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Copywork
About This Passage
Poe describes a desperate, bloody improvisation in calm, almost clinical prose, then pivots on a dash to the matter-of-fact 'as usual.' Copying it teaches the em-dash and shows how a steady, understated tone can make an extreme act feel all the more striking.
Ink alone was thus wanting, and a substitute was immediately found for this by means of a slight incision with the penknife on the back of a finger just above the nail—a copious flow of blood ensuing,...
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Discussion Questions
Narration Prompt
In your own words, tell how Augustus reaches his friend in this chapter: the escape from the irons, Dirk Peters bringing Tiger, the note written in blood, the factions among the crew, and the crawl into the hold. Which moment mattered most, and how do you know?
Discussion Questions
- Lacking ink, Augustus makes a pen from a toothpick and writes his warning in his own blood. How does Poe use these makeshift materials to convey Augustus's danger, and why might the homemade, bloody note say more about his plight than plain ink could? Use details from the chapter.
- Dirk Peters frees the lost dog Tiger and brings him to Augustus, yet his manner is 'exceedingly capricious, and even grotesque.' How does Poe keep Peters both kind and unsettling, and why might he refuse to make this rescuer simply good? Use details from the chapter.
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Vocabulary Builder
Item 1
Changing suddenly and unpredictably.
Item 2
Strangely distorted, ugly, or unnatural.
Item 3
Full of ill will; intending harm.
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Critical Thinking
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