7.RL.9: Compare and contrast a fictional portrayal of a time, place, or character and a historical account of the same period as a means of understanding how authors of fiction use or alter history.

Read the following excerpts and answer the questions that follow.

In his account of his famous ride, Paul Revere described the impetus for his journey: "…I was sent for by Dr. Joseph Warren, of said Boston, on the evening of the 18th of April, about 10 o'clock; when he desired me, 'to go to Lexington, and inform Mr. Samuel Adams, and the Hon. John Hancock Esq.'" Though the lantern signal from Christ Church had been Revere's idea, he never mentions seeing it, though he does go on to say, "I set off, it was then about 11 o'clock, the moon shone bright."

from“Paul Revere’s Ride” by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Meanwhile, impatient to mount and ride,

Booted and spurred, with a heavy stride

On the opposite shore walked Paul Revere.

Now he patted his horse's side,

Now gazed at the landscape far and near,

Then, impetuous, stamped the earth,

And turned and tightened his saddle girth;

But mostly he watched with eager search

The belfry-tower of the Old North Church,

As it rose above the graves on the hill,

Lonely and spectral and sombre and still.

And lo! as he looks, on the belfry's height

A glimmer, and then a gleam of light!

He springs to the saddle, the bridle he turns,

But lingers and gazes, till full on his sight

A second lamp in the belfry burns!

A hurry of hoofs in a village street,

A shape in the moonlight, a bulk in the dark,

And beneath, from the pebbles, in passing, a spark

Struck out by a steed flying fearless and fleet:

That was all! And yet, through the gloom and the light,

The fate of a nation was riding that night;

And the spark struck out by that steed, in his flight,

Kindled the land into flame with its heat.

He has left the village and mounted the steep,

And beneath him, tranquil and broad and deep,

Is the Mystic, meeting the ocean tides;

And under the alders, that skirt its edge,

Now soft on the sand, now loud on the ledge,

Is heard the tramp of his steed as he rides.

1. How does the poem differ from the passage?

  1. It exaggerates details to dramatize the event.
  2. It invents a new setting to change the meaning of the event.
  3. It introduces new characters to complicate the story.
  4. It alters the facts of the event to create a more interesting story.

2. Based on the documents, which answers showthe most likely purpose of the poem?

  1. to spread patriotism
  2. to glorify a historicalevent
  3. to criticize politics
  4. to recruit soldiers for the war effort
  5. to provide an accurate historical account

Read the following passages and answer the questions.

European colonization and settlement of North America (and other areas of the so-called "new world") was an invasion of territory controlled and settled for centuries by Native Americans. To be sure, Indian control and settlement of that land looked different to European, as compared to Native American, eyes. Nonetheless, Native Americangroups perceived the Europeans' arrival as an encroachment and they pursued any number of avenues to deal with that invasion.

fromPocahontas by James Baldwin

One day when Smith was in the woods, some Indians came upon him, and made him their prisoner. They led him to their king, and in a short time they made ready to put him to death.

A large stone was brought in, and Smith was made to lie down with his head on it. Then two tall Indians with big clubs in their hands came forward. The king and all his great men stood around to see. The Indians raised their clubs. In another moment they would fall on Smith's head.

But just then a little Indian girl rushed in. She was the daughter of the king, and her name was Pocahontas. She ran and threw herself between Smith and the uplifted clubs. She clasped Smith's head with her arms. She laid her own head upon his.

"O father!" she cried, "spare this man's life. I am sure he has done you no harm, and we ought to be his friends."

The men with the clubs could not strike, for they did not want to hurt the child. The king at first did not know what to do. Then he spoke to some of his warriors, and they lifted Smith from the ground. They untied the cords from his wrists and feet, and set him free.

The next day the king sent Smith home; and several Indians went with him to protect him from harm.

After that, as long as she lived, Pocahontas was the friend of the white men, and she did a great many things to help them.

1. How does the story differ from the informational passage?

  1. The storyshows how the colonists invaded the land of American Indians.
  2. The storydescribes the American Indians as attackers instead of the colonists.
  3. The storydescribes an interaction between colonists and American Indians.
  4. The storyexplains how the land looked different to American Indians than it did to colonists.

2. What does the story emphasize about the colonists' relationship with the native Americans that contradicts the informational passage?

  1. Pocahontas is shown as loyal tothe colonists.
  1. The native American leaders are shown as accepting of the colonists.
  2. The story shows the colonists were trying to work alongside the Native Americans.
  3. The passage indicates the colonists and Native Americans did not get along.

3. What is the effect of the story about Pocahontas?

  1. It makes the European colonizationof America seem less violent.
  2. It describes the culture of some American Indian groups.
  3. It makes the European colonizationof America seem more seriousthan it was.
  4. It describes the common experience of hardship that many European colonists faced.