Unit 1: Life Stories

Unit 1: Life Stories

by Ms. Downs

​Unit 1: Life Stories

• excerpt from "Solitude" by Henry David Thoreau

• A Home Away from Home

Solitude Vocabulary

Congenial- pleasant because of a personality, qualities or interests that are similar to one's own

Serenity- the state of being calm, peaceful, and untroubled.

Lull- calm or send to sleep, typically with soothing sounds or movements.

Repose- A state of rest, sleep, or tranquility.

Ceaseless- constant and unending

Ushered- show or guide someone somewhere

​Exertion- physical or mental effort​

Subject | Subject

​excerpt from “Solitude” by Henry David Thoreau

​This is a delicious evening, when the whole body is one sense, and imbibes delight through every pore. I go and come with a strange liberty in Nature, a part of herself. As I walk along the stony shore of the pond in my shirt sleeves, though it is cool as well as cloudy and windy, and I see nothing special to attract me, all the elements are unusually congenial to me. The bullfrogs trump to usher in the night, and the note of the whippoorwill is borne on the rippling wind from over the water. Sympathy with the fluttering alder and poplar leaves almost takes away my breath; yet, like the lake, my serenity is rippled but not ruffled. These small waves raised by the evening wind are as remote from storm as the smooth reflecting surface. Though it is now dark, the wind still blows and roars in the wood, the waves still dash, and some creatures lull the rest with their notes. The repose is never complete. The wildest animals do not repose, but seek their prey now; the fox, and skunk, and rabbit, now roam the fields and woods without fear. They are Nature’s watchmen, —links which connect the days of animated life. . . .

Some of my pleasantest hours were during the long rain storms in the spring or fall, which confined me to the house for the afternoon as well as the forenoon, soothed by their ceaseless roar and pelting; when an early twilight ushered in a long evening in which many thoughts had time to take root and unfold themselves. . . . Men frequently say to me, “I should think you would feel lonesome down there, and want to be nearer to folks, rainy and snowy days and nights especially.” I am tempted to reply to such,—This whole earth which we inhabit is but a point in space. How far apart, think you, dwell the two most distant inhabitants of yonder star, the breadth of whose disk cannot be appreciated by our instruments? Why should I feel lonely? Is not our planet in the Milky Way? This which you put seems to me not to be the most important question. What sort of space is that which separates a man from his fellows and makes him solitary? I have found that no exertion of the legs can bring two minds much nearer to one another.​

Multiple Choice

Which sentence best expresses the author’s viewpoint about life in the woods in "Solitude"?

• Life in the woods isn't for everyone

• Life in the woods is characterized by fear and uncertainty

• Living in the woods is like living on another planet.

• Everything about life in the woods is appealing.

Multiple Choice

Which sentence best expresses the author’s viewpoint about nature in "Solitude"?

• Nature is dangerous yet attractive.

• Nature is filled with unknowable mysteries.

• Nature is beautiful, calming, and inspiring.

• Nature is filled with excitement and adventure.

Multiple Choice

Read this excerpt from “Solitude” by Henry David Thoreau.

What sort of space is that which separates a man from his fellows and makes him solitary? I have found that no exertion of the legs can bring two minds much nearer to one another.

How does Thoreau distinguish between being alone and being alienated?

• He distinguishes between physical proximity and mental proximity in combating loneliness.

• He notes that neither physical distance nor proximity impacts the mental connections people have with one another.

• He notes that being physically active is not the same as being fully alive if one is not connecting with others.

• He distinguishes between being solitary or alone and suffering from loneliness in the company of others.

Multiple Choice

Part A

In "Solitude," what can be inferred about the author’s feelings toward the natural world?

• He understands the emotions of people but has much to learn about those of animals.

• He is afraid in the company of other people, but he has no fear around animals.

• He feels that people can learn a lot from observing the interactions that take place in nature.

• Every part of the natural world is equally appealing, but each in its own way.

Multiple Choice

Which sentence best supports the answer in Part A?

• “As I walk along the stony shore of the pond in my shirt sleeves . . . and I see nothing special to attract me, all the elements are unusually congenial to me

• They are Nature’s watchmen,—links which connect the days of animated life.”

• “The wildest animals do not repose, but seek their prey now; the fox, and skunk, and rabbit, now roam the fields and woods without fear.”

• “What sort of space is that which separates a man from his fellows and makes him solitary?”

Home Away From Home​ Vocabulary

Exasperation-A feeling of intense irritation or annoyance

Pilgrimage- A journey to a special/religious place

Sacred-considered to be holy and deserving respect

Arthritis​- painful inflammation and stiffness of the joints

Custom- a traditional and widely accepted way of behaving or doing something that is specific to a particular society

Stubborn​- Having or showing dogged determination not to change one's attitude or position on something, especially in spit of good arguments or reasons to do so.

​A Home Away from Home

​When summer finally arrived and eighth grade ended, my thoughts turned to Grandma Rose and her small farm in South Carolina. I couldn't wait to sit with her on the porch and listen to her tell old family stories. Every summer, my parents, my younger brother and sisters, and I drove down to the farm from our apartment in Baltimore. Aunts, uncles, and cousins from other parts of the country joined us there. We all came to spend time together, share memories, and celebrate Grandma Rose's birthday.

I was named Caroline Rose after my Grandma Rose because we shared the same birthday. Grandma Rose referred to us as the "birthday gals," and we had our photograph taken together every year. This year, I was turning 15 and Grandma Rose was turning 84. In addition to having the same name and birthday, we shared other traits as well. "Caroline Rose, you're just as strong-willed as your Grandma Rose," Mama used to say to me in exasperation. I loved Grandma Rose and I wanted to be like her, so I didn't mind.

​Daddy called the 12-hour drive to the farm "our pilgrimage," because it was a journey we made every summer to a place we held sacred. Our preparations felt just as sacred as our destination. The morning before the trip, my younger siblings and I pulled open closets and dresser drawers searching for shorts, bathing suits, and matching flip flops, which we packed in garbage bags. "Easier to fit a bunch of squishy garbage bags in the car than four bulky suitcases," Mama reasoned.

​

​In the late afternoon we ate a supper of odds and ends—whatever was in the fridge that needed to be eaten before we left for two weeks: cold ham and macaroni salad, peanut butter and jelly on toast, scrambled eggs and bacon. It was always a surprise to see what Mama came up with for our pre-trip dinner.

​Before an extra early bedtime, we fixed up the car so my brother and sisters and I would be comfortable during the long drive. We spread quilts on the seats and packed novels, coloring books, comic books, chewing gum, playing cards, and craft projects to keep ourselves busy. Then we went to bed with our clothes on. When our parents woke us up at three a.m., we shuffled into the car with our bed pillows and fell back asleep as Daddy began the long drive south.

​Twelve hours later, we pulled up in front of Grandma Rose's old white house and burst out of the car. Many relatives had already arrived. Aunts and uncles squeezed the children, but we cousins greeted each other shyly.

​It was my private custom to walk through the house and make sure everything was just as I remembered it—same pictures of birds and flowers hanging on the dining room wall, same green-and-yellow striped armchairs in the living room, same squeaky screened door leading out to the porch. In the kitchen, I'd stop to breathe in the house's familiar smells. Being back in this house made me feel like a long-lost book that had finally been returned to its owner and put back on the shelf where it belonged.

​For the cousins, the annual visit was a way of measuring our growth, both physical and emotional. How much taller were we this summer? Which barn shelf could we reach? What would we be allowed to do this summer, now that we were a year older? The group of older cousins, which included me, talked about who had boyfriends or girlfriends. Last year, I'd turned bright red when this topic came up. This summer I did too, but now I had my boyfriend, Cash, to talk about.

​

​I didn't realize then that the grown-ups were measuring themselves, too, but they used different standards: Who had new babies, grandbabies, or children starting high school or college? Who was ready to retire? How bad was the arthritis?

​After dinner that first night, Grandma Rose and I sat down together on the porch to look through our birthday book—the little book that held our birthday photos. There were plenty of empty pages, and I wanted Grandma Rose and me to fill them up with years and years of birthday pictures. It was another kind of measuring stick.

Grandma Rose and I sat quietly for a while, just the two of us, just as I'd hoped we would. I was so grateful to be back on the farm—a place full of people I'd known and loved my whole life, with Grandma Rose at the center of our family universe.

Multiple Select

Read the central idea from "A Home Away from Home."

The author and her family followed certain customs to prepare to travel to the farm.

How does the author develop this central idea over the course of the memoir?

Select the two correct answers.

• by describing the way the cousins felt when they saw each other again

• by describing things that she and her Grandma Rose had in common

• by describing the way Mama made dinner on the night before the trip

• by describing the way the narrator and her siblings got the car ready

Multiple Select

Read the central idea from "A Home Away from Home."

Going to Grandma Rose's farm was a special tradition for the author and her family.

How does the author develop this central idea over the course of the memoir?

Select the two correct answers.

• by describing the trip as a pilgrimage, or an annual journey to a sacred place

• by explaining that the family's preparations for the trip were also important

• by describing the ways the cousins seemed different each summer on the farm

• by explaining that both the cousins and the grown-ups changed over the year

Multiple Select

Read the central idea from "A Home Away from Home."

Grandma Rose was an important person in the narrator's life.

How does the author develop this central idea over the course of the memoir?

Select the two correct answers.

• by observing that Grandma Rose was the center of her family's universe

• by describing herself as a lost book that had finally been returned to its shelf

• by explaining that both she and Grandma Rose were considered stubborn

• by explaining that she was named Caroline Rose after her Grandma Rose

Multiple Choice

Read this passage from "A Home Away from Home."

For the cousins, the annual visit was a way of measuring our growth, both physical and emotional. How much taller were we this summer? Which barn shelf could we reach? What would we be allowed to do this summer, now that we were a year older?

How does this passage make a connection between visiting the farm and growing up?

• by explaining that the cousins notice how they have each changed since the summer before

• by revealing that the grown-ups talk about how their lives have changed over the year

• by saying that her family visits the farm every year to celebrate Grandma Rose's birthday

• by explaining that aunts, uncles, and cousins from all over the country gather at the farm

​To Do List:

-Tomorrow we will continue reviewing for Part 1 of your U1 Exam