The Raven: Who, What, Where?
The Veldt: Life in the Smarthouse
The Raven: Feeling & Figurative Language
The Veldt: Danger & Deeper Meaning
Comparing the Chills
100

This is the time ofday, gloomy and tired, when the narrator first hears a tapping.

What is midnight dreary?

100

This is the name of the family who lives in the HappyLife Home.

Who are the Hadleys?

100

The overall dark and sad feeling of "The Raven."

What is mood (or tone)?

100

This is the type of animal that constantly appears in the nursery and becomes very real.

What are lions?

100

Both "The Raven" and "The Veldt" have a generally dark and unsettling __________.

What is mood / atmosphere?

200

The narrator is deeply saddened by the loss of this person.

Who is Lenore?

200

These are the names of the two children.

Who are Peter and Wendy?

200

When Poe writes "each separate dying ember wrought its ghost upon the floor," he is giving human-like qualities to something non-human.

What is personification?

200

The parents find these two small objects in the nursery, which are big clues about their future danger.

What are a wallet and a scarf (or bloody remains)?

200

In "The Raven," repetitive tapping helps build suspense, while in "The Veldt," the sound of _______ helps build tension.

What are lions (or their roars)?

300

The mysterious bird perches on a bust of this Greek goddess of wisdom.

What is Pallas Athena?

300

This specific wild African landscape is what the children are obsessed with in their nursery.

What is the African veldt (or savannah)?

300

The repeated sound of "tapping, tapping" and "rapping, rapping" is an example of this literary device.

What is repetition?

300

The loud roars, the intense heat, and the smell of blood all contribute to this unsettling feeling in the story.

What is tension / suspense / a frightening mood?

300

One big difference is that "The Raven" focuses on internal, psychological terror, while "The Veldt" focuses on external terror created by this.

What is technology (or machines)?

400

This is the exact word the Raven repeats over and over.

What is Nevermore?

400

This is the profession of David McClean, the expert called in by the parents.

What is psychologist?

400

This literary device compares two unlike things without using "like" or "as," such as when the narrator's sould is described as "fire."

What is a metaphor?

400

This major theme of "The Veldt" warns about the dangers of letting machines do everything for people, especially children.

What is the danger of too much technology / over-reliance on technology?

400

Both authors use this literary technique, where small details or hints are given that suggest something bad is coming.

What is foreshadowing?

500

The narrator's setting for the entire poem is primarily this specific room.

What is his chamber?

500

This is the technology in the nursery that makes the children's thoughts come to life.

What is telepathy/advanced technology (that responds to thoughts)?

500

The narrator's slow journey into sadness and near-madness due to his grief is a major theme of the poem.

What is overwhelming grief / despair / loss?

500

The fact that the "HappyLife Home" and the "nursery" (which should be safe and fun) become places of extreme danger and death is an example of this literary device.

What is irony (or situational irony)?

500

Describe one way the main character's downfall in "The Raven" is different from the parents' downfall in "The Veldt."

The narrator's downfall is psychological/due to grief; the parents' downfall is physical/due to their children's actions and technology. The narrator's is self-inflicted (obsessing), the parents' is from their creation/lack of control.