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Assignment instructions for A Mystery of Heroism by Stephen Crane
Schedule: Day 1: Read A Mystery of Heroism (pgs. 487-492) and begin answering “As You Read”
questions below.
Day 2: Complete “As You Read” questions below and begin “Making Meaning” on page 493.
Day 3: Answer “Making Meaning” questions 1 to 7 and “Reading Check” (a to d) on page 493.
Terms to know before you read:
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Irony: A technique that involves surprising, interesting, or amusing contradictions or contrasts. A perception
of inconsistency, sometimes humorous, in which the significance and understanding of a statement or event
is changed by its context.
o Dramatic Irony - the audience or reader knows more about a character’s situation than the character
does and knows that the character’s understanding is incorrect. Example: In Medea, Creon asks, “What
atrocities could she commit in one day?” The reader, however, knows Medea will destroy her family and
Creon’s by day’s end.
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o Situational Irony - When what actually happens is the opposite of what is expected.
o Verbal Irony - a discrepancy between what is said and what is really meant; sarcasm. Example: A
large man whose nickname is “Tiny.”
Dialect: A particular form of a language that is peculiar to a specific region or social group.
Juxtaposition (juxtapose): A literary device wherein the author places a person, concept, place, idea or
theme parallel to another. The purpose of juxtaposing two directly/indirectly related entities close together in
literature is to highlight the contrast between the two and compare them.
Answer “As You Read” A Mystery of Heroism
1) What is your personal definition of a hero? Explain.
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2) What type of irony can be seen in the last column on page 487 (“Fred Collins of …was the crimson
terror…”)? (verbal, situational, or dramatic) Note: Collins is focused on a minor personal desire
while all around him people are dying.
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The author creates this irony when he juxtaposes Collins’s wish for a drink with the burgler’s
death. True or False (circle one)
3) What type of irony is found in the second paragraph (“From beyond a curtain…questions of the
national existence.”) of page 488? (verbal, situational, or dramatic and explain your answer)
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4) Analyzing: What might the destruction of the gray house represent on page 489 (first column: “A
shell struck the gray … gale of winter.”)?
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5) Language: Why does the author (Crane) have Collins and the other soldiers speak a dialect
different from that of the officer (see the last three paragraphs of column 1 on page 489)?
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6) Making Inferences: Why does the colonel call Collins a “lad” on page 490 (“The colonel was
watching Collins face. Look here, my lad,” he said in a pious sort of a voice.”)?
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7) Drawing conclusions: What makes Collins go? What do you think will result from his decision? See
the bottom of page 490 (“Are yeh sure a-goin?” they demanded again and again. Certainly I am,
cried Collins…”)?
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8) Naturalism: The naturalists believed, in part, that nature is indifferent to the human struggle for
survival. How is a naturalist perspective upheld in this scene on page 492 (“His eyes as he gazed
down… water derided him.”)?
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9) Copy each word and definition in the “Words to Own” section found on the bottom of pages 487
to 492.
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10) Use each word found in the “Words to Own” section in a sentence.
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Notes:
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