Common Core Standards
Simile and Tone in “Dirt”
Book: Dusk and Other Stories
Author: James Salter
Grade Level: 9-12
Lesson Type: Figurative Language and
Close Text Analysis
Concept: Figurative Language & Close Text Analysis
Primary Subject Area: English
Secondary Subject Areas: N/A
Common Core Standards Addressed:
Grades 9-10
Grades 11-12
Key Ideas and Details
Key Ideas and Details
o Determine a theme or central idea of a text and
o Analyze the impact of the author’s choices
regarding how to develop and relate elements of a
story or drama (e.g. where a story is set, how the
action is ordered, how the characters are
introduced and developed).
analyze in detail its development over the course
of the text, including how it emerges and is
shaped and refined by specific details; provide an
objective summary of the text.
Vocabulary Acquisition and Use
Vocabulary Acquisition and Use
o Acquire and use accurately general academic and o Acquire and use accurately general academic
domain-specific words and phrases, sufficient for
reading, writing, speaking, and listening at the
college and career readiness level; demonstrate
independence in gathering vocabulary
knowledge when considering a word or phrase
important to comprehension or expression.
and domain-specific words and phrases,
sufficient for reading, writing, speaking, and
listening at the college and career readiness level;
demonstrate independence in gathering
vocabulary knowledge when considering a word
or phrase important to comprehension or
expression.
“Dirt” from Dusk and Other Stories: Common Core Standards
1
Lesson Plan
Simile and Tone in “Dirt”
Book: Dusk and Other Stories
Author: James Salter
Grade Level: 9-12
Lesson Type: Figurative Language and
Close Text Analysis
Overview:
Materials:
• Copies of James Salter’s Dusk and
Other Stories
Handout of The Grapes of Wrath
excerpt and explanation
This lesson will explore the author’s use of figurative language,
particularly simile, as well as the effect of simple description in
setting tone and establishing characters’ relationships.
•
Objectives:
Other Resources:
• Grapes of Wrath excerpt
Students will be able to:
- Assess the value of simile as a descriptive tool
- Make an argument about the nature of tone and what elements
of a story they believe most directly contribute to it
- Seek out and utilize textual references in order to discuss the
relationship between authorial choices and tone
Warm-Up Activity:
Ask students to read over the introduction to and excerpt from The
Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck (provided as handout). On the
back of the sheet, have them jot down a few ideas about the tone of
this excerpt and what led them to their decisions about that tone.
Additionally, ask them to consider any relevance of this text to
Salter’s “Dirt,” writing down any similarities or differences they
find on the back of the handout.
Short Lecture & Partner Activities:
•
After the class has had about ten to fifteen minutes to
read the excerpt and respond to the questions on tone
and relevance, ask them to offer up their ideas.
Remind them that there is not necessarily a single
correct answer, but the tone they decide on should be
supported by commentary on the excerpt. It may be
helpful to have the students first list the elements of a
story, like syntax or diction, POV, etc. and write these
down as a list on the board. Then, go through the list
with them. For example, did their observation about
the tone in The Grapes of Wrath excerpt come from
the syntax? from the POV? from the dialogue? Etc.
“Dirt” from Dusk and Other Stories: Lesson Plan
2
Lesson Plan
Simile and Tone in “Dirt”
Book: Dusk and Other Stories
Author: James Salter
Grade Level: 9-12
Lesson Type: Figurative Language and
Close Text Analysis
As far as relevance is concerned, the class might say
that each story involves small-town/country folk,
traveling after a major event requires or allows them
to do so, etc.
• Begin by explaining that Salter takes a straight-forward approach
to description in “Dirt,” employing relatively simple language
and sentence structure. For example, in the opening scene on p.
131, “They were leveling the floor of the old Bryant place. Like all
of them it had no foundation, it sat on pieces of wood. ‘Feller
could start right there,’ Harry called. ‘This one?’ ‘That’s it.’” Yet
even in this simplicity Salter does embellish, using plenty of
similes.
- Here, ask the students to silently locate at least two similes
and jot down the page numbers on their own. Some
examples include: “A kind of rancid dust sifted down
through the floorboards and fell on his face like a light
rain.” (Page 131); “The sun was dry, the air thin as paper.”
(Page 132); “He would rise to one knee, pause, and finally
sway to his feet like an old horse.” (Page 132)
- Have a few students share one of their similes and the
surrounding sentence or paragraph.
- Pick one of the shared similes and ask what function it
serves to the sentence/story. Does it seem out of place in
the context of Salter’s simplistic tone? Why or why not? For
example: On page 132, Salter describes Al: “A black man in
overalls appeared from a shack surrounded by bedsprings.
He was round shouldered, heavy as a bull. There was an
old, green Chrysler parked on the far side.” In this
paragraph, the simile does not break with the tone of
“Dirt,” but instead complements it, even contributes to it.
The description relating Al to a bull reminds of the country
setting and exhausting labor of the men who live there.
It may help to further establish this point by comparing it
to a more flowery simile from Salter, as in “Via Negativa”:
“He was like a letter lying on the table, the half-read Gogol,
like the wine.” (Page 112) Why would this simile not fit in
“Dirt”?
• Yet tone is created by more than just diction, as alluded to by the
list of story elements the students came up with during the warmup activity. To more carefully examine tone in “Dirt,” then, have
the students either form groups or partnerships.
First, have them find an excerpt from the text that they believe captures the overall tone of the story.
Next, ask them to do the same thing they did in the warm up: determine the tone of that excerpt based
on its components. If they are having trouble with the task, refer them to the list of contributing factors
“Dirt” from Dusk and Other Stories: Lesson Plan
3
Lesson Plan
Simile and Tone in “Dirt”
Book: Dusk and Other Stories
Author: James Salter
Grade Level: 9-12
Lesson Type: Figurative Language and
Close Text Analysis
the class made about the Steinbeck excerpt. Make sure the students are keeping track of the page
number of their excerpt and explaining their ideas about tone.
• Bring the class together again to share their excerpts. Have each group either read their passage, or refer the
other students to it, and explain their reasoning for choosing that tone.
Discussion Wrap-Up:
Have the students return to the excerpt from The Grapes of Wrath. Did anything about their initial opinion
of tone change after the discussion of Salter’s tone in “Dirt”? Though about similar people and events, what
makes the tone of “Dirt” so different from the tone in the excerpt from The Grapes of Wrath?
Writing Activities/Evaluations:
Analytical:
In two to three paragraphs, address Salter’s tone in “Dirt.” Describe the tone he employs and why it is
fitting to the story being told. Support your ideas with examples from the text.
Creative:
Write a paragraph with a tone of excitement or sadness (or any distinct emotion). In a second paragraph,
explain why you made the choices you did in order to convey that emotion. How effective do you think
your paragraph is at emoting your intended tone?
“Dirt” from Dusk and Other Stories: Lesson Plan
4
Discussion & Comprehension Questions
Simile and Tone in “Dirt”
•
Book: Dusk and Other Stories
Author: James Salter
Grade Level: 9-12
Lesson Type: Figurative Language and
Close Text Analysis
What is tone? What elements of a story can contribute to tone? Which elements do you
think are most important to understanding tone?
•
When and how can similes be considered more than just a description? How does Salter
employ them in ways that contribute to the broader story? (Hints: setting, foreshadowing)
•
What is the relationship between Billy and Harry? What can dialogue, tone and figurative
language tell us about the relationship while only addressing the men as individuals?
•
Where does “Dirt” take place? What do you think Salter’s reasoning was for not naming a
specific town?
•
How do we know this story takes place in an earlier time? Does it make a difference that
“Dirt” is not set in 2012?
“Dirt” from Dusk and Other Stories: Discussion & Comprehension Questions
5
Key Vocabulary
Simile and Tone in “Dirt”
Book: Dusk and Other Stories
Author: James Salter
Grade Level: 9-12
Lesson Type: Figurative Language and
Close Text Analysis
Word:
*Definition:
rouged
(v.) to be colored red
salvaged
(v.) the act of saving something from damage/danger/etc.
complaisance
(n.) the quality of being complaisant or obliging; inclined or disposed to
please
exhibition
(n.) an exhibiting, showing, or presenting to view; a public display, as of
the skills of performers
macadam
(n.) the broken stone used in making a “macadamized” road or pavement
deliberate
(adj.) carefully weighed or considered, studied, intentional
subdued
(adj.) quiet; inhibited; repressed; controlled; lowered in intensity or
strength, muted
simile
(n.) a figure of speech in which two unlike things are explicitly compared
tone
(n.) the perspective or attitude that the author adopts with regards to a
specific character, place or development
*Definitions come from dictionary.com and literary-devices.com.
“Dirt” from Dusk and Other Stories: Key Vocabulary
6
Text References
Simile and Tone in “Dirt”
•
Book: Dusk and Other Stories
Author: James Salter
Grade Level: 9-12
Lesson Type: Figurative Language and
Close Text Analysis
(Page 131) “Billy was under the house. It was cool there, it smelled of the unturned earth of
fifty years. A kind of rancid dust sifted down through the floorboards and fell on his face
like a light rain. He spit it out.”
•
(Page 132) “Death was coming for Harry Mies. He would lie emptied, his cheeks rouged,
the fine, old man’s ears unhearing. There was no telling the things he knew. He was alone
in the far fields of his life. The rain fell on him, he did not move.”
•
(Page 134) “Then he began mixing the first load of concrete: five shovels of gravel, three of
sand, one of cement. Occasionally he’d stop and pick out a twig or a piece of grass. The
sun beat down like flats of tin... He turned the dry mixture over upon itself again and
again, finally he began adding water. He added more water, working it in. The color
became a rich, river-gray, the smooth face broken by gravel. Billy stood watching.”
•
(Page 135) “On the second trip he let Billy push the barrow, naked to the waist, the sun
roaring down on his shoulders and back, his muscles jumping as he lifted. The next day he
let him shovel.
•
(Page 136) “It was a story of California in the thirties. There was a whole bunch of them
going town to town, looking for work ... You could get a whole meal for thirty cents in
those days, but when they came to pay the check, the owner told them it would cost a
dollar fifty each ... Afterward Harry walked over to the barbershop ... Haircut, Harry told
him. Then, hey, wait a minute, how much will it be? The barber had the scissors in his
hand. I see you been eating over to the Greek’s, he said.”
“Dirt” from Dusk and Other Stories: Text References
7
Title Field: Class Handout
Name:
Reading for Tone: John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath
About the Novel: Set during the Great Depression, the novel focuses on the Joads, a poor family of tenant
farmers driven from their Oklahoma home by drought, economic hardship, and changes in financial and
agricultural industries. Due to their nearly hopeless situation, and in part because they were trapped in the
Dust Bowl, the Joads set out for California. Along with thousands of other "Okies", they sought jobs, land,
dignity, and a future.
Excerpt: The family huddled on the platforms, silent and fretful. The water was six inches deep in the car
before the flood spread evenly over the embankment and moved into the cotton field on the other side. During
that day and night the men slept soddenly, side by side on the boxcar door. And Ma lay close to Rose of
Sharon. Sometimes Ma whispered to her and sometimes sat up quietly, her face brooding. Under the blanket
she hoarded the remains of the store bread.
The rain had become intermittent now--little wet squalls and quiet times. On the morning of the second day
Pa splashed through the camp and came back with ten potatoes in his pockets. Ma watched him sullenly while
he chopped out part of the inner wall of the car, built a fire, and scooped water into a pan. The family ate the
steaming boiled potatoes with their fingers. And when this last food was gone, they stared at the gray water;
and in the night they did not lie down for a long time.
When the morning came they awakened nervously. Rose of Sharon whispered to Ma.
Ma nodded her head. "Yes," she said. "It's time for it." And then she turned to the car door, where the men
lay. "We're a-gettin' outa here," she said savagely, "gettin' to higher groun'. An' you're coming' or you ain't
comin', but I'm takin' Rosasharn an' the little fellas outa here."
"We can't!" Pa said weakly.
"Awright, then. Maybe you'll pack Rosasharn to the highway, anyways, an' then come back. It ain't rainin'
now, an' we're a-goin'."
Al said, "Ma, I ain't goin'."
"Why not?"
"Well--Aggie--why, her an' me---"
Ma smiled. "'Course," she said. You stay here, Al. Take care of the stuff. When the water goes down--why,
we'll come back. Come quick, 'fore it rains again," she told Pa. "come on, Rosasharn. We're going' to a dry
place."
"I can walk."
"Maybe a little, on the road. Git your back bent, Pa."
Pa slipped into the water and stood waiting. Ma helped Rose of Sharon down from the platform and
steadied her across the car. Pa took her in his arms, held her as high as he could, and pushed his way carefully
through the deep water, around the car and to the highway. He set her down on her feet and held onto her.
Uncle John carried Ruthie and followed. Ma slid down into the water, and for a moment her skirts billowed
out around her.
"Winfiel', set on my shoulder. Al--we'll come back soon's the water's down. Al--" She paused. "If--if Tom
comes--tell him we'll be back. Tell him be careful. Winfiel'! Climb on my shoulder--there! Now, keep your feet
still." She staggered off through the breast-high water. At the highway embankment they helped her up and
lifted Winfield from her shoulder.
They stood on the highway and looked back over the sheet of water, the dark red blocks of the cars, the
truckes and automobiles deep in the slowly moving water. And as they stood, a little misting rain began to fall.
“Dirt” from Dusk and Other Stories: Class Handout
Title Field: Supplementary Materials Chart
Category of
Resource
Webpage
Description of Potential Educational Uses
Resource
of Resource
Link to Resource
Excerpt of
Comparison piece for tone in http://powayusd.sdcoe.k12.ca.us
Grapes of Wrath “Dirt”
/online/AmlitOld/Amlit/grapesofwrath.htm
“Dirt” from Dusk and Other Stories: Supplementary Materials Chart