Exploring the Text

1. Why does D. H. Lawrence refer to the idea of the perfectibility of man as a “dreary theme” (par. 1)?

   Question

   ALMF/kS1zzW73MouRsoXk1h0lKY=

   Exploring the Text: - Why does D. H. Lawrence refer to the idea of the perfectibility of man as a “dreary theme” (par. 1)?
2. How would you describe Lawrence’s tone? Select a passage that you found particularly acid tongued and enjoyable and describe the rhetorical flourishes that made it so effective. How do those features contribute to Lawrence’s overall point?

   Question

   ALMF/kS1zzW73MouRsoXk1h0lKY=

   Exploring the Text: - How would you describe Lawrence’s tone? Select a passage that you found particularly acid tongued and enjoyable and describe the rhetorical flourishes that made it so effective. How do those features contribute to Lawrence’s overall point?
3. In criticizing the ideas of Franklin, Lawrence writes, “There are other men in me” (par. 5) and that “every man as long as he remains alive is in himself a multitude of conflicting men” (par. 9). These words evoke Ralph Waldo Emerson (“Speak what you think now in hard words, and to-morrow speak what to-morrow thinks in hard words again, though it contradict everything you said to-day”), Henry David Thoreau (“I am a parcel of vain strivings tied / By a chance bond together”), and especially Walt Whitman (“Do I contradict myself? / Very well then I contradict myself; / I am large, I contain multitudes”), all Romantic writers who influenced Lawrence’s thought and work. How does this kinship with classic American writers contribute to Lawrence’s piece? How does it appeal to ethos, logos, and pathos? Explain.

   Question

   ALMF/kS1zzW73MouRsoXk1h0lKY=

   Exploring the Text: - In criticizing the ideas of Franklin, Lawrence writes, “There are other men in me” (par. 5) and that “every man as long as he remains alive is in himself a multitude of conflicting men” (par. 9). These words evoke Ralph Waldo Emerson (“Speak what you think now in hard words, and to-morrow speak what to-morrow thinks in hard words again, though it contradict everything you said to-day”), Henry David Thoreau (“I am a parcel of vain strivings tied / By a chance bond together”), and especially Walt Whitman (“Do I contradict myself? / Very well then I contradict myself; / I am large, I contain multitudes”), all Romantic writers who influenced Lawrence’s thought and work. How does this kinship with classic American writers contribute to Lawrence’s piece? How does it appeal to ethos, logos, and pathos? Explain.
4. What is the effect of such language as “little automaton” (par. 19), “moral machine” (par. 20), and “Temperence-silence-order-resolution-frugality-industry-sincerity-justice-moderation-cleanliness-tranquility-chastity-humility keyboard” (par. 20)?

   Question

   ALMF/kS1zzW73MouRsoXk1h0lKY=

   Exploring the Text: - What is the effect of such language as “little automaton” (par. 19), “moral machine” (par. 20), and “Temperence-silence-order-resolution-frugality-industry-sincerity-justice-moderation-cleanliness-tranquility-chastity-humility keyboard” (par. 20)?
5. What can you infer about Lawrence’s values based on your reading of his own list of virtues (par. 23)?

   Question

   ALMF/kS1zzW73MouRsoXk1h0lKY=

   Exploring the Text: - What can you infer about Lawrence’s values based on your reading of his own list of virtues (par. 23)?