Old Ben/Fox Hunt

Old Ben/Fox Hunt

​Literary Analysis: Narrative Structure

Narrative structure is the form or pattern a story follows. In some stories, authors may break the straight timeline by using one or both of these two common devices:

•A flashback is a scene within a narrative that interrupts the sequence of events to relate events that occurred in the past. A flashback often reveals something important about a character.

• Foreshadowing is the use of clues hinting at events that are going to occur later in the plot of a narrative. Foreshadowing creates suspense by keeping readers guessing.

Open Ended

One morning in July when I was walking across a clover field to a sweet-apple tree, I

almost stepped on him. There he lay coiled like heavy strands of black rope. He was a big

bull blacksnake. We looked at each other a minute, and then I stuck the toe of my shoe up

to his mouth. He drew his head back in a friendly way. He didn’t want trouble. Had he

shown the least fight, I would have soon finished him. My father had always told me there

was only one good snake—a dead one.

Identify one detail that foreshadows the friendship between the narrator and the snake.

Open Ended

One morning in July when I was walking across a clover field to a sweet-apple tree, I

almost stepped on him. There he lay coiled like heavy strands of black rope. He was a big

bull blacksnake. We looked at each other a minute, and then I stuck the toe of my shoe up

to his mouth. He drew his head back in a friendly way. He didn’t want trouble. Had he

shown the least fight, I would have soon finished him. My father had always told me there

was only one good snake—a dead one.

Identify one detail that hints at what will ultimately happen to Ben.

Open Ended

One morning in July when I was walking across a clover field to a sweet-apple tree, I

almost stepped on him. There he lay coiled like heavy strands of black rope. He was a big

bull blacksnake. We looked at each other a minute, and then I stuck the toe of my shoe up

to his mouth. He drew his head back in a friendly way. He didn’t want trouble. Had he

shown the least fight, I would have soon finished him. My father had always told me there

was only one good snake—a dead one.

Which of the two details you identified helps the author create suspense? In what way?

Open Ended

One night, while he was struggling to stay awake over his book, [Fujin] heard a soft voice

behind him. “A fine, hardworking young man like you deserves to pass the examination.”

Fujin whirled around and saw a beautiful girl standing behind him. Somehow she had

appeared without making any noise. She had huge, bewitching eyes that slanted sharply.

Could he be dreaming?

“Let me help you,” continued the girl. “I can act as a tutor and coach you.”

“And that was how your ancestor, Liang Fujin, got the coaching he needed to pass the

examinations,” said Andy’s mother.

Explain why this passage is a flashback.

Open Ended

One night, while he was struggling to stay awake over his book, [Fujin] heard a soft voice

behind him. “A fine, hardworking young man like you deserves to pass the examination.”

Fujin whirled around and saw a beautiful girl standing behind him. Somehow she had

appeared without making any noise. She had huge, bewitching eyes that slanted sharply.

Could he be dreaming?

“Let me help you,” continued the girl. “I can act as a tutor and coach you.”

“And that was how your ancestor, Liang Fujin, got the coaching he needed to pass the

examinations,” said Andy’s mother.

What does this flashback reveal about Andy, his goals, or his motives?

Open Ended

One night, while he was struggling to stay awake over his book, [Fujin] heard a soft voice

behind him. “A fine, hardworking young man like you deserves to pass the examination.”

Fujin whirled around and saw a beautiful girl standing behind him. Somehow she had

appeared without making any noise. She had huge, bewitching eyes that slanted sharply.

Could he be dreaming?

“Let me help you,” continued the girl. “I can act as a tutor and coach you.”

“And that was how your ancestor, Liang Fujin, got the coaching he needed to pass the

examinations,” said Andy’s mother.

Explain the element of foreshadowing in this passage.

Multiple Choice

In “Old Ben,” why does Old Ben make a good pet?

• He drinks milk.

• He does tricks for visitors.

• He eats the mice in the corncrib.

• He gets along with the barn animals.

Multiple Choice

At the beginning of “Old Ben,” how does the father feel about snakes?

• He admires them.

• He does not worry about them.

• He hates them.

• He thinks they are funny.

Multiple Choice

How are Old Ben and the narrator alike?

• They are both easily frightened.

• They are both trusting.

• They both dislike the narrator’s father.

• They both live in the barn.

Multiple Choice

How does Old Ben die?

• He dies of old age.

• Fred the horse stomps on him.

• He dies of hunger.

• He is killed in the hogpen.

Multiple Choice

What purpose does foreshadowing serve in “Old Ben”?

• It makes the reader wonder what will happen to Ben.

• It tells the reader more about the narrator.

• It gives the reader factual information about snakes.

• It helps the author describe the setting.

Multiple Choice

Why does Andy feel lonely at the beginning of “Fox Hunt”?

• because he does not have a girlfriend

• because no other students invite him to study with them

• because no one gets off with him at the bus stop

• because his parents make him study all the time

Multiple Choice

In “Fox Hunt,” how does Andy’s father feel about his ancestors?

• proud

• ashamed

• amused

• curious

Multiple Choice

Read these sentences from “Fox Hunt.”

Last year, one of the girls in his geometry class had asked him to give her some help after school. . . . But after she passed the geometry test, she didn’t look at him again.

These sentences are an example of what?

• narrative structure

• foreshadowing

• flashback

• setting

Multiple Choice

Which of the following is a main idea of both “Fox Hunt” and “Old Ben”?

• Good things happen to gentle creatures.

• Some creatures are not what they seem.

• Snakes make good pets.

• It pays to study hard.

Multiple Choice

What happens to both Andy in “Fox Hunt” and the narrator in “Old Ben”?

• They fall in love.

• They are rewarded for their hard work.

• They learn something about their past.

• They make an unusual friend.

Multiple Choice

Which of the following is an example of flashback from one of the stories?

• Liang Fujin lived with his widowed mother in a small thatched cottage. . . .

• I opened the corncrib door and took Old Ben from around my neck....

• He, Andy Liang, would have to study for the PSAT the hard way.

• Old Ben failed one morning to drink his milk.

Multiple Choice

Which of the following is an example of foreshadowing from one of the stories?

• My father had always told me there was only one good snake—a dead one.

• But with the change in his pocket, he had to be satisfied with a candy bar.

• When I lifted him he was as long as I was tall.

• Maybe if he studied less and went in for sports, girls would get interested in him.

Multiple Choice

Which sentence uses a vocabulary word incorrectly?

• In “Fox Hunt,” Andy’s parents expect him to be studious.

• The narrator of “Old Ben” likes the snake because it is affectionate.

• One night, Andy has a partition about a fox hunt.

• Old Ben would have been tantalized by the mice if they had been out of

  reach.

Multiple Choice

In “Fox Hunt,” what are scarce in Andy’s life?

• parents

• friends

• dreams

• snacks