“The Scarlet Ibis” – Loaded Paragraph Instructions

Opening Paragraph of “The Scarlet Ibis”:

It was in the clove of seasons, summer was dead but autumn had not yet been born, that the ibis lit in the bleeding tree. The flower garden was stained with rotting brown magnolia petals and ironweeds grew rank amid the purple phlox. The five o'clocks by the chimney still marked time, but the oriole nest in the elm was untenanted and rocked back and forth like an empty cradle. The last graveyard flowers were blooming, and their smell drifted across the cotton field and through every room of our house, speaking softly the names of our dead.

Loaded Paragraph Directions - Write an 8 sentence loaded paragraph supporting the following thesis statement:

In the opening paragraph of “The Scarlet Ibis,” James Hurst creates a ______tone through the use of ______and ______(Choose two of these elements: connotative diction, imagery, or detail) to ______. (Choose one of the following options):

foreshadow Doodle’s death

evoke ______in the reader (specify an emotion)

establish a ______mood

*Use an AP tone word from page 30 of your Year Round packet.

*Use parenthetical documentation for all quotes. Refer to pages 20-26 of your Year Round packet for more detail regarding internal citation formatting, transitional words/phrases, etc.

  • Thesis:In the opening paragraph of “The Scarlet Ibis” by James Hurst, a ______tone is created through the use of ______and ______to ______.
  • (CD) Concrete Detail: (1 complete embedded quote sentence supporting thesis with an internal citation that is punctuated correctly).
  • (CM) Commentary:(2 sentences analyzing how the element contributes to the author’s purpose and how it affects the reader. This is NOT a plot summary or a restatement of the quote; it should be an in-depth ANALYSIS).
  • (CD) Concrete Detail: (1 complete embedded quote sentence supporting thesis with an internal citation that is punctuated correctly).
  • (CM) Commentary(2 sentences analyzing how the element contributes to the author’s purpose and how it affects the reader. This is NOT a plot summary or a restatement of the quote; it should be an in-depth ANALYSIS).
  • (CS) Concluding Sentence