“Dawn in the Forest”
“What Stumped
the Bluejays”
by Mark Twain
Does vocabulary make a difference?
When Tom awoke in the
morning, he wondered where
he was. He sat up and rubbed
his eyes and looked around.
Then he understood. It was a
cool morning, and the woods
were calm and peaceful. No
leaf moved; nothing made a
sound. The leaves and grasses
were wet with dew. White
ashes covered the fire and
some smoke still rose up into
the air. Joe and Huck still
slept.
When Tom awoke in the morning,
he wondered where he was. He sat
up and rubbed his eyes and looked
around. Then he comprehended. It
was the cool gray dawn, and there
was a delicious sense of repose
and peace in the deep pervading
calm and silence of the woods. Not
a leaf stirred; not a sound
obtruded upon great Nature’s
meditation. Beaded dewdrops
stood upon the leaves and grasses.
A white layer of ashes covered the
fire, and a thin blue breath of
smoke rose straight into the air. Joe
and Huck still slept.
1. *absurdity (n) –ies (pl)
absurd (adj)
absurdly (adv)
something that is absurd; ridiculously
unreasonable, unsound, or *incongruous (an
absurd argument); having no rational or orderly
relationship to human life, meaningless
2. conflagration (n)
a large disastrous fire; conflict, war
syn: holocaust, inferno
3. *credulous (adj)
credulously (adv)
credulousness (n)
credulity (n)
Add: incredulous
ready to believe especially on slight or uncertain
evidence
4. fluent (adj)
fluently (adv)
capable of flowing (fluid); capable of moving with
ease and grace; capable of using a language
easily and accurately; effortlessly smooth and
flowing (polished); having or showing mastery of
a subject or skill
5. *manifest (adj)
manifestly (adv)
readily perceived by the senses—especially by
sight; easily understood or recognized by the
mind
6. metaphor (n)
metaphoric (adj)
metaphorical (adj)
metaphorically (adv)
7. obtrude (v) -ed; -ing
obtrude (n)
*obtrusive (adj)
obtrusively (adv)
8. pervade (v)
pervasive (adj)
pervasively (adv)
a figure of speech in which a word or
phrase
literally denoting one kind of object or
idea is used in place of another
to thrust out; to force or impose without
request; to get in the way; interfere;
meddle
9. *principle (n)
principled (v, adj)
a comprehensive and fundamental law,
doctrine, or assumption; a rule or code of
conduct
consisting of first principles; fundamental;
of a primitive kind; basic, simple
a basic law or guideline
10. *rudimentary (adj)
rudimentarily (adv)
rudiment (n) -s (pl)
to become diffused through every part of
syn: permeate
Yesterday, you wrote a journal entry about five
accomplishments you would like to achieve this
year.
On a piece of notebook paper, write a developed
paragraph about one or more of those
accomplishments. Explain what, why, how, etc.
Note the directions on the poster on the board.
This is due before you leave class.
Quiz: On your own paper, answer the following.
Correct heading = 5 points
1. Who wrote “Dawn in the Forest” and “What
Stumped the Bluejays”? (3)
2. “Dawn in the Forest” is part of what larger work?
(4)
3. The author of “What Stumped . . .” starts out by
making the claim that animals can do something.
What is it? (3)
4. What did the blue jay find that aroused his
curiosity? (4)
5. What did the bluejay do with what he found? (6)
Mark Twain: A Brief Background
• real name: Samuel Clemens
• wrote The Adventures of Tom
Sawyer and The Adventures of
Huckleberry Finn
• lived 1835-1910
• childhood—Hannibal, Missouri
• worked on a riverboat—hence,
the name Mark Twain
• What else?
Figurative Language
metaphor—imaginative comparison which does not
employ the words like or as [most of the time a “be”
verb is used]
--the stated or implied equivalence of two things
“All the world’s a stage.” --William Shakespeare
“Mercy Chadham was a big haunted house of a woman.”
–Elyse Singleton in This Side of the Sky
simile—imaginative comparison using the words like
or as
“The Assyrian came down like a wolf on the fold.”
“O my love is like a red, red rose.”
–George Gordon, Lord Byron
–Robert Burns
Figurative Language
Note: Clichés are often worn-out figurative phrases
or comparisons.
1. He’s as brave as a ______.
2. She’s as slow as a ______.
3. The car broke down as soon as I bought it. It must
be a _____.
4. I was so hungry that I made a _____ of myself.
5. He’s as strong as an ____.
Figurative Language
personification—human characteristics are
given to objects, ideas, abstractions, or
animals
“Bright April shakes out her rain-drenched hair.”
--Sara Teasdale
“Time, the subtle thief of youth.” –John Milton
Figurative Language
metonymy—an expression in which a related
thing stands for the thing itself
The White House has decided.
White House = President
“There is death in the pot.”
death = poison
–II Kings 4:40
“The sword shall never depart from thine house.”
--II Sam. 12:10
sword = death, strife
house = family or descendents
Figurative Language
synecdoche—(seh-neck-doh-key)—an
expression in which a part stands for the
whole
“Blessed are your eyes for they see” --Matt. 13:16
Jesus is talking to the disciples. He uses the word eyes to
refer to the whole person.
All hands on deck.
hands = sailors
“Give us this day our daily bread.” bread = food
It can be argued that this is metonomy: bread=sustenance
Figurative Language
1. “Death, be not proud, though
some have called thee / Mighty
and dreadful . . .” --John Donne
2. “The fog comes / on little cat
feet.”
--Carl Sandburg
3. “In the sweat of thy face shalt
thou eat bread, till thou return
unto the ground.” --Gen 3:19
Choices:
metaphor
simile
personification
metonymy
synecdoche
Figurative Language
1. “Can God furnish a table in the
wilderness?” --Ps. 78:19
2. Father always provided a roof over
our heads.
3. The sun’s rays tentatively stroked
the sleeping boy’s face; then grew
bolder and tapped more vigorously.
4. “They set their mouths against the
heavens.”
--Ps. 73:9
Choices:
metaphor
simile
personification
metonymy
synecdoche
Short quiz!
Heading = 2 points
Matching. Use capital letters only. A. metaphor
B. simile
1. Life is a race to the finish.
C. personification
2. The mountains and hills will
D. metonomy
break forth into singing.
3. “Friends, Romans, Countrymen, E. synecdoche
lend me your ears.” –from Julius Caesar
4. Hollywood produces many movies every year.
5. He is like a sponge because he listens and
learns eagerly.
6. I bought a new set of wheels!
“Dawn in the Forest”
1. What is the basic structure (organization) of
this piece? [order of importance? time?
visual orientation?]
2. Twain uses strong images to describe just a
few seconds (minutes?) of time.
Find examples of the following sensory
images:
sight sound touch smell
“What Stumped the Bluejays”
1. What imaginative comparison does
Twain use to create humor in this
piece?
2. At what point in the story are you
clued in to the storyteller’s facetious
or playful intent?
3. Find at least one example of each of
the figurative language devises we
described. Metonymy and
synecdoche might be difficult to find.
Writing Assignment
• Write a descriptive paragraph (approx.
180-200 words) personifying an animal,
object or idea.
• Give it a title.
• Word process if possible (handwriting
should be NEAT)
• double space / watch margins
• Remember heading.
• An artistic presentation is part of the
grade.
• See the following slides for examples.
Writing Assignment
Examples:
Object: Turning her face toward the sun
the daisy soaked in the warm rays with
gratitude.
Animal: Smiling to herself the lynx took
careful note of the hole in the chicken wire
surrounding the blithely unaware fowl in
the farmyard.
Idea or abstraction: Anger stalked the boy
with a vengeance. With every thought,
every action, anger was ready to pounce
and give the boy a reason to succumb to
mastery.
The literary metaphor known as personification is not fantasy writing.
Personification: An object/animal/idea is described with
human characteristics, but the sense of the original
remains. The reader understands that it remains the
original object/animal/idea.
Example: The timid rabbit paused at the entrance to
the grand meadow, warily watching the arrival of the
others. The butterflies were already dancing . . . .
Fantasy writing: The object/animal/idea becomes
human or human-like. It takes on human behavior,
actions, speech, thoughts. Dialogue is often part of
this.
Example: Billy and Bobby Bunny packed a picnic lunch
of carrot sandwiches and watercress salad, and looked
forward to frolicking in the meadow all day.
Writing Assignment
Possible Topics:
Animals
lion
bear
kangaroo
hippopotamus
giraffe
deer
rabbit
lamb
ferret
raccoon
hyena
Objects
ship
bell
book
train
clock
violin
church
snowflakes
castle
sword
cross
Ideas
happiness
sorrow
death
life
hatred
music
honor
patriotism
betrayal
whimsy
truth