MYPNA SE G10 U4 Web

UNIT
All That Glitters

For many people, the longing for
material goods extends well beyond
the needs of survival. What drives our
passion for things?
Copyright © SAVVAS Learning Company LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Discuss It Why do people acquire more than they need?

Write your response before sharing your ideas.
14-Year-Old Teaches Family

the “Power of Half”
362
UNIT 4
UNIT INTRODUCTION
essential What do our possessions reveal LAUNCH TEXT
INFORMATIVE MODEL
question: I Came, I Saw, I Shopped
about us?
WHOLE-CLASS SMALL-GROUP INDEPENDENT

LEARNING LEARNING LEARNING
ANCHOR TEXT: SHORT STORY JOURNALISM MEDIA: INFORMATIONAL GRAPHIC
The Necklace In La Rinconada, Peru, The Gold Series:
Guy de Maupassant, Searching for Beauty A History of Gold
translated by Andrew in Ugliness Visual Capitalist
MacAndrew
Marie Arana
ANCHOR TEXT: SHORT STORY POETRY COLLECTION NEWS ARTICLE

Civil Peace Avarice Ads May Spur
Chinua Achebe Yusef Komunyakaa Unhappy Kids to
Embrace Materialism
The Good Life Amy Norton
Tracy K. Smith
MEDIA: PHOTO ESSAY Money SHORT STORY

Reginald Gibbons
Fit for a King: A Dose of What the
Treasures of Doctor Never Orders
SHORT STORY
Tutankhamun Ihara Saikaku,
The Golden Touch translated by G. W. Sargent
Nathaniel Hawthorne
MAGAZINE ARTICLE
COMPARE
My Possessions,
POETRY
Myself
Russell W. Belk
from King Midas
Howard Moss
NEWS ARTICLE
Heirlooms’ Value
MAGAZINE ARTICLE Shifts From
The Thrill of the Sentiment to Cash
Rosa Salter Rodriguez
Chase
Margie Goldsmith
PERFORMANCE TASK PERFORMANCE TASK PERFORMANCE-Based Assessment PRep

Writing Focus: Speaking and Listening focus: Review Evidence for an
Write an Informative Essay Deliver a Multimedia Presentation Informative Essay
PERFORMANCE-BASED ASSESSMENT
Informative Text: Essay and Oral Presentation
PROMPT:
How do we decide what we want versus what we need?

What can result from an imbalance between want and need?
363
UNIT
4 INTRODUCTION
Unit Goals
Throughout the unit, you will deepen your understanding of materialism by
reading, writing, speaking, listening, and presenting. These goals will help
you succeed on the Unit Performance-Based Assessment.
Rate how well you meet these goals right now. You will revisit your ratings
later when you reflect on your growth during this unit.
SCALE 1 2 3 4 5
NOT AT ALL NOT VERY SOMEWHAT VERY EXTREMELY

WELL WELL WELL WELL WELL
READING GOALS 1 2 3 4 5
• Evaluate written informative texts by

analyzing how authors introduce and
develop central ideas.
• Expand your knowledge and use of

academic and concept vocabulary.
WRITING AND RESEARCH GOALS 1 2 3 4 5
• Write an informative essay in which

you effectively convey complex ideas,
concepts, and information.
• Conduct research projects of various

lengths to explore a topic and clarify
meaning.
LANGUAGE GOAL 1 2 3 4 5
• Correctly use conjunctive adverbs and Copyright © SAVVAS Learning Company LLC. All Rights Reserved.
semicolons to link two or more closely

related independent clauses.
SPEAKING AND LISTENING

GOALS 1 2 3 4 5
 STANDARDS
Language • Collaborate with your team to build on
Acquire and use accurately general the ideas of others, develop consensus,
academic and domain-specific words
and phrases, sufficient for reading,
and communicate.
writing, speaking, and listening at
the college and career readiness
level; demonstrate independence • Integrate audio, visuals, and text in
in gathering vocabulary knowledge presentations.
when considering a word or phrase
important to comprehension or
expression.
364 UNIT 4 • ALL THAT GLITTERS

ESSENTIAL QUESTION: What do our possessions reveal about us?
Academic Vocabulary: Informative Text

Academic terms appear in all subjects and can help you read, write, and
FOLLOW THROUGH
discuss with more precision. Here are five academic words that will be useful
to you in this unit as you analyze and write informative texts. Study the words in this
chart, and mark them or
Complete the chart. their forms wherever they
1. Review each word, its root, and the mentor sentences. appear in the unit.
2. Use the information and your own knowledge to predict the meaning
of each word.
3. For each word, list at least two related words.
4. Refer to a dictionary or other resources if needed.
WORD MENTOR SENTENCES PREDICT MEANING RELATED WORDS
paradox 1. Stuck in the middle of the ocean, paradoxical;

I thought of the paradox “Water, paradoxically
ROOT: water everywhere and not a drop to
-dox- drink.”
“belief” 2. The teacher could not understand
the paradox; the students were
happy when they were given more
homework.
chronicle 1. The film works both as an interesting

story of one woman’s life and as a
ROOT: chronicle of an era.
-chron- 2. She is a good storyteller, able to
“time” chronicle events involving vast
stretches of time and hundreds of
characters.
allocate 1. Rather than allocate blame, let’s find

a solution to the problem.
ROOT: 2. How should we allocate funds—to
-loc- the playground project or to art

“place” supplies?
deduce 1. The detective is famous for her

ability to deduce the truth from
ROOT: seemingly trivial details.
-duc- 2. An animal’s ability to deduce
“lead” threatening changes in its
environment can be key to its
survival.
primary 1. Ever since the big win, Shereen’s

primary feeling was one of elation.
ROOT: 2. You should support your ideas with
-prim- evidence from both primary and
“first” secondary sources.
Unit Introduction 365

UNIT
4 INTRODUCTION
LAUNCH TEXT | INFORMATIVE MODEL
This selection is an example of an

informative text, a type of writing
in which the author examines
concepts through the careful
selection, organization, and analysis
of information. This is the type
of writing you will develop in the
Performance-Based Assessment at
the end of the unit.
As you read, think about how
I Came, I Saw,
I Shopped
the writer presents information in
the form of examples, statistics,
and expert opinion. How does the
writer help the reader understand
the importance of this information?
NOTES
1
P erhaps you know what became of the robotic dog, ripped jeans,
or gadget you couldn’t live without a few years ago. Maybe you
remember where you put that video game you used to love. It was a
“must-have” item just last year. It’s possible, though, that you’ve lost
track of these things; consequently, they are forgotten, but not gone,
collecting dust in a closet somewhere. In the meantime, you may
have developed a taste for newer, fresher goods, such as a waterproof
smartphone, designer shoes, or limited-edition sneakers.
2 When you want something with a passion, it can be difficult to
picture a moment when that item might not mean much to you.
A 2011 study showed that Americans upgrade their mobile phones
every 21.7 months. This is the fastest turnover rate in the world.
As the pace of technological change increases, replacement periods
get even shorter. Are we just fickle and easily distracted, or are other Copyright © SAVVAS Learning Company LLC. All Rights Reserved.
forces at play?
3 All of the data suggest that America is a nation of shoppers.
Instead of saving our money, we spend it. Recent research shows that
only one in four Americans saves more than 10 percent of his or her
income (Soergel 2015). In contrast, Europeans show personal savings
rates of more than 10 percent over a 30‑year period dating back to the
early 1980s.
Are We Hardwired to Buy?

4 What drives our need to own the latest games, shoes, or phones?
There are many notions. Some experts point to mirror neurons. These
are cells in our brains that allow us to mirror, or reflect, the feelings

and behavior of other people. Scientists believe that mirror neurons

may tell us that we want what other people have, especially when we NOTES
admire those people in other ways.

5 Social relationships may also affect our buying decisions. A study
of Americans born between the early 1980s and the early 2000s finds
that peer recommendations influenced many of the participants to
make certain purchases. People from this “millennial” generation are
also attracted to brands connected to social causes; they wish to buy
products made by companies that donate profits to charity.
Emotional Spending
6 We can explain the desire for new shoes or a new phone at least in
part as a practical concern. After all, we probably plan to wear the
shoes and use the phone. However, some of our buying choices seem
to be based almost purely on emotions.
7 As an example of emotional purchasing, consider the multi-
billion-dollar market for collectible items from the past. In most cases,
collectors don’t plan to use these items. It is the rare driver who
uses an antique car for her daily commute; likewise, the collectible
doll from 1959 that sold at auction in May 2006 for $27,450 did not
become a child’s favorite toy. Advertising does not drive demand for
collectibles; TV commercials for lunch boxes from the 1960s simply
don’t exist. Some purchases of collectibles may be investments in
items that will grow in value; however, others are driven largely by
emotions, such as longing for a time past.
8 All of the information we have about shopping and spending
suggests that the desire for a particular item is not so simple. Our
brains, our social connections, and even our feelings about the past
may all contribute to a seemingly endless appetite to fill our homes
and our lives with things.

WORD NETWORK FOR ALL THAT GLITTERS
Vocabulary A Word Network

is a collection of words related
to a topic. As you read the
selections in this unit, identify gadget
interesting words related to the
idea of materialism, and add
them to your Word Network. upgrade MATERIALISM
For example, you might begin by
adding words from the Launch
Text, such as gadget, upgrade, collectibles
and collectibles. Continue to add
words as you complete the unit.
Tool Kit
Word Network Model
I Came, I Saw, I Shopped 367

UNIT
4 INTRODUCTION
Summary
Write a summary of “I Came, I Saw, I Shopped.” A summary is a concise,
complete, and accurate overview of a text. It should not include a statement
of your opinion or an analysis.
Launch Activity
Conduct a Discussion Consider this statement: If they can afford it,
people should buy whatever they want. Decide how strongly you
agree or disagree with the statement, and check the appropriate box. Briefly Copyright © SAVVAS Learning Company LLC. All Rights Reserved.
explain your reasons.
Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree
Discuss your ideas with your classmates, and listen to their perspectives.
• Illustrate your ideas with examples from your own experiences or stories
you have read or heard.
• As a group, consider the types of reasons classmates provide, and place
them in broad categories. For example, are people’s reasons practical,
ethical, or emotional?
• Decide whether your initial position has changed. If so, write a brief
statement explaining why.
368 UNIT 4 • All That Glitters

QuickWrite
Consider class discussions, the video, and the Launch Text as you think about
the prompt. Record your first thoughts here.
PROMPT: How do we decide what we want versus what we need?
 EVIDENCE LOG FOR ALL THAT GLITTERS

Review your QuickWrite, and

summarize your initial thoughts Title of Text: Date:
in one sentence to record in
CONNECTION TO PROMPT TEXT EVIDENCE/DETAILS ADDITIONAL NOTES/IDEAS
your Evidence Log. Then, record
evidence from “I Came, I Saw,
I Shopped” that supports your
initial position.
Prepare for the Performance-Based
Assessment at the end of the unit
by completing the Evidence Log How does this text change or add to my thinking? Date:
after each selection.
Tool Kit
Evidence Log Model
Unit Introduction 369

OVERVIEW: WHOLE-CLASS LEARNING
ESSENTIAL QUESTION:
What do our possessions

reveal about us?
The objects we truly cherish often remind us of great experiences or people we love.
What explains, then, our desire for the newest and latest gadgets, which do not
evoke such personal connections? You will work with your whole class to explore
the concept of materialism. The selections you are going to read present insights
into people’s wants and needs.
Whole-Class Learning Strategies

Throughout your life, in school, in your community, and in your career, you will
continue to learn and work in large-group environments.
Review these strategies and the actions you can take to practice them as you work
with your whole class. Add ideas of your own for each step. Get ready to use these
strategies during Whole-Class Learning.
STRATEGY ACTION PLAN
Listen actively • Eliminate distractions. For example, put your cellphone away.
• Keep your eyes on the speaker.
Clarify by asking • If you’re confused, other people probably are, too. Ask a question to help your
questions whole class.
• If you see that you are guessing, ask a question instead.
Monitor • Notice what information you already know and be ready to build on it.
understanding • Ask for help if you are struggling.
Interact and share • Share your ideas and answer questions, even if you are unsure.
ideas • Build on the ideas of others by adding details or making a connection.

CONTENTS
ANCHOR TEXT: SHORT STORY
The Necklace
Guy de Maupassant,
translated by Andrew MacAndrew
Should a young woman be satisfied with

ordinary comforts, or should she pursue her
dreams of a life of luxury?
ANCHOR TEXT: SHORT STORY
Civil Peace
Chinua Achebe
In the aftermath of a civil war, the things that

matter most become clear.
MEDIA: PHOTO ESSAY
Fit for a King:

Treasures of Tutankhamun
Treasures from the tomb of an Egyptian king are
among the wonders of the world.
PERFORMANCE TASK
WRITING FOCUS
Write an Informative Essay
Both Whole-Class readings deal with the idea of material loss. The photo essay
deals with material ownership. After reading and viewing, you will write an
informative essay on the topic of materialism.
Overview: Whole-Class Learning 371

MAKING MEANING
About the Author

The Necklace
Concept Vocabulary
You will encounter the following words as you read “The Necklace.” Before
reading, note how familiar you are with each word. Then, rank the words in
order from most familiar (1) to least familiar (6).
A master of the short story,

WORD YOUR RANKING
Guy de Maupassant
(1850–1893) wrote tales refinement
that are both realistic
and pessimistic and that suppleness
frequently offer unforeseen
endings. Following military exquisite
service, Maupassant settled
in Paris and joined a circle gallantries
of writers led by novelist
Emile Zola. With Zola’s resplendent
encouragement, Maupassant
published his first short story, homage
“Ball of Fat,” which earned
him immediate fame and After completing the first read, come back to the concept vocabulary and
freed him to write full time. review your rankings. Mark changes to your original rankings as needed.
“The Necklace” is his most
widely read work.
First Read FICTION

Apply these strategies as you conduct your first read. You will have an
opportunity to complete the close-read notes after your first read.
Tool Kit
First-Read Guide and
Model Annotation NOTICE whom the story is ANNOTATE by marking
about, what happens, where vocabulary and key passages
and when it happens, and you want to revisit.
why those involved react as
they do.
CONNECT ideas within RESPOND by completing

the selection to what you the Comprehension Check and
already know and what you by writing a brief summary of
have already read. the selection.
 STANDARDS
Reading Literature
By the end of grade 10, read and
comprehend literature, including
stories, dramas, and poems, at the
high end of the grades 9–10 text
complexity band independently and
proficiently.

ANCHOR TEXT | SHORT STORY
The
Necklace Guy de Maupassant
translated by Andrew MacAndrew
BACKGROUND
In the late nineteenth century, a type of literature known as Realism
emerged as a reaction to the idealism and optimism of Romantic literature.
Realism sought to describe life as it is, without ornament or glorification.
“The Necklace,” an example of Realist fiction, tells the story of an average
woman who pays a significant price to experience a glamorous evening.
As in all Realist fiction, there is no fairy-tale ending.
S he was one of those pretty, charming young women who are

born, as if by an error of Fate, into a petty official’s family.
She had no dowry,1 no hopes, not the slightest chance of being
NOTES
appreciated, understood, loved, and married by a rich and

distinguished man; so she slipped into marriage with a minor civil
servant at the Ministry of Education.
2 Unable to afford jewelry, she dressed simply: but she was
as wretched as a déclassée, for women have neither caste nor
breeding—in them beauty, grace, and charm replace pride of birth.
Innate refinement, instinctive elegance, and suppleness of wit give refinement (rih FYN muhnt) n.
them their place on the only scale that counts, and these qualities politeness; good manners
make humble girls the peers of the grandest ladies.
3 She suffered constantly, feeling that all the attributes of a gracious suppleness (SUHP uhl nihs) n.
life, every luxury, should rightly have been hers. The poverty smoothness; fluidity; ability
of her rooms—the shabby walls, the worn furniture, the ugly to adapt easily to different
situations
1. dowry (DOW ree) n. wealth or property given by a woman’s family to her husband upon
their marriage.
The Necklace 373

upholstery—caused her pain. All these things that another woman
NOTES of her class would not even have noticed, tormented her and made
her angry. The very sight of the little Breton girl who cleaned for
CLOSE READ her awoke rueful thoughts and the wildest dreams in her mind. She
ANNOTATE: In paragraph 3, dreamed of thick-carpeted reception rooms with Oriental hangings,
mark details related to size,
lighted by tall, bronze torches, and with two huge footmen in knee
luxury, and antiquity.
breeches, made drowsy by the heat from the stove, asleep in the
QUESTION: Why does wide armchairs. She dreamed of great drawing rooms upholstered
the author use these in old silks, with fragile little tables holding priceless knick-knacks,
particular details? and of enchanting little sitting rooms redolent of perfume, designed
CONCLUDE: What image for teatime chats with intimate friends—famous, sought-after men
do these details paint of whose attentions all women longed for.
the life Madame Loisel 4 When she sat down to dinner at her round table with its three-day
desires? old cloth, and watched her husband opposite her lift the lid of the
soup tureen and exclaim, delighted: “Ah, a good homemade beef
stew! There’s nothing better . . .” she would visualize elegant dinners
with gleaming silver amid tapestried walls peopled by knights and
ladies and exotic birds in a fairy forest; she would think of exquisite
dishes served on gorgeous china, and of gallantries whispered and
received with sphinx-like smiles while eating the pink flesh of trout
exquisite (EHKS kwih ziht) adj.
or wings of grouse.
very beautiful or lovely
5 She had no proper wardrobe, no jewels, nothing. And those were
the only things that she loved—she felt she was made for them.
gallantries (GAL uhn treez) n. She would have so loved to charm, to be envied, to be admired and
acts of polite attention to sought after.
the needs of women
6 She had a rich friend, a schoolmate from the convent she had
attended, but she didn’t like to visit her because it always made her
so miserable when she got home again. She would weep for whole
days at a time from sorrow, regret, despair, and distress.
7 Then one evening her husband arrived home looking triumphant
and waving a large envelope.
8 “There,” he said, “there’s something for you.”
9 She tore it open eagerly and took out a printed card which said:

10 “The Minister of Education and Madame Georges Ramponneau2
request the pleasure of the company of M. and Mme. Loisel3 at an
evening reception at the Ministry on Monday, January 18th.”
11 Instead of being delighted, as her husband had hoped, she tossed
the invitation on the table and muttered, annoyed:
12 “What do you expect me to do with that?”
13 “Why, I thought you’d be pleased, dear. You never go out and
this would be an occasion for you, a great one! I had a lot of trouble
getting it. Everyone wants an invitation: they’re in great demand and
there are only a few reserved for the employees. All the officials will
be there.”
14 She looked at him, irritated, and said impatiently:
2. Georges (zhawrzh) Ramponneau (ram puh NOH)

3. Loisel (lwah ZEHL)

15 “I haven’t a thing to wear. How could I go?”
16 It had never even occurred to him. He stammered: NOTES
17 “But what about the dress you wear to the theater? I think it’s
lovely. . . .”
18 He fell silent, amazed and bewildered to see that his wife was
crying. Two big tears escaped from the corners of her eyes and rolled
slowly toward the corners of her mouth. He mumbled:
19 “What is it? What is it?”
20 But, with great effort, she had overcome her misery; and now she
answered him calmly, wiping her tear-damp cheeks:
21 “It’s nothing. It’s just that I have no evening dress and so I can’t go
to the party. Give the invitation to one of your colleagues whose wife
will be better dressed than I would be.”
22 He was overcome. He said:
23 “Listen, Mathilde, how much would an evening dress cost—a
suitable one that you could wear again on other occasions, something
very simple?”
24 She thought for several seconds, making her calculations and
at the same time estimating how much she could ask for without
eliciting an immediate refusal and an exclamation of horror from this
economical government clerk.
25 At last, not too sure of herself, she said:
26 “It’s hard to say exactly but I think I could manage with four
hundred francs.”
27 He went a little pale, for that was exactly the amount he had put
aside to buy a rifle so that he could go hunting the following summer
near Nanterre, with a few friends who went shooting larks around
there on Sundays.
28 However, he said:
29 “Well, all right, then. I’ll give you four hundred francs. But try to
get something really nice.”
30 As the day of the ball drew closer, Madame Loisel seemed
depressed, disturbed, worried—despite the fact that her dress was
ready. One evening her husband said:

31 “What’s the matter? You’ve really been very strange these last
few days.”
32 And she answered:
33 “I hate not having a single jewel, not one stone, to wear. I shall look
so dowdy.4 I’d almost rather not go to the party.”
34 He suggested:
35 “You can wear some fresh flowers. It’s considered very chic5 at this
time of year. For ten francs you can get two or three beautiful roses.”
36 That didn’t satisfy her at all.
37 “No . . . there’s nothing more humiliating than to look poverty-
stricken among a lot of rich women.”
38 Then her husband exclaimed:
4. dowdy adj. shabby.

5. chic (sheek) adj. fashionable.
The Necklace 375

39 “Wait—you silly thing! Why don’t you go and see Madame
NOTES Forestier6 and ask her to lend you some jewelry. You certainly know
her well enough for that, don’t you think?”
40 She let out a joyful cry.
41 “You’re right. It never occurred to me.”
42 The next day she went to see her friend and related her tale of woe.
43 Madame Forestier went to her mirrored wardrobe, took out a big
jewel case, brought it to Madame Loisel opened it, and said:
44 “Take your pick, my dear.”
45 Her eyes wandered from some bracelets to a pearl necklace, then
to a gold Venetian cross set with stones, of very fine workmanship.
She tried on the jewelry before the mirror, hesitating, unable to bring
herself to take them off, to give them back. And she kept asking:
46 “Do you have anything else, by chance?”
47 “Why yes. Here, look for yourself. I don’t know which ones you’ll
like.”
48 All at once, in a box lined with black satin, she came upon a superb
diamond necklace, and her heart started beating with overwhelming
desire. Her hands trembled as she picked it up. She fastened it
around her neck over her high-necked dress and stood there gazing
at herself ecstatically.
49 Hesitantly, filled with terrible anguish, she asked:
50 “Could you lend me this one—just this and nothing else?”
51 “Yes, of course.”
52 She threw her arms around her friend’s neck, kissed her ardently,
and fled with her treasure.
53 The day of the party arrived. Madame Loisel was a great success.
resplendent (rih SPLEHN She was the prettiest woman there—resplendent, graceful, beaming,
duhnt) adj.
dazzling; and deliriously happy. All the men looked at her, asked who she was,
gorgeous
tried to get themselves introduced to her. All the minister’s aides
wanted to waltz with her. The minister himself noticed her.
54 She danced enraptured—carried away, intoxicated with pleasure,
forgetting everything in this triumph of her beauty and the glory

of her success, floating in a cloud of happiness formed by all this
homage (OM ihj) n. homage, all this admiration, all the desires she had stirred up—by
something done to honor this victory so complete and so sweet to the heart of a woman.
someone
55 When she left the party, it was almost four in the morning. Her
husband had been sleeping since midnight in a small, deserted
sitting room, with three other gentlemen whose wives were having a
wonderful time.
56 He brought her wraps so that they could leave and put them
around her shoulders—the plain wraps from her everyday life whose
shabbiness jarred with the elegance of her evening dress. She felt this
and wanted to escape quickly so that the other women, who were
enveloping themselves in their rich furs, wouldn’t see her.
6. Forestier (fawr ehs TYAY)

57 Loisel held her back.
58 “Wait a minute. You’ll catch cold out there. I’m going to call a cab.” NOTES
59 But she wouldn’t listen to him and went hastily downstairs.

Outside in the street, there was no cab to be found; they set out to
look for one, calling to the drivers they saw passing in the distance.
60 They walked toward the Seine,7 shivering and miserable. Finally,
on the embankment, they found one of those ancient nocturnal
broughams8 which are only to be seen in Paris at night, as if they were
ashamed to show their shabbiness in daylight.
61 It took them to their door in the Rue des
Martyrs, and they went sadly upstairs to their Then she cried out.
apartment. For her, it was all over. And he was The necklace was gone;
thinking that he had to be at the Ministry by ten.
62 She took off her wraps before the mirror so that there was nothing
she could see herself in all her glory once more.
Then she cried out. The necklace was gone; there
around her neck.
was nothing around her neck.
63 Her husband, already half undressed, asked:
64 “What’s the matter?”
65 She turned toward him in a frenzy: CLOSE READ
ANNOTATE: In paragraphs
66 “The . . . the . . . necklace—it’s gone.”
66–68, mark the
67 He got up, thunderstruck.
punctuation that suggests
68 “What did you say? . . . What! . . . Impossible!” hesitation or speech that is
69 And they searched the folds of her dress, the folds of her wrap, the broken up in some way.
pockets, everywhere.
QUESTION: Why does
70 They didn’t find it.
the author use these
71 He asked: punctuation marks? What
72 “Are you sure you still had it when we left the ball?” emotions do they convey?
73 “Yes. I remember touching it in the hallway of the Ministry.”
CONCLUDE: How does the
74 “But if you had lost it in the street, we would have heard it fall. It
punctuation add to the
must be in the cab.”
effect of the dialogue?
75 “Yes, most likely. Do you remember the number?”
76 “No. What about you—did you notice it?”
77 “No. “
78 They looked at each other in utter dejection. Finally Loisel got
dressed again.
79 “I’m going to retrace the whole distance we covered on foot,” he
said, “and see if I can’t find it.”
80 And he left the house. She remained in her evening dress, too weak
to go to bed, sitting crushed on a chair, lifeless and blank.
81 Her husband returned at about seven o’clock. He had found
nothing.
82 He went to the police station, to the newspapers to offer a reward,
to the offices of the cab companies—in a word, wherever there
seemed to be the slightest hope of tracing it.
7. Seine (sayn) river flowing through Paris.

8. broughams (broomz) n. horse-drawn carriages.
The Necklace 377

83 She spent the whole day waiting, in a state of utter hopelessness
NOTES before such an appalling catastrophe.
84 Loisel returned in the evening, his face lined and pale; he had
learned nothing.
85 “You must write to your friend,” he said, “and tell her that you’ve
broken the clasp of the necklace and that you’re getting it mended.
That’ll give us time to decide what to do.”
86 She wrote the letter at his dictation.
87 By the end of the week, they had lost all hope.
88 Loisel, who had aged five years, declared:
89 “We’ll have to replace the necklace.”
90 The next day they took the case in which it had been kept and
went to the jeweler whose name appeared inside it. He looked
through his ledgers:
91 “I didn’t sell this necklace, madame. I only supplied the case.”
92 Then they went from one jeweler to the next, trying to find a
necklace like the other, racking their memories, both of them sick
with worry and distress.
93 In a fashionable shop near the Palais Royal, they found a diamond
necklace which they decided was exactly like the other. It was worth
40,000 francs. They could have it for 36,000 francs.
94 They asked the jeweler to hold it for them for three days, and they
stipulated that he should take it back for 34,000 francs if the other
necklace was found before the end of February.
95 Loisel possessed 18,000 francs left him by his father. He would
borrow the rest.
96 He borrowed, asking a thousand francs from one man, five
hundred from another, a hundred here, fifty there. He signed
promissory notes,9 borrowed at exorbitant rates, dealt with usurers
and the entire race of moneylenders. He compromised his whole
career, gave his signature even when he wasn’t sure he would be
able to honor it, and horrified by the anxieties with which his future
would be filled, by the black misery about to descend upon him, by

the prospect of physical privation and moral suffering, went to get
the new necklace, placing on the jeweler’s counter 36,000 francs.
97 When Madame Loisel went to return the necklace, Madame
Forestier said in a faintly waspish tone:
98 “You could have brought it back a little sooner! I might have
needed it.”
99 She didn’t open the case as her friend had feared she might. If she
had noticed the substitution, what would she have thought? What
would she have said? Mightn’t she have taken Madame Loisel for
a thief?
9. promissory (PROM uh sawr ee) notes written promises to pay back borrowed money.

100 Madame Loisel came to know the awful life of the poverty-
stricken. However, she resigned herself to it with unexpected NOTES
fortitude. The crushing debt had to be paid. She would pay it. They CLOSE READ
dismissed the maid; they moved into an attic under the roof. ANNOTATE: Mark the
101 She came to know all the heavy household chores, the loathsome shortest sentence in
work of the kitchen. She washed the dishes, wearing down her pink paragraph 100.
nails on greasy casseroles and the bottoms of saucepans. She did QUESTION: How is this
the laundry, washing shirts and dishcloths which she hung on a sentence different from the
line to dry; she took the garbage down to the street every morning, others in the paragraph?
and carried water upstairs, stopping at every floor to get her breath.
CONCLUDE: What effect
Dressed like a working-class woman, she went to the fruit store,
does this short sentence
the grocer, and the butcher with her basket on her arm, bargaining, create that a longer
outraged, contesting each sou10 of her pitiful funds. sentence might not?
102 Every month some notes had to be honored and more time
requested on others.
103 Her husband worked in the evenings, putting a shopkeeper’s
ledgers in order, and often at night as well, doing copying at twenty-
five centimes a page.
104 And it went on like that for ten years.
105 After ten years, they had made good on everything, including the
usurious rates and the compound interest.
106 Madame Loisel looked old now. She had become the sort of strong
woman, hard and coarse, that one finds in poor families. Disheveled,
her skirts askew, with reddened hands, she spoke in a loud voice,
slopping water over the floors as she washed them. But sometimes,
when her husband was at the office, she would sit down by the
window and muse over that party long ago when she had been so
beautiful, the belle of the ball.
107 How would things have turned out if she hadn’t lost that necklace?
Who could tell? How strange and fickle life is! How little it takes to
make or break you!
108 Then one Sunday when she was strolling along the Champs-
Élysées11 to forget the week’s chores for a while, she suddenly caught
sight of a woman taking a child for a walk. It was Madame Forestier, CLOSE READ
still young, still beautiful, still charming. ANNOTATE: Underline
109 Madame Loisel started to tremble. Should she speak to her? Yes, the repeated word in
certainly she should. And now that she had paid everything back, paragraph 108.
why shouldn’t she tell her the whole story? QUESTION: Why does the
110 She went up to her. author repeat this word?
111 “Hello, Jeanne.”
CONCLUDE: What is the
112 The other didn’t recognize her and was surprised that this plainly effect of this repetition?
dressed woman should speak to her so familiarly. She murmured:
113 “But . . . madame! . . . I’m sure . . . You must be mistaken.”
10. sou (soo) n. former French coin, worth very little; the centime (SAHN teem), mentioned
later, was also of little value.
11. Champs-Élysées (SHAHN zay lee ZAY) fashionable street in Paris.
The Necklace 379

114 “No, I’m not. I am Mathilde Loisel.”
NOTES 115 Her friend gave a little cry.
116 “Oh! Oh, my poor Mathilde, how you’ve changed!”
117 “Yes, I’ve been through some pretty hard times since I last saw you
and I’ve had plenty of trouble—and all because of you!”
118 “Because of me? What do you mean?”
119 “You remember the diamond necklace you lent me to wear to the
party at the Ministry?”
120 “Yes. What about it?”
121 “Well, I lost it.”
122 “What are you talking about? You returned it to me.”
123 “What I gave back to you was another one just like it. And it took
us ten years to pay for it. You can imagine it wasn’t easy for us, since
we were quite poor. . . . Anyway, I’m glad it’s over and done with.”
124 Madame Forestier stopped short.
125 “You say you bought a diamond necklace to replace that
other one?”
126 “Yes. You didn’t even notice then? They really were exactly alike.”
127 And she smiled, full of a proud, simple joy.
128 Madame Forestier, profoundly moved, took Mathilde’s hands in
her own.
129 “Oh, my poor, poor Mathilde! Mine was false. It was worth five
hundred francs at the most!” ❧

Comprehension Check
Complete the following items after you finish your first read.
1. At the beginning of the story, why is Madame Loisel unhappy with her life?
2. What steps does Madame Loisel take to dress for the party in a way she feels is
appropriate?
3. What does Monsieur Loisel do to pay for the replacement necklace?
4. What does Madame Loisel learn about the borrowed necklace at the end of the story?
5. Notebook To confirm your understanding, write a summary of “The Necklace.”
RESEARCH
Research to Clarify Choose at least one unfamiliar detail from the text. Briefly
research that detail. In what way does the information you learned shed light on an aspect
of the story?
Research to Explore Choose something from the text that interests you, and formulate
a research question.
The Necklace 381
MAKING MEANING
Close Read the Text

1. This model, from paragraph 4 of the text, shows two sample
annotations, along with questions and conclusions. Close read
the passage, and find another detail to annotate. Then, write a
question and your conclusion.
THE NECKLACE
ANNOTATE: These details are like those one

would find in fairy tales.
QUESTION: Why does Madame Loisel have
fairy-tale fantasies? ANNOTATE: This
long sentence is
CONCLUDE: Madame Loisel is like a child two sentences
dreaming of being a princess in a story. connected by a
semicolon.
. . . she would visualize elegant dinners QUESTION: Why

does the author
with gleaming silver amid tapestried
structure this
walls peopled by knights and ladies fantasy sequence
and exotic birds in a fairy forest; she in this way?
would think of exquisite dishes served CONCLUDE: The
on gorgeous china, and of gallantries long, continuous
whispered and received with sphinx-like sentence shows
smiles while eating the pink flesh of trout how immersed
Madame Loisel is
or wings of grouse.
in her fantasy.
Tool Kit 2. For more practice, go back into the text, and complete the close-
Close-Read Guide and read notes.
Model Annotation 3. Revisit a section of the text you found important during your first
read. Read this section closely, and annotate what you notice.
Ask yourself questions such as “Why did the author make this
choice?” What can you conclude?

CITE TEXTUAL EVIDENCE
Analyze the Text to support your answers.
Notebook Respond to these questions.

1. (a) Interpret How do visits to her rich friend affect Mathilde?
(b) Analyze Why does Mathilde react the way she does? Explain.
2. (a) Compare and Contrast What strengths do Mathilde and her
husband, respectively, bring to their marriage? (b) Speculate Will
Mathilde tell her husband the truth about the necklace? Explain.
 STANDARDS 3. Make a Judgment Which contributes more to Mathilde’s misery—her
Reading Literature circumstances or her desires? Explain.
Analyze how an author’s choices
concerning how to structure a 4. Essential Question: What do our possessions reveal about us? What
text, order events within it, and have you learned about materialism from reading this story?
manipulate time create such effects
as mystery, tension, or surprise.

Analyze Craft and Structure

Author’s Choices: Literary Devices Irony is a discrepancy or
contradiction between appearance and reality, between meaning and
intention, or—as in “The Necklace”—between expectation and outcome.
In situational irony, an event occurs that contradicts the expectations of
the characters, the readers, or the audience.
Situational irony often involves a surprise ending, or an unexpected

resolution to a story’s plot. In all stories, writers plant clues that lead readers
to have certain expectations of what characters will do or experience. In
stories that have situational irony and surprise endings, some of those clues
may be subtly false. When a surprise ending is effective, a story’s resolution
violates readers’ expectations, but does so in a way that is both logical and
believable. Readers may be startled by the ending but on reflection find that
it makes sense.

Practice to support your answers.

1. Fill in the chart to show how the story events lead to situational irony.
Situation What Is Expected What Happens
Mathilde’s husband hands her

an invitation to a glittering ball.
Mathilde is a great success at

the ball.
The flighty Mathilde is faced

with debt and hardship.
Madame Forestier meets

Mathilde on the street.
2. How might Mathilde’s life have been different if she had told Madame Forestier the
truth right after the ball? Explain.
3. (a) How is the irony of the necklace symbolic of a larger irony in Mathilde’s life?
(b) How does Guy de Maupassant enhance this symbolism through the use of irony
and surprise ending?
4. Is the surprise ending in “The Necklace” believable? Why or why not?
The Necklace 383

LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT
Concept Vocabulary
refinement exquisite resplendent
suppleness gallantries homage

THE NECKLACE
Why These Words? These concept vocabulary words are all related to
elegance or high social status, which is what Mathilde Loisel desires. For
example, she yearns for refinement and suppleness of wit as qualities of
the “grandest ladies.” In her daydreams, she visualizes the exquisite dishes
served at elegant dinners.
1. How does the concept vocabulary sharpen the reader’s understanding of

Mathilde Loisel’s character?
2. What other words in the selection connect to this concept?
Practice
Notebook The concept vocabulary words appear in “The Necklace.”
1. Use each concept word in a sentence in which sensory details reveal the
 WORD NETWORK
word’s meaning.
Add words related to
materialism from the text to 2. Challenge yourself to replace the concept word in three of the sentences
your Word Network. you just wrote with a synonym. How does your word change affect the
meaning of your sentence?
Word Study
Latin Root: -splend- In “The Necklace,” to support the statement that
Madame Loisel is the prettiest woman at the party, the narrator describes
her as resplendent, or “dazzling.” Resplendent is formed from the Latin root
-splend-, which means “bright” or “shining.”
 STANDARDS 1. Write the meanings of these words formed from the root -splend-: Copyright © SAVVAS Learning Company LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Language splendor, splendid, splendiferous. Consult a print or online dictionary
• Demonstrate command of the
conventions of standard English if needed.
capitalization, punctuation, and
spelling when writing.
• Use a semicolon (and perhaps a
conjunctive adverb) to link two or
more closely related independent
clauses.
• Identify and correctly use patterns 2. Use each of these three words in a sentence. Include context clues that
of word changes that indicate reveal shades of meaning among the words.
different meanings or parts of
speech.
• Consult general and specialized
reference materials, both print and
digital, to find the pronunciation of
a word or determine or clarify its
precise meaning, its part of speech,
or its etymology.

Conventions
Punctuation Writers, such as Guy de Maupassant, use punctuation marks,
including semicolons, to clarify the logical relationships between or among CLARIFICATION
ideas. A semicolon (;) is used to join two closely related independent clauses When the second
that are not already joined by a coordinating conjunction. The second clause independent clause begins
may or may not begin with a conjunctive adverb—such as also, however, with a conjunctive adverb
therefore, or furthermore—or a transitional expression—such as as a result, or transitional expression,
for instance, or on the other hand. place a semicolon before
the conjunctive adverb or
transitional expression and a
Here are examples of correct use of semicolons, with and without a
comma after it.
conjunctive adverb or a transitional phrase.
xample: Madame Loisel desperately wants to attend the party;

E
everyone worth impressing will be there.
xample / Conjunctive Adverb: Her husband spends hours searching

E
the streets; nevertheless, he comes home empty-handed.
xample / Transitional Expression: The Loisels borrow 18,000 francs;

E
as a result, they spend the next decade deep in debt.
Read It
1. Mark where a semicolon should be inserted in each of the following
sentences based on “The Necklace.”
a. Everyone wants an invitation to the party they are in great demand.
b. There are no cabs to be found outside in the street consequently, the

Loisels set out to look for one.
c. There is nothing around Madame Loisel’s neck the necklace is gone.

d. The necklace turns out to have been much less valuable than Madame
Loisel thought in fact, it was merely a piece of cheap costume jewelry.
2. Reread paragraph 100 of “The Necklace.” Mark the semicolon, as well as

the two independent clauses it separates.
Write It
Write three sentences of your own to describe Madame Loisel—her
character, her dreams, and her experiences in the story. Use a semicolon in
each sentence.
The Necklace 385

EFFECTIVE EXPRESSION
Writing to Sources
A diary is a form of autobiographical writing because it describes the
writer’s own experiences and expresses his or her thoughts, feelings, and
observations. Many diaries are composed as daily segments or entries. Most
are not written for publication or even to be read by anyone else. However,
THE NECKLACE
some literary diaries are written with other readers in mind.
Assignment
Just before the final meeting between Mathilde Loisel and Madame
Forestier, the narrator of “The Necklace” ponders what might have
happened to Mathilde in other circumstances:
How would things have turned out if she hadn’t lost that
necklace? Who could tell? How strange and fickle life is!
How little it takes to make or break you!
Adopt the perspective of Mathilde Loisel, and write a diary entry in
which you explain how your life changed after the party. Use elements
in the story, but also feel free to add new elements from your own
imagination. Pay particular attention to the role that poverty and hardship
begin to play in Mathilde’s life. Be sure to mention the contributions
Mathilde’s husband makes.
Vocabulary and Conventions Connection Include several of the

concept vocabulary words in your diary entry. Also, try to use at least one
semicolon to join closely related independent clauses.
refinement exquisite resplendent
suppleness gallantries homage
Reflect on Your Writing

After you have written your diary entry, answer these questions.
 STANDARDS
Writing 1. Have you written consistently from the perspective of Madame Loisel?
Write narratives to develop real or
imagined experiences or events using
effective technique, well-chosen
details, and well-structured event
sequences. 2. Is your portrayal of Madame Loisel’s thought process consistent with the
Speaking and Listening way it is portrayed in the story? Explain.
• Present information, findings, and
supporting evidence clearly, concisely,
and logically such that listeners can
follow the line of reasoning and the 3. Why These Words? The words you choose make a difference in your
organization, development, substance, writing. Which words did you specifically choose to make your diary entry
and style are appropriate to purpose,
audience, and task. consistent with Madame Loisel’s personality?
• Adapt speech to a variety of
contexts and tasks, demonstrating
command of formal English when
indicated or appropriate.

Speaking and Listening

Assignment
In the character of Mathilde Loisel, deliver a monologue that might
have taken place after the end of the story. In your monologue, tell your
husband what you learned about the true value of the necklace, and
explain how that makes you feel.
1. Choose an Emotional Tone Begin planning your monologue by

considering how Madame Forestier’s final revelation will affect Mathilde
Loisel. Will Madame Loisel be shocked, angry, philosophical, despairing?
What lessons, if any, will she draw from the news that the necklace was
a fake?
2. Plan Your Interpretation Consider what the story shows about the
Loisels’ way of life for the past ten years. What will be Madame Loisel’s
attitude toward the poverty and hardship the couple has endured? How
will she express her thoughts and feelings to her husband?
3. Prepare Your Delivery Practice your recitation before you present the
monologue to your class. Include the following performance techniques to
achieve the desired effect.
• Speak clearly and comfortably without rushing.
• Vary the tone and pitch of your voice to convey meaning and add
interest. Avoid speaking in a flat, monotone style.
• Use appropriate and effective body language. Maintain eye contact to
keep your audience’s attention.
4. Evaluate Monologues As your classmates deliver their monologues,

listen attentively. Use an evaluation guide like the one shown to analyze
their presentations.
Evaluation Guide  EVIDENCE LOG
Rate each statement on a scale of 1 (not demonstrated) to Before moving on to a

4 (demonstrated). new selection, go to your

Evidence Log and record
1. The speaker presented a convincing interpretation of Mathilde Loisel. what you learned from
“The Necklace.”
2. The speaker communicated clearly and expressively.
3. The speaker used a variety of vocal tones and pitches.
4. The speaker used effective gestures and body language.
5. The speaker clearly explained Madame Loisel’s thoughts and feelings

about the true value of the necklace.
The Necklace 387

MAKING MEANING
About the Author

Civil Peace
Concept Vocabulary
You will encounter the following words as you read “Civil Peace.” Before
reading, note how familiar you are with each word. Then, rank the words in
order from most familiar (1) to least familiar (6).
WORD YOUR RANKING
Chinua Achebe (1930–2013)
is renowned for novels inestimable
and stories that explore
blessings
the conflicts of modern
Africa. He was born into
amenable
the Nigerian Igbo tribe
and publicly supported the
influence
independence of the Igbo-
dominated Biafra region
surrender
from Nigeria. Considered the
founding father of modern windfall
African literature in the
English language, Achebe
After completing the first read, come back to the concept vocabulary and
is read widely in Africa and
review your rankings. Mark changes to your original rankings as needed.
around the world. His first
and most celebrated novel,
Things Fall Apart, portrays
the disruption of Igbo
First Read FICTION
tribal society by Western
colonialism. Apply these strategies as you conduct your first read. You will have an
opportunity to complete the close-read notes after your first read.
Tool Kit
Model Annotation NOTICE whom the story is ANNOTATE by marking
about, what happens, where vocabulary and key passages
why those involved react as
they do.
CONNECT ideas within RESPOND by completing

the selection to what you the Comprehension Check and
already know and what you by writing a brief summary of
have already read. the selection.
 STANDARDS
Reading Literature
high end of the grades 9–10 text
proficiently.

ANCHOR TEXT | SHORT STORY
Civil Peace
Chinua Achebe
BACKGROUND
In 1967, Nigeria entered a civil war when the country’s southeastern
territories declared independence, calling themselves the Republic of Biafra.
The Biafrans, most of whom belonged to the Igbo ethnic group, said they
broke away from Nigeria because another ethnic group, called the Hausa,
had massacred Igbo in the north. After nearly three years of war, the
Biafrans surrendered. More than one million people had died in battle or
from starvation. “Civil Peace” unfolds in the aftermath of this war.
J onathan Iwegbu counted himself extraordinarily lucky. “Happy

NOTES
survival!” meant so much more to him than just a current fashion
of greeting old friends in the first hazy days of peace. It went deep
to his heart. He had come out of the war with five inestimable inestimable (ihn EHS tuh muh
blessings—his head, his wife Maria’s head, and the heads of three buhl) adj.
too great to count
or measure
out of their four children. As a bonus he also had his old bicycle—a
miracle too but naturally not to be compared to the safety of five blessings (BLEHS ihngz) n.
human heads. things that benefit or bring
happiness
2 The bicycle had a little history of its own. One day at the height of
the war it was commandeered “for urgent military action.” Hard as
its loss would have been to him he would still have let it go without
a thought had he not had some doubts about the genuineness of
the officer. It wasn’t his disreputable rags, nor the toes peeping out
of one blue and one brown canvas shoe, nor yet the two stars of
Civil Peace 389

his rank done obviously in a hurry in biro,1 that troubled Jonathan;
NOTES many good and heroic soldiers looked the same or worse. It was
rather a certain lack of grip and firmness in his manner. So Jonathan,
amenable (uh MEHN uh buhl) suspecting he might be amenable to influence, rummaged in his
adj. agreeable
raffia bag and produced the two pounds with which he had been
influence (IHN floo uhns) going to buy firewood which his wife, Maria, retailed to camp
n. dishonest persuasion; officials for extra stock-fish and corn meal, and got his bicycle back.
bribery That night he buried it in the little clearing in the bush where the
dead of the camp, including his own youngest son, were buried.
surrender (suh REHN duhr) n. When he dug it up again a year later after the surrender all it needed
act of giving up was a little palm-oil greasing. “Nothing puzzles God,” he said in
wonder.
3 He put it to immediate use as a taxi and accumulated a small pile
of Biafran2 money ferrying camp officials and their families across the
four-mile stretch to the nearest tarred road. His standard charge per
trip was six pounds and those who had the money were only glad to
be rid of some of it in this way. At the end of a fortnight3 he had made
a small fortune of one hundred and fifteen pounds.
CLOSE READ 4 Then he made the journey to Enugu and found another miracle
ANNOTATE: In paragraph 4, waiting for him. It was unbelievable. He rubbed his eyes and looked
mark words and phrases again and it was still standing there before him. But, needless to
related to luck or wonder. say, even that monumental blessing must be accounted also totally
QUESTION: Why do inferior to the five heads in the family. This newest miracle was his
references to luck and little house in Ogui Overside. Indeed nothing puzzles God! Only
wonder appear so two houses away a huge concrete edifice some wealthy contractor
frequently? had put up just before the war was a mountain of rubble. And here
CONCLUDE: What effect do was Jonathan’s little zinc house of no regrets built with mud blocks
these repeated references quite intact! Of course the doors and windows were missing and five
have, particularly on how sheets off the roof. But what was that? And anyhow he had returned
readers see Jonathan? to Enugu early enough to pick up bits of old zinc and wood and
soggy sheets of cardboard lying around the neighborhood before
thousands more came out of their forest holes looking for the same
things. He got a destitute carpenter with one old hammer, a blunt

plane and a few bent and rusty nails in his tool bag to turn this
assortment of wood, paper, and metal into door and window shutters
for five Nigerian shillings or fifty Biafran pounds. He paid the
pounds, and moved in with his overjoyed family carrying five heads
on their shoulders.
5 His children picked mangoes near the military cemetery and sold
them to soldiers’ wives for a few pennies—real pennies this time—
and his wife started making breakfast akara balls4 for neighbors in a
hurry to start life again. With his family earnings he took his bicycle
1. biro (BY roh) informal British English for “ballpoint pen.”

2. Biafran (bee AF ruhn) of the rebellious southeastern region of Nigeria, which declared
itself the independent Republic of Biafra in the civil war of 1967.
3. fortnight two weeks.
4. akara (uh KAHR uh) balls deep-fried balls of ground beans.

to the villages around and bought fresh palm-wine which he mixed
generously in his rooms with the water which had recently started NOTES
running again in the public tap down the road, and opened up a bar
for soldiers and other lucky people with good money.
6 At first he went daily, then every other day and finally once a
week, to the offices of the Coal Corporation where he used to be a
miner, to find out what was what. The only thing he did find out in
the end was that that little house of his was even a greater blessing
than he had thought. Some of his fellow ex-miners who had nowhere
to return at the end of the day’s waiting just slept outside the doors
of the offices and cooked what meal they could scrounge together in
Bournvita tins. As the weeks lengthened and still nobody could say
what was what Jonathan discontinued his weekly visits altogether
and faced his palm-wine bar.
7 But nothing puzzles God. Came the day of the windfall when after windfall (WIHND fawl) n.
five days of endless scuffles in queues5 and counter-queues in the sun unexpected good fortune
outside the Treasury he had twenty pounds counted into his palms
as ex-gratia6 award for the rebel money he had turned in. It was like
Christmas for him and for many others like him when the payments
began. They called it (since few could manage its proper official
name) egg-rasher.
8 As soon as the pound notes were placed in his palm Jonathan
simply closed it tight over them and buried fist and money inside
his trouser pocket. He had to be extra careful because he had seen a
man a couple of days earlier collapse into near-madness in an instant
before that oceanic crowd because no sooner had he got his twenty
pounds than some heartless ruffian picked it off him. Though it was
not right that a man in such an extremity of agony should be blamed
yet many in the queues that day were able to remark quietly at the
victim’s carelessness, especially after he pulled out the innards of his
pocket and revealed a hole in it big enough to pass a thief’s head.
But of course he had insisted that the money had been in the other
pocket, pulling it out too to show its comparative wholeness. So one
had to be careful.
9 Jonathan soon transferred the money to his left hand and pocket
so as to leave his right free for shaking hands should the need
arise, though by fixing his gaze at such an elevation as to miss all
approaching human faces he made sure that the need did not arise,
until he got home.
10 He was normally a heavy sleeper but that night he heard all the
neighborhood noises die down one after another. Even the night
watchman who knocked the hour on some metal somewhere in the
distance had fallen silent after knocking one o’clock. That must have
been the last thought in Jonathan’s mind before he was finally carried
5. queues (kyooz) n. British English for “lines.”

6. ex-gratia (ehks GRAY shee uh) as a favor (Latin).
Civil Peace 391

away himself. He couldn’t have been gone for long, though, when he
NOTES was violently awakened again.
11 “Who is knocking?” whispered his wife lying beside him on
the floor.
12 “I don’t know,” he whispered back breathlessly.
13 The second time the knocking came it was so loud and imperious
that the rickety old door could have fallen down.
14 “Who is knocking?” he asked them, his voice parched and
trembling.
15 “Na tief-man and him people,” came the cool reply. “Make you
hopen de door.”7 This was followed by the heaviest knocking of all.
16 Maria was the first to raise the alarm, then he followed and all
their children.
17 “Police-o! Thieves-o! Neighbors-o! Police-o! We are lost! We are dead!
Neighbors, are you asleep? Wake up! Police-o!”
18 This went on for a long time and then stopped suddenly. Perhaps
they had scared the thief away. There was total silence. But only for a
short while.
19 “You done finish?” asked the voice outside. “Make we help you
small. Oya, everybody!”
20 “Police-o! Tief-man-so! Neighbors-o! We done loss-o! Police-o! . . .”
21 There were at least five other voices besides the leader’s.
22 Jonathan and his family were now completely paralyzed by terror.
Maria and the children sobbed inaudibly like lost souls. Jonathan
groaned continuously.
23 The silence that followed the thieves’ alarm vibrated horribly.
Jonathan all but begged their leader to speak again and be done
with it.
CLOSE READ 24 “My frien,” said he at long last, “we don try our best for call
ANNOTATE: In paragraphs dem but I tink say dem all done sleep-o … So wetin we go do now?
24–27, mark words and Sometaim you wan call soja? Or you wan make we call dem for you?
phrases that suggest a Soja better pass police. No be so?”
casual friendliness in the
25 “Na so!” replied his men. Jonathan thought he heard even more
way the thief speaks to
Jonathan.
voices now than before and groaned heavily. His legs were sagging
under him and his throat felt like sandpaper.
QUESTION: Why does the 26 “My frien, why you no de talk again. I de ask you say you wan
thief address Jonathan
make we call soja?”
with seeming friendliness
27 “No.”
and familiarity?
28 “Awrighto. Now make we talk business. We no be bad tief. We no
CONCLUDE: What is the like for make trouble. Trouble done finish. War done finish and all
effect of this seemingly the katakata wey de for inside. No Civil War again. This time na Civil
friendly tone?
Peace. No be so?”
29 “‘Na so!” answered the horrible chorus.
7. “Na tief-man . . . hopen de door” (dialect) “I am a thief with my accomplices. Open the
door.”

30 “What do you want from me? I am a poor man. Everything I had
went with this war. Why do you come to me? You know people who NOTES
have money. We . . .”
31 “Awright! We know say you no get plenty money. But we sef no
get even anini. So derefore make you open dis window and give us
one hundred pound and we go commot. Orderwise we de come for
inside now to show you guitar-boy like dis . . .”
32 A volley of automatic fire rang through the sky. Maria and the
children began to weep aloud again.
33 “Ah, missisi de cry again. No need for dat. We done talk say we na
good tief. We just take our small money and go nwayorly. No molest.
Abi we de molest?”
34 “At all!” sang the chorus.
35 “My friends,” began Jonathan hoarsely. “I hear what you say and
I thank you. If I had one hundred pounds . . .”
36 “Lookia my frien, no be play we come play for your house. If we
make mistake and step for inside you no go like am-o. So derefore . . .”
Civil Peace 393

37 “To God who made me; if you come inside and find one hundred
NOTES pounds, take it and shoot me and shoot my wife and children. I swear
to God. The only money I have in this life is this twenty-pounds egg-
CLOSE READ rasher they gave me today . . .”
ANNOTATE: A simile is a 38 “Ok. Time de go. Make you open dis window and bring the twenty
figure of speech that uses pound. We go manage am like dat.”
an explicit comparison 39 There were now loud murmurs of dissent among the chorus:
word such as like or as
“Na lie de man de lie; e get plenty money . . . Make we go inside and
to make a comparison
search properly well . . . Wetin be twenty pound? . . .”
between two dissimilar
things. In paragraph 40, 40 “Shurrup!” rang the leader’s voice like a lone shot in the sky and
mark the simile. silenced the murmuring at once. “Are you dere? Bring the money
quick!”
QUESTION: Why does the
41 “I am coming,” said Jonathan fumbling in the darkness with the
author use this simile after
the threats of violence that key of the small wooden box he kept by his side on the mat.
came earlier in the story?
42 At the first sign of light as neighbors and others assembled to
CONCLUDE: What is the commiserate with him he was already strapping his five-gallon
effect of this simile?
demijohn8 to his bicycle carrier and his wife, sweating in the open
fire, was turning over akara balls in a wide clay bowl of boiling oil.
In the corner his eldest son was rinsing out dregs of yesterday’s
palm-wine from old beer bottles.
43 “I count it as nothing,” he told his sympathizers, his eyes on the
rope he was tying. “What is egg-rasher? Did I depend on it last week?
Or is it greater than other things that went with the war? I say, let egg-
rasher perish in the flames! Let it go where everything else has gone.
Nothing puzzles God.” ❧
8. demijohn (DEHM ee jon) n. large glass or earthenware bottle with a wicker cover.

Comprehension Check
Complete the following items after you finish your first read.
1. What conflict sets the scene for the story?
2. What does Jonathan get in exchange for the rebel money he had saved?
3. What type of people show up at Jonathan’s door one night, and what do
they demand?
4. What do Jonathan and his family do the morning after they are robbed?
5. Notebook To confirm your understanding, write a summary of “Civil Peace.”
RESEARCH
Research to Clarify Choose at least one unfamiliar detail from the text. Briefly research
that detail. In what way does the information you learned shed light on an aspect of
the story?
Research to Explore Choose something from the text that interests you, and formulate
a research question.
Civil Peace 395

MAKING MEANING
Close Read the Text

1. This model, from paragraph 9 of the text, shows two sample
annotations, along with questions and conclusions. Close read
the passage, and find another detail to annotate. Then, write a
question and your conclusion.
CIVIL PEACE
ANNOTATE: This short clause comes at the

end of a long sentence with multiple phrases
and clauses.
QUESTION: Why does the author structure
this sentence in this way? ANNOTATE: These
details show that
CONCLUDE: The sentence structure captures
Jonathan carefully
the stress Jonathan feels—he cannot let
avoids contact with
down his guard until he gets home.
others.
QUESTION: Why
Jonathan soon transferred the money does the author
to his left hand and pocket so as to leave include this point?
his right free for shaking hands should CONCLUDE: This
the need arise, though by fixing his shows Jonathan’s
gaze at such an elevation as to miss all resourcefulness.
With money in his
approaching human faces he made sure
pocket, contact
that the need did not arise, until he got with others is
Tool Kit home. dangerous, so he
Close-Read Guide and quietly avoids it.
Model Annotation
2. For more practice, go back into the text, and complete the
close-read notes.
3. Revisit a section of the text you found important during your
first read. Read this section closely, and annotate what you
notice. Ask yourself questions such as “Why did the author
 STANDARDS make this choice?” What can you conclude?
Reading Literature

• Cite strong and thorough textual
evidence to support analysis of what CITE TEXTUAL EVIDENCE
the text says explicitly as well as Analyze the Text to support your answers.
inferences drawn from the text.
• Determine a theme or central idea Notebook Respond to these questions.
of a text and analyze in detail its
development over the course of the 1. (a) What are the “five inestimable blessings” for which Jonathan is
text, including how it emerges and grateful? (b) Interpret What does Jonathan’s attitude toward these
is shaped and refined by specific
blessings show you about the nature of the Nigerian civil war?
details; provide an objective summary
of the text. 2. Compare and Contrast How is Jonathan’s reaction to the loss of
• Analyze how complex characters
the egg-rasher different from that of the man robbed at the Treasury?
develop over the course of a text,
interact with other characters, and 3. Infer After the robbery, Jonathan says, “Or is it greater than other things
advance the plot or develop the
that went with the war?” To what is he referring? Explain.
theme.
• Analyze a particular point of view 4. Connect Why do you think the author chooses the term “Civil Peace” as
or cultural experience reflected in a
the story’s title? Explain your reasoning, using details from the story.
work of literature from outside the
United States, drawing on a wide 5. Essential Question: What do our possessions reveal about us? What
reading of world literature.
have you learned about materialism from reading this story?


Development of Theme The theme of a literary work is the central
message or insight into life it expresses. The theme may be stated directly or
implied. When the theme is implied, readers must analyze elements of the
text to determine the larger message the author is conveying. Thematic clues
may appear in any story element, including the following:
• setting, or the time and place in which a story is set—key part of

a setting is a work’s historical and cultural context. The events,
conflicts, and beliefs that affect the people in the society of the story
may offer thematic clues.
• characters, or people in the story—Their statements, behavior, actions,
and reactions may be clues to the theme.
• plot development, or the sequence of related events in a story—The
relationships among events, including how one leads to the next, may
be thematic clues.
• description, or the use of sensory details to show what a setting or
characters are like—In particular, the use of juxtaposition, in which
disparate ideas or details are shown side-by-side, may suggest themes.
For example, in “Civil Peace,” Jonathan’s children pick mangoes from a
cemetery. That juxtaposition shows how death is simply part of life for
survivors of the civil war. Authors may use juxtaposition to call attention
to important ideas.


1. (a) Find an example of the juxtaposition of two ideas in “Civil Peace.” (b) What
effect does Achebe create by pairing these two ideas?
2. (a) Describe the events in the story that prompt Jonathan to use the expression
“Nothing puzzles God.” (b) Judging from the circumstances of each event, explain
what you think Jonathan means by this expression.
3. Using a chart like the one shown, analyze three episodes that spark a strong
response in Jonathan.
WHAT RESPONSE SHOWS

EPISODE JONATHAN’S RESPONSE
ABOUT JONATHAN
4. How are the episodes you noted in your chart related? What do Jonathan’s
responses suggest about the story’s theme? Explain.
5. What theme do Jonathan’s actions and the events in the story develop? Support
your answer with evidence from the text.
Civil Peace 397

Concept Vocabulary
inestimable amenable surrender
blessings influence windfall

CIVIL PEACE
Why These Words? These concept vocabulary words all relate to

fortune, good or bad. For example, Jonathan thinks of his five blessings as
inestimable. Both of these words relate to Jonathan’s perceptions of his life
as being full of good fortune.
1. How do the concept words help the reader understand how Jonathan
views his world?
2. What other words in the selection connect to this concept?
Practice
Notebook The concept vocabulary words appear in “Civil Peace.”
 WORD NETWORK
1. With a partner, choose one of the concept words, and take turns naming
as many related words as you can.
materialism from the text to
your Word Network. 2. Find the sentences containing the concept words in the selection. With
a partner, replace each concept word with a synonym. Discuss how your
substitutions change the meanings of the sentences.
Word Study
 STANDARDS
Compound Nouns The concept vocabulary word windfall is an example of
Reading Literature a compound noun. A compound noun is a noun formed by combining two
• Determine a theme or central idea or more separate words—in this case, the words wind and fall.
of a text and analyze in detail its
development over the course of the Compound nouns may be “open,” as in pizza parlor; hyphenated, as in
text, including how it emerges and
meat-eater; or “closed,” as in basketball. Whether a given compound
is shaped and refined by specific
details; provide an objective summary noun is open, hyphenated, or closed is a matter of convention, and writers
of the text. sometimes deviate from the conventional spelling for effect. If you are unsure
• Analyze how complex characters how to spell a particular compound noun, consult a dictionary.
develop over the course of a text,
interact with other characters, and
advance the plot or develop the
Read this passage from paragraph 2 of “Civil Peace.” Mark the three
theme. compound nouns, and label each one open, hyphenated, or closed. Then,
Language write a meaning for each of them. Consult a dictionary as needed.
conventions of standard English So Jonathan . . . produced the two pounds with which he
capitalization, punctuation, and had been going to buy firewood which his wife, Maria,
• Spell correctly. retailed . . . for extra stock-fish and corn meal, and got his
• Apply knowledge of language to bicycle back.
understand how language functions
in different contexts, to make
effective choices for meaning or style,
and to comprehend more fully when
reading or listening.

Author’s Style
Character Development Fiction writers use a variety of techniques to
create engaging, interesting, and believable characters. Sometimes writers
give characters a voice with dialect. Dialect is a form of a language spoken
by people in a particular region or group. It may involve changes to the
pronunciation, vocabulary, and sentence structure of the standard form of
the language. A writer’s choice to have characters speak in dialect may add a
sense of authenticity to a story.
Read It
1. Mark examples of dialect that appear in the two passages from “Civil
Peace” that are shown in the chart. Then, revise each passage using
standard English.
PASSAGE REVISION IN STANDARD ENGLISH
Jonathan: “What is egg-rasher? Did I depend on

it last week? Or is it greater than other things that
went with the war? I say, let egg-rasher perish in the
flames! Let it go where everything else has gone.
Nothing puzzles God.” (paragraph 43)
Thief Leader: “Awrighto. Now make we talk

business. We no be bad tief. We no like for make
trouble. Trouble done finish. War done finish and all
the katakata wey de for inside. No Civil War again.
This time na Civil Peace. No be so?” (paragraph 28)
2. Consider differences between the original passages and your revisions.

What is lost and what is gained by the author’s choice to use dialect?
Explain.
Write It
Notebook Dialect is one form of nonstandard language. There are
other forms, including the language common to social media and texting.
Write a brief paragraph in which you describe your morning routine. Use
standard English. Then, write another paragraph on the same topic. Use
nonstandard language variations with which you are familiar.
Civil Peace 399

Writing to Sources
Informative writing presents evidence and explanations to help readers
understand concepts and ideas. In informative writing about literary works—
such as a character analysis—you present your interpretation of a text, use
text evidence to illustrate that interpretation, and explain how the evidence
CIVIL PEACE
and your interpretation connect.
Assignment
The fate of the main character in “Civil Peace” is determined in large part
by his personality. Write a brief character analysis of Jonathan. In your
analysis, identify Jonathan’s main character traits, including his strengths
and weaknesses. Then, explain how these traits help Jonathan overcome
obstacles.
• First, review the story to analyze Jonathan in detail. Using a
two-column chart, list his strengths and weaknesses.
• Identify specific examples in the story that demonstrate each trait.
• Consulting your chart, select the main ideas you want to convey and
the order in which you will express them.
• Link supporting details to your main idea using phrases such as for
example. Include transition words such as instead to connect ideas.
• End with a conclusion that logically follows from and completes the
ideas you developed in the body of your essay.
Vocabulary Connection
Include several of the concept vocabulary words in your character analysis.
inestimable amenable surrender
blessings influence windfall

Reflect on Your Writing
After you have written your character analysis, answer these questions.
 STANDARDS
Writing 1. Did writing the character analysis deepen your understanding of
Write informative/explanatory texts “Civil Peace”? Why or why not?
to examine and convey complex
ideas, concepts, and information
clearly and accurately through the
effective selection, organization, and 2. What questions do you still have about the story after writing the
analysis of content. character analysis?
Present information, findings,
and supporting evidence clearly,
3. Why These Words? The words you choose make a difference in your
concisely, and logically such that
listeners can follow the line of writing. Which transition words did you use in your writing to help move
reasoning and the organization, your reader from idea to idea?
development, substance, and style
are appropriate to purpose, audience,
and task.


You can share your ideas about a piece of literature by delivering an oral
interpretation for an audience. To do so, combine a careful analysis of
the work with an expressive reading or performance that reveals your
understanding and demonstrates your sensitivity to the author’s choices.
Assignment
Deliver an oral interpretation. Choose an excerpt from “Civil Peace” you
feel is especially meaningful. Read the excerpt aloud for the class. Then,
briefly explain how that excerpt helps develop the story’s theme.
1. Identify the Excerpt Review the story in your mind, and consider which
part you remember most vividly.
2. Connect to the Theme Think about how your excerpt relates to the
theme of the story as a whole. If you are having difficulty connecting your
excerpt with the theme, consider choosing another part of the text. Make
a few notes about this connection on a piece of paper or index card that
you can refer to when you are speaking.
3. Practice your Reading Practice your oral interpretation with a partner.
Use the following performance techniques to achieve a powerful effect.
• Avoid speaking in a flat, monotone style. Instead, vary your tone, and
allow your voice to reflect the emotions of the excerpt.
• Avoid speaking too quickly or too slowly.
• Use gestures to convey the text’s meaning, but make sure they are not
excessive or distracting.
• Recite the text enough times that it becomes familiar. In that way, you
can look up and make eye contact with your audience.
4. Evaluate Oral Interpretations As your classmates deliver their oral
interpretations, listen attentively. Use an evaluation guide like the one
shown to evaluate their deliveries.
EVALUATION GUIDE  EVIDENCE LOG

Rate each statement on a scale of 1 (not demonstrated) to 4 Before moving on to a
(demonstrated). new selection, go to your
The reading was clear and understandable. what you learned from
“Civil Peace.”
The speaker read with energy and expression that conveyed
the meaning of the text.
The speaker clearly and effectively connected the excerpt to the theme
of the story.
The speaker made eye contact with the audience.
Civil Peace 401

Making Meaning
About Tutankhamun
Fit for a King:
Technical Vocabulary
The following words or concepts will be useful to you as you analyze, discuss,
and write about ancient objects.
Tutankhamun (circa 1341– Egyptology: study of • Someone who studies Egyptology is called an
1323 b.c.) was an Egyptian the language, culture, Egyptologist.
pharaoh, or monarch, who and history of ancient • In the United States, Egyptology is more associated
ruled from approximately Egypt with archaeology, or the scientific study of human
1332 to 1323 b.c. King Tut,
history. In Europe, it is more associated with the study
as he has come to be known,
of language.
was only nine or ten years
old when he ascended to the artifact: portable • Rare artifacts often have great scientific, historic, and
throne. Evidence suggests object made, cultural value.
that he suffered from a modified, or used • Artifacts that are very rare, made of precious materials,
variety of health problems, by people or culturally significant may have high monetary value.
including malaria and a rare
bone disease, and probably iconography: system • Most cultures have iconography that is unique and
walked with a cane. He of symbolic images recognizable.
died at the age of nineteen. that conveys a • Changes in a culture’s iconography may signal shifts in
Given his youth and health subject, worldview, its economy, religion, politics, or another fundamental
problems, it is likely that or concept aspect of a society.
most of his political decisions
were made by advisors. context: position • An artifact’s context helps archaeologists understand
During Tutankhamun’s reign, and immediate its function and importance.
Egypt renewed neglected surroundings of an • If the location has been undisturbed since the artifact
relationships with other artifact or other was first placed there, it is called primary context. If
kingdoms and states, and feature in the location the location has been changed by human or other
engaged in several military where it is found activity, it is called secondary context.
campaigns. (The image shown
here is a mask that was found
on Tutankhamun’s mummy. It
First Review MEDIA: ART AND PHOTOGRAPHY
was made in his likeness out of
gold and precious stones and Apply these strategies as you conduct your first review. You will have an
opportunity to complete a close review after your first review.
was used to cover the king’s
mummified face.)
GO_TXT_NST
Look at each image
GO_TXT_NST
and GO_TXT_NST
NOTE elementsGO_TXT_NST
in each image
determine whom or what that you find interesting and
it portrays. want to revisit.
CONNECT details
GO_TXT_NST GO_TXT_NST
in the RESPOND
GO_TXT_NSTby completing
GO_TXT_NSTthe
 Standards
images to other media you’ve Comprehension Check.
Reading Informational Text
By the end of grade 10, read and experienced, texts you’ve read,
comprehend literary nonfiction at or images you’ve seen.
the high end of the grades 9–10 text
proficiently.
402 UNiT 4 • ALL THAT GLITTERS

ANCHOR TEXT | PHOTO ESSAY
Fit for a King:

BACKGROUND
In 1922, a British archaeologist named Howard Carter discovered the tomb of
King Tutankhamun in the Valley of the Kings near Luxor, Egypt. It had taken Carter
more than ten years to locate the tomb, and the discovery changed the world.
Unlike most Egyptian tombs that had been unearthed, Tutankhamun’s was nearly
undisturbed. For more than three thousand years, the four chambers of the tomb
had protected the mummified remains of the pharaoh—the first intact mummy
ever found—as well as a trove of nearly four thousand objects. The tomb held
jewelry, beds, couches, chairs, vases, statues, chariots, thrones, weapons, and
shrines. There were musical instruments, lamps, vessels containing ointments and
oils, board games, fine clothing, fans, numerous bottles of wine, and food. The
ancient Egyptians believed their pharaoh would need these items in the afterlife.
The discovery of the glories within King Tut’s tomb captured the world’s imagination
and sparked widespread interest in ancient Egypt that continues to this day.
PHOTO 1: Objects in the Antechamber Harry Burton was

an archaeological photographer who was part of Howard NOTES
Carter’s team. Burton took this photo of objects in the tomb’s
Antechamber. These include a cow-headed couch and boxes
containing joints of meat.
Fit for a King: Treasures of Tutankhamun 403

photo 2: Cobra Uraeus Diadem This diadem, or crown, was
found on Tutankhamun’s mummy in the tomb’s Burial Chamber. NOTES
It features representations of a vulture and a cobra, both of which
symbolize the power of the pharaoh. The vulture represents Upper
Egypt, and the cobra uraeus—or rising cobra—represents Lower
Egypt. The vulture’s head is made of solid gold. The cobra is also
gold inlaid with precious stones. Tutankhamun wore this diadem,
or one like it, during his lifetime.
NOTES
photo 3: Alabaster Funerary Barge This alabaster vessel

was probably used to hold perfume. Egyptologists believe it is a
replica of Tutankhamun’s funerary barge. It is fourteen inches tall,
highlighted with gold leaf, and inlaid with glass and semiprecious
stones. The object was found in the tomb’s Annex, a room that
was originally used as a storage chamber.

PHOTO 4: Golden Flabellum,
or Fan Tutankhamun was buried
with eight large fans, including
the one shown here. This gold fan
was originally mounted on a long
pole and fitted with 42 ostrich
feathers. One side shows a hunting
scene with the figure of the young
pharaoh in a chariot. The other
side shows his return from the
hunt. This object was found in the
tomb’s Burial Chamber.
NOTES
NOTES
PHOTO 5: Canopic Chest Canopic jars were used to hold the internal organs
of the deceased—the liver, lungs, stomach, and intestines—which were
removed during the mummification process. Ancient Egyptians believed the
dead would need these organs in the afterlife. This chest was found in the
tomb’s Treasury. It holds four canopic jars made of alabaster. The four lids (two
of which are shown here) represent Tutankhamun wearing a headdress that
features the vulture and cobra, symbols of the pharaoh’s power.

MAKING MEANING
Comprehension Check
Complete the following items after you finish your first review.
1. What objects are represented in each of the four color photographs?
2. Cite three other types of objects that were found in Tutankhamun’s tomb but do
not appear in these five photographs.
3. What symbolism appears on the objects represented in both Photo 2 and Photo 5?
Close Review
Look at the photo essay again. Write down any new
TECHNICAL observations that seem important. What questions do
vocabulary you have? What can you conclude?
Use these words as you
discuss, analyze, and write
about the photo essay.
Analyze the Media
Egyptology
artifact
iconography 1. Generalize What do these objects suggest about the types of things
context ancient Egyptians felt were important?
2. Infer Photo 1 shows part of the tomb’s Antechamber as Carter’s team

first found it. What does this image reveal about the organization of
objects in the Antechamber? Explain.
3. Analyze The treasures with which Tutankhamun was buried were seen as
necessary to his existence in the afterlife. What do these objects suggest
 WORD NETWORK
about ancient Egyptians’ views of both earthly life and the afterlife?
Explain.
your Word Network. 4. Extend The discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb and its treasures generated
worldwide interest in ancient Egypt. Using your knowledge of the
discovery, explain why you think this is so.
 STANDARDS 5. Essential Question: What do our possessions reveal about us? What
Language
have you learned about materialism from examining this photo essay?
Acquire and use accurately general
academic and domain-specific words
and phrases, sufficient for reading,
writing, speaking, and listening at
the college and career readiness
level; demonstrate independence
in gathering vocabulary knowledge
when considering a word or phrase
important to comprehension or
expression.

effective expression

Photojournalism is a type of news reporting in which the photos tell most
of the story. With today’s technology, creating a work of photojournalism is
technically much easier than it was in the past. However, the requirements
for strong photojournalism remain the same as always—powerful pictures
FIT FOR A KING:
must tell an interesting story. TREASURES OF TUTANKHAMUN
Assignment
Create a work of photojournalism—either in a digital format or on a
poster—reporting on possessions that you or others in your community
find meaningful.
• Take photos of these objects, draw them, or use images from  evidence log
magazines or other sources.
Before moving on to a
• Write captions that describe the images, or pose questions for viewers new selection, go to your
to consider. Evidence Log and record
• You may choose to add text that explains each object’s significance. what you learned from “Fit
for a King: Treasures of
Tutankhamun.”
Plan It Decide what your medium will be, and organize the resources
you need. If you’re going to take photographs, you’ll need a camera or
smartphone. If you’re going to make drawings or other personally created
art, you’ll need art supplies. If you’re going to use images from print media
or the Internet, you’ll need scissors and a copier or a printer. Use the chart to
keep track of your images.
IMAGE WHERE, WHEN, WHO SOURCE OR MEDIUM

 STANDARDS
Writing
Use technology, including the
Internet, to produce, publish, and
update individual or shared writing
products, taking advantage of
technology’s capacity to link to
other information and to display
information flexibly and dynamically.
Present It Publish your work of photojournalism by presenting it to the Make strategic use of digital
class. Use technology if possible. Be prepared to discuss your work and media in presentations to enhance
answer questions other students might have about it. understanding of findings,
reasonings, and evidence and to
add interest.

PERFORMANCE TASK: WRITING FOCUS
WRITING TO SOURCES
• THE NECKLACE
Write an Informative Essay
You have read two short stories and viewed a photo essay. Each deals in
• CIVIL PEACE
its own way with the concept of value. In “The Necklace,” Mathilde Loisel
• FIT FOR A KING: TREASURES pays a heavy price for a moment of extravagance. In “Civil Peace,” Jonathan
OF TUTANKHAMUN Iwegbu loses a small fortune in much less time than it took to earn it. In the
photo essay “Fit for a King: Treasures of Tutankhamun,” the viewer can see
the items Egyptians buried with their pharaoh for his voyage to the afterlife.
Now, you will use your knowledge of the topic to write an informative essay
about how people assign value.
Assignment
Think about how the characters or real people featured in this section
decide what is valuable to them. Consider different reasons that objects
either have or lack value. Then, write an informative essay in which you
answer these questions:
What makes something valuable? What makes
something a treasure?
Tool Kit
Student Model of an Elements of an Informative Essay
Informative Text
An informative text presents and explains information about a topic.
An effective informative essay includes these elements:

ACADEMIC • a clear thesis statement
VOCABULARY
• facts and details drawn from a variety of reliable, credible sources
As you craft your essay,
• a well-organized structure, including an introduction, a body, and a
consider using some of the
academic vocabulary you
conclusion
learned at the beginning of • use of appropriate and varied transitions that clarify relationships among
the unit. complex ideas
paradox • correct grammar and usage
chronicle • an appropriately formal style and objective tone
allocate

deduce
primary Model Informative Text For a model of a LAUNCH TEXT
well-crafted informative essay, see the Launch Text,
UNIT
4 INTRODUCTION
LAUNCH TEXT | INFORMATIVE MODEL
This selection is an example of an

informative text, a type of writing
“I Came, I Saw, I Shopped.”

in which the author examines
concepts through the careful
selection, organization, and analysis
of information. This is the type
of writing you will develop in the
Performance-Based Assessment at
the end of the unit.
As you read, think about how
I Came, I Saw,
I Shopped
the writer presents information in
Challenge yourself to find all of the elements of an

the form of examples, statistics,
and expert opinion. How does the
writer help the reader understand
the importance of this information?
effective informative essay in the text. You will have NOTES

1
P erhaps you know what became of the robotic dog, ripped jeans,
or gadget you couldn’t live without a few years ago. Maybe you
remember where you put that video game you used to love. It was a
“must-have” item just last year. It’s possible, though, that you’ve lost
track of these things; consequently, they are forgotten, but not gone,
an opportunity to review these elements as you

collecting dust in a closet somewhere. In the meantime, you may
have developed a taste for newer, fresher goods, such as a waterproof
smartphone, designer shoes, or limited-edition sneakers.
2 When you want something with a passion, it can be difficult to
 STANDARDS
picture a moment when that item might not mean much to you.
A 2011 study showed that Americans upgrade their mobile phones
every 21.7 months. This is the fastest turnover rate in the world.
prepare to write your own informative essay.

As the pace of technological change increases, replacement periods
get even shorter. Are we just fickle and easily distracted, or are other
forces at play?
Writing
3 All of the data suggest that America is a nation of shoppers.
Instead of saving our money, we spend it. Recent research shows that
only one in four Americans saves more than 10 percent of his or her
income (Soergel 2015). In contrast, Europeans show personal savings
rates of more than 10 percent over a 30-year period dating back to the
• Write informative/explanatory texts

early 1980s.
Are We Hardwired to Buy?

4 What drives our need to own the latest games, shoes, or phones?
There are many notions. Some experts point to mirror neurons. These

are cells in our brains that allow us to mirror, or reflect, the feelings
ideas, concepts, and information LIT22_SE10_U04_LT.indd 366 22/03/21 11:05 AM

effective selection, organization, and
analysis of content.
• Write routinely over extended
time frames and shorter time frames
for a range of tasks, purposes, and
audiences.

essential question : What do our possessions reveal about us?
Prewriting / Planning
Write a Working Thesis Now that you have read and thought about the selections, write
a rough thesis statement. This should be the main point you wish to make in response to the
questions posed in this assignment. Your thesis statement should present an idea you will
explain and support in greater detail in the body of your essay. As you continue to write, you
may revise your thesis or even change it entirely. For now, it will help you choose evidence to
develop and support your ideas.
Working Thesis:
Gather Evidence from Texts With your working thesis in mind, review
 evidence log
the selections and your notes to identify details that you can use to support
Review your Evidence Log
your ideas. Because two of the selections in this section of the unit are works
and identify key details you
of fiction, look for the following types of evidence:
may want to cite in your
• plot events from the stories that speak to issues of materialism informative essay.
• descriptions of settings or objects in the stories that relate to ideas
about possessions or materialism
• quotations from the stories that show how characters feel and think
about material possessions
You may also use your observations of the photos in “Fit for a King,” as well
as information from the captions, as evidence. Use a chart to gather and
organize meaningful details from the selections.
Selection MEANINGFUL Details
The Necklace
Civil Peace
 Standards
Writing
• Introduce a topic; organize complex
ideas, concepts, and information to
Fit for a King: make important connections and
distinctions; include formatting,
Treasures of graphics, and multimedia when
Tutankhamun useful to aiding comprehension.
• Develop the topic with well-
chosen, relevant, and sufficient facts,
extended definitions, concrete details,
Connect Across Texts As you write your informative essay, you may use quotations, or other information
evidence from one text to develop ideas based on another. Include evidence and examples appropriate to the
audience’s knowledge of the topic.
from both the short stories and the photo essay to develop your thesis. It can
• Use precise language and domain-
be helpful to use one piece of evidence as your main point in a paragraph, specific vocabulary to manage the
and then reinforce it with another piece of evidence. complexity of the topic.
Performance Task: Write an Informative Essay 409

Performance Task: Writing focus
Drafting
Organize Your Ideas Informative essays generally include three parts:
• the introduction, in which you state your thesis
• the body, in which you develop the thesis
• the conclusion, in which you restate or readdress your thesis
Your introduction may be longer than a single paragraph. For example, in the
Launch Text, “I Came, I Saw, I Shopped,” the first three paragraphs serve as
the introduction. A thesis statement appears in the fourth paragraph: “What
drives our need to own the latest games, shoes, or phones? There are many
notions.” The body of the text provides different explanations for the urge to
purchase. In addition, the writer uses headings to organize the sections and
guide the reader through the information. In the concluding paragraph, the
writer links examples from the body to the thesis: “All of the information we
have about shopping and spending suggests that the desire for a particular
item is not so simple.”
Use the organizer to plan your draft.
Introduction BODY CONCLUSION
present the thesis develop the thesis with varied restate or readdress the thesis
evidence
Write a First Draft Refer to your organizer as you write your first draft.
Each part of your essay should lead logically to the next. Make sure that body
paragraphs provide reasons and evidence that clearly support your thesis,
and that your conclusion circles back to restate, summarize, or otherwise
 Standards
connect to your thesis. Keep the structure of your essay simple and logical so
Writing
Provide a concluding statement
that readers can follow the flow of your ideas.
or section that follows from
and supports the information or
explanation presented.

LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT: CONVENTIONS
Create Cohesion: Conjunctive Adverbs

As you draft and revise your informative essay, use a variety of transitions
to create cohesion and to clarify the relationships among your ideas. When
two independent clauses are closely related, consider joining them together
with a semicolon (;) and a conjunctive adverb—a word that indicates the
precise logical relationship between the ideas the clauses express.
Read It
Each of these sentences from the Launch Text uses a semicolon and a
punctuation
conjunctive adverb to connect two closely related independent clauses.
Make sure to punctuate
• It’s possible, though, that you’ve lost track of these things; conjunctive adverbs correctly.
consequently, they are forgotten, but not gone, collecting dust in a
• Use a comma after a
closet somewhere. (shows cause and effect)
conjunctive adverb at
• It is the rare driver who uses an antique car for her daily commute; the beginning of an
likewise, the collectible doll from 1959 that sold at auction in May 2006 independent clause.
for $27,450 did not become a child’s favorite toy. (shows similarity) • Use a comma before
• Some purchases of collectibles may be investments in items that will and after a conjunctive
grow in value; however, others are driven largely by emotions, such as adverb in the middle of an
longing for a time past. (shows contrast) independent clause.
Write It
As you draft and revise your informative essay, look for independent clauses
that have related ideas.
If you want to . . . consider using one of these conjunctive adverbs:
show similarity equally, likewise, similarly
show contrast instead, however, nevertheless

show cause and

consequently, therefore, thus  Standards
effect
Writing
Use appropriate and varied
transitions to link the major sections
show addition furthermore, also, moreover, additionally of the text, create cohesion, and
clarify the relationships among
complex ideas and topics.
Language
conventions of standard English
capitalization, punctuation, and
• Use a semicolon (and perhaps a
conjunctive adverb) to link two or
more closely related independent
clauses.

Performance Task: Writing focus
Revising
Evaluating Your Draft
Use the following checklist to evaluate the effectiveness of your draft. Then,
use your evaluation and the instructions on this page to guide your revision.
FOCUS AND ORGANIZATION EVIDENCE AND ELABORATION CONVENTIONS
Provides an introduction that Develops the thesis with Uses words, phrases,
includes a clear thesis statement. textual evidence. and clauses to clarify
the relationships among
Provides a conclusion that restates or Provides adequate examples ideas.
revisits the thesis. for each major idea.
Attends to the norms
Establishes a logical organization Uses vocabulary and word and conventions
and develops connections among choice that are appropriate of the discipline,
ideas. for the audience and especially the correct
purpose. use and punctuation of
transitions.
Establishes and maintains
a formal style and an
objective tone.
Revising for Focus and Organization

 WORD NETWORK Evaluate Logic and Coherence Reread your essay and consider the
following questions:
Include interesting words
from your Word Network in • Does the introduction set forth a clear, specific thesis?
your informative text. • Does each body paragraph add a distinct idea to that thesis?
• Does the essay end with a conclusion that readdresses the thesis?
If you have answered “no” to any of those questions, take action: Make
your thesis more specific, clarify ideas or information presented in the body
paragraphs, or revise your conclusion to make a clear connection back to
your introduction.
Revising for Evidence and Elaboration Copyright © SAVVAS Learning Company LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Evaluate Quality of Evidence Review your draft. Does each body

paragraph include evidence that clearly supports your main ideas? If not,
go back to the selections, and locate details, quotations, or examples that
provide better support for the points you wish to make.
Evaluate Tone In academic writing such as an informative essay, your
tone, or attitude, should be appropriately formal, authoritative, and neutral.
Apply the following steps to create and maintain an appropriate tone:
• Avoid slang and abbreviations, and limit the use of contractions.
• Generally, avoid idioms, which tend to be less formal in tone.
 Standards
Writing • Refer to places, people, or formal concepts by their proper names.
Establish and maintain a formal style Review your draft for any words or phrases that create an informal or
and objective tone while attending
to the norms and conventions of the
otherwise unsuitable tone. Replace any such terms with more formal choices.
discipline in which they are writing.

PEER REVIEW
Exchange essays with a classmate. Use the checklist to evaluate your classmate’s informative
essay and provide supportive feedback.
1. Is the thesis clear?
yes no If no, explain what confused you.
2. Are key points developed with evidence?

yes no If no, point out what needs more support.
3. Does the conclusion readdress the thesis in light of the evidence?

yes no If no, write a brief note explaining what you thought was missing.
4. What is the strongest part of your classmate’s essay? Why?
Editing and Proofreading

Edit for Conventions Reread your draft for accuracy and consistency.
Correct errors in grammar and word usage. Check your use of transitions.
Make sure you have placed them where they most effectively connect
two ideas.
Proofread for Accuracy Read your draft carefully, looking for errors in
spelling and punctuation. Check your use of commas around transitions. Use
commas as necessary to set off conjunctive adverbs and transitional phrases.
Publishing and Presenting

Create a final version of your informative essay. Share it with your class so
that your classmates can read it and make comments. In turn, review and
comment on your classmates’ work. Consider the ways in which other
students’ informative essays are both similar to and different from your own.
Always maintain a polite and respectful tone when commenting.
 Standards
Writing
Reflecting Develop and strengthen writing as
needed by planning, revising, editing,
Think about what you learned by writing your informative essay. What could you rewriting, or trying a new approach,
do differently the next time you need to write an informative essay to make the focusing on addressing what is most
writing experience easier and to make your information more interesting? significant for a specific purpose and
audience.

OVERVIEW: SMALL-GROUP LEARNING
ESSENTIAL QUESTION:

reveal about us?
The comfort and convenience that material objects provide help keep us safe,
warm, and productive. But what happens when obtaining material wealth becomes
a preoccupation or even an obsession? The selections you will read present
various perspectives on these questions. You will work in a group to continue your
exploration of materialism, identity, and personal values.
Small-Group Learning Strategies

Throughout your life, in school, in your community, and in your career, you will
continue to learn and work with others.
Review these strategies and the actions you can take to practice them as you
work in teams. Add ideas of your own for each step. Use these strategies during
Small-Group Learning.
Prepare • Complete your assignments so that you are prepared for group work.
• Organize your thinking so you can contribute to your group’s discussions.
Participate fully • Make eye contact to signal that you are listening and taking in what is being said.
• Use text evidence when making a point.
Support others • Build on ideas from others in your group.

• Invite others who have not yet spoken to do so.
Clarify • Paraphrase the ideas of others to ensure that your understanding is correct.
• Ask follow-up questions.

CONTENTS
JOURNALISM
In La Rinconada, Peru, Searching for

Beauty in Ugliness
Marie Arana
What is gained and what is lost in the quest for gold?
POETRY COLLECTION
Avarice Yusef Komunyakaa
The Good Life Tracy K. Smith
Money Reginald Gibbons
Does money really make us happy?
SHORT STORY
The Golden Touch

Nathaniel Hawthorne
Is unlimited material wealth a blessing or a curse?

COMPARE
POETRY
from King Midas

Howard Moss
How does a king’s greed make him realize what is

truly important?
MAGAZINE ARTICLE
The Thrill of the Chase

Margie Goldsmith
What happens when a real hidden treasure ignites

the imaginations of thousands?
PERFORMANCE TASK
SPEAKING AND LISTENING FOCUS
Present an Informative Text
The Small-Group readings explore how the human quest for material objects and
wealth can make people both happy and miserable. After reading, your group will
plan and deliver a multimedia presentation about these concepts.
Overview: Small-Group Learning 415

OVERVIEW: SMALL-GROUP LEARNING
Working as a Team
1. Discuss the Topic In your group, discuss the following question:
Do you think one’s happiness increases as one’s
wealth does?
As you take turns sharing your responses, be sure to provide details
to explain your position. After all group members have shared, discuss
similarities and differences in your perspectives.
2. List Your Rules As a group, decide on the rules that you will follow as
you work together. Samples are provided; add two more of your own. As
you work together, you may add or revise rules based on your experience
together.
• Everyone should participate in group discussions.
• People should not interrupt.
3. Apply the Rules Share what you have learned about what our
possessions reveal about us. Make sure each person in the group
contributes. Take notes on and be prepared to share with the class one
thing that you heard from another member of your group.
4. Name Your Group Choose a name that reflects the unit topic.
Our group’s name: Copyright © SAVVAS Learning Company LLC. All Rights Reserved.
5. Create a Communication Plan Decide how you want to communicate

with one another. For example, you might use online collaboration tools,
email, or instant messaging.
Our group’s decision:

Making a Schedule
First, find out the due dates for the small-group activities. Then, preview the
texts and activities with your group, and make a schedule for completing
the tasks.
SELECTION ACTIVITIES DUE DATE
In La Rinconada, Peru, Searching

for Beauty in Ugliness
Avarice
The Good Life
Money
The Golden Touch
from King Midas
Working on Group Projects

As your group works together, you’ll find it more effective if each person has
a specific role. Different projects require different roles. Before beginning a
project, discuss the necessary roles, and choose one for each group member.
Here are some possible roles; add your own ideas.
Project Manager: monitors the schedule and keeps everyone on task

Researcher: organizes research activities
Recorder: takes notes during group meetings
Overview: Small-Group Learning 417

MAKING MEANING
About the Author

In La Rinconada, Peru,
Searching for Beauty in Ugliness
Concept Vocabulary
As you perform your first read of “In La Rinconada, Peru, Searching for
Beauty in Ugliness,” you will encounter the following words.
Originally from Lima, Peru,
Marie Arana (b. 1949) is a
marauding intemperate despoiled
journalist, an author, and the
former chief editor of Book
World for the Washington
Base Words If these words are unfamiliar to you, analyze each one to see
Post. Arana’s memoir of whether it contains a base word you know. Then, use your knowledge of the
growing up as an immigrant “inside” word, along with context, to determine the meaning of the concept
in the United States was a word. Here is an example of how to apply the strategy.
finalist for the National Book
Award. Her novel Cellophane Unfamiliar Word: habitation
was a finalist for the John Familiar “Inside” Word: habitat, meaning “region where a plant or
Sargent Prize. Arana has
animal naturally grows or lives”
been the chairperson for
committees that decide Context: . . . La Rinconada, the highest human habitation in the world.
both the Pulitzer Prize and
the American Book award. Conclusion: Perhaps a habitation is a place or settlement in which
Her most recent project is people live.
a biography of the great
liberator of South America, Apply your knowledge of base words and other vocabulary strategies to
Simón Bolívar. determine the meanings of unfamiliar words you encounter during your
first read.
First Read NONFICTION

opportunity to complete a close read after your first read.

NOTICE the general ideas of ANNOTATE by marking
 STANDARDS the text. What is it about? vocabulary and key passages
Reading Informational Text Who is involved? you want to revisit.
comprehend literary nonfiction at
the high end of the grades 9–10 text
proficiently. CONNECT ideas within the RESPOND by completing
Language selection to what you the Comprehension Check and
• Determine or clarify the meaning already know and what you by writing a brief summary of
of unknown and multiple-meaning have already read. the selection.
words and phrases based on grades
9–10 reading and content, choosing
flexibly from a range of strategies.
• Identify and correctly use patterns
of word changes that indicate
speech.

JOURNALISM
In La Rinconada,
Peru, Searching
for Beauty in
Ugliness
Marie Arana
BACKGROUND
Fortune hunters have been searching for treasures in South America for
centuries—and for good reason. Below the surface lie precious stones, as
well as silver and gold. The mining for gold high in the Peruvian mountains
has come at a high price for the environment and the people of these
lands. In the barren region of La Rinconada, the mining companies use toxic
chemicals as they search for gold.
G old. The Aztecs killed for it. The Inca enslaved whole
populations for it. Spain sent legions of marauding
conquistadors up and down the Americas in a hallucinatory
NOTES
Mark base words or indicate

hunt, believing that gold was so abundant that chieftains rolled another strategy you used that
helped you determine meaning.
in it, washing away the glittering residue in their daily morning
marauding (muh RAW dihng)
swims.
adj.
2 Down the centuries, the quest for El Dorado has held the South
MEANING:
American continent in thrall, luring generations of fortune hunters to
its far reaches, from 1st-century warlords to 21st-century adventurers.
The earth beneath them has not disappointed. The geologic
exuberance known as the Cordillera of the Andes has yielded a fount
of treasure: the emeralds of Boyaca, the silver of Potosi, the gold of
Cajamarca.
3 Indeed, when Pizarro1 conquered Cajamarca in 1532, he demanded
a roomful of gold from the emperor Atahualpa; when it was
1. Pizarro (pih ZAHR oh) Francisco Pizarro, Spanish conquistador who captured Peru from
the Incas.
In La Rinconada, Peru, Searching for Beauty in Ugliness 419

produced, he chopped off the Inca’s head and established a new kind
NOTES of Golden Rule. So it was that a mineral became king and a craze
began.
another strategy you used that 4 Nowhere has Peru’s frenzy for gold been so fevered as in the
helped you determine meaning. mountains that surround Lake Titicaca. And nowhere has that fever
intemperate (ihn TEHM been so intemperate as in a town tucked into a glacial aerie: La
adj.
puhr iht) Rinconada, the highest human habitation in the world.
MEANING: 5 It is a destination for only the most valiant. Clinging to the peak of
Mount Ananea, with a cowl of glacier overhead, La Rinconada boasts
few tourists, no hotel, no sights to speak of, apart from the endless
snow, a dome of blue sky and a swarm of hard-bitten inhabitants.
For the 50,000 souls who brave the subzero cold to pick rock on those
hoary heights, there is no sewage system, no water, no paved roads,
no sanitation whatsoever. It is a wilderness of ice, rock, and gold,
perched more than 18,000 feet up in the Peruvian Andes.
6 Beside the gawping mine shafts that scar the mountain’s face are
huts of tin, built at capricious and precarious angles, with nothing to
keep out the glacial wind but improvised sheets of metal; nothing to
generate warmth but fetid heaps of garbage. The only convenience
here is the electricity, brought in by overlords so that the machinery
can grind and shuttle-cars can rumble through the mountain’s black
veins. At night, La Rinconada glitters like a cruel oasis.
7 Make no mistake: This is a trip for the armchair only. As Dante
might say, let me guide you through a fascinating circle of hell.
To a Barren World
8 I would not have gone up to the peak the locals call “la Bella
Durmiente”—Sleeping Beauty—had I not been accompanied by a
team of professionals from CARE. I traveled there to write a script for
“Girl Rising,” a film directed by Richard Robbins, produced by the
Documentary Group and poised for release next week.
9 It is a film about girls who live in desperately hard places, about
how educating them could change their families, their communities,
and very possibly the world. In the course of my journey up to La Copyright © SAVVAS Learning Company LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Rinconada, I had every expectation that I would find hunger and
hardship. What I had not expected was to find beauty in ugliness—to
see, as a mountain shaman might put it, the sacred in the profane.
10 Being a native of Lima, I knew what every schoolchild knows, that
although Peru is small (slightly smaller than Alaska), it encompasses
a virtual panoply2 of landforms: mountain, jungle, desert, marshland,
archipelago, coastline—all in defined geographic areas, and often in
dramatic contiguity. Fly over Peru, and Mount Huascaran’s majestic
peak seems to hover over the foliage of the Amazon jungle; the green
cliffs of Miraflores are just down the coast from the sands of Chan Chan.
11 But riding a truck from Puno to the little village of Putina—circling
the northernmost bend of Lake Titicaca—I almost convinced myself
2. panoply (PAN uh plee) n. array.

that this trip would continue its happy, paved course into the horizon.
The roads were good, the views of the so-called “highest navigable NOTES
lake in the world” literally breathtaking, and at almost 13,000 feet,

there was no malaise that a few cups of coca tea couldn’t cure.
12 In fact, this part of the world is known for its pharmacological
cornucopia. Every shrub or weed is a botanical miracle: flores de Bach
for melancholy, muña for chills or bone pain, pampanis for intestinal
gas, yahuar chonca for diarrhea. Fields of medicinal possibility
rushed past as we raced along the highway. Looking out at the reed
catamarans that skimmed the lake’s dazzling surface or the grass
islands that floated peacefully in the sun, I couldn’t imagine that
snows trickling into that paradise were anything but pristine.
13 Within a half-hour of leaving Putina, however, the road had
become dirt, rock, soon frozen mud, and my crew was being pitched
about, as it would be for two more hours of a difficult journey. The
Altiplano, a stretch of high mesa only slightly lower than the Tibetan
plateau, stretched before us, stippled with rough grass and stone.
Trees were scarce, thatched huts more so, and the odd flowers—
bright orange cantutas—had brought a herd of startled alpaca onto
that frigid January plain. They stood at the limits of faded pasture,
raising their delicate heads as we bounced over rut and rock, eyeing
us with haughty scorn.
14 Before long, as broad swaths of arid plain gave way to scarred
earth, we could see why La Rinconada is only rarely visited by
government poobahs.3 The air at 18,000 feet is stiflingly thin, the cold
excruciating. Now and then, ramshackle trucks and vans rattled past,
carrying miners and their families, stopping on the roadside to catch
their breath, chew coca leaf, and leave offerings to the earth goddess,
Pachamama, to whom altars had been erected along the way. All
about, for as far as the eye could see, was a crazed landscape. What
was once a region of sparkling lakes, leaping fish, and grassland is
now a barren world that beggars the imagination.
15 The green is gone. The earth is turned. What you see as Mount
Ananea looms into view is a lunar landscape, pitted with orange

lakes that reek of cyanide. The birds that once flew over La
Rinconada are nowhere to be seen; none flap overhead, save an
occasional vulture. The odor is staggering; it is the putrid stench of
chemicals, of rot, of human excrement. Even a whipping wind cannot
sweep away the stink.
16 As you ascend toward the great white cap of Sleeping Beauty, all
you see is garbage, a choking ruin, and ghostly shadows picking
through it. Gigantic trucks shove at the earth. Whole families wade
out into the toxic pools, fishing for gold. Along the perilously
winding road that climbs to the summit, flocks of women in wide
skirts scramble up cliffs, carrying heavy bags of ore, hoping to pound
a fleck of gold from the waste that has spilled from the mine shafts;
children stagger beside them, shouldering burdens of their own.
3. poobahs (POO boz) n. leaders who have a large amount of influence.

17 With so much poverty about, it is hard to believe that Sleeping
NOTES Beauty harbors riches, that gold ripped from her entrails will glitter
on Cartier and Tiffany counters around the world. But history books
tell us that Mount Ananea has been offering up gold since the days of
the Inca. According to travelers’ journals, a block the size of a horse’s
head and weighing more than 100 pounds was pulled free in the
1500s and sent to the Spanish king. The region’s rivers were said to be
strewn with glittering nuggets.
18 El Inca Garcilaso de la Vega, a half-Indian, half-Spanish
chronicler who lived in the 16th century, wrote that this tract of
Peru contained gold beyond imagining. Chunks of shiny rock as
large as a human head—and 24-karat pure—had rolled from the
damp black stone.
19 Although the king’s mines collapsed in the 1700s under the weight
of the glacier and were abandoned for 200 years, interest in Ananea
was rekindled in the 1960s, when teams of European and Japanese
mountaineers scaled the stretch known as the Cordillera Real. Hordes
of village boys followed, building huts, bringing families. With little
more than small picks and big dreams, some defied the odds and
struck gold. Today, there are just enough stories of random fortune to
keep their children here.
A Bench of Gold
20 Peru is booming these days. Its restaurants are full; its cuisine has
become all the rage. Cusco and Machu Picchu are world-class
destinations. Peru’s economy boasts one of the highest growth rates
in the world. In the past six years, its annual growth has hovered
between 6 and 9 percent, rivaling the colossal engines of China and
India.
21 Peru is one of the world’s leading producers of silver and one
of Latin America’s most exuberant founts of precious metals. It
is an energetic producer of natural gas. It is one of the top five
harvesters of fish on the planet. Its premier fashion photographer
is the darling of Vogue. Walk Lima’s streets and you can’t fail to see Copyright © SAVVAS Learning Company LLC. All Rights Reserved.
the evidence of progress: Here is a country alive with investment
and tourism, a hive of construction, home to a rising and robust
middle class.
22 But it is gold that has brought multinational companies to the
highlands of Puno, many of them installing sturdy, viable operations
that promise to lift rural communities out of poverty. Peru is hoping
that Atahualpa’s curse is dead; that gold will be its salvation; that the
country will no longer be—as the old saying has it—a beggar sitting
on a bench of gold.
23 All the same, the wheels of progress that have sped Peru toward
economic success and a burgeoning middle class have yet to climb

 Elaborate golden bird, Mochica, Peru, ca. 200 B. C. –A. D. 650
the pestilential4 road to La Rinconada. There, in the shadow of

Sleeping Beauty, every miner is on his own, and every woman and NOTES
child who accompanies him a hostage to fickle fortune.

24 Gold no longer rolls from the mountain in chunks the size of
a man’s head (if indeed it ever did). But the present generation
of miners has found that a manic pounding of rock can produce
miracles. In 2011, 150 tons of gold were harvested in Peru, worth
$6.8 billion. In order to produce it, almost 5 million tons of Peruvian
rock were knocked free and ground down. Look at it this way: For
every gold ring you see on a finger, miners have had to turn 250 tons
of rock.
25 In La Rinconada, the ore that harbors those precious flecks is
washed in ponds of cyanide, pounded with mercury in giant mortars
of stone and burned clean in ovens that send mercury fumes coiling
up onto the glacier’s snows. The work outdoors is often done by
women and children. The work in the damp, freezing shafts is
done by men. At the end of the process, a miner working under the
cachorreo system—a man who labors for 30 days and gets paid on
the 31st day in the form of whatever rock he can carry—may walk
away with a nugget worth $40. His neighbor, on the other hand, may
be rich beyond his imagining.
26 One thing is sure: Every year, less and less is harvested from
Sleeping Beauty. There is only so much gold on this planet. For all the
4. pestilential (pehs tuh LEHN shuhl) adj. dangerous; literally, disease-causing.

masks of Tutankhamun, for all the headdresses of the Lord of Sipan,5
NOTES for all the bling and glitter of Fifth Avenue, the total amount of gold
that humans have been able to pull from rock is a mere 170,000 metric
tons, barely enough to fill two Olympic swimming pools. More than
half of it has been mined in the last 50 years.
27 Some of this, mind you, has been done responsibly. But as earth is
heaved and ore carved from the unruly cliffs of Ananea, the glacier
and nearby lakes have sent toxic injections to the sparkling waters of
Lake Titicaca.
A Sudden Awe
28 Wandering the ice-mud streets of La Rinconada, one can’t help
but hope that this gold town’s days are numbered. The population
that lives below—that has inhabited the shores of Lake Titicaca for
centuries—made that hope known last year in a protest against all
mining operations that didn’t take into consideration the health
and welfare of the locals. The Aymara, who are gentle by nature,
were particularly vociferous on the subject, storming through Puno
last May and unleashing their fury on everything in their way. The
Peruvian military responded in kind.
another strategy you used that
29 The trickle-down of an economic boom can be surprising.
helped you determine meaning. 30 Even so, with all the antipathy a traveler might summon for a
despoiled (dih SPOYLD) v. place so willfully despoiled, I found myself standing beside the road
MEANING: a good distance from La Rinconada, looking back at that promontory
in wonder. With all my senses jangled, with the altitude making my
every step as labored as an astronaut’s, I found myself filled with
sudden awe.
31 Like the Ancient Mariner, who stared at the leaden sea and its
hideous slime and eventually beheld a rare, soul-lifting beauty,
I suddenly saw the tin rooftops gleam like a mantle of diamonds.
As the sun moved over the snow, the ravished mountain seemed
to ripple with ribbons of color. In that happy trance, I recalled the
kindness of a widow who offered me the shelter of her hut and a
gourd of hot soup. I remembered the fiery spirit of Senna, a 14-year Copyright © SAVVAS Learning Company LLC. All Rights Reserved.
old girl who could recite a string of verses by the great poet Vallejo.
I heard the laughter of a child in yellow, who danced in a noonday
cantina.
32 Even here, on this plundered peak, there are fleeting moments
of joy. ❧
5. Lord of Sipan (see PON) Peruvian mummy discovered in 1987. The mummy’s tomb
contained many gold ornaments and articles of jewelry.
From the Washington Post, March 2, 2013 © 2013 Washington Post Company. All rights reserved. Used by permission and
protected by the Copyright Laws of the United States. The printing, copying, redistribution, or retransmission of this Content
without express written permission is prohibited.

Comprehension Check
Complete the following items after you finish your first read. Review and clarify
details with your group.
1. What is La Rinconada?
2. What basic facilities and services does La Rinconada lack?
3. What has drawn multinational corporations to the mountains around La Rinconada?
4. How are the miners who work under the cachorreo system paid?
5. Notebook To confirm your understanding, write a summary of the article.

RESEARCH
the article?
Research to Explore Conduct research on an aspect of the text you find interesting.
For example, you may want to learn more about the history of the Incas or modern
Peruvian culture. Share what you learn with your group.

MAKING MEANING
Close Read the Text

With your group, revisit sections of the text you marked
during your first read. Annotate details that you notice.
What questions do you have? What can you conclude?
IN LA RINCONADA, PERU,
SEARCHING FOR BEAUTY IN
UGLINESS
Notebook Complete the activities.

1. Review and Clarify With your group, reread paragraph 23 of the article.
GROUP DISCUSSION What do you see as the “curse” of Atahualpa? In your opinion, has the
If you do not fully curse been lifted, or does Peru still live under its influence? Explain.
understand a group
member’s comment, ask for 2. Present and Discuss Now, work with your group to share the passages
clarification. To ensure an from the text that you found especially important. Take turns presenting
effective exchange, use a your passages. Discuss what you noticed in the text, what questions you
respectful and friendly tone. asked, and what conclusions you reached.
3. Essential Question: What do our possessions reveal about us? What

has this article taught you about materialism? Discuss with your group.
language development
Concept Vocabulary
marauding intemperate despoiled
Why These Words? The three concept vocabulary words are related. With
 WORD NETWORK
your group, determine what the words have in common. Write your ideas,
Add words related to and add another word that fits the category.
your Word Network.
Practice
Notebook Confirm your understanding of these words by using them
in a paragraph. Include context clues that hint at each word’s meaning. Copyright © SAVVAS Learning Company LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Word Study
Latin Root: -temp- The Latin root -temp- may have one of two meanings.
In some words, such as the concept vocabulary word intemperate, it means
 Standards “moderation,” “restraint,” or “calmness.” In other words, such as the word
Reading Informational Text temporary, it means “time.”
Determine an author’s point of view
Find and record the definitions of these words containing the root -temp-:
or purpose in a text and analyze how
an author uses rhetoric to advance distemper, contemporary, temporal. For each word, write which meaning
that point of view or purpose. the root contributes.
Language
Identify and correctly use patterns of
word changes that indicate different
meanings or parts of speech.

ESSENTIAL QUESTION: What question:
essential do our possessions
What doesreveal
it take
about
to survive?
us?

Literary Nonfiction Journalism is nonfiction that presents objective, or
neutral, facts about a newsworthy story or situation. Works of journalism
focus on current events or on situations with continuing relevance. Literary
journalism presents the same types of fact-based information as regular
journalism, but does not remain objective. Instead, it is subjective, or includes
the writer’s personal observations and feelings. Literary journalism often uses
the following techniques that are usually associated with fiction:
• descriptive language and imagery
• the writer’s personal observations, thoughts, and feelings
• a sense of story, with beginning, middle, and end

Work independently to identify passages in the article that exemplify literary

journalism. Then, share and discuss your choices with your group.
ELEMENTS OF LITERARY JOURNALISM EXAMPLES FROM THE ARTICLE
Newsworthy content
Facts
Journalist’s personal observations,

thoughts, and feelings
Descriptive language and imagery
Narrative elements that give a sense of

beginning, middle, and end

Author’s Style
Word Choice Writers often use imagery, or language that appeals to the
senses and creates an image in the reader’s mind, to build meaning in a text
and to evoke emotion in readers. Sensory details are the building blocks of
imagery. They appeal to the reader’s five senses—sight, smell, hearing, taste,
IN LA RINCONADA, PERU,
SEARCHING FOR BEAUTY IN and touch—and create vivid images that help convey important ideas in a text.
UGLINESS
Example: “It is a wilderness of ice, rock, and gold. . . .” Sensory details

appeal to the reader’s sense of sight.
 Standards
Reading Informational Text Example: “The odor is staggering; it is the putrid stench of
• Determine the meaning of chemicals. . . .” Sensory details appeal to the reader’s sense of smell.
words and phrases as they are
used in a text, including figurative,
connotative, and technical
meanings; analyze the cumulative
impact of specific word choices on Read It
meaning and tone.
• Analyze in detail how an Work individually. Find examples of imagery in the article. Identify the
author’s ideas or claims are senses to which each example appeals, and explain how it improves your
developed and refined by
particular sentences, paragraphs, understanding of the text. After you’ve completed the chart, gather as a
or larger portions of a text. group and discuss your responses.
EXAMPLE OF IMAGERY SENSES ENGAGED EFFECT ON MEANING IN THE TEXT
Write It
Notebook Imagine that you have won a free trip to visit La Rinconada,
Peru. Using what you’ve learned about La Rinconada from the article, write
a paragraph explaining why you would or would not go on this trip. Use at
least three examples of imagery in your paragraph.

Research
Assignment
With your group, create and deliver a multimedia presentation that
includes text, images, and data. Choose one of the following topics:
Make plans for a website that focuses on the artwork of the Inca.
Your website should include photos, facts about Inca art, quotations
from experts, and descriptions of the artwork. Use the following
questions to guide your research:
• In what kinds of art did the Inca specialize?
• How closely was Incan art connected to religion?
• How important was gold to Incan artwork?
• Where can people see Incan art today?
Create an annotated bibliography of travel writings by journalists
 EVIDENCE LOG
or photographers who have made the trip to La Rinconada. Include
Before moving on to a
descriptions and evaluations of Arana’s article and at least three other
new selection, go to your
sources. Use the following questions to develop your description and
evaluation of each text:
what you learned from
• Why did this author travel to La Rinconada? “In La Rinconada, Peru,
Searching for Beauty in
• What is this author’s impression of La Rinconada?
Ugliness.”
• How is this author’s impression of La Rinconada similar to or
different from Arana’s impression?
Create an illustrated timeline that focuses on Francisco Pizarro and
the Battle of Cajamarca. Use the following questions to help guide
your research and develop a timeline of key events:
• What events led up to the battle?
• What impact did Pizarro’s actions have on the Incan Empire?
• Was the Incan Empire able to recover from its contact with
the Europeans?
 Standards
Writing
Use technology, including the

Project Plan Before you begin, make a list of tasks that the group will need Internet, to produce, publish, and
update individual or shared writing
to complete. Assign each group member a task. products, taking advantage of
technology’s capacity to link to
Gather Information and Images If you choose the plan for a website other information and to display
or the illustrated timeline, you will likely review more material than you will information flexibly and dynamically.
need. Use a chart to organize information for each source you review, and Speaking and Listening
• Present information, findings,
use your notes to choose the best sources to include in your presentation.
FACT/IMAGE SOURCE INFORMATION listeners can follow the line of
reasoning and the organization,
are appropriate to purpose, audience,
and task.
• Make strategic use of digital
media in presentations to enhance
understanding of findings, reasoning,
and evidence and to add interest.

MAKING MEANING
POETRY COLLECTION
Avarice
The Good Life
Money
Concept Vocabulary
As you perform your first read of these three poems, you will encounter the
following words.
avarice desperate needy
Context Clues If these words are unfamiliar to you, try using context
clues—other words and phrases that appear nearby in the text—to help you
determine their meanings. There are various types of context clues that may
help you as you read.
Synonyms: The glimmer of the candlelight reminded me of the

twinkle of starlight.
Restatement: A glimmer caught my eye—a faint, flickering light

reflecting off the surface of a diamond ring.
Contrast of Ideas: The mere glimmer from the dying light bulb was
not enough to brighten the dark, shadowy room.
Apply your knowledge of context clues and other vocabulary strategies to

determine the meanings of unfamiliar words you encounter during your first
read. Confirm your definitions using a college-level dictionary.
First Read POETRY

 STANDARDS opportunity to complete a close read after your first read.
Reading Literature
high end of the grades 9–10 text NOTICE who or what is ANNOTATE by marking
complexity band independently and “speaking” the poem and vocabulary and key passages
proficiently. whether the poem tells a story you want to revisit.
Language or describes a single moment.
• Determine or clarify the meaning
of unknown and multiple-meaning
flexibly from a range of strategies. CONNECT ideas within the RESPOND by completing
• Use context as a clue to the selection to what you the Comprehension Check.
meaning of a word or phrase. already know and what you
• Verify the preliminary have already read.
determination of the meaning of a
word or phrase.

ESSENTIAL QUESTION : What do our possessions reveal about us?
About the Poets Backgrounds

Yusef Komunyakaa (b. 1947) grew up in Avarice
New Orleans, where he was strongly This selection is part of a series of seven
influenced by the local culture including poems by Yusef Komunyakaa. Each one is
blues, jazz, and the Creole-influenced speech named after the seven deadly sins of medieval
patterns of the city’s inhabitants. As a young Christian theology, which were moral
man, Komunyakaa served his country in offenses that were considered particularly
Vietnam, and some of his best poems focus terrible. These sins were pride, avarice, lust,
on this time, capturing both the physical and envy, gluttony, wrath, and sloth.
psychological toll of the war.
Tracy K. Smith (b. 1972) teaches creative The Good Life

writing at Princeton University. Prior to that, “The good life” is a stock phrase that
Smith held a prestigious Stegner fellowship can be traced back to the ancient Greek
at Stanford University. In 2012, Smith won a philosophers Epicurus and Aristotle. They
Pulitzer Prize for her book Life on Mars, which both developed theories about what it means
describes a futuristic world that nevertheless to live a good life and explored whether
has a great deal to say about current times. such a life would involve happiness, moral
righteousness, wealth, useful work, or
something else entirely.
Reginald Gibbons (b. 1947) spent his early Money

life in Houston, Texas, far from the literary This poem features an element of American
world of which he would become a part. culture that is now almost entirely gone—
Gibbons studied Spanish and Portuguese door-to-door sales. Before the widespread
at Princeton University, but he quickly took use of media and telephones, salespeople
to poetry after earning a doctorate from would make unexpected stops at private
Stanford in comparative literature. Gibbons homes in the hopes of selling their products
has focused on social injustice throughout or services. Many towns and cities have
his career, attempting to use the platform passed ordinances to regulate and restrict
of poetry to activate social awareness and
uninvited door-to-door solicitations.

change.
Poetry Collection 431

POETRY

Yusef Komunyakaa
Avarice

At six, she chewed off
The seven porcelain buttons NOTES
From her sister’s christening gown

Mark context clues or indicate
& hid them in a Prince Albert can another strategy you used that
5 On a sill crisscrossing the house avarice (AV uh rihs) n.
In the spidery crawlspace. MEANING:
She’d weigh a peach in her hands
Till it rotted. At sixteen,
She gazed at her little brother’s

10 Junebugs pinned to a sheet of cork,
Assaying their glimmer, till she
Buried them beneath a fig tree’s wide,
Green skirt. Now, twenty-six,

Locked in the beauty of her bones,
15 She counts eight engagement rings
At least twelve times a day.
“Avarice” from Talking Dirty to the Gods by Yusef Komunyakaa. Copyright © 2000 by Yusef
Komunyakaa. Reprinted by permission of Farrar, Straus and Giroux, LLC. CAUTION: Users are warned that
this work is protected under copyright laws and downloading is strictly prohibited. The right to reproduce
or transfer the work via any medium must be secured with Farrar, Straus and Giroux, LLC.
Avarice 433
POETRY
The Good Life

Tracy K. Smith
When some people talk about money

NOTES They speak as if it were a mysterious lover
Who went out to buy milk and never
Came back, and it makes me nostalgic
5 For the years I lived on coffee and bread, Copyright © SAVVAS Learning Company LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Hungry all the time, walking to work on payday

Like a woman journeying for water
From a village without a well, then living
One or two nights like everyone else
10 On roast chicken and red wine.

POETRY
Money
Reginald Gibbons
T he children are eating lunch at home on a summer weekday

when a man comes to the door and asks their mother if she has
anything that needs fixing or carrying or any yardwork he can do.
NOTES
They chew their food a little dreamily as, with her back straight and
her voice carefully polite, she says No, thank you, I’m sorry, and the
man goes away. Who was that, Mama? they say. Oh, no one, she says.
2 They are sitting down to dinner but they have to wait because the
doorbell rings and a thin young boy begins to tell their father about a another strategy you used that
Sales Program he’s completing for a scholarship to be Supervisor, and helped you determine meaning.
he holds up a filthy tattered little booklet and lifts also his desperate desperate (DEHS puhr iht) adj.
guile1 and heavily guarded hope, and the children’s father says, No MEANING:
thank you, sorry but I can’t help you out this time, and the boy goes
away. The children start to eat and don’t ask anything, because the
1. guile (gyl) n. sly or cunning intelligence.
The Good Life • Money 435

boy was just a boy, but their father acts irritated and hasty when he
NOTES sits back down.
3 Once a glassy-eyed heavy girl who almost seems asleep as she
stands outside their door offers for sale some little handtowels
stitched by the blind people at the Lighthouse for the Blind and the
children are in the folds of their mother’s full skirt listening to the
girl’s small voice and their mother says, Well, I bought some the
last time.
4 She buys the children school supplies and food, she pays the two
boys for mowing the yard together and weeding her flower bed.
She gets a new sewing machine for her birthday from the children’s
father, and she buys fabric and thread and patterns and makes
dresses for the girls, to save money. She tells the children each to
put a dime or quarter into the collection plate at Church, and once a
month she puts in a little sealed white envelope, and the ushers move
slowly along the ends of the pews weaving the baskets through the
congregation, and the organist plays a long piece of music.
5 Whisk brooms, magazine subscriptions, anything you need
hauled away, little league raffle tickets, cookies, chocolate candy,
can I do any yardwork again and again, hairbrushes, Christmas
cards, do you need help with your ironing one time, and more, came
calling at the front door while the children were sometimes eating,
sometimes playing. Their faces would soften with a kind of comfort
helped you determine meaning. in the authority of mother or father, with a kind of wonder at the
needy (NEED ee) adj. needy callers.
MEANING: 6 Their father left for work every day early, and came home for
dinner, and almost always went again on Saturday; in his car. Their
mother opened a savings account for each child and into each put
the first five dollars. The children felt proud to see their names in the
passbooks, and wanted to know when they could take the money
out. But they were told they had to save their money not spend it.
They felt a kind of pleasure in these mysteries, to know that there
were things you would understand later when you grew up and had

your own house and while your children were eating their dinner
and making too much noise the way you did, you knew it was true,
the doorbell would ring, the familiar surprise of it, who would it be,
and someone would be holding a little worn book or a bundle of
dishtowels or once an old man, but perhaps he only looked old, with
his beard, came with bunches of carnations, white, red, and pink, and
he too was turned away. ❧

Comprehension Check
AVARICE
1. What does the main character do at age six?
2. At the age of twenty-six, what does she count twelve times a day?
THE GOOD LIFE
1. For what is the speaker nostalgic?
2. What physical feeling dominated that period in the speaker’s life?
MONEY
1. What repeatedly happens at the children’s house?

2. What instructions about money do the parents give the children?
RESEARCH
Research to Clarify Choose at least one unfamiliar detail from one of the poems. Briefly
of the poem?

MAKING MEANING
Close Read the Text

POETRY COLLECTION


1. Review and Clarify With your group, reread “The Good Life.” Why
GROUP DISCUSSION might the speaker feel “nostalgic” for a time of life that may have been
When discussing these difficult? Explain.
poems, be aware that
group members may have
2. Present and Discuss Now, work with your group to share other key
a wide range of experiences passages from the poems. Take turns presenting your choices. Discuss
with money. Focus your what you noticed in the text, what questions you asked, and what
discussion on the texts, and conclusions you reached.
do not make assumptions 3. Essential Question: What do our possessions reveal about us? What
about other group members’ have these poems taught you about materialism? Discuss with your group.
perspectives.
Concept Vocabulary
 WORD NETWORK avarice needy desperate
materialism from the texts to Why These Words? The three concept vocabulary words are related. With
your Word Network. your group, determine what the words have in common. Write your ideas,
and add another word that fits the category.
Practice
Notebook Use a print or online dictionary to confirm the definitions of
the concept words. Write a sentence using each of the words. How did the
concept words make your sentences more vivid? Discuss.
 Standards
Reading Literature
• Determine the meaning of words
and phrases as they are used in Word Study
the text, including figurative and
connotative meanings; analyze the Denotation and Connotation The literal dictionary meaning of a
cumulative impact of specific word word is its denotation. The connotation of a word is the emotional and
choices on meaning and tone. cultural meaning it suggests. Words can have positive, neutral, or negative
• Analyze how an author’s choices
concerning how to structure a connotations.
text, order events within it, and For example, to describe someone as greedy and cheap, you might refer
manipulate time create such
effects as mystery, tension, or to his or her avarice. On the other hand, to make the same person sound
surprise. careful and smart about money, you might use the word thrifty. Avarice has
Language a negative connotation, whereas thrifty has a positive one.
• Demonstrate understanding
of figurative language, word Identify one word from one of the poems that has a positive connotation
relationships, and nuances in word and one word that has a negative connotation. With your group, discuss the
meanings.
• Analyze nuances in the meaning
effect of these word choices on the poem.
of words with similar denotations.


Author’s Choices: Speaker and Point of View Like a narrator that
relates the events of a story, the speaker is the voice that “tells” a poem.
A speaker may seem like the poet, but the two are not one and the same.
Like a narrator, a speaker is an imaginary voice. Also like a narrator, the
speaker’s point of view affects what readers learn or perceive.
• First-Person Point of View: The speaker uses first-person pronouns
(I and me) and is part of the action of the poem.
• Third-Person Point of View: The speaker uses third-person pronouns
(he, she, they, and so on) and seems to stand outside the action of the
poem. There are two types of third-person points of view. An omniscient
speaker is an all-knowing observer who can reveal the thoughts and
feelings of all characters in a poem. A limited third-person speaker can
reveal only what one character is thinking and feeling.
To understand a poem, it is important to identify who the speaker is, what he
or she knows and does not know, and how he or she feels about the topic of
the poem—his or her tone.

Work with your group to consider the identity of the speaker in each poem. Then,
identify the points of view and tones each one uses. Collect your notes in the chart.
POEM SPEAKER’S POINT OF VIEW SPEAKER’S TONE
Avarice
Speaker:
The Good Life

Speaker:
Money
Speaker:
Notebook Answer these questions.

1. (a) In “Avarice,” the speaker notes four different items “she” keeps.
What is similar and different about those items? (b) What does the poem
suggest about greed—is it useless, selfish, etc.? Explain.
2. In “The Good Life,” which life does the speaker seem to feel is “good”—
the one in which money is more available, or the one spent living on
“coffee and bread”? Explain.
3. (a) In “Money,” which details suggest the nature of the children’s lives?
(b) How do these details contrast with those that describe the people at
the door? (c) Is the speaker simply describing a situation or is the speaker
criticizing something? Explain.

Language development
Author’s Style
Poetic Language Sound devices are patterns of words that emphasize
the sound relationships in language. All sound devices create musical and
emotional effects, heighten the sense of unity in a poem, and emphasize
meaning. These devices include alliteration and consonance.
POETRY COLLECTION
• Alliteration is the repetition of initial consonant sounds in the stressed

syllables of nearby words.
Example: His soul swooned slowly as he heard the snow falling faintly.
—from “The Dead,” James Joyce
• Consonance is the repetition of final consonant sounds in stressed

syllables with different vowel sounds, as in hat and sit.
Example: Where now he sat, concerned with he knew what, /
A quiet light, and then not even that. —from “An Old Man’s Winter
Night,” Robert Frost
Read It
Find examples of alliteration and consonance in each poem in this colleciton.
Use the chart to list your examples. Then, discuss the effects of each example.
Poem Alliteration Consonance
Avarice
The Good Life
Money
Write It
 Standards
Reading Literature Notebook Write four sentences describing a familiar scene or event in
Determine the meaning of words and your school, city, or town. Use alliteration in two sentences, and consonance
phrases as they are used in the text, in the other two. Mark each example of alliteration and consonance that
including figurative and connotative
meanings; analyze the cumulative
you use.
impact of specific word choices on
meaning and tone.

Writing to Sources
Assignment
With your group, plan and write a short story that answers a question
left open by one of the poems. Choose from the following options.
In “Avarice,” how does the young woman acquire eight
engagement rings?
In “The Good Life,” why does the speaker feel “nostalgic” about the
past? What has changed in the speaker’s life?
In “Money,” what has really happened to the thin young boy who
claims to be completing a Sales Program?
Project Plan Before you begin to write, brainstorm for ideas about the
setting and characters. Choose a main character, and decide on the conflict
he or she will face. Determine how that conflict will begin, develop, and
resolve. Capture ideas and notes in the chart.
STORY ELEMENTS NOTES  EVIDENCE LOG
Characters Before moving on to a

what you learned from
“Avarice,” “The Good
Life,” and “Money.”
Setting
Conflict and Plot

Events
Drafting and Revising Decide how you will organize the drafting stage.
You may have everyone in the group write a version of the story, and then
pull the best parts of each one into a final product. Alternatively, you may
assign specific sections to individual group members. Make sure to divide
the work up fairly. In addition, make sure that your story is consistent with  Standards
the details and information in the poem. Once you have a completed first Writing
Write narratives to develop real or
draft, read the story aloud. Consider how you can make it clearer, more vivid, imagined experiences or events using
or more faithful to the poem. Revise as needed and share your story with effective technique, well-chosen
the class. details, and well-structured event
sequences.

MAKING MEANING
Comparing Texts
In this lesson, you will compare two versions of the
King Midas myth. First, complete the first-read and
close-read activities for “The Golden Touch.” This
THE GOLDEN TOUCH from KING MIDAS
work will help prepare you for the comparing task.
About the Author

The Golden Touch
Concept Vocabulary
As you perform your first read of the story, you will encounter these words.
burnished lustrous gilded
Nathaniel Hawthorne Context Clues If these words are unfamiliar to you, try using context
(1804–1864) was born in clues—other words and phrases that appear nearby in the text—to help you
Salem, Massachusetts. After determine their meanings. There are various types of context clues that may
attending Bowdoin College in help you as you read.
Maine, Hawthorne began a
career as an author. Though Restatement: The confrontation was inevitable; every attempt to
Hawthorne’s writings were avoid it failed.
well received, he continued
to work at the local Custom Elaborating Details: The raging fireplace incinerated the thin paper
House until his very successful letter instantly, leaving only ash.
publication of The Scarlet
Letter in 1850. Hawthorne’s Contrast of Ideas: He was as lavish with his friends as he was stingy
works explore issues of good and ungiving with strangers.
against evil and are heavily
influenced by the Puritan Apply your knowledge of context clues and other vocabulary strategies to
culture of his hometown, determine the meanings of unfamiliar words you encounter during your
which a century before his first read.
birth had been the site of the
famous Salem witch trials.
First Read FICTION

 STANDARDS Notice whom the story is Annotate by marking

Reading Literature about, what happens, where vocabulary and key passages
stories, dramas, and poems, at the why those involved react as
high end of the grades 9–10 text they do.
proficiently.
Language
• Determine or clarify the meaning Connect ideas within Respond by completing
of unknown and multiple-meaning the selection to what you the Comprehension Check and
9–10 reading and content, choosing already know and what you by writing a brief summary of
flexibly from a range of strategies. have already read. the selection.
• Use context as a clue to the
meaning of a word or phrase.

SHORT STORY
The
Golden Touch
Nathaniel Hawthorne
BACKGROUND
“The Golden Touch” is one of six stories that Hawthorne published as
A Wonder-Book for Girls and Boys in 1851. Hawthorne’s aim was to take
the Greek myths out of their “classic coldness” and update them so that
children of his time could enjoy them. To give the myths a friendlier tone,
Hawthorne invented a narrator named Eustace Bright, a young man of
great energy and imagination, who tells each tale to a group of lively
children. With respect to the retelling of myths by Eustace, Hawthorne
promised, “I shall purge out all the old heathen wickedness, and put in a
moral wherever practicable.”
O nce upon a time, there lived a very rich man, and a king besides,
whose name was Midas; and he had a little daughter, whom
nobody but myself ever heard of, and whose name I either never
NOTES
knew, or have entirely forgotten. So, because I love odd names for
little girls, I choose to call her Marygold.
2 This King Midas was fonder of gold than of anything else in the
world. He valued his royal crown chiefly because it was composed
of that precious metal. If he loved anything better, or half so well, it
was the one little maiden who played so merrily around her father’s
footstool. But the more Midas loved his daughter, the more did he
desire and seek for wealth. He thought, foolish man! that the best
thing he could possibly do for this dear child would be to bequeath
her the immensest pile of yellow, glistening coin, that had ever been
The Golden Touch 443

heaped together since the world was made. Thus, he gave all his
NOTES thoughts and all his time to this one purpose. If ever he happened
to gaze for an instant at the gold-tinted clouds of sunset, he wished
that they were real gold, and that they could be squeezed safely into
his strong box. When little Marygold ran to meet him, with a bunch
of buttercups and dandelions, he used to say, “Poh, poh, child! If
these flowers were as golden as they look, they would be worth
the plucking!”
3 And yet, in his earlier days, before he was so entirely possessed
with this insane desire for riches, King Midas had shown a great taste
for flowers. He had planted a garden, in which grew the biggest and
beautifullest and sweetest roses that any mortal ever saw or smelt.
These roses were still growing in the garden, as large, as lovely and
as fragrant, as when Midas used to pass whole hours in gazing at
them, and inhaling their perfume. But now, if he looked at them at all,
it was only to calculate how much the garden would be worth, if each
of the innumerable rose petals were a thin plate of gold. And though
he once was fond of music (in spite of an idle story about his ears,
which were said to resemble those of an ass), the only music for poor
Midas, now, was the chink of one coin against another.
4 At length (as people always grow more and more foolish, unless
they take care to grow wiser and wiser), Midas had got to be so
exceedingly unreasonable, that he could scarcely bear to see or touch
any object that was not gold. He made it his custom, therefore, to pass
a large portion of every day in a dark and dreary apartment, under
ground, at the basement of his palace. It was here that he kept his
wealth. To this dismal hole—for it was little better than a dungeon—
Midas betook himself, whenever he wanted to be particularly happy.
Here, after carefully locking the door, he would take a bag of gold
coin, or a gold cup as big as a washbowl, or a heavy golden bar,
or a peck-measure of gold dust, and bring them from the obscure
corners of the room into the one bright and narrow sunbeam that
fell from the dungeonlike window. He valued the sunbeam for no

other reason but that his treasure would not shine without its help.
And then would he reckon over the coins in the bag; toss up the bar,
helped you determine meaning. and catch it as it came down; sift the gold dust through his fingers;
burnished (BUR nihsht) adj. look at the funny image of his own face, as reflected in the burnished
MEANING: circumference of the cup; and whisper to himself, “O Midas, rich
King Midas, what a happy man art thou!” But it was laughable to see
how the image of his face kept grinning at him, out of the polished
surface of the cup. It seemed to be aware of his foolish behavior, and
to have a naughty inclination to make fun of him.
5 Midas called himself a happy man, but felt that he was not yet
quite so happy as he might be. The very tiptop of enjoyment would
never be reached, unless the whole world were to become his

treasure room, and be filled with yellow metal which should be all
his own. NOTES
6 Now, I need hardly remind such wise little people as you are, that
in the old, old times, when King Midas was alive, a great many things
came to pass, which we should consider wonderful if they were to
happen in our own day and country. And, on the other hand, a great
many things take place nowadays, which seem not only wonderful to
us, but at which the people of old times would have stared their eyes
out. On the whole, I regard our own times as the strangest of the two;
but, however that may be, I must go on with my story.
7 Midas was enjoying himself in his treasure room, one day, as usual,
when he perceived a shadow fall over the heaps of gold; and, looking
suddenly up, what should he behold but the figure of a stranger,
standing in the bright and narrow sunbeam! It was a young man,
with a cheerful and ruddy face. Whether it was that the imagination
of King Midas threw a yellow tinge over everything, or whatever
the cause might be, he could not help fancying that the smile with
which the stranger regarded him had a kind of golden radiance in
it. Certainly, although his figure intercepted the sunshine, there was
now a brighter gleam upon all the piled-up treasures than before.
Even the remotest corners had their share of it, and were lighted up,
when the stranger smiled, as with tips of flame and sparkles of fire.
8 As Midas knew that he had carefully turned the key in the lock,
and that no mortal strength could possibly break into his treasure-
room, he, of course, concluded that his visitor must be something
more than mortal. It is no matter about telling you who he was. In
those days, when the earth was comparatively a new affair, it was
supposed to be often the resort of beings endowed with supernatural
powers, and who used to interest themselves in the joys and sorrows
of men, women and children, half playfully and half seriously. Midas
had met such beings before now, and was not sorry to meet one of
them again. The stranger’s aspect, indeed, was so good-humored
and kindly, if not beneficent, that it would have been unreasonable to
suspect him of intending any mischief. It was far more probable that
he came to do Midas a favor. And what could that favor be, unless to another strategy you used that
multiply his heaps of treasure? helped you determine meaning.
9 The stranger gazed about the room; and when his lustrous smile lustrous (LUHS truhs) adj.
had glistened upon all the golden objects that were there, he turned MEANING:
again to Midas.
10 “You are a wealthy man, friend Midas!” he observed. “I doubt
whether any other four walls, on earth, contain so much gold as you
have contrived to pile up in this room.”
11 “I have done pretty well—pretty well,” answered Midas, in a
discontented tone. “But, after all, it is but a trifle, when you consider

that it has taken me my whole life to get it together. If one could live a
NOTES thousand years, he might have time to grow rich!”
12 “What!” exclaimed the stranger, “Then you are not satisfied?”
13 Midas shook his head.
14 “And pray what would satisfy you?” asked the stranger. “Merely
for the curiosity of the thing, I should be glad to know.”
15 Midas paused and meditated. He felt a presentiment1 that this
stranger, with such a golden luster in his good-humored smile, had
come hither with both the power and the purpose of gratifying his
utmost wishes. Now, therefore, was the fortunate moment, when
he had but to speak, and obtain whatever possible, or seemingly
impossible thing, it might come into his head to ask. So he thought,
and thought, and thought, and heaped up one golden mountain
upon another, in his imagination, without being able to imagine them
big enough. At last, a bright idea occurred to King Midas. It seemed
really as bright as the glistening metal which he loved so much.
16 Raising his head, he looked the lustrous stranger in the face.
17 “Well, Midas,” observed his visitor, “I see that you have at length
hit upon something that will satisfy you. Tell me your wish.”
18 “It is only this,” replied Midas. “I am weary of collecting
my treasures with so much trouble, and beholding the heap so
diminutive, after I have done my best. I wish everything that I touch
to be changed to gold!”
19 The stranger’s smile grew so very broad, that it seemed to fill
the room like an outburst of the sun, gleaming into a shadowy dell,
where the yellow autumnal leaves—for so looked the lumps and
particles of gold—lie strewn in the glow of light.
20 “The Golden Touch!” exclaimed he. “You certainly deserve credit,
friend Midas, for striking out so brilliant a conception. But are you
quite sure that this will satisfy you?”
21 “How could it fail?” said Midas.
22 “And will you never regret the possession of it?”
23 “What could induce me?” asked Midas. “I ask nothing else, to

render me perfectly happy.”
24 “Be it as you wish, then,” replied the stranger, waving his hand in
token of farewell. “Tomorrow, at sunrise, you will find yourself gifted
with the Golden Touch.”
25 The figure of the stranger then became exceedingly bright, and
Midas involuntarily closed his eyes. On opening them again, he
beheld only one yellow sunbeam in the room, and, all around him,
the glistening of the precious metal which he had spent his life in
hoarding up.
26 Whether Midas slept as usual that night, the story does not say.
Asleep or awake, however, his mind was probably in the state of a
child’s, to whom a beautiful new plaything has been promised in the
1. presentiment (prih ZEHN tuh muhnt) n. feeling that something is about to happen.

morning. At any rate, day had hardly peeped over the hills, when
King Midas was broad awake, and, stretching his arms out of bed, NOTES
began to touch the objects that were within reach. He was anxious to
prove whether the Golden Touch had really come, according to the
stranger’s promise. So he laid his finger on a chair by the bedside,
and on various other things, but was grievously disappointed to
perceive that they remained of exactly the same substance as before.
Indeed, he felt very much afraid that he had only dreamed about the
lustrous stranger, or else that the latter had been making game of
him. And what a miserable affair would it be, if, after all his hopes,
Midas must content himself with what little gold he could scrape
together by ordinary means, instead of creating it by a touch!
27 All this while, it was only the gray of the morning, with but a
streak of brightness along the edge of the sky, where Midas could not
see it. He lay in a very disconsolate mood, regretting the downfall

of his hopes, and kept growing sadder and sadder, until the earliest helped you determine meaning.
sunbeam shone through the window, and gilded the ceiling over gilded (GIHLD ihd) v.
his head. It seemed to Midas that this bright yellow sunbeam was MEANING:
reflected in rather a singular way on the white covering of the bed.

Looking more closely, what was his astonishment and delight, when
he found that this linen fabric had been transmuted to what seemed
a woven texture of the purest and brightest gold! The Golden Touch
had come to him, with the first sunbeam!
28 Midas started up, in a kind of joyful frenzy, and ran about the
room, grasping at everything that happened to be in his way. He
seized one of the bedposts, and it became immediately a fluted

golden pillar. He pulled aside a window curtain, in order to admit
NOTES a clear spectacle of the wonders which he was performing; and the
tassel grew heavy in his hand—a mass of gold. He took up a book
from the table. At his first touch, it assumed the appearance of such
a splendidly bound and gilt-edged volume as one often meets with,
nowadays; but, on running his fingers through the leaves, behold! it
was a bundle of thin golden plates, in which all the wisdom of the
book had grown illegible. He hurriedly put on his clothes, and was
enraptured to see himself in a magnificent suit of gold cloth, which
retained its flexibility and softness, although it burdened him a little
with its weight. He drew out his handkerchief, which little Marygold
had hemmed for him. That was likewise gold, with the dear child’s
neat and pretty stitches running all along the border, in gold thread!
29 Somehow or other, this last transformation did not quite please
King Midas. He would rather that his little daughter’s handiwork
should have remained just the same as when she climbed his knee,
and put it into his hand.
30 But it was not worth while to vex himself about a trifle. Midas
now took his spectacles from his pocket, and put them on his nose,
in order that he might see more distinctly what he was about. In
those days, spectacles for common people had
not been invented, but were already worn by
Somehow or other, this last kings; else, how could Midas have had any? To his
transformation did not quite great perplexity, however, excellent as the glasses
were, he discovered that he could not possibly see
please King Midas. through them. But this was the most natural thing
in the world; for, on taking them off, the transparent
crystals turned out to be plates of yellow metal,
and, of course, were worthless as spectacles, though valuable as
gold. It struck Midas as rather inconvenient, that, with all his wealth,
he could never again be rich enough to own a pair of serviceable
spectacles.
31 “It is no great matter, nevertheless,” said he to himself, very

philosophically. “We cannot expect any great good, without its being
accompanied with some small inconvenience. The Golden Touch is
worth the sacrifice of a pair of spectacles, at least, if not of one’s very
eyesight. My own eyes will serve for ordinary purposes, and little
Marygold will soon be old enough to read to me.”
32 Wise King Midas was so exalted by his good fortune, that the
palace seemed not sufficiently spacious to contain him. He therefore
went down stairs, and smiled, on observing that the balustrade2 of
the staircase became a bar of burnished gold, as his hand passed over
it, in his descent. He lifted the doorlatch (it was brass only a moment
ago, but golden when his fingers quitted it), and emerged into the
garden. Here, as it happened, he found a great number of beautiful
roses in full bloom, and others in all the stages of lovely bud and
2. balustrade (BAL uhs trayd) n. railing.

blossom. Very delicious was their fragrance in the morning breeze.
Their delicate blush was one of the fairest sights the world; so gentle, NOTES
so modest, and so full of sweet tranquility, did these roses seem to be.
33 But Midas knew a way to make them far more precious, according
to his way of thinking, than roses had ever been before. So he took
great pains in going from bush to bush, and exercised his magic
touch most indefatigably; until every individual flower and bud,
and even the worms at the heart of some of them, were changed to
gold. By the time this good work was completed, King Midas was
summoned to breakfast; and, as the morning air had given him an
excellent appetite, he made haste back to the palace.
34 What was usually a king’s breakfast, in the days of Midas, I really
do not know, and cannot stop now to investigate. To the best of my
belief, however, on this particular morning, the breakfast consisted of
hot cakes, some nice little brook trout, roasted potatoes, fresh boiled
eggs, and coffee, for King Midas himself, and a bowl of bread and
milk for his daughter Marygold. At all events, this is a breakfast fit to
set before a king; and, whether he had it or not, King Midas could not
have had a better.
35 Little Marygold had not yet made her appearance. Her father
ordered her to be called, and, seating himself at table, awaited the
child’s coming, in order to begin his own breakfast. To do Midas
justice, he really loved his daughter, and loved her so much the more
this morning, on account of the good fortune which had befallen
him. It was not a great while before he heard her coming along
the passageway, crying bitterly. This circumstance surprised him,
because Marygold was one of the cheerfullest little people whom you
would see in a summer’s day, and hardly shed a thimbleful of tears
in a twelve-month. When Midas heard her sobs, he determined to
put little Marygold into better spirits, by an agreeable surprise; so,
leaning across the table, he touched his daughter’s bowl (which was
a China one, with pretty figures all around it), and transmuted it to
gleaming gold.
36 Meanwhile, Marygold slowly and disconsolately opened the door,

and showed herself with her apron at her eyes, still sobbing as if her
heart would break.
37 “How now, my little lady! “ cried Midas. “Pray what is the matter
with you, this bright morning?”
38 Marygold, without taking the apron from her eyes, held out
her hand, in which was one of the roses which Midas had so
recently transmuted.
39 “Beautiful!” exclaimed her father. “And what is there in this
magnificent golden rose to make you cry?”
40 “Ah, dear father!” answered the child, as well as her sobs would
let her; “it is not beautiful, but the ugliest flower that ever grew! As
soon as I was dressed, I ran into the garden to gather some roses for
you; because I know you like them, and like them the better when
gathered by your little daughter. But, oh dear, dear me! What do you

think has happened? Such a misfortune! All the beautiful roses, that
NOTES smelled so sweetly and had so many lovely blushes, are blighted and
spoilt! They are grown quite yellow, as you see this one, and have no
longer any fragrance! What can have been the matter with them?”
41 “Poh, my dear little girl—pray don’t cry about it!” said Midas,
who was ashamed to confess that he himself had wrought the change
which so greatly afflicted her. “Sit down and eat your bread and
milk! You will find it easy enough to exchange a golden rose like that
(which will last hundreds of years), for an ordinary one, which would
wither in a day.”
42 “I don’t care for such roses as this!” cried Marygold, tossing it
contemptuously away. “It has no smell, and the hard petals prick
my nose!”
43 The child now sat down to table, but was so occupied with her
grief for the blighted roses that she did not even notice the wonderful
transmutation of her China bowl. Perhaps this was all the better; for
Marygold was accustomed to take pleasure in looking at the queer
figures, and strange trees and houses, that were painted on the
circumference of the bowl; and these ornaments were now entirely
lost in the yellow hue of the metal.
44 Midas, meanwhile, had poured out a cup of coffee; and, as a matter
of course, the coffeepot, whatever metal it may have been when he
took it up, was gold when he set it down. He thought to himself, that
it was rather an extravagant style of splendor, in a king of his simple
habits, to breakfast off a service of gold, and began to be puzzled
with the difficulty of keeping his treasures safe. The cupboard and
the kitchen would no longer be a secure place of deposit for articles
so valuable as golden bowls and coffeepots.
45 Amid these thoughts, he lifted a spoonful of coffee to his lips,
and, sipping it, was astonished to perceive that, the instant his lips
touched the liquid, it became molten gold, and, the next moment,
hardened into a lump!
46 “Ha!” exclaimed Midas, rather aghast.

47 “What is the matter, father?” asked little Marygold, gazing at him,
with the tears still standing in her eyes.
48 “Nothing, child, nothing! “ said Midas. “Eat your milk, before it
gets quite cold.”
49 He took one of the nice little trouts on his plate, and, by way of
experiment, touched its tail with his finger. To his horror, it was
immediately transmuted from an admirably fried brook trout into a
gold fish, though not one of those goldfishes which people often keep
in glass globes, as ornaments for the parlor. No; but it was really a
metallic fish, and looked as if it had been very cunningly made by the
nicest goldsmith in the world. Its little bones were now golden wires;
its fins and tail wore thin plates of gold; and there were the marks
of the fork in it, and all the delicate, frothy appearance of a nicely
fried fish, exactly imitated in metal. A very pretty piece of work,
as you may suppose; only King Midas, just at that moment, would

much rather have had a real trout in his dish than this elaborate and
valuable imitation of one. NOTES
50 “I don’t quite see,” thought he to himself, “how I am to get

any breakfast!”
51 He took one of the smoking hot cakes, and had scarcely broken
it, when, to his cruel mortification, though, a moment before, it had
been of the whitest wheat, it assumed the yellow hue of Indian meal.
To say the truth, if it had really been a hot Indian cake, Midas would
have prized it a good deal more than he now did, when its solidity
and increased weight made him too bitterly sensible that it was
gold. Almost in despair, he helped himself to a boiled egg, which
immediately underwent a change similar to those of the trout and
the cake. The egg, indeed, might have been mistaken for one of those
which the famous goose, in the storybook, was in the habit of laying;
but King Midas was the only goose that had had anything to do with
the matter.
52 “Well, this is a quandary!” thought he, leaning back in his chair,
and looking quite enviously at little Marygold, who was now eating
her bread and milk with great satisfaction. “Such a costly breakfast
before me, and nothing that can be eaten!”
53 Hoping that, by dint of great despatch, he might avoid what
he now felt to be a considerable inconvenience, King Midas next
snatched a hot potato, and attempted to cram it into his mouth, and
swallow it in a hurry. But the Golden Touch was too nimble for him.
He found his mouth full, not of mealy potato, but of solid metal,
which so burnt his tongue that he roared aloud, and, jumping up
from the table, began to dance and stamp about the room, both with
pain and affright.

54 “Father, dear father!” cried little Marygold, who was a very
NOTES affectionate child, “pray what is the matter? Have you burnt
your mouth?”
55 “Ah, dear child,” groaned Midas, dolefully, “I don’t know what is
to become of your poor father!”
56 And, truly, my dear little folks, did you ever hear of such a pitiable
case, in all your lives? Here was literally the richest breakfast that
could be set before a king, and its very richness made it absolutely
good for nothing. The poorest laborer, sitting down to his crust of
bread and cup of water, was far better off than King Midas, whose
delicate food was really worth its weight in gold. And what was to be
done? Already, at breakfast, Midas was excessively hungry. Would he
be less so by dinnertime? And how ravenous would be his appetite
for supper, which must undoubtedly consist of the same sort of
indigestible dishes as those now before him! How many days, think
you, would he survive a continuance of this rich fare?
57 These reflections so troubled wise King Midas, that he began
to doubt whether, after all, riches are the one desirable thing in
the world, or even the most desirable. But this was only a passing
thought. So fascinated was Midas with the glitter of the yellow metal,
that he would still have refused to give up the Golden Touch for so
paltry a consideration as a breakfast. Just imagine what a price for
one meal’s victuals! It would have been the same as paying millions
and millions of money (and as many millions more as would take
forever to reckon up) for some fried trout, an egg, a potato, a hot
cake, and a cup of coffee!
58 “It would be quite too dear,” thought Midas.
59 Nevertheless, so great was his hunger, and the perplexity of his
situation, that he again groaned aloud, and very grievously too. Our
pretty Marygold could endure it no longer. She sat, a moment, gazing
at her father, and trying, with all the might of her little wits, to find
out what was the matter with him. Then, with a sweet and sorrowful
impulse to comfort him, she started from her chair, and running to

Midas, threw her arms affectionately about his knees. He bent down
and kissed her. He felt that his little daughter’s love was worth a
thousand times more than he had gained by the Golden Touch.
60 “My precious, precious Marygold!” cried he.
61 But Marygold made no answer.
62 Alas, what had he done? How fatal was the gift which the stranger
bestowed! The moment the lips of Midas touched Marygold’s
forehead, a change had taken place. Her sweet, rosy face, so full
of affection as it had been, assumed a glittering yellow color, with
yellow teardrops congealing on her cheeks. Her beautiful brown
ringlets took the same tint. Her soft and tender little form grew
hard and inflexible within her father’s encircling arms. O, terrible
misfortune! The victim of his insatiable desire for wealth, little
Marygold was a human child no longer, but a golden statue!

63 Yes, there she was, with the questioning look of love, grief, and
pity, hardened into her face. It was the prettiest and most woeful NOTES
sight that ever mortal saw. All the features and tokens of Marygold
were there; even the beloved little dimple remained in her golden
chin. But, the more perfect was the resemblance, the greater was the
father’s agony at beholding this golden image, which was all that
was left him of a daughter. It had been a favorite phrase of Midas,
whenever he felt particularly fond of the child, to say that she was
worth her weight in gold. And now the phrase had become literally
true. And now, at last, when it was too late, he felt how infinitely a
warm and tender heart, that loved him, exceeded in value all the
wealth that could be piled up betwixt the earth and sky!
64 It would be too sad a story, if I were to tell
you how Midas, in the fullness of his gratified
desires, began to wring his hands and bemoan
Except when his eyes were
himself; and how he could neither bear to fixed on the image, he could
look at Marygold, nor yet to look away from not possibly believe that she
her. Except when his eyes were fixed on the
image, he could not possibly believe that she
was changed to gold.
was changed to gold. But, stealing another
glance, there was the precious little figure,
with a yellow teardrop on its yellow cheek, and a look so piteous and
tender, that it seemed as if that very expression must needs soften the
gold, and make it flesh again. This, however, could not be. So Midas
had only to wring his hands, and to wish that he were the poorest
man in the wide world, if the loss of all his wealth might bring back
the faintest rose color to his dear child’s face.
65 While he was in this tumult of despair, he suddenly beheld a
stranger, standing near the door. Midas bent down his head, without
speaking; for he recognized the same figure which had appeared
to him, the day before, in the treasure room, and had bestowed on
him this disastrous faculty of the Golden Touch. The stranger’s
countenance still wore a smile, which seemed to shed a yellow luster
all about the room, and gleamed on little Marygold’s image, and on
the other objects that had been transmuted by the touch of Midas.
66 “Well, friend Midas,” said the stranger, “pray how do you succeed
with the Golden Touch?”
67 Midas shook his head.
68 “I am very miserable,” said he.
69 “Very miserable, indeed!” exclaimed the stranger. “And how
happens that? Have I not faithfully kept my promise with you? Have
you not everything that your heart desired?”
70 “Gold is not everything,” answered Midas. “And I have lost all
that my heart really cared for.”
71 “Ah! So you have made a discovery, since yesterday?” observed
the stranger. “Let us see, then. Which of these two things do you

think is really worth the most—the gift of the Golden Touch, or one
NOTES cup of clear cold water?”
72 “O, blessed water!” exclaimed Midas. “It will never moisten my
parched throat again!”
73 “The Golden Touch,” continued the stranger, “or crust of bread?”
74 “A piece of bread,” answered Midas, “is worth all the gold
on earth!”
75 “The Golden Touch,” asked the stranger, “or your own little
Marygold, warm, soft, and loving, as she was an hour ago?”
76 “O, my child, my dear child!” cried poor Midas, wringing his
hands. “ I would not have given that one small dimple in her chin
for the power of changing this whole big earth into a solid lump
of gold!”
77 “You are wiser than you were, King Midas!” said the stranger,
looking seriously at him. “Your own heart, I perceive, has not
been entirely changed from flesh to gold. Were it so, your case
would indeed be desperate. But you appear to be still capable
of understanding that the commonest things, such as lie within
everybody’s grasp, are more valuable than the riches which so many
mortals sigh and struggle after. Tell me, now, do you sincerely desire
to rid yourself of this Golden Touch?”
78 “It is hateful to me!” replied Midas.
79 A fly settled on his nose, but immediately fell to the floor; for it,
too, had become gold. Midas shuddered.
80 “Go, then,” said the stranger, “and plunge into the river that glides
past the bottom of your garden. Take likewise a vase of the same
water, and sprinkle it over any object that you may desire to change
back again from gold into its former substance. If you do this in
earnestness and sincerity, it may possibly repair the mischief which
your avarice has occasioned.”
81 King Midas bowed low; and when he lifted his head, the lustrous
stranger had vanished.
82 You will easily believe that Midas lost no time in snatching up a

great earthen pitcher (but, alas me! it was no longer earthen after
he touched it), and hastening to the riverside. As he scampered
along, and forced his way through the shrubbery, it was positively
marvelous to see how the foliage turned yellow behind him, as if the
autumn had been there, and nowhere else. On reaching the river’s
brink, he plunged headlong in, without waiting so much as to pull off
his shoes.
83 “Poof! poof! poof!” snorted King Midas, as his head emerged out
of the water. “Well; this is really a refreshing bath, and I think it must
have quite washed away the Golden Touch. And now for filling
my pitcher!”
84 As he dipped the pitcher into the water, it gladdened his very heart
to see it change from gold into the same good, honest earthen vessel
which it had been before he touched it. He was conscious, also, of
a change within himself. A cold, hard, and heavy weight seemed to

have gone out of his bosom. No doubt, his heart had been gradually
losing its human substance, and transmuting itself into insensible NOTES
metal, but had now softened back again into flesh. Perceiving a
violet, that grew on the bank of the river, Midas touched it with his
finger, and was overjoyed to find that the delicate flower retained its
purple hue, instead of undergoing a yellow blight. The curse of the
Golden Touch had, therefore, really been removed from him.
85 King Midas hastened back to the palace: and, I suppose, the
servants knew not what to make of it when they saw their royal
master so carefully bringing home an earthen pitcher of water. But
that water, which was to undo all the mischief that his folly had
wrought, was more precious to Midas than an ocean of molten
gold could have been. The first thing he did, as you need hardly
be told, was to sprinkle it by handfuls over the golden figure of
little Marygold.
86 No sooner did it fall on her than you would have laughed to see
how the rosy color came back to the dear child’s cheek!—and how
she began to sneeze and sputter!—and how astonished she was to
find herself dripping wet, and her father still throwing more water
over her!
87 “Pray do not, dear father!” cried she. “ See how you have wet my
nice frock, which I put on only this morning!”
88 For Marygold did not know that she had been a little golden
statue; nor could she remember anything that had happened since
the moment when she ran, with outstretched arms, to comfort poor
King Midas.
89 Her father did not think it necessary to tell his beloved child
how very foolish he had been, but contented himself with showing
how much wiser he had now grown. For this purpose, he led little
Marygold into the garden, where he sprinkled all the remainder of
the water over the rosebushes, and with such good effect that above
five thousand roses recovered their beautiful bloom. There were
two circumstances, however, which, as long as he lived, used to put
King Midas in mind of the Golden Touch. One was, that the sands
of the river sparkled like gold; the other, that little Marygold’s hair
had now a golden tinge, which he had never observed in it before
she had been transmuted by the effect of his kiss. This change of hue
was really an improvement, and made Marygold’s hair richer than in
her babyhood.
90 When King Midas had grown quite an old man, and used to trot
Marygold’s children on his knee, he was fond of telling them this
marvelous story, pretty much as I have now told it to you. And then
would he stroke their glossy ringlets, and tell them that their hair,
likewise, had a rich shade of gold, which they had inherited from
their mother.
91 “And, to tell you the truth, my precious little folks,” quoth King
Midas, diligently trotting the children all the while, “ever since that
morning, I have hated the very sight of all other gold, save this!” ❧

Comprehension Check
1. What type of person visits King Midas in his treasure room?
2. What wish does the stranger grant?
3. What happens to the king’s daughter when she hugs her father?
4. How does the stranger help Midas reverse the curse of the golden touch?
5. Notebook To confirm your understanding, write a summary of the story.
RESEARCH
Research to Clarify Choose at least one unfamiliar detail from the text. Briefly
of the story?
Research to Explore Find out more about Hawthorne’s book A Wonder-Book for Girls
and Boys. What other Greek myths does the volume retell?

MAKING MEANING
Close Read
The Golden Touch


1. Review and Clarify With your group, reread paragraph 2 of the text.
What words and phrases would you use to describe King Midas, based CLOSE READING
on the details the author gives in this paragraph? Is the narrator’s attitude In your discussion, talk about
toward the king positive or negative? How do you know? how the narrator’s tone, or
attitude, and word choice
2. Present and Discuss Now, work with your group to share the passages affect your impressions of
from the text that you found especially important. Take turns presenting King Midas. As a group,
your passages. Discuss what you noticed in the text, what questions you decide whether you are
asked, and what conclusions you reached. sympathetic to the plight in
which Midas finds himself.
has this selection taught you about how the desire for material objects
can affect people’s judgment? Discuss with your group.
Concept Vocabulary
burnished lustrous gilded
Why These Words? The three concept vocabulary words are related.
 WORD NETWORK
With your group, determine what the words have in common. Write your
ideas, and add another word that fits the category.
your Word Network.
Practice
Notebook Copy the sentences from the text that include the concept
words into your notebook. Then, rewrite each sentence using a synonym
for the concept word. Finally, share your revisions with another group
member, and discuss how the substitutions affect the sentences’ meanings.
 Standards
Word Study Language
Notebook Latin Root: -lus- The narrator of “The Golden Touch” • Identify and correctly use patterns
of word changes that indicate
describes the stranger’s smile as lustrous. The word lustrous is formed different meanings or parts of
from the Latin root -lus- (sometimes spelled -luc-), meaning “light” or speech.
“shining.” • Consult general and specialized
reference materials, both print and
Write the meanings of these words formed from the root -lus-: illustrative, digital, to find the pronunciation of
lackluster, elucidate. Consult a dictionary as needed. a word or determine or clarify its
precise meanings, its part of speech,
or its etymology.

MAKING MEANING

Narrative Structure Every story is driven by a conflict, or problem, that sets
the plot in motion. The plot is the sequence of related events that make up
the action of the story. The sequence of events in a plot can be divided into
five parts that trace the introduction, development, and ending of the conflict.
The Golden Touch
• Exposition: The characters, setting, and basic situation are introduced.

• Rising Action: The central conflict begins and develops. Usually, an
inciting incident, which is a pivotal event or situation, triggers the
story’s conflict.
• Climax: The story’s conflict reaches its highest point of drama or
tension.
• Falling Action: The tension in the story decreases, and the conflict
moves toward resolution.
• Resolution: The conflict ends and any remaining issues are settled.

With your group, analyze the plot of “The Golden Touch.” Use the chart
to identify when the different plot stages occur. Identify the action that
GROUP DISCUSSION happens in each stage.
Everyone in your group may
not agree about where the Stage OF PLOT DETAILS
point of highest tension or
• Midas is introduced as a rich king.
drama occurs in the story.
Honor different points of • Marygold is introduced.
Exposition
view, but also make sure that • The king’s obsession with gold is
you support your perceptions described.
with textual evidence.
Inciting Incident and

Rising Action

Climax
Falling Action
 Standards
Reading Literature Resolution
concerning how to structure a
text, order events within it, and
manipulate time create such effects
as mystery, tension, or surprise.

Language development
Conventions
Types of Clauses Writers use various types of clauses to convey specific
meanings. A noun clause is a type of subordinate clause that functions as a Clarification
noun in a sentence—as a subject, a direct object, an indirect object, a subject Refer to the Grammar
complement, an object of a preposition, or an appositive. Noun clauses Handbook to learn more
frequently begin with one of the following: that, which, who, whom, whose, about these terms.
what, where, when, why, whether, how, or how much.
This box shows examples of noun clauses and some of the ways they may
function in a sentence.
Example: What the stranger gave Midas was more a curse than a gift.
Function: subject of the verb was
Example: Midas didn’t know whether the stranger would return.

Function: direct object of the verb know
Example: Midas was afraid of how much harm his “gift” might cause.
Function: object of the preposition of
Example: Midas’ biggest regret was that he had hurt his daughter.
Function: subject complement of the noun regret
Read It
Work individually. Read these sentences from “The Golden Touch.” Mark
each noun clause. Then, identify its function in the sentence.
1. But now, if he looked at them at all, it was only to calculate how much
the garden would be worth. . . .
2. . . . this linen fabric had been transmuted to what seemed a woven

texture of the purest and brightest gold!
3. One was that the sands of the river sparkled like gold. . . .
Write It
Complete each sentence by filling in a noun clause. Then, write whether
that noun clause functions in the sentence as a direct object, a subject, or a
subject complement.
 Standards
1. Midas suspected . Language
conventions of standard English
grammar and usage when writing or
2. Marygold’s death was .
speaking.
• Use various types of phrases and
clauses to convey specific meanings
3. was not expected. and add variety and interest to
writing or presentations.

MAKING MEANING
Comparing Texts
Now, you will read a twentieth-century poem
that takes the King Midas tale in a very different
direction. After you complete the first-read and
THE GOLDEN TOUCH from KING MIDAS
close-read activities, you will compare the poem to
Hawthorne’s short story.
About the Poet

from King Midas
Concept Vocabulary
As you perform your first read of the poem, you will encounter these words.
mail obdurate ore
Howard Moss (1922–1987)

Context Clues If these words are unfamiliar to you, try using context
is best known as the poetry clues—other words and phrases that appear nearby in the text—to help
editor for the New Yorker you determine their meanings.
magazine, a position he
held for almost forty years, Synonyms: Midas rules over his dominion, a kingdom spanning a
beginning in 1950. The portion of modern-day Turkey.
New Yorker’s poetry editor
holds a unique position in Contrast of Ideas: Though usually well-behaved, the toddler was
America’s literary world. As incorrigible when it came to long car rides.
editor, Moss was responsible
for discovering and nurturing
Apply your knowledge of context clues and other vocabulary strategies to
the careers of many of the determine the meanings of unfamiliar words you encounter during your
twentieth century’s most first read.
important poets. In fact,
Moss was an accomplished First Read POETRY
poet himself and produced
fourteen highly praised
books of poetry during his opportunity to complete a close read after your first read.
career. In 1972, Moss won a

National Book Award for his
book Selected Poems.
Notice who or what is Annotate by marking
“speaking” the poem and vocabulary and key passages
whether the poem tells a story you want to revisit.
or describes a single moment.
 STANDARDS
Reading Literature Connect ideas within Respond by completing
comprehend literature, including the selection to what you the Comprehension Check.
stories, dramas, and poems, at the already know and what you
high end of the grades 9–10 text have already read.
proficiently.
Language
Use context as a clue to the meaning
of a word or phrase.

POETRY
from
King Midas
Howard Moss
BACKGROUND
The Greek myth of King Midas identifies Midas as King of Phrygia, a region
that is currently part of Turkey. As the story goes, one day some local
farmers find a part-man, part-goat satyr asleep in their field and bring him
to the king. Midas recognizes the creature as Silenus, a close companion of

Dionysus, the god of grapes, wine, and festive merriment. Midas gives food
and comfort to the satyr. Soon, Dionysus arrives and is grateful to Midas
for treating his companion so generously. In recognition of this hospitality,
Dionysus offers to grant Midas a single wish.
NOTES
I. THE KING’S SPEECH another strategy you used that
The palace clocks are stiff as coats of mail.
mail (mayl) n.
Time stopped; I flicked it with my fingernail.
MEANING:
My taste is shattered on these works of art
It fathers by a touch: My bread’s too rich,
5 My butter much too golden, and my meat
A nugget on my plate as cold as ice;
from King Midas 461

Fresh water in my throat turns precious there,
NOTES Where every drop becomes a millionaire.
I rather would be blind than see this world

10 All affluent in yellow, bought and sold
By Kings that hammer roses into gold:
I did not know I loved their warring thorns
helped you determine meaning. Until they flowered into spikes so hard
obdurate (OB duhr iht) adj. My blood made obdurate the rose’s stem.
MEANING: 15 My God was generous. O much too much!
The nearest rose is now beyond my reach.
My furry cat is sculpture, my dog dead;

They stare at me with four wild sparkling eyes
That used to sparkle with dry wit; instead,
20 Having no wit that they can profit by,
They are pure profit, and their silences
Might make a King go mad, for it was I
Who made their lively muscles stiffly pose—
This jaundice1 is relentless, and it grows.
25 Princess, come no closer; my rigid kiss,

Though it is royal still, will make you this
Or that kind of a statue. And my Queen,
Be armed against this gold paralysis,
another strategy you used that Or you will starve and thinly bed alone,
helped you determine meaning. 30 And when you dream, a gold mine in your brain
ore (awr) n. Will have both eyes release their golden ore
MEANING: And cry for tears they could not cry before.
I would be nothing but the dirt made loud,

A ripeness of the weeds, a timid sun,
35 Or oppositely be entirely cloud,

Absolved of matter, dissolving in the rain,
Or any small, anonymous live thing
Than be the reigning King of this dominion
Where gold makes poor the richness of decay.
40 O Dionysus, change me back to clay!
1. jaundice (JAWN dihs) n. disease that causes one’s skin to turn yellow.

II. THE PRINCESS’S SONG
NOTES
I praise the bird, the river, and the tree.
If I were deaf or dumb, I could not see
Imagination is the heart of me.
A falling leaf in fall’s a thing to mourn.

45 When river beds are dry, nothing is born.
Dear sparrow, sing your song this blessed morn.
Divided into two, I am a tree.

The branches are too high for me to see,
The roots too hidden from reality.
50 They say that veins of gold lie underground.

Beware, explorers, of the spoil you find:
Though you sail back and forth, you sail around.
The laurel grows upon the laurel tree.

Apollo2 plucked the string of mystery
55 And made a golden echo in the sea.
III. THE QUEEN’S SPEECH

May every child of mine be barren, golden!
May every mammal turn to golden swine!
Here is a list, O gardeners and huntsmen,
Of what to kill and what to leave alone:
60 All natural things must go excepting those
That are by nature golden. Whatever grows
The King’s touchy color let live, but close
Your nets upon the pink and crimson rose.
But I will save one rose tree in this pot

65 That I may gaze at it, and when he’s not

About, I’ll look and look till light is gone
At flower, petal, stem, and leaf. And then,
I’ll ponder how a King became a fool!
Long live King Midas! And the Golden Rule!
2. Apollo (uh POL oh) Greek god of light and music.
from King Midas 463

Comprehension Check
1. What causes the palace clocks to stop at the beginning of the poem?
2. What has happened to the pets in the king’s household?
3. At the end of “The King’s Speech,” what request does Midas make to the god that gave
him the golden touch?
4. What orders does the Queen give to her gardeners and huntsmen?

5. How does the Queen view Midas and his wish?
RESEARCH
Research to Clarify Choose at least one unfamiliar detail from the text. Briefly research that
detail. In what way does the information you learned shed light on an aspect of the poem?
Research to Explore Find out more about retellings or adaptations of Greek myths.
Which popular books and movies are based on these ancient stories?

MAKING MEANING
Close Read
from King Midas
Analyze the Text

Complete the activities.
1. Review and Clarify With your group, reread lines 1–8 of “The King’s
GROUP DISCUSSION
Speech.” Based on the speaker’s descriptions, what are some words and
phrases you might use to describe Midas? Hawthorne’s story shows
King Midas both before and
2. Present and Discuss Now, work with your group to share the passages after he gains “the golden
from the text that you found especially important. Take turns presenting touch.” Moss’s poem begins
your passages. Discuss what you noticed in the text, what questions you after Midas has received
asked and what conclusions you reached. this gift. Consider how this
change affects how you see
3. Essential Question: What do our possessions reveal about us? What the king and why the poet
has this selection taught you about materialism? Discuss with your group. may have made this choice.
Concept Vocabulary
mail obdurate ore
Why These Words? The three concept vocabulary words are related. With
 WORD NETWORK
your group, determine what the words have in common. Write your ideas,
and add another word that fits the category.
your Word Network.
Practice
Notebook Write a fill-in-the-blank sentence for each concept word,
leaving a space where the word would be. Trade your work with another
group member. Challenge each other to identify each missing word.
Word Study
Latin Root: -dur- In “King Midas,” the speaker laments that his touch has
made a rose’s stem obdurate. The word obdurate is formed from the Latin
root -dur-, meaning “hard,” “strong,” or “lasting.” Write the meanings of
these words formed from the root -dur-: endure, duration, durable. Use a  Standards
print or online dictionary to verify your definitions. Language
Identify and correctly use patterns of
word changes that indicate different
meanings or parts of speech.
from King Midas 465

MAKING MEANING

Author’s Choices: Poetic Structure The way in which a poet organizes a
poem is referred to as poetic structure. Two of the main building blocks of
poetic structure are stanzas and rhyme.
from King Midas
• Stanza: A stanza is a group of lines, usually separated from other stanzas
by space. Stanzas are named according to their number of lines, as
follows: couplet: a two-line stanza; tercet: a three-line stanza; quatrain: a
four-line stanza; sestet: a six-line stanza; octave: an eight-line stanza.
• Rhyme: Rhyme is the repetition of sounds at the ends of words. Exact
rhyme is the use of identical sounds, as in love and dove. Slant rhyme is
the use of similar sounds that do not match perfectly, as in prove and glove.
• Rhyme Scheme: A regular pattern of end rhyme—or rhyming words
at the ends of lines—is called a rhyme scheme. Rhyme schemes are
identified by the use of letters, with one letter assigned to each rhyming
 STANDARDS sound. For example, in “When You Are Old,” William Butler Yeats uses
Reading the rhyme scheme abba:
concerning how to structure a When you are old and gray and full of sleep, a
text, order events within it, and
manipulate time create such effects And nodding by the fire, take down this book, b
as mystery, tension, or surprise. And slowly read, and dream of the soft look, b
Your eyes had once, and of their shadows deep; a

In the chart, use the letters a, b, c, and so on to identify the rhyming

sounds that end each line from “The Queen’s Speech.” Then, note
whether each pair of rhymes is exact or slant.
LINE RHYMING SOUND EXACT OR SLANT
But I will save one rose tree in this pot
That I may gaze at it, and when he’s not

About, I’ll look and look till light is gone
At flower, petal, stem, and leaf. And then,
I’ll ponder how a King became a fool!
Long live King Midas! And the Golden Rule!

1. Why do you think the poet chose to vary stanza lengths for each
section of the poem? How do the different types of stanzas reflect the
ways in which each speaker thinks and feels?
2. Note the rhyme schemes of “The King’s Speech” and “The Princess’s
Song.” How do the two rhyme schemes affect your reading of these
sections? Why might the second section be called a “song”?

Author’s Style
Author’s Choices: Poetic Structure In poetry, the arrangement of
stressed (´) and unstressed ( ˇ ) syllables is called meter. The basic unit of
meter is the foot, which usually consists of one stressed and one or more
unstressed syllables. The most frequently used foot in American poetry is
the iamb—one unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable. The type
and number of feet in the lines of a poem determine its meter. For example,
a pattern of five iambs per line is known as iambic pentameter (the prefix
penta- means “five”). The sections from “King Midas” are written in iambic
pentameter.
Poets also use enjambment, or the continuation of a sentence past a

line break. Enjambment allows the poet to continue the flow of ideas and
also maintain a metrical pattern. For instance, in “The King’s Speech,” the
sentence that begins in line 9 ends in line 11.
Read It
Work individually. Reread the first stanza of “The King’s Speech.” Use a
vertical rule to separate individual feet. Then, mark the stressed (´) and
unstressed ( ˇ ) syllables of each foot. Note: The poet may deviate from strict
iambic pentameter, perhaps by including two stressed syllables or more than
two syllables in a foot, or by using fewer than five feet per line. Identify these
variations, and consider how they add to the poem’s meaning. The first line
has been marked for you. After all members of your group have finished
marking the stanza, compare and discuss your work.
Tȟe pál | ače cloćks | aře stíll | aˇs coáts | oˇf ma´il
Time stopped; I flicked it with my fingernail.
My taste is shattered on these works of art
It fathers by a touch: My bread’s too rich,
My butter much too golden, and my meat

A nugget on my plate as cold as ice;
Fresh water in my throat turns precious there,
Where every drop becomes a millionaire.
Write It
Notebook Write a short poem based on the King Midas story, using
iambic pentameter. You may choose whether to use either uniform or varied
stanza lengths, as well as whether or not to use rhyme.
from King Midas 467

Writing to Compare
You have read a short story and a poem, both of which retell the Midas
myth. The myth of King Midas is one of the central cautionary tales of
Western culture. Midas is blessed with the golden touch, only to discover
that the power to create unlimited wealth might actually be worthless.
THE GOLDEN TOUCH
Deepen your understanding of the ways in which the form of a work
influences its meaning by comparing and writing about the presentation of
the same story in different genres.
Assignment
Write a compare-and-contrast essay in which you analyze the portrayals
of the characters in the two retellings of the Midas myth. Consider how
the form of each text shapes the information the writer includes and
from King Midas
contributes to readers’ understanding of the characters and their conflicts.
Work with your group to analyze the texts. Then, work independently to
write your essay.
Prewriting
Notebook Complete the activity, and answer the questions that follow.
Analyze the Texts With your group, identify details about the characters
that appear in both the short story and the poem. Then, identify details
about characters that appear in only one text or the other.
DETAILS IN BOTH DETAILS IN POEM DETAILS IN STORY

TEXTS ONLY ONLY
 STANDARDS
Reading
• Analyze the representation of
a subject or a key scene in two 1. How does your understanding of King Midas change as you read the
different artistic mediums, including
two texts? In which work do you learn more about what Midas feels and
what is emphasized or absent in
each treatment. thinks? Explain.
• Analyze how an author draws on 2. How does your understanding of the princess change as you read the two
and transforms source material in a
texts? In which text is her character more developed?
specific work.
Writing 3. What does the princess symbolize in the two texts? Does her character
Apply grades 9–10 Reading have the same meaning in the story that it does in the poem? Explain.
standards to literature.

Drafting
Write a Statement of Purpose Determine the specific purpose, or goal,
of your essay. Then, write a statement of purpose that you can use in your
introduction. Include both the authors’ names and the titles in your statement.
Complete this sentence to get started:
Statement of Purpose: In this essay, I will analyze ____________________

______________________ and show how ____________________.
Organize Ideas In this essay, you will identify similarities and differences
in characters’ portrayals in two works. Do you think the differences or the
similarities are more important? Focus your essay by emphasizing the elements  EVIDENCE LOG
you feel matter the most. Before moving on to a
Identify Passages Use your Prewriting notes to identify specific passages Evidence Log and record
from the short story and the poem to use in your essay. what you learned from
Example Passage: _______________________________________________ “The Golden Touch,” and
the excerpts from “King
Point It Will Support: ____________________________________________ Midas.”
Example Passage: _______________________________________________

Point It Will Support: ____________________________________________
Example Passage: _______________________________________________

Example Passage: _______________________________________________

Write a Rough Draft Use your notes and evidence to produce a first draft.
If you suspect something is not quite right, make a note in brackets: for
example, “[find a more accurate transitional word].” Then, continue to write.
You can go back later and clarify your meaning or fix any issues.
Review, Revise, and Edit

Read your draft aloud to your group. Take a moment to write down ideas that
occur to you as you read. Then, ask your peers for feedback.
• Can they follow the logic of your ideas?

• Should any information be cut or replaced?
• Are any explanations vague or unconvincing?
• Is all the textual evidence on point, or does some fail to support the ideas?
Use the feedback to revise your draft. Then, finalize your essay by editing and
proofreading it.
The Golden Touch • from King Midas 469

MAKING MEANING
About the Author

Concept Vocabulary
As you perform your first read of “The Thrill of the Chase,” you will
encounter the following words.
artifacts legacy marvel
Margie Goldsmith
(b. 1945) is a writer, an Context Clues If these words are unfamiliar to you, try using context
athlete, a filmmaker, and clues—other words or phrases that appear nearby in the text—to help you
a novelist. Most of all, she determine their meanings. There are various types of context clues that may
is an adventurer who has help you as you read.
traveled to 130 different
countries to research the
Restatement: With the boat caught in the teeth of the tempest, the crew
articles she has written.
buckled down against the raging storm.
Writing for such publications
as National Geographic Elaborating Details: Its wheels screeching and its pistons clattering, the train
and the New York Times, arrived with a cacophony.
Goldsmith has reported on Contrast of Ideas: It was quite a surprise to see how dull, slow, and miserable
some of the world’s most the flu had made Oliver, after his effervescent conversation of the night before.
exotic locales, including
Tibet, Antarctica, Easter Apply your knowledge of context clues and other vocabulary strategies to
Island, and Borneo. When determine the meanings of unfamiliar words you encounter during your
she isn’t trekking to some first read.
far-flung place, Goldsmith
lives in New York City, where
she likes to explore the wilds First Read NONFICTION
of Central Park.
NOTICE the general ideas of ANNOTATE by marking

the text. What is it about? vocabulary and key passages

Who is involved? you want to revisit.
 STANDARDS
CONNECT ideas within the RESPOND by completing
comprehend literary nonfiction at selection to what you the Comprehension Check and
the high end of the grades 9–10 text already know and what you by writing a brief summary of
complexity band independently and have already read. the selection.
proficiently.
Language
• Determine or clarify the meaning
of unknown and multiple-meaning
flexibly from a range of strategies.
• Use context as a clue to the
meaning of a word or phrase.

MAGAZINE ARTICLE
The
Thrill
of the
Chase
Margie Goldsmith
BACKGROUND
This article chronicles the controversies surrounding a modern-day hunt for
a real-life buried treasure. Fascination with buried treasure probably has its
origin with the pirate William Kidd, who was said to have buried a chest full
of gold doubloons somewhere on Long Island in the seventeenth century.
Though Kidd’s treasure was never found, it spawned a host of stories
and legends. In the United States, pirate legends soon evolved into Wild
West legends in which notorious bank robbers, outlaws, and prospectors
hid their riches in remote mountain wilderness areas. Very few of these
mysterious treasures have ever been found.
B lame Ralph Lauren. In 1996 the designer paid a visit to his friend
Forrest Fenn, who lived in Santa Fe, NM. Fenn had recently
undergone chemo and radiation for kidney cancer, and was told there
NOTES
was only a 20 percent chance for his survival. He sold his successful
Santa Fe art gallery and settled in to await the inevitable. While he
did, many friends stopped by to visit him and his wife at home.

2 The place was filled with more than 5,000 pieces of museum- helped you determine meaning.
quality Southwestern art and artifacts, from Sitting Bull’s1 pipe and artifacts (AHR tuh fakts) n.
an 18th-century painted buffalo skin to early Indian pottery and rare MEANING:
Plains Indian medicine bonnets. Lauren immediately fell in love with
a Crow Indian hat covered in white ermine skins and carved antelope
horns, and offered to buy it. Fenn refused, saying it was one of his
favorites. Lauren said, “Well, you can’t take it with you.” To which
Fenn replied, “Then I’m not going.”
3 Though the hat remained safely ensconced in Fenn’s collection,
Lauren’s visit gave the ailing art collector an idea. Inspired by the
adventure stories he had devoured as a child, Fenn sat down to write
a memoir, jotting down scenes and remembrances as they came
to him. As an Air Force pilot during the Vietnam War, he flew 328
missions and was shot down twice. After the war he turned to art,
1. Sitting Bull (1831–1890) Native American chief of the Sioux tribe.
The Thrill of the Chase 471

settling in Santa Fe with his wife, Peggy, and opening Fenn Gallery,
NOTES which became the most successful art gallery in New Mexico. Fenn’s
holdings included Remingtons and Russells and O’Keeffes—every big
name in Western art—and many of those works are now in museums
ranging from the Buffalo Bill Historical Center in Cody, Wyo., to the
Art Institute of Chicago. Buying and selling art was how Fenn came to
know Lauren, yes, but also Robert Redford, Jacqueline Onassis, Sam
Shepard, Jessica Lange, Steven Spielberg, and Donna Karan.2
4 And that’s when things got interesting. As he wrote, Fenn was
reminded of how much fun he’d had hunting down fine art pieces
another strategy you used that and building his collection over the decades. He felt it would be
helped you determine meaning. a shame if all that ended with his death. The memoir would help
legacy (LEHG uh see) n. preserve his legacy, of course—but as he saw it, there was only one
MEANING: way to pass along that sense of delight, that thrill of the hunt.
5 So Fenn bought an antique bronze chest and started to fill it with
treasures. The booty included a jar full of gold dust panned in Alaska,
gold coins, large and small gold nuggets, pre-Columbian3 gold
animal figures, two ancient Chinese jade carvings, a 17th-century
Spanish gold and emerald ring and a beloved bracelet of turquoise
beads, excavated from a Mesa Verde4 ruin in 1903, that Fenn had won
in a game of pool. The total value amounted to about $3 million.
6 Fenn decided he would hide the chest with a copy of his book in
the desert, maybe even as he walked out into the wilderness to die.
That could trigger a hunt of its own, spark some excitement; one day
an intrepid searcher would find his bones and his treasure and learn
who he was, think kindly of him. His memory would live on.
7 It seemed like a perfect plan. Except for one hitch.
8 Fenn didn’t die.
9 Forrest Fenn’s cancer went into remission—and it stayed that way.
As a result, he didn’t quite get around to burying that treasure. More
than a dozen years passed.
10 Then, in 2010, Fenn turned 80, and the milestone spurred him
back into action. “I had this treasure chest full of gold and jewels just

burning a hole in my vault,” he says. “So I decided to go ahead and
hide it somewhere in the mountains north of Santa Fe, leaving clues
on how to find it for any searcher willing to try.”
11 The clues are encoded in the memoir he self-published that year,
The Thrill of the Chase. There are nine of them, all contained in a single
poem Fenn wrote.
12 As I have gone alone in there

And with my treasures bold,
I can keep my secret where,
And hint of riches new and old.
2. Robert Redford . . . Donna Karan American celebrities.

3. pre-Columbian of or relating to the history and cultures of the Americas before the
arrival of Christopher Columbus in 1492.
4. Mesa Verde high plateau in southern Colorado.

13 Begin it where warm waters halt
And take it in the canyons down, NOTES
Not far, but too far to walk.

Put in below the home of Brown.
14 From there it’s no place for the meek,

The end is ever drawing nigh;
There’ll be no paddle up your creek,
Just heavy loads and water high.
15 If you’ve been wise and found the blaze, another strategy you used that
Look quickly down, your quest to cease, helped you determine meaning.
But tarry scant with marvel gaze, marvel (MAHR vuhl ) n.
Just take the chest and go in peace. MEANING:
16 So why is it that I must go

And leave my trove for all to seek?
The answer I already know,
I’ve done it tired, and now I’m weak.
17 So hear me all and listen good,

Your effort will be worth the cold.
If you are brave and in the wood
I give you title to the gold.
18 As word spread about what Fenn had done, treasure hunters

rushed to Santa Fe. Based on the 5,000-plus emails he has received
about the treasure, he estimates that more than 1,000 people have
searched for it, though he assumes there must be others out there that
he doesn’t know about.
19 Many who contact Fenn are looking for a little extra help; others
simply want to share their stories. “Dear Mr. Fenn,” wrote one, “we
don’t think we will find the treasure chest but I just want to thank
you for getting me and my family off of the couch and out into the
mountains.” Another man told of how he went out to look with his
grown son. The two slept in a van and talked about their hopes for
the future. They gave up the search after two days, but it wasn’t a
wasted effort, the father wrote. “If it hadn’t been for the book, my son
and I would never have had this time with each other.”
20 Which isn’t to say the quest should be undertaken lightly. “There
are dangers involved,” Fenn says.” Things can complicate the
search—earthquakes, mudslides, forest fires, floods, trees, falling
rocks. There are those who have been at risk in water when they
attempted to search someplace where it was not really safe to go.
Some have not been prepared to face the elements after they parked
their car and started walking. Some have lacked the proper clothing,
food, and water.”
21 One eager individual donned scuba gear and swam along the
bottom of a murky lake until he almost ran out of air. Another “rode

28 miles on a bicycle in the snow and almost froze after getting wet,”
NOTES Fenn says.
22 Still, the treasure hunters keep coming. One Chicago couple, for
instance, has traveled to New Mexico 14 times to look for Fenn’s
prize. (In an email, the wife told Fenn, “We are experts on where the
treasure is not.”)
23 “What serious adventurers should remember,” Fenn says, “is to
not believe anything that is not in my poem or otherwise in my book.
There’s some misinformation out there. For instance, I never said I
buried the chest, I said only that I hid it. That is not to say it is not
buried, so maybe we need to define the terms. Does ‘hidden’ mean in
plain sight? What is the difference between ‘buried,’ ‘entombed,’ and
‘sepultured’? What does the word ‘blaze’ in the poem mean? A horse
can have a blaze on its forehead, a blaze can be scraped on a tree to
mark one’s way, a blaze can mean a flame or a scar on a rock. And
what about ‘water high’? Does it mean deep, or higher than normal?”
24 Fenn generally refuses to give additional clues, but he’ll make the
rare exception—of sorts. When one woman emailed him to complain
that the clues were too difficult, he told her the treasure chest is
located more than 300 miles west of Toledo.
25 Beyond queries from treasure seekers, Fenn has also received a
number of letters from people simply wondering why on earth he
would do this. “I wanted to create some intrigue and adventure and
maybe a little mystery,” Fenn explains.
26 Plus, he says, “Anyone who dies with over $50 is a failure.”
27 Finding Fenn’s treasure has proved so difficult that some are
left questioning whether the whole thing is an elaborate hoax. But
doubters need only ask Fenn’s friend Douglas Preston, a bestselling
author whose novel The Codex is based on Fenn’s story.
28 “That gold is out there—I held it with my own hands,” says Preston,
one of the few to have seen the chest before Fenn hid it. “Some of the
most wonderful things in the treasure are enormous gold nuggets
the size of hen’s eggs, weighing more than a pound each, and worth

several times their bullion value. He included things that would
survive a long time, and that would be interesting and unusual. And
the chest itself is quite rare; it’s a Romanesque lockbox from the 12th
century, and with the gold and jewels inside, it weighs 42 pounds.”
29 Surprisingly, there have been only a few items about the treasure
in the local newspaper or on the news. But there are certainly
other signs of it around Santa Fe. The Inn and Spa at Loretto offers
guests a “Thrill of the Chase” package, which includes two nights’
accommodations, a scavenger hunt, and an autographed copy of
Fenn’s book. There’s also a “Thrill of the Chase” signature cocktail,
a blend of light rum, sweet vermouth, and Amaretto di Saronno
sprinkled with gold flakes, and a Forrest Fenn sandwich, consisting
of pastrami with apple sauerkraut on marble rye (Fenn’s favorite).
30 When Fenn himself walks down the street these days, locals
constantly stop him; they want to know if anyone has found the

treasure. Others shake his hand and call him a hero. Local jeweler
Marc Howard hails Fenn as a cross between Will Rogers5 and Mark NOTES
Twain. “He’s a story-weaver, and has created a legacy that will reach
out into the future.”
31 Fenn is modest about the whole thing, though. “I was hoping the
treasure chase would cause some excitement and get a few guys out
into the mountains,” he says. “I did not expect it to get so big so fast.”
32 He hasn’t gone back to his hiding place to see if the treasure is still
there. He assumes it hasn’t been found (though he knows of “more
than a few people” who have searched within 500 feet of the site),
and that suits him fine. “I think that I’ll be a little disappointed when
it is found, because the mystery will be gone.”
33 One clue follower, Dal Neitzel, has been looking for the treasure
for more than two years. He’s already made five trips down from
his home in Washington State, and plans to keep looking. Not that
the booty is Neitzel’s primary motivation: Fenn’s treasure hunt has
turned into something bigger, something more meaningful.
34 “Forrest Fenn is the hider of undiscovered dreams for thousands
of folks who go looking for that treasure,” he says, “and discover not
the place where the treasure is hidden, but the place in their heart
where adventure sleeps, and trails begin.” ❧
5. Will Rogers (1879–1935) famous American cowboy, vaudeville performer, movie actor,
and newspaper columnist during the 1920s and 1930s.
Comprehension Check
1. How did Forrest Fenn make a living in Santa Fe?

2. What did Fenn put in his treasure chest?
3. What clues does Fenn provide for the location of the treasure?
4. Notebook To confirm your understanding, write a summary of the article.
RESEARCH
the article?

MAKING MEANING
Close Read the Text

Cite textual evidence


GROUP DISCUSSION
1. Review and Clarify With your group, reread paragraphs 25–28 of
Be an active listener. As
the selection. What would you say to someone who claims that Fenn’s
members of your group
share key passages and
treasure is nothing more than a hoax? Explain.
explain their choices, give
2. Present and Discuss Work with your group to share other key passages
them your full attention.
from “The Thrill of the Chase.” Take turns presenting your choices.
Ask questions, such as
Discuss what you noticed in the text, what questions you asked, and what
“Could you say more about
conclusions you reached.
that?” or “What sentence or
paragraph in the text led you
to that conclusion?”
has this article taught you about materialism? Discuss with your group.
Concept Vocabulary
artifacts legacy marvel
 WORD NETWORK Why These Words? The three concept vocabulary words are related.
With your group, determine what the words have in common. Write your
ideas, and add another word that fits the category.
your Word Network.
Practice
Notebook Write a sentence using each of the concept words. Use
a thesaurus to replace each concept word with a synonym. Discuss with
 STANDARDS your group how your substitutions affect the meanings of your sentences.
Analyze in detail how an author’s
ideas or claims are developed and
refined by particular sentences, Word Study
paragraphs, or larger portions of a
text. Notebook Latin Root:-fac- In “The Thrill of the Chase,”
Writing Goldsmith discusses a home filled with thousands of artifacts. The word
• Identify and correctly use patterns artifacts is formed from the Latin root -fac- (sometimes spelled -fic-),
of word changes that indicate meaning “to make” or “to do.”
speech. Write the meanings of these words formed from the root -fac-:
• Demonstrate understanding manufacture, artificial, edifice. Use a print or online dictionary to verify
of figurative language, word
relationships, and nuances in word
your definitions.
meanings.

essential question: What do our possessions reveal about us?

Literary Nonfiction: Feature Story “The Thrill of the Chase” is an
example of a feature story, a type of journalism that appears in magazines
and other periodicals. A feature story typically covers a high-interest topic
in an extended format that allows the author to explore ideas or events in
depth. This form of nonfiction contains elements that are closely associated
with fiction and often not found in news stories. For example, a feature story
may contain description and imagery. A feature story may also include the
author’s own analysis of events and ideas, in contrast with more impersonal
kinds of journalism.
Feature stories typically follow this organizational pattern:
• Title: The title captures readers’ interest.

• Introduction: The first few paragraphs set the scene and identify the
main idea.
• Body: The middle section presents facts, quotations, and examples
to tell what happened and develop ideas. The extended format allows
the writer to explore and refine information with more complexity
than shorter-form journalism. The body may use subheadings or
other formatting to clarify details and orient the reader.
• Conclusion: The story ends with a quotation or image that leaves
readers with a lasting impression.

With your group, review the article to identify how the author uses specific sentences,
paragraphs, and sections to introduce, develop, and refine her ideas. Capture your
observations in the chart.
SECTION OF ARTICLE IDEA(S) INTRODUCED / DEVELOPED / REFINED
Title: “The Thrill of the Chase”

Introduction: paragraphs 1–5
Body: paragraphs 6–11
Conclusion: paragraphs 31–34

Author’s Style
Sentence Variety A skilled writer uses words the way a musician uses
musical notes. In the same way that a musician will build and elaborate on a
motif or melody, authors clarify and develop ideas and claims with sentence
variety. Using sentences of different lengths allows an author to vary the
effect of the text on the reader.
• Long sentences add rhythm, substance, complexity, and detail. Long

sentences are often useful for explaining, comparing, and providing
examples.
• Short sentences add drama and impact. They provide “punch” and
directness.
• Varied sentence lengths give a text rhythm, musicality, and pace that
keep the reader interested and make the text easier to understand.
 STANDARDS
Read It
Analyze in detail how an author’s Work together with your group to analyze sentence variety in the article
ideas or claims are developed and by examining the paragraphs listed in the chart. Explain how the sentence
refined by particular sentences,
paragraphs, or larger portions of variety in each paragraph enhances meaning, clarifies ideas, develops an
a text. image, or otherwise affects the reader’s experience of the text.
Paragraph Sentence Variety/Effect on Reader
• Short sentence grabs your attention.

1 • Long second sentence adds detail through explanation.
10
20
23
Write It
Notebook Work on your own to write a paragraph explaining the steps
you would take to find Forrest Fenn’s treasure. Use sentence variety in your
paragraph.


Assignment
With your group, conduct a debate on one of the following questions.
Is Forrest Fenn’s motivation for hiding the treasure and
creating the mystery admirable?
As you choose a position, consider the following: What is Fenn’s
stated goal in hiding the treasure? Does the goal seem credible? Does
he back it up with his actions?
According to Fenn, “Anyone who dies with more than $50 is a

failure.” Do you agree with this statement?
As you choose a position, consider the following: What about people
who want to leave their money to their children or a good charity—
are they failures?
Is it pointless to spend time looking for a treasure that might  EVIDENCE LOG
never be found? Before moving on to a
As you choose a position, consider the following: How would the new selection, go to your
treasure hunters feel if they found out there is no treasure? Would Evidence Log and record
that change their feelings about the experience? what you learned from
“The Thrill of the Chase.”
1. Support a Position As a group, choose the question you will discuss.

Then, work independently to decide your position. Identify at least three
specific reasons for your position as well as passages from Goldsmith’s article
that you could use to illustrate your points. Collect your ideas in the chart.
SUPPORTING REASONS SUPPORTING PASSAGES OR OTHER EVIDENCE
1.
 Standards
• Come to discussions prepared,
having read and researched material
2. under study; explicitly draw on that

preparation by referring to evidence
from texts and other research on
the topic or issue to stimulate a
thoughtful, well-reasoned exchange
of ideas.
3.
• Propel conversations by posing
and responding to questions that
relate the current discussion to
broader themes or larger ideas;
actively incorporate others into the
discussion; and clarify, verify, or
2. Debate the Question Gather with your group, and invite each challenge ideas and conclusions.
group member to present his or her response and evidence. Take turns • Respond thoughtfully to diverse
discussing and analyzing one another’s positions. Ask questions, and perspectives, summarize points of
agreement and disagreement, and,
clarify your responses. Work together to reach a conclusion that identifies when warranted, qualify or justify
the strongest argument. This may draw on points from several group their own views and understanding
members. Summarize your conclusion, and then share it with the class as and make new connections in light
of the evidence and reasoning
a whole.
presented.

PERFORMANCE TASK: SPEAKING AND LISTENING FOCUS
SOURCES
• IN LA RINCONADA, PERU,
Deliver a Multimedia Presentation
SEARCHING FOR BEAUTY
IN UGLINESS Assignment
• AVARICE You have read about individuals, families, and societies who pursue
material possessions in some form. Work with your group to develop and
• THE GOOD LIFE
refine a multimedia presentation that addresses this question:
• MONEY
In what ways can material possessions create both a
• THE GOLDEN TOUCH sense of comfort and a sense of anxiety?
• from KING MIDAS As you review the articles, poems, and short story you have read,
remember to consider the positive and negative aspects of the hunt for
• THE THRILL OF THE CHASE
material possessions. Incorporate media and information from outside
sources to support your ideas.
Plan With Your Group

Analyze the Texts With your group, discuss the various ways in which
material possessions affect the comfort level or anxiety level of the
individuals, families, and nations in the texts you have read. Use the chart to
list your ideas. For each selection, identify the emotional and physical effects
created by material possessions. Then, write a thesis statement about the
relationship between material possessions and a person’s state of mind.
TITLE EFFECTS OF MATERIAL POSSESSIONS
In La Rinconada, Peru,
Searching for Beauty in
Ugliness
Avarice
The Good Life
Money
The Golden Touch
from King Midas
Relationship between possessions and emotional state:

 STANDARDS
Present information, findings,
concisely, and logically such that Gather Evidence and Media Examples Scan the selections to record
listeners can follow the line of specific examples that support your group’s thesis. Then, brainstorm and
reasoning and the organization, search for images and media you can use to illustrate each example.
are appropriate to purpose, audience, Consider photographs, illustrations, music, graphs, and videos. Allow each
and task. group member to make suggestions.

ESSENTIAL QUESTION : What do our possessions reveal about us?
Organize Your Ideas Review your notes and media choices as a group,
and choose the strongest examples to include in your presentation. Once you
have reached a decision, assign roles for each part of the presentation.
Rehearse With Your Group

Practice With Your Group Use this checklist to evaluate the effectiveness
of your group’s first run-through. Then, use your evaluation and the
instructions here to guide your revision.
PRESENTATION
CONTENT USE OF MEDIA
TECHNIQUES
The presentation he media support

T Media are
presents a clear the thesis. visible and
thesis. The media audible.
Main ideas communicate key Transitions
are supported ideas. between media
with evidence edia are used
M segments are
from the texts evenly throughout smooth.
in Small-Group the presentation. The speaker
Learning. Equipment uses voice
The presentation functions properly. and gestures
conveys effectively.
information
coherently.
Fine-Tune the Content To make your presentation stronger, consider

whether you have included sufficient details and examples to support your
main ideas. You may need to add more information from your sources to
ensure your key points are clear to listeners.
Improve Your Use of Media Make sure that you have used media
effectively in your presentation. Remember that visuals help the audience draw
connections among ideas in a presentation. Choose memorable and relevant
media to best support your group’s main ideas.

Brush Up on Your Presentation Techniques Demonstrate confidence in
your ideas through your posture, bearing, and facial expression.
• Make eye contact with all your listeners, not just one or two people.
• Vary the volume, tone, and pacing of your voice to emphasize key points  STANDARDS
and to keep your audience engaged. Speaking and Listening
• Present information, findings,
• Use appropriate gestures to support what you are saying. and supporting evidence clearly,
listeners can follow the line of
Present and Evaluate reasoning and the organization,
When you present as a group, be sure that each member has taken into are appropriate to purpose, audience,
and task.
account each of the checklist items. As you watch other groups, evaluate • Make strategic use of digital
how well they meet the checklist requirements. media in presentations to enhance
understanding of findings, reasoning,
and evidence and to add interest.
Performance Task: Deliver a Multimedia Presentation 481

OVERVIEW: INDEPENDENT LEARNING
ESSENTIAL QUESTION:

reveal about us?
In this section, you will complete your study of materialism by exploring an
additional selection related to the topic. You’ll then share what you learn with
classmates. To choose a text, follow these steps.
Look Back Think about the selections you have already studied. What more do
you want to know about the topic of materialism?
Look Ahead Preview the texts by reading the descriptions. Which one seems more
interesting and appealing to you?
Look Inside Take a few minutes to scan the text you chose. Choose a different
one if this text doesn’t meet your needs.
Independent Learning Strategies

Throughout your life, in school, in your community, and in your career, you will need
to rely on yourself to learn and work on your own. Review these strategies and the
actions you can take to practice them during Independent Learning. Add ideas of
your own to each category.
Create a schedule • Understand your goals and deadlines.

• Make a plan for what to do each day.

Practice what you • Use first-read and close-read strategies to deepen your understanding.
have learned • After you read, evaluate the usefulness of the evidence to help you understand
the topic.
• Consider the quality and reliability of the source.
Take notes • Record important ideas and information.

• Review your notes before preparing to share with a group.

CONTENTS
Choose one selection. Selections are available online only.
MEDIA: INFORMATIONAL GRAPHIC
The Gold Series: A History of Gold

Visual Capitalist
What makes this precious metal so precious?
NEWS ARTICLE
Ads May Spur Unhappy Kids to Embrace

Materialism
Amy Norton
What do kids really want—that new toy, or something less

tangible?
SHORT STORY
A Dose of What the Doctor Never Orders
Ihara Saikaku,
translated by G. W. Sargent
A story with a twist suggests that it just might be possible

to buy happiness.
MAGAZINE ARTICLE
My Possessions, Myself
Russell W. Belk
A scholar and marketing expert asks how we define ourselves

as individuals. The answers may surprise you.
NEWS ARTICLE
Heirlooms’ Value Shifts from Sentiment

to Cash
Can you put a price on memories?
PERFORMANCE-BASED ASSESSMENT PREP

Review Evidence for an Informative Text
Complete your Evidence Log for the unit by evaluating what you have learned and
synthesizing the information you have recorded.
Overview: Independent Learning 483

INDEPENDENT LEARNING
First-Read Guide Tool Kit

Model Annotation
Use this page to record your first-read ideas.
Selection Title:
NOTICE new information or ideas you learn ANNOTATE by marking vocabulary and key
about the unit topic as you first read this text. passages you want to revisit.
CONNECT ideas within the selection to other RESPOND by writing a brief summary of
knowledge and the selections you have read. the selection.
 STANDARD
Reading Read and comprehend complex literary and informational texts independently and proficiently.

Close-Read Guide Tool Kit

Close-Read Guide and
Model Annotation
Use this page to record your close-read ideas.
Selection Title:
Close Read the Text Analyze the Text

Revisit sections of the text you marked during Think about the author’s choices of patterns,
your first read. Read these sections closely structure, techniques, and ideas included in
and annotate what you notice. Ask yourself the text. Select one and record your thoughts
questions about the text. What can you about what this choice conveys.
conclude? Write down your ideas.
QuickWrite
Pick a paragraph from the text that grabbed your interest. Explain the power of this passage.
 STANDARD
Reading Read and comprehend complex literary and informational texts independently and proficiently.
Overview: Independent Learning 485

INDEPENDENT learning
Share Your Independent Learning

 evidence log Prepare to Share
Go to your Evidence Log What do our possessions reveal about us?
and record what you learned Even when you read or learn something independently, you can continue to
from the text you read. grow by sharing what you have learned with others. Reflect on the text you
explored independently, and write notes about its connection to the unit. In
your notes, consider why this text belongs in this unit.
Learn From Your Classmates

Discuss It Share your ideas about the text you explored on your own.
As you talk with your classmates, jot down ideas that you learn from them.

Reflect
Review your notes, and mark the most important insight you gained from
these writing and discussion activities. Explain how this idea adds to your
understanding of the topic of materialism.
 Standards
Initiate and participate effectively in
a range of collaborative discussions
with diverse partners on grades 9–10
topics, texts, and issues, building on
others’ ideas and expressing their
own clearly and persuasively.

PERFORMANCE-BASED ASSESSMENT prep
Review Evidence for an Informative Essay

At the beginning of this unit, you responded to the following questions:

 evidence log
Review your Evidence Log and your QuickWrite from the beginning of the
unit. What have you learned?
NEW IDEAS REINFORCED IDEAS
Identify at least three pieces of evidence that Identify at least three pieces of evidence that
showed you something new. reinforced your initial perspective.
1. 1.
2. 2.
3. 3.
State your response to the prompt now in the form of a thesis statement:
Identify at least one way to develop your thesis:
Evaluate the Strength of Your Evidence Consider your informative

essay. Do you have facts to support your thesis? Will you be able to use
quotations from various sources? If not, make a plan.
 Standards
Writing
Conduct research Talk with classmates Introduce a topic; organize complex
ideas, concepts, and information to
Reread a selection Ask an expert make important connections and
distinctions; include formatting,
graphics, and multimedia when
Other: useful to aiding comprehension.
Performance-Based Assessment Prep 487

performance-based assessment
sources Part 1
• WHOLE-CLASS SELECTIONS
Writing to Sources: Informative Essay
• SMALL-GROUP SELECTIONS In this unit, you read about various characters, both real and fictional, who
found themselves questioning what is valuable. Each had to make choices
• INDEPENDENT-LEARNING
between what he or she needed and what he or she wanted.
SELECTION
Assignment
Write an informative essay in which you examine a topic and convey ideas,
concepts, and information related to the following questions:
What can result from an imbalance between want
and need?
Use credible evidence from at least three of the selections you read and
researched in this unit to support your ideas. Ensure that you introduce your
topic; develop the topic with relevant facts, details, and quotations; establish a
clear organization of both primary and secondary ideas; and use appropriate and
varied transitions. Also, consider using headings or other formatting options to
clarify the organization of your ideas and aid readers’ comprehension.
Reread the Assignment Review the assignment to be sure you fully

understand it. The task may reference some of the academic words
presented at the beginning of the unit. Be sure you understand each of the
words here in order to complete the assignment correctly.
Academic Vocabulary
paradox allocate primary

chronicle deduce
 Word Network Review the Elements of Effective Informative Texts Before you begin
writing, read the Informative Rubric. Once you have completed your first
As you write and revise your
draft, check it against the rubric. If one or more of the elements is missing
informative essay, use your
or not as strong as it could be, revise your essay to add or strengthen that
Word Network to help vary
component.
your word choices.
 Standards
Writing
• Write informative/explanatory texts
ideas, concepts, and information
effective selection, organization, and
analysis of content.
• Write routinely over extended
time frames and shorter time frames
for a range of tasks, purposes, and
audiences.

Informative Rubric
Focus and Organization Evidence and Elaboration Conventions
The introduction engages the The topic is developed with well- The essay intentionally uses
reader and states a thesis in a chosen, relevant, and sufficient standard English conventions
very effective way. facts, extended definitions, of usage and mechanics.
concrete details, quotations, or
The essay includes formatting, other information appropriate to the Transitions are appropriately
graphics, and multimedia when audience’s knowledge of the topic. varied to link major sections of
useful to aiding comprehension. the text, create cohesion, and
4
The language is always precise and clarify the relationships among
The conclusion summarizes ideas appropriate for the audience and complex ideas and concepts.
and readdresses the thesis. purpose.
The tone of the essay is always

formal and objective.
The introduction engages the The topic is mostly developed with The essay demonstrates
reader and sets forth the thesis. well-chosen, relevant, and sufficient general accuracy in standard
facts, extended definitions, English conventions of usage
The essay includes some concrete details, quotations, or and mechanics.
formatting, graphics, and other information appropriate to the
multimedia when useful to aiding audience’s knowledge of the topic. Transitions are mostly varied
comprehension. to link major sections of the
3
The language is mostly precise and text, create cohesion, and
The conclusion offers some appropriate for the audience and clarify the relationships among
insight into the thesis and purpose. complex ideas and concepts.
summarizes ideas.
The tone of the essay is mostly
formal and objective.
The introduction states a thesis The topic is developed with some The essay uses a mix of
but does not engage the reader. variety of facts, definitions, details, correct and incorrect standard
quotations, or other information English conventions of usage
The essay includes formatting, appropriate to the audience’s and mechanics.
graphics, and multimedia, knowledge of the topic.
but they are not always Transitions are sometimes
used appropriately to aid The language is sometimes precise used to link major sections
2
comprehension. and appropriate for the audience of the text, create cohesion,
and purpose. and clarify the relationships
The conclusion restates among complex ideas and
information. The tone of the essay switches from concepts, or are sometimes
formal to informal at times. used incorrectly.
The introduction does not The topic is not developed with The essay contains many
state a thesis. well-chosen, relevant, and sufficient mistakes in standard English
facts, extended definitions, conventions of usage and
The essay does not include concrete details, quotations, or mechanics.
formatting, graphics, or other information appropriate to the
multimedia. audience’s knowledge of the topic. The essay lacks appropriate
transitions.
1 The conclusion does not The language is confusing.
summarize ideas or is missing
completely. The tone of the essay is
inappropriately informal.
Performance-Based Assessment 489

performance-based assessment
Part 2
Speaking and Listening:
Oral Presentation
Assignment
After completing the final draft of your informative essay, use it as the
foundation for a three- to five-minute oral presentation.
Instead of simply reading your essay aloud, take the following steps to make
your oral presentation lively and engaging.
• W
rite a fresh introduction that grabs the audience’s attention and
establishes your thesis. Write a conclusion that summarizes your thesis
and supporting points in a memorable way.
 Standards • G
ather images that illustrate your ideas, and integrate them into the
Speaking and Listening presentation so that they maintain audience interest, clarify points, and
Present information, findings, and
supporting evidence clearly, concisely, do not distract from the focus of the presentation.
and logically such that listeners can
follow the line of reasoning and Review the Oral Presentation Rubric The criteria by which your oral
the organization, development,
substance, and style are appropriate presentation will be evaluated appear in the rubric below. Review these
to purpose, audience, and task. criteria before presenting to ensure that you are prepared.
Content Organization Presentation Technique

The introduction engages the listener and The speaker uses time very The speaker maintains
states a thesis in a very effective way. effectively by spending the effective eye contact.
right amount of time on
The presentation develops the thesis every part. The speaker presents
coherently with evidence from various with strong conviction
3 sources. Ideas progress logically, and energy.
supported by a variety of
The language is always precise and transitions. Listeners can
appropriate for the audience and purpose. follow the presentation.
The conclusion offers fresh insight into the
thesis.

The introduction states a thesis. The speaker uses some The speaker mostly
of the time effectively by maintains effective eye
The presentation develops the thesis with some spending the right amount contact.
evidence from several sources. of time on most parts.
The speaker presents
2 The language is sometimes precise and Ideas progress logically, with some level of
appropriate for the audience and purpose. supported by some conviction and energy.
The conclusion restates the thesis. transitions. Listeners
can mostly follow the
presentation.
The introduction does not state a thesis. The speaker does not use The speaker does not
time effectively. Most parts establish eye contact.
The presentation does not develop the thesis of the presentation are too
with evidence from multiple sources. long or too short. The speaker presents
1 without conviction or
The language is not precise and appropriate Ideas do not progress energy.
for the audience and purpose. logically. Listeners have
The conclusion does not restate the thesis. difficulty following the
presentation.

UNIT
4 REFLECTION
Reflect on the Unit

Now that you’ve completed the unit, take a few moments to reflect on your
learning. Use the questions below to think about where you succeeded,
what skills and strategies helped you, and where you can continue to grow.
Reflect on the Unit Goals

Look back at the goals at the beginning of the unit. Use a different
colored pen to rate yourself again. Think about readings and activities that
contributed the most to the growth of your understanding. Record your
thoughts.
Reflect on the Learning Strategies

Discuss It Write a reflection on whether you were able to improve your
learning based on your Action Plans. Think about what worked, what didn’t,
and what you might do to keep working on these strategies. Record your
ideas before a class discussion.
Reflect on the Text

Choose a selection that you found challenging, and explain what made
it difficult.  STANDARDS
• Initiate and participate effectively
in a range of collaborative
Explain something that surprised you about a text in the unit. discussions with diverse partners
on grades 9–10 topics, texts, and
issues, building on others’ ideas and
expressing their own clearly and
persuasively.
Which activity taught you the most about what people find valuable? What • Come to discussions prepared,
having read and researched material
did you learn? under study; explicitly draw on that
preparation by referring to evidence
from texts and other research on
the topic or issue to stimulate a
thoughtful, well-reasoned exchange
of ideas.
Performance-Based Assessment 491

INFORMATIONAL GRAPHIC
The Gold Series:

The History of Gold
Jeff Desjardins
About the Author

Jeff Desjardins is a founder and editor of Visual
Capitalist, a media website that creates and curates
visual content on investing and business. Visual
Capitalist was founded in 2011 under the belief that
art, data, and storytelling can be combined to make
complex issues easier to understand.
BACKGROUND
Today, tiny particles of gold are used in medical diagnostic technology
to help doctors fight deadly diseases such as HIV, AIDS, and malaria.
This is just one example of the versatility of gold. “The Gold Series: The
History of Gold” is the first in a series about the history and physical
properties of this precious metal.
NOTES
IL1 UNIT 4 Independent Learning • The Gold Series: The History of Gold
NOTES
UNIT 1 Independent Learning • Title • Title IL2

NOTES
IL3 UNIT 1 Independent Learning • Title • Title

NOTES

NOTES

NOTES

NOTES

NEWS ARTICLE
Ads May Spur

Unhappy Kids
to Embrace
Materialism
Amy Norton
About the Author

Amy Norton has been a journalist in the medical field since 1999. She has
worked as both a staff writer and an editor for Physician’s Weekly, Medical
Tribune, and Reuters Health. Norton has also written articles on health and
medicine for MSNBC, Prevention, The Atlantic, and the online publication
HealthDay. Many of her articles focus on children’s health issues.
BACKGROUND
Materialism is the tendency to consider possessions and physical
comfort more important than spiritual values. According to a 2010
study, the popular notion that greater income leads to greater
happiness is true only to an extent. High earners do not necessarily
feel happier. And yet, we continue to live in a society dominated by
materialism and greatly influenced by advertising.
U nhappy kids who watch a lot of TV ads may come to believe

that material1 possessions are the key to feeling better, new
NOTES
research hints.
2 A number of studies in adults have suggested that unhappiness
and materialism can create a vicious circle: People who are
dissatisfied with their lives may think material possessions will
make them happy; and when that fails, they become even more
discontent.
3 Since we’re living in a material world, there is concern about
what that mindset could mean for kids’ life satisfaction.
4 In the new study, researchers found that, unlike adults,
materialistic 8-to 11-year-olds did not become less happy
over time.
1. material adj. physical.
UNIT 4 Independent Learning • Ads May Spur Unhappy Kids to Embrace Materialism IL8
5 On the other hand, unhappy kids did become more consumed
NOTES by material possessions—but only if they watched a lot of TV.
6 The findings, which appear in the journal Pediatrics, point to
links among unhappiness, TV, and materialism, though they
cannot prove that TV is the villain.
7 The results do suggest, however, that the ads might “teach
children that possessions are a way to increase happiness,” study
leader Suzanna J. Opree, a research associate at the University of
Amsterdam in the Netherlands, said in an email.
8 To help guard against that possibility, she suggested that parents
help kids adopt a healthy skepticism toward consumer2 ads.
9 The findings are based on 466 Dutch children between the ages
of eight and 11, who took an online survey two times, one year
apart. On both occasions the kids answered questions about life
satisfaction—how happy they were at home, at school, in their
relationships and with themselves.
10 They also rated the importance of material possessions in their
life, and the degree to which they thought those things could
bring happiness or win them friends.
11 Overall, Opree’s team found no evidence that materialistic kids
became less happy by the second survey.
12 However, kids who were relatively unhappy in the first survey
tended to become more materialistic over the next year—but only if
they regularly watched TV shows popular with the preteen crowd.
13 The study points only to general patterns. And there are
limitations; the researchers used kids’ TV show viewing as a
proxy3 for their exposure to ads, for example.
14 And in the big picture, according to Opree, TV ads would be
just one factor that could affect a child’s level of materialism. The
same is true of life dissatisfaction, she said.
15 “Children’s social environment—that is, family and peers—
plays an important role,” Opree said. “Values held by family

members and peers are more likely to be adopted by the child.”
16 No studies have been done to show whether parents’ values
win out over TV ads when it comes to kids’ materialism.
17 But, Opree said, “what we do know is that parents can
counteract advertising’s influence.”
18 Parents can help, she noted, by teaching kids to view ads with
a critical eye, and to be skeptical of images that imply a product
can make life better. Encouraging kids to see other sources of
happiness—like “love, friendship, and play”—might also help,
according to Opree’s team.
19 And why should parents worry about keeping kids off the path
toward materialism?
2. consumer adj. related to products available for purchase.

3. proxy (PROK see) n. substitute that can act the same as the original.
IL9 UNIT 4 Independent Learning • Ads May Spur Unhappy Kids to Embrace Materialism
20 It’s true that in this study, kids’ materialism did not seem to
lead to unhappiness, Opree noted. But that was only the short- NOTES
term outlook, she said.

21 “Previous studies conducted among adults suggest that it is
very likely that children’s materialism will lead to decreased life
satisfaction later in life,” Opree said.
22 Whether or not TV ads do affect some kids’ materialism, experts
already recommend that parents limit children’s TV viewing and
help them become savvy about advertising in general.
23 The American Academy of Pediatrics suggests that kids get no
more than two hours of noneducational “screen time”—TV and
computers—each day. The group also advises parents to keep TVs
and computers out of their kids’ bedrooms. ❧
UNIT 4 Independent Learning • Ads May Spur Unhappy Kids to Embrace Materialism IL10
SHORT STORY
A Dose of
What the Doctor
Never Orders
Ihara Saikaku
translated by G. W. Sargent
About the Author

Ihara Saikaku (1642–1693) was a Japanese poet and novelist who wrote
during the revival of Japanese literature in the seventeenth century. Saikaku
first became famous for his formidable ability to write tens of thousands
of lines of poetry in just one day. However, he is best known for his novels,
which detail the romantic adventures of members of the wealthy Japanese
merchant class.
BACKGROUND
The Ishinhō (982), the oldest surviving Japanese medical work, is based
on older Chinese medical works and categorizes diseases and their
treatments by the affected organs or parts. The Keitekishū, published in
1574, classifies diseases and symptoms into 51 groups, including ones
related to old age. This selection copies the form of Japanese medical
literature to tell a story.
NOTES
1
F or each of the four hundred and four bodily ailments

celebrated physicians have produced infallible remedies, but
the malady which brings the greatest distress to mankind—to
even the wisest and cleverest of us—is the plague of poverty.

2 “Is there a treatment to cure this?” a poor man asked a
gentleman of great wealth.
3 “My dear fellow,” the rich man replied, “if you have lived till
now without knowing such things, you have wasted precious
years. In matters of health the best time to take preventive
measures is before you reach the wrong side of forty, and you
have left this consultation until rather late. However, I observe
certain factors which may yet pull you through−your custom of
wearing deerskin socks, for example, and bamboo clogs with thick
leather soles. If that indicates your approach to life, we may even
make a moderately rich man out of you. I have, it so happens, an
IL11 UNIT 4 Independent Learning • A Dose of What the Doctor Never Orders
excellent nostrum1 called ‘The Millionaire Pill,’ and I shall give
you the prescription: NOTES
4 Early rising 5 parts

5 The family trade 20 parts
6 Work after hours 10 parts
7 Economy 7 parts
8 Sound health 7 parts
9 “Grind the ingredients thoroughly, use common sense to get the
proportions correct, mix carefully, swallow and inwardly digest
twice daily—and there is no reason why you should not become a
millionaire. However, during treatment it is imperative to abstain
from certain noxious things:
10 1. Expensive foods, expensive women, silken suits for day-to-
daywear.
2. Private palanquins2 for wives; private lessons in music or poem-
cards for eligible daughters.
3. A professor of percussion for the sons of the house.
13 4. Kickball, miniature archery, perfume appreciation, and poetry
gatherings.
14 5. A craze for the tea ceremony, and for remodeling the best rooms
on tea principles.
15 6. Flower-viewing, boating excursions, baths in the middle of the
day.
16 7. Evenings out with friends, gambling parties, playing Go or
backgammon.
17 8. Classes for townsmen in sword-drawing and dueling.
18 9. Temple-going, and preoccupation with the next world.
10. Getting involved in others’ troubles, and standing surety.
11. Lawsuits over reclaimed land, and meddling in new
mining projects.
12. Saké3 with supper, excessive pipe-smoking, unnecessary
journeys to Kyōto.
13. Backing Sumō4 contests for charity, and giving too
generously to temple funds.
14. Carving knick-knacks during business hours, and
collecting fancy sword-accessories.
15. Familiarity with Kabuki5 actors, and with brothel quarters.
25 16. Borrowing money at a monthly rate of more than eight in
the thousand monme.
1. nostrum n. ineffective medicine prepared by an unqualified person.

2. palanquins n. covered vehicles for one passenger, carried on two horizontal poles by four
or six bearers.
3. Saké (SAH kay) Japanese drink made from fermented rice and traditionally drunk warm in
small porcelain cups.
4. Sumō (SOO moh) Japanese form of heavyweight wrestling.
5. Kabuki form of traditional Japanese drama.
UNIT 4 Independent Learning • A Dose of What the Doctor Never Orders IL12
26 “All these things are more deadly than blister-fly drugs or
NOTES arsenic. I need hardly say, of course, that to taste any one of them
is fatal—but the very idea of them must never enter your head.”
27 He bent close to his questioner’s ear—a little ear, full of the
promise of poverty—and the man listened enraptured, accepting
every word as a drop of pure gold. He resolved to follow this
wealthy person’s advice, and to work unremittingly from morn
till night.
28 But this was Edo,6 unfortunately, where the competition would
be stiff in whatever trade he chose. He would do well to select
some line of business which was a little out of the ordinary. With
this in mind, seeking inspiration, he stood for one whole day, from
early dawn, at the southern end of Nihon7 bridge. Truly, this was
the place where all the provinces of Japan rubbed shoulders. The
bridge was a mountain which moved, and no crowds at the Gion
festival in Kyōto, nor at Osaka’s8 Tenma carnival, were ever more
tightly packed. Day after day brought new prosperity to Edo and
age after age the power of its lord and the breadth of its highways
grew. But even this great road of Tōri-chō, recently widened to
twenty-four yards from side to side, was already too narrow. On
the bridge itself, at any moment of the day he might have counted
at least one horseman, one priest, and one halberdier. But no one
dropped anything of value, and, screw his eyes though he might,
he could not detect a single zeni. Reflecting on this, he came
to appreciate the true value of the coin: it was not a thing to be
lightly spent.
29 “The only way is to try my luck at a trade,” he told himself.
“But if you start with empty hands these days—unless you’re
a wrestling instructor or a midwife—there’s no hope of making
money. I’ve never heard of a koban nor even a zeni sprouting from
seedless soil. Can there be no way of making something out of
nothing, I wonder?”

30 He was still looking about him and racking his brains when,
back from the day’s work at the various daimyō9 mansions,
walking in their separate groups—now two hundred, now three
hundred strong—came a procession of carpenters and roof-
thatchers, chattering loudly and discordantly, side-locks falling
over ears, heads comically disheveled, kimonos10 dirty at the
collar, waistbands tied outside their coats, sleeves frayed at the
cuff. Some brandished two-yard measures as walking sticks. Most
walked with hands in pockets and shoulders hunched. He needed
6. Edo former name of Tokyo, Japan.
7. Nihon (nee HOHN) Japanese name for Japan, along with Nippon (nee POHN).
8. Osaka (OH sah kah) port and commercial city in central Japan, on the island of Honshu.
9. daimyō (DY myoh) land owner who served the shogun, or military ruler, in medieval
Japan.
10. kimonos (kih MOH nohz) long, loose robes with wide sleeves and tied with a sash,
originally worn as a formal Japanese garment.
no signboard to tell him their employment. Behind them they had
apprentice boys to carry shavings and wood-ends, but if precious NOTES
scraps of cypress were dropped and wasted, no one bothered. It

must indeed be the castle-town of castle-towns, he thought, where
even workmen are as liberal as daimyō. Keeping his eyes about
him and picking up the dropped pieces one by one, he followed
along from the Suruga-chō crossroads to Sujikai bridge in Kanda,
and in that distance collected as much as he could safely carry in
one load across his shoulders. He sold the pieces just as they were,
and made a clear profit of two hundred and fifty zeni. It irked him
to think that he had overlooked till now opportunities which lay
at his very feet, and every day thereafter, waiting impatiently for
nightfall, he kept a look-out for the homeward-bound carpenters
and picked up whatever they left in their wake. His catch was
never less than five full loads. On days when it was too wet to
do anything else he carved the wood scraps into chopsticks, and
then sold them wholesale to the grocers’ stores in Suda-chō and
Setomono-chō. He became famous along Kamakura bank as
Chopstick Jinbei, and gradually acquired a considerable fortune.
Later, when the scraps in which he dealt had grown to trees, he
bought a large mansion in Timber Merchants’ block, where he
employed more than thirty clerks alone, and he bought up forest
land no less extensive than the holdings of Kawamura, Kashiwagi,
or Fushimiya. Next—his ambition boundless as the ocean, his
fortune’s sails set square to the winds of trade—he stocked his
timber yard with tall ships’ masts, and sold them all at prices
merchants dream about. In a mere forty years he made a hundred
thousand ryō. All this was the result of taking millionaire pills in
his younger days.
31 Now that he was well past his seventieth year he judged
that a little relaxation of the treatment would do no harm, and
for the first time in his life he changed into a complete outfit of
Hida homespun silk, and even cultivated a taste for the marine
delicacies of Shiba. On his way back from regular morning
worship at the Nishi Honganji temple in Tsukiji he dropped in at
theaters in Kobiki-chō, and in the evenings he played Go at home
with groups of friends. While snow fell outside he held social
gatherings to mark the opening of the winter’s first tea-jars, and
as soon as the early daffodils were in bloom he set out tasteful
flower arrangements in the impressionist manner. Exactly when
he had learnt all these refinements is not clear—but money makes
everything possible.
32 There are people who draw no distinction between the
beginning and the end, and who remain close-fisted all their lives;
UNIT 4 Independent Learning • A Dose of What the Doctor Never Orders IL14
but Jinbei, who knew that even if he saved a Fuji-yama11 of silver
NOTES his body was nevertheless destined to be smoke above Hashiba
and dust on Musashi plain, had wisely set aside a portion for
his declining days, and with this he thoroughly enjoyed himself.
When he reached eighty-eight all who knew of his good fortune
begged him to cut them lucky bamboo rice-levels and to choose
names for their newborn children. At last, weary of the ways of
men, craving no further earthly honors, he died as a saint might
die, in a spiritual state conducive to the immediate attainment of
Nirvana,12 and people felt all the more admiration and envy at the
thought that he might fare no worse in the next world than in this.
33 The golden rule for men is to save in youth and spend in old
age. It is impossible to take your money to heaven, and it is
essential to have it on earth. ❧
11. F uji-yama (foo jee YAH muh) Mount Fuji; dormant, or inactive, volcano on the island of
Honshu in Japan. The volcano, part of Japan’s highest mountain, is regarded as sacred by
the Japanese.
12. Nirvana ideal state of bliss attainable after death in most forms of Buddhism.
MAGAZINE ARTICLE
My
Possessions,
Myself
Russell W. Belk
About the Author

Russell W. Belk is an authority in the field of consumer
research. His work focuses on how people relate to
each other through possessions. Belk received a B.S.
and a Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota. He has
taught marketing at University of Exeter in England and
York University in Canada.
BACKGROUND
The personal possessions described in this informative essay are not
limited to the things people own as status symbols. Belk also treats
items with sentimental or historical value, special relationships, and
memories as possessions with great personal value.
B urglary victims often say that they feel they have been
personally polluted. . . . Since they never had any personal NOTES
contact with the burglar, what has been violated is the sense of
self that exists in their jewelry, clothing, photographs, and other
personal possessions.
2 The feeling of violation goes even deeper since the burglar
has also wounded the family’s sense of identity by penetrating
its protective skin, the family home. Clearly, the sense of self
is not only individual. Heirlooms, for example, can represent
and extend a family’s sense of identity, while public buildings,
monuments, and parks help us develop regional and national
identities. Although we Americans think of ourselves as highly
individualistic, aggregate1 identity is important to us, as the
willingness to preserve and restore symbols such as the Statue of
Liberty shows.
1. aggregate (AG ruh giht) adj. gathered together into a whole; taken as one.
UNIT 4 Independent Learning • My Possessions, Myself IL16

3 What we possess is, in a very real way, part of ourselves. Our
NOTES thoughts and our bodies are normally the most central part of
our self-concept. But next in importance are what we do—our
occupations and skills—and what we have—our unique set of
possessions. The fact that jewelry, weapons, and domestic utensils
are found in prehistoric burial sites is evidence that we have long
considered possessions as part of the person, even after death.
4 We find the same identification of people with possessions
in examples as diverse as the reverence religions pay to relics
of saints and prophets, the intensity of autograph hounds, the
emphasis auctioneers place on the previous ownership of objects
up for bid and the difficulty secondhand stores have in selling . . .
garments worn close to the body. In each case a sense of the prior
owners is thought to remain in the things that touched their lives.
5 We generally include four types of possessions in our personal
sense of self: body and body parts, objects, places and time
periods, persons and pets. Body parts are normally so well
integrated into our identities that we think of them as “me” rather
than merely “mine.” But several studies have shown that body
parts vary widely in their importance to us.
6 Recently, doctoral student Mark Austin and I gave 248 adults a
group of cards, each of which listed a single item in one of the four
categories: body parts such as kidneys, hearts, and knees; objects
such as a favorite dessert or the contents (other than money) of
your wallet; places and times such as a favorite city or time of life;
and particular people or pets.
7 We asked people to put the 96 cards in two piles, things they
considered self and nonself. They then sorted each of these into
two piles representing a little or a lot of self or nonself. We then
gave each pile a “self” score (1, 2, 3, 4) and calculated average
scores for each card. This gave us a rating of how central each item
was to the sense of identity …

8 Objects were somewhat less central than body parts to the sense of
self. Not surprisingly, the most important material possessions were
dwellings, automobiles, and favorite clothes—each a kind of second
skin that embellishes the self we present to others. Automobiles were
particularly important to the identities of the men.
9 For both houses and cars, the more recently they had been
acquired and the better their condition, the more important they
were to someone’s sense of self; and the more important they were,
the better care they got—dusting, painting, and remodeling in the
case of houses; washing, waxing and oil changing for the cars. The
similarities stopped when it came to the possession’s age. Here,
older houses and newer cars were considered more important
parts of the self. It may be that houses are looked on as heirlooms,
for which age is a virtue, while new cars run and look better.
IL17 UNIT 4 Independent Learning • My Possessions, Myself

10 Other objects important to a sense of self included favorite
rooms, artwork, jewelry, and clothing—all meaningful NOTES
attachments to the body and the home. We found that academics

were especially likely to cite books as favorite possessions,
perhaps because they represent the knowledge on which their
work is based. For other people, sporting goods represent what
they can or could do, while the contents of wallets or purses were
important because they indicated central characteristics such as
age, sex, and organizational memberships, as well as personal
power to spend (credit cards) and travel (driver’s license).
11 For some, collections were a significant part of their extended
selves—possessions that had been acquired through considerable
personal effort. For others, heirlooms were vital parts of family
self, providing a sense of the past and of continuity with prior
generations.
12 The third category of possessions important to the extended self
is the less tangible one of time and place. To most of the people in
our study, and others we interviewed, childhood was an especially
important time of life. They tended to cherish memories, accurate
or otherwise, of this period. We found that older people were most
likely to name nearby cities, states, and countries as important to
their sense of self, while younger ones generally named places
farther away.
13 Our interviews showed that people can be as acquisitive of
places they visit as they are of objects they collect. We even found
a sedentary form of place acquisition. An Amish2 man whose
religion forbids him to drive a motorized vehicle collected the
hometowns of people who visited his community. While speaking
to us, he reeled off a list of their states and countries much as other
people mention the places they have visited personally.
14 There were few surprises in the final major category of
possessions—people and pets—that individuals used to define
themselves. The most important people were generally parents,

spouses, siblings, children, and favorite friend of the same sex.
Prominent political figures and favorite stars of movies and
television were usually at the opposite end of the “selfness”
continuum, unrelated to the sense of identity.
15 The common idea that some people consider their pets part
of the family (and therefore of themselves) was supported by a
series of interviews with people who owned dogs, cats, ferrets,
birds, and various other animals. While not all owners identified
strongly with their pets, some felt closer to them than to their
immediate families.
2. Amish belonging to a Christian group whose members favor plain lives free of modern
conveniences.
UNIT 4 Independent Learning • My Possessions, Myself IL18

16 Is the fact that we are what we possess desirable or
NOTES undesirable? There is no simple answer, but certain advantages
and disadvantages seem evident. Among the advantages is
that possessions provide a sense of the past. Many studies have
shown that the loss of possessions that follows natural disasters
or that occurs when elderly people are put in institutions is often
traumatic. What people feel in these circumstances is, quite
literally, a loss of self. Possessions also help children develop self-
esteem, and learning to share possessions may be important in the
growth of both individual and aggregate senses of self.
17 Incorporating possessions deeply into the sense of self can also
have undesirable consequences. Too much attachment to pets
can reflect an unhealthy drive to dominate and possess power
and result in less devotion to family and friends. Investing too
much of the self in collections and other possessions may displace
love from people to things. Regarding other people as parts of
our self can lead to jealousy and excessive possessiveness. Or by
identifying too strongly with a spouse or child, we may end up
living vicariously, instead of developing our own potential. As
Erich Fromm3 asked in his book To Have or To Be, “If I am what I
have and if what I have is lost, who then am I?” ❧
3. Erich Fromm (1900–1980) philosopher who studied the connections between

psychology and society.
IL19 UNIT 4 Independent Learning • My Possessions, Myself

NEWS ARTICLE
Heirlooms’ Value
Shifts from
Sentiment to Cash
About the Author

Rosa Salter Rodriguez is a reporter and feature writer
for The Journal Gazette, based in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
Rodriguez’s journalism career spans more than three
decades, and her writing focuses on religion, profiles,
and real estate trends.
BACKGROUND
An heirloom is an object, such as a piece of furniture or jewelry, that
has been passed down within a single family for multiple generations.
Traditionally, these heirlooms accrue great emotional and sentimental
value to the families that own them over time.
H untington, Ind. – A few weeks ago, Jean Allen found herself

revisiting a stately Victorian-style home in Huntington to
NOTES
wait while someone picked up an antique grand piano.

2 The piano was a Chickering, a quality name, from the early
part of the last century and in relatively good shape, Allen says.
A generation ago, such an item might have been jealously passed
down among members of a family.
3 But not anymore. Folks just aren’t holding on to family
heirlooms the way they used to, Allen says.
4 “It was beautiful, and I sold it for a pittance,”1 says Allen,
owner of JS Allen Estate Sales, a company that helps people clean
out houses and liquidate their contents.
5 “Children don’t know what to do with all this stuff, and don’t
have room for it, and just get to the point that they throw their
hands up and say, ‘This has got to go,’” she said.
1. pittance (PIHT uhns) n. small amount of money.
UNIT 4 Independent Learning • Heirlooms’ Value Shifts from Sentiment to Cash IL20
6 It’s a trend that dealers in used items and antiques have
NOTES noticed. They point to a variety of reasons people are ditching
family heirlooms.
7 Families are smaller, with fewer brothers and sisters among
whom to divide possessions, they say. A plethora2 of baby
boomers are downsizing. The cost of moving or storing bulky
items such as furniture is high, and rapidly changing technology
makes things obsolete more quickly.
8 Even decorating and lifestyle trends play a role.
9 Got a dining room set with a giant matching hutch stacked
with Grandma’s fine china? Some homes don’t even have dining
rooms, so not everyone can use the furniture, Allen says.
10 And as for those old dishes, if they’ve got gold or silver trim,
they won’t go into today’s microwave or dishwasher.
11 “Nobody wants to wash dishes by hand,” she says.
12 Besides, adds Ron Wiegmann, owner of Wiegmann
Auctioneers, “With men and women working and kids playing
sports, it’s paper plates and plastic forks and eating out. The china
and dinnerware doesn’t mean as much.
13 “The younger generation, I think, are kind of letting the family
heirlooms go,” he adds. “Some families are more sentimental than
others, but most of them are turning them into cash.”
14 While the trend to dispose of items might seem to mean a boom
for their businesses, auctioneers and antiques dealers say the
trend cuts both ways—the stuff that people want to sell is often
the same stuff people don’t want to buy.
15 Shirley Ward, who works in sales at Stollers Antique Mall, says
collectible porcelain dolls are a case in point.
16 The dolls were popular as decorator items in the 1980s and ’90s,
and some cost hundreds of dollars then, she says. But few want
them today, so they’re not worth as much at resale.
17 “They’re nice dolls, but there’s thousands of them,” she says.

18 “Even Barbies don’t sell like they used to.”
19 And, as for collectible plates and figurines—well, let’s just say
they’re going through a down market phase, too.
20 “Cherished Teddies, and Hummels and Pretty as a Picture,
Precious Moments—we’ve got hundreds of them. We carry them,
and people still buy them, if you get the right buyer or somebody
just broke one. “But we’re not looking to buy more.”
21 With eBay and other resale websites, people don’t see such
items as being as scarce as they once might have when the only
place they could get them was the village gift shop, Ward says.
22 Allen says she often has to deliver bad pricing news to clients.
23 For example, she often wants to split up bedroom sets because
she’s found individual pieces sell better. Most new homes today
2. plethora (PLEHTH uhr uh) n. overabundance; excessive number.
IL21 UNIT 4 Independent Learning • Heirlooms’ Value Shifts from Sentiment to Cash
have walk-in closets with built-in storage, so people don’t want
those bulky matching dressers, she’s found. NOTES
24 “People don’t have that kind of space anymore,” she says. And,
she notes, a single item doesn’t require as big an outlay on the part
of a buyer.
25 “You see all these people [selling items] struggle because
everybody thinks their stuff is worth ten times more than it is.”
26 However, some people are finding new ways to hang on to
sentimental items, says Debra McClintock, in sales with Keepsake
Threads.
27 That business takes textiles with sentimental value and
repurposes them into items for display, décor, or other reuse.
28 Among the company’s products have been stuffed animals
made from a deceased husband’s ties, a quilt made with
a grandmother’s old dresses and scarves made from old
handkerchiefs. “A lot of people have things in a closet, textiles,
that they got from Mom and Grandmom, and they don’t know
what to do with them. Instead of knowing things are there and
thinking, ‘What can I do with them?’ why not do something,”
McClintock says.
29 Repurposed items can become cherished gifts for occasions such
as weddings, anniversaries, christenings, and birthdays, she says.
30 Indeed, Wiegmann says, many of the heirloom items that sell
quickly today are inexpensive items that people turn into other
things.
31 He recalls an old farm implement, a rotary hoe that a buyer
bought to turn the wheel into a wall hanging.
32 “A stuffed chair that you paid $300 for—it might go for $30,”
he says. But an old metal gasoline sign might fetch $300. “You
see crazy prices on oil cans and gasoline signs,” Wiegmann says.
“Crazy stuff. They [buyers] want goofy stuff nowadays.” ❧
UNIT 4 Independent Learning • Heirlooms’ Value Shifts from Sentiment to Cash IL22

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UNIT

All That Glitters

Copyright © SAVVAS Learning Company LLC. All Rights Reserved.

Discuss It Why do people acquire more than they need?

14-Year-Old Teaches Family

WHOLE-CLASS SMALL-GROUP INDEPENDENT

ANCHOR TEXT: SHORT STORY POETRY COLLECTION NEWS ARTICLE

MEDIA: PHOTO ESSAY Money SHORT STORY

PERFORMANCE TASK PERFORMANCE TASK PERFORMANCE-Based Assessment PRep

How do we decide what we want versus what we need?

NOT AT ALL NOT VERY SOMEWHAT VERY EXTREMELY

• Evaluate written informative texts by

• Expand your knowledge and use of

WRITING AND RESEARCH GOALS 1 2 3 4 5

• Write an informative essay in which

• Conduct research projects of various

semicolons to link two or more closely

SPEAKING AND LISTENING

364 UNIT 4 • ALL THAT GLITTERS

Academic Vocabulary: Informative Text

WORD MENTOR SENTENCES PREDICT MEANING RELATED WORDS

paradox 1. Stuck in the middle of the ocean, paradoxical;

chronicle 1. The film works both as an interesting

allocate 1. Rather than allocate blame, let’s find

-loc- the playground project or to art

deduce 1. The detective is famous for her

primary 1. Ever since the big win, Shereen’s

Unit Introduction 365

LAUNCH TEXT | INFORMATIVE MODEL

This selection is an example of an

Are We Hardwired to Buy?

366 UNIT 4 • ALL THAT GLITTERS

and behavior of other people. Scientists believe that mirror neurons

admire those people in other ways.

WORD NETWORK FOR ALL THAT GLITTERS

Vocabulary A Word Network

I Came, I Saw, I Shopped 367

368 UNIT 4 • All That Glitters

 EVIDENCE LOG FOR ALL THAT GLITTERS

Review your QuickWrite, and

after each selection.

Unit Introduction 369

What do our possessions

Whole-Class Learning Strategies

STRATEGY ACTION PLAN

Copyright © SAVVAS Learning Company LLC. All Rights Reserved.

370 UNIT 4 • ALL THAT GLITTERS

Should a young woman be satisfied with

ANCHOR TEXT: SHORT STORY

In the aftermath of a civil war, the things that

MEDIA: PHOTO ESSAY

Fit for a King:

Overview: Whole-Class Learning 371

About the Author

A master of the short story,

First Read FICTION

CONNECT ideas within RESPOND by completing

372 UNIT 4 • ALL THAT GLITTERS

xample: Madame Loisel desperately wants to attend the party;

xample / Conjunctive Adverb: Her husband spends hours searching

xample / Transitional Expression: The Loisels borrow 18,000 francs;

5. The speaker clearly explained Madame Loisel’s thoughts and feelings