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Copywork
About This Passage
Anne articulates a philosophy of anticipation in two perfectly balanced sentences. The first claims (looking forward IS half the pleasure). The second deepens it (even if you never GET the thing, you still HAD the anticipation). The passage models how to make an argument through parallel structure and how wisdom can emerge from a child's voice about everyday pleasures.
Oh, Marilla, looking forward to things is half the pleasure of them. You mayn't get the things themselves; but nothing can prevent you from having the fun of looking forward to them.
Full copywork activity with handwriting lines available in the complete study guide.
Discussion Questions
Narration Prompt
Tell someone what happened in this chapter in order. When you get to the most important part, slow down and tell it carefully — what happened, why it mattered, and what you think about it.
Discussion Questions
- Anne says 'looking forward to things is half the pleasure of them.' Marilla says Anne sets her heart too much on things and will face 'a great many disappointments.' Who is wiser — the girl who enjoys hoping, or the woman who warns against it? What in the story makes you think so?
- Anne says ice cream is 'one of those things that are beyond imagination.' In earlier chapters, Anne could imagine almost anything — silk dresses, enchanted bookcases, puffed sleeves. Why can she NOT imagine ice cream? What in the story helps you understand why some real things are too good to imagine?
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Vocabulary Builder
Item 1
Quick, sharp, separate sounds, like tapping
Item 2
A rushing flood of something, pouring fast and strong
Item 3
In a quick, rough way without being gentle
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Critical Thinking
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