Please pass forward your
homework.
Chapter 6: Theme
Chapter 7: Symbol
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Put away all books and notes. Do not
take them out again until ALL quizzes are
finished.
NO TALKING OR CHEATING during the
quiz or you will get a 0 on your quiz.
Write your ENGLISH NAME, STUDENT
ID#, and ROW A or ROW B on your quiz.
There are 5 questions.
PENS DOWN when I say so, and pass
your quizzes to me quickly.
ROW A
ROW B
Jane
123456789
John
987654321
1)
1)
2)
2)
3)
3)
4)
4)
5)
5)
Row A
1) Define “grimace.”
2) Define “haughty.”
3) Define “serene.”
4) What do people
think that Miss
Emily will do with
the arsenic she
buys?
5) Define “style.”
Row B
1) Define “persuade.”
2) Define “aid.”
3) Define “vigorous.”
4) What do they find
in Miss Emily’s
house at the end of
the story?
5) Define “tone.”
Row A
Row B
1) Define “evidently.”
2) Define “haughty.”
3) Define “trace.”
4) What happened to
Miss Emily’s fiance
Homer Barron?
5) Define “irony.”
1) Define “aid.”
2) Define “vigorous.”
3) Define “grimace.”
4) At the end of the
story, what do we
find out happened
to Miss Emily’s
fiance Homer
Barron?
5) Define “mood.”
Row A
Row B
1) Define “errand.”
2) Define “ceased.”
3) Define “archaic.”
4) Who is Homer
Barron (in relation to
Miss Emily)?
5) Define
“denotation.”
1) Define “cemetery.”
2) Define
“anonymous.”
3) Define “obligation.”
4) What do they find in
Miss Emily’s house at
the end of the story?
5) Define
“connotation.”
Style
Tone
Mood
Syntax
Diction
Denotation
Connotation (positive, negative, neutral)
Irony (verbal, situational, dramatic)
Style: the way an author writes; the
characteristics of an author’s writing.
 Usually results from…

•
•
•
•
•
Sentence structure (syntax).
Word choice (diction).
Choice of details.
Subject matter.
Tone.
Syntax: the grammatical arrangement of
words in a text for effect.
 Narration (narrator talking) or dialogue
(characters talking)?
 Description, thoughts, or conversation?
 Simple or complex (complicated)?

• Simple sentences: short, not many words, simpler
vocabulary, not as many adjectives
• Complex sentences: longer, more words, more
difficult vocabulary, more adjectives/adverbs
Diction: a writer’s choice of words.
 There are many words in English—which
words does the author choose to use?
 Simple or difficult words?
 Slang, informal, dialect?
 Formal, old-fashioned, technical?
 Positive, negative, or neutral connotation?

A word has a dictionary definition, but also
may have a “feeling” that goes with it.
 Denotation

• The dictionary definition of a word; the objective
meaning.

Connotation
• The emotional meaning of a word.
• The emotional “charge” that comes along with a
word that language usage has placed on it.
• Can be positive (good), negative (bad), or
neutral (not good or bad).
Noisy
Gentle
Crowded
Unusual
Extraordinary
Unique
Walk
Bounce
Dress
Gown
Negative
Positive
Negative
Negative
Positive
Positive
Neutral
Positive
Neutral
Positive
 Tone: the
author’s or speaker’s attitude
toward the subject and/or audience.
 You can know the tone from the writer’s…
• Diction.
• Syntax.
• Style.
• Choice of details.
• Imagery.
 Should
be able to be described in 1-2 words.
• One word:
bitter, ironic, playful, amused, objective,
detached, wistful, admiring.
• Two words:
“A tone of…” bitter irony, playful amusement,
objective detachment, wistful admiration.
 See “Tone Words” list on website under “Class
Materials.”
Compare this passage to the previous one. Can you see a
difference in the tone?
Daniel stomped his way aggressively down the street,
stewing over Rachel’s presumptuous words. He gave a
haughty snort. Who did she think she was? She didn’t know
him, not one bit. She didn’t deserve another minute of his
time. And she wouldn’t get one, either. No siree, not from
him. Never again. She could just forget about that.
The rain began its attack without warning. Daniel
swatted at the pesky raindrops pummeling his uncovered
neck. That’s what he got for allowing himself to be exposed.
First thing tomorrow he would buy a raincoat. A thick one.
Possible Answers:
Bitter, resentful, angry, frustrated, annoyed, peeved.
Mood: the general atmosphere of feeling
in a literary work.
 What kind of feelings surround the work?
 Different definition from tone, but may
be described the same way.
Question to discuss:
 What is the mood of “Cat in the Rain”?
How can you tell? (Pg. 33)

Irony is the contrast between what is expected
or what appears to be and what actually is.
 Verbal Irony
Saying one thing but meaning the opposite.
(Example: sarcasm)
 Situational Irony
Something happens that is the opposite of what is
expected.
(Example: “Story of an Hour”)
 Dramatic Irony
Audience or reader knows more than the
characters know.
(Example: “The Appointment in Samarra”)

Theme is what the story means, not
necessarily what the story says.
 The moral of the story.
 The lesson or message the reader takes
away from the story.
 One reader may get a different message
than another.

There was once on a time a little girl whose
father and mother were dead, and she was so
poor that she no longer had any little room to
live in, or bed to sleep in, and at last she had
nothing else but the clothes she was wearing
and a little bit of bread in her hand which some
kind person had given her. She was, however,
good and pious. And as she was left alone by
all the world, she went out into the open
country, trusting in the good God.
Then a poor man met her, who said: “Ah, give me
something to eat, I am so hungry!” She reached him the
whole of her piece of bread, and said: “May God bless
it to your use,” and went on. Then came a child who
moaned and said: “My head is so cold, give me
something to cover it with.” So she took off her hood
and gave it to him; and when she had walked a little
farther, she met another child who had no jacket and
was frozen with cold. Then she gave it her own; and a
little farther on one begged for a dress, and she gave
away that also. At length she got into a forest and it had
already become dark, and there came yet another
child, and asked for a little shirt, and the good little girl
thought to herself: “It is a dark night and no one sees
thee, thou canst very well give thy little shirt away,” and
took it off, and gave away that also.
And as she so stood, and had not one
single thing left, suddenly some stars
from heaven fell down, and they were
nothing else but hard smooth pieces of
money, and although she had just given
her little shirt away, she had a new one
which was of the very finest cloth. Then
she gathered together the money into
this, and was rich all the days of her life.
What is the theme of “The Star Money”?
 Possible themes:

• “God will reward you for the good you do.”
• “He who gives away the little he has will receive
much greater rewards in the end.”
• “When you see a need that you can satisfy, then
satisfy it without thought to your own needs, and
you will be blessed.”

Do you agree with any of these themes?
There was a merchant in Bagdad who sent his servant
to market to buy provisions. In a little while the
servant came back, white and trembling, and said,
“Master, just now when I was in the marketplace I
was jostled by a woman in the crowd, and when I
turned, I saw it was Death that jostled me. She looked
at me and made a threatening gesture! Now, lend me
your horse, and I will ride away from this city and
avoid my fate. I will go to Samarra and there Death
will not find me.” The merchant lent him his horse,
and the servant mounted it, and he dug his spurs in
its flanks and as fast as the horse could gallop he
went. Then the merchant went down to the
marketplace and he saw me standing in the crowd
and he came to me and said, “Why did you make a
threatening gesture to my servant when you saw him
this morning?” “That was not a threatening gesture,”
I said. “It was only a start of surprise. I was
astonished to see him in Bagdad, for I had an
appointment with him tonight in Samarra.”

What is the theme of “The Appointment
in Samarra”?
• “You cannot avoid your fate.”
• “You cannot avoid destiny.”
• “No one can escape Death.”
• “You cannot run away from Death—you will find
that wherever you run to, it will be there waiting
for you.”
• “A man cannot take charge of his own
fate/destiny.”
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Do you agree?
Get into groups of 3-4 and discuss:
What is the theme of …
 “Godfather Death”?
 “The Tell-Tale Heart”?
 “Cat in the Rain”?
 “The Story of an Hour”?
 “The Chaser”?
 “The Use of Force”?
 “A Rose for Emily”?

“Godfather Death”
• Death comes swiftly for those who abuse their
power.
• No one is above death/Death.
• He who toys with life and death may find himself
the victim of Death.

“The Tell-Tale Heart”
• You cannot escape your conscience.
• You may lie to others, but your heart cannot lie to
yourself.

“Cat in the Rain”
• Everyone needs to feel important and valuable.

“The Story of an Hour”?
• Some of us may only find freedom in death.

“The Chaser”
• Love is stronger/more powerful than Death.

“The Use of Force”
• Humans often do not want what is best for them
and the use of force must be applied for their
own good.
 Born
New Jersey, went to Medical School in
Pennsylvania.
 Is primarily known as a poet, but wrote prose
as well.
 Practiced as a children’s doctor until a heart
attack in 1948.
 Continued writing until his death.
 Won Pulitzer Prize and the National Book
Award.
 What
happens in the story?
 How is the story narrated?
 What does the title mean?
 Why is the girl so afraid?
 Why does the Doctor get so angry?
 What is the theme of the story?
 Can you think of other messages that
author might have intended?
Symbol: something that stands for
something else because of relationship,
association, or resemblance.
 Often a visible sign for something
invisible.
 Examples:

• Lion – courage
• Cross – Christian
• Red – passion, love, anger, hatred
 Natural
Symbols – Spring, rain, snow,
forest, etc. (“The Story of an Hour” page
118, second full paragraph)
 Conventional
Symbols – Flags, religious
emblems, logos for companies
 Literary
Symbols – Animals, buildings,
people, colors, characters’ names…
Think of what each of these could symbolize:
 Colors: red, white, black, blue, green, yellow.
 A rose
 A flower
 A dog
 A tiger
 Fire
 Water
 Can you think of any more examples of
symbols in life? Come up with a few, write
them down, and be prepared to share.

Get into groups of 3-4. Can you think of
any more examples of symbols in life?
Come up with a few, write them down,
and be prepared to share.
In groups of 3-4, see if you can find any
symbols in any of these stories:
 “Godfather Death”?
 “The Tell-Tale Heart”?
 “Cat in the Rain”?
 “The Story of an Hour”?
 “The Chaser”?
 “The Use of Force”?
 “A Rose for Emily”?
Born in Mississippi.
Never finished high school or college.
Started writing poetry, but turned to prose.
Success began when he created a fictional
county as the setting for many of his novels and
stories (Jefferson, setting of “A Rose for Emily”).
 Published in 1930 “A Rose for Emily” is set in that
county.
 Made money by writing many screenplays for
Hollywood movies.
 Won Nobel Prize for literature in 1949 and two
Pulitzer Prizes.
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1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
6)
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Who are the major characters?
Describe the plot (list each of the four main
plot elements).
What is the setting of the story?
How would you describe Faulkner’s style?
How would you describe the speaker’s tone?
How would you describe the story’s mood?
What does Miss Emily symbolize?
Are there other symbols in the story?
Some possible symbols:
 Emily’s house
 Emily’s hair
 The pocket watch
 Lime
 Arsenic
 “Death and Taxes”

Story Outline (time)
 Starts with her death.
 The story of her taxes.
 Back 30 years to the “smell.”
 Homer Barron arrives, she buys rat poison,
Homer leaves, returns, and then disappears .
 Emily disappears, grows fat, gives painting
lessons, then stays in her home.
 Then she dies and the body is discovered .
Scan (look at very briefly) the
introductions to chs. 17-19
 Read “The Man in a Case” (pp. 357-368)
 For quiz…
 Know the play’s contents.
 Study the red vocabulary.
 Review this week’s literary terms.
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