Analyze The Image: What Qualities Do You See in These People That Might Help Them Prevail in A Crisis?

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company
Analyze the Image

What qualities do you see in
these people that might help
them prevail in a crisis?
Get hooked by the unit topic.

Stream to Start Video
UNIT
1
Against
All Odds
“To endure what is unendurable
is true endurance.”
— Japanese proverb
ESSENTIAL QUESTION:
What does it take to
survive a crisis?
1
Spark Your
Learning
As you read, you can
use the Response Log
Here are some opportunities to think about the (page R1) to track your
topics and themes of Unit 1: Against All Odds. thinking about the
Essential Question.
Think about the

Essential Question
What does it take to survive a crisis?
Think about different kinds of extreme hardships
people endure—for example, environmental (weather
disasters), political (wars), or personal. What does it
take to survive these crises?
Make the Connection
Think about the Japanese
proverb on the unit introduction.
The statement seems to be a
contradiction. Is it? With a partner,
discuss what the proverb
might mean.
Build Academic Vocabulary

You can use these Academic Vocabulary words to write
and talk about the topics and themes in the unit. Which of
Prove It! these words do you already feel comfortable using when
Imagine you are stranded

speaking or writing?
on a desert island. Use
the vocabulary words you I can use it! I understand it. I’ll look it up.
know to describe your
dimension
circumstance or what you
would do to survive. external
statistic
sustain
utilize
2 UNIT 1
Preview the Texts
Look over the images, titles, and descriptions of the texts in the unit.
Mark the title of the text that interests you most.
from A Chance in the World Is Survival Selfish? The Leap

Literary Nonfiction Argument by Lane Wallace Short Story by Louise Erdrich
by Steve Pemberton If forced to choose, whose life would A mother saves her daughter’s life
A young boy in foster care seeks you save: Your own, or someone else’s? three times.
food for body and soul.
The End and the Beginning from Night from Maus

Poem by Wisława Szymborska Memoir by Elie Wiesel Graphic Memoir by Art Spiegelman
What are the harsh realities of life A young man waits to hear whether Cats and mice represent Nazis and
after war? he and his father will be selected Jews in this graphic novel about
to live another day or be killed. the Holocaust.
Images/Getty Images; (tr) ©Ray Massey/The Image Bank/Getty Images; (bl) ©Wissam Al-Okaili/AFP/Getty Images;
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: (tl) ©Jan H Andersen/Shutterstock; (tc) ©Cavan
Think Outside the Box

Think of how crises affect people. How can a person change after
enduring something difficult?
(bc) ©Scott Barbour/Getty Images News/Getty Images
3
Get Ready
ESSENTIAL QUESTION:
from survive a crisis?
A Chance in the World

Literary Nonfiction by Steve Pemberton
Engage Your Brain Does Everyone Have a Chance?

Choose one or more of these activities to start Think about the title of this text. Does
connecting with the text you’re about to read. everyone have the same chances and
opportunities to be successful in life?
1. In the appropriate column of the T-chart,
list ways and reasons people do or do
Sources of Strength not have the same opportunities for
success in life.
We can draw on sources of strength and support
when we find ourselves in a dangerous or painful 2. Discuss your conclusions with a partner.
situation. For example, we may turn to a trusted
friend or adult. Make a list of ways people can Yes No
cope with threatening or even perilous situations.
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©Paul Aniszewski/Shutterstock

These Are a Few of My Favorite Things
Think back to when you were younger. What were
your “comfort” items—things, activities, or places
that made you happy or perhaps took you to
another world? Sketch pictures or make a list.
4 UNIT 1 ANALYZE & APPLY

Get Ready
Analyze Literary Nonfiction

Literary nonfiction conveys factual information, ideas, or experiences
using literary techniques. Literary nonfiction can include memoirs such
Focus on Genre
as A Chance in the World as well as autobiographies, biographies, and
speeches. How can you tell the difference between literary nonfiction Literary Nonfiction
and other informational texts? • conveys factual information,
ideas, or experiences
• Look for lyrical or even poetic descriptions that go beyond simple
explanations.
• develops insights that go
beyond the facts
• Notice figurative language (for example, similes and metaphors) and
sensory details (words and phrases appealing to the senses).
• uses literary devices such
as figurative and sensory
language
• Take note of how the author interprets what he or she is describing
or experiencing.
• Watch for the author’s reflections on the meaning of experiences.
In this memoir, author Steve Pemberton recalls a traumatic time in his

childhood—and shares where he found comfort and strength. As you
read, notice the language the author uses to communicate the impact
of his experiences. Also think about why he might have chosen to
include particular events and details.
Analyze Author’s Perspective

An author’s perspective, or point of view, is a unique combination of ideas,
values, feelings, and beliefs that influences the way the writer looks at a topic.
Authors reveal their perspectives in a variety of ways. One clue is the author’s
diction, or choice of words. Authors also communicate their perspective
through the details they choose to focus on and direct statements about
their feelings and beliefs.
As you read the text, fill out the chart to help you understand Steve
Pemberton’s perspective on this particular period in his childhood.
Clues to Author’s Perspective Examples from A Chance in the World

Language (diction) “monsters” used to describe the Robinsons
Details the author includes
Direct statements about the author’s

feelings and beliefs
A Chance in the World 5

Get Ready
Annotation in Action
Here is an example of notes a student made about a passage from
A Chance in the World. As you read, mark words and phrases that convey
details about the author’s situation.
One way I dealt with these monsters was to become a thief, “Monsters!”—the
and a very good one at that. My devious plots were elaborate, Robinsons must
complete with escape routes and explanations if I were ever to be awful.
get caught.
amazing what he
does to cope
Expand Your Vocabulary

Put a check mark next to the vocabulary words that you feel comfortable
using when speaking or writing.
fathom
Using the words you already know, work with a partner
thwart to write a paragraph about someone who is in a place
that feels unsafe or threatening.
cacophony
As you read the excerpt from A Chance in the World, use
sanctuary the definitions in the side column to help you learn the
vocabulary words you don’t already know.
baffle
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©Jean Marc-Giboux/HMH

Background
Steve Pemberton was born and raised in New Bedford,
Massachusetts. After graduating from Boston College
with degrees in political science and sociology, he worked
as a college admissions officer and then embarked on
a career as an executive at Monster.com, Walgreens, and
Workhuman. Pemberton’s memoir, A Chance in the World,
was published in 2012. He says he wrote it in part because
“I wanted to contribute to the universal story of family,
faith, fortitude, and forgiveness.”

from
A Chance in
the World
Literary Nonfiction by Steve Pemberton
A young boy in foster care seeks food for body NOTICE & NOTE
As you read, use the side
and soul.
margins to make notes
about the text.
Steve Pemberton became an orphan at age three when it became clear that his birth
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©Jan H Andersen/Shutterstock
parents could not care for him. After being moved through several foster homes, Steve
was finally placed with the Robinson family in New Bedford, Massachusetts, which is
the setting for this excerpt. The “Robinson Rules” refer to harsh regulations his foster
parents imposed.
“All the world will be your enemy, Prince of a Thousand Enemies,

and whenever they catch you, they will kill you. But first they must
catch you, digger, listener, runner, prince with the swift warning. Be
cunning and full of tricks . . .”
Richard Adams, Watership Down
1
I settled into a routine at the house on Arnold Street, to the degree
one can ever become comfortable with monsters who disguise
themselves as human beings. This is what they were to me: real-life
boogeymen whose origins and intentions I could never fathom. fathom
Children rarely ask where monsters come from or how they came to (f√th´∂m) v. to comprehend.
be; children simply accept them as a fact of life, something to be dealt
with, the way you deal with any other childhood fear.

2 One way I dealt with these monsters was to become a thief, and a
very good one at that. My devious plots were elaborate, complete with
escape routes and explanations if I were ever to get caught. I obsessed
over the things I stole, and no matter how much I managed to get, I
always tried to steal more. Once I stole something, I would stare at
it, wondering how best I could hide it or preserve it. But I didn’t steal
just anything. I was fixated on one thing: food. At seven years old, I
weighed just forty pounds, a fact the Robinsons explained away by
saying I had tapeworms.
3 To avoid going hungry, I had to be creative—to outwit them.
Nearly every morning of my days with the Robinsons, I would awake
and immediately try to determine how I was going to get food to
hide in the basement. It took me a while to learn what to steal. My
first foray into the art of thievery was a huge block of government-
rationed cheese that Willie had hustled. I hid it in the basement and
sneaked away one afternoon ready to feast, only to find the mice that
roamed the cellar had already beaten me to it. After that, I placed
my thieving eye on the unlabeled silver cans of peanut butter Willie
brought home; I was confident that the enterprising mice couldn’t
chew through the metal.
4 I wasn’t usually that picky; I would eat whatever scraps I could
get my hands on. If it wasn’t moving, then it was fair game. Whenever
they went grocery shopping, I had to unload the bags. I would scan
the bags quickly to see what was in them and hide the one with the
most goodies underneath the car. When the coast was clear, I would
take the bag and dash to the cellar, where I would squirrel it away.
ANALYZE LITERARY From time to time, they would realize that they had come up a bag
NONFICTION
or two short and would fume at the person who had bagged their
Annotate: Mark the sensory groceries. They never figured out it was me. The joy of outsmarting
language in paragraph 5. the Robinsons became almost as sweet as the food I stole. Almost.
Analyze: How does this 5 Another very important way of coping was to immerse myself in
language convey Steve’s feelings books. When, precisely, I began reading, I cannot say. There was no
about books? signature moment, at least early on, but I imagine I discovered books
as part of going to school. Books for me were what the ocean is to
the fearless explorer—deep and mysterious, boundless and soothing.
I loved the smell of books, the feel of their weight in my hands, the
rustle of the pages as I turned them, the magnificent illustrations on
the covers that promised hidden treasures within.
6 Like food, books were hard for me to come by. The Robinsons
thwart never bought me any (Robinson Rule #10) and thwarted every
(thwôrt) v. to prevent the attempt I made to get more. When I did bring home a book from the
occurrence of.
school library, I had to ask if I could read (Robinson Rule #11). If I
were caught reading without permission, a merciless beating would
follow (Robinson Rule #12). When permission was granted, it was
granted begrudgingly and only under the condition that I read in the
cellar. I was never allowed to keep books upstairs (Robinson Rule
#13), nor could I read in their presence (Robinson Rule #14).

7 The cellar was cold, musty, and dank. Its walls tossed off long VOCABULARY
shadows in the dim light offered by a single swaying bulb. I frequently Patterns of Word Changes:
heard the mice clawing and scratching in the walls. The cellar was Based on context clues in
storage space for many of the home’s utilities—washing machine, paragraph 6, what do you think
dryer, hot water and oil furnaces—but also for many of the things begrudgingly means?
the Robinsons had no further use for, like broken furniture that Analyze: What part of speech is
didn’t stand, ancient preserves no longer fit to be eaten, old clothes begrudgingly? What other forms of
that had gone out of style. These abandoned items had served their the word can you make?
purpose, but the Robinsons held on to them, believing that someday
someone foolish enough to value them would come along and take
them off their hands. To the Robinsons, the cellar was precisely where
I belonged.
8 Amid all the clutter, I fashioned a makeshift reading space
composed of mildewy clothes, torn pillows, and old box springs. I
positioned this space directly under the stairs because, that way, I
would be able to hear anyone coming down. And my hearing was
finely tuned. I knew the stride pattern of each member of the family:
Betty shuffled, Reggie had longer steps, and Willie’s plodding was the
easiest to detect, for he often walked with his oak cane. When they
approached the cellar door, I would scramble to hide my book and
stash of food. I kept a jug of water to wash away the peanut butter
smell on my breath, a lesson I learned when Willie nearly caught me.
If I had ever been caught reading down there with my moldy stash of
hoarded food, I would have paid a dear price.
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©Sefa Kart/Alamy

ANALYZE AUTHOR’S 9 I loved the cellar, finding it a welcome refuge from the Robinson
PERSPECTIVE Rules. Yet it was not my favorite place to read—at least not during
Annotate: Mark the sentence the warmer months. Across from the Robinsons’ house, right next to
in paragraph 9 that reveals what Fuller’s paint store, was Mrs. Blake’s house. Alongside her yard was a
Steve wonders about most. small retaining wall. A large oak tree hung over the area, so large that
Infer: What does this suggest it kept half the block in shade. The wall itself was no more than a few
about Steve’s sense of identity? feet high and craggy, as if hewn from the side of a mountain, except
for a single, smooth, square piece of rock at the wall’s northern end.
Once my chores were done and I had received permission, I would
take my favorite book, go to that shaded haven, and lose myself in my
latest mystery, none of which seemed as great as the mystery of where
I had come from.
10 Nearly every summer day, you would find me sitting on that
wall, accompanied by squirrels playing in the trees, as well as the
occasional ant that tried to make my sneaker its home. I was never
more at peace during my childhood than when I sat there. I loved the
sound of the wind rustling through the leaves of the large oak, the
smell of freshly cut grass brought on by neighborhood lawn mowers,
cacophony the cacophony of birds that twittered as they flew by, the bumblebees
(k∂-k≤f´∂-n∏) n. jarring, discordant that hovered by my head before moving on to more interesting
sound.
things. This was my sanctuary, the place where I felt the most alive—
sanctuary
and the safest.
(s√ngk´cho¯ō-≈r´∏) n. a sacred place.
11 One summer afternoon when I was about eight years old, I
looked up from my perch atop my reading wall to see a woman
strolling down Chancery Street toward me. It was a neighbor,
Mrs. Levin. I had seen her on many occasions walking to Sunnybrook
Farms, the neighborhood grocery store. She was a small woman with
dark hair pulled away from her face, although now, looking at her
up close for the first time, I noticed the first signs of gray. Mrs. Levin
was plainly dressed as always and moved at a casual pace, thoroughly
enjoying her walk.
12 She often waved and smiled at the Robinsons but nothing more
than that. From time to time, her husband joined her. He was slightly
taller, a balding man who wore red suspenders over a white T-shirt.
They were Jewish, and the only reason I knew that was because as
soon as they were out of earshot, Betty or Willie would fling anti-
Semitic1 remarks at their backs. For quite some time I thought they
said “jewels” instead of “Jews.” For the life of me, I couldn’t figure out
why the Robinsons thought something as precious as jewels would be

such bad people.
1
anti-Semitic: describing one who discriminates against or who is hostile toward or
prejudiced against Jews.

13 Now I looked down, careful not to make any eye contact that Don’t forget to
would initiate a conversation (Robinson Rule #15). The walkway Notice & Note as you
read the text.
alongside the Blake home was not paved, and I could hear the
crunching of Mrs. Levin’s footsteps on the gravel as she neared. As I
so often did with strangers, I hoped that she would walk on by and
pay me no attention. But that’s not what happened. Her white tennis
shoes, scuffed ever so lightly around the toe, stopped right in front
of me. And though I was not afraid, I still swallowed hard. “What are
you reading there?” she asked.
14 I looked up from the pages and showed her the cover of my
Encyclopedia Brown mystery. Leroy Brown, “Encyclopedia” to his
friends, was a boy detective who often sat at the dinner table helping
his dad, the chief of police in the fictional town of Idaville, solve cases
that had baffled the department. baffle
15 “You like mysteries?” she asked. (b√f´∂l) v. to confuse or perplex.
16 “Oh, yes, ma’am,” I said, making the conversation far longer than
the Robinson Rules dictated. “I really like how you get a chance to
figure out the clues for yourself.”
17 “Now, if I remember, weren’t you reading this book last week?”
18 It puzzled me how she could have known that. “Yes, ma’am. But
when I finish a book, I go back to the beginning and start all over
again.”
19 “I see.” She said nothing more and ambled on toward the store,
but I still remember the long look she sent in the direction of my
house on Arnold Street.
20 Later that evening, there was a knock at the door. I was in the
pantry washing dishes when Betty answered. A voice I immediately
recognized asked, “Is Steve here? I have something I would like to
give him.” It was Mrs. Levin.
21 I grabbed for the dishrag, began drying my hands, and heard
Betty say, “I can give them to him.” But Mrs. Levin was insistent: “If
it’s okay, I would like to give him these myself.”
22 There was a pause. “Stevie!” Betty said, the sweet, melodic
voice, and use of a nickname, telling me that she was “onstage.” I
came around the corner much faster than I should have, but my
eavesdropping2 was either missed or ignored.
23 “You remember me?” Mrs. Levin asked. I nodded my head yes.
24 “Well, I thought you might like these.” In her arms was a brown,
open-ended box, but I could not see what was in it. She lowered it,
and I could barely believe my eyes. Inside the box were stacks of
books, of different thicknesses and colors, their covers bright
and promising.
2
eavesdropping: secretly listening to the private conversation of others.

25 “Whoa,” I said.
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©Patrick Daxenbichler/Adobe Stock
26 “These,” she said, “are for the boy who likes to read.”
27 “Thank you, ma’am,” I said, barely able to take my eyes off the
box. “You’re welcome,” she said, smiling; and with that, she left. She
NOTICE & NOTE was barely out of earshot before Betty’s voice boomed, ‘Take those
MEMORY MOMENT books downstairs! I better never see them up here.”
When you notice the narrator 28 “Yes, ma’am, right now, ma’am,” I stammered. I feared that she
has interrupted the forward
would make me throw them away.
progress of a story by bringing
up something from the past, 29 Nothing I write can accurately capture the power and timeliness
you’ve found a Memory Moment of the gift Mrs. Levin gave me that day. Though I did not know it at
signpost. the time, several years earlier, when I was one and a half years old,
Notice & Note: Mark the lines a babysitter had written: “Dropped Steve off at the latest family his
in paragraph 29 that tell about mother is boarding him out to . . . he cried his heart out . . . this little
something that happened in the boy doesn’t have a chance in the world.” Others believed this as well,
past. especially those to whose care I was entrusted. I sensed it in their
Analyze: Why might this sidelong glances and empathetic shakes of the head, their eyes saying
memory be important? what their tongues would not. You are beyond repair.

30 I had beaten my fists against this fate as long as I could. Now, Don’t forget to
frequently starved and beaten almost daily, failed and abandoned by Notice & Note as you
read the text.
the institutions tasked with my care, and waiting for a family that was
never going to come for me, I was beginning to lose my desperate
battle with the Robinsons. Caseworkers at the time described me
ANALYZE AUTHOR’S
as tense, nervous, and anxious. What was really unfolding was
PERSPECTIVE
something far more damaging, something they never looked hard
enough to see: I had begun to resign myself to this fate, to accept Annotate: Mark the sentence
in paragraph 30 that describes
I was to be the Robinsons’ prisoner and that their world would be the
Steve’s key realization about
only one I would ever know. himself.
31 But the characters that unfolded in those books and the worlds
Analyze: How does his diction
they lived in showed me a different life, a future far beyond the
help you understand the change
pain of the house on Arnold Street. I learned that not everyone in Steve’s state of mind?
lived the way I did, that most people came from intact homes
that offered joy and laughter, freedom and exploration, promise
and possibility. And because of what I read, I developed the
ridiculously absurd notion that one day I, too, could have a life like
the ones I read about.
32 At every opportunity I would steal down to the cellar to dive into
my cardboard chest of hidden treasures, planting myself right in the
middle of those adventures. I became a fearless explorer, a brilliant
scientist, and a master riddle solver. I went to the depths of the
ocean with Captain Nemo and 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, stood
right by Howard Carter’s side as he discovered the tomb of King
Tutankhamen, and landed on the moon with the crew of Apollo 11. ANALYZE LITERARY
NONFICTION
I unlocked more riddles with boy detective Encyclopedia Brown
and joined forces with Alfred Hitchcock and the Three Investigators Annotate: Mark the figurative
to solve even greater mysteries. My books became my shelter, language in paragraph 32. What
types of figurative language are
protecting me as the Robinsons’ slings and arrows rained overhead.
used here?
And I returned my books’ protection by guarding them the way most
children guard their teddy bears. As a little boy, I was mystified when Analyze: What shelters the
narrator? Who or what is
bookworms burrowed into their pages and crushed when a basement
threatening him?
flood destroyed several of them.
33 Mrs. Levin’s books gave me something else that I did not fully
appreciate until many years later: a model for dealing with the
Robinsons. It came from my favorite book, Watership Down, a novel
I would read over and over again. Published in 1972 and written by
the British author Richard Adams, this book tells the tale of a band
of resilient rabbits searching for a new home. Led by the small but
exceedingly clever Hazel, these rabbits encounter many obstacles in
their search. One of their first challenges was one I knew all too well:
they encounter a warren of contented rabbits—a home that seems to
be exactly what the group is looking for—yet they learn that this new
home is not at all what it appears to be and that it is, in fact, a cleverly
crafted rabbit farm intended to ensnare them.

ANALYZE AUTHOR’S 34 The rabbits escape the farm and often resort to trickery in their
PERSPECTIVE pursuit of a new home. Deception may seem unprincipled, but it is
Annotate: Mark the sentence in absolutely necessary if Hazel and his group of rabbits are to survive,
paragraph 34 where the author especially when their very existence is threatened by another group
states a belief. of rabbits, the Efrafrans, and their evil leader, General Woundwort.
Interpret: What does this belief There comes a time when deception is not enough, and the group
suggest about Steve’s view of the must take a stand against General Woundwort, although they know it
world? will likely cost them their lives.
35 I found kinship in the rabbits of Watership Down. They became
my childhood friends, the only ones I was allowed to have, and I
could cite their names at the drop of a hat: Fiver, Bigwig, Pipkin, and
Blackberry. My friends were smart, fast, elusive, and resourceful—
their very survival was predicated on their ability to sense danger.
Though confronted by bigger foes, they outwitted them. Perhaps
most important, I saw the rabbits as fighters, their combativeness
driven by a certainty that they could create a different and better life
for themselves. For Hazel and his followers, it was never a question of
ANALYZE LITERARY if they would find a home; it was simply a matter of when.
NONFICTION 36 Over the years, Mrs. Levin stopped by many times to deliver
Annotate: Mark the sentences in a new box of books. In my quiet moments of reflection, I often
paragraph 36 where the author is wonder what might have become of me had not this kind woman
reflecting on Mrs. Levin. lit a pathway for me through the suffocating darkness of the house
Interpret: What does Steve on Arnold Street. The Robinsons never refused her request, perhaps
mean by the metaphor that books because they knew that would raise suspicions. But had they known
would “sow the seeds of my those books would sow the seeds of my rebellion, they would have
rebellion”? torched them the minute Mrs. Levin was out of their sight.
ESSENTIAL QUESTION: COLLABORATIVE DISCUSSION

What does it take to Based on this excerpt, what is the single most important factor in
survive a crisis?
making Steve feel like he has “a chance in the world”? Discuss your
opinion with a partner.
Review your notes and
add your thoughts to your
Response Log.

Assessment Practice
Answer these questions before moving on to the Analyze the Text
section on the following page.
1. Select two strategies Steve uses to cope with his situation.
A sneaking food
B running away
C reading
D taking walks
E staying with the Levins
2. How does paragraph 32 contribute to the development of the author’s ideas?
A by emphasizing the importance of having a challenging reading list
B by providing details of the author’s escape into the world of books
C by describing how his books were gradually destroyed
D by describing his secret reading place in the cellar
3. This question has two parts. First, answer Part A. Then, answer Part B.
Part A
Which statement best describes the purpose of this text?
A to demonstrate the cruelty of the Robinsons
B to describe the books Steve read during this time
C to describe how Steve confronted and overcame hardships
D to show how the American foster system works
Part B
Select the sentence that best supports the answer to Part A.
A “Children rarely ask where monsters come from or how they came to be . . .”
(paragraph 1)
B “. . . this little boy doesn’t have a chance in the world.” (paragraph 29)
C “Caseworkers at the time described me as tense, nervous, and anxious.”

(paragraph 30)
D “Mrs. Levin’s books gave me . . . a model for dealing with the Robinsons.”
(paragraph 33)
Test-Taking Strategies

Respond
Analyze the Text

Support your responses with evidence from the text.
NOTICE & NOTE
1 INTERPRET Review the chart you completed on the Get Ready page. Review what
How would you describe the author’s perspective on this period of his life? you noticed and
noted as you read
the text. Your
annotations can
2 ANALYZE Identify two or three “Robinson Rules.” How do you know
help you answer
there are many such rules? How does this fact add to the author’s these questions.
portrayal of this period in his life?
3 INFER The author describes a wall “as if hewn from the side of a
mountain.” Find other examples of figurative language. Why did the
author not confine himself to a literal recounting of events?
4 EVALUATE Deception, cunning, trickery, thieving: Steve boasts about

his abilities to deceive and outwit the Robinsons. Who or what is Steve’s
model? How does he justify his own deceptions?
5 ANALYZE What sensory language—descriptions that appeal to the

senses—does the author use? Cite two or three examples. What does
this language tell you about the narrator’s perceptions?
6 SYNTHESIZE Review the Memory Moment in paragraph 29. How do

Mrs. Levin’s actions provide Steve with the “chance” the babysitter and
others were sure he didn’t have?
7 CONNECT How does this memoir excerpt address the unit’s Essential
Question, What does it take to survive a crisis? Use the graphic organizer
to record strategies Steve uses to survive, physically and emotionally, in
the Robinson household.
© Houghton Mifflin Publishing Company
Essential Question: What does it take to survive a crisis?
Coping Mechanism or Source of Support How It Helps Steve Endure His Situation

Respond
Choices
Here are some other ways to demonstrate your understanding
of the ideas in this lesson.
As you write and discuss,

Writing be sure to use the
Personal Reflection Academic Vocabulary
words.
Author Steve Pemberton describes several
significant personal experiences in this dimension
excerpt from his memoir. These experiences,
external
and his reactions to them, shaped the person
he later became. Think about one experience statistic
you would be comfortable sharing that has
shaped your life. Then freewrite about it. sustain
Include relevant information such as:
utilize
• a description of the experience
• who was involved besides you
• how it affected or changed you

Speaking & Listening
Debate
Some schools require students to complete
volunteer hours in addition to their regular
class work. Those schools believe students are
improving their communities and learning
important life lessons. Others believe that to
Social & Emotional Learning
require volunteering makes it less meaningful.
Tribute
Research the topic, then organize a debate about
Create a video or illustrated booklet describing whether schools should require students to
a person, group, or organization that has had a volunteer.
positive effect on your life. Include the following
1. Organize two groups: one in favor of
information:
mandatory volunteer work, the other opposed.
• background or description of the person(s) or
organization
2. Each side will choose a representative to
state the group’s opinion.
• how and why the connection occurred
3. Each side should argue their position using
• how your life has changed as a result evidence and reasons.
4. Debaters should use appropriate register

(degree of formality) and tone.
5. Group members should listen and respond
to other arguments, identifying any faulty
reasoning or distorted evidence.
6. Together, the two sides should review the
ideas discussed and summarize conclusions.

Respond

PRACTICE AND APPLY
Answer the questions to show your understanding of the vocabulary words.
1. Are animals likely to be safe or threatened in a wildlife sanctuary?
2. If I do not understand something, am I able to fathom it? Why?
3. What might baffle you: A difficult puzzle or a cookbook recipe?
4. If a place is cacophonous, is it noisy or quiet?
5. If I thwart someone’s plan, have I prevented it or helped the person achieve it?
Vocabulary Strategy
Patterns of Word Changes Interactive Vocabulary
You have probably noticed that many words can change form to become Lesson: Analyzing Word
Structure
new words with related meanings. When you learn the common patterns
of word changes, you can recognize different forms of familiar words and
figure out what they mean. Knowing the patterns will also help you spell
different forms of a word correctly.
The word precisely in paragraphs 5 and 7 is an adverb meaning “exactly.”

Adding the suffix -ion to the root precis creates the noun precision.
Removing -ly from precisely creates the adjective precise. Adding the prefix
im- creates the word imprecise, meaning “not exact.”
Verb Noun Adjective Adverb
explain explanation explainable explanatively
frequent frequency frequent frequently
create creation/creativity creative creatively

PRACTICE AND APPLY

• For each verb in the chart, identify one new verb that has the same
ending (-ain, -ent, -ate).
• Create a chart with your words in the first column.
• Complete the chart with noun, adjective, and adverb forms of each word.
• Choose one word from each row of your chart and use it in a sentence.

Respond
Watch Your Language!

Colons and Semicolons
An author’s use of punctuation not only can help
readers understand the message but also can help
create meaning and tone.
Read the following sentence from the memoir.
This is what they were to me: real-life boogeymen

whose origins and intentions I could never fathom.
The two-part sentence provides readers with a question

(What were the Robinsons to Steve?) followed by its
answer (monsters he cannot understand).
Uses of Colons
Purpose Example
illustrate or provide an example of

what was just stated
I was fixated on one thing: food.
But Mrs. Levin was insistent: “If it’s okay, I would like to give him
introduce a quotation or dialogue
these myself.”
And my hearing was finely tuned. I knew the stride pattern of

introduce a list each member of the family: Betty shuffled, Reggie had longer
steps, and Willie’s plodding was the easiest to detect. . . .
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©Doug Hill/CartoonStock
Author Steve Pemberton also uses semicolons effectively. Here is another

sentence from A Chance in the World:
For Hazel and his followers, it was never a question of if

they would find a home; it was simply a matter of when.
The author’s use of the semicolon shows the relationship between the
two statements. Interactive Grammar
Lesson: Colons
PRACTICE AND APPLY
With a partner, write a paragraph about whether you think Steve’s
deceptions were justified given his living conditions at the Robinsons.
Use colons and semicolons in at least three places. At least one colon
should provide an example of the first part of the statement; and at
least one semicolon should come before a conjunctive adverb (however,
nevertheless, also).

Get Ready
ESSENTIAL QUESTION:
MENTOR TEXT
Is Survival Selfish? survive a crisis?
Argument by Lane Wallace
Engage Your Brain

Choose one or more of these activities to start
connecting with the argument you’re about to read.
How Did They Survive?

Have you read any survival stories or watched
shows or movies that have a character facing
a life-or-death situation?
1. List stories or shows you remember. Me, or You?
2. Compare your list with a partner’s. Imagine you and your friend are rock climbing
3. Discuss whether and how each character and the line snaps. You’re both in danger of
survived. plummeting to the ground far below. You’re
an experienced climber who might be able
4. Identify what factors helped the survivors.
to reach the ledge and save yourself, but you
know your friend won’t be able to hang onto
the side of the cliff much longer. Discuss the
following in a small group:
• Do you save yourself and head toward
safety, or risk your life in trying to save your
friend?
• Why did you choose one action over the

other?
© Houghton Mifflin Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©Suwinai Sukanant/Alamy
Explore a Key Word

Survive means “to stay alive or carry on despite
hardships.”
• What kinds of images does the word survive
suggest to you?
• Draw a picture or make some notes.

Get Ready
Analyze Arguments
In an argument, an author expresses a position on an issue and then
attempts to support that position. A successful argument persuades
readers to agree with the author’s claim, or position. To analyze an Focus on Genre
argument, you must first outline its basic parts. Argument
• presents a claim or position on
an issue
Parts of an Argument
• includes reasons or evidence
that support the claim
Author’s position on the topic or issue; central idea
Claim
of the argument
• may include rhetorical devices
or other persuasive strategies
Explanations that support the claim; should follow clear

Reasons
and logical organization
Facts, statistics, personal experiences, statements by

Evidence
experts; supports the reasons and ultimately the claim
Conclusion Revisits the claim with a persuasive closing statement
To be persuasive, an argument must include evidence that is valid,

relevant, and sufficient. Facts must be true and provable through research.
Opinions are beliefs but they do not support reasons and aren’t evidence.
As you read “Is Survival Selfish?” mark the basic parts of the author’s
argument using the chart as reference.
Analyze Rhetorical Devices

Authors often use rhetorical devices when they write arguments. For
example, the author of this article uses rhetorical questions, questions that
do not call for an answer. They are intended to engage the audience and
make a point. In other cases, an author may rely on faulty logic or rhetorical
devices meant to deceive the audience. Always read arguments critically
in order to assess the accuracy and validity of the author’s argument. In
particular, be on the lookout for false statements or fallacious reasoning,

which are errors in reasoning.
As you read this argument, make a note where you notice the author using
rhetorical devices.
Is Survival Selfish? 21
Get Ready
Here are one reader’s notes about a rhetorical device in “Is Survival
Selfish?” As you read, take notes about rhetorical devices the author uses.
The “women and children first” protocol of the Titanic may

not be as strong a social stricture as it was a century ago. But we
still tend to laud those who risk or sacrifice themselves to save
others in moments of danger or crisis and look less kindly on
those who focus on saving themselves, instead.
rhetorical questions
But is survival really selfish and uncivilized? Or is it smart?
make me ask myself
And is going in to rescue others always heroic? Or is it sometimes
what I believe
just stupid?

laud
Turn to a partner and use one of the vocabulary words
transfix you know in a sentence about the ways people react
in life-threatening situations.
consume
As you read “Is Survival Selfish?” use the definitions
berate in the side column to help you learn the vocabulary
words you don’t already know.
edict
© Houghton Mifflin Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©Ed Cataldo
Background
Lane Wallace is a writer, adventurer, and career development
coach. She has written for The Atlantic, the New York Times,
and Outside magazine, and was the first woman columnist
ever hired at Flying magazine, where she worked as an editor
and columnist for 12 years. Her adventures have taken her to
six different continents, and from 120 feet below sea level to
70,000 feet above the Earth. She has a blog on charting your
own course in life (No Map. No Guide. No Limits.) and has written
two books on the lessons of adventure (Surviving Uncertainty
and Unforgettable). Her latest project is a book on the power of
a woman’s authentic self and voice.

Is Survival
Selfish?
Argument by Lane Wallace
If forced to choose, whose life would you save: NOTICE & NOTE
Your own, or someone else’s?
about the text.
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©Cavan Images/Getty Images
1
W hen the ocean liner Titanic sank in April of 1912, one of
the few men to survive the tragedy was J. Bruce Ismay, the
chairman and managing director of the company that owned the ship.
ANALYZE ARGUMENTS
Annotate: In paragraph 1, mark
After the disaster, however, Ismay was savaged by the media and the the topic the author introduces
general public for climbing into a lifeboat and saving himself when with an anecdote.
there were other women and children still on board. Ismay said he’d Analyze: Consider the title of
already helped many women and children into lifeboats and had only this selection. Why might the
climbed in one himself when there were no other women or children author have chosen to begin her
in the area and the boat was ready to release. But it didn’t matter. argument with this example?
His reputation was ruined. He was labeled an uncivilized coward and,
a year after the disaster, he resigned his position at White Star.
2 The “women and children first” protocol of the Titanic may not
be as strong a social stricture1 as it was a century ago. But we still
tend to laud those who risk or sacrifice themselves to save others in laud
moments of danger or crisis and look less kindly on those who focus (lôd) v. to praise.
on saving themselves, instead.
1
social stricture: behavioral restriction placed on society.
ANALYZE ARGUMENTS 3 But is survival really selfish and uncivilized? Or is it smart? And
Annotate: In paragraph 3, mark is going in to rescue others always heroic? Or is it sometimes just
a statement the author can build stupid? It’s a complex question, because there are so many factors
on to create a full claim. involved, and every survival situation is different.
Analyze: How do the rhetorical 4 Self-preservation is supposedly an instinct. So one would think
questions in this paragraph set up that in life-and-death situations, we’d all be very focused on whatever
the author’s claim? was necessary to survive. But that’s not always true. In July 2007, I
was having a drink with a friend in Grand Central Station2 when an
underground steam pipe exploded just outside. From where we sat,
we heard a dull “boom!” and then suddenly, people were running,
streaming out of the tunnels and out the doors.
5 My friend and I walked quickly and calmly outside, but to get any
further, we had to push our way through a crowd of people who were
transfix staring, transfixed, at the column of smoke rising from the front of
(tr√ns-fΔks´) v. to captivate or make the station. Some people were crying, others were screaming, others
motionless with awe. were on their cell phones . . . but the crowd, for the most part, was
not doing the one thing that would increase everyone’s chances of
NOTICE & NOTE survival, if in fact a terrorist bomb with god knows what inside it had
CONTRASTS AND just gone off—namely, moving away from the area.
CONTRADICTIONS 6 We may have an instinct for survival, but it clearly doesn’t always
When you notice a sharp contrast kick in the way it should. A guy who provides survival training for
between what you would expect pilots told me once that the number one determining factor for
and what you observe happening,
survival is simply whether people hold it together in a crisis or fall
you’ve found a Contrasts and
Contradictions signpost.
apart. And, he said, it’s impossible to predict ahead of time who’s
going to hold it together, and who’s going to fall apart.
Notice & Note: Mark details
7 So what is the responsibility of those who hold it together?
in paragraph 5 that indicate an
unexpected event or situation.
I remember reading the account of one woman who was in an
airliner that crashed on landing. People were frozen or screaming,
Evaluate: Does this unexpected
but nobody was moving toward the emergency exits, even as smoke
event support or refute the
author’s claim?
began to fill the cabin. After realizing that the people around her
were too paralyzed to react, she took direct action, crawling over
several rows of people to get to the exit. She got out of the plane and
consume survived. Very few others in the plane, which was soon consumed by
(k∂n-s◊m´) v. to completely smoke and fire, did. And afterward, I remember she said she battled a
destroy or eradicate.
lot of guilt for saving herself instead of trying to save the others.
8 Could she really have saved the others? Probably not, and
certainly not from the back of the plane. If she’d tried, she probably
berate would have perished with them. So why do survivors berate
(bΔ-r∑t´) v. to criticize or scold. themselves for not adding to the loss by attempting the impossible?
Perhaps it’s because we get very mixed messages about survival ethics.
2
Grand Central Station: a large commuter-rail and subway terminal in
New York City.

9 On the one hand, we’re told to put our own oxygen masks on
first, and not to jump in the water with a drowning victim. But
then the people who ignore those edicts and survive to tell the tale edict
are lauded as heroes. And people who do the “smart” thing are (Π´dΔkt) n. an official rule or
sometimes criticized quite heavily after the fact. proclamation.
10 In a famous mountain-climbing accident chronicled in the

book and documentary Touching the Void, climber Simon Yates was
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©Phonix_a Pk.sarote/Shutterstock
attempting to rope his already-injured friend Joe Simpson down a

mountain in bad weather when the belay3 went awry. Simpson ended
up hanging off a cliff, unable to climb up, and Yates, unable to lift him
up and losing his own grip on the mountain, ended up cutting the
rope to Simpson to save himself. Miraculously, Simpson survived the
100 foot fall and eventually made his way down the mountain. But
Yates was criticized by some for his survival decision, even though the
alternative would have almost certainly led to both of their deaths.
11 In Yates’ case, he had time to think hard about the odds, and
the possibilities he was facing, and to realize that he couldn’t save
anyone but himself. But what about people who have to make
more instantaneous decisions? If, in fact, survivors are driven by
instinct not civilization, how do you explain all those who choose
otherwise? Who would dive into icy waters or onto subway tracks
or disobey orders to make repeat trips onto a minefield to bring
wounded to safety? Are they more civilized than the rest of us? More
brave? More noble?
3
belay: the securing of a rope to a cleat or another object.
ANALYZE 12 It sounds nice, but oddly enough, most of the people who
RHETORICAL DEVICES perform such impulsive rescues say that they didn’t really think
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©sezer66/iStock/Getty Images Plus/Getty Images
Annotate: In paragraph 12, mark before acting. Which means they weren’t “choosing” civilization over
the sentence that appears to instinct. If survival is an instinct, it seems to me that there must be
contradict the author’s argument something equally instinctive that drives us, sometimes, to run into
about how people behave in a
danger instead of away from it.
crisis.
13 Perhaps it comes down to the ancient “fight or flight” impulse.
Analyze: Why is this an example Animals confronted with danger will choose to attack it, or run from
of fallacious reasoning as far as
it, and it’s hard to say which one they’ll choose, or when. Or maybe
confirming the author’s claim
about bravery versus selfishness?
humans are such social herd animals, dependent on the herd for
survival, that we feel a pull toward others even as we feel a contrary
pull toward our own preservation, and the two impulses battle it out
within us . . . leading to the mixed messages we send each other on
which impulse to follow.
14 Some people hold it together in a crisis and some people fall
apart. Some people might run away from danger one day, and toward
it the next. We pick up a thousand cues in an instant of crisis and
respond in ways that even surprise ourselves, sometimes.
15 But while we laud those who sacrifice themselves in an attempt to
save another, there is a fine line between brave and foolish. There can
also be a fine line between smart and selfish. And as a friend who’s
served in the military for 27 years says, the truth is, sometimes there’s
no line at all between the two.

COLLABORATIVE DISCUSSION ESSENTIAL QUESTION:
With a partner, review the various stories of survivors. Discuss
survive a crisis?
whether you would describe each person’s actions as selfish. Is
being selfish always bad?
Response Log.
Assessment Practice
1. Which sentence states a claim central to the author’s argument?
A Running away is the best way to survive a disaster.
B Heroes have to fight their survival instinct to save others.
C People who save themselves are cowards who lack courage.
D People are sometimes criticized for saving themselves.
2. How do paragraphs 7 and 8 contribute to the development of the author’s ideas?
A by arguing that in some cases, selfish actions cost people their lives.
B by demonstrating that in some cases, saving your life is the right action
C by offering an example of what to do in an airplane fire or similar disaster
D by criticizing the other passengers for not trying to save themselves
3. The author concludes her argument with —

A recommendations for what to do in a live-or-die situation
B another example that explains what being selfish in a crisis means
C a story about a friend who says you have to be brave and foolish
D a reflection that it can be hard to distinguish between smart and selfish

action
Respond
Analyze the Text

NOTICE & NOTE
1 INFER In paragraph 3, Lane Wallace poses a series of questions to get her readers Review what
thinking about what is selfish and what is heroic. What is the effect of these you noticed and
noted as you read
questions?
the text. Your
annotations can
help you answer
2 SYNTHESIZE In your own words, state the claim Wallace expresses in paragraph 3. these questions.
What reasons and evidence does she present to support her claim?
Author’s Claim Reasons and Evidence
3 ANALYZE Wallace writes that “the number one determining factor for survival is
simply whether people hold it together in a crisis or fall apart.” Is this an example of a
claim, a reason, or evidence? Explain with an example from the text.
4 CRITIQUE Wallace writes that “Self-preservation is supposedly an instinct. So one

would think that in life-and-death situations, we’d all be very focused on whatever
was necessary to survive.” Explain how she argues that as a generalization this
reasoning is fallacious.
5 EVALUATE Reread paragraph 12. As evidence for Wallace’s claim, is this paragraph
valid and relevant? Explain.
6 CONNECT In the final paragraph, Wallace writes that there can be “a fine line
between smart and selfish,” and that “sometimes there’s no line at all between the
two.” How do the Contrasts and Contradictions she presents throughout the text
support this claim?
7 DRAW CONCLUSIONS Now that you’ve read the article, how would you define
“survival instinct”? What, if any, Word Gaps did you fill that helped you understand
the article?

Respond
Choices
Here are some other ways to demonstrate your understanding of the
ideas in this lesson.

Selfish or Smart? As you write and discuss,
be sure to use the
Reread the last paragraph of the text. How do the author’s Academic Vocabulary
comments relate to how you make choices about your own words.
behavior? Draft points to agree or disagree with the idea that there dimension
can be “a fine line between smart and selfish.”
• Think about how you would balance your own well-being

against that of others in a crisis situation.
external
statistic
• Consider your beliefs about ethical responsibility: In your mind,
what constitutes right and wrong in an extreme situation? sustain
• Decide on your claim—the position you will take. utilize
• Express your claim in one sentence.
• Draft 3–4 reasons to support your claim.

Group Discussion
Media
Hold a group discussion on the issues of survival
Survivor Tales
discussed in the text.
Research individuals who have survived life-
threatening situations. Choose the experience • Before the discussion, review the author’s
claim, evidence, and reasoning.
that interests you the most, and create a social
media profile for that individual. • Establish rules for speaking as you decide on
your group’s goals; vote on key issues.
Include:
• During the discussion, state your ideas
• posts describing the person’s everyday life
before the life-threatening situation
clearly. Listen, respond to, and build on
others’ ideas and opinions. Use appropriate
• a detailed description of the danger the content-area vocabulary.

person faced and what he or she did to
survive
• End the discussion by summarizing the main
points.
• images or videos related to the events
Respond

PRACTICE AND APPLY
Mark the best answer to each question. Then, explain your response.
1. Which of the following would be something you might laud?

a supreme accomplishment a failure to complete a task
2. If something were to transfix you, how would you react?

stand in awe run in fear
3. Which of the following would be likely to consume something?

a cloud of fog a forest fire
4. If I berate another person, how would that person feel?

humiliated delighted
5. If a king issued an edict, what would it be like?

an opinion a law
Vocabulary Strategy
Synonyms
Interactive Vocabulary
Words that share the same or nearly the same meaning are called synonyms. Lesson: Synonyms and
Authors sometimes use synonyms to vary word choice and make their writing Antonyms
more interesting. For example, in paragraph 7 of “Is Survival Selfish?” the author
uses the word paralyzed. The synonym transfixed might also have worked, but
the author had already used it in paragraph 5.
If you come across an unfamiliar word in a text:
• Try to think of another word that would make sense in context.
• Check a dictionary or thesaurus to see if your word is truly a synonym.
• Note any differences between the synonyms and think about why the
author chose that exact word.
•
Ask if the sentence has the same or a slightly different meaning with the
synonym as with the author’s original word.
PRACTICE AND APPLY

Use a print or online thesaurus to complete this activity.
1. Create a two-column chart. In the first column, write the vocabulary words.
In the second, write at least two synonyms for each word.
2. Write a sentence using each vocabulary word.
3. For each sentence you write, exchange the vocabulary word for a synonym.
Work with a partner to choose the best synonym for each sentence.

Respond

Commas
A writer’s use of punctuation not only helps readers understand the
writer’s message, but it also signals how the writer wants the text to be
read. In your writing, you can use commas to signal a break or a pause to
the reader. Commas are also used to distinguish and divide phrases, as
well as independent and dependent clauses.
Here are examples of comma use from “Is Survival Selfish?”
Purpose of Comma Example from the Selection
And afterward, I remember she said she battled a

to signal a break in thought lot of guilt for saving herself instead of trying to
save the others.
He was labeled an uncivilized coward and, a year

to signal the reader to pause; to set off
a phrase
after the disaster, he resigned his position at
White Star.
If survival is an instinct, it seems to me that there

to divide independent and
dependent clauses
must be something equally instinctive that drives
us . . . to run into danger instead of away from it.
PRACTICE AND APPLY

Rewrite the sentences, inserting the needed commas.
1. Yes I absolutely want to survive.
2. Beyond saving your own life people expect you to save others.
3. If you survive people think you should have saved others.
4. If she’d tried to help others she probably would have died with them.
Get Ready
ESSENTIAL QUESTION:
The Leap survive a crisis?
Short Story by Louise Erdrich
Engage Your Brain

Choose one or more of these activities to start Leap to Predictions!
connecting with the story you are about to read. Think of expressions you’ve heard that include
the word “leap”—for example, “leap of faith.”
With a partner, make a list. Then, look at the
Speaking of Courage illustrations in the story. Write a few sentences
describing what you think the story will
In this story, a mother fearlessly enters a
be about.
burning house to save her child. Think of
a time when you or someone you know
had to think fast and act courageously.
What motivated the act?
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©Dave Hogan/Getty Images
Trapeze Artists
Part of this story takes place at a traditional circus.
• Look for images and descriptions of modern-day or older
circuses, such as Ringling Brothers or Barnum & Bailey.
• Draw pictures or makes notes of typical circus events or scenes.

Get Ready
Analyze Flashback and Tension

Authors create tension, or suspense, when they want to propel a story
forward and keep the reader wondering what will happen next. One
effective technique for creating tension is the flashback—a literary Focus on Genre
device used to manipulate time by inserting an earlier event into the Short Story
present action. To identify a flashback, look for shifts in verb tense from
present to past or past perfect tense. Also, watch for signal words, such • includes the basic elements of
fiction—setting, characters,
as once (“Once upon a time”) and remember (”I remember when”). plot, conflict, and theme
The chart below tracks some shifts in time in “The Leap” that sustain • centers on a particular moment
or build tension. Fill out your own chart as you analyze the story. or event in life
• can be read in one sitting
Tension Tracker
Flashback Clues
Example Action Summary
(Verb Tense or Signal Words)
“I owe her my existence three times. narrator begins to explain her debt
shift from present to past tense
The first was when . . .” to her mother
“I have lived in the West . . .” shift to past perfect tense narrator provides information about
her own adult life
Make Inferences
In a short story, the theme, or underlying message, usually emerges through
inference. An inference is a logical conclusion based on the text and what you
already know. To uncover themes in “The Leap,” first examine the story’s title. You
might note, for example, that the speaker’s mother would have made many
leaps as a trapeze artist. But could leap also have more figurative meanings? Then,
look for clues in the story that hint at its meaning. For example, character or
plot developments may help reveal a story’s themes. You can also make inferences
about real-world life experiences: In fact, you probably do it all the time!
As you read, use a chart like the one below to track your ideas and inferences
about the story’s themes.
Story Elements or Clues My Inferences Possible Theme
1.
2.
3.
The Leap 33
Get Ready
Here is one writer’s note about an inference based on the first paragraph
of “The Leap.” As you read, note your own inferences and questions.
My mother is the surviving half of a blindfold trapeze act, “Surviving” means

not a fact I think about much even now that she is sightless, the the mother’s partner is
result of encroaching and stubborn cataracts. She walks slowly dead. Trapeze accident?
through her house here in New Hampshire . . .

encroach
Turn to a partner and talk about the vocabulary
extricate words you already know. Then, write a few sentences
about a circus, festival, or other event using as many
constrict vocabulary words as you can.
As you read “The Leap,” use the definitions in the
comply
side column to learn the vocabulary words you don’t
tentative already know.
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©Ulf Andersen/Getty Images
Background
Louise Erdrich (b. 1954) is best known for exploring the
Native American experience in her novels, poetry, and
children’s books. Born in Little Falls, Minnesota, she grew up in
North Dakota. Of German American and Ojibwa (Chippewa)
descent, her writing reflects a fascination with the influence
of family and heritage on individuals and community. She
lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota, where she owns a bookstore
and continues to write. Her best-known works include the
novels Love Medicine, The Beet Queen, and The Round House.

The Leap
Short Story by Louise Erdrich
A mother saves her daughter’s life three times. NOTICE & NOTE
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©Ray Massey/The Image Bank/Getty Images

about the text.
1
M y mother is the surviving half of a blindfold trapeze act, not
a fact I think about much even now that she is sightless, the
result of encroaching and stubborn cataracts. She walks slowly encroach
through her house here in New Hampshire, lightly touching her way (≈n-kr∫ch´) v. to gradually intrude
along walls and running her hands over knickknacks, books, the drift upon or invade.
of a grown child’s belongings and castoffs. She has never upset an
object or as much as brushed a magazine onto the floor. She has never
lost her balance or bumped into a closet door left carelessly open.
2 It has occurred to me that the catlike precision of her movements
in old age might be the result of her early training, but she shows so
little of the drama or flair one might expect from a performer that I
tend to forget the Flying Avalons. She has kept no sequined costume,
no photographs, no fliers or posters from that part of her youth.
I would, in fact, tend to think that all memory of double somersaults
and heartstopping catches had left her arms and legs were it not for
the fact that sometimes, as I sit sewing in the room of the rebuilt
The Leap 35
house in which I slept as a child, I hear the crackle, catch a whiff of
smoke from the stove downstairs and suddenly the room goes dark,
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©Swim Ink 2, LLC/Corbis Historical/Getty Images
the stitches burn beneath my fingers, and I am sewing with a needle
of hot silver, a thread of fire.
ANALYZE FLASHBACK AND 3 I owe her my existence three times. The first was when she saved
TENSION herself. In the town square a replica tent pole, cracked and splintered,
Annotate: Mark details in now stands cast in concrete. It commemorates the disaster that
paragraph 3 that provide clues put our town smack on the front page of the Boston and New York
about what this flashback will tabloids. It is from those old newspapers, now historical records,
reveal.
that I get my information. Not from my mother, Anna of the Flying
Analyze: How do these details Avalons, nor from any of her in-laws, nor certainly from the other
build tension? half of her particular act, Harold Avalon, her first husband. In one
news account it says, “The day was mildly overcast, but nothing in
the air or temperature gave any hint of the sudden force with which
the deadly gale would strike.”
4 I have lived in the West, where you can see the weather coming
for miles, and it is true that out here we are at something of a
disadvantage. When extremes of temperature collide, a hot and cold
front, winds generate instantaneously behind a hill and crash upon
you without warning. That, I think, was the likely situation on that
day in June. People probably commented on the pleasant air, grateful
that no hot sun beat upon the striped tent that stretched over the

Don’t forget to
Notice & Note as you
read the text.
entire center green. They bought their tickets and surrendered them
in anticipation. They sat. They ate caramelized popcorn and roasted
peanuts. There was time, before the storm, for three acts. The White
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©Swim Ink 2, LLC/Corbis Historical/Getty Images
Arabians of Ali-Khazar rose on their hind legs and waltzed. The

Mysterious Bernie folded himself into a painted cracker tin, and the
Lady of the Mists made herself appear and disappear in surprising
places. As the clouds gathered outside, unnoticed, the ringmaster
cracked his whip, shouted his introduction, and pointed to the ceiling
of the tent, where the Flying Avalons were perched.
5 They loved to drop gracefully from nowhere, like two sparkling
birds, and blow kisses as they threw off their plumed helmets and
high-collared capes. They laughed and flirted openly as they beat
their way up again on the trapeze bars. In the final vignette1 of their
act, they actually would kiss in midair, pausing, almost hovering as
they swooped past one another. On the ground, between bows, Harry
Avalon would skip quickly to the front rows and point out the smear
of my mother’s lipstick, just off the edge of his mouth. They made a
MAKE INFERENCES
romantic pair all right, especially in the blindfold sequence.
6 That afternoon, as the anticipation increased, as Mr. and Mrs. Annotate: In paragraph 6, mark
lines that reveal the daughter’s
Avalon tied sparkling strips of cloth onto each other’s face and as
feelings about her mother.
they puckered their lips in mock kisses, lips destined “never again
to meet,” as one long breathless article put it, the wind rose, miles Infer: What does she admire
about her mother?
1
vignette (v∆n-y≈t´): a brief scene.
The Leap 37
ANALYZE FLASHBACK AND off, wrapped itself into a cone, and howled. There came a rumble
TENSION of electrical energy, drowned out by the sudden roll of drums. One
Annotate: Underline words in detail not mentioned by the press, perhaps unknown—Anna was
paragraph 6 that signal shifts in pregnant at the time, seven months and hardly showing, her stomach
time. muscles were that strong. It seems incredible that she would work
Analyze: How do these shifts high above the ground when any fall could be so dangerous, but the
reveal the narrator’s thinking as explanation—I know from watching her go blind—is that my mother
she tells the story? lives comfortably in extreme elements. She is one with the constant
dark now, just as the air was her home, familiar to her, safe, before the
storm that afternoon.
7 From opposite ends of the tent they waved, blind and smiling,
to the crowd below. The ringmaster removed his hat and called for
silence, so that the two above could concentrate. They rubbed their
hands in chalky powder, then Harry launched himself and swung
once, twice, in huge calibrated2 beats across space. He hung from his
knees and on the third swing stretched wide his arms, held his hand
out to receive his pregnant wife as she dove from her shining bar.
8 It was while the two were in midair, their hands about to meet,
that lightning struck the main pole and sizzled down the guy wires,
filling the air with a blue radiance that Harry Avalon must certainly
have seen through the cloth of his blindfold as the tent buckled
and the edifice toppled him forward, the swing continuing and
not returning in its sweep, and Harry going down, down into the
crowd with his last thought, perhaps, just a prickle of surprise at his
empty hands.
NOTICE & NOTE 9 My mother once said that I’d be amazed at how many things a
MEMORY MOMENT person can do within the act of falling. Perhaps, at the time, she was
A Memory Moment occurs teaching me to dive off a board at the town pool, for I associated the
when the narrator interrupts the idea with midair somersaults. But I also think she meant that even
forward progress of the story to
in that awful doomed second one could think, for she certainly did.
recall something from the past.
When her hands did not meet her husband’s, my mother tore her
Notice & Note: Mark the blindfold away. As he swept past her on the wrong side, she could
Memory Moment the narrator
have grasped his ankle, the toe-end of his tights, and gone down
shares in paragraph 9.
clutching him. Instead, she changed direction. Her body twisted
Analyze: Why might this toward a heavy wire and she managed to hang on to the braided
memory be important?
metal, still hot from the lightning strike. Her palms were burned so
terribly that once healed they bore no lines, only the blank scar tissue
of a quieter future. She was lowered, gently, to the sawdust ring just
underneath the dome of the canvas roof, which did not entirely settle
but was held up on one end and jabbed through, torn, and still on fire
in places from the giant spark, though rain and men’s jackets soon put
that out.
10 Three people died, but except for her hands my mother was
not seriously harmed until an overeager rescuer broke her arm in
extricate extricating her and also, in the process, collapsed a portion of the
(≈k´strΔ-k∑t) v. to release or
disentangle from. 2
calibrated: checked or determined by comparison with a standard.

tent bearing a huge buckle that knocked her unconscious. She was VOCABULARY
taken to the town hospital, and there she must have hemorrhaged,3 Use Prefixes: The word
for they kept her, confined to her bed, a month and a half before her unconscious consists of the prefix
baby was born without life. un-, meaning “not,” combined
11 Harry Avalon had wanted to be buried in the circus cemetery with the word conscius, meaning
“knowing or aware.” Recognizing
next to the original Avalon, his uncle, so she sent him back with his
prefixes can help you understand
brothers. The child, however, is buried around the corner, beyond a word’s meaning.
this house and just down the highway. Sometimes I used to walk
Analyze: What happened to the
there just to sit. She was a girl, but I rarely thought of her as a sister
mother’s awareness when the
or even as a separate person really. I suppose you could call it the buckle hit her head?
egocentrism4 of a child, of all young children, but I considered her a
less finished version of myself.
12 When the snow falls, throwing shadows among the stones, I can
easily pick hers out from the road, for it is bigger than the others
and in the shape of a lamb at rest, its legs curled beneath. The carved
lamb looms larger as the years pass, though it is probably only my
eyes, the visions shifting, as what is close to me blurs and distances
sharpen. In odd moments, I think it is the edge drawing near, the
edge of everything, the unseen horizon we do not really speak of in
the eastern woods. And it also seems to me, although this is probably
an idle fantasy, that the statue is growing more sharply etched, as if,
instead of weathering itself into a porous mass, it is hardening on the
hillside with each snowfall, perfecting itself.
13 It was during her confinement in the hospital that my mother
met my father. He was called in to look at the set of her arm, which
was complicated. He stayed, sitting at her bedside, for he was
something of an armchair traveler and had spent his war quietly, at an
air force training grounds, where he became a specialist in arms and
legs broken during parachute training exercises. Anna Avalon had
been to many of the places he longed to visit—Venice, Rome, Mexico,
all through France and Spain. She had no family of her own and was
taken in by the Avalons, trained to perform from a very young age.
They toured Europe before the war, then based themselves in New
York. She was illiterate.
14 It was in the hospital that she finally learned to read and write, as
a way of overcoming the boredom and depression of those weeks, and
it was my father who insisted on teaching her. In return for stories
of her adventures, he graded her first exercises. He bought her her
first book, and over her bold letters, which the pale guides of the
penmanship pads could not contain, they fell in love.
15 I wonder if my father calculated the exchange he offered: one
form of flight for another. For after that, and for as long as I can
remember, my mother has never been without a book. Until now,
that is, and it remains the greatest difficulty of her blindness. Since
3
hemorrhaged (h≈m´∂r-∆jd): bled heavily.
4
egocentrism: belief in the primary or sole importance of the self.
The Leap 39
my father’s recent death, there is no one to read to her, which is why
I returned, in fact, from my failed life where the land is flat. I came
home to read to my mother, to read out loud, to read long into the
dark if I must, to read all night.
16 Once my father and mother married, they moved onto the old
farm he had inherited but didn’t care much for. Though he’d been
thinking of moving to a larger city, he settled down and broadened
his practice in this valley. It still seems odd to me, when they could
have gone anywhere else, that they chose to stay in the town where
the disaster had occurred, and which my father in the first place
constrict had found so constricting. It was my mother who insisted upon it,
(k∂n-strΔkt´) v. to limit or impede after her child did not survive. And then, too, she loved the sagging
growth. farmhouse with its scrap of what was left of a vast acreage of woods
and hidden hay fields that stretched to the game park.
NOTICE & NOTE 17 I owe my existence, the second time then, to the two of them and
AGAIN AND AGAIN the hospital that brought them together. That is the debt we take for
When you notice a certain event, granted since none of us asks for life. It is only once we have it that we
image, or word recurs over a hang on so dearly.
portion of a story, you’ve spotted
18 I was seven the year the house caught fire, probably from
an Again and Again signpost.
standing ash. It can rekindle, and my father, forgetful around the
Notice & Note: Mark the words house and perpetually exhausted from night hours on call, often
and phrases in paragraph 17 that
emptied what he thought were ashes from cold stoves into wooden or
you’ve seen earlier in the story.
cardboard containers. The fire could have started from a flaming box,
Evaluate: What might the author or perhaps a buildup of creosote5 inside the chimney was the culprit.
be trying to emphasize by using
It started right around the stove, and the heart of the house was
these phrases repeatedly?
gutted. The baby-sitter, fallen asleep in my father’s den on the first
floor, woke to find the stairway to my upstairs room cut off by flames.
She used the phone, then ran outside to stand beneath my window.
19 When my parents arrived, the town volunteers had drawn water
from the fire pond and were spraying the outside of the house,
preparing to go inside after me, not knowing at the time that there
was only one staircase and that it was lost. On the other side of the
house, the superannuated6 extension ladder broke in half. Perhaps the
clatter of it falling against the walls woke me, for I’d been asleep up to
that point.
MAKE INFERENCES 20 As soon as I awakened, in the small room that I now use for
Annotate: Mark lines in sewing, I smelled the smoke. I followed things by the letter then,
paragraph 20 that describe the was good at memorizing instructions, and so I did exactly what was
daughter’s reaction to the fire. taught in the second-grade home fire drill. I got up, I touched the
Infer: How is the narrator like her back of my door before opening it. Finding it hot, I left it closed and
mother? What characteristics do stuffed my rolled-up rug beneath the crack. I did not hide under my
they share? bed or crawl into my closet. I put on my flannel robe, and then I sat
down to wait.
5
creosote: a flammable, oily byproduct of burning carbon-based fuels like coal, peat,
and wood.
6
superannuated: obsolete; ready for retirement.

Don’t forget to
read the text.
21 Outside, my mother stood below my dark window and saw

clearly that there was no rescue. Flames had pierced one side wall,
and the glare of the fire lighted the massive limbs and trunk of the
vigorous old elm that had probably been planted the year the house
was built, a hundred years ago at least. No leaf touched the wall,
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©Sandra Baker/Photographer’s Choice/Getty Images
and just one thin branch scraped the roof. From below, it looked as
though even a squirrel would have had trouble jumping from the tree
onto the house, for the breadth of that small branch was no bigger
than my mother’s wrist.
22 Standing there, beside Father, who was preparing to rush back
around to the front of the house, my mother asked him to unzip her
dress. When he wouldn’t be bothered, she made him understand.
He couldn’t make his hands work, so she finally tore it off and stood
there in her pearls and stockings. She directed one of the men to lean
the broken half of the extension ladder up against the trunk of the
tree. In surprise, he complied. She ascended. She vanished. Then comply
she could be seen among the leafless branches of late November as (k∂m-plπ´) v. to obey an instruction
or command.
she made her way up and, along her stomach, inched the length of a
bough that curved above the branch that brushed the roof.
23 Once there, swaying, she stood and balanced. There were plenty
of people in the crowd and many who still remember, or think they
do, my mother’s leap through the ice-dark air toward that thinnest
extension, and how she broke the branch falling so that it cracked
in her hands, cracked louder than the flames as she vaulted with
The Leap 41
it toward the edge of the roof, and how it hurtled down end over
end without her, and their eyes went up, again, to see where she
had flown.
24 I didn’t see her leap through air, only heard the sudden thump
and looked out my window. She was hanging by the backs of her heels
from the new gutter we had put in that year, and she was smiling. I
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©John M Lund Photography Inc/DigitalVision/Getty
was not surprised to see her, she was so matter-of-fact. She tapped
on the window. I remember how she did it, too. It was the friendliest
tentative tap, a bit tentative, as if she was afraid she had arrived too early at
(t≈n´t∂-tΔv) adj. with caution and a friend’s house. Then she gestured at the latch, and when I opened
without confidence. the window she told me to raise it wider and prop it up with the
stick so it wouldn’t crush her fingers. She swung down, caught the
ledge, and crawled through the opening. Once she was in my room,
I realized she had on only underclothing, a bra of the heavy stitched
cotton women used to wear and step-in, lace-trimmed drawers. I
remember feeling light-headed, of course, terribly relieved, and then
embarrassed for her to be seen by the crowd undressed.
25 I was still embarrassed as we flew out the window, toward earth,
me in her lap, her toes pointed as we skimmed toward the painted
target of the fire fighter’s net.
26 I know that she’s right. I knew it even then. As you fall, there is
time to think. Curled as I was, against her stomach, I was not startled
by the cries of the crowd or the looming faces. The wind roared and
Images
beat its hot breath at our back, the flames whistled. I slowly wondered
what would happen if we missed the circle or bounced out of it. Then
I wrapped my hands around my mother’s hands. I felt the brush of
her lips and heard the beat of her heart in my ears, loud as thunder,
long as the roll of drums.

How does the narrator feel about her mother, and why?
survive a crisis?
Review your notes and add

to your Response Log.
Assessment Practice
1. Reread paragraph 9. What inference can be made from Anna’s behavior as her
husband falls past her?
A She had not really loved her husband that much.
B Her top priority was to die with her husband.
C Her first instinct was to survive with her child.
D She panicked in a life and death situation.
Part A
Which of the below best explains Anna’s act of bravery in saving her daughter?
A She has been traumatized by her husband’s death.
B She feels guilty about not having saved her husband.
C She reacts calmly to dangerous or stressful situations.
D She still mourns the death of her unborn child.
Part B
Which passage from the story best supports the answer to Part A?
A “It seems incredible that she would work high above the ground . . . but the
explanation—I know from watching her go blind—is that my mother lives
comfortably in extreme elements.” (paragraph 6)
B “As he swept past her on the wrong side, she could have grasped his ankle . . .
and gone down clutching him. Instead, she changed direction.” (paragraph 9)
C “She must have hemorrhaged, for they kept her . . . a month and a half before
her baby was born without life.” (paragraph 10)
D “For after that . . . my mother has never been without a book. Until now . . .
and it remains the greatest difficulty of her blindness.” (paragraph 15)
The Leap 43
Respond
Analyze the Text

NOTICE & NOTE
1 INTERPRET How does paragraph 2 act as a flashback? What clues Review what
does it give about the rest of the story? you noticed and
noted as you read
the text. Your
annotations can
2 DRAW CONCLUSIONS In paragraph 9, Anna decides to reach for the
help you answer
hot braided metal rather than for her husband as he falls. What does this these questions.
reveal about her character?
3 IDENTIFY PATTERNS Identify the leaps in the story. Which leaps are
literal? Which are figurative?
The Leaps Literal or Figurative?
4 INFER Review the chart you filled out to track your ideas and inferences
as you read this story. Then, reread paragraph 26. What does the narrator
learn from this Memory Moment? What inferences can you make about
the story’s theme or themes?
5 COMPARE Compare the description of the trapeze accident with the

description of the house fire. What do these descriptions reveal about the
mother’s character?
6 ANALYZE The narrator speaks Again and Again of the ways that she
owes her existence to her mother. Identify the three ways and describe
how this repetition affects the mood of the story.

Respond
Choices
Writing
Retell the Story As you write and discuss,
be sure to use the
Imagine you were one of the firefighters on the scene when the Academic Vocabulary
narrator was saved from her burning house. You can’t believe what words.
you saw and can’t wait to share it with friends and family. In a social dimension
media post, retell the story from your point of view as a firefighter.
• Reread the part of the story that describes the fire.

external
• Think about what you would have seen, and what you would
have noticed as a professional firefighter.
statistic
sustain
• Describe events using vivid descriptions and concrete details.
Remember—the people you’re writing for weren’t there! utilize

Group Discussion
Media
“The Leap” is a work of fiction. Though some
Build a Timeline events seem like they could have actually
With a partner or in a small group, create an happened, others may seem unlikely. Discuss
illustrated timeline of the story’s key events. your opinions with a small group.
• Make a list of story events in the order they • Which events seem realistic?
occurred.
• Which events seem unrealistic?
• Find images that depict each scene.
• Defend your opinions with additional
• Write captions for each image that tell the examples.
story.
• Respond to and build on others’ arguments.
•
Publish your timeline for the rest of the class.
The Leap 45
Respond

PRACTICE AND APPLY
Answer the questions to show your understanding of the vocabulary
words. Use a dictionary or thesaurus as needed.
1. Should a rescue crew provide a tentative response to an encroaching

forest fire? Why or why not?
2. Would it feel constricting to always comply with the wishes of others? Explain.
3. Why would you extricate yourself from a planned road trip upon learning
of an approaching blizzard?
Vocabulary Strategy
Prefixes
The vocabulary words encroach, extricate, constrict, and comply all contain Vocabulary Practice:
a prefix, an affix added to the beginning of a base word. Knowing the Common Roots, Prefixes,
meaning of common prefixes, such as en-, ex-, con-, and com-, will help you and Suffixes
clarify the meaning of unknown words. Here are the meanings of some
common prefixes and examples of other words that contain the prefixes:
Prefix Meaning Example
en- to go into or onto encapsulate, encircle
ex- out of or away from exchange, exterminate
con- together, with, jointly consensus, congenial
If a base word is unfamiliar, use your knowledge of the word’s prefix and
how the word is used in context to clarify its meaning. If necessary, consult
a dictionary to determine the precise meaning of the word.
PRACTICE AND APPLY

For each prefix in the chart, identify one word that contains it. The word
may be in the text, or it may be a word of your own choosing. For each
word you choose, follow these steps:
1. Identify the base word, the main word part. For example, the base
word of exchange is change.
2. Write a definition for each word that incorporates the prefix meaning
and the base word meaning. Use a dictionary to check your definition.
3. Write a sample sentence for each word you choose.

Respond

Relative Clauses
A clause is a group of words that contains a subject and a predicate.
Relative clauses describe nouns and function as adjectives. Here are
the characteristics of a relative clause:
• It begins with a signal word: a relative pronoun (that, which, who,

whom, whose) or a relative adverb (when, where, or why).
• It follows a noun or a noun phrase.
• It provides extra information about a noun or a noun phrase, or it

answers the questions What kind? How many? Which one?
Authors use relative clauses not only to convey specific meanings, but
also to add interest and variety to their work. Read this sentence from
“The Leap”:
It commemorates the disaster that put our town smack

on the front page of the Boston and New York tabloids.
The clause contains all the elements of a relative clause: it begins with
a relative pronoun—that; it follows a noun—disaster; it answers the
question Which one?—the disaster that put the town in the tabloids.
Here are other examples of relative clauses from the “The Leap”:
Relative Clauses
Signal Word Example from Story Words Modified
He was called in to look at

which the set of her arm, which was “the set of her arm”
complicated.
. . . and it was my father who

who “father”
insisted on teaching her.
PRACTICE AND APPLY

Work with a partner to identify three or four more relative clauses in
“The Leap” that are not included as examples in this lesson.
The Leap 47
Get Ready
ESSENTIAL QUESTION:
The End and survive a crisis?
the Beginning
Poem by Wisława Szymborska
Engage Your Brain

connecting with the poem you are about to read. War Zones
With a partner, do some quick research on
areas of the world with ongoing wars or
Historical Backdrop conflicts.
1. Identify at least three regions or
Wisława Szymborska was born in Poland in
countries currently at war.
1923. Research the experience of the Polish
people during World War II. Then talk with a 2. Explain the causes behind the conflicts.
partner about how a young poet might have 3. Compare your findings with another
been affected by Poland’s role in the war. pair.
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©AP Images
What Does It Look Like?

Think about the aspects of daily
life that are disrupted by war or
mass violence. What kinds of
challenges do people face in
the aftermath of war? Make a
list, or sketch your ideas.

Get Ready
Analyze Poetic Language

“The End and the Beginning” is a lyric poem, one in
which a single speaker expresses his or her personal
ideas and feelings. Lyric poetry can take many forms Focus on Genre
and can address all types of topics, from everyday Lyric Poetry
experiences to complex ideas. Most poems—except • usually short to convey strong
narrative poems, which tell a story—are lyric poems. emotions
Poetry is highly concentrated as far as language used,

• written using first-person point
of view to express the speaker’s
so poets must be precise and economical about the thoughts and feelings
words they choose. As Szymborska said in her Nobel • often uses repetition and rhyme
Prize acceptance speech, “every word is weighed.” to create a melodic quality
Analyzing an author’s language choices—and the • includes many forms, such as
literary effect of those choices—can deepen your sonnets, odes, and elegies
understanding of a poem. You can analyze Wisława
Szymborska’s poetic language in “The End and the
Beginning” by looking at the elements outlined in the
chart below.
Tone Imagery Diction/Syntax
Tone refers to the author’s attitude Poets often use imagery, or Two closely related elements that
toward the subject. Authors shape descriptive words and phrases that affect the tone of a poem are diction
a work’s tone through topics they create sensory experiences for the and syntax.
choose to explore, word choices, and
images those words create. Elements
reader. Imagery usually appeals to
one or more of the five senses to help
•• Diction is the writer’s choice of
specific words.
to consider when evaluating tone
include:
readers imagine exactly what is being
described. For example, the striking
•• Syntax is the way those words
are arranged into phrases and
•• words with positive or negative
connotations
image of “corpse-filled wagons”
passing through rubble-lined roads
sentences.
Look for the specific words the
•• use of informal language, such as
idioms or colloquial expressions
calls to mind photographs that most
readers will have seen of war-torn, author chose for the poem and how
bombed-out cities. she chose to arrange them. What
•• repetition
or phrases
of significant words
Look for other images in the poem
tone do those carefully chosen
words create?
that engage your senses and evoke
a strong emotional response.
The End and the Beginning 49

Get Ready
Analyze Poetic Structure

Poets use rhetorical devices such as repetition and parallelism to convey
meaning. Repetition is the use of a word or phrase two or more times.
Parallelism is the use of the same grammatical or metrical structure within
and across lines and verses. Parallelism can provide rhythmic symmetry
and balance to a piece, and often shows that two or more ideas are similar.
Below are the third and fourth stanzas of “The End and the Beginning.”
Find and underline examples of repetition and parallelism.
Someone has to get mired Someone has to drag in a girder

in scum and ashes, to prop up a wall.
sofa springs, Someone has to glaze a window,
splintered glass, rehang a door.
and bloody rags.
As you read the poem, look for the use of repetition and parallelism. Think
about the effect of these and other elements of the author’s style and how
that style conveys information about the message and speaker.
Here is one reader’s response to the second stanza of “The End and the
Beginning.” As you read, note your observations about the poem’s tone,
the use of sensory imagery, and the author’s choice of diction and syntax.
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©Wojtek Laski/Getty Images
Someone has to push the rubble Rubble = debris from bombed-
to the side of the road, out buildings? “corpse-filled”—
so the corpse-filled wagons strong image
can pass.
Background
Wisława Szymborska (1923–2012) was born in Poland. Her first
two published volumes of poetry, written in post-World War
II Communist-dominated Poland, were written in the style of
Socialist Realism. Szymborska later disowned these works.
Her disillusionment with communism was reflected in Calling
Out to Yeti, published in 1957. Her poems, noted for their
unique, ironic tone, have been translated into many languages.
Szymborska won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1996.

The End and
the Beginning
Poem by Wisława Szymborska
What are the harsh realities of life after war? NOTICE & NOTE
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©Wissam Al-Okaili/AFP/Getty Images
about the text.
After every war

someone has to clean up.
Things won’t ANALYZE POETIC LANGUAGE
straighten themselves up, after all.
Annotate: Underline words and
phrases in lines 1–13 that appeal
5 Someone has to push the rubble to the reader’s senses.
to the side of the road,
Interpret: What general picture
so the corpse-filled wagons do these words or phrases create
can pass. in your mind?
Someone has to get mired

10 in scum and ashes,
sofa springs, Close Read Screencast
splintered glass, Listen to a modeled close
and bloody rags. read of this text.

ANALYZE POETIC Someone has to drag in a girder
STRUCTURE 15 to prop up a wall.
Annotate: Mark the use of Someone has to glaze a window,
repetition and parallelism in the rehang a door.
first four stanzas of the poem.
Interpret: What is the effect of Photogenic it’s not,

these devices? and takes years.
20 All the cameras have left
for another war.
We’ll need the bridges back,

and new railway stations.
Sleeves will go ragged
25 from rolling them up.
Someone, broom in hand,

still recalls the way it was.
Someone else listens
and nods with unsevered1 head.
30 But already there are those nearby
starting to mill about2
who will find it dull.
ANALYZE POETIC From out of the bushes

LANGUAGE sometimes someone still unearths
Annotate: Mark the use of 35 rusted-out arguments
figurative language in lines 33–36. and carries them to the garbage pile.
Interpret: What tone does this
image convey? Those who knew
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©Wissam Al-Okaili/AFP/Getty Images
what was going on here
must make way for
40 those who know little.
And less than little.
And finally as little as nothing.
In the grass that has overgrown

causes and effects,
45 someone must be stretched out
blade of grass in his mouth
gazing at the clouds.
1
unsevered: not cut off; not separated.
2
mill about: move idly or aimlessly.

Turn to a partner and discuss the last three lines of the poem. Do What does it take to
survive a crisis?
they surprise you? What message is the poet conveying through
this image?
Response Log.
Assessment Practice
Part A
What is a central idea of the poem?
A Wars cause destruction that can never be repaired.
B Wars seem logical to those who do not witness their horrors.
C Wars and their effects are forgotten by future generations.
D Wars are exciting to fight but destroy many communities.
Part B
How is the central idea developed throughout the poem?
A by listing a sequence of events that occur after a war ends
B by explaining why people don’t want to clean up after a war
C by reminding the reader that avoiding war avoids destruction
D by describing the causes of wars and why they are repeated
2. Which word best describes the speaker’s tone in the poem?
A grateful—the speaker is happy to be alive

B resolute—the speaker is ready to get on with the rebuilding
C harsh—the speaker is bitter about what has happened
D ironic—the speaker notices people tend to forget about war

Respond
Analyze the Text

NOTICE & NOTE
1 ANALYZE Answer the questions in the chart to explore how Review what
Szymborska creates the tone of the poem. you noticed and
noted as you read
the text. Your
annotations can
Question Your Answer Evidence from the Poem help you answer
these questions.
Does the speaker use formal
or informal language? What
is the cumulative effect of
Szymborska’s word choice?
What is the speaker’s

attitude toward the situation
he or she is describing?
How does the tone of the

poem change beginning
with line 30?
2 INFER Notice the repetition of the word “someone” again and again in
the poem. What statement is the speaker making by using an indefinite
pronoun rather than referring to a specific person?
3 IDENTIFY PATTERNS In line 18, the speaker says that the aftermath
of war is not “photogenic.” What images in the poem reinforce this idea
about war? How does the poet show the extent of the devastation?
4 INTERPRET Reread the last stanza of the poem. What does the grass
symbolize, or represent? What does the speaker mean by describing this
“someone” as being “stretched out / blade of grass in his mouth / gazing
at the clouds”?
5 EVALUATE In lines 37–42, the speaker contrasts “those who knew” with
those who know “as little as nothing.” What is the contrast between these
two groups of people?
6 DRAW CONCLUSIONS The poem’s title—with “End” coming before

“Beginning”—reverses the order in which we usually think about events.
What theme might the author be suggesting about the cyclic, repetitive
nature of human events?

Respond
Choices
Writing
Write a Dialogue As you write and discuss,
be sure to use the
Starting at line 30, the poem starts to reveal different attitudes Academic Vocabulary
between generations. Think about how different generations today words.
tend to have different attitudes, beliefs, and priorities. dimension
1. In a small group, script a dialogue between two or more
individuals from different generations discussing their views external
about a certain idea or object: perhaps a digital device, or the
statistic
role of technology.
2. Read your script to another group, and listen to theirs. sustain
3. Compare your scripts: Did the characters agree, compromise, or utilize

hold fast to their views?

Podcast
Working with a partner, record a podcast in
Media which you are news reporters who have just
Blog visited a site of conflict or war. Your assignment is
to report on what you both have seen, including
The poem’s speaker says that war is not
the impact of violence on local people.
photogenic, meaning it’s not attractive. However,
photographs of war and conflict flood today’s
media. In a blog or social media page:
• Identify descriptions, thoughts, feelings, and
experiences you want to share with listeners.
• Include at least three images showing people

trying to recover from war or conflict.
• Script the information as a conversation
where you build on your news partner’s
• Write captions for each image. Describe each

points.
image in both literal and figurative terms. • Include vivid sensory details of sights,
• If the conflict is ongoing, suggest actions

sounds, and smells.
others can take to provide aid. • Ensure you both have equal speaking time
and respond to each other’s comments.

Collaborate IIESSENTIAL QUESTION:
& Compare
survive a crisis?
Compare Accounts
You’re about to read excerpts from two memoirs about the
Holocaust. As you read, notice similarities and differences in
the settings, characters, points of view, and author’s purpose in
these two texts.
B
A
t from Maus
from Nigh
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: (l) ©Scott Barbour/Getty Images News/Getty Images
Graphic Me
Elie Wiesel moir by
Memoir by Art Spiegelm
an
7
pages 60–6 Pages 74–7
9
After you have read both texts, you will collaborate with a small
group on a final project. You will compare the two accounts by
following these steps:
• Review your notes
• Plan your presentation
• Consider using media
• Practice and present your comparison
56 UNIT 1 COLLABORATE & COMPARE

A Get Ready
from Night
Memoir by Elie Wiesel
Engage Your Brain

Images of the Holocaust
Choose one or both of these activities to start
connecting with the memoir you’re about to read. Examine the drawings and photograph
accompanying the text of the memoir. What is
the message of these carefully drawn portraits?
What is the significance of the photograph of
Background to Night shoes? Express your thoughts by freewriting or
You probably know a lot about the general through a poem, song, or video.
history of World War II through school, movies,
and books. In the chart, take notes on what you
know about the plight of Jewish communities in
Europe shortly before and during the war. Share
what you know in a group discussion, listening
to what others know and what they would like
to know. In the second column, note questions
or topics sparked by the discussion that you
would like to learn more about.
I know . . . I wonder . . .
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©World History Archive/Alamy
Night 57
Get Ready A
Analyze Memoirs
A memoir is an autobiographical account of a person’s experiences
and observations of an event. As you read this excerpt from Elie Focus on Genre
Wiesel’s memoir, use these questions to help you think about Memoir
Wiesel’s purposes for writing: • records actual events based on
• What is the historical context for the memoir? About what

significant events and people does the author share memories? •
the writer’s observations
reveals the writer’s feelings
• provides historical context for
• What perspective do you understand from reading a first-person
account?
the events described
• Think about other nonfiction books or articles that you have

read about Jews during World War II. How is this first-person
account different?
• Who is the audience for the memoir?
• What do you learn about the impact on people of the historical

events described?
Analyze Word Choice

The tone of a work is the author’s attitude toward the subject.
A writer’s tone may be formal, informal, serious, angry, or
lighthearted. The mood of a work is the emotional atmosphere the
writer creates. Writers shape tone and mood through word choice.
Words with particular connotations shape the overall meaning
of a work. Similar words can describe both tone and mood—for
example, fear, dread, amusement—but mood relates to how the
author’s words affect the reader. Which words in the examples
in the chart help create the tone and mood?
Tone or Mood Example from the Text
One more hour. Then we would know the verdict: death

Tone: Fear and dread
or reprieve.
He felt time was running out. He was speaking rapidly,

Tone: Despair he wanted to tell me so many things. His speech became

confused, his voice was choked.
My father had remained near the block, leaning against

Mood: Suspense
the wall. Then he began to run, to try to catch up with us.
As you read the memoir, identify specific words that contribute to the
text’s tone and mood.

A Get Ready
Here are one reader’s notes about the excerpt from Night. As you read,
highlight words that shape the tone and mood of the memoir.
The SS offered us a beautiful present for “beautiful” = ironic or sarcastic

the new year. We had just returned from
work. As soon as we passed the camp’s
entrance, we sensed something out of Prisoners are nervous because
the ordinary in the air. The roll call was something is different.
shorter than usual. The evening soup was
distributed at great speed, swallowed as
quickly. We were anxious.

reprieve Turn to a partner and use the vocabulary words you

already know in a short discussion about what you
emaciated
think the text will be about.
execute As you read the excerpt from Night, use the definitions
in the side column to learn the vocabulary words you
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©Ulf Andersen/Hulton Archive/Getty Images
decisive don’t already know.
din
Background
Elie Wiesel (1928–2016) was a teacher, writer, and Nobel Peace
Prize winner. Born in Romania, Wiesel and his family were
among millions of European Jews deported to concentration
camps during the Holocaust. In 1944, Hungarian and German
authorities sent the family to Auschwitz, where Wiesel’s mother
and sister were immediately killed in the gas chambers. Months
later, when Wiesel and his father were moved to Buchenwald
concentration camp, his father also died. Buchenwald was
eventually liberated, and Wiesel went on to write about his
experience. His many works include Dawn and The Accident,
both sequels to Night.
Night 59
A
NOTICE & NOTE
As you read, use the

from Night
Memoir by Elie Wiesel
side margins to make
notes about the text.
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©Scott Barbour/Getty Images News/Getty Images
A young man waits to hear whether he and his father will
be selected to live another day or be killed.
1
T he SS1 offered us a beautiful present for the new year. We had just
returned from work. As soon as we passed the camp’s entrance,
we sensed something out of the ordinary in the air. The roll call was
shorter than usual. The evening soup was distributed at great speed,
swallowed as quickly. We were anxious.
2 I was no longer in the same block as my father. They had
transferred me to another Kommando,2 the construction one, where
twelve hours a day I hauled heavy slabs of stone. The head of my new
block was a German Jew, small with piercing eyes. That evening he
announced to us that henceforth no one was allowed to leave the
block after the evening soup. A terrible word began to circulate soon
thereafter: selection.
1
SS: abbreviation of Schutzstaffel, German for “defense force”; an armed unit of the Nazi
Party that controlled concentration camps.
2
Kommando (k∂-m√n´d∫): German for “command,” a small-group organization for laborers
in the camps.

3 We knew what it meant. An SS would examine us. Whenever he Don’t forget to
found someone extremely frail—a “Muselman” was what we called Notice & Note as you
read the text.
those inmates—he would write down his number: good for the
crematorium.
4 After the soup, we gathered between the bunks. The veterans
NOTICE & NOTE
told us: “You’re lucky to have been brought here so late. Today, this is
WORDS OF THE WISER
paradise compared to what the camp was two years ago. Back then,
When you notice older characters
Buna3 was a veritable hell. No water, no blankets, less soup and bread. giving life advice to the main
At night, we slept almost naked and the temperature was thirty below. character, you’ve identified a
We were collecting corpses by the hundreds every day. Work was very Words of the Wiser signpost.
hard. Today, this is a little paradise. The Kapos4 back then had orders Notice & Note: Underline what
to kill a certain number of prisoners every day. And every week, the author learns from the veteran
selection. A merciless selection . . . Yes, you are lucky.” inmates.
5 “Enough! Be quiet!” I begged them. “Tell your stories tomorrow, Interpret: What’s the life lesson
or some other day.” and how might it affect Elie?
6 They burst out laughing. They were not veterans for nothing.
7 “Are you scared? We too were scared. And, at that time, for good
reason.”
8 The old men stayed in their corner, silent, motionless, hunted-
down creatures. Some were praying.
9 One more hour. Then we would know the verdict: death or
reprieve. reprieve
10 And my father? I first thought of him now. How would he pass (rΔ-prΠv´) n. the cancellation or
selection? He had aged so much. . . . postponement of punishment.
11 Our Blockälteste5 had not been outside a concentration camp

since 1933. He had already been through all the slaughterhouses,
all the factories of death. Around nine o’clock, he came to stand in Close Read Screencast
our midst: Listen to a modeled close
12 “Achtung!”6 read of this text.
13 There was instant silence.
14 “Listen carefully to what I am about to tell you.” For the first time,
his voice quivered. “In a few moments, selection will take place. You
will have to undress completely. Then you will go, one by one, before
the SS doctors. I hope you will all pass. But you must try to increase
your chances. Before you go into the next room, try to move your
limbs, give yourself some color. Don’t walk slowly, run! Run as if you
had the devil at your heels! Don’t look at the SS. Run, straight in front
of you!”
15 He paused and then added:

16 “And most important, don’t be afraid!”
17 That was a piece of advice we would have loved to be able to
follow.
3
Buna (b◊´n∂): a section of the concentration camp at Auschwitz.
4
Kapos (kä´p∫s): prisoners who performed certain duties for the guards.
5
Blockälteste (bl≤k ≈l´t∂s-t∂): a rank of Kapos; a prisoner designated by the Nazis to be the
leader or representative of a block, or group of barracks.
6
Achtung! (√k´t◊ng): German command for “Attention!”
Night 61
18 I undressed, leaving my clothes on my cot. Tonight, there was no
danger that they would be stolen.
19 Tibi and Yossi, who had changed Kommandos at the same time I
did, came to urge me:
20 “Let’s stay together. It will make us stronger.”
21 Yossi was mumbling something. He probably was praying. I had
never suspected that Yossi was religious. In fact, I had always believed
the opposite. Tibi was silent and very pale. All the block inmates
stood naked between the rows of bunks. This must be how one stands
for the Last Judgment.
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©dpa picture alliance/Alamy
22 “They are coming!”
23 Three SS officers surrounded the notorious Dr. Mengele,7
the very same who had received us in Birkenau. The Blockälteste
attempted a smile. He asked us:
24 “Ready?”
25 Yes, we were ready. So were the SS doctors. Dr. Mengele was
holding a list: our numbers. He nodded to the Blockälteste: we can
begin! As if this were a game.
26 The first to go were the “notables” of the block, the Stubenälteste,8
the Kapos, the foremen, all of whom were in perfect physical
condition, of course! Then came the ordinary prisoners’ turns.
Dr. Mengele looked them over from head to toe. From time to time,
he noted a number. I had but one thought: not to have my number
taken down and not to show my left arm.
7
Dr. Mengele (m≈n-g∂´l∂): Josef Mengele (1911–1979), Nazi physician at Auschwitz known
for conducting cruel experiments on prisoners.
8
Stubenälteste (shty◊´b∂-n∆l-t≠s -t∂): a rank of Kapos; prisoners designated by the Nazis
to be the leaders of their barracks, or rooms.

Don’t forget to
read the text.
27 In front of me, there were only Tibi and Yossi. They passed. I had
time to notice that Mengele had not written down their numbers.
Someone pushed me. It was my turn. I ran without looking back.
My head was spinning: you are too skinny . . . you are too weak . . .
you are too skinny, you are good for the ovens . . . The race seemed
endless; I felt as though I had been running for years . . . You are too
skinny, you are too weak . . . At last I arrived. Exhausted. When I had
caught my breath, I asked Yossi and Tibi:
28 “Did they write me down?”
29 “No,” said Yossi. Smiling, he added, “Anyway, they couldn’t have. ANALYZE MEMOIRS
You were running too fast . . .” Annotate: Mark details in

30 I began to laugh. I was happy. I felt like kissing him. At that paragraphs 27–31 that help you
moment, the others did not matter! They had not written me down. understand Wiesel’s character at
31 Those whose numbers had been noted were standing apart, the time of the events.
abandoned by the whole world. Some were silently weeping. Evaluate: How has the passage
of time given Wiesel insight into
32 the ss officers left. The Blockälteste appeared, his face what he experienced at the end of
reflecting our collective weariness. the “selection”?
33 “It all went well. Don’t worry. Nothing will happen to anyone. Not
to anyone . . .”
34 He was still trying to smile. A poor emaciated Jew questioned emaciated
him anxiously, his voice trembling: (Δ-m∑´shΠ-∑t id) adj. made
extremely thin and weak.
35 “But . . . sir. They did write me down!”
36 At that, the Blockälteste vented his anger: What! Someone refused
to take his word?
37 “What is it now? Perhaps you think I’m lying? I’m telling you,
once and for all: nothing will happen to you! Nothing! You just like to
wallow in your despair, you fools!”
Night 63
38 The bell rang, signaling that the selection had ended in the
entire camp.
39 With all my strength I began to race toward Block 36; midway, I
met my father. He came toward me:
40 “So? Did you pass?”
41 “Yes. And you?”
42 “Also.”
43 We were able to breathe again. My father had a present for me:
a half ration of bread, bartered for something he had found at the
depot, a piece of rubber that could be used to repair a shoe.
44 The bell. It was already time to part, to go to bed. The bell
execute regulated everything. It gave me orders and I executed them blindly.
(≈k´sΔ-ky◊t) v. to carry out, or
I hated that bell. Whenever I happened to dream of a better world, I
accomplish.
imagined a universe without a bell.
45 a few days passed. We were no longer thinking about the
selection. We went to work as usual and loaded the heavy stones
onto the freight cars. The rations had grown smaller; that was the
only change.
46 We had risen at dawn, as we did every day. We had received our
black coffee, our ration of bread. We were about to head to the work
yard as always. The Blockälteste came running:
47 “Let’s have a moment of quiet. I have here a list of numbers.
I shall read them to you. All those called will not go to work this
morning; they will stay in camp.”
48 Softly, he read some ten numbers. We understood. These were
the numbers from the selection. Dr. Mengele had not forgotten.
49 The Blockälteste turned to go to his room. The ten prisoners
surrounded him, clinging to his clothes:
50 “Save us! You promised . . . We want to go to the depot, we are
strong enough to work. We are good workers. We can . . . we want . . .”
51 He tried to calm them, to reassure them about their fate, to
explain to them that staying in the camp did not mean much, had no
tragic significance: “After all, I stay here every day . . .”
52 The argument was more than flimsy. He realized it and, without
another word, locked himself in his room.
53 The bell had just rung.
54 “Form ranks!”
55 Now, it no longer mattered that the work was hard. All that
mattered was to be far from the block, far from the crucible9 of death,
from the center of hell.
56 I saw my father running in my direction. Suddenly, I was afraid.
57 “What is happening?”
58 He was out of breath, hardly able to open his mouth.
59 “Me too, me too . . . They told me too to stay in the camp.”
60 They had recorded his number without his noticing.
9
crucible: a vessel used for melting materials at high temperatures.

61 “What are we going to do?” I said anxiously.
62 But it was he who tried to reassure me:
63 “It’s not certain yet. There’s still a chance. Today, they will do
another selection . . . a decisive one . . .” decisive
64 I said nothing. (dΔ-sπ´sΔv) adj. final or concluding.
65 He felt time was running out. He was speaking rapidly, he wanted
to tell me so many things. His speech became confused, his voice was
choked. He knew that I had to leave in a few moments. He was going ANALYZE WORD CHOICE
to remain alone, so alone . . . Annotate: Mark words in
66 “Here, take this knife,” he said. “I won’t need it anymore. You may paragraphs 65–70 that contribute
find it useful. Also take this spoon. Don’t sell it. Quickly! Go ahead, to the tone of the text.
take what I’m giving you!” Analyze: How does the
67 My inheritance . . . word inheritance in line 67
68 “Don’t talk like that, Father.” I was on the verge of breaking communicate the author’s tone?
into sobs. “I don’t want you to say such things. Keep the spoon and
knife. You will need them as much as I. We’ll see each other tonight,
after work.”
69 He looked at me with his tired eyes, veiled by despair. He insisted:
70 “I am asking you . . . Take it, do as I ask you, my son. Time is
running out. Do as your father asks you . . .”
71 Our Kapo shouted the order to march.
Night 65
72 The Kommando headed toward the camp gate. Left, right!
I was biting my lips. My father had remained near the block, leaning
against the wall. Then he began to run, to try to catch up with us.
Perhaps he had forgotten to tell me something . . . But we were
marching too fast . . . Left, right!
din 73 We were at the gate. We were being counted. Around us, the din
(dΔn) n. loud noise. of military music. Then we were outside.
74 all day, i plodded around like a sleepwalker. Tibi and Yossi
would call out to me, from time to time, trying to reassure me. As did
the Kapo who had given me easier tasks that day. I felt sick at heart.
How kindly they treated me. Like an orphan. I thought:
Even now, my father is helping me.
VOCABULARY 75 I myself didn’t know whether I wanted the day to go by quickly
Multiple-Meaning Words: The
or not. I was afraid of finding myself alone that evening. How good it
word pass has many meanings. would be to die right here!
Note all the possible meanings 76 At last, we began the return journey. How I longed for an order to
you can think of. run! The military march. The gate. The camp. I ran toward Block 36.
Analyze: What context clues 77 Were there still miracles on this earth? He was alive. He had
help you know the meaning of passed the second selection. He had still proved his usefulness . . .
passed in paragraph 77? I gave him back his knife and spoon.
ESSENTIAL QUESTION: COLLABORATIVE DISCUSSION

What does it take to What details from Elie Wiesel’s experience at Auschwitz surprised
survive a crisis?
you? With a partner, discuss two unexpected details.

Response Log.

Assessment Practice
1. After the first selection, why doesn’t Wiesel mind his work?
A It is easier than what he had been doing.
B It gives him a chance to be with his father.
C It keeps his mind occupied.
D It means he has been spared.
2. This question has two parts. First answer Part A. Then, answer Part B.
Part A
Why does Wiesel not want to accept his inheritance?
A He does not like anyone telling him what to do.
B He refuses to accept the fact that his father may die.
C He thinks his father is being too generous.
D He does not have time to take the items back to his bunk.
Part B
Select two sentences that best support the answer to Part A.
A “I said nothing.” (paragraph 64)
B “He knew that I had to leave in a few moments.” (paragraph 65)
C “I was on the verge of breaking into sobs.” (paragraph 68)
D “You will need them as much as I.” (paragraph 68)
E “We’ll see each other tonight, after work.” (paragraph 68)
Night 67
Respond A
Analyze the Text

NOTICE & NOTE

1 INFER In paragraph 8, Wiesel writes, “The old men stayed in their corner,
Review what
silent, motionless, hunted-down creatures. Some were praying.” Which you noticed and
words in this quotation have strong connotations? How do these words noted as you
convey the tone and mood of Wiesel’s narrative? read the text. Your
annotations can
help you answer
2 INTERPRET The veteran inmates tell new arrivals they are “lucky” to these questions.
have arrived only recently. Why might these “wiser” inmates feel the
need to stress that prison conditions have become less harsh?
3 ANALYZE Look back at the scene in which Wiesel must run before the
SS doctors during selection. Why does Wiesel repeat his thoughts, “you are
too skinny . . . you are too weak”? How do these words—repeated again
and again—help the reader relate to Wiesel’s experience?
4 CITE EVIDENCE What evidence does Wiesel provide to support the idea
that though beaten down, the prisoners had creative ways of coping with
their confinement and of sustaining themselves?
5 ANALYZE Wiesel includes statements and reactions from other

prisoners, the head of the block, and the veterans of the camp that reveal
different perspectives about life in the concentration camp. Identify
examples of these different perspectives. Why do you think he includes
these quoted words in his memoir?
Statement or Reaction What It Reveals about the Prisoners’ Situation © Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company
6 DRAW CONCLUSIONS Why do you think Wiesel chose to call his

memoir Night? What might be the significance of this title?

A Respond
Choices
Writing
Create a Flyer
Search for the Eyewitness Testimony video in which Elie Wiesel
be sure to use the
talks about the importance of preventing holocausts and other Academic Vocabulary
atrocities. Create a flyer that conveys Wiesel’s message. words.
1. Focus on an event such as the Holocaust, or another event or dimension
situation you care about.
external
2. Adapt Wiesel’s points to state what people must do to resist
destructive actions by others. statistic
3. Include your own interpretation of “Never again.”
sustain
4. Close by stressing the importance of individual action and
responsibility. utilize

A Life in Art Research
Review the Background paragraph on the

Multimedia Presentation
Get Ready page as well as what you learned Night is set within the historical events of World
about Elie Wiesel from his memoir. Use War II and the Holocaust. Research a detail or
your imagination to see the world from his event from the text that you would like to know
perspective so that you can empathize, or feel more about. For ideas, review notes you took
compassion, for him in his situation. Then, create before and while reading the text. Then, create a
a piece of art that conveys Wiesel’s perceptions presentation to share with the class.
and/or experiences. You can use words and
phrases to create an image, draw a key scene • Compile your research in an easy-to-read
format.
from his memoir, design a collage, or create
some other visual presentation. • Include images, videos, or graphics that
will help your audience better understand
the topic.
• Present your findings to the class and

compare information.
• Cite referenced sources appropriately.
Night 69
Respond A

PRACTICE AND APPLY
Answer the questions to show your understanding of the vocabulary words.
1. Wiesel describes one of the prisoners as emaciated. What does the

prisoner look like?
2. When Wiesel’s father passes the second decisive selection, Wiesel is

relieved. Explain why.
3. While a prisoner, Wiesel executes his work tasks. Do the guards likely
have a complaint about his work? Explain.
4. The prisoners at the concentration camp hope for a reprieve from

death. What do they hope will happen?
5. The narrator can hear the din of military music in the background.
What does the music sound like?
Vocabulary Strategy
Multiple-Meaning Words
Interactive Vocabulary
The vocabulary word execute means “to accomplish or carry out fully.”
Lesson: Words with
Execute has another definition, “to put to death.” Like execute, many words Multiple Meanings
have multiple meanings. Use the strategies below to determine or clarify
the meaning of a multiple-meaning word.
• Use context, or the way the word is used in a sentence or paragraph,

to clarify its meaning. For example, look at the following sentence:
Mountain climbing was her passion, and she wanted to scale every peak.
The context tells you that scale refers to climbing.
• Consult general and specialized reference materials, particularly

glossaries and dictionaries, to determine or clarify the precise meaning
of a word. Dictionary entries provide all the definitions of a word, so
select the definition that makes sense.
PRACTICE AND APPLY

Work in a group to locate these words: present (paragraph 1) and block
(paragraph 2). Use context clues or reference materials to determine the
precise meaning for each word.

A Respond

Clauses
A clause is a group of words with a subject and a verb. There are two
types of clauses: an independent clause can stand alone as a sentence;
a dependent clause cannot. Instead, dependent clauses act as modifiers,
adding meaning to independent clauses. Dependent clauses often begin
with these words: as if, as, since, than, that, though, until, whenever, where,
while, who, why. These words are subordinating conjunctions that clarify
the connection between the clauses.
Read the following sentence from Night:
They had transferred me to another Kommando, the

construction one, where twelve hours a day I hauled heavy
slabs of stone.
This sentence contains one independent clause and one dependent

clause. Notice how the independent clause They had transferred me to Interactive Grammar
another Kommando, the construction one forms a complete thought and Lesson: The Clause
can stand alone as a sentence. The dependent clause, which is underlined,
provides additional information about the independent clause, but it
cannot stand alone. The two types of clauses function together to convey
the author’s meaning.
PRACTICE AND APPLY

Write three to four sentences, each with at least one independent and one
dependent clause, about your reaction to the memoir. Try to use different
subordinating conjunctions in your sentences.
Night 71
Get Ready B
from
Maus
Graphic Memoir by Art Spiegelman
Engage Your Brain

connecting with the graphic novel you are about
to read.
Make a Prediction
The graphic novel excerpt you are about to
read flashes back to the same time period Graphic Novels, Anyone?
that Elie Wiesel’s memoir covers.
Think about a comic book or graphic novel
Scan the images from Maus.
you recently read.
• What do you predict the excerpt
focuses on? • What was it about?
• What do you predict the tone of the • What were the images like?
scene is? • Was there a little bit of text, or a lot?
• Do you prefer to read a graphic novel or a

conventional book? Or does it depend?
Share your answers with a partner.
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©BublikHaus/Shutterstock
Sketch a Scene
Imagine a character facing a dangerous situation or struggling
to make a difficult decision. The character could be a human
or an animal. In the space, draw a scene or short graphic story
that shows what the character is going through.

B Get Ready
Analyze Graphic Memoirs

A graphic memoir is a kind of autobiographical writing in which the
author shares his or her personal experiences and observations in Focus on Genre
a comic-strip format. Like prose memoirs, a graphic memoir usually Graphic Novel
gives readers insight into the impact of historical events on people’s
• tells a book-length story in
lives. However, the author is able to use a range of graphic features comic-strip style
to convey meaning and to propel the narrative. • combines images, narrative
text, and dialogue in frames or
As you read, use the following chart to note how Art Spiegelman
panels
uses features of the graphic novel genre to tell his story.
• has a plot, characters, and
themes
• may be fiction or nonfiction
How Does Spiegelman . . . Details from Maus
show how events unfold in

a particular sequence?
make transitions between

the story’s present and
flashback events?
show what characters do

and say?
present narrative text (as

opposed to dialogue)?
reveal how characters

feel about situations and
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©Agence Opale/Alamy
events?
Background
Art Spiegelman (b. 1948) is a political cartoonist and satirist, best
known for his memoir Maus, a graphic novel. In it he recounts the
struggles of his parents, Vladek and Anja, to survive the Holocaust.
He uses animals to represent different groups involved in the war,
portraying Europe’s Jews as mice, Germans as cats, and Poles as
pigs. Spiegelman was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Maus in 1992,
demonstrating that the graphic novel had earned its status as a
serious literary genre. Spiegelman considers Maus to be a work of
nonfiction because of the extensive research he did for historical
scenes. The excerpt you will read begins in the United States, with
the author speaking to his father, and flashes back to events his
father remembers in Sosnowiec, a city in southern Poland.
Maus 73
from
B Maus
Graphic Memoir by Art Spiegelman
Cats and mice represent Germans and Jews in this graphic

NOTICE & NOTE
novel about the Holocaust.
As you read, use
the side margins
to make notes
about the text.
ANALYZE GRAPHIC
MEMOIRS
Annotate: Mark the

narrative text (text that
is not dialogue) on
this page.
Infer: Who is speaking

these words?

Don’t forget to
read the text.
NOTICE & NOTE

TOUGH
QUESTIONS
When you notice
characters asking
questions that reveal
their internal struggles,
you’ve found a Tough
Questions signpost.
Notice & Note: Mark

the tough question
Vladek’s father asks in
the second panel on
this page.
Analyze: What does

this question make you
wonder about?
Maus 75
ANALYZE GRAPHIC
MEMOIRS
Annotate: Mark
details on this page
that show the setting
of this scene.
Analyze: Why do you

think the author used
different-size panels to
depict this event?

Don’t forget to
read the text.
ANALYZE GRAPHIC
MEMOIRS
Annotate: Mark
different sizes and styles
of text you see on this
page.
Interpret: How do the

various text treatments
help you “hear” the way
characters speak the
dialogue?
Maus 77
ANALYZE GRAPHIC
MEMOIRS
Annotate: Mark
where another
person’s experience is
described.
Analyze: What is the

impact of this story on
the memoir?

With a partner, choose three or four words to describe community What does it take to
survive a crisis?
members’ feelings as the Nazis classify and prepare to deport them.

Response Log.
Assessment Practice
1. Why do the author’s father and other Jews go to the Dienst stadium?
A They are all being deported from Poland.
B People who need jobs may apply for one there.
C The Nazis require them to appear with their documents.
D It is a place to look for missing friends and family members.
2. At the stadium, all the Jews —
A get new documents
B get a new stamp on their passports

C are sorted into two groups
D are sent to Auschwitz
3. Select two sentences that explain why Vladek never sees his father again.
A He gives the wrong answers to the Nazis’ questions.
B He chooses to be with his daughter Fela and her children.
C He is too old and sick to hold a job.
D He gets lost in the stadium crowd.
E He climbs over the fence onto the left side.
Maus 79
Respond B
Analyze the Text

NOTICE & NOTE

1 DRAW CONCLUSIONS Why do you think families with many children
Review what
were “sent to the left” in the selection process? you noticed and
noted as you read
the text. Your
2 INFER Find the Tough Question Vladek’s father asks himself after annotations can
his daughter Fela is sorted to the left. What internal struggle does the help you answer
question reveal, and how does Vladek’s father resolve it? these questions.
3 ANALYZE Vladek’s flashback ends with a drawing of Vladek that has no

panel around it. Why do you think the author did this? What impact does
it have on readers?
4 SYNTHESIZE In the last scene of the excerpt, the woman in the kitchen
shares some of her Holocaust memories. How does this scene, combined
with Vladek’s memory from Sosnowiec, add depth to a memoir about the
author’s own life and experiences?
5 EVALUATE Do you think the graphic-novel format is effective for

Spiegelman’s memoir? Review the notes you took in the Analyze Graphic
Memoirs chart on the second Get Ready page for Maus. Then use the
following chart to evaluate elements of the excerpt.
Effective?
Feature Explain your response.
Yes/No
Mice represent Jews, and

cats represent Germans.
Vladek’s memories are

illustrated with images and
dialogue.
Spiegelman uses larger

or bolder text for certain
words.

B Respond
Choices
Writing
Draft an Argument
Take a position about whether it is appropriate for an event like
be sure to use the
the Holocaust to be the subject of a graphic novel. Then, create an Academic Vocabulary
outline for an argumentative essay. words.
• Draft your opinion, or thesis statement. dimension
• List examples and reasons.

external
• Make notes about how you will respond to opposing views.
statistic
• Draft a strong restatement of your opinion as a conclusion.
sustain
Use your outline to present an argument to your class or a
small group. Invite responses, listening actively and responding utilize
respectfully to other points of view.
Media
Create a Comic Book
The focus of this unit is surviving in a crisis. Produce an Oral History
Create a short comic book or graphic story
depicting a character attempting to survive a Maus is based on what author Art Spiegelman
difficult or dangerous situation. You can build learned about his father’s experiences during
on work you created earlier, or create something the Holocaust. Interview one or more adult
new. family members or trusted friends about
their lives. Create a presentation to share with
• Brainstorm the elements of your story (for
example, plot and characters).
classmates describing what you learned about
your family member or friend.
•
Create storyboards consisting of each panel

image that will tell your story.
• Decide how to use captions and speech

bubbles to convey the speech and thoughts
of your characters.
• Share your comic by posting on a school site

or blog.
Maus 81
Respond A B
Compare Accounts
Elie Wiesel’s Night and Art Spiegelman’s Maus are both memoirs that
focus on the experiences of European Jews during the Holocaust. Each
person who witnesses or participates in any event will remember it
slightly differently. Factors that may influence a person’s experience
include his or her age, values, beliefs, and background. Comparing
these two memoirs about the Holocaust can reveal the different ways
people experience the same devastating events.
In a small group, answer the questions in the chart for the excerpts
from Night and Maus. Be sure to support your ideas with text evidence.
A B
from Night from Maus
What specific
events from the
Holocaust are
described?
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: (t) ©Scott Barbour/Getty Images News/Getty Images
What genre
features does
the author use to
share facts about
the historical
period?
What details
about the
Holocaust
experience
does the author
emphasize?
How does the

author convey his
attitude or tone
about the events
described?

A B Respond
Analyze the Texts

Discuss these questions in your group.
1 CRITIQUE What are some advantages and disadvantages of each genre (prose
memoir, graphic memoir) in describing people’s experiences of the Holocaust?
Cite details from the selections to support your answers.
2 COMPARE What ideas or themes about human life are expressed in both
Holocaust memoirs? Support your ideas with evidence from the text.
3 SYNTHESIZE In both selections, some Jews work for the Nazis. How do you
explain this? Which selection gives you more insight into these characters?
Collaborate and Present

Your group can continue exploring the ideas in these texts by presenting a
comparison of the two memoirs. Follow these steps:
1 REVIEW NOTES As a group, review the notes you took while discussing
similarities and differences between the memoirs. Select several important points
to cover in your presentation.
2 PLAN YOUR PRESENTATION Choose the best order in which to present

your ideas. Decide how you will conclude your presentation. Assign part of the
presentation to each group member.
3 CONSIDER USING MEDIA Presentation software can help engage your

audience. If you decide to use such software, create slides that summarize your
ideas clearly and succinctly.
4 PRACTICE Before facing your audience, take the time to practice your
presentation at least once. If anything does not go smoothly, fix the problem now.
5 PRESENT Deliver your presentation to the rest of the class, and listen to the
other presentations.
6 DISCUSS As a class, discuss whether you think the memoir is an appropriate

genre for writers to explore the events of the Holocaust. Explain your thinking.
Night / Maus 83
Reader’s Choice
Continue your exploration of the Essential Question by doing some
independent reading on facing and surviving challenges. Read the ESSENTIAL QUESTION:
titles and descriptions shown. Then mark the texts that interest you. What does it take to
survive a crisis?
Short Reads Available on
These texts are available in your ebook. Choose one to read and rate.
Then defend your rating to the class.
from An Ordinary Man Who Understands Me

Adventurers Change. But Me
Danger Does Not. Memoir by Paul Rusesabagina
Poem by Jimmy Santiago Baca
Article by Alan Cowell A Rwandan hotel owner of mixed
Hutu and Tutsi descent saves more When a young man is sentenced to
Which is more important—to reach
than a thousand refugees and prison, he loses a lot but gains even
the summit of Mount Everest or to
survives the 1994 genocide. more.
save the life of a fellow climber in
trouble?
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: (tl) ©Christian Kober 1/Alamy; (tc) ©PASCAL GUYOT/
Rate It Rate It
AFP/Getty Images; (tr) ©Yuri Cortez/AFP/Getty Images; (bl) ©Ed Wray/AP Images; (br) ©Sergey Nivens/Shutterstock
Rate It
Truth at All Costs from Deep Survival

Speech by Marie Colvin Informational Text by Laurence
Gonzales
Is it worth the risk to report from a
Is a positive mental attitude really
war zone? Do war correspondents
the key to survival? The author
make a difference?
explores how disaster survivors
manage to beat the odds.
Rate It
Rate It
84 UNIT 1 READER’S CHOICE

Reader’s Choice
Long Reads
Here are a few recommended books that connect to this unit topic. For
additional options, ask your teacher, school librarian, or peers. Which titles
spark your interest?
Night Enchanted Air: Two Bad Boy

Cultures, Two Wings
Memoir by Elie Wiesel Memoir by Walter Dean Myers
Memoir by Margarita Engle
Elie Wiesel recounts the horrors he Walter has a quick temper and is
faced as a teenager in the Nazi death Margarita is a girl from two worlds. always ready for a fight. He also loves
camps. He reflects on his will to survive With hostility brewing between Cuba to read and write. How will the streets
and man’s capacity for inhumanity. and the United States, she wonders if of Harlem shape him, and who will he
she can still belong to both. become?
Extension
Connect & Create
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: (l) ©Sputnik/Alamy; (c) ©art4all/Shutterstock;
DEAR AUTHOR Write a letter to the author of one of the texts. Include:
•
NOTICE & NOTE
questions you noted as you read
• Pick one of the texts and
• topics or events you wish the author had discussed annotate the Notice & Note
• your thoughts about how the writer addressed the Essential signposts you find.
Question—how people survive and overcome challenges • Then, use the Notice &
Note Writing Frames
CREATE A COLLAGE Make a collage to visually express your ideas
to help you write about
about the text you read.
the significance of the
1. Decide what images you want to include. signposts.
2. Include photos and/or illustrations from magazines, newspapers, or • Compare your findings with
online sources that represent settings, characters, events, or situations those of other students who
(r) ©Maskot Images/Media Bakery
described in the text. read the same text.
3. Write captions describing how each image connects to the text.

Share your finished product with the class.
Reader’s Choice
Notice & Note Writing
Frames
Reader’s Choice 85
Write an Argument
Writing Prompt
Using ideas, information, and examples from multiple
texts in this unit, write an argument that would serve
as a newspaper editorial opinion stating your position
Review the
on the question “Does survival require selfishness?” Mentor Text
Manage your time carefully so that you can For an example of a well-written
• review the texts in the unit;

argument you can use as a mentor text
and as a source for your essay, review:
• plan your essay;
••Is Survival Selfish?
• write your essay; and
(pages 23–27)
• revise and edit your essay.
Make sure to carefully review your
Be sure to
notes and annotations about this
• clearly state the claim of your argument; text. Think about the techniques the
• address alternate or opposing claims; author used to make her argument
• use and cite relevant and sufficient evidence; and persuasive.
• avoid relying too much on one source.
Consider Your Sources

Review the list of Unit 1 texts and choose at least UNIT 1 SOURCES
three that you may want to use as a sources of
evidence for your argument. from A Chance in the World
As you review potential sources, consult the Is Survival Selfish?

notes you made on your Response Log and
make additional notes about any ideas that The Leap
might be useful as you write your argument.
The End and the Beginning
Include source titles and page numbers in
your notes so that you can provide accurate from Night

text evidence and citations when you include
support from these texts. from Maus
MEDIA
86 UNIT 1 WRITING TASK

Writing Task
Analyze the Prompt

Review the prompt to make sure you understand the assignment.
Find a Purpose
1. Mark the sentence in the prompt that identifies the topic of your
Two common purposes of an
argument. Rewrite the sentence in your own words.
argument are
2. Look for words that indicate the purpose and audience of your essay, and
write a sentence describing each.
••towithpersuade others to agree
your position
••to address opposing claims

What is my topic? What is my writing task?
What is my purpose?
Who is my audience?
Review the Rubric

Your argument will be scored using a rubric. As you write, focus on the
characteristics described in the chart. You will learn more about these
characteristics as you work through the lesson.
Purpose, Focus, and Evidence and Conventions of

Organization Elaboration Standard English
The response includes: The response includes: The response may include:
•• A strongly maintained claim •• Integrated, thorough, and credible •• Some minor errors in usage but
•• Effective responses to opposing relevant evidence no pattern of errors.

claims •• Precise references to sources •• Correct punctuation,
•• Use
ideas
of transitions to connect •• Effective use of a variety of
elaboration techniques
capitalization,
formation, and
sentence
spelling
•• Logical progression of ideas •• Academic and domain-specific •• Command of basic conventions

•• Appropriate style and tone vocabulary
•• Varied sentence structure
Write an Argument 87
Writing Task
1 PLAN YOUR ARGUMENT

Help with Planning
Develop a Claim Consult Interactive Writing
Lesson: Writing Arguments
In an argument, the claim is the writer’s position on an issue. In the chart
below, identify your position on whether survival requires selfishness.
Then, draft your claim, making sure it is direct and specific.
Does Survival Require Selfishness? Claim
Identify Support
Focus on an Idea
To build a strong argument, you need solid support for your
Your claim should be direct
claim. Support consists of reasons and evidence. and specifIc. It should focus
• Logical reasons explain why you have taken a particular
position on an issue.
on one idea. Revise your claim
until you are confident that
• Credible evidence, such as facts, statistics, examples, or

expert opinions, support your reasons.
your readers will understand
your position.
Use the chart to outline your support. Draw on notes you took
as you read. In the source column, be sure to record the title, author, and
page number.
Reasons Evidence Source

Writing Task
Address Opposing Claims

Your essay should include a response to an opposing claim in which you
explain why your position is more valid. Review your notes on texts in this
unit to find claims you can refute, or argue against.
Opposing Claim My Response
Organize Ideas Create Structure
Organize your material in a way that will help you draft your As you organize your argument, be
sure to
argument. Keep in mind that a well-written argument has an
organization that establishes clear relationships among claims, •• reasons
Clearly link ideas with supporting
reasons, and evidence. Paragraph breaks and transitional words and and evidence
phrases help create a logical progression of ideas and help readers •• Use transitions to link ideas
understand how ideas are related to one another.
•• Refute opposing claims soon after
introducing them
INTRODUCTION •• Clearly introduce your claim.

•• Include an interesting question, quotation, or detail to grab the
reader’s attention.
BODY
PARAGRAPHS
•• Present logical reasons and credible evidence to support your
claim, devoting a paragraph to each main idea.
•• Include a paragraph in which you address an opposing claim.

•• Use transitional phrases such as “First . . .” and “Another example . . .”
to link your ideas.
CONCLUSION •• Restate your claim and its significance.

•• Summarize your ideas and leave readers with a thought-provoking
idea closely related to your claim.
Writing Task
2 DEVELOP A DRAFT Drafting Online

Check your assignment list
Now it is time to draft your essay. Examine how professional authors craft for a writing task from your
effective arguments to use similar techniques in your own writing. teacher.
Write an Engaging Introduction DO NOT EDIT--Changes must be made through “File info”
CorrectionKey=NL-A;FL-A
EXAMINE THE MENTOR TEXT Is Survival

Selfish?
Notice how the opening lines of “Is Survival Selfish?” capture the Argument by Lane Wallace
reader’s attention.
When the ocean liner Titanic sank in April of 1912, one

The author opens with of the few men to survive the tragedy was J. Bruce Ismay,
If forced to choose, whose life would you save:
Your own, or someone else’s?
NOTICE & NOTE
about the text.
a famous tragedy that
the chairman and managing director of the company that W
1 hen the ocean liner Titanic sank in April of 1912, one of
the few men to survive the tragedy was J. Bruce Ismay, the ANALYZE ARGUMENTS
many readers will be chairman and managing director of the company that owned the ship.
After the disaster, however, Ismay was savaged by the media and the
general public for climbing into a lifeboat and saving himself when
Annotate: In paragraph 1, mark
the topic the author introduces
with an anecdote.
familiar with. owned the ship. After the disaster, however, Ismay was
there were other women and children still on board. Ismay said he’d Analyze: Consider the title of
already helped many women and children into lifeboats and had only this selection. Why might the
climbed in one himself when there were no other women or children author have chosen to begin her
She startles the

in the area and the boat was ready to release. But it didn’t matter. argument with this example?
savaged by the media and the general public for climbing

His reputation was ruined. He was labeled an uncivilized coward and,
a year after the disaster, he resigned his position at White Star.
2
reader with a
The “women and children first” protocol of the Titanic may not
be as strong a social stricture1 as it was a century ago. But we still
tend to laud those who risk or sacrifice themselves to save others in laud
into a lifeboat and saving himself when there were other surprising fact.
moments of danger or crisis and look less kindly on those who focus (lôd) v. to praise.
on saving themselves, instead.
1
social stricture: behavioral restriction placed on society.
women and children still on board. Ismay said he’d already Is Survival Selfish? 23
helped many women and children into lifeboats and had

9_LNLESE416425_U1AAS2.indd 23 9/5/2020 1:03:23 PM
only climbed in one himself when there were no other

women or children in the area and the boat was ready to
She concludes with
release. But it didn’t matter. His reputation was ruined.
the shocking fate
He was labeled an uncivilized coward and, a year after the of Ismay after the
disaster, he resigned his position at White Star. Titanic’s sinking.
Try These Suggestions
APPLY TO YOUR DRAFT
Consider using a variety of methods
Use this web to generate ideas for creating an to engage your reader. You might:
introduction that captures the reader’s attention.
•• reference an event or an idea
readers will be familiar with
•• include a surprising fact

•• your
reveal something important about
topic
IDEAS FOR
INTRODUCTION

Writing Task
Present Opposing Claims

EXAMINE THE MENTOR TEXT
Notice how the author of “Is Survival Selfish?” introduces opposing claims.
But is survival really selfish and uncivilized? The author poses a

Or is it smart? And is going in to rescue others series of questions that
always heroic? Or is it sometimes just stupid? It’s introduce opposing
claims, which she will
a complex question, because there are so many address.
factors involved, and every survival situation is
different.
APPLY TO YOUR DRAFT

Consider how to introduce an opposing claim. Then include a response
that addresses the opposing claim. Use the chart to guide you.
COUNTER &
INTRODUCE CRUSH!
But is … really true? Evidence states that …
While it may be true that … … experts argue that …
Opponents may believe that … …however, …

Writing Task
3 REVISE YOUR ARGUMENT

Help with Revision
Even professional writers rework their ideas and language as they
Find a Peer Review Guide
revise. No one gets it right the first time. Use the guide to help you and Student Models.
revise your essay.
REVISION CHART
Ask Yourself Prove It Revise It
Introduction Highlight the introduction. Add to or revise your claim

Does my introduction contain a Underline the claim your to clarify or strengthen your
clear claim? argument makes. position on the issue.
Body Number the paragraphs and Rearrange paragraphs in order

Are body paragraphs organized make sure the most important of importance.
in a logical sequence? reason comes first or last.
Transitions Mark transitions that connect Add transitions to connect ideas.

Do transitions connect ideas ideas.
throughout the essay?
Support for My Claim Mark each reason. Highlight the Add reasons. Add elaboration to
Do at least two reasons support supporting evidence for each clarify how the evidence supports
my claim? Is each reason reason. Underline elaboration your claim.
supported with well-elaborated that explains how evidence
evidence supports your claim.
Sources Put a check mark next to Add references to sources

Do I identify my sources? references to your sources.
Opposing Claims Underline opposing claims. Add possible opposing claims

Do I address opposing claims? Highlight sentences that address and persuasive responses to
them. refute them.
Conclusion Highlight the parts of the Add or revise the conclusion to

Does my conclusion logically conclusion that support your sum up your ideas.
flow from the reasoning of my claim and reasons.

argument?
APPLY TO YOUR DRAFT

Consider the following as you look for opportunities to improve your writing.
• Make sure that your claim is clear and strongly stated.

• Check that your reasons are logical and backed by credible evidence.
• Correct any errors in grammar and punctuation.

Writing Task
Peer Review in Action

Once you have finished revising your argument, you will exchange
papers with a partner in a peer review. During a peer review, you will give
suggestions to improve your partner’s draft.
Read the introduction from a student’s draft and examine the comments
made by his peer reviewer.
It’s Human Nature to Want to Survive

Draft
By Javy Oliver, Lakeview High School
Most people want to save themselves. They might be willing to

Add a stronger,
more engaging help a few other people along the way, but most people just want
first sentence to survive a tragedy themselves. Surviving a tragedy sometimes
to hook readers’ requires people to be selfish, and society should not shame survivors
for doing what comes naturally. Avoid simply
interest and
repeating the
establish a tone
claim.
for the essay.
Now read the revised introduction below. Notice how the writer has
improved his draft by making revisions based on his peer reviewer’s
comments.
This is an engaging
It’s Human Nature to Want to Survive
Revision hook for your
By Javy Oliver, Lakeview High School
argument.
“Save yourselves!” It’s a line that’s been used as a joke in many
movies. But it’s true. Most people want to save themselves. They
might be willing to help a few other people along the way, but most
These thought- people will fight to survive a tragedy. Is that a bad thing? How would
provoking you really react in a tragedy? Would you really risk your life to save
questions a stranger? Ten strangers? Are you selfish if you don’t? Surviving a
engage the tragedy sometimes requires people to be selfish, and society should
reader. not shame survivors for doing what comes naturally.
APPLY TO YOUR DRAFT

During your peer review, give each other specific suggestions for how you
could make your arguments more effective. Use your revision guide to
help you.
When receiving feedback from your partner, listen attentively and ask
questions to make sure you fully understand the revision suggestions.
Writing Task
4 EDIT YOUR ARGUMENT

Edit your final draft to make sure it conforms to standard English
conventions and to correct any misspellings or grammatical errors.

USE TRANSITIONAL WORDS AND PHRASES
Transitional words and phrases connect ideas and show how Transitions
they are related. Skillful use of transitions will strengthen your
Here are some common
argument by making it unified and cohesive.
transitional words and phrases:
Read the following sentences from “Is Survival Selfish?” Contrast: but, conversely, on
the one hand, however, even
so, nonetheless, in spite of, in
In July 2007, I was having a drink with a friend in contrast to
Grand Central Station when an underground steam Sequence: then, when, first,
pipe exploded just outside. From where we sat, we heard second, next, last, finally
a dull “boom!” and then suddenly, people were running,
streaming out of the tunnels and out the doors.
The phrase In July 2007 transitions into the example anecdote. The
transition words when and then connect the ideas in the anecdote to
help the flow of the text.
APPLY TO YOUR DRAFT

Now apply what you’ve learned about transitions to your own work.
Look for places in your argument where you can use transition
words to link ideas, events, or reasons.
1. Read your paper aloudand underline transitions you’ve used.
2. Add transitional words and phrasesthat will help connect
ideas.
3. Exchange draftswith a peer and review transitions in each
other’s argument.
Ways to Share
5 PUBLISH YOUR ARGUMENT
••Submit your argument to the
school newspaper.
Share It!
••Engage in a debate with
Finalize your argument for your writing portfolio. You may also someone who is on the opposite
use your argument as inspiration for other projects. side of your argument.
••Adapt your argument for an

oral presentation. See the next
task for tips on how.

Present and Respond

to an Argument
You have written an argument about whether survival requires
that a person be selfish. Now you will prepare to deliver your
argument as an oral presentation.
Plan Your Presentation

Consider how your essay sounds when read aloud. Add, subtract,
or revise any sections that may not translate well to a presentation.
Use the chart to take notes and help plan your presentation.
Ask Yourself Answers and Notes
Title and How will you revise your title

Introduction and introductory paragraph to
capture the listener’s attention?
Audience What information will your

audience already know? What
opposing claims might they
make?
Effective Which parts of your argument

Language and should be simplified? Consider
Organization clarifying your main points by
adding connecting words such as
first, second, and third.
Visuals What images could you use to

illustrate your points or make your
argument more persuasive?
Present and Respond to an Argument 95

Practice with a Partner or Group

Practicing your presentation will help you improve both the argument and your delivery.
Practice Ask Yourself Fix It!
Pronunciation, Do you know how to pronounce all the Check the dictionary if you are not
Enunciation words in your argument? Are there words sure about a pronunciation. Replace
you stumble over when you read them difficult words with words you can easily
aloud? enunciate.
Volume, Voice Can you be heard by your audience? Are Make sure the overall volume of your
Modulation, and Pitch you using your voice to emphasize your voice is appropriate. Practice raising and
points? lowering your voice to emphasize points.
Speaking Rate, or Pacing Are you speaking too quickly or too Practice speaking at a “just right” pace or
slowly? rate, so that listeners can understand you
and don’t lose interest.
Productive Discussion
When you are discussing your project
with your group, remember to:
Deliver Your Presentation •• weaknesses.
Point out strengths as well as
Use the advice you received to make final changes

to your argument. Then, making effective use of •• relevant
Contribute only information that is
to the discussion.
verbal and nonverbal techniques, present it to your
classmates. •• Avoid generalizations such as, “It
was good,” or “It could be better.”
•• Include suggestions for

improvement in a considerate and
tactful manner.
Rhetorical Appeals
Share It!
Listen for rhetorical appeals, supports to a claim that appeal to
•
Record your presentation

the reader’s logic, ethics, or emotions. Here are some techniques
and share it with family
presenters may use to manipulate your emotions:
members and friends.
• Bandwagon (saying everyone is doing it) • Have a partner discussion
• Loaded language (choosing words that elicit strong feelings) about how your position may
• Understatement (deliberately saying less than you mean)

have changed after listening
to other presentations.
• Overstatement (purposefully exaggerating or hyping)
• Ad Hominem (an argument directed against a person rather
than an issue) Interactive Speaking &
Listening Lesson: Giving a
Presentations
96 UNIT 1 SPEAKING & LISTENING TASK

Reflect & Extend
Here are some other ways to show you
understand the ideas in Unit 1.
Reflect on the
Essential Question
Project-Based Learning
What does it take to survive a crisis?
Create a Documentary
Has your answer to the question changed
You’ve read about different stories of survival.
after reading the texts in the unit? Discuss
Now, with a group of classmates, create a
your ideas.
documentary that tells how one person or group
You can use these sentence starters to of people survived a crisis.
help you reflect on your learning.
Here are some questions to get you started.
• I think differently now because . . .
• Who do we want to be the subject of our
• I mostly feel the same because . . . documentary?
• I’m still wondering about . . .
• What sources will we use?
• What messages do we want to express?
Media Project
To find more help with this
task online, access Create a
Documentary.
Writing
Author Interview
Script an interview with the author of one text in the unit. Fill in
the chart; then draft an introduction, questions for the author, and
a conclusion thanking the writer.
Ask Yourself My Notes
What questions about

the topic do you still have

after reading the text?
What do you want to

know about the author’s
purpose or motivation for
writing the text?
Reflect & Extend 97

Analyze The Image: What Qualities Do You See in These People That Might Help Them Prevail in A Crisis?

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Analyze The Image: What Qualities Do You See in These People That Might Help Them Prevail in A Crisis?

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Analyze The Image: What Qualities Do You See in These People That Might Help Them Prevail in A Crisis?

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company

Analyze the Image

Get hooked by the unit topic.

Think about the

Build Academic Vocabulary

Imagine you are stranded

from A Chance in the World Is Survival Selfish? The Leap

The End and the Beginning from Night from Maus

Think Outside the Box

A Chance in the World

Engage Your Brain Does Everyone Have a Chance?

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©Paul Aniszewski/Shutterstock

4 UNIT 1 ANALYZE & APPLY

Analyze Literary Nonfiction

• Watch for the author’s reflections on the meaning of experiences.

In this memoir, author Steve Pemberton recalls a traumatic time in his

Analyze Author’s Perspective

Clues to Author’s Perspective Examples from A Chance in the World

Language (diction) “monsters” used to describe the Robinsons

Details the author includes

Direct statements about the author’s

A Chance in the World 5

Expand Your Vocabulary

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©Jean Marc-Giboux/HMH

6 UNIT 1 ANALYZE & APPLY

“All the world will be your enemy, Prince of a Thousand Enemies,

A Chance in the World 7

8 UNIT 1 ANALYZE & APPLY

A Chance in the World 9

why the Robinsons thought something as precious as jewels would be

10 UNIT 1 ANALYZE & APPLY

A Chance in the World 11

12 UNIT 1 ANALYZE & APPLY

A Chance in the World 13

ESSENTIAL QUESTION: COLLABORATIVE DISCUSSION

14 UNIT 1 ANALYZE & APPLY

1. Select two strategies Steve uses to cope with his situation.

E staying with the Levins

2. How does paragraph 32 contribute to the development of the author’s ideas?

A by emphasizing the importance of having a challenging reading list

B by providing details of the author’s escape into the world of books

C by describing how his books were gradually destroyed

D by describing his secret reading place in the cellar

Which statement best describes the purpose of this text?

A to demonstrate the cruelty of the Robinsons

B to describe the books Steve read during this time

C to describe how Steve confronted and overcame hardships

D to show how the American foster system works

Select the sentence that best supports the answer to Part A.

C “Caseworkers at the time described me as tense, nervous, and anxious.”

A Chance in the World 15

Analyze the Text

4 EVALUATE Deception, cunning, trickery, thieving: Steve boasts about

5 ANALYZE What sensory language—descriptions that appeal to the

6 SYNTHESIZE Review the Memory Moment in paragraph 29. How do

Essential Question: What does it take to survive a crisis?

16 UNIT 1 ANALYZE & APPLY

As you write and discuss,

• who was involved besides you