The Chosen Vessel- story

THE CHOSEN VESSEL.



She laid the stick and her baby on the grass while she untied the rope
that tethered the calf. The length of the rope separated them. The cow
was near the calf, and both were lying down. Feed along the creek was
plentiful, and every day she found a fresh place to tether it, since
tether it she must, for if she did not, it would stray with the cow
out on the plain. She had plenty of time to go after it, but then there
was baby; and if the cow turned on her out on the plain, and she with
baby--she had been a town girl and was afraid of the cow, but she did
not want the cow to know it. She used to run at first when it bellowed
its protest against the penning up of its calf. This satisfied the cow,
also the calf, but the woman's husband was angry, and called her--the
noun was cur. It was he who forced her to run and meet the advancing
cow, brandishing a stick, and uttering threatening words till
the enemy turned and ran. "That's the way!" the man said, laughing at
her white face. In many things he was worse than the cow, and she
wondered if the same rule would apply to the man, but she was not one
to provoke skirmishes even with the cow.

It was early for the calf to go "to bed"--nearly an hour earlier than
usual; but she had felt so restless all day. Partly because it was
Monday, and the end of the week that would bring her and baby the
companionship of its father, was so far off. He was a shearer, and had
gone to his shed before daylight that morning. Fifteen miles as the
crow flies separated them.

There was a track in front of the house, for it had once been a wine
shanty, and a few travellers passed along at intervals. She was not
afraid of horsemen; but swagmen, going to, or worse, coming from the
dismal, drunken little township, a day's journey beyond, terrified her.
One had called at the house today, and asked for tucker.

Ah! that was why she had penned up the calf so early! She feared more
from the look of his eyes, and the gleam of his teeth, as he
watched her newly awakened baby beat its impatient fists upon her
covered breasts, than from the knife that was sheathed in the belt at
his waist.

She had given him bread and meat. Her husband, she told him, was sick.
She always said that when she was alone, and a swagman came, and she
had gone in from the kitchen to the bedroom, and asked questions and
replied to them in the best man's voice she could assume Then he had
asked to go into the kitchen to boil his billy, but she gave him tea,
and he drank it on the wood-heap. He had walked round and round the
house, and there were cracks in some places, and after the last time he
had asked for tobacco. She had none to give him, and he had grinned,
because there was a broken clay pipe near the wood-heap where he stood,
and if there were a man inside, there ought to have been tobacco. Then
he asked for money, but women in the bush never have money.

At last he had gone, and she, watching through the cracks, saw him when
about a quarter of a mile away, turn and look back at the
house. He had stood so for some moments with a pretence of fixing his
swag, and then, apparently satisfied, moved to the left towards the
creek. The creek made a bow round the house, and when he came to it she
lost sight of him. Hours after, watching intently for signs of smoke,
she saw the man's dog chasing some sheep that had gone to the creek for
water, and saw it slink back suddenly, as if the man had called it.

More than once she thought of taking her baby and going to her husband.
But in the past, when she had dared to speak of the dangers to which
her loneliness exposed her, he had taunted and sneered at her. She need
not flatter herself, he had coarsely told her, that anybody would want
to run away with her.

Long before nightfall she placed food on the kitchen table, and beside
it laid the big brooch that had been her mother's. It was the only
thing of value that she had. And she left the kitchen door wide open.

The doors inside she securely fastened. Beside the bolt in the back one
she drove in the steel and scissors; against it she piled the table and
the stools. Underneath the lock of the front door she forced
the handle of the spade, and the blade between the cracks in the
flooring boards. Then the prop-stick, cut into lengths, held the top,
as the spade held the middle. The windows were little more than
portholes; she had nothing to fear through them.

She ate a few mouthfuls of food and drank a cup of milk. But she
lighted no fire, and when night came, no candle, but crept with her
baby to bed.

What woke her? The wonder was that she had slept--she had not meant
to. But she was young, very young. Perhaps the shrinking of the
galvanized roof--yet hardly, since that was so usual. Something had
set her heart beating wildly; but she lay quite still, only she put her
arm over her baby. Then she had both round it, and she prayed, "Little
baby, little baby, don't wake!"

The moon's rays shone on the front of the house, and she saw one of the
open cracks, quite close to where she lay, darken with a shadow. Then a
protesting growl reached her; and she could fancy she heard the man
turn hastily. She plainly heard the thud of something striking the
dog's ribs, and the long flying strides of the animal as it
howled and ran. Still watching, she saw the shadow darken every crack
along the wall. She knew by the sounds that the man was trying every
standpoint that might help him to see in; but how much he saw she could
not tell. She thought of many things she might do to deceive him into
the idea that she was not alone. But the sound of her voice would wake
baby, and she dreaded that as though it were the only danger that
threatened her. So she prayed, "Little baby, don't wake, don't cry!"

Stealthily the man crept about. She knew he had his boots off, because
of the vibration that his feet caused as he walked along the veranda to
gauge the width of the little window in her room, and the resistance of
the front door.

Then he went to the other end, and the uncertainty of what he was doing
became unendurable. She had felt safer, far safer, while he was close,
and she could watch and listen. She felt she must watch, but the great
fear of wakening baby again assailed her. She suddenly recalled that
one of the slabs on that side of the house had shrunk in length as well
as in width, and had once fallen out. It was held in position
only by a wedge of wood underneath. What if he should discover that!
The uncertainty increased her terror. She prayed as she gently raised
herself with her little one in her arms, held tightly to her breast.

She thought of the knife, and shielded her child's body with her hands
and arms. Even its little feet she covered with its white gown, and
baby never murmured--it liked to be held so. Noiselessly she crossed
to the other side, and stood where she could see and hear, but not be
seen. He was trying every slab, and was very near to that with the
wedge under it. Then she saw him find it; and heard the sound of the
knife as bit by bit he began to cut away the wooden support.

She waited motionless, with her baby pressed tightly to her, though she
knew that in another few minutes this man with the cruel eyes,
lascivious mouth, and gleaming knife would enter. One side of the slab
tilted; he had only to cut away the remaining little end, when the
slab, unless he held it, would fall outside.

She heard his jerked breathing as it kept time with the cuts of the
knife, and the brush of his clothes as he rubbed the wall in his
movements, for she was so still and quiet, that she did not
even tremble. She knew when he ceased, and wondered why. She stood well
concealed; she knew he could not see her, and that he would not fear if
he did, yet she heard him move cautiously away. Perhaps he expected the
slab to fall. Still his motive puzzled her, and she moved even closer,
and bent her body the better to listen. Ah! what sound was that?
"Listen! Listen!" she bade her heart--her heart that had kept so
still, but now bounded with tumultuous throbs that dulled her ears.
Nearer and nearer came the sounds, till the welcome thud of a horse's
hoof rang out clearly.

"Oh, God! Oh, God! Oh, God!" she cried, for they were very close before
she could make sure. She turned to the door, and with her baby in her
arms tore frantically at its bolts and bars.

Out she darted at last, and running madly along, saw the horseman
beyond her in the distance. She called to him in Christ's name, in her
babe's name, still flying like the wind with the speed that deadly
peril gives. But the distance grew greater and greater between them,
and when she reached the creek her prayers turned to wild
shrieks, for there crouched the man she feared, with outstretched arms
that caught her as she fell. She knew he was offering terms if she
ceased to struggle and cry for help, though louder and louder did she
cry for it, but it was only when the man's hand gripped her throat,
that the cry of "Murder" came from her lips. And when she ceased, the
startled curlews took up the awful sound, and flew shrieking over the
horseman's head.


* * * * *


"By God!" said the boundary rider, "it's been a dingo right enough!
Eight killed up here, and there's more down in the creek--a ewe and a
lamb, I'll bet; and the lamb's alive!" And he shut out the sky with his
hand, and watched the crows that were circling round and round, nearing
the earth one moment, and the next shooting skywards. By that he knew
the lamb must be alive; even a dingo will spare a lamb sometimes.

Yes, the lamb was alive, and after the manner of lambs of its kind did
not know its mother when the light came. It had sucked the still warm
breasts, and laid its little head on her bosom, and slept till the
morn. Then, when it looked at the swollen disfigured face, it
wept and would have crept away, but for the hand that still clutched
its little gown. Sleep was nodding its golden head and swaying its
small body, and the crows were close, so close, to the mother's
wide-open eyes, when the boundary rider galloped down.

"Jesus Christ!" he said, covering his eyes. He told afterwards how the
little child held out its arms to him, and how he was forced to cut its
gown that the dead hand held.


* * * * *


It was election time, and as usual the priest had selected a candidate.
His choice was so obviously in the interests of the squatter, that
Peter Hennessey's reason, for once in his life, had over-ridden
superstition, and he had dared promise his vote to another. Yet he was
uneasy, and every time he woke in the night (and it was often) he heard
the murmur of his mother's voice. It came through the partition, or
under the door. If through the partition, he knew she was praying in
her bed; but when the sounds came under the door, she was on her knees
before the little altar in the corner that enshrined the statue of the
Blessed Virgin and Child.

"Mary, Mother of Christ! save my son! Save him!" prayed she in
the dairy as she strained and set the evening's milking "Sweet Mary!
for the love of Christ, save him!" The grief in her old face made the
morning meal so bitter, that to avoid her he came late to his dinner.
It made him so cowardly, that he could not say goodbye to her, and when
night fell on the eve of the election day, he rode off secretly.

He had thirty miles to ride to the township to record his vote. He
cantered briskly along the great stretch of plain that had nothing but
stunted cottonbush to play shadow to the full moon, which glorified a
sky of earliest spring. The bruised incense of the flowering clover
rose up to him, and the glory of the night appealed vaguely to his
imagination, but he was preoccupied with his present act of revolt.

Vividly he saw his mother's agony when she would find him gone. At that
moment, he felt sure, she was praying.

"Mary! Mother of Christ!" He repeated the invocation, half
unconsciously. And suddenly, out of the stillness, came Christ's name
to him--called loudly in despairing accents.

"For Christ's sake! Christ's sake! Christ's sake!" called the
voice. Good Catholic that he had been, he crossed himself before he
dared to look back. Gliding across a ghostly patch of pipe-clay, he saw
a white-robed figure with a babe clasped to her bosom.

All the superstitious awe of his race and religion swayed his brain.
The moonlight on the gleaming clay was a "heavenly light" to him, and
he knew the white figure not for flesh and blood, but for the Virgin
and Child of his mother's prayers. Then, good Catholic that once more
he was, he put spurs to his horse's sides and galloped madly away.

His mother's prayers were answered.

Hennessey was the first to record his vote--for the priest's
candidate. Then he sought the priest at home, but found that he was out
rallying the voters. Still, under the influence of his blessed vision,
Hennessey would not go near the public-houses, but wandered about the
outskirts of the town for hours, keeping apart from the townspeople,
and fasting as penance. He was subdued and mildly ecstatic, feeling as
a repentant chastened child, who awaits only the kiss of peace.

And at last, as he stood in the graveyard crossing himself with
reverent awe, he heard in the gathering twilight the roar of many
voices crying the name of the victor at the election. It was well with
the priest.

Again Hennessey sought him. He sat at home, the house-keeper said, and
led him into the dimly-lighted study. His seat was immediately opposite
a large picture, and as the housekeeper turned up the lamp, once more
the face of the Madonna and Child looked down on him, but this time
silently, peacefully. The half-parted lips of the Virgin were smiling
with compassionate tenderness; her eyes seemed to beam with the
forgiveness of an earthly mother for her erring but beloved child.

He fell on his knees in adoration. Transfixed, the wondering priest
stood, for, mingled with the adoration, "My Lord and my God!" was the
exaltation, "And hast Thou chosen me?"

"What is it, Peter?" said the priest.

"Father," he answered reverently, and with loosened tongue he poured
forth the story of his vision.

"Great God!" shouted the priest, "and you did not stop to save
her! Have you not heard?"


* * * * *


Many miles further down the creek a man kept throwing an old cap into a
waterhole the dog would bring it out and lay it on the opposite side to
where the man stood, but would not allow the man to catch him, though
it was only to wash the blood of the sheep from his mouth and throat,
for the sight of blood made the man tremble.



THE END

Australia Vocab Review 2

Review Australia Vocabulary Part 2 Name:________________
Let’s go over the twenty new words you studied during the week.
In the following quiz, match the best possible definition with the word you have studied. Write the letter that stands for that definition in the appropriate answer space.

Review Words Definitions

___1. staccato a. calling for a superior being

___2. acrid b. something declared to support an overall argument

___3. reverie c. feeling of disappointment or humiliation

___4. thesis d. a porch

___5. assertion e. allowing light through

___6. pellucid f. to arouse action

___7. vigilant g. uplifting in a way to encourage moral improvement

___8. pungent h. bitter

___9. precipitated i. a smooth walk of a horse

___10. edifying j. to propel from great height

___11. invocation k. lecherous

___12. galvanized m. watchful

___13. verandah n. overall argument

___14. lascivious o. biting

___15. partition p. threatening

___16. drover q. daydream

___17. canter r. abrupt, disconnected sound

___18. monotony s. a divider

___19. chagrin t. tedious repetition

___20. ominous u. cattle or sheep driver

Drover's Wife Questions

Link for the story can be found on: ihslit2006.blogspot.com

Global Literature Name:_______________________
Unit: Australia
“The Drover’s Wife”- Henry Lawson

1. Give three examples of how the drover’s wife dealt with the loneliness of the bush:

a.

b.

c.

2. Give three examples of hardships the drover’s wife needs to deal with.

a.

b.

c.

3. Give three specific examples of ways that Henry Lawson builds suspense in his story.

a.

b.

c.

4. What, do you think, is Lawson’s definition of the ideal bush woman? Provide specific examples form the text to support your answer.


5. Do you think Lawson is realistic or romanticizes bush life in his portrayal of the bush? Explain.


6. What do you think will happen to Tommy when he grows up? Will he keep his promise? Explain.


7. Why does the drover’s wife have no name?


8/ Was Henry Lawson successful in getting into the mind of a bush woman? Explain.

Absalom Day's Promotion study guide

Global Literature Name:___________________
Australia
Price Warung – “Absalom Day’s Promotion”
This is a tough story but you can do it with some guidance. Read these questions before you begin reading so you know the purpose of your reading.

1. What bell is being heard at the start of the story? Why is it different than the normal bell?


2. What about the bell has created a “Madness of fever” in the veins of the people?



3. Why is the execution almost stopped? Why does the sheriff decide to go ahead with the large execution anyway? (What does he want to achieve?)



4. Why does the executioner quit?




5. Why does the Sheriff refuse to execute the prisoners himself?



6. Discuss the main character’s conflict. What arguments does Absalom Day use to support his decision to execute all convicts?




7. What decision would you have made? Why?




8. Reading great literature is a way to study/explore many issues and questions humans struggle with all over the world. Actually, literature is like having a great philosophical discussion with a writer or with yourself. This story also raises several philosophical questions about human nature and society.
∑ One question it raises is whether executions deter crime. Give the author’s answer to this question. (You will find the answer in the last chapter through the plot—what happens in the story).






∑ What do you think: Are executions a deterrent to crime? Support your ideas in a paragraph using a topic sentence and specific details.








∑ At the end of the story, Charles Darwin is introduced as one of the audience members. (Charles Darwin wrote about evolution and survival of the fittest). Why is he included in this story? Relate his comments to the main ideas of the story.





∑ The story also makes us ask whether violence comes naturally to people. How does the audience’s behavior show this?





∑ Do you think violence is a natural aspect of humans? Explain.






1. What is a deep philosophical question about human nature/society which was addressed in this story, but which has not been raised by the questions on this handout?





2. Regardless of whether you liked the story or not, tell me one thing that you really struggled with and what you’ll remember from this story (like a question/issue that interested you).

Scene rewrite (Rabbit Proof Fence Escape)

Global Literature Name:________________
Unit: Australia
Rabbit Proof Fence Scene Rewrite
Using the skills you learned in the travel writing unit, you will be slowing down a dramatic scene in Rabbit Proof Fence. Read pages 75-96. When reading about the escape, Doris Pilkington creates a factual account of what the girls did to get away from Moore River Native Settlement. Find the moment of escape and slow down this moment. Create tension and suspense by slowing this down and using showing details. You may want to write the scene from Molly’s point of view (1st person) to be able use interior conflict effectively.
(Points will be lost for not being typed, double-spaced, and having 12 point font)

Grade will be based on:
Ideas and Content: (Do you create suspense and tension?) ____/5
Organization: (Do you take the reader through the entire escape?) ____/5
Word Choice/ Voice: (Do you slow down the moment with showing details?) ___/10
Conventions/ Sentence Fluency ____/5

Total: ____/25

Australia Vocab Part 2 Days 1 & 2

Australia Vocab (Part 2) Vocabulary Name:____________________
Day 1
New Words: staccato acrid reverie thesis assertion
The Term Paper
Students today have it rough. Not only do they have to battle with the acrid smell of whiteboard cleaner in the classroom, they have to put up with many annoyances during timed papers. Their classrooms are filled with many posters on the wall that can distract and put them in a state of reverie. They also must listen to the staccato tapping of pencils while other students work. It is my thesis that students should be able to do all school work form home via radio. Some students may not agree with this overall argument, but many assertions can back up this claim. The students in Australia seem to have done just fine with this system, students’ homes are more comfortable, and homes lack the distractions of chaotic classrooms.

Sample sentences: Try your hand now at using your new words by writing them in their correct form (change endings if necessary) in these sentences:

1. The________ smell of burning rubber made my stomach lurch/
2. The ____________ applause after the opening band was nothing compared to when Iron Maiden took the stage with their accordions.
3. My overall_____________ was that students should have to clean their own school.
4. I backed up the main argument with _________ that stated the proposal would save money and be beneficial to our community as a whole.
5. The boring lecture caused me to fall into a state of __________ where I became a pirate.

Definitions: Match the new words with their dictionary meanings.

6. staccato ___ a. something declared or stated positively
7. acrid ___ b. a proposition that is maintained by argument
8. reverie ___ c. marked by abrupt, disconnected parts or sounds
9. thesis ___ d. daydreaming
10. assertion ___ e. unpleasantly sharp, pungent or bitter to the taste, smell, or tone

Grammar Lesson (The Dash)-Try making a sentence that uses a dash
A dash may be used to emphasize a word, series, phrase, or clause

He’s the kind of man who picks his friends—to pieces.
--Mae West

Australia Vocab (Part 2) Vocabulary Name:____________________
Day 2
New Words: pellucid vigilant pungent precipitated edifying

The refrigerator that time forgot
Although many modern refrigerators have the benefit of being pellucid, allowing the owner to observe the rotting of their produce from afar, there are still items that never seem to get thrown out. Even the most vigilant owner will miss the occasional jar of yogurt that becomes so pungent you feel the need to climb to the top of your apartment and allow the container to precipitate onto the pavement below. Intellect screams that the yogurt must suffer a demise or forever stink up your apartment, but I hope you will think of our earth first before leaving the contents in the alley. Although it may seem intelligent to throw the yogurt out the window, I hope this edifying passage will at least help you do the right thing with these rotting foods. Aim for the dumpster.

Sample sentences: Try your hand now at using your new words by writing them in their correct form (change endings if necessary) in these sentences:

1. The paintings in the church served a(n)__________ purpose even for those who could not read.
2. The finest bridge in all Peru broke and ___________ five travelers into the gulf below.
3. Wordsworth would often speak of the clear, __________ streams that would allow him to see the beauty that could be found beneath the surface.
4. Because the teacher was extremely ___________, no one could cheat on tests.
5. The rotten sandwich in my desk released a(n) _________ odor that made the class ill.

Definitions: Match the new words with their dictionary meanings.

6. pellucid ___ a. watchful
7. vigilant ___ b. admitting the passage of light; transparent or translucent
8. pungent ___ c. to throw from or as if from a great height; hurl downward
9. precipitated ___ d. enlightening or uplifting so as to encourage intellectual or moral improvement
10. edifying ___ e. penetrating, biting, or caustic

Grammar Lesson (The Dash)-Try making a sentence that uses a dash
The dash is used to indicate a sudden break or change in the sentence.
At dark, shadowy intersections, I could cross in front of a car stopped at a traffic light and elicit the thunk, thunk, thunk, thunk of the driver-black, white, male, female-hammering down the door locks.
-Brent Staples, “Night Stalker”

Australia Vocab Review

Review Australia Vocabulary
Let’s go over the twenty new words and two idioms you studied during the week.
In the following quiz, match the best possible definition with the word you have studied. Write the letter that stands for that definition in the appropriate answer space.

Review Words Definitions

___1. totem a. Of or pertaining to shepherds; relating to rural life and scenes

___2. garrison b. evil in nature; disposed to do evil

___ 3. indiscriminate c. Experiencing want or need; impoverished

___4. paradox d. part of a river where its current is met by the tides.

___5. consign e. choosing at random without careful selection

___6. pastoral f. silent

___7. indigent g. unending

___8. estuary h. Sediment deposited by flowing water, as in a riverbed, etc

___9. intrepid i. A member of a group of people who have no fixed home

___10. meandered j. statement which seems absurd or to contradict but may in fact be true

___11. reticent k. Originating and living naturally in an area or environment

___12. assimilation l. to predict or foretell a future event

___ 13. nomadic m. brave

___14. caste n. the emblem of a clan or family

___15. prognosticate o. To give over to the care of another; entrust.

___16. malignant p. to correct by punishment

___17. interminable q. A military post, especially one that is permanently established.

___18. indigenous r. To move aimlessly and idly without fixed direction

___19. castigate s. To absorb a culturally distinct group into the prevailing culture

___ 20. alluvium t. class separated by distinctions of hereditary rank, profession, race, or wealth


Words for further study: _______________ _______________

_____________ _______________ _______________

Dramatic Retelling

Global Literature Group:______________________
Unit: Australia ____________________________

Dramatic Retelling

On your own, read the personal story/ies of a person who was affected by the Stolen Generation. Then, as a group, look for a theme or themes that emerge from your story that also connects with Rabbit Proof Fence. Remember, a theme is a message about life or human nature that is “hidden” in the story that the writer tells. Then, decide the best way to tell the story of your character(s), the themes you explored, and the emotions that follow their stories. Your goal is to move beyond a factual retelling of the story, but instead use literary tools to create an artistic interpretation of the story exposing connecting themes between the two accounts.
Remember that this is a very serious subject. This is not a place to resort to farce, limericks, etc. Everyone in your group must participate fully and everyone must read at least once.
Your production should be about 3-5 minutes long and well-rehearsed.

Here are some options (You may combine these ideas if you’d like):

1. Create a poetic reading about the themes you have chosen to highlight. Show these themes through specific examples from both the experiences of the girls in Rabbit Proof Fence and using the experiences from the individual reading for your group. Use imagery, figurative language, rhythm, and strong words to tell the story. Then decide how you will present the poem. A choral (group) reading of a poem requires everyone to be involved in the performance. Split up the lines, repeat lines, use unison and individual voices, and employ thoughtful staging to create a dramatic effect in your performance.

2. Create a dramatic piece using frozen scenes and narrative about the themes you have chosen to highlight. Show these themes through specific examples from both the experiences of the girls in Rabbit Proof Fence and using the experiences from the individual reading for your group. Move fluidly from your narration to the scenes. Make sure everyone is involved in the presentation. Remember, narration is acting too! Use dramatic voice, gesture etc. to show the emotional turmoil of your character. Use imagery, figurative language, rhythm (through movement and transitions) and strong words to tell the story.

Once you have written your scene you should use all the remaining time to PRACTICE!!! You will perform two classes from now. Feel free to experiment with props and lighting as long as you treat this subject with sensitivity.

Evaluation:

Involvement of the entire group ____/5
Use of literary devices/tools (not read from the story) ____/10
Depth/ Complexity (Addresses more than one issue/ emotion) ____/10
Performance/ Drama ____/10
Sensitivity to the subject ____/5

Total: ____/40

Brainstorm for next class:

Themes and emotions from Rabbit Proof Fence:



Themes and emotions from individual story:



Strong images from Rabbit Proof Fence:




Strong images from individual story: