Choices, Grammar, Vocabulary

Choices 

Writer’s Notebook 

1. Collecting Ideas for an Analysis of a Short Story 

Whose story is it? By now you have read enough short stories to know how important point of view is in a story. When you analyze a story for the Writer’s Workshop found in this collection, you will want to think about who is telling the story. Did the writer choose the first-person “I”? Or did he or she choose an omniscient narrator, one who knows the thoughts and feelings of all the characters? Or did the writer zoom in on just one character? 

Using a chart like the one below, list the important events in some of the stories you have read. Take notes about how your reaction to the events was affected by the story’s point of view. Save your notes. 

 
Creative Writing 

2. Doodle’s Point of View 

“The Scarlet Ibis” would be a different story if it were told from Doodle’s point of view. Pick a key scene from the story and tell it from the third-person limited point of view, through Doodle’s senses and feelings. Write a paragraph or two. 

Analyzing a Character 

3. The Inner Life 

Doodle’s inner life is revealed in the “lies” he tells. Write a paragraph analyzing these stories. Be sure to review the passage (bottom of page 2) of the story where the stories are described. Consider these questions: 

        • What do Doodle’s characters want? 
        • What kind of world do they live in? 
        • Why does Doodle tell these stories? 
        • What do his stories reveal about him? 

Research/Drawing 

4. Flora of the South 

There is a distinct feeling of nature in “The Scarlet Ibis”—the seasons, the drought, the vegetation, the details of Old Woman Swamp. Make a list of all the plants mentioned in the story: trees, flowers, and grasses. In an encyclopedia or botanical reference book, find out what these plants look like and then use them in a series of illustrations that will capture the story’s lush setting. 

Expository Writing/ Interviewing

5. Sibling Rivalry 

Siblings can have mixed feelings about each other. They can be the closest of friends and still get on each other’s nerves. They can love each other and still be competitive. Interview your own sibling or someone else’s as if you were doing research for a book on sibling rivalry. First, ask your subject three or four questions, which you should write out before the interview. Then, get your subject to tell you a story about his or her sibling. After you’ve gathered your information, write a paragraph on the topic of “Being a Brother or a Sister.” 

Language Link 

Figurative Language—Picture This 

“. . . like a bursting Roman candle, a gum tree ahead of us was shattered by a bolt of lightning.” How is a Roman candle like a tree struck by lightning? That question is not a riddle. James Hurst is using a simile—the simplest form of figurative language—to help us see what a tree struck by lightning looks like. In a simile, two dissimilar things are compared by a word such as like, as, or resembles. 

Here are five more sentences from “The Scarlet Ibis” that contain similes. 

1. “. . . the oriole nest in the elm was untenanted and rocked back and forth like an empty cradle.” 

2. “They named him William Armstrong, which was like tying a big tail on a small kite.” 

3. “. . . the white marquisette curtains billowed out in the afternoon sea breeze, rustling like palmetto fronds.” 

4. “. . . [the ibis] lay on the earth like a broken vase of red flowers. . . .” 

5. “. . . the sick-sweet smell of bay flowers hung everywhere like a mournful song.” 

Try It Out 

1. In each passage above, locate the simile and tell what is being compared to what. What exactly do the two things have in common? 

2. Reword each passage using new similes. Can you change the whole emotional tone of the passage with a different comparison? 

Select a piece of descriptive writing from your Writer’s Notebook, and highlight at least two places where you could make your writing more vivid and interesting by using a simile. Rewrite each passage with a fresh comparison. 

A tip for writers: When you use figurative language, be sure to avoid trite, or overused, expressions. Try to find new comparisons that say what you want to say. 

Vocabulary 
 

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