Tone
Define Tone.
The author's attitude towards his/her subject
What two places does the speaker say the father has worked?
The stockyards, and the packing house
How many lines are in the poem?
23
What is a theme?
The author's commentary on life; the "moral" of the story or poem; the author's "message" about life or human nature
What is a simile?
A comparison between two unlike things or ideas with the use of "like" or "as"
Which word best describes the tone of lines 6-10 of "Without Title"?
A. Vivacious
B. Dreamlike
C. Somber
C. Somber
List 3 details that support the speaker's affection for her and her father's Native American ancestry.
Example: "without a vision"; "no one marked his first kill", "red buffalo painted on his chest"
The poem references two different time periods of her father's life. At what point does the speaker suggest a shift in these time periods?
Line 9: "Without a vision he had migrated to the city and went to work in the packing houses."
What is the author saying about her father's culture?
Example answer: She feels sorry that her father's Native American culture is constantly being washed away by the mainstream world he is a part of.
Locate one line from the poem that contains a simile.
Line 17: "like a bow string"
Line 22: "Buffalo Grunts like a snore"
What does "connotation" mean?
The emotions associated with a word.
Summarize the first 10 lines in 10 words or less.
Example answer: The father adjusts to society while giving up his customs.
Locate the poem's subtitle. What is the significance of the subtitle?
Example answer: It emphasizes the father's loss of tradition.
What is the significance of the title?
Example Answer: The speaker's father had his "title" as a Native American "warrior" stripped from him in adapting to modern society.
Where does the speaker use a metaphor to describe the father's actions? (2 possible answers)
Lines 14-17: "I remember the animal tracks of his car... like bow string"
Lines 20-21: "...I heard his buffalo grunts like a snore"
Choose one word or phrase from the poem that has a positive connotation for the speaker. Explain why the word or phrase has a positive connotation.
Answers may vary; phrases like "buffalo grunts" and "buffalo song" have positive connotations, because they reference the speaker's father's culture; the speaker is proud of her Native American ancestry.
Summarize lines 14-17 in ten words or less.
Example: The speaker still sees her father as a warrior.
What words/ phrases are repeated throughout the first 10 lines? What is the purpose of this repetition?
Example answer: "no one" and "without" are repeated to stress the loss of the father's traditions.
Create a "theme statement" about the poem.
Example Answer: Adapting to mainstream society may cause Ancestral traditions to become suppressed or ignored.
List three symbols in the poem that represent the father's traditions.
Shaman, arrow, buffalo song, hides
What is the tone of lines 18-22?
examples: sorrowful, tragic, sympathetic, compassionate
Read lines 5-8. What is suggested about the difference between the father's view of animals and the view of them in the "stockyards"?
Example answer: Animals are considered sacred in his culture. It is celebrated when an animal is hunted in his culture, but this custom is not respected or valued in his place of work.
What words/ phrases are repeated in lines 14-20? What does this repetition emphasize or highlight about the speaker's feelings toward her father?
*Answers may vary--teacher will decide if the answer is acceptable!
Sample: The repetition of the phrase "I remember" stresses that the speaker views her father in a way that is unique from how everyone else may see him.
*Answers may vary.
Make an inference about the family dynamic between the speaker's parents. Use one text detail to support your answer.
Example Answer: The mother may not be of Native American descent, so she does not value or respect the father's customs. The father seems to quietly accept her wishes, i.e., "the silence of his lost power".
Locate one line that contains imagery.
line 15: "backing out the drive in snow and mud"