The Incredible Journey

 Watch this ad that was pulled from the Superbowl 2015:

What literary term is driving the humor and impact of this ad?

a. paradox
b. metaphor
c. situational irony
d. archetype






Scroll down for the answer.







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c. is the correct answer.  Situational irony is when the unexpected happens.  Since we expect this be a heart warming feel good ad the sudden twist at the end leaves it memorable.  The other thing driving this ad is allusion since it is playing off of a similar ad that played the year before for a different company.

The Sky Is Falling!

Read the following haiku by Baiko:



Plum petals falling
I look up...the sky,
a clear crisp moon.


This haiku is primarily about:


a. global warming
b. death
c. autumn
d. love










Scroll down for the answer.






















___________________


b. is the correct answer. Why? Because of archetypes. Archetypes are symbols that stay the same in all cultures. Here we have leaves falling to the ground, which puts us in autumn time. Autumn is typically associated with death since the trees begin to die (or at least look like they are dying). Also the sky is crisp. The sky only has a crisp look when it gets cold outside, another indication of autumn or winter. Add to that the moon, which tells us that it is nighttime (yes, I know you can see the moon during the day, but typically it is associated with night). Night is, you guessed it, symbolic of death. So everything symbolically points to death, which is what this poem is about. If you don’t believe me, you can ask Baiko, the author. Oh, wait a minute, you can’t – he’s DEAD!

~

Ajax Cleaner

Look at the advertisement below:

What is the most likely reason that the company chose to name their cleaning product Ajax?

a. because words that begin with "A" come first alphabetically
b. The last name of the creator is "Ajax"
c. Their cleaner is strong, just like the Greek mythology hero Ajax
d. It is just a word that someone made up that sounded like a good cleaner name










Scroll down for the answer.







_________________________
a. is incorrect.  While it does come first alphabetically, since products are not normally listed in alphabetical order, it does not help their product placement
b. is incorrect. 
c. is correct.  Mythology allusions are very popular in product names. The allusion brings the ideas associated with the alluded object to the product.
d. is incorrect. The fact that the question was asked leads us to think that there is an important reason.

Tom Sawyer

 Read the following passage from Tom Sawyer:

“[They] covered themselves with dust and glory.” 

The above line is an example of:

a. zeugma

b. dramatic irony

c. hyperbole

d. alliteration

Scroll down for the answer.

_______________________________________

The correct answer is a. zeugma.  What the heck is zeugma?  It doesn't matter.  There is no dramatic irony going on.  There is no hyperbole.  There is no alliteration.  The only time you guess a word you do not know is when you know all the other answers are false.  In this case, you should have been able to recognize all the other answers as false and, with some trepidation, picked zeugma.

It was also used in the book Project Hail Mary: 

"I wake up covered in medical equipment and pain."

Still think I made it up?  Look here for a thorough explanation of zeugma:

http://literarydevices.net/zeugma/

Verily, A New Hope

 Read the following passage from William Shakespeare's Star Wars:

C3P0:
Now is the summer of our happiness
Made winter by this sudden, fierce attack!
Our ship is under siege, I know not how.

In the above passage, the word 'winter' is used to mean:
a. a season of cold weather
b. an ending
c. a new hope
d. an attack from an opposing force

Scroll down for the answer.

___________________________

a. is incorrect.  If the state test asks you about something that seems really easy, look again.  Chances are that is a false answer.

b. is correct.  Winter ends summer, just like this attack ends their happiness.  Congratulations!  You just figured out a metaphor.  These can be tricky sometimes.

c. is incorrect.  

d. is incorrect.  There is an attack being referenced, but it is not what winter is meaning.

He Had It Coming

Read this short story by Richard Brautigan:

"It is hard to live in a studio apartment in San Jose with a man who's learning to play the violin." That's what she told the police when she handed them the empty revolver.

Based on this story, what is most likely to happen next?

a. the police will arrest the man for disturbance of the peace

b. the police will suggest an apartment for her to move to

c. the woman will go to jail

d. the police will fine the man for playing too loudly

Scroll down for the answer







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b. is completely wrong. While police are helpful, other clues show that they are not there to help her move (at least not to another apartment).

a. and d. are both wrong. The man did play loudly, but we have no indication that the police are there because of the violin.

c. is correct. The empty revolver shows that the police are there to investigate the murder of our loud violinist. The woman is explaining why she did it.

Spidey Kicks Butt

 Read the following taken from "Top Ten Spider-Man Stories" by J. R. Fettinger:

I was reluctant to list ["The Kid Who Collects Spider-Man"] because it is blatantly emotionally manipulative. Also Wizard put it on their top 10, and I wanted to duplicate their list as little as possible. Spider-Man fulfills the wish of a dying boy by visiting him in the hospital and simply spending some time talking to him, including answering the question "Who are you really, Spider-Man?" Yep. Spidey stares out the window for a moment of contemplation before pulling off his mask and telling the boy his real name.

Based on the above passage, what would be a good word to replace "blatantly"?

a. boringly

b. subtly 

c. obviously

d. detrimentally

Scroll down for the answer.

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The way to figure this out if you are not already familiar with the word blatantly to to look at the context.  Mr. Fettinger did not want to include it on the list because it was emotionally manipulative.  Well, a lot of stories can be emotionally manipulative and still be good, so there must be something about this one that makes it almost bad.  Of the answer choices, obviously manipulative is one that most people frown on.  We don't want the author's purpose to be obvious, we want it to surprise us, to grab us before we realize it.  Therefore c. is the correct answer.

If you are a fan of Spidey, check out the entire article at: http://spideykicksbutt.com/Top10s/top10Spideystories.html