English5/1/23

Which line is an example of direct characterization?

• Bilbo was very rich and very peculiar, and had been the wonder of the Shire for sixty years . . .

• At ninety-nine they began to call him well-preserved; but unchanged would have been nearer the mark. 

• And it was popularly believed, whatever the old folk might say, that the Hill at Bag End was full of tunnels stuffed with treasure.

Read the excerpt from The Fellowship of the Ring.

Then the weather clouded over. That was on Wednesday the eve of the Party. Anxiety was intense. Then Thursday, September the 22nd, actually dawned. The sun got up, the clouds vanished, flags were unfurled and the fun began.

Bilbo Baggins called it a party, but it was really a variety of entertainments rolled into one. Practically everybody living near was invited. A very few were overlooked by accident, but as they turned up all the same, that did not matter.

What do readers learn about the setting in this excerpt?

• The community anxiously awaits the gathering. 

• Only a few neighbors are invited to the party. 

• Only Bilbo is concerned with the weather.

Which line best highlights Bilbo Baggins’ unusual youthfulness?

• When Mr. Bilbo Baggins of Bag End announced that he would shortly be celebrating his eleventy-first birthday with a party of special magnificence

• The riches he had brought back from his travels had now become a local legend . . . 

• At ninety-nine they began to call him well-preserved; but unchanged would have been nearer the mark. 

Read the excerpt from The Fellowship of the Ring.

One morning the hobbits woke to find the large field, south of Bilbo’s front door, covered with ropes and poles for tents and pavilions. A special entrance was cut into the bank leading to the road, and wide steps and a large white gate were built there. The three hobbit-families of Bagshot Row, adjoining the field, were intensely interested and generally envied. Old Gaffer Gamgee stopped even pretending to work in his garden.

What do readers learn about the setting in this excerpt?

• Hobbits enjoy having birthday parties.

• Bilbo has money to spend on a big gathering. 

• The hobbits live together near a great field. 

Read the excerpt from "Digging"

Till his straining rump among the flowerbeds Bends low, comes up twenty years away Stooping in rhythm through potato drills Where he was digging.

Read the haiku by Bashō.

     On the way to the outhouse— the white of the moonflower      by torchlight.

How does the structure of these poems differ?

• “Digging” attempts to capture a moment in the distant past, while Bashō's haiku speculates about the future.

• “Digging” jumps from the present time to the past, while Bashō's haiku captures a single moment in time.

• “Digging” speculates about the future, while Bashō's haiku commemorates a time from the distant past.

Read the excerpt from "Digging."

Between my finger and my thumb    The squat pen rests; snug as a gun.

Under my window, a clean rasping sound When the spade sinks into gravelly ground: My father, digging. I look down

Till his straining rump among the flowerbeds Bends low, comes up twenty years away Stooping in rhythm through potato drills Where he was digging.

Read the haiku by Bashō.

     A crow has settled on a bare branch—      autumn evening.

How does the structure of these poems differ?

• “Digging” is a long poem with no sound devices, while Bashō's haiku is a short poem with many sound devices.

• “Digging” has many stanzas of equal length, while Bashō's haiku has many stanzas of varying lengths.

• “Digging” has multiple stanzas of varying length, while Bashō's haiku has only one stanza of three lines.

Which of these words has a negative connotation?

• respect

• delight

• jealousy

Read the excerpt from "Digging."

Between my finger and my thumb    The squat pen rests; snug as a gun.

Which statement about the use of the "snug” in this excerpt is most accurate?

• The negative connotation of the word highlights the idea that writing is a difficult profession.

• The positive connotation of the word emphasizes how comfortable the speaker is holding his pen.

• The negative connotation of the word shows how unpleasant the speaker finds the pen.

Read the excerpt from "Digging."

The cold smell of potato mould, the squelch and slap Of soggy peat, the curt cuts of an edge Through living roots awaken in my head.

Which statement best describes the effect of the alliteration in this excerpt?

• The alliteration disconnects the speaker from the earth.

• The alliteration creates pleasing and interesting sounds.

• The alliteration shows that the speaker is a poet

Read the excerpt from Midsummer by Derek Walcott.

With the stampeding hiss and scurry of green lemmings,  midsummer’s leaves race to extinction like the roar of a Brixton riot tunneled by water hoses; they seethe toward autumn’s fire—it is in their nature, being men as well as leaves, to die for the sun.

Based on the excerpt, what is the speaker’s perspective on the riot?

• The speaker thinks that the riot was a mistake.

• The speaker thinks that the riot was somewhat inevitable.

• The speaker thinks that the riot should have happened in the fall.