ESSAY #3: A SENSE OF PLACE
READING GUIDE
Henry Louis Gates’ “Rope Burn”
1. Who is Henry Louis Gates? Read his literary biography in your anthology. Also
visit my Learning Web and explore the websites on him. Go to: English 1301
Course Resources: Sense of Place: Henry Louis Gates.
2. Where did it originally appear in print?
3. What is the site he writes about? Where is it?
4. What is Gates’ primary purpose for writing: reflect, express, inform, and/or
explain?
5. Explain the title.
6. What is his thesis?
7. What legend does Gates incorporate into his essay?
8. How did the monastery get the name Debra Damo?
9. What did he expect would be his means of travel up to the monastery? What did
he actually find?
10. As you read, note Gates’ use of figurative language: any examples of metaphor,
simile, personification, allusion, symbol, hyperbole (exaggeration), and
understatement.
11. In what way is the rope ladder a symbol?
12. What word would you use to describe his tone and why?
13. What conflict does Gates encounter on his journey up to the monastery? Is the
conflict resolved?
14. Note paragraphing. In addition to the strong topic sentence paragraphs, does
Gates use dialog paragraphs, short simple sentence paragraphs, rhetorical
question(s) as paragraphs, transition paragraphs?
15. What emotional change does Gates experience?
16. Is his journey to the monastery scholarly, personal, and/or spiritual?
17. What is Gates’ primary strategy of development: narration, description,
example, definition, classification, and/or comparison/contrast?
18. Note places in the essay where you find personal commentary about the site.
19. At times does any of the personal commentary become cultural critique?
20. What strategy of conclusion does the author use?
N. Scott Momaday’s “The Way to Rainy Mountain”
1. Who is N. Scott Momaday? Read his literary biography in your anthology.
2. Where and when did this essay originally appear?
3. What site does he visit? Where is this site located?
4. Comment on the title.
5. What is Gates’ primary purpose for writing: reflect, express, inform, and/or
explain?
6. Do you detect any use of the journey motif (any variation of a visit, pilgrimage,
academic/scholarly pursuit, spiritual quest)? Note: often as part of this motif, the
author goes on a journey that leads to a transformation.
7. What is Momaday’s’ primary strategy of development: narration, description,
example, definition, classification, and/or comparison/contrast?
8. What is the tone(s) of the essay? How is this tone created?
9. What is the Momaday’s thesis? Is it stated or unstated? If unstated, articulate the
main point of the essay.
10. As you read, note Momaday’s’ use of figurative language: any examples of
metaphor, simile, personification, allusion, symbol, hyperbole (exaggeration), and
understatement.
11. What legend(s) does Momaday incorporate into his essay?
12. Note Momaday’s paragraphing. In addition to the strong topic sentence
paragraphs, does Momaday use dialog paragraphs, short simple sentence
paragraphs, rhetorical question(s) as paragraphs, transition paragraphs?
13. What strategy of conclusion does the author use?
14. Note places in the essay where you find personal commentary about the site.
15. At times does any of the personal commentary become cultural critique?