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Copywork
About This Passage
These lines hold the chapter's cruelest irony: the Jane lies 'calmly at anchor,' her crew unaware of the thousands gathering to destroy them, while Pym and Peters watch helplessly from hiding. The passage is worth copying for the exclamation that breaks the calm tone and for the balanced 'either to aid... or to perish' that measures the men's helpless loyalty.
The vessel still lay calmly at anchor in the bay, those on board being apparently quite unconscious of any danger awaiting them. How we longed at that moment to be with them! either to aid in effectin...
Full copywork activity with handwriting lines available in the complete study guide.
Discussion Questions
Narration Prompt
In your own words, tell the story of this chapter. Which moments matter most, the choice not to fire, the attack on the Jane, the explosion, or the islanders' terror, and what makes the one you choose the most important?
Discussion Questions
- Pym and Peters 'longed to be with' their friends on the Jane, yet they choose to stay hidden and silent. Why must the men act against their own longing here, and what does that painful split cost them? Use the chapter's words about their longing and their choice to explain.
- The islanders' victory over the Jane turns, within minutes, into their own destruction when the ship explodes. Why might Poe place this reversal right at the height of their triumph? Use the chapter's words about the attack and the explosion to explain.
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Vocabulary
Item 1
Held back from doing something one could have done.
Item 2
A violent shock or shaking from a blow or blast.
Item 3
A very large crowd or number.
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Critical Thinking
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