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7. ABILITY TO WRITE WELL ON A SELECTION FROM POETRY OR PROSE,
INCLUDING FICTION OR NONFICTION.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Analyze a given selection.
Demonstrate the ability to organize ideas around a focal point.
Exhibit conventions of standard written English.
Incorporate relevant content, using ample evidence.
Use elements of style that enhance the reader’s interest and understanding.
ESSAY IS ONE HOUR.
“For your essay, you will choose between two topics. The sixty minutes allotted for this
section of the exam includes time to prepare, write, and edit your essay.
The essay section represents 30 percent of the total score of the exam. Your work will be
scored holistically by two judges. The personal views you express will not be an issue; however,
the skill with which you express those views, the logic of your arguments, and the degree to
which you support your position will be very important in the scoring.
Your essay will be scored both on substance and on the composition skills demonstrated,
including the following elements: ideas, focus, organization, style (diction and sentence
structure), and mechanics (capitalization, punctuation, spelling, and usage).
The judges will use the categories [below] when evaluating your essay.”
Essay Scoring Categories:
7 – The essay has a clear thesis, unity, focus, and a distinctive style. The ideas are concrete,
plentiful, appropriate, and deep-textured. The writer uses an abundance of specific,
relevant details, including concrete examples that clearly support generalizations. A wide
variety of sentence constructions is used. Appropriate transitional words and phrases and
effective coherence techniques make the prose distinctive. Usage and mechanics are
generally accurate.
5 – The essay has a thesis, focus, and unity and is clearly written, observing the elements of
style. The writer presents a considerable quantity of relevant and specific detail in
support of the subject. A variety of sentence patterns occurs, and sentence constructions
indicate that the writer has facility in the use of language. Effective transitions are
accompanied by sentences constructed with orderly relationship between word groups.
There may be a few errors in usage, spelling, capitalization, and punctuation.
3 – The essay has some degree of unity and focus, but it is only reasonably clear. The writer
employs a limited number of specific details relating to subject. Paragraphs are usually
sufficiently unified and developed. Sentence variety is minimal. Some transitions are
used and parts are related to each other in a fairly orderly manner. The essay is at times
awkward. Usage is generally accurate. There are some errors in spelling, capitalization,
and punctuation that detract from the essay’s effect if not from its sense.
1– The essay lacks unity and focus. The writer includes very little, if any, specific and relevant
supporting detail, but instead, uses unsupported generalizations. Paragraphs are
underdeveloped and ineffective. Sentences lack variety. Transitions and coherence
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devices are not discernable. There are many errors in usage, spelling, capitalization, and
punctuation.
An off-topic essay will automatically be classified in Category 1.”
(Florida Teacher Certification Examination Test Preparation Guide for English 6-12, 3rd
edition: 9-10.)
STEP ONE
 Read the prompt and address every part of the question
 Read the prompt again
 Typical Prompt: “Using any critical approach, discuss in an essay how the language
and/or other elements contribute to the overall effect of the selection. Support your
discussion with specific references.” (Florida Teacher Certification Examination Test
Preparation Guide for English 6-12, 3rd edition: 11.)
Critical Approaches might be:
 Formalistic, Historical, Sociological, Archetypal etc.
Elements of language might include:
 Rhetorical techniques
 Strategies, devices of language
 Stylistic elements
Specific terms:
 Diction
 Imagery
 Syntax (sentence structure)
 Structure/organization
 Tone
 Point of view
 Selection of detail
Overall effects of the selection means to:
 Analyze techniques
 Convey/define attitude
 Achieve purpose
 Effect on audience/reader
 Convey point of view
STEP TWO – read the passage
 Mark/identify/annotate what the author is using
 Diction (especially connotative language and irony)
 Figurative language/sensory detail
 Unusual syntax, punctuation
 How ideas are connected/organized
STEP THREE – formulate a thesis
 Think before you write so that your essay is organized
 Don’t begin by parroting the prompt word for word
 Thesis needs to be specific - how does the author’s use of language and meaning
interact?
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STEP FOUR - Writing the body ¶’s
 Be thorough and specific: ANALYZE
 Do not simply “point out” strategies; explain how they are used
 Provide examples from the text
 Speculate as to why the author included them/what is their effect/how do they support
the purpose?
Use detail
 Quote from the passage liberally
 Use examples of diction, figurative language etc.
 Use short quotes/words/phrases - incorporate into your own sentences
 Always explain the writer’s purpose in including these devices…how do they
support the purpose? Include your example and then comment on how or why the
example demonstrates the point you are making. Why did the author include it?
Can’t remember a term?
 Don’t guess about the name of a device
 If you aren’t sure if the name is onomatopoeia or oxymoron or metonymy, then
don’t use the terms … but do include “buzz” and “loud silence” and “the crown”
… and then discuss how they contribute to the meaning
Write about what you know
 You cannot possibly explore every rhetorical device or strategy the author has
used to create the effect
 Select those for which you can explain the function and purpose.
 Don’t make things up!!!
How Long?
 There is no magical number of paragraphs
 Divide into paragraphs – don’t write one long essay
 WATCH YOUR TIME – you want to include language/examples from the end as
well as the beginning of the text
 You are rewarded for what you do well – so don’t write an unacceptably brief
essay
What style to use?
 Write to express, not to impress – use natural language - use words in your
“comfort zone”
 Demonstrate that you understand style – show how the author has developed the
selection to create a desired effect
 Maintain an economy of language – say much with few words
 Probably best to use third person (he, she, they, etc.) rather than first person
 Try to use present tense when discussing literature
 Write legibly – the readers cannot reward you for what you do well if they can’t
read it
 Let your work stand on its own merits – no “pity notes” (e.g., “I’ve been out of
college too long,” etc.)
Verbs to use
 Chronicles
 Demonstrates
 Exemplifies
 Delineates
 Depicts
 Features
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 Illuminates
 Reflects
 Utilizes
 Illustrates
 Specifies
 Portrays
 Suggests
DO NOT USE: goes, shows, tells
Some material taken from The AP Vertical Teams Guide for English
(The College Board 2002)
Language Analysis - Terms
STYLE – generally style is the author’s voice/imprint – that which makes his writing unique. It
can be urbane, formal, stiff, light, didactic, philosophical, whimsical, pompous etc.
Style is defined by considering diction, syntax, tone, point of view, structure, imagery,
literary devices, and selection of detail. In analyzing prose, you must identify and comment on
the purpose and effectiveness of the author’s choices. You must always include examples from
the selection to illustrate (words, phrases, line #s etc.).
DICTION – author’s word choice intended to convey a certain effect
Abstract
Alliterative
Archaic
Artificial
Assonance
Bombastic
Cacophonous
Cliché
Colloquial
Concrete
Connotative
Crisp
Cultured
Denotative
Detached
Dialect
Emotional
Esoteric
Euphemistic
Euphonious
Evocative
Exact
Feminine
Figurative
Formal
Grotesque
Harsh
Homespun
Hyperbolic
Idiomatic
Informal
Insipid
Ironic
Jargon
Learned
Light
Literal
Masculine
Monosyllabic
Moralistic
Obscure
Obtuse
Old-fashioned
Onomatopoetic
Ordinary
Pedantic
Picturesque
Philosophical
Plain
Poetic
Polysyllabic
Pompous
Precise
Pretentious
Provincial
Scholarly
Scientific
Sensuous
Simple
Slang
Soft
Stiff
Symbolic
Trite
Urbane
Vulgar
Whimsical
SYNTAX: sentence structure
Sentence Lengths
 Telegraphic – shorter than 5 words
 Short – approximately 5 words in length
 Medium – approximately 18 words in length
 Long and involved – 30 words or more in length (How does the sentence length fit the
subject matter? What variety of lengths is present? How is the length effective?)
Sentence Patterns
 Declarative (assertive) – makes a statement (e.g., “The king is sick.”)
 Imperative – gives a command (e.g., “Cure the king.”)
 Interrogative – asks a question (e.g., “Is the king sick?”)
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Exclamatory – provides emphasis or expresses strong emotion (e.g., “The king is dead!
Long live the king!”)
 Simple – contains one subject and one verb (an independent clause) (e.g., “The singer
bowed to her adoring audience.”)
 Compound – contains two independent clauses joined by a coordinate conjunction or by
a semicolon (e.g., “The singer bowed to the audience, but she sang no encores.”)
 Complex – contains an independent clause and one or more subordinate (dependent)
clauses (e.g., “Because the singer was tired, she went straight to bed after the concert.”)
 Compound/Complex – contains two or more principal clauses and one or more
subordinate (dependent) clauses (e.g., “The singer bowed while the audience applauded,
but she sang no encores.”)
Sentence order:
 Loose sentence – makes complete sense if brought to a close before the actual ending
(e.g., “We reached Edmonton that morning after a turbulent flight and some exciting
experiences, tired, but exhilarated, full of stores to tell our friends and neighbors.”) The
sentence could end before the modifying phrases without losing its coherence.
 Periodic sentence – makes sense only when the end of the sentence is reached (e.g.,
“That morning, after a turbulent flight and some exciting experiences, we reached
Edmonton.”)
 Balanced sentence – the phrases or clauses balance each other by virtue of their likeness
of structure, meaning, or length (e.g., “He maketh me to lie down in green pastures; he
leadeth me beside still waters.”)
 Natural order – constructing a sentence so that the subject comes before the predicate
(e.g., “Oranges grow in Florida.”)
 Inverted order (sentence inversion) – constructing a sentence so that the predicate
comes before the subject (e.g., “In Florida grow the oranges.”)
Rhetorical/Grammatical devices:
 Active/passive voice – the subject performs the action; the subject is acted upon; is used
to suggest control or lack of control (e.g., “He looked at the dead man.” “He was being
looked at by a dead man.”)
 Appositives – set off by comas, adds information
 Author asides - usually in parentheses; author intrudes on his story
 Ellipsis, dashes – slows the motion; indicates passage of time, pauses
 Juxtaposition – normally unassociated ideas, words, or phrases are placed next to one
another, creating an effect of surprise and wit (e.g., “The apparition of these faces in the
crowd; / Petals on a wet black bought.” “In a Station of the Metro” by Ezra Pound).
 Lists and catalogues
 Parallel structure (parallelism) – grammatical or structural similarity between
sentences of parts of a sentence. It involves an arrangement of words, phrases, sentences,
and paragraphs so that elements of equal importance are similarly phrased (e.g., “He was
walking, running, and jumping for joy.”)
 Participles – “ing” words – may denote motion, quick pace, action
 Repetition – the deliberate use of any element of language more than once – sound,
word, phrase, sentence, grammatical pattern, or rhythmical pattern; for the purpose of
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enhancing rhythm and creating emphasis (e.g., “government of the people, by the people,
for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”)
 Rhetorical question – a question that expects no answer. It is used to draw attention to a
point and is generally stronger than a direct statement (e.g., “If Mr. Ferchoff is always
fair, as you have said, why did he refuse to listen to Mrs. Baldwin’s arguments?”)
 Sentences which interrupt – breaks the rhythm in a passage
FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE and IMAGERY (rhetorical devices/strategies):
 Alliteration – repetition of initial consonant sound of several consecutive or neighboring
words (e.g., “The twisting trout twinkled below.”)
 Allusion – a reference to a mythological, literary, or historical person, place or thing
(e.g., “He met his Waterloo.”)
 Antithesis – involves a direct contrast of structurally parallel word groupings, generally
for the purpose of contrast (e.g., “Sink or swim.”)
 Apostrophe – a form of personification in which the absent or dead are spoken to as if
present (e.g., “Milton! Thou shoulds’t be living at this hour.”)
 Assonance – the repetition of accented vowel sounds in a series of words (e.g., the words
“cry” and “side” have the same vowel sound.)
 Consonance – the repetition of a consonant within a series of words to produce a
harmonious effect (e.g., “And each slow dusk a drawing-down of blinds.”) The “d”
sound is in consonance.
 Flashback – a scene that interrupts the action of a work to show a previous event.
 Foreshadowing – the use of hints or clues in a narrative to suggest future action.
 Hyperbole – a deliberate, extravagant, and often outrageous exaggeration (e.g., “The
shot heard ‘round the world.”) It may be used for either serious or comic effect.
 Irony –
o Verbal irony – the result of a statement saying one thing while meaning the
opposite (e.g., “It’s easy to stop smoking; I’ve done it many times.”)
o Situational irony – when a situation turns out differently from what one would
normally expect – though often the twist is oddly appropriate (e.g., a deep sea
diver drowning in a bathtub.)
o Dramatic irony – occurs when a character says or does something that has more
or different meanings from what he thinks it means, though the audience and/or
other characters do understand the full ramifications of the speech or action (e.g.,
Oedipus curses the murderer of Laius, not realizing that he is himself the
murderer and so is cursing himself.)
 Metaphor – a comparison without the use of like or as; usually a comparison between
something that is concrete and something that is abstract (e.g., “Time is money.”)
 Onomatopoeia (imitative harmony) – the use of words in which the sounds seem to
resemble the sounds they describe (e.g., “hiss,” “buzz,” and “bang.”)
 Oxymoron – a form of paradox that combines a pair of contrary terms into a single
unusual expression (e.g., “sweet sorrow” or “cold fire.”)
 Paradox – when the elements of a statement contradict each other. Although the
statement may appear illogical, impossible, or absurd, it turns out to have a coherent
meaning that reveals a hidden truth (e.g., “Much madness is divinest sense.” “The more
you know, the more you don’t know.” Socrates.)
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Personification – a kind of metaphor that gives inanimate objects or abstract ideas
human characteristics (e.g., “The wind cried in the dark.”)
Prosody – the study of sound and rhythm in poetry
Pun – a play on words that are identical or similar in sound but have sharply diverse
meanings. Puns can have serious as well as humorous uses (e.g., in Romeo and Juliet,
Mercutio is bleeding to death and says to his friends, “Ask for me tomorrow, and you
shall find a grave man.”)
Sarcasm – a type of irony in which a person appears to be praising something but is
actually insulting it (e.g., “As I fell down the stairs headfirst, I heard her say, ‘Look at
that coordination.’”)
Sensory detail – an appeal to the senses (e.g., sight, sound, texture, taste, smell)
Shift or turn – a change in movement in a piece resulting from an epiphany, realization,
or insight gained by the speaker, a character, or the reader.
Simile – a comparison of two different things or ideas through the use of the words like
or as. It is a definitely stated comparison in which the writer says one thing is like
another (e.g., “The warrior fought like a lion.”)
Symbols – any object, person, place, or action that has both meaning in itself and that
stands for something larger than itself, such as a quality, attitude, belief, or value (e.g.,
the land turtle in Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath suggests or reflects the toughness and
resilience of the migrant workers.)
Synecdoche (metonymy) – a form of metaphor. In synecdoche, apart of something is
used to signify the whole (e.g., “All hands on deck.”) In metonymy, the name of one
thing is applied to another thing with which it is closely associated (e.g., “I love
Shakespeare.”)
Synesthesia – sense mixing
Understatement (meiosis, litotes) – the opposite of hyperbole; a kind of irony that
deliberately represents something as being much less than it really is (e.g., “I could
probably manage to survive on a salary of two million dollars per year.”)
STRUCTURE: (organization) (rhetorical structure)
 Modes: argumentation, cause/effect, classification, compare/contrast, definition,
exposition, description, narration, process analysis, etc.
 Genre: prose, short story, poetry, novel, drama, sermon, editorial, satire, parody, journal,
letter, legal brief, speech, etc.
 Arrangement: chronological, flashbacks, full-circle, order of importance, spatial,
informal, formal, etc. (e.g., examine the arrangement of ideas in a paragraph to see if
there is evidence of any pattern or structure.)
POINT OF VIEW:
 Participant Point of View – first person point of view
o Narrator as a major character
o Narrator as a minor character
o Innocent-eye narrator
o Stream-of-consciousness (interior monologue)
 Nonparticipant Point of View – third person point of view
o Omniscient narrator – the author can enter the minds of all characters
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o Selective (limited) omniscient narrator – the author limits his omniscience to the
minds of a few of the characters or of a single character
o Objective narrator – the author does not enter a single mind, but instead records
what can be seen and heard
Other POV Descriptors: Adult, Child-Like, Naïve, Nostalgic, Objective, Persona,
Personal, Reflective, Scientific, Sophisticated, Subjective
TONE: (voice, attitude) the writer’s or speaker’s attitude toward the subject and audience.
Afraid
Allusive
Angry
Apologetic
Audacious
Awed
Benevolent
Bitter
Black humor
Boring
Candid
Childish
Cold
Complimentary
Condescending
Confused
Contemptuous
Cynical
Detached
Didactic
Distant
Dramatic
Dreamy
Exhortative
Fanciful
Frivolous
Giddy
Happy
Hollow
Horrific
Humorous
Irreverent
Joking
Joyful
Mock serious
Mocking
Nostalgic
Objective
Peaceful
Pitiful
Poignant
Proud
Provocative
Restrained
Sad
Sarcastic
Seductive
Sentimental
Sharp
Shocking
Silly
Somber
Sweet
Sympathetic
Tired
Upset
Urgent
Vexed
Vibrant
Zealous
SELECTION OF DETAIL:
Describe the author’s treatment of the subject matter by considering the following: Has the
author been:
 Subjective? Are his conclusions based upon opinions; are they rather personal in nature?
 Objective? Are his conclusions based upon facts; are they impersonal or scientific?
 Details? How did he support his thesis? What details are included/omitted? How many?
About what? Specific or general? Concrete or abstract? Position in selection?
Does the author use current events, personal illustrations, descriptions, allusions,
anecdotes, history, literature. Are the details religious, scientific, poetic,
sentimental, cynical, etc.
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PRACTICE ANALYSIS
SAMPLE PROMPT #1:
Using any critical approach, discuss in an essay how the language and/or other elements
contribute to the overall effect of the selection. Support your discussion with specific
references.
“Out Out! - ”
The buzz saw snarled and rattled in the yard
And made dust and dropped stove-length sticks of wood,
Sweet-scented stuff when the breeze drew across it.
And from there those that lifted eyes could count
Five mountain ranges one behind the other
Under the sunset far into Vermont.
And the saw snarled and rattled, snarled and rattled,
As it ran light, or had to bear a load.
And nothing happened: day was all but done.
Call it a day, I wish they might have said
To please the boy by giving him the half hour
That a boy counts so much when saved from work.
His sister stood beside them in her apron
To tell them “Supper.” At the word, the saw,
As if to prove saws knew what supper meant,
Leaped out at the boy’s hand, or seemed to leap –
He must have given the hand. However it was,
Neither refused the meeting. But the hand!
The boy’s first outcry was a rueful laugh.
As he swung toward them holding up the hand.
Half in appeal, but half as if to keep
The life from spilling. Then the boy saw all –
Since he was old enough to know, big boy
Doing a man’s work, though a child at heart –
He saw all spoiled. “Don’t let him cut my hand off “The doctor, when he comes. Don’t let him, sister!”
So. But the hand was gone already.
The doctor put him in the dark of ether.
He lay and puffed his lips out with his breath.
And then – the watcher at his pulse took fright.
No one believed. They listened at his heart.
Little – less – nothing! – and that ended it.
No more to build on there. And they, since they
Were not the one dead, turned to their affairs.
Robert Frost (1916)
allusion – to Macbeth
personification/onomatopoeia
alliteration
alliteration/sensory detail
alliteration/foreshadowing
imagery/symbolism
symbolism
personification/repetition
deliberately vague diction
parental attitude
them - saw + boy
connotative language
personification
connotation (handshake)
rueful laugh (unusual language)
them - saw and sister
cry for help
punctuation – use of dash
loss of innocence
foreshadowing
appeal to the sister/not parent
abrupt transition/connotation
dark - ebbing of life
Emotionless, static language
watcher – impersonal language
abrupt syntax
cold, dispassionate diction
they – impersonal pronoun
Distant and callous
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SAMPLE RESPONSE #1
The following sample response takes the Formalistic Critical Approach:
In a crisp economical style, Robert Frost describes the tragic death of a child who was
regarded as a “hired hand” and who was denied a future by his callous and indifferent parents.
In the first lines of the poem Frost uses soft and sensual language to describe the “sweet
scented” raw beauty of a New England sunset juxtaposed against the adult responsibilities
imposed on the child. Because he “was a big boy doing a man’s work, though a child at heart,”
the adults in his life, “those that lifted eyes,” might have anticipated the imminent danger of
letting a child use the dangerous “buzz” saw. While the parents are impersonal and distant, the
saw is personified as an angry and dangerous villain who “snarled and rattled” in the yard and
was intimately close to the child. Frost creates a vivid image foreshadowing the accident when
he describes the “five mountain ranges one behind the other under the sunset far into Vermont.”
The five mountain ranges symbolize the five fingers of the hand, or perhaps the saw blades
themselves, set against the blood-red sky; the boy’s parents might have predicted the tragedy, but
they did not bother to “lift eyes.”
The boy is clearly just the hired hand, unworthy of the “half hour that a boy counts so
much when saved from work.” But he is not unique in his family; it is, after all, the apron clad
sister who calls them (the personified saw and the boy) for supper. Frost extends the metaphor
when he writes that the saw “as if to prove saws knew what supper meant” attacks or literally
“eats” the boy’s hand. Ironically, the boy did not withdraw his hand, suggesting a naïve and
hopeful appeal to his parents’ sympathy, but his “rueful laugh” reveals the deeper understanding
of the child. “Neither refused the meeting,” writes Frost, implying that the boy and the saw
shook hands to close the deal; the tragedy was pre-destined and inevitable. The symbolic injury
to the hand is significant since the boy is, after all, merely a hired hand, and without the use of
his limbs he is worthless to his family.
However, the boy realizes almost immediately that “giving the hand” to the saw was a
terrible mistake; he can’t keep his “life from spilling” and he sees his future “all spoiled.”
Tellingly, he does not cry out to his parents for comfort; instead he turns to his sister to save him.
The syntax and diction of the poem change dramatically when it is clear that the boy will not
survive, and the poignant appeal to the sister is followed with an abrupt response. Using
mechanical and detached language, Frost writes, “So. But the hand was gone already.”
As the child lies dieing, he is presumably surrounded by family members who are
depicted as impersonal “watchers” and who react to his death with disturbing indifference. The
nameless parents take fright only temporarily as the boy’s heartbeat disintegrates from “little” to
“less” to “nothing!” The insignificance of the child’s life, and ultimately his death, is summed
up in the businesslike language of “and that ended it. No more to build on there.” Even the
death of their child has not moved the parents to emotion, and since “they were not the one dead,
[they] turned to their affairs.”
The title of the poem alludes to two different Shakespearian lines. The first and most
obvious reference suggests the fragile nature of life. Devastated by the loss of his wife, Macbeth
weeps, “Out out, brief candle.” Similarly, the boy’s life is a brief flickering candle, which is
snuffed out far too soon. But Frost also condemns the child’s parents with his allusion to Lady
Macbeth’s futile attempt to cleanse the imaginary “blood” which stains her hands. No matter
how desperately she commands, “Out out, damned spot,” the guilt of the murder she has
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committed cannot we washed away. Echoing the line, Frost offers no forgiveness for the parents
who murdered their own child, robbing him of his childhood, his future, his life.
SAMPLE PROMPT #2:
Using any critical approach, discuss in an essay how the language and/or other elements
contribute to the overall effect of the selection. Support your discussion with specific
references.
Off was the rumble of death. It seemed now that Nature had no ears. This landscape
gave him assurance. A fair field holding life. It was the religion of peace. It would die if its
timid eyes were compelled to see blood. He conceived Nature to be a woman with a deep
aversion to tragedy.
He threw a pinecone at a jovial squirrel, and he ran with chattering fear. High in a treetop
he stopped, and poking his head cautiously from behind a branch, looked down with an air of
trepidation.
The youth felt triumphant at this exhibition. There was the law, he said. Nature had
given him a sign. The squirrel, immediately upon recognizing danger, had taken to his legs
without ado. He did not stand stolidly baring his furry belly to the missile, and die with an
upward glance at the sympathetic heavens. On the contrary, he had fled as fast as his legs could
carry him; and he was but an ordinary squirrel too – doubtless no philosopher of his race. The
youth wended, feeling that Nature was of his mind. She reinforced his argument with proofs that
lived where the sun shone.
The youth went again into the deep thickets. The brushed branches made a noise that
drowned the sounds of cannon. He walked on, going from obscurity into promises of greater
obscurity.
At length he reached a place where the high, arching boughs made a chapel. He softly
pushed the green doors aside and entered. Pine needles were a gentle brown carpet. There was a
religious half-light.
Near the threshold he stopped, horror-stricken at the sight of a thing.
He was being looked at by a dead man, who was seated with his back against a
columnlike tree. The corpse was dressed in a uniform that once had been blue, but was now
faded to a melancholy shade of green. The eyes, staring at the youth, had changed to the dull hue
to be seen on the side of a dead fish. The mouth was open. Its red had changed to an appalling
yellow. Over the gray skin of the face ran little ants. One was trundling some sort of a bundle
along the upper lip.
Steven Crane, from The Red Badge of Courage (1895)
SAMPLE RESPONSE #2
The following sample response takes a Sociological Criticism approach:
Employing the philosophy of Naturalism and using Impressionistic and Realistic writing
styles, Stephen Crane demonstrates the senselessness of war in this excerpt from The Red Badge
of Courage.
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Naturalism, the detached and objective philosophy, which purports that man is
insignificant and powerless in a world where God or nature is indifferent to human suffering,
informs Crane’s view of war. In the novel, the young soldier runs when the rebels attack his
unit, and to justify his cowardice, he points to the squirrel that instinctively flees when faced with
danger. Crane writes, “Nature had given him a sign. The squirrel had taken to his legs without
ado...he had fled as fast as his legs could carry him.” Clearly “Nature was of his mind” and
supported his view that man has no free will and must simply react to the world in order to
survive. Later in the passage the young soldier comes to a peaceful and quiet spot where the
“brushed branches made a noise that drowned the sound of canons.” He naively believes that
Nature will protect and comfort him, but Nature is unsympathetic to his emotional pain and
instead leads him to the shocking discovery of the corpse.
The Naturalistic philosophy is supported by Crane’s use of impressionistic and symbolic
images. When the youth calms down and begins to believe that Nature will provide comfort,
Crane employs feminine and soft language and personifies nature as a woman with a “deep
aversion to tragedy.” In fact, he initially describes the surroundings with religious language: the
place is a “chapel” with “green doors”; it is carpeted in “a gentle brown” and is illuminated in a
“religious half light.” It is, in fact, the “religion of peace.” The youth believes that nature “would
die if its timid eyes were compelled to see blood.” With his emotions coloring his perceptions,
he creates his own personal impression that God will protect him from the ravages of the war.
But instead of finding peace and “greater obscurity,” he is forced to confront the realistic
consequences of war. God/Nature is apathetic and uncaring and will not provide reassurance, so
Crane uses realistic depictions of the ugly brutality of war to make this point. The calming
comfort of the “chapel” is destroyed by the horrifying confrontation with the corpse. In fact,
Crane refers to the dead soldier as a “thing,” using cold, dehumanizing language to underscore
the evil truth of war. To further suggest the fact that man is merely a puppet with no free will, he
deliberately uses passive voice. Staring at the youth through lifeless eyes, death asserts control.
“He was being looked at by a dead man,” writes Crane, emphasizing that the youth is paralyzed
by the sight of the corpse. Abandoning the soothing sensory descriptions of the natural chapel,
Crane follows with a coarse and disturbing description of the dead soldier. He now adds colors
that are “grey,” “appalling yellow,” and “melancholy green.” Using abrupt syntax, Crane
suggests that there is nothing dignified or inspiring about death. The dead soldier’s eyes have
the “dull hue seen on the side of a dead fish” and ants run over the face, “trundling some short of
bundle.”
Crane speaks loudly and clearly through the dead soldier’s “open mouth.” War, declares
Crane, does nothing but produce death and destruction, and the young soldier cannot escape this
ugly truth.
SAMPLE PROMPT #3
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59
Using any critical approach, discuss in an essay how the language and/or other elements
contribute to the overall effect of the selection. Support your discussion with specific
references.
“Richard Cory”
Whenever Richard Cory went downtown,
We people on the pavement looked at him:
He was a gentleman from sole to crown,
Clean-favored, and imperially slim.
And he was always quietly arrayed,
And he was always human when he talked;
But still he fluttered pulses when he said,
“Good morning,” and he glittered when he walked.
And he was rich – yes, richer than a king –
And admirably schooled in every grace:
In fine, we thought that he was everything
To make us wish that we were in his place.
So on we worked, and waited for the light,
And went without the meat, and cursed the bread;
And Richard Cory, one calm summer night,
Went home and put a bullet through his head.
Edwin Arlington Robinson (1897)
SAMPLE PROMPT #4
Using any critical approach, discuss in an essay how the language and/or other elements
contribute to the overall effect of the selection. Support your discussion with specific
references.
My reasons for marrying are, first, and I think it a right thing for every clergyman in easy
circumstances (like myself) to set the example of matrimony in his parish. Secondly, that I am
convinced it will add very greatly to my happiness; and thirdly – which perhaps I ought to have
mentioned earlier, that it is the particular advice and recommendation of the very noble lady
whom I have the honour of calling patroness. Twice has she condescended to give me her
opinion (unasked too!) on this subject; and it was but the very Saturday night before I left
Hunsford – between our pools and quadrille, while Mrs. Jenkinsons was arranging Miss de
Bourgh’s foot-stool, that she said, ‘Mr. Collins, you must marry. A clergyman like you must
marry. – Chuse properly, chuse a gentlewoman for my sake; and for your own, let her be an
active, useful sort of person, not brought up high, but able to make a small income go a good
way. This is my advice. Find such a woman as soon as you can, bring her to Hunsford, and I
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60
will visit her.’ Allow me, by the way, to observe, my fair cousin, that I do not reckon the notice
and kindness of Lady Catherine de Bourgh as among the least of the advantages in my power to
offer. You will find her manners beyond anything I can describe; and your wit and vivacity I
think must be acceptable to her, especially when tempered with the silence and respect which her
rank will inevitably excite.
(Jane Austen 1813)