Category: Literature

Analyzing the Text

Her claim is that when a group of people feels they have not received equal treatment, they should explain their reasons for desiring change. In this instance, Stanton references the Declaration of Independence to support her argument.

This is an appeal to historical precedent, as well as logos. If men accept the views put forth by the original Declaration, she reasons, they will accept the Declaration of Sentiments since it is modeled after the original’s ideas of liberty and justice for all.

It reveals her argument to be that women are not treated equally in America and therefore must demand that wrongs be righted.

She’s talking about women’s right to vote. She sees this right as an essential part of the “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” that the Declaration of Independence grants to men.

She uses repetition to create a sense of rhythm and drive home her point. Through this repetition, her arguments are stated clearly and are impossible to forget or misinterpret.

One theme is that women’s inability to vote has deprived them from having a say in the day-to-day decisions made by their own country’s government. Another theme is that women are considered to essentially belong to their husbands or fathers. Furthermore, women have limited opportunities with regard to employment, education, and religious communities.

Through repetition, she wraps up her argument and addresses any concerns that may be had – for instance, how women will use “the pulpit and the press” to defend their cause.

Vocabulary Strategy: The Latin Root ject

reject

eject

subject

project

inject

Critical Vocabulary

She claims this because at no point in the history of the US had women been treated equally to men.

It reveals that men have treated women as second-class citizens.

Major crimes, since women’s rights have been denied to them.

They have no freedom to seek out employment, education, or a high position within their place of worship.

Analyzing the Text

Prior to the railroad, crossing the country was dangerous and could take up to six months. The Gold Rush in California, as well as Americans’ belief in Manifest Destiny fostered a strong desire to create a safer, quicker means of reaching the West Coast. In addition, lawmakers in our nation’s capitol were eager to create a safe means of allowing citizens to travel to, and settle, lands west of Omaha so that those citizens could mine for precious metals and provide an even greater tax base for the United States.

The Central Pacific had a difficult time initially recruiting enough workers for the project. In addition, once the workers began the job, it was difficult to clear the earth and lay the tracks through the Sierra Nevada. Also, the deserts in Nevada and Utah reached temperatures up to 120 degrees, making the work dangerous for the railroad workers.

The author’s purpose is to highlight the accomplishments and contributions of Chinese workers, as well as to point out the challenges, harsh conditions, and discrimination the faced while doing so. She includes examples of the Chinese workers’ idea of making and lowering baskets over the mountains, their knowledge of explosives, detailed descriptions of their work ethic under harsh physical conditions. She shows the discrimination they faced because they were paid less than white workers, white workers’ violence toward them, and their lack of recognition at the railroad completion ceremonies.

The author’s tone toward Chinese workers is symp>
Her tone is also disgusted with regard to the bosses who exploited the Chinese workers and the white workers who treated them badly. For example, she notes that the Chinese workers “out measured” white workers, and they “excelled” at working on the railroad. She quotes the bosses alternately admitting that the Chinese workers were “industrious” and “worked harder for less reward,” but then would call them a “degraded” people who were the “dregs” of Asia. She also noted that bosses “roared” that they would not work with Chinese people, and that the railroad owners were swift and ruthless in their treatment of Chinese workers who asked for better conditions.

She states it was an “unpredictable explosive,” and that others were afraid of working with it. She also notes that many workers died in accidents using it, and that the purpose of this explosive was to “speed up” the process, implying a certain recklessness.

The quotes of the owners and bosses serves to shock the reader a bit and emphasize the discriminatory way these people treated the Chinese. It also shows the hypocrisy of this discrimination when, by their own words, they admit that the Chinese were superior workers.

Homeric suggests a gigantic, historic feat against enormous obstacles. This relates to the general idea of the narrative that the Chinese workers persevered and succeeded despite horrible conditions and degrading discrimination in an almost super heroic manner.

The strike connects with the rest of the narrative by highlighting that the Chinese comported themselves in an admirable way with dignity in a reasonable effort to improve their intolerable conditions. It also hits on the idea that their behavior was better than how white workers would have conducted themselves. It reiterates a central premise that the Chinese workers outperformed white workers, but were treated much worse.

Critical Vocabulary

I completed long homework assignments from four classes in one evening while having the flu.

My friend signed the permission slip for the field trip herself because her parents were at work.

I read every word of the assigned reading carefully before answering the homework questions.

When my family makes deviled eggs, my father boils the eggs, my mother peels the eggs, and I chop the yolks and mix them with mayonnaise so that we can complete dozens more efficiently.

Analyzing the Media

The Emancipation Proclamation led to the “first black northern regiment” in the Civil War, which started in 1863. The Emancipation Proclamation helped the North win the Civil War by allowing black soldiers to fight on their side.

Analyzing the Text

The rhythm rushes readers along, with words one after another and line breaks not in traditional places. Additionally, the abundance of stressed syllables contributions to the feeling of fright as the narrator hurries along.

Religious references include “O star-shaped yonder Bible city,” “tell me, Ezekiel, oh tell me do you see mailed Jehovah coming to deliver me,” and “first stop Mercy and the last Hallelujah.” Religious imagery is appropriate here because these are cultural references that would have been familiar to slaves and would likely have provided them some hope, however small.

“Oh! Susanna” is a minstrel song, which means it would have been performed by white people who wore blackface and mocked African-Americans. Perhaps the author made this allusion in order to symbolize African-Americans reclaiming that song and repurposing it for their own, better uses.

The two speakers are the narrator and Harriet Tubman. The narrator sounds more dramatic and afraid, while Ms. Tubman sounds more pragmatic or matter-of-fact about the whole situation.

The first set of names (lines 53-54) are names given to Harriet Tubman either by others or by the woman herself. The second set of names (55-56) refer to abolitionists both white and black.

Unlike most other lines in this poem, these lines (three couplets) rhyme! Together they read like more traditional poetry that students are probably used to. They are sing-song and a little bit eerie in terms of the theme.

These words and phrases include “they’ll dart underground when you try to catch them” and lines 65 through 71.

“I’m bound for the freedom” means that the slave is in bondage, perhaps literally in chains, because society at this time conceived of black people as suited only for slavery and white people only for freedom. This was considered the natural order of things. “Freedom-bound” means that the narrator is headed toward their freedom, finally. Line 33 is just one example of the multiple meanings of this poem and the way it reveals more and more to the reader they longer they spend analyzing it.

Analyzing the Text

One example is, “The man from Sulphur Creek had spoken the truth when telling how cold it sometimes got in the country. And he had laughed at him!” Here, the man grudgingly admits that he should have paid more attention to the old-timer. Later, around line 270, he appreciates the advice the old-timer gave him. On the next page, he once again dismisses the old-timer, referring to him as “womanish” and thinking he worried too much about the need to travel with a companion in such cold weather. Much, much later in the story, he mumbles that the old-timer was absolutely right after all… and then he dies.

Although the dog obviously doesn’t understand the concept of temperature because it’s an animal, it seems to understand the cold as a much more dangerous entity than the man does. The dog seems much better adapted to the setting because it understands just how dangerous this weather can be.

Including the names of real places such as the Yukon and the Bering Sea establish that this story takes place in our world. Additionally, the descriptions of winter weather, while more brutal than that most students have probably known, lines up with our understanding of what winter is like. Together these details make the story feel like it could really have happened in the not-so-distant past or even now.

The dog becomes another character in the story and serves as a foil (counterpoint) to the man. London’s descriptions serve to contrast the dog’s keen awareness of the dangerous situation with the man’s arrogant and foolish mistakes.

The fact that the “old-timer from Sulphur Creek” has made it to old age shows that it is possible, if difficult, to survive for a very long time in such a place. Additionally, the dog is clearly more fit for such a place than the protagonist, given that he dies but the dog does not. This story shows readers that failure to prepare and remember the advice of others makes them unfit for survival and can only result in death.

London seems to think that the protagonist was doomed from the start. Fate doesn’t appear to play much of a role in this story, but nature’s unpredictability certainly does. With so many hidden springs lying beneath the ice and snow, sooner or later the man was bound to fall through and get into trouble. His chances of actually making it to camp were quite low.

These two themes interact because only the fittest can avoid nature’s pitfalls and make it out of dangerous situations alive and mostly unscathed.

Vocabulary Strategy: Etymology

1. apprehension: definition: fear or anxiety; origin word: (Latin) apprehendere: to seize upon; suffix: -ion (makes nouns out of verbs) 2. imperative: of great importance, essential; Origin: (Latin) imperare: to command; suffix: -ive (makes adjectives) 3. extremity: the outermost or farthest point of portion; Origin: (Latin) extremus: utmost

“She was filled with ap>“It was imp>“The cold began to hurt her extremities.”

It helps us understand the barest form of its meaning, and so we can branch off from there (to add meaning). Other words that end in -ion include, conclusion, situation, decapitation. Other words that end in -ive include, supportive, creative, conclusive.

Critical Vocabulary

These include determination and perseverance.

You may feel apprehensive before an important exam if tests make you anxious or if you haven’t studied!

This is imperative because, if you do not, you may be seriously injured or even die in a car accident.

If those parts of the country are far away from the capital or center of population, it will be difficult to get soldiers to those furthest reaches of the territory.

Critical Vocabulary

The painting evoked pathos in the viewer because it showed a dead child.

The obstinacy of her response was made clear by her stubborn tone.

The runner treasured his race number as an emblem of victory.

The ostentatious display of wealth made visitors uncomfortable because it they were used to elegance, not vulgarity.

Proponents of the new law sought to mitigate opposition by compromising on certain policies.

The plausibility of her statement was supported by the evidence she offered.

Analyzing the Text

Although one will not find out about these horrors right away, gradually it is possible to piece together what is going on at the factory. These sentences serve to introduce the readers to the expose that follows.

The imagery is disgusting and horrifying, revealing that Sinclair is appalled that such an esteemed brand has been getting away with such practices.

He means that they were always mixing up some new concoction, rather like alchemists or today’s chemists do, only with assorted animal parts rather than chemicals or elements.

This point of view seems detached and is not overwhelmed by any emotion or opinion on the part of the character. Rather, the story is simply presented as it is and it is up to the reader to draw a conclusion from the information provided.

His topic is the maltreatment of the workers. He communicates, through vivid detail, their tragic fates, as no worker escapes maiming or even death.

They were likely more concerned with what they themselves were eating than with the plight of people who were poor, uneducated, and most likely immigrants. Through writing this book, Sinclair aimed to draw attention not only to the unsanitary conditions for food but the impact those conditions had upon the workers that produced that food.

If he had named a real company and real people, he would have encountered legal trouble. This was a way to expose what was really happening without being sued.

Analyzing the Text

The story is meant to incite terror at gratuitous violence. The beginning shows this as even the awaiting of the sentence is full of unnecessary terror (foreshadowing what is to come later). The narrator finds terror in the visual aspects of things: the “black-robbed judges” (17), the whiteness of their faces (17) and their grotesque thinness (18). We are warned against relying on our senses when the narrator swoons while waiting, and “the figures of the judges vanishes, as if magically,” (36-7). All this builds into a fear of what can be seen and the horror of unnecessary terror.

The uncertainty suggests that the narrator has been drugged (222) but it also tells us that he is greatly frightened and confused by what is happening to him.

We know he is a sensible person because he thinks to count and trace the distance of his cage (168-9). We also know he is sensible in the appropriate fear and acknowledgment of his fear, “now I was the veriest of cowards” (215-6). We know he can read (217). We see further proof of his intelligence (which helps him survive his ordeal) when he thinks of plan to get out of the surcingle (407-435).

Oppression: “The intensity of the darkness seemed to oppress and stifle me”(103-4); “They pressed — they swarmed upon me in ever accumulating heaps… I was half stifled by their thronging pressure” (428-30); “could I withstand its pressure?” (505); “the closing walls pressed me resistlessly onward” (509). The strong feeling of oppression enhances the terror felt by both the character and the reader. All these moments of oppression make the story feel claustrophobic and uncomfortable. It enhances the sensation of freedom when he is pulled out of the room, like a breath of fresh air. This feeling of oppression is important to the story’s central idea of visual perception, as the oppression felt by the narrator is a visual oppression that translates into the physical.

Analyzing the Text

Most of the food Americans consumed after WWII is processed, which is bland without any flavoring added. Additionally, after the war most of the European perfume industry moved to New England and switched to producing flavors.

He does this in order to show the scientific and technological wizardry that goes on in labs in just a small sector of the country.

Although they may contain the same ingredients, what distinguishes natural flavors from artificial ones is how they are made. Schlosser goes into a lot of detail here in order to make sure his readers understand how they have been duped by food companies.

He wants to demonstrate that not only do Burger King’s strawberry milkshakes contain ingredients with names we’ve never even heard of, but the one ingredient they don’t actually have is strawberries!

While it’s true that natural flavors are produced differently from artificial ones, products containing so-called “natural flavors” are not necessarily naturally flavored the way they taste: Flavors may have been added after the fact.

Schlosser wants people to do further research and view the label of “natural flavors” more skeptically.

His overall purpose is educating readers. His writing style is clear, concise, and not terribly formal. It draws the readers in by presenting intriguing information and describing his visit to IFF as though it were a scene in a story.

Critical Vocabulary

Antonyms

Synonyms

Synonyms

Antonyms

Synonyms

Antonyms

Antonyms

Antonyms

Language and Style: Dashes

Flavors made from natural ingredients–fruits, vegetables, chicken, yeast, and bark–are sometimes considered healthier.

The french fries are delicious–and very fattening.

Flavorists–scientists with trained noses and poetic sensibilities–create the flavor in most of the food we eat.

One remarkable creation–a strip of paper that smelled just like a grilled hamburger–took Schlosser by surprise.

Critical Vocabulary

The cooking oil they use, as well as the progress in manufacturing flavors.

Otherwise the chemicals will evaporate or change.

The amounts are microscopic and much smaller than teaspoons or tablespoons.

It will bring on the chemical process required to create the desired flavors from the original chemicals.

They create as if by magic the flavors that we expect in our foods from chemicals.

Analyzing the Text

“The Minister’s Black Veil” is set in a village as stated by the line, “The old people of the village” (2). The story also takes place in a church/meetinghouse, as demonstrated by the line “A rumor of some unaccountable phenomenon had preceded Mr. Hooper into the meetinghouse” (47-8). The setting of this story relates to the ideas of the writer as they characterize the small town mentality as well as the religious fears of sins. “The Pit and Pendulum” takes place predominantly in a Toledo dungeon as demonstrated by the lines 131-5. The dungeon setting emphasizes the terror of the story.

We discover the character of Poe’s narrator through his reaction to the things happening to him. This technique of slow discovery helps maintain the mystery of the story. Hawthorne uses a similar technique. We discover Mr. Hooper’s personality through his interactions with other people, slowly throughout the story. This uncertainty and slow development sustains the mystery of the Veil. However, Poe’s use of perspective gives us a one sided glimpse at the narrator while Hawthorne’s perspective allows the reader to see Mr. Hooper through the eyes of other people.

“Pit and Pendulum:” (p>“Minister’s Black Veil:” (passage 456-462), the dark and ominous tone is evident in the great fear of the characters present, “in mutual affright” (456). The reader is invited into this fear with the vivid description of Father Hooper’s corpse. The “faint smile” (457-8) is alarming and terrifying because it is paradoxical. The repetition of ‘veiled’ throughout the passage enhances the dark mood, as the secrecy around the veil drastically increases. The passage (and the short story) ends on this word, thereby demonstrating its significance.

Hawthorne uses ambiguity in the ending of the short story, when Mr. Hooper is saying his last words, “On every visage a Black Veil” (455). Yet again, Mr. Hooper discusses the Veil but refuses to directly identify what it is. In such, the story ends with this residual ambiguity which increases the horrified, but curious, feeling of the reader. Poe uses ambiguity to enhance interest in the beginning of his story when the narrator cannot remember what happened to him (64-80). This passage engages the reader, as the narrator’s lack of memory enables the reader’s imagination to take over (helped of course by Poe). It also increases the sense of horror.