Study Guide for



Study Guide for

“The Plot Against People”

Author: ________________________________

LITERARY TERMS: Be able to define each term and apply each term to the story.

Tone_______________________________________________________________________________

Diction_____________________________________________________________________________

Syntax______________________________________________________________________________

Personification________________________________________________________________________

Four patterns of organization:

____________________________________ ___________________________________

____________________________________ ____________________________________

STUDY QUESTIONS

1. Read Author Online. What major life decision did Baker’s mother make after his father died?

2. What kinds of things does Baker usually write about?

3. What does the first sentence suggest about the organization of the essay?

4. In which sentence does Baker present the main idea of the essay? In your own words, what is that main idea?

5. What general rule does Baker name (lines 6-7)?

6. What does the statement suggest about the tone of the essay?

7. Notice Baker’s choice of the words “cunning” and “breed” in line 9. What image does this choice of words create for the reader?

8. In lines 20-27, Baker moves from discussing the first category to describing the second. What details show how objects in this category operate?

9. Reread lines 35-38. In what ways does Baker imitate formal writing in this passage? How serious is his attitude?

10. What characteristic do the items in this class have in common?

11. What theory explains their behavior?

12. How are they the most sophisticated group of objects?

13. According to the final sentence, how are the first two groups similar?

14. How are both different from the third group?

15. Reread lines 59-65. How do Baker’s diction and syntax contribute to the humor in this passage?

Study Guide for

“And of Clay We Are Created”

Author: ________________________________

Words to know:

embody_______________________________________________________________________

fortitude______________________________________________________________________

pandemonium__________________________________________________________________

resignation____________________________________________________________________

stratagem_____________________________________________________________________

obsinately______________________________________________________________________

tenacity_______________________________________________________________________

tribulation_____________________________________________________________________

stupor________________________________________________________________________

LITERARY TERMS: Be able to define each term and apply each term to the story.

Author’s perspective__________________________________________________________________

Characterization______________________________________________________________________

STUDY QUESTIONS

1. Read “Author Online.” What does Allende admit was a problem with her writing when she was a child?

2. From what historical event is story based?

3. Who is the child? What happened to her?

4. Who was with her during her ordeal?

5. How did the world come to know the child?

6. Think about Allende’s former job as a journalist. How is her background reflected in the second paragraph? Cite specific details to support your answers.

7. Reread lines 29-34. Who is the narrator of the story?

8. Based on the narrator’s comments about the effect of a lens on Rolf Carle, what would you say is Allende’s perspective on news reporting?

9. Visualize Azucena, Rolf, and others. Why can’t the rescuers pull Azucena out?

10. Consider Rolf’s efforts to save Azucena. What do they suggest about him?

11. What do you learn about Rolf and Azucena in lines 108-124? What do the last two sentences suggest about Rolf’s character?

12. Reread lines 141-147 and clarify what the narrator attempts to do. How does the effort make her feel?

13. Reread lines 130-161. What would you say is Allende’s perspective on politicians and other officials?

14. Reread lines 165-180. What do these observations suggest has happened to Rolf? Explain.

15. What does Azucena do when reporters ask her questions?

16. What does Rolf ask for when reporters bring their cameras?

17. How do Rolf and Azucena feel after spending a night together?

18. Allende gives a behind the scenes view of broadcasting a news story. What criticisms of the media does she seem to be suggesting?

19. In line 220, a flashback begins in which Rolf recalls his childhood in a defeated Austria after World War II. Reread this description through line 254. What terrible memories does he have?

20. Rolf was exiled from his homeland, as Allende was exiled from her native Chile. Given Rolf’s experiences, what might Allende be saying about the consequences of burying one’s past and leaving one’s family?

21. Reread lines 284-299. In what sense are Rolf and Azucena “saved” and “freed”?

22. How long was Azucena in the mud?

23. What happened to Azucena? Who watched her death?

24. What did Rolf Carle do after her death?

Study Guide for

“Girl, Trapped in Water for 55 Hours, Dies Despite Rescue Attempts”

Author: ________________________________

LITERARY TERMS: Be able to define each term and apply each term to the story.

News article____________________________________________________________________________

Headline_______________________________________________________________________________

Captions_______________________________________________________________________________

Lead__________________________________________________________________________________

In what way is a news story is ordered?

A. ________________________________

B. ________________________________

C. ________________________________

D. ________________________________

E. ________________________________

STUDY QUESTIONS

1. What do you learn from the photograph and caption?

2. Which of the six journalistic questions are answered in the first paragraph of the article?

3. What details does the reporter include to help readers connect to Omaira’s situation?

4. Does the reporter do a good job of presenting the most important information first?

5. What information does the photograph on page 544 convey to you?

6. How is Alejandro Jimenez involved in the events?

7. What do the details about the pumps’ arrival and the checkered tablecloth contribute to the article?

Study Guide for

“Peruvian Child”

Author: ________________________________

LITERARY TERMS: Be able to define each term and apply each term to the story.

purpose____________________________________________________________________________

imagery____________________________________________________________________________

STUDY QUESTIONS

10 Read “Author Online.” What is a quality of which Mora feels lucky?

1. Reread lines 1-5. How do the child’s eyes look and what do they suggest about her life?

2. Speculate about the poet’s purpose in describing such eyes.

3. What does the Peruvian child look like?

4. In describing the child, why do you think the speaker focuses on the girl’s doll?

5. Reread lines 17-20. What do the tourists want? What does this say about their values?

6. What is Mora’s purpose in “Peruvian Child”? Explain how her purpose is supported by the imagery she uses to describe the child and the tour group.

Study Guide for

“Lady Freedom Among Us”

Author: ________________________________

Read “Author Online.” To what does “Lady Freedom” actually refer?

1. The author of this poem was given a special appointment of what?

Think about the title of the poem. What situation is described in the poem?

Notice the similarities between the description of the homeless woman’s appearance in lines 8-16 and the images of the statue on page 551. What purpose might this comparison serve?

Reread lines 31-32. Who does “she” and “many” and “us” represent?

What ideas are brought to mind by the imagery used to describe Lady Freedom? What might be the purpose of the poem?

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