HONORS WORLD LITERATURE (Period 5) Assignments

NIGHT

Note that there are 2 components to this assignment. Submit them together on the same document (Turnitin). Clearly label each component.

Note also: It will benefit you significantly if, before submitting your work, you avail yourself (take advantage of) the writing resources that have been provided over the year (including the rubric and grammar rules). And this: Reading your work aloud prior to deciding that you are ready to call it a day wouldn't hurt--ask yourself: does it sound perfectly coherent (logical and consistent)?

When to Use a Comma

As a general rule, you should use a comma to introduce quoted material or dialogue. That’s because in most types of dialogue, the quoted material stands apart from the surrounding text. In grammatical terms, it’s “syntactically independent.” 

Here are two examples from the first book in the “Game of Thrones” series.

Tyrion Lannister undid his scarf, mopped at his brow, and said in a flat voice, “How interesting.”

You can also use commas when a quotation is interrupted by a phrase like “he said” or “she said.” In fact, you use two commas. For example

“What the king dreams,” [Ned] said, “the Hand builds.”

“Bran,” [Jon] said, “I’m sorry I didn’t come before.”

When to Skip the Comma

In certain cases, you can skip the comma when introducing a quotation. 

First, skip the comma if the quotation is introduced by a conjunction like “that,” “whether,” or “if.” Following that guidance, I might write sentences like this:

Eddard Stark is constantly reminding people that “winter is coming.” 

Lord Varys wonders whether “we’ve grown so used to horror we assume there’s no other way.”

Tyrion Lannister said that “a mind needs books like a sword needs a whetstone.” 

Second, ask yourself whether the quotation blends into the rest of the sentence—or, speaking grammatically, if it’s a syntactical part of the surrounding sentence. If the quotation blends in, the comma comes out. 

Here are two examples:

It was the third time he had called her “boy.” “I’m a girl,” Arya objected.

Fat Tom used to call her “Arya Underfoot” because he said that was where she always was.

That’s all we have to say about commas.

When to Use a Colon

But you can also use a colon to introduce a quotation. You’d do that when the quotation is being introduced by a grammatically complete sentence—also known as an independent clause. Here are a couple of examples:

Daenerys often speaks one frightening word: “Dracarys.”

Tyrion had sage advice for the singer: “Close your eyes and pretend you’re dead.”

OR

Finally, you can use a period to introduce a quotation. You do this when introducing a block quotation—that is, a long quotation that’s indented from the rest of the text. Here’s an example:

Sandor Clegane chastised Sansa thusly:

        Some septa trained you well. You’re like one of those birds from the Summer Isles, aren’t you? A pretty little talking bird, repeating all the pretty

        little words they taught you to recite.

One thing to note is that a block quotation, unlike a regular quotation, is not surrounded by quotation marks. The text being indented already marks it as a direct quotation.

A  block quote might “blend in” to its introduction; in that case, the introduction wouldn’t need a colon. Rather, it would take no punctuation. For example

Bran’s Old Nan described the white walkers as

    cold things, dead things, that hated iron and fire and the touch of the sun, and every creature with hot blood in its veins. They swept over holdfasts

    and cities and kingdoms, felled heroes and armies by the score, riding their pale dead horses and leading hosts of the slain. All the swords of men

    could not stay their advance, and even maidens and suckling babes found no pity in them. 

In short, when deciding what punctuation to use when introducing a quotation, follow the rules just described—and then use your best judgement. 

Thus, quotations are usually introduced with a comma, but in some cases they may be introduced by a colon, a period, or nothing at all.

The importance of shooting the elephant lies in how the incident depicts the different aspects of imperialism. In this essay, the elephant and the British officer help to prove that imperialism is a double–edged sword. The shooting of the elephant is the incident that reveals that imperialism inflicts damage on both parties in imperialistic relationships. The British officer, Orwell, displays many aspects of being the absurd puppet under the institution of imperialism.

The elephant along with the two thousand Burmese plays an even more depressing role when compared to the police officer. The elephant represents “the stricken, shrunken; immensely old” countries that have been invaded and conquered by imperialism, while the Burmese represent its helpless people. The once great and powerful elephant is reduced to “senility” by the bullets just as imperial countries with superior technology dominate the countries like India. The “great beast” meaning both the elephant and the countries it represents, becomes “powerless to move and yet powerless to die” under the hands of the white man.

Orwell has been left with Hamlet’s dilemma: “to shoot or not to shoot” the Elephant. The “tiny incident” has provided Orwell “a better glimpse of the real nature of imperialism-the real motives for which despotic governments act.” When he killed the animal, he joined ranks with the imperialists, as he was acting unnaturally to appease the natives. The fact of the Burmese deciding what the narrator, a white man, must do, creates the irony of master becoming slave to fulfill his racial and imperial obligations. The British felt that they had control over the Burmans but rather the Burmans unwittingly had control over the British. This raises an important question-if a good man can be corrupted and destroyed by imperialism, then what could it do to others who are not so principled?  

Chekhov chooses to tell this story from the perspective of a third-person objective point of view*. By the story’s end, we have a fairly sympathetic take on Gurov and Anna’s relationship-does Chekhov condone** what can only be called adultery? How might historical context of a society in which divorce was unheard of influence Chekhov’s perspective?

NOTE: KEEP IN MIND THE DISCUSSION WE HAD REGARDING THE PROMPT. THERE IS NOTHING TO GET "RIGHT."  

*Using the third-person point of view, the author is narrating a story about the characters, referring to them by name, or using the third-person pronouns “he,” “she,” and “they.” This narrator is simply reporting the observed facts, not expressing an opinion (although it's worth noting that the "facts," as described, were selected/created by the author).

**Be certain to understand the meaning of this word (condone) and how it is commonly used.