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English 4.10: Manipulating Meaning Worksheet

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English 4.10: Manipulating Meaning Worksheet
Manipulating Meaning Worksheet
Part A: Twain’s Family Tree
Use all the skills you have learned throughout this course to complete a close reading of the description you’ve chosen. Use context clues to make sense of things that are not clear at first. Pay attention to Twain’s tone and the humor devices he uses.
1. Which of Twain’s ancestors did you select?
Charles Henry Twain
2. What is the ACTUAL story of that man’s life? Provide supporting evidence from the text.

Charles was a missionary that influenced sixteen thousand sea islanders what they had to wear when going to divine service. When he passed away, his funeral was packed with his family and were all telling each other what a great missionary he was and they hoped that he could have been there a little more with them.

3. What techniques does Twain use to create satire in the description you selected? Provide supporting evidence from the text.
To make his satire description Twain uses irony and wit. He uses the word flock to describe the family to incorporate a little of humor then continues by saying that they got up in their body to prolonged the humor.

Part B: Create Your Own Satire
For this part of the assignment, you will appropriate Twain’s technique and write a burlesque of an event in your life or in the life of a celebrity. Remember, a burlesque plays on contradiction between a subject and the way it is treated. Twain used humor to describe serious, sometimes awful, events, but you can turn it around and present something fun or happy in a very serious way – the choice is yours.
Requirements:
Incorporate at least two humor devices
Write a minimum of five sentences
Paste your completed burlesque here: This summer I ended up at Tallahassee, enjoying the numbness of my butt on the comfortable seats for nine hours. I just remember tripping over the bins that made me feel protected by being in between the door. The walk through the Valley of Ashes to Fresh Foods for breakfast was amazing. Oh

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