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Copywork
About This Passage
Barrie's mock-heroic comedy is on full display here: a man 'who knew about stocks and shares' is undone by a strip of cloth, his tie elevated to an adversary that 'yielded to him without a contest' or not at all. The deadpan grandeur, an 'astounding thing to have to tell,' the gravely balanced clauses, makes a trivial frustration ridiculous and, in hindsight, ominous, since this small wounded pride will empty the nursery. Copying the paragraph rewards attention to how Barrie wields high diction on low occasions to expose human vanity with affection.
Perhaps there was some excuse for him. He, too, had been dressing for the party, and all had gone well with him until he came to his tie. It is an astounding thing to have to tell, but this man, thoug...
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Discussion Questions
Narration Prompt
Give a concise summary of the chapter, then identify the single most important moment or sentence in it. Explain why it matters to the book as a whole and what it reveals about Barrie's handling of comedy, grief, and the entrance of the magical.
Discussion Questions
- Of all the moments Barrie could have lingered on, he gives the most space to the tragicomic medicine quarrel and Mr. Darling's losing battle with his tie. Why do these small domestic humiliations deserve the reader's sustained attention, and what would be lost by skimming past them as mere comic filler? Use the chapter's details about Mr. Darling to explain.
- Barrie narrates the whole catastrophe through the parents' later grief, letting them cry 'Mea culpa' over a chain of trivial choices, a party invitation, a poured-out dose. What does the chapter suggest about how ordinary people assign blame for a disaster, and why is its account of guilt and chance persuasive or not? Use the chapter's details about the parents' regret to explain.
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Vocabulary
Item 1
Complete command or skilled control over something.
Item 2
In an urgent, pleading way that begs for mercy or help.
Item 3
In a tone of scolding or disapproval.
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Critical Thinking
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