What? What?

 Look at this cartoon strip:

What is most likely the word that was blanked out in the last panel?

a. something profane
b. "bingo"
c. "irony"
d. no word was there, just ". . ."








Scroll down for the answer.





________________________
O.K., this shouldn't have been too hard.  Let's stop and think.  A teacher is putting this up, so chances are that he is not going to put something profane on the site.  So we can rule out A.  Irony is something unexpected and it would be unexpected that an irony detector detects everything but irony, so C. is a good answer.  While it might look as if he is repeating her last word, "Bingo" makes no sense, so we can rule out B.  D. would only work if the cartoonist was expecting you to figure out the joke, so it might could work.  So we have b, which works, and d, which might would work.  Always go with the sure thing.  C. is the correct answer.

Never...Where?

 Read this passage from Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman and answer the question.

"It's a bit small," said the woman.

"Compact," corrected the camel-hair coat, smoothly. "Easy to take care of."

Based on context clues provided in the passage, which word best describes the meaning of the word compact?

a. spacious

b. decorous

c. tight

d. abundant

Scroll down for the answer.

_______________

Correct Answer: C. 

Thanks to Ms. Parsons for this question!  I have it on good authority from one of her students whose first name starts with the letter S that Ms. Parsons is the best teacher in all of East Duplin High!

I Still Want the Running Man Home Edition Board Game

 Read this passage from The Running Man by Richard Bachman:

    "Oh dear God," Amelia Williams moaned.

    Richards looked down at himself casually.  His entire right side, from ribcage to calf, was bright and sparkling red.

    "Who would have thought the old man had so much blood in him?" Richards said.

What literary term is the last line said by Richards?

a. allusion

b. cliche

c. personification

d. metaphor

In reality, Richard Bachman turned out to be a pen name for Stephen King.

Scroll down for the answer.

__________________________

a. is the correct answer.  It is difficult to pick out allusions (this one came from Macbeth) if you have not read the text that is alluded to, so you probably would have to have ruled out the other answers to figure this one out.

b. a cliche is a worn out phrase.  Since you are probably not familiar with this line, you can rule out cliche.

c. and d. are literary terms you are probably familiar with.  There is no nonhuman thing getting human characteristics and there is no comparison, so they are clearly not the right answer.  

~

Take a shot at this one

 Look at the following image:

This is an example of which literary term?

a. pun
b. situational irony
c. metaphor
d. alliteration







Scroll down for the answer.







________________
The correct answer is:
   a. pun



See teachers, this is why you should consider creating some questions yourself or having your students do it as a project and send them to me.  Otherwise, you're in for a lot of these corny ones.  Fair warning.

A Fable

Read the following fable:

The Donkey and His Masters

  A donkey, belonging to an herb-seller who gave him too little food and too much work made a petition to Jupiter to be released from his present service and provided with another master. Jupiter, after warning him that he would repent his request, caused him to be sold to a tile-maker. Shortly afterwards, finding that he had heavier loads to carry and harder work in the brick-field, he petitioned for another change of master. Jupiter, telling him that it would be the last time that he could grant his request, ordained that he be sold to a tanner. The donkey found that he had fallen into worse hands, and noting his master's occupation, said, groaning: "It would have been better for me to have been either starved by the one, or to have been overworked by the other of my former masters, than to have been bought by my present owner, who will even after I am dead tan my hide, and make me useful to him."


The best lesson of this story is:

a. He that finds discontentment in one place is not likely to find happiness in another.
b. Good can be found even in difficult times.
c. There is hope for those who wait patiently.
d. He who hesitates is lost.







Scroll down for the answer.







____________________________
a. is the correct answer.


~

The Martian - Makes No Sense

 Read the following excerpt from Andy Weir's novel The Martian.  The protagonist has been stranded on Mars and has been keeping a log of his thoughts and actions while stuck there.  This excerpt begins with NASA officials trying to figure out how to get him home and ends with one of the protagonist's log entries.

     "Any idea on how to keep him alive for four years?"
     "Nope."
     "Work on that, too."
     "Will do," Venkat said.
     Teddy swiveled his chair and looked out the window to the sky beyond.  Night was edging in.  "What must it be like?" he pondered.  "He's stuck out there.  He thinks he's totally alone and that we all gave up on him.  What kind of effect does that have on a man's psychology?"
     He turned back to Venkat.  "I wonder what he's thinking right now."

LOG ENTRY: SOL 61
     How come Aquaman can control whales?  They're mammals! Makes no sense.


What literary device is being used for humorous effect?

a. juxtaposition
b. allusion
c. pun
d. rhetorical device

Scroll down for the answer.








_________________________________________
a. is correct.  Juxtaposition is the placing of one scene right next to the other scene.  Here we follow up on a serious issue with a silly one for humorous effect.

Missing this question? That's a paddling.

Read the following quote from Anthem:

"The first blow of the lash felt as if our spine had been cut in two."

What is the quote and example of?


A: alliteration
B: metaphor
C: hyperbole
D: simile












Scroll down for the answer.

______________________________________
You can make a case for two answers here:
C: because the comparison could be construed as an exaggeration to show how much the lash hurt -or-
D: because he uses like or as to describe something that is something else.




Thanks to Meredith, Roslyn, Jarvis, and Aaron from Ms. Brooks class for this question!  I'm sure you guys never had to worry about a whipping, but it took quite a few of those to for me.  I had several teachers that had paddles in their room ready to apply the "Board of Education" to any student in need of learning.