9Th Grade Lit. Narrative Writing Review

9th Grade Lit. Narrative Writing Review

A Girl of the Limberlost
Gene Stratton-Porter

1 Elnora unlocked the case, took out the pail, put the napkin in it, pulled the ribbon from her hair, binding it down tightly again and followed to the road. From afar she could see her mother in the doorway. She blinked her eyes, and tried to smile as she answered Wesley Sinton, and indeed she did feel better. She knew now what she had to expect, where to go, and what to do. Get the books she must; when she had them, she would show those city girls and boys how to prepare and recite lessons, how to walk with a brave heart; and they could show her how to wear pretty clothes and have good times.
2 As she neared the door her mother reached for the pail. "I forgot to tell you to bring home your scraps for the chickens," she said.
3 Elnora entered. "There weren't any scraps, and I'm hungry again as I ever was in my life."
4 "I thought likely you would be," said Mrs. Comstock, "and so I got supper ready. We can eat first, and do the work afterward. What kept you so? I expected you an hour ago."
5 Elnora looked into her mother's face and smiled. It was a queer sort of a little smile, and would have reached the depths with any normal mother.
6 "I see you've been bawling," said Mrs. Comstock. "I thought you'd get your fill in a hurry. That's why I wouldn't go to any expense. If we keep out of the poorhouse we have to cut the corners close. It's likely this Brushwood road tax will eat up all we've saved in years. Where the land tax is to come from I don't know. It gets bigger every year. If they are going to dredge the swamp ditch again they'll just have to take the land to pay for it. I can't, that's all! We'll get up early in the morning and gather and hull the beans for winter, and put in the rest of the day hoeing the turnips."
7 Elnora again smiled that pitiful smile.
8 "Do you think I didn't know that I was funny and would be laughed at?" she asked.
9 "Funny?" cried Mrs. Comstock hotly.
10 "Yes, funny! A regular caricature," answered Elnora. "No one else wore calico, not even one other. No one else wore high heavy shoes, not even one. No one else had such a funny little old hat; my hair was not right, my ribbon invisible compared with the others, I did not know where to go, or what to do, and I had no books. What a spectacle I made for them!" Elnora laughed nervously at her own picture. "But there are always two sides! The professor said in the algebra class that he never had a better solution and explanation than mine of the proposition he gave me, which scored one for me in spite of my clothes."
11 "Well, I wouldn't brag on myself!"
12 "That was poor taste," admitted Elnora. "But, you see, it is a case of whistling to keep up my courage. I honestly could see that I would have looked just as well as the rest of them if I had been dressed as they were. We can't afford that, so I have to find something else to brace me. It was rather bad, mother!"
13 "Well, I'm glad you got enough of it!"
14 "Oh, but I haven't" hurried in Elnora. "I just got a start. The hardest is over. To-morrow they won't be surprised. They will know what to expect. I am sorry to hear about the dredge. Is it really going through?"
15 "Yes. I got my notification today. The tax will be something enormous. I don't know as I can spare you, even if you are willing to be a laughing-stock for the town."
16 With every bite Elnora's courage returned, for she was a healthy young thing.
17 "You've heard about doing evil that good might come from it," she said. "Well, mother mine, it's something like that with me. I'm willing to bear the hard part to pay for what I'll learn. Already I have selected the ward building in which I shall teach in about four years. I am going to ask for a room with a south exposure so that the flowers and moths I take in from the swamp to show the children will do well."
18 "You little idiot!" said Mrs. Comstock. "How are you going to pay your expenses?"
19 "Now that is just what I was going to ask you!" said Elnora. "You see, I have had two startling pieces of news to-day. I did not know I would need any money. I thought the city furnished the books, and there is an out-of-town tuition, also. I need ten dollars in the morning. Will you please let me have it?"
20 "Ten dollars!" cried Mrs. Comstock. "Ten dollars! Why don't you say a hundred and be done with it! I could get one as easy as the other. I told you! I told you I couldn't raise a cent. Every year expenses grow bigger and bigger. I told you not to ask for money!"
21 "I never meant to," replied Elnora. "I thought clothes were all I needed and I could bear them. I never knew about buying books and tuition."
22 "Well, I did!" said Mrs. Comstock. "I knew what you would run into! But you are so bull-dog stubborn, and so set in your way, I thought I would just let you try the world a little and see how you liked it!"
23 Elnora pushed back her chair and looked at her mother.
24 "Do you mean to say," she demanded, "that you knew, when you let me go into a city classroom and reveal the fact before all of them that I expected to have my books handed out to me; do you mean to say that you knew I had to pay for them?" Mrs. Comstock evaded the direct question.
25 "Anybody but an idiot mooning over a book or wasting time prowling the woods would have known you had to pay. Everybody has to pay for everything. Life is made up of pay, pay, pay! It's always and forever pay! If you don't pay one way you do another! Of course, I knew you had to pay. Of course, I knew you would come home blubbering! But you don't get a penny! I haven't one cent, and can't get one! Have your way if you are determined, but I think you will find the road somewhat rocky."
26 "Swampy, you mean, mother," corrected Elnora. She arose white and trembling. "Perhaps some day God will teach me how to understand you. He knows I do not now. You can't possibly realize just what you let me go through to-day, or how you let me go, but I'll tell you this: You understand enough that if you had the money, and would offer it to me, I wouldn't touch it now. And I'll tell you this much more. I'll get it myself. I'll raise it, and do it some honest way. I am going back to-morrow, the next day, and the next. You need not come out, I'll do the night work, and hoe the turnips."
27 It was ten o'clock when the chickens, pigs, and cattle were fed, the turnips hoed, and a heap of bean vines was stacked beside the back door.

1) The characters' traits are revealed primarily through

A) / dialogue
B) / imagery
C) / narration
D) / soliloquy

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (Chapter 1)
Mark Twain

"TOM!"
No answer.
"TOM!"
No answer.
"What's gone with that boy, I wonder? You TOM!"
No answer.
(2)The old lady pulled her spectacles down and looked over them about the room; then she put them up and looked out under them. She seldom or never looked through them for so small a thing as a boy; they were her state pair, the pride of her heart, and were built for "style," not service -- she could have seen through a pair of stove-lids just as well.
(3)She looked perplexed for a moment, and then said, not fiercely, but still loud enough for the furniture to hear: "Well, I lay if I get hold of you I'll --"
(4)She did not finish, for by this time she was bending down and punching under the bed with the broom, and so she needed breath to punctuate the punches with. She resurrected nothing but the cat. "I never did see the beat of that boy!"
(5)She went to the open door and stood in it and looked out among the tomato vines and "jimpson" weeds that constituted the garden. No Tom. So she lifted up her voice at an angle calculated for distance and shouted: "Y-o-u-u Tom!"
(6)There was a slight noise behind her and she turned just in time to seize a small boy by the slack of his roundabout and arrest his flight.
"There! I might 'a thought of that closet. What you been doing in there?"
"Nothing."
“Nothing! Look at your hands. And look at your mouth. What IS that truck?”
“I don’t know, aunt.”
“Well, I know. It’s jam—that’s what it is. Forty times I’ve said if you didn’t let that jam alone I’d skin you. Hand me that switch.”
The switch hovered in the air—the peril was desperate--
"My! Look behind you, aunt!"
(7)The old lady whirled round, and snatched her skirts out of danger. The lad fled on the instant, scrambled up the high board-fence, and disappeared over it. His aunt Polly stood surprised a moment, and then broke into a gentle laugh.
(8)"Hang the boy, can't I never learn anything? Ain't he played me tricks enough like that for me to be looking out for him by this time? But old fools is the biggest fools there is. Can't learn an old dog new tricks, as the saying is. (9)But my goodness, he never plays them alike, two days, and how is a body to know what's coming? He 'pears to know just how long he can torment me before I get my dander up, and he knows if he can make out to put me off for a minute or make me laugh, it's all dowagain and I can't hit him a lick. I ain't doing my duty by that boy, and that's the Lord's truth, goodness knows. (10)Spare the rod and spile the child, as the Good Book says. I'm a laying up sin and suffering for us both, I know. He's full of the Old Scratch, but laws-a-me! he's my own dead sister's boy, poor thing, and I ain't got the heart to lash him, somehow. (11)Every time I let him off, my conscience does hurt me so, and every time I hit him my old heart most breaks. Well-a-well, man that is born of woman is of few days and full of trouble, as the Scripture says, and I reckon it's so. He'll play hookey this evening, and I'll just be obleeged to make him work, tomorrow, to punish him. (12)It's mighty hard to make him work Saturdays, when all the boys is having holiday, but he hates work more than he hates anything else, and I've GOT to do some of my duty by him, or I'll be the ruination of the child."

2) The author uses dialogue in this excerpt mainly

A) / to illustrate and develop the character of Tom.
B) / to create the conflict between Tom and Aunt Polly.
C) / to show what life was often like in smalltown America.
D) / to describe the setting, both time and place, of the story.

3) Lindsey is writing a narrative about her trip to the beach. What order would be best for her details?

A) / pros and cons
B) / chronological order
C) / order of importance
D) / order of difficulty

"If you get out your cell phone ONE MORE TIME while I'm talking," Mrs. Gradgrind howled, "I will personally flush it down the toilet!"

What narrative technique is used to characterize the English teacher in this sentence?

A) / description
B) / dialogue
C) / pacing
D) / reflection

The proud group of boys _____ to the front of the line.

Which word provides the most vivid description for the sentence?

A) / walked
B) / moved
C) / strutted
D) / went

He wasn't very tall, but Coach Tucker was clearly massively muscled and earned his nickname as the "mad little man" with his ferociously hard workouts.

What narrative technique is used to characterize the wrestling coach in this sentence?

A) / description
B) / dialogue
C) / pacing
D) / reflection

1 Kunal's older sister, Amira, dropped off her Great Dane, Baxter, on Friday evening before heading to a conference in the city. Although Amira was anxious, Kunal assured her there was nothing to worry about—after all, it couldn't be that hard to babysit a dog for the weekend.
2 While Kunal was putting away the dog's things, Baxter had managed to chew his dad's briefcase. Unsure of how he'd explain the wet, mangled briefcase to his dad, Kunal decided to take Baxter for a walk. The walk was uneventful until Baxter spotted another dog and took off after it, dragging Kunal along with him. When Kunal regained control of Baxter, they were both covered in grass and dirt. Kunal let out a groan, realizing that he'd have to give the dog a bath.
3 After bathing and feeding Baxter, all Kunal wanted to do was relax and watch television alone. Unfortunately, he found the huge Great Dane sprawled out on the living room couch, looking up at him with big sorrowful eyes. Kunal sighed and sat down next to the dog—if he _____ that Baxter would be this much trouble, he would have asked Amira to find alternative pet care.

What is the effect of the description of Baxter's eyes in the third paragraph?

A) / It emphasizes the main conflict.
B) / It creates a feeling of sympathy.
C) / It foreshadows Kunal's final thoughts.
D) / It reveals Kunal's feelings about the dog.

1 "I hear it's someone's birthday today," remarked Ms. Perkins, the secretary, as Benjamin exited his mother's office. This was a disadvantage of having your mom as your school principal—the faculty knew everything about you.
2 "I'm eighteen today," Benjamin replied with an embarrassed grin.
3 "Well, you don't look any different than you did yesterday," Ms. Perkins joked as she signed his hall pass.
4 Later, Benjamin caught his reflection in the cafeteria window and thought about what Ms. Perkins had said. Today, he was officially an adult, but he didn't look any different. He still had the same dark, disheveled hair and the same inquisitive eyes that were so large they sometimes seemed disproportionate with the rest of his face. He was the same height, and he still had the same prominent chin.
5 He also didn't feel particularly different. Benjamin could vividly recall the exhilaration he'd experienced on the morning of his tenth birthday. He'd bounded out of bed and basked in the knowledge that he was now one of the big kids. Benjamin felt as if he could do anything in that moment, but he didn't feel that immeasurable sense of joy today—and he couldn't help but wonder why.

How does the exchange between Ms. Perkins and Benjamin develop the narrative?

A) / It shows how Benjamin has a sense of humor.
B) / It forces Benjamin to question how he feels.
C) / It shows Benjamin a different side of himself.
D) / It prompts Benjamin's analysis of his appearance.

1 Rosita was having that dream again—the one where her biology teacher handed her a test, but she couldn't find a pencil to write down the answers. The recurring dream had plagued Rosita during final examinations, but she had to wonder why she was having it again now that classes were over. That's when she realized that her mother was calling her from the first floor.
2 Suddenly, it all came rushing back to her—she was graduating today, and she was the valedictorian. Rosita had to give a speech in front of the faculty, her classmates, and all their families in exactly one hour. She immediately tossed the covers off, rushed to her closet, and started getting ready. After donning her white graduation gown, Rosita quickly raked a brush through her long dark hair before pulling the mortarboard cap on her head and racing downstairs.
3 When Rosita's mother saw her panic-stricken face, she took her daughter in her arms and gave her a comforting hug.
4 "Everything will be just fine, sweetheart," her mother said reassuringly. But Rosita wasn't feeling very optimistic, especially since she had forgotten to finish her speech.

What is the effect of the pacing of the description in paragraph 2?

A) / It creates a sense of urgency.
B) / It creates a sense of anticipation.
C) / It shows how Rosita feels about school.
D) / It shows how Rosita feels about her mother.

10)

1 If Katina _____ that the first day of her internship at Harper and Associates would be so disastrous, she would have called in sick. She'd chosen her clothes carefully that morning: Katina had dressed in black slacks, a white shirt, a vibrant turquoise jacket, and matching turquoise shoes to create a youthful but professional look. On the bus ride to work, someone had bumped Katina's arm, and she'd spilled her coffee down the front of her shirt. Unfortunately, the jacket couldn't hide the stain, and Katina knew that the senior partners had noticed it when they'd introduced themselves.
2 One of the third-year associates, Greg, had shown Katina around the office and explained her responsibilities. Then, he'd taken her to the copy room, handed her an enormous box of legal briefs, and told her to start making copies. Just when she'd almost finished, Greg had returned to tell her that he actually needed two copies of every file. After lunch, Greg had Katina start filing the copies. She'd been filing for an hour when Greg informed her that she'd put the files in the incorrect order. Katina could only hope that tomorrow would be a better day.

How does the author reveal Katina's initial excitement about her internship?