Youngstown City Schools Curriculum Project
ENGLISH / LANGUAGE ARTS - - Grade 10
Unit #4
CHARACTER COUNTS (4.5 weeks) 2013-14
SYNOPSIS: In this Unit, students will examine the importance of character - - its attributes, how it is portrayed in literature, and how it
impacts students’ lives. Students will read fiction, non-fiction, and poetry that showcases various character traits and provides students an
opportunity for reflection. A special selection is Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare. Students will use the Internet to locate information
about an intriguing image or idea or character from Julius Caesar.
STANDARDS
RL 10.3 Analyze how complex characters (e.g., those with multiple or conflicting motivations) develop over the course of a text, interact with
other characters, and advance the plot or develop the theme.
RL 10.5 Analyze how an author’s choices concerning how to structure a text, order events within it (e.g., parallel plots), and manipulate time
(e.g., pacing, flashbacks) create such effects as mystery, tension, or surprise
RL 10.9 Analyze how an author draws on and transforms source material in a specific work (e.g., how Shakespeare treats a theme or topic
from Ovid or the Bible or how a later author draws on a play by Shakespeare).
RI 10.3 Analyze how the author unfolds an analysis or series of ideas or events, including the order in which the points are made, how they
are introduced and developed, and the connections that are drawn between them.
RI 10.4 Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative, connotative, and technical meanings;
analyze the cumulative impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone (e.g., how the language of a court opinion differs from
that of a newspaper).
.
W 10.4 Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience
W 10.5
Develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach, focusing on addressing
what is most significant for a specific purpose and audience.
W 10.6
Use technology, including the Internet, to produce, publish, and update individual or shared writing products, taking advantage of
technology’s capacity to link to other information and to display information flexibly and dynamically.
W 10.9
Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.
a. Apply grades 9–10 Reading standards to literature (e.g., “Analyze how an author draws on and transforms source material
in a specific work [e.g., how Shakespeare treats a theme or topic from Ovid or the Bible or how a later author draws on a
play by Shakespeare]”).
b. Apply grades 9–10 Reading standards to literary nonfiction (e.g., “Delineate and evaluate the argument and specific claims
in a text, assessing whether the reasoning is valid and the evidence is relevant and sufficient; identify false statements and
fallacious reasoning”).
L 10.1
Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking.
a. Use parallel structure.*
b. Use various types of phrases (noun, verb, adjectival, adverbial, participial, prepositional, absolute) and clauses
(independent, dependent; noun, relative, adverbial) to convey specific meanings and add variety and interest to writing or
presentations.
L 10.2
Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing.
a. Use a semicolon (and perhaps a conjunctive adverb) to link two or more closely related independent clauses.
b. Use a colon to introduce a list or quotation.
c. Spell correctly.
YCS Grade 10 English/Language Arts: Unit 4 - - Character Counts 2013-14
1
L 10.3
Apply knowledge of language to understand how language functions in different contexts, to make effective choices for meaning or
style, and to comprehend more fully when reading or listening.
a. Write and edit work so that it conforms to the guidelines in a style manual (e.g., MLA Handbook, Turabian’s Manual for
Writers) appropriate for the discipline and writing type.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Materials
FICTION
“After 20 Years,”
O’Henry
DRAMA
Julius Caesar, William
Shakespeare
FILM
PT 109
POETRY
“Tell Me,” Shel Silverstein
“Talking,” Khalil Gibran
“A Character,” Robert Service
NON-FICTION
PT 109 essay by John
Hersey from an interview
with JFK
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Key Terms
General Vocabulary
attributes
character
level I, II, and III
questions
Literary Skills
Writing Skills
character
irony
* dramatic irony = actor thinks one thing, audience knows
another (Othello told by Iago [falsely] that Desdemona has
deceived him; but Othello believes him and kills her)
Speaking /Listening
Skills
organization
development
task
audience
purpose
* verbal irony = saying the very opposite of what is really meant
(This is as clear as mud!)
*situational irony = disparity between the result and the intent
(Tin man went all the way to Oz for a heart, when already had
one)
summary
use technology to publish
summarize
plot design
author’s structural techniques to develop ideas; e.g.,
flashback
foreshadowing
parallel plots
sub-plots
first, third person
sentence length and language
merge data with text
figurative language (to form tone)
connotative language (to form tone)
editing skills to improve the
quality of a piece
conventions of Standard
English (e.g., )
parallel structure
various types of phrases
grammar, spelling,
punctuation
author’s use of source material (e.g., mythology,
Shakespeare, the Bible, etc. )
MOTIVATION
TEACHER NOTES
1. Teacher shows picture books that illustrate “character.” Teacher asks students to define the term
“character” - - not the people in a story or movie, but the attribute of character, the inside quality.
2. Teacher asks students why character - - good or bad - - make so much difference. Teacher may need to
prompt with literature read in prior Units or a personal story.
3. Students work in 2s or 3s to identify the attributes of character (e.g., responsibility, concern for others;
loyalty; trustworthiness; risk-taking; courageous on someone else’s behalf; teacher records responses for
continued use.
[ cont’d ]
YCS Grade 10 English/Language Arts: Unit 4 - - Character Counts 2013-14
2
MOTIVATION
TEACHER NOTES
4. Students respond with a Journal entry: “________ is a person of good character in my life who has
greatly influenced me.” - - Must include (a) definition of character; (b) at least three attributes of
character; and (c) specific examples of what the person has done that has impacted the writer.
5. Teacher previews the Unit, clarifying performance expectations.
7. Teacher helps students identify personal and academic goals.
TEACHING-LEARNING ACTIVITIES
TEACHER NOTES
1. Teacher explains - - and models, as needed - - that students will be writing brief but complete responses
to the literature in this Unit. This will include technology (W10.6); drawing evidence from the text - both fiction and non-fiction (W 10.9 a. and b.); and working with peers to edit and strengthen students’
original text (W 10.5)
Teacher may need to review (using modeling and samples) - (W 10.4) re: clarity, coherence, development - - and style appropriate to task, audience, and purpose
teacher models the correct way and then the incorrect way, with students correcting the latter
(W10.9) re: draw from text how points are made, organized, developed to create the message
teacher models how to examine a text for structure - - how the author develops his/her ideas to create
the overall message
(L 10.1) re: conventions of standard English . . . (a) parallel structure and (b) various types of phrases
teacher models parallel structure and the use of various types of phrases; students need to practice this
several times
(L 10.2) re: grammar . . . spelling . . . punctuation . . . (a) semi-colon; (b) colon; (c) spelling
teacher models the correct and incorrect use of the semi-colon and colon, making sure students can
distinguish between the two and - - most importantly - - make the appropriate corrections.
“After 20 Years” (Attachment #1)
1. Teacher asks students about “characters” in a story - - how they interact to move the plot along; e.g.,
Drumline, The Blind Side, etc. Teacher may want to let students know that the author of the story “After
Twenty Years” - - O’Henry - - was in a Columbus jail when he wrote the story. Teacher may need to
give students additional background on O’Henry. (RL 10.3)
2. Teacher and students read “After Twenty Years,” the teacher having divided the piece into chunks, and
using various strategies for variety and to check for understanding; it is suggested that teacher mix-andmatch between the reading options and the checking for understanding options:
[ reading ]
a. teacher read-aloud (particularly effective for the first chunk to set the stage and pique interest)
b. individual student volunteer read-aloud
c. students read to each other in pairs
d. students read silently
[ checking for understanding ] (RL 10.3)
a. teacher asks students comprehension questions orally (or in writing) to check for understanding
b. students work in 2s or 4s to generate Level I, II, and III questions (then switch with other groups
to answer)
c. students devise bullets to summarize a chunk
3. Students write an analysis of “After 20 Years” highlighting the “irony” of the ending, and citing hints that
O’Henry provided along the way.
[ cont’d ]
YCS Grade 10 English/Language Arts: Unit 4 - - Character Counts 2013-14
3
TEACHING-LEARNING ACTIVITIES
TEACHER NOTES
NOTE to TEACHERS
a. if needed, additional worksheets for “After 20 Years” are available at
http://www.alvinphillips.com/hlperson/7/lit/7lit6.pdf
b. if needed, audio recording of “After 20 Years” is at
http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&v=W5P-vf0PpnQ&feature=endscreen
4. Teacher walks through the “structure” of O’Henry’s text . . . including the “irony” of a surprise ending.

then

etc
Event 2
Event 1




or, whatever structure is used, including a. – f. below, and how their combinations create the effect of
mystery, humor, etc.
a. flashback ( add <- - - - back arrow)
b. foreshadowing ( add - - - - -> forward arrow)
c. parallel plots ( rather than one sequence of boxes, two or three sets to reflect parallel plots )
[ e.g., in a murder mystery, catching the murderer is one plot, the detective and the maid
developing a relationship is a parallel plot, and the gardener’s growing resentment over the
years is another plot ]
d. sub-plots ( side-plots stemming off main plot )
[ e.g., in the murder mystery, the man who was killed was a wealthy oil man but loved to bet on
horses as a hobby; this is a sub-plot of the main plot. ]
e. first, third person
f. sentence length and language (RL 10.5)
POETRY [ teacher intersperses as chooses ] Attachment #2
6. Students will be writing brief but complete responses to poetry. This will include technology (W10.6);
drawing evidence from the text - - both fiction and non-fiction (W 10.9 a. and b.); and working with peers to
edit and strengthen students’ original text (W 10.5)
[ “Tell Me” ]
7. Teacher asks students to read “Tell Me” by Shel Silverstein - - first silently, then aloud (perhaps in a choral
read-aloud? ). Together, they discuss the character implications of the attributes presented. (RI 10.3)
8. Students write an answer to the poet, reflecting character traits, and imagining the poet to be themselves.
Make sure they use a tone consistent with the poet and account for the paradox of “tell me I’m perfect, but
tell me the truth.” (RI 10.3; W 10.4; W 10.9; L 10.1; L 10.2)
[ “Talking” ]
9. Teacher reads “Talking” by Khalil Gibran aloud to students, as students follow along. The students read in
pairs (or 3s), one reading to the other lines 1-5, then switch for lines 6-10, then switch again for lines 11-15.
The listening students underline key details.
10. Teacher leads class back through an analysis of the structure of the poem - - how Gibran unfolds his
thoughts about thinking versus speaking and including the shift from what seems his total disapproval of all
speaking to his suggestions that as we meet a friend, allow the spirit to determine what we say. Teacher
focuses on figurative language and connotation and their impact on tone. (RI 10.3; RI 10.4)
11. Students write a response to Gibran, articulating their reaction to the poem (like or dislike, and why) and
include a personal reaction (including an example from one’s own life ) of AT LEAST one of the following
lines:  lines 3 and 4
 line 5
 line 6
 lines 7-9
 lines 10, 11  lines 14, 15
(RI 10.3; W 10.4; W 10.9; L 10.1; L 10.2)
[ cont’d ]
YCS Grade 10 English/Language Arts: Unit 4 - - Character Counts 2013-14
4
TEACHING-LEARNING ACTIVITIES
TEACHER NOTES
[ “A Character” ]
12. Teacher asks students to volunteer to read the poem aloud (e.g., by the verse, or 4 lines at a time);
teacher asks students how this poem differs from the other two (i.e., rhyme scheme, regular meter, direct
message, etc.). Class walks through the poem, interpreting what Service means by each couplet.
13. Students write a “promissory note” to themselves as to HOW they will work on becoming a “character” in
the sense that Mr. Service means. The promise should allude to at least two lines in each verse and how
the student intends to accomplish those traits. (RI 10.3; RI 10.4; W 10.4; W 10.9; L 10.1; L 10.2)
NON-FICTION “PT 109” [ Attachment #3 ]
14. Teacher introduces the Non-Fiction piece, the article from the interview with JFK. Asks students if NonFiction typically deals with Character ? Teacher prompts students to think of times in the news when
individuals demonstrated great strength of character to step up and take risks in spite of opposition or the
popular, safe thing to do. Note that in times of stress, our character is often exposed inadvertently.
15. Teacher gives background of John F. Kennedy. Use the timeline of the War (Europe, the Pacific) to put
this episode into perspective. Later, JFK became a U.S. Senator and then the President.
NOTE TO TEACHER: It is strongly suggested that you pre-read the PT 109 article and divide it into
digestible chunks to expedite reading. May preview with students ahead of each section, or “note-to-self” for
later discussion - a. particularly important details that contribute to author’s overall message (RI 10.3)
b. particularly difficult words and phrases that are essential to the meaning of the piece. As that chunk
is read, teacher draws attention to meaning from context, whether it is figurative, if it has any
connotative significance, and its technical meaning. (RI 10.4) [ See Attachment #4 ]
16. Teacher and students read the “PT 109” piece, using a variety of strategies; e.g,
[ reading ]
a. teacher read-aloud (particularly effective for the first chunk to set the stage and pique interest)
b. individual student volunteer read-aloud
c. students read to each other in pairs
d. students read silently
[ check for understanding ] (RI 10.3 and RI 10.4)
a. teacher asks students comprehension questions orally (or in writing) to check for understanding
b. students share out key details and terms/phrases lists (Attachment #4)
17. Teacher leads discussion to draw article together, synthesize author’s major intent and message. To
help students summarize the points made, try the following:
a. What questions would you ask JFK if he were still with us?
b. How does the author unfold events to make his point? Would you do anything differently to make
the message more effective?
18. Students complete a Journal prompt about how the “Survival” piece displayed the attributes of
Character, and what lessons each learned to apply to his or her own Character development.
DRAMA [ Julius Caesar ]
NOTE: The vernacular version of Julius Caesar is available in the text. There may also be a few copies of
No Fear Shakespeare - - Julius Caesar to use, if preferred. It shows the vernacular side-by-side with
modern English. But teachers are urged to be sure students experience SOME of the vernacular to get a
sense of the “Shakespeare” aura. For another look, see
http://nfs.sparknotes.com/juliuscaesar/page_194.html
[ cont’d ]
YCS Grade 10 English/Language Arts: Unit 4 - - Character Counts 2013-14
5
TEACHING-LEARNING ACTIVITIES
TEACHER NOTES
19. Introduction. Teacher provides / previews background information on (a) Shakespeare (the Globe
Theater, the Elizabethan culture, the language of the day, universal themes; and (b) the times of Julius
Caesar (e.g., the Roman Empire, democratic government, Roman architectural and cultural
accomplishments, etc.). Teacher may use YouTube to provide audio-visual reference. One
recommended site is: http://Teacher.com/LA/Fountainebleauhighschool/MrsRhodus/Juliius-Caesar
20. Act I : (Exposition) Teacher and students read together - - perhaps in parts, then discuss the key
details and projected development of the story. Students prepare a written summary of Act I. (RL
10.3; RL 10.5)
21. Acts II-V : (Rising Action, Climax, Falling Action) Teacher and students read the remaining Acts,
using various strategies:  group oral read  silent read  film clips
22. Students process information following each Act; e.g., [ see following list ] (RL 10.3; RL 10.5)
a. write a summary
b. write Level I, II, and III questions to exchange with other students
c. write a note to one of the characters about something in the Act they really LIKED or DID NOT
d. write a note to Shakespeare about something in the Act they really LIKED or DID NOT
(RL 10.3; W 10.4)
23. Teacher and students synthesize Julius Caesar, focusing on key themes, images, and references to - a. Mythology - - The Colossus of Rhodes (one of the 7 Wonders of the World)
b. The Bible - - Romans 15:1 (bear one another’s burdens); Genesis 6-8 (the Great Flood)
(RL 10.9)
TRADITIONAL ASSESSMENT
TEACHER NOTES
1. Unit Test ( consisting of multiple choice and 2- and 4-point essay items )
2. Journals / Notebook entries
3. Evaluate his and her personal and academic goals for the Unit.
AUTHENTIC ASSESSMENT
TEACHER NOTES
Each student will - 1. Analyze a passage from a NEW (not read during the Unit) FICTION passage dealing with Character; ;
from that analysis, students will - a. analyze how complex characters develop over the course of a text, interact with other characters,
and advance the plot or develop the theme. (RL 10.3)
b. analyze how an author’s choices concerning how to structure a text, order events within it (e.g.,
parallel plots), and manipulate time (e.g., pacing, flashbacks) create such effects as mystery,
tension, or surprise (RL 10.5)
2. Analyze a passage from a NEW (not read during the Unit) NON-FICTION text dealing with leadership;;
from that analysis, the student will - a. analyze how the author unfolds an analysis or series of ideas or events, including the order in
which the points are made, how they are introduced and developed, and the connections that are
drawn between them. (RI 10.3)
b. determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative,
connotative, and technical meanings; analyze the cumulative impact of specific word choices on
meaning and tone (RI 10.4)
YCS Grade 10 English/Language Arts: Unit 4 - - Character Counts 2013-14
6
AUTHENTIC ASSESSMENT
1. Please read Text #1 - - “The Red Apples.” Then complete the prompts that following it.
Text #1 The Red Apples
One windy day in March, Kitty Miller was on her way to school when she glanced into a
store window and saw a great pile of lovely red apples. "Oh", she exclaimed, "how lovely! If only
Mamma could have one!"
Kitty’s mother was extremely poor. She had been a dressmaker ever since Kitty’s father died
and had to work hard to earn a living for herself and Kitty. Unfortunately, she had recently
become very sick and was obliged to lie in bed all day long. When Kitty was away at school, the
house was incredibly lonesome. She missed her little angel - - that is what she called Kitty. Kitty
took great care of her mother. She cooked her food, mostly soup. They could not afford fresh
fruit. Kitty would even sing to her mother at night.
When Kitty reached the school that day, her thoughts were full of her sick mother and the
lovely red apples. She was usually an excellent student, but that day she made so many blunders
that the teacher looked at her in surprise. The little girl could only sit at her desk, with her book
and dream of those red apples.
When school was dismissed, Kitty started slowly homeward. She had walked only a short
distance when she saw a man in front of her drop his wallet. Running quickly forward, she
picked it up. The wallet felt quite heavy in Kitty's little hand. "There must be a good deal of
money in it," thought Kitty. "How I wish I could keep it, so that I would then be able to purchase
a red apple for Mamma and so many other things she needs."
Kitty knew this would not be right, so she hurried after the man. Touching him on the arm,
she said, "Please, Sir, you dropped your wallet back there." "Thank you, dear," said the man
taking the wallet. Then, noticing how poorly she was dressed, he said, "Why did you not keep the
wallet, my child?" “Because that would be stealing," replied Kitty. "But," she confessed honestly,
"before I thought I must give it back to you, I did wish I could keep it, for then I could buy
Mamma a red apple."
The gentleman smiled kindly and said, "You are a good little girl to return my wallet. I
would like to give you a little present and then you can buy a red apple." He handed her a dollar
and then said goodbye. Kitty was so surprised that she started hastily for home, forgetting all
about the red apples until she stood in front of the store. The store owner happened to look out
and saw the same little girl who stood looking so longingly in at his window in the morning. He
quickly picked out the biggest, roundest, reddest apple he could find. He took it out to Kitty and
said, "Would you like this one, my dear?" She took the apple and gave him the dollar. “No
charge,” he said, returning it. She thanked him - - “for my mother,” and the good man thought
of it for many a day.
When Kitty reached home with her treasures, she found her mother fast asleep. She put
the apple and dollar on a plate where her mother could see them when she awoke. When Mrs.
Miller was told the wonderful story, she kissed her little daughter and said, "What have we learned
from this wonderful day?"
YCS Grade 10 English/Language Arts: Unit 4 - - Character Counts 2013-14
7
AUTHENTIC ASSESSMENT p. 2
a. Explain in a paragraph, bullets, or with a diagram how Kitty develops over the course of the story, interacts
with other characters, and develops the author’s theme. (RL 10.3)
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
[ cont’d ]
YCS Grade 10 English/Language Arts: Unit 4 - - Character Counts 2013-14
8
AUTHENTIC ASSESSMENT p. 3
b. Use the following boxes to indicate the sequence of events used by the author to tell the story. Explain in
the space provided how this order of events created the author’s desired effect for the ending. (RL 10.5)
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
c. In your opinion, what was the author’s desired effect? __________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
YCS Grade 10 English/Language Arts: Unit 4 - - Character Counts 2013-14
9
AUTHENTIC ASSESSMENT p. 4
2. Please read Text #2 - - “Maria Bashir - - Law Enforcer.” Then complete the prompts that follow.
Text #2 “Maria Bashir - - Law Enforcer”
by Aryn Baker
Being prosecutor general can be a thankless task in any country. In Afghanistan,
where the rule of law has yet to take root, it can be downright demoralizing.
Evidence collection is weak, police are corrupt, and witnesses are easily intimidated.
Bashir has previously said life is ‘tough’ for her as a woman. She told BBC last year:
“I can’t go shopping or go around easily. It is a very dull and difficult life for a
woman.” Yet Maria Bashir, 40, Afghanistan's only female prosecutor general, defies
the odds - - and the death threats - - to battle oppression and enforce human rights.
Bashir defends herself, saying that “justice to everyone” is “part of our job.” Maria
Bashir has been labeled Afghanistan's "fearless female prosecutor" and lauded as
one of the most 100 most influential people in the world. In 2011, Bashir was
described as battling “corruption, crime and domestic abuse” when she was made
one of Time magazine’s 100 most influential people.
On paper, Afghanistan's laws protecting the rights of women are robust. In reality
they are ignored. Bashir's campaign to enforce the laws - - in 2010 she handled 87
cases on behalf of victims of domestic abuse, including forced child marriage - - may
seem like the task of Sisyphus, but she is establishing precedents that will become
the foundations of a just and equal society. As with the clandestine school for girls
that she ran while the country was under the Taliban's rule, Bashir's influence may
not be immediately apparent. But in a generation, it will bear fruit.
Although Bashir is a fearless champion of women’s rights in Afghanistan, she is also
the judge most likely to jail wives for 'moral crimes' like adultery. According to an
analysis by The London Times (£) Maria Bashir, who has rubbed shoulders with
Hillary Clinton and Michelle Obama, has jailed 100 women for adultery. The paper
notes 101 women in the jail in the region where she is lead prosecutor, Herat, were
put in prison for zina, or sex outside marriage. “I want to convey the message to
Afghan women around the world and encourage them to their part to rebuild this
country. . . because everyone is responsible for restoring our moral fiber.” she said.
YCS Grade 10 English/Language Arts: Unit 4 - - Character Counts 2013-14
10
AUTHENTIC ASSESSMENT p. 5
a. Show how the author unfolds the ideas in the passage, including the order in which the points are made and
the author’s attempt to make connections. Draw arrows between and among the points as needed. (RI 10.3)
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
b. What important details or ideas do you feel the author has left out ? (RI 10.3)
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
YCS Grade 10 English/Language Arts: Unit 4 - - Character Counts 2013-14
11
[ cont’d ]
AUTHENTIC ASSESSMENT p. 6
c. In Greek mythology, Sisyphus was the King of Corinth. He had a run-in with Zeus (the
ruler of the gods) and as punishment was made to roll a huge boulder up a steep hill.
Just as he got near the top, the massive stone would always roll back down, forcing him
to begin again. And again. And again. In the selection about Maria Bashir, her task is
likened to that of Sisyphus. Why did the author use that particular myth? (RL 10.9)
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
d
Look at the boxed words in the text. Complete the following table. (RI 10.4)
term or phrase
meaning in context
figurative? If so, interpret.
connotative ? If so, how?
demoralizing
witnesses are easily
intimidated
oppression
lauded
robust
clandestine
may not be immediately
apparent but in a generation,
will bear fruit
YCS Grade 10 English/Language Arts: Unit 4 - - Character Counts 2013-14
12
Attachment #1
“After 20 Years” by O’Henry
The policeman on the beat moved up the avenue impressively. The impressiveness was habitual and not for show,
for spectators were few. The time was barely 10 o'clock at night, but chilly gusts of wind with a taste of rain in them
had well nigh depeopled the streets.
Trying doors as he went, twirling his club with many intricate and artful movements, turning now and then to cast his
watchful eye adown the pacific thoroughfare, the officer, with his stalwart form and slight swagger, made a fine
picture of a guardian of the peace. The vicinity was one that kept early hours. Now and then you might see the lights
of a cigar store or of an all-night lunch counter; but the majority of the doors belonged to business places that had
long since been closed.
When about midway of a certain block the policeman suddenly slowed his walk. In the doorway of a darkened
hardware store a man leaned, with an unlighted cigar in his mouth. As the policeman walked up to him the man
spoke up quickly.
"It's all right, officer," he said, reassuringly. "I'm just waiting for a friend. It's an appointment made twenty years ago.
Sounds a little funny to you, doesn't it? Well, I'll explain if you'd like to make certain it's all straight. About that long
ago there used to be a restaurant where this store stands--'Big Joe' Brady's restaurant."
"Until five years ago," said the policeman. "It was torn down then."
The man in the doorway struck a match and lit his cigar. The light showed a pale, square-jawed face with keen
eyes, and a little white scar near his right eyebrow. His scarfpin was a large diamond, oddly set.
"Twenty years ago to-night," said the man, "I dined here at 'Big Joe' Brady's with Jimmy Wells, my best chum, and
the finest chap in the world. He and I were raised here in New York, just like two brothers, together. I was eighteen
and Jimmy was twenty. The next morning I was to start for the West to make my fortune. You couldn't have dragged
Jimmy out of New York; he thought it was the only place on earth. Well, we agreed that night that we would meet
here again exactly twenty years from that date and time, no matter what our conditions might be or from what
distance we might have to come. We figured that in twenty years each of us ought to have our destiny worked out
and our fortunes made, whatever they were going to be."
"It sounds pretty interesting," said the policeman. "Rather a long time between meets, though, it seems to me.
Haven't you heard from your friend since you left?"
"Well, yes, for a time we corresponded," said the other. "But after a year or two we lost track of each other. You see,
the West is a pretty big proposition, and I kept hustling around over it pretty lively. But I know Jimmy will meet me
here if he's alive, for he always was the truest, stanchest old chap in the world. He'll never forget. I came a thousand
miles to stand in this door to-night, and it's worth it if my old partner turns up."
YCS Grade 10 English/Language Arts: Unit 4 - - Character Counts 2013-14
13
Attachment #1, p.2
The waiting man pulled out a handsome watch, the lids of it set with small diamonds.
"Three minutes to ten," he announced. "It was exactly ten o'clock when we parted here at the restaurant door."
"Did pretty well out West, didn't you?" asked the policeman.
"You bet! I hope Jimmy has done half as well. He was a kind of plodder, though, good fellow as he was. I've
had to compete with some of the sharpest wits going to get my pile. A man gets in a groove in New York. It
takes the West to put a razor-edge on him."
The policeman twirled his club and took a step or two.
"I'll be on my way. Hope your friend comes around all right. Going to call time on him sharp?"
"I should say not!" said the other. "I'll give him half an hour at least. If Jimmy is alive on earth he'll be here by
that time. So long, officer."
"Good-night, sir," said the policeman, passing on along his beat, trying doors as he went.
There was now a fine, cold drizzle falling, and the wind had risen from its uncertain puffs into a steady blow.
The few foot passengers astir in that quarter hurried dismally and silently along with coat collars turned high
and pocketed hands. And in the door of the hardware store the man who had come a thousand miles to fill an
appointment, uncertain almost to absurdity, with the friend of his youth, smoked his cigar and waited.
About twenty minutes he waited, and then a tall man in a long overcoat, with collar turned up to his ears,
hurried across from the opposite side of the street. He went directly to the waiting man.
"Is that you, Bob?" he asked, doubtfully.
"Is that you, Jimmy Wells?" cried the man in the door.
"Bless my heart!" exclaimed the new arrival, grasping both the other's hands with his own. "It's Bob, sure as
fate. I was certain I'd find you here if you were still in existence. Well, well, well! --twenty years is a long time.
The old gone, Bob; I wish it had lasted, so we could have had another dinner there. How has the West treated
you, old man?"
"Bully; it has given me everything I asked it for. You've changed lots, Jimmy. I never thought you were so tall by
two or three inches."
"Oh, I grew a bit after I was twenty."
YCS Grade 10 English/Language Arts: Unit 4 - - Character Counts 2013-14
14
Attachment #1, p.3
"Doing well in New York, Jimmy?"
"Moderately. I have a position in one of the city departments. Come on, Bob; we'll go around to a place I know
of, and have a good long talk about old times."
The two men started up the street, arm in arm. The man from the West, his egotism enlarged by success, was
beginning to outline the history of his career. The other, submerged in his overcoat, listened with interest.
At the corner stood a drug store, brilliant with electric lights. When they came into this glare each of them turned
simultaneously to gaze upon the other's face.
The man from the West stopped suddenly and released his arm.
"You're not Jimmy Wells," he snapped. "Twenty years is a long time, but not long enough to change a man's
nose from a Roman to a pug."
"It sometimes changes a good man into a bad one, said the tall man. "You've been under arrest for ten minutes,
'Silky' Bob. Chicago thinks you may have dropped over our way and wires us she wants to have a chat with you.
Going quietly, are you? That's sensible. Now, before we go on to the station here's a note I was asked to hand
you. You may read it here at the window. It's from Patrolman Wells."
The man from the West unfolded the little piece of paper handed him. His hand was steady when he began to
read, but it trembled a little by the time he had finished. The note was rather short.
"Bob: I was at the appointed place on time. When you struck the match to light your cigar I saw it was the face of
the man wanted in Chicago. Somehow I couldn't do it myself, so I went around and got a plain clothes man to do
the job. JIMMY."
YCS Grade 10 English/Language Arts: Unit 4 - - Character Counts 2013-14
15
Attachment #2
“Tell Me”
by Shel Silverstein
[1]
Tell me I'm clever,
[2]
Tell me I'm kind,
[3]
Tell me I'm talented,
[4]
Tell me I'm cute,
[5]
Tell me I'm sensitive,
[6]
Graceful and wise,
[7]
Tell me I'm perfect - -
[8]
But tell me the truth.
YCS Grade 10 English/Language Arts: Unit 4 - - Character Counts 2013-14
16
Attachment #2, p. 2
“Talking”
by Khalil Gibran
[1]
And then a scholar said, "Speak of Talking."
[2]
And he answered, saying:
[3]
You talk when you cease to be at peace with your thoughts;
[4]
And when you can no longer dwell in the solitude of your heart you live in your lips, and sound is a
diversion and a pastime.
[5]
And in much of your talking, thinking is half murdered.
[6]
For thought is a bird of space, that in a cage of words many indeed unfold its wings but cannot fly.
[7]
There are those among you who seek the talkative through fear of being alone.
[8]
The silence of aloneness reveals to their eyes their naked selves and they would escape.
[9]
And there are those who talk, and without knowledge or forethought reveal a truth which they
themselves do not understand.
[ 10 ]
And there are those who have the truth within them, but they tell it not in words.
[ 11 ]
In the bosom of such as these the spirit dwells in rhythmic silence.
[ 12 ]
When you meet your friend on the roadside or in the market place, let the spirit in you move your lips
and direct your tongue.
[ 13 ]
Let the voice within your voice speak to the ear of his ear;
[ 14 ]
For his soul will keep the truth of your heart as the taste of the wine is remembered
[ 15 ]
When the color is forgotten and the vessel is no more.
YCS Grade 10 English/Language Arts: Unit 4 - - Character Counts 2013-14
17
Attachment #2, p. 3
“A Character”
by Robert Service
[1]
How often do I wish I were
What people call a character;
A ripe and cherubic old chappie
Who lives to make his fellows happy;
With in his eyes a merry twinkle,
And round his lips a laughing wrinkle;
Who radiating hope and cheer
Grows kindlier with every year.
[9]
For this ideal let me strive,
And keep the lad in me alive;
Nor argument nor anger know,
But my own way serenely go;
The woes of men to understand,
Yet walk with humor hand in hand;
To love each day and wonder why
Folks are not so jocund as I.
[ 17 ]
So be you simple, decent, kind,
With gentle heart and quiet mind;
And if to righteous anger stung,
Restrain your temper and your tongue.
Let thought for others be your guide,
And patience triumph over pride . . .
With charity for those who err,
Live life so folks may say you were - God bless your heart ! - - A Character.
YCS Grade 10 English/Language Arts: Unit 4 - - Character Counts 2013-14
18
Attachment #3
SURVIVAL: THE STORY OF PT-109
The following story entitled SURVIVAL appeared in NEW YORKER magazine in early 1944. It was
written by journalist John Hersey from notes taken while he visited John Fitzgerald Kennedy in the New
England Baptist Hospital in Boston a few months after the events of August 1-2 1943. JFK was
recuperating from malaria and surgery on his back. The disc between his fifth lumbar vertebra and his
sacrum had ruptured during the crash in the Solomons. JFK agreed to the interview and asked Hersey
to also talk with some of his crew. They filled in the gaps.
The New Yorker article formed the basis of the movie PT-109 which came out 17 years later, in 1961,
while JFK was president. For the enjoyment of Orwell Today readers I've posted "Survival" below. It's
the most thorough description of the sinking and rescue than anything else that's been written, coming
as it does right from the horses' mouths. I took it from the original NEW YORKER article, which was
copied into the book JOHN FITZGERALD KENNEDY... AS WE REMEMBER HIM, by JFK's mother,
father, wife, brother and other family, friends and intimate associates, published by Columbia Records
as a Legacy Collection Book in New York, 1965. ~ Jackie Jura
“SURVIVAL”
by John Hersey, New Yorker Magazine, 1944
(as told to him by JFK and other PT 109 crew members
a few months after the events of August 2 thru 8, 1943)
It seems that Kennedy's PT, the 109, was out one night with a squadron patrolling Blackett Strait, in
mid-Solomons Blackett Strait is a patch of water bounded on the northeast by the volcano called
Kolombangara, on the west by the island of Vella Lavella, on the south by the island of Gizo and a
string of coral-fringed islets, and on the east by the bulk of New Georgia.
The boats were working about forty miles away from their base on the island of Rendova, on the south
side of New Georgia. They had entered Blackett Strait, as was their habit, through Ferguson Passage,
between the coral islets and New Georgia.
YCS Grade 10 English/Language Arts: Unit 4 - - Character Counts 2013-14
19
Attachment #3, p. 2
The night was a starless black and Japanese destroyers were around, It was about 2:30 a.m. The
109, with three officers and ten enlisted men aboard, was leading three boats on a sweep for a
target. An officer named George Ross was up on the bow, magnifying the void with binoculars.
Kennedy was at the wheel, and he saw Ross turn and point into the darkness. The man in the
forward machine-gun turret shouted, "Ship at two o'clock!" Kennedy saw a shape and spun the wheel
to turn for an attack, but the 109 answered sluggishly. She was running slowly on only one of her
three engines, so as to make a minimum wake and avoid detection from the air. The shape became
a Japanese destroyer, cutting through the night at forty knots and heading straight for the 109. The
thirteen men on the PT hardly had time to brace themselves. Those who saw the Japanese ship
coming were paralyzed by fear in a curious way: they could move their hands but not their feet.
Kennedy whirled the wheel to the left, but again the 109 did not respond. Ross went through the
gallant but futile motions of slamming a shell into the breach of the 37-millimetre anti-tank gun which
had been temporarily mounted that very day, wheels and all, on the foredeck. The urge to bolt and
dive over the side was terribly strong, but still no one was able to move; all hands froze to their battle
stations. Then the Japanese crashed into the 109 and cut her right in two.The sharp enemy forefoot
struck the PT on the starboard side about fifteen feet from the bow and crunched diagonally across
with a racking noise. The PT's wooden hull hardly even delayed the destroyer. Kennedy was thrown
hard to the left in the cockpit, and he thought, "This is how it feels to be killed." In a moment he found
himself on his back on the deck, looking up at the destroyer as it passed through his boat. There was
another loud noise and a huge blast of yellow-red light, and the destroyer glowed. Its peculiar, raked,
inverted-Y stack stood out in the brilliant light and, later, in Kennedy's memory.
There was only one man below decks at the moment of collision. That was McMahon, engineer. He
had no idea what was up. He was just reaching forward to wrench the starboard engine into gear
when a ship came into his engine room. He was lifted from the narrow passage between two of the
engines and thrown painfully against the starboard bulkhead aft of the boat's auxillary generator. He
landed in a sitting position. A tremendous burst of flame came back at him from the day room, where
some of the gas tanks were. He put his hands over his face, drew his legs up tight and waited to die.
But he felt water hit him after the fire, and he was sucked far downward as his half of the PT sank. He
began to struggle upward through the water. He had held his breath since the impact, so his lungs
were tight, and they hurt. He looked up through the water. Over his head he saw a yellow glow -gasoline burning on the water. He broke the surface and was in fire again. He splashed hard to keep
a little island of water around him.
Johnston, another engineer, had been asleep on deck when the collision came. It lifted him and
dropped him overboard. He saw the flame and the destroyer for a moment. Then a huge propeller
pounded by near him and the awful turbulence of the destroyer's wake took him down, turned him over
and over, held him down, shook him and drubbed on his ribs. He hung on and came up in water that
was like a river rapids. The next day his body turned black and blue from the beating.
Kennedy's half of the PT stayed afloat. The bulkheads were sealed, so the undamaged watertight
compartments up forward kept the half hull floating. The destroyer rushed off into the dark. There was
an awful quiet: only the sound of gasoline burning.
Kennedy shouted, "Who's aboard?"
YCS Grade 10 English/Language Arts: Unit 4 - - Character Counts 2013-14
20
Attachment #3, p. 3
Feeble answers came from three of the enlisted men, McGuire, Mauer and Albert; and from one of the
officers, Thom.
Kennedy saw the fire only ten feet from the boat. He thought it might reach her and explode the
remaining gas tanks, so he shouted, "Over the side!"
The five men slid into the water. But the wake of the destroyer swept the fire away from the PT, so after
a few minutes Kennedy and the others crawled back aboard. Kennedy shouted for survivors in the
water. One by one, they answered: Ross, the third officer; Harris, McMahon, Johnston, Zinsser,
Starkey, enlisted men. Two did not answer: Kirksey and Marney, enlisted men. Since the last bombing
at base, Kirksey had been sure he would die. He had huddled at his battle station by the fantail gun,
with his kapok life jacket tied tight up to his cheeks. No one knows what happened to him or to Marney.
Harris shouted from the darkness, "Mr Kennedy! Mr Kennedy! McMahon is badly hurt." Kennedy took
his shoes, his shirt and his sidearms off, told Mauer to blink a light so that the men in the water would
know where the half hull was, then dived in and swam toward the voice. The survivors were widely
scattered. McMahon and Harris were a hundred yards away.
When Kennedy reached McMahon, he asked, "How are you, Mac?"
McMahon said, "I'm all right. I'm kind of burnt."
Kennedy shouted out, "How are the others?"
Harris said softly, "I hurt my leg."
Kennedy, who had been on the Harvard swimming team five years before, took McMahon in tow and
headed for the PT. A gentle breeze kept blowing the boat away from the swimmers. It took forty-five
minutes to make what had been an easy hundred yards. On the way in, Harris said, "I can't go any
farther." Kennedy, of the Boston Kennedys, said to Harris, of the same hometown, "For a guy from
Boston, you're certainly putting up a great exhibition out here, Harris." Harris made it all right and didn't
complain anymore. Then Kennedy swam from man to man to see how they were doing. All who had
survived the crash were able to stay afloat, since they were wearing life preservers -- kapok jackets
shaped like overstuffed vests, aviators' yellow May Wests, or air-filled belts like small inner tubes. But
those who couldn't swim had to be towed back to the wreckage by those who could. One of the men
screamed for help. When Ross reached him, he found that the screaming man had two life jackets on.
Johnston was treading water in a film of gasoline which did not catch fire. The fumes filled his lungs
and he fainted. Thom towed him in. The others got in under their own power. It was now after 5 a.m.,
but still dark. It had taken nearly three hours to get everyone aboard.
The men stretched out on the tilted deck of the PT. Johnston, McMahon and Ross collapsed into
sleep. The men talked about how wonderful it was to be alive and speculated on when the other PT's
would come back to rescue them. Mauer kept blinking the light to point their way. But the other boats
had no idea of coming back. They had seen a collision, a sheet of flame and a slow burning on the
water. When the skipper of one of the boats saw the sight, he put his hands over his face and sobbed,
YCS Grade 10 English/Language Arts: Unit 4 - - Character Counts 2013-14
21
Attachment #3, p. 4
"My God! My God!" He and the others turned away. Back at the base, after a couple of days, the
squadron held services for the souls of the thirteen men, and one of the officers wrote his mother,
"George Ross lost his life for a cause that he believed in stronger than any one of us, because he was
an idealist in the purest sense. Jack Kennedy, the Ambassador's son, was on the same boat and also
lost his life. The man that said the cream of a nation is lost in war can never be accused of making an
overstatement of a very cruel fact..."
When day broke, the men on the remains of the 109 stirred and looked around. To the northeast,
three miles off, they saw the monumental cone of Kolombangara; there, the men knew, ten thousand
Japanese swarmed. To the west, five miles away, they saw Vella Lavella; more Japs. To the south,
only a mile or so away, they actually could see a Japanese camp on Gizo. Kennedy ordered his men
to keep as low as possible, so that no moving silhouettes would show against the sky. The listing hulk
was gurgling and gradually settling. Kennedy said, "What do you want to do if the Japs come out?
Fight or surrender?" One said, "Fight with what?" So they took an inventory of their armament. The
37-millimetre gun had flopped over the side and was hanging there by a chain. They had one tommy
gun, six 45-calibre automatics, and one .38. Not much.
"Well," Kennedy said, "what do you want to do?"
One said, "Anything you say, Mr Kennedy. You're the boss."
Kennedy said, "There's nothing in the book about a situation like this. Seems to me we're not a military
organization anymore. Let's just talk this over."
They talked it over, and pretty soon they argued, and Kennedy could see that they would never
survive in anarchy. So he took command again.
It was vital that McMahon and Johnston should have room to lie down. McMahon's face, neck, hands,
wrists and feet were horribly burned. Johnston was pale and he coughed continually. There was
scarcely space for everyone, so Kennedy ordered the other men into the water to make room, and
went in himself. All morning they clung to the hulk and talked about how incredible it was that no one
had come to rescue them. All morning they watched for the plane which they thought would be looking
for them. They cursed war in general and PT's in particular. At about ten o'clock the hulk heaved a
moist sigh and turned turtle. McMahon and Johnston had to hang on as best they could. It was clear
that the remains of the 109 would soon sink. When the sun had passed the meridian, Kennedy said,
"We will swim to that small island," pointing to one of a group three miles to the southeast.
"We have less chance of making it than some of these other islands here, but there'll be less chance
of Japs too." Those who could not swim well grouped themselves around a long two-by-six timber with
which carpenters had braced the 37-millimetre cannon on deck and which had been knocked
overboard by the force of the collision. They tied several pairs of shoes to the timber, as well as the
ship's lantern wrapped in a life jacket to keep it afloat. Thom took charge of this unwieldy group.
Kennedy took McMahon in tow again. He cut loose one end of a long strap on McMahon's Mae West
and took the end in his teeth. He swam breaststroke, pulling the helpless McMahon along on his back.
YCS Grade 10 English/Language Arts: Unit 4 - - Character Counts 2013-14
22
Attachment #3, p. 5
It took over five hours to reach the island. Water lapped into Kennedy's mouth through his clenched
teeth, and he swallowed a lot. The salt water cut into McMahon's awful burns, but he did not complain.
Every few minutes, when Kennedy stopped to rest, taking the strap out of his mouth and holding it in
his hand, McMahon would simply say, "How far do we have to go?"
Kennedy would reply, "We're going good." Then he would ask, "How do you feel, Mac?"
McMahon always answered, "I'm O.K., Mr Kennedy. How about you?"
In spite of his burden, Kennedy beat the other men to the reef that surrounded the island. He left
McMahon on the reef and told him to keep low, so as not to be spotted by Japs. Kennedy went ahead
and explored the island. It was only a hundred yards in diameter; coconuts on the trees but none on
the ground; no visible Japs. Just as the others reached the island, one of them spotted a Japanese
barge chugging along close to shore. They all lay low. The barge went on. Johnston, who was very
pale and weak and who was still coughing a lot, said, "They wouldn't come here. What'd they be
walking around here for? It's too small." Kennedy lay in some bushes, exhausted by his effort, his
stomach heavy with the water he had swallowed. He had been in the sea, except for short intervals on
the hulk, for fifteen and a half hours. Now he started thinking. Every night for several nights the PT's
had cut through Ferguson Passage on their way to action. Ferguson Passage was just beyond the
next little island. Maybe...
He stood up. He took one of the pairs of shoes. He put one of the rubber life belts around his waist.
He hung the .38 around his neck on a lanyard. He took his pants off. He picked up the ship's lantern, a
heavy battery affair, ten inches by ten inches, still wrapped in the kapok jacket. He said, "If I find a
boat, I'll flash the lantern twice. The password will be 'Roger,' the answer will be "Willco." He walked
toward the water. After fifteen paces he was dizzy, but in the water he felt all right.
It was early evening. It took half an hour to swim to the reef around the next island. Just as he planted
his feet on the reef, which lay about four feet under the surface, he saw the shape of a very big fish in
the clear water. He flashed the light at it and splashed hard. The fish went away. Kennedy
remembered what one of his men had said a few days before, "These barracuda will come up under a
swimming man and eat his testicles." He had many occasions to think of that remark in the next few
hours.
Now it was dark. Kennedy blundered along the uneven reef in water up to his waist. Sometimes he
would reach forward with his leg and cut one of his shins or ankles on sharp coral. Other times he
would step forward onto emptiness. He made his way like a slow-motion drunk, hugging the lantern.
At about nine o'clock he came to the end of the reef, alongside Ferguson Passage. He took his shoes
off and tied them to the life jacket, then struck out into open water. He swam about an hour, until he
felt he was far enough out to intercept the PT's. Treading water, he listened for the muffled roar of
motors, getting chilled, waiting, holding the lamp. Once he looked west and saw far beyond the little
islands, even beyond Gizo, ten miles away. Kennedy realized that the PT boats had chosen, for the
first night in many, to go around Gizo instead of through Ferguson Passage. There was no hope. He
started back. He made the same painfull promenade of the reef and struck out for the tiny island
YCS Grade 10 English/Language Arts: Unit 4 - - Character Counts 2013-14
23
Attachment #3, p. 6
where his friends were. But this swim was different. He was very tired, and now the current was
running fast, carrying him to the right. He saw that he could not make the island, so he flashed the
light once and shouted "Roger! Roger!" to identify himself.
On the beach, the men were hopefully vigilant. They saw the light and heard the shouts. They were
very happy, because they thought that Kennedy had found a PT. They walked out onto the reef,
sometimes up to their waists in water, and waited. It was very painfull for those who had no shoes.
The men shouted, but not much, because they were afraid of the Japanese.
One said, "There's another flash."
A few minutes later a second said, "There's a light over there."
A third said, "We're seeing things in this dark."
They waited a long time, but they saw nothing except phosphorescence and heard nothing but the sound of
waves. They went back, very discouraged.
One said despairingly, "We're going to die."
Johnston said, "Aw, shut up. You can't die. Only the good die young."
Kennedy had drifted right by the little island. He thought he had never known such deep trouble, but
something he did shows that unconsciously he had not given up hope. He dropped his shoes, but he held
onto the heavy lantern, his symbol of contact with his fellows. He stopped trying to swim. He seemed to
stop caring. His body drifted through the wee hours, and he was very cold. His mind was a jumble. A few
hours before, he had wanted desperately to get to the base at Rendova. Now he only wanted to get back
to the little island he had left that night, but he didn't try to get there; he just wanted to. His mind seemed to
float away from his body. Darkness and time took the place of a mind in his skull. For a long time he slept,
or was crazy, or floated in a chill trance.
The currents of the Solomon Islands are queer. The tide shoves and sucks through the islands and makes
the current curl in odd patterns. It was a fateful pattern into which Jack Kennedy drifted. He drifted in it all
night. His mind was blank, but his fist was tightly clenched on the kapok around the lantern. The current
moved in a huge circle -- west past Gizo, then north and east past Kolombangara, then south into
Ferguson Passage. Early in the morning, the sky turned from black to gray, and so did Kennedy's mind.
Light came to both at about six. Kennedy looked around and saw that he was exactly where he had been
the night before when he saw the flares beyond Gizo. For a second time, he started home. He thought for
a while that he had lost his mind and that he only imagined that he was repeating his attempt to reach the
island. But the chill of the water was real enough, the lantern was real, his progress was measurable. He
made the reef, crossed the lagoon and got to the first island. He lay on the beach awhile. He found that his
lantern did not work anymore, so he left it and started back to the next island, where his men were. This
time the trip along the reef was awful. He had discarded his shoes, and every step on the coral was
painful. This time the swim across the gap where the current had caught him the night before seemed
YCS Grade 10 English/Language Arts: Unit 4 - - Character Counts 2013-14
24
Attachment #3, p. 7
endless. But the current had changed; he made the island. He crawled up on the beach. He was vomiting
when his men came up to him. He said, "Ross, you try it tonight." Then he passed out.
Ross, seeing Kennedy so sick, did not look forward to the execution of the order. He distracted himself by
complaining about his hunger. There were a few coconuts on the trees, but the men were too weak to
climb up for them. One of the men thought of seafood, stirred his tired body, and found a snail on the
beach. He said, "If we were desperate, we could eat these." Ross said, "Desperate, hell. Give me that. I'll
eat that." He took it in his hand and looked at it. The snail put its head out and looked at him. Ross was
startled, but he shelled the snail and ate it, making faces because it was bitter.
In the afternoon, Ross swam across to the next island. He took a pistol to signal with, and he spent the
night watching Ferguson Passage from the reef around the island. Nothing came through. Kennedy slept
badly that night; he was cold and sick.
The next morning everyone felt wretched. Planes which the men were unable to identify flew overhead
and there were dogfights. That meant Japs as well as friends, so the men dragged themselves into the
bushes and lay low. Some prayed. Johnston said, "You guys make me sore. You didn't spend ten cents
in church in ten years, then all of a sudden you're in trouble and you see the light." Kennedy felt a little
better now. When Ross came back, Kennedy decided that the group should move to another, larger
island to the southeast, where there seemed to be more coconut trees and where the party would be
nearer the Ferguson Passage. Again Kennedy took McMahon in tow with the strap in his teeth, and the
nine others grouped themselves around the timber.
This swim took three hours. The nine around the timber were caught by the current and barely made the
far top of the island. Kennedy found walking the quarter mile across to them much harder than the threehour swim. The cuts on his bare feet were festered and looked like small balloons. The men were
suffering most from thirst, and they broke open some coconuts lying on the ground and avidly drank the
milk. Kennedy and McMahon, the first to drink, were sickened, and Thom told the others to drink
sparingly. In the middle of the night it rained, and someone suggested moving into the underbrush and
licking water off the leaves. Ross and McMahon kept contact at first by touching feet as they licked.
Somehow they got separated, and, being uncertain whether there were any Japs on the island, they
became frightened. MacMahon, trying to make his way back to the beach, bumped into someone and
froze. It turned out to be Johnston, licking leaves on his own. In the morning, the group saw that all the
leaves were covered with droppings. Bitterly, they named the place Bird Island.
On this fourth day, the men were low. Even Johnston was low. He had changed his mind about
praying. McGuire had a rosary around his neck, and Johnston said, "McGuire, give that necklace a
working over." McGuire said quietly, "Yes, I'll take care of all you fellows." Kennedy was still unwilling to
admit that things were hopeless. He asked Ross if he would swim with him to an island called Naru, to
the southeast and even nearer Ferguson Passage. They were very weak indeed by now, but after an
hour's swim they made it.
They walked painfully across Naru to the Ferguson Passage side, where they saw a Japanese barge
aground on the reef. There were two men by the barge -- possibly Japs. They apparently spotted
YCS Grade 10 English/Language Arts: Unit 4 - - Character Counts 2013-14
25
Attachment #3, p. 8
Kennedy and Ross, for they got into a dugout canoe and hurriedly paddled to the other side of the
island. Kennedy and Ross moved up the beach. They came upon an unopened rope-bound box and,
back in the trees, a little shelter containing a keg of water, a Japanese gas mask and a crude wooden
fetish shaped like a fish. There were Japanese hardtack and candy in the box and the two had a wary
feast. Down by the water they found a one-man canoe. They hid from imagined Japs all day. When
night fell, Kennedy left Ross and took the canoe, with some hardtack and a can of water from the keg,
out into Ferguson Passage. But no PT's came, so he paddled to Bird Island. The men there told him
that the two men he had spotted by the barge that morning were natives, who had paddled to Bird
Island. The natives had said that there were Japs on Nauru, and the men had given Kennedy and Ross
up for lost. Then the natives had gone away. Kennedy gave out small rations of crackers and water,
and the men went to sleep. During the night, one man, who kept himself awake until the rest were
asleep, drank all the water in the can Kennedy had brought back. In the morning the others figured out
which was the guilty one. They swore at him and found it hard to forgive him.
Before dawn, Kennedy started out in the canoe to rejoin Ross on Naru, but when day broke a wind
arose and the canoe was swamped. Some natives appeared from nowhere in a canoe, rescued
Kennedy and took him to Naru. There they showed him where a two-man canoe was cached. Kennedy
picked up a coconut with a smooth shell and scratched a message on it with a jackknife: "ELEVEN
ALIVE NATIVE KNOWS POSIT AND REEFS NAURO ISLAND KENNEDY." Then he said to the
natives, "Rendova, Rendova."
One of the natives seemed to understand. They took the coconut and paddled off.
Ross and Kennedy lay in a sickly daze all day. Toward evening it rained, and they crawled under a bush.
When it got dark, conscience took hold of Kennedy, and he persuaded Ross to go out into Ferguson
Passage with him in the two-man canoe. Ross argued against it. Kennedy insisted. The two started out in
the canoe. They had shaped paddles from the boards of the Japanese box, and they took a coconut shell
to bail with. As they got out into the Passage, the wind rose again and the water became choppy. The
canoe began to fill. Ross bailed and Kennedy kept the bow into the wind. The waves grew until they were
five or six feet high. Kennedy shouted "Better turn around and go back!" As soon as the canoe was
broadside to the waves, the water poured in and the dugout was swamped. The two clung to it, Kennedy
at the bow, Ross at the stern. The tide carried them southward toward the open sea, so they kicked and
tugged the canoe, aiming northwest. They struggled that way for two hours, not knowing whether they
would hit the small island or drift into the endless open.
The weather got worse; rain poured down and they couldn't see more than ten feet. Kennedy shouted,
"Sorry I got you out here, Barney!" Ross shouted back, "This would be a great time to say I told you so,
but I won't!"
Soon the two could see a white line ahead and could hear a frightening roar -- waves crashing on a reef.
They had got out of the tidal current and were approaching the island all right, but now they realized that
the wind and the waves were carrying them toward the reef. But it was too late to do anything, now that
their canoe was swamped, except hang on and wait.
When they were near the reef, a wave broke Kennedy's hold, ripped him away from the canoe, turned him
head over heels, and spun him in a violent rush. His ears roared and his eyes pinwheeled, and for the third
YCS Grade 10 English/Language Arts: Unit 4 - - Character Counts 2013-14
26
Attachment #3, p. 9
time since the collision, he thought he was dying. Somehow he was not thrown against the coral but
floated into a kind of eddy. Suddenly he felt the reef under his feet. Steadying himself so that he would not
be swept off it, he shouted, "Barney!" There was no reply. Kennedy thought of how he had insisted on
going out in the canoe, and he screamed, "Barney!" This time Ross answered. He too had been thrown on
the reef. He had not been as lucky as Kennedy; his right arm and shoulder had been cruelly lacerated by
the coral, and his feet, which were already infected from earlier wounds, were cut some more.
The procession of Kennedy and Ross from reef to beach was a crazy one. Ross's feet hurt so much that
Kennedy would hold one paddle on the bottom while Ross put a foot on it, then the other paddle forward
for another step, then the first paddle forward again, until they reached sand. They fell on the beach and
slept.
Kennedy and Ross were wakened early in the morning by a noise. They looked up and saw four husky
natives. One walked up to them and said in an excellent English accent, "I have a letter for you, Sir."
Kennedy tore the note open. It said, "On His Majesty's Service. To the Senior Officer, Naru Island. I have
just learned of your presence on Nauru Is. I am in command of a New Zealand infantry patrol operating in
conjunction with U.S. Army troops on New Georgia. I strongly advise that you come with these natives to
me. Meanwhile I shall be in radio communication with your authorities at Rendova, and we can finalize
plans to collect balance of your party. Lt. Wincote. P.S. Will warn aviation of your crossing Ferguson
Passage."
Everyone shook hands, and the four natives took Ross and Kennedy in their war canoe across to Bird
Island to tell the others the good news. There the natives broke out a spirit stove and cooked a feast of
yams and C-ration. Then they built a lean-to for McMahon, whose burns had begun to rot and stink, and
for Ross, whose arm had swelled to the size of a thigh because of the coral cuts. The natives put Kennedy
in the bottom of their canoe and covered him with sacking and palm fronds, in case Japanese planes
should buzz them. The long trip was fun for the natives. They stopped once to try to grab a turtle, and
laughed at the sport they were having. Thirty Japanese planes went over low toward Rendova, and the
natives waved and shouted gaily. They rowed with a strange rhythm, pounding paddles on the gunwales
between strokes. At last they reached a censored place. Lieutenant Wincote came to the water's edge and
said formally, "How do you do. Leftenant Wincote."
Kennedy said, "Hello. I'm Kennedy."
Wincote said, "Come up to my tent and have a cup of tea."
In the middle of the night, after several radio conversations between Wincote's outfit and the PT base,
Kennedy sat in the war canoe waiting at an arranged rendezvous for a PT. The moon went down at
eleven-twenty. Shortly afterward, Kennedy heard the signal he was waiting for -- four shots. Kennedy fired
four answering shots.
A voice shouted to him, "Hey, Jack!"
Kennedy said, "Where the hell you been?"
YCS Grade 10 English/Language Arts: Unit 4 - - Character Counts 2013-14
27
Attachment #3, p. 10
The voice said, "We got some food for you."
Kennedy said bitterly, "No, thanks, I just had a coconut."
A moment later a PT came alongside. Kennedy jumped onto it and hugged the men aboard -- his friends.
In the American tradition, Kennedy held under his arm a couple of souvenirs: one of the improvised
paddles and the Japanese gas mask.
With the help of the natives, the PT made its way to Bird Island. A skiff went in and picked up the men. In
the deep of the night, the PT and its happy cargo roared back toward base. The squadron medic had sent
some brandy along to revive the weakened men. Johnston felt the need of a little revival. In fact, he felt he
needed quite a bit of revival. After taking care of that, he retired topside and sat with his arms around a
couple of roly-poly, mission-trained natives. And in the fresh breeze on the way home they sang together a
hymn all three happened to know:
Jesus loves me, this I know,
For the Bible tells me so;
Little ones to Him belong,
They are weak, but He is strong.
Yes, Jesus loves me; yes, Jesus loves me...
YCS Grade 10 English/Language Arts: Unit 4 - - Character Counts 2013-14
28
Attachment #4
Notes on John Hersey’s “Survival” [ the story of the PT 109 ]
Section: # ____ [ as determined by teacher ]; page(s) _____
Reader(s) Initials _________
Key details that develop author’s message: (RI 10.3)
1. _________________________________________________________________
2. _____________________________________________________________________________
3. _____________________________________________________________________________
Key terms and phrases that are important to the author’s message: (RI 10.4)
term/phrase
predicted meaning from context
technical meaning
figurative? If so, explain
connotative? If so, explain
term/phrase
predicted meaning from context
technical meaning
figurative? If so, explain
connotative? If so, explain
term/phrase
predicted meaning from context
technical meaning
figurative? If so, explain
connotative? If so, explain
term/phrase
predicted meaning from context
technical meaning
figurative? If so, explain
connotative? If so, explain
YCS Grade 10 English/Language Arts: Unit 4 - - Character Counts 2013-14
29
Attachment #5
III. Conventions
 parallel structure; e.g., ( L 10.1.a )
1. Maria likes to hike, swim, and pedal a bicycle; her cousin prefers to ride, sail, and zip around on a motor-scooter.
2. The teacher said I was a poor student because I waited until the last minute to study for a test, completed my lab reports
carelessly, and lacked motivation to do the best I could.
3. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the three main causes of air pollution, which are (1) exhaust from cars; (2) soot
from industrial smokestacks; and (3) smog from volatile organic compounds.
 phrases [ remember, it’s not the labels that count; it’s that students can USE the technique ] ( L.10.1.b )
 noun; e.g.,
1. The zoo has several displays just for small children.
2. My favorite gray cat keeps looking in the window.
3. On their hike, the boys ate lunch at a lovely old pub by the river.
4. Each year, the winter freeze seems to come sooner and last longer.
 verb; e.g.,
1. Carlos is trying to select a running mate as class President.
2. Since we did not have all the ingredients for brownies, we decided to make blondies.
3. You have been coming to work late every day this week.
4. The volunteers were being exploited.
5. Don’t buy that DVD; borrow it from Ed.
6. No one gets away with murder.
 adjectival; e.g.,
1. We saw Peter dashing across the field.
2. Ramir picked up the records broken in the scuffle.
3. Human beings can be fairly ridiculous.
4. Dad thinks the punch tastes awfully sour.
5. The rabbi was a man with a kind heart.
6. The soldiers belong to a tribe living in the mountains.
 adverbial; e.g.,
1. The players responded surprisingly well to the pressure of the tournaments.
2. The best way to preserve the flavor and texture of fresh vegetables is to cook them as quickly as possible.
3. The carpenter hits the nail with a hammer.
4. We must finish our project before winter break!
5. My cousin uses his I-Pad almost as much as I do.
6. Early in the morning, the air is cool and fresh.
 participial; e.g.,
1. The car sliding out of control toward the building will likely hit the window.
2. Cameron spotted his brother throwing rocks at the passing cars.
3. The astronaut chosen to ride the space shuttle to Mars is afraid of heights.
4. Running down the street, Alicia tripped and fell.
5. The teacher returned the damaged packages to the manufacturer.
 prepositional; e.g.,
1. The newspaper on the bathroom floor is wilted from shower steam.
2. The sweet potatoes in the vegetable bin are green with mold.
3. Ferris is stiff from yesterday’s long football practice.
4. Before class, Brayden begged his girl friend for a pencil.
5. The carpenter hit the final nail with a hammer.
 absolute; e.g., [ phrases inserted to describe one aspect of a noun ]
1. Their slender bodies sleek and black against the orange sky, the storks circled high above us.
YCS Grade 10 English/Language Arts: Unit 4 - - Character Counts 2013-14
30
2. The storks circled high above us, their slender bodies sleek and black against the orange sky.
3. The storks, their slender bodies sleek and black against the orange sky, circled high above us.
Attachment #5, p. 2
 clauses ( L. 9.1.b )
 independent; e.g., [ stands alone, or helps support dependent clauses; when joining two independent clauses, begin with a
comma; e.g., FANBOYS: for, and, not, but, or, yet, so or a semi-colon; OR begin with a semi-colon: typically includes ___;
moreover, ____; however, ___; consequently, ___ ;indeed, ___; nevertheless, ___ ;therefore ]
1. Assad studied at the Panera for his History test.
2. Assad studied at the Panera for his History test, and several of his friends joined him.
3. Assad studied at the Panera for his History test; however, it soon became too noisy.
 dependent; e.g., [ leans on another clause; if coming at the end, has no comma; if coming first, ends with a comma; typically
includes words such as after, although, as or as if, because, before, even though, if, in order to or that, rather than, since, so
that, then, that, though, unless, until, when, whenever, whereas, whether, while ]
1. Although Assad studied at the Panera for his History test, it became so noisy, he had to put on his I-pod.
2. Because Assad studied at the Panera for his History test, he did not hear about the riot near the school.
3. Rochelle chose to study for the History test at home rather than join Assad at the Panera.
 noun; e.g., [ typically signaled by who, whom, whose, which, that, if, whether, what, when, where, how, why, and forms of “ever” such as whoever, whenever, whatever, wherever ]
1. What I had for breakfast gave me heartburn.
2. How the magician changed that scarf to a flower was downright amazing.
3. The cool thing about Steeler fans is that they all get along.
4. I can’t decide which Math course to take.
5. The students don’t know whether or not they can catch the bus.
6. Although I respected what the teacher said, I disagreed with his conclusion.
7. Anyone who says that lacrosse is boring has never really watched a good match.
 relative; e.g., [ a dependent clause that follows the noun or phrase it modifies; may be restrictive (not set off by commas) or
non-restrictive (set off by commas) ]
[ restrictive ]
1. Do you know the new girl who joined our class this week?
2. May I have the pencil that I gave you this morning?
3. A notebook is a computer which can be carried around.
4. We don’t eat at restaurants whose cooks smoke.
5. I want to live in a place where there is lots to do.
6. Yesterday was a day when everything went wrong!
7. The boy who had broken the window apologized to the owner of the garage.
[ non-restrictive ]
1. My ESL teacher, who came from Austria, likes to ride a mountain bike.
2. The heavy rain, which was unusual for this time of year, ruined the practice field.
3. Einstein, who was born in Germany, is famous for his theory of relativity.
4. The boy, whose parents both work at the school as teachers, started a fire in the gym.
5. My uncle’s company, which makes grocery carts, is moving from Michigan to Georgia.
6. This summer I’m planning to visit the Smithsonian, where my sister is an intern.
7. Harold, the boy who had broken the window, apologized to the owner of the garage.
 adverbial; e.g., [ a dependent clause that answers the questions how, when, or why ]
1. Toni scrubbed the tile until her arms ached.
2. The cats bolted from the driveway once they saw the car turn the corner.
3. After her dentist appointment, Danielle cooked eggs for dinner because she could easily chew an omelet.
 capitalization, punctuation, and spelling ( L. 9.2.a )
 a. semicolon to link two or more related independent clauses
YCS Grade 10 English/Language Arts: Unit 4 - - Character Counts 2013-14
31
 b. colon to introduce a list or quotation
 c. spell correctly
YCS Grade 10 English/Language Arts: Unit 4 - - Character Counts 2013-14
32