Read Literature?
The works in this unit reveal people struggling to deal with challenging situations of many sorts. In addition to finding out how each person solves his or her
problem, you might have other purposes for reading. Preview three of the purposes you might set before reading the works in this unit.
1
Read for the love of literature.
Writer Ray Bradbury’s work has appeared in over
seven hundred anthologies. His writings have also
been turned into movies, television shows, sound
recordings, and even an opera! Read about his
vision of life on the planet Venus in “All Summer in
a Day,” page 264.
Thomas Hardy published about one
thousand poems during his long lifetime! Read
one of them, “The Walk,” page 299, published shortly after his first wife’s death, and
experience the beauty of his language.
2 Read to be entertained.
James Thurber’s first cartoons were first
published only because his friend and coworker
E. B. White rescued them out of a waste basket.
Enjoy Thurber’s humor in cartoons and text in his
essay “The Night the Bed Fell,” page 254.
3
Read for information.
One ten-year-old boy built twenty
bikes in less than six months, using
old frames and parts from broken
bicycles. Learn why when you read
“Justin Lebo,” by Phillip Hoose,
page 300.
Today’s cowboys use the Internet
to find work, sell horses, or find out
about upcoming cattle drives. For a
look at the realities of cowboy life in
the past, read “The Real Story of a
Cowboy’s Life,” page 281, by
Geoffrey C. Ward. SEE OVERFLOW
Take It to the Net
Visit the Web site for online instruction and
activities related to each selection in this unit.
www.phschool.com
250 ◆ Meeting Challenges
to Read Literature
Use Strategies for Constructing Meaning
To understand a work of literature fully, you must put together details,
ideas, events, and relationships. By putting these things together, you
build, or construct, meaning. In this unit, you will learn the following strategies for constructing meaning:
1. Identify significant events.
In a narrative, some events are more significant or meaningful than
others because they help to move the plot forward or because they
reveal something about a character. In this unit you will learn to identify
significant events and understand their importance.
2. Compare and contrast characters.
Notice what each character says, thinks, and does, and pay attention
to what the author tells you about them. Use these details to analyze
the similarities and differences among characters.
In “All Summer in a Day,” Margot is described in this way: “Margot
stood alone.” The rest of the students are “like a feverish wheel, all fumbling spokes.” Contrasting these images shows Margot on her own,
while her classmates are a group of people acting as one.
3. Identify cause and effect.
Look carefully at the relationship of events. Identify causes—why
something happens—and effects—what happens. Look at this example
of a cause and an effect from “The Highwayman.”
Cause: The highwayman whistles at the window.
Effect: Bess, the landlord’s daughter, appears.
4. Draw inferences.
Fill in details the author does not provide by drawing inferences—
making logical guesses and assumptions based on the details that are
provided, combined with your own knowledge and experience. For
example, from the descriptions in “Amigo Brothers,” you can infer that
Antonio and Felix are very dedicated to their boxing.
Every chance they had the boys worked out. . . . Early
morning sunrises would find them running along the East
River Drive.
As you read the selections in this unit, review the reading strategies and
look at the notes in the side columns. Use the suggestions to apply the
strategies and interact with the text.
How to Read Literature ◆ 251