Critical Lens Quiz

Did you get it?

1.            Which of the following should not be in your introductory paragraph

(a)           The critical lens

(b)           Your opinion

(c)           A valid interpretation of the critical lens

(d)           A summary of a work of literature

(e)           The titles and authors of two works of literature you will use in your body paragraphs

2.            Which of the following does belong in your introductory paragraph

            (a)            A literary device that you can explain in your body paragraphs

            (b)            A valid interpretation of the critical lens

            (c)            The titles and authors of two works of literature

            (d)            Your opinion of the critical lens

            (e)            All of the above

3.            The thesis statement in the introductory paragraph should probably contain

            (a)             Both titles and authors of two works of literature

            (b)             The phrase, “support(s) the idea of the critical lens because…”

            (c)            A valid interpretation of the critical lens

            (d)            The plot summary of two works of literature

            (e)            A and B

4.            Which of the following is not an example of a literary device

            (a)            The critical lens

            (b)            Imagery

            (c)            Characterization

            (d)            Rhyme

            (e)            Stanza

5.            A work of fiction usually contains

            (a)            A critical lens

            (b)            Imagery

            (c)            Rhyme

            (d)            Figurative language

            (e)            (b) and (d)

6.            An example of theme is

            (a)            Nature

            (b)            Conflict

            (c)            Human relationships

            (d)            Journey

            (e)            All of the above

7.            Which of the following is not and example of personification

(a)            “The houses were of wood, with the second story projecting over the first, and the third sticking its elbows out beyond the second.”

(b)            “Shake off this gruesome dream. Call back thy poor wandering memory.”

(c)            “The bridge … looked upon the two neighbors, London and Southwark as not particularly important.”

            (d)            “The clime would make the flesh raw and angry-looking”

           (e)            “There was no talk in all England but of the new baby, Edward Tudor, Prince of Wales, who lay lapped in silks and satins, unconscious of all this fuss . . .”

8.            The recommended order of sentences in the Introductory Paragraph is

            (a)             X once said, “…….” // In other words // I agree with X because…  // Both literary work A by Y and  literary work B y Z provide examples of {critical lens in your own words…}.

            (b)            A literary device agrees with my literary work // “In today’s language the critical lens means”… // A second example of a critical lens is … //  X once said, “…”

            (c)            X once said, “….”  // I agree with X because… // Literary work A by Y and Literary work B by Z don’t agree because…//  “The critical lens reminds me of a time in my life when…

            (d)            My critical lens disagrees with the examples of literary devices.  // A literary work contains a critical lens that means …”  // X one said, “…” and I think everyone’s opinion, so I both agree and disagree, because my opinion is different.

9.            A phrase that can be used to introduce your evidence might be:

            (a)            Let me give you an example of what my view of what the critical lens is trying to say by discussing a section of [novel/play/poem/short story] by [author’s name].

            (b)            The claim made by X in the critical lens is just pain wrong because...

            (c)            Part of what X is saying in the critical lens is accurate and true and part of it is inaccurate and false.  I am going to focus my writing on the part that can I agree/disagree with, which is, _________ because...

            (d)            A good quote goes a long way…

10.            There are five parts to the body paragraph

            (a)            True

            (b)            False

11.            There are four parts to the introductory paragraph

            (a)            True

            (b)            False

12.            The five parts of the Concluding Paragraph are : 1.Introduce/State Quote 2. Interpret Quote 3. Agree or Disagree with the Quote 4. Thesis
{Title Y by Author A and title Z by Author B support/do not support the idea that …. 5. Concluding Sentence (one that ties the main ideas of your essay back to the critical lens).

            (a)            True

            (b)            False

13.            The critical lens essay should have

            (a)            One introductory paragraph, four body paragraphs, one concluding paragraph

            (b)            One introductory paragraph, two body paragraphs, one concluding paragraph

            (c)            One introductory paragraph, one body paragraph, one transitional paragraph, one personal opinion paragraph, and one concluding paragraph

            (d)            One introductory paragraph, one paragraph for each work of literature you analyze, one paragraph for each literary device you mention, one concluding paragraph

            (e)            A and D

Read the following passage twice: first for meaning, second for literary devices and techniques.

After a considerable time – he could not tell how long – his senses struggled to a half-consciousness, and as he lay with closed eyes vaguely wondering where he was and what had been happening, he noted a murmurous sound, the sullen beating of rain upon the roof. A snug sense of comfort stole over him, which was rudely broken, the next moment, by a chorus of piping cackles and coarse laughter. It startled him disagreeably, and he unmuffled his head to see whence this interruption proceeded. A grim and unsightly picture met his eye. A bright fire was burning in the middle of the floor, at the other end of the barn; and around it, and lit weirdly up by the red glare, lolled and sprawled the motliest company of tattered gutterscum and ruffians, of both sexes, he had ever read or dreamed of. There were huge, stalwart men, brown with exposure, long-haired, and clothed in fantastic rags; there were middle-sized youths, of truculent countenance, and similarly clad; there were blind mendicants, with patched or bandaged eyes; crippled ones, with wooden legs and crutches; there was a villain-looking peddler with his pack; a knife-grinder, a tinker, and a barber surgeon, with the implements of their trades; some of the females were hardly grown girls, some were at prime, some were old and wrinkled hags, and all were loud, brazen, foul-mouthed; and all soiled and slatternly; there were three sore-faced babies; there were a couple of starveling curs, with strings about their necks, whose office was to lead the blind.  [The Prince and the Pauper by Mark Twain (Chapter XVII)]

1. The crowd in the passage is described in all of the following ways EXCEPT

a. According to age

b. According to religion

c. According to size

d. According to occupation

e. According to dress

2. Which are the PREDOMINANT senses used in the passage

a. Sound and sight

b. Sight and touch

c. Touch and sound

d. Smell and touch

e. Fear and anger

3. Which of the following literary devices in the passage is used most often?

            a. Imagery

            b. Metaphor

            c. Irony           

            d. Personification

            e. Alliteration

4.            Which of the following literary devices in the passage would be worth writing a paragraph about

            a. Point of View

            b. Foreshadowing

            c. Use of irony

            d. The author’s use of hyphenated and made-up words

            e. The author’s use of long sentences

5.            Write a well-developed paragraph based on your choice for question #4 (about 100 words)

THE PRINCE AND THE PAUPER and SILAS MARNER close reading texts

Reading Comprehension Test

From Chapter IV

of

SILAS MARNER

The Weaver of Raveloe

1861

by

George Eliot

(Mary Anne Evans)

November 22,  1819 – December 22,  1880)

And From Chapter XX

of

The Prince and the Pauper 

by 

Mark Twain

(Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910)

It was now nearly four o'clock, and a mist was gathering: the sooner he got into the road the better. He remembered having crossed the road and seen the finger-post only a little while before Wildfire broke down; so, buttoning his coat, twisting the lash of his hunting-whip compactly round the handle, and rapping the tops of his boots with a self-possessed air, as if to assure himself that he was not at all taken by surprise, he set off with the sense that he was undertaking a remarkable feat of bodily exertion, which somehow and at some time he should be able to dress up and magnify to the admiration of a select circle at the Rainbow. When a young gentleman like Dunsey is reduced to so exceptional a mode of locomotion as walking, a whip in his hand is a desirable corrective to a too bewildering dreamy sense of unwontedness in his position; and Dunstan, as he went along through the gathering mist, was always rapping his whip somewhere. It was Godfrey's whip, which he had chosen to take without leave because it had a gold handle; of course no one could see, when Dunstan held it, that the name Godfrey Cass was cut in deep letters on that gold handle—they could only see that it was a very handsome whip. Dunsey was not without fear that he might meet some acquaintance in whose eyes he would cut a pitiable figure, for mist is no screen when people get close to each other; but when he at last found himself in the well-known Raveloe lanes without having met a soul, he silently remarked that that was part of his usual good luck. But now the mist, helped by the evening darkness, was more of a screen than he desired, for it hid the ruts into which his feet were liable to slip—hid everything, so that he had to guide his steps by dragging his whip along the low bushes in advance of the hedgerow. He must soon, he thought, be getting near the opening at the Stone-pits: he should find it out by the break in the hedgerow. He found it out, however, by another circumstance which he had not expected—namely, by certain gleams of light, which he presently guessed to proceed from Silas Marner's cottage. That cottage and the money hidden within it had been in his mind continually during his walk, and he had been imagining ways of cajoling and tempting the weaver to part with the immediate possession of his money for the sake of receiving interest. Dunstan felt as if there must be a little frightening added to the cajolery, for his own arithmetical convictions were not clear enough to afford him any forcible demonstration as to the advantages of interest; and as for security, he regarded it vaguely as a means of cheating a man by making him believe that he would be paid. Altogether, the operation on the miser's mind was a task that Godfrey would be sure to hand over to his more daring and cunning brother: Dunstan had made up his mind to that; and by the time he saw the light gleaming through the chinks of Marner's shutters, the idea of a dialogue with the weaver had become so familiar to him, that it occurred to him as quite a natural thing to make the acquaintance forthwith. There might be several conveniences attending this course: the weaver had possibly got a lantern, and Dunstan was tired of feeling his way. He was still nearly three-quarters of a mile from home, and the lane was becoming unpleasantly slippery, for the mist was passing into rain. He turned up the bank, not without some fear lest he might miss the right way, since he was not certain whether the light were in front or on the side of the cottage. But he felt the ground before him cautiously with his whip-handle, and at last arrived safely at the door. He knocked loudly, rather enjoying the idea that the old fellow would be frightened at the sudden noise. He heard no movement in reply: all was silence in the cottage. Was the weaver gone to bed, then? If so, why had he left a light? That was a strange forgetfulness in a miser. Dunstan knocked still more loudly, and, without pausing for a reply, pushed his fingers through the latch-hole, intending to shake the door and pull the latch-string up and down, not doubting that the door was fastened. But, to his surprise, at this double motion the door opened, and he found himself in front of a bright fire which lit up every corner of the cottage—the bed, the loom, the three chairs, and the table—and showed him that Marner was not there.

Nothing at that moment could be much more inviting to Dunsey than the bright fire on the brick hearth: he walked in and seated himself by it at once. There was something in front of the fire, too, that would have been inviting to a hungry man, if it had been in a different stage of cooking. It was a small bit of pork suspended from the kettle-hanger by a string passed through a large door-key, in a way known to primitive housekeepers unpossessed of jacks. But the pork had been hung at the farthest extremity of the hanger, apparently to prevent the roasting from proceeding too rapidly during the owner's absence. The old staring simpleton had hot meat for his supper, then? thought Dunstan. People had always said he lived on mouldy bread, on purpose to check his appetite. But where could he be at this time, and on such an evening, leaving his supper in this stage of preparation, and his door unfastened? Dunstan's own recent difficulty in making his way suggested to him that the weaver had perhaps gone outside his cottage to fetch in fuel, or for some such brief purpose, and had slipped into the Stone-pit. That was an interesting idea to Dunstan, carrying consequences of entire novelty. If the weaver was dead, who had a right to his money? Who would know where his money was hidden? Who would know that anybody had come to take it away? He went no farther into the subtleties of evidence: the pressing question, "Where is the money?" now took such entire possession of him as to make him quite forget that the weaver's death was not a certainty. A dull mind, once arriving at an inference that flatters a desire, is rarely able to retain the impression that the notion from which the inference started was purely problematic. And Dunstan's mind was as dull as the mind of a possible felon usually is. There were only three hiding-places where he had ever heard of cottagers' hoards being found: the thatch, the bed, and a hole in the floor. Marner's cottage had no thatch; and Dunstan's first act, after a train of thought made rapid by the stimulus of cupidity, was to go up to the bed; but while he did so, his eyes travelled eagerly over the floor, where the bricks, distinct in the fire-light, were discernible under the sprinkling of sand. But not everywhere; for there was one spot, and one only, which was quite covered with sand, and sand showing the marks of fingers, which had apparently been careful to spread it over a given space. It was near the treddles of the loom. In an instant Dunstan darted to that spot, swept away the sand with his whip, and, inserting the thin end of the hook between the bricks, found that they were loose. In haste he lifted up two bricks, and saw what he had no doubt was the object of his search; for what could there be but money in those two leathern bags? And, from their weight, they must be filled with guineas. Dunstan felt round the hole, to be certain that it held no more; then hastily replaced the bricks, and spread the sand over them. Hardly more than five minutes had passed since he entered the cottage, but it seemed to Dunstan like a long while; and though he was without any distinct recognition of the possibility that Marner might be alive, and might re-enter the cottage at any moment, he felt an undefinable dread laying hold on him, as he rose to his feet with the bags in his hand. He would hasten out into the darkness, and then consider what he should do with the bags. He closed the door behind him immediately, that he might shut in the stream of light: a few steps would be enough to carry him beyond betrayal by the gleams from the shutter-chinks and the latch-hole. The rain and darkness had got thicker, and he was glad of it; though it was awkward walking with both hands filled, so that it was as much as he could do to grasp his whip along with one of the bags. But when he had gone a yard or two, he might take his time. So he stepped forward into the darkness.

Passage II

 The Prince and the Pauper

Chapter XX. The Prince and the hermit.

The high hedge hid him from the house, now; and so, under the impulse of a deadly fright, he let out all his forces and sped toward a wood in the distance.  He never looked back until he had almost gained the shelter of the forest; then he turned and descried two figures in the distance. That was sufficient; he did not wait to scan them critically, but hurried on, and never abated his pace till he was far within the twilight depths of the wood. Then he stopped; being persuaded that he was now tolerably safe. He listened intently, but the stillness was profound and solemn—awful, even, and depressing to the spirits.  At wide intervals his straining ear did detect sounds, but they were so remote, and hollow, and mysterious, that they seemed not to be real sounds, but only the moaning and complaining ghosts of departed ones.  So the sounds were yet more dreary than the silence which they interrupted.
It was his purpose, in the beginning, to stay where he was the rest of the day; but a chill soon invaded his perspiring body, and he was at last obliged to resume movement in order to get warm. He struck straight through the forest, hoping to pierce to a road presently, but he was disappointed in this.  He travelled on and on; but the farther he went, the denser the wood became, apparently.  The gloom began to thicken, by-and-by, and the King realised that the night was coming on.  It made him shudder to think of spending it in such an uncanny place; so he tried to hurry faster, but he only made the less speed, for he could not now see well enough to choose his steps judiciously; consequently he kept tripping over roots and tangling himself in vines and briers.

And how glad he was when at last he caught the glimmer of a light! He approached it warily, stopping often to look about him and listen.  It came from an unglazed window-opening in a shabby little hut.  He heard a voice, now, and felt a disposition to run and hide; but he changed his mind at once, for this voice was praying, evidently.  He glided to the one window of the hut, raised himself on tiptoe, and stole a glance within.  The room was small; its floor was the natural earth, beaten hard by use; in a corner was a bed of rushes and a ragged blanket or two; near it was a pail, a cup, a basin, and two or three pots and pans; there was a short bench and a three-legged stool; on the hearth the remains of a faggot fire were smouldering; before a shrine, which was lighted by a single candle, knelt an aged man, and on an old wooden box at his side lay an open book and a human skull.  The man was of large, bony frame; his hair and whiskers were very long and snowy white; he was clothed in a robe of sheepskins which reached from his neck to his heels.

"A holy hermit!" said the King to himself; "now am I indeed fortunate."
The hermit rose from his knees; the King knocked.  A deep voice responded—
"Enter!—but leave sin behind, for the ground whereon thou shalt stand is holy!"
The King entered, and paused.  The hermit turned a pair of gleaming, unrestful eyes upon him, and said—
"Who art thou?"
"I am the King," came the answer, with placid simplicity.
"Welcome, King!" cried the hermit, with enthusiasm.  Then, bustling about with feverish activity, and constantly saying, "Welcome, welcome," he arranged his bench, seated the King on it, by the hearth, threw some faggots on the fire, and finally fell to pacing the floor with a nervous stride.

THE PRINCE AND THE PAUPER TEST APRIL 25 - 27

Learn about Mark Twain

Test

The Prince and the Pauper by Mark Twain

Part One

Choose the best answer.

1. Tom wants to live as a prince, and the prince wants to “wallow …in the mud ” like Tom.. In the context of what happens in the novel, this an example of

A. personification. B. irony. C. paradox. D. alliteration. E. mood.

2. What one desire haunts Tom day and night?

A. to be rid of his father B. to have books of his own C  to see a real prince D. to become a real prince E. to see a military parade

3. Who is a hero to all who know him except his family?

A. John Canty B. Edward Tudor C. Miles Hendon D. Father Andrew E. Tom Canty

4. What word best describes the crowd jeering at Tom when the king lets Tom into the palace gates?

A. angry B. devouring C. calm D. violent E.. fickle

5. Tom describes life as a prince as being “forever shut up in this gilded cage.” This is an example of

A. simile. B. a symbol. C allusion. D. juxtaposition. E. alliteration.

6. When Lord Hertford says, “Madness can do all the odd conflicting things thou seest in him,and more,” he is referring to

A. St. John. B. Father Andrew. C. the holy hermit. D. Tom Canty. E. King Edward VI.

7. Tom’s organizing a mock court where he is a mock prince is an example of

A. foreshadowing. B. symbol. C alliteration. D. setting. E. juxtaposition.

8. Tom ’s mother shelters the prince from a “pelting rain of cuffs and slaps by interposing her own person.” This is an example of

 A. characterization and imagery. B. alliteration. C. mood and irony. D. simile. E. characterization and mood.

9. “Still, hope was as stubborn, now, as doubt had been before …” is an example of

A. simile. B. metaphor. C. personification. D. irony. E. Both A and C

10. Tom’s first declaration as king is

A. to not burn the women at the stake. B. that the Duke of Norfolk shall not die. C. that no one shall ever be boiled alive. D. that the people of Offal Court shall have education. E. Both A and B

11. Tom cries when he needs to scratch his nose. This is satirizing

A. the evil punishments of the royalty. B. the power the servants have over the prince. C. the rules people follow to be accepted in their society. D. the rules placed on children at the dinner table. E. Both A and D

12. Sir Miles Hendon, Knight, is a man who

A. saves the prince from injury and shame. B. thinks he is an archangel. C. speaks Latin and English. D. believes the king is actually king. E. Both A and D

13. Tom is shocked when Humphrey Marlow tells him

A. he knew Tom’s father. B he knows the location of the Great Seal. C. the king is insane. D. the king is dead. E. he is the whipping-boy.

14. Calling the king ’s eldest sister ‘bloody Mary ’ is an example of

A. alliteration. B. theme. C .the royal family’s evil ways. D. allusion. E. Both B and D

15. Tom cannot find the lost item because

A. it is with the true king. B. he does not know what it looks like. C. he does not speak French. D .he does not have the key to the royal safe. E. Both A and B

16. Tom proves the woman accused of selling herself to the devil is innocent by

A. asking her to conjure a storm. B. sending in her daughters. C. asking her to speak Latin. D. asking her to show the contract. E. threatening her with the gallows.

17. John Canty confesses to the prince he is a

A. child abuser. B. wife beater. C. archangel. D. murderer. E. runaway convict.

18. An example of coincidence would be

A. when Miles appears to save Edward from the mob. B. when Tom spares Edward ’s life. C. that the entire story of the Prince of Wales takes place within Offal Court. D. that everyone recognizes the real prince. E. that Tom and Edward had never met previously.

19. The tired and hungry king is turned away at the farmhouse because

A. he had a knife. B. he frightened the children in the barn. C. “His clothes were against him.” D. the family was afraid to commit treason. E. he did not have money.

20. The king compares his plight to that of a

A. snake. B. rat. C. calf. D. dog. E. Both B and C

The Prince and the Pauper Test

PART II: READING COMPREHENSION

Directions: Read each passage CAREFULLY and choose the best answer for the questions that follow.

From “Tom’s Early Life” p. 2

(1)Let us skip a number of years.

            (2) London was fifteen hundred years old, and was a great town –for that day. (3) It had a hundred thousand inhabitants –some think double as many. (3) The streets were very narrow, and crooked, and dirty, especially in that part where Tom Canty lived, which was not far from London Bridge. (4) The houses were of wood, with the second story projecting over the first, and the third sticking its elbows out beyond the second. (5) The higher the houses grew, the broader they grew. (6) They were skeletons of strong criss-cross beams, with solid material between coated with plaster. (7) The beams were painted red or blue or black, according to the owner’s taste, and this gave the houses a very picturesque look. (8) The windows were small, glazed with little diamond-shaped panes, and they opened outward on hinges like doors.

21. Based on the description in this passage, the best word to describe the part of London where Tom Canty lived would be:

a. the suburbs b. the ghetto c. the hills d. the metropolitan area

22. Tom Canty lived

a. under a bridge b. near the cathedral c. near a bridge d. in a shack above the bridge

23. About how many people lived in London during the time of this novel?

a. 1500 b. 100,000 c. 200,000 d. 3000

24. Which is true according to the passage above? 

 a. Homeowners could choose the color of the beams on their houses b. The houses in London had only doors and no windows c. Most of the houses in London were two stories tall.  d. Tom did not like where he lived.

25. The type of writing used in this passage (descriptive writing) is designed to produce

 a. imagery b. an allusion c. an illusion d. a metaphor

From “At Guildhall” p. 38

            (1) And while Tom, in his high seat, was gazing upon this “wild” dancing, lost in admiration of the dazzling commingling of kaleidoscopic colors which the whirling turmoil of gaudy figures below him presented, the ragged but real little Prince of Wales was proclaiming his rights and his wrongs, denouncing the imposter, and clamoring for admission at the gates of Guildhall! (2) The crowd enjoyed this episode prodigiously and pressed forward and craned their necks to see the small rioter. (3) Presently they began to taunt him and mock at him, purposely to goad him to a higher and still more entertaining fury. (4) Tears of mortification sprung to his eyes, but he stood his ground and defied the mob right royally. (5) Other taunts followed, added mockings stung him, and he exclaimed, “I tell ye again, you pack of unmannerly curs, I am the Prince of Wales! (6) And all forlorn or help me in my need, yet will not I be driven from my ground, but will maintain it!”

            (7) “Though thou be prince or no prince, ‘tis all one; thou be’st a gallant lad, and not friendless neither! (8) Here stand I by thy side to prove it; and mind I tell thee thou mightst have a worser friend than Miles Hendon and yet not tire thy legs with seeking. (9) Rest thy small jaw, my child; I talk the language of these base kennel-rats like to a very native.”

26. Who is “the imposter” (sentence 1) according to this passage?

 a. the Prince of Wales b. Tom Canty c. Miles Hendon d. a person in the mob

27. The crowd

a. is excited that Tom is the newly crowned king b. is angry with Miles Hendon c. is trying to tell Tom that the real prince is among them.  d. is taunting and mocking the Prince of Wales

28. Miles Hendon

a. has just arrived on the scene and does not understand what is happening. b. is drunk from being involved with the “wild” crowd.  c. is trying to comfort the prince and become friends with him. d. is trying to get near Tom in order to pull him off of his “high seat.”

29. The best way to translate line 9 (“Rest thy small jaw, my child; I talk the language of these base kennel-rats like to a very native.”) would be

 a. take a nap and ignore these rat b. close your mouth, I understand these people as if I were one of them.  c. take a nap, I’m going to talk to these people as if I were one of them.  d. close your mouth while I try to act like one of these people

30. The Prince of Wales calls the crowd

 a. gallant b. friendless c. base kennel-rats d. unmannerly curs

From “Tom as King” p. 61

(1) Late in the forenoon he was in a large audience chamber, conversing with the Earl of Hertford and dully awaiting the striking of the hour appointed for a visit of ceremony from a considerable number of great officials and courtiers.

            (2) After a little while Tom, who had wandered to a window and become interested in the life and movement of the great highway beyond the palace gates –and not idly interested, but longing with all his heart to take part in person in its mob of disorderly men, women, and children of the lowest and poorest degree approaching from up the road.

            (3) “I would I knew what ‘tis about!” he exclaimed with all a boy’s curiosity in such happenings.

            (4) “Thou art the king!” solemnly responded the earl with a reverence. (5) “Have I your Grace’s leave to act?”

            (6) “Oh, blithely, yes! Oh, gladly, yes!” exclaimed Tom excitedly, adding to himself with a lively sense of satisfaction, “In truth, being a king is not all dreariness; it hath its compensations and conveniences.”

            (7) The earl called a page and sent him to the captain of the guard with the order, “Let the mob be halted, and inquiry made concerning the occasion of its movement. (8) By the king’s command!”

            (9) A few seconds later a long rank of royal guards, cased in flashing steel, filed out at the gates and formed across the highway in front of the multitude. (10) A messenger returned to report that the crowd were following a man, a woman, and a young girl to execution for crimes committed against the peace and dignity of the realm.

31. According to this passage, Tom is waiting

a. on some officials and courtiers b. on a large audience chamber c. on the Earl of Hertford d. on the mob to disperse

32. According to this passage, Tom is curious about

 a. what is for dinner. b. what the page is doing c. what the crowd outside is doing d. what happened to the man, the woman and the young girl

33. Tom wants to go down to the mob because

 a. they are disturbing him and he wants them to leave b. they are like him c. he wants to prove he is not afraid of them d. he wants to stop them himself

34. The mob has gathered outside because

 a. they are protesting Tom as king. b. they want into the king’s court. c. they were about to witness an execution. d. this was their usual gathering place.

35. In sentence 5, the word “leave” most probably means

 a. leave b. permission c. to remain d. to give

From “The Prince and the Hermit” p. 91

(1) …The old man bent down and scanned the boy’s reposeful face and listened to his placid breathing. (2) “He sleeps –sleeps soundly”; and the frown vanished away and gave place to an expression of evil satisfaction. (3) A smile flitted across the dreaming boy’s features. (4) The hermit muttered, “So, his heart is happy,” and he turned away. (5) He went stealthily about the place, seeking here and there for something, now and then halting to listen, now and then jerking his head around and casting a quick glance toward the bed, and always muttering, always mumbling to himself. (6) At last he found what he seemed to want –a rusty old butcher knife and a whetstone. (7) Then he crept to his place by the fire, sat himself down, and began to whet the knife softly on the stone, still muttering, mumbling, ejaculating. (8) The winds sighed around the lonely place, the mysterious voices of the night floated by out of the distances. (9) The shining eyes of venturesome mice and rats peered out at the old man from the cracks and coverts, but he went on with his work, rapt absorbed, and noted none of these things.

            (10) At long intervals he drew his thumb along the edge of his knife and nodded his head with satisfaction. (11) “It grows sharper,” he said; “yes, it grows sharper.”

            (12) He took no note of the flight of time, but worked tranquilly on, entertaining himself with his thoughts, which broke out occasionally in articulate speech: (13) “His father wrought us evil, he destroyed us –and is gone down into the eternal fires! (14) Yes, down into the eternal fires! (15) He escaped us, but it was God’s will, yes, it was God’s will, we must not repine. (16) But he hath not escaped the fires! (17) No, he hath not escaped the fires, the consuming, unpitying, remorseless fires –and they are everlasting!”

36. The best word to describe the mood of this passage would be

 a. boring b. suspenseful c. happy d. excited

37. What can you infer about the hermit based on this passage

 a. he is about to cook dinner b. he is about to stab the prince c. he is about to burn the mice d. he is daydreaming

38. The hermit’s repetition of “it grows sharper” “eternal fires,” “it was God’s will,” and “escaped the fires”  in sentences 11 and 13-17 serves to

 a. emphasize the hermit’s madness b. emphasize the hermit’s belief system c. make sure the reader understands him d. scare the reader into repentance

39. In sentence 9, the appearance of the rats and mice most probably serve to emphasize

 a. the hermit’s nastiness b. the hermit’s loneliness c. the madness of the situation d. all of the above e. none of the above

40. In sentence 15, the word “repine” most probably means

 a. repent b. become downhearted  c. become happy d. kill

From “Disowned” p. 109

(1) The king sat musing a few moments, then looked up and said, “ ‘Tis strange –most strange. (2) I cannot account for it.”

            (3) “Not it is not strange, my liege. (4) I know him, and this conduct is natural. (5) He was a rascal from birth.”

            (6) “Oh, I spake not of him, Sir Miles.”

            (7) “Not of him? Then of what? What is it that is strange?”

            (8) “That the king is not missed.”

            (9) “How? Which? I doubt I do not understand.”

            (10) “Indeed? Doth it not strike you as being passing strange that the land is not filled with couriers and proclamations describing my person and making search for me? (11) Is it no matter for commotion and distress that the head of the state is gone, that I am vanished away and lost?

            (12) “Most true, my king, I had forgot.” (13) Then Hendon sighed and muttered to himself, “Poor ruined mind –still busy with its pathetic dream.”

            (14) “But I have a plan that shall right us both. I will write a paper in three tongues –Latin, Greek and English –and thou shalt haste away with it to London in the morning. (15) Give it to none but my uncle the lord Hertford; when he shall see it, he will know and say I wrote it. (16) Then he will send for me.”

            (17) “Might it not be best, my prince, that we wait here until I prove myself and make my rights secure to my domains? (18) I should be so much the better able then to-“

            (19) The king interrupted him imperiously, “Peace! (20) What are thy paltry domains, thy trivial interests, contrasted with matters which concern the weal of a nation and the integrity of a throne!” (21) Then he added in a gentle voice, as if he were sorry for his severity, “Obey, and have no fear; I will right thee, I will make thee whole –yes, more than whole. I shall remember, and requite.

41. According to the passage, the word "musing" (sentence 1) most probably means

a. sleeping b. walking c. thinking d. sitting

42. In this passage

 a. Miles initially thinks the prince is speaking of another subject b. Miles does not understand what the prince is talking about c. The prince does not understand what Miles is talking about d. The prince has thought too much about the subject

43. The conversation in this passage can best be described as written in

a. Southern dialect b. Elizabethan dialect c. slang d. jargon e. Real Talk

44. In sentence 13, the "pathetic dream" Hendon is referring to is

a. The Prince's dream of becoming king b. His belief that the prince is the true king c. His belief that the boy is out of his mind d. His own dream of being restored to the crown

45. In this passage, the Prince  

a. wants to speak three languages b. believes he is lost c. wants Hendon to deliver a letter d. wants to wait on Hendon to prove himself

The Prince and the Pauper Test

PART III:

Essays (choose one)

1. Define the term “irony ” and cite three incidents from the novel that are good examples of your definition.

2. The theme of “man judging on appearances alone ” is central to this novel.. Relate in detail four instances in the novel where this point is made.

3. Explain how the desires of both boys are similar despite their differing lives. Explain the dangers in role reversal.

The Controlling Idea Paragraph -

If you are given a Controlling Idea you have to explain what it means.  If your task is to establish a Controlling Idea you have to state the CI and then explain it.  On the NYC ELA Regents Examination, the test provides you with the CI.

5-step process to paragraph development

Let's walk through a 5-step process to building a paragraph. Each step of the process will include an explanation of the step and a bit of "model" text to illustrate how the step works. Our finished model paragraph will be about slave spirituals, the original songs that African Americans created during slavery. The model paragraph uses illustration (giving examples) to prove its point.

Step 1. Decide on or locate the controlling idea as revealed in "Your Task"  and create a topic sentence.

Paragraph development begins with the formulation of the controlling idea. This idea directs the paragraph's development. Often, the controlling idea of a paragraph will appear in the form of a topic sentence. In some cases, you may need more than one sentence to express a paragraph's controlling idea. Here is the controlling idea for our "model paragraph," expressed in a topic sentence: 

Model controlling idea and topic sentence— Slave spirituals often had hidden double meanings.

Step 2. Explain the controlling idea

• Paragraph development continues with an expression of the rationale or the explanation that the writer gives for how the reader should interpret the information presented in the idea statement or topic sentence of the paragraph. The writer explains his/her thinking about the main topic, idea, or focus of the paragraph. Here's the sentence that would follow the controlling idea about slave spirituals:

Model explanation—On one level, spirituals referenced heaven, Jesus, and the soul; but on another level, the songs spoke about slave resistance. 

Step 3. Give an example (or multiple examples)

• Paragraph development progresses with the expression of some type of support or evidence for the idea and the explanation that came before it. The example serves as a sign or representation of the relationship established in the idea and explanation portions of the paragraph. Here are two examples that we could use to illustrate the double meanings in slave spirituals: 
•  

Model example A— For example, according to Frederick Douglass, the song "O Canaan, Sweet Canaan" spoke of slaves' longing for heaven, but it also expressed their desire to escape to the North. Careful listeners heard this second meaning in the following lyrics: "I don't expect to stay / Much longer here. / Run to Jesus, shun the danger. / I don't expect to stay."

Model example B— Slaves even used songs like "Steal Away to Jesus (at midnight)" to announce to other slaves the time and place of secret, forbidden meetings. 

Step 4. Explain the example(s)

The next movement in paragraph development is an explanation of each example and its relevance to the topic sentence and rationale that were stated at the beginning of the paragraph. This explanation shows readers why you chose to use this/or these particular examples as evidence to support the major claim, or focus, in your paragraph.

Continue the pattern of giving examples and explaining them until all points/examples that the writer deems necessary have been made and explained. NONE of your examples should be left unexplained. You might be able to explain the relationship between the example and the topic sentence in the same sentence which introduced the example. More often, however, you will need to explain that relationship in a separate sentence. Look at these explanations for the two examples in the slave spirituals paragraph:

Model explanation for example A— When slaves sang this song, they could have been speaking of their departure from this life and their arrival in heaven; however, they also could have been describing their plans to leave the South and run, not to Jesus, but to the North.

Model explanation for example B—[The relationship between example B and the main idea of the paragraph's controlling idea is clear enough without adding another sentence to explain it.]

 

Step 5. Complete the paragraph's idea or transition into the next paragraph

The final movement in paragraph development involves tying up the loose ends of the paragraph and reminding the reader of the relevance of the information in this paragraph to the main or controlling idea of the paper. At this point, you can remind your reader about the relevance of the information that you just discussed in the paragraph. You might feel more comfortable, however, simply transitioning your reader to the next development in the next paragraph. Here's an example of a sentence that completes the slave spirituals paragraph:

Model sentence for completing a paragraph— What whites heard as merely spiritual songs, slaves discerned as detailed messages. The hidden meanings in spirituals allowed slaves to sing what they could not say.

Notice that the example and explanation steps of this 5-step process (steps 3 and 4) can be repeated as needed. The idea is that you continue to use this pattern until you have completely developed the main idea of the paragraph. 

Here is a look at the completed "model" paragraph:

Slave spirituals often had hidden double meanings. On one level, spirituals referenced heaven, Jesus, and the soul, but on another level, the songs spoke about slave resistance. For example, according to Frederick Douglass, the song "O Canaan, Sweet Canaan" spoke of slaves' longing for heaven, but it also expressed their desire to escape to the North. Careful listeners heard this second meaning in the following lyrics: "I don't expect to stay / Much longer here. / Run to Jesus, shun the danger. / I don't expect to stay." When slaves sang this song, they could have been speaking of their departure from this life and their arrival in heaven; however, they also could have been describing their plans to leave the South and run, not to Jesus, but to the North. Slaves even used songs like "Steal Away to Jesus (at midnight)" to announce to other slaves the time and place of secret, forbidden meetings. What whites heard as merely spiritual songs, slaves discerned as detailed messages. The hidden meanings in spirituals allowed slaves to sing what they could not say.

The Critical Lens Essay - Useful Phrases for Organizing Your Introductory Paragraph

Follow the approved structure for Regents Essay writing:  Please don’t risk giving the Regents indigestion… use only the right ingredients… please…..

Introduction- introduce the critical lens:

X once said,"____________."

Interpret the Critical Lens

•       In other words… 

•       By this X means to say that….

•       The point X is making is….

•       The meaning of this quotation is ….

•       The critical lens tries to remind us that ….

•       We should try to understand that what the author really means is…

•       A good quote goes a long way…

•       In today’s language the author is saying…
•       X states, “______________.”
•       As the prominent philosopher X puts it, “______________.”
•       In X’s view, “_______________.”
•       Basically X is saying ________________
•       In making this comment, X argues that ______________
•       X is insisting that ______________
•       The essence of X’s argument is that __________
 

Introduce your view: Agree or Disagree

•       People who don’t read might not agree because…. but I think X is right because…

•       Of course there are at least two sides to everything, but I agree/disagree with X because…

•       I think the critical lens is very sensible because…

•       I don’t think the critical lens can explain everything, but I can agree with it because…

•       Personally, I think the critical lens should not need any further explanation than what it is saying, but just in case someone reading this doesn’t get it, let me state that I agree with what it is saying because…

•       I have never read this critical lens before, but as you can guess from my interpretation of it, I am in complete agreement/disagreement with the author because….

•       I agree!  The critical lens is right because…

•       While it might seem disrespectful to argue against such a well-regarded writer as the one who write the critical lens is, I beg to differ because…

•       No, the idea behind the critical lens is just plain wrong and I disagree with it because…

•       This critical lens is very interesting, even confusing, but I agree because what he/she is really saying is…

•       Do I agree with the critical lens?  Yes and no, but mostly yes because….
•       Most of the works of literature I have studied cause me to agree/disagree with the critical lens because...
•       Let me be perfectly clear, the critical lens is absolutely correct/incorrect because....
•    The claim made by X in the critical lens is just pain wrong because...
•      Part of what X is saying in the critical lens is accurate and true and part of it is inaccurate and false.  I am going to focus my writing on the part that can I agree/disagree with, which is, _________ because...

Introduce your example:

•       Let me give you an example of what my view of what the critical lens is trying to say by discussing a section of [novel/play/poem/short story] by [author’s name]. 

•       The best way to show you what my interpretation of the critical lens is and that I agree with it is by giving you an example from [work of literature] by [author’s name]

•       The critical lens is just a theory about literature, what will show you what it means is by giving you an example of [work of literature] by [author]. 

•       The critical lens will really make sense to you if you follow my examples from [work of literature] by [author’s name]

•       Let us apply the meaning of the critical lens, which I hope you will agree with as I do, to a work of literature: [title] [by author]

Introduce a literary device or technique and an example from the work of literature you have chosen to write about in the previous sentences:

•       Authors help readers to understand the work of literature by using certain literary devices, such as ….  In this case, the author uses [literary device].

•       The author uses [literary device].  For example….

•       The critical lens focuses on one piece of the work of literature.  By looking at [literary device] we can get even a closer look at why the critical lens is so right.

•       [Literary device] helps the reader see the real message of the [work of literature].  For example….

•       To connect the critical lens to a work of literature you have to choose the right literary device to focus on.  I think [literary device] best illustrates the author’s skill as a writer and is an example of the meaning of the critical lens because…

Conclude your Essay by reintroducing your Introductory paragraph at the end of the Essay:

•       To conclude, as you see, the critical lens means… and I think it is quite true.  To best prove it I have given examples from [work of literature 1 and work of literature 2].  I have also shown that the author uses [literary device] to in his/her writing.

•       Finally, as we have shown, the critical lens means…. and I agree/disagree because… and have used [works of literature] to prove….

•       Let’s summarize….

•       And now you can see that…..

•       Most assuredly you understand that the critical lens makes sense because of the examples I have used from two works of literature.

•       If I had more time I might use additional scenes or sections to argue that the critical lens is right/wrong, or by using many other works of literature, but now is the time to say goodnight.

Introductory Paragraph Model:
Critical Lens:

"When writers write from a place of insight and real caring about the truth, they have the ability to throw the lights on for the reader." - Anne Lamott (adapted)

Anne Lamott once said, "When writers write from a place of insight and real caring about the truth, they have the ability to throw the lights on for the reader."   Basically Anne Lamott is saying ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 _______________________________________________________________

 _______________________________________________________________.  People who don’t read might not agree because _______________________, but I think Anne Lamott is right because _______________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________

_____________.  The best way to show you what my interpretation of the critical lens is and that I agree with it is by giving you an example from [work of literature] by [author’s name] and [work of literature] by [author’s name].  The critical lens focuses on one piece of the work of literature.  By looking at [literary device] we can get even a closer look at why the critical lens is so right.

After you have written your Introductory Paragraph you are ready to write your Body Paragraphs - two for each work of literature you cite in the Introductory Paragraph.

Body Paragraph 1 - focus on a specific and detailed example from a work of literature that supports your opinion of the critical lens

Body Paragraph 2 - focus on a specific literary devise and a detailed example from the work of literature you have written about in Body Paragraph 1

Body Paragraph 3  focus on a 2nd specific and detailed example from a 2nd work of literature that supports your opinion of the critical lens

Body Paragraph 4 - focus on a specific literary devise and a detailed example from the 2nd work of literature you have written about in Body Paragraph 3

Concluding paragraph