On Seeing England for the First Time - Chunked Questions for Partners
(Read a chunk; answer questions. Read another chunk; answer questions. Repeat until done. Answer on separate paper
and put your partner’s name on it if you work with one today.)
Chunk 1:
1. Mark incidents of the word England in the first passage. Paraphrase your thoughts about the effect of the
rhetorical strategy of repetition on the reader.
2. Write down the words that suggest the speaker’s attitude toward England.
3. Identify some of the other rhetorical strategies (diction, detail, syntax, for example) Kincaid uses to convey
her attitude toward England.
4. Examine the allusion to Jerusalem. (Talk to others around you or me if you have questions about it.) Describe the
effect of the analogy Kincaid makes between Jerusalem and England. What is her intention for using this
analogy?
Chunk 2:
5. Reread the passage for Kincaid’s use of repetition of the term “Made in England” and speculate on the purpose
and effect on the reader. Why is this important to her message? What does it convey both implicitly and
explicitly?
6. Identify the speaker’s attitude. Is she for or against England? Is she conflicted? Is her attitude complex? Explain
with examples.
7. Compare and contrast the speaker’s and the father’s perceptions of England. How are they different?
8. What are some of the other rhetorical strategies (details and imagery, for example) Kincaid uses to convey her
attitude toward England. Give examples from the text. How does her commentary on the details she includes
convey her attitude?
Chunk 3:
9. Compare and contrast the points of view and perceptions of the English that are evidenced in the essay.
10. Identify the tone of this passage and locate the shift that reveals a new tone. Use the text for examples.
11. Using SIFT (page 376), identify some of the other rhetorical strategies (symbol, imagery, and figurative
language) used in this essay. Give examples. What is the effect on the reader by Kincaid using these strategies
(think of tone)? Give two examples.
12. What visual images came to mind as you were reading this essay?
When done, combine with another small group (form a group of four students) and generate a list of tone words
appropriate to the text. Then find details and images that support the tone. Look back at your answers to help with this
list. Once your group has examples listed, create a thesis for an essay that you will write on page 42. This essay can be
one you write together with your partner if you wish.
Sample thesis statements (but make sure yours is original and not one of these):
• In “On Seeing England for the First Time,” Jamaica Kincaid shows an awareness of her second-class position as she
reflects on her childhood memories of the role of England in her home and life.
• The central imagery of a map of England and the repetition of “Made in England” reveal the narrator’s disillusionment
with her association with England.
Do the writing prompt on page 42 once you have written your thesis sentence.
To turn in: your group’s chunked questions, your member’s thesis sentences, and your writing prompt
essay.
All this work prepares you for the first embedded assessment assignment, starting this Wednesday.