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MANY VOICES
LITERATURE
COLOR B LOCKS #55. © Nancy Crow, 1994, 41" x 43",
100% Cottons, photo by J. Kern Fitzsimons
Literature
L i ter a tur e
LITERATURE
f o r R ea de r s an d Wr i t e r s
A rich and varied collection of classic and contemporary
writing with a strong emphasis on understanding the
written word and developing the craft of writing
A special focus on writing helps students
•
understand how successful writers go about their work
•
learn how to write in various modes to further their own
understanding
•
practice writing longer genre pieces in order to become
accomplished in various writing styles
29992PathwaysPBCV.indd 1
Printed in the U.S.A.
#29992
Pe r f e c t i o n L e a r n i n g ®
This outstanding anthology for high school students contains canon
pieces as well as the latest contemporary works by writers such as
Homer, Edgar Allan Poe, Emily Dickinson, James Thurber, O. Henry,
Sarah Ruhl, Alice Walker, Margaret Atwood, and Amiri Baraka.
The thematic organization focuses on issues important to students—
growing up, family ties, nature, the world at large, crossing
boundaries, and the past.
Perfection Learning ® Corporation
Logan, Iowa 51546-0500
perfectionlearning.com
Liter a tu r e for R ea d er s a n d Wr iter s
MANY VOICES
for Readers and Writ ers
Pe r f e ct i on L e a r ni ng ®
10/9/07 3:11:45 PM
To
the
Student.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xii
UNIT One
Rites of Passage
The Bass, the River, and Sheila Mant
W.D. Wetherell
short story.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
P o e t r y C o n n e ct i o n
Oranges
Gary Soto
poem. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
11
from I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
Maya Angelou
autobiography. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Through the Tunnel
Doris Lessing
short story.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
P o e m s o f P a ss a g e
First Lesson
Phillip Booth poem.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
On Turning 10
Hanging Fire
Billy Collins
Audre Lorde
poem. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
poem. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Vegetarian Enough
Annie Choi
autobiography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
from My Forbidden Face
Latifa
autobiographical narrative. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
Unfinished Business
Elisabeth Kübler-Ross
interview.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
P o e t r y C o n n e ct i o n
“Good Night, Willie Lee,
I’ll See You in the Morning”
Alice Walker
poem.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
Wr it e r s on Wr iti n g
Introduction to Shelf Life
Gary Paulsen
book preface. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
A Wr i t e r ’s Wo r k s h o p
iv
Autobiographical Narrative.. . . . . . . . . . 90
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Family Ties
UNIT Two
The Scarlet Ibis
James Hurst
short story. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
from Riding The Bus with My Sister
Rachel Simon
memoir . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
A Christmas Memory
Truman Capote
Poems
of
short story.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
M oth er s
and
G r an dmoth er s
Memory
The Courage That My Mother Had
Lineage
Lucille Clifton
poem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Edna St. Vincent Millay
Margaret Walker
124
141
poem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
142
poem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
142
My Brother’s Keeper
Jay Bennett
short story.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
144
from Letters to a Young Brother
Hill Harper
letter.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
160
P o e t r y C o n n e ct i o n
Wild Geese
Mary Oliver
poem.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
168
Wr it e r s on Wr iti n g
Grandfather’s Blessing
Julia Alvarez
autobiography. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
170
P o e t r y C o n n e ct i o n
I Remember My Father’s Hands
Lisa Suhair Majaj
poem.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
A Wr i t e r ’s Wo r k s h o p
Short Story . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
180
182
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The Forces of Nature
UNIT THREE
The Interlopers
Saki
short story.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
188
from Of Wolves and Men
Barry Holstun Lopez
Poems
of
essay.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 196
N at u r e
Birches
Haiku
Haiku
Spring is like a perhaps hand
Robert Frost
poem. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 204
Kaga no Chiyo
Bashō
poem. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206
poem.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
E. E. Cummings
207
poem.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 208
from An Inconvenient Truth
Al Gore
nonfiction.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 210
T s u n a m i 20 0 4
The Deadliest Tsunami in History?
Orphans Give Indian Couple Will to Live;
P o e t r y C o n n e ct i o n
Wave
Dale Wisely
National Geographic
informational article.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
221
2004 Tsunami Killed Their Son, Two Daughters
Shaikh Azizur Rahman newspaper article. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 227
poem.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
230
novella . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
232
The Birds
Daphne du Maurier
P o e t r y C o n n e ct i o n
“Hope” is the thing with feathers
Emily Dickinson
poem. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
270
Wr it e r s on Wr iti n g
Knee-Deep in Its Absence
David Petersen
essay. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
A Wr i t e r ’s Wo r k s h o p
vi
272
Nature Poetry.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 280
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Other Worlds
UNIT FOUR
A Sound of Thunder
Ray Bradbury
short story .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 286
Nolan Bushnell
David E. Brown
article .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 302
P o e t r y C o n n e ct i o n
All Watched Over by Machines of Loving Grace
Richard Brautigan
poem. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
310
Nethergrave
Gloria Skurzynski
short story.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 312
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty
James Thurber
short story.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
326
The Mystery of China’s Celtic Mummies
Clifford Coonan
article.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
334
The Handsomest Drowned Man in the World
Gabriel García Márquez
short story. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 344
Th e W o r l d o f P o e t r y
Beware: Do Not Read This Poem
Ishmael Reed
poem. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
355
The Republic of Poetry
Martin Espada
poem.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
357
poem. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
359
The Secret
Denise Levertov
A Wr i t e r ’s Wo r k s h o p
Critical Essay: Science Fiction. . . . . . . .
362
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Crossing Borders
UNIT FIVE
Bridge of the Gods
Anonymous
myth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
368
short story . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
376
Borders
Thomas King
Delfino II: Diez in the Desert
Sam Quinones
biography. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
390
P o e t r y C o n n e ct i o n
Mexicans Begin Jogging
Gary Soto
poem. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 404
P o e m s A c r o ss
the
Mending Wall
poem. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
I Am the Land. I Wait
Your World
Robert Frost
Marina de Bellagente
Divide
407
poem. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 409
Georgia Douglas Johnson
poem.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
410
article.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
412
Hip-Hop Planet
James McBride
P o e t r y C o n n e ct i o n
Ka’Ba
Amiri Baraka
poem.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
423
Harlem II
Langston Hughes
poem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
424
Blues Ain’t No Mockin Bird
Toni Cade Bambera
short story .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
426
Rules of the Game
Amy Tan
Wr ite r s
short story. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
on
436
Wr iti ng
In the Canon, for All the Wrong Reasons
Amy Tan
essay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
A Wr i t e r ’s Wo r k s h o p
viii
452
Informational Essay. . . . . . . . . . . . . 460
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Echoes from the Past
UNIT SIX
from the Odyssey, Part I
Homer
epic. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 466
P o e t r y C o n n e ct i o n
Ithaka
C.P. Cavafy
poem. 485
from the Odyssey, Part II
Homer
epic. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 488
P o e t r y C o n n e ct i o n
Siren Song
Margaret Atwood
poem.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
501
from the Odyssey, Part III
Homer
epic. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 504
P o e t r y C o n n e ct i o n
An Ancient Gesture
Edna St. Vincent Millay
poem.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
520
novel excerpt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
522
from The Penelopiad
Margaret Atwood
Orpheus and Eurydice
Betty Bonham Lies
myth.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
530
drama . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
538
Eurydice
Sarah Ruhl
Wr it e r s on Wr iti n g
Introduction to We Goddesses:
Athena, Aphrodite, Hera
Donna Orgel
book preface. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 584
A W r i t e r´s Wo r k s h o p
Summary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
592
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UNIT SEVEN
The Dark Side
The Most Dangerous Game
Richard Connell
short story.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
598
Variations on the Death of Trotsky
David Ives
drama.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
622
The Cask of Amontillado
Edgar Allan Poe
Poems
of
short story.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
634
D a r k n e ss
The Bells
Annabel Lee
The Raven
Edgar Allan Poe
Edgar Allan Poe
Edgar Allan Poe
poem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 646
poem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
650
poem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
652
drama.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
658
Dozens of Roses
Virginia Euwer Wolff
The Lottery
Shirley Jackson
Wr ite r s
on
short story . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 664
Wr iti ng
The Morning of June 28, 1948, and “The Lottery”
Shirley Jackson
reflective essay.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
A Wr i t e r ’s Wo r k s h o p
x
676
Persuasive Critical Essay. . . . . . . . . . . 684
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UNIT EIGHT
What Has Value?
The Gift of the Magi
O. Henry
short story. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
690
Everyday Use
Alice Walker
short story.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 700
Fabric of Their Lives
Amei Wallach
Poems
of
magazine article.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 712
Wo r k i n g P e o p l e
To be of use
I Hear America Singing
Walt Whitman
Marge Piercy
poem. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 722
poem. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
724
short story. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
726
The Necklace
Guy de Maupassant
The Man to Send Rain Clouds
Leslie Marmon Silko
short story.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
738
short story. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
746
Marigolds
Eugenia Collier
Wr ite r s
on
Wr iti ng
Polaroids
Anne Lamott
essay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
A Wr i t e r ’s Wo r k s h o p
G l o ss a r y
of
Reflective Essay.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
758
764
L i t e r a r y T e r m s .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 768
I m a g e C r e d i ts .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 777
A c k n o w l e d g m e n ts .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 779
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U n d e r sta n d i n g F i c t i o n
Short Stories and Novels
The two main types of fiction are short stories and novels. How do they differ? Short
stories can usually be read in one sitting, have fewer characters, and take place in a limited
setting. They generally have just one theme, unlike a novel, which is multi-themed. Both
types of fiction contain the following basic elements.
Plot
The plot is the action of a story—what happens in it. As one old saying has it,
the writer gets the hero up a tree and then gets him back down again. A good plot shows
how one event leads to another, which causes another, and so on until the story ends.
A problem or conflict is needed to move the story forward. No “trouble” equals “no
story”!
But fictional conflict doesn’t necessarily mean things blowing up. In fiction, a conflict
means that the main character wants something, and someone or something is in the way
of getting it. The “opponent” can be anything from a raging hurricane to a picky math
teacher. And some conflicts occur from within. Perhaps the main character wants to be
popular, but his or her basic nature—shy and awkward—makes that goal difficult. Inner
conflicts can be the worst kind.
In a well-made story, the conflict builds until there is a climax, or high point of the action.
Here the bully is confronted, or the inner demon is conquered. In the story’s resolution,
the conflict sorts itself out.
Character
As a reader, you keep turning the pages of stories mainly because you
are interested in what happens to the characters. Writers create believable characters by
describing their actions, speech, thoughts, feelings, and interactions with others. There
are round characters—characters who are drawn realistically and seem capable of
change—and flat characters, who are undeveloped.
Setting A story’s setting includes the time period and location in which the events of
the plot occur. A setting can actually influence the plot and characters, sometimes even
becoming a character itself. When nature is given human characteristics—an angry sea, a
forbidding forest—setting is being used as a character.
Theme The theme is the underlying meaning or message of a story. A story is about
a particular character and what happens to him or her. The theme of the story is more
universal. Usually, the theme is not directly stated. The reader must interpret what the
author is saying through careful reading and analysis.
xiv
Pathways
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U n d e r sta n d i n g N o n f i c t i o n
Nonfiction sounds like it might be the opposite of fiction, or that it might be anything
other than fiction. In fact, much nonfiction uses many of the tools of fiction—vivid
storytelling, characters, and settings—to write about true things. Like fiction, it relies on
specific details, colorful images, and sometimes dialogue to make the writing come to life.
Although it often reads like fiction, everything in it is expected to be true.
Nonfiction includes writing about the sciences, arts and culture, sports, adventure, travel,
family, and personal life. Memoirs, biographies, and even literary book reviews fall under
the heading of nonfiction. It comes in the shape of essays, diaries, and excerpts from
longer works and can be either formal or informal. The most common kinds of nonfiction
are listed below.
Autobiography An autobiography is the story of someone’s life, written by the person
him- or herself. Events in the writing are true, but they are colored by the author’s
memory as well as by the writer’s wish to look “good” to readers. Autobiographers can
emphasize incidents or leave them out entirely depending on the impression they want to
create.
Biography This is also a true story about a person’s life, but it is written by someone
else. Usually, biographers do a great deal of research on their subject before they begin
to write.
Essay An essay is a short, multi-paragraph piece of writing that focuses on one topic or
idea. Much of the writing you do for school will be essay writing. Essays differ depending
on the writer’s purpose. Some are persuasive and try to convince others to change their
mind about an issue and accept the writer’s point of view. Personal essays are informal
pieces that present the writer’s thoughts and feelings. An expository essay is more
formal in tone and structure. The purpose of this type of essay is to present information
and ideas.
Articles Articles may be long, short, humorous, serious, formal, or informal. Their
purpose is to provide factual information to the reader. Examples include newspaper and
magazine articles and entries in encyclopedias.
Nonfiction writing is a product of the writers’ unique voices and the choices they make
when presenting their subjects. If two people write an essay about the same topic, the
results will probably be very different. Imagine two essayists describing a chili cook-off.
One writer thinks the event is absurd; the other takes it to heart. The first writer focuses
on chili’s weirdest ingredients—such as chocolate—and pokes fun at how seriously the
competitors take themselves. The second writer depicts the event as a cooking Olympics
of creativity.
Pathways
xv
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U n d e r sta n d i n g D r a m a
While plays are written to be performed, and this is certainly the best way to enjoy them,
you can still experience drama by reading it. This is a great way to practice your visualizing
skills. As you read a play, try to see the characters moving through the scenery and imagine how they sound.
In a good play, nothing is left to chance. Each character, change of scene, and line of
dialogue is chosen carefully. Plays are more narrowly focused than novels and movies,
with fewer characters, less action, and usually one dominant theme. Here are the main
elements of drama.
Cast of Characters The list of a play’s characters is found at the beginning of a play.
The playwright might add the briefest description; for example: Lord Capulet, Juliet’s
father. When you are reading the play, refer back to the cast of characters as often as necessary until you are familiar with everyone.
Acts and Scenes An act is a large division of a full-length play, sometimes separated
from the other act or acts by an intermission. A scene is a section of the play that occurs
in one time and place. Each act may have one or several scenes. As you read a scene, try
to visualize the set as well as the characters on the stage.
Dialogue Dialogue refers to the words that characters speak to each other. In drama,
great characters are defined by the quality of their dialogue—the juicier, the better.
In a script, a character’s words directly follow his or her name. This manuscript style
helps the actors learn and keep their lines straight. When you are reading a character’s
lines, try to imagine what that person looks like and how he or she might speak.
Stage Directions Stage directions are exactly that—instructions for the people who
are putting on the play. The directions are usually printed in italic type. They describe the
setting and tell actors where and how to move or say their lines. Some playwrights like
to provide detailed descriptions of the scenery, lighting, costumes, and sound. Others
leave such decisions for the play’s director, actors, and production crew. Don’t skip the
stage directions when you are reading a play—they provide valuable information about the
playwright’s intent.
xvi
Pathways
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U n d e r sta n d i n g P o e t ry
A poem expresses ideas and feelings in a compact form. To get to the heart of a poem’s
meaning, ask yourself questions like these:
•Who is writing this, and to whom? What does the
title mean, and what is the subject? What is the setting?
•What word choices does the poet make? Might some words be symbols?
• What imagery, or word pictures, does the poem contain?
• What theme does it all suggest—what central idea?
• What sound devices occur?
When you first look at a poem, notice its shape. Unlike prose, a poem’s lines don’t always
stop or start at the margins of a standard page. Where each line ends is a clue to how it
is supposed to sound. A poem is often made up of stanzas: rhythmical units of lines. The
stanzas in a poem generally have lines with a similar rhyme pattern.
Rhyme refers to identical or similar sounds that are repeated (hat/cat/rat). Rhymes are
the music of poetry, a source of play for the poet and delight for the reader. And while
rhyme is an important feature of older verse, many modern poems do not have any rhyme
at all.
Rhythm means a repeated pattern of beats or accents (“SHE sells SEA shells, DOWN by
the SEA shore”).
Comparisons are important to poetry, especially personification, metaphors, and
similes. This figurative language allows words to mean something other than their literal
definition. A rose is almost never just a rose in poetry. When in bloom, it may be compared
to a sweetheart’s beauty. And when it is withered, poetically speaking, it may refer to death.
After considering the words and meaning of any poem, you need to look at its “mechanics.”
Sound devices are techniques used to create rhythm and emphasize certain sounds in a
poem. Some of the most common include:
•Alliteration The repetition of similar letters or sounds at the beginning of close words.
Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers. Warm, wet, walks are wonderful.
•Assonance The repetition of vowel sounds in stressed syllables. The time is ripe for this
assignment.
•Consonance The repetition of consonant sounds in stressed syllables. Brad had a hard
head. Stir the batter, mother.
•Onomatopoeia A word that imitates the sound it represents. Buzz, whiz, shush,
kerplunk.
•Repetition The technique of using repeated elements in a poem to give it rhythm. A
refrain is a repeated line or a stanza.
Pathways
xvii
UNIT ONE
Rites of Passage
He looked down into the blue well of water. He
knew he must find his way through that cave, or
hole, or tunnel, and out the other side.
Doris Lessing, from “Through the Tunnel”
xviii
Towards
the
Hill, Ken Danby, 1967
1
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B e fo r e Yo u R e a d
The Bass, the River, and Sheila Mant
Oranges
Meet the Authors
W. D. Wetherell Wetherell was born in 1948. He lives with his family in Lyme, New
Hampshire, near the banks of the Connecticut River—the river that forms the border
between New Hampshire and Vermont, the river in the story “The Bass, the River,
and Sheila Mant.” He has written several books—novels, collections of short stories,
nonfiction—as well as travel articles that have appeared in The New York Times. His lifelong
fondness for the Connecticut River inspired him to create the anthology This American River:
Five Centuries of Writing About the Connecticut River. He is also active in local and regional
efforts to protect the river.
Gary Soto Mexican American writer and poet Gary Soto (born 1952) grew up in a
poor neighborhood in Fresno, California. He turned to writing when he was a freshman
at Fresno State University, where he discovered the power of contemporary writers and
poets. He has never stopped writing. One of his most recent projects is a collection of love
poems for adolescents called Partly Cloudy: Poems of Love and Longing. For more on Gary
Soto, see page 390.
Build Background: Coming-of-Age Stories
In a coming-of-age story, the main character undergoes an adventure or some inner
struggle that is part of the character’s growth and development. Sometimes the adventures
are violent and teach cruel lessons about how the world works. Sometimes the struggles
are internal, involving only the character, the choices he or she makes, and lessons learned
as a result of the choices.
The story you are about to read is a coming-of-age story. In it, a fourteen-year-old
boy experiences a dramatic but hidden struggle between something he cares about and
something he thinks he wants.
• A
t what times have you hidden your own feelings or interests because you were afraid of
what others might think?
• T
hink of times you have been torn between something you always enjoyed as a child and
some new interest.
2
Unit One Rites of Passage
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The Bass, the River, and Sheila Mant
W. D. W E T H E R E L L
3
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Th e Bass , Th e R i v e r , a n d S h e i l a M a nt
W. D. We t h e r e l l
There
denizens
inhabitants
pensive
dreamily
thoughtful
scull
row
jaded
made dull or
cynical by
experience
epitome
ideal example
was a summer in my life when the only creature that seemed
lovelier to me than a largemouth bass was Sheila Mant. I was fourteen. The
Mants had rented the cottage next to ours on the river; with their parties, their
frantic games of softball, their constant comings and goings, they appeared to
me denizens of a brilliant existence.
“Too noisy by half,” my mother quickly decided, but I would have
given anything to be invited to one of their parties, and when my parents
went to bed I would sneak through the woods to their hedge and stare
enchanted at the candlelit swirl of white dresses and bright, paisley skirts.
Sheila was the middle daughter—at seventeen, all but out of reach. She
would spend her days sunbathing on a float my Uncle Sierbert had moored in
their cove, and before July was over I had learned all her moods. If she lay flat
on the diving board with her hand trailing idly in the water, she was pensive,
not to be disturbed. On her side, her head propped up by her arm, she was
observant, considering those around her with a look that seemed queenly
and severe. Sitting up, arms tucked around her long, suntanned legs, she was
approachable, but barely, and it was only in those glorious moments when
she stretched herself prior to entering the water that her various suitors found
the courage to come near.
These were many. The Dartmouth heavyweight crew1 would scull by her
house on their way upriver, and I think all eight of them must have been in
love with her at various times during the summer; the coxswain2 would curse
at them though his megaphone, but without effect—there was always a pause
in their pace when they passed Sheila’s float. I suppose to these jaded twentyyear-olds, she seemed the incarnation of innocence and youth, while to me
she appeared unutterably suave, the epitome of sophistication. I was on the
swim team at school, and to win her attention would do endless laps between
my house and the Vermont shore, hoping she would notice the beauty of my
1 Dartmouth heavyweight crew: one of the rowing teams at Dartmouth College
2 coxswain: team captain
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Unit One Rites of Passage
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flutter kick, the power of my crawl. Finishing, I would boost myself up onto our
dock and glance casually over toward her, but she was never watching, and the
miraculous day she was, I immediately climbed the diving board and did my
best tuck and a half for her and continued diving until she had left and the sun
went down, and my longing was like a madness and I couldn’t stop.
It was late August by the time I got up the nerve to ask her out. The tortured
will-I’s, won’t-I’s, the agonized indecision over what to say, the false starts
toward her house and embarrassed retreats—the details of these have been
seared from my memory, and the only part I remember clearly is emerging
from the woods toward dusk while they were playing softball on their lawn, as
bashful and frightened as a unicorn.
Sheila was stationed halfway between
first and second, well outside the infield. She
heila was stationed halfway
didn’t seem surprised to see me—as a matter
between first and second, well
of fact, she didn’t seem to see me at all.
“If you’re playing second base, you should
outside the infield. She didn’t seem
move closer,” I said.
surprised to see me—as a matter of
She turned—I took the full brunt of her
fact, she didn’t seem to see me at all.
long red hair and well-spaced freckles.
“I’m playing outfield,” she said, “I don’t
like the responsibility of having a base.”
“Yeah, I can understand that,” I said, though I couldn’t. ”There’s a band in
Dixford tomorrow night at nine. Want to go?”
One of her brothers sent the ball sailing over the left fielder’s head; she
stood and watched it disappear toward the river.
“You have a car?” she said, without looking up.
I played my master stroke. “We’ll go by canoe.”
I spent all of the following day polishing it. I turned it upside down on our
lawn and rubbed it with chamois until it gleamed as bright as aluminum ever
gleamed. About five, I slid it in the water, arranging cushions near the bow so
Sheila could lean on them if she was in one of her pensive moods, propping
3
up my father’s transistor radio by the middle thwart so we could have music
when we came back. Automatically, without thinking about it, I mounted my
Mitchell reel on my Pfleuger spinning rod and stuck it in the stern.
S
3 thwart: seat in a canoe
The Bass, the River, and Sheila Mant
5
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P o e try co n n ecti o n
Oranges
G ary S oto
The first time I walked
With a girl, I was twelve,
Cold, and weighted down
With two oranges in my jacket.
December. Frost cracking
Beneath my steps, my breath
Before me, then gone,
As I walked toward
Her house, the one whose
Porch light burned yellow
Night and day, in any weather.
A dog barked at me, until
She came out pulling
At her gloves, face bright
With rouge. I smiled,
Touched her shoulder, and led
Her down the street, across
A used car lot and a line
Of newly planted trees,
Until we were breathing
Before a drugstore. We
Entered, the tiny bell
Bringing a saleslady
Down a narrow aisle of goods.
I turned to the candies
Tiered like bleachers,
And asked what she wanted—
Light in her eyes, a smile
Starting at the corners
5
10
15
20
25
Oranges
11
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A f te r Yo u R e a d
The Bass, the River, and Sheila Mant / Oranges
Think and Discuss
1.Wetherell wrote, “A story isn’t about a moment in time, a story is about the moment in
time.” Which moment in time is this story about?
2 .The passage from childhood to adulthood involves learning many lessons—about
yourself, about others, and about the world. What lesson does the main character learn
in “The Bass, the River, and Sheila Mant”?
3.Think about the two characters in the story: the narrator and Sheila Mant. In your
Writer’s Notebook, create a character map similar to the one below for each character.
You may find you need to add more traits for the narrator’s map and fewer for Sheila’s
map.
Character Map
Trait 1
Trait 2
Trait 3
Evidence
Evidence
Evidence
Evidence
Evidence
Evidence
4.“The Bass, the River, and Sheila Mant” is a first-person narrative. What are the
advantages of having the main character tell his own story?
5.Think about times you have you faced a choice between two appealing options. What
and how did you choose?
6.What “rite of passage” do both “The Bass, the River, and Sheila Mant” and “Oranges”
represent?
Write to Understand: Character Sketch
Use your character map for the narrator to write a character sketch. Your sketch should
tell the most important traits of the narrator and how these traits are revealed through his
thoughts and actions. When you’ve finished your character sketch, exchange your work with
a partner. Discuss any differences in the traits you and your partner identified.
The Bass, the River, and Sheila Mant / Oranges
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Writers on Writing
B e fo r e Yo u R e a d
Introduction to Shelf Life
Meet the Author: Gary Paulsen
Gary Paulsen (born 1939) is one of the best-known authors of books for young people. He
lived for many years in the woods of northern Minnesota. A love of outdoor adventure led
Paulsen to compete in two Iditarod dog sled races. He learned firsthand how to survive
in the wilderness, a theme that plays out in many of his works. In his 175 books and more
than 200 articles and short stories, Paulsen draws on a wide range of life experience for
his material. He was at different times a carnival worker, an engineer, a ranch hand, and a
sailor. But no work has meant more to him than his work as a writer, to which he often
gives 18 to 20 hours a day.
Build Background: A “Write” of Passage
Gary Paulsen credits books with saving his life, of getting him through the passage from his
difficult childhood into the world beyond his family. He is so grateful for the salvation he
found in both reading and writing books that he has committed himself to promoting a love
of the written word among adolescents. As part of that effort, Paulsen asked well-known
authors to write a story for a new collection of short stories, with only one rule: the story
had to include mention of a book. The selection that follows is the introduction to that
collection, which is called Shelf Life: Stories by the Book.
• W
hat books or stories have transported you from your everyday life into a world that
you could lose yourself in as you read?
• How do you feel about yourself as a writer? Give examples.
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Unit One Rites of Passage
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Gary Paulsen and his dogs
Introduction
to
Shelf Life
G ary Paulsen
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A Writer’s Wo r k s h o p
Autobiographical N arrative
In this unit you have read about young people and their feelings as they approach adulthood.
In the autobiographical narratives, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings; page 15, “Vegetarian
Enough,” page 51; My Forbiden Face, page 63; and Shelf Life, page 83) you have had a chance
to get to know about who the writer is deep inside. Now you have a chance to share a
little of yourself with readers as you write your own autobiographical narrative.
Prewriting
R eviewing I deas
The writing you’ve done so far in your Writer’s Notebook includes possible ideas for an
autobiographical narrative. Review what you have written to see which idea grabs you
the most. A good subject for an autobiographical narrative is an incident:
• w
ith a clear beginning, middle, and ending that shows how you made a passage of some
kind and grew as a person or learned an important lesson
• that will allow readers to get a good sense of who you are.
If you don’t find an incident in your Writer’s Notebook that you want to write about,
brainstorm other incidents from your life that might work well as the subject of an
autobiographical narrative.
F reewriting
to
D evelop D etails
Once you have chosen an incident for your narrative, write down everything you can
remember about what happened. Include all of the people involved, the place, the time,
and every other detail you can think of. Write freely without worrying about form or
mistakes.
Sample Freewriting
I’m going to write about the time my sister and I went to the Bellwood Avenue shopping
area by ourselves for the first time. It must have been spring because I remember my
father’s muddy boots when he came to pick us up. We went to the dimestore—I remember
I bought a pencil case with my allowance money. I don’t remember what Marsha bought.
Marsha felt very grown up being in charge of me. I was wearing my favorite blue . . .
90
Unit One Rites of Passage
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O rganizing I deas
Look over your freewriting. Circle each event in the story. Then copy and complete
the framework below in your Writer’s Notebook.
The passage you
made or lesson
learned
Setting
Event that begins
narrative
Next important
event in narrative
Next important
event in narrative
Event that ends the
narrative
What narrative
shows about you
Drafting
Use your chart to write a first draft. Also look back over the notes you made about other
details you remember from this incident. Add these to your narrative to make it come alive
and to show its importance to you. Use dialogue to reveal character.
C ooper ative L earning : P eer R eview
Pair up with a partner and exchange drafts. Discuss the strengths of your partner’s draft
as well as ways it can be improved. Be open to your partner’s suggestions for improving
your work.
A Writer’s Workshop
91
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Revising and Editing
Use your partner’s comments to help you evaluate and revise your narrative. Keep
revising until you are happy with your draft. Then check your work for errors in
grammar, spelling, capitalization, and punctuation.
U sing Word P rocessing
The most fundamental strategies for revising are adding, deleting, substituting, and
rearranging. With a word processor, you can easily add, delete, substitute, or
rearrange your ideas while revising by using the Cut and Paste functions. Highlight
what you want to change. Then choose Cut (or Copy) from the Edit menu. If you
choose Copy, position your cursor where you want to insert your highlighted
text and choose Paste from the Edit menu. Save different versions of your work
under different file names, such as autobiography1 and autobiography2. You can
then compare them side by side as you continue to think of ways to improve your
writing.
R eading with an editor ’ s eye
In narrative writing, transitional words and phrases help readers follow the
passing of time. Here are some of the words and phrases Gary Paulsen uses as
he recounts his early experience with books and reading (see page 85).
• A
fter a time, it could have been ten minutes or an hour or my whole life, she
asked me . . .
• A few years later, when I was thirteen . . .
• Later that night back at home . . .
As you are revising your autobiographical narrative, check to make sure you have
clearly signaled to readers when time is passing so that they can follow the story
easily. Use such words and phrases as later, the next day, when I was eleven, and by the
time I got home.
U sing
a checklist
The Six-Trait checklist on the next page will help you evaluate and polish your
narrative.
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Six Traits of Writing : Autobiographical Narratives
Content and Ideas
• subject focuses on passage or lesson learned
• narrative reveals something about writer’s personality or character
• vivid supporting details bring the experience to life
Organization
• narrative has clear beginning, middle, and ending
• events are presented in a clear time order
Voice or Style
• narrative uses first-person point of view
• writer’s voice sounds natural, not forced
• dialogue is realistic and reveals character
Word Choice
• lively verbs and specific nouns give the writing energy
• such comparisons as similes and metaphors create memorable images
Sentence Fluency
• transitional words help the writing flow smoothly
• sentence length and sentence beginnings are varied and purposeful
Conventions
• sentences are complete and begin with a capital letter and end with a period
• grammar and usage are correct
• spelling and punctuation are correct
C ooper ative L earning : P eer E diting
Exchange papers with your partner and check each other’s editing. Fix any errors your
partner points out. Make a neat final copy of your narrative.
A Writer’s Workshop
93