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Copywork
About This Passage
This little list sounds so modest — just tea, an egg, a slice of bread. But the trap is hidden in one word: 'properly.' The old woman will accept these simple things only if they are made exactly her way, and since nobody ever quite manages it, she is never satisfied and always a little cross. Copying this sentence shows a writer how a single repeated word can carry a whole hidden demand, and reminds us that wanting even small things 'just so' can quietly become a kind of greed.
All she wants is a cup of tea properly made, or an egg properly boiled, or a slice of bread properly toasted.
Full copywork activity with handwriting lines available in the complete study guide.
Discussion Questions
Narration Prompt
Tell the story of Screwtape's seventeenth letter to Wormwood in your own words. What kind of gluttony does Screwtape like best, and how does the old woman show it?
Discussion Questions
- Lewis could have simply warned us not to be greedy. Instead he lets the devil Screwtape brag about how he has trapped a fussy old woman who is sure she eats very little. Why might hearing a devil brag about the trick make it easier to notice in ourselves, not harder? What part of the story Screwtape tells Wormwood shows how the trick works?
- The old woman always says 'all I want is' a little something, but it must be made exactly her way. What might make her honestly feel she is being good and modest, and why is her fussiness actually hard on the cooks and friends around her? Name the detail in the letter to Wormwood that shows this.
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Vocabulary Builder
Item 1
Wanting much more than you need, and putting your own wants first.
Item 2
A grumpy, angry mood, often over small things.
Item 3
Your sense of taste; what you like to eat.
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Critical Thinking
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