"Because I Could Not Stop For Death"

by Emily Dickinson (1830 - 1866)

Questions:

1. in line 2, which word does the speaker of the poem use to describe death action of "stopping" for her? How does Dickson's use of this particular word help to present death in a certain way

2. How might Dickson's choice to include "immortality" in the carriage influence the speaker's feelings towards Death? Hint: Consider whether "immortality" has a positive or negative connotation

3. in the second stanza, the speaker refers to death's "civility" why do you believe Dickinson chooses to describe death as someone who is civil

4. Which specific images of everyday life are described in the third stanza? Are these
images positive or negative? How does that affect the tone of the poem?

PLEASE HELP ME, I AM DYING HERE

Read the excerpt from "mother tongue." lately, i’ve been giving more thought to the kind of english my mother speaks. like others, i have described it to people as “broken” or “fractured” english. but i wince when i say that. it has always bothered me that i can think of no other way to describe it other than “broken,” as if it were damaged and needed to be fixed, as if it lacked a certain wholeness and soundness. what best supports the inference that tan believes nonstandard english is no less valid than standard english? tan spends a lot of time thinking about her mother’s “fractured” english. tan has trouble thinking of descriptive words when she is writing. tan’s american education makes it difficult for her to understand her mother. tan winces when she describes her mother’s english as “broken.”