Checkpoint 4 English 11

What is TONE in literary text?

• an author’s attitude toward the subject of a text

• an author’s personal writing style

• the ordering of words and phrases in a text

• the feeling or atmosphere an author creates

Which term relates to the feeling or atmosphere an author creates for the reader? 

• tone

• voice

• mood

• syntax

What is VOICE in literary text?

• an author’s ordering of words and phrases

• an author’s opinion about a character

• an author’s personal writing style

• an author’s choice of words or how to phrase things

Read this passage from Act 1, Part 7, of The Crucible by Arthur Miller.

ABIGAIL: I want to open myself! (They turn to her, startled. She is enraptured, as though in a pearly light.) I want the light of God, I want the sweet love of Jesus! I danced for the Devil; I saw him; I wrote in his book; I go back to Jesus; I kiss His hand. I saw Sarah Good with the Devil! I saw Goody Osburn with the Devil! I saw Bridget Bishop with the Devil!

How do the short, repetitive sentences create a tense mood?

• The sentences sound like a loud, emotional speech.

• The sentences sound rhythmic and musical.

• The sentences describe many negative aspects.

• The sentences are in a more modern, active voice.

Read the passage from Act 1, Part 7, of The Crucible by Arthur Miller.

ABIGAIL: I never sold myself! I’m a good girl! I’m a proper girl!

(Mrs. Putnam enters with Tituba, and instantly Abigail points at Tituba.)

ABIGAIL: She made me do it! She made Betty do it!

TITUBA (shocked and angry): Abby!

ABIGAIL: She makes me drink blood!

PARRIS: Blood!!

MRS. PUTNAM: My baby’s blood?

TITUBA: No, no, chicken blood. I give she chicken blood!

HALE: Woman, have you enlisted these children for the Devil?

TITUBA: No, no, sir, I don’t truck with no Devil!

HALE: Why can she not wake? Are you silencing this child?

TITUBA: I love me Betty!

Which statements describe the author's use of syntax in this passage?

Please select all that apply.

• The short sentences indicate a mood of peace and calm.

• The long sentences indicate that the characters are speaking in calm and logical tones.

• The short, choppy sentences cause the scene to move quickly and indicate a mood of hysteria.

• The short, choppy sentences indicate that the characters are emotional.

In Act 1, Part 7, of The Crucible by Arthur Miller, Tituba and the girls name Goody Proctor as one of the people they have seen with the Devil. 

• True

• False

Read the passage from Chapter 1, Part 2 of Little Women by Louisa May Alcott. 

“Glad to find you so merry, my girls,” said a cheery voice at the door, and actors and audience turned to welcome a tall, motherly lady with a ‘can I help you’ look about her which was truly delightful. She was not elegantly dressed, but a noble-looking woman, and the girls thought the gray cloak and unfashionable bonnet covered the most splendid mother in the world.

“Well, dearies, how have you got on today? There was so much to do, getting the boxes ready to go tomorrow, that I didn’t come home to dinner. Has anyone called, Beth? How is your cold, Meg? Jo, you look tired to death. Come and kiss me, baby.”

While making these maternal inquiries Mrs. March got her wet things off, her warm slippers on, and sitting down in the easy chair, drew Amy to her lap, preparing to enjoy the happiest hour of her busy day.

How does the author’s choices of diction and syntax contribute to the tone, mood, and voice of the passage and the selection as a whole?

• The diction includes words with negative connotations and the syntax creates the voice of a welcoming narrator.

• The diction includes words with positive connotations and the syntax creates the voice of a cynical narrator.

• The diction includes words with positive connotations and the syntax creates the voice of a kindly and gentle narrator.

• The diction includes words with negative connotations and the syntax creates the voice of an angry narrator.

Read the passage from Chapter 1, Part 2, of Little Women by Louisa May Alcott .

Amy followed, but she poked her hands out stiffly before her, and jerked herself along as if she went by machinery, and her “Ow!” was more suggestive of pins being run into her than of fear and anguish. Jo gave a despairing groan, and Meg laughed outright, while Beth let her bread burn as she watched the fun with interest. “It’s no use! Do the best you can when the time comes, and if the audience laughs, don’t blame me. Come on, Meg.”

Then things went smoothly, for Don Pedro defied the world in a speech of two pages without a single break. Hagar, the witch, chanted an awful incantation over her kettleful of simmering toads, with weird effect. Roderigo rent his chains asunder manfully, and Hugo died in agonies of remorse and arsenic, with a wild, “Ha! Ha!”

“It’s the best we’ve had yet,” said Meg, as the dead villain sat up and rubbed his elbows.

How do phrases such as “as if she went by machinery,” “agonies of remorse and arsenic,” and “dead villain sat up” contribute to the author’s voice?

• The diction and syntax are ridiculous for a domestic scene, characterizing the girls as childish.

• The diction and syntax are exaggerated, moving the action to gently make fun of the characters.

• The diction and syntax are intensified, putting readers directly in the girls’ minds.

• The diction and syntax are extremely precise, giving the narrator the key role of observer.

Read the passage from Chapter 1, Part 2, of Little Women by Louisa May Alcott.

“I don’t see how you can write and act such splendid things, Jo. You’re a regular Shakespeare!” exclaimed Beth, who firmly believed that her sisters were gifted with wonderful genius in all things.

“Not quite,” replied Jo modestly. “I do think The Witches Curse, an Operatic Tragedy is rather a nice thing, but I’d like to try Macbeth, if we only had a trapdoor for Banquo. I always wanted to do the killing part. ‘Is that a dagger that I see before me?’” muttered Jo, rolling her eyes and clutching at the air, as she had seen a famous tragedian do.

Which best describes the tone of this passage?

• generally positive toward both girls, based on the use of the phrase “wonderful genius” and the word “modestly”

• positive toward Jo, based on the use of the word “modestly”, but negative toward Beth, based on the word “firmly”

• negative toward Jo, based on the use of the word “muttered” and the phrase “rolling her eyes”, but positive toward Beth, based on the words “splendid” and “gifted”

• generally negative toward both girls, based on the use of the words “regular” and “muttered”

What is the central idea of a literary text?

• the evidence that supports the theme of the text

• the truth about life the author wants readers to know

• the author’s opinion on the theme of the text

• the most important message specific to the story