Who is the author, who really wrote the story and where was it found?
The author’s name is Washington Irving. Narrator’s name is Geoffrey Crayon and he found it among the papers of the late Diedrich Knickerbocker.
In which period the story is set?
Story is set in time shortly after the American War of Independence – Union Hotel is mentioned and annotation says that “it refers to the union of states which constituted the United States following the American War of Independence.” There is also storming of Stony Point mentions and that battle took place in 1779.
Yes, that's right. For sure, the references to the liberty pole (line 21) and to Rip’s friends (lines 77-90) prove that the story is set in post-Revolutionary America.
What Rip finds so completely dfferent about his hometown?
First of all – he has difficulty to find it. He didn’t know that 20 years has passed so he remembered the way, so the only explanation is that the village and surroundings have changed a lot. Also his house fell into disrepair and he couldn’t find his family anything around it.
His house had fallen to pieces; the village inn(tavern) had disappeared.
Changes in people in this town. Were they beneficial?
Well, I am not sure I think that after the War people gain freedom, they ended tyranny of monarchy ( they changed sign with King George to General Washington and they get mad when Rip said he’s loyal to the crown). They get the possibility to vote (they were talking about it, even asked Rip on which side he voted), they finally have choice. Also they started to dress nicer so grizzled dress of Rip attracted attention.
On the other hand, we can observe some kind of melancholy. For sure, the present inhabitants of the village are really different from those who lived there in the past, and - as you have noticed - the atmosphere now (“busy, bustling, disputatious tone”) is juxtaposed with the “accustomed phlegm and drowsy tranquillity” of the past. It seems that in this case the past is rather associated with tranquillity and companionship (Rip's old friends), whereas the present is rather characterized by polemic, agitation and maybe some kind of violence..
What happened to Rip's friends? How did he react?
All of his friends are gone, some of them gone forever, Van Bummel made it to the congress. Rip broke down and he started to experience identity crisis. He didn’t know if he is Rip Van Winkle or maybe some other man. He took it very hard.
When did Rip disappeared? Who told him?
Officially Rip Van Winkle went away from home with a gun twenty years ago and never returned. His daughter said that.
Changes in this drowsy Dutch village were positive or negative?
As I wrote in exercise 6, there was a lot of good changes. Democracy being one of them. I can’t really see any bad one, maybe except Rip’s house being ruined and poor dog which has been neglected. If that was the same dog that before, some of them live over 20 years so it’s possible. Also there is this fragment: “The very character of the people seemed changed. There was a busy, bustling, disputatious tone about it, instead of the accustomed phlegm and drowsy tranquility.” But depends on the reader, one may perceive it as a bad change or a good one. I am not sure, calmness and activity both have their advantages and disadvantages.
Henry David Thoreau "Walden/Life in the Woods", 1845-47
FALSE Thoreau decided to live in the woods because he wanted to avoid the troubles of life
TRUE he decided to live there because he wanted to confront life head on
FALSE for Thoreau, the majority of men know exactly what they are looking for in life
Thoreau resorts to simile and metaphor on several occasions within this text. Find at least two examples. What effect does this produce on the reader?
Some examples of metaphor: ‘suck out all the marrow of life’, ‘to cut a broad swath’, ‘drive life into a corner’. The metaphorical expressions Thoreau uses invigorate his argumentation.
"I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life, to live sturdily and Spartan-like [...]"
"[...] to cut a broad swath and shave close, to drive life a corner"
It seems to me that Thoreau is very passionate and very desperate to learn the true meaning of human existence. Reading those lines makes me think about my life and how I live it. Is is a good way I have chosen? What will I think in the moment when it's about to end? Will I be satisfied?
Thoreau draws on myth and contemporary affairs to support his arguments. Can you find any examples in the text? What effect do these references create?
Thoreau mentions the Greek fable about ants turned into men (myth). He also touches upon the German Confederacy (contemporary affairs). These references support the author’s argumentation.
"We still live meanly, like ants: though the fable tells us that we were long ago changed into men; like pygmies we fight with cranes [...]"
These are the references to the Greek mythology. I think it is supposed to show us that we are busy and troubled with not really important things.
What do you think Thoreau means by the following?
a) ‘keep your accounts on your thumb nail’ (line 26)
reduce your expenses/possessions etc. to a minimum. He mentioned that you should gain only so many things, so you can count them on your 10 fingers. The absolute minimum. The line means small number of accounts.
b) ‘reduce other things in proportion‘ (lines 33-34)
put a limit on different things in your life. He earlier enumerated things that you can reduce in your life. That line seems to be nothing else that a nicely paraphrased "etc."
c) ‘whether we should live like baboons or like men, is a little uncertain’ (lines 48-9)?
men have not discerned what things are the most important/essential in life. I think that the line is about dilemma in what extent we should reconnect with nature. Just a little or maybe we should live in forest and hunt with spears like our very first ancestros did.
Which ‘Nation’ is Thoreau referring to in line 45? What does he suggest men think about this nation?
Thoreau refers to the United States. According to Thoreau, men think that the technological progress of the nation is the most valuable, regardless of whether they take advantage of it or not.
It refers to America. Men think that commerce is essential to their Nation.
Thoreau makes extensive references to the railroads. Why do you think the railroad is of such pressing importance to him? Is the railroad described in positive or negative terms? Justify your answer with reference to the text.
The motif of the railroads is of the greatest importance; it epitomises the material progress of the United States. The remark saying that ‘We do not ride on the railroad; it rides upon us’ suggests that the railroads had a big (and rather negative) influence on society. Additionally, we can notice some irony in the question ‘And if railroads are not built, how shall we get to heaven in season?’ (=on time).
For example in line "We do not ride on the railroad; it rides upon us". It looks nice, but I think it is not only about trains, but technology as all. Technology and newest invenstions that drag us from things that really matter. Plus, railords cross natural landscapes. It shatters lands, divides it. Natural beauty is disfigured by people to their pleasure and comfort of travelling. Also in line "Did you ever think what those sleepers are that underlie the railroad? " we can classify sleepers as dead people. Because at the time there were people who sacrified their lives for it. So it is definitely negative for the author.
What does Thoreau mean when he writes: ‘if some have the pleasure of riding on a rail, others have the misfortune to be ridden upon’ (lines 60-61)?
The remark means that for some people life is difficult and for others it is easy.
The author wrote earlier about sleepers, people who were victims of consummerism, who had to work hard for the pleasure of the reach elite. I thinks it's connected. There was, and there always will be the contrast between poor and reach. Those who were lucky, and those whose lifes are hard. It is unfair, but this is how it is.
Does Thoreau‘s last phrase (‘for this is a sign that … again‘) display optimism or pessimism?
The phrase is optimistic as it suggests that it is possible for the sleepers (who can be understood both literally and metaphorically) to ‘get up again’ and to become active.
Perphaps, since it most likely again refers to "sleepers", this sentence is an optimistic thought that they life may change for he better. They will get up, rise.
TRUE Thoreau thinks men live trivial existences
TRUE the text is anti-materialist in spirit
TRUE he considers technological progress a menace
FALSE he believes life should be more complicated
FALSE railroads are indispensable to man’s improvement
What do you personally think about the message contained in the passage you have just read? Do the problems which Thoreau speaks of have any relation to our lives today? If so, in what way?
I agree with Thoreau on some terms. I also believe that nature is extremely important and we should try to connect with it the way it is, instead of destroing it or modify it to serve us. When it comes to technology I have slighly different feelings. But the times changed. I can only imagine how the life was back then and how technology affected people back in the days. I believe that exploiting people is still real though. It is lesser, but it is here. There are people in Asian countries thay are paid less than they diserve by big, well-known companies.
„It is not worthwhile to go around the world to count the cats in Zanzibar.”
I believe that the author meant that given a chance to live an adventure, we should enjoy new things, instead of playing it safe, stay in your comfort zone. And I am not sure whether I agree with him or not. I strongly believe that we should enjoy small things, even if we met a very ordinary cat in an extraordinary city. We should be able to notice that cat, pet him, take a photo. For me, a cat symbolize everything sweet and beautiful in my everyday life. Like a warm ray of sunshine breaking through the curtains in my room or a little wild daisy I meet on the way home. Those things are important! And they are just as important in my hometown, in my presence, are everywhere in the world or time. Sometime playing it safe is better, and risking may end with something bad happening.
“Be a Columbus to whole new continents and worlds within you, opening new channels, not of trade, but of thought.”
Well… Columbus, as far as I am concerned, was a terrible human being. But let’s pretend that he was just a nice, adventurous discoverer. In this case I wholeheartedly agree with the author of this quote. It is about self improvement. About getting to know yourself. Because no matter how long you live, you can always learn something new about yourself. Analyze things around you, think about them, observe. It’s a good advise.
Edgar Allan Poe, "The Purloined Letter", 1844
Who does the purloined letter belong to?
The letter belongs to woman, that lives in a royal boudoir. Her name isn't mentioned. The purloined letter belongs to the Queen.
In which country is the story set?
France
Give the name of the detective who retrieved the letter.
C. Auguste Dupin
What are the methods of the police used to get the letter back?
The methods used by the police are rather traditional. The police investigate the culprit’s place carefully. They look for secret places and use ‘a most powerful microscope’. The place is divided into ‘compartments’, and then each unit is examined separately. The police check packages, parcels, books (‘the thickness of every book-cover’), floors, furniture and the paper on the walls.
Police searched Minister D's residence twice as well as Minister himself. They set a reward for anyone who will retrieve a letter.
What is the method of the detective who finds the letter?
The detective speaks of ‘an identification of the reasoner’s intellect with that of his opponent’. Dupin resorts to logical thinking and deduction. He combines reasoning with intuition (Stachura 2010, 42). Poe called his stories tales of ratiocination (Stachura 2010, 42).
He figured out how Minister's brain works and deduced that the later must be placed out in the open. Then he went to see him (hiding eyes behind dark glasses) and found a letter who was supposed to look like another, ordinary one in an organizer box. The next day Dupin switched the original letter with a copy.
Describe the game to which the detective refers when explaining his method.
First, when discussing ‘an identification of the reasoner’s intellect with that of his opponent’, Dupin refers to the game of ‘even and odd’. The next game mentioned by the detective is ‘a game of puzzles, […] which is played upon a map’. The most effective method in this game is the one based on the idea that something is too large/obvious to be noticed.
The game is called "even and odd". It's a guessing game for children. One of them holds a number of marbles, and the other must guess wheather the number is even or odd. If the other person guess correctly, he can take one of the first person's marbles. If he's wrong, he must give them marble of his own collection.
One more thing..
According to Stachura, ‘“The Purloined Letter” is one of the first detective stories, and it introduces (probably) all the typical modern elements of the genre: the brilliant detective and his obtuse friend, stupid and ineffective policemen, interrogation of witnesses, clues left at the scene of crime, and a solution presented dramatically (through dramatic conversation)’ (2010, 42) (my emphasis – MSK).
Walt Whitman, "I hear America Sing", 1860
What do you think Whitman means by 'America' in line 1 of the poem?
‘America’ stands for its ordinary people (mechanics, carpenters, boatmen, shoemakers). Also women are mentioned (mothers, wives, girls). It seems that all these people produce/give something; their work is productive and beneficial.
People of America, Americans, especially those who have jobs typicall for a lower class.
(By the way, notice one characteristic feature of Whitman’s poetry – listing/categorising.)
What activity unites these people as one, and what does this activity suggest?
The thing that unites these people is singing. It suggests enjoyment and happiness. Singing. I feel like it's about being happy, happy people sing.
Where in the poem does Whitman suggest that despite their ‘varied’ carols, individuals can come together as one? What kind of vision of America is being suggested here?
The last two lines suggest the choral character of singing (‘at night … / Singing […] their strong melodious songs’). The people are united in singing.
America is presented as a country that embraces different individuals and is able to function as a whole.
Well, I guess the author wanted to show his appreciation to workers. He wanted to show that they are making the America, they're the spirit.
The poem is a typical example of Whitman’s style. What do you notice about the following?
- stanza form
- line length
- the language
- stanza form: untraditional, it is a single verse paragraph (one single line, no full stops)
- line length: long and irregular
- the language: simple, without figurative rhetoric. This simplicity correlates with the simplicity of the common man.
The poem consists of one stanza, which is made up of eleven lines that don't rhyme (free verse). Poem has a form of a list. It is rhytmical and a reader has an impression like she should read it fast an in cherful manner. Author uses a language that magnifying the workers.
"Song of Myself", 1855
Draw up a list of the apparent contradictions (e.g., old-young) Whitman outlines in this poem.
"the foolish as much as the wise
"Regardless of others, ever regardful of others"
"Maternal as well as paternal"
"a child as well as a man"
"the smallest the same and the largest the same"
"A Southerner soon as a Northerner,"
A Southerner soon as a Northerner,
What is the main point he is trying to make?
I believe it's about diversity and many options of a modern world. Celebration of being yourself, doing what your heart desires.
"I resist any thing better than my own diversity" - I feel like it's about being proud of being differnt than others, beign yourself.
Later he talks about everything being on its place, which may mean peace with nature and with the world.
What does the poet mean by the ‘Nation of many nations’?
He means America: a nation that embraces many other nations (their inhabitants).
America was destination for many people from around the world, there were colonies of a few countries, cities where only Spanish or only French people lived. It is a nation that was created different than most, is consist of people with different nationalities.
Whitman uses parallelism to cement his verse together. Find examples and state in what way this reinforces the essential message of the poem.
There are some examples: of others (x2), a well as (x2),the same (x2), at home (x3), comrade of (x4).
All these repetitions emphasise the notion of ‘oneness’ or wholeness.
Are the lines of equal length? Do they contain a regular metre (i.e. a regular pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables)? What is the name we give to this type of verse?
The lines are not of equal length. There is variation in the number of syllables and their pattern. It is free verse. The poem is close to the spoken language.
Emily Dickinson, "I reason, Earth is short",
In stanza 2, what is meant by ‘The best Vitality / Cannot excel Decay’?
Even if we are strong and healthy, we cannot overcome mortality. I think it means that no matter how healthy you are, you will eventually die. You can't live forever.
The question ‘But, what of that?’ is asked at the end of all three stanzas. Does the question carry the same force on all three occasions?
No, it does not carry the same force in these three places. In the first two stanzas it is comprehensible/acceptable, whereas in the third case it sounds much more serious.
Find examples of ellipsis in the poem, and state briefly what effect the absence of words actually creates.
Ellipsis: And Anguish (is) absolute – And many (are) hurt … Some new Equation (will be) given.
The poem becomes epigrammatic.
"The bustle in the house", 1890
What kind of situation is being described here?
It is a description of the day after a funeral.
Is ‘bustle’ a suitable word to use in such on such an occasion? Why/why not?
"Bustle" mean noise and action, so I think it doesn't really suits the situation. I haven't been in situation like this but I imagine that in a house where someone has died, there silence, melancholy and sadness.
How does the poet create an atmosphere of homeliness and familiarity?
This atmosphere is created by describing the domestic activities (‘sweeping up’, ‘putting away’).
Nathaniel Hawthorne "The Scarlet Letter", 1850
What is the setting of the story? What is the time and place of it?
The story takes place in the mid-seventeenth century in Boston, Massachusetts.
It is happening in puritan society, which is known for its strict values.
How is Hester Prynne described in the passage?
In the passage describing the scene at the scaffold (Chapter 2), Hester Prynne is described as ‘ladylike’. She has ‘natural dignity and force of character’. In the scene she ‘step[s] into the open air as if by her own free will’. What is more, Hester has ‘a haughty smile, and a glance that would not be abashed’. She is ‘tall, with a figure of perfect elegance’ and has ‘dark and abundant hair’, black eyes and beautiful face. Both her physical appearance and character predisposition are portrayed by the narrator in positive terms (in contrast to the general opinion expressed by the community members/women).
People seems to hate her for what she did, they say "This woman has brought shame upon us all, and ought to die. Is there not law for it?".
She must be very strong, judgin by: " on the threshold of the prison-door, she repelled him, by an action marked with natural dignity and force of character, and stepped into the open air, as if by her own free will".
She even was able to smile a little while looking around the crown. Her scarlett letter was made in very artistic and beautiful manner. It makes me think she is determined to get better, doesn't want to let any negativity into her heart and that she will not give up even though everyone hates her.
There's a long description of her physical appearance:
"The young woman was tall, with a figure of perfect elegance on a large scale. She had dark and abundant hair, so glossy that it threw off the sunshine with a gleam, and a face which, besides being beautiful from regularity of feature and richness of complexion, had the impressiveness belonging to a marked brow and deep black eyes. She was lady-like, too, after the manner of the feminine gentility of those days; characterized by a certain state and dignity, rather than by the delicate, evanescent, and indescribable grace, which is now recognized as its indication. And never had Hester Prynne appeared more lady-like, in the antique interpretation of the term, than as she issued from the prison. Those who had before known her, and had expected to behold her dimmed and obscured by a disastrous cloud, were astonished, and even startled, to perceive how her beauty shone out, and made a halo of the misfortune and ignominy in which she was enveloped. It may be true, that, to a sensitive observer, there was something exquisitely painful in it. Her attire, which, indeed, she had wrought for the occasion, in prison, and had modelled much after her own fancy, seemed to express the attitude of her spirit, the desperate recklessness of her mood, by its wild and picturesque peculiarity. "
How is the community portrayed in the passage?
The community in the scene is characterised as very rigid and severe (‘the grim rigidity’, ‘early severity of the Puritan character’, ‘solemnity of demeanour’, the ‘meagre’ and ‘cold’ sympathy of the spectators). In this community ‘religion and law were almost identical’.
In the older women’s view, Hester should have been punished severely (‘they should have put the brand of a hot iron on Hester Prynne’s forehead’) or sentenced to death. Hester is perceived as the person who is the source of shame and infamy.
As I said before, Puritan Society is very, very strist about its values, It may be seen clearly, when one of the women insist to kill Hester for adultery. Even though she is now a mother! Their religion is the most important part of their lives and it affects every other part to a great extent.
Adultery is one of the most serious crimes. Something beyond my imagination. Hester were put on trial for that.
They act like they have no mercy or symphaty for other people, not understand of reasons of their actions, only hate and disgust for the effect. They see only black and white colors.
William Bradford "Of Plymouth Plantation"
Anne Bradstreet
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