The Tiny World
Give one word from the first paragraph that tells you Wigan's sculptures are made with care.
Painstaking
What object does Wigan describe as being able to comfortably fit all of his significant pieces?
A single matchbox.
In 'Seaview Haiku,' what are the windsurfs compared to as they skim across the bay?
Bright as butterflies with folded wings.
What were the names of the different types of figs mentioned in the extract?
Anzuki, Halabi, Bouksati, Oubied.
Give two examples of extreme adjectives from lines 5-12 of the text.
Two examples are invisible, mind-boggling, and startlingly accurate.
What does the word 'small' (line 22) tell you about how Wigan felt as a child in school?
It tells you he felt insignificant, humiliated, or devalued.
Under the microscope, how many times is Wigan's work magnified to reveal its true form?
500 times.
What animal is 'stripped to the waist' in the poem by Kobayashi Issa?
The snail.
What did the narrator's husband do the winter after the power went down to keep their child from dying of cold?
He burnt the cherry trees from their orchard.
Explain why the extreme adjective 'mind-boggling' is effective in describing Wigan's work.
It suggests the level of detail is so great it is surprising or impossible to fully grasp, conveying astonishment.
Give two features of a newspaper article used in the text.
Headline/title and a byline (the author's name).
Besides undiagnosed dyslexia, what other condition did Wigan have that contributed to his unhappy school days?
Mild autism.
What is the main color of the wheelbarrow and the water that is on it in 'The Red Wheelbarrow'?
The wheelbarrow is red and the water is rain water, which is next to white chickens.
The narrator says the fig is not really a fruit. What does she say the fig actually is?
A flower that has turned in on itself.
Explain why the extreme adjective 'startlingly accurate' is effective in describing Wigan's reproduction of the Lloyd's building.
It emphasizes how extremely/surprisingly precise the reproduction is, which is impressive considering its tiny size.
Explain, using your own words, why Wigan works in an 'isolated studio' (line 32).
He works in an isolated studio to avoid disruptions or mistakes caused by the public eye or vibrations, such as those from traffic.
What materials did Wigan use to create microscopic tools?
He made tools out of tweezers made from eyelashes, needles flattened into little hooks, crushed paint, and a fragment of broken diamond.
$400$Which poem uses the image of wind howling in rage because there are 'no leaves to blow'?
'Over the Wintry' by Natsume Soseki.
Which specific places in the city did the bombs fall on after the narrator and her son fled there?
The library, the marketplace, the internet café, and the hospital.
The author uses mind-boggling and startlingly accurate to describe Wigan's work. What is the effect of using two different extreme adjectives?
It emphasizes the different aspects of the work: 'mind-boggling' focuses on the size/detail and 'startlingly accurate' focuses on the precision/quality.
What is the main purpose of this text?
To inform people about Willard Wigan's work as a sculptor.
Explain the connection Wigan makes between his childhood embarrassment and his motivation to create tiny art.
People had made him feel small due to his learning difficulties, so he wanted to show them how significant small could be as a way of compensating for his embarrassment.
Explain the contrasting imagery used to describe the man and the woman in William Carlos Williams’ poem 'Marriage.'
The man is compared to a stream flowing and the woman is compared to a field, contrasting the man's movement with the woman's stillness.
The narrator says her life has been compressed to the size of what object?
The twelve-metre span of this boat.
The use of extreme adjectives helps convey the article writer's response to Wigan's work. Give one non-extreme adjective that could have been used instead, and explain why the extreme adjective is better.
A non-extreme adjective could be 'good.' The extreme adjective is better because it shows the author's strong, emotional reaction (amazement), making the writing more engaging.