Lesson 10 – Diogenes and Alexander
Part Three
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Lesson 10 – Diogenes and Alexander
Text Appreciation
I. Text Analysis
II.Writing Devices
1.
2.
3.
4.
Diction
Contrast
Analogy
Transferred Epithet
III.Sentence Paraphrase
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Lesson 10 – Diogenes and Alexander
I.
Text Analysis
Have you
got the key
elements in
the essay?
Plot of the story
Setting of the story
Protagonists of the story
Writing techniques of the story
Theme of the story
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For
reference
Lesson 10 – Diogenes and Alexander
I.
Text Analysis
Plot: description of two legendary figures,
Diogenes the beggar and Alexander the Conqueror,
and their encounter
Setting: in a little square in Corinth, Greece
Protagonists: Diogenes and Alexander
Writing techniques: go to Writing devices
Theme of the story: go to the next page
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To be continued on the next page.
For
reference.
Lesson 10 – Diogenes and Alexander
I.
Text Analysis
Theme of the story
Men should live a free life,
a life free from the
dependencies introduced
by culture, society,
civilization and opinion.
Men are free when they
stop toiling and sweating
only for themselves. Great
men are free and they are
few in number.
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To be continued on the next page.
The theme
is summed
up at the
very end.
Lesson 10 – Diogenes and Alexander
I.
Text Analysis
Structure of the text
Part 1 (paras. 1—9) about:
Portrait : Diogenes the beggar
Part 2 (paras. 10—11) about: Diogenes’ response (as compared
to the other people’s ) to the
coming visit of Alexander
Part 3 (para. 12 ) about:
Portrait: Alexander the Conqueror
Part 4 (paras. 13—17 ) about: Alexander’s call on Diogenes
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To be continued on the next page.
Lesson 10 – Diogenes and Alexander
I.
Text Analysis
Structure of the text
Topic
Part 1 (para. 1)
Diogenes, a beggar, not a lunatic
Supporting details
Appearance
of a beggar
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Daily life
typical of a
beggar
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Attitude&
behavior of a
beggar
Sanity of a
philosopher
To be continued on the next page.
Lesson 10 – Diogenes and Alexander
I.
Text Analysis
Structure of the text
Part 1 (paras. 2-3)
topics
Diogenes’ doctrine on house & the
reason he chose to live in a cask
Part 1 (para. 4)
topic
Diogenes, a philosopher, who
preached his theory of life by his
personal practice of doggishness
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Lesson 10 – Diogenes and Alexander
I.
Text Analysis
Structure of the text
Part 1 (paras. 5-9)
topics
Diogenes, a missionary, an actual
public practitioner of cynicism, who
was different from hermits or other
great philosophers of his time
Part 1 (para. 10)
(Transitional
Paragraph)
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topic
Diogenes, in his natural state of a
free man, to receive his visitor
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Lesson 10 – Diogenes and Alexander
I.
Text Analysis
Structure of the text
topic
Part 1 (para. 11)
The preparation for the arrival
of Alexander by his myrmidons
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Lesson 10 – Diogenes and Alexander
I.
Text Analysis
Structure of the text
Part 1 (paras. 12-13)
topics
Greatness of Alexander, a young but
powerful,wise and mature Conqueror,
who determined to visit Diogenes
Part 1 (paras. 14-17)
topics
Even with a sharp contrast between the
ascetic philosopher and the all-powerful
king, the two figures had something in
common—freedom
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Lesson 10 – Diogenes and Alexander
I.
Text Analysis
Reactions to the dialogue
When Alexander asked Diogenes to request a favour
from him, Diogenes said: “ Stand to one side. You are
blocking the sunlight.”
Macedonian
officers
Greeks
Tittered
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Guffawed and nudged
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Alexander
Kept silent and
concluded they
were the only
free men alive
To be continued on the next page.
Lesson 10 – Diogenes and Alexander
I.
Text Analysis
Further discussion about the story
What did Diogenes value most in life?
Why was Diogenes called “the Dog” by his
contemporaries?
What was Diogenes’ rationale (principle) for living
so humbly?
What is Cynicism?
How do people understand Cynicism today?
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To be continued on the next page.
Lesson 10 – Diogenes and Alexander
I.
Text Analysis
Further discussion about the story
• What characteristics did Diogenes and Alexander
share? In what way were they different?
• What is the author trying to contrast in this essay?
How does he do it?
• This is an essay about two legendary figures. But
how would you describe the language style of the
essay? Is it heavy, abstract and abstruse? Above
all, is it boring? How does the author achieve this?
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To be continued on the next page.
Lesson 10 – Diogenes and Alexander
I.
Text Analysis
Retelling & summary
Retell a typical day in Diogenes’ life with the help of
the following words and phrases.
scratch, do his business, beg, squat,
scoop, stroll, scant thanks, a shower of
stones and abuses, mock, satire,
convert, barrel, inhabit, lighted lamp
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To be continued on the next page.
Try to use all
the words
provided to
complete the
task.
Lesson 10 – Diogenes and Alexander
I.
Text Analysis
Retelling & summary
Retell one of the anecdotes of Diogenes with the help
of the following words.
war scare, drill, clean, weapons,
fortifications, old cask, roll up and down
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To be continued on the next page.
Try to use all
the words
provided to
complete the
task.
Lesson 10 – Diogenes and Alexander
I.
Text Analysis
Retelling & summary
Retell the encounter of the Diogenes and Alexander
with the help of the following words and phrases.
move, contented, circle, tottering drunks,
realm, congratulate, employment, kennel, rise,
respect, sit up on the elbow, bow, acclamation,
silence, block, titter, guffaw, nudge
Please
discuss
in groups!
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To be continued on the next page.
Try to use all
the words
provided to
complete the
task.
Lesson 10 – Diogenes and Alexander
I.
Text Analysis
Retelling & summary
summary
Diogenes chose to live a completely natural life. He
refrained from luxury and all of the other dependencies
introduced by culture, society and civilization. He often
ridiculed civilized life. Through his own actual practice,
he preached his philosophy of cynicism—the belief
which disregards all the social institutions insofar as
such institutions hindered one's freedom and
independence. His encounter with Alexander, a
powerful monarch with divine status, further defines
what freedom actually is and at the same time reveals
the greatness of the two legendary figures.
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The end of Text Analysis.
Give your
summary by
contrasting the
two legendary
figures.
Lesson 10 – Diogenes and Alexander
II.
Writing Devices
Diction
1. Negative words
2. Complimentary words
3. Lexical repetition
4. Formal and informal words
5. Synonym
6. Antonym
7. Polysyndeton
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Lesson 10 – Diogenes and Alexander
II.
Writing Devices
Diction
Negation
Lying on the bare earth, shoeless, bearded, halfnaked, he looked like a beggar or a lunatic.
The author uses many negative words and expressions
to show Diogenes’s denial of civilization and social
conventions.
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To be continued on the next page.
More examples
Lesson 10 – Diogenes and Alexander
II.
Writing Devices
Diction: more examples
Negation
Having no work to go to and no family to provide for, he
was free.
Sometimes they threw bits of food, and got scant
thanks; sometime a mischievous pebble, and got a show
of stones and abuses.
They were not sure whether he was mad or not.
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Affirmative in form
but negative in
meaning
Lesson 10 – Diogenes and Alexander
II.
Writing Devices
Diction: more examples
Negation
It was not a house, not even a squatter’s hut.
No one needs privacy; natural acts are not shameful; we all
do the same thing, and need not hide them.
Affirmative in
meaning but
negative in form
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Lesson 10 – Diogenes and Alexander
II.
Writing Devices
Diction: more examples
Negation
His home was not a barrel made of wood; too expensive.
It was a storage jar made of earthenware, no doubt
discarded because a break had made it useless.
Live without conventions, which are artificial and
false; escape complexities and extravagances:
only so can you live a free life.
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The end of Negative Words.
.
Affirmative
in form but
negative in
meaning
Lesson 10 – Diogenes and Alexander
II.
Writing Devices
Diction
Complimentary words
Only twenty, Alexander was far older and wiser than his years.
… toward women, he was nobly restrained and
chivalrous.
Complimentary words are used to describe
Alexander’s greatness.
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To be continued on the next page.
More examples
Lesson 10 – Diogenes and Alexander
II.
Writing Devices
Diction: more examples
Complimentary words
Like all Macedonians, he loved fighting; he
was a magnificent commander, …
He was the man of the hour, of the century; he
was unanimously appointed commander-in-chief
of a new expedition…
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Lesson 10 – Diogenes and Alexander
II.
Writing Devices
Diction: more examples
Complimentary words
With that generosity which Aristotle had
taught him, Alexander determined to call
upon Diogenes.
With his handsome face, his fiery glance, his strong
body, his purple and gold cloak, and his air of destiny,
he moved…
Symbol of
wealth
Symbol of
royal origin
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The end of Complimentary Words.
Lesson 10 – Diogenes and Alexander
II.
Writing Devices
Diction
Lexical Repetition
Root repetition
for emphasis
They would throw sharp questions at him
and get sharper answers.
Sometimes they threw bits of food, and got scant
thanks; sometimes a mischievous pebble, and got a
shower of stones and abuse.
Intermittent repetition, in which words repeated
are separated from each other by syntactic
elements of varying length
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To be continued on the next page.
Lexical repetition:
repeating words in
different positions
in a sentence or
paragraph
Lesson 10 – Diogenes and Alexander
II.
Writing Devices
Diction
Lexical Repetition
Lexical
repetition
He was not the first to inhabit such a
thing. But he was the first who ever
did so by choice, out of principle.
Like all macedonians he loved drinking, but
he could usually handling it; …
Like all macedonians he loved fighting; …
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The end of Lexical Repetition.
Lesson 10 – Diogenes and Alexander
II.
Writing Devices
Diction
Formal & informal words
Please find more
examples in the
text.
Formal word
He was not the first to inhabit such a thing.
Informal
word
So he had one blanket—to dress him in the daytime and
cover him at night—and he slept in a cask.
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Mixed use of
formal with
informal words
creates stylistic
effect, stressing
the contrast.
The end of Formal &Informal words.
Lesson 10 – Diogenes and Alexander
II.
Writing Devices
Diction
In what way does
the author
choose to use
these synonyms?
Synonyms
General
words
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stone
pebble
mad
lunatic
live
inhabit
Specific
words
house
hut
shelter
barrel
cask
jar
Clothes
garment
cloak
get
procure
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kennel
Lesson 10 – Diogenes and Alexander
II.
Writing Devices
Diction: more examples
Synonyms
Specific
words
General
words
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broken
rugged
labor
toil
laugh
titter
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guffaw
The end of Synonym.
Lesson 10 – Diogenes and Alexander
II.
Writing Devices
Diction
Opposite
words
emphasizing
contrast
Antonyms
perishable
rough
drunk
…
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everlasting
handsome
sober
…
The end of Antonym.
Please find more
examples in the
text.
Lesson 10 – Diogenes and Alexander
II.
Writing Devices
Diction
Polysyndeton
Stress each
detail
As the market place filled up with shoppers
and merchants and slaves and foreigners,
he had strolled through it for an hour or
two.
No one needs beds and chairs and such furniture.
He was welcomed and honored and flattered.
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To be continued on the next page.
Polysyndeton:
repetition of
conjunctions in
close succession,
which has a
cumulative effect
Lesson 10 – Diogenes and Alexander
II.
Writing Devices
Diction : more examples
Polysyndeton
He spent much of his life in the…, mocking
and satirizing its people, and occasionally
converting one of them.
He was a philosopher who wrote plays and poems
and essays expounding his doctrine.
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The end of Diction.
Lesson 10 – Diogenes and Alexander
II.
Writing devices
Contrast
Like Diogenes, he admired the heroic figure of
Hercules, who labored to help mankind while all
others toiled and sweated only for themselves.
The use of as, while,
like, whereas to
show contrast.
He understood Cynicism as the others could not. conventional conduct
When a king approaches, all rise in respect.
Diogenes merely sat up on one elbow. When a
monarch enters a place, all greet him with a bow
or an acclamation. Diogenes said nothing.
Diogenes’ conduct
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Lesson 10 – Diogenes and Alexander
II.
Writing devices
Contrast: Diogenes and Alexander
Appearance
old, beggarly
living on bare earth,
shoeless, half-naked,
with single ragged
garment
Diogenes
youthful,handsome,
strong body, purple
and gold cloak, with
an air of destiny
Alexander
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manner
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like a dog
scratching,
doing
business in
public etc
Nobly
restrained
and
chivalrous
To be continued on the next page.
Contrast is to set in
Contrast:
opposition two
objects of like nature
to show their
different qualities
and compare their
superiorities.
Lesson 10 – Diogenes and Alexander
II.
Writing devices
Contrast: Diogenes & ALexander
attitude
behaviour
free and self-sufficient
austere & naturalistic
indifferent to power
Bold, composed, frank
……
Diogenes
… … Air of destiny
Generous, kind
Lying on the
ground when
visited by the
king
……
Kindly greeting
……
ALexander
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To be continued on the next page.
Scan the text
and list out
the related
information.
Lesson 10 – Diogenes and Alexander
II.
Writing Devices
Contrast: Diogenes
& ordinary people
ordinary
People
Diogenes
A mischievous pebble
A shower of stones and abuse
Scant thanks
Bits of food
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Lesson 10 – Diogenes and Alexander
II.
Writing Devices
Contrast: Diogenes
& ordinary people
ordinary
People
Diogenes
Living elaborately,
expensively, and
anxiously in a house
(furniture, clothes,
horses, servants, bank
accounts)
Living in a earthenware
jar, shoeless, half-naked
Rich, lazy, corrupt,
profit-happy, stirring,
drilling, rebuilding
Sober, taking his cask
and rolling it up and
down
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Lesson 10 – Diogenes and Alexander
II.
Writing Devices
Contrast: Diogenes
& ordinary people
ordinary
People
Diogenes
Crowding to
congratulate, seek
employment, rise in
respect, bowing,
acclaiming, tittering…
Lying in the sunlight,
contented, happy,
sitting up on one elbow,
remaining silent…
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Lesson 10 – Diogenes and Alexander
II.
Writing Devices
Contrast: Diogenes & beggars
Inhabiting in a discarded
earthen storage jar by his
own choice, out of
principle
Diogenes
Sleeping in a cask
because they could not
afford to live in a house
Beggars
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Lesson 10 – Diogenes and Alexander
II.
Writing Devices
Contrast: Diogenes & hermits
Diogenes
hermits
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Retreating to
persuade or
convert others to
his own doctrine
Living in a cask
on the street
Retreating to live
simply because
they grew tired of
human society with
its complications
Living on a small
farm, in a quiet
village, or in a
hermit’s cave
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Lesson 10 – Diogenes and Alexander
II.
Writing Devices
Contrast: Diogenes &
other philosophers
Diogenes
Talking to or
teaching those
who ever cared
to listen to, or
admired him
Other
Teaching their
famous
own private
philosophers pupils
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A crowd of ordinary
people could serve as
laboratory, specimens,
lecture halls and pupils.
Private pupils were
taught in lecture halls
etc.
The end of Contrast.
Lesson 10 – Diogenes and Alexander
II.
Writing Devices
Analogy
His life’s aim was clear to him: it was “to restamp the
currency”: to take the clean metal of human life, to erase
the old false conventional markings, and to imprint it with its
true values.
Analogy
developed
through
parallel
similarities
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The end of Analogy.
Analogy
chiefly
used for
the
purpose
of
persuasio
n
Lesson 10 – Diogenes and Alexander
II.
Writing Devices
Transferred epithet
… sometimes a mischievous pebble…
“Mischievous” modifying the person who threw a pebble
There was an amazed silence.
“Amazed” describing the people who were amazed
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The end of transferred epithet.
Transferred epithet:
an adjective
transferred from
the noun it should
modify to another
to which it does
not belong
Lesson 10 – Diogenes and Alexander
III. Sentence Paraphrase
1
He had opened his eyes…, done his business like a
dog at the roadside, … eaten them squatting
on the ground, and washed them down with a
few handfuls of water scooped from the spring.
(1)
“-ful” is used as
a noun suffix.
lifted out as if
with a ladle
had answered nature’s
call like a dog
go to 2
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Lesson 10 – Diogenes and Alexander
III. Sentence Paraphrase 2
Everybody knew him or knew of him. (1)
was familiar with
was told or read or heard
about the person
“know” and “know of” are used together to show the
contrast.
go to 3
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Lesson 10 – Diogenes and Alexander
III. Sentence Paraphrase 3
Sometimes they threw bits of food, and got
scant thanks; sometimes a mischievous
pebble, and got a shower of stones and
abuse. (1)
Repetition, the second
is followed by a
paralleled structure
A pebble playfully
thrown by a naughty
person
A pebble (a small round stone, indicating the teasing
manner of the pitcher) is sharply contrasted with a
shower of stones.
go to 4
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Lesson 10 – Diogenes and Alexander
III. Sentence Paraphrase 4
It was not a house, not even a squatter’s
hut. (2)
A crude or
makeshift
dwelling or
shelter
A general term for a
dwelling place for a
man or his family
He did not live even in a deserted hut.
go to 5
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Lesson 10 – Diogenes and Alexander
III. Sentence Paraphrase 5
He spent much of his life in the rich, lazy,
corrupt Greek city of Corinth, mocking and
satirizing its people, and occasionally
converting one of them. (2)
Appositive phrase
He chose to live among the wealthy, lazy and
dishonest citizens of Corinth, spent much of his
time ridiculing them and occasionally persuaded
one of them into adopting his belief.
go to 6
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To be continued on the next page.
More examples
Lesson 10 – Diogenes and Alexander
III. Sentence Paraphrase
use of “of”
amount
typical of
a piece of
bits of
a few handfuls of
a crowd of
a quantity of
a large corps of
hundreds of
possession
air of destiny
citizens of
man of the century the world
man of the hour
figure of Hercules
that is
the city of Corinth
the trouble of kicking
back to 5
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Please find
more uses of
“of” in the text.
Lesson 10 – Diogenes and Alexander
III. Sentence Paraphrase 6
He was not the first to inhabit such a thing. (3)
More examples
the+ordinal number
used as a noun
He was not the first man who had lived in
such a storage jar.
go to 7
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Lesson 10 – Diogenes and Alexander
III. Sentence Paraphrase
But he was the first who ever did so by
choice, out of principle.
Come and play bridge with us. We need a
fourth in the game.
back to 6
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Lesson 10 – Diogenes and Alexander
III. Sentence Paraphrase 7
But he was the first who ever did so by choice,
out of principle. (3)
More examples
Based on a principle
But he was the first to do so because he
wanted to.
go to 8
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Lesson 10 – Diogenes and Alexander
III. Sentence Paraphrase
I opened the box out of curiosity.
She began to learn to cook out of
interest, not out of necessity.
He paid a visit out of respect.
back to 7
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Lesson 10 – Diogenes and Alexander
III. Sentence Paraphrase 8
Live without conventions, which are
artificial and false; escape complexities and
extravagances: only so can you live a free
life. (4)
Inverted order
Only when you live without artificial and false
conventions and avoid complex lives can you
live a free life.
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To be continued on the next page.
More examples
Lesson 10 – Diogenes and Alexander
III. Sentence Paraphrase
Only in this way can we learn English well.
Only if all their conditions are met will the
strikers go back to work.
back to 8
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Lesson 10 – Diogenes and Alexander
III. Sentence Paraphrase 9
In order to procure a quantity of false,
perishable goods he has sold the only true,
lasting good, his own independence. (4)
Antonyms to show contrast
antonyms
Root repetition
People get only some false and easily spoiled
material goods at the cost of their own
everlasting independence.
go to 10
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Lesson 10 – Diogenes and Alexander
III. Sentence Paraphrase 10
His life’s aim was clear to him: it was “to
restamp the currency”: to take the clean metal
of human life, to erase the old false
conventional markings, and to imprint it with
its true values. (5)
Diogenes and his father were once
convicted for defacing the coins.
Life is like a metal marked with false and
conventional values. His life task is to remove
those false markings and imprint a true value on it.
go to 11
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Lesson 10 – Diogenes and Alexander
III. Sentence Paraphrase 11
The other great philosophers of the fourth
century B.C., such as Plato and Aristotle,
taught mainly their own private pupils. (6)
Contrasting the other philosophers of his time
with Diogenes himself
Other Greek philosophers of the time, such
as Plato and Aristotle, gave lessons only to
their own pupils.
go to 12
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Lesson 10 – Diogenes and Alexander
III. Sentence Paraphrase 12
Diogenes took his old cask and began to roll it
up and down. “When you are all so busy,” he
said, “ I feel I ought to do something!” (9)
Sharp contrast between Diogenes and the
Corinthian people attitudes and behavior
When the Corinthians were busy preparing for the
coming war, Diogenes rolled his cask up and down
to ridicule their silly behavior.
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The end of Sentence Paraphrase.
Lesson 10 – Diogenes and Alexander
Part Three
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