Liberty High School
Incoming Sophomore (Class of 2019)
Summer (2016) Reading Students who will be entering a sophomore English class, for the 2016­2017 school year, are required to read three short stories. They are: ● “Harrison Bergeron” by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. ○
http://www.polytechpanthers.com/ourpages/auto/2015/8/27/49541039/u1_harr_berger_kurt_se.pdf ● “Rikki­Tikki­Tavi” by Rudyard Kipling ○ http://burnet.twpunionschools.org/subsites/smarcario/documents/Rikki­Tikki­Tavi%20Text.pdf ● “Searching for Summer” by Joan Aiken ○ http://www.palisadessd.org/cms/lib03/PA01000106/Centricity/Domain/180/Searching%20for
%20Summer.pdf These stories are available in various formats; we have attached a link to a pdf version of each one. We will focus on the descriptive passages that illustrate details about character development, setting, and tone. In order to study these details, we must be especially attentive to the exact word choices that the author makes. To help you keep track of what you read, both while you are reading and when you return to school, you will fill out a ​
SOAPSTone chart.​
For each story, you will complete one SOAPSTone chart. Each box in the chart should receive​
at least one​
entry of text, quoted and cited from the respective story, that backs up your identification about the details that belong in that box. Your three SOAPStone charts will be collected on the first day of school. These stories will be the focus texts of the first two weeks of school. Below is an example of a SOAPSTone chart, this one written to analyze “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson: SOAPStone Graphic Organizer for Rhetorical Analysis Citing Evidence in Persuasive Text CLOSE READING S Who is the Speaker? ∙ ​
Who​
is the speaker? ∙ Identify the speaker’s age, gender, class, and education. ∙ The ​
voice ​
tells the story​
. Whose voice is being heard​
within the text? ∙ What can you tell or what do you know about the speaker that helps you understand the ​
point of view​
expressed? How do you know? Cite specific evidence in the text. Subject: ​
In this short story, the people in a small town gather for their annual “lottery”. The head of each family draws a slip of paper from a black box, and one of the slips is marked with a black dot. The family that draws the black dot “wins”, and a member of the family is stoned to death by the villagers. Evidence:​
“The original paraphernalia for the lottery had been lost long ago, and the black box […] had been put into use even before Old Man Warner, the oldest man in town, was born.” O What is the Occasion? ∙ What is the ​
time and place​
of the piece? What is the current ​
situation ​
(that prompted the writing)? ∙ Is this a political event, a celebration, an observation, a critique, or …? ∙ Identify the​
context​
of the text. Occasion: ​
“The Lottery” is an annual tradition that takes place in a small village. On the day of the lottery, it is a th​
clear and sunny morning on June 27​
, between ten o’clock and noon. School was recently over for the summer. Evidence:​
“…in this village, where there were only about three hundred people, the whole lottery took less than two hours, so it could begin at ten o’clock in the morning and still be through in time […] for noon dinner.” A Who is the Audience? ∙ Who are the readers to whom this piece is directed? It may be one person or a specific group. ∙ Does the speaker specify an ​
audience​
? ∙ What assumptions exist in the text about the intended audience? Audience: ​
The audience of this short story is students, but based on Jackson’s use of symbolism,irony and the message implied by the tone shift, it seems that the intended audience is someone who can infer the purpose and theme. By making this village seem so familiar, Jackson invites her audience to make associations regarding their own towns and neighbors. Evidence:​
“School was recently over for the summer [...] their talk was still of the classroom and the teacher, of books and reprimands.” P What is the Purpose? ∙ What is the ​
purpose ​
behind the text? Why did the author write it? What is his goal? (To find the purpose, ask, “What did the author want his audience to think or do as a result of reading this text?”) ∙ What is the ​
message​
? ∙ ​
How does the speaker convey this message​
? Purpose: ​
The purpose of this story is to entertain; however, the author of this short story also expresses the theme of mindless adherence to tradition. The only reason the town continues to conduct a lottery is because they've always done it. Other towns have done away with the practice; some of the characters imply that, at one time, the lottery may have been connected to a fertility ritual for the crops or the town, but now the practice is senseless. Evidence:​
“Because so much of the ritual had been forgotten, Mr. Summers had been successful in having slips of paper substituted for the chips of wood that had been used for generations.” “Although the villagers had forgotten the ritual and lost the original black box, they still remembered to use stones.” S What is the Subject? ∙ What ​
topic, content, and ideas​
are included in the text? ∙ State the subject in a few words or a short phrase. ∙ ​
Is there more than one subject​
? ∙ How does the author ​
present ​
the subject? Does he introduce it immediately or do you, the reader, have to make an ​
inference​
? Speaker: ​
This story is told in the limited omniscient point of view. The background of some characters is explained, but the thoughts are omitted. The point of view is used to conceal what is going to happen next. By using limited omniscient point of view, the thoughts of the characters are left out, so their thoughts and feelings about the lottery are not revealed to the reader. If the author was to put the thoughts of the character in the story, then the ending would have been given away at the start of lottery ritual. Evidence:​
“Well, now.” Mr. Summers said soberly, “guess we better get started […] so we can go back to work.” TONE What is the Tone? ∙ What is the ​
attitude of the author​
? ∙ Is the ​
author emotional, objective, neutral, or biased​
about this topic? ∙ What types of details ​
“tell” ​
the author’s feelings about the topic? ∙ What types of ​
diction​
(choice of words), syntax ​
(sentence structure), and ​
imagery (metaphors, similes, and other types of figurative language) help reflect the​
tone​
? ∙ How would you ​
read​
the passage ​
aloud ​
if you were the author? Tone: ​
The authors tone shifts from peaceful, calm, and tranquil to anxious. The setting is introduced in a warm and nostalgic tone, but as the story continues the word choice implies discomfort or nervousness. This creates suspense and tension for the reader. Evidence:​
“The flowers were blooming profusely and the grass was richly green.” "…a sudden hush fell over the crowd" “She held her breath while her husband went forward.” TONE