Close Reading & Literary Analysis — Chapter review · English 10: Choices, Conscience & Consequences, Grade 10
Use the grade’s short story to explain how a change in a character or narrator develops a larger idea. Analyze two details from different parts and one craft choice.
Review the key ideas
Theme & Central Ideas
A theme is a supported interpretation of what a text suggests about a topic. Symbols and recurring patterns can develop it; several readings may be defensible.
Characterization & Structure
Infer a character’s motives from actions, speech, thoughts, and how others respond. Distinguish what a character says from what the story gives you reason to believe.
Author's Craft & Figurative Language
First distinguish literal description from language that transfers a comparison, exaggeration, or other meaning. Name a device only after interpreting its role in context.
Comparative Analysis
A critical perspective is a set of questions used to interpret a text. Formal analysis focuses on craft; a historical lens examines context; social perspectives examine power, access, or representation.
Problem 1
Answer and explanation
A topic names a subject, such as trust. A theme is a supported interpretation of what a text suggests about that subject. It may be stated or implied, and need not be a moral rule. The method transfers, but the particular detail, scope, and context must be read again. Memory and change can coexist. Keeping a patch preserves a connection, while repainting shows that valuing the past need not prevent change.
Use the criteria to compare your reasoning, not to copy the model’s wording. A supported alternative interpretation may earn full credit.
Response criteria
- Make an accurate, focused claim or revision.
- Use a relevant detail or a clearly explained language choice.
- Explain the relationship and recognize a relevant limit.
Problem 2
Answer and explanation
The story suggests that worth can come from use and connection rather than winning. The hidden trophy first represents failed status; its visible use for a shared activity suggests a different measure of value. A complete response supplies context, a focused claim, a brief supporting detail, explanation, and a relevant qualification. Do not simply repeat this model.
Use the criteria to compare your reasoning, not to copy the model’s wording. A supported alternative interpretation may earn full credit.
Response criteria
- Make an accurate, focused claim or revision.
- Use a relevant detail or a clearly explained language choice.
- Explain the relationship and recognize a relevant limit.
Problem 3
Answer and explanation
Infer a character’s motives from actions, speech, thoughts, and how others respond. Distinguish what a character says from what the story gives you reason to believe. The method transfers, but the particular detail, scope, and context must be read again. Putting down his notes marks a shift from controlling the discussion to listening. His response to the student’s experience suggests growing attention to needs his prepared plan overlooked.
Use the criteria to compare your reasoning, not to copy the model’s wording. A supported alternative interpretation may earn full credit.
Response criteria
- Make an accurate, focused claim or revision.
- Use a relevant detail or a clearly explained language choice.
- Explain the relationship and recognize a relevant limit.
Problem 4
Answer and explanation
Her words distance her from the team, but the repair suggests attachment or responsibility. The text supports a conflict between wanting independence and caring; it does not establish why she hides that care. A complete response supplies context, a focused claim, a brief supporting detail, explanation, and a relevant qualification. Do not simply repeat this model.
Use the criteria to compare your reasoning, not to copy the model’s wording. A supported alternative interpretation may earn full credit.
Response criteria
- Make an accurate, focused claim or revision.
- Use a relevant detail or a clearly explained language choice.
- Explain the relationship and recognize a relevant limit.
Problem 5
Answer and explanation
First distinguish literal description from language that transfers a comparison, exaggeration, or other meaning. Name a device only after interpreting its role in context. The method transfers, but the particular detail, scope, and context must be read again. The archive is given an action associated with a living thing. Replacing names with a category suggests loss of individual identity; the swallowing image makes the administrative change feel forceful.
Use the criteria to compare your reasoning, not to copy the model’s wording. A supported alternative interpretation may earn full credit.
Response criteria
- Make an accurate, focused claim or revision.
- Use a relevant detail or a clearly explained language choice.
- Explain the relationship and recognize a relevant limit.
Problem 6
Answer and explanation
A door normally enables entry, but the misplaced handle prevents control. The metaphor suggests apparent access without a practical ability to choose, fitting the difficulty of noticing or changing permissions. A complete response supplies context, a focused claim, a brief supporting detail, explanation, and a relevant qualification. Do not simply repeat this model.
Use the criteria to compare your reasoning, not to copy the model’s wording. A supported alternative interpretation may earn full credit.
Response criteria
- Make an accurate, focused claim or revision.
- Use a relevant detail or a clearly explained language choice.
- Explain the relationship and recognize a relevant limit.
Problem 7
Answer and explanation
A critical perspective is a set of questions used to interpret a text. Formal analysis focuses on craft; a historical lens examines context; social perspectives examine power, access, or representation. The method transfers, but the particular detail, scope, and context must be read again. Narrative analysis asks how layered accounts affect trust. A social lens asks how exclusion shapes the speaker’s identity. A strong reading weighs his own conduct as well as others’ labels.
Use the criteria to compare your reasoning, not to copy the model’s wording. A supported alternative interpretation may earn full credit.
Response criteria
- Make an accurate, focused claim or revision.
- Use a relevant detail or a clearly explained language choice.
- Explain the relationship and recognize a relevant limit.
Problem 8
Answer and explanation
A craft lens tracks the naming contrast and its reversal. A power lens asks who receives public identity and agency. The two can reinforce each other, but neither establishes the museum’s motives without more evidence. A complete response supplies context, a focused claim, a brief supporting detail, explanation, and a relevant qualification. Do not simply repeat this model.
Use the criteria to compare your reasoning, not to copy the model’s wording. A supported alternative interpretation may earn full credit.
Response criteria
- Make an accurate, focused claim or revision.
- Use a relevant detail or a clearly explained language choice.
- Explain the relationship and recognize a relevant limit.