1. NW4 Warm-Ups, Week 6
Voice Lessons

2. Monday, April 27 (Diction)
Copy the “Consider” quote and write your answers to the “Discuss” portion in complete sentences.
Consider:
“Art is the antidote that can call us back from the edge of numbness, restoring the ability to feel for another.”
Barbara Kingsolver, High Tide in Tuscon
Discuss:
By using the word antidote, what does the author imply about the inability to feel for another person?
If we changed the word antidote to gift, what effect would it have on the meaning of the sentence?

3. Tuesday, April 28 (Diction)
Consider:
“As I watched, the sun broke weakly through, brightened the rich red of the fawns, and kindled their white spots.”
--E.B. White, “Twins,” Poems and Sketches of E.B. White
Discuss
What kind of flame does kindled imply? How does this verb suit the purpose of the sentence?
Would the sentence be strengthened or weakened by changing the sun broke weakly through to the sun burst through? Explain the effect this change would have on the use of the verb kindled. If there needs to be a change, what would you change it to?

4. Wednesday, April 29, Diction (Pre-AP)
After Odysseus suggests to Eumaios that he (Odysseus) should go stay with the suitors, Eumaios replies,
“Friend, friend,
How could this fantasy take hold of you?
You dally with your life and nothing less, if you feel drawn to mingle in that company—
reckless, violent and famous for it
Out to the rim of heaven. Slaves
they have, but not like you. No—theirs are boys
in fresh cloaks and tunics with pomade
ever on their sleek heads, and pretty faces.
These are their minions, while their tables gleam
and groan under big roasts, with loaves and wine.
Stay with us here. No one is burdened by you…”
Pick one word out of the above and explain its purpose (hint: characterization). Why do you think it is suitable for Homer to use that word?

5. Wednesday, April 29, Diction (Standard)
After Odysseus suggests to Eumaios that he (Odysseus) should go stay with the suitors, Eumaios replies,
“Friend, friend,
How could this fantasy take hold of you?
You dally with your life and nothing less, if you feel drawn to mingle in that company—
reckless, violent and famous for it
Out to the rim of heaven. Slaves
they have, but not like you. No—theirs are boys
in fresh cloaks and tunics with pomade
ever on their sleek heads, and pretty faces.
These are their minions, while their tables gleam
and groan under big roasts, with loaves and wine.
Stay with us here. No one is burdened by you…”
List the diction choices that stand out to you. What do they imply about the suitors’ characterization/personality?

6. Thursday, April 30, Diction
Consider:
Abuelito under a bald light bulb, under a ceiling dusty with flies, puffs his cigar and counts money soft and wrinkled as old Kleenex.
--Sandra Cisneros, “Tepeyac,” Woman Hollering Creek and Other Stories
Discuss:
How can a ceiling be dusty with flies? Are the flies plentiful or sparse? Active or still? Clustered or evenly distributed?
What does Cisneros mean by a bald light bulb? What does this reveal about Abuelito’s room as a whole?

7. Friday, May 1, Themes
What themes is The Odyssey trying to convey? Create four theme statements for the abstract nouns below (Theme = abstract noun + what about it; complete sentence). Use all of them; you can combine multiple if you can, and if it makes sense to do so.
Bravery
Arrogance
Endurance/resilience
Hospitality (social contract)
(Revenge)
Loyalty
Fate/destiny
Self-control