| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from The Tapestried Chamber by Walter Scott: which he has employed in selecting his materials, as he has
studiously avoided any attempt at ornament which might interfere
with the simplicity of the tale.
At the same time, it must be admitted that the particular class
of stories which turns on the marvellous possesses a stronger
influence when told than when committed to print. The volume
taken up at noonday, though rehearsing the same incidents,
conveys a much more feeble impression than is achieved by the
voice of the speaker on a circle of fireside auditors, who hang
upon the narrative as the narrator details the minute incidents
which serve to give it authenticity, and lowers his voice with an
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The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from Walking by Henry David Thoreau: for the coming ages. In such a soil grew Homer and Confucius and
the rest, and out of such a wilderness comes the Reformer eating
locusts and wild honey.
To preserve wild animals implies generally the creation of a
forest for them to dwell in or resort to. So it is with man. A
hundred years ago they sold bark in our streets peeled from our
own woods. In the very aspect of those primitive and rugged trees
there was, methinks, a tanning principle which hardened and
consolidated the fibers of men's thoughts. Ah! already I shudder
for these comparatively degenerate days of my native village,
when you cannot collect a load of bark of good thickness, and we
Walking |
The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from Animal Farm by George Orwell: them was secretly wondering whether he could not somehow turn Jones's
misfortune to his own advantage. It was lucky that the owners of the two
farms which adjoined Animal Farm were on permanently bad terms. One of
them, which was named Foxwood, was a large, neglected, old-fashioned farm,
much overgrown by woodland, with all its pastures worn out and its hedges
in a disgraceful condition. Its owner, Mr. Pilkington, was an easy-going
gentleman farmer who spent most of his time in fishing or hunting
according to the season. The other farm, which was called Pinchfield, was
smaller and better kept. Its owner was a Mr. Frederick, a tough, shrewd
man, perpetually involved in lawsuits and with a name for driving hard
bargains. These two disliked each other so much that it was difficult for
Animal Farm |
