Perry High School HISTORY 101 3.03 The power of Diction

1. How​ ​old​ ​do​ ​you​ ​think​ ​Pip​ ​is?​ ​Quote​ ​the​ ​specific​ ​language​ ​in​ ​the​ ​selection​ ​that​ ​leads​ ​you​ ​to
this​ ​conclusion.
I​ ​believe​ ​that​ ​Pip​ ​is​ ​around​ ​10​ ​years​ ​old.​ ​He​ ​is​ ​described​ ​as​ ​having​ ​chubby​ ​cheeks​ ​and​ ​being
undersized​ ​from​ ​his​ ​age.​ ​Also,​ ​he​ ​is​ ​referred​ ​to​ ​as​ ​“a​ ​young​ ​dog”​ ​by​ ​a​ ​man​ ​implying​ ​that​ ​he​ ​is​ ​a
young​ ​boy.
1. Read​ ​the​ ​following​ ​passage​ ​and​ ​answer​ ​the​ ​question​ ​that​ ​follows:
“At​ ​such​ ​a​ ​time​ ​I​ ​found​ ​out​ ​for​ ​certain,​ ​that​ ​this​ ​bleak​ ​place​ ​overgrown​ ​with​ ​nettles​ ​was​ ​the
churchyard;​ ​and​ ​that​ ​Philip​ ​Pirrip,​ ​late​ ​of​ ​this​ ​parish,​ ​and​ ​also​ ​Georgiana​ ​wife​ ​of​ ​the​ ​above,​ ​were
dead​ ​and​ ​buried;​ ​and​ ​that​ ​Alexander,​ ​Bartholomew,​ ​Abraham,​ ​Tobias,​ ​and​ ​Roger,​ ​infant​ ​children​ ​of
the​ ​aforesaid,​ ​were​ ​also​ ​dead​ ​and​ ​buried;​ ​and​ ​that​ ​the​ ​dark​ ​flat​ ​wilderness​ ​beyond​ ​the​ ​churchyard,
intersected​ ​with​ ​dykes​ ​and​ ​mounds​ ​and​ ​gates,​ ​with​ ​scattered​ ​cattle​ ​feeding​ ​on​ ​it,​ ​was​ ​the​ ​marshes;
and​ ​that​ ​the​ ​low​ ​leaden​ ​line​ ​beyond,​ ​was​ ​the​ ​river;​ ​and​ ​that​ ​the​ ​distant​ ​savage​ ​lair​ ​from​ ​which​ ​the
wind​ ​was​ ​rushing​ ​was​ ​the​ ​sea;​ ​and​ ​that​ ​the​ ​small​ ​bundle​ ​of​ ​shivers​ ​growing​ ​afraid​ ​of​ ​it​ ​all​ ​and
beginning​ ​to​ ​cry,​ ​was​ ​Pip.”
What​ ​is​ ​the​ ​author's​ ​purpose​ ​for​ ​including​ ​such​ ​an​ ​extraordinarily​ ​long​ ​descriptive​ ​sentence?
Writing​ ​such​ ​a​ ​long​ ​and​ ​descriptive​ ​sentence​ ​creates​ ​a​ ​sense​ ​of​ ​ominous​ ​and​ ​ever-growing​ ​terror
while​ ​the​ ​person​ ​is​ ​reading​ ​it.
1. Using​ ​the​ ​same​ ​passage​ ​as​ ​above,​ ​list​ ​10​ ​words​ ​that​ ​produce​ ​a​ ​frightening​ ​tone.​ ​Choose
synonyms​ ​to​ ​substitute​ ​for​ ​the​ ​words​ ​you​ ​selected.