LESSON LXXVI A SAFE INVESTMENT What does the name of the picture suggest to you? Who are to make an investment? What do you observe in their appearance? Is this their destination? What time of day do you think is indicated? Why? Give an oral description of the persons in the foreground. Enliven it by inventing a conversation which might be taking place between them. Give an oral description of the persons in the background. Comment upon the picture as a study of child life; how has the artist succeeded? EXERCISE 107 Discuss how the boys in the picture obtained the money for their investment; the kind of investment they made. Discuss the result of their investment as shown by their feelings; by the feelings of their companions. What did their mother think of it? What story of investment does the picture suggest? EXERCISE 108 Write a description of the picture following the order of topics at the foot of page 116. EXERCISE 109 Write a detailed description of the group in the foreground. Follow suggestions in Section 199, page 115. Write a vivid description of what you think the boys see in the shop. LESSON LXXVII EXPOSITION 202. Whatever we may say or write for the purpose of making something clear to others is called Exposition. In other words, exposition is explanation. Whether people are young or old, they are constantly explaining things. The merchant explains the qualities of his goods. The orator explains the principles which he wishes to enforce. The chief purpose of many books, of newspapers and magazines, is to make things clearer to those who study or read them. The word exposition means a setting forth. 203. How does exposition differ from description? In description we deal with the appearance of things, or tell how they look. In exposition we deal with the nature of things, or tell what they are. In describing a Spring Flood, you would picture how the flood looked. In explaining the same subject, you would set forth the nature of the flood and its causes. 204. Tell what the following paragraph explains: After the labor of setting up your tent, your thoughts will naturally turn to a place for sleeping. Cut four forked sticks, sharpen the ends, and drive them firmly into the ground at the spot where you wish your bed to stand. Two strong poles, long enough to reach lengthwise from fork to fork, will serve for side boards; a number of shorter sticks, placed crosswise, will answer for slats; after these are fastened in place, you have a rustic bedstead. — D. C. BEARD, "The American Boys' Handy Book." The above paragraph explains the method of doing something, or answers the question How? EXERCISE 110 Write explanations of two or more of the following subjects. Imagine that you are trying to make the process clear to a friend who does not know. 1. How to make a calendar. 2. How to patch an apron. 3. How to set up a tent. 4. How to catch trout. 5. How to make corn balls. 6. How to make gingerbread. 7. How coal is mined. 8. How wheat is harvested. 9. How bad air poisons us. 10. How to fish through the ice. 11. How to make a blowgun. 12. Explain the manufacture of paper, stoves, soap, bricks, flour, or veneered furniture. 205. Tell what the following paragraph explains : -- Bedrooms should face the east, and let in the full flush of the morning. There is a positive pleasure in a golden bath of early morning light. Your room is filled and glorified. You awake in the very spirit of light. It creeps upon you, and suffuses your soul; it irradiates your thoughts, and warms and cheers the whole day. The above paragraph gives a reason; it answers the question Why? EXERCISE 111 Write expositions of two or more of the following subjects: 1. Why the days are shorter in December than in June. 2. Why you would not care to live in the Tropics. 3. Why exercise is necessary to the health. 4. Why food should be thoroughly masticated. 5. Explain the causes of day and night, the change of seasons, ocean currents, or the trade winds. 6. Explain the causes of the Revolutionary War, the War of 1812, the Mexican War; or the Spanish War. LESSON LXXVIII GOLDEN GLORIES 206. Read these lines silently and then aloud : The buttercup is like a golden cup, The marigold is like a golden frill, Sucks from sweet hearts of flowers, and stores and sips. Notice that Miss Rossetti has chosen common things of garden, field, and roadside as her theme. Has she given to each an added beauty and significance? What does this fact teach you regarding the mission of the poet? What do the lines disclose to you about this poet's tastes? Do you share her love of flowers? Among the flowers she names, which is your favorite? Is it spoken of in a way which pleases you? Read the lines again and make a mental picture of each flower as described. Note how skillfully the poet carries the imagination to include the bee in the last two lines. What does this climax suggest to you regarding the relation of bees and flowers? What color predominates in this description? How does the title of the lines anticipate this? Commit the lines to memory. |