K.

Duncan
English II
Cary High School
Inference & characterization
Mood & tone
 Literary Analysis #1
Character Details in the story
Choose a character from the story and fill in a
Indirect characterization
chart like the one below.
says
thinks
Details in Story
effects others
acts
looks

Direct characterization (What the writer says)

 **Remember to use A.C.E. when you respond.
(answer, cite, explain)
1. On page 865, the author provides details about the fat man.
Based on these details, what can you infer about this
character?
2. It is not until page 866 that the fat man realizes he has lost
his son. What inference can you make about why it has taken
him so long?
3. Explain how Pirandello’s use of indirect characterization
helps to develop a character in the story. Select only one
character for your focus and provide textual evidence for
support.
1. Explain how the author uses imagery and sensory
details to establish the setting.
2. What mood does the author create for the reader
of this story? Does it change or shift from the
beginning to the end?
3. How does the author use imagery and sensory
details in the setting help to establish the mood of
the story?
4. How would you describe the author’s tone? You
can discuss his attitude to the subject or a specific
character.
Conflict & Cause / Effect
Figurative language (setting, simile, metaphor, idiom)
 man vs. Self man vs. man man vs.
society

Provide an example
of each from “The
Piece of String.”
Include the page
number for your
textual support.
 Create a chart on your paper and fill in the boxes. Include the page
number from the text where you find the examples. Fill in the empty
boxes and then find at least ______ examples of your own.

Cause Effect

Example P.797 Hard work in the The peasants have bandy

fields and pushing plows
p. 798 Hauchecorne
picks up a piece of string.
legs, twisted spines, and
bony frames.
p. 801 “He died in early
January”
With your seat partner(s), draw a picture of
the literary element assigned (setting, simile,
metaphor, or idiom). Follow the directions on
the card and be sure to include a
description/explanation of the picture on the
back of the paper.
Plot & Point of View
Theme & Symbol
 Identify the point of view in the story.

 Provide two direct quotes with page numbers to support your choice.
The ring is a major symbol in the story “The Ring.”
Explain what it symbolizes in general, then explain what it
symbolizes to Lise. Next, explain how the ring (and her
surrender of it) represents a change in Lise and her view
of marriage.

Provide at least TWO direct quotes for support with the

appropriate page number.
 First, identify the subject of the story in one or two words (love,
hate, life, etc.). Next, evaluate the story for a theme. Start with
the following statement: “In her story “The Ring,” Isaak Dinsen
believes that _______.” In addition to explaining the theme, provide
at least two direct quotes for support with the correct page
number.
Draw an illustration for either the symbol or the theme.
Be creative. Your illustration is a visual clue to one of
these elements and does not need to be an exact
representation.
Foreshadowing & suspense
Irony
 When Mr. White states that he’d like to go
to India, just like Sergeant-Major Morris,
Morris tells him “better where you are.” In
what way might this be foreshadowing?
The phrase “better where you
are” is an example of
foreshadowing because
"The Monkey's Paw" is set in the
White family home in England. It
begins on a dark and stormy night, so
we know we're in for a scary story.
The Whites – Mr. and Mrs. White and
their adult son Herbert – are inside
enjoying a cozy evening around the
fire.
Soon Sergeant-Major Morris arrives.
He's been in the army in India for the
past 21 years. He tells the Whites
stories of his adventures in that
faraway land and shows them a
monkey's paw that has the power to
grant three wishes. Mr. White wants
the paw, but Morris tells him it's
cursed – people get hurt when their
wishes are granted. He tries to burn
the paw in the fire, but Mr. White
snatches it up and buys it. After
Morris leaves, Mr. White, following
Herbert's suggestion, wishes for two
hundred pounds, the amount of
money he would need to pay off the
bank and own the house outright.
 Morris tells Mr. White that the old fakir
who owned the monkey’s paw put a spell
on it to “show that fate ruled people’s lives,
and that those who interfered with it did so
to their sorrow.” How does the author use
this information about the monkey’s paw
as foreshadowing?
 After Mr. White retrieves the monkey’s paw
from the fire, give examples of
foreshadowing, provided by Morris, that
build suspense or hint at what might
happen later in connection with the
monkey’s paw.
"The Monkey's Paw" is set in the
White family home in England. It
begins on a dark and stormy night, so
we know we're in for a scary story.
The Whites – Mr. and Mrs. White and
their adult son Herbert – are inside
enjoying a cozy evening around the
fire.
Soon Sergeant-Major Morris arrives.
He's been in the army in India for the
past 21 years. He tells the Whites
stories of his adventures in that
faraway land and shows them a
monkey's paw that has the power to
grant three wishes. Mr. White wants
the paw, but Morris tells him it's
cursed – people get hurt when their
wishes are granted. He tries to burn
the paw in the fire, but Mr. White
snatches it up and buys it. After
Morris leaves, Mr. White, following
Herbert's suggestion, wishes for two
hundred pounds, the amount of
money he would need to pay off the
bank and own the house outright.
 When the well-dressed stranger
appears at their home, what
foreshadowing clues are
provided that hint at the
message that he brings will not
be a positive one?
 How does the author create
suspense in the second
chapter?
The next morning, Herbert goes
off to work as usual and Mrs.
White watches for the two
hundred pounds to show up. In
the afternoon, a fancily dressed
man pays the Whites a visit. He is
from Maw and Meggins, the
company Herbert works for. The
man tells the Whites that Herbert
has been killed in a machinery
accident. (We aren't given details
of Herbert's work, but the clues
suggest that he works in some
kind of factory.) The man says
that the company takes no blame
for Herbert's death but wants to
give the Whites some money to
help with their loss. You can
probably guess how much money
the man gives the Whites. That's
right, two hundred pounds. Mrs.
White screams and Mr. White
faints.
 What details does the author
use to heighten the feeling of
uncertainty and create
suspense in the third part?
Hint: look at sensory details and
things that repeat.
Full of sadness over Herbert's death,
Mr. and Mrs. White bury him in the
cemetery two miles from their home.
One night Mrs. White gets a bright
idea: use those other two wishes to
bring Herbert back! She shares her
plan with Mr. White. He thinks it's a
bad idea – he could barely look at
Herbert's mangled body when he
went to identify it. Mr. White pulls
out the cursed monkey's paw and
wishes Herbert back to life.
Nothing happens, so the Whites go
back to bed. Soon after, someone –
or something – starts pounding on
the door. Mrs. White is sure it's
Herbert – it just took him a minute
to get there from the cemetery. Mr.
White is sure it's Herbert too, and he
doesn't want his son to get in the
house, so he makes his third wish
on the monkey's paw. The knocking
stops. Mr. White hears Mrs. White
open the door. He hears her scream
out in agony because Herbert is not
there. He goes outside with her and
sees that the road is completely
empty.
 When the stranger arrives, what clues can the
reader use to make an inference that Mrs. White
believes he is rich? What inference can the reader
make about why Mrs. White believes the stranger
has come?

 How was Mrs. White able to make the inference that

her son was dead?

 Provide clues from the story that enable you to:

Make an inference as to what Mr. White believes is
on the other side of the door.

Make an inference as to what Mr. White made for

his “third and last wish.”

Make an inference as to why Mr. White made this

wish.
 Explain how the following lines are
examples of irony:

“Well, I don’t see the money,” said

his son…”and I bet I never shall.”
“…how could two hundred pounds
hurt you, father?”

 How is the end of part two an

example of situational irony?
• Review each of the stories we have read (“War,”
“The Piece of String,” and “The Ring”).

• Find an example of situational or dramatic

irony in each.

• Explain why the example qualifies and identify

what type of irony it is.