Read the following paragraph from “Resistance to Civil Government” by Henry David Thoreau: This American government, —what is it but a tradition, though a recent one, endeavoring to transmit itself unimpaired to posterity, but each instant losing some of its integrity? It has not the vitality and force of a single living man; for a single man can bend it to his will. It is a sort of wooden gun to the people themselves. But it is not the less necessary for this; for the people must have some complicated machinery or other, and hear its din, to satisfy that idea of government which they have. Governments show thus how successfully men can be imposed upon, even impose on themselves, for their own advantage. It is excellent, we must all allow. Yet this government never of itself furthered any enterprise, but by the alacrity with which it got out of its way. It does not keep the country free. It does not settle the West. It does not educate. The character inherent in the American people has done all that has been accomplished; and it would have done somewhat more, if the government had not sometimes got in its way. For government is an expedient, by which men would fain succeed in letting one another alone; and, as has been said, when it is most expedient, the governed are most let alone by it. Analyze the rhetorical style of this paragraph. How does the style contribute to the essay’s power? In particular, consider its parallelism and figurative language in formulating your response. Be sure to include specific details from the text to support your answer. (10 points) 2. Read the following excerpt from Edgar Allen Poe’s “The Raven”: Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there wondering, fearing, Doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared to dream before; But the silence was unbroken, and the stillness gave no token, And the only word there spoken was the whispered word, “Lenore!” This I whispered, and an echo murmured back the word, “Lenore!”— Merely this, and nothing more. Back into the chamber turning, all my soul within me burning, Soon again I heard a tapping something louder than before. “Surely,” said I, “surely that is something at my window lattice; Let me see, then, what thereat is, and this mystery explore— Let my heart be still a moment and this mystery explore;— ‘Tis the wind and nothing more!” Analyze the effects of Poe’s use of literary devices in the poem. In particular, explain how the excerpt’s symbolism and personification are meant to affect the reader. identify two symbols you find important in The Great Gatsby. How do these symbols serve to develop the story’s multiple themes? Analyze the development of these symbols over the course of the novel, and describe the resulting effects on the reader’s experience.
