Transcendentalism
A poem about a meditation on death that encourages accepting mortality as a natural, peaceful, and universal process. It argues that death should not be feared, but viewed as returning to the earth to become one with nature, joining the dead in a magnificent, shared resting place
"Thanatopsis" by William Cullen Bryant
How does Mrs. Mallard feel about her husband's death in "The Story of an Hour" by Kate Chopin?
Although she loved him "sometimes" and he was kind, she ultimately welcomes her husband's death because it promises her individual freedom, allowing her to live without the "powerful will bending hers".
Name at least TWO of the original outcasts from "Outcasts of Poker Flat."
The group consists of John Oakhurst (a gambler), Mother Shipton (a brothel owner), The Duchess (a prostitute), and Uncle Billy (a drunkard and thief).
Who killed Myrtle Wilson and why?
Daisy Buchanan was the one driving the "death car" when it hit Myrtle. Myrtle ran out into the street because she mistakenly believed Tom was driving the yellow car and was trying to flag him down.
What happens to Ted Lavender?
Ted Lavender is shot in the head and killed while returning from relieving himself on April 16. He is the first member of Alpha Company to die in the book.
Identify the work/author: "I become a transparent eyeball; I am nothing; I see all; the currents of the Universal Being circulate through me; I am part or particle of God. "
Nature by Ralph Waldo Emerson
What is the twist ending of the story of "Desiree's Baby" by Kate Chopin?
Armand discovers a letter from his mother to his father, revealing that he (Armand) is the one with black ancestry, not Désirée.
Name ONE mistake the man makes in "To Build a Fire" by Jack London.
1.He travels alone. 2. He ignores advice from the "old timer" from Sulphur Creek. 3. He builds a fire under a spruce tree, where snow falls and puts it out.
Why does George Wilson kill Gatsby?
Tom Buchanan tells George that the yellow car that killed Myrtle belonged to Gatsby. Believing Gatsby was both the driver and Myrtle's lover, George shoots Gatsby in his pool before killing himself.
Why does Lieutenant Jimmy Cross burn Martha's letters?
Cross burns them the morning after Lavender’s death out of guilt. He believes his obsessive daydreams about Martha caused him to be distracted, leading to Lavender's death.
Identify the work/author:: " I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived."
Walden by Henry David Thoreau
What is the name of the man who is hanged by the Union soldiers in "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge?"
Peyton Farquhar
What is the role of Tom Simson and Piney Woods? in "Outcasts of Poker Flat" by Bret Harte?
They are innocent characters who stumble upon the camp, bringing out a unexpected sense of protection and humanity in the outcasts.
What does the green light symbolize?
The green light at the end of Daisy’s dock represents Gatsby’s hopes and dreams for the future—specifically his goal of reclaiming his past with Daisy. On a broader level, it symbolizes the elusive nature of the American Dream.
Who is Mary Anne Bell and what happens to her?
She is the girlfriend of Mark Fossie who is brought to Vietnam. She becomes consumed by the war and the jungle, eventually disappearing after joining the Green Berets and wearing a necklace of human tongues.
Identify the work/author:: "There is a time in every man’s education when he arrives at the conviction that envy is ignorance; that imitation is suicide; that he must take himself for better, for worse, as his portion… The power which resides in him is new in nature, and none but he knows what that is which he can do, nor does he know until he has tried."
Self-Reliance by Ralph Waldo Emerson
What MAJOR TOPIC is highlighted in "Desiree's Baby" by Kate Chopin?
Racism or Societal Pressure (Kate Chopin highlights how racial prejudices destroy lives. Armand adores his wife and child. But when the baby's skin appears darker, he assumes Desiree is of black heritage. )
What MAJOR TOPIC is highlighted in "To Build a Fire" by Jack London? Why?
Nature’s Power (NP) - Nature is powerful, uncaring, and unstoppable
What is the "Valley of Ashes"?
It is a bleak industrial wasteland located between West Egg and New York City. Symbolically, it represents the moral and social decay that results from the uninhibited pursuit of wealth, as well as the plight of the poor who are left behind.
How does Kiowa die?
Kiowa dies by drowning in a "sewage field"—a sewage-filled marshland near the Song Tra Bong river—after the platoon is hit by mortar fire.
Identify the work/author:: "...the true place for a just man is also a prison. The proper place to-day, the only place which Massachusetts has provided for her freer and less desponding spirits, is in her prisons, to be put out and locked out of the State by her own act, as they have already put themselves out by their principles"
Resistance to Civil Government by Henry David Theoreau
What MAJOR TOPIC is highlighted in "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" by Ambrose Bierce?
Illusion vs. Reality: The story highlights that perception can warp reality. The protagonist, Peyton Farquhar, creates a detailed, subjective fantasy of survival in the moments between falling and the rope breaking his neck.
What MAJOR TOPIC is highlighted in "Outcasts of Poker Flat" by Bret Harte? Why?
Survival and Justice (SJ) - Death and survival are not rewards or punishments. Life is not fair.
What are the "Eyes of Doctor T. J. Eckleburg"?
These are the fading eyes of an optometrist on a billboard overlooking the Valley of Ashes. Many characters, particularly George Wilson, interpret them as the eyes of God watching over a godless and corrupt society.
What is the difference between "happening-truth" and "story-truth"?
"Happening-truth" refers to the actual facts of an event, while "story-truth" refers to the emotional truth that makes a reader feel what happened. O’Brien argues that story-truth is often truer than happening-truth.