| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from Little Rivers by Henry van Dyke: though we enjoyed them. But the great mountains encircling us on
every side, standing out in clear view with that distinctness and
completeness of vision which is one charm of the Dolomites, seemed
to summon us to more arduous enterprises. Accordingly, the Deacon
and I selected the easiest one, engaged a guide, and prepared for
the ascent.
Monte Nuvolau is not a perilous mountain. I am quite sure that at
my present time of life I should be unwilling to ascend a perilous
mountain unless there were something extraordinarily desirable at
the top, or remarkably disagreeable at the bottom. Mere risk has
lost the attractions which it once had. As the father of a family
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The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from Lady Chatterley's Lover by D. H. Lawrence: an emptiness, an indifference to everything gradually spread in her
soul. When Clifford was roused, he could still talk brilliantly and, as
it were, command the future: as when, in the wood, he talked about her
having a child, and giving an heir to Wragby. But the day after, all
the brilliant words seemed like dead leaves, crumpling up and turning
to powder, meaning really nothing, blown away on any gust of wind. They
were not the leafy words of an effective life, young with energy and
belonging to the tree. They were the hosts of fallen leaves of a life
that is ineffectual.
So it seemed to her everywhere. The colliers at Tevershall were talking
again of a strike, and it seemed to Connie there again it was not a
Lady Chatterley's Lover |
The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from The Octopus by Frank Norris: He was in a better mood by the time he reached the driveway that
led up to the ranch house, and as he raised his eyes toward the
house itself, he could not but feel that the sight of his home
was cheering. The ranch house was set in a great grove of
eucalyptus, oak, and cypress, enormous trees growing from out a
lawn that was as green, as fresh, and as well-groomed as any in a
garden in the city. This lawn flanked all one side of the house,
and it was on this side that the family elected to spend most of
its time. The other side, looking out upon the Home ranch toward
Bonneville and the railroad, was but little used. A deep porch
ran the whole length of the house here, and in the lower branches
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