Burning A Book by William Stafford Review

"Protecting each other, right in the center

a few pages glow a long time.

The cover goes first, then outer leaves

curling away, then spine and a scattering.

Truth, brittle and faint, burns easily,

its fire as hot as the fire lies make—

flame doesn’t care. You can usually find

a few charred words in the ashes."

What is the central image of the first stanza?

• Dogs running wild.

• The author reading a book he hates.

• A book burning.

• Truth burning easily.

What is the author's opinion on censorship?

• Censorship is never the right thing to do.

• Censorship is very dangerous to society.

• Books that are not meaningful deserve to be censored.

• Censorship is the best way to protect people from lies.

What does the author believe is worse than censorship?

• The fact that people do not read books anymore.

• Towns that have been abandoned.

• Empty libraries.

• The fact that terrible books are being written while meaningful books are not.

Which of the following is an example of imagery?

• "the terrorized countryside where wild dogs

  own anything that moves."

• "flame doesn’t care."

• "And some books ought to burn, trying for character

  but just faking it."

Which of the following is an example of personification?

• "If a book isn’t written, no one needs to burn it"

• "flame doesn't care."

• "So I’ve burned books. And there are many

  I haven’t even written, and nobody has."

• "The cover goes first, then outer leaves

  curling away, then spine and a scattering."

Which of the following is an example of metaphor?

• "desolate towns, miles of unthought in cities"

• "So I’ve burned books. And there are many

  I haven’t even written, and nobody has."

• "its fire as hot as the fire lies make"

Which of the following is an example of simile?

• "If a book isn’t written, no one needs to burn it"

• "its fire as hot as the fire lies make"

• "So I’ve burned books. And there are many

  I haven’t even written, and nobody has."

• "The cover goes first, then outer leaves

  curling away, then spine and a scattering."

What does the author mean by "miles of unthought in cities"?

• People who can't read

• A lack of new ideas

• Censorship

• Empty towns