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Choices

Individualism & Integrity Unit

Sophomore English

Individual Journals

Before we start the next story, the journal for the previous story is due. Each one is to be a complete page. You will be graded on content and length. Be sure to stay on topic!

1. After reading The Devil and Tom Walker, take a position. Do you feel Tom Walker

deserved his fate? Why or why not?

2. After reading and viewing a version of The Raven, do you think grief can truly cause a

person to permanently lose the ability to reason? Explain.

3. After reading the short story and viewing The Pit and the Pendulum rap, either explain

the suspense and horror of the story OR explain a symbol thoroughly.

4. After reading Hawthornes The Ministers Black Veil, imagine that you are Elizabeth.

You have just come home from your upsetting meeting with Mr. Hooper. Write an entry in your diary that describes what happened and what you think the veil means. Describe your innermost feelings and what you plan to do in the future.

5. After reading The Life You Save May Be Your Own, comment on Mr. Shiftlet.

Mr. Shiftlet says that he had seen people that didnt care if they did a thing one

way or another. In a short essay, explore and explain your response to Shiftlets notion that some people will do things any way they can, regardless of whether its the right way or the wrong way.

The Devil and Tom Walker by Washington Irving

Build Vocabulary

Spelling Strategy When the prefix ex- means out, do not use a hyphen after it: extort,

export, extract. When it means former, use a hyphen: ex-president, ex-wife.

Using the Prefix ex-

A. DIRECTIONS: The prefix ex- often means out. On the line provided, write the word from the box that best completes each sentence.

exhale extract export extrovert exoskeleton extricate

1. If you ship a product out of the country, you ___________________________it.

2. An ___________________________ is an outgoing person.

3. When you breathe out, you ___________________________.

4. A hard, protective covering on the outside of the body, like the shells on insects, is called an

___________________________.

5. When you pull out a tooth, you ___________________________ it.

6. If you get out of trouble, you ___________________________ yourself from a tricky

situation.

Using the Word Bank

avarice usurers extort ostentation parsimony

B. DIRECTIONS: The following sentences are missing two words. On the line before each

number, write the letter of the pair of terms that best completes each sentence. For each pair, assume that the first term goes in the first blank and the second term goes in the second blank.

____ 1. He was a _____ who tried to _____ money.

a. criminalextort c. avaricetreasure

b. usurergive d. extortionistdonate

____ 2. Her _____ was awakened when she heard about the _____.

a. husbandostentation c. avaricetreasure

b. dogusurer d. parsimonyearthquake

____ 3. The house was _____, a monument to _____.

a. lovingavarice c. extortedlove

b. brightparsimony d. lavishostentation

____ 4. The ____ was evidence of her _____.

a. mouseavarice c. small portionparsimony

b. usurerintelligence d. tasteful decorostentation

____ 5. The _____ collected the _____ that was due.

a. extortionistvideo c. childavarice

b. teacherparsimony d. usurerfee

The Devil

and


Grammar and Style: Adjective Clauses

A subordinate clause is one that cannot stand alone as a sentence. An adjective clause,

also called a relative clause, is a subordinate clause that adds information about a noun or

pronoun. It is generally introduced by a relative pronoun: who, whom, whose, which, that.

Tom, who had been picking his way through the forest, met a stranger.

The stranger that he met was the devil.

A. Practice: Underline the adjective clause in each sentence.

1. Many and fierce were the conflicts that took place.

2. The swamp was thickly grown with great gloomy pines and hemlocks, which made it

dark at noonday.

3. Tom had long been picking his way cautiously through this treacherous forest;

stepping from tuft to tuft of rushes and roots, which afforded precarious footholds among deep sloughs.

4. Here they had thrown up a kind of fort, which they had looked upon as almost

impregnable, and had used as a place of refuge for their squaws and children.

5. On the bark of the tree was scored the name of Deacon Peabody, an eminent man, who

had waxed wealthy by driving shrewd bargains with the Indians.

B. Writing Application: Complete each sentence so that it contains an adjective clause. In

some sentences, the relative pronoun is already provided.

1. She greatly admired her teacher, who

2. The man felt compassion for the stranger, whose

3. They were astounded by the action, which

4. He was captivated by the child, whose


Reading Strategy: Infer Cultural Attitudes

The characters in The Devil and Tom Walker are American colonists living in New England

in the late 1720s and early 1730s. The dialogue, the narrators comments about the characters,

and the events that the characters experience help the reader to infer cultural attitudes

of the period. Of course, some of these influences and attitudes are often exaggerated in

Irvings satirical story. Nevertheless, readers do get a picture of colonial life in the New England

of Tom Walkers day.

DIRECTIONS: On the basis of each passage that follows, draw an inference about the ethical,

social, and cultural influences and attitudes of New Englanders, or American colonists in general, in the 1720s and 1730s. Write the inference in the space provided.

1. Tom Walker . . . had a wife as miserly as himself: they were so miserly that they even

conspired to cheat each other . . . many and fierce were the conflicts that took

place about what ought to have been common property.

2. I [the Devil] amuse myself by presiding at the persecutions of Quakers and Anabaptists;

I am the great patron and prompter of slave dealers, and the grandmaster of the

Salem witches.

3. About the year 1727, just at the time that earthquakes were prevalent in New England,

and shook many tall sinners down upon their knees. . . .

4. Such was the end of Tom Walker and his ill-gotten wealth. Let all griping money brokers

lay this story to heart.


Literary Analysis: Omniscient Narrator

The narrator who stands outside the action and relates many characters thoughts and feelings

is called the omniscient narrator. Omniscient means all-knowing.

DIRECTIONS: In the spaces provided, identify what the omniscient narrator tells the reader

about a characters thoughts and feelings in each passage.

1. What these conditions were may easily be surmised, though Tom never disclosed them

publicly. They must have been very hard, for he required time to think of them,

and he was not a man to stick at trifles where money was in view.

2. He [Tom] was not prone to let his wife into his confidence; but as this was an uneasy

secret, he willingly shared it with her.

3. All her [Toms wifes] avarice was awakened at the mention of hidden gold, and she

urged her husband to comply with the black mans [Devils] terms and secure what would make them wealthy for life.

4. However Tom might have felt disposed to sell himself to the Devil, he was determined

not to do so to oblige his wife; so he flatly refused, out of the mere spirit of contradiction.

5. At length she [Toms wife] determined to drive the bargain on her own account, and if

she succeeded, to keep all the gain to herself.


Literary Analysis: Omniscient Narrator and Point of View

An omniscient (all-knowing) narrator is one who stands outside the action of a story and

relates the thoughts and feelings of all the characters. The narrator shares these thoughts,

ideas, and viewpoints with the reader, helping him or her to understand all the characters.

The narrator may also comment on the characters and events.

DIRECTIONS: Read each passage and answer the questions on the lines provided.

The lonely wayfarer shrunk within himself at the horrid clamor and clapper clawing;

eyed the den of discord askance; and hurried on his way, rejoicing, if a bachelor,

in his celibacy.

1. Whose point of view does the narrator reveal in this passage?

2. What do you learn about this characters feelings or beliefs?

One day that Tom Walker had been to a distant part of the neighborhood, he took what

he considered a shortcut homeward, through the swamp. Like most shortcuts, it was an ill-chosen route.

3. Whose point of view does the narrator reveal in this passage?


Tom recollected the tree which his black friend had just hewn down, and which was

ready for burning. Let the freebooter roast, said Tom, who cares! He now felt convinced that all he had heard and seen was no illusion.

5. Whose perspective does the narrator reveal in this passage?


7. Suppose the story had been narrated by Tom Walker, instead of an omniscient narrator.

8. Could all of these passages still be included in the story? Explain.

Gwendolyn Brooks Poetry Group Work

* Read Ms. Brooks two poems. Mark places in the poem where she gives good advice. Discuss

it within your groups. Be prepared to share with the rest of the class. Then consider what advice youd like to give to someone you love. Reflect on Brooks works, choices one makes, individuality, and integrity. What is the piece of advice you would like to share? Write a short poem in which the speaker shares this advice with a younger person. The speaker in your poem might be a fictional person you create, such as a grandmother talking to her granddaughter. Write on a piece separate piece of paper OR submit via email. Be prepare to share with the class!

Speech to the Young : Speech to the Progress-Toward

Say to them,say to the down-keepers,the sun-slappers,the self-soilers,the harmony-hushers,"even if you are not ready for dayit cannot always be night."You will be right.For that is the hard home-run.

Live not for battles won.Live not for the-end-of-the-song.Live in the along.

--Gwendolyn Brooks

The Good Man

The good man.He is still enhancer, renouncer.In the time of detachment,in the time of the vivid heather and affectionate evil,in the time of oralgrave grave legalities of hate - all realwalks our prime registered reproach and seal.Our successful moral.The good man.

Watches our bogus roses, our rank wreath, ourlove's unreliable cement, the grayjubilees of our demondom.CoherentCounsel! Good man.Require of us our terribly excluded blue.Constrain, repair a ripped, revolted land.Put hand in hand land over.Reprovethe abler droughts and manias of the dayand a felicity entreat.Love.Completeyour pledges, reinforce your aides, renewstance, testament.

-- Gwendolyn Brooks

The Raven by Edgar Allan Poe

Build Vocabulary

Spelling Strategy The sound of sh is sometimes spelled ci, as in specious, or ti, as in

sentience.

Using the Root -voc-

A. DIRECTIONS: The root -voc- comes from the Latin vox, meaning voice. In the spaces

provided, explain how the root -voc- influences the meaning of each of the italicized words.

1. The environmental board in our town advocates passage of a strong law against dumping

waste in Lake Jasper.

2. Studying the works of Poe will probably improve your vocabulary.

3. The cottage was evocative of happy childhood memories.

Using the Word Bank

importunate appellation sentience munificent specious

obeisance equivocal anomalous craven

B. DIRECTIONS: For each item, write on the line the letter of the pair of words that

expresses a relationship most like the pair in capital letters.

____ 1. FALSE : SPECIOUS ::

a. beautiful : ugly b. violent : wicked c. plentiful : abundant d. fat : hungry

____ 2. NORMAL : ANOMALOUS ::

a. valuable : worthless b. blue : color c. sleepy : tired d. loving : living

____ 3. EQUIVOCAL : SURE ::

a. physician : disease b. vocal : talkative c. vague : clear d. disappear : vanish

____ 4. SENTIENCE : FEELING ::

a. capable: skill b. visible : darkness c. worth : value d. sentence : verb

____ 5. BENEFACTOR : MUNIFICENT ::

a. donor : charity b. philanthropist : generous c. giver : taker d. charitable : kind

____ 6. IMPORTUNATE : INSIST ::

a. unlucky : luck b. proportionate : equal c. create : thought d. talkative : chat

____ 7. HERO : CRAVEN ::

a. villain : evil b. flatterer : complimentary c. diplomat : tactless d. raven : black

____ 8. BOW : OBEISANCE ::

a. salute : hand b. smile : happiness c. frown : joy d. yawn : silence

____ 9. EDGAR ALLAN POE : APPELLATION ::

a. light : sun b. magenta : color c. government : nation d. mammal : horse

The Raven by Edgar Allan Poe

Grammar and Style: Coordinate Adjectives

Coordinate adjectives are adjectives of equal rank that separately modify a noun. They

should be separated by commas or coordinating conjunctions (such as and or or).

that abrupt, weighty, unhurried, and hollow-sounding enunciation

a pestilent and mystic vapor

Adjectives that do not separately modify their noun are not coordinate and do not need

commas or a conjunction between them. In the following example, certain and boyish do not

separately modify the noun traits; instead, certain modifies the entire phrase boyish traits.

reminiscences of certain boyish traits

Usually, if the order of the adjectives can be reversed with no change in meaning, they are

coordinate.

A. Practice: On the line before each phrase below, label the adjectives C for coordinate or

NC for not coordinate. Add commas in the phrases where necessary.

____ 1. a black and lurid tarn

____ 2. acute bodily illness

____ 3. an eye large liquid and luminous

____ 4. his peculiar physical conformation

____ 5. stern deep and irredeemable gloom

____ 6. the consequent undeviating transmission

____ 7. a quaint and curious volume

____ 8. the silken sad uncertain rustling

____ 9. a grim ungainly ghastly gaunt and ominous bird

____ 10. the rare and radiant maiden

B. Writing Application: On the lines provided, write a phrase that describes each noun with

two or more coordinate adjectives, and then another phrase that describes it with two or more adjectives that are not coordinate. Be sure to punctuate your phrases correctly.

1. coordinate: ___________________________ raven

not coordinate: ___________________________ raven

2. coordinate: ___________________________ tarn

not coordinate: ___________________________ tarn

3. coordinate: ___________________________ mansion

not coordinate: ___________________________ mansion

4. coordinate: ___________________________ friend

not coordinate: ___________________________ friend

"The Raven" Questions

* Discuss the following questions in your groups. Come to a consensus. Answer on a separate

piece of paper OR via email.

1. What are your impressions of the narrator?

2. How does the narrator respond to the noise he hears?

3. What does the narrator ask of the raven?

4. What is the response?

5. What does the speaker order the raven to do?

6. During the course of The Raven, what changes occur in the narrator's attitude towards the

bird?

7. What brings about this change?

8. What does the raven come to represent?

9. How does the narrator's emotional state change during the poem?

10. How are these changes related to the changes in his attitude toward the raven?

11. How is the word nevermore related to the narrator's emotional state at the end of the poem?

12. Do you talk to animals? Do you ever imagine them saying something back? Explain.

13. On that note, do you think the speaker of this poem has really lost his mind, or does he just

seem very, very sad to you? Explain.

14. Have you ever known someone (or been someone) whose love turned into obsession? Does

this poem make you think about that experience? Explain.

15. Several kinds of birds can be trained to mimic human speech. Why do you think Poe chose to

use a raven instead of a parrot? Would the tone of sadness remain if you used a parrot instead of a raven in the poem? Explain.

The Pit and the Pendulum Edgar Allan Poe

Symbolism

In the chart, name any concrete thing from the story, be it the pit, the pendulum, the judges, the picture of Father Time, or anything else they can think of. Write these down in the left-hand column. In the right-hand column, write down what these things mean. The story has definite religious overtones, with references to hell, sin and redemption.

symbol

representation

pit

Hell itself or death

pendulum

judges

Father Time

The Pit and the Pendulum Edgar Allan Poe

Suspense

Complete the chart with the headings: Suspenseful Moment, Dangerous Action, Pacing, and Foreshadowing. Then search the text for any examples of these. When the pendulum starts to lower, is this suspenseful? It lowers very slowly as an example of pacing. Foreshadowing refers to a clue from the author about what is going to happen next. Is this present anywhere in the text?

Suspenseful Moment

Dangerous Action

Pacing

Foreshadowing

The Pit and the Pendulum by Edgar Allan Poe

Working With Quotes Show; Dont Tell

Complete the chart. Write down 5 specific quotations or examples from the story. Explain the quote in the column that says: This shows________. Complete the sentence two times for each quotation. Discuss answers and point out the difference between analysis and summary.

Quotations OR

Examples

This shows

This shows

Whats the difference between analysis and summary?

The Ministers Black Veil by Nathaniel Hawthorne

Build Vocabulary

Spelling Strategy The prefix in- meaning not (iniquity, indecorous) changes to im before

many words beginning with p: impersonal, impertinent or m: immature, immoderate.

Using the Root -equi-

A. DIRECTIONS: The word root -equi- means equal. Keep that in mind as you answer

the following questions in the spaces provided.

1. What would you guess about the sides of an equilateral triangle?

2. Why might the imaginary line around the middle of the earth be called the equator?

3. To what do you think equity in the legal system might refer?

4. What would you guess about the length of day and night on the spring or autumn day

called the equinox?

5. What circus performer do you think might be called an equilibrist? Why?

Using the Word Bank

venerable sagacious waggery iniquity vagary

impertinent indecorous tremulous obstinacy ostentatious

B. DIRECTIONS: On the line before each word in the left column, write the letter of its

definition in the right column.

____ 1. venerable a. characterized by trembling

____ 2. iniquity b. not showing proper respect

____ 3. indecorous c. wise

____ 4. ostentatious d. mischievous humor

____ 5. sagacious e. commanding respect

____ 6. vagary f. improper

____ 7. tremulous g. intended to attract notice

____ 8. waggery h. stubbornness

____ 9. impertinent i. an unpredictable occurrence

___10. obstinacyj. sin


Grammar and Style: Varying Sentence Openers

To make writing lively and interesting, it helps to vary sentence openings. Notice how

Hawthorne varies his sentence openers in the following passage.

1 The cause of so much amazement may appear sufficiently slight. 2 Mr. Hooper, a gentlemanly

person, about thirty, though still a bachelor, was dressed with due clerical neatness, as

if a careful wife had starched his band, and brushed the weekly dust from his Sundays garb.

3 There was but one thing remarkable in his appearance. 4 Swathed about his forehead, and

hanging down over his face, so low as to be shaken by his breath, Mr. Hooper had on a black

veil. 5 On a nearer view it seemed to consist of two folds of crape, which entirely concealed

his features, except the mouth and chin.

Sentences 1 and 2 both open in the most common way, with their subjects (preceded in sentence

1 by the article The). Sentence 3, on the other hand, uses inverted order, placing the subject

(thing) after the verb (was). Sentence 4 adds more variety by opening with a participial

phrase (Swathed about his forehead). Sentence 5 opens in yet another way, with a prepositional

phrase (On a nearer view).

A. Practice: Explain how Hawthorne varies his sentence openers in this passage. Write

responses on a separate piece of paper or respond via email.

After a brief interval, forth came good Mr. Hooper also, in the rear of his flock. Turning his

veiled face from one group to another, he paid due reverence to the hoary heads, saluted the

middle-aged with kind dignity as their friend and spiritual guide, greeted the young with mingled

authority and love, and laid his hands on the little childrens heads to bless them. Such

was always his custom on the Sabbath day.

B. Writing Application: Rewrite the following paragraph so that the sentence openers are

more varied. Respond on a separate piece of paper or via email.

The clergyman stepped into the room where the corpse was laid. He bent over the coffin to

take a last farewell of his deceased parishioner. His veil hung straight down from his forehead

as he stooped. The dead maidens eyes were closed forever, otherwise she might have seen

his face. Mr. Hooper nevertheless seemed fearful of her glance, for he hastily caught back the black veil.


Reading Strategy: Drawing Inferences about Meaning

When you draw an inference in reading a story, you use the surrounding details to make a reasonable guess about what parts of the story mean. To draw thoughtful inferences, look carefully at the writers description of events and characters and use of literary devices. For example, note Hawthornes detail as he describes Mr. Hoopers black veil on the Sunday he appears in church.

Swathed about his forehead, and hanging down over his face, so low as to be shaken by his

breath, Mr. Hooper had on a black veil. On a nearer view it seemed to consist of two folds of

crape . . . With this gloomy shade before him, good Mr. Hooper walked onward, at a slow and

quiet pace, stooping somewhat, and looking on the ground . . .

Based on Hawthornes description, you might infer that something bad has happened to

someone close to Hooper.

DIRECTIONS: Read the details from The Ministers Black Veil in the following chart. Write down what you

know from the story and from your own life. Write what you think the author means.

Unit 3: A Growing Nation

Details

What I Know

Inference

1. That mysterious emblem

was never once withdrawn.

It shook with his measured

breath . . . it threw its obscurity

between him and

the holy page . . . and while

he prayed, the veil lay

heavily upon his uplifted

countenance.

2. It was remarkable that of all

the busybodies and impertinent

people in the parish,

not one ventured to put the

plain question to Mr.

Hooper . . . Hitherto whenever

there appeared the

slightest call for such interference,

he had never

lacked advisers . . .

3. When the friend shows his

inmost heart to his friend;

the lover to his best

beloved; when man does

not vainly shrink from the

eye of his Creator, loathsomely

treasuring up the secret

of his sin; then deem

me a monster, for the symbol

beneath which I have

lived and die! I look around

me, and lo! on every visage

a Black Veil.


Literary Analysis: Parable

A parable teaches a moral lesson through a simple story about humans. Often a parable

leaves out specific details about characters or about the location of the story. This technique

makes the story more applicable to all readers. For example, in The Ministers Black Veil,

Hawthorne does not reveal the reason Parson Hooper is wearing the veil because the peoples

reaction to the veil is the critical part of the parable.

Hawthorne calls The Ministers Black Veil a parable because he feels strongly about the

moral lesson of the story.

DIRECTIONS: Look at each of the following excerpts. Then, in the space provided, write how

you think the language reinforces the message of the parable for all readers.

Excerpt

How the Language Conveys the Parable

1. Children, with bright faces, tripped merrily beside their parents, or mimicked a graver gait, in the conscious dignity of their Sunday clothes. Spruce bachelors looked sidelong at the pretty maidens, and fancied that the Sabbath sunshine made them prettier than on weekdays.

2. At its conclusion, the bell tolled for the funeral of a young lady. The relatives and friends were assembled in the house, and the more distant acquaintances stood about the door, speaking of the good qualities of the deceased . . .

3. When Mr. Hooper came, the first thing that their eyes rested on was the same horrible black veil, which had added deeper gloom to the funeral, and could portend nothing but evil to the wedding.

4. The next day, the whole village of Milford talked of little else than Parson Hoopers black veil. That, and the mystery concealed behind it, supplied a topic for discussion

between acquaintances meeting in the street, and good women gossiping

at their open windows.


Literary Analysis: Setting and Allegory

An allegory is a literary work in which characters, events, settings, and other story elements

have symbolic meaning. In The Ministers Black Veil, the black veil serves as the central

symbol of the sins of humanity.

Individual elements within the work also have symbolic meanings. One element that contributes

to the symbolic meaning in an allegory is the setting, or the particular time and place

in which the tale occurs. Setting includes details that fall into several categories, such as location,

weather, geography, time of day, season, and atmosphere. Social and economic conditions

are also an important aspect of a storys setting.

DIRECTIONS: Read these passages from The Ministers Black Veil. Each describes a setting.

Explain what each setting symbolizes in the context of the story and how it contributes to the allegory as a whole. Respond on a separate piece of paper or via email.

1. The old people of the village came stooping along the street. Children, with bright faces,

tripped merrily beside their parents, or mimicked a graver gait, in the conscious dignity of their Sunday clothes. Spruce bachelors looked sidelong at the pretty maidens, and fancied that the Sabbath sunshine made them prettier than on weekdays.

2. When Mr. Hooper came, the first thing that their eyes rested on was the same horrible

black veil,which had added deeper gloom to the funeral, and could portend nothing but evil to the wedding. Such was its immediate effect on the guests that a cloud seemed to have rolled duskily from beneath the black crape, and dimmed the light of the candles.

3. And there lay the hoary head of good Father Hooper upon the death pillow, with the

black veil still swathed about his brow, and reaching down over his face, so that each more difficult gasp of his faint breath caused it to stir. All through life that piece of crape had hung between him and the world; it had separated him from cheerful brotherhood and womans love and kept him in that saddest of all prisons, his own heart; and still it lay upon his face, as if to deepen the gloom of his darksome chamber, and shade him from the sunshine of eternity.

4. The grass of many years has sprung up and withered on that grave, the burial stone is

moss-grown, and good Mr. Hoopers face is dust; but awful is still the thought that it moldered beneath the Black Veil!

Tough Choices: How Making Decisions Tires Your Brain

The brain is like a muscle: when it gets depleted, it becomes less effective.

By On Amir

The human mind is a remarkable device. Nevertheless, it is not without limits. Recently, a growing body of research has focused on a particular mental limitation, which has to do with our ability to use a mental trait known as executive function. When you focus on a specific task for an extended period of time or choose to eat a salad instead of a piece of cake, you are flexing your executive function muscles. Both thought processes require conscious effort-you have to resist the temptation to let your mind wander or to indulge in the sweet dessert. It turns out, however, that use of executive functiona talent we all rely on throughout the daydraws upon a single resource of limited capacity in the brain. When this resource is exhausted by one activity, our mental capacity may be severely hindered in another, seemingly unrelated activity.

Imagine, for a moment, that you are facing a very difficult decision about which of two job offers to accept. One position offers good pay and job security, but is pretty mundane, whereas the other job is really interesting and offers reasonable pay, but has questionable job security. Clearly you can go about resolving this dilemma in many ways. Few people, however, would say that your decision should be affected or influenced by whether or not you resisted the urge to eat cookies prior to contemplating the job offers. A decade of psychology research suggests otherwise. Unrelated activities that tax the executive function have important lingering effects, and may disrupt your ability to make such an important decision. In other words, you might choose the wrong job because you didn't eat a cookie.

Taxing Tasks

But what types of actions exhaust executive function and affect subsequent decision-making? Until recently, researchers focused on activities that involved the exertion of self-control or the regulation of attention. For instance, it's long been recognized that strenuous cognitive taskssuch as taking the SATcan make it harder to focus later on. But recent results suggest that these taxing mental activities may be much broader in scope-and may even involve the very common activity of making choices itself. In a series of experiments and field studies, University of Minnesota psychologist Kathleen Vohs and colleagues repeatedly demonstrate that the mere act of making a selection may deplete executive resources. For example, in one study the researchers found that participants who made more choices in a mall were less likely to persist and do well in solving simple algebra problems. In another task in the same study, students who had to mark preferences about the courses they would take to satisfy their degree requirements were much more likely to procrastinate on preparing for an important test. Instead of studying, these "tired" minds engaged in distracting leisure activities.

Why is making a determination so taxing? Evidence implicates two important components: commitment and tradeoff resolution. The first is predicated on the notion that committing to a given course requires switching from a state of deliberation to one of implementation. In other words, you have to make a transition from thinking about options to actually following through on a decision. This switch, according to Vohs, requires executive resources. In a parallel investigation, Yale University professor Nathan Novemsky and his colleagues suggest that the mere act of resolving tradeoffs may be depleting. For example, in one study, the scientists show that people who had to rate the attractiveness of different options were much less depleted than those who had to actually make choices between the very same options.

Choosy about Choices

These findings have important real world implications. If making choices depletes executive resources, then "downstream" decisions might be affected adversely when we are forced to choose with a fatigued brain. Indeed, University of Maryland psychologist Anastasiya Pocheptsova and colleagues found exactly this effect: individuals who had to regulate their attentionwhich requires executive controlmade significantly different choices than people who did not. These different choices follow a very specific pattern: they become reliant on more a more simplistic, and often inferior, thought process, and can thus fall prey to perceptual decoys. For example, in one experiment participants who were asked to ignore interesting subtitles in an otherwise boring film clip were much more likely to choose an option that stood next to a clearly inferior "decoy"an option that was similar to one of the good choices, but was obviously not quite as goodthan participants who watched the same clip but were not asked to ignore anything. Presumably, trying to control one's attention and to ignore an interesting cue exhausted the limited resource of the executive functions, making it significantly more difficult to ignore the existence of the otherwise irrelevant inferior decoy. Subjects with overtaxed brains made worse decisions.

These experimental insights suggest that the brain works like a muscle: when depleted, it becomes less effective. Furthermore, we should take this knowledge into account when making decisions. If we've just spent lots of time focusing on a particular task, exercising self-control or even if we've just made lots of seemingly minor choices, then we probably shouldn't try to make a major decision. These deleterious carryover effects from a tired brain may have a strong shaping effect on our lives.

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=tough-choices-how-making

How to Make the Right Choice

By Dustin Wax

Which job should you take? What car should you buy? Should you ask him to marry you? Are you ready for another baby? Is this house right for you, or should you keep looking before you make an offer?

Life is full of hard choices, and the bigger they are and the more options we have, the harder they get.

As it happens, our brains are fairly binary. They can react very quickly when presented with two options, especially when ones clearly better. Stand here and drown in the rising waters or jump onto that big rock and be safe? Easy choice.

When presented with more options, though, we choke up. Jump onto the rock or climb the tree? We dont know which is clearly better, and research shows that most people will not choose at all when presented with several equally good options.

Practice, experience, and rules of thumbs can help us to make those split-second decisions (for example, When in doubt, go left has done pretty well for me so far). Fortunately we dont normally face immediate, do-or-die decisions we usually have the luxury of working through a decision.

Getting Past Pros and Cons

The old chestnut of decision-making is the list of pros and cons. You make two columns on a piece of paper and write down all the positive things that will come of making a choice in one column and all the negative things in the other. In the end, the side with the most entries wins.

But this strategy doesnt take into account the different weight that each positive or negative might have. If one of your pros is will make a million dollars and one of your cons is might get a hangnail, they dont exactly cancel each other out.

Some people counter this problem by assigning point values to each item in their list. A huge income might be worth +20 points, while a tiny risk might be only 1. This helps make a more realistic assessment of your options.

But pros and cons arent always apparent or obvious, and the whole list-making process doesnt sit well with many people especially impulsive, seat-of-the-pants who might feel unnaturally hampered by the formality of the pro and con list.

Here are some other strategies for making big decisions. Not all of them will work for every person or for every decision, but they all have something to offer to help you clarify your thinking and avoid decision paralysis while the water rises around you.

Analyze outcomes

Working through a big decision can give us a kind of tunnel vision, where we get so focused on the immediate consequences of the decision at hand that we dont think about the eventual outcomes we expect or desire.

When making a choice, then, it pays to take some time to consider the outcome you expect. Consider each option and ask the following questions:

What is the probable outcome of this choice?

What outcomes are highly unlikely?

What are the likely outcomes of not choosing this one?

What would be the outcome of doing the exact opposite?

Thinking in terms of long-term outcomes and broadening your thinking to include negative outcomes can help you find clarity and direction while facing your big decision.

Ask why five times

The Five Whys are a problem-solving technique invented by Sakichi Toyoda, the founder of Toyota. When something goes wrong, you ask why? five times. By asking why something failed, over and over, you eventually get to the root cause.

Why did my car break down? A spark plug failed. Why? It was fouled. Why? I didnt get a tune-up. Why? I was too busy playing GTA4. Why? Because Im miserable and lonely and the people in the game are the only ones that really love me.

See? Your car broke down because youre a sociopath.

Although developed as a problem-solving technique, the Five Whys can also help you determine whether a choice youre considering is in line with your core values. For instance:

Why should I take this job? It pays well and offers me a chance to grow. Why is that important? Because I want to build a career and not just have a string of meaningless jobs. Why? Because I want my life to have meaning. Why? So I can be happy. Why? Because thats whats important in life.

Notice that you sometimes have to change how you ask why to keep the questions focused inward rather than outward to irrelevant external factors. It wouldnt do any good to ask Why does this job pay well and offer me a chance to grow since the important thing is that it does, not why it does.

Follow your instincts

Research shows that people who make decisions quickly, even when lacking information, tend to be more satisfied with their decisions than people who research and carefully weight their options. Some of this difference is simply in the lower level of stress the decision created, but much of it comes from the very way our brains work.

The conscious mind can only hold between 5 and 9 distinct thoughts at any given mind. That means that any complex problem with more than (on average) 7 factors is going to overflow the conscious minds ability to function effectively leading to poor choices.

Our unconscious, however, is much better at juggling and working through complex problems. People who go with their gut are actually trusting the work their unconscious mind has already done, rather than second-guessing it and relying on their conscious minds much more limited ability to deal with complex situations.

The Choice is Yours

Whatever process you use to arrive at your decision, your satisfaction with your decision will depend largely on whether you claim ownership of your choices. If you feel pressured into a choice or not in control of the conditions, youll find even positive outcomes colored negatively. On the other hand, taking full responsibility for your choices can make even failure feel like a success youll know you did your best and youll have gained valuable experience for nest time.

http://www.lifehack.org/articles/management/how-to-make-the-right-choice.html#

Discuss the previous articles. Talk about: How do you make decisions? Do you make good choices? How do choices reflect individuality and integrity? Then, respond on a separate piece of paper. This is considered journal writing. Everyone must respond individually. Your response needs to be at least 1 page.

The Life You Save May Be Your Own by Flannery OConnor

Build Vocabulary

Spelling Strategy When adding a suffix to a word that ends in w, never double the w.

The Word Bank word guffawing illustrates this rule.

Using the Root -sol-

A. DIRECTIONS: The root -sol- comes to English from the Latin adjective solus, meaning

alone. Use each of the following words in a sentence to demonstrate your understanding of its meaning.

1. solitary

2. sole

3. solely

Using the Word Bank

desolate listed ominous ravenous morose guffawing

B. DIRECTIONS: Use one of the Word Bank words as you write each sentence according

to the instructions given. Use the context of the sentence instructions to determine which word to use.

1. Write a sentence about something that tilts.

2. Write a sentence about someone who has a distinctive laugh.

3. Write a sentence about the isolated setting of a story.

4. Write a sentence about someone who is gloomy or sullen.

5. Write a sentence about someone who is extremely eager about something.

6. Write a sentence about a situation that is threatening or sinister.


Grammar and Style: Subjunctive Mood

In modern English, there are three moods, or ways in which a verb can express an action or

condition: indicative, imperative, and subjunctive. The indicative mood is used to make factual

statements and ask questions. The imperative mood is used to give orders or directions. The

subjunctive mood is used (1) in clauses beginning with if or that to express an idea contrary to

fact, and (2) in clauses beginning with that to express a request, demand, or proposal.

Verbs in the subjunctive mood differ from verbs in the indicative mood in two significant

ways. First, in the present tense subjunctive, a third-person singular verb does not have the

usual -s or -es ending. Secondly, in the present tense, the subjunctive mood of be is be, and in

the past tense, it is were, regardless of the subject.

Certain verbs in English are more prone to appear in the subjunctive mood than others.

These include the following: ask, demand, determine, insist, move, order, prefer, propose,

request, require, suggest.

A. DIRECTIONS: Each of the following sentences should contain a verb in the subjunctive

mood. Cross out the verb that appears in the incorrect form and write the correct form after the sentence.

1. He held the burning match as if he was studying the mystery of flame.

2. The mother preferred that Mr. Shiftlet slept in the car rather than in the house.

3. If Mr. Shiftlet was lying, do you think he would have done all that work around the farm?

4. A fat moon appeared in the branches of a tree as if it was going to roost there with the

chickens.

5. Lucynell, the mother, insisted that her daughter was with her at all times.

B. DIRECTIONS: Use each of the following phrases in an original sentence about The

Life You Save May Be Your Own. Each sentence should contain a verb in the subjunctive mood.

requested that

if Lucynell were

that Mr. Shiftlet be

wondered if


Reading Strategy: Make Predictions

As you read a selection, you often wonder how a story will end. One strategy for understanding

the way a story unfolds is to pause and make predictions about what will happen. Often a

story contains hints that foreshadow things to come.

DIRECTIONS: In the spaces following each excerpt, record what predictions you might make

about the rest of the story.

1. Although the old woman lived in this desolate spot with only her daughter and she had

never seen Mr. Shiftlet before, she could tell, even from a distance, that he was a tramp and no one to be afraid of.

2. The old woman watched from a distance, secretly pleased. She was ravenous for a

son-in-law.

3. Saturday, the old woman said, you and her and me can drive into town and get

married.

4. Im only saying a mans spirit means more to him than anything else. I would have to

take my wife off for the weekend without no regards at all for cost. I got to follow where my spirits says to go.

5. As they came out of the courthouse, Mr. Shiftlet began twisting his neck in his collar.

He looked morose and bitter as if he had been insulted while someone held him.


Literary Analysis: Grotesque Characters

Flannery OConnor included in her writing some characters that are grotesques. Such characters

have a one-track mind; they are controlled by a single emotion, concept, or goal.

On the lines after each of the following passages, identify an emotion, a concept, or a goal

that the passage suggests. Then write one or two sentences to explain how the character might

act if he or she were a grotesque, controlled by the way of thinking that you have identified.

1. Is she your baby girl? he asked.

My only, the old woman said,and shes the sweetest girl in the world. I would give her up

for nothing on earth. Shes smart too. She can sweep the floor, cook, wash, feed the chickens,

and hoe. I wouldnt give her up for a casket of jewels.

No, he said kindly, dont ever let any man take her away from you.

Any man come after her, the old woman said, ll have to stay around the place.er when she wakes up, Mr. Shiftlet said. Ill pay for it now.

2. He had raised the hood and studied the mechanism and he said he could tell that the car had been built in the days when cars were really built. You take now, he said, one man puts in one bolt and another man puts in another bolt and another man puts in another bolt so that its a man for a bolt. Thats why you have to pay so much for a car: youre paying all those men. Now if you didnt have to pay but one man, you could get you a cheaper car and one that had had a personal interest taken in it, and it would be a better car.

3. Mr. Shiftlet felt that the rottenness of the world was about to engulf him. He raised his arm and let it fall again to his breast. Oh Lord! he prayed. Break forth and wash the slime from this earth!


Literary Analysis: Grotesque Characters and Descriptive Details

Some characters in Flannery OConnors fiction are grotesques. Such characters have a

one-track mind; they are controlled by a single emotion, concept, or goal. Passages that

describe grotesque characters are often marked by unusual or unexpected descriptive

details. These details, which appeal to one or more of the five senses, make a vivid impression

on the mind of the reader.

DIRECTIONS: Read each passage from the story and locate it in context. Then, in the chart

provided, explain how the underlined descriptive details contribute to the portrayal of a grotesque character.

Story Passage

Details of Grotesque Character Portrayal

1. He held the pose for almost fifty seconds and

then he picked up his box and came on to

the porch and dropped down on the bottom

step. Lady, he said in a firm nasal voice,

Id give a fortune to live where I could see

me a sun do that every evening.

2. The daughter was leaning very far down,

hanging her head almost between her knees

watching him through a triangular door she

had made in her overturned hair; and she

suddenly fell in a heap on the floor and

began to whimper.

3. What you want her to say next? Mr. Shiftlet asked.

The old womans smile was broad and

toothless and suggestive. Teach her to say

sugarpie, she said.

4. The boy bent over her and stared at the long

pink-gold hair and the half-shut sleeping

eyes. Then he looked up and stared at Mr.

Shiftlet. She looks like an angel of Gawd,

he murmured.

Choices Group Project Choices

Choose 1. Each project represents a different story from this Unit. Be sure to follow directions and be ready to share with the class. Remember your efforts will be on display.

The Devil and Tom Walker

Moral Conversation Imagine you are Tom Walkers good conscience. Write a

Conversation between you, Tom Walker, and the Devil as to whether Tom Walker should accept the Devils deal. The end decision may or may not be that Tom Walker accepts the deal. Videotape (via iPad) your skit. Share with the class. Be sure to turn in your script.

Advertisement Prepare an advertisement for Tom Walkers brokers shop in Boston that

Irving might use as an illustration for his story. Keep in mind the style of writing in the

story. The advertisement should complement this style of writing as well as be true to Tom Walkers character. This may be done on a piece of computer paper OR via Keynote on your iPad. Share with the class.

The Raven

Rap Compose and create a rap song for Poes poem The Raven. Try to make your music

express the mood of the poem. Perform at least a few verses of your song for your classmates. You may do this live or via your iPad.

The Pit and the Pendulum

Poster Work with your team to create a poster which illustrates the story elements and

emotions of Edgar Allen Poes short story, The Pit and The Pendulum.

Directions:

Step 1: Briefly summarize the following elements:

Plot: Give a brief summary of the piece.

Setting: Describe the setting. What words or phrases help paint the picture?

Characters: How does Poe portray the characters?

Perspective: Who is the narrator? Describe this person's feelings. Is it written in third or first person? How does this affect the piece?

Step 2: Identify the human emotions that are revealed in the story (Examples may include fear, sadness, regret, loneliness, obsession, anticipation, and helplessness.) Identify and create a list of words and phrases that portray these emotions.

Step 3: Create a poster (computer paper or Keynote Slide) which incorporates what you have learned while completing steps #1 and #2. Your poster should be colorful, creative and neat (no eraser marks, cross outs, scribbles, etc). All words should be spelled correctly. Your poster must include a minimum of 2 illustrations.

The Ministers Black Veil

Dramatic Dance Plan a simple, dramatic dance that depicts either the funeral or the wedding

scene from The Ministers Black Veil. Choose appropriate music and movements that tell the story. Design simple costumes for the dance. Divide up the roles and rehearse your dance. Perform it for the rest of the class. This may be done live or via your iPad.

The Life You Save May Be Your Own

Newspaper Front Page Create the front page of the local newspaper. Be sure to include an

article about Lucynell. Imagine that after Lucynell awakens, the boy in the diner calls the police, and Lucynell is reunited with her mother. You are a reporter for the local newspaper. Write an article explaining what happened to Lucynell and how she and her mother were conned by Mr. Shiftlet. Include other time appropriate articles and pictures that would be front page worthy.

Individual Paper

Choose 1 of the following topics. Write at least a 2 page paper + a Works Cited page which addresses the chosen topic. Be sure to use MLA format. Remember to SHOW, not TELL. Use examples and support from the reading selections. Within the paper, utilize varied sentence structure (5-10-20), alliteration, and imagery. Be sure to emphasize those literary devices and/or stylistic techniques in the Focus Corrections Sheet.

1. How do ones choices reflect individuality and integrity?

2. Discuss three symbols in "The Devil and Tom Walker."

3. How does the presence of nature influence Poe's works?

4. How does Poe incorporate a Gothic setting into his works?

5. Explain the imagery in Gwendolyn Brooks The Good Man and Speech to the Young:

Speech to the Progress-Toward and how does that imagery impact the advice she gives in those poems.

6. Discuss three symbols in The Ministers Black Veil.

7. How does Flannery OConnor use weather as an indicator of the characters' moods and

intentions in The Life You Save May Be Your Own.

Focus Correction Sheet:

Name:Period. _

1. I followed the rubric

(check one) Very closely ___pretty closely ___didn't look at it ___

2. Based on the rubric, I think I scored of 24 points.

3. My thesis statement was

4. My example of alliteration was

5. My example of imagery was

6. Star the paragraph that used varied sentence structure (5-10-20).

Extra credit: To earn extra credit the following requirements must be met.

* Assignment is handed in on or before due date (absent work accepted BUT no extra credit

available).

* Parent signature must be on the focus correction sheet WITH A COMMENT.

* Parent must indicate contact information OR use of Power School.

I have read my childs paper and (comment)

Parent signature:

Parent contact information ONLY if parent does NOT utilize Power School.

E-mail OR daytime contact number:

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