The Singing Silence

1. A short story assignment The Singing Silence

2. Question • What is more important in life: Your final destination or the journey you take to get there?

3. The Authors Use of Language • 3 literary devices present in The Singing Silence are Characterization, pathos and tone • Characterization- character of a story is detailed to the reader, the reader is given insight into the characters life • The writer tells the reader about Vincent and tells us about his life achievements and his impressions of a man he once met • Pg. 157 First paragraph

4. Pathos • Pathos- when sorrow or pity is stimulated in the reader • As you are reading you noticed Vincente has no life , nowhere to live, no family and goes from job to job • Pg. 159 Bottom of page

5. Tone • Tone- the authors attitude stated or implied toward a subject. Tone can be pessimistic, optimistic, serious, bitter or sarcastic • The events the author chooses to tell the reader creates a perspective that the author feels sorry for the subject • Pg. 157 Bottom of page

6. Conflicts Person vs. Society (High class vs. Low class): • Opposing classes have different perspectives and values • To Vincente, paying off his debts meant a great deal to him, thus illustrating his high moral values. • To the rich American, the loss of the amphora was not a big deal and could easily be fixed with money • Overall, these differing opinions result in a conflict between the opposing classes

7. Conflicts Person vs. Self • The conflict Vincente faces deals with him struggling with the guilt over him breaking the rich Americans amphora • Since he has so much dignity, he’s willing to commit the rest of his life to paying his debt off to the American • In the end, this inner conflict is ultimately resolved and he feels a real sense in gratification of paying off his life long goal of paying his debt back

8. Conflicts • “He [Vincente] knew the value men set now on these useless old jugs and pots; he had seen the disappointment on the face of the American. Vincente was an honorable man and he wanted to make amends” (Wuorio 157).

9. Conflict • Person vs. Person (Vincente vs. “Abraham”) • Conflict between them stems from when Vincente drops and breaks the Americans ancient Amphora • Vincente has a great amount of dignity and will do anything to repay the American • “ Annoyed by the foolish old man who had dropped his souvenir, the American had fabricated a name to get rid of him” (Wuorio 161).

10. Theme • Throughout the entire short story there is an underlying theme that the journey is more important than the destination • In the beginning of the story, the narrator says, “Vincente of Formentera was perhaps the happiest man I’ve ever known. And also, perhaps, the poorest” (Wuorio 157).

11. Theme • Again at the end of the story we see the author telling the reader that the journey is more important than the destination. The priest of Formentera says, “’It is not what one finds, you know, but the search itself that is important. Only the search’” (Wuorio 161).