Transcript Text Analysis

Lesson 14 – Mercy at Appomattox
Part Three
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ENTER
Lesson 14 – Mercy at Appomattox
Text Appreciation
I. Text analysis
1. Theme
2. Structure
3. Further discussion
I. Writing devices
1. Oxymoron
2. Anaphora
II.Sentence paraphrase
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Lesson 14 – Mercy at Appomattox
I.
Text Analysis
Theme of the story
The dramatic scene of the
surrender of Lee’s army to
Grant best represents the
spirit—there was no loser in
this war; all American people
had won; through their
bloodbath they had achieved
the rebirth of their nation
again.
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The end of Theme.
Lesson 14 – Mercy at Appomattox
I.
Text Analysis
Structure of the text
Part 1 (paras. 1-3 ):The author’s choice to visit Appomattox.
Part 2 (paras. 4-5 ): Descriptions of the ending of the war:
Lee decided to surrender.
Part 3 (para.
6 ): The choice of the site for the surrender.
The meeting of Grant and Lee and the
Part 4 (paras. 7-10 ): generous terms of the surrender.
Part 5 (paras.11-15 ): The dramatic scene of the surrender.
Part 6 (paras.16-21): Comments on the theme of forgiveness and
reconciliation and the three great people.
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The end of Structure.
Lesson 14 – Mercy at Appomattox
I.

Text Analysis
Question: Why was the author eager to visit
the Civil War site of Appomattox instead of such
sites as Gettysburg and Chickamauga?
Appomattox best represents the spirit the author
admires, that is, ending the war peacefully and
starting the journey of rebuilding the country as
brothers
with
merciful
forgiveness
and
reconciliation rather than bloody revenge and
hatred which are typically memorized at such
battlefields as Gettysburg and Chickamauga.
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To be continued on the next page.
Mentioned
in Paras.
1-2.
Lesson 14 – Mercy at Appomattox
I.

Text Analysis
One officer suggested that the troops could
disperse and carry on as guerrillas. Lee
refused; …
Question: Throughout history, we know
defeated generals and revolutionaries and traitors
were usually beheaded or they were hung or they
were imprisoned or like Napoleon, they were
exiled. If you were Lee, would you consider
guerilla warfare?
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In Para. 5
For Reference
Lesson 14 – Mercy at Appomattox
I.

Text Analysis
For reference: The South itself was a maze and
a tangle of hills and swamps and streams and
forests. They have the temperament, the ability
and the incentive and arguably, if they had
decided to wage guerilla warfare, they would have
been one of the most formidable guerilla armies in
all of history. And in fact, at this very moment,
Jefferson Davis, the Confederate president, his
government was on the run calling for a guerilla
warfare, but in the end, Lee says no to guerilla
warfare because he reasons that it will destroy not
only the North but the South and quite
impressionably he says, it will take many
generations before this country recovers.
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Lesson 14 – Mercy at Appomattox
I.
Text Analysis
 Question:
List out the contrasts between the
appearances of Lee and Grant during their
meeting in Paragraph 7. What is indicated in the
picture?
Lee was in full dress uniform, with a sash and a
presentation sword. Defeated though he was,
honor and dignity would never die. Grant was in
customary field uniform, with muddy trousers
and muddy boots. He was the victor, but he was
not showing the slightest sense of superiority
and vindictiveness.
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Lesson 14 – Mercy at Appomattox
I.

Text Analysis
Question: What examples were taken here to
show that the terms of surrender were quite
generous?
• Far from hounding the enemy with reprisals,
simply let them all go home.
• Grant also allowed the Confederates to keep their
horses for the spring planting. (This scenario is
humorously echoed during the 1962 steel crisis.
President Kennedy firmly rejected the steel
industry's attempt to raise prices. When asked about
the terms of the government's agreement, Kennedy
stated, “I let them keep their horses for the spring
planting.”)
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Lesson 14 – Mercy at Appomattox
I.
Text Analysis
 Question: In Paragraph 10, “Grant put an end
to it.” What does “it” refer to? Why did Grant
stop it?
It refers to the fact that when hearing the news
of surrender, Union soldiers fired cannon to
celebrate it. Grant stopped it because “the
rebels are our countrymen again” and “he
couldn’t exult in the downfall of a foe who had
fought so long and valiantly”.
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Lesson 14 – Mercy at Appomattox
I.

Text Analysis
Question: What is “the final act of healing”
mentioned in Paragraph 11?
On April 12, 1865, at the surrender site the Union
troops and the Confederates saluted to show
honor to each other.
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Lesson 14 – Mercy at Appomattox
I.

Text Analysis
Question: Give a simple description of the
“honor answering honor” scene.
On 12 April 1865, as a major general Joshua
Chamberlain was given the honor of receiving the
arms of the first Confederate unit to formally
surrender at Appomattox. Gordon was at the head of
the column of the Army of Northern Virginia as they
marched to the surrender site where they were to
stack arms and surrender their colors. Chamberlain
ordered the Federal troops there to "carry arms" in
salute to the Confederates, Gordon, impressed by
this show of chivalry, returned the salute—reared his
mount and dropped his sword to his boot tip to
return the honor.
Gen. John
B. Gordon
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To be continued on the next page.
General
Chamberlain
Lesson 14 – Mercy at Appomattox
I.

Text Analysis
Counting the Union troops, almost 100,000 men
had been in Appomattox Court House. A few
days later they were all gone.
Question: Was there any significance about the
contrast formed between “100,000” and “a
few”?
The war must have been bloody with such large
a number of people involved and the
reconciliation must have been peaceful when
they all had headed for home within such a
short time.
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in Para.
15
Lesson 14 – Mercy at Appomattox
I.

Text Analysis
Question: Contrast between Grant and Lee
has long been studied. Can you find their
similarities and dissimilarities in the article?
Similarities: Both looked “far into the
future”. With their mutual insights, the theme
of forgiveness and reconciliation could be
initiated.
Contrasts: Lee, “symbolizing nobility and
the aristocratic tradition of the old South”;
Grant, “symbolizing the self-made common
man of the new North, Midwest and West”.
General
Grant
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To be continued on the next page.
General
Lee
For Reference
Lesson 14 – Mercy at Appomattox
I.
Text Analysis
 For reference:
One was a small, slouchy man with reddish-brown hair,
unimpressive in his appearance, but coldly efficient and
determined, like a lion stalking his prey.
The other was a tall, erect man with broad shoulders and
gray hair, naturally elegant, charismatic and bold.
Grant was the modern man emerging; beyond him, ready
to come on the stage was the great age of steal and
machinery, of crowded cities and a restless burgeoning
vitality.
Lee might have ridden down from the old age of chivalry,
lance in hand, silken banner fluttering over his head.
Each man was the perfect champion for his cause,
drawing both his strengths and his weaknesses from the
people he led.
See Warm-up Grant and Lee
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Lesson 14 – Mercy at Appomattox
I.

Text Analysis
Question: Why does the author say there are
three heroes including Lincoln? What do you
know about it?
According to the author, “Appomattox was, finally, his
show”. Lincoln “had often spoken of wanting a merciful
peace”.
For reference: When Grant and Lee are meeting, Lee is
more or less acting on his own. Grant, regardless of
what his own personal feelings may or may not have
been, is really, clearly, acting on the direct orders of
Abraham Lincoln. That‘s the way Lincoln wants this war
settled. There are not really orders, but there are
wishes, very emphatically expressed over time.
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Lesson 14 – Mercy at Appomattox
I.
Text Analysis
Further discussion about the article
The author says that there is one Civil War site that
keeps beckoning to him. What is that site?
Who was the meeting between at Appomattox?
What had been General Lee’s options before he
finally decided to surrender?
What was the name of the man who allowed the
meeting to take place at his house?
Who rode to the village to find a place for the
meeting?
Where did Grant and Lee meet at Appomattox? Did
high school textbooks tell the author accurate details?
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Lesson 14 – Mercy at Appomattox
I.
Text Analysis
Further discussion about the article
What kind of surrender terms did Grant offer?
Why did Grant put an end to his soldiers’
celebrations for victory?
What General accepted the terms of surrender at
Appomattox?
How long did the ceremony last?
How many soldiers on both sides were all gone
within three days?
What are the author’s comments on the three great
people: Lincoln, Grant and Lee?
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The end of Further Discussion.
Lesson 14 – Mercy at Appomattox
II.
Writing Devices
Oxymoron
Before us in proud humiliation stood the
embodiment of manhood: … (13)
Oxymoron:
a rhetorical figure in which an
epigrammatic effect is created by the
conjunction of incongruous or
contradictory terms.
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What effect
do you think
it has here?
Lesson 14 – Mercy at Appomattox
II.
Writing Devices
Oxymoron
More examples
Oxymoron is “not a small cranny of rhetoric,
but sustains a philosophy and a strategy”.
(W.D. Redern)
Oxymoron “acts as a condensed form of
paradox”. (George Held)
Oxymoron has “wall-eyed perspicacity”. (Jean-
Paul Sartre)
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Lesson 14 – Mercy at Appomattox
II.
Writing Devices
Oxymoron: more examples










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a wise fool
idiotic wisdom
cruel kindness
victorious defeat
crowded solitude
bitterly happy
conciliation court
constant variable
cowardly lion
deafening silence
E
To be continued on the next page.
Can you find
the similar
rhetoric in
Chinese?
Lesson 14 – Mercy at Appomattox
II.
Writing Devices
Oxymoron: more examples
• It is now an open secret that he is also involved in
the scandal.
• The play is adapted from Greek tragedies and
Shakespearean drama by Tadashi Suzuki, and
although performed in Japanese, caused a big stir
among the western audience with their strange
and cruel beauty.
• Economist Joseph Schumpeter’s famous
description of capitalism as an ongoing process of
“creative destruction” was often cited during the
1980s, but the emphasis was mainly on the word
creative.
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The end of Oxymoron.
Underline the parts
of oxymoron in the
following sentences.
Lesson 14 – Mercy at Appomattox
II.
Writing Devices
Anaphora
… men whom neither toils and sufferings, nor
the fact of death, nor disaster, nor hopelessness
could bend from their resolve; … (13)
Anaphora:
Repetition of the same word or
group of words at the beginning
of successive clauses, sentences, or
lines.
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What effect
do you
think it has
here?
More examples
Lesson 14 – Mercy at Appomattox
II.
Writing Devices
This royal throne of kings, this sceptred isle,
This earth of majesty, this seat of Mars,
This other Eden, demi-paradise,
This fortress built by Nature for herself
Against infection and the hand of war,
This happy breed of men, this little world,
This precious stone set in the silver sea,
Which serves it in the office of a wall,
Or as [a] moat defensive to a house,
Against the envy of less happier lands;
This blessed plot, this earth, this realm, this England,
This nurse, this teeming womb of royal kings [. . .]
This land of such dear souls, this dear dear land,
Dear for her reputation through the world,
Is now leas'd out — I die pronouncing it —
Like to a tenement or pelting farm.
—John of Gaunt
in Shakespeare's Richard II (2.1.40-51; 57-60)
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The end of Anaphora.
Lesson 14 – Mercy at Appomattox
III. Sentence Paraphrase 1
On April 2nd, his railroad lifeline cut by the North,
Lee retreated. (4)
absolute construction
with his railroad lifeline cut off
by the Northern army
At that time, military transportation largely
depended on the railroads, and one reason
why the South was defeated was its far
inferior railroad network as compared with
go to 2
that of the North.
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More examples
Lesson 14 – Mercy at Appomattox
III. Sentence Paraphrase
1. The work done, they put away
their tools and left the
workshop.
2. His health failing, he decided
to retire from office.
3. With summer coming on, it’s
time to buy air conditioners.
4. With test finished, they began
to analyze the result.
back to 1
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Lesson 14 – Mercy at Appomattox
III. Sentence Paraphrase 2
“There is nothing left me but to go and see
General Grant,” he said, “ and I would rather
die a thousand deaths.” (5)
More examples
past participle phrase
The noun is modified
by an adjective or
preceded
by
a
number.
attributively modifying
the indirect object
There is nothing else I can do except to go and see
General Grant (to surrender to him).
go to 3
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Lesson 14 – Mercy at Appomattox
III. Sentence Paraphrase
1. He lived to be 90 and died a
natural death although he was
much hated by the underworld
people.
2. I dreamed a terrible dream last
night.
3. They lived a happy life in a small
coastal city.
back to 2
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Lesson 14 – Mercy at Appomattox
III. Sentence Paraphrase 3
Grant, who had outraced his baggage wagon,
was in his customary field uniform. (7)
move faster than
vehicle that carried the
heavy load of baggage
Grant had left his baggage wagon far behind,
so he could not wear his more formal dress.
go to 4
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Lesson 14 – Mercy at Appomattox
III. Sentence Paraphrase 4
Finally, Lee brought up “the object of our
present meeting.” (7)
understatement:
Their meeting was not for reminiscing their
friendship but to arrange for the surrender.
Lee did not use the word “surrender”
however, as it was much too painful and
humiliating for him.
Finally, Lee started to talk about the purpose
of their meeting.
go to 5
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Lesson 14 – Mercy at Appomattox
III. Sentence Paraphrase 5
“This will do much toward conciliating our people,”
Lee replied. (9)
have a lot of good
effect on
gerund phrases
“This will have a lot of good effect on making
our people peace,” Lee replied.
go to 6
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Lesson 14 – Mercy at Appomattox
III. Sentence Paraphrase 6
In parting, he told Grant that he would be
returning some Union prisoners because he didn’t
have any provisions for them—or, in fact, for his
own men. Grant said he would send 25,000
rations to Lee’s army. (9)
or, for that matter
supply of food, esp. for military troops
(usually plural) food given to a soldier
Before he left, he told Grant that he was going to
return some Union prisoners because he didn’t have
any military food supply for them—or, for that
matter, for his own men. Grant said he would send
25,000 rations of food to Lee’s army.
go to 7
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Lesson 14 – Mercy at Appomattox
III. Sentence Paraphrase 7
Here the final act of healing that runs through the
whole Appomattox story took place, set in motion
by another remarkable figure… (11)
What
happened
in
Appomattox is described
as the final scene of the
Civil War, and it is an act
of healing of the national
wound, the reconciliation
of brothers, and the
reunion of the family.
to make something
start to happen, esp.
by
means
of
an
official order
go to 8
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Lesson 14 – Mercy at Appomattox
III. Sentence Paraphrase 8
A Bowdoin College professor who left to
enlist in the army, Chamberlain won a
battlefield commission for repeated acts of
bravery … (11)
a subject complement
modifying
placed at the beginning
of the sentence denoting
the capacity in which the
subject does something
go to 9
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Lesson 14 – Mercy at Appomattox
III. Sentence Paraphrase 9
My main reason, however, was one for
which I sought no authority nor asked
forgiveness. (13)
obtained no permission
My main reason, however, was something for
which I did not need to get permission nor ask
for forgiveness. I did it out of my own moral
principle. I followed my own heart.
go to 10
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Lesson 14 – Mercy at Appomattox
III. Sentence Paraphrase 10
Before us in proud humiliation stood the
embodiment of manhood: men whom neither
toils and sufferings, nor the fact of death, nor
disaster, nor hopelessness could bend from
their resolve; standing there before us, thin,
worn and famished, but erect, and with eyes
looking level into ours, waking memories that
bound us together as no other bond. (13)
oxymoron
in
apposition
the basic sentence
structure
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go to 11
Lesson 14 – Mercy at Appomattox
III. Sentence Paraphrase 11
… standing there before us, thin, worn and
famished, but erect, and with eyes looking
level into ours, waking memories that bound
us together as no other bond. (13)
looking us in the
eyes
proudly
as
equals
reminding us that we were
bound as brothers before
the conflict started
… standing there before us, they seemed thin,
shabby and extremely hungry, but they stood
straight and upright proudly. They looked at us in
the eyes in a proud way as equals. All of these
reminded us that the conflict was resolved. We
should be reconciled as brothers as before.
go to 12
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Lesson 14 – Mercy at Appomattox
III. Sentence Paraphrase 12
Was not such manhood to be welcomed back
into a Union so tested and assured? (13)
all the men of a
particular nation
a Union that had stood the
test of fire of the Civil War
Of course, all the men of our nation with such
qualities as strength and courage would be
welcomed back into a Union that had stood the
test of fire of the Civil War.
go to 13
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Lesson 14 – Mercy at Appomattox
III. Sentence Paraphrase 13
… from the ‘order arms’ to the old ‘carry’—
the marching salute. (14)
“举枪！”
The
soldiers
show
respect
for
somebody
who is marching.
a military command to hold
rifles to a position in which
they are held at the right
side with butts on the
ground
go to 14
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Lesson 14 – Mercy at Appomattox
III. Sentence Paraphrase 14
Gordon, at the head of the column, riding with
heavy spirit and downcast face, caught the sound
of shifting arms, looked up and, taking the
meaning, wheeled superbly, making with himself
and with his horse one uplifted figure, with
profound salutation as he dropped the point of his
sword to the boot toe;… (14)
changing
the
raised,
positions of their
elevated,
rifles as a solute
improved
with a heavy heart,
feeling very sad,
turned round
and with his face
suddenly and
turned downwards
beautifully
go to 15
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Lesson 14 – Mercy at Appomattox
III. Sentence Paraphrase 15
… then facing to his own command, he
gave word for his successive brigades to
pass us with the same position…, honor
answering honor. (14)
gave orders
facing to the group of
soldiers in his control
go to 16
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Lesson 14 – Mercy at Appomattox
III. Sentence Paraphrase 16
Counting the Union troops, … (15)
More examples
including
Including the Union troops, …
go to 17
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Lesson 14 – Mercy at Appomattox
III. Sentence Paraphrase
1. There are eight people in my family,
counting my grandparents.
2. Fifty people, not counting the
children.
back to 16
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Lesson 14 – Mercy at Appomattox
III. Sentence Paraphrase 17
After the surrender the village went right
back into its cocoon, … (16)
After the surrender the village immediately
went back to its quiet and secluded life, …
go to 18
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Lesson 14 – Mercy at Appomattox
III. Sentence Paraphrase 18
We were looking across a vista of
overwhelming stillness. (16)
a long, narrow view
We were looking across a far view of
powerful and awesome quietness.
go to 19
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Lesson 14 – Mercy at Appomattox
III. Sentence Paraphrase 19
He didn’t play the conquering hero. (17)
act like
He didn’t act like the hero who had
conquered the enemy.
go to 20
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More examples
Lesson 14 – Mercy at Appomattox
III. Sentence Paraphrase
1. play the fool
act foolishly
2. play the man
act like a man; be manly
3. play the great lady
behave in a very grand way
back to 19
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Lesson 14 – Mercy at Appomattox
III. Sentence Paraphrase 20
The third person was the inescapable Lincoln.
Appomattox was, finally, his show. (20)
The third person we must mention of course
was Lincoln. Appomattox was after all his
performance.
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The end of Sentence Paraphrase.
Lesson 14 – Mercy at Appomattox
Part Three
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