dare? Mr. Lin-

coln held the highest office in the land; what

would he

think?

from southern

Would

Illinois

it

vex him that

a

boy

And Wliat manner of

could be so bold?

anyway, how could one say it? words could one use so as not to be too forward, too lacking in respect toward the President of the United States?

was not going to be able to There was a candle in his room; there was some ink and an old pen that Bill had sometimes used. There was also Ross Milton's Jeth realized he

go to

sleep.

—

book the book on English usage. Jethro got up in the quiet of the night, lighted his candle, opened Ross MUton's book and began to write on a piece of rough lined paper 5. Senator Sumner: Charles Sumner (1811-1 874), U.S. senator from Massachusetts from 1851 to 18"'4. 6. Secretary of State Seward: William Henr>- Seward

(1801-1872), U.S. secretary- of state from 1861 to 1869.

The next morning he

hid Jenny's sandwiches

inside his coat, and at the bam lie picked up a few eggs from the nests up in the loft. He dug an apple out of the straw in the apple cave; no one would question that a boy needed something to munch on in midmorning. He would like to

—

have taken some coffee beans

— a man lying out

woods all night needed a hot drink; but was one he would not take. Not for Eb, not even for Bill or Shad, would he have taken liis mother's coffee. He knew where there were good sassafras roots in the woods; maybe he would burn some brush in the fencerows and heat a little water for sassafras tea. He filched an old kettle and two lumps of sugar, just in case. Eb was feeling a little better that morning. The quilts Jethro had taken from Nancy's house had made the long night more comfortable; he had washed himself in the creek and in the

that item

me a feast, Jeth,"

he

said grate-

for a

while and talked

in

be gittin' out in a day or so, Jeth. I caint hev you takin' all this risk." "If you could go back to the army, you would, wouldn't you, Eb? "You're askin' a man if he had a chancet to "I'll

But

it.

deserter caint go back.

my

days

I'll

I've told

you, Jeth

be hunted the

—

rest of

— but the rest of my days ain't goin' to

be too many." Jethro said nothing, but as he plowed that

morning he made up his mind to send the letwas a frightening thing to do, but if one did nothing well, that was frightening too. He knew Eb was not really planning to leave Eb was a lost and frightened boy, and there was nowhere else to go. For Jethro there was nothing to do but send the letter. The plowshares needed sharpening, Jethro told his father that noon. Hadn't he better drive over to Hidalgo and get that work done? He'd pick up the mail, too, for themselves and for Ed

ter. It

—

Turner.

Was

that

all

right

with his father?

Matt seldom questioned Jethro's decisions.

The boy was doing

a

mans

work; he was due

the trip readily, and Jethro, with the letter in his pocket,

fuUy.

They sat together low voices.

would he take

the dignity accorded to a man. Matt assented to

looked refreshed. "You've brung

live,

drove off

down

the road, his heart

pounding with excitement. In Hidalgo the old

mail glanced sharply

man who took care of the Jethro when he noticed

at

the inscription^ on the envelope. But he silent

man with problems of his own;

was

a

as long as

a letter was properly stamped and addressed it was no affair of his. Privately he thought that some people were allowing their young ones to become a little forward, but that was their concern. He threw Jethro's letter in a big bag that would be taken by wagon down to OIney

that evening.

The long wait

for

an answer was

inter-

minable. Jethro tossed at night and wondered:

Had he done an impudent thing, had he laid himself open to trouble, had he been a fool to think that a boy of his age might act without the advice of his elders? Sometimes he got

7.

up

inscription: writing; here, an address.

Words to Own impudent

(im'pyoo-dant)

adj.:

too bold; disrespectful.

The Deserter 595

his narrow room, but that was bad, for Jenny would hear him. Once she came to his door, and she was crying. "Jeth —^Jeth, what is it? What's botherin' you? Ain't we good friends anymore, ain't you goin' to tell me?

and walked about

He had to be more questions.

curt with her to forestall any

After that she didn't

come

to

door again, but he knew that if he stirred or moaned under his burden of worrj, both Jenn\ and Nancy would hear him and worry through a sleepless night. Eb's often reiterated, ill be goin' on soon, Jeth; I wont be a burden to }'ou much longer," behis

came cry

like

"Looks tin',

like

Jethro,"

purty important mail you're

git-

were

full

Ed

said quietly. His eyes

of puzzled concern. Jethro's head swam. This was the showdown; now, all the family, Ed Turner, and soon the neighborhood would know everything. In the few seconds that passed before he opened the envelope, he wished with all his heart that he had not meddled in the affairs

it,

himself.

that

tude as the I

to

da)'s

earth

weather-beaten brown ones.

He word

grow in magniwent by.

could be sure I'm doin'

fall

feel really set-up

Abraham Lincoln, 1862 photograph by Mathew Brady.

about doin' a fine thing, but

I

don't know. Maybe I'm doin' somethin' terrible wrong; maybe the next time they come, the

Federal Registrars will take me."

•

read the letter tlirough, for

word, and while he

read, there wasn't a

he watched the dark away from his plowshares, if I could

himself, as

ma

— black

and gold and black, pink cheeks and pale ones and

in

the right thing," he would say to

the faces

eyes and blue eyes, gray hair

secrecy became a task

seemed

"If

needs

He looked at

strange mist of color

necessitv' of

Eb's

for

Jethro,

around him, and they spun

but the tensions within him

strictest

he,

that

own

the idea that he dare think for

— always the same and never

providing

his

were still a sheltered young boy who did the tasks his father set for him and shunned

ending. Jethro closed his ears to

mounted, and the

Eb work out

let

problems,

whippoorwill's

the

of a country at war, that

he had

•• *

that held

in

the cabin beyond the slight rustle

hand

sound

it.

of the page

Wlien he was

m

the shaking

tlirough,

the letter out to Jemi}', with a long

he held

sigli.

"You can read it out loud, Jenny." Jenny stared at him as if he were a stranger; then she shook her head. it's your letter, Jeth; you'd best do the readin."

letter

Ihe seated

came one noon when they were

at dinner.

As so often happened,

all

He

it

there

was Ed Turner who brought the mail out from town. Jenny ran to the door, eager for a letter from Shadrach; Nancy's eyes pleaded for word from John. But Ed held only one large envelope, and

was addressed to Jethro in a cramped handwriting done in very black was postmarked Washington, D.C. that

small, ink.

596 The American Hero: Myth and Reality

It

didn't

was

know whether he

a great

breath was short his eyes

pounding

— but he

could or not

and his hand across

in his ears

ran his

and swallowed hard. After the

first

words, his voice grew steady, and he read the letter

through without

faltering.

Words to Own curt (kwrt) adj.: brief to the point of rudeness. reiterated (re-it'a-rat'id) v.; repeated.

Executive Mansion

March

14,

1863

your say

Master Jetbro Creighton

much

criticism of

if it

be a wrong one, I have then erred on

the side of mercy

Hidalgo, Illinois

The conditions of that decision are as follows: All soldiers improperly absent from their

Dearjethro:

Mr Hay has called my attention

to your

posts, let-

knowing as he does the place in my affection for boys of your age and the interest I have in letters coming from tny home state of ter,

Illinois.

The problem which you describe is one, among so many others, that has troubled both

my

There will be

letter

that decision, but you will understand ivhen I

ivaking thoughts

and

those that intrude

upon my sleep. The gravity of that problem has become offar-reaching significance and is one which the authority of military regulations, moral responsibility, and the question of ordinary human compassion are so involved as to present a situation in which a solution becomes agonizingly difficult. I had, however, made a decision relative to this problem only a few days before receiving in

the decline of

who

will report at certain points desig-

nated by local recruit offices by April 1, will be restored to their respective regiments without

punishment except for forfeiture of pay and allowances for the period of their absence. This information you may relay to the

young man in question, artd I pray that the remorse and despair ivhich he has known since the time of his desertion will bring his better

cause for which so many of his young compatriots have laid down their lives. May God bless you for the earnestness with self to the

which you have tried to seek out what is may He guide both of us in that search during the days ahead of us. right;

Yours, very sincerely

Abraham

and respectfully,

Lincoln

Words to Own gravity (grav'i-te) n.: seriousness. remorse (ri mors') n.: deep sense of guilt over something one has done. •

MEET THE WRITER Haunted by Words

When

Irene

Hunt

(

1

907-

father died. She and her

)

was seven, her

mother v/ent to

on her grandparents' nearby farm

Out

of that experience

came her

live

Civil

his

War, stories she

with for

fifty

years

Hunt wrote another seven ended

critically

though she didn't begin writing

a long teaching career

44 Words have always

when

I

me

held a fascination for

to be teased often as a child

used them

lavishly

without having the

The wish to write make them tell the stories

slightest idea of their meaning.

before writing about them.

novels,

that "teaching

history through literature" really sparked her

me, causing

childhood during the lived

Hunt learned

obsession to write:

novel,

Across Five Aprils. Hunt's grandfather fascinated

her with stories of

a teacher,

junior-high students, so she finally fulfilled her

in Illinois.

first

As

in Illinois

acclaimed until

she

public schools.

of words, to

pages

full

that

dreamed about, haunted me from

I

hood

on.

child-

99

The Deserter 597

Meanings

IVIaking

First 1.

Thoughts

Do

you think Jethro

is

eleven-year-old boy?

a believable

Why

Reading Check

or why not?

a.

Why are the soldiers

b.

What does Jethro

Shaping Interpretations 2.

What does

Eb's

about the way

looking for Eb?

appearance

he's

been

tell

you

when he

living since his

call

desertion? 3.

Eb says on page 590 that he doesn't

know

why he deserted. How would you explain why he deserted? Does his experience

c.

d.

e.

(Check your Quickwrite.) Eb wishes he had never deserted.

go back to

"A

his

Why

What

things Jethro

his

cousin Eb.

internal conflict

How

is

this conflict resolved?

Why

regiment?

soldier don't have to feel

Name two

woods?

does Jethro face?

change your ideas about deserters?

can't he just

follows the turkey

into the

does for

find

What

does he mean when he

says:

ashamed"? (See page 592.)

does Jethro think Mr. Lincoln might help him?

What does

Lincoln

mean when he

says in the letter that

if

he

is

wrong, he

has erred on the side of mercy?

Connecting with the Text 7.

Suppose that Jethro had not gotten an answer from think he should have

done about Eb

in

that case?

Lincoln.

What do you

Why?

What did the story add to your prior knowledge about the Were you surprised about any details in the story? Think about

how

events

like

another part of the world. ordinary people suffer?

those

in

War?

the story could happen today

Who would

How

Civil

be fighting

in

whom? How would

might they face a problem

like

the one that

Jethro faces?

Challenging the Text 1

0.

What do you work

think about writers using real historical

of fiction?

598 The American Hero: Myth and Reality

characters

in

a

Choices: Writer's 1.

Building Your Portfolio

Notebook

Collecting Ideas for an

Informative Report After reading "The

Drummer

Boy of Shiloh" and "The Deserter," think of what you want to know about the Civil War. Maybe you want to find out

two pieces of historical fiction. With your classmates, make a list of questions you might research. Then, choose one question, and begin your research on the Internet or in a library. What key words or

more

of the facts behind these

topics will you look up?

Creative Writing

Creative Writing

In

2.

Dear Diary

Imagine that

it is

after the story

mer Boy that

is,

4.

the day

of Shiloh" ends

a

are writing

in

if

you

the morning,

before the batde begins, or later, after

it

Irene

Hunt shows

us Lin-

has ended.

Performance 6.

letter as

if

you were Jethro.

want to

You'll

Write that explain the

situation, describe

your

conflicting feelings,

and try

to persuade President

With

Deserter":

Supporting an Opinion

My

5. It's

Drummer Boy "The

in

The

"The

Deserter") that in

your

the passage at

the bottom of a page. Use the rest of the page to

draw

the scene as you imagine

letter

Jethro was

of Shiloh"

creates a vivid image

Copy

a Fake

one of the Federal Registrar soldiers

Find a passage

mind.

Joby and the general on

Shiloh •

in

a partner, present an

the day of the Battle of

Mind's Eye

(or

My Way

two of the following characters from "The Drummer Boy of Shiloh" or "The

Art In

It

imaginary dialogue between

•

Lincoln to help Eb.

3.

Try to See

she doesn't show us Jethro 's original letter

from the point of

view of Joby. Decide

why

or why not.

coln's reply to Jethro, but

the actual day of the

diary entry

a paragraph, explain

President

"The Drum-

Batde of Shiloh. Write

Dear Mr.

it.

Hunt letter

from Lincoln to

made up by •

Jenny and Eb

•

President Lincoln and his

for her novel. Yet the is

written

in

a style

that resembles Lincoln's. In

and Eb

secretary, John

Hay

your opinion, should

writers of historical fiction

make up

letters like this?

The Drummer Boy of Shiloh /The Deserter 599

Grammar Link Capitalizing

MINI-LESSON

and Punctuating Titles

Capitalize the first and last

words

in titles

historical

Handbook

programs, works of

See Capital Letters,

page

Words articles

ters

art,

ics),

80-i;

important

(a,

an, the), prepositions of

(of, to, for,

TV

and musical compositions.

considered unimportant within a

from, with),

title

fewer than

include five let-

and coordinating conjunc-

796: Underlining

all

documents and speeches, movies,

language

HELP

words and

of books, periodicals, poems, stories,

tions (and, but,

so, nor, yet, for).

these words

the

NOTE:

When

one of

(Ital-

page Quota-

tion Marks,

EXAMPLES

is

word

in

a

title, it is

capitalized.

Journal of American History

"Casey

page 807.

first

at the Bat"

"Too Soon

a

Woman"

The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman "Follow the Drinking Gourd" Technology

HELP

tion marks; titles See Language

works are enclosed in quotaof other types of works are printed

Titles of short creative

in italics

(or underlined

Workshop

CD-ROM. Key word entry: capitalization.

Quotation Marks

if

typed or written by hand).

Try

On

It

Out

a separate piece of

paper, capitalize and

punctuate each of the following

titles correctly:

across five aprils (novel) the devil and daniel

Webster (short story) the gettysburg address (speech) national geographic

(magazine) battle

hymn

of the

republic (song)

gone with the wind (movie)

Before You Read Barbara Frietchie Make the Connection Fighting the Current

As the next poem shows, sometimes it means having the courage to be different from the crowd or Being a hero

isn't easy.

to defend an unpopular view.

Quickwrite

With your

class-

mates, brainstorm

examples of temporary,

individuals (con-

historical, fictional,

even yourself)

who

for their beliefs.

use a chart

Name

stood up

You might

like this

one:

Barbara Frietchie John Greenleaf Whittier Up from the meadows rich with

corn,

Clear in the cool September morn,

The clustered

spires of Frederick stand

Green-walled by the 5

hills

of Maryland.

Round about them orchards sweep, Apple and peach tree fruited deep, Fair as the

garden of the Lord

To the eyes of the famished rebel horde,

1

8.

horde

Chord):

moving crowd.

ji^

On that pleasant morn of the early fall When Lee marched over the moimtam wall; Over the mountains winding down. Horse and foot, into Frederick town. Forty flags with their silver

stars.

Forty flags with their crimson bars, 15

morning wind: the sun Of noon looked down, and saw not one. Flapped

in the

Up rose old Barbara Frietchie then. Bowed with her fourscore years and ten; Bravest of all in Frederick town, 20

She took up the flag the In her attic

To show

Up

window

that

the street

men hauled down

the staff she

one heart was

came the

set,

loyal yet.

rebel tread,

Stonewall Jackson riding ahead. 25

Under

He

"Halt!"

"Fire!"

30

his

slouched hat

left

and

right

glanced; the old flag met his sight.

— the dust-brown ranks stood blast. — out blazed the

fast.

rifle

It

shivered the window, pane and sash;

It

rent the banner with

seam and

gash.

Barbara Frietchie (1876) (detail) by Dennis Malone Carter 827-1 88 ). Oil on canvas (36 j" x 46 \"). ( 1

Quick, as

it fell,

from the broken

1

staff Kirby Collection of Historical Paintings. Lafayette College, Easton. Pennsylvania.

Dame Barbara snatched the silken scarf. 602 The American Hero: Myth and Reality

Photo by Thomas Kosa.

'Literature AND ciAL Studies -'^'^

'$fM^!

stars

The

U.S. flag hanging

and Stripes Forever

from Barbara Fnetchie's window had only thirty-four

stars stood for the thirty-four states that had

stars.

been admitted to the Union by

(Although the Southern states had seceded from the Union, President

1

These

862.

Abraham

Lincoln refused to have their stars removed from the flag.) Since 960, the year after Hawaii became the fiftieth state, the U.S. flag has had fifty stars. Congress decided in 1818 that the number of stripes would be kept to thirteen, 1

representing the thirteen original colonies.

Known

as the Stars and Stripes, the red,

white, and blue flag has represented the United States at

even on the moon, where

it

was planted by astronauts

in

home, around the world, and 1

969.

e:-fSS^^

35

She leaned

far

And shook

it

"Shoot,

if

out on the windowsill,

forth with a ro}'al will.

you must,

this old gray

But spare your country's

A shade of sadness,

she

flag,"

a blush of

head, said.

shame,

Over the face of the leader came;

40

The nobler nature within him stirred To life at that woman's deed and word; ""Who touches a hair of yon gray head Dies like a dog! March on!" he said. All

day long throvigh Frederick street

Sounded the tread of marching 45

All

feet:

day long that free flag tossed

Over the heads of the rebel Ever

its

torn folds rose and

host. fell

On the loyal winds that loved

it

well;

Barbara Frietchie 603

And through

the

gaps sunset

hill

light

Shone over it with a warm good night.

50

Barbara Frietchie's work

And

the Rebel rides

Honor

to her!

and

for her sake,

Fall,

on

is o'er,

no more.

his raids

let a tear

on Stonewall's

54. bier (bir): coffin and tlic platform on which it rests. Stonewall Jackson died in 1863 after being

bier.°

Over Barbara Frietchie's grave, Flag of Freedom and Union, wave!

55

wounded

in battle.

Peace and order and beauty draw

Round thy symbol of light and

And

down

ever the stars above look

On thy stars below

60

law;

in Frederick

town!

Meet the Writer "Barbara Frietchie Was

No Myth"

John GreenleafWhittier (1807-1892) was born and raised on chusetts,

since

1

where

a

his

farm

in

Quaker

Haverhill, Massa-

family had lived

688. Whittier devoted

most of

the antislavery movement, and his

his

his

poems

to

life

reflect

dedication to freedom and justice and his

religious faith. Whitder was born in the same year as Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (whose poem "Paul Revere 's Ride" appears on page 537) and was also a Fireside Poet. About

deep

"Barbara Frietchie" he wrote:

44 This poem was written

in strict

to the account of the incident as

I

conformity

had

respectable and trustworthy sources.

been the subject of

a

good

it

It

from

of

its

details.

It is

Oil

deal of conflicdng tes-

admitted by

all

in

that

and highly esteemed gentlewoman, intensely

that

when

sacred and keeping

it

loyal

with her Bible;

the Confederates halted before her

house and entered her dooryard, she denounced

604 The Aimican Hero: Myth and

833) by Robert Peckham.

in

vigorous language, shook her cane

their faces, and drove

close

and a hater of the slavery rebellion, holding her flag

them

eral Burnside's [a

Barbara Frietchie was no myth, but a worthy

Union

(\

on canvas.

has since

timony, and the story was probably incorrect

some

John Greenleaf Whittier

upon

It is

brave and loyal lady

is

wave her

out;

in

and when Gen-

Union general] troops followed

Jackson's, she

cheered them.

did

them

flag in

waved her

stated that in

May

flag

and

Quantrell, a

another part of the

city,

sight of the Confederates.

It

possible that there has been a blending of the

two

incidents.

99

Meanings

IVIaking First I

.

Thoughts Would you

have done what Barbara

Frietchie did

if

you were

Reading Check

her place?

in

Paraphrase

Explain.

%^

lines

Id-AI, which describe the

most important actions

Shaping Interpretations

poem. 2.

poem?

Is

Barbara Frietchie a hero

Is

Stonewall Jackson? Support your

in this

In

in

the

your own words,

describe the picture Whittier creates.

opinion with evidence from the text. 3.

comment

Whittier's

in

Meet the Writer

suggests that the incident described

Does

this

comment

affect

your

in this

feelings

poem

might not have occurred.

about the poem?

Why or why

not?

Extending the Text 4.

Suppose Whittier were next narrative

alive today.

poem? (Go

Writer's

might make a good subject for

ideas.)

Building Your Portfolio

Notebook

Performance

back. tive

1.

Collecting Ideas for

an

3.

record facts

/^^^N

about your state ing

flag,

its

^^^^%

(

^

Vjfr gmtftg

includ-

history and symbolism.

props, and sound effects. You

might even set the music.

is

Flag of Freedom

Design a

flag in

honor of

Barbara Frietchie (or an-

other hero).

Biographical Sketch 4.

You could use pantomime,

)

poem

to

Watch punctuation

at

If

there

no punctuation, read

right

on to the next 2.

about your performance?

ing of "Barbara Frietchie."

the ends of the

Art/History

What was most effec-

She Said

Perform a dramatic read-

Informative Report Find and

his

back to your Quickwrite, or look at one of

your classmates' Quickwrites for

Choices:

Who

lines.

line.

If

a

Courage Under Fire

Write

a brief biographical

sketch of Barbara Frietchie.

Base your sketch

in

part on

what you learned about her from the poem, from the illustration

on page 602, and

comma, period, or other mark of punctuation is used,

from Meet the Writer on

you must pause. Be sure to

tional research

ask your audience for feed-

ternet and

page 604. You can do addi-

in

on the

the

In-

library.

Barbara Frietchie 605

[1 uestions ASKED

/-

Casey at the Bat Ernest Lawrence Thayer The outlook wasn't brilliant for the Mudville nine that day; The score stood four to two, with but one inning more to play; And so, when Cooney died at first, and Burrows did the same, A sickly silence fell upon the patrons of the game. 5

A straggling few got up to go in deep despair. The rest Clung to the hope which springs eternal in the human breast; They thought, if only Casey could but get a whack, at that, They'd put up even money now, with Casey at the bat. But Flynn preceded Casey, as did also Jimmy Blake,

10

And the former was a pudding, and the latter was a fake; So upon that stricken multitude grim melancholy sat. For there seemed but

little

chance of Casey's getting to the

bat.

go.hrw.com

606 The American Hero: Myth and Reality

But Flynn

15

20

let

drive a single, to the

wonderment

of aU,

And Blake, the much-despised, tore the cover off the ball; And when the dust had lifted, and they saw what had occurred. There was Jimmy safe on second, and Flynn a-hugging third. Then from the gladdened multitude went up a joyous yell; It bounded from the mountain top, and rattled in the dell; It struck upon the hillside, and recoiled upon the flat; For Casey, might}' Casey, was advancing to the bat. There was ease in Casey's manner as he stepped into his place; There was pride in Casey's bearing, and a smile on Casey's face; And when, responding to the cheers, he lightly doffed his hat.

No

stranger in the

crowd could doubt

'twas Casey at the bat.

25

Ten thousand eyes were on him

30

And now the leather-covered sphere came hurtling through And Casey stood a-watching it in haughty grandeur there;

he rubbed his hands with dirt; Five thousand tongues applauded when he wiped them on his shirt; Then while the writhing pitcher ground the ball into his hip. Defiance gleamed in Casey's eye, a sneer curled Casey's lip. as

the

air,

Close by the sturdy batsman the ball unheeded sped. "That ain't

35

said Casey. "Strike one," the

umpire

said.

From the benches, black with people, there went up a muffled roar. Like the beating of the storm waves on a stern and distant shore; "Kill him! Kill the umpire! shouted someone on the stand; And it's likely they'd have killed him had not Casey raised his hand. "

With

He He 40

my style,"

a smile of Christian charity great Casey's visage shone;

stilled

signaled to the pitcher,

But Casey

game go on; and once more the spheroid

the rising tumult; he bade the

still

ignored

it,

and the umpire

flew;

said, "Strike two."

Casey at the Bat 607

maddened thousands, and

the echo answered, "Fraud!" audience was awed; and the But a scornful look from Casey, They saw his face grow stern and cold, they saw his muscles strain. And they knew that Casey wouldn't let that ball go by again. "Fraud!" cried the

The sneer is gone from Casey's lips, his teeth are clenched He pounds with cruel violence his bat upon the plate;

45

And now And now

the pitcher holds the the

air is

ball,

and

now he

lets

it

in hate,

go,

shattered by the force of Casey's blow.

Oh! somewhere in this favored land the sun is shining bright; The band is playing somewhere, and somewhere hearts are light; And somewhere men are laughing, and somewhere children shout But there is no joy in Mudville mighty Casey has struck out!

50

—

Meet the Writer Shunning the Limelight

When

the journalist Ernest Lawrence Thayer 863940) submitted "Casey at the Bat" to the ( San Francisco Examiner in 1888, he had no idea it would become the most famous baseball poem 1

1

ever written.

In fact,

he didn't even sign

his

own

name to his work, choosing instead to use a name from his Harvard college days, "Phin." Shortly after the

poem appeared

in

nick-

the Cali-

was given to a vaudenamed William de Wolf Hopper,

fornia newspaper, a copy ville

entertainer

who was

about to appear

performance

in

in

a Baseball Night

New York. Hopper

must have

admit authorship. Many people tried to take

poem, and

number

recognized a winner After quickly memorizing

credit for writing the

the poem, he went onstage and recited

baseball players claimed the dubious distinction

it;

the

a

audience went wild. Hopper went on to make a

of having been the model for Casey.

successful career of touring the country reciting

author was

"Casey

money

at the Bat."

Despite the poem's popularity, Thayer consid-

ered

it

badly written and for years would not

608 The American Hero: Myth and Reality

ask,"

he

again."

finally identified,

for the poem's said, "is

many

When

of

the

he refused to take reprintings. "All

never to be reminded of

it

I

Choosing Sides Tim Meeker's hero has always been his brother Sam. Now Sam has joined the American Revolutionary Army to fight for independence England. loves

in

— but

their father remains loyal to the king of

Tim must choose between the father and brother he Is Dead (Scholastic), by James Lincoln

My Brother Sam

Collier and Christopher Collier

EH

OF THE

fJEV.'BEf'v

Pioneer Adventures

UEOAL

Wisconsin

1864 are supposed to stay

Caddie

Girls

Woodhmm

side sewing and baking, but

Carol R)rk Briiii

in

hunt, plow, and get

in

in

in-

Caddie would rather

and out of trouble. Carol

Ryrie Brink based Caddie Woodlawn (Aladdin) on stories told to her as a child by her grandmother,

i

im

the real Caddie.

From Slavery to Freedom _J

What was

L

it

like To

book by Julius ery

tell

Home

Be a Slave (Scholastic)?

Lester,

their stories

nonfiction

In this

men and women who lived through slavtheir own words. Lester's Long journey

in

(Scholastic), six true stories of

freedom,

is

an uplifting

sequel.

Other Picks •

Ann

A Ride

Rinaldi,

historical novel

horse

is

into

Morning: The Story ofTempe Wick (Gulliver). This

based on the legend of a

New Jersey girl who

her house to keep deserting Revolutionary

in

Army

hid her

soldiers

from

stealing him. •

Gary

Paulsen, Nightjohn (Laurel-Leaf). This story

gives up his will risk •

freedom to teach enslaved people to

is

who a girl who

about a man

read, and

anything to learn.

Elizabeth

George Speare, The

Matt has been

left

Sign of the Beaver (Dell). Twelve-year-old

to survive alone

in

a cabin in the

Maine wilderness.

Then he is rescued by a Penobscot chief and his grandson. Will he them and leave his lost family behind forever?

join

Read

On 609

BUILDING YOUR PORTFOLIO

Informative Communication Try

It

Speech to Teach

Out

Use the instructions in this workshop to pre-

If

you've ever explained a

helped your

little

homework assignment to

her foul shot, you've engaged

sister with

With

informative communication.

pare and present a three-to-five-minute

a classmate

practice, standing

group to share what you know can become

just as

in

or

in

front of a

easy and natural.

expository speech, giving information

about

a specific subject, or a

Choosing a Topic 1

how

you and that you know

a topic that interests

Think about hobbies,

process speech, explaining

Choose

skills,

and family

well.

What do

activities.

you know or understand that your audience doesn't? (Do

to do or

make something or how

you speak a language most of your classmates

something works.

ample? You could teach them a song.) 2.

Make sure your cover

A

it

topic

effectively in the

work; a three-minute

enough to allow you to

amount

how

three-minute talk on

Setting

specific

is

talk

to

don't, for ex-

of time you plan to speak.

hit a baseball will

probably

on sports probably won't.

Your Purpose

To make sure you have

a

purpose for speaking and not

just a

want my audience to ." know or understand that The statement "I want my audience to know or understand that weight lifting" is not a com-

topic,

complete the following sentence: .

plete sentence, so

weight

it

lifting is just

audience to

can't

"I

.

be a statement of your purpose;

a topic.

However, the statement

know or understand

"I

want my

that creating resistance

is

the

key to building muscles" does express a purpose.

Considering Your Audience To make sure your

listeners will

be interested and involved,

consider their needs as you prepare your speech. Ask yourself: •

What do my

listeners already

know about

background information do they need? language so that they

6

1

The American Hero: Myth and Reality

will

understand

this topic?

How

me

can

better?

I

What my

tailor

•

What arrangement of ideas

will

be easiest for them

to follow? •

Why should can

they care about what

I

have to say?

How

relate the information I'm presenting to their

I

lives?

Giving Your Speech •

You may want to pause after each point or step to answer questions from your audience before you move on. (This is helpful whether you are speaking to one person or

•

a group.)

Don't write out your speech word for word. Instead,

make

numbered note card

a

step. Referring to

for each main point or

note cards, rather than reading a

speech aloud word for word, naturally •

allow you to speak

and make eye contact with your audience.

possible, include visual aids such as props, drawings, or

If

charts

in

your presentation. Your

information better •

will

if

listeners will

remember

they can learn by seeing as well as hearing.

Speak more loudly and slowly than you normally do. Your voice will probably sound strange to you, but it will sound right to

the

Try just

your audience.

Out

It

As you

listen

to your

classmates' informative

reports

Effective Listening

•

take notes

When

•

listen for

•

you listen to an informative speech, ask yourself:

Are the speaker's statements facts that can be

verified,

or

is

the

speaker expressing opinions? •

Where

How

•

Does anything

If

can

I

Is it

When

reliable?

use this information?

the speaker

is

I'm hearing contradict

explaining a process,

ideas and supporting details

did the speaker get this information?

•

the main

my own

experience?

each speech

is

over,

summarize

in

your

own words

the

speaker's main ideas.

make sure you understand

Then, compare your

each step and remember the order of the steps. Don't be afraid to

summaries with those of

ask the speaker to slow down, go over a point again, or explain

two or three

something more

classmates.

fully.

Speaking and Listening

Workshop

6

1

I

a

•'

BUILDING YOUR PORTFOLIO f i^V.

I

,

;s

UTI

i's^'

i

.,

/

.^

-^_-

>- f A

:^^tuf-^i? EXPOSITORY WRITING

Informative Report

Technology

HELP See Writer's Workshop

To write your informative report, 1

present information about

you'll find, organize,

someone or something from

and

history.

CD-ROM. Assignment: Report of Information.

Assignment Research a historical topic and write a paper on it.

Professional Model Paul Revere rode into the hero's spot-

Writer clearly

light only in 1863. when Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wrote liis famous

expresses a

poem

about the

about him, rescuing Revere from

n\am Idea

virtual obscurit}'. Historians say before

subject.

poem many Americans were not even familiar with Revere's name. In the

Carefully

early nineteenth centur)^ not a single edi-

chaser)

the

Aim To inform.

Audience Your teacher and classmates; other

students school.

in

your

tor included Revere in any

compendium

examples

of American worthies, and Revere did

are used to

not rate a mention in William Allen's

elaborate the

comprehensive biographical dictionary, though there was room enough to list the accomplishments of seven thousand other people. After the poem's publica-

main

Idea.

tion Revere's stock rose dramatically.

Less than ten years later he

way into Francis Samuel

made

his

Drake's Diction-

ary of American Biography. Later J. P. Morgan reportedly offered to buy one of Revere's silver punch bowls for a hundred thousand dollars. By the end of the century Revere's reputation had improved so immensely that the Daughters of the American Revolution put a plaque

on

liis

—

home

in Boston.

Richard Shenkman, from L&g&nds, Lies

Cherished Myths of American History

6 2 1

The American Hero: Myth and Reality

&

Writer

speaks

like

an

authority on

the subject

and shares Information

about

It.

i

ra ^^^

history fill of the writteni word is rich ana^^

fe^sr

iVil

» « « «

«r

Prewriting 1.

Try

Choosing a Topic

Go

this collection.

Would you

like

to

write your report on any of the topics you If

not, ask

your teacher to suggest other

worked with there?

topics.

Make sure your topic is a manageable size. If you've decided to write about Abraham Lincoln, for example, consider narrowing his

start researching, think of

topic

2. a.

—and look

of these

broad topics to a limited topic that you can cover in

about twice

a report

as long as the Student

Model on page 615. Civil

1

your topic to several of

Out

Narrow each

back to your Writer's Notebook assign-

ments for

It

War

battles

notable achievements. Before you

your

own

list

of questions about your

for answers.

2.

Pueblo Indians

3.

Baseball

teams

Conducting Research Finding Sources You'll

probably need at least three sources of information

for your report.

You can

find print

sources such as encyclo-

pedias, books, magazines, and newspapers, as well as videoCommunications Hanilbool(

HELP See Reseciicb Strategies.

© The New Yorker Collection 1996 Roz Chast from cartoonbank.com. All rights reserved.

Writer's

•

Workshop

6

1

You can

tapes, audiotapes, and microforms, at a library.

Sample Outline

may be

access electronic sources on a computer, and you

government

Unknown before Longfellow's

poem was

b.

published A.

As you take

•

Not mentioned in bool<s about famous

in

the

colleges,

field.

notes,

make

a

list

of your sources, and give

each a source number. Then, record each fact or idea on a separate note card or sheet of paper. Label every note

with

Not mentioned

and experts

offices,

Taking Notes

Americans B.

from museums,

able to get historical information

Paul Revere

in

its

source number and also the page number

in

the

source where you found the information.

Allen's biographical

Use

•

dictionary

Made famous

don't need to write

by

E".

Included

Summarize

•

Longfellow A.

Drake's

in

abbreviations, short phrases, and

rial

word

biographical

dictionary

source

J.

?.

your own words.

You'll

If

you do copy mate-

marks around

need to give credit to the

you use the quotation

if

for Revere

3.

in

original

your report.

Organizing Your Report

bowl You'll P.A.I^.

his

complete sentences.

Morqan offered

$100,000 C.

in

of ideas. You

for word, be sure to put quotation

your notes.

it

in

ideas

in

lists

probably find

it

easier to draft your report

put plaque on

Boston home

organize important information and ideas

example on the letters are

left is

a formal outline,

in

in

if

you

first

an outline. (The

which numbers and

used for headings and subheadings.) Sort your

notes into several major categories; then, divide them further

Framework for an Informative Report

Decide

into subtopics. in

your report

logical (time)

how you

will

organize the information

— perhaps by order of importance or —and record your

order

in

chrono-

plan.

Be sure your report has an introduction, body, and

/ntroduction: Hooks

your conclusion you should both

summarize

reader's interest; clearly

conclusion.

identifies subject of

and

report

(You may even pose additional unanswered questions.)

In

draw conclusions from

the information you gathered.

Body; Discusses each main idea

more

in

one or

paragraphs;

elaborates each main idea with facts, examples,

quotations, etc.

Conclusion: Summarizes

or restates main

idea(s);

draws conclusions

Drafting 1.

Getting Started

Use your outline as a guide, but don't be afraid to make changes. As you write, you may decide to rearrange your ideas, take out information, or add new information. Keep referring to your notes, and go back to your sources if you need more information. Write the report in your own words. If you do quote a source, be sure to give the writer credit. (Using a writer's words without crediting him or her is called plagiarism.) The Student Model

is

from

Mohandas 6 4 The American Hero: 1

Myth and Reality

a

report about the Indian nationalist leader

K. Gandhi.

student Model

Strategies for

Gandhi was educated as a lawyer. Born in India, a country that was under British rule, he became the

Elaboration

Introduces and

deechbee subject: Gandhi.

As you elaborate each main

principal leader of the drive for

idea,

look through

your notes to

find

from Britain. Gandhi was a deeply religious man

States main

•

facts

who

idea: Gandhi's

•

explanations

•

specific

•

quotations

•

descriptions

•

comparisons

India's independence

believed in eliminating the

oppression of his people by the British without the use of force. According to the World Book Encyclopedia, Gandhi was educated in

London and spent over twenty

years practicing law in South Africa. During this period in South Africa, he chose to claim his rights as a British subject, but since he was Indian, he was discriminated against by the government. As was the custom, Gandhi was married at age thirteen to a wife chosen for

him by

his family.

nated in

1

948

He was

relevant

belief in

non-

violence.

Mentions

examples

source for more facts about

Gandhi's

life.

Sentence Workshop

HELP Xarying sentence structure: page 617.

assassi-

at the age of

seventy-eight.

The discrimination which Gandhi experienced during his life, and in particular the treatment he received while in South Africa, led

him

to believe that

persons of

faiths, cultures, creeds,

and

to get the

beliefs.

Using colons: page 554. Joining independent clauses: pages 5^2. 579-

Hindus and Mus-

As a

result of that fast, the fighting

stopped. Gandhi believed people

work out

HELP

his

beliefs

lims of India to stop fighting.

could

Language/Grammar link

what

all

should be able to live together equally He used fasting to express this belief and once fasted for one

week

fells

caused

their disagreements

through nonviolent confrontation, that is, without fighting.

Capitalizing

and punc-

tuating

page 600.

titles:

Describee his

use of fasting with a specific

example and

its

results.

Restates main idea: Gandhi's belief in

non-

violence.

—Spencer Duncan, Topeka West High School, Topeka, Kansas

Writer's

Workshop

6

1

2.

Listing Sources

Eialuation Criteria

At the end of your report, include a list of your sources of information. The following examples use the style recommended by the Modern Language Association (MLA), but your teacher may ask you to use another style. Whatever style you use, fol-

A good informative report conreys information, not

1.

tl)e

writer's feelings

low

includes information from

2.

mation exactly. (Notice that the author's

several sources that are

accurately

followed by a

documented

presents information that

3.

is

clearly organized

presents

4.

main

comma

and the author's

in

no author, alphabetize by the

is

last

first

order of

first

infor-

name comes

name.)

List

word

of the

first,

your

alphabetical order by the authors' last names.

sources there

When

title.

Works Cited

ideas sup-

Chatterjee, Patricia. Gandhi.

ported by explanations

andfacts

tions,

concludes by summariz-

5.

rules for capitalization, punctuation, and

its

New

York: S.A.R. Publica-

1996.

Gandhi, Mohandas. Gandhi: An Autobiography Boston: Beacon Press, 1957.

.

ing ideas or drawing

conclusions

"Gandhi,

Mohandas Karamchand." The World Book

Encyclopedia. 1998 ed.

Proofreading Tip

Go

MLA Guide for Listing Sources

back to your

sources to double-

check the

spelling

capitalization of

proper names places,

To prepare your Works Cited list, follow the MLA shown on pages 725-726 of the Communications

and

all

Handbook, or another

— people,

style

Communications Handbook

and events.

examples for the

MLA

your teacher

specifies.

style

The

gives detailed instructions and

style of citations for different kinds of

electronic, print, and audiovisual sources.

Communications

Handbook

Evaluating and Revising Write the following questions on

HELP

What

is

2.

What

confused you?

3.

Do

1

See Listing Sources

a sheet of paper:

the main thing you've learned from

Taking Notes; see Proofreaders' Marks.

copy of your

report

in

your school

library for

draft,

and give both

two classmates to read. (You will read and comment on their papers.) Use your readers' written responses to help you evaluate

to

and revise your paper.

other

6 6 The American Hero:

about?

you have any other comments or suggestions?

students' reference.

1

paper?

What do you want to know more

Attach the sheet of paper to a copy of your

Publishing Tip File a

my

and

Myth and Reality

BUILDING YOUR PORTFOLIO

Varying Sentence Structure

Language Handbook

HELP

We left home. We traveled for miles. We went across the prairie. The prairie was windy. We headed for the mountains. If

a story

you were reading started

this

See Kinds of Sentences, pages '86-~88.

way, would you keep reading?

The problem is a lack of variety in sentence structure, which can make even an interesting subject seem dull. If you look closely at the work of professional writers, you'll find a variety of sentence structures. Some are very simple; others are more complicated, like

L Technology

HELP See Language Workshop

the structure of the sentence below:

CD-R0.\1.

"We

left

the

home

place behind, mile by slow mile,

sentence

Key word

entry:

stnictiire.

heading for the mountains, across the prairie where the

wind blew

forever."

— "Too Soon If

you divide

sections,

We

this

the

a

Woman"

(page 547)

complicated-looking sentence into

how

you can see

left

Try

home

it is

put together:

place behind,/ mile by slow mile,/

It

Out

Write two sentences that are in

similar

structure to the sentences below:

"Along the Eastern Shore of Maryland,/ in

Dorchester County,/

in

heading for the mountains,/ across the prairie/ where

Caroline County,/ the masters kept

the wind blew forever.

hearing whispers/ about the

Working part by

own I

part,

you can write

a

sentence of your

with a similar structure. For example:

made

man

named Moses,/ who was running slaves."

—

off

Tubman" (page 558)

"Harriet

the climb next,/ hold by precarious hold,/ aiming

for the ledge,/ up the rock face/

where the rope swung

"In the April night,/more than once,/

blossoms

down.

from the orchard trees/

fell

and lighted with rustling taps/on the Try doing the same thing with other sentences written by

drumhead."

—"The Drummer Boy of

professional writers. You'll get a sense of the variety of possible sentence structures and

how

they affect a writer's

(page 58

Shiloh"

1)

style.

Now, go back

Writer's

Workshop

Follow-up: Revising

Reread your informative report.

If

too many of your

sentences seem to be put together the same way, try rewriting

one or two.

have read

to any selection you

in this

sentence you

collection.

like,

parts; then, write a

own

Copy

and divide

it

a

into

sentence of your

with the same structure.

Sentence Workshop 6

1

Situation

U.S. Military Deaths

This collection might have

made you want about the

Revolutionary

more

to learn

War*

War. You

Civil

War of

1812 Military Deaths During the Civil War (I86I-I86S)

can use these strategies to Mexican War

interpret any graphs and time lines

you

find in

your research.

War*

Civil

World War

Strategies

Recognize time

and

lines

World War

I

II

Union Troops

Troops

360,222

260,000'=

different types of graphs.

58%

Korean War

A time

•

line

their dates

cal

in

events and

lists

Vietnam War*

chronologi-

—the order

order

100

in

200

which they took place. Data from The World Book Encydopedra

You'll find a

•

time

line

1

(up-and-down) axis and the

horizontal

in

compares

different situations.

(left-to-right)

•

example).

line

in

quantity over time.

used

(total

number or percentage,

its •

graph shows changes

Check

for a key.

Note how

colors, symbols, and abbre-

Interpret and evaluate the

title of the

•

Read the labels

•

For bar or

line

•

carefully.

graphs,

identify the relationship

3.

4.

6 8 The American Hero: 1

What

is

mili-

the fewest?

bar graph?

side in the Civil

more deaths? many more deaths?

increases or decreases

re-

the source of the

in this

Which

in

suffered

•

Draw

conclusions from the

War

How

Extending the Strategies

information and from your

Find a graph or time line

own knowledge.

book, magazine, or newspaper

Note the source of the

Bring

Is it

reliable? up-to-date?

Myth and Reality

it

in

a

to class, and interpret

data. it

between the vertical

which war

the most U.S.

over time. Look for patterns.

its

subject and purpose.

Note

in

tary deaths?

data

information.

Read the

measure-

According to the information above,

viations are used.

•

units of

sulted

Notice the parts of the

graphic to determine

2.

for

graphic. •

What

above use?

units of

of each "slice" represents total.

1 .

ment does the bar graph

Identify the

measurement

A

600

Using the Strategies

axis.

pie graph (circle graph) shows proportions. The size

percentage of the

500

998-

A bar graph

A

•

©

pages 344-345.

or

400

on

quantities at different times

•

300 Thousands

*Estimated-

for your classmates.

Electronic sources

Problem Have you ever heard the

state-

Most of the above sources can be researched on the

•

ment "Image is everything"? Many popular role models are people whose fame impresses us but little

whom we really know How can we look

Internet. Start

ref-

erence works are available as databases

and on

CD-

ROMs. Interviews Talk with

•

each person designing and painting a section showing his

or her hero

ing

someone who

knows about your

subject.

on the mural.)

display

pages 536, 553, and 601.) If

not, ask

one of the following formats

your

your teacher or

family for ideas.

possible,

If

in

your

a brief reflection for

portfolio, using

one of

these starters:

(or another that your teacher •

approves).

I

chose to research

person because

in this

collection. (See especially

your mural

Processing

in

of the assignments

a

school lobby or a hallway.

Write

You may already have an idea for a subject from one

(Do

action.

in

Presentation Present what you have learned

Preparation

(wall painting)

sketch before you begin work-

admirable as our heroes?

Research a contemporary hero, and publicize his or her accomplishments.

Group Mural

Create a mural

Many encyclopedias and

•

are truly

Project

3.

with a group of classmates,

past surface qualities and

who

public-address system.

your search

using keywords.

about.

choose people

or over your school's

class

1

.

Trading Card

•

Create a trading card with a picture of your hero

If

in

I

could be

one way,

.

.

.

like this it

this

person

would be

.

.

on the

front and information about

the person's notable accom-

Procedure

Make copies and present them to a plishments on the back.

Research and take notes on the person you have chosen. Possible sources:

class of

younger students (with

their teacher's permission).

Library (print) sources 2. •

biographies

•

entries

Radio Commercial

Write •

in

encyclopedias

magazine and newspaper articles (ask specialist

your media

how

to use

periodicals indexes)

a script for a sixty-

second radio commercial promoting your hero. You may

want to

include sound effects

or music. Tape-record your commercial, and play

it

for your

Learning FOR

Life

619

Collection

h3imOm^om\

m^o Dmm \i

iiiKi

The Gettysburg Address comments and questions

sug-

Make the Connection

Reading

An American

and Strategies

one

Dialogue with the Text:

answers to your questions and

Slow Down to Understand

additional thoughts

Read the Gettysburg Address

color as you read the speech a

gested by your

Quilt

Think about what America

On

means to you.

an unlined

sheet of paper, draw a symbol that represents your thoughts

and

feelings.

Skills

Tape or staple

your paper to your classmates' papers to create a class

least twice.

Read slowly and

carefully, just as

any

at

you'd read

first

reading

Then, write

second time.

One

notes on her

first

in

another

student's

reading

quilt,

and explain the meaning of

your symbol.

Background

Refrain Like poets, peal to

good speakers

ap-

our sense of hearing.

One way

they do this

is

On November

Literature and

Elements of Literature

by

The

dedicated as a military

which took place sylvania in 1863,

in

was

a turn-

War.

echoes

that bloody three-day

frains are

Re-

used to build rhythm

and emphasize certain points.

cemetery. President Abra-

Penn-

ing point of the Civil

ears.

was

part of the battlefield

using refrains, which create in listeners'

19, 1863,

Social Studies Battle of Gettysburg,

In

battle.

ham Lincoln was asked to make some remarks at the dedication. Although very

Union forces prevented

brief, Lincoln's

Confederate forces from

Address

is

Gettysburg

considered one

moving north, thus confining

of the greatest speeches

the war mainly to the South.

by a U.S.

and phrases that Lincoln has

The

It is

chosen to repeat.

5 ,000 soldiers dead,

As you read the Gettysburg Address, look for the words

battle left at least

wounded, or refrain

is

a

repeated

sound, word, phrase,

or group of

line,

missing.

go.hrw.com LEO 8-8

lines.

more on Refrain, see the Handbook of Literary Terms.

For

~~^

622

its

political leader.

noted especially for

vision of

1

T-

We Shall Overcome: American Struggles and Dreams

democracy.

American

in

down

appear as an example.

Record any

difficult text.

color.

The

(Jettysbui^

Address Abraham Lincoln November

Four

19,

1863

Dialogue with the Text

score and seven years ago our fathers brought

on this continent a new nation, conceived in and dedicated to the proposition that all men are

forth liberty,

engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battlefield of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of are

that field, as a final resting place for those their lives that that nation

and proper that

we

— we

might

should do

But, in a larger sense,

consecrate

we

live. It is

who

here gave

altogether fitting

a score

twenty years, so seven years aqo

.

.

.

.

.

.

is

eighty-

from

this.

— we cannot — this ground. The brave

cannot dedicate

cannot hallow"

Wait the

...

Civil

so he's saying that

War

is

a test of our

country's Constitution.

I

thinl<

in

the

the U.S. lost more Civil

War than

in all

lives

the

wars we fought combined!

and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the vmfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the that from these honored great task remaining before us

men,

...

what time?

created equal.

Now we

Four score

living

Many

people were drafted.

&raver^ wasn't the only rea-

son why they fought.

Lincoln didn't

know that

his

speech would be famous.

What work

is

unfinished?

—

dead

we

take increased devotion to that cause for

—

which

we

here measure of devotion highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth. they gave the

last full

that

—

°

—Sabrina

Braswell

Mansfield Middle School Storrs,

Connecticut

are synonyms meaning "make or declare holy." using repetition to create rhythm and emphasize his point.

Consecrate and hallow

Lincoln

is

The Gettysburg Address 623

1

First draft of the

Gettysburg Address, in Lincoln's handwriting. The Granger

New

Collection.

York.

Battle of Gettysburg (1870) by Peter Frederick Rothermel. Oil on canvas.

The

624

We Shall Overcome: American Struggles and Dreams

Meet the Writer Plain Speaking

Abraham

Lincoln

Kentucky.

in rural

there and

(

He

Indiana.

in

moved with

one, he

809- 865) was born 1

1

spent

his

childhood

At the age

of twenty-

to

his family

where he taught himself law. Lincoln soon became involved first at

in politics,

the state level and then at the na-

tional level. 1

Illinois,

He was

elected president

860, during a period of

in

crisis that quickly

erupted into war between the Northern

and Southern Civil

states. In 1863, during the

War, he issued the Emancipation

Proclamation. This proclamation led to the

adoption of the Thirteenth

Amendment to

the Constitution, outlawing slavery.

Although Lincoln

led the

Union to

tory, he did not live to see his

reunited.

As he

sat in a

vic-

country

Washington

was

theater, watching a play, Lincoln

shot by an assassin, John Wilkes Booth. Lincoln believed as clearly

speaking and writing

in

and simply as he could, so that

people could understand exactly what he meant.

He once

explained:

44 Among my earliest recollections remember how, when a mere child, used to get irritated when anybody talked to me could not understand. ... can in a way remember going to my little bedroom, I

I

I

I

after hearing the neighbors talk of an

evening with

my

father,

and spending the

down and

night walking up and

trying to

make out what was the exact meaning of some of their, to me, dark sayings. could I

not sleep when an idea,

thought

until I

I

I

got on such a hunt after

had caught

had got

it,

I

had put

I

thought, for any boy

in

and when

I

satisfied until

language plain enough, as

I

it

it;

was not

I

knew

to

com-

prehend. This was a kind of passion with

me, and

it

has stuck by me.

99

The Gettysburg Address 625

(Connections The American poet Walt WJjitman wrote this poem after Abraham Lincoln's tragic death in April 1865. As you read, think about Wljitman 's extended metaphor. Wjo is the captain? What is the ship? Read the poem aloud to hear the effect of the refrains.

Captain!

My Captain!

Walt Whitman

O Captain! my Captain!

our fearful

trip is

done,

The sliip has weathered every rack,° the prize we sought The port is near, the bells I hear, the people all exulting," Wliile follow eyes the steady keel, the vessel grim

is

won,

and daring;

O heart! heart! heart! O the bleeding drops of red,

But

Wliere on the deck Fallen cold

O Captain! my Captain! 10

my Captain lies.

and dead.

up and hear the bells; — for you the bugle trills, Rise up For you bouquets and ribboned wreaths for you the shores a-crowding. For you they call, the swaying mass, their eager faces turning;

—

rise

for you the flag

is

flung

—

Here Captain! dear father! The arm beneath your head! It is some dream that on the deck. You've fallen cold and dead.

15

f

My Captain does not answer, his lips are pale and still. My father does not feel my arm, he has no pulse nor will. 20

The ship is anchored safe and sound, its voyage closed and done, From fearful trip the victor" ship comes in with object won: Exult

But

O shores, and ring O bells! 1

with mournful tread.

Walk the deck my Captain Fallen cold and dead.

lies.

rack: here, violent change or disorder, Uke that caused by a storm. exulting: rejoicing. 20. victor: winner. 2.

3.

626

im^^^:-^:

IVIaking IVIeanings First

Thoughts

What two American

1

seem most Abraham Lincoln? How do you

important to

Do you

know?

Reading Check

ideals

Divide a sheet of paper into three sections, and

agree with him?

label

and

Shaping Interpretations 2.

Why

3.

does Lincoln believe

already

What

it is

impossible for

made more sacred

Future.

each

What happened past

Why

b.

—87 years before

What

in

Lincoln's it

What

each case?

the

honoring the dead connected

is

two examples of refrains

speech.

in

Lincoln's speech? is

present

in

in

questions below. a.

is?

to that challenge? Find

Fill

than

challenge does Lincoln propose for the

future?

4.

Post, Present,

section by answering the

the battlefield to be it

them

idea

is

he trying to emphasize

Why are the two

happening (

863)?

1

in

How

the is

related to the past,

according to Lincoln?

ideas c.

important?

What hopes does Lincoln express for the future?

Extendmg the Text 5.

What does

Lincoln

U.S.

democracy

help

make

mean when he describes

"government of the people, by the people, for the people"? What do you think people under voting age can do today to

6.

as

Lincoln's vision a reality?

Has the United States

lived

up to the

ideals Lincoln describes in the

Gettysburg Address? Give examples from history or current events to

support your opinion. 7.

In

your opinion, what would a "new birth of freedom"

today be

(What changes would we see

like?

in

in

the United States

our government? schools?

communities?)

Challenging the Text 8

in

Meet the Writer (page

ideas J*

in plain

language.

625), Lincoln describes his efforts to express

Do

you think the Gettysburg Address

is

easy to

understand? Support your opinion with examples from the text. passages,

were

if

any, gave

you trouble? (Refer to the notes you made

Which as

you

reading.)

The Gettysburg Address 627

Choices:

Building Your Portfolio

Writer's Notebook 1.

/ISouk

Collecting Ideas for a

Problem

Solution

With your classmates, make a list of obstacles to liberty or democracy for people in the United States or the world today. (You may want to look through recent newspapers and magazines for list,

ideas.)

Then, choose one item from the

and answer the following questions about

•

Why

•

Whom

•

What are some

is it

a

problem?

does

it

affect?

possible solutions?

Speaking and Listening

Journal Writing 2.

On the Scene

3.

Imagine that you are one of the twenty thousand

people

—

it.

many of whom

were mourning

friends and

relatives recently

killed in

Sound and Sense 4.

matic reading

Using the Internet or the

of either

the Gettysburg Address or

"O

Captain!

(see

My

Captain!"

Connectiotis on page Your delivery should

626).

who

be loud, slow, and clear

Emphasize the

hours to watch the

Captain!

Prepare and present a dra-

the Battle of Gettysburg

stood outdoors for

Research/ Social Studies

rhythm

library,

leader

research a political

who was

assassi-

nated, such as John

F.

Kennedy, Robert Kennedy, Martin Luther King,

of

Jr,

Malcolm X, or Mohandas

poem,

K.

the words, and pay special

Gandhi. Write a

attention to refrains. Be

letter, or a

sure to ask your audience

(speech praising a person

describing the experience

to evaluate your reading.

who

and your reactions to the

(For help, see the Speaking

point of view of one of the

president's speech. (You

and Listening Workshop,

person's followers.

may want to do some

pages 252-253.)

dedication of the

new

cemetery.

Write

research that

a

journal entry

first

on events

took place that

day.)

Malcolm

628

X

We Shall Overcome: American Struggles and Dreams

a

eulogy

has died) from the

4

Ne

s

i

t

apa

»*;-*; -r

iiooking sfMHt on the

____________

!^:

n

Thinking Critically: Facts and Opinions Recognizing Facts and Opinions •

A fact

is

It

can be proved by direct

observation or by checking a reliable reference

source. •

checking reliable sources. Sen-

When

tences 2 and 4 are opinions

piece

they express beliefs or

cans,"

an attitude.

is It

a belief

Which do you

Abraham

record as the

was the best

presi-

opinion

opinion that

ported by

is

is

an

facts.

facts.

was

intelligent

kind, but not very

looking.

good-

a

they

seem to be sup-

facts

or believable

evidence? You must be the

Therefore,

judge.

Although statements of

Sentences 5 and 6 below are

opinion can't be proved, they

valid opinions.

can be supported with

5.

Lincoln

was

through 6.

Very

Be a critical whenever anyone

a great presi-

tall,

a bitter Civil thin,

facts.

reader or listener is

trying to

persuade you.

and led our country

with what

and

Do

ported by

they are not sup-

ported by

I860 Lincoln was elected

Lincoln

in

judge the validity of the opin-

slaves

40%

them up

opinions. Then, you must

sup-

ever had.

of the popular vote. 4.

A valid

dent because he freed the

despite winning only

presenting facts

reference book?) and where

dent the United States has

In

is

you

the statements are merely

they are not valid opinions.

tallest presi-

to evaluate the

(could you look

ions.

holds the

which follows, you must

critically

writer

Recognizing Valid Opinions

ions, but

still

Ameri-

must determine where the

Sentences 2 and 4 are opin-

dent of the United States.

3.

who was the president and who is

First

writer's arguments. First,

•

think are

six feet four,

Lincoln

read

"The

best

false.

opinions?

2.

atti-

you read a persuasive

like

opinions about

of the following sen-

Lincoln

3 are facts

tudes. People have different

tences do you think are facts?

At

and

or

cannot be

proved true or

1.

I

good-looking.

An opinion

Which

Reading Critically for Facts and Opinions

Sentences

something that

can be proved true.

they can be proved true by

War.

and angular,

many considered

a homely face, Lincoln was not particularly good-

looking.

Apply the strategy on the next page

I

Reading Skills and Strategies 629

;

<

Before You Read The First Americans claimed that the British

Make the Connection

Background

Stereotypes

Literature and Social

Working with

a

government influenced the

group of

class-

mates, discuss the following questions, and write

In

down

your answers.

What

•

is

people

a

stereotype?

(If

check

What are some examples

•

•

•

of

Why

problem?

needed to be made more

Can

and accurate.

good?

Quickwrite Freewrite for a few

with him, had cam-

minutes about your

own

thoughts and feelings

about stereotypes. prefer,

make

(If

you

a drawing

about

paigned on the slogan

"America

First."

(Thompson opposed U.S. involvement

in

stereotypes instead.)

world

affairs

and

Reading Skills

and Strategies Distinguishing Fact from

Opinion As you read "The

First

Ameri-

cans," look for facts, which

can be proved, and opinions,

which

can't be proved.

evidence

is

What

given to support

the opinions expressed?

you

630

find

it

persuasive?

in

fair

Mayor William Hale Thompson, who had been reelected just a month before the council met

right?

Do ^yJiAA^(/o\^. n^yhi^

We Shall Overcome: American Struggles and Dreams

Americanism." go.hrw.com

persuade him that the image of

textbooks and classrooms

useful?

plays

such as "one hundred percent

American Indians conveyed

a stereotype ever be

Americans"

and other popular

American Indians sent a group of representatives from the

stereotypes? are stereotypes a

First

this

patriotic slogans of the time,

Winnebago peoples to address the mayor of Chicago. Their goal was to

a dictionary.)

on

policies.)

the Grand Council Fire of

Sioux, and

disagree or aren't sure,

government's

"The

1927, an organization called

Chippewa, Ottawa, Navajo,

your group

in

U.S.

Studies

LEO 8-8

T^/*vi4 l\ fhC/lACM^

Porno feathered basket (c. 1810).

The Grand Council Fire of American Indians December 1, 1927

To

the mayor of Chicago:

You

white

tell all

lieve in that.

men

"America

First."

We

be-

We are the only ones, truly that are one We therefore ask you, while you

hundred percent.

are teaching schoolchildren about

teach them truth about the

First

America

First,

Americans.

We

do not know if school histories are probut we do know that they are unjust to the life of ovir people— the American Indian. They call all white victories battles and all Indian victories massacres. The battle with Custer' has been taught to schoolchildren as a fearful massacre on our part. We ask that this, as well as other incidents, be told fairly. If the Custer battle was a massacre, what was

British,

Wounded Knee?' History books teach that Indians ers

—

is

it

murder

were murder-

to fight in self-defense? Indians

battle with Custer: the Battle of the Little Bighorn, which took place in 1876 in what is now Montana. General George A. Custer (18.^9-1876) led an attack on an Indian village and was killed along

1.

with

all

of his troops by Sioux and

Cheyenne

warriors. 2.

Wounded Knee: Wounded Knee Creek,

in

of a battle in 1890 between U.S. soldiers and Sioux whom they had

South Dakota, was the

site

captured. About two hundred Sioiux men, women, and children were killed b)' the soldiers.

4^

I

The

First

Americans 63

killed

men because white men

white

took their lands, ruined their

hunting grounds, burned their forests, destroyed their buffalo. Wliite men pemied our people on reservations, then took away the reservations. White men who rise to protect their property are called patriots—Indians Wliite

men

who do the same are called

call

murderers.

Indians treacherous— but no mention

is

made

man. Wliite men say that Indians were always fighting. It was only our lack of skill in white mans warfare that led to our defeat. An Indian mother

of broken

treaties

on the

part of the white

prayed that her boy be a great medicine man rather than a great warrior. It is true that we had our own small battles, but in the

main

we were peace loving and home loving. men called Indians thieves— and yet we

Wliite

skin lodges and

dians savages.

lived in

needed no locks or iron bars. is civilization? Its marks are

What

a noble religion

philosophy, original arts, stirring music, rich story

and We had these. Then

we were

We made blankets that were

and legend.

not savages, but a civilized race. beautiful, that the

white

man with all

machinery has never been able to duplicate We made baskets that were beautiful. We wove in beads and colored quills designs that were not just decorative motifs but were the outward expression of our very thoughts. We made pottery— pottery that was useful, and beautiful as well. Why not make schoolchildren acquainted with the his

Pueblo owl pottery (20th century).

frail

White men call In-

.

beautiful handicrafts in

which we were

skilled? Put in

every school

Indian blankets, baskets, potter)^.

We

sang songs that carried in their melodies all the sounds of nature— the running of waters, the sighing of winds, and the calls of the animals. Teach these to your children that they nature as

we love

may come

it.

We

had our statesmen— and their oratory has never been equaled. Teach the children some of these speeches of our people, remarkable for their brilliant oratory.

We played games— games that brought good health and Why not put these in your schools? We

sound bodies.

WORDS TO OWN penned

(pend)

v.:

confined or enclosed. (A pen

where animals are

is

a fenced area

kept.)

n.: fornnal agreennents between nations. duplicate (doo'pli-kat') v.: make an exact copy; make or do motifs (mo-tefs') a: repeated figures in a design; themes.

treaties (tret'ez)

oratory

(or'a-tor'e)

n.: skill in

public speaking; the art of public

speaking.

632

again.

We Shall Overcome: American Struggles and Dreams

Hopewell artifact.

to love

more of the wholesome them how we loved all that

told stories. Wliy not teach schoolchildren

proverbs and legends of our people? Tell

we killed game onl) for food, think white men who kill for fun are murderers. was

beautiful.

That

not for fun. Indians

your children of the friendly acts of Indians to the white people who first settled here. Tell them of our leaders and heroes and their deeds. Tell them of Indians such as Black Partridge, Shabbona, Tell

and others who many times saved the people of Chicago at great danger to themselves. Put in your history books the Indian's part in the World War Tell how the Indian fought for a country of which he was not a citizen, for a flag to which he had no claim, and for a people that

have treated him

unjustl)'.

The Indian has long been hurt by these unfair books. We ask only that our story be told in fairness. We do not ask you to overlook what we did, but we do ask you to understand it. A true program of America First will give a

American

generous place to the culture and history of the

Indian.

We ask this, Chief,

to

keep sacred the memory of our people.

Stu4eM Indians Indians are native people

here before the Pilgrims came

came here before the Vikings came here before Columbus

5

Yet,

we

are treated

As though

we

don't belong here

Indians are native people

here before the Pilgrims came

here before Columbus came here before the Vikings came

10

Yet,

we

are treated

As though

we

just

—Ophelia

got here.

Rivas

Santa Rosa Ranch Day School Tucson, Arizona

The

First

Americans 633

Meanings

IVIaking First

Thoughts

What stereotypes

1

are mentioned

Americans"?

"The

First

thinl<

the writers

types? (You

felt

How

in

do you

about those stereo-

may want to

refer to your

Quickwrite notes.)

Reading Check In a brief

rize the

paragraph,

summa-

main points

speech, and

cite

in this

the details

the speakers use to support

Shaping Interpretations 2.

What opinion do

their main points.

the writers express at

the beginning of the second paragraph? List

three pieces of evidence they use to support

this opinion.

Paraphrase (restate in your own words) what Ophelia Rivas is saying in poem "Indians." How does her message relate to "The First Americans"?

3.

her

Extending the Text

Do

you think the popular image of American Indians has changed since 1927? What stereotypes of American Indians persist today? Use evidence

4.

from your own experience and from books, TV, and movies to support your response.

Choices:

Building Your Portfolio

Writer's Notebook 1.

Collectmg Ideas for a

Problem Solution If

Research/Social Studies 2.

What Really Happened?

Using the Internet and the library,

you could

research and write a

Visual Literacy 3.

Beauty and Purpose

Look

again at the illustra-

tions for

"The

paragraph on one of these

cans." React to

subject to

topics or another that your

strikes

your school's curriculum,

teacher approves:

crafts

add

a

new

what would •

Why

be?

it

How

Pocahontas

believe this

•

Tecumseh

could

it

be

fitted into

What problems do you foresee, and how could they be overcome?

634

whatever

shown

—perhaps how

they might

have been used. (Most Indian

•

Sacajawea

purpose.) Then, write a

•

the

Trail

of Tears

poem in

•

events at (in

1

Wounded Knee

890 and 1973)

We Shall Overcome: American Struggles and Dreams

their

colors, shapes, or designs.

Chiefjoseph

•

the schedule? •

Ameri-

you about the handi-

Think about

do you

subject should be taught? •

•

First

artwork has

a specific

or a journal entry

which you express your

responses to the

art.

I

Grammar Link

MINI-LESSON

Good or WelU Bad or Badlyl I

.

Use good to modify (describe) pronoun. Use well to modify a

a

noun or

verb.

a

Good

Handbook

STANDARD

HELP

Carla's essay

is

good. [Good

modifies the noun essay.]

STANDARD

of Usage,

sentences, choose the

correct

word from

the

Caria writes well [Well .

1.

modifies the verb writes.]

pages 817

and 818.

CarIa does good

NONSTANDARD

in all

Caria does well

STANDARD

in all

2.

3.

modifies the verb does.] 2.

Technology

Well can be used as an adjective meaning "in

good health" or

HELP

STANDARD

school early because

left

our waders.

Paul didn't feel

good/

well enough to

go.

We didn't do bad/badly

she didn't

Workshop

4.

"healthy."

She

See Language

We looked good/well in

her

writing assignments. [Well

She planned good/well for our field trip.

her

writing assignments.

feel well

.

5.

[Well

I

wonder

in if

practice.

we'll

do

as

good/well next time.

modifies the pronoun she.]

CD-ROM. Key word

Out

underlined pair

See Glossm-)

/59

It

For each of the following

should never be used to modify a verb.

Language

Try

3.

Bad

is

an adjective. Badly

is

an adverb.

entry: usage.

STANDARD

The

STANDARD

The man

Vocabulary

fish

was

bad. [Bad modifies the

noun

fish.]

fished badly [Badly modifies the verb fished.] .

HOW TO OWN A WORD

Word Bank

Words from the News

penned

A.

Find the

Word Bank word

that best completes each of these

headlines.

treaties

duplicate

1

.

motifs

2.

oratory

3.

4. 5.

Hello, Dolly! Scientists

Flamingos at New Zoo Perish Education and Economy Are Recurring President's

B.

Sheep!

Shows Skills in Judge Awards Indians Land Based on Old Senator's Speech

in

Speech

From newspaper or TV reports of today's current events, find five words you do not know. Look up their meanings, and use each word in a sentence of your own. Then, teach your words to a classmate.

The

First

Americans 635

Enter the Picture The Golden Door: A Nation of Immigrants Make the Connection

Background

Yearning to Breathe Free

Literature and Social Studies

Imagine 1

this:

900. You

The time is somewhere around on a farm in Italy that can no

live

longer support your family, and you face a

life

of miserable poverty. Perhaps you are Jewish

and you

eastern Europe. Each day you

live in

mobs

will

kill

you and destroy

You pack your bags and

set

sail

fear that hostile

your

know what you

ocean. You don't

America

for

—across more than three thousand

miles of

will find there,

—you hope with every good new world? you — and your —come to home?

but you hope

fiber of

your being. Will you be able to make life in

a

call it

Skills

and Strategies

"A picture is worth a thousand words." How many times have you heard that expression? The truth is that a picture is very different from words. The more strategies you have for viewing, or "reading," a picture, the more will

see

the picture.

in

As you read •

photo

this

Who or what What

can

is

pictured

•

have

come here

its

I

in

1954,

new

Ellis

lives.

Island served as

passage

in

steerage across the Atlantic was

a nightmare. This 1911 report

facial

feeling,

What message do Does the

view about

its

I

U.S.

below decks,

in

steerage:

The unattended vomit of the

seasick, the odors

of not too dean bodies, the

reel<

of food, and the

awful stench of the nearby

toilet

rooms make the it is

a marvel

human flesh can endure The Atlantic crossing could take anywhere from ten days to more than a month. No wonthat

it.

der, then, the utter joy of first sight

immigrants at their

of the Statue of Liberty, the symbol

of America's freedom and promise.

After leaving in

many immigrants

Ellis Island,

nearby northeastern

New York and

cities,

such as

where they lived tenements. Many others

Philadelphia,

cramped, squalid rail

journeys across our vast

country, often joining groups from their in

expressions,

and surroundings?

or

from the

Immigration Commission describes the conditions far

in

each

about the people

learn

What mood,

essay?

Americans,

"Golden Door." For many immigrants the

homelands to

build a

do the photographs

get from this photo

essay present a point of

new

Some of these immigrants own ancestors.

create? •

first

than sixty million people

to start

From 1892 to

went on long

the photos from their clothing,

more

ago. Since 1600,

setded essay, ask yourself:

photograph? •

a nation of immigrants.

atmosphere of the steerage such that

Visual Literacy: Reading a Photo Essay

you

is

journeyed here from Siberia thousands of years

Will

this

Reading

States

Even Native Americans, the

the main port of entry to the United States

village.

children

The United

go.hrw.com

subject?

We Shall Overcome: American Struggles and Dreams

life in

America.

might be your

a^

^vliiz iiriiiiiiiN ime

I

saw iiiT^^l^r.nTHnHltTTir

opie wer^iiishing to the side Ir,

look at her/

There she Is, was somebody who

igues.

..ca

The New Colossus Emma Lazarus

10

Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame," With conquering limbs astride from land to land; Here at our sea- washed, sunset gates shall stand A mighty woman w ith a torch, whose flame Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand GloTvs world-^vide welcome; her mild eyes command The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame. "Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!"° cries she With silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming" shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost° to me. I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

1.

giant of Greek fame: The reference

is

9.

12.

pomp:

cir>-

huge bronze dominated the 224 B.C.

to Colossus, a

fbrazen) statue of the ancient Greek god Helios.

harbor of the Greek

r

of Rhodes from 280 to

It

splendor; magnificence.

teeming: crowded.

13- tempest-tost: upset

by storm. Tempesthere

refers to other

hardships as well.

The Golden Door:

A

Nation of Immigrants 637

First Stop: Ellis Island As they sailed

into

New

distance and, nearby,

York Harbor, immigrants spotted the Statue of Liberty Island

Ellis Island. Ellis

were given medical examinations and

was

officially

their first stop in America.

in

the

Here they

permitted to enter the country. More than

1892 and 1954. The peak year newcomers entered through the "Golden Door."

twelve million people arrived through this gateway between

was 1907

I

million

came to America because heard streets were paved with gold. When

"Well,

the

—when more than one

I

I

got here,

I

found out three things:

first,

the streets weren't paved with gold; second, they weren't paved at

all;

and

third,

I

was

expected to pave them."

—Old

Italian

Story (Inset) The faces of three immigrants.

(Top) View of

Ellis

Island in 1905.

(Bottom) Jewish war orphans from eastern Europe

638

We Shall Overcome: American Struggles and Dreams

in

1921.

arriving

"We

naturally

were

in

steerage. Everyone had

smelly food, and the atmosphere

was so thick

and dense with smoke and bodily odors that your head itched, and when you went to scratch your head you got six

weeks

lice in

your hands.

We

had

of that."

—Sophia Kreitzberg, a Russian Jewish immigrant

"\

in

1908

can remember only the

hustle and bustle of those last

weeks

in Pinsk,

the

farewells from the family,

the embraces and the tears. Going to

America

then was almost

like

going

to the moon."

—Golda Meir, a Russian Jewish immigrant

in

1906 "-ir s

(Top)

A

Slovakian

mother and

daughter wait to be admitted to Ellis Island, about 1915.

(Center) ground, (Left)

"Those who are loudest

in their

Children's play-

Ellis

Island roof garden.

Women from

loupe, French

cry of 'America for Americans'

Ellis

Island

West

on April

Guade-

Indies, at 6, 191

I.

do not have to look very far back to find an ancestor who

was an immigrant."

—New Immigrants' Protective League,

1906

The Golden Door:

A Nation of

Immigrants 639

A Triumph

After Ellis Island:

Human

of the How's It's

this for 1

an American dream:

come

874. You've just

You speak no

Spirit

off the boat

from Poland.

English. You're packed with your husband

and four children

in a tiny

tenement apartment

in

New

Lower East Side. Then your husband disappears. And your baby dies.

York's

Nathalia Gumpertz survived

all this,

eking out a

liv-

ing for her three daughters by sewing dresses and trim-

ming

hats for eight dollars a week.

And now

her

life is a

stunning history lesson featured

most unusual museum, the Lower East Side Tenement Museum. in a

Everything here with real objects

is

real

—

owned by

a real tenement, restored

real

people and animated

with real stories of success and tragedy. This building, 97 Orchard Street, was home to ten thousand people from twenty-five countries from 1863

when it was closed and its residents evicted. was sealed up for fifty years a time capsule

until 1935, It

—

awaiting the bulldozer.

But Ruth Abram and her partner found

They had been searching

it

first.

the city for a tenement to

museum that would, Abram says, "speak to the human spirit." A tenement museum, Abram believed, would help Americans appreciate where we've come from and therefore be more tolerant of the newcomers now in house a

greatness of the

—

our land. That was ten years ago. This year. Congress is poised to make the museum part of the National Park Service. And seventy-five thousand visitors will meet Nathalia Gumpertz and see

how

Nathalia was successful enough to eventually

she lived.

They'll also meet the Baldizzi family. Catholics

from

And

Sicily,

who

to the

lived in the building in the 1930s.

the Confino family,

Turkey

who came

to

America from

of the tenement across the street. The hour-long tour begins in the cramped hallway of the six-story tenement, then leads up the creaking stairway. It's dark and scary. as eighteen people lived in each apartment

born

640

when Orchard

of the century,

most populated place on

Side,

where she died

in

1894

at

move age

Her

still touches Abram, the museum's presido the others. "For everybody who emigrates, there is this potential for greatness, for great courage," she says. "These people are role models for all of us." Abram still guides one tour through the tenement each week and each time she is struck by the immi-

story

dent, as

Their lives have been re-created but not sanitized. Visitors gather at 90 Orchard Street for guided tours

at the turn

Upper East

fifty-eight.

in 1913.

As many

Outside viev\^ of the Lower East Side Tenement Museum 97 Orchard Street in New York City. The abandoned six-story tenement was turned into a museum in 1988. at

earth.

in this buildina died.

Street

was

the

Nearly half of the babies

—

grants' self-sacrifice.

"Our story is the story of adults sacrificing their own dreams for their children's and grandchildren's dreams." —from The Palm Beach Post. July 5, 1998

We Shall Overcome: American Struggles and Dreams

Tenement in

1900 New

place

Here

York City's Lower East Side

m

was the most densely populated crowded, dark,

earth. Almost

is

cough, that a door. Listen! That short hacking

—Jacob

Riis,

How

M

i

tiny,

child is dying

wail—what do they mean? ... The That dark bedroom killed measles

helpless with

New Yorli

75 percent of New Yorkers lived in Disease was rampant. and foul-smelling tenements like these.

on'

airless,

Life in

it.

the Other Half Lives

^^

is^

*>?J

^-i.

«*

'^
X^ [r

|/:i

t

=:0
C)

m 1^

VN ' n ^:.

\

(Center) h.

^m-Ai

A family

poses

in

their

tenement apartment

in

New York City, about 1910. This photograph, by Jessie Collection. Riis was Tarbox Beals, is from the Jacob Riis life. slum of pictures dramatic famous for his apartments (Top right and bottom left) Restored (Top right) Museum. Tenement in the Lower East Side from Turkey. immigrants family, Apartment of the Confine family, immiBaldizzi the of Apartment (Bottom left) grants from Italy

'^\

The Golden Door:

A Nation OF Immigrants

641

Where Did They map shows

This

Settle?

the major areas where

some

of the largest

Approximate Numbers of Immigrants Arriving 1892-1931

^

Each

liguie equals

immigrant groups

in

settled.

the United States

200,000 immigrants

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^4,263,000 Q Jews^ ^^^^^^^^^^^^2,300,000 ^ ^^^^^^^^^1.655,000 [D ^^^^^^1.094,000 ^ ^^^^ H Q

Italians

Poles Irish

775,000

Greeks

^^^511,000

Swedes

^^iji473,000

Hungarians

. . .

^3 ^i 226,300

Norwegians

Minneapolis-

SL^""'

^,206,600

Czechs

Cliicago

and Wliere

II^H

Tliey

New

Went

Yorii City

San Francisco

IJU Breal(down of Major Cities 1900-1920 All

ich suitcase equals

mm

50.000 immigrants

numbers are approximate.

Chicago

Philadelphia

o O CT© run

o O o. o in

o O o. ta

© Q ao r>

m.u ^ mP Irish

Poles

t

Italians

siiilliiiil

642

<^

Jews

§ m m m Swedes

Irish

_ m m

di

m m

o °

§ o o

in <*

It ^

Poles

Italians

o in m eg Jews

iimi)iiiJiPM.iii«i"ii

We Shall Overcome: American Struggles and Dreams

New York

City

(H

a a di m m o ro ^ Bo Irish

Poles

(ftdi

ttPo

^'So O) 00

>*

Italians

Jews

Reflecting Research/Graphic Organizer 1.

following questions:

How many of you

the United States from

Ancestors on Parade

did

you

settle?

892 to

1

1

Between 1900 and

came to

Where 1920, how

93

1

?

Trace your family history back to your grand-

many

parents or great-grandparents (or even great-

and

great-grandparents), and create a family tree.

your partners, and check to be sure that their

For each ancestor on your family tree, record

information

the person's

name and important

places

or her

in his

life.

Talk to

living in Philadelphia,

New York City? is

Chicago,

Exchange notes with

accurate. Then, you might

to perform your "stories" for your

want

class.

Oral Interpretation

in class.

5.

Visual Literacy 2.

were

You might share or

your family trees

display

dates and

of you

"Send These... to Me"

With

Me

several classmates, prepare and

perform

an oral interpretation or a choral reading

Imagine that you are a

TV

the early 1900s. (Imagine,

talk

show host

first,

that talk

in

shows

You are interviewing the people in the photographs in this photo essay. What do you want to know about them? Write a list existed then!)

of "The

New

Colossus." (For help, see pages

252-253.) Your reading could serve as an introduction to a performance of the immigrants' stories (see Activity 4).

of questions that an interviewer might ask.

Visual Literacy/

Discussing an Evaluation 3.

Talk Together

In

a small group, discuss

^

your evaluation of this

What did it teach you about immigration? What message does the essay seem to present? Do you think the editors show photo

essay.

a biased

or an objective point of view?

If

you

had been the editor, what else would you have included? Assign a

member

of your group to

summarize the main points of your discussion.

Interpreting Graphic

Information/Performance 4. Tell

Their Story

You and two partners can each choose three of the immigrant groups represented on the map and graphs on page 642. Then, prepare to the stories of your three groups as a

member

if

Detail tell

you were

of each group. Take notes on the

from Family Supper

displayed at the

The son of teeming

life

Ellis

Italian

(

1

972) by Ralph Fasanella,

Island Immigration

Museum.

immigrants, Fasanella painted the

and crowded spaces of

The Golden Door:

New

York

City.

A Nation of Immigrants

643

Before You Read Camp Harmony what you already know to make a broad, univer-

Make the Connection

Reading Skills

Camp Harmony

and Strategies

What might a place called Camp Harmony be like? Why

Making Generalizations: Putting It All Together

might people go there?

A

text with

sal

generalization

is

topic. For

particular situations.

Look at the paintings on pages 647, 648,

^

example, after you

have read about Monica Sone's

a broad

specific experiences,

you

might want to make a general-

statement based on several

Quickwrite

statement about some

When

ization

about the treatment of

you make a generalization,

Japanese Americans during

you combine evidence

World War

in

a

II.

and 650. Freewrite in

response to one of them.

You might use •

The

first

about

this starter:

thing

I

Background

noticed

this painting

Literature and Social Studies

was

.

.

In

1

942, thousands of Japanese Americans

Coast received notices requiring them to

Elements of Literature

little

many Americans know

about the internment of

II,

confine Americans of Japanese descent

Many

but for Monica

of those evacuated

were

internment was a painful

with their immigrant parents, the an

these camps.

second-

were taken to the camps along

born U.S.

"Camp Harmony,"

in

nisei (ne'sa'),

generation Japanese Americans. Although they were native-

Sone and thousands of others, reality.

homes

no crime, but the United States had gone to war with Japan. Executive Order 9066 made it legal for the government to

Japanese Americans during

World War

on the West

and go to internment (prison) camps. They had committed

Autobiography Today,

living

leave their

citizens, the nisei

were barred from

issei (e'sa'),

who

citizenship by law. Ironically,

at the time

many of the

excerpt from Sone's auto-

evacuated families had sons or brothers serving with the U.S.

biography,

Army

H\se\ Daughter,

vividly describes

in

the

war overseas.

Most of the 120,000 Japanese Americans detained spent

the day her

three years behind barbed wire. Released

family arrived at a camp.

of

World War

II,

they returned

home

autobiography

writer's

her For

account of

own

his

is

or

forty years for

government.

life.

more on Autobiography,

see pages

a

656-657 and

go.hrw.com

the

Handbook of Literary Terms.

644

1945, at the end

to find their property

They had to wait more than an apology and compensation from the U.S.

stolen and their livelihoods gone. ^n

in

We Shall Overcome: American Struggles and Dreams

/rowz Nisei

Daughter

j^-

O

Monica Sone

our bus turned When had we no longer

a

corner and

to smile

and

back gravely in our quiet except for a seats. Everyone was students, chattering group of university songs. coUege who soon started singing A few people turned and glared at them,

we

wave,

settled

which only

volser^'ed to increase the

suddenly a of their singing. Then above babvs sharp cry rose indignantly

ume

stopped immethe hubbub. The singing guilt}' silence. diately, followed by a

Three seats behind

us, a

young mother

infant in her held a wailing red-faced

arms, bouncing

like

a

mminal?

angry

little

face

up and down. Its emerged from multiple it

kimonos, sweaters, and blanthe white pastekets, and it, too, wore blanket. A board tag' pinned to its

layers of

1

white pasteboard

tag: All Japanese

evacuation were families registering for to numbered tags to wear and to attach i,

,gf

Monicas

family

became

family

American

gnen

thor lug-10 10. mf-

'\v?i3^^ ;->>', .?i>v?

Camp Harmony 645

young man stammered out an apology as the mother gave him a wratlifiil look. She hunted

bundles after

shopping bag, and we all relaxed when she had found it. We sped out of the city southward along beautiful stretches of farmland, with dark, newly turned soil. In the beginning we devoured ever\' bit of scenery which flashed past our window and admired the massive-muscled workhorses plodding along the edge of the highway, the rich burnished copper color of a browsing herd of cattle, the vivid spring green of the pastures, but eventually the sameness of the country landscape palled on us. We tried to sleep to escape from the restless anxiet}' which kept bobbing up to the surface of our minds. I awoke with a start when the bus filled with ex-

deep

frantically for a bottle of milk in a

us.

It

must have rained hard the

night before in Puyallup, for into gray, glutinous

we

sank ankle

mud. The reception-

a white man, instructed us courteously, "Now, folks, please stay together as family units and line up. You'll be assigned your apartist,

ment."

We were parking

lot

standing in Area A, the

mammoth

of the state fairgrounds. There were

three other separate areas, B, C, and D,

on the fairgrounds proper, near the

all

built

baseball

then a twinge of pit}'. They would be joining us

and the racetracks. This camp of army barwas hopefulh' called Camp Harmony. We were assigned to apartment 2-I-A, right across from the bachelor quarters. The apartments resembled elongated, low stables about two blocks long. Our home was one room, about eighteen by twenty feet, the size of a living room. There was one small window in the wall opposite the one door. It was bare except for a small, tinny wood-burning stove crouch-

soon.

ing in the center.

A

cited buzzing.

small group of straw-hatted

Japanese farmers stood by the highway, waving at us. I felt a sudden warmth toward them,

About noon we crept

Someone

"Looks

said,

into a small town.

like Puyallup, all right."

Parents of small children babbled excitedh',

"Stand up quickly and look over there. See

all

One

lit-

the chick-chicks and tle city

tersely, "They're

Our bus and

we

fat little

boy stared hard bachi

idled a

noticed

at

at

— dirty!"

moment the

piggies?"

the hogs and said

left

at

of us an entire block

chicken houses. Someone commented on

with awe,

They

"Just

look

at

it

those chicken houses.

sure go in for poultry' in a big wa}' here."

Slowly the bus

made

racks

The

flooring consisted of

on the earth, and danwere already pushing their way up through the cracks. Mother was delighted when she saw their shaggy yellow heads. "Don't anyone pick them. I'm going to cultitwo-by-fours laid directly delions

vate them."

Father snorted, "Cultivate them!

the traffic signal,

with neat rows of low shacks, resembling

filled

field

watch our

out, those things will

stomped

ment about?" Sumi replied

the excite-

laconically, "Dandelions."

Words to Own

The bus

palled (pold) v.: became boring. tersely (ttrs'le) adv.: briefly and necessary words.

door, the guard stepped out

and stationed himself at the door again. Jim, the young man who had shepherded us into the buses, popped his head inside and sang out, "OK, folks, all off at Yokohama, Puyallup." We stumbled out, stunned, dragging our

646

all

a left turn, drove through

we were

opened the

don't

inside, bringing

the rest of our baggage. ""What's

and to our dismay,

driver

we

hair."

Just then Henry'

inside the oversized chicken farm.

a wire-fence gate,

If

be growing out of

glutinous

elongated

(gloot''n

•

clearly;

without un-

8s) adj.: sticky; gluey.

(e-l6r)'gat'id)

v.

used as

adj.:

lengthened;

extended. laconically (Is-kan'ik-le) cally

and

We Shall Overcome: American Struggles and Dreams

tersely

adv.:

with few words. Laconi-

are synonyms.

—

»^

u- J J.4

Topoz, /August /943 (1943) by Suiko Mikami. Watercolor.

Henry

tore off a

"Arra! Arra! Stop that. They're the only beauti-

things around here.

ful

We could have a garden

right in here."

"Are you joking. I

all,

Henry

Mother scolded,

fistful.

Mama?"

Mother's black

chided Henry, "Of course she's not. After she has to have some inspiration to write

Oh, Dandelion, Dandelion, Despised and uprooted by all. Dance and bob your golden heads For you've finally found your home With your yellow fellows, nari keri, amen!"

hair,

the

dandelions

think you can

"I

in

do ten

times better than that. Mama."

Sumi reclined on her sea bag and fretted, we sleep? Not on the floor, I hope." "Stop worrying," Henry replied disgustedly. Mother and Father wandered out to see what the other folks were doing and they found people wandering in the mud, wondering what other folks were doing. Mother re-

I

turned shortly, her face smile,

•

"We're in luck.

up in an The latrine lit

ecstatic is

right

We won't have to walk blocks' We laughed, marveling at Mother who could

nearby.

ones sailors use to person was allowed to bring only one sea bag of bedding and two suitcases of clotliing to the internment camps. 3.

nari keri's: Nari keri (na re ke re) is a phrase used to end many Japanese poems. It is meant to convey wonder and awe. •

thrusting

""Where do

poems, you know, with all the nari keri's.'" can think of a poem myself right now:

2.

said,

sea bag: large canvas bag

like the

carr) their personal belongings. Each

Camp Harmony 647

«i

^4,'

i>

Pa;osr."'jS

Progress After

One

Year, the

AFriTia

Mess

Oa/C" v/;^

Hall Line

(

1

943) by Kango Takamura. Watercolor.

be so poetic and yet so practical. Father came back, bent double like a woodcutter in a fairy tale, with stacks of scrap lumber over his shoulder. His coat and trouser pockets bulged with nails. Father dumped his loot in a corner and explained, "There

was

a pile of

wood

left

by

the carpenters and hundreds of nails scattered

Everybody was picking them up, and I hustled right in with them. Now maybe we can live in style, with tables and chairs." The block leader knocked at our door and loose.

and out of the line, skiing in the slithery mud. The young stood impatiently on one foot, then the other, and scowled, "The food had better be good after all this wait." But the issei stood quietly, arms folded, saying very little. A light drizzle began to fall, coating bare black heads with tiny sparkling raindrops. The chow line inched forward. Lunch consisted of two canned sausages, one lob of boiled potato, and a slab of bread. Our family had to split up, for the hall was too dren darted

announced lunchtime. He instructed us to take our meal at the nearest mess hall. As I untied

crowded

my

crowded

sea bag to get out

spoon, and

mess

648

hall

fork,

we

I

my

realized

found a long

I

pie plate, tin cup,

was hungry. At the

line of people. Clail-

in

for us to

and down the

sit

together.

I

wandered up

back and forth along the and benches, looking for a few inches to squeeze into. A small issei woman finished her meal, stood up, and hoisted her

We Shall Overcome: American Struggles and Dreams

aisles,

tables

^

legs

modestly over the bench, leaving a space Even as I thrust myself into the breach,

for one.

the space had shrunk to two inches, but worked myself into it. My dinner companion, hooked just inside my right elbow, was a baldheaded, gruff-looking issei man who seemed to resent nestling at mealtime. Under m}' left elbow was a tiny, mud-spattered girl. With bus)', runm' nose, she was belaboring her sausages, tearing them into shreds and mixing them into the potato gruel which she had made with water. I choked my food down. We cheered loudly when trucks rolled by distributing canvas army cots for the young I

and hardy, and steel cots for the older folks. Henry directed the arrangement of the cots. Father and Mother were to occupy the corner nearest the

wood

stove. In the other corner,

Henry arranged two cots in an L shape and announced that this was the combination living room-bedroom area, to be occupied by Sumi and myself. He frxed a male den for himself in the corner nearest the door. If I had had my way, I would have arranged everyone's cots in one neat row, as in Father's hotel dormitory.

We

felt

fortunate to be assigned to a

the end of the barracks, because

we

room had

at

just

Funai would say through the plank wall, "are put

up every

it

looked walk,

came arotmd

we must

Sumi was

still

sitting

putting her hair up.

up

in

bed

tell

when

in the dark,

'Mah, Sumi-chan," Mrs.

^ 'S.Z*'^

night to

first

tell

us that

be inside our room by nine o'clock every night. At ten o'clock, he rapped at the door again, yelling, "Lights out! and Mother rushed to turn the light off not a second later. "

Throughout the barracks, there was a medley of creaking cots, whimpering infants, and ex-

Our attention was riveted on the intense little wood stove, which glowed so violently I feared it would melt right down

plosive night coughs.

to the floor.

We

soon learned that

this condi-

which it Henry and suddenly turned into a deep freeze. Father took turns at the stove to produce the harrowing blast which all but singed our army

tion lasted for only a short time, after

blankets but did not penetrate through them.

As

it

grew quieter

in the barracks,

the light patter of rain. Soon

I

I

felt

could hear the splat!

my

face.

like a

mor-

splat! of raindrops digging holes into

The dampness on my pillow spread tal

bleeding, and

had to get out and

finally

I

my cot toward the center of the room.

leaks, too.

Mrs. Funai next door could

who

all

high, with an opening of four feet at the top, so at night,

the

wall.

with his crouching

like a star tackle,

haul

to

Sumi would put her

night?"

hands on her hips and glare defiantly at the The block monitor, an impressive nisei

worry about. The partition wall separating the rooms was only seven feet one neighbor

Do you

your hair tonight, again?

)'ou curling

In a

Henry was up. "I've got multiple Have to complain to the landlord

short while,

first

thing in the morning."

AH through the

night

I

heard people getting

up, dragging cots around.

I

stared at our

little

window, unable to sleep. I was glad Mother had put up a makeshift curtain on the window, for I noticed a powerful beam of light

Words to own breach

(brech)

n.:

breakthrough

in

medley

(med'le)

riveted

(riv'it-id)

opening. &reach usually refers to a a wall

n.; v.;

rivets (metal bolts

harrowing

or

in

a line of defense.

jumble; nnixture of dissimilar things.

fastened or held firmly, as

or

(har'6-ir))

v.

if

by

pins).

used as

adj.:

distressing.

Camp Harmony 649

Topaz Through the Door (1943) by Masao Mori. Watercolor.

sweeping across it every few seconds. The came from high towers placed around the camp, where guards with tommy guns kept lights

a twenty-four-hour vigil

wire fence encircling tightened in

my

hind a fence,

and a knot of anger was 1 doing be-

were acbeen given

like a criminal? If there

why

hadn't

I

Maybe I wasn't considered an Ameri-

can anymore. all.

us,

remembered the

breast. Wliat

cusations to be made, a fair trial?

I

.

My

citizenship wasn't real, after

Then what was

zen of Japan, as

I? I

my

was

certainly not a

parents were.

On

citi-

second

thought, even Father and Mother were

little tie

with their

mother country. In their twenty-five years in America, they had worked and paid their

650

other citizen.

Of one

thing I was sure. The wire fence was no longer had the right to walk out of it. It was because I had Japanese ancestors. It was also because some people had little faith in the ideas and ideals of democracy. They said that after all these were but words and could not possibly ensure loyalty. New laws and camps were surer devices. I finally buried my face in my pillow to wipe out burning thoughts and snatch what sleep I could. real. I

more

alien residents of the United States than Japan-

ese nationals, for they had

taxes to their adopted government as any

Words to Own vigil (vij'al)

watch.

We Shall Overcome: American Struggles and Dreams

n.:

watch; act of staying awake to keep

Meet the Writer "I

Wanted to Tell Our story"

Monica Sone (1919-

how

tion of

she

was born

)

Washington. This

Seattle,

in

her explana-

is

came to write

Nisei

Daughter:

44

the spring of

in

Pearl

Harbor

[site

1

942, shortly after

of a U.S. naval base

bombed by Japan], was forced to leave my home in Seattle under U.S. Army I

orders.

camp

I

was sent away to

a prison

built inside a state fairground in

Puyallup, Washington. This camp, for

some

strange reason,

was

called

Camp

Harmony.

While incarcerated ters to

my

boggling to me.

normal

life

wrote

let-

[a

children's author], describing

conditions, which

living

I

McDonald

friend Betty

well-known

our

there,

I

were mind-

had gone from a

to being herded into a

Monica Sone with her granddaughter.

fairly

camp The

with thousands of others, surrounded if

with barbed wire and armed guards. This

cans and

we

my

we were Ameri-

occurred even though

had not been charged with

letters.

One

all

of

no

details

camp to be reported the media. The editor reacted to my letters, sensing in them a of

human-interest story as well as a major historical

event

in

our country.

left

a

expanding on

book.

I

camp and moved

that the general public

was

I

knew

I

to the

discovered nothing

about our evacuation and imprisonment

Little,

of tens of thousands of Americans.

Brown and Co. He immediately became interested in my camp experiences, espesince at that time

and writing

in

eastern part of the country,

day she showed the

packet of letters to an editor from

come out

letters

eventually

Betty had apparently preserved

cially

would be interested

and inquired

eager to do so. This was because after

any crime.

my

I

me

editor contacted

wanted to

had

Like

tell

our

story.

I

99

many native-born Americans

of

Japanese ancestry, Sone's future

in

husband served

^^ i

during

and a

in

World War

half years

the U.S. II.

Army

During the four

he spent fighting over-

was imprisoned in an internment camp in Poston, Arizona.

seas, his family

Camp Harmony 65

(jonnections In Response to Executive Order 9066: All

Americans of Japanese Descent Must Report

to Relocation Centers

TOMATO

Dwight Okita Dear

Sirs:

packed my galoshes and three packets of tomato seeds. Denise calls them

Of course

I'll

"love apples." 5

come.

I've

My father says where we're going

they won't grow.

am a fourteen-year-old girl with bad spelling and a messy room. If it helps any, I will tell you I have always felt funny using chopsticks and my favorite food is hot dogs. I

10

My best friend is a white girl named Denise we look at boys together She sat in front of me all

through grade school because of our names:

know the back of Denise 's head very well her she's going bald. She tells me I copy on tests.

O'Comior, Ozawa. I

15

H"«5^.2&'"''

tell

I

'We're best friends.

saw Denise today in Geography class. She was sitting on the other side of the room.

I

"You're trying to start a war," she said, "giving secrets to the

20

1

Enemy. Wliy can't you keep your big mouth shut?

didn't

know what to

say.

1 gave her a packet of tomato seeds and asked her to plant them for me, told her when the first tomato ripened she'd miss me.

652

away

We Shall Overcome: American StruggIes and Dreams

'••^A

Making IVIeanings First

Thoughts

Reading Check Discuss your reactions to the autobiography Imagine that you are

and the poem (see Connections on page 652).

If

you

like,

use one or

two

the editor

of the

page 65

•

•

•

realized

I

.

.

began to think of

I

I

.

.

.

.

). 1

Write

reads

(see

a one-

paragraph

summary for

your boss,

who

doesn't

have time to read every

felt...

If

first

"Camp Harmony"

starters below. •

who

the writer were here,

I

would say/ask

manuscript submitted. Be .

.

.

sure to include a sentence

or two explaining why

Shaping Interpretations 2.

you think Monica Sone's

camp "was hopefully called Camp Harmony" (see page 646). Do you think the name is appropriate? Support your Sone

says her

autobiography should be published.

opinion with evidence from the text. 3.

Find several details that describe

Using these

details,

make

a

what conditions were

Sone's camp.

like in

generalization about the Japanese American

internment camps. Describe the attitudes of the people

you would respond the same way

why

not?

The

paintings

if

who were

you were

in

evacuated.

Do

you think

their situation?

Why or

shown on pages 647, 648, and 650 were made by Japanese internment camps during World War Choose one and explain how it reminds you of, or seems different from, what you read in "Camp Harmony" or "In Response to Executive Order 9066" (see Connections on page 652). You may want to reread your Quickwrite Americans

living in

II.

before you respond.

Extendmg the Text 6.

Find

two

details in Sone's description of

unlikely to

What

appear

in

Camp Harmony

would be

that

an encyclopedia entry about the internment camps.

information might the encyclopedia include that Sone's auto-

biography

doesn't?

Challengmg the Text 7.

Sone

says that she

was imprisoned "because some people had

the ideas and ideals of democracy" (page 650). Is

she stating a fact or an opinion?

Do

What does

little faith in

she mean?

you agree or disagree with her

statement? Explain.

Camp Harmony 653

Choices: Writer's 1.

Building Your Portfolio

Notebook Problem

Collecting Ideas for a

Solution

With

a partner,

list

examples of

or

conflicts

misunderstandings between different groups of people

in

tutoror_coach_oth&^

your school or community. Then, brainstorm

ways to help the people

in

the groups get to

know

each other better and create greater tolerance.

Supporting an Opinion

Critical Thinking/

Learning for 2.

e\ee.

Life

FDR

Persuading

Time Capsule

Pretend you are Sone or the

3.

speaker of "In Response to

You are

Order 9066" (see Connections on page 652). Write a letter to President

team working

Roosevelt to persuade him

uncovers a metal box with

4.

these words stenciled on

Create

Executive

to cancel Executive

Order

One

details

from the

legal

them with text. (You

may want to read the

Amendment to argument.)

Fifth

the Consti-

tution and refer to

it

in

Art

Puyallup.

it:

KY op vadip OAKMO^'Y

A$iSi:M»LI

rni; Tl
your

1942

Write

a

supervisor, describing each

was included capsule.

in

think

the time

diorama

room

family's

(three-

it

in

the

barracks or of the whole

camp.

If

you

can't find

details in the text,

you might invent some details

item you find inside and

why you

a

enough

memo to your

explaining

Seeing the Setting

dimensional model) of the

TIMli CAPSIJLK

arguments to make your case, supporting

in

day your bulldozer

9066 and allow you and or

of a

present-day construction

your family to go home. Use practical, moral,

member

a

or research the

structure and

living

condi-

tions of the internment

camps.

luf-'

Grammar Link

MIIHl-LESSON

Avoiding Double Negatives

© Language

Handbook

HELP

A double

tive

and

Superlative

Forms,

pages 767-768.

Technology

HELP See Language

Workshop

CD-ROM. Key word entry: double

negative.

is

words to express one double negatives Listed

words.

See Uses of

Compara-

negative

barely

in

the use of

two

negative

negative idea. Avoid using

formal writing and speaking.

below are some commonly used negative

NONFICTION: Just the Facts? Fiction

Some

and Nonfiction:

A

Wliat's the Difference?

Would you find someone called cat? It

and Nonfiction

a

Like

or vegetables nondessert?

may seem

odd to

just as

...

However,

that's

have for

the only

right

it

Sometimes

I

in-

fiction.

happened

actually

written

this

type can be extremely small.

paper written by an

astronomer

as the

The

audience for nonfiction of

A

have occasionally

used an incident that

name

now!

I

is

for a specific audience.

writers,

termingle fact and

call

a kind of writing nonfiction.

we

most

maga-

articles in specialized

Writer on Fiction

zines or journals,

odd if dog a non-

it

nonfiction, such as

who

studies a

particular kind of star, for ex-

germ, the starting point,

ample, may be intended only

hard to see

or the climax of a short

for other astronomers study-

the difference between fiction

story.

ing the

and nonfiction. Fiction

—Ann

it's

posed to be made nonfiction

based on

is

is

sup-

and

fact. Yet,

torical events.

show

about

Tubman"

geared to a specific audience

(page 557)

that

rower audience. Some

nonfic-

fiction

made-up

tion

is

written for an audience

of only one.

A journal

(or

diary), a daily record of the

many

of the

elements of fiction: characterization, suspense, descriptions

of thoughts and feelings. fact,

some

narratives

seem

of the nonfiction in this

just like

writer's experiences

thoughts,

often

is

meant to be

book may

short stories

see

nonfiction you're likely to in

a local

bookstore or on

fiction

is

written for a

often aimed at a

much

nar-

is

on the other

written so that

most

people can understand

ters are usually addressed to

one person. (Letters to the editor are an exception

general audience avoid jargon

they are published

ters are

wide audience, but nonfiction

hand,

Writers of nonfiction for a

in

newspa-

(special language

people engaged activity

pers or magazines.)

An Audience of One?

656

The

read only by the writer. Let-

Diaries and historical

is

Nonfiction for Everyone

a library shelf,

and

In

to you.

Most

into fly-fishing.

is

Likewise, nonfic-

tion writers use

magazine

would be

fly-fishing

real, his-

characters mixing with historical figures.

An

kind of star

article written for a

author of

historical

Many

their

Retry,

"Harriet

supposed to be

fiction deals with

writers

up,

same

let-

sometimes published

when

it.

used by

in

a particular

or occupation) even

they write about

specialized subjects such as

and read by many people. An

psychology and medicine. Their

example

goal

is

the diary kept by

Anne Frank in

hiding

during her years

from the Nazis.

We Shall Overcome: American Struggles and Dreams

is

to

make the information

understandable and interesting to the average reader.

/

SIX NB>.RS OU)

the best-seller

Getting Personal:

ple, Bill

lists.

For exam-

Cosby writes humor-

Subjective Nonfiction

ous personal essays about kids

Writing that presents

and family

facts

life.

Today even

advantage of being very familwith their subjects.

iar

we

When

read an autobiography,

hear about the subject's

without revealing the writer's

doctors and scientists write

experiences, thoughts, and

and opinions

personal essays, combining

feelings

personal anecdotes with facts

knows them

feelings

is

said to

be objective. Journalists

who

report on current events for

about topics

newspapers

injuries

usually write

in

an

like

from the person

have their

sports

and warts. Richard

own

advantage,

though: They should provide

objective style. Their readers

Feynman wrote many popular

more

personal essays about his

their subjects' lives.

"adventures"

in

paper editorials and some

objective accounts of

Oral histories combine

science.

news-

feature articles, the writing

elements of biography and Telling Lives: Biography

autobiography. Writers of oral histories

is

conduct interviews,

subjective: The writer uses a

and Autobiography

personal tone and deliberately

Among

reveals opinions and feelings.

forms of nonfiction today are

written form.

biography and autobiography.

In all its

A

popular kind of subjective

nonfiction

is

the personal

essay. Personal essays are usually short reflections

on

something that interests the writer.

Books of humorous

personal essays are often on

who

best. Biographies

want the facts; they do not want to hear how the events affected the reporter In

we

the

which they record

most popular

biography the writer the story of someone else's life. In an autobiography the writer tells the story

achieved a

In a

fiction has lately

surprising position:

own

life.

on

many forms, non-

tells

of his or her

(usually

tape) and then put into

more popular than

It is

now

fiction!

Writers

of autobiographies have the

Elements of Literature: Nonfiction 657

t ^S'

Before You Read The Circuit angry? nostalgic? something

Make the Connection

A Nation of Immigrants The United

States

is

What word would

else?

best

describe his tone?

often

called a nation of immigrants

because almost every family I

has roots

in

Do

world.

other parts of the

you know any

one

is

the attitude a

narrator or writer takes

toward the characters and

stories about the journey of

events of a literary

an immigrant to the United

or the work's audience.

States?

If

you

like,

share one of

work

more on Tone, see the Handbook of Literary Terms. For

your stories with the

class.

Quickwrite

Reading

Draw

a line

and Strategies

the middle of a page in

your notebook.

list

reasons

why

On

ties

some

the

families

to the United States. right, list

Skills

down

of the

you think they

left,

come

On

the

difficul-

face.

What's the Writer's Perspective? Perspective

is

a long

word

that simply means "viewpoint"

or "position on a topic." say "See the situation

Elements of Literature

perspective," you

Tone

see things

As you read "The Circuit," think about the tone the nar-

view."

rator uses

in

experiences.

describing his Is

he sad? happy?

mean "Try to

from my point of

As you read "The

perspective on

his

Cir-

subject

migrant farm workers

The

member based

own

you

think about the writer's

cuit,"

fornia.

go.hrw.com

If

from my

is

first

in

Cali-

thing to re-

that Jimenez has

this fictional

story on his

experiences as a

child.

W*

9

:5g

rii

HE

€lll€ljn Caias

%

lie caitoii

Francisco Jimenez / lay in bed thinking about

how

much I hated this move. was that time of year again. Ito, the strawberry sharecropper, did not smile. It was natural. The peak of the strawberry season was over, and the last few days the workers, most of them braceros,' were not picking as many boxes as they had during the months of June and It

IK.*

July.

As the last days of August disappeared, so did the number of braceros. Sunday, only one ^the best picker came to work. I liked him. Sometimes we talked during our half-hour lunch break. That is how I found out he

—

f-

was from Jalisco,^ the same state in Mexico my family was from. That Sunday was the last time I saw him. When the sun had tired and sunk behind the mountains, Ito signaled us that it was time to go home. "Ya esora,"^ he yeUed in his broken Spanish. Those were the words I waited for twelve hours a day, every day, seven days a week, week after week. And the thought of not hearing them again saddened me. As we drove home, Papa did not say a word. With both hands on the wheel, he stared at the dirt road. My older brother, Roberto, was also silent. He leaned his head back and closed his eyes. Once in a while he cleared from his throat the dust that blew in from outside. 1. braceros (bra-ser'os): Mexican farm laborers brought into the United States for limited periods to harvest crops. Bracero comes from the Spanish word brazo, meaning "arm." 2. Jalisco (ha -les'ko). 3. Ya esora (ya aso'ra): Ya es bora, Spanish for "It's time."

The Circuit 659

Yes,

it

was

that time of year.

the front door

tt)

the shack,

we owned was

I

When opened

Papa then threw the mattress on top of the car

stopped. Every-

roof and tied

I

packed in cardboard boxes. Suddenly I felt even more the weight of hours, days, weeks, and months of thing

work. ing to

sat down on a box. The thought of havmove to Fresno and knowing what was

I

in store for

me there

That night

I

thinking about

A

neatly

little

brought tears to

could not sleep.

how much

I

my eyes.

lay in

1

bed

hated this move.

sisters, for

whom

the

move was

with ropes to the front and rear

Everything was packed except Mama's pot.

was an picked up It

pot she had

old, large galvanized at

an army surplus store I

she used to say proudly.

a great ad-

I

held the front door open as

Mama carefully

carried out her pot by both handles, making

sure not to

got to the

the cooked beans. Wlien she

spill

Papa reached out to help her

car.

Roberto opened the rear car door and

venture, broke the silence of dawn. Shortly, the

with

barking of the dogs accompanied them.

Papa gently placed

Wliile we packed the breakfast dishes. Papa went outside to start the "Carcanchita." That was the name Papa gave his old '38 black Ply-

front seat. All of us then climbed

mouth. He bought it in a used-car lot in Santa Rosa in the winter of 1949. Papa was very proud of his little jalopy. He had a right to be proud of it. He spent a lot of time looking at other cars before buying this one. Wlien he

fi-

chose the Carcanchita, he checked

it

nally

thoroughly before driving

He examined every

it

out of the car

inch of the car

He

lot.

listened

head from side to side like a parrot, trying to detect any noises that spelled car trouble. After being satisfied with the looks and sounds of the car. Papa then into the motor, tilting his

on knowing who the original owner He was. never did find out from the car salessisted

man, but he bought the car anyway. Papa figured the original owner must have been an important man, because behind the rear seat of the car he found a blue necktie. Papa parked the car out in front and left the motor running. "Listo,"^ he yelled. Without saying a word, Roberto and I began to carry the boxes out to the car Roberto carried the two big boxes and I carried the two smaller ones.

it.

on the

floor behind the in.

Papa

wiped the sweat off his forehead with his sleeve, and said wearily: "Es todo." As we drove away, I felt a lump in my throat. I

turned around and looked

at

our

little

shack

for the last time.

At sunset Fresno.

Mama

we

drove into a labor

camp near

Papa did not speak English,

Since

asked the

camp foreman

if

he needed

any more workers. "We don't need no more," said the foreman, scratching his head.

with Sullivan

down

"Check

the road. Can't miss him.

He

lives in a big white house with a fence around it." Wlien we got there, Mama walked up to the house. She went through a white gate, past a

row of rosebushes, up

the stairs to the front

The porch light went on and a tall, husk)^ man came out. They exchanged a few words. After the man went in. door. She rang the doorbell.

Mama the

clasped her hands and hurried back to

car.

"We have work!

Mr. Sullivan said

5.

Mi oUa (me

6.

Es todo (es to'do): Spanish for

6'ya): Spanish for

"My

pot."

"That's

Words to Own (de-tekt')

Listo ( les'tO): Spanish for "Ready."

660

it

sighed,

detect 4.

in Santa

was born. The pot had many dents and nicks, and the more dents and nicks it acquired the more Mama liked it. "Mi olla," Maria the year

before five o'clock in the morning.

Papa woke everyone up. A few minutes later, the yelling and screaming of my little brothers

and

it

bumpers.

We Shall Overcome: American Struggles and Dreams

v.:

discover; perceive.

all."

we

LlTl.RATy.Rl

Cesar Chavez: Organizing Farm Workers Thousands of migrant farm workers hardships

those described

lil<e

Cesar Chavez

(

1

927-

1

993).

"The

in

Lil<e

California have experienced

Among them was

Circuit."

Panchito,

Chavez traveled with

J **' his

from region to region and worked long hours picking crops

family

the hot sun for very low wages.

when

in

He was

in

go to school only

able to

the harvests allowed, and he had to quit after seventh grade.

Chavez believed that migrant farm workers needed a union to help

them

get

fair

wages and working

conditions.

In

1

962, he organized the

Workers Association (later called the United Farm Workers of America). The union's five-year strike against California National Farm

grape growers drew support from around the country After

some workers resorted to

violence,

twenty-five-day fast to demonstrate

"Our

struggle

spirits

and the

is

not

easy,"

justice

he once

stables.

The garage was worn out by the years. It had no windows. The walls, eaten by termites, strained to support the roof, full of holes. The like a

populated by earthworms, looked

gray road map.

That night, by the light of a kerosene lamp,

we unpacked and

cleaned our

new home.

Roberto swept away the loose dirt, leaving the hard ground. Papa plugged the holes in the walls with old newspapers and tin can tops.

Mama

fed

my

"But

we

and Roberto then brought in the mattress and placed it on the far corner of the garage. "Mama, you and the little ones sleep on the mattress. Roberto, Panchito, and I will sleep outside under the trees," Papa said. Early next morning Mr. Sullivan showed us where his crop was, and after breakfast. Papa, Roberto, and I headed for the vineyard to pick. Around nine o'clock the temperature had risen to almost one hundred degrees. I was

Words to Own populated lived in

little

brothers and

have our bodies and

'd^^'

^

can stay there the whole season" she said, gasping and pointing to an old garage near the

dirt floor,

said.

nonviolent methods.

of our cause as weapons."

Am^^ •<

Chavez went on a

his belief in

sisters.

(pap'yoo-lat'id)

v.

used as

adj.:

inhabited;

or on.

Papa

The Circuit 661

in sweat and my mouth felt had been chewing on a handkerchief. walked over to the end of the row, picked up the jug of water we had brought, and began drinking. "Don't drink too much; you'll get sick," Roberto shouted. No sooner had he said that than I felt sick to my stomach. 1 dropped to my knees and let the jug roll off my hands. I remained motionless with my eyes glued on

completely soaked as

if

I

1

the hot sandy ground. All

I

could hear was the

was time

to quit work. Papa then took out a

how much we had earned our first day. He wrote down numbers, crossed some out, wrote down some pencil and began to figure out

more. "Quince," he murmured.

When down

home, we took

^ve arrived

shower underneath to

a

water hose.

crates that served as a table. a special

We

dinner around some

eat

meal for

us.

We

a cold

then

sat

wooden

Mama had cooked

had

rice

and

tortillas

my favorite dish.

drone of insects. Slowly I began to recover. I poured water over my face and neck and watched the dirty water run down my arms to

with carne con

the ground.

arms and legs. This feeling went on every morning for days until my muscles finally got

I still

felt a little

to eat lunch. sat

It

dizzy

was

when we two

past

took a break

o'clock,

and

we

underneath a large walnut tree that was on

the side of the road. Wliile

we

ate,

Papa jotted

number of boxes we had picked. Roberto drew designs on the ground with a

down

the

chile,

The next morning body ached aU over. I

used to the work. It was Monday, the

I

could hardly move.

felt little

first

control over

week

My my

of November.

The grape season was over and I could now go to school. I woke up early that morning and lay in bed, looking at the stars

and savoring the

noticed Papa's face turn pale

thought of not going to work and of starting

he looked down the road. "Here bus," he whispered loudly in alarm. Instinctively, Roberto and I ran and hid in the vineyards. We did not want to get in trouble for not going to school. The neatly dressed boys about my age got off. They carried books under their arms. After they crossed the street, the bus drove away. Roberto and I came out from hiding and joined Papa. "Tienen que tener cuidado," he warned us. After lunch we went back to work. The sun kept beating down. The buzzing insects, the wet sweat, and the hot, dry dust made the afternoon seem to last forever. Finally the moun-

sixth grade for the first time that year. Since

stick.

Suddenly

I

as

comes the school

tains

I

join

tinue picking.

making

it

"Vamonos,"

decided to get up and

Papa and Roberto

at breakfast.

I

sat

from Roberto, but I kept my head down. I did not want to look up and face him. I knew he was at the table across

He was not going to school today. He was not going tomorrow, or next week, or next month. He would not go until the cotton season was over, and that was sad.

sometime in February. I rubbed my hands together and watched the dry, acid-stained skin fall

to the floor in

little

roUs.

Wlien Papa and Roberto left for work, I felt 10 I walked to the top of a small grade

relief

was too dark

to con-

The vines blanketed the

grapes,

difficult

it

to

see

Quince

9.

(te • e

'

nen ka te na )' be careful."

kwe-da'do): Spanish for "You have to 8. Vamonos Cva'm6-n6s): Spanish for "Lets

hill.

bunches.

the

said Papa, signaling to us that

Tienen que tener cuidado

(ken'sa): Spanish for "Fifteen."

10. grade: here,

it

Words to Own drone

662

I

around the valley reached out and swallowed

the sun. Within an hour

7.

could not sleep,

•

(dron)

instinctively

n.:

continuous buzzing or humming sound.

(in-stir)l<'tiv-le) odv."

without thinking.

go."

We Shall Overcome: American Struggles and Dreams

automatically;

next to the shack and watched the Carcanchita

disappear in the distance in a cloud of dust.

Two

hours

later,

around eight o'clock,

I

stood by the side of the road waiting for school

bus number twent}. Wlien

arrived,

it

climbed

I

For the rest of the reading period

Everyone was busy either talking or yelling. I sat in an emprv' seat in the back. When the bus stopped in front of the school, I felt very nervous. I looked out

arms.

put

I

books under

my hands

in

i

'Wlien

I

entered,

ter.

I was say: "May I help you? had not heard English for months. For a few seconds I remained speechless. I looked at the lady, who waited for an answer. My first instinct was to answer her in Spanish, "

I

but

I

lish

words,

held back. I

Einally, after struggling for

managed

to tell her that

I

Eng-

wanted

to enroll in the sixth grade. After answering

many questions, I was

led to the classroom.

I

he

me

rest

One asked

ing

is

first

thing

Mr. first

we

have to do

finish reading the story

this

we began

mornyester-

he said enthusiastically. He walked up to me, handed me an English book, and asked me

day,"

to read.

"We

"Wlien

heard

I

are

on page

this,

I

felt

125,"

my

he said

politely.

blood rush to

my

"Would you like to read?" he opened the book to page 125. My mouth was dry. My eyes began to water. I could not begin. "You can read later," head;

I

felt dizzy.

asked hesitantly.

Mr.

Lema

I

said understandingly.

words. "Gladly,"

month

spent

I

my

lunch

my

during lunch hour, Mr. Lema

Friday,

me

to take a

room. "Do you

walk with him to the music

like

music?" he asked

me

as

we

entered the building. I

like corridos,"

I

answered.

it

The sound gave me goose bumps.

I

a

trumpet, blew on

He then

and handed

picked up

cause before

roll,

new

best friend at school.

Roberto picking cotton. After taking

assignment for the

with the

hours working on English with Mr. Lema,

to me.

hour. "The

desk

sitting at his

me

at

of the

me and assigned me a desk. He then introduced me to the class. I was so nervous and scared at that moment when everyone's eyes were on me that I wished I were with Papa and class the

in

said.

The

"Yes,

Mr. Lema, the sixth-grade teacher, greeted

Lema gave the

was

I entered he and smiled. 1 felt betwalked up to him and asked if he

could help

a

woman's voice startled.

I

correcting papers. Wlien

looked up

pant

heard

I

Lema was

Mr.

pockets and walked to the principal's office.

voice, pretending

There were many words 1 did not know. I closed the book and headed back to the classroom.

their

my

get-

class.

window and saw boys and

carrying

girls

low

to read in a

in.

the bus

kept

I

and angrier with myself. / should have read, I thought to myself. During recess I went into the restroom and opened my English book to page 125. I began ting angrier

it,

knew that sound. I had heard it in many corridos. "How would you like to learn how to play it? he asked. He must have read my face be"

teach you

I

could answer, he added:

how

to play

it

"I'U

during our lunch

hours."

That day tell

I

Papa and

the bus,

my

could hardly wait to get

Mama

little

the great news. As

home I

to

got off

brothers and sisters ran up to

meet me. They were yelling and screaming. I thought they were happy to see me, but when I saw that I opened the door to our shack, everything we owned was neatly packed in cardboard boxes. 11.

corridos (c6 re'dos): Mexican •

folk ballads.

The Circuit 663

k

i

The idea for the story goes back many years to the time when was in I

Santa Maria High School. Miss

sophomore

English teacher,

my

Bell,

encouraged

the class to write detailed narrative

accounts of personal experiences. Even

though in

had

I

English,

and with much effort

what knew

wrote about

I

Long

best.

I

class,

expressing myself

difficulty

enjoyed the assignments,

I

after

I

left

my

continued to reflect upon

I

her life

experiences and often thought of expressing them

Meet the Writer

I

the story

I

ary magazine

was

Francisco Jimenez (1943-

)

bom

Jalisco,

in

San Pedro TIaquepaque,

expanded

of

six,

he started working cycle

took

the

in

his family

'The

title

it

I

'Cajas de I

Circuit.'

de

retitled 'Cajas

I

board Boxes' because 'Cardboard

over

Boxes' did not sound right to me.

did

It

strawberries, grapes, cotton, lettuce,

not convey the same meaning. 'The Cir-

and carrots. After many years, Jimenez

cuit'

acquired U.S. citizenship. Although

English

he had great

difficulty

completing

public-school education (he failed

his

I

eighth grade), in

Latin

American

Jimenez has his

several awards for

a child growing up

my

in

experiences as

a family of migrant

farm workers. The setting

is

living

V

where my

working

in

the

family

I

had

were not experienced

made

Spanish words in

'The

was the I

describe

difficulty finding

in

guage

I

why

describe

kept

I

some

the translation.

in

write

my

in

in it

of the I

write lan-

in is

determined by what

life

write about. Since

I

my

childhood,

I

generally write

about those experiences

fields.

I

the English

Spanish was the dominant language during

a

is

in

both Spanish and English, but the

period

the San

Joaquin Valley, a rich agricultural area California,

In fact,

story because the events -

an autobiographical

short story based on

it

which the events

in

language. This is

original version of

Spanish because

in

occurred.

he writes: Circuit'

more appropriate

the exact English words to translate the

short stories. About "The Circuit"

44 'The

a

title.

wrote the

language

literature.

won

seemed to me

Circuit'

first

when he was in he went on to earn a PhD

grade and was deported

TBTl 664

and named

Later

carton' 'The Circuit' rather than 'Card-

Southern California, where they picked

f

a Spanish liter-

then translated into English under the

fields.

all

in

it

New York City.

in

in

carton' ('Cardboard Boxes'), which

Mexico, and came to the United States when he was four years old. At the age

The crop

it

a gradu-

Columbia University

1972, and published

in the English Language"

version of

first

when was

Spanish

in

ate student at

"The Events Were Not Experienced

writing.

in

wrote the

actually

MS We Shall Overcome: American Struggles and Dreams

V

in

Spanish.

99

A Poem

Connections

The Habit of Movement Judith Ortiz Cofer This speaker says she

people

came

and her family were nomads — that is,

who were always

nioiing around. JuditI} Ortiz Cofer

New Jersey, from Puerto Rico when she was

to Paterson,

four years old. Her father was a career Navy man, and whenever he went to sea, Judith, her mother, and her brother returned to Puerto Rico. WJyen their father

would return Nurtured

to

New Jersey to be

came

back, they

with him.

in the lethargy of the tropics,"

the nomadic

life

did not suit us at

first.

We felt like red balloons set adrift over the wide

sk}'

of this

new land.

Little by little we lost our will to connect and stopped collecting anything heavier

to carry than a wish.

We took what we could from books borrowed in

Greek temples, or holes

returning

10

A farm

laborer and his grandchild,

1

949.

in the city walls,

them hardly handled.

We carried the idea of home on our backs

1

from house to house, never staying long enough to learn the secret ways of wood and stone, and always the blank stare of undraped windows behind us

5

unmourned

like the

eyes of the

In time

we grew rich

dead.

in dispossession"

and fat with experience. As we approached but did not touch others, our habit of movement kept us safe

20

motion nothing could touch us. like a train in

Russell Lee Photograph Collection. CN07202. Center American History. University of Texas at Austin.

for

lethargy of the tropics: sleepiness; lack of energy caused by extreme heat. 17. dispossession: not owning property or possessions. 1.

The Circuit 665

Making Meanings First I

.

Thoughts

Work

Reading Check

with a small group of classmates

a.

to illustrate the struggles and dreams of

b.

Why

does Papa become alarmed when

he sees the school bus?

How

c.

Draw

a

left,

d.

do not go to school? thought bubble but larger

like

Fill it in

Why

in

Panchito

the

in

want

front of the class?

Why does

Panchito

consider Mr.

the one on

fall

field?

doesn't Panchito

to read

do you

think he feels about the fact that his children

Why does down

Shaping Interpretations

the

the family

farm.

first.)

3.

why

leaves the shack near Ito's

Panchito and his family. (Brainstorm

2.

Explain

Lema

his

best

friend at school?

with words

e.

What

happens at the end of

and symbols showing what Panchito

the story?

might be thinking and feeling at one of

cardboard boxes indicate?)

these points •

in

(What do the

the story:

when he watches

the neatly dressed

boys getting off the school bus •

as he enters the school for the first time

•

when he comes home and

Go

sees the cardboard boxes again

back to your Quickwrite chart. Circle any items

you think apply to the family

in

the story. Then,

in

in

either

column that

a different-colored ink,

add any new information that you learned from the story.

Think about Jimenez's perspective, or point of view, about migrant farm workers. Find two or three passages from the story that show feels

about

his

how

childhood experiences.

Connecting with the Text 6.

Imagine that Panchito to

make him

feel less

is

a

new student

at

your school.

nervous?

Challenging the Text 7.

What does

the title of the story

mean to you? Do in Meet the

you agree with Jimenez's statement

Writer that "The Circuit"

is

a better title than

"Cardboard Boxes"? Explain your response. (You

may want to look up the word

666

circuit in

a dictionary.)

We Shall Overcome: American Struggles and Dreams

What

could

he

Choices: Writer's 1.

Building Your Portfolio

Notebook

Collecting Ideas for a

Problem

Solution

Go

back to the Quickwrite chart you made

earli^

Choose one of the items from the right-hand side, list as many solutions to the problem as you can. When

and

you're finished, decide which solution you think label it#/. Label

is

best,

and

the second-best solution #2, and so on.

Persuasive Writing

Research/ Social Studies

2.

Urging Action

The

Circuit

Today

Imagine that you are one of

3.

Mr. Sullivan's workers.

"The Circuit" takes place

Write

during the 1950s. Find out

a petition (formal

request) to persuade him to

improve

living

and working

conditions for you and the

other workers. information

in

migrant workers

in

Califor-

other parts of the

country). Have wages and

the story to

living

quarters improved?

describe current conditions.

What

Be sure to explain exactly

Have new problems

what you want Mr Sullivan to do and why it would be

find

in his

best interests to

facts and

examples

is life

to

for children?

like

arisen?

You should be able to

some

information on

the Internet or

agree. (Try to provide specific

if

conditions have changed for

nia (and

Draw on

Comparing Texts

You may

also

in

a library.

want to

try

on the Move

4.

Families

in

a paragraph

compare

Jimenez's story with Cofer's

poem

(see

Connections

on page 665). Before you write, collect your details a chart like the

(Remember

that

tone

is

the writer's attitude toward

what he or she

is

writing

about. Tones can be sad,

writing to or calling a farm

angry, resigned, forgiving,

support your opinion.)

workers' organization,

bitter,

What

objections might he

have?

How can

such as the United Farm Workers of America, and government agencies like

come them?

you over-

the Departments of Labor

and Agriculture.

Some

information, such as the

numbers of migrant workers or average wages, you may put

in

graphic form.

in

one below.

and so on.)

Language Link Style:

IVIINi-LESSON

Using Words from Other Languages many other American include words and

Francisco Jimenez and writers occasionally

phrases from other languages

They do so to

in

bring characters to

convey meanings that would be lation,

and to make the writing

fiction

or nonfiction

If

that

in

life,

A word of caulight. A sprinkling

try adding a few. tion:

"true."

Keep

it

of foreign terms adds color, but readers

readers

will

have

difficulty

wading

through many sentences with

slang,

words

regional expressions, or dialect), consider

using

you're working on a piece that

the inclusion of foreign words,

your writing

(whether they're foreign words,

Out

It

you think would be improved by

to

—whether

some

unfamiliar to

If

work.

lost in trans-

— seem more

you want to use words

may be

their

Try

in

an

unknown

language.

one of the following methods to help

your readers understand. 1

Translate or define the EXAMPLES

word or phrase

"Es todo," said Papa. "That's

We ate

carne con

liked better than

2.

you use

it.

all."

the spicy dish of meat and peppers

any other

I

dish.

Give context clues. EXAMPLE

3.

chile,

right after

"Mi

olla,"

my mother

Provide translations

in

said,

looking proudly at her pot.

footnotes or attach a glossary to the end

of your piece.

Words from

languages that don't use the Latin alphabet (the one used

English),

such as Hebrew, Chinese, and Russian, are often transliterated

(written

in

the corresponding letters of the Latin alphabet).

Vocabulary Word Bank

HOW TO OWN A WORD

in

Before You Read THREE WISE GUYS Make the Connection

Background

American Dreams

I

theme

literature

Imagine that one day a box

is

of a

written

work

of

the general idea

or insight about

your house. You

arrives at

he

work

life

that the

it

be as big as the

st<.y

as a grain of sand. quisite, like

a

and myrrh to the stable

where the Christ child was born. The visit of the Three

or as small

can be ex-

It

brilliant

diamond,

Reading

Skills

Wise Men

and Strategies

or exciting, like a brilliant idea.

The one

rule

brought gold, frankincense,

of Literary Terms.

Your present can

to.

it

mas gifts began with the Three Wise Men, who

more on Theme, see page 264 and the Handbook

This box contains anything

you want

is

Discovering the

that you can

Theme

theme,

only choose once, and you

To discover

must choose together as a

have to read between the

family. Then, open and enjoy!

A writer will

Quickwrite

theme of a story directly. Look for these clues that can

Quickwrite for

a

minutes about what

you would want the present to be. Would your family agree ail

easily,

want

a

you'll lines.

rarely state the

help you determine the theme;

few

or would you

tra-

reveals.

For

aloud:

According to Christian

dition, the giving of Christ-

open the card with your family and read

Literature and Culture

•

the story's

•

changes the main characters

title

January

6,

is

Christmas. tries,

celebrated on

twelve days after In

many coun-

people exchange

gifts

on January 6 rather than on Christmas. The Mexican Americans

in this

on January they call Dia de

gifts

the "Day

6,

story give

which

los Reyes,

of the Kings."

experience •

different things?

discoveries the main

characters

make

After you write, share your

thoughts with your classmates.

•

how in

Elements of Literature

conflicts

or problems

the story are settled

Mexican Christmas ornaments illustrate the story.

Theme Plot answers the question

"What happens?"

Theme

answers the question "What story reveal about

does

this

life?"

As you read "Three Wise

Guys," ask yourself what

message

its

is.

go.hrw.com LEO 8-8

669

wise

QU YS

VN CUfNTO

d

NXVIDXD

i

CHKniMX5

A

yTOP.y The Three Kings: Los Tres Reyes Magos

Sandra Cisneros

figure

WHXI COULD

The

big

Be IN

X SOX

JO BIG?

box came marked DO NOT OPEN

TILL XMAS, but the

mama

said not until

the Day of the Three Kings. Not until Dia

de los Reyes, the sixth of January, do you hear? That is what the mama said exactly, only she said it all in Spanish. Because in Mexico where she was raised, it is the custom for boys and

on January sixth, and not Christmas, even though they were living on the Texas side of the river now. Not until girls to

receive their presents

the sixth of January.

Yesterday the

same

mama had

risen in the dark

as always to reheat the coffee in a tin

saucepan and warm the breakfast tortillas. The papa had gotten up coughing and spitting up the night, complaining

how the evening before

had kept him from sleeping. B)- the time the mama had the house smelling of oatmeal and cinnamon, the papa would be gone to the fields, the sun althe buzzing of the chicharras

1.

chicharras (die-cha'ras): Spanish

that

make

670

a loud, high-pitched

{

1

960) by Manuel

Jimenez. Arrazola, Oaxaca, Mexico. Painted wood,

sound.

for "cicadas," insects

on the

left 9'/4" high.

Girard Foundation Collection at the Museuin of International Foll< Art, a unit of the Museum of New Mexico. Santa Fe. Photo by Michel Monteaux.

ready tangled in the trees and the urracas"

screeching their rubber-screech

cry.

The boy

Ruben and the girl Rosalinda would have to be shaken awake for school. The mama would give the baby Gilberto his bottle and then she

would go back

to sleep before getting

up again

is were how the world had been. But today the big box had arrived. When the boy Ruben and the girl Rosalinda came home from school, it was already sitting in the living room in front of the television set that no

always waiting. That

to the chores that

Who

had put it there? Where had it come from? A box covered with red paper with green Christmas trees and a card on top that said "Merry Christmas to the Gonzales Family. Frank, Earl, and Dwight Travis. PS. DO NOT OPEN TILL XMAS." That's all. longer worked.

Two times the mama was made to come into the living room, 2.

first

to explain to the children

urracas (oo-ra'kas): Spanish

and-white birds

We Shall Overcome: American Struggles and Dreams

known

for "magpies," black-

for their nois>" chattering.

and

later

their father

to

how

the brothers

had arrived in the blue pickup, and how had taken all three of those big men to lift the box off the back of the truck and bring it inside, and how she had had to nod and say thank-you thank-you thank-)'ou over and over because those were the only words she knew in English. Then the brothers Travis had nod-

she used for cooking the Christmas tamales.

hoped the

Travis

Yes. She

it

washing machine.

ded as well, the way they always did when they came and brought the boxes of clothes, or the turkey each November, or the canned ham on Easter, ever since the cliildren had begun to earn high grades at the school where Dwight Travis was the principal. But this year the Christmas box was bigger than usual. What could be in a box so big? The boy Ruben and the girl Rosalinda begged all afternoon to be allowed to open it, and that is when the mama had said the sixth of January, the Da)' of the Three Kings. Not a day sooner It seemed the weeks stretched them selves wider and wider since the arrival of the big box. The mama got used to sweeping around it because it was too heav\' for her to push in a corner. But since the televi sion no longer worked ever since the afternoon the children had poured iced tea through the

little

grates

the back,

it

reall}'

distract yourself with the

if

the

comadre

(k6 ma'dre): Spanish word referring to a wcjman relative or very close family friend. The word 3.

literally

means

•

"co-mother."

It

complicated troubles

God for the of your poverty. A new

of the rich and then give thanks to

blessed simplicity

TV would

surely

be the end to

all

your

miseries.

when

Each night

home from

the

came he would

the papa

fields,

spread newspapers on the cot in the living

room, where the boy Ruben girl Rosalinda slept, and sit

and the

facing the big

box

in the center of

the room. Each night he Imagined the box held something different. Tlie day before yesterday he guessed a new record

an ice chest

player. Yesterday

beer Today the papa said in a voice as air

much

filled

with

sat with his bottle of

beer, fanning liimself with a

didn't mat-

box obstructed the view. Visitors that came inside the house were told and told again the stor)' of how the box had arrived, and then each was made to guess what was inside. It was the comadre Elodia who suggested over coffee one afternoon that the big box held a portable washing machine that could be rolled away when not in use, the kind she had seen in her Sears Roebuck catalog. The mama said she hoped so because the wringer washer she had used for the last ten years had finally gotten tired and quit. These past few weeks she had had to boil all the clothes in the big pot ter

a portable

washing machine, even a portable one, would be good. But the neighbor man Cayetano said. What foolishness, comadre. Can't you see the box is too small to hold a washing machine, even a portable one. Most likely God has heard your prayers and sent a new color TV. With a good antenna you could catch all the Mexican soap operas, the neighbor man said. You could

t:)

m

box was

big

A

magazme, and

a plea as a

prophecy:

conditioner

But the boy Ruben and the

girl

Rosalinda

were sure the big box was filled with toys. They had even punctured it in one corner with a pencil when their mother was busy cooking, but they could see nothing inside but blackness.

Only the baby Gilberto remained uninterested in the contents of the big box and seemed each day more fascinated with the exterior of the

box

rather than the interior.

One

Words to Own obstructed

(sb-strukt'id)

v.;

blocked.

distract (di-strakt') v.: draw the attention away another direction.

punctured

(pur)k'ch3rd)

v.;

made

a hole

in

in.

often refers to a godmother.

Three Wise Guys 671

of paper, which

piped snoring, the children closed their eyes

he was chewing when his mother swooped him up with one arm, rushed him to the kitchen sink, and forced him to swallow handftils of lukewarm water in case the red dye of

and remembered nothing. Tlie papa was already in the bathroom coughing up the night before from his throat when the iirracas began their clownish chirjiing. The bo)' Ruben awoke and shook his sister. The mama, frying the potatoes and beans for breakfast, nodded permission for the box to be opened. With a kitchen knife the boy Ruben cut a careftil edge along the top. The girl Rosalinda tore the Christmas wrapping with her fingernails. The papa and the mama lifted the cardboard flaps and everyone peered inside to see what it was the brothers Travis had brought them on the Day of the Three Kings. There were layers of balled newspaper M packed on top. Wlien these had 'V^^niv been cleared the boy Ruben

afternoon he tore off a

fistful

the wrapping paper might be poisonous.

When

Christmas Eve

finally

came, the family

good clothes and went Gonzalez put on to Midnight iMass. They came home to a house that smelled of tamales and atole,^ and everyone was allowed to open one present before going to sleep. But the big box was to remain untouched until the sixth of January. On New Year's Eve the little house was filled with people, some related, some not, coming in and out. The friends of the papa came with bottles, and the mama set out a bowl of grapes their

New Year.

to count off the

dren did not sleep

room

That night the

chil-

^

^^^^W

in the living

looked

cause

the

room

living

crowded with

was

the

^^

big-fannied ladies

and fat-stomached to the accordion

men

sashaying

music of the

..j

fell

asleep on a

^^

^

f

\M,

lump of

This

~^TjJk

^[^P"

midget twins from McAllen. Instead the children

inside.

looked

cot as they usualh' did, be-

The girl Rosalinda The papa and

inside.

mama looked. is

what they saw: the com-

plete Britannica Junior Encyclopaedia,

twenty-four volumes in red imileather

tation

with

gold-embossed

letters, beginning with Volume I. Aar-Bel and ending with Volume XXfV', Yel-Zyn. The

handbags and crumpled suit jackets on top of the mama and the papa's bed, dream-

girl

ing of the contents of the big box.

going to be cut again. The boy Ruben pulled

Finalh; the fifth of January.

Ruben and the sleep.

All

girl

And

the bo)'

Rosalinda could hardly

night they whispered last-minute

The boy thought perhaps if the big box held a bicycle, he would be the first to ride it, since he was the oldest. This made his sister

wishes.

cry until the

room on

mama had

to yell

from her bed-

the other side of the plastic curtains,

Be quiet or I'm going to give you each the stick, wliich sounds worse in Spanish than it does in English. Then no one said amthing. After a very long

tinie,

long after they heard the

mama's wheezed breathing and the papa's

Rosalinda

let

out a sad

cry, as if

her hair was

IV, Ded-Fem. There were many picand many words, but there were more words than pictures. The papa flipped through Volume XXII, but because he could not read English words, simply put the book back and grunted. Wliat can we do with this? No one

out Volume tures

and shortly after, the screen door slammed. Only the mama knew what to do with the contents of the big box. She withdrew Volumes VI, 'VII, and VIII, marched off to the dinette set said anything,

in the kitchen,

placed two on Rosalinda's chair

so she could better reach the table, and put one

underneath the plant stand that danced. 4.

atole (a- td'la):

672

warm drink made with corn flour

Wlien the boy and the

We Shall Overcome: American Struggles and Dreams

girl

returned from

school that day they found the books stacked jf squat pillars against one living

into

room

On

wall and a board placed

on

left

the boy in charge of watching his sister and

,^

^n

bab\ brother. The

^

^^

stacking books into spiral staircases

top.

girl

Rosalinda was

lUi gg^ ^^^ making her paper doUs descend them in a fancy manner, and framed family pho- ^^^^^^^W^^ Perhaps the boy Ruben would tographs. The rest of the volumes ^^^^^mj^V the bab) (iilberto was playing with, and ^K^^Bl^^^ 'lot have bothered to open the volimie he was already rubbing his sore gums ^^V> '^^ "^^ ^^'^ kitchen table if he had not seen his mother wedge her name-day along the corners of Volume XIY The girl Rosalinda also grew interested in the • corsage in its pages. On the page where the mama's carnation lay pressed between two books. She took out her colored pencils and pieces of Kleenex was a picture of a dog in a painted blue on the eyelids of all the illustraspace ship. FIRST DOG IN SPACE the caption tions of women and with a red pencil dipped in said. The boy turned to another page and read spit she painted their lips and fingernails redwhere cashews came from. And then about the red. After a couple of days, when all the picman who invented the guillotine. And then tures of women had been colored in this manabout Bengal tigers. And about clouds. All afner, she began to cut out some of the prettier pictures and paste them on looseleaf paper. ternoon the boy read, even after the mama and the papa came home. Even after the sun set, One volume suffered from being exposed to until the mama said time to sleep and put the the rain when the papa improvised a hat durhood light out. ing a sudden shower. He forgot it on the of the car when he drove off. Wlien the chilIn their bed on the other side of the plastic dren came home from school they set it on the curtain the mama and the papa slept. Across from them in the crib slept the baby Gilberto. porch to dry. But the pages puffed up and became so fat, the book was impossible to close. The girl Rosalinda slept on her end of the cot. Only the boy Ruben reftised to touch the But the boy Ruben watched the night sky turn books. For several days he avoided the princifrom violet. To blue. To gray. And then from pal because he didn't know what to say in case gray. To blue. To violet once again. Mr. Travis were to ask how they were enjoying Words to the Christmas presem. (im'pra-vlzd') v.: made with whatever .. improvised ^ ^\ * J fv TVT -\T ^ On the cSaturday after New Years the mama r ' materials are available. and the papa went into town for groceries and this

were arranged

several plastic

-

doilies

^^^ ^W

W

Own

>

^

,

,

'

,

Meet the Writer "I Just

Love Words So Much"

Sandra Cisneros

(

1

954-

)

grew up between

two worlds as her family moved back and forth between Chicago and Mexico City. What makes her stories and poems unique isn't just what she writes about, it's how Cisneros writes style.

it.

Critics have praised her distinctive

She herself has

said:

44 much.

words so seeing them on

just love

I

I

love

the sides of buildings or on

menus or written on the 95

floor.

?or further details on Cisneros, see

page

1

1

7.

j^^^«pA/

>-/

H^^ tm mv Three Wise Guys 673

Making Meanings First 1

Thoughts

What do you his family

liked

it?

think of the

received?

gift

Reading Check

Ruben and

How would

you have

(Check your Quickwrite

notes.)

Shapmg Interpretations 2.

How

do you interpret the

last lines

about Ruben watching the changing colors of the sky? 3.

Toward the end of the story, Ruben emerges as the main character. How is he different from the others? (What has he discovered by the story's end?)

4.

What do you think the title of the story means? (Who What would be another good title for the story?

are the three wise

guys?) 5.

The

subject of this story

lives,

is

gift giving.

do you think Cisneros

details in the story

is

What theme,

or

our

insight into

trying to convey through this story?

What

helped you figure out the theme?

Challenging the Text 6.

Did Cisneros want you to guess what was given you

more

hints? Explain

in

the box? Should she have

your responses

Language Link Style:

MINI-LESSON

Avoiding Cliches

How many times as

good

rise

as

have you heard expressions

new

like

these?

Try

as solid as a rock as stubborn as a

and shine

mule

It

Out

Using two or three of these

as straight as an

arrow

as

as easy as pie

lay

on hard times

fallen

white as a sheet

down

off the

the law

top of

starters, invent

fresh expressions.

my head as

At one time, they probably seemed fresh and Now, overuse has turned them into cliches,

does

in

as cool as

"She

.

.

.

dull.

as light as

Wise Guys":

put one underneath the plant stand that

"The girl Rosalinda let out a sad cry, as was going to be cut again." (page 672)

Word Bank obstructed distract

punaured improvised

if

her hair

HOW TO OWN A WORD

.

.

.

.

smart as

turns of phrase, as Cisneros

danced." (page 672)

Vocabulary

as

as solid as

these expressions from "Three

.

as happy as

good writers come up with

Instead of turning to cliches,

own comparisons and

as

stale

expressions that make writing sound tired and

their

good

vivid.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

as straight as

as tough as

.

.

.

.

Before You Read Refugee

in

America

Make the Connection Idea Cluster group with two or three classmates. Pick one of the words below, and create a

Form

a

cluster map. circles as

When

all

Draw

you

like

many

on your map.

the groups have

finished, share

your maps.

freedom

•

as

•

/

Have a dream

I

freedom and

every mountain and

read, think about

how

poem and speech

are alike and

hill

shall

be

made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough

•

equality.

the

different.

places plain:

And

the glory of the Lord shall

be revealed, and see

all flesh

together: for the

it

the Lord hath spoken

"Refugee

in

Background

shall

mouth of

Literature and Social

Studies

it.

America" contains

equality

a less obvious allusion.

liberty

read the poem, ask yourself

On

August 28,

what contexts we

As you in

march in WashingThe marchers

ton, D.C.

usually

word

a

in

called

come

across the

more

963,

1

than 200,000 Americans took part

democracy

•

As you

Every valley shall be exalted, and

on Congress to pass

liberty. civil

rights

bill

a

proposed by

President John F Kennedy,

and they demanded

f\n

allusion

reference to

is

a

ity

someone

People of

or something from literature, religion,

history,

or another

Quickwrite Freewrite

the

Union, gathered

front of

in

to speeches.

listen in

the day,

Dr

Martin

Allusion, see the

Luther King,

Handbook of Literary Terms.

He began

briefly,

/

from in

and

Jr,

rose to speak.

by describing

how

the promise of America had

using as a starter the

sentence

races,

all

almost every state

Late

more on

equal-

the Lincoln Memorial to sing

field

or branch of culture. For

full

for African Americans.

have a dream

for

Reading

not yet been realized for

Skills

African Americans. Then, set-

America.

and Strategies

ting aside his

prepared speech,

Comparing and

he improvised. His speech,

Elements of Literature

Contrasting Texts

which was heard by people

Allusion

When

across the country on

"I

Have a Dream" draws much

you

contrast

compare and texts,

you look for

which they are

power from allusions to texts familiar to many

ways

Americans, such as

moving poem "A Refugee

of

its

famous

Book

this

Bible passage

from the

of Isaiah (40:4-5).

and

in

different.

America" and

alike

Both Hughes's in

King's stirring

radio, deeply ers. King's

moved

with their powerful rhythm

and

vivid images, are reprinted

here as

"I

Have

a Dream."

go.hrw.com

676

We

his listen-

concluding words,

speech treat the subjects of

Shall Overcome: American Struggles and Dreams

TV and

m

&y the Gate (1953) by Ernest Crichlow. Oil on board.

Refugee

in

America 677

from

Marchers gather

say to

I the

you

in

front of the Lincoln Memorial.

today,

my

friends, that in spite of

and frustrations of the moment I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American Dream. I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident; that I

all

difficulties

men are

created equal."

have a dream that one day on the red

hills

of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the

sons of former slaveowners will be able to

down together at the table I

have

a

dream

that

sit

not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. I

have a dream today.

dream

one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together. I

have

This

a

is

that

our hope. This

which 1 return

to the South.

is

the faith with

With

this faith

we

of brotherhood.

one day even the

Mississippi, a desert state sweltering

state of

with the

Words to Own

heat of injustice and oppression, will be trans-

creed

formed into an oasis of freedom and justice. I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will

oasis (6-a'sis) n.: place in a desert with plants and a supply of water; place or thing offering relief.

678

(kred)

exalted

n.:

statement of belief or principles.

(eg-z6lt'id)

We Shall Overcome: American Struggles and Dreams

v.:

raised; lifted up.

Martin Luther King,

Jr, delivers his

speech.

lS4^fcw;i,^3^*U

New

York. Let freedom ring from the height-

ening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania! Let

freedom ring from the snowcapped

Rockies of Colorado! Let

freedom ring from the curvaceous peaks

of California!

But not only

that;

let

freedom ring from

Stone Mountain of Georgia! will

be able to

hew

Let

out of the mountain of de-

spair a stone of hope.

With

this faith

we will be

Tennessee! Let

able to transform the jangling discords of our

nation into a beautiful

hood. With

this faith

symphony of

we

will

brother-

be able to work

together, to pray together, to struggle together,

up

freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day. This will be the day when aU of God's ^phifdren will be able to sing with new meaning "My country "tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee 1 sing. Land where my fathers died, land of the pilgrim's pride, from every mountainside, let freedom ring." And if America is to be a great nation, this must become true. So let freedom ring from to

go to

jail

together, to stand

the prodigious hilltops of

for

New Hampshire.

Let

freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of

hill

let

freedom ring from every

hill

and mole-

of Mississippi. From every mountainside,

freedom

ring.

freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro

When we

let

spiritual, "Free at last!

almighty,

we

Free

are free at

at last!

Thank God

last!

Words to Own discords (dis'kordz') n.; prodigious (pro-dij'as)

conflicts; adj.:

disagreements.

huge; amazing.

freedom ring from the mighty mountains of

I

Have a Dream 679

Meet the Writers "Poems Are Like Rainbows" Born

injoplin, Missouri,

Langston Hughes

(1902-1967) began writing poetry early teens.

As

a

around the world and held many day

in

in his

young man he traveled

One

jobs.

925, he discovered that the famous

1

poet Vachel Lindsay was staying

at the

Washington, D. C. hotel where Hughes was

working

poems

as a busboy.

Hughes

left

some

of his

beside Lindsay's dinner plate. That

night, Lindsay read

them aloud

poetry

at a

reading, announcing that he had discovered a

great

new

In his

poet.

autobiography The Big Sea

Hughes describes

(

1

940),

his writing process:

44 There are seldom many changes

in

"Nonviolence

my

poems, once they're down. Generally, the first

two or three

lines

come

to

or doing, and the rest of the to be a

poem

poem) flows from those

lines, usually right

to put the

away.

poem down

If

there

then,

I

(if

first is

a

write

chance it

not,

I

try to

I

down. a

1

lege at the age of fifteen. After he graduated, is

few

remember it until get to pencil and paper; for poems are like rainbows: They escape you quickly. 99 If

1

at,

there

the Answer"

Martin Luther King, Jr. ( 929- 968), grew up in Atlanta, Georgia. He started col-

me from

something I'm thinking about, or looking

Is

he went on to Crozer Theological Seminary in

Pennsylvania to

like his

ued

a Baptist minister,

father and grandfather King contin-

his studies in

PhD.

his

become

He

Boston, where he received

then returned to the South to

take a position as pastor of a church

in

Montgomery, Alabama. King was shocked by the intense racism and the strict segregation

he saw

in

Montgomery. He helped organize

Montgomery bus boycott and went on become a national leader in the civil rights

the to

movement,

facing violence

and risking arrest

to spread his message of nonviolent resistance. In 1964, four years before he

was

assassinated, he accepted the

Nobel

Peace Prize with these words:

44 Nonviolence political

is

the answer to the crucial

and moral questions of our time; the

need for man to overcome oppression and violence without resorting to oppression

and violence. 99

680

We Shall Overcome: American Struggles and Dreams

An Oral History from

John

When

I

was

to the

The Power of Nonviolence Lewis, interviewed by Joan Morrison and Robert K. Morrison

a boy,

little

I

would go downtown

town of

Troy,

and

the signs saying "Wliite " and "Colored"

water

fountains.

be

There'd

a

see

I'd

on the

and

marked

"Wliite,"

another

in

TO

colleges

saw

•^

1

.

Men,"

"Colored

Women," "Colored Women." And at "White

the theater 1/

P

we had go to

upstairs to

Lunch counter

a

to

go

movie.

You bought your ticket at the same window that

segregation protest

counter

lunch

students,

I

the wliite people did, but they could

sit

we

In February 1960.

spigot

the signs saying "Wliite

and

studied

t/je

attended

pliilosopljy

of

fe

nonviolence.

corner

was just a little marked "Colored." Men,"

and

ivor/es/jops

college, wljere Ije

beautiful,

shining water fountain in one corner of the store

Lewis went on to

planned the

sit-in.

About

and

white,

black

five

mass hundred

first

from various

showed up and participated in a nonviolent workshop the night before the sitin. Some of them came from as far away as Pomona College in California and Beloit

ws

College in Wisconsin.

We made a list of what we called the of the

— the

Sit-in"

mimeographed passed

copy of things

this

the students.

all

today.

list

like, "Sit

"Rules

donts — and we

on an old machine and

it

out to

it

do's and

up

I

I

wish

remember

straight.

Don't

I

had a

it

said

talk back. ,

downstairs, and you had to go upstairs.

Don't laugh. Don't strike back." And

was not in keeping with my religious faith, which taught me that we were all the same in the eyes of God. And 1 had been taught that all

end

I

wondered about

that,

because

it

men are created equal. was fifteen years old, It really hit me when when heard about Martin Luther King, Jr, I

I

and the Montgomery bus boycott. Black people "were walking the streets for more than a year rather than riding segregated buses. To a

light.

me it was like a great sense of hope,

Many

school

that

of the teachers at the high I

were

attended

from

Montgomery, and they would tell us about what was happening there. That, more than any other event, was the turning point for me, I

think.

It

gave

me a way out.

.

.

.

"Remember

said,

it

the teachings of Jesus,

Gandhi, Thoreau, and Martin Luther King,

Then

the next

Jr."

da)'

it

We

wanted to good impression. The young men put on their coats and ties, and the young ladies their heels and began.

make

a

stockings.

We

selected

seven stores to go primarily stores

the

into,

chain

— Woolworth's,

Kresge's,

Walgreen

and

the

drugstore

Lunch counter

at

the

sit-in.

It

>

and

we had

these well-

they arrested

with their books going

disorderly conduct.

to the

lunch counters.

They would in

a

sit

very

down

orderly,

nonviolent

peaceful,

fashion and wait to be served.

reading

They would be a book or

doing their

homework

or whatever while they

were waiting. I

was

a

didn't arrest a single person that beat us, but

dressed young people

spokesperson for one of these

I would ask to be served, and we would be told that we wouldn't be served. The lunch counter would be closed, and they aJ would put up a sign saying "Closed not serving." Sometimes they would lock the

all

That was the

of us and charged us with

first

mass

arrest of students in

sit-in. Over one hundred of us were arrested that day. We were sentenced, all of us, to a fift}'-dollar fine or thirty days in jail, and since we wouldn't pay the fine, we were put in jail.

the South for participating in a

.

.

Lewis and his fellow students were jailed, but they continued their protests when they were released. In April I960, the mayor of Nashville agreed that the lunch counters should be desegregated.

groups.

—

door, leave us in there,

and turn out

all

the

we would continue to sit. After we had been doing this for a month,

lights,

was

to

bother

the

it

business

communit}' and other people in Nashville. We heard that the cit)' had decided to allow the police officials to stand by and allow the

hoodlum element

to

come

in

and attack us

—

and that the police would arrest us to try to stop the sit-ins. We had a meeting after we heard that, to decide did w^e still want to go

down on this particular day. And we

so Nashville

in the

became the

South to desegregate

major

first its

city

downtown

lunch counters and restaurants. That was the

power of nonviolence. I

.

.

.

movement

think one thing the

did for

of us in the South, black and white alike,

and

beginning

And

to have a cleansing effect

think

it

on our psyche.

brought up a great deal of the

a great deal of the guilt

the top, so that

we

all

was

dirt

I

and

from under the rug to

could deal with

it,

so that

we could see it in the light. And I think that in a real sense, we are a different people. We are better people. It freed even those of us who didn't

participate

people alike

— black

— to be a

little

people,

white

more human.

said yes.

was with the group that went into the Woolworths there. The lunch counter was upstairs just a long row of stools in front of a counter. My group went up to sit there, and after we had been there for half an hour or so, a group of young white men came in and I

Civil rights activists

march

in

Selma, Alabama.

—

began pulling people off the lunch-counter stools, putting lighted cigarettes out in our hair or faces or down our backs, pouring ketchup and hot sauce aU over us, pushing us down to the floor and beating us. Then the police came in and started arresting us. They y'ytt^CfVWK-KT^'m-^

A

Making Meanings First

Thoughts

I .

Go

back to the Quickwrite and the

ter

map you made

clus-

Reading Check

before you read the

speech and the poem. Using a differentcolored pen, add to the map any new

word. Then, look again,

at

main idea Why?

the

your classmates'

and do the same with

of the following

sentences best expresses

or ideas you have about the

feelings

maps

Which

of King's

speech?

theirs.

Freedom must

a.

from

ring

every mountaintop.

Shapmg Interpretations b. People should love 2.

In

own words,

your

describe

some

of

the specifics of Martin Luther King,

dream

Jr.'s

Freedom and

c.

for America.

equality

should be given to 3.

In his

speech, King alludes, or refers, to

Thee." 4.

Why

What

Describe

in

^^A

of "Refugee

^^^^

different?

6.

7.

L his

Find several examples of refrain (repeated

speech. 5.

hymn "My Country, 'Tis of would King want to remind

audience of these texts?

words or sentences)

in

King's

important ideas are being emphasized?

a sentence or in

all

Americans.

the Declaration of Independence and to the patriotic

one

another.

America"

two what you

is.

How

is it

think the

theme, or

similar to King's

message,

message?

How

is it

The speaker of "Refugee in America" has different reactions to two words that mean nearly the same thing. Do you see any differences in meaning between the words freedom and liberty^. Explain.

What its

is

a refugee?

meaning.)

How

(Look up the word can

someone be

in a

dictionary

if

you're not sure of

a refugee in his or her

own

country?

Connecting with the Text 8.

poem or

Choose

either Hughes's

you

about being an American.

feel

King's speech, In

what ways

and describe is its

message

how still

it

makes

relevant

today?

Extendmg the Theme 9.

you agree with Lewis (see Connections on pages 68 1-682) that Americans are a different and better people since the days of the civil rights movement? How do you know? Use evidence from the text and

Do

current events to support your opinion.

Refugee

in

America

/

I

Have a Dream 683

Choices:

Building Your Portfolio

Writer's Notebook 1.

Problem

Collecting Ideas for a

Solution

What would for America

would

like

it

take to

a reality?

to see, and jot

be done to make

it

down your

happen. (Be

ideas

on what could

specific.)

Creative Writing

Role-Play 2.

I

make your dream

Think of an improvement that you

Meeting of

3.

You Are There, Too

the Minds

imagine that you are one of

imagine a meeting taking

the thousands of marchers

place today

assembled

between

in

Langston Hughes and

Lincoln Memorial on that

Martin Luther King, Jr With

August afternoon

a partner, role-play that

Speaking and

front of the

in

ListeningAVriting

1963. 5.

entry describing your

Working with

reac-

a partner,

What would they agree about? What would they disagree about? What

tions to the

the day, by Martin Luther

about

might they say to each other

King, Jr

ences and memories of the

about the state of

ten to a recording or watch

civil

a film of King delivering his

write up your oral history

meeting.

the United States

own

affairs in in

making

a

a

in

interview an older person

speech of

possible, first

lis-

or her experi-

rights era.

You can

words, as the interviewers like

compare

Art

did

in

"The Power of Non-

violence" (see 4.

A Vision of America

Create

a

"I

work

of art

Connec-

tions on pages 681-682).

in

America" and

Dream."

his

using only your subject's

speech.)

Venn diagram

the views expressed

"Refugee

(if

final

start, try

the one below to

Have

their

times or today?

Before you

you

in-

prefer,

you can use a

spired by King's speech or

question-and-answer

Hughes's poem. You couid

format.

make, for example, a mosaic, a collage,

Remember words

in

or a tapestry.

that you can use

any of these art

forms. Think of

you can

display

some way your work

your community.

684

Oral History

Write a letter or diary

We Shall Overcome: American Struggles and Dreams

in

if

Language Link

MINI-LESSON

Avoiding Wordiness

Style: I

believe that

it is

worth expressing to my

listening

audience on the present occasion the fact that

in

spite

frustration

Handbook

HELP

I

we

believe that Sec

we

is

a condition that

can achieve at a point

in

I

the future.

IiiipriH'-

ing Soilciice Style,

"I

pages

say to

you today, my

difficulties

791-792.

friends, that in spite of the

and frustrations of the

moment

I

still

have

Martin Luther King, Jr had begun with the

of the

sentences above instead of the second, would "I Have a Dream" be remembered today as a great speech or at

—

Technology

cut ten unnecessary

words. (You may

need to change

Ask first

the

two versions

and

tell

you which

he or she prefers.

CD-ROM. Key word

single

HELP See Language

Workshop

Using

words.

entry:

wordiness.

Wordy

too.)

a friend to read

more words than you need doesn't make your writing better; it just gets in the way of your message. When you revise your writing, weed out words that aren't needed to express your meaning. Whenever possible, replace groups of words with all?

in

written. Then, try to

some words,

a dream." If

Out

a short piece you've

are experiencing at the present time,

continue to maintain that there

It

Count the words

of the situation involving difficulties and feelings of Language

Try

uestions ASKED

Coining xo from NcTv^ Kids on the Block: Oral Histories of Iimnigrant Teens Janet Bode

Amitabh, AGE 15, FROM India

chemistry' professor at a university. In India

they were both making good money.

Now, though, they would come home every

It

is

really

were

bad

for us in the beginning.

We

two-room apartment. Every day my parents would get up and go out to look for jobs. They knew they had to start all the

way

five in a

at

the bottom, that people here didn't

count any experience from India. But my father had been a biologist. My mother was a

evening and they wouldn't have found anything.

didn't

They would be

They know the bus systems or the subway sys-

tems here. They'd get lost. They'd get to someplace and it would be too late. The job would be gone. They'd go to another place and the answ^er would be no. One day, my parents said,

go.hrw.com LEO 8-8

686

very, very sad.

We Shall Overcome: American Struggles and Dreams ^anii

/ think Americans

must be the same as us

inside.

A.1^ IB Rl dead end. We can t find jobs. We don't have any more money. Nothing. We're going to have to jump into the river." I want to think that they were not being serious, but I still would feel so sad for them and so sad

ized

for us.

other house in a small city called Mehsana. Every summer and during other vacations,

"This

I

is

a

couldn't always understand

come

why we had

Why would they leave

the country their chilhad been born, where where they dren had been born? Bhavnagar was a modernhere.

cit}'

a lot of factories,

vate homes.

and and

It

had

apartment houses, and

pri-

on the northwest

side of India.

Our home was

three stories high,

we lived together with my uncle, my aunt, my grandparents. My grandparents had an-

we'd go there. The weather was very warm. In the winters it would get cool enough to wear sweaters, but

Coming to America 687

was

that

No snow.

it.

It

also

used to rain quite

a

bit. There was a dry and a rainy season, with monsoons' that occurred every year at a cer-

We had a good

tain time.

know

life

there.

people think that in India everyis backward. It's body not that backward, and it's probabh' improved since I've been here. We had electricity and I

that

poor, that everything

is

running water and traffic jams. I went to a good school. They taught the same subjects as like art, general science, and math, and also some of the different languages of

over here, India.

think there are fifteen or sixteen lan-

I

guages. At

how to

learned 1

home we spoke

knew

Gujarati,

1

loved cooked okra, the

vegetable, and pouri, the bread.

when live

I

knew my

got married,

I

my

with

1

speak Hindi, too.

the food.

kind of curry.

and

I

parents.

provide a dowry,

I

had a

future.

I

favorite

knew

that

would bring my wife to The bride's family would

money and

Bombay,

India.

silverware and

things like that.

My

parents said, though, that

we would

America because us kids would have

move

to

more

opportunities for the future. This was a

long time planning. first

don't even

I

time they told me. At

did not

first it

remember the went so slow. I

know amlhing about America. Once, a mine who was Christian took me to

friend of

American hot dogs. At that had no idea what they were. I took a and I spit it out. It tasted disgusting! But then sometimes I would get interested in coming here. I heard there were big buildings ryji^ and fast cars. My older brother told me, "Over

always snowing. Wlien the sun does shine, a holiday."

WOW!

thought, Like

I

it's

About

a

month before we left, my parents said, "We're moving to America." That's how they told me.

And

I

said, "Yes."

and they

I

told

my

friends in school,

said, "Yeah, sure, sure."

I

said, "Really.

Watch."

this place to get

time bite

1

i^

there in the United States

you never see the sun.

It's

After the

first

few months

1.

monsoons (man- soonz'): and other countries southern Asia for several

rains to hidia in

months of the

688

year.

parents found

work was very tovigh on them. My worked as a messenger, more a job for a

jobs, but the

father

boy than

man. He delivered

a

ried packages

all

over the

cit}'.

letters

and

Again, he

car-

would

way he had when he was looking He lasted about three or four months

get lost the for work.

doing that

he found another job, and ansmall jobs. Then he met an Indian

until

other job. All

man who owned seasonal winds that bring heavy

my

Now

a laboratory

who

hired him.

hes sort of back in the area of biology, where he used to work. My mother started working at a store. She had to fold clothes, mostly. Then she got a bet-

We Shall Overcome: American Struggles and Dreams

(Left) Indian in

ter job

home. there.

look

watching patients Eventually,

And now

at

I

it!

"

had m}' I threw

got used to

it.

a fair

it

Now

in the be-

hamburger and

said,

out. Eventually, though,

eat anything.

I

remember

I

and they had

I

that

live in

I

eat hot fries. I

once

we

pizza, a small triangle,

better than the hot dog,"

Now we

I

"It

thought then.

I

have

my own bedroom,

with military posters all over the place. My middle brother and I have a computer. We have more than six hundred games for it. He wants

work

in

computers.

My

older brother

college, the University of Maryland.

to

be

a surgeon.

is

I

in

He wants

finish high school.

It

should help

Since

ROTC trains us when I was in India, m)'

make

the military a career

because

a lot

time

my

want

to

favorite

father

I

me

out

for the military.

ambition was to

remember every

would take us

to a shop, I'd

buy military-colored clothes. Just yesterday I was looking at some photographs taken at my aunt and uncle's wedding in India.

There don't

the suburbs in a big house

with four bedrooms.

to

my

after

too. Kids don't

for eight rupees, about twenty-five cents.

was

is

OK for me,

dogs, hamburgers, chicken, and french

had

ROTC

she became the dietitian

first

love pizza. In India

I'm in the tenth grade.

class. I'm planning to go into the military right

me strangely the way they did

ginning.

"Forget

it's

senior citizens'

at a

neighborhood

Chicago.

I

was,

just a kid, in a military

know why I'm

into

it

uniform.

I

so much.

my parents. I home, but now there's

I'm more Americanized than still

speak Gujarat!

English

mixed

at

in a lot. I'm trying to get out of

my accent as much as possible. And now what

mouth: India.

guess you could

I

I

I

have braces.

I'd

call

I

have

an American

never seen braces in

hate wearing them!!! Just like American

kids.

Coming to America 689

XlAOJUN/"DEBBIE,"

AGE

FROM China

13,

We

had a

who He

in

lived

United

States.

all

put

it

room, on a tape recorder, and

He

said

much wood, stead

sent us a tape.

we

to the United States.

should

He

really cold,

'H

come

And

bring a blanket."

know any history of America, except told me that everybody had a slave. I thought, great! Id come here and get my very own slave. I would not have to carry didn't

water anymore!

my

parents'

oldest

daughter.

I

have

a

younger sister. "We lived in a small village in a house made of brick. It had a big room in the middle, and all the way in the back we could go up a ladder to the two bedrooms. 'We shared the house with my uncle and his family, ten of us all together. Sometimes ni}' parents and my imcle and aimt would talk about their early life. My father and mother came from the cit)'. He was an architect and built houses.

I

don't

a

know why they

all

moved

They didn't talk about that. had no running water in the house, but we were lucky because we lived near the river. Every morning at 5:00 a.m. I would go and pant, pant get water. I used a big stick and carried the water in buckets balanced on it. The water we used for cooking and for to the country.

We

—

bathing.

We slept on hard wooden beds with no matThere was no telephone, no television, no VCR. There was no "1 want my MTV." The most we could get was a radio. We had tresses.

690

we

so

used the

stalks

in-

from

we put them in the sun to dry or we boiled them

for feed

someone had

younger brother and

used

the wheat. First

for the

like

pigs.

ever)' part of everything.

it's

but no cups or plates be-

cause they have them.

we

just sticks,

with other things

told us to

bring "lots of clothes because

when

only

it

could. Usually

There was a little houselike building with the cooking fire inside. We didn't have

sat in the living

listened.

I'm

we

parents said

the

We

I

house but used

my

candles.

second

relative, a

uncle,

electricity in the

carrots

We

used

Mostly

my

mother and I did the cooking. That was one of the duties of the oldest daughter. We ate mostly rice and vegetables, sometimes my favorite, bok choy. Onh' at New Year's would we have chicken and soup. I had other chores. I had to clean the bathroom. Well, that is, it was a sort of bathroom. It was a bucket behind the bed or outside. (In big, big, big

houses

like, latrines.)

I

in the village,

had to change

they have,

my brother's

dia-

help him take

had to a bath and wash his hair. I had to take care of liim and my sister after school. Sometimes I really got mad at them and gelled at them. In China the oldest starts cooking at five; you change diapers at six. My mother she was the oldest daughter in her family, too had to feed the chickens, collect the eggs, and clean the coop. She and I helped tend the village's pigs. We had a garden; everybody did. And everybody worked on the village farm. Together we grew wheat and rice and other stuff; I forget what. The weather and the crops were very important. If the weather got bad, oh, oh, w^e w^ere in trouble. We worried and worried. When it was harvest time, we had to cut this and cut that. The adults were so bus}' they couldn't even pers.

I

— —

stop to

We

make lunch

for the littlest kids.

helped our families and

school. In China our parents

we went

to

were turning us

over to the teachers to educate. Thev could use

We Shall Overcome: American Struggles and Dreams

There

the same punishment as our parents. That

meant the teachers were

we had to If

strict. If

we were late,

stand outside the door for one hour.

the teachers didn't think

we were

paying

at-

and beat us. Or the)' took a ruler and smacked our hand until it turned red and black and blue. They pulled our ears like they were stretching them. Wlien we talked, monitors wrote our name on the blackboard, or they made us sit without a chair, on an invisible chair. It was really painful when we didn't do good at school, and this was just elementary school! After school, I would visit and play with my girlfriends. There weren't any games, no toys, no swings. We didn't have bicycles; only my lather did. But we did have lots of homework, even for little kids. At my house we would all sit around the table and my mother would

was

a

nice

thing

though. That's where the one families like

would go together

you might go

to

about

TV

school,

was. Wliole

watch television, the movies together here. to

tention, they took a stick

help

If

you want

A

cult.

lot

to

move from

China,

it is

of people sneak out.

very

diffi-

My father my second

sneaked out using the ID card of uncle. First you take a plane. When those people ask you where you are going, you don't say America. You say Thailand, or something like

Then you go

to one place, change planes, Mexico or Canada. If you go to Mexico, you have to climb through the mountains at the border, show the fake ID, and say you are just traveling. If you go to Canada, you just drive across. They don't check you a lot. If you're caught, you're in big trouble. They can even put you behind bars. that.

and

tly to either

us.

W^% Xi'an, Shaanxi

province, China.

JP^Wt

Coming TO America 691

Middle school on

a

farm

commu

near Suzhou, Jiangsu province,

Chinese American student

Ch

in

New Jersey.

him Xiaojun, my Chinese name. He

told

my

he began to work and to send money home. My mom used some of it to get fake ID cards for us. Then one day she was piercing ni)' ears and using ginger and oil to help them heal. "Your father wrote a letter," she said. "He's earned enough money and he got an apartment for us." After

father got here,

America has changed my life. Now work too much and too hard and I never see them. But we do have a TV, a radio, a microwave, and a washing machine. I still have things to do, like sweep and mop the floor, do

Coming

my

to

parents

It was real different in New York. It looked almost nothing like China. No foreigners ever came to my village. I had never seen a black

wash the

person before.

of

My mother

I'd

told

never seen any Americans.

me, "People kidnap and

each other. You have to watch the

kill

window and

all the time to make sure nobody comes in." I could hardly sleep. The first night my parents prayed for good luck. They took strings and then put matches to them. And they prayed that I go to school and do well. I was very scared to go. The

the door

teacher

692

said,

"What's her name?" and

my mom

said,

"Does she have an English name? No? Well, what about Debbie?" "Okay," said my mother and that's how I got my name.

the dishes,

mop

fans

the table, clean the mirrors,

when

wash the

they're dirty,

clothes in the washing machine, and take care

my

brother. For this

I

get five dollars a

week

allowance.

up around 7:00 a.m. I leave for school between 7:30 and 8:00. School is over at 3:00. I

get

home every day after class. I night. They know where I am

have to go straight can't

go out

at

right this minute.

Once

I'm home,

I

study for

I eat dinner, my father gives me a little lecture. He says, "Work hard so when you grow up, it will be easier to get a

four hours. Before

We Shall Overcome: American Struggles and Dreams

good job and make money. If you don't get a good education and a scholarship, you might have to beg for money. You don't want that." I

friends FOBs, "fresh off the boat." that.

think of being a doctor, help people get

healthier and

make

their lives easier

I

also

I

or

maybe an

My

a singer. tell

actress or a law^-er or a

parents

sa),

cop or

"Be a secretary." The)

me, too, "Stay involved with our Chinese

communit}'," and

I

do. But, of course, I'm not

an ABC, an American-born Chinese. The ABCs sometimes curse at us and call me and m\'

turn

cry

at

"Wliat are

think about being a model, like Christie Brinkle)',

I

I

say,

I

don't like

my eyes away. night sometimes.

My

father says,

you doing?"

'Nothing. Nothing."

I

get real confused.

my father went with me to the school watch movies on television. We had time together I used to tell him my problems. Now there is no time. Here I can watch TV anytime and I don't have to get the water or take care of In

China

to

the pigs.

I

guess

I

like

it

better in America.

Meet the Writer "We Are a Nation of Immigrants" "Coming

to America"

is

from

New

Kids on the

Block: Oral Histories of Immigrant Teens by

Bode in

(

1

943-

New York

),

Janet

a nonfiction writer living

City. In addition to

Xiaojun's stories, the

book

Amitabh's and

includes interviews

with teenagers from Afghanistan,

El

Salvador,

Cuba, the Philippines, Mexico, South Korea, Greece, and Vietnam. explains

66

what

We are a

national

In

her introduction. Bode

led her to write her

book:

nation of immigrants with a

makeup that's forever shifting. We conAmerican Dream, the land of op-

tinue to be the portunity.

In

the mid- 800s, 1

ancestors set the

sail

same gamble

Then, nearly

all

for America, they

Then,

if

taking

that brings people here today.

Now only five

percent

you wanted to come here, you came. is

more

difficult.

once

again.

Congress

should be allowed

And

to this day,

Over the

hundred-plus years, laws have been passed

and extended and changed and amended. Now,

in

is

debating the issue of

and

some

who

should be

of our residents

left

who out.

— some

of the children and grandchildren of yesterday's

immigrants

—want to close the borders to our

future arrivals.

that part of the world.

But today immigration last

were

immigrants were from northern

and western Europe.

come from

when my German

Once

inside,

some people develop own

a kind of collective amnesia, forgetting their

immigrant roots.

We forget that our country's

power and beauty stem from the very

we

fact that

are a collection of different cultures.

99

Coming to America 693

(jonnections America Neil

Diamond

Far, we've been traveling far, Without a home, but not without a star. Free, only want to be free. We huddle close, hang on to a dream.

On the

boats and on the planes, they're coming to America

Never looking back

Home,

don't

it

again, they're

seem so

Oh, we're traveling

far

coming

to America.

away.

light today, in the

eye of the storm,

In the eye of the storm.

Home

new and a

to a

Make our bed, and

shiny place.

we'll say

our grace.

Freedom's

light

burning warm,

Freedom's

light

burning warm.

Everywhere around the world, they're coming Every time that flag's unfurled, they're coming (iot a dream to take them there. They're coming to America. Got a dream they've come to share. They're coming to America. They're coming to America today.

My country

'tis

of thee (today),

Sweet land of liberty (today),

Of thee Of thee

1

sing (today),

1

sing today.

VI

•»•«• ••!•• ^>

•

ml

w—

America to America

to

REAPI I

ON Paul Fueischman

Battle Cries In

1

86

1

,

the Union and Confederate armies

met

in

their first

great battle, at Manassas Junction, Virginia, near the stream

known

as Bull Run. In Paul Fleischman's novel Bull

Run

— Northern and Southern, male and female, black and white — of (HarperCollins), sixteen participants

their

tell

dreams of glory and the grim

reality of war.

Punishment Without Crime ^rewell

to

Manzanar

In ily

1

942, seven-year-old Jeanne Wakatsuki and her fam-

were sent to the Manzanar internment camp. Jeanne

Wakatsuki Houston and James D. Houston's Farewell

to

Manzanar is the true story of a native-born American who grew up behind barbed wire in her own country. (This

title is

available in the

HRW Library.)

Oh, Freedom What was

it

FTCcdom's Children

mobs

to walk through angry, violent

like

to integrate an all-white school? to be arrested for Ellen Levine

refusing to give up a seat at the front of a bus? to fight

for

freedom when other people your age were going

to sports practice or attending their

first

dance?

In

Freedom's Children (G. R Putnam's Sons), Ellen Levine

presents thirty oral histories by African Americans

who were rights

involved as children or teenagers

movement

of the

1

in

the

civil

950s and 1960s.

Other Picks Dee Brown, adapted

by

Amy

Indian History of the American

history Bury

Like

Martin

just like his hero, Martin

and two of

his

nonviolence

Wounded Knee: An

West (Henry Holt). This

My Heart at Wounded Knee adapted

Ossie Davis, Just

be

Ehrlich,

is

(Puffin).

killed,

is

Brown's

classic

young adult readers.

Fourteen-year-old Isaac wants to

Luther King, Jr Then,

classmates are really

for

his

church

is

bombed

and he must decide whether

the answer.

Read

On

695

''A

I

/—i-

-r-—

-

;^,:

BUILDING

YOUR

J O R T F O L Fo

~

'^

. i

I

PERSUASIVE WRITING Technology

HELP 5ee Writer's Worksliop

CD-ROM. Assignment:

Problem Solution In

your problem solution,

a solution for

Your goal

it.

problenn exists and

Problem Solution. sensible, realistic

Assignment

is

is

you'll define a

problem and propose

to persuade your reader that the

serious and that your proposed solution

one that should be put

is

a

into practice.

Professional Model

Write an essay describing a

In these notes, written several years before the Civil

offering

problem and one or

against slavery.

more

If

War, President I incohi presents

a persuasive argument

A can prove, however conclusively, that he may, right, enslave B — why may not B snatch the same

solutions.

Aim

may enslave A?

argument, and prove equally that he

To persuade.

You

A is white, and B is

By

who

are affected by the problem, who are responsible for the problem, or who can act on your proposal.

this rule

with a

you

It is

be slave to the

are to

fairer skin

color, then, the

first

Take care.

man you meet

than your own.

You do not mean color exactly? You mean the whites are intellectually the superior of the blacks and, therefore,

have the right to enslave them? Take care again. By

this rule,

with an

you are to be

make

it

your

it is

he has the

man you meet

your own.

a question of interest; and,

interest,

another. Very well. Lincoln's Gettysburg

slave to the first

intellect superior to

But, say }'ou,

Abraham

black.

lighter having the right to enslave the darker?

Audience People

say

of

you have the

if

you can

right to enslave

And if he can make

it

his interest,

right to enslave you.

—Abraham

Address appears on page 623.

Lincoln,

1

854

Prewriting 1.

Generating Ideas

The

first

that you

696

step

in

writing a problem solution

want to

solve.

Working with

We Shall Overcome: American Struggles and Dreams

a

is

finding a

problem

group of classmates,

list

The history of the writteni word is rich ana^^l

as

many problems

as

you can think of

in

a chart

lil<e

the one

below. If

you completed any of the Writer's Note-

book assignments filling in

member

in

is

if

you

/'^^^^^\ V

.^^^TM ^..2(TKt>>^

pursuing any of them further, another

of your group

problem

School

collection, begin by

the topics of those entries. (Even

aren't interested

A

in this

shown

may get an in

idea

from your

topics.)

each category as an example.

)

3.

Strategies

Choosing a Topic

Look over the chart you just made, and choose one of the three You might consider these questions:

for Elaboration

topics.

Often the best way to

•

convince an audience of

something to picture •

Jot

is

to get

them •

it.

down examples

Do

any of these problems suggest a solution that seems

workable and

Do

I

care

learn)

of

practical?

more

(or

know more or

have a stronger desire to

about one of them than about the others?

scenarios (story situations) involving

•

4.

Targeting Your Audience

the problem or

Whom

your suggested

make sure you've

solution.

solution.

Choose one and

these groups:

include

it

in

your

You might begin

"Imagine that

"Suppose

." .

that.

.

identified the

writing,

audience for your problem

Your primary audience may be one or more of

•

people affected by the problem (These people may work with you to solve the problem.)

•

people responsible for causing the problem (These people may change their ways when they read your essay.)

•

people

problem-solution essay.

do you want to persuade? Before you begin

or

..."

who

can act on your proposed solutions (These are

the people you need to persuade that your solution

is

workable.)

Your tone, word choice, and approach should be adapted to your audience. What do they know about your topic? What are their concerns about it? What arguments would they find persuasive?

5.

Organizing and Elaborating

The

structure and organization of your paper can be very simple:

•

Discuss the problem.

•

Present your solution or solutions.

•

Conclude by asking your readers to take

a specific action.

Depending on your topic and approach, you could include some or a.

all

of the elements listed below.

Problem •

clear statement of the

•

evidence that the problem exists (such as anecdotes and

problem

statistics) •

discussion of

what caused the problem and why

it

continues to exist •

698

prediction of

what

We Shall Overcome: American Struggles and Dreams

will

happen

if

the problem

is

not solved

b.

Solution •

clear statement of

•

discussion of

its

your proposed solution

practicality in

terms of money, time, and

As you think about your

difficulty

solution, ask yourself •

description of the benefits of the solution

•

acknowledgment of possible objections along with

these questions: •

responses to them

How will

Who Drafting

is

first draft

with a letter-style salutation

—

for

•

example. To the members of the Orange County School Board or Dear

—

Senator Castaneira

as a

Why

details:

happen?

this solution

is

better than other

way to remind yourself of your audience.

possible solutions?

Give

Student Model

facts,

examples,

statistics. •

Dear Councilinan Duane:

How much will and

More and more minors are smoking.

5tatee

When

teens smoke,

problem.

arise.

Something needs to be done to minors that smoking is a

many problems

who will

it

cost,

pay for

it?

to

bad thing. I am writing this letter to you in hopes that you will take steps to end this big problem. Many problems develop when

Provides

teenagers smoke. When teens smoke, laws are broken. Merchants break

laws by intentionally selling cigarettes to minors. Teenage smokers damage their bodies permanently by smoking. Cigarettes cause addictions;

Evaluation Criteria

three res-

sons why \e

A good problem

solution

;t

a serioue

1.

identifies the problem to

be

solved

problem. 2.

offers

convincing evidence

that the problem

that

even when teens want to quit, they often find they can't. Smoking can even affect a teenager's schooling. When a teenager needs a cigarette badly, he or she may ditch school to

3.

it is

e.xists

and

serious

talees into

account

tlie

point of view of the audience being addressed 4.

aciijunvledges opposing

opinions

get one.

To help stop this problem, the city

proposed

5.

grade and older have a required class

proposes one or more solutions to the problem

solution.

that schools with the sixth

and addresses

contradictory evidence

States

campaign against teenage smoking. You could council could start a

make sure

work?

involved?

What will

Consider opening your

prove

it

Give specific

6.

maizes a convincing

argument for tJje solution or solutions

(coritinued on r)ext page)

Writer's

Workshop 699

student Model (continued) about the hazards of smoking, especially before the legal age. You could sponsor contests in each school for the best "Don't Smoke" posters, poems, essays, and stories. You could put the winners'

Sentence Workshop

HELP Piimlk'l stinctuiv:

page

701.

posters and writing up around

Language/Grammar

Link

HELP Avoiding

words from

other languages: page 668. Avoiding cliches:

page

Mew York

I

Some teenagers think, "It's my body; can do what I want with it." Most

ten years of their adults they

may

decisions they

Thank you Communications Handbook

HELP See Proofreaders Marks. '

Publishing Tips

lives.

Therefore, as

seriously regret

made

as teenagers.

for listening to

my

Concludes

thoughts on this matter. I appreciate it and hope that you can do something to end the dilemma. Teenagers need to stop smoking, and you, as a person in power, can help them understand that it isn't all right to smoke.

— Hannah Mail

objections.

drastically in the following three to

6^5. Avoiding

wordiness: page 685.

•

Anewers

smoking teenagers haven't fully matured emotionally. That means that what they believe now can change

double negatives: page 655. Using

details.

City. An educational campaign aimed at young teenagers would definitely help solve the problem of smoking by minors.

Good or well? Bad or ba-dW'f page 6j5.

rmvides epecific

your essay to St.

the audience you've

witli

restate-

ment of main idea.

Fleury

Luke's School

New York City. New York

addressed. •

Present your essay as a

speech to your

in-

tended audience. •

Send your essay as

Evaluating and Revising Exchange papers with a classmate, and read your partner's draft.

letter to the editor of

your school or newspaper.

first

a

local

Then, on a separate sheet of paper, try to write at

least

two objections to the writer's proposed solution or to present at least two pieces of evidence casting doubt on the existence of the problem. Even if you don't really disagree with what your partner has written,

you'll

be helping him or her by pointing out

objections other readers might have.

Exchange papers your second

700

draft,

again,

and read your partner's comments.

make any changes you

We Shall Overcome: American Struggles and Dreams

feel

are necessary.

In

BUILDING YOUR PORTFOLIO

kTan

enc

Parallel Structure Sentence elements that have the same function should have the

same form. This use of grammatically equal structures to express equal ideas

NOT

is

called parallel

PARALLEL

Participating

structure. in

the

rights

civil

movement

patience, courage, and having faith, [two

required

nouns and

a phrase]

PARALLEL

Participating

the

in

rights

civil

movement

required

patience, courage, and faith, [three nouns]

NOT

King hoped to see an end to segregation

PARALLEL

and that he would

live in

racial prejudice, [a

phrase and a clause]

from

a society free

and to

live in a

tences by expressing parallel ideas

parallel structure to create

ideas.

Abraham

rhythm and

Lincoln does this

in

1.

the

people, for the people" (page 623). You can also find

many

examples of

Jr.'s "I

Have

a

Dream"

.

.

.

Nine months before Parks was bus boycott, a Montgomery

hill

shall

be exalted,

and mountain

shall

same reason. be made low

." .

.

3. .

the rough places

will

and the crooked places

be made

will

plain,

Fifteen-year-old Claudette Colvin said she shouldn't have to get

be made straight

.

because

where you have

Remember

is in

it

was her

right as well as in

constitutional

moral terms.

4. Claudette Colvin deserves a place in

place to look for parallel structure

up

." .

Writer's Workshop Follow-up: Proofreading One

became

for her refusal to give up

teenager was arrested for the

every valley

and every ".

1955, Rosa Parks

arrested and the beginning of the

(page 678), such as these lines taken from

the Bible: ".

In

than one way.)

her seat on a bus and being arrested. 2.

Martin Luther King,

more

famous

Gettysburg Address: "government of the people, by the

parallel structure in

in

sentence can be rewritten correctly in

emphasize certain

Out

the same grammatical form. (Each

society free from racial

prejudice, [two phrases]

Speakers often use

It

Revise each of the following sen-

King hoped to see an end to segregation

PARALLEL

Try

sentences

joined elements with and, but, or

history

books for her determi-

nation and because she

was

brave.

or.

the rule: same function, same form.

Sentence Workshop 701

'_

Situation Nttsit.

After reading about U.S. immiSubtectB

you might be curious

gration,

AB.CDE

about

Here are

strategies

U.S.

A to Z C

F

Census 2000

People

W

R S

Census Bureau

M.

IJ.L i-N Q.P.O. TU V YZ

U.S. population figures.

as

Netscape: US Census Bureau

^ |http://w\>fw.censu5.qov/

•

Estimates • • Poverty

HousinQ • Income Genealogy • More

you can

American""™* Factfinder ^

•

U.S. Population

use to search the Internet for information.

• Business- ^997 Economic Census NAICS • Economic Surveys • Foreign Trade • Governmenl More

i.i.mijjiL4iai

271.891,111

EST Feb 16. 1999 Updated every 5 minutes 10:19

More Pcpulalion OcgKa

Your Soirct

Strategies

[>e>-nogr«pttic.

Create maps State/County

Geography

for Social,

and

TIGER

•

Selecta Slate

I

profiles •

More

Economic Infonnation

Search the Internet. •

•

[

Releases

News

Hot Links • • Contacts

•

New on site

Use one or more search

Gel Stale

Prolilei |

•

More

engines. Amatrar>Commuoffv Surrey

Topics

•

Decide what your keyAcoaMfailrv

words

will be.

(The page

at

I

Pn^acv Confectenlaltt I

I

l»VBatofixJS»fct

RBmoiaOafTipl

l

AOomo

(#[

the right was found by using

•

the keywords "U.S. Immi-

reliable data. In contrast,

gration.")

individual's

Check out the sites that seem most likely to have

not be •

home

Checkfor

Using the Strategies Refer to the sample above.

page may

reliable.

1

timeliness.

source recent?

the facts you want.

an

When

Is

the

was

2.

•

Evaluate a

and will

site's

reliability.

be the

authority

Your

site's

first

clue

URL

Does the information seem objective? Does its author want to persuade you of a

a

Web

site begins

with

At the end of

reliable

How

Reading an electronic text. Many

URL?

this infor-

do you

electronic texts

is

the U.S.

population total updated this site?

Which

hyperlink (under-

lined entry)

•

is

How frequently on

4.

Locator), or address, which

http://wvAv.

3.

particular point of view?

(Uniform Resource

on

site's

know?

sites. •

How

the

is

mation?

it

last revised?

Evaluate the

What

on to

would you

click

find information

about the 2000 census?

the URL, look for abbrevia-

contain "hot spots," called

tions like these: gov (govern-

hyperlinks,

ment), edu (education), com

click

(commercial), org (organiza-

information. Hyperlinks

use the Internet to research a

often appear

topic that interests you.

tion).

Gov and edu

sites

provide the most accurate,

702

which you can

on to get additional

in

colored

type and are underlined.

We Shall Overcome: American Struggles and Dreams

Extending the Strategies With your

teacher's approval,

a log telling

how you

Keep

searched.

Procedure

Problem The resources nities

in

—whether

our commu-

people, books, or another

give us facts

— can

us

how

similar

have been handled.

we

You can take

as a

a vote to

decide.

and ideas about

community problems and

show

class.

problems

How can

use these resources to

your

On

work, however, few people

own

your

or with a group

of classmates, conduct

one of

the following

Then,

activities.

1.

With your

Find

your school, your

community, the United

Researching Precedents is

an act or

in

your school

who knows

guide for later acts or decisions.

Ask your media

the charts you created for

Workshop to If you didn't make

the Writer's

before, you can turn

back to pages 696-697 and

specific

out

subject.

the one you're investigating have

Present your problem to

been handled

the past.

What

measures were taken? Did they

ask him or her for suggestions.

work?

as

much

and provide

information as you can.

Why or why

not?

Processing

With your

class, discuss

the

results of the investigations. 2.

Conducting a Survey •

Conduct

a survey to get the

What new

solutions

were

proposed?

opinions of a large section of

your school or community.

Ask yourself these

•

Will the survey

call

for

spoken or written responses?

to look at head(If

you're asking for spoken

Which

solutions

were the

most popular?

questions:

identify

and photographs

in

similar to

the expert you've chosen, and

•

is

find

about either your

follow the directions.

problems

how problems

you

problem or the general

clearly as possible

You may want to go back to

Another way to

teacher, librarian, or

specialist to help

Try to state the problem as

or the world.

get ideas.

someone

or community

classmates, think of

an unresolved problem

lines

too much

be willing to participate.

A precedent

Interviewing an Expert

a lot

Preparation

•

If

decision that can be used as a

Find and use problemsolving resources in your school or community.

them

will

survey involves

share your results with your class.

•

get from your survey.

you'll

Presentation

Project

States,

The more questions you ask and the more open-ended they are, the more information

3.

solve problems?

affecting

ended or multiple-choice?

of the suggested

problems to investigate

they're

source of information

Choose one

you ask? Will they be open-

•

What

did

you learn from the

investigations?

With your

classmates,

make

a

in

responses, you'll need to

list

record them.)

the one that seems the best.

recent newspapers and

of solutions. Then, vote for

magazines. •

How many questions will Learning for

Life

703

1

RESOURCE CENTER

HANDBOOK OF LITERARYTERMS

705

LANGUAGE HANDBOOK The

COMMUNICATIONS HANDBOOK

719

PuttingTogether a Multimedia Presentation 7 What Is a Multimedia Presentation? 719

737

Parts of Speech 737

Agreement 748 UsingVerbs 754

1

Scanning, Clipping, and Creating

Making

an Interactive

720

Processing

Using Modifiers 766

Program on the

Phrases 769

Computer 720

Word

Using Pronouns 762

721

Clauses 774

Research Strategies 722 Using a Media Center or Library 722

Using the Internet 722 Evaluating Web Sources Listing Sources

Complements 783 724

and Taking Notes 725

Reading Strategies 727 Using Word Parts 727

Study

Skills

Kinds of Sentences 786

Writing Effective Sentences 789

Summarizing, Paraphrasing, and Outlining

Sentences 779

728

Capital Letters 792

Punctuation 797,804,808

729

Spelling 81

I

Using a Dictionary 729

Glossary of Usage 816

Using a Thesaurus 730

Reading Maps, Charts, and Graphs 73

Strategies for TakingTests

Writing for

Life

GLOSSARY

735

Writing Business Letters Filling

Out Forms 736

Proofreaders' Marks

704 Resource Center

732

736

735

821

HANDBOOK OF LITERARY TERMS You

ANALOGY A

this

things to

will find more information about the entries in Handbook on the pages cited at the end of the entries. To learn more about A/literot/on, for example,

turn to pages 290, 293, and 545

in this

book.

Cross-references at the end of the entries refer

to other entries

Handbook

the

in

that contain

closely related information. For instance, at the

o^ Autobiography

is

comparison made between two show how they are alike. Writers often make analogies to show how something unfamiliar is like something well known or widely experienced.

Analogies are often used by scientific writers to explain difficult concepts.

end

See also Metaphor,

ANECDOTE A ALLITERATION The sounds

in

use

it

repetition of consonant

words that are close together.

tion occurs mostly

Allitera-

poetry, though prose writers

in

from time to time. Although

alliteration usually

occurs at the beginning of words,

within or at the end of words. stanza, notice the repeated

s,

it

can also occur

In

the following

Teach Me" (page 277), for uses

two anecdotes about

He

all

And

this

billows

make smooth and

was odd, because

The middle of the

it

work

was

tives,

called

A

such as

Heart" (page 202) in

words

is

noted for

AUTHOR

The writer

reference to a statement, a per-

about the

the allusions contained

in it

A

Dream"

reader

some

who

Tell-Tale

is

literary

work and

of a literary

work or

own

(page 645)

life

is

person's account of his

or of part of

it.

"Camp Harmony

an example of autobiographical writing.

almost at the same time.

(page 678) and "America"

(page 694) allude to the song

miss

"The

eerie atmosphere.

author of "The Gettysburg Address" (page 623).

or her

allusions and to think

will

feeling.

its

Cade Bambara is the author of "Raymond's Run" (page 3); Abraham Lincoln is the

AUTOBIOGRAPHY A

Thee."

writer

Toni

experience. Writers expect readers to recognize

a

adjec-

A

nostalgic.

assonance.

from literature, the history, religion, mythology, politics,

"I

one or two

Seepages209, 210, 512, 520.

that are

sports, or science. Allusions enrich the reading

Both

in

or

scary, happy, sad,

sounds that convey a particular

son, a place, or an event

Have

work's atmosphere, or

can often be described

document.

arts,

Alliteration.

produces atmosphere by creating images and using "The Walrus

See pages 290. 293, 545.

ALLUSION A

huskies to illustrate

night.

repetition of vowel sounds is

See

of literature.

mood,

and the Carpenter

close together

his

their intelligence.

ATMOSPHERE The overall mood or feeling of a

bright

— Lewis Carroll, from The

biogra-

In

sea,

his migiit:

did his very best to

The

in

"The Dogs Could example, Gary Paulsen

phies and autobiographies.

m, and b sounds.

The sun was shining on the with

brief story told to illustrate a

point. Anecdotes are frequently found

ASSONANCE Sliining

Simile.

cross-reference to Biography.

a

"My Country, Tis

See pages

19,

82-86, 288, 644, 653, 657. See also Biography.

of

not familiar with that song

of the works' intended meaning.

See pages 676, 683.

BALLAD A

song or songlike

poem

that tells

tell

stories of tragedy or

Handbook of

Literary Terms 705

a story. Ballads usually

adventure, using simple language and a great deal of

4.

through comments made about the character

They generally have regular rhythm and rhyme patterns that make them easy to memorize. "The Cremation of Sam McGee" (page 5 3) is a ballad.

5.

through the character's behavior

by other characters

repetition.

1

When

in

the story

a writer uses indirect characterization,

we

must use our own judgment and the evidence the See page 520.

writer gives to infer the character's traits.

See also Narrative Poem.

Seepages 106-107.

BIOGRAPHY An account of a person's life or of part of

written or told by another person.

it,

The excerpt from

Harriet Tubrrian (page 557)

is

part

CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER The ment

of events in the order

curred. Most stories are told

of a longer biography.

Sometimes, however, See page 657.

a

in

in

arrangewhich they oc-

chronological order

writer interrupts the

chronological order to depict a past or future event.

The Diary of Anne Frank (page 347), for example, be-

when Mr Frank arrives at the hiding The main story, however, takes place from

gins in 1945,

CHARACTER A person or an animal

in

a story,

a play, or another literary work. Characters can

place. 1

942 to

1

944.

according to the changes they undergo.

Seepages84,2l4, 223, 331,528.

character does not change much in the course of a work. Johnny in "The Ransom of Red

See also Flashback.

be

A

classified

static

Chief" (page 482)

is

a static character. In contrast, a

dynamic character events. Squeaky

changes as

a result of a story's

"Raymond's Run" (page

in

3)

is

a dy-

namic character

A

CLIMAX The

point

in

a story that creates the

greatest suspense or interest. At the climax something happens that reveals

character's

motivation

is

any force (such as

how

the conflict

will

turn out.

love or fear or jealousy) that drives the character to

behave

in

See pages 2

a particular way.

See also Drama,

1

Plot,

2,

340, 4

1

2.

Short Story.

See pages 92, 103, 106-107, 119, 131,254-258.

See also Characterization, Motivation.

COMEDY pily for its

CHARACTERIZATION The way veals the personality of a character. simply

or

dull

tell

readers that a character

or brave. This method

is

is

overcomes

a writer re-

usually

A

he or she wants.

writer may

amusing or

called

In general, a story that ends hapmain characters. The hero or heroine

evil

direct char-

acterization. Most often, though, writers use in-

direct characterization, revealing personality

a series of obstacles to get

(In

what

contrast, the main character

in

a

tragedy comes to an unhappy end.) The word comedy is not always a synonym for humor. Some comedies are humorous; others are not.

See also Tragedy.

in

one or more of the following ways: 1

2.

through the words of the character

through description of the character's looks and clothing

3.

CONFLICT A

struggle between opposing characters or opposing forces. In an external

through description of the character's thoughts

conflict a character struggles with an outside force,

and

which may be another character, society as a whole.

feelings

706 Handbook of Literary Terms

or a natural force.

In

contrast, an internal conflict

own

takes place within a character's a struggle

mind.

It

The

is

desires, or

between opposing needs,

restilt

shatter 2,

1

2,

1

5, 74, 89,

2

1

2,

340, 4

1

2,

that a crystal beard of the

length on his chin.

emotions.

See pages

was

color and solidity of amber If

he

itself, like glass,

552.

was increasing its down, it would

fell

into brittle fragments.

—^Jack London, from "To Build a Fire"

See also Plot See pages 84, 104,

1

526-530.

32, 286. 436.

See also Imagery.

CONNOTATION A

meaning, association, or emotion suggested by a word, in addition to its dictionary definition, or denotation.

Words

that

have similar denotations may have different connotations.

For example, suppose you wanted to describe

someone who rarely changes plans in the face of opposition. You could use either determined or pigheaded to describe the person. The two words have similar denotations, but determined has positive con-

notations and pigheaded has negative connotations.

DIALECT A way istic

of speaking that

group of people. A

dialect

may have

cabulary, pronunciation system, and

we

sense,

all

speak

comes dominant and

character-

is

of a certain geographical area or a certain

dialects.

One

a distinct vo-

grammar

In

a

dialect usually be-

country or culture, however,

in a

accepted as the standard way of speaking and

is

writing. In the United States, for example, the formal

See pages 151, 438. See also

Diction, Style, Tone.

language

known

is

standard English.

as

kind of English taught

in

schools, used

(It's

the

national

in

newspapers and magazines, and spoken by newscasters

DENOTATION

See Connotation.

on

television.)

Writers often reproduce regional dialects or speech to bring a character to

color For example,

DESCRIPTION Writing intended

to re-create a

here, 'cause

ence. Description uses images that appeal to the

down, and

sight, smell, taste, hearing,

often used to create a

use description

in all

mood

forms of

or touch.

or emotion. Writers fiction,

nonaction, and

poetry. This description of the effect of

on

a

dog and

its

It is

owner may make you

extreme cold

feel cold, too:

The frozen moisture of its breathing had settled on its fur in a fine powder of frost, and especially were its jowls, muzzle, and eyelashes whitened by its crystaled breath. The man's red beard and moustache were likewise frosted, but more solidly, the deposit taking the form of ice and increasing with every

warm, moist breath he exhaled. Also, the man was chewing tobacco, and the muzzle of ice held his lips so rigidly that he was unable to clear his chin

when he

expelled the juice.

git

to

bitin'

ol'

if

I

Brer Snake

git

me."

mean,

is

is

best

"I

mean and

standard English,

In

evil,

"I

git evil

much more

on outa and low-

jist

might

the same sen-

should leave because Brother

and despicable, and

him, he might bite me."

version

is

to stayin' around 'im, he

tence might read, Snake

and to give a story

"Brer Possum's Dilemma"

(page 453), Brer Possum says,

person, a place, a thing, an event, or an experi-

senses of

in

life

As you can

if

I

stay near

see, the dialect

entertaining and

lifelike.

See pages 452, 458.

DIALOGUE more

Conversation between two or

characters. Most stage dramas consist en-

tirely of

dialogue

dialogue together with stage directions. in

a

drama must move the

veal character Dialogue in

most

is

also an important element

some poems writer can show

stories and novels, as well as

and nonfiction. By using dialogue,

what

a character

The

plot along and re-

a

in

is like.

Handbook of

Literary Terms 707

-r^n-iU-*^^

In

~

the written form of a

without quotation marks. ever, dialogue

in

or soliloquy,

which one character

speaks aloud

who

a

tive. In fact, in a

part of a

alone on stage

is

or her thoughts and

his

is

often conversational, sometimes even hu-

is

morous, and there may be no attempt to be objec-

usually enclosed in quotation marks.

is

A monologue, drama

tone

dialogue appears

play,

prose or poetry, how-

In

personal essay the focus

informal or familiar

sonal essays are also called essays.

feelings.

The formal essay See pages 76,

1

04.

and impersonal

See also Drama.

is

tone.

in

usually serious, objective, Its

purpose

is

to inform

readers about a topic or to persuade them to accept

The statements

the writer's views.

DICTION A

the

is

writer's feelings and response to an experience. Per-

should be supported by facts and

in

a formal essay

logic.

writer's or speaker's choice of

words. People use

different types of

See pages 656-657.

words, depending

See also Objective

on the audience they are addressing, the subject they

Writing.

are discussing, and the effect they are trying to produce.

For example, slang words that would be suitable for a

humorous

piece

like

"The Ransom of Red Chief" (page

482) would not be appropriate for a serious essay

"A Tragedy Revealed: 419). Diction

A

Heroine's Last Days" (page

an essential

is

and has a major

effect

like

element of

on the tone of

a writer's style

a piece of writing.

See also Connotation,

Style,

EXAGGERATION ally for

Overstating something, usu-

the purpose of creating a comic effect.

He's so thin that

if he

turned sideways, he'd disappear

example of exaggeration. Much of the humor

in

is

an

"They

Have Yarns" (page 496) comes from exaggeration.

Tone.

See pages 480, 496, 499, 5

1

2,

520.

See also Understatement.

DRAMA A work formed

of literature

play, can also be enjoyed

actors

meant

work from

in its

written form.)

drama written for the screen for TV,

camera

it's

The action it.

is

a teieplay),

in-

The script of a screenplay

called a

and

it

also includes

who

of a

EXPOSITION The

kind of writing that explains

or gives information. You'll find exposition paper and magazine tionaries, In fact,

articles,

in

news-

encyclopedias and dic-

and textbooks and other nonfiction books.

what you're reading right now is exposition. and drama, exposition refers to the

In fiction

part of a plot that gives information about the char-

directions.

character

get

The

the playwright's script, which

cludes dialogue and stage directions.

(if it's

to be per-

for an audience by actors. (A drama, or

drama

is

usually driven by a

acters and their problems or conflicts.

wants something and takes steps to

The main stages of

a

See pages 254-258. 330-334, 612-616.

drama are often de-

See also Drama, Plot Short

Story.

scribed as exposition, complications, climax,

and resolution. Most dramas are divided into acts and scenes.

FABLE A

brief story told in prose or poetry

that contains a moral, a practical lesson about See pages 340-34

1

.

how to

get along

in life.

The characters of most

bles are animals that speak

and behave

"Brer Possum's Dilemma" (page 453)

ESSAY A

short piece of nonfiction prose that

examines a

single subject. Most essays can be

generally reveals a great

deal about the writer's personality and tastes.

708 Handbook of Literary Terms

Its

fa-

people.

a traditional

most popular African American fable. Some fables are those attributed to Aesop, who was supof the

posedly a storyteller of ancient Greece. Often, as

categorized as either personal or formal.

The personal essay

is

like

the following fable by Aesop, the moral the end.

is

in

stated at

forward movement of

The Goose That Laid the Golden Eggs

A man and

liis

backs often appear

wife had the good fortune to

possess a goose which laid a golden egg every da)'. I.iiclcN'

began to

though they were, they soon

thiniv tlie)

were not getting

rich fast

enough, and, imagining the bird must be

made

of gold inside, they decided to

kill it in

order to secure the whole store of precious

metal

at

once. But

they found

it

when

they cut

it

open,

was just like any other goose.

Thus, they neither got rich

had hoped, nor enjoyed

a narrative.

flash-

They usually give background information the audience needs in order to understand the present action. The first scene of The Diary of Anne Frank (page 347) takes place about one year after the main action of the play. Almost the entire play, then, is a flashback to an

also be placed at the beginning.

common

earlier time. Flashbacks are els,

and poems as

stories, nov-

in

and movies and sometimes appear

in

stage plays

well.

See pages 84, 343, 372.

longer the daily

an)'

Although

the middle of a work, they can

once, as they

at

all

in

addition to their wealth.

Much wants more cincl loses all.

FICTION A prose account rather than true. The term

that

fiction

novels and short stories. Fiction

on

a writer's experiences or

is

made up

usually refers to is

often based on

historical events, but a

writer may add or alter characters, events, and other

"The

details to create a desired effect.

FOLK TALE A story that has no known author and was originally passed on from one generation to another by word of mouth. Unlike myths, which are about gods and heroes, folk tales are usually about

ordinary people

tend to

in

See also

travel,

and

you'll

ple,

appears as Aschenputtel

China,

Cam

Vietnam, and

in

not meant to be understood as

native

literally true.

some

sort of imagi-

comparison between seemingly unlike

The most common

metaphor

things.

figures of speech are the

simile (The sun was shining

//ke

a

new penny), the

{The sun was a huge, unblinl
personification (The sun smiled down on the

bathers).

See pages 28, 38, 41^2, 573, 580, 585. See also Metaphor,

—

lines

Germany, Yeh-Shen

in

Burnt Face among

Little

See pages 460-46

1

Fable, Legend, Myth, Tall Tale.

or phrase that

terms of another and

Figures of speech always involve

in

the Algonquin people of North America.

FIGURE OF SPEECH A word is

in

Historical Fiction, Nonfiction.

in

people, as

same motifs

often find the

See also

describes one thing

like

the tales of different cultures. Cinderella, for exam-

1

extent on the writer's experiences.

animals that act

elements such as characters, images, or story

Inn of Lost

Time" (page 227) is entirely made up. "The Medicine Bag" (page 20), on the other hand, is based to some

—or

"Brer Rabbit and Brer Lion" (page 466). Folk tales

Personification, Simile.

FORESHADOWING

The use

of clues or hints

to suggest events that will occur later in the plot. Foreshadowing is used to build suspense or anxiety

in

the reader or viewer

reau drawer

in

violence later

Act One of in

the

A gun

found

in a

bu-

drama may foreshadow the early part of "The

a

play. In

Landlady" (page 171), details that hint at mystery and

danger suggest what later happens to the main character,

Billy.

See pages 74,

1

70,

1

8

1

,

209, 2

1

3,

493.

See also Suspense.

FLASHBACK

Interruption

in

the present

action of a plot to

show events that happened

FREE VERSE Poetry without

a regular

at an earlier time.

A

or rhyme scheme. Poets writing

in

flashback breaks the normal

Handbook of

meter

free verse try to

Literary Terms 709

capture the natural rhythms of ordinary conversation

—

or, as in

this free-verse poem, a very unusual

IDIOM An the

conversation:

expression peculiar to a particular

means something different from meaning of the words. Hold your tongue

language that literal

(Don't speak) and Bury your liead

Love in the Middle of the Air

difficult situation)

in

the sand (Ignore a

are idioms of American English.

CATCH ME!

See pages 115, 118.

I

love you,

I

love you

I

trust you,

IMAGERY Language that appeals to the

CATCH ME! catch my left foot, my right foot, my hand! here am hanging b)' my teeth

Most images are in

visual

—

that

is,

senses.

they create pictures

the reader's mind by appealing to the sense of

sight. In

"Mrs. Flowers" (page 20), Maya Angelou

1

300

feet

up

in

the

air

uses words to paint a picture of a smile:

and

widening of her thin black

CATCH ME! here

I

come,

flying

super

flip-flop

a

double

to

show

"A slow

even, small

white teeth, then the slow effortless closing."

without wings,

no parachute, doing

lips

Images can also appeal to the senses of hearing,

triple

touch, taste, and smell, or even to several senses at

somersault

once.

RIGHT UP HERE WITHOUT A SAFETY NET AND

Seepages 19,26,84,

CATCH ME!

134, 136.

See also Description.

you caught me! I

love you!

now

it's

INVERSION The reversal of the normal word order of a sentence. For example, a writer might

)'OHr turn

change Her

— Lenore Kandel, from "Circus Poets writing

in

may use internal

free verse

rhyme, repetition,

onomato-

alliteration,

poeia, and other sound

effects.

They

11"

(page 109) and "Grandpa" (page 148) are

other examples of poems written

in

a

hair

was long to Long was her

hair, invert-

sentence to emphasize the word long or to

poem's rhyme scheme {Long was her

hair

fit

— she had

plenty to spare).

also frequently

use vivid imagery and striking metaphors and similes.

"Legacy

ing the

IRONY A

contrast between expectation and

reality. Irony can create powerful effects, ranging

from humor to strong emotion. The following terms

free verse.

refer to three

common

types of irony.

See page 544.

See also Meter,

HISTORICAL FICTION A

Rhyme.

Poetry,

1.

Verbal irony involves a contrast between what is said or written and what is really meant. If you were to call a baseball player

who

novel, story, or play

has just struck out "slugger," you would

be using verbal irony.

set during a real historical era. Historical events 2.

Situational irony occurs when what hap-

(such as battles that really happened) and historically

accurate details give us an idea of what

during a particular period and

"The Deserter" (page 587) fiction. Its

is

life

was

pens

in a specific setting.

fictional,

cludes historical characters, such as

but

Abraham

—

victim to gain control over his kidnappers. Lincoln. 3.

See also

7

1

Handbook of

Literary Terms

we expected

situation that develops in

"The Ransom of Red Chief" (page 482) is ironic you would not expect a kidnapping

also in-

it

very different from what

would happen. The

an example of historical

main characters are

is

like

Fiction.

Dramatic irony occurs when

the audience

or the reader knows something a character

does not know. The Diary of Anne Frank (page 347) is filled with dramatic irony. We know tragic fate of the

about the

Annex, but they do following

not.

people

in

Note the

the Secret

irony

in

the

words spoken by Mr Frank to Mr Van

Daan. "Didn't you hear what Miep said? The

in-

vasion has come! We're going to be liberated! This

is

a time to celebrate!"

(Act Two, Scene

3)

METAMORPHOSIS A

miraculous change from

one shape or form to another one. other stories, the change

is

usually

In

myths and

from human or

god to animal, from animal to human, or from human to plant.

Greek and Roman myths contain many

ex-

amples of metamorphosis. The myth of Narcissus,

how

for example, tells

pines away for love of his

the vain youth Narcissus

own

reflection

and

is

finally

changed into a flower. See pages 309, 34

1

,

480, 48

1

,

493, 494, 570.

METAPHOR An LEGEND A story of extraordinary deeds that is handed down from one generation to the next. Legends are based to some extent on fact. For example, George Washington did exist, but he did not chop down his father's cherry tree when he was a boy.

imaginative comparison be-

tween two unlike things said to

in which one thing is be another thing. The metaphor is an im-

portant type of figure of speech. Metaphors are used in all

common

forms of writing and are

speech.

When you

say

someone

See pages 460—46

See also

You mean that the person

Metaphors

isons.

LIMERICK A very short humorous or nonsensical poem. A limerick has five lines, a definite rhythm, and an aabba rhyme scheme. It tells a brief story. President Woodrow Wilson is said to have written this limerick:

next to the Duchess

is

made

of

cold and uncaring.

like, as,

differ

from similes, which use words

than,

and resembles to make compar-

William Wordsworth's famous comparison

wandered

lonely as a cloud"

is

a simile

"I

because

it

uses OS. If Wordsworth had written "I was a lonely, wandering cloud," he would have been using a

metaphor Sometimes stead of stating

sat

is

1

Fable, Folk Tale, Myth, Tall Tale.

such as

I

ordinary

has a heart of stone,

you do not mean that the person's heart rock.

in

a it

writer hints at directly.

T

S.

a

connection

Eliot uses an

in-

implied

at tea;

was just as I feared it would be; Her rumblings abdominal Were truly phenomenal, And even'one thought it was me! It

See also

LYRIC

POEM A poem

Poetry,

Rhyme.

that expresses the feel-

ings or thoughts of a speal<er rather than telling

a story. Lyric

poems

can express a wide range of

emotions, from deep admiration age That

My Mother

(as in

"The Cour-

amusement Lyric poems are

Had," page 108) to

(as in "Point of View,"

page 288).

usually short and imply, rather than directly state, a single strong

emotion.

"/';»

See also Narrative Poem.

nnviiiig a loose ship.

Drawing by Victoria Roberts,

©

1992 The

New

Handbook of

Yorker Magazine.

Inc

Literary Terms 7

1

I

metaphor

in

fog as rubbing

one of its

his

leap,

and curling around

words

Eliot implies a is

describes

Give

back on windows, making a sudden

using

that

poems when he

we

a

house to

fall

me your hands,

And Robin

we be

friends,

amends.

asleep. By

— William Shakespeare,

associate with a cat's behavior,

comparison without

if

shall restore

stating

from .4 MiclsuDimer Night's

"The fog

Dream

a cat."

An extended metaphor

is

metaphor

a

extended, or developed, over several

or even throughout an entire work.

See page 544. that

is

See also

"O

Captain!

My

MOOD

See Atmosphere.

compared to a ship and compared to the cap-

MOTIF

See

which the United States

President

Abraham

is

Lincoln

Rhythm.

lines of writing

Captain!" (page 626) contains an extended metaphor in

Poetry,

is

Foll< Tale.

the ship.

tain of

See pages 4

See also Figure of Speech,

1

,

626.

Simile.

MOTIVATION The haves

in

reasons a character beAmong the many reasons

a certain way.

for a person's behavior are feelings, experiences,

commands

METER A

pattern of stressed and unstressed

syllables in poetry.

It is

by others.

It is

often

difficult

character's motivation.

common

practice to show two symbols. The syllable. The symbol " in-

See pages 546, 552.

this pattern in writing by using

symbol

'

indicates a stressed

dicates an unstressed syllable. Indicating the metrical

poem

pattern of a

in this

way

is

called

scanning the

poem. The following lines by William Shakespeare have been scanned in part. (The lines make up the speech of the mischief-maker Puck, or Robin Good-

end of the comedy A Midsummer

fellow, at the

See also Character

MYTH A

pernatural forces. Myths

reflect the traditions

beliefs of the culture that

produced them. Almost

every culture has creation myths,

Night's

"criticize"; serper)t's tongue

explain

means

If

"hissing"; Give

me

your hands

means

we shadows have offended,

Think but

this,

and

all is

mended,

story that explains something about

the world and typically involves gods or other su-

Steals the

Dream. Repreherid means

"Clap.")

Moon" on page

Sun and

how

the world

came to

created.

pects of

and the natural world.

life

Greek myths,

humans the form.

Other myths

for instance, tells

gift

of

fire.

The exact

(like

and

"Coyote

463), stories that

exist

beings were

were handed down That you have but slumbered here

and

to pinpoint a

or

how human

explain different as-

One of the ancient how Prometheus gave

Most myths are very

old and

orally before being put in written

origin of

most myths

is

not known.

While these visions did appear, See pages 460, 470.

And this weak and idle theme, No more yielding but a dream,

See also

Fable, Folk Tale, Legend, Tall Tale.

Gentles, do not reprehend. If

If

we will mend. am an honest Puck,

you pardon,

And, as

we

I

have unearned luck

Now to scape the serpent's tongue. We will make amends ere long, Else the So,

7 2 1

Puck

NARRATION The story. Narration It is

also used

in

series of events (for

example,

is

kind of writing that tells a

the main tool of writers of

any piece of nonfiction that relates a in

the order

Handbook of

in

which they happened

in historical

writing and science articles).

See also

Exposition, Fiction, Nonfiction.

a liar call.

good night unto you

fiction.

See pages 82-86. all.

Literary Terms

NARRATIVE POEM A poem

that

tells

a story.

What

a

world of merriment

their

melody

"Paul Reveres Ride" (page 537) and "Casey at the foretells!

Bat" (page 606) are narrative poems.

How

See pages 601 605. ,

See also

Lyric

they tinkle, tinkle, tinkle.

In the iey air of night!

While the

Poem.

All the

With

NONFICTION

stars that oversprinkle

Heavens, seem to twinkle a crystalline delight.

Prose writing that deals with and places. Popular

— Edgar Allan Poe,

real people, things, events,

from "The

Bells"

forms of nonfiction are the autobiography, the biography, and the essay.

Other examples of nonfiction

See page 545.

are newspaper stories, magazine articles, historical writing, science reports,

and even diaries and

letters.

See pages 656-657. See also Autobiography, Biography, Essay,

Fiction.

PERSONIFICATION A which an object or animal

human

NOVEL A

long fictional story whose length

is

somewhere between one hundred and hundred book pages. A novel uses all the elements of storytelling plot, character, setting, theme, and point of view. It usually has more characters, settings, and themes and a more complex plot usually

spoken of as

if it

in

had

feelings, thoughts, or attitudes. This poet

writes about the silver

figure of speech

is

moon

as

were

if it

a

woman

wearing

shoes ("shoon"):

five

—

Slowly, silently,

now

Walks the night

in

This way, and that, she peers and sees

upon

Silver fruit

than a short story.

See also

Plot,

moon

the

her silver shoon;

silver trees.

— Walter de

Short Story.

la

Mare, from "Silver"

See pages 42, 214, 223.

OBJECTIVE WRITING Writing

See also Figure of Speech.

that presents

without revealing the writer's feelings and opinions. Most news reports in newspapers are

facts

objective writing.

PERSUASION A See page 657.

See also

Essay, Subjective Writing.

ONOMATOPOEIA The

kind of writing intended to

convince a reader to think or act in a certain way. Examples of persuasive writing are found in newspaper editorials, in speeches, and in many essays and articles. The techniques of persuasion are

use of words whose sounds imitate or suggest their meaning. Buzz, rustle, boom, ticktock, tweet, and bark are all ono-

widely used

matopoeic words.

appeals to reason and not to the emotions,

In

the following lines the poet sug-

gests the sound of sleigh bells

in

the cold night

using onomatopoeia.

air

by

in

advertising. Persuasion can use lan-

guage that appeals to the emotions, or logic to appeal to reason.

When

it

can use

persuasive writing is

it

called argument. The Gettysburg Address (page 623) and "The First Americans" (page 631) are ex-

amples of persuasive writing.

Hear the sledges with the bells Silver bells!

Seepages

104, 114, 150,

160-164,286,325,437,

440^41,654,696-700.

Handbook of

Literary Terms 7

1

PLAYWRIGHT The drama.

author of a

play, or

Playwrights Frances Goodrich and Albert

Hackett wrote The Diary of Anne Frank (page 347), which they based on Anne Frank's diary and life story. See also Author, Drama.

rhyme scheme. Free verse ular pattern of ally

arranged

series of related events that

up a story.

Plot

in lines.

The major forms

See also

is

gener-

of Speech, Free Verse, Imagery,

Ballad, Figure

Poem, Meter, Narrative Poem,

Refrain,

Rhyme,

Rhythm, Speaker.

make

what happens in a short story, poem. Most plots are built elements: An introduction, or

it

of poetry are

the lyric, the narrative, the epic, and the ballad.

Lyric

PLOT The

poetry that has no reg-

is

rhythm or rhyme, though

is

novel, play, or narrative

from these basic

exposition, usually

when flict.

what

tells us

who

their conflict

the characters are and

is.

Complications

the characters take steps to resolve the con-

Eventually the plot reaches a climax, the

exciting

moment

in

the story,

decided one way or another. story

arise

is

the resolution,

solved and the story

is

in

most

POINT OF VIEW The vantage which a story

which the

conflict

is

told.

point from The most common points of

view are the omniscient, the third-person limited, and the 1.

person.

first

In

the

omniscient

(all-knowing)

point of

view, the narrator knows everything about

when the outcome Is The final part of the

brought to

is

the characters and their problems. This

knowing narrator can

re-

tell

us about the

all-

past,

the present, and the future of the characters.

a close.

The narrator can

us what the characwhat is happening in the same time. But the naralso

tell

ters are thinking and

Climax

several places at

rator does not take part

in

the story's action.

Rather, the narrator stands above the action like a

Resolution

god.

of view;

The omniscient

we

have heard

it

is

a familiar point

in fairy

tales since

we were very young. "Coyote Steals the Sun and Moon" (page 463) is told from the omniscient point of view. 2.

Basic situation

In

the third-person limited point of view,

the narrator focuses on the thoughts and ings of only

Not

works of fiction or drama have a traditional Modern writers often experiment with At times they eliminate some or almost all of the

one character. From

we observe

view,

this point of

the action through the eyes

all

of only one of the characters

plot structure. plot.

parts of a traditional plot

in

See pages 2

2,

1

See also Climax, Drama,

472, 478. Exposition.

Lemon Brown"

Treasure of

in

the story. "The

(page 93)

3.

In

the first-person point of view, one of

tells

is

usually arranged

regular pattern of rhythm and

1

Handbook of

in lines. It

this

person

observes. All of our information about the story

comes from this narrator, who may be "The Moustache" (page 139) is

unreliable.

from the first-person point of view.

often has a

may have

Literary Terms

/,

We

become familiar with the we can know only what this per-

the story.

narrator, but

told

tion. Poetry

told

the characters, using the personal pronoun

son knows and observe only what

POETRY A kind of rhythmic, compressed language that uses figures of speech and imagery designed to appeal to our emotions and imagina-

is

from the third-person limited point of view.

order to focus on other

elements, such as character, point of view, or mood.

7 4

feel-

a

regular

See pages 75. 224, 275, 285, 286, 288-289.

PROSE Any

writing that

is

not poetry.

short stories, novels, newspaper

Essays,

and

articles,

are

all

written

in

prose. Unlike poetry, prose

ally

composed

in

paragraphs.

letters is

See also

usu-

RHYME The repetition of accented vowel sounds and all sounds following them in words that are close together in a poem. Mean and screen are rhymes, as are crumble and tumble. The many purposes of rhyme in poetry include building

Poetry.

rhythm, lending a songlike organizing plets),

PROTAGONIST The

main character

of literature. The protagonist work's central

conflict.

If

there

is

is

work

a

in

involved

the

in

another character

opposing the protagonist, that character

called the

is

antagonist.

In

"Brer Possum's Dilemma" (page 453)

Brer Possum

is

the protagonist and Brer Snake

the

is

antagonist.

humor or

End rhymes

are rhymes at the ends of

lines. In

the following poem, ought and thought form end rhymes, as do afternoon and soon.

Condition have to speak

—

I

ought

—

.

.

how

must

I

—

should

I

.

you if I thought The world would end tomorrow afternoon. I'd tell

you

1

But short of that

.

love

.

.

well,

might be

it

too soon.

PUN A play on the multiple meanings of a word or on two words that sound alike but have

or cou-

pleasure for the reader,

and aiding memory.

I

See also Character.

poems

providing

emphasizing ideas,

quality,

(for instance, into stanzas

— Vikram Seth

dif-

ferent meanings. Most often puns are used for

humor; they turn up

in

jokes

all

the time.

an elephant put suitcases? Answer: is

called a

homographic pun;

Where does This pun

In its trunk.

it is

on

a play

a

two meanings ("the proboscis of an elephant" and "a compartment in an automobile"). Is Swiss cheese good for you? Answer: Yes,

words

is

that

called a

sound

it

homophonic pun;

alike

is

a play

but are spelled differently and

within

me

phrase, called

poems but

speeches and other forms of

most often used to

are also used

more than one it

is

slant rhymes). Leave/live

together. Refrains

peated with small variations ular

context or to create

in

a

work

this kind of

may

also

a special effect.

"coming to America" serves

may be

is

near rhymes or an example of an ap-

rhyme because they

and more

do. Also,

it is

like real

difficult

to

fit

come up

re-

a partic-

The phrase

as a refrain in the

in

song

it

sounds

less

in

with fresh, original

how

a

poem

looks

on the printed page sometimes use eye rhymes, or visual rhymes "rhymes" involving words that

—

are spelled similarly but pronounced differently.

"America" (page 694). Tough/cough

See pages 622, 627, 683.

English often use

believe

speech than exact rhymes

exact rhymes. Poets interested to

involving

(or

proximate rhyme. Poets writing

artificial

work

Rhymes

in

provide emphasis or commentary, create suspense,

or help hold a

"The Raven"

or more than one

syllable

an example.

approximate rhymes

literature. Refrains are

build rhythm, but they

soul

sounds that are similar but not exactly the same are

lines. Refrains are usually associ-

ated with songs and

my

all

Rhyming sounds need not be spelled the same way: Gearlhere, for instance, is a rhyme. Rhymes can involve

or group of

The

burning

— Edgar Allan Poe, from

word; poet/know

REFRAIN A repeated sound, word,

lines.

(turning/burning):

on

have different meanings [hole and whole).

line,

rhyme

Back into the chamber turning,

holesome.

it is

are rhymes within

word

(trunk) that has

This pun

rhymes

Internal

following line has an internal

is

an eye rhyme. {Toughlrough

is

a "real"

rhyme.)

Handbook OF

Literary Terms 715

m The

pattern of end rhymes

rhyme scheme. To poem, use

a

in a

indicate the

poem

is

called a

Sounds of the

rhyme scheme of a

separate letter of the alphabet for each

Talkative

end rhyme. For example, the rhyme scheme of "A

Time to

Talk" (page 17)

is

16. 18,

I

young ones

meals 520, 544-545.

14,

See also Free

and sounds out of the da)'

and

.

.

city,

night,

to those that like them,

the loud laugh of work-people

abcadbceed.

See pages

city

sounds of the

at their

.

—Walt Wliitman, from "Song

of Myself'

Verse, Poetry.

See pages 108,

I

I

I,

I

14,

536, 542, 544-545, 628.

See also Meter.

RHYTHM A

musical quality produced by the

repetition of stressed and unstressed syllables

or by the repetition of certain other sound pat-

SATIRE Writing

terns. Rhythm occurs

often

forms of language, both

in all

written and spoken, but

is

particularly important

in

poke fun

The most obvious

kind of rhythm

is

the regular

repetition of stressed and unstressed syllables found

some

poetry.

In

the following

lines,

satire to

that ridicules something,

order to bring about change. at a person, a

all

of humanity. Writers use

convince us of a point of view or to per-

suade us to follow a course of action.

which describe

the attackers' horses.

SETTING The time and

place of a story, play,

or narrative poem. Most often the

The Assyrian came down

like

scribed early

the wolf on the

"Too Soon

fold.

And

his cohorts

may

attitude,

rhythm echoes the galloping of

a cavalry charge, the

And

Satire

group of people, an

even

a social institution,

poetry.

in

in

were gleaming

in purple

the

and

home

a

in

setting

is

de-

the story. For example, the story

Woman"

(page 547) begins,

"We

left

place behind, mile by slow mile, heading

where the wind

gold;

for the mountains, across the prairie

the sheen of their spears

blew forever." Setting often contributes to a work's

was

like stars

on

emotional

the sea,

When

the blue

wave

rolls nightly

effect.

may

It

the plot, especially

on deep

tween

Galilee.

a character

in

also play an important role

in

stories involving a conflict be-

and nature.

— George Gordon, Lord Byron, from

See pages 84, 520, 529.

"The Destruction of Sennacherib"

Writers also create rhythm by repeating words and phrases or even by repeating whole

lines

and sen-

tences.

The following passage by Walt Whitman

written

in

free verse and

does not have

human I

hear

all

I

love, the

The

first

short stories were written

is

Walter Scott and Edgar Allan Poe. a regular pat-

because of Whitman's use of repetition.

hear the sound

tive.

short fictional prose narra-

sound of the

voice,

in

the nine-

teenth century. Early short-story writers include Sir

tern of rhythm or rhyme. Yet the lines are rhythmical

I

SHORT STORY A

A

short story's

plot usually consists of these basic elements: the in-

troduction (basic situation or exposition), complications, climax, and resolution. Short stories are more limited than novels. They usually have only one or two major characters and one important setting.

sounds rumiing together, combined, See pages

1

5,

2 2-2 1

1

3.

fused, or following.

See also

7 6 1

Handbook of

Literary Terms

Fiaion, Novel, Plot.

things, using a

SIMILE A comparison between two unlike word such as like, as, than, or

feelings

resembles. Her face was as round as a pumpkin and

Editorials, personal essays,

This steak

is

SUBJECTIVE WRITING Writing

in which the and opinions of the writer are revealed.

and autobiographies are ex-

amples of subjective writing.

tougher than an old shoe are similes.

See page 4

See page 657.

1

See also Figure of Speech, Metaphor.

SPEAKER The The speaker It is

is

voice talking to us

best to think of the voice

may be

a

poem.

sometimes, but not always, the poet.

ing to a character the

ter

in

a child, a

in

poem

the

as belong-

poet has created. The charac-

woman,

man, an animal, or

a

STANZA A

group of consecutive lines in a poem that form a single unit. A stanza in a poem something

SUSPENSE The

uncertainty or anxiety that

about what will happen next a story, novel, or drama. In "The Monkey's

a reader feels in

Paw" (page 186), the sergeant's tale of the fakir's hooks our curiosity early in the play. When Mr. White makes his first wish on the paw, the suspense is heightened. The suspense reaches a peak soon after the second wish, and we read on eagerly to find out who or what is knocking on the door spell

even an object.

is

See also Objeaive Writing.

like a

paragraph

presses a unit of thought.

prose:

in

A stanza

may

It

often ex-

—

—

consist of any

Seepages

185,

198,212-213.

number of lines; it may even consist of a single line. The word stanza is an Italian word for "stopping place" or "place to rest." In some poems, each stanza has the same rhyme scheme.

See also

Plot.

SYMBOL A person, a place, a thing, or an event of a particular group of people that does not

meaning in itself and stands for something beyond itself as well. Some symbols are so well-known that we sometimes forget they are

allow for any individuality. Stereotypes are often

symbols. The bald eagle, for example,

based on misconceptions about

the United States; the Star of David

that has

STEREOTYPE A fixed

idea about the

racial, social, reli-

gious, gender, or ethnic groups.

stereotypes are the ideas that stupid, that

all

New

all

members

Some common

football players are

Yorkers are rude, and that

all

politicians are dishonest.

Judaism; and the cross literature, In

a

symbol of

a

symbol of

a

symbol of

Christianity. In

symbols are often personal and surprising.

"The Secret Heart" (page

ther's

See pages 630, 634.

is

is is

hands cupped around a

man's love for

12), for

I

lit

example, a

fa-

match symbolize the

his son.

See pages 42, 112, 114.

STYLE The way a writer uses

language. Style

re-

sults

from diction (word choice), sentence struc-

ture,

and tone.

speech, for

One

many figures of example; another writer may prefer writer may use

straightforward language with few figures of speech.

See pages 573, 578. See also

Diction, Tone.

TALL TALE An that

is

exaggerated, far-fetched story

obviously untrue but

should be believed. Almost Is

is

told as

all tall

though

tales, like

it

"Davy

Born" (page 521), are humorous. See pages 460, 480, 496, 499, 509. See also Exaggeration, Folk

Handbook of

Tale.

Literary Terms 7

1

TJBIW

THEME The that a

work

general idea or insight about

of literature reveals.

the same as a subject. ally

be expressed

death.

A theme

is

A theme

is

life

TONE

not

her subject, characters, and audience. For exam-

The subject of a work can usuword or two: love, childhood,

a

in

an idea or message that the writer

wishes to convey about that subject. For example,

one theme of "The Wise Old might be stated

as:

The

Woman"

(page 152)

elderly should be treated as

The

attitude a writer takes toward his or

ple, a writer's

tone might be humorous, as

in

"Ode

to a Toad" (page 292), or passionate and sincere, as "I

Have

a

Dream"

(page 678).

their tone of voice gives say.

When

in

people speak,

added meaning to what they

Writers use written language to create

effects

similar to those that people create with their voices.

members of society. A work's themes (there may be more than one) are usually not stated directly. Most often the reader valuable

has to think about

all

the elements of the

guess,

TRAGEDY A play,

novel, or other narrative in

which the main character comes to an un-

See pages 264, 272, 273, 669, 674.

happy end. A tragedy events.

Its

hero

-/^'>',-

is

depicts serious and important

hero achieves wisdom or self-knowledge

but suffers a great deal

^^^<

Diction, Style.

work and

them to make an inference, or educated about what the themes are. use

See pages 658, 667. See also Connotation,

—perhaps even

usually dignified and

high ranking.

The

tragic flaw

(a

dies.

A

tragic

courageous and often

hero's downfall

may be caused by

a

serious character weakness) or by

external forces beyond his or her control. The Diary \-:

£:r

of Anne Frank and Shakespeare's Hamlet are tragedies.

See page 413. See also Drama, Comedy.

UNDERSTATEMENT A less

than what

is

statement that says meant. Understatement is the

opposite of exaggeration. ifoec^

It is

usually used for

comic

you were to say that the Grand Canyon

effect.

If

a nice

little

hole

in

is

the ground, you would be using

understatement. "Ifyoii

to boil your book cloiiii to a few words, what would be its message?"

were

Drawing by Koren;

©

1986 The

New

Yorker Magazine.

Inc.

718 Handbook OF Literary Terms

See page 480. See also Exaggeration.

-i^atsnn

COMMUNICATIONS HANDBOOK PUTTING TOGETHER A MULTIMEDIA PRESENTATION

What Is a Multimedia Presentation? When

people talk about media, they mean both print and nonprint ways

of communicating. Newspapers, magazines, advertisements, TV, radio,

photographs, music videos, movies, and the World

Wide Web

are just a

few of the many media.

The computer industry uses the word multimedia to two or more of the following media:

refer to a

com-

bination of •

text: words and numbers

•

sound: music; speeches; readings of effects,

stories,

poems, and

sound

plays;

Highlecti^ For

a

high-tech presenta-

such as thunder

tion including sound, •

•

need a computer with a

posters, patterns, color

sound card and speakers.

film or video: sections clipped from movies or from videos a

Find out

made with

camcorder

•

animation: movement of objects and

figures

on screen •

create and edit graphics,

combine

sound

all

the media

you want to include

puter and the user •

new ways

your school has

video, and

interactivity: constant exchange of information between the com-

People find

if

the software you'll need to •

•

you'll

graphics: drawings, paintings, photographs, charts, maps, cartoons,

of working with media

all

worry

the time. Don't

make your presentation

if

interactive

you don't have the

equipment or software. You can learn

latest

a lot by

working on both low-tech and high-tech multimedia projects. Follow these steps: 1.

Get together with others combine

their talents and

in

skills,

a group.

When

they can often

several students

come up

with a bet-

ter product than a student working alone. You can learn a lot about

yourself and other people by working with others. Besides,

more 2.

•

3.

often

in

•

mind

group members' interests and strengths your equipment,

tools, software,

Design the project. Use plan and a schedule.

Keep

a

a

low-tech

presentation might include the following items:

fun than working by yourself.

Decide what you want to do. Keep •

it's

Low Tech Equipment for

and hardware

who

is

musical instruments

•

a

•

an overhead projector

copy machine

•

cameras

a

•

camcorders

supposed to do what

•

a

word processing program

a record of

audio recorders

•

to

make

VCR

and of when each job has to be done.

Communications Handbook 7

1

4.

Check

It

Twice

Create the content.

you're doing skits based on American

If

dian myths, write a script,

make costumes, and

find props.

If

In-

you're

Be sure to proofread what-

doing a computer multimedia presentation, create or find the text,

ever you print or publish.

graphics, and sounds you'll need.

It's

not enough to create a

graphics archives) of fine art on-line and on

fun and original presentation. Misspellings

matical errors,

Check multimedia

can find American Indian works of

and gram-

from

whether on

a

art.

"galleries" (or

CD-ROMs

to see

You may be able to

if

you

find a clip

performance of Indian chanting or drumming to use

as back-

ground music.

paper or on screen, make a

poor impression.

group

is

If

5.

your

putting something

sure

it's

see,

If

you're doing a reading of American folk

background music, for example, you may need to hold

to see which you

make

like best.

in

sequences

different

Ask another group of students to

you feedback before you perform

something you can

be proud

together.

it all

several rehearsals. Try reading the folk tales

on the Internet for the

whole world to

Put

tales with

in

front of the class.

If

give

your group

would rather not perform live, you could videotape your work. With the right computer equipment, you can add some graphics and text to your video or use special software to make an inter-

of!

active program.

Scanning, Clipping, and Creating If

you have access to a scanner, you can scan photos, artwork, and maps

well as handwritten and printed material

magazines.

A

scanner stores images

in

as

from books, newspapers, and

a digital

format so that they can be

used on a computer

You can also disks.

find lots of material

CD-ROM

on the Internet and on

Multimedia programs give you access to graphics, video, and sound

"galleries"

from

all

over the world.

If

the program allows you to use as

much material as you want, clip whatever you need. It may be impossible for you to create certain kinds pictures or video

text, graphics, sound,

of material, such as

try to create

your own

and video whenever you can. You can get

CD-ROMs

clips of historical events.

of actors reading stories, but

Still,

why not do your own

readings?

You can

and download text about Langston Hughes, for example, but

more about his write your own

writing

if

you read two or three

articles

find

you'll learn

about him and

text.

Making an Interactive Program on the Computer Multimedia or authoring software programs show you teractive links. •

You can set up your presentation

in

how

to create

The user moves from one screen to the next along

a path you've laid

out. •

720 Communications Handbook

in-

either of these ways:

The user has choices about how to move through the program.

To

plan your presentation, try

on each screen. Draw paths the user can, or idea of

will,

how your flowchart

Presenting class to

do

Abraham

a project

making

a

flowchart,

The

follow.

a

map showing

what's

and arrows showing the

a rectangle for each screen

following example

you an

will give

might look.

Lincoln. Suppose your teacher has assigned the

on an American

figure.

Your group decides to do

computer multimedia presentation on Abraham chooses to include the information

laid

out

in this

Lincoln.

a

The group

flowchart, which

shows

the paths a user might follow. student drawings or photos of Civil War battle scenes + music (such as 'Taps," or "Battle

reading of

Gettysburg Address by the group + text of address in

/ Start

\

Hymn

of the Republic")

Lincoln's

handwriting

reading of brief biography + photos of Lincoln

photograph of Lincoln

+ map of

list

of credits

Lincoln's

birthplace

\

/ choral reading of "O Captain! My Captain!" +

sound

photo of Lincoln Memorial; close-up of Lincoln statue

effects

(bugle, bells)

Word

Processing

Use word processing programs to

Giving Credit

•

create schedules and assignment sheets for your project

•

type original text, scripts, and programs

•

Where

There's no substitute for peer editing. Spelling checkers and in

grammar

the group a

chance to edit your writing. Leave room for comments and questions by triple-spacing drafts, and

make

a

copy for each group

own copy or on

member Have

one put comments on

his

group members are

agreement before you create the

Word

in

or her

screen.

Make sure

everyall

the

final text.

number of type styles and sizes to create different effects. For example, you may want to use large type for headlines. If you have a

programs also

let

own

letters.

Word

you change the margins for parts of your

if

the

the material gave

owner it

of

to you,

you should credit the person

who

created

plagiarizing

it.

(pla'ja

Avoid •

rlz'

as

it)),

your own.

You may want to create a

separate page or screen

of credits at the end of

For ex-

your presentation. See

also use lines, boxes, and bullets, or dots, to separate items and

make them

Even

processing

text.

ample, you may want to leave extra space around an important section.

You can

tation.

a

drawing program, you can even design your

contributed

or passing off others' work

processing programs offer many formatting options. You can

choose from

who

any way to your presen-

in

checkers pick up only certain kinds of errors. Give everyone

Due

important to give credit

It's

to anyone

correct errors and revise your writing

It's

pages 725-726 for infor-

mation on writing credits.

easier to read.

Communications Handbook 72

RESEARCH STRATEGIES The Reference Section

Using a Media Center or Library

Every library has materials

you can use only library.

listed

To

the

in

Some examples

are

below. (Some refer-

ence works are available

in

both print and electronic form.)

Encyclopedias Collier's

Who New Biographical

The International Who's Webster's

Dictionary

in

find an item

you want, write down the

title,

author, and call

the code of numbers and letters that shows you where to find

the item on the library's shelves. libraries

is

use card catalogs.

still

in

A card

alphabetical order by

catalog

title

is

a collection of

and author Nonfiction

also cataloged by subject.

Electronic Databases.

Electronic databases are collections of

formation you can access by computer You can use these databases to

museum

accessed at a computer terminal connected to a

Men & Women

by looking

in-

find

art collections.

There are two kinds of electronic databases. On-line databases are

References of

Biographical Dictionary of

American Sports Mexican American Biographies

Portable databases are

CD-ROM. A CD-ROM (compact puter equipped with a Angelou on a

Atlases

modem. The modem

CD-ROM

available

disc-read only

CD-ROM

player.

on magnetic tape, diskette, or

memory) is If you were

played on a

com-

to look up

Maya

guide to literature, for example, you could see and

hear her reading passages from her books and also read

World Cultures

al-

lows the computer to communicate with other computers over telephone lines.

Science

Atlas of

library, start

library.

such resources as encyclopedias, almanacs, and

Special Biographical American

you

index cards arranged

Current Biography Yearbook

the

With some you begin With others you simply enter keywords for the subject you're researching. With either system, you enter information into the computer and a new screen will show you a list of materials or subject headings relating to your request.

Some

General Biographical References

in

On-line catalogs vary from library to

number,

The World Book Encyclopedia

or video

film,

searching for resources by title, author, or subject.

When

Encyclopedia

book, audiotape,

find a

the catalog. Most libraries use an on-line, or computer, catalog.

critical

analyses

of her work.

National Geographic Atlas of

Most

Periodicals.

the World

papers.

Almanacs

To

find

libraries

computerized index, such as

Information Please

Almanac vide a

The World Almanac and Book of Facts

have a collection of magazines and news-

up-to-date magazine or newspaper

summary

InfoTrac

or EBSCO.

articles

Some

on

a topic, use a

of these indices pro-

of each article. Others provide the entire text, which you

can read on screen or print out.

The

a print index of articles that have

Readers' Guide to Periodical Literature

appeared

in

is

hundreds of magazines.

Books of Quotations Bartlett's Familiar Quotations

Books of Synonyms Roget's International

Thesaurus Webster's

New

Dictionary of

Synonyms

Using the Internet The Internet is a huge network of computers. Libraries, news services, government agencies, researchers, and organizations communicate and share information on the Net.

The Net

dents around the world. For help

in

also lets

you chat on-line with stu-

using the Internet to

do research or to

communicate with someone by computer, explore the following options.

722 Communications Handbook

The World Wide Web

Web

called

Web

pages.

sound, and even video

Using a

Web

browser, cator.

enter

a

If

it

has

its

You look

the location

in

let

Web

at

address, called a

you know the address of

Hundreds of which

own

field

Web

pages v^ith a

Web

a

URL,

or Uniform Resource Lo-

page you want to go

to, just

on your browser.

millions of

Web

pages are connected by hyperlinks, links usually

appear as

With hundreds of

millions of linked

Web

how

pages,

can you find

a

you're just beginning to look for a research

If

Web directory, a

experts to help users find

Web

list

of topics and subtopics created by

Think of the directory as a giant index.

sites.

Start by choosing a broad category, such as Literature. Then,

down

through the subtopics, perhaps from Poetry to Poets.

choose a

Web

about

it,

try using a

If

you already have a topic and need informa-

search engine,

a

software tool that finds infor-

mation on the Web. To use a search engine,

form and enter a

list

of

Web

a

go to an on-line search

just

search term, or keyword. The search engine

pages containing your search term.

The

rJ^!2^^^^=5 Netscape: HRW: The Library of Conoress

3 N*tsi1«:

work your way Under Poets,

page that looks interesting, perhaps one on Robert Frost.

Using a Search Engine. tion

r»

^

^^ 81

tions, businesses, viduals.

^^

will

list will also

places like

searching.

around the country and

newsgroups,

and debate

you discuss

with other computer users.

You can write and send a question to a forum and get an answer from some-

one who may (or may not)

know something about your topic.

bils

im/h^'

Tip

^

Educators. The Leaminji

Pa^ New Collections, .

Great Depression to World

An American Ballroom

SysteRi Oulasst: Suntflyl JlMgutt

1945

Cslendar •( Evtnls

Paradise Folklife on a

Frequently Aihed Questjont

Leonard Bernstein

.

War 11

920 and Railroad Maps

1

use a

•

If

hits,

more

general

you get too many

use a hyperlinks

fisntncahfu,

u.

FSA-OWi^l935-

Companion: Dance Manuals^a 1490.

you get too few

word

term.

Photos from the

328- 1 900

If

or phrase as your search

Sslsi

o/COI
1

let

lots of subjects

location field

recordings that teQ Amenca's story Resources for

01

re-

also use

return

Documents, photographs, movies, and sound

More

experts

e-mail to chat with students

Techno

Librar

1

You can

sElB

2

Th^

!

indi-

museums, you

able to ask

about a topic you're

•

LC Aatrllech Compolillon

and

you e-mail

show you

^li

~

SEARCH THE CATALOGS

When

institu-

UM-r

j^ |http://v^^toc.90v/

SEARCH OUR SITE

the Internet you can

Internet forums, or

Using a Web Directory. on

^

over a computer network.

around the world.

the information you want?

topic, click

Mail!

an elec-

tronic message sent

may be

you jump from one page to another. These

is

use e-mail to reach

underlined or colored words or images, or both, on your computer screen.

E-mail

On

clips.

program for accessing information on the Web. Every page

Web

on the

pages usually have text, graphics, photographs,

Browser.

Got

You've

The easiest way to do research on the Internet is on the World Wide Web. On the Web, information is stored in colorful, easy-to-access files

more

specific

hits,

word

or phrase as your search term.

New Previews^ SKJckaroos in

Nevada Cattle Ranch. l»45->?82 mdThe~ Conecnon 1920-1989 Feaait^^ Today in Hislotv

.

-T]Go]

Amencon Memoiy Home Page

WbU'i New

GENERAL INFORMATION

THOMAS: FuD

Legislative Information

text access to current biDs

under consideration

in ttie

US

House of

Communications Handbook 723

COMMON SEARCH OPERATORS AND WHAT THEY D(^^^,

Currency.

the information up-to-date? For a print source, check the

Is

Web

copyright date. For a

source, look for the date on which the page was

created or revised. (This date appears at the bottom of the

Coverage.

How

better information

in

page.) find

book? Compare the source with several others.

a

and Taking Notes

you write a research paper, you must

sources so that readers

will

document, or

know where you found your

must avoid plagiarism, or presenting another if

home

Could you

well does the source cover the topic?

Listing Sources

When

site's

writer's

identify,

your

material.

You

words or

ideas as

they were your own.

Sample Source Card

Listing Sources List

each source, and give

source numbers

later,

it

number.

a

when you

(You'll

use these

where

take notes.) Here's

name

to find the publication information (such as the

of the

publisher and the copyright date) you'll need for different

types of sources: •

•

book or

in

containing

at the beginning

a separate electronic

the word

chap4/dickin6on.htinl>.

or end of the

file.

page, look for a

at the start-up screen, the

itself.

There are several ways to style created by the

Web

For a

About.

Portable electronic databases. Look packaging, or the disc

list

sources.

Modern Language

The chart on page 726 shows the

Association.

Taking Notes Here are some •

Sample Note Card

tips for taking notes.

Put notes from different sources on separate index cards or sheets of paper or

•

At the top

—A

periodical.

document or

•

and copyright pages of

at the title

On-line sources. Look

link

—

FAL: Perspectives in American Literature Research and Reference Guide.


Print sources. Look the

Reuben, Paul F. "Chapter 4: Early Nineteenth Century Emily Dickinson."

in

separate computer

of each card, sheet of paper, or

label that briefly gives

file,

Dickinson's definition of poetry In

letter to

Thomas

W. Higginson, editor Atlantic

files.

Montlily.

write a

"If

I

read a book and

cold no fire can ever

the subject of the note.

it makes my whole body so warm me, know that is I

poetry." •

At the bottom, write the numbers of the pages on which you found the information. on-line source

•

Use short phrases, and make lists of details and You don't have to write full sentences.

•

Use your own words unless you

find material

ideas.

you want to quote.

If

you

quote an author's exact words, put quotation marks around them.

The sample note card

at the right

shows how to take notes.

Communications Handbook 725

^^'H:

Preparing a List of Sources Use your source cards to make List

your sources

citing

in

a

works cited

list

at the

alphabetical order, following the

end of your report.

MLA

guidelines for

sources (see the chart below). Note the sample that follows.

Works Cited Johnson, Little,

Thomas

Complete Poems of Emily Dickinson. Boston:

H., ed.

Brown, I960.

Knapp, Bettina Liebowitz. Emily Dickinson.

Reuben, Paul P "Chapter PAL: Perspectives

in

4: Early

New

York: Continuum, 1989.

Nineteenth Century

American Literature

—A

— Emily Dickinson."

Research and Reference

Guide. 15 Dec. 1999. .

The chart below shows

citations of print, audiovisual,

and electronic sources.

READING STRATEGIES Using Many

Word

words can be divided

English

various

Parts

word

parts,

into parts.

A word part added to prefix. A word part added

the beginning of to the end of a

Prefixes and suffixes can't stand alone.

other word parts. be added to Prefix

it

to

If

you know the meanings of

you can often determine the meanings of words.

A base word

a

word or root

word or root

called a

called a suffix.

They must be added to words or

can stand alone. Other

make new words.

is

is

word

parts

may

Basic situation:

Setting:

Main character:

His or her problem:

Main events or complications:

Climax:

Resolution:

For

a

work

make an outline showing the main ideas

of nonfiction,

and supporting details: I.

Main idea

A. Supporting

detail

Supporting

1.

detail

Supporting

a.

detail

STUDY SKILLS Using a Dictionary You can use

or electronic dictionary to

a print

and usage of words. The elements of 1.

a typical

meanings

find the precise

entry are explained below.

Entry word. The entry word shows how a word is spelled and it is divided into syllables. It may also show capitalization and al-

how

ternative spellings. 2.

Pronunciation. Phonetic symbols and

marks

diacritical letters)

show how

entry word. ally

3.

A

(symbols added to to

pronounce the

Sample Dictionary Entry

key to these symbols usu-

appears on every other page.

Part-of-speech label. This

label

shows :

how

the entry

word

is

Some words may

tence.

than one part of

used

l

arge )( (larj)Xod/. )

sen-

in a

more speech. For words like

space; bulky b) enclosing

function as

these, a part-of-speech label

amount

great extent or

of

provided

is

Iarg'|er, larg'est

its

kind; of

pompous

spellings of plural

w uid

now only

verbs, and the comparative and superlative

free; not

forms of adjectives and adverbs are

rather than only

origin.

A

SYN.

word's derivation, or

(et'a-mal'a-je),

is its

tory.

It

tells

how

the

word or

entered the English language.

ample shown

means that

its

In

parts

way; so as

[;i

2

jail

to

fully; in

be large

its

[to write large]

— — at

detail

state

3

is

n.

8)

1

liberty:

large

I

in general;

— .9)

meaning of

or great oak], but in

used with reference to dimensions or etc.],

big, to bulk, weight, or extent

baby, big business], and great,

ANT. small,

r,

5

or other district

are often interchangeable in

size, extent, etc. [a large, big,

discrimination, large

6)

a big scale [a

subdivisions [a congressman at large]

— large, big, and great

hig

complete

ir4 representing an entire

one of

impressive, imposing, surprising,

"OFr< L largus" comes from Old

6 operating on

phrase AT large (see phrase below)

quantity [a large studio, amount,

the ex-

at right,

large

a large

hisstrict

amount (4)

n.>

more than usual

etymology

m

size, extent, or

have large views on a subject]

li^Naitt.) favorable; specif, quartering; said of a

confined; not in

large'

Word

in the

taken altogether

shown. 5.

I

)<:) ot"

3 big as compared with others

with a favoring wind, specif one on the quarter

Niiui.

forms of nouns, the principal parts of

[to

I

up much

space; spacious ([a iar^e office]

large sum]

or exaggerated [large talk[

— adv.

specif., a) taking

more than usual or average

large manufacturer]

Other forms. The

much

comprehensive; far-reachmg

before each set of definitions. 4.

[a

[OFr < L largus: see lard]

2 big; great;

[Archaic] liberal; generous

etc.

to

size

[a great

or extent that

river,

10)

is

success, etc.]

little

French, and that the Old French term derives from the Latin

word

largus.

©1994

Webster's

New World

Dictionory of American English, Third College Edition.

COMMUNICATIONS HANDBOOK 729

6. 7.

Examples. Phrases or sentences Definitions. are

8.

If

word

a

numbered or

show how

the

word

more than one meaning,

is

used.

the meanings

lettered.

Special-usage labels. These special uses of the

9.

has

that

labels identify special

meanings or

word.

Related word forms. These are other forms of the entry word, usually created by the addition of suffixes.

10.

Synonyms and antonyms. Synonyms and antonyms (words opposite

in

(words similar

in

meaning)

meaning) may appear at the end

of an entry.

Using a Thesaurus A thesaurus

is

a collection of

word

looking for a

synonyms. You use a thesaurus when you're

that expresses a specific meaning. There are

two

kinds

of thesauruses.

One

kind,

developed by Peter Mark Roget, groups

to meaning. Here's •

In

how

to use

the index, look up the

word

Under the entry for establish, ate, fix, make sure, originate, and lowed by •

In

for example, prove.

In this

in

you might

is

fol-

case,

suppose you choose

is

closest to

what you have

in

begin.

number that follows the subentry number to find synonyms for

the index. Then, look under this

establish that

The second

have the meaning "begin."

words

kind of thesaurus lists

a dictionary. See the

in

alphabetical order, as

sample entry below.

Sample Thesaurus Entry molten,

a. heated,

melted, fused,

liquefied, running, fluid, seething; see

also

©1990

730 Communications Handbook

find begin, cre-

Each of these subentries

number.

the body of the text, find the

begin

in

that conveys your general meaning.

Choose the subentry whose meaning mind.

•

a

words according

it;

HOT

Webster's

1

.

Ant.

COLD, cool

New WorW™

Thesaurus

solid.

_"T^V',;j;,v,-f^fr,,j:-,'^,^

Reading Maps, Charts, and Graphs Types of Maps Physical

maps show

shading

often used to show physical features such as mountains,

and

is

nations.

Political

level).

They

usually

World War

maps show

these maps, hills,

is

The map of Europe durmap. Special-purpose maps

capitals.

a political

are used to present information that

such as states and

political units,

show borders and

on page 343

II

In

used to show elevation (height above or

valleys; colors are often

below sea ing

the natural landscape of an area.

related to geography, such as the

is

route of the Underground Railroad (page 562).

How to 1.

2.

Read a Map Canada, the United States, and Mexico

Identify the map's focus. The map's

you

title

and labels

ject

and the geographical area

tell

its

focus

its

sub-

covers.

Study the legend. The legend, or key, explains the symbols,

and shading used

on 3.

—

it

this

page has

in

lines, colors,

the map. (The

map

a legend.)

Check directions and distances. Maps often include

a

compass

rose, a

diagram that shows north, south, east, and west.

you're looking at a

If

map

doesn't have one, assume that north

the top, west

Many maps

is

to the

left,

that is

at

and so on.

also include a scale to help

LEGEND

you relate distances on the map to actual

Note the compass rose and on the map on this page.

distances. scale

1

I

1

1

—

I

I

Canada United States Mexico National boundary National capital

4.

Look

at the larger context. The ab-

solute location of any place on earth given by

its

350

700 Miles

is

350 700 Kilometers

latitude (the number of de-

grees north or south of the equator) and

longitude (the number of degrees east or west of the prime meridian, or degrees longitude). Some maps also include locator maps, which show the area depicted area.

Notice the locator map

shown

in

in

relation to a larger

the upper right corner of the

map

here.

Communications Handbook 73

I

Line Graph

Types of Charts and Graphs

Bigelow Middle School Students Speaking Two or More Languages Fluently 'i,

100

A flowchart

sequence of events or the steps in a process. Flowshow cause-and-effect relationships. The sequencis an example of a flowchart. A time line shows ing chart on page 72 events in chronological order (the order in which they happen). (See the time line of Anne Frank's life on pages 344—345.) shows

a

charts are often used to 1

V a.

(U

a3 1980 '84 '88

92 '96 2000

1875

T. S.

Langston

Eliot

Hughes

Anne Frank

born

born

born

1888

1902

I

Year

Sports

in

in

After-School

My Town

i 3,000 E

I

2,000

I

1,000

-

Sandra

Sandburg born

Angelou born

Cisneros born

A table presents categorized facts arranged in rows and columns to make them easy to understand and compare. The table on page 762, for example, shows all of the personal pronouns categorized by number or

plural)

and case (nominative, objective, or possessive).

usually

show changes

in

quantity over time.

In line

graphs,

dots showing the quantity at different times are connected to create a

r

1980

2000

Bar graphs

generally

compare

quantities within categories. Pie

Girls

Boys

1954

Maya

Line graphs

o

=

1928

1878 Carl

(singular

H

1955

««

•

Bar Graph Participation

1929

I

or circle graphs, show proportions.

A

pie graph

different-sized sections, like slices of a pie.

is

line.

graphs,

a circle divided into

NSWER TRUE/FALSE QUESTIONS Read the statement it is

The whole statement

carefully.

word

Look

for

if it is

always true.

clues, such as always

and

nevtr.

Multiple-choice questions ask you to select

false

if

any part of

A

statement

a correct

true only

is

answer from sev-

For example:

eral choices.

movement

Abolitionism was a

I .

Is

false.

A

liquor

B

slavery

C D

against

voting rights for

women

immigration

HOW TO ANSWER MULTIPLE-CHOICE QUESTION •

Read the question or statement

carefully.

Make sure you understand

the key question or statement before you look at the choices. •

•

words such

Look

for

some

choices.

Read

all

and always, which may help you eliminate

as not

the choices before selecting an answer. Eliminate choices that

you know are incorrect. •

Think carefully about the remaining choices. Pick the one that makes the most sense.

Matching questions items

in

another

list.

ask you to match the items

in

one

list

with the

For example:

Directions: Match each item

the left-hand column with

in

its

definition in

the right-hand column. I.

protagonist

A

story of a person's

2.

biography

B

conversation between characters

3.

diction

hero or main character

4.

dialogue

C D

Read the directions

life

word choice

You may not use

carefully.

all

the items

in

one

column, and some items may be used more than once. Scan the columns.

First,

match items you are sure you know. Then,

match items you think may be

right.

For the rest of the items, make the best guess you can.

Communications Handbook 733

^m

mmmm Analogy questions two words and then

ask you to figure out the relationship between

another pair with

identify

a similar relationship.

For

example:

Directions: Select the pair of words that best completes the analogy.

STANZA POEM ;

A

metaphor

B

chapter

:

:

:

:

C D

simile

book

fiction

words

:

:

nonfictlon

music

ANSWER ANALOGY Q' between the words

Figure out the relationship (In

the example, a stanza

Express the analogy stanza

is

part of a

in

a

poem.

statement or question. In

the

in

first pair.

part of a poem.)

is

what other

pair

is

(In

the

the example, a

first

item part of the

second item?) Select the pair of

(A chapter

is

words with the same

relationship as the first pair.

part of a book.)

Essay questions

in

a test ask

you to think

learned and to express your understanding

critically in

about things you have

a paragraph

or more.

WRITING FOR LIFE Writing Business Letters To request information from someone write a business 1.

Write

letter.

in

who

is

far

away or

difficult

to reach,

Follow these guidelines:

formal English. Avoid

slang.

The tone of your

letter

should be polite and respectful. 2.

Be

clear. Explain

tion,

3.

why you

are writing. Include important informa-

and be as brief as possible.

Make the letter

letter look professional. Type, print, or write your

on unlined

8'/2-

x

I

I

-inch paper. Follow the

block form

(shown below).

Sample Business Letter 4597 West Thornhill Avenue East Greenwich, HI OSS 18 August 3. 2000

f

:

I

Heading Your

street address

Your

city, state,

and ZIP code

The date you write the

Ms.

Amy

Kupla, Public Relations Director

Clear Ripple Water Bottling

Inside

Company

Address

The name and address

3046 Medina Street Ann Arbor, MI 48108

Use

3

)

title

title.

clean

after the

name.

Salutation (greeting) End the salutation with

am researching the quality of the drinking water in my town. I would like to know how your company tests

I

how

or Mrs. or a professional

such as Dr. or Professor, before the person's name. Put

Dear Ms. Kupla:

to find out

of the person you are writing to.

a title like Mr., Ms.,

the person's business

water

letter

a colon.

Body

4

Your message.

it is.

If

the body

leave an extra line

is

more

than one paragraph,

between paragraphs.

Please send me any information that might help me with my research. 1 have enclosed a self-addressed, stamped envelope for your reply. Sincerely,

5

1

Closing

Use

Vours truly or Sincerely, followed by a

comma.

(6 Signature Type or

Emily Hanaford

print

ture. Sign

your name, leaving space for your

your name

in

ink

below the

signa-

closing.

Communications Handbook 735

Filling

When tion.

1

2.

Out Forms

you

fill

out

a

form, your purpose

is

to give clear, complete informa-

Follow these guidelines whenever you complete forms.

Look over the Look

entire

form before you

begin.

for and follow special instructions (such as Type or print or Use

a pencil). 3.

4.

Read each item Supply

all

carefully.

the information requested.

If

a

question does not apply to

you, write does not apply, or use a dash or the abbreviation

(meaning "not applicable"). Be sure to 5.

When

you're finished,

for errors and correct 6.

Mail the

sign

make sure nothing them neatly.

form to the correct address or

N/A

and date the form. is

give

left

it

blank. Also,

check

to the right person.

PROOFREADERS' MARKS

1

1

The Parts of Speech THE NOUN A noun

is

a

or an idea. 1)

a

word used to name a person, a

place, a thing,

[Z QUICK CHECK Identify

each noun

common or

in

I

the following sentences. Classify each noun as

proper.

EXAMPLE

I

.

I .

Roald Dahl

is

—

Roald Dahl

the author of "The Landlady."

—common; "The Landlady"-

proper; author

proper 1.

Weaver was going

Billy

to

The

Bell

and Dragon, an inn

was

that

in Bath. 2.

3.

4. 5.

Try

It

brown suit and a navy-blue overeoat? In his mind, briskness was a characteristic of businessmen. "Big shots" in the company always seemed brisk to Billy. How was the landlady like a jack-in-the-box?

Was

Billy

wearing

his

Using Specific Nouns

Out

For the following paragraph about "Jack and

Whenever

the Beanstalk," replace the vague nouns with

nouns. Using specific nouns

your writing more accurate and precise,

exact, specific nouns. [I]

who

Have you read the story about the boy

traded an animal for seeds?

[2]

man

eggs. [4] [5]

The

make more

People crowded into the building.

Men, women, and children crowded

PRECISE a

into

the theater.

as well as a bird that laid golden

The boy

will

as well as

interesting.

VAGUE

A huge

grew from the seeds, and the boy climbed it. [3] At the top, he discovered

vine

large

possible, use specific, exact

VAGUE

Following the young person was a small dog.

stole the man's things.

foolish trade that he had

Following the child was a dachshund.

PRECISE

boy's parent forgave him for the

made.

THE PRONOUN A pronoun

a word used

is

in

place of one or

more nouns

or pronouns.

EXAMPLES

After

Bill

fed the

dog and

cat, Bill let

dog and

cat,

the dog and cat go

outside.

After

The word

that a

Bill

fed the

pronoun stands

times the antecedent

is

for

is

he

called

let

its

them go outside.

antecedent. Some-

not stated.

STATED ANTECEDENT

opened the book and began reading it. Mrs. Flowers

UNSTATED ANTECEDENT Who wrote

the book?

Personal Pronouns A

personal pronoun refers to the one speaking

(first

spoken to (second person), or the one spoken about

738 Language Handbook

person), the

(third person).

one

1 i

NOTE

Many

indefinite

pronouns can

also

Both men

regretted kidnapping

pronoun

refers to a person, a place, or a thing that

named.

Common

regret-

ted kidnapping Johnny.

Jolinny.

indefinite

PRONOUN

Both of the men ADJECTIVE

An

specifically

serve as adjectives.

INDEFINITE

Pronouns

indefinite

all

Indefinite

Pronouns

is

not

Articles The most

frequently used adjectives are

o,

an,

and

the.

The

adjectives a and

an are called indefinite articles. They indicate that the noun refers to

someone or something a

consonant sound. An

EXAMPLE

to

1

Ic

is

in

general.

A

is

used before a word beginning with

used before a word beginning with a vowel sound.

ga\ c the salcscicrk a nickel

The adjective the is a definite article. someone or something in particular

EXAMPLE

Smiiex went to the

swamp

It

and an orange.

indicates that the

to find

noun

the stranger

refers

a frog.

Proper Adjectives A

proper adjective

is

formed from

a

proper noun and begins with a

capital letter

I^ROPER NOUN

PROPER ADIECTIVE

THE VERB

For

(Cl>^

more about

A verb

is

being.

The verb

a

word used to express action or a says

state of

something about the subject of a

sentence.

subjects and verbs, see

EXAMPLES

pages 780-782.

Gary Soto wrote "Broken Chain." "Oranges" is one of my favorite poems.

Action Verbs An

action verb

may

express physical action or mental

action.

kNOTE

A verb may

be

transitive

one

in

PHYSICAL ACTION

jump, shout, search, carry, run

MENTAL ACTION

worry, think, believe, imagine,

Transitive and Intransitive Verbs

sentence and intransitive

in

(

1

)

A transitive verb is a verb that expresses an action directed toward a person or

another.

TRANSITIVE The teacher read "A Time

remember

EXAMPLE

Alfonso is

to

thing.

borrowed Ernie

directed tmvard hike.

[The action of borrowed

s bike.

]

—the

Talk."

With

INTRANSITIVE The teacher read aloud.

transitive verbs, the action passes

to the receiver of the action.

jects,

For

subject

White made three wishes. [Wishes the verb made. Mr.

is

the object of

]

more about ob-

see pages 783-784.

from the doer

that receive the action of a transitive

verb are called objects.

EXAMPLE ffl^"^

Words

(2)

An

intransitive verb expresses action (or tells something about the subject) without passing the action to a receiver.

EXAMPLE

The broken chain lay beside the lay

is

fence. [The action of

not directed toward a recei\er.]

Linking Verbs ffL/"'

seem,

Linking verbs (be, feel,

etc.)

never take

A linking verb links, or connects, the subject with a noun, a pronoun, or an adjective

in

the predicate.

direct objects. See pages

783-784

for

more about

EXAMPLES

linking verbs.

The winner of the race is Squeaky, [winner = Squeak)'] Gretchen is one of her opponents. [Gretchen = one] Squeala's brother looks happy. [happ>^ brother]

Verb Be

Forms

of the

Other

Linking Verbs

am, are, be, been, being, appear, become,

feel,

is,

was, were

grow, look, remain, seem,

smell, sound, stay, taste, turn

742 Language Handbook

All linking

action verbs.

verbs except forms of be and seem may also be used as

Whether

a verb

meaning

is

used to

words or to express action

a sentence.

depends on

its

LINKING

The

tiger

looked tame.

ACTION

The

tiger

looked

in

link

for

something to

eat.

Helping Verbs

A helping verb (auxiliary verb)

helps the

main verb to

express an action or a state of being.

EXAMPLES

A

should be might have won will have been taken

verb phrase consists of a main verb preceded by at

least

one helping

verb.

EXAMPLE

Dr. Strauss

main verb

1

and

Dr.

Nemur are studying Charlie.

is stiu/yiiig.

\

[The

THE ADVERB An

adverb is a word used to modify a verb, an adjective, or another adverb.

An adverb

where, when, how, or to what extent (how

tells

much or how

long).

EXAMPLES

Quite stealthily, the narrator opens the door. [Quite modifies the adverb stealthily, telling to

what extent;

stealthily modifies the verb opens, telling how.]

He

is

extremely

cautious. [Extremely modifies the

adjective cautious, telling to

He buries the body there. The word

kNOTE is

adverb.

not

the -n't

is

buries, telling where.]

not

part of a contraction

hadn't,

an

is

When

what extent.]

[There modifies the verb

Police officers arrive

like

arrive, telling

an adverb.

The police

soon. [Soon modifies the verb

when]

officers

do not hear the

noise. [Not modifies

the verb phrase do hear, telling to what extent.]

Note (!Zj^

For more about

modifiers, see Part

in

the examples above that adverbs

may come

before, after, or

between the words they modify.

5:

Using Modifiers.

Avoiding the Overuse of Very

-^^^^s. ^^^_2^

)

^^

^~^rtt.'9

The adverb

very

is

often overused.

to replace very with

more

In

your writing, try

descriptive adverbs or to

revise the sentence so that other

words carry more of the

descriptive meaning.

Try

It

Out

EXAMPLE

Poe's Stories are very suspenseful.

For each of the follov/ing sentences, replace very with a

more

REVISED

descriptive adverb, or

rewrite the sentence to eliminate

Poe's stories are

extremely suspenseful. or

very.

Poe's suspenseful stories shock, frighten, 1

The narrator

in

"The

Tell-Tale

Heart"

is

and entertain

readers.

very deceitful. 2.

At

night, the old

3. This narrator 4.

man's

room

is

very dark

QUICK CHECK 5

seems very emotional.

Notice that Poe's use of

italics is

very Identify the

adverbs

in

the following sentences. After each

effective. 5.

When

the heartbeat

becomes very

adverb, write the

that the adverb modifies.

loud,

EXAMPLE

the narrator confesses.

I. I.

The

landlady

almost—

seemed almost

familiar

woman appeared.

1.

Suddenly

2.

She spoke quite pleasantly to the young man.

3.

Are eggs

4.

The young man had not taken his hat off Were other hats or coats there?

5.

744 Language Handbook

word or phrase

a

terribly expensive?

familiar.

THE PREPOSITION A preposition is a word

used to show the relationship of a noun or a pronoun to another word in the sentence.

Notice

how

a

change

the cat and the house

The The The The

dog dog dog dog

in in

the preposition changes the relationship between the following examples.

chased the cat under the house. chased the cat

around

the house.

chased the cat through the house. chased the cat out of the house.

THE CONJUNCTION A conjunction

a word used to join words or groups of

is

words. (

1

)

Coordinating conjunctions connect words or groups of words

used

same

the

in

way.

Coordinating Conjunctions and

EXAMPLES

nor

or

but

so

for

yet

Gretchen or Squeaky [two nouns] small but comfortable [two adjectives]

down

the track

and across

the finish line [two preposi-

tional phrases]

The

seem motionless, but

stars

actually they are

moving

rapidly through space, [two independent clauses]

(2) Correlative conjunctions are pairs of conjunctions that con-

nect words or groups of words used

in

the

same

way.

Correlative Conjunctions both

.

.

.

not only

EXAMPLES

either ... or

and .

.

.

but also

whether

...

neither

Neither Alfonso nor Sandra has a bike to [two notms] Either leave a message on

me

call

after 7:00 p.m.

.

.

.

nor

or

ride,

my answering machine, or

tomorrow, [two independent

clauses]

THE INTERJECTION An

a word used to express emotion. It has no grammatical relation to other words in the sentence. Usually an interjection is followed by an exclamation interjection

point.

is

Sometimes an

interjection

Common

is

set off by a

Interjections

aha alas

EXAMPLES

Wow!

Wliat an exciting race that was!

Well, he did his best.

comma.

W

^^ummim

QUICK CHECK 7 each conjunction and

Identify

EXAMPLE

1.

I

.

I

.

Wow! Wow

interjection in

the following sentences.

Poe's rhythms are regular yet breathless.

—

interjeaion: yet

—conjunaion

Notice the rich vocabulary and sentence structure in these stories

by Edgar Allan Poe. a narration of

"The

Tell-Tale Heart."

2.

Oh. don't miss hearing

3.

Neither unfamiliar words nor long descriptive pfirases should discotirage )ou.

4. 5.

Skim them, but feel the speaker's emotions. Let the sound and feeling of the poem fill )'ou, and, pow, you understand Poe.

will

DETERMINING PARTS OF SPEECH The

word is determined by the way that the word is Many words can be used as more than one part of

part of speech of a

used

a sentence.

in

speech.

EXAMPLES

Each costs a dime. pronoun] Each chocolate costs a dime, [adjective] |

He made

a

wish, [noun]

For what did he wish? [verb] Mr. 'Wliite

makes

his tliird wish, for

he

is

afraid of what

he may find behind the door, [conjunction] Mrs. Flowers had

made

the tea cookies for her.

[preposition]

The well has gone

dry.

[noun]

he seems to like Sandra, [interjection] He doesn't look well to me. [adjective]

"Well,

She writes well, [adverb]

\7\

QUICK CHECK 8

Identify the part of

EXAMPLE

1.

2. 3.

speech of the

italicized

I

.

Each beat of the heart

I

.

noun

word

filled

in

each sentence.

him with terror.

The heart beat on. That was the heart of the old man. Perhaps that terror was his own guilt.

4.

Even in

silence,

5.

The

man

old

he heard the sound.

did not suspect the narrator

ye?.

Language Handbook 747

2 Agreement NUMBER Number or

is

the form of a

word

that indicates

whether the word

is

singular

plural.

When a word refers to one person, place, thing, or idea, it is singular. When a word refers to more than one, it is plural. QZJ^ For more about forming

plurals,

814-815.

see pages

SINGULAR

URAL

book

The

following indefinite pronouns

singular or plural:

The number

of

all,

all,

either

any, most, none, some.

any, most, none,

or some

mined by the number of the object

in

is

often deter-

a prepositional

the subject refers to a

phrase following the subject.

If

singular object, the subject

singular

is

may be

If

Using indefinite pronouns cor-

the subject refers rectly can

to a plural object, the subject

EXAMPLES

is

plural.

lar

floor

pronoun guide.

nite

the singu-

formation

in

rules

To help

First,

summarize the

on the top

[All refers to

Create a "Help"

floor

the plural

file in

run into

illustrate

the rules.

which to store

information. Call up the

object events.]

in-

2d-2f and 2o-2r Then,

choose several examples to

|

All of the events occur

of a warehouse.

on the top

\All refers to

object act ion.

tricky.

yourself you may want to create an indefi-

All of the action occurs

of a warehouse.

be

file

this

whenever you

difficulty using indefinite

pronouns.

Subjects joined by and usually take a plural verb.

Sam and Bill kidnap Johnny.

EXAMPLE

A compound subject that names a single person or thing takes a singular verb. A compound noun used as a subject also takes a singular verb

in

most

cases.

EXAMPLES

The captain and quarterback of the team w^as Lyle. [One person, l.\ le. w as both the captain and the quarterback.)

Rock and roll

When v/ith

is

a

roll is

my favorite kind of music.

[Rock

and

cunipoiind noun naming one kind of music]

subjects are joined by or or nor, the verb agrees

the subject nearer the verb.

EXAMPLES

Neither the director nor the players

were on

time for

rehearsal.

Neither the players nor the director

was on

time for

rehearsal.

a

QUICK CHECK

I

For each of the following sentences, choose the correct form of the verb in

parentheses.

EXAMPLE

I

I

.

Both of the

.

love

1.

My favorite story ibas,

2.

Some

girls {love, loves)

running.

have) always been "Raymond's Run."

of the story {coticern. concerns) Squeaky

3. Neither 4.

Squeaky

5.

Insults

Gretchen nor Mary Louise s rival

and schoobiiate

and taunts directed

at

s rival.

really (smile, smiles^.

iircis,

iiere) (iretchen.

Raymond {anger,

angers') his sister

Language Handbook 749

Collective nouns (such as crowd, family, and team) either singular or plural.

A

noun takes

collective

as a unit.

A

members

the individual parts or

EXAMPLES

when

a singular verb

noun takes

collective

iiiti)

when

the noun refers to

of the group.

The Frank family goes goes

the noun refers to the group

verb

a plural

hiding.

into hiding. [The family as a unit

|

The Frank family pack their bags. [The members of the family pack bags]

When

NOTE lows the

all

or part of the verb,

word order

is

inverted.

find the subject of a

indi\ idiial

When the subject follovy^s all or part of the verb, find the make

subject and

of a sentence fol-

'<5.

To

the subject

may be

sure the verb agrees with

The

it.

sub-

ject usually follows the verb in sentences beginning with

here or there and in questions.

EXAMPLES

sentence with inverted

frog on that

There

is a

Have

an) other frogs

lily

pad.

jumped

on?

order, restate the sentence in

normal word order.

INVERTED

Did Robert

Frost write these

poems?

The contractions

here's, there's,

and where's contain the verb

is

and

should be used only with singular subjects.

NONSTANDARD STANDARD

There's the books.

There are the books.

NORMAL Robert Frost did write these poems.

INVERTED clearing

Imo the stepped a tiny

Use the contraction don't with plural subjects and with the pronouns / and you. Use the contraction doesn't with other singular subjects.

EXAMPLES

fawn.

The police officers don't hear the

NORMAL A tiny fawn stepped into the

I

noise.

like that song.

You don't

clear-

have enough

money to buy that.

The frog doesn't jump.

ing.

Words

81^

don't

For more about

A word

stating

amounts are

usually singular.

or phrase stating a weight, a measurement, or an amount of

contractions, see pages

money or time

808-809.

takes a singular verb.

EXAMPLE

is

usually considered

Twenty- five months

one

is

item. Such a

the

word or phrase

amount of time Anne kept

the diary.

The

title

of a creative

tion or country, even

work or the name of an organizawhen plural in form, usually takes a

singular verb.

EXAMPLE

"Flowers for Algernon" was

A few nouns, though

made into

750 Language Handbook

Mathematics

is

movie.

plural in form, are singular

singular verbs.

EXAMPLE

a

my best subject.

and take

QUICK CHECK 2

\7\ In

the following sentences, choose the form of the verb

in

parentheses

that agrees with the subject.

EXAMPLE

I.

The people

I.

work

in

her family {work, works) hard.

3.

Hansel and Crete/ {was, were) the pageant that Squeak)' was Athletics 0as, have) always interested Squeaky. iDon't, Doesn't) she run welU

4.

Fift)'

5.

{There s, There are) not

1.

2.

in.

yards (was, were) the length of the run.

Agreement

of

much

dialogue in the story.

Pronoun and Antecedent (C_f~^

A

pronoun

noun or another pronoun,

usually refers to a

called

For more about

antecedents, see page 738.

its

antecedent.

A pronoun

agrees with

its

antecedent

in

number and

gender.

Some line

The antecedent

singular personal

pronouns

(he, him, his) refer

to males. Feminine pronouns (she,

Neuter pronouns

hers) refer to females.

^NOTE

pronouns have forms that indicate gender. Mascu-

{it,

its)

Ernie

of pronoun, such as one.

into the

in

No one on the

either masculine or feminine.

phrase that follows the

EX AM PLE

When

refer-

girls took

both the masculine and the feminine forms.

Each

of the

her place

the starting

at

line.

committee gave his or her approval.

Awkward Pronoun Agreement

Try

Sometimes, using both the masculine

the

Revising

and the feminine forms to refer to an indefinite pronoun

To avoid such

Out

It

Revise the following sentences to eliminate

awkward use

of

his

or her

is 1

confusing.

such cases, look at the

fire.

ring to such antecedents, use

awkward or

or

antecedent.

Some antecedents may be

EXAMPLE

all

To determine the gen-

der of a personal pronoun

lent his bike to Alfonso.

Squeaky protects her brother The sergeant major took the monkey's paw and threw it

of

personal pro-

noun can be another kind

her,

refer to things (neither

male nor female) and sometimes to animals.

EXAMPLES

a

Each of the characters had

his

or her

own

use, rephrase the

motives.

sentence by using both a plural pronoun and a plural 2.

One

of the stagehands had forgotten his

antecedent.

or her tools.

AWKWARD

Everyone except Fanny signed the petition because he or she did not lilce working with the "new" Charlie.

CLEAR

3.

4.

All of the workers except Fanny signed

the petition because they did not like

working with the "new"

Everyone

in

the play

knew

his

or her

lines.

Either

Anna or Fred

will drive his

or her

van. 5.

Nobody

forgot

his

or her costume.

Charlie.

Language Handbook 75

I

Problems

5

in

Agreement

A singular pronoun

is

used to refer to anybody, anyone,

each, either, everybody, everyone, neither, nobody, no one,

one, someone, or somebody.

EXAMPLE

B

Everybody will have an opportunin her opinion.

A plural

pronoun

is

to express his

or

used to refer to both, few, many, or

several.

EXAMPLE

Both of the novels by Mark Twain were on their

shelf

in the library.

Either a singular or a plural pronoun to

all,

any, most, none,

may be used

to refer

or some.

The number of the pronoun all. any, most, none, or some is determined by the number of the object of the preposition in the prepositional phrase following the pronoun.

EXAMPLES

Only

some of the paint

[Some

spilled,

but

it

made

a big mess.

refers to paint.]

Some of the children are refers to children.

ready for their naps. [Some

|

A plural

pronoun is used to refer to two or more antecedents joined by and.

EXAMPLE

VC

hen

Bill

for fifteen

and Sam wrote hundred

A singular pronoun

is

the ransom note, they asked

dollars.

used to refer to two or

more

singular antecedents joined by or or nor.

EXAMPLE

A

Julio or

Van will

bring his football.

singular and a plural antecedent joined by or or nor can create an

awkward sentence. Revise such

AWKWARD

Either

Mr

a

sentence to avoid the problem.

Reyes or the Wilsons will be bringing their

volleyball net.

REVISED

Reyes will be bringing his the Wilsons will be bringing theirs. Either Mr.

volleyball net, or

Sentences with singular antecedents joined by or or nor also can sound

awkward

if

the antecedents are of different genders.

sounds awkward, revise

AWKWARD

it

If

the sentence

to avoid the problem.

Either Lori or Tom' will read her or his

poem

about the

Holocaust.

REVISED

Either Lori will read

or

752 Language Handbook

Tony will

her poem about

read his.

the Holocaust,

QUICK CHECK 3 For each blank

the following sentences, give a pronoun that

in

will

complete the meaning of the sentence.

EXAMPLE

1.

2. 3.

I .

Both Alfonso and Ernie

I.

their

Alfonso took good care of

bikes.

liked riding

bike.

own problems. Each of the boys had Neither of the girls from the Halloween party had kept promise to Ernie.

4.

reasons for not meeting Ernie and

Perhaps both of them had Frostie at the corner.

5.

word?

Did Ernie or Frostie keep

Either a singular or a plural pronoun collective

EXAMPLES

noun (such as committee,

The committee has prepared [The committee as

a tinit

may be used

flock,

its

with a

and jury).

recommendation.

has prepared the recom-

mendation.)

The committee

are sharing their ideas for the

recycling campaign. [The separate

committee have various

members

new of the

ideas.]

^NOTE name

The ative

title

of a cre-

work or

the

of an organization or

A few nouns, though plural in form, are singular and take

a country, even

singular pronouns.

plural in form, usually takes

EXAMPLE

of

All

them had expected the news

to

be bad, but

a singular

EXAMPLE reading

EXAMPLE

stating

pronoun.

it

wasn't.

Words

amounts

usually take singular pronouns.

Although the landlady charged five and sixpence a night for a room,

it

was much

less

when

because

1

enjo>ed

The Outsiders it

had mterest-

ing characters.

than he had expected

to pay.

Bf QUICK CHECK 4 For each blank

in

the following sentences, give a pronoun that wil

complete the meaning of the sentence.

EXAMPLE

1.

The

2.

"Oranges'

I.

Father's

I.

it

family

team was

were doing also by Gary

is

playing, but

lost.

chores. Soto,

and _

is

the next selection in

the book. 3.

4. 5.

was enough for the candy. He had onh five cents, but up. Your checkers are all over the floor; please clean often. Checkers may be a good game, but I don't play

Language Handbook 753

3 Using Verbs THE PRINCIPAL PARTS OF A VERB The four

basic

The

forms of

BASE FORM

information participles are

used as modifiers, see page 771.

verb are called the principal parts of a verb.

principal parts of a verb are the base form, the present

participle,

(C^^ For about how

a

the past, and the past participle.

A

1.

relative of theirs living in the

United States {record)

a

message

to them.

They had

2.

ilive) close to a river.

3.

Xiaojun has (carry) water

4.

The

in

families {cook) with the

5- The)'

have {use) wheat

buckets.

water

stalks instead of

wood

for a fire.

Irregular Verbs irregular verb forms its past and past participle in some other way than by adding -d or -ed to the base form.

An

An •

irregular verb

forms

its

past and past participle

by changing vowels or consonants 1

i

^

EI QUICK CHECK 3 For each of the following sentences, give the correct past or past participle

form of the verb

EXAMPLE

in

parentheses.

I

.

Xiaojun and her family

I

.

went

and

(go)

to the United States.

1.

They

2.

On the trip,

3.

They

4.

Their adventure had (begin).

5.

She had not (know) about crayons and many other things.

(.take) boats, buses,

a train.

she {drink) a soybean beverage.

(.fly) in

an airplane from Hong Kong.

*^

In

the future tense

and

the future

in

perfect tense, the helping

verb

shall

used

in

is

sometimes

place of

will.

The present tense NOTE is

used to express

an action or a state of being occurring

now

present time.

can also be

It

at the

used to express •

a

customary action

•

a general truth

•

future time

EXAMPLES On Fridays, we play basketball. |cu,stom;n y action]

Jupiter rotates faster

than Venus, [general truth]

The new theater opens two weeks from today. [future time]

Consistency of Tense Do When

not change needlessly from one tense to another.

writing about events that take place

present tense.

Similarly,

when

in

the present, use verbs

writing about events that occurred

in

in

the

the

past, use verbs in the past tense.

INCONSISTENT

Billy

pressed the doorbell, and immediately a

woman opens the door. opens

CONSISTENT

Billy

is

pressed the

CONSISTENT

past tense, and

is

doorbell, and immediately a

woman opened the opened

[Pressed

present tense]

door. \Both pressed

are past tense,

and

j

presses the doorbell, and immediately a woman opens the door. [Bothy^ye.s-sei' and opens Billy

are present tense.]

Sometimes, changing verb tenses

is

necessary to show the order of

events that occur at different times.

EXAMPLES

Tomorrow

I

will read aloud the story

I

^vrote

last

week. [The action of reading will take place in the ftiture;

the action of writing took place in the past.]

She guessed that he action of winning

had won

the spelling bee. [The

was completed

betiire the action of

guessing.]

By the time he returns, they will have finished all their chores. I'he action of finishing will be com|

pleted before the action of returning.]

a

QUICK CHECK 5

Read the following paragraph, and decide whether in

it

should be rewritten

the present or past tense. Then, change the verb forms to

make the

verb tense consistent.

EXAMPLE

[I]

Many Japanese

families

went to Camp Harmony and

staying there for the duration of the war. I

.

Many Japanese

families

went

there for the duration of the

I .

[1]

Many Japanese

families

for the duration

of the war

go to

Monica Sone's mother sees the best

dandelions.

[2]

to

Camp Harmony and stayed

war

Camp Harmony and

in things

and admired the

She planned for a garden of them and

any type of beauty.

[3]

She

is

stay there

is

grateful for

even happy about the nearness of the

though the others were not so thrilled. [4] Like her mother, Sone's fatlicr has been grateful for good things, however small. [5] He finds a pile of lumber and loose nails and envisioned these scraps as latrine,

the family's furniture.

Language Handbook 759

I

^

Voice Voice

is

the form a verb takes to indicate whether the

subject of the verb performs or receives the action.

When

the subject performs the action, the verb

has an object.

When

is in

the octiVe voice and

the subject receives the action, the verb

is in

the

passive voice and does not have an object.

ACTIVE

Saki tlie

PASSIVE

Try

It

Open Window" was written by Saki.

"The

Revise each of the following sentences by in

the passive voice to active

V ^^£2^

1

2.

The Gettysburg Address was Abraham Lincoln. It

delivered by

more

AWKWARD

Those who died

4.

The

honored by living

cases,

the Civil

IMPROVED

than one

this short,

War

possible, avoid using the pas-

because

in fact,

The reason

it is

less direct

a passive voice

for the

and

less

construction

open window was

ex-

Vera explained to Framton the reason for the

in

[no object]

plained to Framton by Vera, [passive voice]

hundred years. 3.

sjve voice,

some sounds awkward

has been admired by writers and

imitated by speakers for

Whenever

'

-.,S7TE».^

forceful. In

voice.

is

Avoiding Passive Voice

/<{^^^^\

Out

changing verbs

wrote The Open Window." ["The Open Window"

direct object.]

open window.

[acti\ e

\

oice]

are

eloquent speech.

SPECIAL PROBLEMS WITH VERBS

are reminded of their "great

task" by the address. 5.

Freedom must be embraced and guarded

Sit

and Set

by people. (

I

)

The verb

sit

means

position." Sit (2)

The verb

set

means "put (something)

takes an object.

BASE

FOrV

"rest in an upright, seated

seldom takes an object. in

a place." Set usually

BASE FORM

4 Using Pronouns CASE Case

is

the form that a noun or a pronoun takes to

show

its

use

in

a

sentence. There are three cases: nominative, objeaive, and possessive. Unlike nouns, most personal pronouns have different forms for cases.

Many possessive NOTE

pronouns (such

my, your,

and

as

his, her, its, our,

their)

are also called

adjectives. Follow

your

teacher's directions

in

labeling these possessive

forms.

To choose the correct

noun used

form of a pro-

as a predicate

nominative,

remember

that

the pronoun could be used as the subject.

EXAMPLE

The

fastest

runners are she and I

prcclic;ite

She and

I

I.

nominatives]

are the fastest

runners, (subjects]

(C^/^

For more about

predicate nominatives, see

page 785.

PERSQ^IAI, PR9!JiPUNS

^

all

three

.iiii

The Objective Case A direct object is in the objective case. EXAMPLES

Ernie surprised

him.

(////;/ tells

irhom Ernie

surprised.)

She read some Norse m)ths and enjoyed them. [Theiu tells

what she

enjoyed.)

To choose the correct pronoun

compound

a

in

direct object, try each

form of the pronoun separately.

met Joe and {he, bini) at the factory. met be at the factor)'. Charlie met hiiii at the factory. Charlie met Joe and him at the factory.

EXAMPLE:

ANSWER;

An

f^^_f~'

Charlie

direct objects, see pages

indirect object

EXAMPLES

is in

783-784.

the objective case.

Mrs. Flowers lent

her

a

book of poems. [Her tells

to

Lana takes good care of her cockatiel and often feeds it fresh spinach. [It tells to what Lana feeds spinach.)

To choose the correct pronoun in each form of the pronoun separately.

Ebenezer Dorset sent

compound

a

Bill

Ebenezer Dorset sent he

and

(he,

An

object of a preposition

EXAMPLES

Johnny wanted

is

784.

indirect object, try

him)

a note.

a note.

Ebenezer Dorset sent him a note. Ebenezer Dorset sent Bill and him

ANSWER;

(C5^ For more about indirect objects, see page

iihdiii Nh"s. I'iowcr.s lent a liook.]

EXAMPLE:

For more about

Charlie

in

a note.

the objective case.

to stay with

them.

)object of the prepo-

of prepo-

(Jl/^

For a

sitions,

see page 745. For

more about

list

prepositional

phrases, see pages 768 and

sition ifilh\

Laurie talked about

him almost

every day. [object of the

769-770.

preposition about]

To choose the correct pronoun when the object of a preposition is compound, try each form of the pronoun separately in the sentence.

EXAMPLE;

ANSWER;

Anne Anne Anne Anne Anne Anne

stood behind (be. him) and Csbe, her). stood behind he.

stood behind

l.iim.

stood behind

sije.

stood behind

her.

stood behind

him and

EI QUICK CHECK

her.

I

For each of the sentences on the following page, choose the correct

pronoun

in

parentheses.

Language Handbook 763

EXAMPLE

I

.

I .

Mrs. Sappleton's niece would entertain (he, him).

him

Her) told

he) a stor) about a

1.

{She,

2.

A very nervous gentleman was

3.

The

(/;//«,

story about {they, them) upset Mr. Nuttel.

we) and amused

4. Saki's story surprised (us, 5.

The

tragtcl)'.

hhn).

ihe,

story

was an

inspiration to (them, they)

SPECIAL

Die).

(/,

and

(her, she).

PRONOUN PROBLEMS

Who and Whom The pronoun who has cases.

Who

is

forms

different

the nominative and objective

in

whom is the objective form. When who or whom in a question, follow these steps:

the nominative form;

deciding whether to use

STEP

/;

Rephrase the question as

STEP

2:

Decide

how

statement.

a

the pronoun

is

used

in

the statement

subject, predicate nominative, object of the verb,

—

as

or object

of a preposition.

STEP

3:

Determine the case of the pronoun.

STEP

4:

Select the correct

form of the pronoun.

EXAMPLE:

(Who, WJjom)

is

that girl

STEP

/:

The statement

is

That girl with Alfonso

STEP

2:

The subject

is girl,

with Alfonso?

the verb

is is.

is

(u'ho,

whom).

and the pronoun

is

a

predicate nominative.

STEP

3:

A pronoun used as a predicate nominative

should be in

the nominative case.

STEP 4: (Tlf^

For

more about

ANSWER:

The nominative form

Who

is

who.

is

that girl with Alfonso?

subordinate clauses, see pages 775-778.

When

you are choosing between who or whom

in a

subordinate clause,

follow these steps:

STEP

I:

STEP

2.

Find the subordinate clause.

Decide

how

the pronoun

is

used

in

the clause

—

as subject,

predicate nominative, object of the verb, or object of a preposition.

STEP

3.

Determine the case of the pronoun.

STEP

4.

Select the correct

EXAMPLE STEP

/

STEP

2

Mark Twain, (who. whom) admire, wrote funny I

The subordinate clause

is

In this clause, the subject

pronoun

764 Language Handbook

form of the pronoun.

is

(who, is /,

whom)

I

admire.

and the verb

the direct object of the verb.

stories.

is

admire. The

\Be^-;'»i'

STEP

A pronoun

3:

used

as a direct object

should be

in the

objective case.

STEP

The

4:

ANSWER:

objective form

Mark Twain,

whom.

is

whom

admire, wrote interesting books.

I

Pronouns with Appositives To help you choose which pronoun to use before an appositive, omit the

pronoun

appositive and try each form of the

EXAMPLE:

(,We,

Us) Students have memorized the Gettysburg

Address. [Students IVe

separately.

is

the appositive.]

have memorized the Gettysburg Address.

Gl^^ For more about

Us have memorized the Gettysburg Address. We students have memorized the Gettysburg Address.

ANSWER:

appositives, see page 773.

Reflexive Pronouns Reflexive pronouns (such as myself, himself, and /ourselves) can be used as objects.

EXAMPLE

Brer Possum found himself in a ihc direct object and

tells

dUemma.

[Hfinse/f is

uhoni Brer I\)ssum found

in a

dilemma]

Do

not use the nonstandard forms /iisse/fand

theirself or thetrselves in

place of himse/f and themselves.

EXAMPLE

Zenta figured out

all

by himself

\>iot hisself

]

what was

going on.

Do

not use a reflexive pronoun where a personal pronoun

more about

For

(Jl5'~^

reflexive pronouns, see is

needed. page 739.

EXAMPLE

\7\

Leon and

I [)iot

myscli] prefer hiking to rock climbing.

:

QUICK CHECK 2

For each of the following sentences, choose the correct

pronoun

in

parentheses.

EXAMPLE

I

I

1.

2.

.

.

Mr

^^NOTE^r

Nuttel need not wait by {himself,

Whom) were they waiting for? Mrs. Sappleton. (who, whom) was busy, would be down shortly. wondered about the meanings of the

characters' names.

can help you

pronoun problems spelling

in

checker

will

catch nonstandard forms such as hisself

and

theirself.

To

find

use the "Search"

other problems, you can

command.

use reflexive pronouns

in

If

you sometimes

place of personal

pronouns, use the "Search"

command

to find

each reflexive pronoun. Then, examine each

seemed meaningful

and OnyselJ, I) names.

5. Trish

A computer find

your writing. For example, a

(Who,

4. Yes, the)

^^^

hisself).

himself

3. (We, f/5) girls

^OMPUTE^

to (we,

will ask Ms.

lis)

boys. too.

Reynolds about the

pronoun to make certain that

it is

used

correctly.

Language Handbook 765

w^^

5 Using Modifiers COMPARISON OF MODIFIERS A modifier

Is

a

word,

or a clause that describes or

a phrase,

meaning of another word. Two kinds of modifiers adverbs-

adjectives

limits

the

and

—take different forms when they are used to compare things.

The three degrees

of comparison of modifiers are positive,

comparative, and superlative.

POSITIVE

COMPARATIVE SUPERLATIVE

weak

proudly

likely

weaker

more proudly

more

likely

weakest

most proudly

most

likely

Regular Comparison (I)

Most one-syllable modifiers form

their comparative and

superlative degrees by adding -er and -est.

—^—

I

i

NOTE *< ?.

all

I

POSITIVE

To show decreasing

comparisons,

modifiers form their

COMPARATIVE SUPERLATIVE

near

bright

brave

nearer

brighter

braver

nearest

brightest

bravest

comparative and superlative

degrees with

least.

POSITIVE

less

and

(2)

Some two-syllable

COMPARATIVE less clear less neatly

SUPERLATIVE least clear least neatly

Other

tv/o-syllable

modifiers form their comparative and superlative degrees

by using more and most.

clear

neatly

modifiers form their comparative and su-

perlative degrees by adding -er and -est.

POSITIVE

QUICK CHECK

I

Give the comparative and superlative forms for each of the following modifiers.

EXAMPLE

happy

I.

happier, happiest

.

I

7. easy

4. silently

1. lightly

mam

2.

luxurious

5-

3.

well

6. tall

8.

9- furiously

bad

10. safe

Uses of Comparative and Superlative Forms Use the comparative degree when comparing two things. Use the superlative degree when comparing more than two things.

COMPARATIVE

Squeak}

is

faster than Gretchen.

Luisa can perform the gymnastic routine

gracefully than

SUPERLATIVE

two

Mount Everest is the world's highest mountain. Of all the children in the class, Charles behaves the most aggressively.

common

Avoid the

more

I.

mistake of using the superlative degree to compare

things.

EXAMPLE

After reading both stories,

more Include the

I

think "The Landlady

|//(>/^most] interesting

"

is

the

one.

word other or else when comparing a member

of a group with the rest of the group.

NONSTANDARD

Smiley

s

frog can

jump

farther than any frog in

Calaveras County. [Smile> in

s

frog

is

one of the

frogs

Calaxeras Count)' and cannot jtmip farther than

itself.]

STANDARD

Smiley in

RM A

frog can

jump

farther than an)'

other frog

Avoid using double comparisons and double negatives.

double comparison

and most

{least)

EXAMPLE

the use of both -er and more

is

to form a comparison.

only one of these

A

s

Calaveras County.

two ways, not

A

(less)

or both -est

comparison should be formed

in

both.

Matsuzo

is

younger not more younger] than

double negative

is

the use of two negative words to express one

|

Zenta.

negative idea.

EXAMPLE

1

can't ever

character's

\iiol can't

never|

remember what

the main

name is. Language Handbook 767

Common barely

d^i)^

For more about

prepositions and prepositional phrases, see pages

745 and 769-77

(^if^

1

For more about

participial phrases,

page 77

1

see

Negative Words

A

phrase that does not modify any word

participial

sentence

is

a

dangling phrase, supply a

word

the

in

dangling participial phrase. To correct

a

that the phrase can ȣ01\/IPUTEP_

modify, or add a subject and verb to the phrase.

A

DANGLING

find

\\

i^hing tor the inonc), the

p;n\

CLEAR

t\\

nionke)

with modifiers.

isted in his hands.

Wishing

CLEAR

monkey's

for the 's

paw

money, he

felt

computer can help you

A

and correct problems

spelling

checker can

the

fuller.

twist in his hands.

However, you

will

phrase and clause modifiers yourself.

monkey's paw twisted

phrase or

hands.

select

it

a clause

is

If

a

misplaced, you can

and move the whole phrase or

clause closer to the

Clauses

care-

need to examine

When he wished tor the money, the in his

find

nonstandard forms such as baddest and

word

it

modifies.

My brother saw a hawk circling as he

MISPLACED

looked up.

CLEAR

As

(Cj^ For more about

my brother looked up,

he saw

a

hawk

circling.

clauses, see Part 7: Clauses.

QUICK CHECK 3 Some

of the following sentences contain a misplaced modifier or a dangling

participial phrase.

EXAMPLE

1. 2.

3.

4. 5.

Correct each error

If

a

sentence

is

correct, write C.

I

.

Brer Possum always helped others with kindness.

I

.

With kindness, Brer Possum always helped others.

The possum saw a snake walking in the woods. The snake was lying at the bottom of a hole which was trapped. Calling for help, Brer Possum went to rescue the snake. Brer Possum was bitten by the snake when he tried to help. Reading the folk tale, the possum learns a lesson.

6 Phrases A phrase

is

a group of related words that

is

used as a single

part of speech and does not contain a verb and

VERB PHRASE PREPOSITIONAL PHRASE

its

subject.

should have been told [no subject] for

my

sister

and

me

jno subject or verb]

THE PREPOSITIONAL PHRASE A prepositional phrase includes a preposition, a noun pronoun fiers of

EXAMPLES

called the object of the preposition,

or a

and any modi-

that object.

a

list

of

com-

monly used prepositions,

Robert Frost was born in San Francisco.

The note from Johnny's father surprised Sam and

(C^^ For

see page 745. Bill.

Language Handbook 769

The Adjective Phrase ^^m An adjective phrase a prepositional phrase that modifies is

a noun or a pronoun.

An More

^NOTE

than one ad-

jective phrase

adjective phrase tells what kind or which one.

EXAMPLES

Wang Wei was

may

modify the same word.

EXAMPLE

is full.

I

riic

phrases of old maga-

zines and

of landscapes. [What

Mike

is

with the moustache. [Wliich one?]

the one

The box of

old magazines in the closet

a talented painter

kind of painter?]

i)i

EXAMPLE

It is

the closet

noun

modifS' the

An adjective phrase always follows the word it modifies. That word may be the object of another prepositional phrase. a

poem about a boy and a girl on their first date. about ei hoy and a girl modifies the noun

[Tlie plirase

box.]

poem. The phrase on boy and girl.]

their first date modifies the objects

The Adverb Phrase An

adverb phrase

is

a prepositional phrase that modifies a

verb, an adjective, or an adverb.

An adverb flow long,

phrase

tells

how, when, where, why, or to what extent (that

how many, or how

EXAMPLES

is,

far).

She treated him with respect. [How?]

The painting hangs over the fireplace. [Where?] They arrived early in the morning. [Wlien?] He had been a samurai for a long time. [How long?] More

^NOTE

than one

An adverb

adverb phrase may

modify the same word or

phrase may

before or after the

word

it

modifies.

The Sneve family lived in Iowa for many years. For many years the Sneve family lived in Iowa.

EXAMPLES

words.

EXAMPLE

come

Yoshiko

Uchida was born in

Alameda, California, in 1921. |Both/»

Alameda, California, and ill 1921 modif\' the verb phrase was horn]

An adverb the object

in

EXAMPLE

phrase may be followed by an adjective phrase that modifies the adverb phrase.

In her

poems about the Southwest,

Silko uses

images that appeal to the senses.

poems modifies modifies the

\7\

Leslie

QUICK CHECK

the verb uses.

Marmon

[///

her

About the Southwest

noun poems.] I

Identify the prepositional phrase

or phrases

in

each sentence

in

the

fol-

lowing paragraph. Then, label each phrase as either an adjective phrase or an adverb phrase. Give the

EXAMPLE

[

I

I .

[1]

by

770 Language Handbook

One

]

Who

is

word

(or words) the phrase modifies.

the author of "Paul Revere 's Ride"?

of "Paul Reveres Ride"

adjective phrase

—author

of the most famous American historical events

Paul Revere through Middlesex.

[2]

In his

is

the ride

poem, Henry Wadsworth

Longfellow immortalizes

this heroic ride. [3]

had waited

about the

for the signal

Across the

British. [4]

Wlien

it

river,

Revere

came, he rode

people to warn them. [5] With his vivid description of sights and sounds, Longfellow almost brings into the night

Revere

s ride

and called

to the

ti) life.

VERBALS AND VERBAL PHRASES A

verbal

is

a

form of a verb used

There are three kinds of

The

as a noun, an adjective,

verbals: the paniciple. the gerund,

1

)

Present participles end

EXAMPLES

(2)

and the

infinitive.

Participle

A participle is a verb form that can (

or an adverb.

be used as an adjective.

in -ing.

The creaking floorboard bothered Amie. Miep's news was encouraging.

Most past

participles

end

in

-d or -ed. Others are irregularly

(Jl^ For

formed.

lists

of irregular

past participles, see pages

EXAMPLES

The

The oUed hinge works smoothly. Charlie Parker kncwn as Bird, was

Participial

755-757. a talented musician.

Phrase

A participial phrase consists of a participle and all of the words related to the

participle.

The

entire phrase

is

used

as an adjective.

A

participle

EXAMPLES

may be modified by

an adverb and

may

also have a

complement.

Defending Jabez Stone, Daniel Webster proved again that he was a persuasive speaker. [The panicipial phrase nn)difies Daniel Webster. The noun Jabez Stone

is

the direct object of the participle defendin^i.

|

Squeaky noticed him running swiftly alongside the

(C^^ For more about placement of

participial

fence. [The participial phr.isc modifies him. The

phrases, see pages

adverb swiftly and the adverb phrase alongside the

768-769.

fence modify the participle running.]

The Gerund A gerund is a verb form ending in -ing that is used as a noun. SUBJECT

Skating can be good exercise.

PREDICATE NOMINATIVE

My hobb\

OBJECT OF PREPOSITION

Lock the door before leaving.

DIRECT OBJECT

is

collecting baseball cards.

Did they enjoy singing?

Language Handbook 771

The Gerund Phrase A gerund phrase consists of a gerund and all the words related to the gerund.

A gerund may

be modified by an adverb and may have

Because a gerund functions as a noun,

it

may

a

complement.

also be modified by an

adjective.

Minding Raymond is Squeak) 's only responsibility. [Tlie gerund phrase is the subject of the verb is. The noun

EXAMPLES

Raynioncl

the direct object of the gerund

is

iiiiiu/iii(i.]

The murderer heard the beating of the old man's heart. [The gerund plirase

is

the direct object of the

verb beard. The adjective the and the adjective

phrase of the old man's heart modif>- the gerund beating.\

The

Infinitive

An

a verb form that can be used as a noun, an adjective, or an adverb. An infinitive usually begins with to. infinitive is

NOUNS To learn is to grow. The word lowed by or a pronoun

to fol-

a

noun

is

infinitive.

Squeaky

a

prepositional phrase, not

the

ADJECTIVES

Be careful not

to

is

the subject of

is;

]

likes.

run. [To run

is

the direct object of

|

He always has time

is

to.

ADVERBS

Matthew

wants to talk

erb

[To leant

the predicate nominative referring to

likes to

If you like

prepositional phrases

EXAMPLE

\

is

to talk. [To talk modifies the

noun

tii)ie.\

to confuse infinitives with

beginning with

grow

to learn.

[to class, to

them, to the dance)

an

to

stories, "The Inn of Lost Time" one to read. To read modifies the

mystery

a terrific

[

pronoun o;/f.l The landlady was eager to please. To please modifies |

the adjecti\e eager.]

[infinitive]

Tokubei and Zenta stopped

Kim [prepositional

at

the inn to rest. [To rest

modifies the verb stopped.]

phrase]

The

Infinitive

Phrase

An

phrase consists of an infinitive and

infinitive

fiers

An

its

modi-

and complements.

may be modified by an adjective or an adverb and may also complement. The entire infinitive phrase may act as a noun, an

infinitive

have a

adjective, or an adverb.

EXAMPLES

To escape without a trace was infiniti\e

phrase

is

a

impossible. [The

noun used

as the subject of the

verb ifas. The prepositional phrase without a trace modifies the

772 Language Handbook

infinitive.]

i— Singing to

them was one way to boost their spirits.

[The inhniti\ e phrase

The noun phrase

is

the infinitive to boost.

The crowd grew [The

infiniti\'e

phrase

is

the direct object of

\

hear President Lincohi.

quiet to

adjective quiet.

an acljecti\e modiiS ing way.

their spirits

is

an adverb modif\ ing the

The noun President Lincoln

is

the

dl^

For more on com-

plements, see Part

9;

Complements.

direct object of the infinitive to bear]

QUICK CHECK 2 Each of the following sentences contains at least one verbal phrase. each verbal phrase as

Identify

EXAMPLE

1.

2.

3. 4. 5.

I.

Do

I .

fleeing Egypt

participial,

gerund, or

you know the story of the

—

participial

infinitive.

Israelites fleeing Egypt?

phrase

Wlio found baby Moses floating in the river? Saved by the Pharaohs daughter, Moses was taken to live at court. Later, Moses went to the Pharaoh, warning him of the Lord's anger. For decades, toiling for the Pharaoh had been the Lsraelites' fate. To hear the song 'Go Down, Moses is to feel their sorrow. '

APPOSITIVES AND APPOSITIVE PHRASES An

appositive is a noun or a pronoun placed beside another noun or pronoun to identify or explain it.

EXAMPLES

The poet Langston Hughes wrote 'Refugee in America." [The noun Langston Hughes identifies the noun poet.] The explorers saw a strange animal, something with fur and a bill like a duck's. [1 he pronoun something refers to the noun aninial]

Two or more nouns or pronouns may be used

EXAMPLE John James Audubon,

as a

naturalist explain the

Ihc nouns artist and

|

nounjohn James Audubon.]

consists of an appositive

modifiers.

EXAMPLES

appositive.

an artist and a naturaUst, painted

pictures of birds in their habitats.

An appositive phrase

compound

and

its

»

talking about Charles, one of her classmates. [The adjective phrase of her classmates

Dana was always

modifies the ajipositivc one]

famous chief of the Sauk, fought hard freedom of his people. The article a, the ad)ccti\e famous, and the adjective phrase of the Sauk

Black Hawk, a for the

|

modif)' the appositive chief]

Language Handbook 773

QUICK CHECK 3 Identify the appositive phrase

sentences. Give the

in

each of the following

word or words each

appositive phrase

identifies.

EXAMPLE

Read "Go Down, Moses,"

I.

a favorite spiritual

.

I

1.

Moses, Charlton Heston

2.

He

3.

Moses

is

really

a favorite spiritual.

— "Go Down, Moses"

one of the

decides to live

in the film, discovers his true identity^.

Israelites, slaves to

with his true

family,

the Pharaoh's whims.

members of one

tribe of

the Israelites. 4.

The Pharaoh,

5.

Moses'

and

name

scrolls

a father figure for Moses, rejects him. is

removed from public record

—

all

the

monuments

— in Egypt. Revising

Choppy Sentences

Knowing how to use the

different kinds of phrases can

help you avoid writing short, choppy sentences. Simply

turn at least one sentence into a phrase, and insert the

Try The

phrase into another sentence.

Out

It

C H O P PY

following pairs of sentences are choppy.

Revise each pair by turning one sentence

PREPOSITIONAL PHRASE

Into a phrase and inserting the phrase into

the other sentence. 1

Casey was not

known

to

all

at bat that day.

Casey was

CHOPPY

as an exceptionally strong

player 2.

first.

Blake

was not

a

He

hit

from 4.

the

ball

hard.

He

roared.

in

1916.

Samuel Clemens wrote Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Samuel

Casey behaved arrogantly. He good balls go by.

better

known

as

Mark

PHRASE

Mark Twain, wrote Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.

the

CHOPPY let

is

Samuel Clemens, better kntow^n as

bleachers. 5.

.

PARTICIPIAL ripped the hide

The crowd was

9 1 6 His

Twain.

it.

The crowd

1

was Wales.

Roald Dahl was born in Wales in

Clemens

Jimmy Blake was up strong hitter

3.

Roald Dahl was born in birthplace

two

APPOSITIVE

PHRASE

Mrs. Sappleton

Vera

is

tells

Mr. Nuttel a story.

Vera,

s

niece. She

Mrs. Sappleton's niece,

tells

Mr. Nuttel a story.

7 Clauses A clause is a group of words that contains a verb and its subject and

The two clause.

774 Language Handbook

is

used as a part of a sentence.

kinds of clauses are the independent clause and the subordinate

Sfiffi^

THE INDEPENDENT CLAUSE An

independent (or main) clause expresses a complete thought and can stand by itself as a sentence. S

EXAMPLES Amy

Ling

V moved V

S

This

to the United States.

poem is about

her giandmotiier.

THE SUBORDINATE CLAUSE A subordinate (or dependent) clause does not express a complete thought and cannot stand alone as a sentence.

V

S

EXAMPLES

when

she was six years old

V

S

whom The meaning is

Ling visited in Taiwan

of a subordinate clause

is

complete only when the clause

attached to an independent clause.

EXAMPLE

Amy Ling moved to the

United States

when she was

six years old.

Bl QUICK CHECK Identify

I

each of the following groups of words as an independent clause or

a subordinate clause.

EXAMPLE

I

.

I .

1.

if

you have read

Amy

Ling's

poem "Grandma

Ling"

subordinate clause

answer these questions soon as she met her grandmother before she traveled to Taiwan because Ling could not speak her grandmother's language her footsteps were soft

2. as

3.

4. 5.

The Adjective Clause An

adjective clause

is

a subordinate clause that modifies a

noun or a pronoun. ADJECTIVE

an intelligent

ADJECTIVE PHRASE

a

ADJECTIVE CLAUSE

a

man

man of intelligence man who is intelligent Language Handbook 775

An

adjective clause usually follows the

one or what

word

modifies and

it

tells

which

kind.

EXAMPLES

showed them the moccasins that her grandhad made. [Which moccasins?] Helen Keller was a remarkable woman w^ho could neither see nor hear. |\\ hat kind of woman?]

Ciheryl

father

Jl^

For a

of relative

list

pronouns, see page 739.

An

For information on when to set off adjective clauses

with commas, see page

word

adjective clause

usually introduced by a relative

is

that relates an adjective clause to the

EXAMPLES

The

799.

Tell-Tale Heart,"

derer's guilt,

The

^NOTE

is

word

which

pronoun,

a

the clause modifies.

tells

the story of a mur-

great to read aloud. [The relative pro-

noun which begins the adjective clause and relates it to the compound noun "The Tell-Tale Heart."] Everything that could be done was done. [That relates the adjective clause to the pronoun everything. One author whose stories I enjoy is Amy Ling. [Wjose relates the adjective clause to the noun author.]

relative pro-

nouns who and

]

whom

are used to refer to

people

The

only.

pronoun

that

is

relative

used to

refer both to people and

to things.

The

noun which

is

relative pro-

used to refer

In

addition to relating a subordinate clause to the rest of the sentence,

a relative

pronoun

EXAMPLES

Is

to things only.

also has a function

he the one

the subordinate clause.

in

who wrote "The Moustache"?

[Vfljo

fimctions as subject of the verb wrote.]

She

is

a friend

on whom you can always depend.

[WIhjdi functions as object of the preposition on.]

NOTE

An

adjective clause

may be introduced

by a relative adverb such as

Identify the adjective clause in

when or where.

EXAMPLES

El QUICK CHECK 2 each of the following sentences. Underline

the relative pronoun, and give the

He

word or words the

adjective clause

finally

refers to.

returned to the cabin

where he had left Mary in charge of his

EXAMPLE

I

.

Davy Crockett, who

I

.

who

is

a legend,

is

— Davy

a legend

was born

in

Tennessee.

book,

is

a

Crockett

children.

The time period ^vhen dinosaurs ruled lasted millions of \ ears.

1.

Irwin Shapiro's "Dav)

2.

Isn't

it

the story that

3. Mr. Shapiro,

Is

Born."

is full

which

whose imagination

4. "Was Dav-)' Crockett 5. Crockett's father,

is

in this

tall tale.

of slang and dialect? is

sizable, is

one of the men

an expert on dialect.

who fought

whom Shapiro mentions,

at

the Alamo?

must have been proud.

The Adverb Clause An

a subordinate clause that modifies a verb, an adjective, or an adverb. adverb clause

ADVERB ADVERB PHRASE ADVERB CLAUSE 776 Language Handbook

"^oii

is

may sit anywhere.

Vou may

sit

You may

sit

any chair. wherever you wish. in

An adverb what

clause

tells

where, when, how, why, to what extent, or under

condition.

EXAMPLES

Flit that

package wherever you can find

room for it.

[Wliere?]

Tokubei became furious

when he learned the truth.

[When?'

My new friend

and

1

talk

as

if

we've

known each

other for a long time. [How?] Because he dreads the cold grave, Sam McGee requests to be cremated. \\ h\ Johnny caused Sam and Bill more trouble than they had expected. I'l'o what extent?] If he sees two lanterns in the belfry, what will Paul Revere know? H'ndcrwhal ciMidition'r'] |

Notice the

in

word

clause

is

'

|

these examples that an adverb clause does not always follow it

modifies.

When

followed by a

an adverb clause begins a sentence, the

comma.

—

An adverb clause is introduced by a subordinating conjunction a word that shows the relationship between the adverb clause and the word or words that the clause modifies.

Common after

Subordinating Conjunctions

The Noun Clause A noun clause A noun

clause

is

a subordinate clause used as a noun.

may be used

as a subject, a

native, direct object, indirect object),

SUBJECT

PREDICATE NOMINATIVE DIRECT OBJECT INDIRECT OBJECT

That Jabez Stone

A

three-year extension

evident.

was what the stranger

The

sheriff gave

whoever volunteered

He did not agree demanded.

to

what the kidnappers

Introductory Words Noun Clauses

that

which

whoever

whichever

whom

who

whomever

word

to help

a flashlight.

what whatever

cases, the

is

The judges determined who won.

for

many

unlucky

is

offered Jabez.

Common

In

(predicate nomi-

or an object of a preposition.

in the search

OBJECT OF A PREPOSITION

complement

that introduces a

noun clause has another

function within the clause.

EXAMPLES 31/^ For using

guidelines

A trophy will be given

who and whom cor-

rectly,

see pages 764-765.

The same

to

whoever wins the

race.

[Wjoever is the subject of the \erb wnis.] Did anyone tell Alfonso what he should do? \Wljat is the direct object of the \erb should do] Their complaint was that Charlie had changed. [The word that introduces the noun clause but has no

on

guidelines apply

to whoever and whomever.

other function in the clause.]

QUICK CHECK 4 Identify the

noun clause

the noun clause object,

or an

EXAMPLE 1.

is

in

each of the following sentences.

Tell

whether

a subject, a predicate nominative, a direct object, an indirect

object of a preposition. I

.

Laurie could not accept that he had

I

.

that he

had done something bad

—

done something

bad.

direct object

Whatever went wrong must be someone else's fault. mother does not know that he has been making up

2. Laurie's

stories

about Charles. 3. Charles certainly gives

4.

The whole

5. Charles's

778 Language Handbook

whomever he can

find a hard time.

amused by what Laurie said about true identity was what they didn't know. family

is

quite

Charles.

8 Sentences THE SENTENCE A sentence is a group of words that has a subject and a verb and expresses a complete thought.

A

sentence begins with a capital letter and ends with

question

a period, a

mark, or an exclamation point.

Sl/^ For

He

EXAMPLES

Urashima Taro.

told a story about

Have you read the novel Shaiiet Wliat a dangerous mission

it

information

about end marks, see pages 797-798.

must have beeni

Sentence or Sentence Fragnfient? When

a

group of words either does not contain

does not express a complete thought,

it is

a

and

a subject

a

verb or

sentence fragment.

SENTENCE FRAGMENT

The protagonist of the

SENTENCE

The protagonist of the

story. |\X^iat

about

the protagonist ol the stor)?]

SENTENCE FRAGMENT

After reading the

SENTENCE

After reading the

poem? What

story

poem.

I

is

unnamed.

Who read the

hai^jiened afterward?]

poem, we asked

the teacher several questions.

SENTENCE FRAGMENT

was in the swamp. What happened while Smiley was in the swamp?] Wliile Smiley was in the swamp, the stranger filled the Wliile Smiley

Some

SENTENCE

style-checking programs

can identify and highlight sen-

I

tence fragments. Such programs are but they aren't perfect. You

still

useful,

need to

check each sentence yourself to be sure

frog with quail shot.

it

has a subject and a verb and expresses a

complete thought.

QUICK CHECK

I

Tell

whether each group of words

the

word group

punctuation.

words, a

If

is

the

word group

capital letter,

EXAMPLE

1. a friend

he

calls

3. using a

is

a

it

a sentence fragment.

If

it

by adding

poem "A Time to Talk" am reading Robert Frost's poem

.

reading Robert Frost's

I

.

sentence fragment

slowing

or

by adding a capital letter and end

sentence fragment, correct

I

—

/

to Talk."

down

his horse

on the road

out

hoe

4. to the walls 5.

a sentence

and end punctuation to make a complete sentence.

"A Time

2.

is

a sentence, correct

work on the hills near his home made of stone comes the man

for

does he have time for a

visit

Language Handbook 779

THE SUBJECT AND THE PREDICATE A sentence

consists of

two

parts: a subject

A subject tells whom

and

a predicate.

or what the sentence

is

about.

The

predicate tells something about the subject. Predicate

Subject

EXAMPLE

Laurie's

mother / went

to the meeting.

Finding the Subject The

subject of a

\m NOTE sentence

is

never

part of a prepositional

phrase.

subject

EXAMPLES

EXAMPLE

The

sticking

At the top of the tree, a bird's nest

tips of

the rabbit's ears

bird

were

|\\

s

[What

sat.

sat? a

nest]

was the broken chain. [What broken chain] Does Casey strike out? [Who does strike out? Casey] Lying beside the fence

up behind the

large cabbage.

were were

comes before the predicate. Sometimes, however, the may appear elsewhere in the sentence. To find the subject of a sentence, ask Who? or What? before the predicate. Usually, the subject

was

hat

lying? the

sticking up? Tips

sticking up.]

The Simple Subject A simple subject is the main word

or group of words

the

in

complete subject.

A complete subject consists of all the words whom or what the sentence is about. EXAMPLES

riie

is

the

One of my favorite poems In this

term

is

trip ticioss the desert]

"The Cremation of is

Sam

one of my favorite

1

"The Cremation of Sam McGee" is a poem by Robert W. Service. ["The Cremation of Sam McGee" is both

to the simple subject unless

loiifi

McGee." [The complete subject poems.

book, the

subject refers

name and describe

long trip across the desert was finally over. [The

complete subject

kNOTE

that

otherwise indicated.

the simple subject and the complete subject.]

^

QUICK CHECK 2

Identify the complete subject

and the simple subject

in

each sentence of the

following paragraph.

EXAMPLE

I

[1] [2]

Has your teacher read "Mrs. Flowers"

[I] .

complete subject

Maya Angelou's

Mrs. Flowers

is

a

—teacher

Flowers characterizes a gentle woman. "

liking,

[3]

Out of

she befriends young Marguerite.

literature links the two. [5]

Flowers' friendship gives Marguerite

780 Language Handbook

yet?

teacher; simple subject

woman of great dignity' and grace.

kindness and genuine

mutual love for

"Mrs.

—your

[4]

A

The warm respect of Mrs.

new self-esteem.

The Simple

Predicate, or Verb

A simple predicate, or verb, words

A complete

predicate consists of

the verb and complete

EXAMPLES

is

the main word or group of

the complete predicate.

in

The

a

verb and

the

words

that describe

meaning.

its

sagged beneath the weight of the

trees

complete predicate the

all

ice.

is

ice. [Tlie

sagged beneath the weight of

]

After the race, everyone congratulated Squeaky. [The

complete predicate

is

after the race

.

.

congratu-

.

lated Squeaky. ] In the roaring fttrnace sat

predicate

is

/';/

tl.ie

Sam McGee. [The complete

roaring furnace sat]

The Verb Phrase A

simple predicate

may be

verb phrase consists of

EXAMPLES

Our

a

a

one-word

verb, or

main verb and

class is

it

may be

A

a verb phrase.

helping verbs.

its

(^5^ For more about

reading The Diary of Anne Frank.

Have von done vour homework

verb phrases, see page 743.

^et?

QUICK CHECK 3 Identify the complete predicate

sentences. Keep

in

and the verb

in

each of the following

mind that parts of the complete predicate may come

before and after the complete subject.

EXAMPLE

I. I

.

For no apparent reason, Mrs. Flowers asks Marguerite complete predicate guerite

in;

1.

Suqirisingh; she has

2.

Marguerite

is

5.

For no apparent reason

.

.

.

in.

asks Mar-

asks

made cookies

especially for Marguerite.

delighted with the attention.

3. After their talk. 4.

—

verb

—

Marguerite goes home.

She reads .4 Tale of Two Cities aloud. How did the words of Charles Dickens help her?

The Compound Subject A compound subject consists of two or more connected subjects that have the

word

EXAMPLES

is

and,

or,

same

verb.

The

usual connecting

or nor.

were Zenta and Matsuzo. Smoked turkey, baked ham, or roast goose will be

Traveling together

main course

the

for Thanksgiving dinner.

Neither the trousers nor the shoes that

I

want

are

on

sale yet.

Language Handbook 78!

The Compound Verb A compound verb consists of two or more verbs that have the same subject. A connecting word — usually and, or, or but

—

EXAMPLES

is

used between the verbs.

down and waited

Mr. Nuttel sat

We can go forward, go back,

for Mrs. Sappleton.

or stay right here.

Both the subject and the verb of a sentence may be compound.

V V S S The captain and the crew battled the storm and hoped

EXAMPLE

for better weather. [The captain battled

and hoped,

ani.1

the crew battled and hoped.]

[2 QUICK CHECK 4 Identify

all

compound

subjects

and compound verbs

in

the following

sentences.

EXAMPLE

I.

Mike and

his sister

mother. I .

compound

subject

had planned a

—Mike,

visit

to their grand-

sister

his sister wanted to go but fell ill. mother inspect his clothes or question him about his

However,

1.

2. Will his

moustache?

Mike and his mother love and respect each other She does not like the moustache yet says little about it. Mike's grandmother and the movie actress Ethel Barrymore look and sound alike.

3.

4. 5.

Out

^

Try

It

Use

compound

a

subject or a

compound

verb to combine each of the following sets of

^„.^^^

)

-Si^i—-^ repetition serves

2.

Grandmother greets her grandson. She thinks he is someone else. According to Grandmother, blue

come come

jays

to the bird feeder. Chickadees

verbs, you can writing.

A

WORDY

4.

Grandmother some juice. Orange juice does not interest

REVISED her.

He

tell

Grandmother the

cannot.

782 Language Handbook

your

stories. Saki

and

W Jacobs were two other authors who

wrote eerie short stories, too. Roald Dahl, Saki, and W. W. Jacobs wrote eerie short stories.

Nei-

ther does cranberry juice or grape juice.

ideas and reduce wordiness in

these examples.

Roald Dahl wrote eerie short

W.

nurse enters the room. She offers

Mike should

a writer will repeat a simple

no purpose. Using compound subjects and

combine

Compare

there, too.

3.

5.

Sometimes

subject or verb for special emphasis. Often, though, such

short sentences. 1.

Using Compound Subjects and Verbs to Combine Ideas

WORDY

Toni Cade Bambara studied

REVISED

worked in a hospital. Toni Cade Bambara studied mime, took acting lessons, and w^orked in a hospital. acting lessons. She also

truth.

mime and took

9 Complements RECOGNIZING COMPLEMENTS A complement is a word or a group of words that completes the

meaning of a verb.

An adverb NOTE

INCOMPLETE COMPLETE

Mr. Wliite held

INCOMPLETE COMPLETE

Marguerite thanked

Mr.

|

White held the paw.

ADVERB

is

[»'/wA^l

Squeaky

is

confident.

fies

is

the \'erb by telling

frog

is

frog

is.]

lieavy. [Fhe ad-

adjecjective

heavy modifies

the subject by describ-

math

OBJECT OF A PREPOSITION

Benjamin

is

stud\ ing for his

COMPLEMENT

Benjamin

is

studying his math notes.

test.

inuthe

frosj]

I

Identify the subject, the verb,

following paragraph.

frog

COMPLEMENT The

As you can see, a complement may be a noun, a pronoun, or an tive. A complement is never in a prepositional phrase.

QU\CK CHECK

The

where the

Squeaky

never

outside. [Outside modi-

\n'l.n)in}'\

Marguerite thanked her.

INCOMPLETE COMPLETE

is

complement.

a

iilnil'']

and the complement

each sentence

in

A complement

[Remember;

is

never

in

in

the

a preposi-

tional phrase.]

EXAMPLE

[I] I

[1]

.

Sandra Cisneros subject

— Sandra

is

a writer

Cisneros; verb

She wrote "A Smart Cookie."

—

is;

complement

—

writer

In the story, the writer de-

[2]

mother [3] Her mother is quite skillful. [4] Yet, the older woman seems sad about many events in her life. [5] Nevertheless, she scribes her

gives Esperanza her best advice.

DIRECT OBJECTS A direct object is a noun or a pronoun that receives the action of the verb or that shows the result of the action.

A direct object tells what or whom after a transitive verb. EXAMPLE

For more about

transitive verbs, see page

Frank. [The noun performniice receives the action of

742.

the transitive verb watched and

A

f^ij'^

We watched a performance of The Diary ofAiiiie tells

what we watched]

direct object never follows a linking verb.

LINKING VERB

William Wordsworth land in 1843.

1

1

he

acticMi; therefore,

\

it

became

{^^^ For more about poet laureate of Eng-

erb beciinie does not express

linking verbs, see pages

742-743.

has no direct object.]

Language Handbook 783

A (51^ For more about prepositional phrases, see

pages 745 and 769-77

direct object

OBJECT OF A PREPOSITION

They walked \Mi7i's is

—

I

a prepositional phrase.

for

miles

Japanese countryside.

in the

not the direct object of the verb wcilkecl;

it

1.

is

^

never part of

is

the object of the preposition yb/:]

INDIRECT OBJECTS

Direct objects and indirect objects

An

indirect object is a noun or a pronoun that comes between the verb and the direct object and tells to what or to whom or for what or for whom the action of the verb is

may be compound.

EXAMPLES

Mrs. Flow-

ers served tea

cookies

and lemonade. The sergeant major

done.

EXAMPLE

showed Mr. White and his

Smiley gave the stranger a frog. [The noun stranger

tells

lo irhoni Smile\' ga\'e a froi;.|

family the monkey's Linking verbs

paw.

never

do not have

indirect objects. Also, an indirect object

is

a prepositional phrase.

in

Her mother was

LINKING VERB

a collector of rare

books.

mother a

INDIRECT OBJECT

She sent

lier

OBJECT OF A PREPOSITION

She sent

a rare

book

rare book.

to her

mother.

QUICK CHECK 2 Identify the direct objects

[Note:

and the

Not every sentence

EXAMPLE

indirect objects in

the following sentences.

has an indirect object.]

I.

Who gave Joe

I .

indirect object

Iron Sheila ride?

—joe

Iron Shell; direct object

—

ride

Grandfather had given Cheryl moccasins.

1.

2.

Didn't he teach his grandson Sioux chants?

3.

The grandchildren lo\ed him

4. Yet,

they did not

5. Instead,

for these gifts

and more.

show friends liis picture.

they told the boys and

girls

exaggerated stories about him.

SUBJECT COMPLEMENTS A

subject

fies

complement completes the meaning

of a linking verb and identi-

or describes the subject.

Common (Cj^

For

more about

appear

become

be

feel

Linking Verbs grow remain smell seem sound look

stay

taste

linking verbs, see pages

742-743.

The two

kinds of subject

the predicate adjective.

784 Language Handbook

complements are the

predicate nominative and

Predicate Nominatives Expressions such

A predicate nominative is a noun or a pronoun that follows a linking verb and identifies the subject or refers to

as

was

it.

tie

Denise

good friend. [Friend

a

is

is

a predicate

nomina-

It's

is

one

of the best players. [One

is

a predicate

nominative that refers to the subject Enrique.] Predicate nominatives never appear

The prize was

is

a

predicate nominative that identifies the subject /irfee. Tickets

the object of the preposition

is

the object of the preposition

of.

and movies

is

English

wvb

very pleasant. [Pleasant follows the is

and dcst ribes the subject landlady.]

This ground looks

in

your writing.

A

predicate nomi-

native

may be

compound.

verb and describes the subject.

iini
fol-

to.]

A predicate adjective is an adjective that follows a linking is

best to

it is

low the rules of standard

(n( NOTE

The landlady

writing as

in

speech. For now,

in

however,

Predicate Adjectives

EXAMPLES

was him.

may one day become

acceptable

pair of tickets to the movies. [Pair

a

Ttiat

These nonstandard expres-

well as

EXAMPLE

Tliat

conversation

in

me and

sions

prepositional phrases.

in

and

people more frequently say

tive tliat identities the subject Denise.]

Enrique

I

may sound awkward

because

EXAMPLES

it is

swampy. [Swampy

EXAMPLE was

Miss Kinnian

Charlie's

teacher

and friend.

follows the link-

ing verb looks and describes the subject ^ro/zn^.]

Some

verbs, such as look, grow, and

fee/,

may be used

as either linking

NOTE

k

verbs or action verbs.

LINKING VERB

The

worker felt

field

cause

it

tired. [Felt is a linking

verb be-

links the adjective tired to the subject //e/^

The

field

worker

verb because

which

jective

ad-

may be

compound.

EXAMPLE A computer can be entertaining

ivorker]

ACTION VERB

A predicate

tells

it is

felt the

hot wind.

[Felt is

an action

followed by the direct object wind,

what the

field

and helpful, but sometimes frustrating.

worker felt.] 51/"^

QUICK CHECK 3

For more about

verbs that may be used as either linking verbs or ac-

Identify the predicate nominatives

and predicate

adjectives in the following

tion verbs, see page 743.

sentences.

EXAMPLE

man

I

.

The

I

.

predicate adjectives

old

did not

—

seem tail,

tall

enough or grand enough.

grand

For him,

home was

2.

Were

hands leathery and brown?

3.

Joe Iron Shell was Mothers grandfather and Martin and Cheryl's

1.

his

the Rosebud Reservation in South Dakota.

great-grandfather.

most precious possession was his medicine bag. With age, his dark hair had become gra)- and string)'.

4. His 5.

Language Handbook 785

* Try In

It

Avoiding the Overuse of Be Verbs

Out ^

each of the following sentences, change

Overusing the

the be verb to an action verb. Then, revise writing dull and

lifeless.

verb be can make

linking

Wherever

the sentence to read smoothly.

possible, replace a dull

be verb with a verb that expresses action.

Grandfather was

1

all

by himself on

his

B£ VERB

journey. 2.

He had never been

literary criticism,

so far from the

ACTION VERB

reservation before. 3.

a writer of poems,

and short

stories.

Edgar Allan Poe wrote poems, criticism,

were about warriors and

His stories

was

Edgar Allan Poe

and short

literary

stories.

excitement. 4.

Children were

5.

Moccasins were on

all

around him each

day.

10 Kinds of

his feet.

Sentences SENTENCES CLASSIFIED BY STRUCTURE Sentences may be

number

classified

according to structure

of clauses they contain.

The four

—the kinds and the

kinds of sentences are simple,

compound, complex, and compound-complex.

NOTE

A

simple sentence

^

may contain a compound subject, a compound verb, or both. S

EXAMPLE

Dr.

Nemur

i^H

A simple sentence has one

independent clause and no

subordinate clauses.

EXAMPLE

Mr.

Lema showed him the trumpet.

V

S

and Dr. Strauss tested V Charlie and

The Simple Sentence

monitored

his progress.

The Compound Sentence 23 A compound sentence has two or more

independent

clauses but no subordinate clauses.

The independent ing conjunction,

clauses are usually joined by a

such as and,

sometimes joined by only

EXAMPLES

It

was

but, for, nor, or, so,

comma

or

yet.

and a coordinat-

The

clauses are

a semicolon.

sum of money,

a large

willing to pay

Zenta looked

at

but

Tokubei was

it.

the

woman's

left

hand;

it

had

six

fingers.

The Complex Sentence A complex sentence least

786 Language Handbook

has one independent clause and at

one subordinate

clause.

EXAMPLE

Mary

ate

some of the mushroom before she gave any of it

to the children.

mushroom

INDEPENDENT CLAUSE

Mary ate some

SUBORDINATE CLAUSE

before she gave any of it

EXAMPLE

Some

of the sailors

British ship

who took

Bounty

of the

part in the

to the children

mutiny on the

settled Pitcairn Island.

INDEPENDENT CLAUSE

some

SUBORDINATE CLAUSE

who took part

of the sailors settled Pitcairn Island in

the mutiny

on the

British ship Boiiiilf

The Compound-Complex Sentence A compound-complex sentence has two or more independent clauses and at least one subordinate clause.

EXAMPLE

I

have read several stories

in

which the main characters

are animals, but the story that

I

like best is "Brer

Possum's

Dilemma."

have read

INDEPENDENT CLAUSE

I

INDEPENDENT CLAUSE

the story is "Brer Possum's Dilemma"

SUBORDINATE CLAUSE

in

SUBORDINATE CLAUSE

that

several stories

which the main characters are animals like best

I

Using a Variety of Sentence Structures ,^^___

^_

^

,

^ITE^^^

NJ

By varying the length and the structure of your sentences, you can

make your

writing

more

interesting to read. As a rule, simple sentences are best

used to express single ideas. To describe more complicated ideas and to

show

relationships

between them, you

will

need to use compound, complex, and compound-

usually

complex sentences.

The cotton season began. He went to school. He met Mr.

SIMPLE SENTENCES

Try

SENTENCE

Decide whether the information

complex sentence. Then, 1

2.

began, he went to .school,

and there he met Mr. Lema.

Out in

each

numbered item would be best expressed by simple, compound, complex, or compound-

Lema.

COMPOUND-COMPLEX When the cotton season

It

a

revise each item.

They took off their wings. There was not enough room on the ships. The people had been able to fly. They had forgotten how.

3.

The Master was

4.

A

5.

seer whipped him. She flew awkwardly

a hard

man. The Over-

seer was, too.

a

QUICK CHECK

I

Label each of the following sentences as simple, compound,

complex, or compound-complex. Then, identify each of the clauses

in

slave collapsed in the heat.

soared

freely.

at

first.

The Over-

She soon

Everyone looked up to

her.

the sentence as independent or subordinate.

Language Handbook 787

EXAMPLE

I

Virginia

.

Hamilton

tells a

people; subordinate 1.

In the Africa of long ago,

2.

Sarah's

baby was

story about people

— — who

complex: independent

I .

Hamilton

Virginia

could

tells

who

could

fly.

a story about

fly

people flew.

cr\ ing, but she couldn't tiuiet the child.

3.

Although the Overseer chased

4.

Before they

5.

Toby

knew

her,

he could not catch

her.

it,

she had flown over the trees and disappeared.

told others the

magic words, and they flew away while many

slaves

on the ground

called for help.

SENTENCES CLASSIFIED BY PURPOSE Sentences may be

classified

sentences are declarative,

according to purpose. The four kinds of

interrogative, imperative,

and exclamatory.

^^S A declarative sentence makes a statement.

It is

followed by

a period.

EXAMPLE The "understood" NOTE

^^Q An interrogative sentence asks a question.

is

always

It is

followed by

a question mark.

subject of an im-

perative sentence

According to Laurie, Charles was always causing trouble.

EXAMPLE

Did Daniel 'Webster defeat the devil?

you.

•I^

EXAMPLES (you)

tell

Father,

us a

An

imperative sentence gives a

request.

stor}'.

is

command

followed by a period.

It is

or makes a

A strong command

followed by an exclamation point.

(You) Watch out!

EXAMPLES

Look

after the children

Father,

tell

Watch out! Q^ij^

For more about

end marks of punctuation,

UliU

see page 797.

while I'm gone, [mild command]

us a story. |reciuestj [strong

command]

An

exclamatory sentence shows excitement or expresses strong feeling. It is followed by an exclamation point.

EXAMPLE

'Wliat a

sad day in Mudville that was!

QUICK CHECK 2 Classify each of the following sentences according to declarative, interrogative, imperative,

EXAMPLE

I

.

I.

1. 2.

purpose:

For Monday, read "The People Could

Fly."

imperative

"Why did the people take off their wings? Toby had not forgotten the magic words.

3. Listen to

788 Language Handbook

its

or exclamatory.

them.

4.

Look up

5.

How the slaves must have imagined just such a scene!

in the sky!

Writing Effective

1 1

Sentences WRITING CLEAR SENTENCES One

make your

of the easiest ways to

sentences.

A complete

sentence

is

writing clear

word group

a

a verb, and expresses a complete thought.

Two

is

to use complete

that has a subject, has

of the stumbling blocks

to the development of clear sentences are sentence fragments and run-on sentences. For information about sentence fragments, see page 779.

Run-on Sentences Avoid using run-on sentences.

To spot run-ons,

NOTE you run together two complete sentences as

If

you get

a

if

writing aloud.

run-on sentence.

pause

RUN-ON

Margaret Bourke-Wliite was a famous news photographer she worked for Life magazine during World

CORRECT RUN-ON

CORRECT

2.

for Life

all

II.

over the world, she even went

underground to photograph miners in South Africa. Bourke-White traveled all over the world. She even went underground to photograph miners in South Africa.

in

A

natural

your voice often

marks the end of one thought and the beginning of another a place

If

you pause

at

where you don't

have any end punctuation,

you may have found

a run-

on sentence.

a run-on sentence

by making

two sentences,

by using a

comma

RUN-ON

magazine during World War

Bourke-Wliite traveled

You can correct 1

War II.

Margaret Bourke-Wliite was a famous news photographer.

She worked

try reading your

they were one sentence,

as in the

examples above

and the coordinating conjunction and,

Chinese people use kites

in

some

but,

or or

religious ceremonies,

they usually use them for sport.

CORRECT

Chinese people use kites in some religious ceremonies,

but they usually use them

for sport.

COMBINING SENTENCES

2

Improve choppy sentences by combining them into smoother sentences.

longer,

You can combine sentences I

.

by inserting words

ORIGINAL

Mrs. Flowers

was an

intelligent

woman. She was

generous, too.

COMBINED

Mrs. Flowers

was an

intelligent,

generous woman.

Language Handbook 789

j^,WJ?r2r

2.

by inserting phrases

ORIGINAL

lived at Walden Fond. He lived two years. He lived in a simple hut. For two years Henry David Thoreau lived in a simple hut at Walden Pond, [prepositional phrases]

Henry David Thoreau

there for

COMBINED ORIGINAL

COMBINED

Tubman made

Harriet

the long journey to Philadelphia.

She traveled at night. Traveling at night, Harriet Tubman made the long journey to Philadelphia, [partieipial phrase]

3.

by using and,

ORIGINAL

COMBINED ORIGINAL

COMBINED

4.

or or

but,

Eagle hunted for Eagle

Coyote went with him.

light.

and Coyote hunted for light, [compound subject]

box held the sun. The smaller box contained the moon. The big box held the sun, and the smaller box contained the moon, [compound sentence] The

big

by using a subordinate clause

ORIGINAL

Harriet slaves.

COMBINED

Harriet

Tubman

did not believe that people should be

She decided to escape.

Tubman,

who believed no person should be

a slave, decided to escape, [adjective clause]

ORIGINAL

COMBINED

Billy

signed the guest book.

He saw two other names.

When Billy signed the guest book, he saw two other names. adxerb clause] I

Try

It

Out

Combining Related Sentences

Combine each of the following pairs of sentences. Make sure each revised sentence reads smoothly and shows the relationship

you intend.

If

a pair of

,^^_^^^

^^„*£TE>.^

When

you combine sentences, you show

the relationships between ideas. Different

combinations show different relationships.

sentences should not ing sentences,

be combined, write

,

When

combin-

be sure that each sentence you create shows

C.

the relationship you intend. 1

Lemon Brown went

to the window. Greg

followed him. 2.

3.

4.

The men were sitting down. They probably would not come back. Greg asked about Lemon's injury. Lemon handed Greg the flashlight.

Lemon

revealed his treasure.

Greg was worried about Lemon. Lemon said that he would be fine.

Jan practiced the piano. Leon did

COMBINED

After Jan practiced the piano, Leon did his

COMBINED

Wliile Jan practiced the piano,

homework. liis

ORIGINAL

COMBINED COMBINED

Leon did

homework.

Kim Kim Kim

wrote a poem. I wrote a poem. story about which I wrote

told a story.

I

told a story,

and

told a

poem.

790 Language Handbook

liis

homework.

Greg stared

at the strange package. 5.

ORIGINAL

a

QUICK CHECK

\Z\

I

following paragraph contains short, choppy sentences and run-on

The

sentences. Use the methods you've learned

in this

section to

make the

sentences read smoothly.

EXAMPLE

The

[I]

[1]

building

was

dark. [2]

The building was dark and

I .

The room was

dark. [2]

It

was scary

scary.

There was

a table. [3]

An

old mattress

Greg heard sounds. [5) The sounds were coming He could not see the man. [7] The man stepped into the light. [8] The mans name was Lemon Brown he had been a blues singer. [9] Now, the blues had left him. 10] He was left alone, he had

was

there, too. [4]

from the

wall. [6]

1

only his treasure for comfort.

IMPROVING SENTENCE STYLE Improve stringy and wordy sentences by making them shorter and more precise. Stringy sentences have too many independent clauses strung together with words

like

STRINGY

Harriet Ross grew up as a slave in Maryland, and she worked on a plantation there, but in 1844, she married John Tubman, and he was a free man.

You can

and or

but.

revise a stringy sentence

by breaking the sentence into two or

1

REVISED

Harriet Ross

grew up

as a slave in

a plantation there, hi 1844,

free 2.

by turning

more sentences Maryland and worked on

she married John Tubman, a

man.

some

of the independent clauses into phrases or

subordinate clauses

REVISED

Harriet Ross

grew up

as a slave in Maryland.

She worked

on a plantation there until, in 1844, she married John Tubman, who was a free man. |.Nt)tice that in addition to creating two separate sentences, this revision includes changing independent clauses into subordinate clauses.]

Wordy sentences revise a

I

.

tend to sound awkward and unnatural. You can

wordy sentence

by replacing a group of words with one

word

WORDY

With great suddenness, the bicycle chain snapped.

REVISED

Suddenly, the bicycle chain snapped.

Language Handbook 791

2.

by replacing a clause with a phrase

WORDY

come

After the play had

to an end,

we walked

over to a

restaurant and treated ourselves to pizza.

REVISED

we walked to a restaurant and treated

After the play,

ourselves to pizza. 3.

by taking out a whole group of unnecessary words

WORDY REVISED

Daniel Webster was a persuasive orator whose speeches were very convincing. Daniel Webster was a persuasive orator

QUICK CHECK 2 The following paragraph is hard to read because it contains stringy and wordy sentences. Revise the paragraph to improve the sentence style. Traditionally, the

NOTE \m first

word

EXAMPLE

[

I

Then something happened

]

that

was

frightening.

a line

in

I .

Then something frightening happened.

of poetry, including song lyrics,

is

Some

capitalized.

poets and songwriters do

not follow

When

this style.

you are quoting, follow the capitalization used in the

source of the quotation.

EXAMPLE Go down, Moses, Wa)' down in Eg)pt land Tell old

To

let

Pharaoh

my people go.

— Traditional spiritual,

[1] Some men called out and tromped around and called out again and wanted Lemons treasure. [2] Lemon and Greg hid in the darkness and listened, and finally one man came upstairs, and Lemon went toward him. [3] With great fear Greg heard the sounds of a fight. [4] Suddenly, the men ran away due to the fact that Greg had made a howling sound. [5] Then Greg asked Lemon about the treasure that he had.

12 Capital Letters EXAMPLE

For

3[]j^

more about

using capital letters tations, see

in

quo-

page 805.

The even

if

first

She has written

word

—

I

^NOTE

I

The

EXAMPLE

...

interjection oh

requires a capital

letter only at the beginning

Q

EXAMPLES Oh, all 1

of a sentence that

is

on Harriet Tubman.

a direct

quotation

is

capitalized

In her diary,

Anne Frank wrote,

"In spite of everything,

believe that people are realh'

"Wliat should

I

good

I

at heart."

/.

do?"

I

asked.

Capitalize the interjection O. that S

The

usually followed by a

most word

EXAMPLES

O shores!

interjection

is

right.

can't go, but, oh, I

every sentence.

a report

Capitalize the pronoun

EXAMPLES

of a sentence.

in

the quotation begins within a sentence.

still

f-^

word

Capitalize the first

"Go Down, Moses

I

wish

could.

Exult

often used on solemn or formal occasions. in

and ring

O bells!

—Walt Whitman, "O 792 Language Handbook

It is

direct address.

Captain!

My Captain!"

Capitalize proper nouns.

Ql3^ For more about

common

A common noun a general name for a person, a place, a thing, or an idea. A proper noun names a particular person, place, thing, or idea A common noun capitalized only when it begins a sentence or part of a title. A proper noun Is always capitalized. Some proper nouns is

is

is

consist of

more

than one word.

tions (those of fewer than the) are

In

these names, short preposi

five letters)

and

articles (a, an,

not capitalized.

COMMON NOUNS

holida\,

You may be able to use your

man

spelling

PROPER NOUNS

Fourth of July, William the Conciiieror

(

1

)

and proper

nouns, see page 737.

Capitalize the

EXAMPLES

names

of persons and animals.

Sandra Cisncros. Toni Cade Bambara,

John McEnrt)e, Frank Van den Akker, Algernon, Kermit, Black Beauty (2) Capitalize geographical

names.

capitalize people's list

add

of the this

checker to help you

names

correctly.

names you write most

list

Make a Then

often.

to your computer's dictionary or

spelling feature.

(3) Capitalize the

The word

earth

is

names

of planets, stars, and other heavenly

bodies.

not capitalized unless

it is

used along with

names of other heavenly bodies. The words sun and

Water cov-

more than seventy

percent of the surface of the earth. Mercury' and Venus are closer to the

Earth

sun than

is.

The name NOTE [^

of a

is

not

capitalized unless

it is

season

part

of a proper name.

EXAMPLES day of spring,

Bluegrass Spring Festival

The word god

is

not capitalized

when

it

refers to a

mythology.

god of

The names

specific gods,

of

however, are

capitalized.

EXAMPLE

The Egyptian

sun god was Ra.

names of teams, organizations, businesses, and government bodies.

(4) Capitalize the

are not capitalized.

EXAMPLES

first

Saturn, Canopus, Ursa Major

institutions,

moon

ers

EXAMPLES

^n55!^

(9) Capitalize the

TYPE OF

names

NAM

of

monuments and

awards.

'um.-tH.^a

itaiummtm

A

title

in

direct address

used alone is

usually capitalized.

EXAMPLES

Is

everyone

here, Reverend?

May help

you. Sir

I

\'>r

sir]?

Do

not capitalize a

word showing a when a possessive comes before

family relationship

the word.

EXAMPLES ther and

Barbara

are the sponsors.

a:^

s fa-

my uncle Trent

'^ "•""°~~^'

>wriiiHr-

a

QUICK CHECK 3

Correct each of the following expressions, adding or deleting

capital let-

ters as needed.

EXAMPLE

Remember

George Armstrong Custer

I

.

general

I

.

General George Armstrong Custer

tions 1.

parson walker

2.

Spanish class

St.

5. a

6. the

call

you sweetheart"

EXAMPLES

abbrevia-

Ky.

EXAMPLES

my Uncle

FBI

especially

those for measurements, are not capitalized.

operapirates ofpenzcnice

8. a gift for

CD

Mrs.

However, some abbreviations,

folk tale

"Yes, captain."

7.

Some

tions are capitalized.

song "let me bernard dogs

hmong

part of the proper

is

spelling.

3. the

4.

that correct

capitalization of abbrevia-

in.

yd

oz

cm

kg

Ed Notice that abbreviations for most units

9. m)' Art Class

of

10. grandmother's dress

measurement are written without

ods. (The abbreviation riod so that

13 Punctuation

word

it

will

in.

peri-

for inch needs a pe-

not be confused with the

in.)

Consult a dictionary for the correct capi-

END MARKS An end mark

is

a

mark of punctuation placed of end

The three kinds

a sentence.

talization of an abbreviation. at the

marks are the

For more about abbreviations, see the

end of

bottom of this page and page 798.

period, the

question mark, and the exclamation point.

j^Q

Use a period

EXAMPLE

at the

end of a statement.

Jabez Stone sought the help of Daniel Webster.

Use a question mark

EXAMPLE

at the

end of a question.

Did Paul Zindel write Let

Use an exclamation point

EXAMPLE

What an

Me Hear You Wjisperl

at the

end of an exclamation.

exciting race that was!

Use a period or an exclamation point request or a

EXAMPLES

Kristi,

please read the part of Miss Moray,

Watch out!

Use -

---•

|a

a period after

^-.-

at the

end of a

command. command

most

I

abbreviations.

[a

request]

The abbreviations

^NOTE in

A.D.

(anno Domini,

the year of the Lord)

and

B.C.

need A.D.

(before Christ)

special attention. Place

number and number

before the

B.C. after

the

EXAMPLES

31

B.C.

A.D.

—^— ^NOTE

Abbreviations for

I

I

government agen-

I

cies

540

and other widely used

abbreviations are often v^ritten

without periods.

Each letter of the abbreviation

is

capitalized.

EXAMPLES

UN, FBI, PTA, NAACP, PBS, CNN,

YMCA, VHP

(C5^ For about

information

capitalizing abbrevia-

tions, see Tips for Spelling

at the

top of page 797.

If all

items

in

and or

a series are joined by

do not use commas to

or,

separate them.

Have you read The Friends or Suiiiiiwr of My German or Bridge to Terabitbia?

EXAMPLE

Soldier

Use a

comma to separate two or more adjectives that

come

before a noun.

EXAMPLE

Many ranchers depended on

the small, tough, sure-

A comma

\m NOTE

footed mustang.

tween an

Sometimes the that a

comma

whether the

is

final

adjective

EXAMPLE

a series

not used before the

final

adjective and the

word and between the

the

in

Training a

final

frisk)'

adjective.

noun are

adjectives.

colt to

If

so closely linked to the noun

is

If

you aren't sure

ond makes sense, use

become

a gentle,

a

t

it.

EXAMPLE

comma.

wrote

Mary

O

Hara

a tender, sus-

penseful story about a young boy and his colt.

dependable

riding horse takes great patience. [And doesn

adjective and the

noun immediately following

linked, use this test; Insert

should

never be used be-

make

sense hciw een depciiclah/e and riding.]

Compound Sentences Use a joins

When

comma before and,

but, or, nor, for, so,

or yet

when

it

are very short, the

independent clauses.

before and,

EXAMPLE

wind was higher than ever, and the nervously at the sound of a door banging

Outside, the started

old

man

but,

comma

or or may

sometimes be omitted.

upstairs.

— W. W. Jacobs, "The Monkey's Paw Interrupters

EXAMPLE They were hungry and the)- had nothing to

Use commas to

the inde-

pendent clauses

eat.

set off an expression that interrupts a

sentence. (

I

)

Use commas to

set off a nonessential participial phrase or a

nonessential subordinate clause.

A

(j;^^

For more about

compound

sentences, see

page 786.

nonessential (or nonrestrictive) phrase or clause adds information

that can be omitted without changing the main idea of the sentence.

NONESSENTIAL PHRASE

The Spider web, shining in the early light, looked like sparkling lace.

NONESSENTIAL CLAUSE

Edgar Allan Poe.

Tale Heart."

is

a

who wrote "The Tellmaster of the macabre.

(^^^^

For more about

participial phrases,

page 77

Do

not set off an essential (or restrictive) phrase or clause. Since

such a phrase or clause

tells

which one or which ones,

it

1

.

see

For more about

subordinate clauses, see

cannot be omitted

pages 775-778.

without changing the meaning of the sentence.

ESSENTIAL PHRASE

The discovery made by Zenta saved Tokubei fift)'

ESSENTIAL CLAUSE

gold pieces.

|\\

hich discovery?)

The book that you recommended is not the

library'. |\\

in

hich book?]

Language Handbook 799

(2)

Do

not set

off

an

Use commas to that

set off an appositive or an appositive phrase

nonessential.

is

appositive that tells

about the word

Smiley's frog. Dan'l

Webster,

lost the

contest. it

identifies.

Such an appositive tial

APPOSITIVE

which one (or ones)

is

essen-

APPOSITIVE PHRASE

Robert Frost,

my favorite poet, won four

Pulitzer Prizes.

to the meaning of the

sentence.

(3)

Use commas to

set off words used in direct address.

My ancestor

EXAMPLE

Alberto Pazienza immigrated to America

Do you know. Elena, who wrote The Medicine

EXAMPLE (4)

Use commas to

on the ship Marianna. [Wliich ancestor? Which

A

ship?]

relates ideas.

set off a parenthetical expression.

porenthet/ca/ expression

EXAMPLE

Bag"?

is

a side

remark that adds information or

Brer Possum should have

known, of course,

that Brer

Snake would bite him.

JL/^ For more about appositives and appositive

Commonly Used

phrases, see page 773. after at

^NOTE

cal

parentheti-

when

fact

I

believe (hope, suppose, think)

generally speaking

in

my

opinion

of course

in

the

first

way

place

expressions are

not alvvays used as rupters.

in

on the other hand

example

for instance

any rate

by the

Some

for

all

Parenthetical Expressions

inter-

Use commas only

the expressions are

Introductory Words, Phrases, and Clauses

parenthetical.

EXAMPLES

comma after certain introductory elements. Use a comma after yes, no, or any mild exclamation such as Use a

\X1iat.

in

your opinion, would

(

1

)

well or

be the best solution?

EXAMPLE

Iparenthctical]

We all have faith in your opinion,

why

[not

(2)

Use a

Yes.

I

A Smart Cookie."

read

comma after an

the phrase

parenthetical]

at the beginning of a sentence.

EXAMPLES

is

long or

if

introductory prepositional phrase

if

two or more phrases appear together.

Underneath the moss-covered rock, we found a shiny, fat

earthworm.

By the end of the second day of the journey, they were exhausted. (3)

comma after a participial

phrase or an phrase that introduces a sentence.

Use a

PARTICIPIAL PHRASE

Forced onto the sidelines by a sprained ankle. Carlos

INFINITIVE

PHRASE

\\

as restless

and unhappy.

To defend the honor of King Arthur's knights.

Sir

Gawain accepted the Green

Knight's challenge.

800 Language Handbook

infinitive

Use a

(4)

comma after an

introductory adverb clause. a^^y^

EXAMPLE

For more about

As soon as he made the third wish, the knocking

prepositional phrases, see

stopped.

pages 769-77

1

.

For more

about verbal phrases, see

Conventional Situations Use commas

pages 771-773. For

in

certain conventional situations.

Use commas to separate items

(1)

EXAMPLES

more

about adverb clauses, see

The delegates

in

pages 776-777.

dates and addresses.

to the Constitutional

Convention signed

the Constitution on Monday, September 17, 1787, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Her address

Use a comma

(2)

is

6448 Higgins Road, Chicago,

IL

60607.

after the salutation of a friendly letter

and

after the closing of any letter.

EXAMPLES

a

Sincerely yours.

Dear Mrs. Flowers,

QUICK CHECK 2

For each of the following sentences, add

EXAMPLE

I

.

With hope

in

commas where

they are needed.

the future they packed got

in

the

wagon

and rode away. I

.

With hope

in

the future, they packed, got

in

the wagon,

and

rode away.

Conestoga wagon but of course they did

1.

They

2.

Well his pa two sisters and he set out for the mountains.

3.

Pa a wary

didn't ride in a big

have a wagon.

or

much

man didn't know who Mary was where she came from

about

her.

4.

Stranded they could starve or eat their horse or find food.

5.

That

mushroom which could have been poisonous saved them.

SEMICOLONS A sem»co/on

separates complete thoughts as a period does and also

separates items within a sentence as a

comma

Use a semicolon instead of a

does.

comma between closely re-

lated independent clauses v^hen they are not joined by

and, but,

EXAMPLE

or, nor, for, so,

Motor

activity

is

or

yet.

impaired; there

of glandular activity; there

is

is

a general reduction

an accelerated loss of

coordination.

— Daniel Keyes, "Flowers for Algernon" Language Handbook 80

Try

It

Out

Avoiding the Overuse of Semicolons

^

Read each of the following sentences, and you think

revise any sentence that

Semicolons are most effective when they

too

is

are not overused. Sometimes

heavily punctuated.

Mary was

1

but she

just eighteen years old,

had nerve and stood her ground;

in

2.

ACCEPTABLE

wouldn't say

her.

much about

the family had no money,

and she

scars,

food, and

BETTER

Life

on the

broke the

prairie

into

South Amerday,

is

found nowhere else

world,

is

lush, dense,

sometimes

some of in the

and fast-growing,

Amersometimes

hi the tropical jungles of South

all

many met

of

spirits

rams almost every

day; the vegetation there,

ica,

want to take her along with them, and, once he did, he did not even speak to her. people, such as those that the family

it

which

because

herself; little

all

too much work for one man, Pa did not

3.

hi the tropical jungles of ica,

She had run away, she bore

better to separate a

the

days to come, the family would have rea-

son to be grateful to

it is

compound sentence or a heavily punctuated sentence two sentences than to use a semicolon.

it

rains almost every day,

day.

The vegetation there, some of found nowhere else in the

which

is

world,

is

lush, dense,

and fast-growing.

along the way; the people were glum and frightened, and

many

despair, yet they 4.

As you can

would

Use a semicolon between independent

them were past

of

clauses joined by a conjunct/ve adverb or a

give their help.

well imagine,

it

transitional expression.

must have

A

been hard for the homesteaders to share

was

their venison; food by,

5.

and they had

little

night, waiting to

some and

see

to

come

if

frying

sat

up

conjunctive adverb or

how

for themselves.

Mary prepared the mushroom, a pan; then, she ate

I

difficult

transitional expression shows it

joins are related.

Mr

EXAMPLES it

a

the independent clauses that

Scratch was formidable; however, he was no match for Daniel Webster

in

all

Dorset decided not to pay the ransom; in

death would come.

fact,

he demanded money from the t^vo

kidnappers.

\W NOTE

When

transitional expression joins clauses,

Commonly Used

a conjunc-

adverb or a

tive

it is

preceded

Conjunctive Adverbs

accordingly

furthermore

instead

nevertheless

besides

however

meanwhile

otherwise

consequendy

indeed

moreover

therefore

by a semicolon and followed by a

comma. When

rupts a clause, is

set off by

You

Commonly Used

it

are en-

as a result in

addition

for in

Transitional Expressions

example

that

spite of

for instance

is

in fact

in

conclusion

your opinion:

however, you ignore the

You

inter-

commas.

EXAMPLES titled to

it

however,

can't

Use a semicolon rather than a

facts.

are entitled to your

opinion; you can't,

however, ignore

the

facts.

commas.

EXAMPLE

We will practice Act on Monday Act 1

and Act

III

on

Friday;

the entire play.

802 Language Handbook

comma before a coordinat-

ing conjunction to join independent clauses that contain

and on Saturday

11

on Wednesday,

we will rehearse

COLONS Never use

3

Use a colon before a

list

of items, especially after expres-

sions like as follows or the following.

Sta>':

"The Road Not Taken," and "A Time to

comes before

clarifies

a

preceding statement.

first

a

list

word

colon, the

list is

word

first

lowercase.

When

an independent clause follows a

of the clause begins with a capital

INCORRECT nara sauce

of

This mari-

is

made

of:

onions, oregano, and garlic.

CORRECT

letter.

nara sauce

There are two kinds of people: cat lovers and dog

EXAMPLES

list

tomatoes, bay leaves,

of words, phrases, or subordinate clauses follows a colon, the

of the

a

items.

Talk."

Use a colon before a statement that explains or

When

a colon

directly after a

verb or a preposition that

Robert Frost wrote the following: "Nothing Gold Can

EXAMPLE

kNOTE

This mariis

made of

tomatoes, bay leaves, lovers.

onions, oregano, and

Our teacher asked us only one question: Wliat had happened to the landlady's other boarders?

garlic.

INCORRECT Use a colon (1)

11:30

Use a colon

EXAMPLES (3)

certain conventional situations.

p.m.

Sir

The main

characters are Sam,

or

Madam:

Bill,

and Johnny.

CORRECT

Bill,

and Johnny.

after the salutation of a business letter.

Dear

The main

characters are: Sam,

Use a colon between the hour and the minute.

EXAMPLE (2)

in

Dear Sales Manager:

Use a colon between chapter and verse in referring to passages from the Bible and between a title and a subtitle.

EXAMPLES

John 3:16

A Tragedy Revealed: A Heroine's Last Days"

El QUICK CHECK 3 For each of the following sentences, add commas, semicolons, and colons as needed.

EXAMPLE

I

.

I .

1.

2. 3.

4.

5.

food was scarce.

There were no deer moreover

all

There were no deer; moreover,

food was scarce.

all

Times were hard consequently some felt the emotions expressed in Psalm 22 1 Daylight was precious by 7 00 a.m. travelers were on their way. Their situation had become grave they had no food and the horse

was worn out. Mary a valiant woman found a mushroom a huge one and she cooked it. The test tomorrow will cover the following setting theme and

plot.

Language Handbook 803

14 Punctuation UNDERLINING

.^ix.

n ^OMPUTEF

Italics

^^OTE^^

If

you use a computer, you

^^^

producing

italic

are printed letters that lean to the right, such as the

letters in these words. In

may be able to set words in italics yourself. Most word-processing software and many printers are capable of

work, indicate

italics

EXAMPLE

'1^3

type. If

(ITALICS)

this

I

your handwritten or typewritten

by underlining.

sentence were printed,

it

would look

like this:

Monica Sone wrote Nisei Daughter.

Use underlining (italics) for titles of books, plays, periodicals, works of art, films, television programs, recordings, long musical compositions, ships, trains, aircraft,

—^—

I

I

NOTE

'<^.

The ,

I

TYP^

article the

,

.

,

before the

,

title

r

of

magazine or a newspaper

a

usually neither italicized

is

nor capitalized when

it is

written within a sentence.

Some

periodicals

do include

the as part of their

EXAMPLES

titles.

My parents

subscribe to the

Chicago Tribune.

He wrote

for

The New

York Times.

ffl>^ titles

For examples of that are not italicized

but, instead, are enclosed in

quotation marks, see

page 807.

OF TITLE

and spacecraft.

QUICK CHECK

I

For each of the following sentences, add underlining wherever necessary.

EXAMPLE

I

Who

.

Who

I .

played

Anne

played Anne

1.

Paleoworld

2.

Be

3.

That handwritten d looks

is

in

a great television

The Diary

of

like

Anne

Frank?

The Diary of Anne Frani
show.

between the words

certain to distinguish

an

to, too,

and two.

a.

and rather than &.

4. In formal writing, write 5.

in

How did the movie King of the Wind differ from the book?

QUOTATION MARKS Use quotation marks to enclose a

direct quotation

—

person's exact words.

DIRECT QUOTATION

"Have you

read Let Me

Hear You

WJjisper?^"

asked Ms. Estrada.

Do

not use quotation marks for an indirect quotation

—

a

rewording

of a direct quotation.

INDIRECT QUOTATION

Ms. Estrada asked Let Me

Pi A

me whether had read I

Hear You Whisper.

direct quotation begins with a capital letter.

NOTE

EXAMPLE

Abe Lincoln

said,

"The

ballot

is

stronger than the bullet."

^

When

only part of

a sentence

is

being

quoted, the quotation

When

the expression identifying the speaker interrupts a quoted sen-

generally begins with a

tence, the second part of the quotation begins with a lowercase letter.

lowercase

EXAMPLE

EXAMPLE Abe

some of the

Wliat are

things,"

asked Mrs. Perkins, "that

the astronauts discovered on the

When

moon?"

letter.

Lincoln

described the ballot as "stronger than the

the second part of a divided quotation

with a capital

EXAMPLE

is

a sentence,

it

begins bullet."

letter.

"Sandra and Alfonso went bike riding," remarked Mrs. Perkins.

not a

"They

comma,

left

an hour ago." [Notice that a period,

follows the interrupting expression.]

A direct quotation

is

set off from the rest of the sentence

comma, a question mark, or an exclamation point, but not by a period. by a

Set ofl^means "separated."

a

quotation appears at the beginning of a

comma follows If a quotation falls at the end of a sentence, comma comes before If a quoted sentence is interrupted, a comma

sentence, a a

If

follows the

it.

it.

first

part and

comes before

the second part.

Language Handbook 805

EXAMPLES

"I've just

finished reading a

Tubman," Alison

book about Harriet

said.

Jaime said, "My favorite writer is Ray Bradbury." "Did you know, asked Helen, "that O. Henr^' is the pseudonym of William Sydney Porter?" "

A period or a comma is always placed

inside the closing

quotation marks.

EXAMPLES

Aaron

Mr.

"The story

said,

"Mrs. Flowers reminds

me

is

set in Fresno, California."

of

ni)'

aunt,-* Ruth added.

A question mark or an exclamation point is placed inside the closing quotation marks

When

a quotation

NOTE ends with a question

mark or with an

mation point, no

excla-

comma

or exclamation point

EXAMPLES

a

mark

placed outside.

is

"Did Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings write The Yearlingl^^

asked Ken. [The Sheila exclaimed,

Wliat were

quotation

the Whites" three

is

c|U()tati(Mi is a

can't find

"I

question.]

my homework!"

[The sentence, not the quotation,

"

[The

an exclamation.]

What did the captain mean when he

wishes? asked Cynthia.

"What a surprise

itself is

is

needed.

EXAMPLES

when the quotation

question or exclamation. Otherwise, the question

said "Hard is

aport"?

a question.]

that

was!" exclaimed Meryl.

When

both the sentence and the quotation at the end of the sentence

are questions (or exclamations), only one question point)

is

used.

EXAMPLE

mark

(or exclamation

placed inside the closing quotation marks.

It is

Who wrote the poem that begins "How do

When you write dialogue (conversation),

I

love

begin a

thee?"

new

paragraph each time you change speakers.

EXAMPLE

I'm

listening," said the latter,

grimly surveying the

board as he stretched out his hand. "Check." "I

should hardh' think that he'd

his father,

come

tonight," said

with his hand poised over the board.

"Mate,"' replied

the son.

— W. W Jacobs, "The Monkey"s Paw"' When a quotation

consists of several sentences, place

quotation marks at the beginning and at the end of the

whole quotation.

EXAMPLE

••Oh, please

come in.

I'm so happy to see you. Let

me

take your hat and coat," said Ms. Davis.

Use

single quotation

marks to enclose a quotation within

a quotation.

EXAMPLE

""What Longfellow

you

806 Language Handbook

shall hear*?

"

poem

begins 'Listen,

Carol asked.

my children, and

Use quotation marks to enclose titles of short works such as short stories, poems, articles, songs, episodes of television programs, and chapters and other parts of books.

TYPE OF TITLE

15 Punctuation APOSTROPHES Possessive Case \m NOTE

A

proper name

ending

in s

The

may

possessive case of a

noun or a pronoun shows owner-

ship or relationship.

take only an apostrophe to

form the possessive case the addition of

*s

if

(1 )

would

make the name awkward

To form the possessive case of a singular noun, add an apostrophe and an s.

EXAMPLES

the boy's bike

Charles's father

to pronounce.

EXAMPLE

(2)

To form the possessive case of a

plural

noun ending

in

s,

add

only the apostrophe.

Buenos Aires' climate

EXAMPLES (3)

students' records

committee

To form the possessive case of a plural noun that does not end in s, add an apostrophe and an s.

EXAMPLES (4)

citizens'

mice's tracks

children's voices

To form the possessive case of most add an apostrophe and an s.

EXAMPLES

indefinite pronouns,

somebody's umbrella

everyone's opinion

Contractions

3

To form a contraction, use an apostrophe to show where letters have been left out.

A contraction

is

a

shortened form of a word,

Common he

is

1997

a figure,

or a group of words.

Contractions

he's

you

'97

of the clock

you'll

will

o'clock

let

us

let's

they had

they'd

we

are

we're

where

where's

The word

not can be shortened to -n't

is

and added to

a verb, usually

without changing the spelling of the verb.

EXAMPLES

EXCEPTIONS 808 Language Handbook

are not

aren't

have not

haven't

does not

doesn't

had not

hadn't

do not was not

don't

should not

shouldn't

wasn't

were not

weren't

will not

won't

cannot

can't

Do •Of

not confuse contractions with possessive pronouns.

Do

(2)

not divide a word so that one letter stands alone.

INCORRECT

Tokubci and his bodyguard Zenta stayed

Some word-processing programs

break a word at the end of

CORRECT

automatically

will

a line

one of the

rules given

(3) Divide

how

words

in this

section.

ends of

lines.

If

incorrectly, revise the line by

a

hyphen

ter-in-law

bodyguard Zenta stayed inn.

tomorrow.

CORRECT We are going to

is

used

sister-in-law

moving the

word or by rebreaking the word and ing a "hard"

an unusual

in

We are going to see my brother and my sis-

INCORRECT

the computer has hyphenated

at the

his

overnight

an already hyphenated v/ord at a hyphen.

Always check a printout of your writing to see

Tokubei and

and insert

a hyphen. Occasionally, such a break will violate

o-

vcrniglu in an unusual inn.

1

insert-

(4)

Do

my brother and my

not divide a one-syllable word.

INCORRECT

hyphen (one that the computer

see

tomorrow.

Mr.

White held the paw while he wish-

ed for two hundred pounds.

cannot move).

CORRECT

paw while he two hundred pounds.

Mr. Wliite held the

wished

for

Use a hyphen with compound numbers from twenty-one to ninety-nine and with fractions used as adjectives.

EXAMPLES

one-half cup of flour

twenty-five dollars

PARENTHESES Use parentheses to enclose material that is added to a sentence but is not considered of major importance.

EXAMPLES

Robert F Tristram Coffin (1892-1955) wrote "The Secret Heart."

On the

we

Sabbath

eat braided

(pronounced kha'

A

short sentence

in

bread called challah

la).

parentheses may stand by

itself

or be contained

within another sentence.

EXAMPLES

Fill in the order form carefully. (Do not use a pencil.) The old fort (it was used during the CivU War) has been rebuilt and is open to the public.

DASHES Use a dash to indicate an abrupt break

in

thought or

speech.

EXAMPLES

Alfonso don't

—

The murderer ending.

8

1

Language Handbook

I

is

mean, doesn't

—but

I

—want to face Sandra.

don't want to give away the

QUICK CHECK 2 For each of the following sentences, correct errors

in

the use of hyphens,

and insert parentheses and dashes as needed.

EXAMPLE

I .

I

1.

.

Test answers should be at least twenty five Test

answers should be at

The authors of all three

stories that

least twenty-five

words

words

we've read excel

long.

long.

in sell-ex-

pression and in the use of imager)'.

were in the same situation that > ou are, would demand an apoiogy from them. Sixty five cents per pound is a good bargain. Langston Hughes 1902-1967 is a major force in modern poetry. The wmiier is oh, the envelope is empty!

2. If

3.

4. 5.

I

I

16 Spelling USING WORD PARTS Many

English

parts have

words are made up of two or more word

more than one

parts.

Some word

form.

Roots The root

of a

word

is

J

the part that carries the word's core meaning.

Suffixes

A suffix word

This time-tested

NOTE

verse may help you

remember /

the

ie

rule.

before e

Except after

c

Or when sounded As

like a.

neighbor and weigh.

in

The rhyme above and rules

only are

1

6a and

6b apply

1

when

the

the

same

in

/

and the e syllable.

is

one or more

part to create a

letters

or syllables added to the end of

new word.

a

word or

Adding

Suffixes

When adding the suffix -/y or —ness to a word, do not change the spelling of the word

EXAMPLES EXCEPTIONS

itself.

eager + ness = eagerness and have more than one syllable, change the j- to before adding -ly or -ness. happy + ly = happily lazy + ness = laziness usual +

= usually

1)

For words that end

in

j'

/'

Drop the

final silent e

before a suffix beginning with a

vowel.

EXAMPLES EXCEPTIONS

live

+ ing = living

Keep the

approve +

al

= approval

word ending beginning with a or o.

final silent e in a

before a suffix

in ce

orge

= noticeable courage + ous = courageous notice + able

^^9

Keep the

final silent e

to in ie,

drop the

the

to

/

adding -ing

words e

that end

and change

y.

EXAMPLES

before a suffix beginning with a

consonant.

EXAMPLES EXCEPTIONS

When

NOTE \m

+ ing = lying die + ing = dying lie

hope + ful = hopeful care + less = careless true + h = truly judge + ment = judgment

For words ending in y preceded by a consonant, change before any suffix that does not begin with /.

the y to

EXAMPLES

i

easy +

ly

= easily

For words ending

in

cry + ing = crying

y preceded by a vowel, keep the y

when adding a suffix. EXAMPLES EXCEPTIONS

obey + ed = obeyed boy + hood = boyhood lay— laid pay paid say said

—

day— daily

—

Double the final consonant before a suffix beginning with a vowel if the word ( ) has only one syllable or has the accent on the last syllable and (2) ends in a single consonant preceded by a single vowel. I

In

^NOTE either

some

final

cases, the

consonant

may or may not be

doubled.

EXAMPLES EXCEPTIONS

occur + cd = occurred

Do

not double the

final

w or X mow + ing = mowing

QUICK CHECK

forbid

consonant

+ en = forbidden in words ending in

EXAMPLE

travel

+ er =

traveler or traveller

wax + ed = waxed

I

Each of the following sentences contains two misspelled words. Correct each misspelling.

EXAMPLE

I.

Then he percieved the uniqueness of the expereince.

I .

perceived, experience

Language Handbook 8

1

1.

Many people

2.

To sucede

3.

4. 5.

beleive that biege creates a neutral background.

you must not excede your funds. Lonelyness saddly plagues many people, even in this crowded world. My little brother is always taging along, manageing to ruin ni) fun. The judgement went against him, causing arguements in the press. in business,

Forming the

Plurals of

For most nouns, add

SINGULAR

8 4 Language 1

Handbook

-s.

Nouns

For most compound nouns, form the plural of the word in the compound.

SINGULAR PLURAL

bookshelf

push-up

bookshelves

push-ups

last

seagull

ten-year-old

sea gulls

ten-year-olds

For compound nouns in which one of the words is modiby the other word or words, form the plural of the

fled

word modified.

SINGULAR PLURAL

brother-in-law

maid of honor

eighth-grader

brothers-in-law

maids of honor

eighth-graders

For some nouns the singular and the plural forms are the same.

SINGULAR

AND PLURAL

trout

sheep

Chinese

pliers

series

aircraft

Sioux

species

some names, marks that show pronunciation In

are just as important as

QUICK CHECK 2 Write the

plural of

EXAMPLE

the letters themselves.

each of the following items.

I

.

Native American

I

.

Native Americans

PEOPLE

Aleman Khayyam

PLACES

Koln

mosquito

1.

species

6.

2.

irony

7. child

3. cry

9.

peach

Eugene

Camagiiey

Sainte-Therese

you're not sure about the spelling of a

name, ask the person whose name

8. sergeant-at-arms

4. valley 5.

If

Janacek

Bogota

Azores Giza

Ibanez

Boll

shampoo

check

in

it is,

or

a reference source.

10. scarf

For numbers, letters, symbols, and words used as words, add an apostrophe and -s.

EXAMPLES

four2's

two w's

missing 5's

too

many so's and and^s

Using Apostrophes with

Try

Plurals In

writers

your reading, you may notice that some

do not use apostrophes to form the plurals of numwords used as words.

bers, capital letters, symbols, and

EXAMPLES

Laurence Yep grew up during the

latter part

sure that you put

boxes on

For each of the following sentences, insert

1

2.

is

never wrong. Therefore,

Do

not use

its

to refer to people.

These hers should be written with ss. As computer users know. Is are very important

in all of the

this form.

However, using an apostrophe it is

Xs or /s

Out

apostrophes where appropriate.

3.

of the 1900s.

Make

It

the

in

computing.

200s, several great romances

4.

In

5.

were created. How many Os are

1

in

a billion?

often best to use the apostrophe.

Language Handbook 8

1

Spelling

Numbers

Spell out a

EXAMPLE If

§NOTE

begins a sentence.

hundred people went

to see the

game.

you use several

Within a sentence, spell out numbers that can be written in one or two words. Use numerals for other numbers.

numbers, some

short and

Five

number that

some

better to write

long,

them

it is

all

as

EXAMPLES

hi

numerals.

EXAMPLE plays and

all,

fifty-two people attended the family reunion.

More than l60 people were

He wrote 37

numbers used

Spell out

154 poems.

EXAMPLE

She came

in

invited.

to indicate order.

second

2ndJ in the race.

[)iot

QUICK CHECK 3 The

following sentences contain errors

in

spelling

or the use of numbers.

Correct each error

EXAMPLE

I

.

I

.

I

OOO's of ants rushed out.

Thousands of ants rushed

1.

Why do these ^s look like/s?

2.

Hey!

I

sold

out.

my batch of tickets for fifty cents apiece,

but he got 75

cents for each one of his. 3. In the 1st place,

4.

5.

I

don't

know how

to dance.

The satellite that was launched yesterday will one hundred fift) thousand miles. 10 people showed up for the rehearsal.

travel

one million

17 Glossary OF Usage This Glossary of Usage that are

is

an alphabetical

commonly misused

in

English.

list

of

words and expressions

Throughout

this section

some

examples are labeled standard or nonstandard. Standard English

most widely accepted form of as in in

English.

It is

speeches and writing for school, and

conversation and everyday writing.

used in

in

is

the

format situations, such

informal situations, such as

Nonstandard English

is

language

that does not follow the rules and guidelines of standard English.

an

Use o before words beginning with consonant sounds. Use an before words beginning with vowel sounds. See page 74

a,

1

EXAMPLES

He

did not consider himself a hero.

Market Avenue

is

a one-way

street.

An oryx is a large antelope. We waited in line for an hour. 816 Language Handbook

-r accept, except

Accept

is

a verb that

either a verb or a preposition.

As

means

"receive." Except

a verb, except

means

may be

"leave out" or

"exclude"; as a preposition, except means "other than" or "excluding."

EXAMPLES

Squeaky accepts the responsibility. Some students will be excepted from this assignment. No one except Diego iiad finished the assignment.

affect, effect

means

Affect

"the result of

EXAMPLES

ain't all

Avoid

this

word

ready, already

effect

action."

All

in

speaking and writing;

ready

it is

nonstandard

English.

means "completely prepared." Already

a certain point In time."

I

lot

verb meaning "influence." The noun

We were all ready for the

EXAMPLES

A

a

His score on this test will affect his final grade. The effect of the medicine was immediate.

means "before

a lot

is

some

quiz on "The Monkey's Paw."

had already read "Flowers

Many writers

for Algernon."

overuse a

Whenever you

should always be written as two words.

a

EXAMPLE

1

Spent a lot of time making this poster.

own it

all

lot

The expression all together means "everyone the same place." The adverb altogether means "entirely."

as

lot.

run across

you revise your

writing, try to replace

with a

more exact word

together, altogether

or everything

in

EXAMPLES

The

He

Do

at

not use

EXAMPLE

director called us all together for

is

altogether pleased with

one

final rehearsal.

his victory.

31/^ among See between, among.

at after where.

"Where does she

live?

or phrase.

[not Where does she live

as

bad, badly

Bad

EXAMPLES

The tea tastes bad. [Bad modifies the noun tea.] The boys wrist was sprained badly. [Badly modifies the verb phrase was sprained.]

is

an adjective. 6od/y

is

See like, as.

as

at?]

an adverb.

if

See like, as

if,

as

though.

because See because. reason

f^^j^

between,

among

Use between when

even though they may be part of

EXAMPLE

referring to a

between

time,

.

.

.

classes.

group rather than to separate

The money was divided

bust, busted burst

group containing

Alfonso avoided Sandra

Use among when

EXAMPLE

a

two things at a more than two.

referring to

among the

individuals.

four of them.

Avoid using these words as verbs. Use

a

form of either

or break.

EXAMPLES

The balloon burst

|;/o/

Alfonso's bicycle chain

busted].

broke

\iiol

busted].

Language Handbook 817

choose, chose

Choose

the present tense form of the verb choose.

is

rhymes with whose and means "select." Chose choose.

It

rhymes with grows and means "selected."

EXAMPLES

What

did you

Trish

chose

Do

could of

EXAMPLE

to

as

your topic?

do her report on Shel

Silverstein.

could.

Write could

have.

would of might of and must of

to of, should of,

White could have [not could

Mr.

See page 750.

choose

not write of with the helping verb

Also avoid ought

ff:^ doesn't, don't

It

the past tense form of

is

heeded

ofj

his old

friends advice.

Of is (C^^ except

See

also unnecessary with had.

EXAMPLE

If

had

he

[not had of] seen

it,

he would have told me.

accept, except. Fewer

fewer, less words. Fewer

tells

EXAMPLES

I

is

used with plural words. Less

"how many";

good, well

"how much."

less tells

have fewer errors to correct than

The kidnappers asked Good

is

used with singular

is

for less

I

thought.

money.

always an adjective. Never use good as an adverb.

Instead, use well.

EXAMPLE Well

(C^

had of

could

of.

See

may

EXAMPLE

She works well [not good] with the others. be used as an adjective to mean "healthy."

also

Mary and the children

had ought, hadn't ought

EXAMPLE

He ought

NONSTANDARD STANDARD

EXAMPLE

how come

its, it's

See page

809.

to

Brer In

Possum

finds

of,

I

Handbook

a

a

famous

writer.

writer.

Use himself

is

m a dilemma.

often used instead of

I

know how come he told me that story. don't know why he told me that story.

don't

sort of

In

informal situations, kind of and sort of are often used

mean "somewhat" or

INFORMAL FORMAL 1

is

is

famous

how come

"rather." In formal English,

preferred.

8 8 Language

antecedent as the

himself [not hisself]

informal situations,

carefully.

double subject.

Cade Bambara she

Toni Cade Bambara

its

more

formal situations, why should always be used.

INFORMAL FORMAL kind

called the

H/sse/f is nonstandard English.

hisself

(Cj^

Toiii

is

needed food.

not used with had.

[not had ought] to proofread

subject of a verb. This error

In

is

Avoid using a pronoun along with

he, she, they

why.

Ought

didn't look well; they

Alfonso was kind of shy. Alfonso was rather shy.

somewhat or

rather

is

learn, teach

Learn

means

means

"gain knowledge." Teach

"instruct" or

"show how."

EXAMPLES

Wliat did Brer Possum learn from Brer Snake?

Wliat did Brer Snake teach Brer Possum? like,

as

informal situations, the preposition

In

of the conjunction as to introduce a clause.

often used instead

like is

formal situations, as

In

is

preferred.

Do you think

EXAMPLE

as

if,

though In informal situations, the compound conjunctions as if or

as

preposition

situations, as

if or

EXAMPLE

Zenta acted as

as though

Correct the errors I

.

I .

1. It's liard to

4. 5.

if

|

not

like]

he had never visited the

An

in

each of the following sentences.

Anne Frank she Anne Frank

lived for

lived for

months

months

in

the Secret Annex.

in

the Secret Annex.

except the horrors of the concentration camps.

people to

visit

Do

visit to

In

The sun

informal situations, real

"very" or "extremely."

INFORMAL FORMAL reason

.

.

.

is

became

became extremely

.

the larger box.

otl

.

of,

must of

See could of.

(^^^ ought to of could

See

of.

preferred.

is

real intelligent. intelligent.

informal situations, reason

In .

might

outside.

often used as an adverb meaning

Charlie

because

and

inside, off,

formal situations, very or extremely

In

Charlie

used instead of reason revise

inside [not inside

is

(^^^^y^

these camps.

not use of with other prepositions such as

EXAMPLE real

See

1

I

usage

teach as good as a

of

lay

inn.

reject the reality of these camps. Majdanek learned Data Horn about the camps. Data felt like the shoes in the huge pile there could of been hers. Not surjirisingly, Dara felt badly and claimed that a book doesn't

2. Alot of 3.

in

lie,

pages 760-76

preferred.

is

21 QUICK CHECK

31/^

like is

as though. In formal

often used for the

EXAMPLE

liiot

Mrs. Flowers had suggested?

like]

like,

Marguerite memorized a poem, as

.

.

.

because

formal situations, use reason

that. In

.

.

is

.

often

that,

or

your sentence.

INFORMAL

I'he

reason

I

like

"Broken Chain"

is

because

I

identify

with the protagonist, Alfonso.

FORMAL The reason

I

like

"Broken Chain

"

is

that

I

identify

with

the protagonist, Alfonso. I

like

"Broken Chain because "

I

identify'

with the

protagonist, Alfonso.

Language Handbook 8

1

Q^^^^

should of

could

of.

2I!5^

sit,

See

set

See page

sort of

See kind

760.

(C^ of,

sort

teach

well.

of.

See learn, teach.

GLOSSARY The glossary below found just as

an alphabetical

is

the selections

in

you use

a dictionary

—to

of

list

book. Use

in this

apprehensive

words

aroma

out the meanings

find

(ap're-hen'siv)

—apprehensively

this glossary

(a

ro'ma)

•

pleasant smell.

n.;

(Some technical, foreign, and more obscure words in this book are not listed here but instead are defined for you in the footnotes that accom-

arrogant

pany many of the selections.)

attain

Many words in the English language have more than one meaning. This glossary gives the meanings that apply to the words as they are used in the selections in

audacity (o-das'a-te)

of unfamiliar words.

this

book.

Words

closely related

comfioss/or)

given for the

The

in

(a -tan')

avaricious

avert

collection or supply. Arsenal

is

v.:

accomplish or reach. n.:

(av'a-rish'as)

(a-vurt')

v.:

boldness. adj.:

greedy for money.

turn away. 2. prevent.

I.

form and meaning

in

banish

(ban'ish)

send away (from a country or com-

v.:

munity).

form.

first

proud and haughty.

adj.:

n.:

often used to refer to a store of weapons.

one entry (for instance, and compassionate), and the definition is

are usually listed together

(ar'a-gant)

arsenal (ar'sa-nal)

uneasy; fearful.

adj.:

adv.

behold (be -hold') v.: look at. blessing. benediction (ben'a-dik'-shan) benign (bi nln') adj.: kind. blemish (blem'ish) n.: imperfection or defect

following abbreviations are used:

n..-

adj.

adjective

n.

noun

adv.

adverb

v.

verb

•

in

ap-

pearance.

Each word's pronunciation

is

given

in

parentheses.

guide to the pronunciation symbols appears

tom

bluster

breach

or for information about words not

in this

glos-

(ab-surd')

listed here,

brittle (brit"l) ficult

(ak-sed')

acute (a-kyoot')

v.:

give

adj.:

in;

opening. Breoch usually refers to a

(a-gast')

agitator terest

adj.:

(aj'i-tat'ar) in

horrified. n.:

often used

in a

v.;

(an'i-ma'shan)

(ap'a-the)

appall (a-pol')

append

tries to stir

v.:

(a-pend')

at, ate, car; ten,

up

in-

political cause;

n.:

n.:

lack of

eve;

destruction;

emotion or

v.:

ice; go,

Latin (lat"n); chin; she; zh as

in

coax. leap around happily; play.

v.:

n.:

embarrassment and annoyance

(klinch'ar)

n.:

fact

collaborate (ka- lab'asome undertaking.

killing.

interest.

commence (ka-mens') commend (ka-mend')

attach or add.

is,

dif-

failure.

or point that decides an

argument.

horrify; shock. v.:

line of defense.

noisy.

liveliness. n.:

or a

sharp and hard. 2. touchy or

to deal with.

clincher

relieve; reduce.

annihilation (a-nl'a-la'shan)

apathy

who

negative sense.

alleviate (a-le've-at')

animation

person

and support for a social or

.

I

channel (chan'al) v.; send in a certain direction. chide (chid) v.; scold mildly. chronic (kran'ik) adj.: lasting a long time; constant. clamorous (klam'ar-as) adj.: loud and confused;

starting fights.

aghast

or noisy

a wall

caused by disappointment or

bold and active; given to

adj.:

a bullying

in

cease (ses) v.: stop. chagrin (sha-grin')

consent.

sharp; sensitive.

aggi'essive (a-gres'iv)

in

n.;

cavort (ka-v6rt')

lous.

accede

speak or act

v.:

adj.:

cajole (ka-jol')

laughably unreasonable; ridicu-

adj.:

(brech)

breakthrough

consult a dictionary.

absurd

(blus'tar)

way.

of each right-hand glossary page.

For more information about the words sary,

A

at the bot-

horn, look, tool;

azure (azh'ar);

oil,

rat')

v.: v.:

r)

as

in

ring

work together on

begin. I.

out; up, fur; a for unstressed vowels, as a

thin, the;

v.;

recommend.

in

ago, u

in

2. praise.

focus;

'

as

in

(rir))

Glossary 82

communion or

(lo-myoon'yan)

compassion

(lorn

pash'an)

•

—compassionate

n.:

adj.

sharing of thoughts

n.:

deep sympathy.

—

a re-

congenial (lon-jen'yal) adj.: agreeable; pleasant. conjecture (kan-jek'char) v.: guess; predict.

conspicuous (kan-spik'yoo-as)

adj.:

conspiratorial (kan-spir'a-tor'e-Bl)

adj.:

suggesting a

consult (kan-sult')

I.

v.:

discuss things with. 2. ask for

(dis-grunt''ld)

used as

v.

adj.:

displeased;

annoyed.

disheveled

(di-shev'ald)

adj.:

untidy; rumpled.

disturbing the public

adj.:

scatter; drive away.

v.:

dispirit (di-spir'it)

make

v.:

dispute (di-spyoot')

n.:

distract (di-strakt')

v.:

contention (kan-ten'shan)

n.:

sad and discouraged.

argument or debate.

draw the attention away

in

an-

credulity (kra-doo'la-te)

n.:

drone

express.

(dron)

distract.

v.;

(dog'id)

—doggedly

conflict; struggle.

couch (kouch) v.: put into words; countenance (koun'ta-nans) n.:

stubborn; not giving

adj.:

in easily.

adv.

continuous buzzing or humming

n.:

sound.

face.

tendency to believe too

readily. n.:

divert (da-vurt')

dogged

an opinion from.

(kred)

harsh; disagreeable

other direction.

secret plot.

crevice

adj.:

harmony.

in

dispel (di-spel')

obvious; notice-

able.

creed

sounding; not

or disagreement.

conflict

n.:

disorderly (dis-6r'dar-le) order and peace.

borders; boundaries.

n.:

branch of

rules;

reveal.

v.:

(dis'kord')

disgruntled

demand.

(kan'finz')

system of

n.:

discordant (dis-k6rd"nt)

comprehension (kam'pre-hen'shan) a: understanding. compulsory (lom-pul'sa-re) adj.: required. confines

disclose (dis-kioz')

discord

compel (lorn -pel') v.: force. compulsion n. compliance (lom-pli'ans) n.: act of giving in to quest, wish, or

discipline (dis'a-plin')

knowledge.

deep understanding.

feelings; a relationship of

duplicate (doo'pli-kat') make or do again.

v.:

make an exact copy

of;

statement of belief or principles.

(krev'is)

crack.

n.;

culminate (kul'ma nat') v.: bring to a climax. cunningly cunning (kun'in) adj.: clever; sly.

ecstasy (ek'sta-se)

great delight or joy.

n.:

—ecstatic

•

—

curt

adj.

adv.

efficient (e-fish'ant)

(k«rt) adj.: brief to the point of rudeness.

cynical

(sin'i

•

kal) adj.:

denying the sincerity of people's

—cynically

motives and actions.

decree

(de-kre')

order

n.: official

adv.

order or decision.

—

(di

v.:

broken down or worn out

n.:

denunciation (de-nun'se-a'shsn)

n.:

harsh criticism;

accusation.

deprive

(de-priv')

v.:

keep from having,

using,

or en-

derision (di-rizh'an)

n.:

contempt;

ridicule.

(des'a-lit) adj.: lonely; miserable; deserted.

detect (de-tekt') v.: discover; perceive. deterioration (de-tir'e- a- ra'shan) n.; worsening; decline.

detract (de diatribe

n.

v.:

lengthen; extend. n.:

ability

to write or speak

gracefully and convincingly.

make extremely thin, as ^-emaciated v. used as adj. come forth.

(e-ma'she-at')

from starvation or

v.;

illness,

endeavor

(en-dev'ar)

engulf (en

-gulf)

v.:

ensue (en-soo')

v.:

into view.

try.

swallow up.

v.:

come

afterward; follow immedi-

ately (said of events).

joying.

desolate

(e-l6r)'gat')

emanate (em'a-nat') v.: emerge (e-mtrj') v.: come

false belief.

—efficiency

pass (said of time).

v.:

eloquence (el'a-kwans)

use.

loo'zhan)

•

laps')

(e

emaciate adj.:

from old age or long delusion

elapse

elongate

officially.

decrepit (de-krep'it)

producing a desired result

adj.:

with the least waste or expense.

trakt')

v.:

(di'a-trlb')

take away.

n.:

condemnation; harsh, abusive

822 Glossary

•

lap'a dat'id) adj.: shabby; falling apart. •

(ent'ar-prT'zirj) adj.:

ideas; willing to

undertake

enunciate (e-nun'se-at') distinctly.

new

v.:

—enunciation

full

of energy and

projects.

pronounce

clearly and

n.

escort (es-kort') v.: accompany to give protection. escort (es'kort') n.: one or more people accom-

—

panying others to give protection.

evoke

criticism.

dilapidated (da

enterprising

(e-v6k')

v.:

call

exalt (eg-z6lt')

v.;

I.

forth.

raise

or

lift

up. 2. praise

or

glorify.

exaltation

haggard

ta'shan) a: great joy.

(eg'zol

(eks-pres'le) adv.: for the specific purpose;

expressly

(hag'ard)

harrowing

particularly.

extravagant (ek-strav'a-gant)

adj.:

showy

I.

looking worn-out and ex-

adj.:

hausted.

hasty

2. ex-

hearth

cessive; unrestrained.

(har'6-ir))

(has'te)

adj.:

(harth)

used as

v.

front of a building. 2. false or ar-

(fa -sad') n.: I.

tificial

front or appearance.

fastidious (fas-tid'e-as)

fatigue

foreboding

hard to please.

huddle

(for-bod'ir))

husky

something bad

feeling that

n.;

fortify (fort'a-fl')

fraudulent

abandoned and

frivolous

(hus'ke)

on

(fur'tiv) adj.:

(hi-path'a-sis)

imminent

silly.

adj.:

done or

—furtively

(gar'mant)

garrulous

impair

designed mainly to be

acting

•

(im per')

inability

n.:

in

a secret

v.:

to read or write.

light up.

adj.: likely

away

to happen right

damage.

v.:

•

implicit (im-plis'it)

implied or suggested rather

adj.: I.

than expressed outright. 2. without reservation or

manner;

doubt; unquestioning.

adv.

article of clothing.

n.:

(gar'a-las)

adj.:

improvise

—implicitly

(im pramp'too') •

adj.:

adv.

unplanned;

made or

impudent

energetic

n.:

2. (jin'jar'le) adv.: carefully; cautiously.

gravity (grav'i-te)

n.:

grueling

I.

unable to speak.

•

od'a

•

bal) adj.: incapable of being heard. n.:

reason to do something;

motivation.

incessant (in-ses'ant)

— incessantly

twisting of the face expressing

adj.:

constant; continual.

adv.

incomprehensible (in'kam'pre-hen'sa-bal) containing sand or

impossible to understand.

extremely

incontinent (in-kan'ta-nant)

— incontinently

demanding. (jT-ra'shan)

n.:

circular motion.

habitation (hab'i-ta'shan) a; act of

living

ten, eve;

somewhere;

by something

is.

Ice; go, in

horn, look, tool;

azure (azh'ar);

oil,

felt

r)

lacking self-control.

—

to be unjust.

out; up, fur; a for unstressed vowels, as a

thin, the;

adj.:

adv.

inincredulous (in-krej'oo-las) adj.: unbelieving. credulously adv. indignant (in-dig'nant) adj.: expressing anger caused

occupancy.

Latin (lat"n); chin; she; zh as

adj.:

dirt.

(groo'al-ir)) adj.: exhausting;

at, ate, car;

too bold; disrespectful. adj.:

gluey.

pain or disgust. (grit'e) adj.:

(in

incentive (in-sent'iv)

seriousness.

n.;

(grim'is)

adj.: sticky;

odj.:

unable to speak understandably or effectively.

inaudible

angry stare; scowl.

glutinous (gloot''n-as)

(im'pyoo-dant)

inarticulate (in'ar-tik'yoo-lit)

gesture.

n.:

make or do with the mafill a need that was not

foreseen).

gaunt gesticulation (jes-tik'yoo-la'shan)

(glou'ar)

v.:

hand (usually to

things.

and bony; hollow-eyed.

(gont) adj.: thin

grimace

(im'pra-vlz')

talking a great deal, espeterials at

about unimportant

gyration

explanation or theory to

done without preparation.

garment

gritty

n.:

(said of danger, evil, misfortune).

person fleeing from danger.

n.:

(im'a nant)

impromptu

glower

kind; merciful; sympathetic.

sounding deep and hoarse;

illuminate (i-loo'ma-nat')

useful rather than to look good.

gingerly

adj.:

I.

deceit, trickery,

not properly serious;

functional (fur)k'sha-nal)

cially

adj.:

illiteracy (il-lit'ar-a-se)

(friv'a-las) adj.:

sneaky.

press close together, as for warmth.

be proved.

wild outburst.

n.:

fugitive (fyoo'ji-tiv)

furtive

v.:

(hyoo-man')

strengthen.

v.:

(fro'ja-lant) adj.: based

(fren'ze)

everyday.

confused sound of many voices;

lonely.

or cheating.

frenzy

(hud''l)

hypothesis

(for -lorn') adj.:

n.:

rough. 2. big and strong.

happen.

forlorn

(hub'bub')

humane

fussy; overly particular.

adj.:

adv.

uproar. fussy;

adj.:

exhaustion; tiredness.

(fa -teg') n.:

finicky (fin'ik-e)

will

hubbub

— hastily

fireplace.

n.:

hoax (hoks) n.: trick or fraud. homely (hom'le) adj.: plain and facade

distressing; painful.

adj.:

quick or hurried.

as

in

ring

ir\

—indignantly

ago, u

in

focus;

'

adv.

as

in

(rir))

Glossary 823

indomitable (in-dam'i-ta-bal) industrious (in-dus'tre-as) dustriously

adj.:

adj.:

medley

unconquerable.

—

hard-working.

in-

indescribable; too great to

adj.:

(in-eks'pli -lo- bal) adj.: incapable of

inexplicable

(in'fa-mas)

infuse (in-fyooz')

having a very bad reputation.

adj.:

incapable of being satis-

adj.:

always wanting more.

insolent (in'ss-iant)

boldly disrespectful.

adj.:

— inso-

lently adv. instill (in -stir)

v.;

gradually put

Latin for "drop";

(an idea or feeling).

in

literally

instill

means "put

in

(in-stir|k'tiv) adj.:

—instinctively

automatic; done without

intent (in-tent')

adj.:

extremely careful

details; fussy.

monotonous

deceive.

v.:

(m3-nat"n-3s)

adj.:

unchanging

in

tone;

motif (mo- tef) n.: repeated figure in a design; theme. multitude (mul'ta-tood') n.: large number of people or things; crowd.

muster (mus'tar) v.: call forth; gather. mutinous (myoot"n as) adj.: rebellious. •

Mutiny usually

refers to a revolt of soldiers or sailors against their

adj.:

mystify

(mis'ta-fi')

nuance

(noo'ans')

puzzle.

v.:

adv.

insufferable (in-sufar-a-bal)

tently

about

officers.

drop by drop.") thinking.

sadness; gloominess.

n.:

mix; combine.

v.:

boring because of lack of variety,

v.: fill.

insatiable (in-sa'sha-bal)

instinctive

(murj)

mislead (misled')

being explained.

{Stilla is

merge

meticulous (ma-tik'yoo-las)

describe.

fied;

jumble; mixture of dissimilar

n.;

melancholy (mel'sn-kare)

adv.

ineffable (in-ef's-bal)

infamous

(med'le)

things.

unbearable.

adj.:

—

paying close attention.

shade of meaning.

n.:

In-

adv.

interminable (in-tur'mi-ns-bal)

adj.:

seem-

endless;

Intersperse (in'tsr-spurs')

scatter or place here

v.:

and there among other things or people.

intolerant (in-tal'ar-ant)

adj.:

unwilling to put up with

introspective (in'tro-spek'tiv) observing one's

own

adj.:

thoughts and

-ver'e-a-bsl)

(in

variably

n.:

place

oblivious (a-bliv'e-as)

in

a

desert with plants and a

v.:

hide.

obstruct (ab-strukt')

v.:

block.

adj.:

looking inward;

feelings.

—

unchanging.

ciously

omen In-

bossy and interfering.

—

offi-

adv.

(o'man)

n.:

thing believed to be a sign or warn-

ing of a future event.

ominous

adv.

adj.:

relief.

unaware.

adj.:

obscure (ab-skyoor') officious (a-fish'as)

something.

invariable

oasis (6-a'sis)

supply of water; place or thing offering

ing to last forever.

(am'a nas) •

adj.:

threatening; seeming to indi-

cate that something bad will happen.

jostle

(jas'sl)

v.:

bump

onslaught (an'slot') n.: attack. opportunist (ap'ar-toon'ist)

or shove.

jubilation (joo'ba-la'shan)

n.:

happy celebration.

n.:

own

only to further his or her

someone who

interests,

acts

without re-

gard for basic principles.

lackadaisical (lak'a-da'zi-kal) terest or

adj.:

showing

spirit.

laconic (Is-kan'ik)

using few words.

adj.:

lack of in-

— laconi-

cally adv.

legacy (leg's someone by

•

se)

n.:

I

.

money or property

a will. 2. anything

handed down,

left

as

oratory (or'a-tor'e) of public speaking.

—

to

from

palatable (pal'a-ta-bal) pall (pol)

loathe

(loth)

v.:

lucid (loo'sid)

odj..'

forgiving;

not harsh

in

v.:

pallid (pal'id) I

.

clearheaded. 2. easily understood. noise,

mar

(mar)

(ma-kab'ra) v.:

spoil

824 Glossary

odj.;

gruesome; horrible.

or make imperfect.

adj.: fit

to eat; acceptable.

boring.

adj.: pale.

pandemonium

(pan'da-mo'ne-am)

n.:

wild disorder,

and confusion.

paranoia

macabre

become

punishing.

hate.

adj.:

public speaking; the art

ostentatious (as'tan-ta'shas) adj.: showy or exaggerostentatiously adv. ated.

an ancestor.

lenient (len'ysnt)

n.: skill in

(par'a-noi'a)

n.:

mental disorder that often

causes people to believe they are being persecuted; false suspicions.

parasite (par's -sit')

person

n.:

who

qualm (kwam)

others' ex-

lives at

passive

pen

(pas'iv) adj.: inactive; offering

(pen)

no

v.:

confine or enclose. (A pen

where animals are

quiver (kwiv'ar)

resistance.

rapacious (ra-pa'shas)

done penance (pen'sns) wrongone's regret for and to express sorrow

rapt

act of self-punishment

commanding;

adj.:

al-

pervade placid

plod

v.:

poignant

v.:

move

reconnoiter

exist throughout.

—placidly

calm.

(plas'id) adj.:

(plad)

causing sadness or pain;

adj.:

touching.

populate

(pap'yoo-lat')

portly (port'le)

postpone

v.:

(p6st-p6n')

ponement

inhabit; live in

large and heavy

adj.:

put off

v.:

in a

•

refrain (ri-fran')

v.:

refuge

(ref'yooj)

n.:

refute

(ri-fyoot')

v.:

— regally

dignified way.

— post-

until later.

who

(prem'a-nish'Dn)

thing, especially

preoccupation being absorbed

adj.:

place of safety.

prove wrong with evidence.

majestic; of or like a

queen or

king.

adv.

reiterate (re-it'a-rat')

n.;

something bad,

held a

currently holds

will

relish

return to an earlier or less

n.:

n.;

(pro-dij'as)

prodigy (prad's-je)

n.:

(ri-mit')

dons

natural tendency.

n.:

a

— reluctantly

n.:

memory

v.;

or retelling

send as payment.

cause and goes over to the other

aban-

side.

•

child with highly unusual talent

reproachful

or genius. v.:

unwilling.

renounce (ri nouns') v.: give up; abandon. reprimand (rep'ra-mand') v.; scold; correct

huge; amazing.

adj.:

adj.:

remorse (ri-mors') n.: deep feeling of guilt. renegade (ren'a-gad') n.: traitor; person who

overly bold

or confident; taking too much for granted. proclivity (pro-kliv'a-te)

(ri-luk'tant)

of past experiences.

remit adj.:

repeat.

reminiscence (rem'a-nis'ans) state of

thought.

in

v.:

pleasure; enjoyment.

adv.

happen.

(pre -ak'yoo- pa'shan)

(rel'ish) n.:

reluctant

it.

some-

feeling that

presumptuous (pre-zump'choo-ss)

(ri-proch'fal)

disapproval.

offer.

adj.:

— reproachfully

requisition (rek'wa-zish'an)

proposal; suggested

proposition (prap's-zish'an) n.: I. plan. 2. statement put forward for discussion or de-

v.:

ten order or request for. 2.

sharply.

expressing blame or adv.

make a formal writdemand or take by auI.

thority.

bate.

prosaic (pro-za'ik)

adj.:

resolute (rez'a-ioot')

ordinary; unimaginative.

provisions (pro-vizh'snz)

n.:

psyche (si'ke) n.: mind or soul. punctual (pur|k'choo-3l) adj.: on time; prompt. puncture (purjk'char) v.: make a hole in.

revile

(ri-vil')

rivet

(riv'it)

pursuit (par-soot')

n.:

chase.

rove

eve;

is,

ice; go,

Latin (lat"n); chin; she; zh as

in

horn, look, tool;

azure (azh'ar);

adj.:

purposeful; determined.

resound (ri-zound') v.; echo. reverberate (ri-vur'ba-rat')

stock of food and other

supplies.

at, ate, car; ten,

survey a place to gather

hold back.

regression (ri-gresh'an)

n.

proffer (praf'ar)

v.:

advanced condition.

position before the person

prodigious

(rek'a noit'ar)

regal (re'gal)

or on.

precede (pre-sed') v.: be, come, or go before. predecessor (pred'3-ses'ar) n.: person who

premonition

distant.

act of making

n.;

information.

adv.

heavily or with great effort.

(poin'yant)

greedy.

adj.:

completely absorbed.

up after an argument or disagreement.

danger.

(par-vad')

adj.:

reconciliation (rek'an-sil'e-a'shan)

lowing no debate or delay. n.:

(rapt)

raucous (ro'kas) adj.: harsh sounding; loud. ravenous (rav'a-nas) adj.: extremely hungry. recede (ri-sed') v.: move back; become more

doing.

peremptory (psr-emp'ts-re) peril (per'al)

tremble.

v.;

a fenced area

is

kept.) n.;

sudden feeling of uneasiness or

n.:

doubt.

pense without making any contribution.

v.;

v.:

echo.

v.:

speak abusively;

call

names.

fasten or hold firmly, as

if

by rivets

(metal bolts or pins).

oil,

(rov)

v.;

roam or wander.

out; up, fur; a for unstressed vowels, as a

thin, the;

r)

as

in

in

ago, u

in

focus;

"

as

in

ring (r\q)

Glossary 825

rueful (roo'fal)

ment and

adj.:

or expressing embarrass-

feeling

— ruefully

regret.

tentative

(ten'ta-tiv)

hesitant; uncertain.

adj.:

termination (tur'ma-na'shsn)

sagacity

(s3 -gas'a- te)

intelligence and

n.:

—ten-

tatively adv.

adv.

good

terse

and

(turs) adj.: brief

—tersely

words.

n.:

clear;

ending.

without unnecessary

adv.

judgment.

savor

titanic (ti-tan'ik) (sa'v9r)

scoff (skaf)

sedate

v.:

v.:

enjoy and appreciate. scorn.

— sedately

calm and serious.

adv.

—

serene (s9- ren') adj.: calm; peaceful. serenity n. simper (sim'psr) n.: silly or self-conscious smile. simultaneous (sl'mal-ta'ne-es) adj.: occurring, done, or existing at the same time. simultaneously adv. smirk (smurk) v.: smile in a conceited, knowing way.

—

somnolent specter

Olympian gods.)

torrent

(spek'tar)

n.:

.

I

drowsy.

adj.:

ghost. 2. any object of fear or

spendthrift

money

(spend'thrift')

n.:

who spends

person

carelessly or wastefully.

(stag'sr)

v.:

move

unsteadily, as

if

about to

stately

walk

v.:

(stoop)

adj.:

v.:

stiff,

ery

I

.

free

n.:

surplus

adj.:

v.:

from germs.

—treach-

n.:

quiver; vibration; trembling

movement. (trem'yoo-las)

adj.:

I.

trembling. 2. fearful

noisy commotion; uproar.

n.:

cruel and unjust rule or use of

2. unproductive.

habit.

unabashed

(un'a-basht')

adj.:

unembarrassed; un-

ashamed. things or

unseemly

(un-sem'le)

enough.

adj.:

n.:

power.

smoothness; politeness.

(volt)

not decent or proper.

adj.:

jump over.

v.:

vehement

(ve'a-mant)

—vehemently

call for.

adj.: forceful;

passionate.

adv.

(sur'pius') adj.: extra.

surreptitious (sur'sp-tish'as) secret or sneaky way.

swagger way.

2. untrust-

formal agreement between nations.

n.:

(trem'ar)

tumult (too'mult') tyranny (tir'a-ne)

sulky; resentful.

(sum'sn)

(tret'e)

tremor

vault sullen (sul'an)

I. disloyal.

grand.

sublime (sa-bJTm') adj.: majestic; grand. succession (ssk-sesh'an) n.; a number of people coming one after another; series. sufficient (sa-fish'ant)

adj.:

appearance of safety.

false

n.

tremulous

grim, or proud way.

bend forward from

suavity (swav'a-te)

summon

(trech'ar-as)

or timid.

(stat'le) adj.: majestic; dignified;

sterile (ster'al)

stoop

a

in

flood.

col-

lapse.

stalk (stok)

n.:

causing shock.

treacherous

treaty dread.

stagger

(tor'ant)

tournament (tur'na-mant) n.; series of contests. traumatic (tro-mat'ik) adj.: emotionally painful;

worthy; giving a (sam'na-lant)

of great size, strength, or power.

Greek mythology the Titans were giant gods who were overthrown by their children, the (In

mock or show

(si-dat') adj.:

adj.:

2.

(swag'ar)

v.:

adj.:

done or

—surreptitiously

I.

boast loudly or

walk

show

a

in

verify (ver'a-fi') acting

in

v.:

check or test for correctness; con-

a firm.

adv.

bold or arrogant

vex

(veks)

disturb; annoy.

v.:

vigil (vij'al)

watch; act of staying awake to keep

n.:

off.

watch. vile

tangible (tan'JB-bal)

adj.:

capable of being

felt,

ob-

served, or understood.

tantalizing

(tan'ta-ITz'ir)) adj.: teasing

something desired by someone; tempting. (In Greek mythology, Tantalus was a king condemned after death to stand in water

moved away whenever he

(viz'ij) n.:

vouch

(vouch)

face or facial expression.

v.:

give a guarantee or assurance.

by remaining un-

available or by withholding

that

disagreeable; disgusting.

(vTI) adj.:

visage

tried to drink

to remain under branches of fruit that

were

it

just

and out

wary

(wer'e)

wrathful

writhe

adj.:

cautious.

(rath'fal) adj.:

(nth)

v.:

—warily

adv.

extremely angry.

twist and turn.

—wryly

wry

(ri) adj.:

twisted; grimly

zeal

(zel) n.:

great enthusiasm; devotion to a cause.

humorous.

adv.

of reach.)

taut

(tot) adj.: tightly stretched.

826 Glossary

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS For permission to reprint copyrighted material, grateful acknowledg-

ment

is

made

ABC/Kane Productions International, Inc.: From "Touched by a Dolphin." an ABC World of Discovery production by ABC/Kane Productions International.

Inc..

1950 by the Crowell-Collier Publishing Co.; copyright renewed 1977 by Ray Bradbury, From "Ray Bradbury," an interview by Frank Filosa from On Being a Writer, edited by Bill Strickland. Copyright © I967by FrankFilosa. The Continuum Publishing Company: From "Toni Cade Bambara from 6/ack Women Writers ot Work, edited by Claudia Tate. Copyright

©

to the following sources:

television transcript by

Pamela Stacey.

©

1983 by Claudia Tate.

Conway; From

Copyright© 1997 by ABC/Kane Productions International. Inc. Akwe:kon Press: From "Something to Be Proud of by Virginia Driving Hawk Sneve from Akwe.kon journol, vol. 10. no. I. Spring 1993. Copyright® 1993 by Akwe:kon Press. American Library Association: From "Starred Reviews: Books for Youth: Parallel journeys" by Hazel Rochman from Booklist, vol. 91. no. 8. May S. 995. Copyright © 995 by American Library Association. From "Of Life. Love. Death, Kids, and Inhalation Therapy: An Interview with Paul Zindel" by Audrey Eaglen from Top of the News, vol. 34. no. 2. Winter 1978. Copyright © 1978 by American Library

drafts of "Horsing Around" by Alison Conway. 997 by Alison Conway. Robert Cormier: From "Robert Cormier" by Robert Cormier from Speoking for Ourselves, compiled and edited by Donald R. Gallo. Copyright © 990 by Robert Cormier. yeannette Henry Costo: "Memorial and Recommendations of the Grand Council Fire of American Indians presented to the Hon. William Hale Thompson, mayor of Chicago, December I. 1927"

Association.

edited by Rupert Costo.

I

1

The Bancroft

1

1

Wise Old Woman" from

Library: Text from "The

The Sea of Gold ar^d Other Tales from Japan, adapted by Yoshiko Uchida. Copyright © 965 by Yoshiko Uchida. Eiizabeth Bornett, Literary Executor: "The Courage That My Mother Had" from Colleaed Poems by Edna St. Vincent Millay. Copyright© 1954, 1982 by Edna St. Vincent Millay and Norma Millay Ellis. 1

Published by HarperCollins.

Susan Bergho/z Literary Services, New York: Autobiographical comment by Sandra Cisneros. Copyright© 987 by Sandra I

The Texas Observer. September 1987. All rights reserved. "Bien aguila" from La coso en A'lango Street by Sandra 1984 by Cisneros, translated by Elena Poniatowska. Copyright Cisneros. First published

in

©

®

994 by Elena Poniatowska. Published by Vintage Espariol. a division of Random House. Inc. All rights reserved. "A Smart Cookie" from The House on Mango Street, by Sandra Cisneros. Copyright © 1984 by Sandra Cisneros. Published by Vintage Books, a division of Random House, Inc., and in hardcover by Alfred A. Knopf in 1994. All rights reserved. "Three Wise Guys" by Sandra Cisneros. Copyright © 990 by Sandra Sandra Cisneros; translation copyright

1

I

Cisneros. First published by Vista magazine.

December

23, 1990. All

Afison

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©

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1

from "The Background" from Textbooks and the American Indian by the American Indian Historical Society, written byjeannette Henry,

Copyright© 1970 by the

The Literary Trustees of Walter de la Mare and the Society of Authors as their representative: From "Silver" from The Complete Poems of Walter de la Mare Published in the United States in 1970. Dial Books for Young Readers, a division of Penguin Putnam Inc.: Text and one illustration from "Brer Rabbit and Brer Lion" from The Tales of Uncle Remus by Julius Lester, illustrated by Jerry Pinkney. Text copyright© 1987 by Julius Lester. Illustrations copyright© 1987 by Jerry Pinkney.

Doubleday, a division of Random House, Inc.: From "Salvation Is the Issue" by Toni Cade Bambara from Black Women Writers (1950-1980), edited by Mari Evans. Copyright© 1984 by Man Evans. From Anne frank: The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank. Copyright 952 by Otto H.Frank. Dramatists Play Service, Inc., and Paul Zindel: Let Me Hear You Whisper slightly adapted from Let Me Hear You Whisper and The Ladies Should Be in Bed. Two Plays by Paul ZindeL Copyright © 973 by Paul Zindel. CAUTION: The reprinting of Let Me Hear You Whisper included in this volume is reprinted by permission of the author and Dramatists Play Service. Inc. The stock and amateur performance 1

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rights in this play are controlled exclusively by

Bilingual Press/Editorial Bilingiie, Arizona Stote University, Tempe, AZ: From "A Conversation with Leroy V. Quintana" by Douglas Benson from The Bilingual ReviewlLa Rewsto Bilingue, vol. 12, no. 3, September-December 1985. Copyright© 1985 by Bilingual

vice, Inc..

"The Habit of Movement" from Reaching

Press/Editorial Bilingue.

Mainland 1995 by

&

Selected

New Poems

the

by Judith Ortiz Cofer. Copyright

©

Bilingual Press/Editorial Bilingue.

The Boston Globe: "Reward They Get Is Just" by Omar Kelly from The Boston Globe, June 19, 1998, from "Boston Globe Online Archives." on-line. Available http://newslibrary.krmediastream.com-

Chronic/e Books: "Oranges" from New and Selected Poems by Gary Soto. Copyright © 995 by Gary Soto. Published by Chronicle Books. 1

San Francisco.

Ruth Cohen for Lensey Namioka: Comment on "The Inn of Lost Time" by Lensey Namioka. Copyright © 1997 by Lensey Namioka. "The Inn of Lost Time" by Lensey Namioka from Short Stones by Outstanding Writers for Young Adults, edited by Donald R. Gallo. Copyright © 1989 by Lensey Namioka. All rights reserved. Don Congdon Associates, Inc.: The Drummer Boy of Shiloh" by Ray Bradbury. Copyright © 960 by The Curtis Publishing Company; copyright renewed © 1988 by Ray Bradbury. From "Drunk, and in Charge of a Bicycle" from The Stories of Ray Bradbury. Copyright © 980 by Ray Bradbury. "There Will Come Soft Rams" by Ray Bradbury. Copyright 1

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Dramatists Play Ser-

440 Park Avenue South, New York, NY 10016, No stock or amateur production of the play may be given without obtaining in

advance the written permission of the Dramatists Play Service. Inc., and paying the requisite fee. Inquiries regarding all other rights should be addressed to Gilbert Parker, William Morris Agency. Inc., 1325 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 00 9, Spencer Duncan: From "One Good Man" by Spencer Duncan from CaHiope, vol, 5, 1992, Copyright © 1992 by Spencer Duncan, Pub1

1

Topeka West High School. Topeka. KS. Jennifer Ellison, Webb School of Knoxville, Knoxville, Tennessee: "Maiden-Savin' Sam (Ballad)" by Jenny Ellison from Webb of Words. 1992-93. Copyright© 1992 by Mary Jennifer Ellison. Published by the students of the Middle School of Webb School of

lished by

Mary

Knoxville,

TN,

&

"Charles" from The Lottery by Shirley 949 by Shirley Jackson; copyright re1976. 1977 by Laurence Hyman, Barry Hyman, Mrs. Sarah

Farrar, Straus

Giroux,

Jackson. Copyright

newed

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1

Inc.:

948.

1

Webster, and Mrs, Joanne Schnurer. Gale Research Company Inc.: From "Paul Zindel" from /Authors & Artists for Voung Adults, vol. 2, edited by Agnes Garrett and Helga P. McCue. Copyright © 1989 by Gale Research Company Inc. From "Ann Petry" from Contemporary Authors: Autobiography Series, vol. 6. edited by Adele Sarkissian. Copyright © 1988 by Gale Research

Acknowledgments 827

i Company

From "Yoshiko Uchida" from Something About

Inc.

Author: Autobiography Series, vol.

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edited by Adele Sarklssian.

the

Copy-

© 1986 by Gale Research Company Inc. From "Walter Dean Myers" from Something About the Author, vol. 4 edited by Anne Commire. Copyright © 1985 by Gale Research Company Inc. From "Gary Paulsen" from Something About the Author, vol. 54, edited by Anne Commire. Copyright© 1989 by Gale Research Company Inc. Marcio Ann Gi//espie: From "Maya Angelou," an interview by Marcia Ann Gillespie from Essence, December 1992. Copyright © 1992 right

1

by Marcia

Ann

,

Gillespie.

Grolier International, Inc.: From

New

Kids on the 6/ock; Oral Histo-

of Immigrant Teens by Janet Bode. Copyright Bode. Published by Franklin Watts.

ries

©

1989 by Janet

GrovelAtlantic, Inc.: "Love in the Middle of the Air" from "Circus" from Word A/chemy by Lenore Kandel. Copyright© I960, 1966, 1967 by Lenore Kandel. Harcourt Brace & Company: "The Naming of Cats" and illustrations from Old Possum's Book ofPraaical Cats by T. S. Eliot, illustrated by Edward Corey. Copyright 1939 by T. S. Eliot; copyright renewed © 1967 by Esme Valerie Eliot. Illustrations copyright ® 1982 by Edward Gorey. From "Tentative (First Model) Definitions of Poetry" from Good Morning, America by Car! Sandburg. Copyright 1928 and renewed 1956 by Carl Sandburg. From Poem No. 45 (retitled "They Have Yarns") from The People, Yes by Carl Sandburg. Copyright 1936 by Harcourt Brace & Company: copyright renewed 1964 by Carl Sandburg. "Broken Chain" from BoseboH m April and Other Stories by Gary Soto. Copyright © 990 by Gary Soto. HarperCollins Publishers: "Paul Bunyan" and "Point of View" from

©

©

1

Where

Copyright© 1974 by

the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein.

Eye Music,

Inc.

"We

Are

All

One" from The Rainbow

People by Lau-

©

1989 by Laurence Yep. From The 99 by Paul Zindel. by Paul Zindel. Copyright

rence Yep. Text copyright

Evil

Pig-

man and Me © Harvard University Press and the Trustees of Amherst College: From "Fame is a bee" from The Poems of Emily Dickinson, edited by Thomas H. Johnson. Copyright © 1951, 955, 979, 983 by the 1

1

1

1

1

President and Fellows of Harvard College. Published by

The Belknap

Press of Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Mass.

Bontemps and George Houston Bass. Francisco Jimenez: Comment on "The Circuit" by Francisco Jimenez. Copyright© 1997 by Francisco Jimenez. "The Circuit" by Francisco Jimenez from Cuentos Chicanos: A Short Story Anthology, edited by Rodolfo A. Anaya and Antonio Marquez. Copyright © 984 by the University of New Mexico Press. Published for New America by the University of New Mexico Press. Daniel Keyes: "Flowers for Algernon" by Daniel Keyes from The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction. Copyright© 1959. 1987 by Daniel Keyes. Quote by Daniel Keyes. The Heirs to the Estate of Martin Luther King, jr., c/o Writers House, Inc. as agent for the proprietor: "I Have a Dream" by Martin Luther King, Jr. Copyright© 1963 by Martin Luther King, Jr.; copyright renewed © 99 by Coretta Scott King. Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.: "The Landlady" from Kiss, Kiss by Roald Dahl. 1

Copyright

©

1

1959 by Roald Dahl. Originally appeared

From "Lucky Break" from The Wonderful

Yorker.

Story of

in

The

New

Henry Sugar

and Six More by Roald Dahl. Copyright © 1945, 1947, 1952, 1977 by Roald Dahl. "The People Could Fly" and excerpt from The People

©

by Virginia Hamilton. Text copyright 985 by Virginia Hamilton. "Refugee in America" from Collected Poems by Langston Hughes. Copyright 1994 by the Estate of Langston Hughes. "Con-

Could

Fly

1

©

from

Who

Asian American Perspeaive, vol. Ling.

Little,

from

©

no.

7,

Copyright© 1997 by Amy

3,

1980.

Photo caption by

Amy

Ling.

Brown and Company: Excerpt

Nisei

Copyright© in Bridge: An

"Camp Harmony")

(retitled

Daughter by Monica Sone. Copyright

©

1

953 and renewed

1981 by Monica Sone.

Simon, an imprint of Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing "The Old Grandfather and His Little Grandson" from Twentytwo Russian Tales for Young Children by Leo Tolstoy, translated by Miriam Morton. English translation copyright© 1969 by Miriam Morton. Macmillan General Reference USA, a division of Ahsuog, Inc.: From Webster's New World Dictionary, Third College Edition. Copyright ©I 988, 1991. 1994, 1996, 1997 by Simon & Schuster, Inc. Macmillan Library Reference USA, a division of Ahsuog, Inc.: From "A Note on This Book" and "Strong but Quirky" (retitled "Davy Is Born") from Yankee Thunder: The Legendary Life of Davy Crockett by li-win Shapiro. Copyright 1944 by Irwin Shapiro. Little

Division:

Mcintosh and Otis, Inc.: "Too Soon a Woman" by Dorothy M. Johnson from Cosmopo/iton, March 1953. Copyright© 1953 and re-

newed©

1981 by

Heather

K. £. Ale/chert;

from Ursa Major,

Dorothy M. Johnson.

vol.

Ill,

"Freedom Walk" by Heather Melchert

Spring 1993. Copyright

©

1993 by Heather

Moscowjunior High School, Moscow, ID. Merlyn's Pen: "Na Na" by Jaqueta Oliver from Merlyn's Pen, Melchert. Published by

April/May 1991. Copyright in

©

1991 by Jaqueta Oliver. First appeared

Merlyn's Pen: The National Magazines of Student Writing. All rights

Toad" by Anne-Mane Wulfsberg from Merlyn's Copyright© 1991 by Anne-Marie Wulfsberg. First appeared in Merlyn's Pen: The National Magazines of Student Writing. All rights reserved. "She Is Watching Us" by Theresa Ireland from Merlyn's Pen, February/March 1993. Copyright © 1993 by Theresa Ireland. First appeared in Merlyn's Pen: The National Magazines of Student Writing, All rights reserved. "Walking with Living Feet" by Dara Horn from Merlyn's Pen, October/November 1993. Copyright© 1993 by Merlyn's Pen, Inc. First appeared in Merlyn's reserved.

"Ode

to a

Pen, April/May 1991.

Magazines of Student Writing. All rights reserved. in My Bathtub" by Brooke Rogers from Merlyn's Pen, vol. VIII, no. 5, Special Issue 993. Copyright © 993 by Merlyn's Pen. First appeared in MeWyn's Pen: The National Magazines of Student Writing. All rights reserved. "I Am Kwakkoli" by Bisco Hill from Merlyn's Pen, Middle School Edition, vol. X, no. I, October/November 1994. Copyright © 1994 by Merlyn's Pen. First appeared in Merlyn's Pen: The National Magazines of Student Writing. All rights reserved. Miami Herald: From "John Glenn Left Me Awed Thank You" by Leonard Pitts, Jr., from Miami Herald, November 7, 1998. Copyright © 998 by the Miami Herald. /Modern Curriculum Press, an imprint of Pearson Learning: Excerpt (retitled "The Deserter") from Across Five Aprils by Irene Pen: The National

and Wang, a division of Farrar, Straus <£ Giroux, Inc.: From "I've Known Rivers" from The Big Sea by Langston Hughes. Copyright © 1940 by Langston Hughes; copyright renewed © 1968 by Arna Hill

1

Amy Ling: "Grandma Ling" (and excerpts) by Amy Ling. 1980 by Amy Ling. Originally published as "Grandma"

©

"The Cormorant

1

1

—

1

Hunt. Copyright© 1964 by Irene Hunt.

William

Morrow <£ Compony,

Inc.:

From "Founding Fathers" from

& Cherished Myths of American

History by Richard Shenkman. Copyright© 1988 by Richard Shenkman. Walter Dean Myers: "The Treasure of Lemon Brown" by Walter Dean Myers from foce to Face: A Collection of Stories by Celebrated Soviet and Amencon Writers, edited by Thomas Pettepiece and Anatoly Aleksin. Copyright© 1990 by Walter Dean Myers. From "Walter Dean Myers" by Walter Dean Myers from Speal
Legends, Lies

1

1991. Published by the National Education Association.

1987, 1990 by Vikram Seth.

Diana Nyad: From "Segment #10: Diana Nyad Discusses Iditarod Sled Dog Race" (retitled "The Last Great Race on Earth"), from

Barbara

Morning

dition"

All

You

Sleep Tonight by

Vikram Seth. Copyright

S. Kouts on behalf of Joseph Bruchac: "Birdfoot's Grampa" by Joseph Bruchac. Copyright© 1978 by Joseph Bruchac.

828 Acknowledgments

Edition

on National

Nyad. Broadcast on March

Public Radio. Copyright 18,

1993.

©

1

993 by Diana

Dwight Okita:

"In

Response to Executive Order 9066" from Cross1992 by Dwight Dwight Okita. Copyright

©

ing with the Light by

Okita. Published by Tia

The Palm Beach

Chucha

Post: "After

Island:

A Triumph

Human

of the

Tuckwood from The Palm Beach Post, July 5. 1998, 998 by The Palm Beach Post. Pantheon Books, a division of Random House, Inc.: "The Moustache" from Eight Plus One by Robert Cormier. Copyright © 975 by Robert Cormier. "Coyote Steals the Sun and Moon" and excerpts from American Indian Myths and Legends by Richard Erdoes and Alfonso Ortiz. Copyright © 984 by Richard Erdoes and Alfonso Ortiz. Shandin Pete: "Grandpa" (and excerpts) by Shandin Pete. Philosophical Library, New York: From What Believe by Albert Spirit" by Jan

Copyright

©

1

1

1

I

Copyright 1930 by Philosophical Librai^. Leroy V. Quintana: "Legacy 11" by Leroy V, Quintana from The Face of Poetry, edited by LaVerne Harrell Clark and Mary MacArthur. Einstein.

©

979 by Leroy V. Quintana. Random House, Inc.: Excerpts (retitled "Mrs. Flowers") from Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou. Copyright © 969 and renewed © 1997 by Maya Angelou. "Raymond's Run" and "A Sort of Preface" from Gorilla, My Love by Toni Cade Bambara. Copyright © 1971. 972 by Toni Cade Bambara. The Diary of Anne Frank by Albert Hackett. Frances Goodrich Hackett, and Otto Frank. Copyright© 1956 by Albert Hackett, Frances Goodrich Hackett, and Otto Frank. CAUTION: The Diary of Anne Frank is the sole property of the Copyright

1

/

1

1

dramatists and

is

fully

protected by copyright.

It

may not be acted by

professionals or amateurs without written permission and the pay-

ment

of a royalty. All rights, including professional, amateur, stock,

radio broadcasting, television, motion picture, recitation, lecturing, public reading, and the rights of translation into foreign languages are

reserved. All inquiries should be addressed to the dramatists' agent:

Leah Salisbui7, 234

West

44th Street,

Russell <£ Volkening as agents for

New

Ann

"The Railroad Runs to Canada" from

York, N.Y.

Petry: "Go

hiarriet

1983 by

Ann

On

or Die

"

and

Tubman: Conductor on the

Underground Railroad by Ann Petry. Copyright

©

©

Lyric to

"America" by Neil Diamond. Copyright

1980 Stonebridge Music.

Stone Soup, the magazine by children: From "Chinese

Press. Chicago. Ellis

Stonebridge Music:

©

—

New

Year Paying Respect" by Chris Hoe, 13 years old. from Stone Soup, the magazine by children, March/April 99 Copyright © 99 by the Children's Art Foundation. Times Books, a division of Random House, Inc.: From "John Lewis: Hand in Hand Together" (retitled "The Power of Nonviolence") from from Camelot to Kent State by Joan Morrison and Robert K. Morrison. Copyright© 1987 by Joan Morrison and Robert K. Morrison. Jackie Torrence: From "Brer Possum's Dilemma" by Jackie Torrence from Homespun. Tales from America's Favorite Storytellers, edited by Jimmy Neil Smith. Copyright© 1988 by Jackie Torrence. 1

1

1

.

1

United States Department of Interior, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Office of Public Affairs: From "Indians" by Ophelia Rivas. First pubArrow

lished in

1971.

III,

Viking Penguin, a division of Penguin Putnam Inc.: From "Robert Frost Interview" by George Plimpton, from Writers at Work, Second Series,

edited by

George

A. Plimpton. Copyright

©

1963 by The Paris

Review.

Warner Bros. Publications U.S. Inc., Miami, FL 33014: From "Lean on Me" by Bill Withers. Copyright© 1972 by Interior Music (BMI). All rights reserved.

Weekly Reader Corporation: "Experiment 023681 by Peter Leary from Writing!®, vol. 15, no. 8, April 1993, Copyright© 1993 by Weekly Reader Corporation. All rights reserved. lustina W. Gregory and Krishna Winston, literary executors. Estate of Richard and Clara Winston: "A Tragedy Revealed: A Heroine's Last Days" by Ernst Schnabel from Life, vol. 45. no. 7. August 8. 958. Copyright © 958 by Time. Inc.; copyright renewed © 986 by Justina Winston Gregory and Krishna Winston. Lourence Yep: From "Laurence Yep" by Laurence Yep from Speck"

1

1

1

1

ing for Ourselves,

©

compiled and edited by Donald

R. Gallo.

Copyright

1990 by Laurence Yep.

1955 and renewed

Petry.

Inc.: From A Fire in My hiands by Gary Soto. Copyright 990 by Scholastic Inc. Estate of Robert Service: From Ploughman of the Moon by Robert

Scholastic

©

1

Schuster: "The Secret Heart" (and excerpt) from The Collected Poems of Robert P. Tristram Coffin. Copyright 1935 by Macmillan Publishing Company; copyright renewed © 1963 by Margaret

Simon

<£

& Schuster Books for Young Readers,

an imprint of Simon

Way

from

"We

Overcome"

Shall

Seeger. Published by Ludlow Music,

Quote by

Hawk Sneve. Monica Sone: Comment on "Camp Harmony"

New York,

by Monica Sone. 997 by Monica Sone. Gory Soto: Comment on "Broken Chain" by Gary Soto. Copyright © 997 by Gary Soto. Pamela Stacey: Comment on transcript for "Touched by a Dolphin." Copyright © 2000 by Pamela Stacey. 1

1

Writers of the Post-

Fiction,

Irene

pany, Farmington

From My Old

"American Freedom Guy Carawan & Pete

Inc., New York, NY, I960. Hunt from American Writers for Children Since I960: edited by Glenn E. Estes. Published by Gale Research Com-

Schuster Children's Publishing Division: Pecos Bill and the MusW, Felton. Copyright © 1965 by Prentice Hall, Inc. Excerpt (retitled "The Dogs Could Teach Me") from Woodsong by Gary Paulsen. Copyright © 990 by Gary Paulsen. Virginia Driving Hawk Sneve: "The Medicine Bag" by Virginia Driving

©

(retitled

Song") by Zilphia Horton, Frank Hamilton,

tang by Harold

Copyright

v/ith

Ml, 1992.

<£

1

Interviews

conducted and edited by Feroza Jussawalla and Reed Dasenbrock. Published by University Press of Mississippi. Jackson,

Colonial World,

Lyrics

Coffin Halvosa.

Simon

SOURCES CITED Quotes by Sandra Cisneros from

Service.

Life

Italian

NY,

Ml, 1986.

Washington

Inc.,

1975.

story quoted by

mining on Long

Quote by

Hills,

by Golda Meir. Published by Dell Publishing Co.,

Island.

Elly

Shodell from Particles of the Past Sand-

I870's~l980's by

Public Library, Port

Shel Silverstein

Elly

Shodell. Published by Port

Washington, NY, 1985.

from "Shel

Silverstein," an interview

from

Publishers Weekly, vol. 207, no. 8. February 24, 1975. Published by the R. R.

Bowker Company,

New York.

Acknowledgments 829

PICTURE CREDITS The

illustrations

on the Contents pages are picked up from pages

in

the

textbook. Credits for those illustrations can be found either on the textbook page on which they appear or in the listing below.

Fur™ and ©1994 Warner Bros. All rights reGirard Foundation Collection at the Museum of International Folk Art. a unit of the Museum of New Mexico. Santa Fe. Photo Shooting Back; 2. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8, 9, Debra by Michel Monteaux; xx-l LaCoppola and Charles Meier; I, Robert E. Daemmrich/Tony Stone Images; 13. Derik Murray/The Image Bank; 17. UPl/Corbis; 24. APIWide World Photos; 29, Choice Photos/The Image Bank; 32. 35. Carolyn Soto; 37, Margaret W. Peterson/The Image Bank; 36, Francisco Ontanon/The Image Bank; 43. Illustrations by Liz Callen; 44—45. Movie Still Archives; 45. (top right) Tom Leonard; 46. Selmur/ Cinema Rel. Corp. (Courtesy The Kobal Collection); 47, Bob Daemmrich/Stock. Boston; 50. Movie Still Archives; 52, Bill Gallery/Stock. Boston; 54, Culver Pictures, Inc.; 58-59, Movie Still Archives; 62. Culver Pictures. Inc.; 66. Tom Leonard. 67. Selmur/ Cinema Rel. Corp. (Courtesy The Kobal Collection); 71. Movie Still Archives; 72. Tom Leonard; 73. AP/Wide World Photos; 77. (background) Tony Stone Images, (top) J. Pickerell/FPG International, (bottom) Amherst College Library; 78, Mike Mazzaschi/Stock, Boston; 89, Page

Chariots of

xiii

served;

xvii,

,

©

I

©

Cruz/© SuperStock

©PhotoDisc. Inc. 1998; 103. UPl/Corbis; 10. (top) Corbis. (bottom) © LaVerne Harrell Clark; 3. (right) Wells College Archives. Louis Jefferson Long Library, Aurora, NY; 15, Illustration by Tom Leonard; 16, (inset) Private collection. Courtesy of the artist; 116-117, (background) illustration by Tom Leonard; 17, (inset) © Ruben Guzman; 19, Jerry Jacka Photography; 120—121, From American Indian Painting and F.

Inc.;

92, 93. 94. 102.

I

I

I

I

I

I

I

Sculpture by Patricia Janis Broder. Private collection; 122, 125, 126. From the David T. Vernon Collection of Native American Indian Art,

Colter Bay Indian Arts Museum. Grand Teton National Park, WY. Photo by J. Oldenkamp; 128, (top) Robinson Museum (Pierre, SD)/Werner Forman Archive/ Art Resource. New York, (left) Courtesy Colter Bay Indian Arts Museum, Grand Teton National Park. WY/Jerry Jacka Photography, (right) Holiday House; 132. From the David T. Vernon Collection of Native American Indian Art, Colter Bay Indian Arts Museum, Grand Teton National Park. WY. Photo by Oldenkamp; 134. (inset) Amy Ling; 134-135. (background) IllustraJ. tion by Oki Han; 145. Fotopic/West Stock; 57, Scribner Book Company; 58, AP/Wide World Photos; 67, F. Cruz/ SuperStock Inc.; 168-169, 1995 Lifesmith Classic Fractals, Northridge, CA; 170-171, 172, 173, 175, 176, Illustrations by Krysten Brooker; 178, (inset) Topham/The Image Works; 178-179, Illustration by Krysten Brooker; 180, ©PhotoDisc, Inc. 1998; 184-185. 188. Illustrations by Chris Sheban; 191. Henry Lansford/Photo Researchers, Inc.; 193, 194, Illustrations by Chris Sheban; 195. (left) Mary Evans Picture Library; 196 (top). Bob Hurt/Index Stock Photography; 196-197, (background) Henry Lansford/Photo Researchers, Inc.; 198, Photonica; 201, 202 (lower left), Tom Leonard; 202, (background) Telegraph Colour Library/FPG International; 204, Tom Leonard; 205, 206. Culver Pictures. Inc.; 208. Corbis; 214-215. Tom Leonard; 217. Lester Lefkowitz/Tony Stone Images; 218-219. 220. 225. Tom Leonard; 226-227, Illustrations by Kunio Hagio; 229, (map) Al Fiorentino; 229, (background) Museum of Art, Rhode Island School of Design, Gift of Lucy Truman Aldrich (35.477); 232-233, Illustrations by Kunio Hagio; 242, Lensey Namioka; 246-247. Index Stock Photography; 250, Mansell/Time Inc; 261, F. Cruz/© SuperStock Inc.; 262-263, Homage to Rousseau (1985) by Carlos Ochagavia. Oil on canvas. Courtesy of the artist; 264-265, 269 (background), Tom Hopkins; 269 (right) Rick Browne; 270, C. K. Lorenz/Photo Researchers, Inc.; 271, Wayne Lankninen/Bruce Coleman. Inc.; 275-276. 277. 280-281. 282-283. Illustrations by Ronald Himler; 283. (top) Ruth Wright Paulsen; 284. (background) Paul Souders/Tony Stone Images, (bottom) Jeff Schuitz/Alaska Stock Images; 290. (bottom) Jerry Jacka Photography; 290-29 SuperStock. Inc.; 291 (top) Jerry Jacka Photography, (bottom right) LaVerne 1

1

©

1

©

©

©

©

1

.

©

©

Harrell Clark; 292. Corbis; 293,

Ohio

State

Museum/Werner Forman

Archive/Art Resource, New York; 295. (bottom) Ray Nelson/Phototake NYC; 296-297. E. R. Degginger/Tony Stone Images; 298. Ray Nelson/Phototake NYC; 299, Illustrations by Jason Wallengren; 300,

830 Picture Credits

Tom Leonard; 301, Richard Laird/FPG International; 303, Illustration by Tom Leonard; 304, Illustration by Jason Wallengren; 307, Illustration by Tom Leonard; 309, Norbert Wu/The Stock Market; 310, Illustration by Tom Leonard; 311, Illustration by Jason Illustration by

Wallengren; 313, Illustration by Tom Leonard; 316, Illustration by Jason VVallengren; 318. A. B. Dowsett/Science Photo Library/Photo Researchers. Inc.; 320. UPl/Corbis; 321. Stuart Westmorland/Tony Stone Images; 322. (center) Ulli Seer/Tony Stone Images, (bottom right) Tim Davis/Photo Researchers, Inc.; 322-323, (background) Tony Stone Images; 323. (top) Fran(;ois Gohier/Photo Researchers, Inc.; 337, F. Cruz/© SuperStock Inc.; 338-339, From Never Saw Another Butterfly (Schocken Books, 1993). Courtesy U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, Washington, DC; 341, Al Fiorentino; 342, AFF/AFS Amsterdam, The Netherlands; 343, GEO Systems; 344, AFF/AFS Amsterdam, The Netherlands, (top left and center left) (bottom left) The Trustees of the Imperial War Museum, London, (right) Library of Congress; 344—345, (background) The Trustees of the Imperial War Museum, London; 345, (right) UPl/Corbis; 346-347, 349, 350, AFF/AFS Amsterdam, The Netherlands; 351, Culver Pictures, Inc.; 353, Movie Still Archives, 354, Culver Pictures, Inc.; 355, AFF/AFS Amsterdam, The Netherlands; 357, Movie Still Archives; 360, AFF/AFS Amsterdam, The Netherlands; 364-365, Movie Still Archives; 368, AFF/AFS Amsterdam, The Netherlands; 371, Movie Still Archives; 373, National Archives, Washington, DC; 374, Movie Still Archives; 378, Culver Pictures, Inc.; 379, Corbis; 38 AFF/AFS Amsterdam, The Netherlands; 385, Movie Still Archives; 387, The Trustees of the Imperial War Museum, London; 389, UPl/Corbis; 393, Movie Still Archives; 397, AFF/AFS Amsterdam, The Netherlands; 398, Movie Still Archives; 402, AFF/AFS Amsterdam, The Netherlands; 407, Culver Pictures, Inc.; 408-409, AFF/AFS Amsterdam, The Netherlands; 409, (inset) Maria Austria Instituut, Amsterdam, the Netherlands; 410, Cosmopress; 410^1 I, I

©

©

©

©

©

©

1

©

©

©

©

(background) © AFF/AFS Amsterdam, The Netherlands; 412, AP/Wide World Photos; 413, © AFF/AFS Amsterdam, The Nether-

GEO

Systems; 418, Fotodienst, Utrecht, the Netherlands: Amsterdam, The Netherlands; 427. Rijksinstituut voor Oorlogsdocumentatie. Amsterdam, the Netherlands; 428, Brown Brothers; 431.© AFF/AFS Amsterdam. The Netherlands; lands; 417,

423.

© AFF/AFS

©

Time Inc.; 433. M. Angelo/ 432. Loomis Dean/Life Magazine Westlight; 434-435. Photograph used with permission of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum. Washington, DC; 449, F. Cruz/ SuperStock Inc.; 452, 455, Collection Charles Shannon, Montgomery, AL. Metropolitan Museum of Art, promised gift of Charles and Eugenia Shannon; 456, Irene Young/Traditional Arts Services; 457, Suzanne and Joseph Collins/Photo Researchers, Inc.; 458, (left) Zig Leszczynski/Animals Animals, (right) Pat and Tom Leeson/Photo Researchers, Inc.; 463. Courtesy of Davis Mather Folk Art Gallery, Santa Fe, NM; 464, Art by Sergio Bustamante/Photo by Clint Clemens; 465, (left) Richard Erdoes, (right) Alfonso Ortiz; 466, From The Tales of Uncle Remus. The Adventures of&rer Rabbit as told byjulius Lester. Illustrated by Jerry Pinkney. Dial Books. New York, art 1987 by Jerry Pinkney; 468, (top) AP/Wide World Photos; 468 (bottom), 470, Courtesy of Davis Mather Folk Art Gallery, Santa Fe, NM; 472^73, Paul Fusco/Magnum Photos, Inc.; 477, Erich Hartmann/Magnum Photos, Inc.; 48 482^83, 486^87, 490, Illustrations by Roger Roth; 492, Greensboro Historical Museum, Greensboro. NC; 496^97, 498 (background), Fumiyaka Kamakura/Photonica; 498 (right) Brown Brothers; 499, Courtesy of the artist; 501, Falls Village-Canaan Historical Society; 506, Clackamas Community College, Oregon City, OR; 508, Larry Moyer/HarperCollins; 513, Illustrations from The Cremation of Sam McGee by Robert Service, Illustrations by Ted Harrison used by permission of Kids Can Press, Ltd., 1986 by Ted Harrison. Toronto, Canada. Illustrations copyright Available in the United States through Greenwiilow; 515, Tom Walker/Tony Stone Images; 517, Illustrations from The Cremation of Sam McGee by Robert Service, illustrations by Ted Harrison used by permission of Kids Can Press. Ltd.. Toronto. Canada. Illustrations copyright 1986 by Ted Harrison. Available in the United States through Greenwiilow; 518. AP/Wide World Photos; 521. Coibis; 533. F. Cruz/© SuperStock Inc.; 536. Paul Hurd/Tony Stone Images; 539. Private collection. Courtesy Barbara Olsen; 540. Mike Reagan;

©

©

1

,

©

©

546, Kent VInyard/lndex Stock Photography; 547-549, Solomon D. Butcher Collection/Nebraska State Historical Society; 550, Brian by Dorothy M. Reynolds/Index Stock Photography; 55 Copyright Johnson. Reprinted by permission of Mcintosh and Otis, Inc.; 552, Solomon D. Butcher Collection/Nebraska State Historical Society; 1

©

,

558, (poster) Corbis; 558-559, 560-561. (top) Marc and Evelyne Bernheim/Woodfin Camp & Associates; 562, (map) Arvis Stewart; 562-563, 564-565, 566-567 (top) Marc and Evelyne Bernheim/

Woodfin Camp & Associates; 567, Thomas

Y. Crowell; 569, Zefa/Tony Stone Images; 573, background: Tony Stone Images; 573, From The People Could Fly by Virginia Hamilton, illustrated by Leo and Diane Dillon. Illustrations copyright © 985 by Leo and Diane Dillon. Reprinted by permission of Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.; 573-574, (background) Tony Stone Images; 574, From The People Could Fly by Virginia Hamilton, illustrated by Leo and Diane Dillon. Illustrations copyright © 1985 by Leo and Diane Dillon; 575, (background) Tony Stone Images; 576, From The People Could Fly by Virginia Hamilton, illustrated by Leo and Diane Dillon. Illustrations copyright© 1985 by Leo and Diane Dillon; 577 (background) Tony Stone Images, (left) Bruce Crippen, 581, 582, 583, Ronald Himler 990/Kirchoff/ Wohlberg; 587, Hat from the Craig Nannos Collection, from The Civil War: Decoying the Yanks, photo by Larry Sherer, © 1984 Time-Life Books Inc.; 596, Matthew Brady/Library of Congress/Photo credit: Omni Photo Communications; 601-602, (background) Christian Michaels/FPG International; 603, (top) NASA; 603-604, (back1

I

ground) Christian Michaels/FPG International; 606-607, (background) Duomo Photography, Inc. /David Madison/The Image Bank, 608, (left) Courtesy of the Harvard University Archives, (right) Fukuhara/WestLight; 619, (top) F. Cruz/© SuperStock, Inc., (bottom) Courtesy of the artist; Ian Shaw/Tony Stone Images; 620-62 622-623, © H. Mark Weidman, 625, (top) Library of Congress; 626, Frans Lanting/Tony Stone Images; 628, (left) Henri CartierBresson/Magnum Photos, Inc., (middle) Archive Photos, (right) Cornell Capa/Magnum Photos, Inc.; 630, From the David T. Vernon Collection of Native American Indian Art, Colter Bay Indian Arts Museum, Grand Teton National Park, WY. Photo by J. Oldenkamp; 631, (bottom left) Corbis, (top right) Kjell B. Sandved/Photo Researchers, Inc.; 632, (top left) Michael Heron/Woodfin Camp & Associates, (bottom right) Martin Rogers/FPG International; 633, P. Barry Levy/Index Stock Photography; 636-637, ©PhotoDisc, Inc. 1999, 1

,

638-639, (background and top left) Culver Pictures, Inc., (center and bottom left) By permission of the Watchorn Memorial Methodist Church, Alfreton, Derbyshire, England, (bottom right) The American Jewish joint Distribution Committee, Inc.; 638-639, (background) ©PhotoDisc, Inc. 1998; 639, (top) Brown Brothers, (bottom) Culver Pictures, Inc.; 640-641, (background) ©PhotoDisc, Inc. 1998; 640, 641 (top and bottom). Lower East Side Tenement Museum; 641 (center), Corbis; 642-643, (background) ©PhotoDisc, Inc. 1998;

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Picture Credits 83

I

INDEX OF SKILLS Terms

Literary

Description

132,255,286,324.

84, 104,

436, 443. 458. 470, 478, 494, 499, 50

The

boldface page numbers indicate an ex-

510.520,526-530,654,707

Actors in drama 340 Acts in drama 708 Figurative language.

Alliteration 290,293.545.705,710

Allusion 676,683.705 Analogy, literary 705. See

logical

Assonance

545. 705

Atmosphere

209, 705. See also

Mood.

Audience for

drama

340

for nonaction 656

Author 705 Author's perspective (viewpoint). See Perspective, writer's.

Author's purpose

Autobiography

702 82-86, 288, 644, 653,

38. 336. 573. 9.

1

705 Ballad 520.705-706,714 657.

Basic situation 716

Biography

706

657.

Call to action

Cause and

1

162

effect 272. 285. 293

Character 2,92,

103,

1

1

1

,

706

546. 553, 573, 578, 598, 674,

antagonist 324, 509,715 changein254. 324. 340-341 dynamic/static 07, 386, 706 9, 3 hero 324, 4 2, 449, 46 50 509. 5 0, I

1

1

1

1

I

,

1

,

,

536. 542, 552-553, 570, 60

,

1

1

605, 6

9,

1

2

motivation 209, 254, 546, 552. 706, 7 protagonist 324,501,509.715 trait 182,255.470,706 Characterization 06-1 07, 255, 436, 706 direct/indirect 107,706 Chronological order 84, 214, 223, 331, 528,614,618,706,732 Cliches 675 Climax 2 2, 340, 4 2, 706, 708, 714,716 Comedy 480,494,706 Complications 2 2, 340, 708. 7 4. 7 1

1

1

1

1

Concrete poem Conflict 2,12,1

I

5,

1

I

1

I

74, 89, 2

1

2,

1

Dramatic irony 341,480,481,493,710-711

End rhyme 16,544-545,715.716

340, 372,

412.552,669,706-707 external/internal 15,706-707 Connotation 151,438,707

Exaggeration 480. 496, 499, 512,520,708,718

506, 509,

Extended metaphor

4

External conflict

706

1

5,

1

,

626, 7

554, 715

Fable 457, 458, 708-709 Familiar essay 708 historical

586,598,599,656,710

narration 7 Figurative language (figures of speech) 28, 38, 4 1-»2, 528, 573, 580, 585, 709 1

metaphor

4

1

,

626, 709,

711-712

personification 42, 214, 223, 709, 713 simile 41,709,711,717

symbol

42,

I

12,

I

14,

717

First-person point of view 275,285,

286,288,714 Flashback 84, 343, 372, 709 Folktales 458.460-461,709 fable 457.458,460 legend 460.71 I

506,509,512,717 trickster tale 461.462,472,493 urban legend 460-461 yarn 496, 499

Skills

9, 25, 26, 84,

34,

1

1

36, 585,

7

460. 480. 493, 496, 499, 50

1

1

Implied metaphor 711-712 Informal essay 708 Inner story 243 Internal conflict 5, 598, 706-707 Internal rhyme 520,545,710,715 Introduction 85. 163,256,332,444,614, 714,716 Inversion (of word order) 7 0, 750 Irony 309, 34 480, 48 493, 494. 570. 710-711 dramatic 341,480,481,493,710-711 situational 480,481,493,710 verbal 480,481,493,710 Jargon (specialized vocabulary) 511, 656 1

1

1

,

,

1

Journal. See Diary,

Legend

460, 7

1

I

Letter 8, 39, 75, 286, 325, 449, 57 654,656,684,801 1

Limerick 71 Lyric

poem

1

,

628,

I

71 1,714

Main event 552 Main idea 8, 9,

25, 256, 264, 325, 444,

1

1

1

1

,

6

1

634, 683, 729

2,

Message 449,636,643 Metamorphosis 711 Metaphor 41,626,709,711-712 extended 41,626,712

See also Atmosphere.

Fiction 656, 709

1

I

1

Moral 457,458,708-709 Motif 461,462,469,470,709

Creation myth 460,470,712 Crisis 340 Cuentos Denotation 438, 707

832 Index of

0,

Meter 544,712 Monologue 167,708 Mood. 209,210,512.520,636,705

1

tall tale

1

1

implied 711-712

Exposition 708, 714, 716

Context 294, 326

I

,

480,493,706,708,710 115, 18, 710

530, 555, 570, 573, 6

Epic 714 Essay 657. 708

Eye rhyme

718

main

,

,

1

106-107, 119, 131, 38. 99, 2 4, 224, 254-257, 288-289, 295, 324. 340-34 372, 386, 413,414, I

characters 340-34 372. 386. 413.414 climax 340,412.708 complications 340, 708 conflict 340.412 crisis 340 director of 340 exposition 708 flashback 343, 372 lighting designers for 340 plot 340 producer of 340 resolution 340, 708 scenes in 708 screenplay 708 set designers for 340 stage set 34 4 3 teleplay 295,708 tragedy 4 1

336. See also Persuasion.

1

Idiom Imagery

basic dramatic principles 340

324. 715

440.713

,

1

Drama 340-341,708

Humor

Antagonist

Simile.

1

536, 542, 552, 553, 570, 601, 605, 619, 718

Historical fiction 586, 598, 599. 656. 7

Anecdote 162.440.705

Metaphor;

story 226, 243

Diction 708, 717 Director of drama 340

actors 340 acts 708 audience 340

also

170, 181, 198,209,

Free verse 544,709-710,714,716 Hero 324, 4 2, 449, 46 50 509, 5

Dialogue 76,82, 104,707-708 Diary 656

Aesthetic language. See

Foreshadowing 74. 213,493,709 Formal essay 708

Frame

of mental images 512,520,580 Dialect 452, 458, 506, 668, 707

tensive treatnnent of the topic.

Argument

1

Motivation 209. 254. 546, 552. 706. 7 Myth 460, 470, 509, 709, 711,712 creation myth 460, 470, 7 Narration 712 Narrative 82-86 Narrative poem 601,605,713,714 Narrator 201,209,210,275 Nonfiction 656-657,713 autobiography 9. 82-86, 288, 644, 653,657,705 biography 657, 706 essay 657, 708 familiar essay 708 formal essay 708 informal essay 708 narration 7 1

1

1

objective writing 657,713 oral history 657, 684 personal essay 657, 708

1

persuasion 04, 286. 325, 437. 440-44 449.654,696-700,713 1

subjective writing 657. 7

1

approximate (imperfect, near,

eye

Objective writing 657,713 Omniscient point of view 288,714 Onomatopoeia 545, 710,713 Oral history 657, 684 Oral tradition 460-46 462. 469 Personal essay 657, 708

internal 520,545,710,715

Rhyme scheme 544,710.71 Rhythm 108, ill. 114, 520,

,

Personification 42, 2 4, 223. 709, 7 Perspective, writer's 275, 285, 324, 658, 1

1

1

1

1

1

1

552. crisis

2,

1

I

5,

74, 2

1

2,

1

1

2.

exposition 708, 714. 716 flashback 84. 343, 372. 709

foreshadowing 213.493.709

74. 170, 181. 198,209.

1

1

I

1

1

2,

1

1

1

I

resolution. See

1

1

1

I

1

18,25,38.61,74. 103.

12,

18. 131. 136. 149. 181,

1

1

1

1

I

1

,

506,

223. 243. 272. 285. 293. 309. 324. 372, 386. 4

2.

1

436. 457. 469. 478. 493. 499,

12. 38, 185,

62,

1

64,

440

325,

Writer's perspective.

Author's point of view, analyzing 636, 38. 336,

573. 702

Bandwagon

441

Bar graphs 618. 732 Brainstorming 88,89,

108, 132. 161. 166,

226, 254, 325, 337, 501, 533, 573, 586,

601,654,666.674

Card stacking 441 Cause and effect 99. 272, Chapters, of a book 448 1

Charts

2, 74,

1

1

5

,

1

1

66,

1

285, 293

83. 200, 260, 272.

332, 337. 437, 448, 532, 543, 555. 556, 570, 60

1

,

6

1

1

,

627, 685, 697. 703. 732

read 732

types of 732 Chronological order 84, 2 4, 223. 33 528,614,618,706.732 Circle graphs 618, 732 Cluster map 88. 38. 586. 676. 683 Comparing oral traditions 462 Comparison and contrast 38. 6 83,

209, 272, 552, 666, 669,

658, 667, 698, 7

1

Tragedy 413,706,718 Tragic flaw 718 Trickster tale 461,462,472.493

1

I

1

III. 1

19

1

674

Tone

emotion

how to

718 Third-person limited point of view 288-289,714 Title

II,

643, 658, 666. 724

264, 272, 273, 443. 669, 674,

38,

I

198.209.

Author's purpose, recognizing

Theater 340

1

I

,

Author's perspective (viewpoint). See 1

Stage directions 413.414,708 Stage in drama 341 Stage set 341.413 Standard English 506,510,707.785 Stanza 717 Stereotype 630.634.717 Style 573,578.717 Subjective writing 657.717 Surprise 480, 520 Suspense 85, 98, 2 2-2 3. 709. 7 7 Symbol 42, 12, 14. 717

Theme

Protagonist 324.501,509,715 Proverb 273,458 Pun 715 Refrain 622,626,627.628,683.715 Repetition 622.683.710.716 Resolution 212,340.708.714.716 Reversal 213.386.494 Rhyme 6, 8, 4. 520, 544-545, 7 0, 7

114.

1

Arguments, evaluating 336 Attribute wheel 553

1

545, 705

509,512,717 Teleplay 295,708

Prose 715

tations)

to

(sound devices) 544-545

Tall tale 460. 480. 493, 496, 499, 50

Plot.

204, 264, 265.

.

1

to logic 325, 440 to senses 512

I

I

1

184, 185

Soliloquy 708

1

7

student models 3, 94, 7 265. 348. 453,537.623 Analogies, word 76. 225. 685. 734 Analysis 254.449 Analysis questions (Shaping Interpre-

to credibility 440

effects

I

622, 623

strategies for

Situational irony 480,481,493,710 Slant rhyme 545, 715

1

1

70,

Appeal

544,628,701.714,716

628.701,714,716 scanning 712 speaker 293,717 stanza 7 7 Point of view 38, 75, 224. 275, 285. 286. 288-289, 293, 324, 4 4, 440, 571.714 first-person 275,285.286.288,714 omniscient 288,714 third-person limited 288-289,714 Position statement 50

1

605, 627, 634, 653. 666. 674, 683

Speaker 293.717

520, 536, 542, 544.

92, 94.

Anticipation/response survey

38,

1

715

rhythm 108,111.114,

3^,

343, 348. 372. 386, 452, 453, 536, 537,

509. 520, 542, 552, 570, 578, 585, 598,

onomatopoeia 545,710,713 rhyme 6, 8, 4, 520. 544-545, 7 0, 7 rhythm 108,111.114.520,536,542.

rhyme 16,18.114,520.544-545,710,

I

1

assonance

narrative poetry 605.714

1

84. 5 2. 520,

alliteration 290, 293, 545, 705, 7

imagery 134, 136. 710 lyric 711,714 meter 544. 712 narrative poem 601,605.713,714

Thinking

Critical

Active reading assignments (Dialogue with the Text)

528,529,580,707,710 Setting 82, 84, 520, 529, 573, 7 Short story 15,212-213,709.716 character 2,92, 103. 106-107, 19, 131, 38. 99, 2 4. 224. 254-257, 288-289. 706 climax 212,706,708.714,716 complications 2 2, 340, 708, 714,716 conflict 2, 12, 15,74,212,552.706-707 exposition 708, 714. 716 plot 170.212-213,714 plot twist 472, 478 point of view 38, 75, 224, 275, 285, 286,

Sound

I

free verse 544,709-710,714,716

1

1

264, 272, 273, 669, 674. 718 Simile 41,709.71 1,717

1

324, 658,

Satire 716

theme

epic 714 figures of speech 28,38.41-42,112. 114,626.709,71 1-712. 71 3. 717

Problem

7

0.

setting82, 84, 520, 529, 716

Poetry 544-545,714 ballad 520.705-706,714 concrete I

Reading and

1

288-289,714

resolution 212.340.708,714.716 reversal 213,386.494 suspense 85, 98. 2 2-2 3, 709. 7 Plot twist 472,478

1

Voice 245. 760 Writer's perspective 275. 285,

Yarn 496.499

1

706-707 340

1

666. 724

I

1

340, 372, 4

536, 542, 544,

1

1

conflict 2,

714. 716. 717

repetition 622. 657. 683. 7 scanning 712

1

1

1

I

I.

628,701,714,716 refrain 622,626.627.628.683.715

Scenes in a drama 708 Screenplay 708 Sensory details 9. 25. 82.

666, 724

Persuasion 04, 286. 325, 437, 440-44 449,654,696-700,713 Persuasive writing 160-164 Plays 708. See also Drama. Playwright 340.708.714 Plot 70. 2 2-2 3, 256. 340, 472, 669. 7 climax 2 2. 340. 4 2. 706, 708, 7 4. 7 complications 2 2. 340, 708, 714,716 1

715

(visual) 554,

480. 7

Unreliable narrator 201.209 Urban legend 460-461 Verbal irony 480,481.493.710 Vignette

end 16,544-545,715,716

1

Novel 709,713

1

Understatement

off,

slant) 545,715

I

19. 131, 137. 198.

,

88.

199,223,244,

293, 294. 324. 372. 413,437.

442^46,

449. 469. 472, 543, 573. 578, 676. 683. 684

Comprehension, monitoring 1

70, 264,

2.

12,92,

536

Index of Skills 833

634. 653. 666. 674. 683

Comprehension questions (Reading 49. Check) 2, 25. 38. 6 74. 03. 3 1

1

8

1

.

1

.

1

1

KWL chart

1

.

1

98. 209. 223. 243. 272. 285. 309. 324.

1

372. 386. 4

2.

1

436. 457. 469. 478. 493. 509.

520. 542. 552. 570. 585. 598. 605. 627. 634. 653. 666. 674. 683

Comprehension

strategies 43. 44.

1

37,

38

1

Conclusions drawing 285.416.614.618

295. 309. 326.

669 43, 44,

500

83.

1

1

1

Distinguishing fact from opinion 629, 630 Double-entry journal 25, 149 Drama 340-341

Evaluation 442-446.449.643 Evaluation questions (Challenging the 1

8. 38.

6

1

243. 285. 324. 386. 4

74,

.

2.

1

1

03,

1

49,

1

98. 209.

436. 509. 542. 552,

585, 598, 627, 653. 666. 674 38, 50, 209, 286, Evidence 2. 25. 74, 412,414,441,605,644,653,683 629, 630, 634, Fact and opinion 44 6 1

I

1

1

1

,

1

1

1

,

1

,

653, 697 Faulty reasoning 441 Fiction 212-213

SW? questions

1

1

1

272. 285. 332. 336. 337. 4

.

1

3.

4

1

7.

436. 437.

552. 553, 555, 556, 570, 572, 578, 586, 600, 1

,

6

1

1

,

6

1

8,

1

627, 643, 658, 666, 667, 675,

676, 683, 684. 685, 697, 703, 720-72

1

,

728.

Graphs reading 618. 732 types of 618.732

1

37.

1

38,

1

49, 226, 243,

12,25,38.61.74. 103. 131. 149. 181, 198, 209. 223. 243. 272. 285. 309. 324. 372. 2.

436. 457. 469. 478. 493, 509,

520, 542, 552, 570, 585. 598. 605, 627,

834 Index of

1

.

1

1.

1

8.

1

14.

1

1

9. 25, 38.

1

2.

2.

Skills

44. 6

18. 149. 198.

436. 44

1

2.

92.

1

.

209. 223. 243.

1

.

Personal response (including First Thoughts and Connecting with the 2.

1

2.

1

6.

1

8.

1

9. 25. 28. 38.

44. 6

253. 258. 26

.

1

293. 326. 335. 44

447.

.

1

458, 509, 520, 530, 532, 542, 545, 61

1

Reading closely 260 Reading critically for facts and opinions 629. 630

Reading for different purposes 1

66. 25

79.

1

59,

260, 329. 439. 525, 532. 609. 695

.

1

Reading for

Life

88

reading for different purposes 532 reading graphs and time lines 618 reading to take action 66 searching the Internet: reading electronic texts for information 702 taking notes 260 understanding induction and deduction 1

336 using text organizers 448 Reading rate 137. 184, 532, 555, 556, 622

605.

634. 728

Text)

Purposes in texts, identifying 532 Questioning 92. 103. 170 Reading aloud 2.43. 108. 164. 165.252.

making outlines and graphic organizers

74. 92.

478. 493. 509. 520. 552.

.

1

441

184.260.532

84.

adjusting, based

on purposes

184, 260.

532

1

74,92. 103, 108. 111. 112. 114. 115. 118.

Reading to take action

119. 131. 134. 136, 138. 149. 170. 181. 184.

Reflecting

66

1

337,

12, 167, 170, 181, 184,

2,

272. 275. 285. 290. 293. 294. 295. 309. 324.

536,542.619.643 Regional and cultural sayings 471 668

342-343. 372, 386, 4

Rereading 26.61.86.88.92.

85.

1

98,

20

1

,

209, 2 4, 223, 226, 243, 264, 1

1

1

2,

2, 1

.

4

1

7,

436, 452, 457,

493. 496. 499. 50

1

520. 532. 536. 542. 546. 552.

556. 570. 573. 578. 580. 585. 586. 598. 601.

416,481,493,718

1

7

1

605. 622. 627. 630. 634. 644. 653. 658. 666.

Judgment 442-446,449 Keywords 555,556,599 Knowledge questions (Reading Check)

386. 4

2.

506, 509, 5

1

making

70.

1

462, 469. 472. 478. 48

texts 448

Index, searching an 84. 722 Induction, understanding 336 Inferences,

I

38, 226. 293. 294.

1

436. 437. 457. 462.

1

1

Oral traditions, comparing 462 Outline 88, 137,260,614,729 Overview, of a chapter 448 Paraphrasing 88. 260. 452. 457. 60

1

in

1

630.634.653,683

732

Headings

.

1

1

7.

Pros and cons 214 Purpose. See Setting a purpose for reading (Before You Read). Purpose for reading, establishing 66.

170.264.536 Multiple intelligences 261 Multiple meanings 200.295.821 Nonfiction 656-657.713 Note taking 2.28.84.92. 137. 138. 167. 2 4. 226. 252. 254. 260. 264. 70. 85. 20 286. 331. 343. 532. 555. 61 1.614. 619. 725 Open house diagram 70 1

1

solving 39.89. 104. 167,261,

Propaganda

37.

580

5 2. 520.

Monitoring comprehension

372. 4

443. 444. 448. 462. 469. 528. 532. 543. 546.

60

1

570. 578. 585. 598. 599. 605. 611. 627. 629,

83. 200. 244. 245. 255. 260. 264.

1

43. 44.

264, 265. 343. 348. 372. 386. 452. 453. 536.

1

4

622, 634, 658, 676 08,

337,449.533.619.703

272. 275. 285, 286, 290. 293. 309. 324. 336.

103. 131. 133. 136. 137. 138. 149. 150. 151. 70,

Problem

448.

literacy 449.619.635.703

Mental images, describing Message 449.636.643 Metacognition 2. 3. 92. 94.

103.

19,182,260,481

1

1

7,

1

Generalizations, making 82, 2 0, 336, 644,653 Glossary, using a 27, 295, 448, 532, 668 Graphic organizers 2, 25. 6 74. 88. 92. 66.

Meaning-making strategies

Opinion

Flowcharts 337,720-721,732 Folktales 458,460-461.709

1

1

532,540.555.556.562.580.731

Media

6.

1

1

586,598,601.618.630.636.658

(geographic) 337. 343, 402, 4

537. 622. 623

Electronic texts, reading 702

2.

Maps

1.

542. 543. 546. 553. 556. 570. 578. 585.

See Predicting and

I

729-730, 737, 755, 809, 82

1

295. 372. 4

138

532, 579, 586, 600, 630, 666, 675, 683,

Text)

536. 552. 586. 61

Prior knowledge

108. 133. 151.

84. 200. 253. 295, 438, 459, 5 0, 5

1

452. 457. 470. 472. 478. 496. 520. 527.

256, 264, 325, 444, 530. 555,

Confirming.

marks 729

.

1

1

Dialogue 707-708 Dialogue with the Text. See Active Reading.

1

149. 185, 226, 264, 273, 275. 285. 372.

1

Making predictions.

.

1

274. 326, 554, 580, 729,

812,813 Line graphs 618,732 Loaded words 62, 44 Logical arguments, recognizing 336 18,

1

.

1

1

570,573.611.612.634.683.729 determining the 9. 25

Deduction, understanding 336 Definition of word 294, 730 Denotation 438,707

Dictionary, using a 27,43.

1

506, 528,

.

1

675,727,728,811.812,813 Letter-sound correspondence, applying

Main idea

Decoding unknown words

Diacritical

133.151. 294. 500. 50

1

.

1

edge of

285, 324, 636, 643, 658, 666, 724 Predicting and confirming 2, 2, 70, 181, 184, 185, 198,201,209.214.223. 493. 555. 578. 295, 372. 386. 4 6. 48 653. 669. 674 Prefixes 294. 500. 50 675. 727. 811.812 Previewing and reviewing 84. 20 209. 555.556.570 Prior experience 2. 13. 16. 19.25.28.38. 39.44.75.92, 103, 112, 115, 19. 134. 1

1

knowledge of

Connotation 151.438.707 Context 294,326 Context clues 43. 44. 6 294. 500. 532, 555, 668,

417.436.636 Labels of graphics 6 Language structure, applying knowl-

669. 674. 676. 683

.

1

I

1

1

1

37,

1

49,

1

84, 2 0, 252, 254, 285, 1

325, 334. 386. 414. 436. 457. 478. 509. 532. 542. 552. 555. 570. 6

Reviewing 1

Perspective 275. 285. 324. 658. 666, 724 Persuasion 104,286,325,437,440-441. 449,654,696-700,713 Photo essay, reading 636, 643 Pie graphs 618,732 Poetry 544-545,714 concrete poem Point of view, analyzing author's 275,

34,

103. 104, 131,

49,

1

8

1

,

1

1

2.

25. 38. 6

1

,

7.

1

622. 653

74, 88,

98, 209, 223. 243.

285. 309. 324. 372. 386. 4

1

2.

26

1

1

03, .

1

3

1

272.

436. 469.

478. 493. 509. 520. 542. 552. 555. 556. 570. 605. 627. 653. 666

Scanning

448. 530. 555. 556. 570

Sections, of a

Sequencing logical

book 448

84.

1

37. 528. See also

order.

Setting a purpose

Chrono-

problem solving

for

89,

26

67,

1

1

1

.

1

1

You Read)

185,201,214,

226, 264, 275. 290. 295. 342-343, 4

462, 472, 48

1

,

proper

496, 50

1

,

506, 5

546, 556, 573, 580, 586, 60

1

,

1

2,

1

7,

452,

532, 536,

622, 630, 644,

and differences,

50,

1

8

1

,

1

Sounding words out

43,

Special features, of a

book 448

All right

A

1

2,

28, 38, 89, 546, 552, 555.

556.570.601,614,643,728 Summary, of a chapter 448

Supporting details 9, 256, 260, 386, 444, 510,528,529,611,634,654 Synthesis (including Extending the Text) 12,25,38.61, 111,1 18, 131. 149, 1

181, 223, 272, 285, 293, 309, 324, 372,

436, 457. 469, 493. 509, 542, 570,

605, 627, 634, 653, 683

Among, between 8 Antecedent 479 pronoun agreement with 495,751-753 stated and unstated 738

Antonyms

151,479,730

Apostrophes contractions 27, 40, 808-809 missing letters 506 plurals 40,809,815 possessive case 27, 40, 808-809 Appositives 471,765,773-774,800 Articles 741 definite and indefinite 741 As, /ike

819

line 88, 337, 344-345, 386, 4 2, 448, 1

259, 335, 572, 579,

774,782,789-791

Commas

274, 287, 326, 334, 572, 579.

adjective clauses 776. 799 adverb clauses 777. 80 compound sentences 799 conventional situations 801 1

dates 801 dialogue 76 interrupters 326. 799-800 introductory words, phrases, and clauses 800-801 in a series 274, 287, 798 letters (salutations and closings) 801 nonessential (nonrestrictive) phrases and clauses 799

items

quotations 76,805-806

Comma splices

165

Comparative and superlative forms 438, 766-768

double comparisons, avoiding

Be

Text organizers, using 448 Themes, discovering 669, 674, 683

Combining sentences

addresses 801

1

14,817

Bad, badly 635,817 Base words 727-728

1

438, 767

irregular 766 767

avoiding overuse 786 forms 742 Between, omong 8 Bust, busted 8 Capitalization 792-797 abbreviations 797

regular 766

Complements

772-773. 783-786

1

532,618,732 Title, of a graphic 6 Understanding character 138 Valid opinions, recognizing 629 1

Venn diagram

88,92, 103, 137,244,413,

443, 444, 469, 578, 684

Word map 245,572 Word parts, understanding

501,506

with multiple meanings 200,

295,821 Writer's perspective (viewpoint) 275. 285. 324, 636, 643, 658, 666, 724

Language (Grammar, Usage, and Mechanics) an 741,816 Abbreviations 797-798 Accept, except 8 Adjectives 133,740-741 clauses 775-776 commas with 287 defined 740 demonstrative 739,741

A,

1

indefinite

pronouns as 740

direct objects 742. 763, 783-784 indirect objects 763, 784 recognizing complements 783

1

brand names 795 buildings 794

calendar items 794 geographical names 793 historical events and periods 794

Visualliteracy 636,643

Words

lot

noun 778 Cliches 675 Colons 554,803

776. 798-80

At 817

T-chart 658,666,667 Testimonial 44 Test taking 732-734

Time

1

1

813

2,

495, 75 -753

14

All together, altogether 8

Suffixes 294, 500. 506, 675, 727, 728, 8

1

combining sentences 790

1

326

Stereotype 630,634,717 Storyboard 414 Story map 137, 138,552,728 Study skills 729-734

4

adjective 775-776 adverb 776-777,801

1

pronoun and antecedent

84, 260. 285, 448,

764,

775-778, 786-787, 799

subject and verb 225, 748-75 Ain't 817 All ready, already 8

532, 555, 556, 570, 585

Summarizing

subordinate (dependent) 739,

number 495,748-753

264, 452

Sketch to stretch 1

Affect, effect 8

447, 572, 579, 775, 786-787,

799,801,802 misplaced 769 nonessential (nonrestrictive) 799-800 in a series 798

gender 495,75!

finding.

See Comparison and contrast.

Skimming

independent

clauses 776-777 conjunctive 802 defined 744 not and -n't 744,808 phrase 770 relative 776 very, avoiding overuse of 744

Agreement

658, 669, 676

Similarities

essential (restrictive) 799-800

741

Adverbs 133,744,783

19,28,44,92, 108, 112,

2. 16,

1

possessive 739, 762

I

115, 119. 134, 138, 170, 184,

Choose, chose 8 Clauses 774-778

phrase 770

449,

,

533,619.703 for speaking and listening 80, 2S2, 440-44 6 0-6 for writing 82, 160,254,330.442,526, 612,696 Setting a Purpose for reading (Before

;

792

interjections 792

monuments and awards nationalities, races,

795

and peoples 794

people and animals 793 planets and stars 794 poetry 792 proper adjectives 74 795 proper nouns 737, 793-795 quotations 805 religions, holy days, and sacred writings 1

,

794

sentences 779, 792 teams and organizations 794 titles 600,796 trains, ships, airplanes,

795

Case 459,471,762-764

and spacecraft

subject complements 784-786 predicate adjectives 785 predicate nominatives 785 Complex sentences 786-787

Compound-complex sentences

Compound

Computer grammar checker spelling

787

sentences 786, 799

checker

1

721 4,

86, 459, 72

1

,

76

1

,

765,812

Conjugation 757-758 Conjunctions 746, 747 combining sentences 790 commas before 799 coordinating and correlative 572, 746, 802 subordinating 258, 777 Connotation 151,438,707 Contractions 27, 40, 808-809

Could of 14,818 Dangling modifiers 4 5, 769 Dashes 810-81! Declarative sentences 788 1

Index of Skills 835

Denotation

438, 707 Dialect 452. 458. 47 506. 668. 707 Dialogue 76.82. 105.707-708.805-806 1

.

Direct objects 742. 763. 783-784 Do, forms of 743 Don't, doesn't 225. 750 Double comparisons, avoiding 438. 767 Double negatives, avoiding 655. 767-768

prepositional phrases 745. 768. 769-771

Nominative pronouns 471.762 Nonessential (nonrestrictive) clauses and phrases 799-800 Nouns 737-738 capitalization of 792-795 clauses 778 collective 737. 750

Double subject 511.818

common

817 eiandie 274.812

compound

Effect, affect

End marks

779, 788,

797-798

Except, accept 8 Exclamation points 797 1

Exclamatory sentences 788 Fewer,

less

8

1

Foreign words 668

Formal English 735 Fragments 87. 164.779,789 Gerunds 771-772 Glossary of usage 816-820 Good, we// 635,818 Grammar checker, computer 721 Have, forms of 743 Hear, /lere 459 Helping verbs 743, 748, 755 Hisself 8

1

Homonyms 459 How come 818 Hyphens 809-810 /,

Imperative sentences 788 Indefinite pronouns 740, 748-749 Independent clauses 447, 572, 579, 786-787.799.801.802

772-773,800 nonessential (nonrestrictive) 799-800 799, 800 participial 768-769, 77 prepositional 745, 748, 768, 769-77 infinitive

775.

1

772-773.800

Interjections 746-747. 792

Interrogative pronouns 739 Inversion (of word order) 7 0, 750 Irregular verbs 83, 755-757 Italics (underlining) 253, 600. 804-805 Its, it's 27 Kind of, sort of 8 Learn, teach 8 1

1

1

1

Less,

fewer 8

1

1

801,803 Lie

and

Like, as Like, as

lay 200,760-761

819 if,

as though 8

1

Linking verbs 742-743. 783, 784, 785 Modifiers 133, 740-741, 744. 766-771 adjective phrases 770 adjectives 740-74 adverb phrases 770-77 adverbs 744 clauses 769 comparative and superlative forms 438. 766-768

double comparisons, avoiding 438, 767 irregular 766-767 regular 766 dangling 415,769 defined 740 misplaced 415,768-769 participial phrases 768-769,771

836 Index of

in a series 798 verb 743.781 verbal 771-773 Plurals 40,809,814-815 Possessive case 27, 40, 739.

Skills

1

I

8

1

colons 554,803

commas

274, 287, 326, 334. 545, 572,

579.776.798-801 dashes 810-811 of dialogue 76,805-806 167

ellipses

end marks 779, 788, 797-798 exclamation points 797 hyphens 809-810 of interjections 746 italics (underlining) 253, 600, 804-805 parentheses 810 periods 545. 797 question marks 797 quotation marks 76, 600, 708, 805-807

semicolons 572,579,801-802 sentences 779, 788 slash

253

(/)

600,804,807 underlining (italics) 253, 600, 804-805 Question marks 797 Quotation marks 76. 600. 708. 805-807 titles

1

because, reason Rise and raise 200. 76 /Reason

.

.

.

.

.

.

that 8

1

1

Roots 133.151, 294, 528, 675, 727, 8 Run-on sentences 165,789 Semicolons 572.579.801-802 avoiding overuse of 802 Sentence fragments 87. 164.779.789 Sentences 779-782 choppy 774. 789 classified by purpose 788 classified by structure 786-788 combining 259. 335. 572, 579, 774, 782, 1

762.

808-809

Predicate nominative sentences 762 Prefixes 294. 500, 50 675, 727, 811.812 Prepositional phrase 745. 748. 768, 769-77 784, 800 Prepositions 745. 763 objects of 459.471.745.763 Pronouns 738-740. 762-765 antecedent of pronoun agreement with 495,751-753 stated and unstated 738 with appositives 471,765 case of 459, 762-764 nominative 471,762 1

,

third person 739 Proper nouns 737.741.792-795 Punctuation 545.605.797-811 apostrophes 27. 40. 506. 808-809,

Real, very 8

Predicate. See Verbs.

1

Letters, capitalization and punctuation

,

784, 800

Indirect objects 742. 763. 784

possessive 27, 40, 739, 762, 808-809 reference with 479 reflexive and intensive 739, 765 relative 739,776 second person 739 singular 495, 739 special problems with not doubling subjects 5 pronouns with appositives 47 765 who and w/iom 764—765 1

gerund 772

capitalizing 792

Infinitives

737. 741. 792 795

737.815

defined 737 as object of the preposition 745 plural 814-815 possessive 808 precise 133.738 Of 819 Ought 818 Parallel structure 701 Parentheses 810 Parenthetical expression 800 Participial phrases 768-769. 771. 799. 800 Parts of speech 737-747 determining 326. 747 Periods 797-798 Phrases 769-774 adjective 770 adverb 770-771 appositive 773-774,800 combining sentences 774, 789-79 defined 769 essential (restrictive) 799-800

167

Ellipses

and proper

plural 495,739

,

,

objective 763 defined 738

demonstrative 739,741 first person 739

I

789-791

comma splice in

165

complete 87,779,789 complex 786-787

compound 786, 799 compound-complex

787

declarative 788 defined 779 exclamatory 788

indefinite 740,748-749

fragments 87, 64, 779, 789 imperative 788 improving style of 685, 782, 789, 791-792

interrogative 739 nominative 762 objective 762 as objects of prepositions 459,471, 745, 763 personal 459, 511, 738-739, 762

interrogative 788 inversion (of word order) 710,750 kinds of 786-788 predicate nominative 762 run-on 65, 789 simple 786

/,

capitalizing 792

1

1

stringy 447, 79

760

set 200,

Slang 9,668 Slash

(/)

253

Some, somewhat 820 Sort

of,

kind of 8 14.81 1-816 1

Spelling

abbreviations 797-798 -cede, -ceed,

and -sede

compound nouns

579. 8

1

737,815

with a computer spelling checker 4, 86.459,721,761,765,812 doubling final consonants 754,813 eiandJe 274.812 nouns ending in s 748 numbers 816 plurals 809,814 prefixes 294, 500, 50 675, 727, 811,812 1

1

proper nouns

,

741

suffixes 294. 500, 506. 675, 727. 728, 8

1

2,

participle 771

past 754-757.758 past participle 754-757.771 past perfect 758 phrase 743,781 precise

133

present 758 present participle 754,756-757,771 present perfect 758 principal parts 754-757 regular

verbs ending

748 parts 43.81 1-812 in s

prefixes 294. 500. 50

roots

133.

1

675. 727. 811.812

.

suffixes 294, 500. 506, 675, 727. 728,

812.813 Spelling checker, computer 721,761.765.812

Standard English 506, 5 0. Stringy sentences 447,791 1

Subject 780, 78

1

.

1

4.

86. 459,

707, 785

See also Sentences. Verbs.

Subordinate (dependent) clauses

739,

764, 775-778, 786-787, 799

Suffixes 294. 500, 506. 675, 727, 728, 8

1

2,

Synonyms

2 479, 495, 730 27, 43, 5 Teoch, learn 8 Tense 211, 757-760. See also Verbs. Than, then 820 Their, there, they're 459 Theirself, theirselves 820 Them, those 820 Titles 600, 750, 753. 796, 804. 807 To, too 459 Transitional expressions 164. 258. 332, 445, 802 Transitive and intransitive verbs 747. 783 Translation 668 Transliteration 668 Try and, try to 820 Underlining (italics) 253, 600, 804-805 1

1

.

1

1

.

1

Usage, common errors of 14,635, 8 6-820 Verbals and verbal phrases 1

771

Comprehension

579, 8

1

737,815

strategies 43,44, 137,

138 459,

Concept mapping 462 Connotation 151,438.707 Consonant and vowel sounds 554 Context 294, 326 Context clues 43. 44, 6 294. 295. 309, 1

,

326. 500. 532, 555. 668. 669

Cultural sayings 471 Definition of word 294.730 Denotation 438. 707 Diacritical marks 729 Dialect 452, 458, 506, 668, 707 Dictionary 27.43. 108, 133, 151. 742. 783

200, 253, 295, 438, 459, 5

10, 5

I

183, 184, I.

532,

579. 586. 600. 630. 666. 675, 683,

verb phrase 743,781

813

gerund

and intransitive

Compound nouns

1

tense 211.757-760 consistency of 211. 759 defined 757 future 758 future perfect 758 past 758 past perfect 758 present 758 present perfect 758 transitive

and -sede

-cede, -ceed,

.

721,761,765,812

subjects 742,749,762.780,781

151,294.675,811

1

Computer grammar checker 721 Computer spelling checker 4. 86,

183,754-755

problems with lie and lay 200,760-761 rise and roise 200. 76 sit and set 200, 760

special

813

word

phrase 772-773 phrase 771

participial

action 742-743,785-786 agreement with subject 225, 748-75 auxiliary 743,748,755 base form of 754^757 be, avoiding overuse of 786 compound 782 conjugation of 757-758 defined 742 future 758 future perfect 758 helping 743,748.755 infinitives 772 irregular 183.755-757 linking 742-743. 783, 784, 785 objects of 459, 742. 763

wrriting clear 789

and

infinitive

151,479,730 727. 728 Capitalization 792-797 abbreviations 797-798 brand names 795 buildings 794 calendar items 794 geographical names 793 historical events and periods 794 792 ; interjections 792 monuments and awards 795 nationalities, races, and peoples 794 people and animals 793 planets and stars 794 poetry 792 proper adjectives 74 795 proper nouns 737, 793-795 quotations 805 religions, holy days, and sacred writings 794 sentences 779, 792 teams and organizations 794 titles 600,796 trains, ships, airplanes, and spacecraft 795

Base words

772

infinitive

Verbs 742-743,754-761

simple predicate 781 simple subject 780 verb phrase 781 varying length of 531 varying structure of 617,787 wordy 685.782,791-792 Sit

Antonyms

gerund phrase 772

1

subject and predicate in 742. 780-782 compound subject 781 compound verb 782 finding the subject 780

729-730,737,755.809.821

voice 245. 760

overuse 744 Voice, active and passive 245, 760 WeH, good 635,818 When, where 820 Who and whom 764-765, 778

Doubling final consonants 754.813 77. 83. 2 9. 230, 729 Etymology 33. 5 Filler words and sounds 81 Glossary 821-826 Glossary of usage 8 6-820

Wordiness 685,782,791

Greek roots 151 Nomographic pun

Very, avoiding

Word 81

parts 43. 500. 501, 506. 727-728, 1-812

Word structure, understanding

294. 326

Vocabulary and Spelling

1

1

.

1

1

1

1

1

Homonyms

Homophonic pun Idiom ie and

I

ei

715

459

274, 8

715

710

15. 118, 1

Jargon (specialized vocabulary) 511. 656

Abbreviations 797 798

Language structure, applying knowledge

Acquisition exercises (How to Own a Word) 14,27.40.76.105.133.151, 183. 200. 211.225. 245, 274. 287. 326.

of 133,151, 294, 500, 50 727.728,811.812.813 Latin roots 151. 528, 675

4

1

5.

438, 479, 495, 511, 572, 579, 600.

word

76, 225, 685.

506, 528, 675.

274, 326, 554, 729, 812,

813

Affixes. See Prefixes, Suffixes.

Analogies,

,

Letter-sound correspondence, applying

knowledge of

635,655,668,675.685

1

734

Meaning maps 600

Index OF Skills 837

Graphic organizers, drawing

Mnemonics 459

Children's book, writing a 337

Multiple meanings 200.295,821 Nouns ending in s 748 Nunnbers 816 Plurals 40,809,814-815 Prefixes 294. 500. 50 575. 727, 8 Pronunciation 729 Proper nouns 737. 74 792-795

"Choose your own adventure"

.

1

1

II

,

8

1

,

Regional sayings 471,668 Root chart 675 294, 528, 675, 727, 8

Special-usage labels, Spelling activities

in

I

1

a dictionary 730

(How to Own

a Word)

14,274,459,554,579 Spelling log 14 Spelling rules 812^16 Spelling strategies 14

Study

Suffixes 294, 500, 506, 675, 727, 728, 812,

813 Syllables (dividing words) 809-810 Synonym finder, using a 43, 21 27, 43,

5

1

,

1

2

II

,

479, 495, 730

I

current events 635 Words often confused 760-761.816-820 in

Word Word

origins

133.

27, 200. 459. 635.

1

,

506, 727-728,

Word roots. See Roots. Word structure, understanding

294, 326

multiple meanings 200,

295.82!

Word twins

495. See Synonyms.

World languages

111,115, 664, 668

Writing Advice column, writing to an 39 Anecdotes, writing 62 Animal fable, writing an 337. 458 Anti-commercial, writing an 449 1

82. 160. 162.254,

330, 332, 442, 526, 612, 696, 698

Autobiographical incident, writing an 13, 18,26,39,75,82-86 Ballad, writing a 520

Biographical sketch, writing a 605 Block method, organizing by 444 Body of essay, writing the 63, 256. 332. 444,614 Business letter, writing a 735 Call to action, writing a 162, 163, 166 Cause-and-effect structure, using 99 Character analysis, writing a 82, 99, 210,224,244,254-258 Character reference, writing a 75 Character sketch, writing a 50 1

1

1

1

838 Index of

Skills

1

1

526-530. 654. 707 13.26.82-86, 104, 150,

1

725

Double-entry journal, writing a

49 Drafting 84, 162-164,256.332,444,529, 614,699 Elaborating 84, 62, 33 332, 443, 444, 528,615,698-699 E-mail, writing 723 Essay, writing a brief 494 Eulogy, writing a 628 Evaluating and revising 84-86, 164,258, 334,446,530,616 Evaluation criteria for writing 85, 164, 257,334,445,529,616,699 Evaluation, writing an 437 Evidence, supporting III, 162-164 Exaggerations, using 506, 5 0, 520 Examples, using 332, 444, 667 Expository writing 13,75, 167.254-258, 330-334,414, 533, 543, 612-616, 634, 654, 667 Fable, writing a 458 Facts, writing 62, 667, 697 Features, writing about 443 5W-How? questions, answering 182 1

1

1

,

1

Flowcharts for interactive programs, drawing 720-721 Footnotes, writing 668 Forms, filling out 736 Found poem, writing a 150 for writing 85, 163,256,

1

3.

4

1

7.

436, 437, 443, 444,

572, 578, 600, 601, 627, 658, 666, 667,

675. 676. 683. 684. 697

Guide for animal owners, writing a 337 How-to essay, writing a 273. 286. 293, 325, 330-334,

674 writing with 99, 332, 499 "1 Am" poem, writing a 413 Informative report, writing a 3, 543,

Humor,

1

I

553,571,578,599,605,612-616 Instructions for living, writing 273 Internet log, writing an 702 Introduction, writing an 85, 163,256,

332,444,614 Invention, writing an explanation for an 224 ." poem, writing an 478 "I remember .

.

Journal writing 33

I,

Framework poem,

578, 628, 634. See

Diary writing.

Key words,

listing 448,

Letter, writing a

1

599

8, 39, 75.

1

82. 286, 325,

684.735,80! Liner notes, writing 167 Loaded words, using !62 Main idea, writing the 256, 444, 634 Meaning map, making a 600 Medical report, writing a 75 Memo, writing a 437, 654 Multimedia presentation, preparing a 337,719-72! Name explanation, writing a !32 Name poem, writing a 494 Narrative writing 82-86, 199,224,458, 470, 553

Narrowing a topic 613.697

Newspaper page,

writing for a 543 report, writing a 82 Note, writing a 243 Note cards, sample 725

News

!

Note taking 1

70,

!

85, 20

2.28.84.92, !37, !38, !67, !

.

2 4. 226. 252. 254. 260. 264, !

286. 331. 343. 532. 555. 6!

Observational writing

writing a

Freewriting 3, 28, 75, 83, II 4, 472.499,527,630,644,676 Glossary, writing a 668

I.

614, 6!

9.

725

84, !04, 132,331,

443, 458, 470, 478, 494, 499, 5 0, 520, !

526-530, 528 On-line sources, listing 725 Opinion, supporting an. See Supporting a position.

Oral history, writing an 684 Order of importance, organizing by 162,528,614

Organizing 331,444 by block method 444 by chronological order 84,214,223, 331,528,614,618,732 by graphic organizers

1

2, 25,

6

!,

74, 88,

92, !03, !3!, 133, 136, !37, !38, !49, 151, !66, !70, 183, 200, 245, 255, 260, 264,

272, 332, 336, 337, 4

333,614

I

,

437, 449, 478, 571. 599. 628. 654, 674,

sensory 84,528,529,580 supporting 256, 444, 634, 654, 729 Dialect, using 668 Dialogue, writing a 76,82, 104, 182, 805-806 Diary writing 75, 224, 331. 343. 414.571.

Framework

1

462, 469, 528, 543, 546, 553, 556, 570,

also

5 0. 520.

.

1

Appeals, writing to emotion 162.325 to logic 162.325

Audience for writing

32. 255. 286. 324. 436. 443. 458.

578. 599. 628. 634, 684

811-812

Words with

1

Documenting sources

183,600

parts 43, 500, 50

04.

256, 332, 458, 470, 520, 528

Word map 245, 572 Word meanings 1

Conclusion, writing a 85-86, 163.256. 332.444.614 Concrete poem, writing alii Conversation continuation, writing a 293 Criteria for writing 85. 64. 257. 334, 445.529,616,699,700 Definitions, writing 332. 668 Demonstration, writing a 330-334 Description (descriptive writing) 84.

Details, writing

1

5

413,437,442^46

470. 478. 494. 499. 50

Thesaurus, using a 43, 151,211, 730 Usage, glossary of 8 6-820 Verbs ending in s 748

cross-curricular

Chronological order, organizing by 84, 214,223,331,528,614,618,732 Cluster map, making a 88, 586 Commercial, writing a 224 Comparison and contrast 83, 131, 137, 223, 294, 442^46, 449, 543 Comparison-contrast essay, writing a

1

I

Synonyms

332. 337. 4

topic. See Topic

1

729-734

skills

25, 6

2,

1

74,88.92, 131. 136. 137. 138. 149. ISO, 166. 170. 244. 245. 255. 264. 272. 285.

writing a 273

Choosing a

Pun 715

Roots 133,151,

story,

!

7,

437, 443, 444,

448, 462, 469, 528, 532, 543, 546. 552.

1

1

36. 293.

553. 555. 556, 570, 572, 586, 600, 60

6

!

!

,

6

!

8,

!

627, 658, 666, 667, 675, 676,

683, 684, 685, 697, 703, 720-72

!

,

728, 732

by induction and deduction 336 by order of importance 162.528,614 by point-by-point method 444 for problem-solving paper 698 by spatial order 528 Outline, writing a 88,614,729 Paragraph, writing a 26. 167, 199.211.

324. 4

586, 598. 60

1

,

1

605, 630, 634, 644, 653.

I

I

Recommendations

for action, writing

Reflection, writing a 26, 167,337,543,619

Regional sayings, using 668 Report of information, writing a

I

13.

533. See also Informative Report.

1

Research and writing

437, 449, 654. 667.

Topic choosing a

83, 6 66, 254. 331.337. 443.527, 571,610. 613,619, 628, 697, 698

1

75,

3.

1

32. 286.

325, 414. 458. 520. 543, 553. 571. 599.

605. 6 2-6 1

1

6.

722-726

628. 634, 667. 703.

1

1

,

1

narrowing a 613,697 Topic sentence, writing a

160, 162, 163

Transitional expressions, writing

258,332,445,802 Translating 668 Transliterating 668 Venn diagram, making a 88,92, 1

166

160-164

1

1

5 2. 520.

0,

1

Quotations, using 76, 162, 163,260,614. 725, 805-807 Rating scale, making a 9. 493 Recommendation letter, writing a 75

60- 64, 286, 325. 696-700 Petition, writing a 667 Plagiarism 614,721.725

Persuasive writing

506. 5

1

1

18, 132, 136, 150.

,

658, 666, 667, 669, 674, 676, 683

286. 414, 543. 599. 634. 653. 667

I

1

546. 552. 556. 570, 573. 578, 580, 585,

Paraphrasing 88, 457. 728 Peer review in editing 86, 164, 258. 334, 446,530,616,700,721 Personal narrative, writing a 82-86 Persuasive essay, writing a 04, 114,

436. 462. 469, 472, 478. 48

7,

1

493. 496. 499, 50

37, 244, 4

Warnings, writing 332

Word choice 105, 133, 151 Word map, making a 245.

572

Workplace

English learning for life 75, 89,

1

67, 26 1,337,

449,533.619,703 vocabulary for the workplace

writing a

8,

1

I

I

I

1

I

.

4.

1

50, 293.

413.494.520.628.634 Poem continuation, writing a 499 Point-by-point method, organizing by 444 Point of view, writing from a 26,75. 104, 36.

1

67. 224, 286, 293, 4 4, 57

1

1

628, 674 Police report, writing a 210 Portfolio building 13, 18, 26. 39, 87. 104.

II

I.

1

.

599,

75. 82-86.

160-164, 165, 182, 199, 210, 224, 244,

252-253. 254-258. 259, 261, 273. 286. 293.

440-44

1

3^

1

437,

4,

442^t46, 447, 458, 470, 478. 494, 543. 553. 57 520. 526-530, 53 578. 599. 605. 610-611,612-616,617, 628, 634. 654. 667. 674. 684. 69^700. 70

499. 5

,

1

0,

1

1

.

1

Position statement, writing a 50 Prefixes, listing adjectives with 5 Prewriting 3. 8. 26, 39, 75. 83, 04, 1

1

1

1

1

I

I

I

114, lis, 132, 136, 150, 161-162. 182. 199.

210. 224, 244, 254-256, 273, 286, 293. 325.

331-332.413. 437. 443^t44. 458, 470, 478, 494, 499, 5 0, 520. 527-528, 543, 553, 57 578, 599, 605, 6 3-6 4, 628, 634, 654, 667, 1

1

1

1

696-699 Print sources, listing 725 Problem solution, writing a 628, 634, 654. 667, 674, 684. 696-700 Problem-solving paper, organizing for a 698 Process, explaining a 330-334 Professional models 82, 160-161.442, 526,612,696 Profile chart, making a 255 256 Progressive story, writing a 244 Proofreaders' marks 736 Proofreading 4, 27. 40. 86. 87. 64, 65, 674, 684,

1

1

83. 2

495,

5

1

1

,

I

1

.

1

258, 287, 334. 4 530, 6

1

6.

1

655, 70

5, 1

1

438, 446,

.

720, 736

Pros and cons, writing 214 Publishing 700

Q-and-A

1

64, 258. 334, 337, 446, 6 6, 1

167

article

Qualities, writing

Quickwrite III,

I

about 443

16. IB, 19. 25. 28, 38, 44, 108,

12, 114.

I

15, 118,

136, 138, 149, 185,

I

21

I,

19, 131. 134,

198,201.209.214.

223, 226. 244. 275, 285. 290. 293, 295.

118 133, 164,

438, 446, 447, 479. 495. 530,531,616.

617,685,700,701,721 Rewriting a story 244, 273, 286 Root chart, making a 675 1

67, 224, 252, 437. 470,

Sequel, writing a 224, 470, 553 Setting, writing about a 82, 84. 520 Slang, using 668 89

Source card, sample 725 Sources, listing 616 Spatial order, organizing by 528 Speech, writing a 674 Step-by-step instructions, writing 330-334 Story, writing a 199.244.510 Story map, making a 37, 38, 552. 728 I

1

Student models 85-86, 163-164,257-258, 333-334, 445-446, 529, 6

Style

254-258, 330-334, 442-146, 526-530,

612-616,69(^700

in

writing

1

05,

1

33,

699-700

5,

1

1

5

245, 668,

.

1

Suffixes, listing adjectives with 510

Suggestions, writing 332 256, 260, 444, 470, 496,

556.570,61 1,614,634,653,728 Supporting a position 04, III, 1

132, 136, 150,

Advertisements, analyzing 449 "Anti-commercial" 449 Assertiveness 80

Audience

114, 118,

160-164 286,325.414

437, 599. 654

36,

1

1

82, 252, 253, 26 1,337,

440,449,571,605,610-61 1,628 Audio/video suggestions 167, 224, 258. 329,337,441,533,613-614,619,684 719,720

Bandwagon 441 Body language 80 Card stacking 441 Choral reading

14 252, 499, 543, 643

I

Class poll 201

Commercial 224,619 Comparison and contrast 457 Conflict resolution 89, 104 Consensus, reaching a 26 Costume 167, 199,253 Creative enactment 252 Debate 510 1

Dialogue

675,685.791-792

Summarizing

Speaking, Listening, and

Viewing

619 Self-evaluation 86. 164,258,334,446 Sentences, writing 14,27

Song

05

1

245, 258, 259, 326, 334, 335, 415,

Script, writing a

114, 118, 132, 136, 150,

325. 330-334, 335. 4

Responding to art 634 Response to opinion, writing a Revising and evaluating 84-86.

1

Works cited, listing 260. 6 4. 6 6. 725-726 Writer's Workshop 82-86, 160-164 1

Poem,

103,

443. 444. 469, 578, 684

3,

1

164,

182.414 437.599

39. 104,

Discussion, group 8 89, 258, 324. 436, 449, 452, 630, 653, 703 Drama 414 Dramatic reading 252, 520, 543, 605, 628 1

,

Dramatization 199 Emphasis, vocal 252 Evidence accuracy 44 1

Supporting

details, elaborating

with

256, 444, 634. 654

Supporting evidence, using

1

62-1 64,

182,414,654 Thank-you note, writing a 67, 494 Thesis statement, writing a 160, 161, 163, 164 257 Time capsule, describing a 654 Time-capsule report, writing a 533 Time line, drawing a 88, 260, 337 Time markers, using 332 I

Titles

writing 2, 600, 666, 804, 807 writing about 38, 185,209 Tone in writing 162, 164,667

I

1

,

1

believability 441

relevance 441 Expository speech 610 Eye contact 80. 6 Facial expression 26.80-81. 136.252,253 Faulty reasoning 44 Feedback 81,605 Gestures 26,80-81,136,252,253 Group work 28,80,89, 108, 114 132, 136, 1

1

1

138, 150, 161,

164

252, 254, 258, 26

1

,

166, 185, 199,245,

337, 4 4. 4 1

449, 457, 458, 462, 493, 499, 5

1

5,

437,

1

0,

5

1

I

1

533, 536, 543. 546. 556, 571. 573, 586. 600. 60

1

.

6

1

1

.

6

1

6.

6 9. 630. 643. 666. 1

Index of Skills 839

Reciting

676,697,703.719,720,721

Informal speaking 80-81 Informative speaking 13.61 0-6 Interactive program 720-721

1

1

437. 533. 6

7.

Learning for

1

9.

643. 657. 684. 703

and using resources 703

generations interview 167

media

literacy 449 researching and sharing information about animals 337 researching modern heroes 6 using multiple intelligences in a group 1

5

1

for information 61

Live performance 337 Loaded words 62. 44 1

1

82.

1

99. 2 0. 2 II 1

hypermedia 273

Skit 28, 39

330, 337. 4

communication 80-81 Speaking and Listening Workshop

605, 6

Social

440^4

252-253.

,

Multimedia presentation 337,71 9-72 Musical event 571 Nonverbal communication 80-81 Observation exercise 33 Oral history 657. 684 Oral interpretation 36, 252-253. 643.

TV talk show

1

684 Oral presentation

13. 132.

414.440.499.599.643 Oral report 104 Partner work 2. 4. 6. 1

1

164.224,261.

1

.

335.414.436. 437. 440. 446. 448. 457. 493. 509, 5

,

1

0. 5

1

1

.

1

530.

553. 554. 572. 599. 600. 605. 635. 643.

654, 675, 684, 685, 700

Pauses, vocal 252

Peer response

86. 164. 258. 334. 446, 530,

0-6

1

I

report; Persuasive

32,

64, 224,

1

26

1

,

4

1

4.

440. 499.

599

Process speech 610

Propaganda 44 Props 3. 36. 67. 1

1

1

1

99. 253, 4 4, 470, 1

499.605.61 Public speaking 610-611 Puppet show 470 Reader's theater 252 Reading aloud 2,43. 108. 164, 165,252, 253, 258, 26 293, 326, 335, 44 447, I

1

,

1

,

458. 509, 520. 530, 532, 542, 545, 61

840 Index of

Skills

1

1

1

map

73

1

722 Appendix 448 Atlas 722

Bar graphs

618. 732 Biographical references, general and special 722 Boldface type style 448

Business letter, format for a 735 numbers, in a library 722 Card catalog 722 Catalog, in a library 722 card 722 on-line 722 CD-ROMs 619.720.722 Chapters, of a book 448

I

2. 74,

1

5

1

,

1

66,

1

83. 200. 260. 272.

332. 337. 437. 448. 532. 543. 555. 556, 570. 601. 61

I.

627. 685. 697. 703. 732

Circle graphs 618.732

Compass

rose 73

Computer(s) art software 39

1

on 722 multimedia 719-721

on-line searches with

166

1

,

1

Almanac

1

type on a 804

1

1

108, 133, 151, 183, 184,

200, 253, 295, 438, 459. 5

.

599,

.

1

library catalogs

Dictionary 27,43,

Absolute location, on a

Charts

458. 470, 520, 57

4,

Databases, computer 75, 132,619,722,725 Diacritical marks 729

Call

multimedia 719-721

1

628. 634. 667. 702. 720, 722-725

I

of quotations 722 of synonyms 722.730

1

9.

1

643 Video/audio suggestions 167, 224, 258, 533, 6 3-6 4, 6 9. 684. 329, 337. 44 719.720 Visual aids 13.555.611 Visual literacy 634. 636. 643 Vocal effects 252 Volume, vocal 252,611 1

italic

1

"search" command 765 spelling checker 76 4, 86, 459, 72 765,812 style checker 761,779 taking notes on a 260 thesaurus 21 word processing software 7 9, 72

Books

616,700 Persuasive speaking 64, 440-44 Photo essay, reading a 636, 643 Posture 80 Presentation

1

1

84,

244. 245. 258. 272, 293, 326, 334.

1

6

.

Research and Study 26. 28. 39, 8

87,89, 104, 131, 136, 161, 182, 199,200.

3,

1

749

hyphenation 810 and the Internet 13,43,75,258,260.

1

I

electronic sources 614.619 electronic texts 702

Scene, performing a 414 Script, reading a 252 Singing a ballad 520

Transfer 44 TV news report 75

1

580.

.

grammar checker 721 grammar "help" file, creating a

1

14

dictionary 729 electronic mail 75

Round robin 185.533,536 Round table 556

39, 167,553 Movie-critics skit 440

oral

1

Tableau 150 Testimonial 441 Think-pair-share 2,481 Tone, vocal 252, 253

210

469. 479. 48

224. 243. 293,

.

Storytelling 244. 470 Survey 19.44.337.703

1

Monologue

I.

4.

Stage directions 413.414

Media 13. 182.337.634,635.719 Media literacy 449,619,635,703 Mediator 89

21

1

Spirituals, singing 571

I

situations 81

trial

4

speaking

critically 441

in social

32, 325,

authoring software 720 with CD-ROMs 619.720.722 customizing software dictionary for cutting and moving text with 64 databases 75.132.619.722.725 1

Speaking rate 253 Speeches. See Oral

Listening

Mock

36.

80-8

261

for colorful language

I

414.437. 449. 458. 493. 553, 57 628. 653. 654. 666, 667, 684

folklore 533

conflict resolution 89

finding

13,

Retelling a story 509 Role-play 26,28,39,89, 104. 105. 131. I

Life 75

community

114

458, 703

I

Interviewf 75.84. 118. 162. 166. 167.337.

4

from memory

Rehearsal 253, 520, 720 Research and speaking

Inflection 80

1

0. 5

1

1

.

532.

579. 586, 600, 630, 666. 675. 683.

729-730.737.755.809.821

Documenting sources Elevation, on a E-mail 723

map

6

73

1

6.

725-726

1

Encyclopedias 184.51 I. 543. 613. 619, 653.722 Entry words, in a dictionary 729 Family tree, making 643 Flowcharts 337.720-721.732 Footnotes 668 Forms, filling out 736 Glossary 27, 295, 448. 532. 668 Graphs 448.618.642.643,732 reading 643. 732 types of 732 Headings, in a chapter 448 Hits, on the World Wide Web 723 Horizontal axis, on a graph 6 Hyperlinks 702,723 Index 184,722 Index cards 260 Information, researching 722-726. See 1

also Research activities. Internet 3, 43, 75, 258, 260, 330, 337, 4 4, 458, 470, 520, 57 599, 605, 6 9, 628, 634, 667, 702, 720, 722-725 1

1

1

,

evaluating sources on the 702, 724-725 forums 723 Italic type style 448 Key, on a graphic 6 Key verbs, identifying 734 1

Keywords on Internet 599. 702. 723-724 Latitude, on a map 73 Legend, on a map 731 1

1

Study skills 729-734 Subheadings, in a chapter 448 Summary, of a chapter 448

Letters, business 735

Libraries 13.75,414. 446, 458. 470, 520, 532,571. 599, 605, 616,619. 628, 634. 667, 703. 722 Line graphs 618, 732

Synonym

Locator maps 73 Longitude, on a map 73 I

1

7,

448. 532. 540,

Note card, sample 725 Note cards 61 Note taking 2.28.84.92, 70,

1

85,

Outlines

1

,

20

,

1

Thought bubbles

Time

1

1

1

6

,

6

4,

1

9,

1

725

137,260.614.729

Overview, of a chapter 448 Part-of-speech label, in a dictionary 729 Periodical indexes 619 Periodicals 722 Photographs 448 Physical

maps

73

I

Pie graphs 618, 732

Plagiarism 614,721,725 Political

maps

73

1

Portable databases 722, 725 Primary sources 3, 448, 570 Prime meridian, on a map 73 Pronunciation, in a dictionary 729 Proofreaders' marks 736 Quotations, books of 722 Rating scale 19,275,285.493 Reoders' Guide to Periodical Literature 111 Reference aids 27.43. 184 Reference works 510.619.722 Research activities 13.75, 104, 132, 161, 1

1

1

66, 260. 286. 325. 337. 4 4. 458. 470. 520. 1

543. 553. 57

599. 605. 6 2-6 1

.

1

1

6

6,

1

8.

6

1

9,

628, 634, 643, 654, 667. 674. 702. 703

Researching information 722-726. See a/so

Research

activities.

Resources finding and using 613^14.703

map

731

Web

75.

1

mock

448, 532,

Wide

Web 724 Units of measurement, on a graph 6 Uniform Resource Locators (URLs)

1

Vertical axis,

on a graph 618

Web browsers 723 Web directories 723 Web pages 723 Web sources, evaluating

613-614.619.703 evaluating electronic 724 listing 721.725 MLA guidelines for citing 616.726 Special features, of a book 448 Special-purpose maps 731 Special-usage labels, in a dictionary 730

470,499,520,605,611 reader's theater 252 rehearsal of 253, 520 role-play 26,28,39,89, 104, 105, 131. 136. 182, 199,210,21 1,224.243.293. 4 4. 437. 449. 458. 493. 553. 57 580. 628, 653, 654. 666, 667. 684 1

.

skit 28. 39

sound

effects for 199. 414, 543. 605, 619 stage directions for 413.414 storytelling 244. 470 tableau 50 TV news report 75 Folklore 533 Geography 92. 134,229,343,417,512, 520,540,562,571

724

1

Word origins, in a dictionary Word web 133. 137. 150

729

Works

cited 260.614 guidelines for 725-726 sample entries for 616 723 World Wide

Health

Web

145

13,

History 580,605 Interactivity 719 Literature and culture 19,669

Crossing the Curriculum

.

.

I

geography

Art

92.

health

animation 719 attribute wheel 553 cartoon 28.337.499.510 casting animal tracks 332

psychology 52 real

67. 224. 0,

1

26

1

.

104.

1

18. 132.

273. 286. 330. 337, 4 4. 1

533, 57

1

.

map

life

19.275

science 318.515 social studies 379, 389, 501, 536, 586, 601.603,622.630.644,661,676 technology 217 world cultures 191

18,273.684 comic strip 325. 470 diagram 285 diorama 413. 654

1

1

145

religion 556

collage

36.

34. 229. 5

1

album 494

599, 611.619, 630.

world languages

Math 261 Media 3, 1

1

115

635.719

82, 337. 6 9. 634. 1

Multimedia 719 Music 89. 04, 26 1

1

,

499, 520, 568, 57

Pantomime

571

1

1

448.458.533 poster 75.89,210.533 puppets 470 quilt 622

,

605,

1

,

1

605

Psychology 52 Real life 19,275 Religion 556

Science 74, 75. 3 8. 325, 458, Set for drama 199.413 1

Social studies 389, 4 4. 50 1

1

1

,

1

.

1

,

603. 622,

667. 669. 676

Sound

sculpture 18. 261 sketch to stretch 264. 452 stage set 341.413

Technology 214.217.224,331

effects

1

342-345. 379,

19. 132.

536. 586. 60

628, 630. 634. 644. 66

5

scrapbook 533 1

1

619,720

1

1

210

trial

1

702, 723

mosaic 684 multimedia presentation 337. 719-721 mural 619 photography 3. 04. 67, 26 337. 4 2, 1

520, 543, 605. 628

puppet show 470

graphics 719

66. 260. 337, 4 2, 4 4, 470.

708

4,

props for 13.136.167.199.253.414,

666

2.

1

flag 605

Wide

1

monologue 39. 167.553 pantomime 605

666

Sections, of a book 448 Source card, sample 725 Source number 614

Sources

dramatic reading 252. dramatization 199

61, 131. 136.

line 88, 337, 344-345. 4

470. 494. 5

723

4

.

1

252. 499, 543

14.

1

costumes for 167,199.253 creative enactment 252

Topic outline 88 Top-level domains, of the World

1

Scanning tests 732 Search engines 702, 723-724 Search operators 724 Search terms, on the World

191.533.669

choral reading

drawing and painting 26.39.

searching for 722

Root chart 675 Scale, of a

Internet.

618,732

137, 138, 167,

folklore 533

19.

1

Current events 667 Drama (Performance) 340-34

multiple-choice 733 true-false 732-733 Text organizers 448 Thesaurus 43, 151,211,730

2 4, 226, 252, 254, 260, 264,

343. 532, 555, 6

88,

Culture

matching 733

I

1

Community

Tests, taking 732-734 analogy 734 essay 734

I

555,556.562,580.642,731 Media 13, 182,337,634,635,719 Media centers 446. 722 Microforms 614 Mnemonics 459 Modems 722

286. 33

1

1

Literary criticisnn club 258

337. 343. 402. 4

tapestry 684 trading card 619 T-shirt 132

722. 730

Table of contents 84. 448 Tables of facts 448,732 Technology. See Computers;

Listing sources 721.725

Maps

finders 43. 21

Synonyms, books of

storyboard 414

199.414.543,605.619

World cultures 191 World languages 111,115,

664, 668

Index OF Skills 841

INDEX OF ART White, Charles, Harriet 564

Fine Art

556-557 Wanted Poster Series #17 561

Roots

Wooden Rabbit 468 Phoebe, Do 6e//eve 620-62

Archuleta, Felipe, Beasley,

Wood,

/

bowl 291 Brady, Mathew, photograph of Abraham Lincoln 596 Carter, Dennis Malone, Barbara Frietchie 602 Chao Meng-fu, Twin Pines, Level Distance 268 Ch'ing Dynasty painting 264 Crichlow, Ernest, By the Gate 677 Dakota Sioux drum 22 Dakota Sioux vest 25 Dine, Jim, The Fire in Time 112-113 Evans, Powys, drawing of T. S. Eliot 328 Fasanella, Ralph, Family Supper (detail) 643 Few Tails, Loris, Finger Snapping in the Car xx-l Fletcher, Gilbert, Children and Their Moments Alone Dare 95 Studio View 98 Garza, Carmen Lomas, Barbacoa para cump/eonos (Birthday Barbecue) 90-91 Gorey, Edward, cat drawings 327, 328 Boone,

Elfa,

1

1

Hennings,

E.

Martin, Sponish Octogenarian

Hiroshige, Travellers

in

the

Snow

at Oi

109

When

the £ag/e Spoke to

Me

120-121

242

Nuihoku 237

Chorney, Steve 586. 588, 590, 592, 595 Clemens, Clint, untitled 464 Dillon, Leo and Diane 573-574, 576 Hagio, Kunio 226-227, 232-233 Han, Oki 134-135 Harrison, Ted 513,517 282-283 Himler, Ron 275, 276-277, 280-28 Holmes, Nigel 642 Leonard, Tom 45,66,72, 115, 16-117,201.204.214-215, 218-21 9, 220, 225, 300, 303, 307, 3 0, 3 3 Margeson,John 274,325 Martin, John F. 138-139, 140, 141, 142, 143, 144, 145, 146, 147 Mauer, Louis 521 Ochagavia, Carlos. Homage to Rousseau 262-263 Pinkney, Jerry 466 Roth, Roger 48 482^83. 486-487, 490 1

1

Coyotes Howling at the

Moon 463

Jimenez, Manuel, The Three Kings: Los Tres Reyes Mogos 670

Johnson, William in

Callen, Liz 43

Sheban, Chris

Jimenez, Alonzo, Cottonwood Lion 470

Woman

Brooker, Krysten 170-171, 172, 173, 175, 176, 178-179 Bustamente, Sergio, untitled 464

H.. Little Girl in

,

186, 188, 193, 194

Swift, Kimberly 224 Wallengren, Jason 299,304,311,316

Maps

L'Hont, Pieter, statue of

Anne Frank 418

Street Person

Canada, the United

93

Europe During World

Moore-Park, Carton, William Wymark Jacobs 195 Mori, Masao, Topaz Through the Door 650 North Cheyenne ceremonial gourd rattle 32

Japon 229

Olsen, Barbara, The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere (detail) 538-539 Peckham, Robert, John Greenleaf Whittier 604

Pou/ Reveres Ride

Map

feathered basket 63

Pueblo owl pottery 632 Jacob, tenement photograph 64

Rothermel, John Frederick, The Battle of Gettysburg 624-625 Silvinova, Nely, watercolor 338-339 Sioux headdress 630 126

Sioux war pony

effigy

Sioux war shield Stokes,

W.

D., 0.

28

Hart, Johnny,

Paul and Babe at Rest

Snow to the Bamboo After One Year,

Retreat

267

1

BC

I

287

Hoest, Bunny 545 Johnston, Lynn, For Better or For Worse 28 B., from Cat 330 Koren, Edward 718 Larson, Gary, The Far Side 209, 530

Kliban,

(detail)

152-153, 154

Woods Lumber Camp 499

Roberts, Victoria 71

506

107.213,334,461 289 The Walt Disney Company, still from Make Mine Music 606 Warner Brothers, still from Chariots of Fur 450—451 Watterson, Bill, Calvin and Hobbes 33, 37, 6 256, 657

Block and Tan

I

Schuiz, Charles. Peonuts 81.

452

Snoke 455 Whistler, James McNeill, Miss Cicely Alexander:

Gray and Green 249

842 Index of Art

542

foxtrot

Coverly, Dave 6

Peoch B/ossom Spring

in

Bill,

Chast, Roz 613

128

Travers, Nancy, North

Harmony

Cartoons

Henry 492

Takamura, Kango, Progress the Mess Hall Une 648 Tani Buncho, Bamboo 156

Bill,

show the progress of Allied forces. 402 540 SiteoftheBatt/eofShitoh 580 A Tragedy Revealed 417 The Trail of Anne Frank 4 The Underground Railroad Runs to Canada 562 Where Did They Settle? 642

Amend, 1

Tai Chin, Returning Through

Traylor,

kept by Mr. Frank after the Allied invasion of Normandy. Colored

1

Quijano, Nick, Mercy (detail) 116

Sioux pipe bag

War

pins

1

Riis,

and Mexico 73 II 343

States,

Mikami, Suiko, Topaz, (August 1943 647

Pomo

1

Green 22

Calico 2

McKinney, Tom,

,

1

Japanese kimonos Karaori 234, 240,

Illustrations

I

243

Hopewell artifact 632 Hopewell pipe 293 Ingram, Jerry,

Grant, Midnight Ride of Paul Revere 534-535 Wust, Theodore, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow 54 Wyeth, Andrew, The Stone Fence 16-17 Zunijar 290

Thaves, Bob, Frank

&

Ernest

1

1

1

1

,

INDEX OF AUTHORS AND TITLES Page numbers in italic type refer to the pages on which author biographies ap-

Drummer Boy

pear.

Eliot, T. S.

ofShiloh, The, 581

Legacy

328

327,

from 587

Aprils,

Ellis

Fome

Island:

Human

Spirit

A Triumph of the 640

Is

a Bee 4

Howard W.

Felton,

501, 502

Rrst Americans, The 63

Flowers for Algernon 45

Angelou. Maya 20, 24

Frank,

Anne

Frost,

Robert

3, 10,

I

/

7

Goose That Laid the Golden Eggs, The

709 Grand Council Fire of American Indians, The 63 Grandma Ling 35

22/, 58

Dilemma 453 Brer Rabbit and Brer Lion 466 Broken Cham 29 Bruchac, Joseph 290,291 Byron, George Gordon, Lord 716 Brer Possum's

I

1

Hackett, Albert 347, 409

Hamilton, Virginia 574, 577

Carroll, Lewis 705

Harriet

Tubman: Conductor on the Railroad, from 557 Henry, O. (William Sydney Porter) 483, 492 Hughes, Langston 677, 680 Underground

Cosey at the Bat 606

473

Circuit

The 659

from 7

Circus,

1

Cisneros, Sandra

II 6,

I

1

7,

M

7,

670,

Hunt, Irene 587, 597

Cormier, Robert 106, 139, 147 Couroge That My Mother Had, The 08 Coyote Steals the Sun and Moon 463 Cremation of Sam McGee, The 5

Can Stop One Heart from Breaking 77 Have a Dream, from 678 Heor America Singing, from 544 Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, from 20 Im Nobody! 728 Inn of Lost Time, The 227 In Response to Executive Order 9066 652

Dahl, Roald 171, 178, 212

Jackson, Shirley 473,

da Vinci, Leonardo 573

Jacobs,

Cofer, Judith Ortiz 665 Coffin.

Robert

Coming

to

P.

If

Tristram 112, 113

America 686

Condition 7

1

1

1

De

la

The 80 London, Jack 707

Listeners,

1

Wadsworth

537,

Love

in

the Middle of the Air 7

Medicine Bag, The

1

20 Dream, A, from 7 Millay, Edna St. Vincent 108, 110 Monkey's Paw, The (dramatization) 186 Monkey's Paw, The (story excerpt) 196 Morrison, Joan 681 Morrison, Robert K. 68! Moustache, The 39 Mrs. flowers 20 Myers, Walter Dean 92, 93, 102

Midsummer

1

Night's

1

Naming of Cats, The 327 Namioka, Lensey 227, 242 New Colossus, The 637

New

Kids on the Block: Oral Histories

of Immigrant Teens, from 686 Nisei Daughter, from 645

Nyad, Diana 284

673

Davy

623, 625, 696

135. 135

I

Habit of Movement, The 665

Camp Harmony 645

Charles

1

541,544

Go Down, Moses 568 Golden Door: A Nation of Immigrants, The 636 Goodrich, Frances 347, 409

1

5,

7,

Abraham

Longfellow, Henry

Grampa 290 Bode,Janet686, 693 1

Cherished Myths of Amer-

from 6

472 Hear You Whisper 297

Amy

Ling,

342, 342, 346, 410 1

Me

Lincoln,

Gettysburg Address, The 623

Birdfoot's

Bradbury, Ray 2

&

Lewis, John 681

I

15

1

Bien aguila

637

09

ican History,

Let

America 694

Bambara, Toni Cade Barbara Frietchie 602 Bells, The, from 7 Bible 676

1

Lester, Julius 460, 466, 468,

Aesop 709 After

II

Legends, Ues

Erdoes, Richard 462, 463, 465 Across Five

Emma

Lazarus,

Is

Born 52

626

I

Old Grandfather and His Uttle Grandson,

W.W.

477

Omar

I

Oronges 37 Ortiz, Alfonso 462, 463,

465

507

Gary 277, 283, 288 and the Mustang 502 People, Yes. The, from 496 People Could Fly, The 574 Petry, Ann 557,567, 656 Pigman and Me, The, from 82 60 Pitts, Leonard, Jr. Paulsen,

Pecos

I

Keyes, Daniel 45, 73 King, Martin Luther,

58

1

Paul Revere's Ride 537

Kandel, Lenore 710 Kelly,

The

Open Window, The 246

Poul Bunyan

186, 195, 196

Johnson, Dorothy M. 547, 551

7/6

Captain!

Okita, Dwight 652

from

Diamond, Neil 694 Diary of Anne Frank, The 347 Diary of a Young Girl, The, from 342, 410 Dickinson, Emily 41, 77, 77,728 Dogs Could Teach Me, The 277

My

Captain!

I

Jimenez, Francisco 659, 664

587

Destruction of Sennacherib, The,

I

Jewish folk tale 91

Mare, Walter 180,713

Deserter, The

I

Bill

1

Jr.

678,

680

Poe, Edgar Allan 202, 208, 7 Point

Landlady The \7\ Last Great Race on Earth, The

of"

1

3,

7

1

View 288

Poniatowska, Elena 17 Power of Nonviolence, The, from 681 I

284

Index of Authors and Titles 843

Quintana, Leroy V. 109,

1

There Will

10

There Will

Raymond's Run 3 Refugee in America 677

SakI (H. H.

Time

Secret Heart, The

Service,

Seth,

Robert

9.

to Talk,

A

1

Fire,

A4I9 Twain, Mark (Samuel Clemens) 107,

513.

480. 526

5/8

Vikram7l5

Shakespeare, William 7 Shapiro, Irwin 52

1

,

Uchida. Yoshiko 152, /57

1

1

Silverstein, She! 288, 507,

Smart Cookie, A

I

Gary

Hawk

120,

128

1

42 Stacey, Pamela 321, 323

Pecson, Marina 348 Pete, Shandin 148

265

Rivas,

1

Wilson.

Woodrow

71

Rockliff,

I

Yep, Laurence 265, 269, 289

Heart The 202

Thayer, Ernest Lawrence 606, 608

844 Index of Authors and Titles

Zindel, Paul 82, 297,

320

Cory 537

Roderick. Taylor 257

Wise Old Woman, The 152 Woodsong, from 277, 288 Yankee Thunder: The Legendary Davy Crockett, from 52

Ophelia 633

Roberts, Joshua 265

Rogers. Brooke 270

29, 36, 37,

Teasdale, Sara 218 re//-To/e

Bisco 129

Hoe, Chris 529 Horn, Dara433 Ireland, Theresa 78 Irvin. Alesha 94 Jamal. Hanna 445 Lacey, Teresa 163 Leary, Peter 222 Melchert, Heather 569 Nichols, Joshua 333

We Are All One

Whittier,John Greenleaf 602, 604

Sone, Monica 645. 65/

Song of Myself from 7

Hill,

1

Walrus and the Carpenter, The, from 705

Whitman, Walt 544, 626, 7

508

1

Sneve, Virginia Driving

Duncan, Spencer 6 Ellison, Jenny 519 Fleury, Hannah 699

Oliver, Jaqueta 148

524

Shenkman, Richard 612 Silver, from 7 3

Soto.

Braswell, Sabrina 623

Treasure of Lemon Rrown, The 93

432

Student Writers

Conway, Alison 85

1

1

I

W.

1

from 707 Tolstoy, Leo 58 Too Soon a Woman 547 Torrence, Jackie 453, 456 Touched by a Dolphin, from 32 Tragedy Revealed: A Heroine's Last Days,

Munro) 246, 250 1

2

Ayers, Candace 171

To Build a

I

Sandburg. Carl 496, 498 Schnabel, Ernst 4

(poem)

Soft Rains (short story)

They Have Yarns 496 Three Wise Guys 670

1

I

Soft Rains

215

Ransom of Red Chief. The 483 Raven, The. from 7

Reword They Get Is just Rochman. Hazel 442 Rockliff, Mara 186 Roughing It, from 526

Come Come

Life

of

Romero, Ricardo 3 Kimberly 224

Swift,

Udi, Enefiok 453

Wulfsberg, Anne-Marie 292

ELEMENTS OF

itemture Introductory Course

.'^%:^

First Course

Second Course Ij

1

Third Course

Fourth Course Fifth Course

Sixth Course

ISBN D-D3-DS2D5T-2

90000

9

'780030"520594