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Copywork
About This Passage
Notice what Burnett does at the very end of the scene: she refuses to name the gift Sara gave Becky. Not kindness. Not generosity. Not friendship. Just ‘something else’ — and then she tells us the ‘something else’ was Sara herself. Watch the phrase ‘warmed and fed’ show up twice in a row, first as literal cake and fire and then as something only a person can give. As you copy this passage, slow down at that second ‘warmed and fed’ and ask yourself what Burnett gains by leaving the word blank and writing a person’s name instead.
When Becky went downstairs, she was not the same Becky who had staggered up, loaded down by the weight of the coal-scuttle. She had an extra piece of cake in her pocket, and she had been fed and warme...
Full copywork activity with handwriting lines available in the complete study guide.
Discussion Questions
Narration Prompt
Briefly retell what happens once Sara discovers Becky asleep in her chair. Start with Becky waking up frightened and end with Sara's last private thought about 'largess.' Include what Sara says to her, what she gives her, and what Becky does before she heads back downstairs.
Discussion Questions
- Sara tells Becky, 'It's just an accident that I am not you, and you are not me' — meaning birth itself is a matter of chance. But Becky hears the word 'accident' and pictures something physical, the kind of thing that lands a person in the hospital. Looking at what Sara says and how Becky actually receives it, has Sara's idea of sameness really crossed the gap between them, or only crossed it inside her own head?
- Lavinia says her mother would not want her telling stories to a servant girl. Sara fires back that 'stories belong to everybody.' One argument rests on permission — what people in authority allow. The other rests on ownership — what belongs to all people by nature. Using their words in this exchange, explain which kind of argument is stronger, and why the difference between permission and ownership changes what the answer has to be.
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Vocabulary Builder
Item 1
A generous gift, especially money or goods, given by someone in a position of power or wealth to those beneath them — from the French word for 'generosity.'
Item 2
The general public; the ordinary people of a community or country, as distinguished from those in positions of authority or privilege.
Item 3
So light and delicate as to be almost transparent or see-through; used of fine fabrics and other materials with an airy, insubstantial quality.
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Critical Thinking
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