Vol. I, Is. 6: The Hero's Journey... and more!
Galileo, Botticelli's La Primavera, "The Boy Who Cried Wolf," "Monday's Child"
Welcome to Volume I, Issue 6, of The Jim Bucket List, an encyclopedic look at the things that "everybody ought to know"!
Today's topics:
LITERATURE: The Hero's Journey
TIDBITS: Common Mistakes
SCIENCE: Galileo, the Father of Science
TIDBITS: Fun with Words: Palindromes
ART: Botticelli's La Primavera
TIDBITS: Truly Trivial
FOR YOUNG READERS: "The Boy Who Cried Wolf"
READ-ALOUD-RHYME: "Monday's Child"
A WORD TO THE WISE: "Don't cry over spilled milk"
VOCABULARY BUILDER: theory
THIS WEEK'S BIRTHDAYS: December 6-12
Let's go!
LITERATURE: The Hero's Journey
Listen to the audio of this article:
The Hero's Journey
You could call this a "meta-story."
In 1949, English professor and mythologist Joseph Campbell published a book entitled The Hero with a Thousand Faces. In it, he suggested that virtually all the stories about the world's heroes share a single pattern, something Campbell called The Monomyth.
As we shall see, even when the pattern isn't followed, it helps us make sense of things. Some have even applied the idea of "the hero's journey" to the way we live our lives!
I'd like to share that pattern with you. Not a "story" in itself, it is a foundation on which many stories are built, and it has helped me immensely in understanding the books I read and the movies I watch.
In its simplest form, the hero's journey involves a going forth and a return. As Campbell himself put it in a summary, the Monomyth says: "A hero ventures forth from the world of common day into a region of supernatural wonder: fabulous forces are there encountered and a decisive victory is won: the hero comes back from this mysterious adventure with the power to bestow boons on his fellow man."
That is, he crosses over into another world, where he achieves some goal, then returns to his world with a new status.
(Sorry, ladies: most heroes are male, and anyway the writing conventions in 1949 cast people of unknown gender as "he" and "him.")
We can distinguish five episodes in this story:
Home ("the world of common day");
the crossing of the First Threshold into
the Other World;
the crossing of the Second Threshold; and
the Return.
Fleshing this out: the hero (who is not called yet a hero) is going about his business when something happens. Sometimes it is an actual call: in The Hobbit, Gandalf appears to enlist Bilbo in the dwarfs' adventure, and in China's Journey to the West, Guanyin commissions Tang Sanzang to go to India to fetch the Buddhist scriptures. Sometimes the hero is forced to go, as when a tornado carries Dorothy's house away in The Wizard of Oz; and sometimes circumstances force a choice, as when Hua Mulan saves her aged father's life by taking his place in the army.
Some heroes display a "Refusal of the Call" and never accept their task. When the ghost of Hamlet's father calls him to avenge his death, Hamlet dithers around until it's too late, and everybody dies. But most refusals are only temporary, as when Dorothy runs away from home but returns in time for the tornado to whisk her--and her house--away.
The crossing of the threshold can be dangerous. Sometimes there are fierce guardians there, like the Heng and Ha that guard the literal threshold at a temple's gate. As Dorothy's house flies through the air, she sees Miss Gulch, the woman who has caused her to "leave home," turn into a witch on a broom. Other times, the circumstances make the crossing hard. This difficulty reflects the hero's natural reluctance to leave his "comfort zone."
At last, the hero is on his (or her) way. Along the path he will often find allies, like Dorothy's three friends. Many see in such figures elements of the hero's own personality: the Scarecrow can be Dorothy's mind (he needs--and gets--a brain), the Tin Man her spirit (he needs a heart), and the Lion her body or physical appetites.
Also along the way, of course, there are challenges and enemies. But the hero will often have supernatural aid, as when Glinda intervenes to help Dorothy.
Finally, the task is completed. This may be the winning of a battle; the attaining of an object, such as the scriptures in Journey to the West; the fulfilling of a task, like the destruction of the One Ring in The Lord of the Rings; a sacred marriage (which need not be an actual wedding) representing the joining of physical and spiritual natures, like when Belle dances with the Beast in Beauty and the Beast; or some other achievement. All of these represent the fulfilling of the hero's potential.
The hero must then cross the Second Threshold back into his home world, sometimes smoothly, and sometimes with more adventures. Upon his Return, he is hailed as a hero. He is now "Master of Two Worlds."
Remember, in modern stories there may be no "supernatural" element at all. A woman's husband leaves her; a man loses his job: these "heroes" are thrown into new, difficult situations--a "new world"--and must overcome obstacles, make friends, and achieve some new way of living before the story ends. Or sometimes, she or he fails. We call that, in literature as in life, "tragedy."
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PRACTICE:
Vocabulary: Match the words to their meaning. Answers below.
1. avenge
2. bestow
3. boons
4. conventions
5. decisive
6. dithers
7. intervenes
8. meta-story
9. obstacles
10. reluctance
11. threshold
12. ventures forth
A. once-and-for-all
B. a piece of wood, stone, or other material under a door opening
C. can't decide; vacillates
D. dares to go, and goes
E. a story that includes and explains other stories
F. gets involved
G. problems; things that might stop one
H. get justice for
I. gifts; blessings
J. the standard ways of doing things
K. hesitation; unwillingness
L. give
QUESTIONS TO ANSWER
Answer the following questions in your own words. Suggested answers below.
What is The Monomyth? Who proposed it?
Briefly, what are the five stages of The Monomyth?
What causes a hero to go on his or her journey? What is special about the story of Hamlet?
What positive and negative things happen along the hero's path?
How are modern stories different from traditional ones?
QUESTIONS TO THINK ABOUT:
These questions do not have "right" or "wrong" answers. They only ask your opinion.
Can you see any way in which The Monomyth might be useful in living your life?
Do you think it's right to refer to heroes as "he"? Can you think of examples of female heroes?
How accurate do you think Campbell's idea of The Monomyth is? Can you think of many stories that don't follow at least most of the pattern?
TIDBITS: Common Mistakes
WRONG: He had a deep-seeded love of books.
RIGHT: He had a deep-seated love of books.
MEANING: firmly established, difficult to remove
TIP: Remember that the phrase is about a feeling being solidly in place, not planted underground.
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WRONG: If your kid won't touch broccoli, its nutritional value becomes a mute point.
RIGHT: If your kid won't touch broccoli, its nutritional value becomes a moot point.
MEANING: Strangely, this has two nearly-opposite meanings. One is "a point which is not worth discussing (and thus, in a way, has already been decided)," and the other is "a point which is still open and thus can be *mooted (discussed)." Usually, in America, we mean the former: not worth discussing.
TIP: "Moot" can mean "debatable" or "not worth debating"; but "mute" means "silent."
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WRONG: The boss told me if I wanted a raise, I had better tow the line.
RIGHT: The boss told me if I wanted a raise, I had better toe the line.
MEANING: meet a standard; do what is required
TIP: Picture yourself in a race: you have to stand with your toes on the starting line until an official tells you to start running.
SCIENCE: Galileo, the Father of Science
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Galileo, the Father of Science
Galileo Galilei (1564-1642) was an Italian scientist who worked in many fields: physics, math, engineering, astronomy, and philosophy. He was a true Renaissance Man. He gained many nicknames through the ages, but one of the greatest was simply: the Father of Science.
This is all the more surprising in that his main achievement was not his own thought, but confirmation of the idea of another person.
The Polish mathematician and astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus (1473-1543) had published a new theory in the year he died: that the earth goes around the sun, and not the other way around. This "Copernican Revolution" would shock the world: we were not at the center of things.
Copernicus died before his theory--based on mathematics--was proven. It was left for Galileo and Johannes Kepler (a student of Copernicus) to confirm his insight.
For this, Galileo used a "secret weapon": a telescope he had improved himself. With it he was able to view phases on Venus much like those of the moon, and observe four moons orbiting Jupiter. The former was only possible if Venus orbited the sun; the latter proved that not everything circled the earth.
The Roman Inquisition was a kind of religious court in the Roman Catholic Church, and in 1615 it said that any teaching of the earth going around the sun--including such teaching by Galileo--was forbidden.
But in 1632 Galileo wrote his most important work, the Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems. The older system was the Ptolemaic, known as "geocentrism" (putting the earth at the center). It was taught by Claudius Ptolemy, a Greek living in Alexandria, Egypt, around 90-168. The newer was, of course, the Copernican system of "heliocentrism" (putting the sun at the center).
For this act, Galileo was tried in court in 1633 and put under house arrest for the final nine years of his life, where he continued to work and write until his death.
The court also required Galileo to recant, or take back, his support of heliocentrism. Popular legend says that after standing up and recanting, he turned away and said quietly, "Eppur si muove"--in English, "Nevertheless, it moves"--where "it" refers to the earth's motion around the sun. Legend it may be, but the story shows the spirit of Galileo's stubbornness in support of scientific truth.
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PRACTICE:
Vocabulary: Match the words to their meaning. Answers below.
1. astronomy
2. forbidden
3. geo-
4. helio-
5. house arrest
6. inquisition
7. insight
8. legend
9. orbited
10. recant
A. withdraw a statement
B. went around, circled (as the moon does the earth)
C. the study of the stars and planets
D. a made-up story that may contain some truth about a famous person
E. not allowed
F. an understanding, a discovery
G. a prefix meaning "earth"
H. having to stay in one's home, like in a prison
I. an official investigation, especially one that's political or religious
J. a prefix meaning "sun"
QUESTIONS TO ANSWER
Answer the following questions in your own words. Suggested answers below.
What "crime" did Galileo commit?
Did Galileo make the discovery for which he was convicted?
Why didn't Copernicus promote his own theory?
Who else promoted Copernicus's theory?
What "secret weapon" did Galileo use to support Copernicus's theory?
What were the "two chief world systems" described in Galileo's work?
QUESTIONS TO THINK ABOUT:
These questions do not have "right" or "wrong" answers. They only ask your opinion.
Do you think the Church (or religion and religious people in general) should control the teachings of science? Does this still happen today?
Copernicus, Kepler, Galileo: What can we learn about the process of science from the story of these three men?
Copernicus was a theorist; Galileo supported his theories by observation. How important are these two sides of science, idea and evidence?
TIDBITS: Fun with Words: Palindromes
Question: Look at the following sentences. Do you notice anything interesting about them?
"Do geese see God?"
"Able was I ere I saw Elba." (An allusion to Napoleon.)
"A man, a plan, a canal: Panama!"
"Madam, I'm Adam." (Alleged first words upon meeting Eve.)
If these sentences don't make it clear, here are some words:
civic
deified
kayak
level
radar
racecar
refer
reviver
Got it? These sentences and words read the same forward or backward. Try it! Spell "refer" backwards. That's right! It's still R-E-F-E-R.
These are called palindromes, a word whose parts add up to "run back again," because you can "run" from start to finish and "back again" and get the same word or sentence.
Some people have palindromic first names, like Hannah, Otto, Eve, and Bob. If you read the book (or saw the film) Holes, there was a boy in it named Stanley Yelnats; whole name palindromes are rare, but they do happen.
Numbers can also be palindromes. Look at these years: 1881, 1991, 2002, and so on. I think the next one will be 2112.) February 2, 2020--no matter your country's style, month first or day first--was written 02/02/2020, allowing it to be declared "Universal Palindrome Day." (Typically, palindromes ignore capitalization, punctuation, and the spaces between words.)
Palindromes also can be found in biological structures, musical compositions, and of course in math.
Want to have some fun? Try writing your own palindromic sentences! Extra points if yours makes sense (many don't).
ART: Botticelli's La Primavera
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Botticelli's La Primavera
We tend to take for granted that things are what we are told they are. So Leonardo painted the Mona Lisa--a name he almost certainly never heard it called. "Homer" wrote The Iliad and The Odyssey--though we have no idea if a person by that name ever lived.
My point is, names become affixed to people, places, and things, and then we take those names as "true," though they may have been later inventions.
Such is the case with a painting that frequently makes it onto various "greatest of all time" lists. Allegory of Spring, often simply called Spring (La Primavera in Italian), was not given that name by artist Sandro Botticelli (c. 1445-1510). In fact, it has been called "one of the… most controversial paintings in the world" because the idea that it depicts Spring is only a consensus among critics. There are other possible interpretations, including that it depicts Neoplatonic love. (The name La Primavera was given to it by Giorgio Vasari (1511-1574), the same art historian who said the painting previously known as La Gioconda depicted a woman he called "Mona Lisa.")
Assuming we are indeed dealing with an allegory of Spring, the six female and two male figures in the painting (not counting the blindfolded Cupid above them) center on a slightly pregnant-looking image of Venus, goddess of love and fertility, a fitting representation of the abundance of Spring.
To her left (our right) are two females and a male, perhaps synchronously telling the story of Zephyrus (the first wind of Spring) and a nymph named Chloris, whose name means "green." The dark, winged male figure is grabbing the central female, seeming to kidnap her; the other female, then, is Spring herself, sometimes called Flora ("Flowers"), a transformed version of Chloris after her mating with the wind god. She is shown scattering roses on the ground.
On the other side is a group of three females, the Graces (Splendor, Mirth, and Good Cheer, or perhaps Pleasure, Chastity, and Beauty) dancing in celebration of Spring. The final figure, guarding the scene from encroaching clouds on the far left, may be Mercury or Mars. (That's what the "experts" say, anyway; he looks to me like he's picking fruit!)
So, there are three "scenes," this time left to right:
The Three Graces celebrate Spring, protected from foul weather by a god (Mercury or Mars);
Venus, goddess of love and fertility, is in the center, presiding over the whole; and
Chloris is impregnated by the first wind of Spring, and is transformed into Flora: Spring herself.
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PRACTICE:
Vocabulary: Match the words to their meaning. Answers below.
1. abundance
2. affixed
3. allegory
4. blindfolded
5. consensus
6. encroaching
7. inventions
8. Neoplatonic love
9. synchronously
10. take for granted
A. with the eyes covered by a cloth
B. assume something is true
C. the majority of opinion
D. at the same time; showing scenes from two or more different times in one image
E. a representation of an abstract concept in concrete words or images
F. new ideas
G. moving beyond the proper limit
H. plenty
I. a "spiritual" form, not involving physical relations
J. fastened
QUESTIONS TO ANSWER
Answer the following questions in your own words. Suggested answers below.
Did Botticelli intend to call this painting "Spring"? What's the story of its name?
Who is the pregnant-looking figure in the center? What does she stand for?
Who are the three figures on our right? What is happening there?
Who are the three women to the left of Venus? What are they doing?
Who is the man on the left? What is he doing?
QUESTIONS TO THINK ABOUT:
These questions do not have "right" or "wrong" answers. They only ask your opinion.
Do you think it's important to know the "true names" of things?
Do you think the interpretation that this picture is about "Spring" is the correct one?
Thinking allegorically, how could "the first wind of Spring" make a woman whose name means "Green," into "Spring" (or Flowers) after mating with her?
TIDBITS: Truly Trivial
Did you know?
Hey, Lady!: The little beetle we call a "ladybug" in the U.S. is a "ladybird" in many other English-speaking countries. Some other languages call them "lady cows" or "lady flies." All of them--even the males--are called "lady," so you might find a male ladybug! Get this: the "lady" in question was Mary, the mother of Jesus (it was "Our Lady's bird"). Many more languages put "God" in the name instead of "Mary." (The 5,000 different species belong to the family Coccinellidae, which refers to its red color.) Lots of people think, whatever they're called, it's good luck if one lands on you!
DYN-o-MITE!: You might have read that peanuts are an ingredient in the making of dynamite. That's almost true. In fact, peanut oil can be processed to make a substance called glycerol (also called glycerine and glycerin)--but so can many other plant sources, like soybeans or palm, and even animal fat (tallow). Furthermore, glycerol is used in many products besides dynamite, including sweeteners, liqueurs, and icing (frosting), and non-food items like medicines, e-cigarettes, and antifreeze. Of course, this "fun fact" probably benefits from the familiar name of a main ingredient in dynamite: nitroglycerin.
That's shocking!: Alfred P. Southwick (1826–1898) was a dentist and inventor, and although we may not know his name, many of us are familiar with his most famous invention. Hearing of a drunk who died touching an electric generator, and looking for a "humane" way to euthanize stray dogs, Southwick came up with a device to use on humans that was inspired by the piece of furniture his patients were comfortably seated in. On August 6, 1890, illiterate, alcoholic vegetable peddler and wife-killer William Kemmler was the first person to die in the electric chair--not without complications, as it took two throws of the switch and a total of eight minutes to make it stick. The death-dealing dentist declared, "We live in a higher civilization from this day on"--a condemnation of commonly-botched hangings--while electrical engineering pioneer George Westinghouse, whose generator was used for the process against his will, opined sourly, "They would have done better using an axe."
FOR YOUNG READERS: “The Boy Who Cried Wolf”
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"The Boy Who Cried Wolf"
This article is designed for younger readers, with activities more suitable for children. It is from Aesop's Fables.
There once was a shepherd boy who spent all day taking care of his master's sheep near the edge of a deep, dark forest. He didn't have much to do all day, so one day, growing bored, he thought of a joke. He thought it would be funny to call out to the villagers that a wolf was attacking!
And so he did. "Help!" he cried, running toward the village. "Wolf! WOLF!"
Out came the villagers in great excitement. But when they arrived, there was no wolf. Just a naughty boy laughing!
It was so funny that he did it again a few days later. "Wolf!" he shouted. "WOLF!" And the good villagers came out again--and again the boy laughed.
But one evening, as the sun was setting, a wolf really did creep out of the shadows and begin attacking the sheep! "Wolf!" the boy cried, this time in real terror. "WOLF!"
But the villagers didn't listen to his cries. The wolf ate all the sheep he wanted--and what's more, some say, he even ate the boy!
The moral of the story is: "Liars are not believed even when they speak the truth."
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Some words to talk about:
creep: walk quietly, so as not to be seen
moral: lesson about being a good person
naughty: badly behaved
shepherd: person who takes care of sheep
terror: great fear
villagers: people who live in a very small town, called a village
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QUESTIONS TO ANSWER:
Choose the best answer. Answers below.
Why did the shepherd boy play a trick on the villagers?
A. Because he wanted to catch a wolf.
B. Because he wanted to make them laugh.
C. Because he was bored.What did the shepherd boy do each time the villagers ran out to help him?
A. He caught the wolf.
B. He laughed.
C. he said he was sorry.How many times did the shepherd boy call for help?
A. one time
B. two times
C. three timesWhy did the boy call out for help a third time?
A. Because there really was a wolf.
B. Because he wanted to laugh again.
C. Because he knew his joke was funny.What happened to the sheep?
A. The wolf ate all of them that he wanted.
B. The villagers took all of them that he wanted.
C. The boy gave them back to his master.
QUESTIONS TO THINK ABOUT:
These questions do not have "right" or "wrong" answers. They only ask your opinion.
Why did the shepherd boy think his "joke" was funny? Was he right?
Why do you think the villagers came out the second time the boy called for help?
Why do you think the villagers didn't come out the third time the boy called for help?
READ-ALOUD-RHYMES: "Monday's Child"
Listen to the audio of this article:
"Monday's Child"
Parents and teachers can read these rhymes aloud, and encourage little ones to repeat and even memorize them (I did when I was a kid!)
In simpler days, a Mother Goose rhyme tried to say what a child's character would be, based on the day of the week he or she was born.
Monday's child is fair of face,
Tuesday's child is full of grace,
Wednesday's child is full of woe,
Thursday's child has far to go,
Friday's child is loving and giving,
Saturday's child works hard for a living,
But the child born on the Sabbath Day,
Is fair and wise and good and gay.
Some words to talk about:
fair: pretty; good-looking
gay: happy; lively
grace: pleasant behavior; beauty of movement
Sabbath Day: Sunday
woe: sorrow
ACTIVITIES
For younger kids:
Here are simplified versions of what the rhyme says about the child for each day. Work with your kid to match the day to its description. Correct answers are below.
1. Monday
2. Tuesday
3. Wednesday
4. Thursday
5. Friday
6. Saturday
7. Sunday
A. kind
B. pleasant to be with
C. good in every way
D. sad
E. hardworking
F. good looking
G. must work extra hard, but will be a big success
For older kids:
Here's the same kind of exercise, but this time, an example of each child's personality is given.
1. Monday
2. Tuesday
3. Wednesday
4. Thursday
5. Friday
6. Saturday
7. Sunday
A. Susan likes to give small gifts to friends.
B. Evan just can't seem to catch a break, no matter what he does.
C. People are always asking to take Mark's picture.
D. People are always asking Marian for advice.
E. Joy is an actress, singer, dancer--it seems she can do anything.
F. Bill has a huge house and several luxury cars.
G. Brad often stays late at the office.
Discussion: Do you really think that all people born on the same day of the week have the same personality? Think of some of your friends: which type of child are they? Find out what day they were born, and see if it works!
Words to the Wise: "Don't cry over spilled milk"
Proverb: Don't cry over spilled milk.
Some people say, "There's no use crying over spilled milk."
Meaning: One shouldn't waste time being sorry about things that have happened in the past.
Once milk is spilled, there's no getting it back. We can also say "you can't unring a bell," or "there's no use closing the barn door after the horse is gone" to express the same idea.
NOTE: It's best if we only use this for fairly small things, not life-changing disasters.
Mini-Dialogue: Jonas sees his friend Kimberly sitting by herself in the school quad.
Jonas: Hi, Kim. What's wrong?
Kimberly: Oh, I just found out I failed the final exam, and I have to repeat the class.
Jonas: That's too bad... Well, cheer up! You know, there's no use crying over spilled milk. You'll just have to do better next time.
Kimberly: I hear that!
QUESTION:
In which situation would you use the proverb, "Don't cry over spilled milk"? The correct answer is below.
A. Your friend tells you she just got accepted to medical school.
B. Your cousin tells you her mother (your aunt) just died.
C. Your friend tells you he dropped a $10 somewhere and can't find it.
Vocabulary Builder: theory
theory (noun)
Meaning: There are several related meanings for theory:
a group of statements used to explain something: Darwin's theory of evolution
a proposed (but not yet accepted) explanation
a particular view of how something is to be done: a theory of teaching
speculation: the theory of life on other planets
Plural: theories
Verb Forms: theorize, theorizes, theorized, theorizing
Other Noun Forms:
theorist (plural theorists): a person who theorizes
Adjective Forms:
theoretical: in the manner of a theory: "She studies theoretical physics."
Adverb Forms:
theoretically: this is sometimes used informally: "Since I paid for lunch last time, theoretically it's your turn."
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PRACTICE:
Place the correct form of "theory" in each sentence. Answers below.
1. theoretical
2. theoretically
3. theories
4. theorist
5. theorists
6. theorize
7. theorized
8. theorizes
9. theorizing
10. theory
A. Darwin ________ about evolution for many years before he published his book.
B. In fact, there were several ________ about evolution out there before Darwin devised his.
C. It's better not to ________ until you get all the facts.
D. I have a ________ about why we failed: we may need to change our strategy.
E. Let's not stop ________ until we arrive at a workable solution.
F. Because there will never be an eyewitness, anything we say about the earth's origins must be to some degree ________.
G. For every ________ who believes something, you can find another who believes the opposite.
H. When the professor ________, her students take notes!
I. Some ________ believe that aliens may already have visited us.
J. ________, the "four-minute mile" was considered impossible--until Roger Bannister did it in 1954.
THIS WEEK'S BIRTHDAYS: Dec. 6-12
The following "Great Minds" were born this week:
December 6
Baldassare Castiglione (1478-1529) Italian courtier and author; Il Cortegiano (The Courtier)
December 7
Johan Huizinga (1872-1945) Dutch historian; The Autumn of the Middle Ages (a.k.a. The Waning of the Middle Ages); Erasmus; Homo Ludens
Willa Cather (1873-1947) American author; O Pioneers!; Death Comes for the Archbishop; The Song of the Lark; My Ántonia; Pulitzer Prize in Literature (1923)
December 8
Horace (65-8 BCE) Roman lyric poet who wrote Odes
Padraic Colum (1881-1972) Irish poet, novelist, dramatist, playwright, children's author, and folklorist; The Saxon Shillin'; The King of Ireland's Son; The Children's Homer; Children of Odin: Nordic Gods and Heroes; The Golden Fleece and the Heroes Who Lived Before Achilles
Diego Rivera (1886-1957) Mexican painter and muralist; murals Man, Controller of the Universe; The History of Mexico; paintings The Fecund Earth; The Flower Seller
James Thurber (1894-1961) American cartoonist, author, journalist, and playwright; short stories "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty"; "The Catbird Seat"; "The Unicorn in the Garden"; play The Male Animal; autobiography My Life and Hard Times; children's books The White Deer; The 13 Clocks; The Wonderful O
Delmore Schwartz (1913-1966) American poet and short story writer; "In Dreams Begin Responsibilities"; Summer Knowledge: New and Selected Poems
Bill Bryson (1951 - ) Anglo-American author; The Lost Continent: Travels in Small-Town America; Notes from a Small Island; A Walk in the Woods; A Short History of Nearly Everything
December 9
John Milton (1608-1674) English poet and man of letters; Paradise Lost; Tractate on Education; Areopagitica; and minor poems in English (including "Lycidas" and "On the Morning of Christ's Nativity"; "Sonnets")
Richard Lovelace (1617-1657) English poet; "To Althea, from Prison," "To Lucasta, Going to the Warres"
Joel Chandler Harris (1848-1908) American journalist and folklorist; the Uncle Remus series
December 10
George MacDonald (1824-1905) Scottish writer and cleric who inspired a myriad of writers, from Lewis Carroll to W. H. Auden, Mark Twain to J. R. R. Tolkien, Neil Gaiman to Madeleine L'Engle.. Known for Lilith; Phantastes; David Elginbrod; The Princess and the Goblin; At the Back of the North Wind
Emily Dickinson (1830-1886) American poet; short pieces numbering close to 1800; "There is no frigate like a book"; "Because I could not stop for death"; "I taste a liquor never brewed"; "I'm Nobody! Who are you?"; "I like to see it lap the Miles"; etc.
December 11
Hector Berlioz (1803-1869) French composer; Damnation of Faust; Symphonie Fantastique; Requiem
Horace Bell (1830-1918) American author and lawman; Reminiscences of a Ranger
Naguib Mahfouz (1911-2006) Egyptian writer; 34 novels (including Midaq Alley and the "Cairo Trilogy"), over 350 short stories, and more; Nobel Prize in Literature (1988)
Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn (1918-2008) Russian novelist, historian, and short story writer; The First Circle; One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich; Cancer Ward; August 1914; The Gulag Archipelago; Nobel Prize in Literature (1970)
December 12
Gustave Flaubert (1821-1880) French novelist; novel Madame Bovary; stories "A Simple Heart," "Saint Julian the Hospitalier," and "Hérodias"
Edvard Munch (1863-1944) Norwegian painter; The Scream; Madonna; The Sick Child
Audio from this issue:
ANSWERS
The Hero's Journey
Vocabulary: 1. H; 2. L; 3. I; 4. J; 5. A; 6. C; 7. F; 8. E; 9. G; 10. K; 11. B; 12. D
Questions to Answer (suggested answers; yours may be written slightly differently)
The Monomyth is a pattern found in the stories of the world's heroes, proposed by Joseph Campbell.
The five stages of The Monomyth are: (1) The hero is in his home world, (2) crosses a threshold (3) into an unknown world, where he accomplishes something, (4) returns across the Second Threshold, and (5) is changed by his experience.
A hero receives a "call": either an invitation, a forced journey, or a situation that pushes toward a choice. Hamlet refuses his Call, which leads to disaster.
Along the way, the hero meets allies and recieves supernatural help, but also faces challenges and enemies.
Modern stories are usually different because there no supernatural elements in them.
Questions to Think About do not have any single correct answer. However, any answers you give should be supported by what you read or by things you know ("I think... because...").
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Galileo, the Father of Science
Vocabulary: 1. C; 2. E; 3. G; 4. J; 5. H; 6. I; 7. F; 8. D; 9. B; 10. A
Questions to Answer (suggested answers; yours may be written slightly differently)
Galileo was convicted of teaching that the sun, not the earth, was the center of the solar system. (OR that the earth goes around the sun, and not vice versa.)
Galileo did not discover heliocentrism; he just promoted the theory of Copernicus.
Copernicus died shortly after his discovery, so he was unable to promote it himself.
Copernicus's student, Johannes Kepler, also promoted Copernicus's theory.
Galileo used a telescope to support Copernicus's theory.
The Ptolemaic (geocentrism) and Copernican (heliocentrism) were the "two chief world systems" in the title of Galileo's book.
Questions to Think About do not have any single correct answer. However, any answers you give should be supported by what you read or by things you know ("I think... because...").
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Botticelli's La Primavera
Vocabulary: 1. H; 2. J; 3. E; 4. A; 5. C; 6. G; 7. F; 8. I; 9. D; 10. B
Questions to Answer (suggested answers; yours may be written slightly differently)
We don't know what Botticelli called this painting. It was called "Spring" by an art critic, Giorgio Vasari, who lived after Botticelli died.
Venus, the goddess of love and fertility, is in the center, standing for the abundance of Spring.
Zephyrus (the first wind of Spring) is kidnapping Chloris ("Green"). After he makes her pregnant, she appears as "Flora" ("Spring" or "Flowers").
The three women to the left of Venus are the Graces (Splendor, Mirth, and Good Cheer). They are dancing to celebrate Spring.
The man on the left is probably a god, either Mercury or Mars. He might be protecting the whole scene from storm clouds.
Questions to Think About do not have any single correct answer. However, any answers you give should be supported by what you read or by things you know ("I think... because...").
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"The Boy Who Cried Wolf"
Questions to Answer: 1. C; 2. B; 3. C; 4. A; 5. A
Questions to Think About do not have any single correct answer. However, any answers you give should be supported by what you read or by things you know ("I think... because...").
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"Monday's Child"
For younger kids: 1. F; 2. B; 3. D; 4. G; 5. A; 6. E; 7. C
For older kids: 1. C; 2. E; 3. B; 4. F; 5. A; 6. G; 7. D
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"Don't cry over spilled milk."
Question: 1. C
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Vocabulary Builder: theory
Practice: 1. F; 2. J; 3. B; 4. G; 5. I; 6. C; 7. A; 8. H; 9. E; 10. D