Unit Talk about and analyze Chapters of “ The Adventures of Tom Sawyer ”. 2. An introduction about one of English reading skills--- Preview

Objectives  Help the students understand and appreciate Chapters  Make the students get to know Preview.

Chapter 15  Questions: 1.Read paragraphs 1 & 2 on p Why did Tom slip into the ferry-boat? 2.Whom did Tom find in the sitting- room? 3.How did Polly comment on Tom? 4.Did Polly know Tom ’ s coming back?

Main idea of Chapter 15:  Tom missed Polly.  When Huck and Harper fell asleep, he swam to the Illinois shore and went to Polly ’ s house.  He looked through the window where he saw Polly, Mary, Sid and Joe Harper ’ s mother gathered in a corner of the room.  Tom barely made it under the bed. He lay there listening to the women grieve over their lost boy. He learned that people think the boys drowned while making a trip by raft.  After the family went to bed, he swam back to the island and entered camp at breakfast time.

Chapter 16  Questions: 1.Read p.121. Tom and Joe quarreled. Why? 2.Huck and Joe wanted to go home. What made them remain there? 3.Read p.123. What were they talking? 4.What happened at night?

Main idea of Chapter 16:  The boys had a wonderful time at the island.  But after a while they became depressed as their feelings of homesickness return to settle over them.  Harper said he would go home. Huck said he would join Harper. Tom wanted to go with them, but he had a secret plan.  At first he tried to convince the other boys to stay with him. But the other two didn ’ t listen to him.  When the other two were going, Tom rushed out to them and told his secret plan. The two boys turned back joyfully.

Comments of chapters 15&16:  In these two chapters, the author is developing the plot of the episode that brings Tom, Harper and Huck the kind of notoriety and conspicuousness Tom admires most and is always on the watch for.  In Chapter 15, Tom sneaked back to Polly ’ s house with a note that said he and Harper and Huck were safe. But when he learned of the funeral plan, he decided not to leave the note. He is an opportunist in this regard.  This kind of opportunism and impulsiveness is one of Tom ’ s major personality traits and marks him as a boy, not a man. The episode is further developed when Tom went back to the island and found he must struggle to keep the gang together.

 The author effectively uses the boys ’ home sickness throughout Chapter 16 to build toward the climax which is going to come in Chapter 17. He stretches the suspense by interrupting the narrative with the storm and smoking which themselves lend drama and humor to the pirate adventure.  The suspense is heightened by the fact that although Tom told the boys his secret, the author doesn ’ t tell it to us.  This skillful manipulation of several dramatic, humorous and descriptive elements to heighten the narrative suspense of an episode is characteristic of the author ’ s keenly developed narrative technique.

Chapter 17  Questions: 1.The whole town was sad. Why? 2.What were the people doing in the church? 3.How did the people remember the poor boys? 4.What happened finally?

Main idea of Chapter 17:  Saturday was no happy day in the town. Everyone wandered absentmindedly.  The children had no interest in their games.  They could only talk quietly about memories of the lost boys. The whole town was mourning the lost boys. The people gathered in the church for the funeral services.  While the clergyman was eulogizing the boys, the church door creaked open and the three “ dead ” boys came marching the aisle. There was a great joy in St. Petersburg that day.  So that was Tom ’ s secret: to come back on the day of their funeral. He had attained one of his boyish dreams, to die temporarily, and let everyone realize how important he was to them.

Comments:  One of the secrets of this novel ’ s success is that it offers each of us a means of vicariously experiencing some of the childish we ’ ve all had.  The author does not burlesque the funeral or the events immediately following it.  Indeed, the tone in which he describes the singing of “ Old Hundred ” seems to carry admiration for these people who, sorry specimens of humanity though they often are, deeply feel and express gratitude for the safe return of the boys they thought were dead.

Preview  What to do before you read? 1.Before you buy a car you shop. 2.You look over the various makes and “ size up ” their appearances, special features, colors, promise of performance, price, etc. similarly, you should shop before you select an article to read; that is, take a preview. 3.A book, article or paragraph has certain prominent characteristics, just as a car has outstanding features. 4.If you briefly study these characteristics before you read, your survey may be as valuable to you as your general “ sizing up ” of a car before you buy it.

5.In some cases, the preview will provide you with all the information you desire, and you won ’ t find it necessary to read the selection at all. 6.In other cases the preview will “ wet your appetite, ” increase your interest, and strengthen your motive for reading. 7.When you actually do begin to read you will find that your pre-reading has paved the way for speedier and more comprehensive coverage of the printed page.

How to preview 1.The first step in making a preview is to study the title. The title gives you a quick cue as to what the topic of discussion is. It may be a deciding factor in determining whether or not you want to read the selection. 2.Next, glance through the material to see if subheadings are used. If so, a quick survey of them will be valuable to you. 3.If any visual aids are furnished, study them for their significance. 4.Next examine the length of the paragraphs. Turn the pages quickly and find out if most of the paragraphs are short, medium, or long.

5.If there are many short paragraphs, this is a fairly reliable indication that the article will include many ideas but will not be heavy with details. 6.On the other hand, if the paragraphs are long, there will be fewer ideas, but each main idea will be expanded by numerous details. 7. On the whole, these materials will be more difficult to read. 8.Finally make the estimate of how long it will take you to read the article.

Homework 1. Read Chapters of “ The Adventures of Tom Sawyer ”. 2. Do newspaper reading 3. Do supplementary reading.