| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from This Side of Paradise by F. Scott Fitzgerald: love another living person. She had taken the first flush of his
youth and brought from his unplumbed depths tenderness that had
surprised him, gentleness and unselfishness that he had never
given to another creature. He had later love-affairs, but of a
different sort: in those he went back to that, perhaps, more
typical frame of mind, in which the girl became the mirror of a
mood in him. Rosalind had drawn out what was more than passionate
admiration; he had a deep, undying affection for Rosalind.
But there had been, near the end, so much dramatic tragedy,
culminating in the arabesque nightmare of his three weeks' spree,
that he was emotionally worn out. The people and surroundings
This Side of Paradise |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The White Moll by Frank L. Packard: Again she shook her head. It wasn't altogether a normal life. She
was only a woman, with all the aspirations of a woman, with all the
yearning of youth for its measure of gayety and pleasure. True, she
had not made a recluse of herself outside her work; but, equally,
on the other hand, she had not made any intimate friends in her own
station in life. She had never purposed continuing indefinitely the
work she was doing, nor did she now; but, little by little, it had
forced its claims upon her until those claims were not easy to
ignore. Even though the circumstances in which her father had left
her were barely more than sufficient for a modest little flat uptown,
there was still always a little surplus, and that surplus counted
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| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from The Mirror of the Sea by Joseph Conrad: nature of a strong man in moments of quiet intimacy. At sunrise we
had made out a black speck to the westward, apparently suspended
high up in the void behind a stirring, shimmering veil of silvery
blue gauze that seemed at times to stir and float in the breeze
which fanned us slowly along. The peace of that enchanting
forenoon was so profound, so untroubled, that it seemed that every
word pronounced loudly on our deck would penetrate to the very
heart of that infinite mystery born from the conjunction of water
and sky. We did not raise our voices. "A water-logged derelict, I
think, sir," said the second officer quietly, coming down from
aloft with the binoculars in their case slung across his shoulders;
The Mirror of the Sea |
The fourth excerpt represents the element of Earth. It speaks of physical influences and the impact of the unseen on the visible world, and is drawn from An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge by Ambrose Bierce: aspirated chant; the lieutenant on shore was taking a part in
the morning's work. How coldly and pitilessly -- with what
an even, calm intonation, presaging, and enforcing
tranquility in the men -- with what accurately measured
interval fell those cruel words:
"Company! . . . Attention! . . . Shoulder arms! . . . Ready!
. . . Aim! . . . Fire!"
Fahrquhar dived -- dived as deeply as he could. The water
roared in his ears like the voice of Niagara, yet he heard
the dull thunder of the volley and, rising again toward the
surface, met shining bits of metal, singularly flattened,
An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge |
