“The World on the Turtle’s Back”“Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God”“The Birthmark”

“Self-Reliance”

The Nature of Man

“…Turtle’s Back…”

• Balance of nature• Good vs. evil• Mother nature • Creation myth• Allusions and parallels to other words

“Sinners in the Hands of Angry God”

• Pathos• Logos• Ethos

• Ad hominem: an argument made personally with no sensible justification.

• Harangue: a lengthy, aggressive, criticizing speech.

Literary Analysis: Symbolism and Theme

Symbols:• Red and white• The birthmark• Science or the scientist

Themes: • The nature of man and his quest for perfection, love,

affection, change, etc.

• “The higher intellect, the imagination, the spirit, and even the heart might all find their congenial aliment in pursuits which, as some of their ardent votaries believed, would ascend from one step of powerful intelligence to another, until the philosopher should lay his hand on the secret of creative force and perhaps make new worlds for himself.”

• Ardent: passionate• Votaries: followers

“Self-Reliance”: Ralph Waldo Emerson (1841)

• Author’s purpose

• Thematic trends• Think about how an essay (nonfiction) reveals themes

(through tone)• Truth, originality, inner truth, individuality, free thinking.

Terms to Know

• Aphorism: first page all over! Find a few more. • Asyndeton: paragraph two, page one. Find one more.• Polysyndeton: find on your own.• Antithesis: paragraph four, page one