| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Blix by Frank Norris: carefully down on one of the frail chairs with its spindling
golden legs, and they began to talk.
Condy had taken her to the theatre the Monday night of that week,
as had been his custom ever since he had known her well, and there
was something left for them to say on that subject. But in ten
minutes they had exhausted it. An engagement of a girl known to
both of them had just been announced. Condy brought that up, and
kept conversation going for another twenty minutes, and then
filled in what threatened to be a gap by telling her stories of
the society reporters, and how they got inside news by listening
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Babbitt by Sinclair Lewis: He was so twitchy that when he rounded a corner and chanced on two
acquaintances talking--whispering--his heart leaped, and he stalked by like an
embarrassed schoolboy. When he saw his neighbors Howard Littlefield and
Orville Jones together, he peered at them, went indoors to escape their
spying, and was miserably certain that they had been
whispering--plotting--whispering.
Through all his fear ran defiance. He felt stubborn. Sometimes he decided
that he had been a very devil of a fellow, as bold as Seneca Doane; sometimes
he planned to call on Doane and tell him what a revolutionist he was, and
never got beyond the planning. But just as often, when he heard the soft
whispers enveloping him he wailed, "Good Lord, what have I done? Just played
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