PROVIDE TEXTUAL EVIDENCE FOR ALL QUESTIONS. from SINNERS IN THE HANDS OF AN ANGRY GOD 1. Analyze Persuasion What audience is Edwards addressing in his persuasive sermon? 2. What keeps you IN LINE? What does Edwards think about the morality of many of his listeners? 3. What keeps you IN LINE? How do the threats and vivid descriptions of hell encourage listeners to think about their own morality? 4. Analyze Emotional Appeals In lines 38 42, Edwards compares God s justice to an archer who points an arrow at the listener s heart. How does this image create an emotional appeal? How does it further Edwards s purpose for this sermon? 5. Analyze Emotional Appeals What emotions does Edwards appeal to with his references to insects? Explain. 6. Evaluate Persuasion In lines 75 88, Edwards presents imagery and figurative language to describe the eternal nature of hell. Which part of this description do you find most effectively persuasive, and why? 7. What keeps you IN LINE? Do you think that Edwards s concerns about morality are tied to the time and place in which he wrote, or are they universal? Explain. from THE INTERESTING NARRATIVE OF THE LIFE OF OLAUDAH EQUIANO 1. Recall Slave Narrative What is Equiano s first feeling when he is carried onto the slave ship? 2. What does it mean to be a SLAVE? What was Equiano s experience with slavery before he was brought on board the slave ship? How does this experience affect Equiano s view of slavery? 3. Analyze Details Did Equiano fare well on this journey? Did his experiences support his view of conditions on board a slave ship? Explain. 4. Analyze Slave Narrative What title would you suggest for Equiano s tale to reflect his experiences? 5. Analyze Details What emotion does Equiano seem to feel most? What other emotion might you expect to be prevalent in a slave narrative? Why do you think this emotion is not prevalent? 6. What does it mean to be a SLAVE? Why would Equiano want to be a slave in his own country versus being a slave somewhere else? 7. Evaluate Slave Narrative Do you think that it would be easier to write a slave narrative if you had always been a slave or if you had first been free and then been enslaved? Explain.
from THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY 1. Recall Characteristics of Autobiography What significant event does Franklin write about in this part of his autobiography? 2. Is PERFECTION possible? What virtue does Franklin think he needs to master first before he can master the other goals of his self-improvement plan? Is his reasoning logical? 3. Analyze Characteristics of an Autobiography How does Franklin s opinion of the value of Order change as he matures into an older man? 4. Make Inferences About the Author Reread lines 132 136. How does Franklin feel about his life as an elderly man? What does this tell you about his character? 6. Analyze Characteristics of an Autobiography How might a biography differ from Franklin s autobiography in describing this part of Franklin s life? 7. Is PERFECTION possible? What general message can you infer about self-improvement from Franklin s autobiography and aphorisms? Explain. 8. Make Inferences About the Author In your opinion, would Franklin try this experiment again if he could be a young man again? Explain. THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE 1. When is REBELLION justified? In lines 19 22, Jefferson suggests that rebellion against an unjust leader is an obligation. Why does he do this? 2. Recall Argument In support of the Colonies claims, the Declaration repeats the words He has. Whom does the he refer to? 3. Analyze Argument The Declaration claims that governments derive their just powers from the consent of the governed. What does this claim mean? 4. Analyze Text Structure Why does the actual declaration of independence not appear until the conclusion of the document? 5. Interpret Text Structure Reread lines 91 94, which appear after the list of grievances. How do these lines support the structure of Jefferson s argument? 6. When is REBELLION justified? The Declaration never names King George III directly. How does this omission reflect the attitudes behind the colonists rebellion? 7. Interpret Argument Inductive arguments move from examples or facts to a general conclusion. Deductive arguments begin with a claim, support that claim, and end with a specific conclusion. Which type of argument does Jefferson use? Explain.
THE GETTYSBURG ADDRESS / THE EMANCIPATION PROCLAMATION 1. Identify Audience Lincoln s audiences for the Emancipation Proclamation and the Gettysburg Address appear very different, but they are also similar. How? 2. What makes a great LEGACY? The Gettysburg Address is considered an important part of Lincoln s legacy. Why do people today still admire him for it? 3. Analyze Audience Lincoln uses the pronoun we throughout the Gettysburg Address. How does this affect his relationship to his audience? 4. Evaluate Author s Beliefs Summarize Lincoln s beliefs about secession. 5. Analyze Beliefs In the Gettysburg Address, Lincoln implies a strong belief in his purpose as president. What was that purpose? How does he support that purpose in the Emancipation Proclamation? 6. What makes a great LEGACY? For many Americans, Lincoln s legacy includes freeing the slaves with the Emancipation Proclamation. Is this accurate? Is accuracy important in determining a historical figure s legacy? Why or why not? 7. Evaluate Form Does the form of the Gettysburg Address contribute to its greatness? Explain. from WALDEN / from CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE 1. Do you chart your own COURSE? How does Civil Disobedience reflect Thoreau s nonconformity? 2. Recall Essay Reread lines 87 91 of the excerpt from Walden. How does Thoreau suggest people live their lives? 3. Analyze Essay What imagery does Thoreau use to describe winter at Walden Pond? 4. Evaluate Ideas In Civil Disobedience, Thoreau advises, Let your life be a counter-friction to stop the machine (line 88). What does he mean? How reasonable is this position? 5. Do you chart your own COURSE? Which action reveals Thoreau s nonconformity more moving to the woods, or refusing to pay his poll tax? Explain. 6. Analyze Essay Reread lines 38 50 of Civil Disobedience. How does Thoreau use rhetorical questions and imagery in this passage to create a persuasive tone? 7. Do you chart your own COURSE? How might Thoreau s nonconformity have affected modern views about peaceful resistance and solitary living? 8. Evaluate Ideas How are the messages that Thoreau conveys about living a simple life applicable today? Which message appeals to you more, and why?
from SELF-RELIANCE / from NATURE 1. What is your MOTTO? In Self-Reliance, what ideals does Emerson convey in his motto Trust thyself? 2. Recall Transcendentalism In Nature, does Emerson argue that God is part of nature or separate from nature? Explain. 3. What is your MOTTO? Reread lines 12 14 of Self-Reliance. Does Emerson mean that people should reject every ideal that conforms to social norms? Explain. 4. Analyze Transcendentalism Reread lines 16 18 of Nature. What does Emerson refer to in uncontained and immortal beauty? 5. Interpret Theme Reread lines 6 11 of Self-Reliance. What phrase in these lines best summarizes the essay s theme? 6. What is your MOTTO? What is it about nature that reflects an ideal for Emerson? 7. Analyze Transcendentalism Reread lines 24 25 of Nature. Describe the process Emerson experiences when he changes his mind. 8. Evaluate Theme In Nature, what central idea does Emerson convey about the relationship between people and nature? MOTHER TONGUE 1. What LANGUAGES do you speak? Why is Tan s mother s spoken English not a true reflection of her English proficiency? 2. Identify Personal Essay What qualities or features make Mother Tongue a personal essay? 3. Analyze Personal Essay What evidence does Tan give for her opinions about standardized tests? 4. Identify Main Ideas Reread lines 162 183. What is the main idea? 5. What LANGUAGES do you speak? What different languages does Tan use, and in what circumstances? 6. Analyze Personal Essay Imagine that Tan gave an interview to a journalist, who then wrote an article about Tan s use of language. In what ways might that article differ from Tan s essay? 7. Identify Main Ideas What is Tan s main idea about analogy questions on tests?
STRAW INTO GOLD: THE METAMORPHOSIS OF THE EVERYDAY 1. Where do writers get their MATERIAL? What idea from a fairy tale does Cisneros use in this essay? 2. Identify Voice Choose a word that describes Cisneros s literary voice. 3. Where do writers get their MATERIAL? In addition to her own experiences, what other experiences give Cisneros ideas for stories? 4. Analyze Voice What piece of background information or context helps to explain this essay s conversational, friendly voice? Explain. 5. Analyze Structure Which parts of the essay focus on Cisneros s life as a writer, and which parts focus on her earlier life? Why might the author have arranged the essay this way? 6. Where do writers get their MATERIAL? In lines 79 82, Cisneros describes looking out the window at school, looking at classmates, and wondering about them. What does this passage suggest about sources of Cisneros s ideas other than her experiences? 7. Analyze Voice What qualities of Cisneros s voice are revealed in lines 65 66? What language and usage elements establish that voice? 8. Analyze Structure Suppose that the essay were divided into sections. What would those sections be? HOW IT FEELS TO BE COLORED ME 1. Identify Rhetorical Techniques Reread lines 7 10. What rhetorical technique does Hurston use to describe the people of her hometown? 2. Identify Main Ideas What is the main idea of lines 45 56? 3. What makes you YOU? What does Hurston s singing for the white tourists express about her personality? 4. Analyze Rhetorical Techniques What does the use of the parallel structure On the line, Get set, and Go in lines 48 49 suggest about Hurston s personality? 5. Interpret Main Ideas What does Hurston mean in line 51 when she says that slavery is the price she paid for civilization? 6. Evaluate Main Ideas Do you agree or disagree with the main idea stated in line 57 that it is more difficult to be white than black in America? Explain. 7. Analyze Rhetorical Techniques In what way do the rhetorical techniques in lines 73 77 reflect the characteristics of jazz music? 8. What makes you YOU? What techniques does Hurston use to convey her personality through written words?