Language
“I know some good games we could play,”
Said the cat.
“I know some new tricks,”
Said the Cat in the Hat.
“A lot of good tricks.
I will show them to you.
Your mother
Will not mind at all if I do.”
From The Cat in the Hat by Dr. Suess
Because of Dr. Suess' unique writing, it is usually easy for everyone to identify his writing ________.
style
What is the main conflict?
Martians are invading or have landed.
"Then, by the light of their own destruction, I saw them staggering and falling, and their supporters turning to run."
What is the mood?
A. curiosity
B. amazement
C. fear
D. calm
C. fear
like the arms of an octopus
figurative because the leash of thin black whips resembles the octopus with many extending arms
a low hill
knoll
When reading this excerpt for the first time, we ran into sentences such as the following: "I remained standing knee-deep in the heather staring at the mound that hid them." When we came across terms we did not fully understand, how did we figure out what they meant?
context clues
Where is the story taking place?
England
Other acceptable answers: Chobham, Woking
What does the Deputation do?
They are attempting to communicate with the Martians.
the little black knot of men
figurative because it is a group of men and they are not tied into a real knot
the highest point of something
apex
Which of these four words have a negative connotation?
Frugal, economical, stingy, or cheap
Who is the antagonist?
the Martians
What does waving a white flag mean?
Waving a white flag means surrender.
Food for thought: How do we know that this would mean surrender to the Martians?
ugly brutes!
literal because the neighbor yells this about the martians
shining; full of light
luminous
In which sentence does the tone sound more serious?
A. I’ll just swing by your office at 4 tomorrow!
B. I will meet you in your office tomorrow at 4:00.
B. I will meet you in your office tomorrow at 4:00.
It was sweeping round swiftly and steadily, this flaming death, this invisible, inevitable sword of heat. I perceived it coming towards me by the flashing bushes it touched, and was too astounded and stupefied to stir. I heard the crackle of fire in the sand pits and the sudden squeal of a horse that was as suddenly stilled.
For our excerpt, this moment would be considered the ___________.
A. rising action
B. introduction
C. conclusion
D. climax
D. climax
Nowadays, we have lasers and flamethrowers, so this might not sound so amazing to us, but imagine reading this in 1898: "It was as if some invisible jet impinged upon them and flashed into white flame. It was as if each man were suddenly and momentarily turned to fire"
What analogies do you see here?
It was as if some invisible jet impinged upon them and flashed into white flame.
and
It was as if each man were suddenly and momentarily turned into fire.
Both of them are analogies.
ghost of a beam of light
figurative because it means the light was flickering
lacking color in a way that indicates sickness; very pale
pallid
Analogies add depth and feeling to an image. What does the following analogy mean?
She felt like a raft floating in the middle of an dark, endless ocean. Like her, the raft was floating along, alone, worn out, and unable to reach a steady place in which to settle.
She was lonely and exhausted.
All this had happened with such swiftness that I had stood motionless, dumbfounded and dazzled by the flashes of light. Had that death swept through a full circle, it must inevitably have slain me in my surprise. But it passed and spared me, and left the night about me suddenly dark and unfamiliar.
The narrator realizes he has been spared.
Using your checklist, what emotional response do you think he is having?
Shock, fear, scared, terrified, relief
Answers may vary.
black pine trees
literal because the pine trees have actually been burnt to a crisp
in a manner that is sure or certain to happen; unavoidably
inevitably