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.

What Has It Got in Its Pocketsess?

 View the picture below:

What two literary terms drive the humor in this image?

a. verbal irony and periphrasis
b. alliteration and dramatic irony
c. allusion and pun
d. archetypes and imagery






Scroll down for the answer.




______________________________
a. is incorrect - verbal irony requires that something is said.  Nobody talks in this picture.  
b. is incorrect.  While it does seem that there may be some dramatic irony going on, it really doesn't add to the humor.  Plus there is no alliteration whatsoever in this picture.
c. is correct!  It is an allusion to The Hobbit, obviously, but the humor comes in that it is also an allusion to the cartoon series Precious Moments. Allusions are difficult if you are not familiar with the source material being referenced, so you may need to rely on eliminating other answers that you know are incorrect and then choosing from the ones left.  The pun is the word precious, being used by both stories.
d. is incorrect, but is the best wrong answer.  There are archetypes in this picture, but they are not being used for humorous intent.

She's a Mankiller

 Read these panels from Marvel Team-Up #8 When Spider-Man teams up with Hellcat to fight the Mankiller:

Which line from the dialogue is an example of an allusion?

a. "You're willing to battle for the things you believe."

b. "I'm a regular Patrick Henry."

c. "Are we going to stand here yapping all night?"

d. "Because you're a loner, Spider-Man... an outcast."

Scroll down for the answer.

______________________________________________________

An allusion is a reference to another literary work or historical person/event.  These can be difficult to spot if you are not familiar with what is being alluded to.  In this case, Spider-Man is referring to famous American patriot, Patrick Henry ("Give me liberty or give me death!"), so the correct answer is B.