| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from The Contrast by Royall Tyler: atrical amusements were still in force and were rigidly
executed. The Continental Congress, while not abso-
lutely suppressing,<4> had set its seal of condemnation
against the theater, so that the most reputable and law-
abiding of our people were kept away from all theatrical
amusements, if not from inclination, at least by the fear
of deviating from the plain path of their duty. But
immediately after the production of the 'Contrast,' a
radical change of opinion in respect to the drama is
apparent.
Plays by American authors followed in rapid succes-
|
The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from Some Reminiscences by Joseph Conrad: meet eye to eye the valorous giant Brandabarbaran, Lord of
Arabia, whose armour is made of the skin of a dragon, and whose
shield, strapped to his arm, is the gate of a fortified city. O
amiable and natural weakness! O blessed simplicity of a gentle
heart without guile! Who would not succumb to such a consoling
temptation? Nevertheless it was a form of self-indulgence, and
the ingenious hidalgo of La Mancha was not a good citizen. The
priest and the barber were not unreasonable in their strictures.
Without going so far as the old King Louis-Philippe, who used to
say in his exile, "The people are never in fault"--one may admit
that there must be some righteousness in the assent of a whole
Some Reminiscences |
The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from The Beasts of Tarzan by Edgar Rice Burroughs: treachery lay in the man's heart, and that danger lurked in
the path of every move.
"He is unguarded now," continued the Russian. "Those who
took him feel perfectly safe from detection, and with
the exception of a couple of members of the crew, whom I
have furnished with enough gin to silence them effectually
for hours, there is none aboard the Kincaid. We can go
aboard, get the child, and return without the slightest fear."
Tarzan nodded.
"Let's be about it, then," he said.
His guide led him to a small boat moored alongside the wharf.
The Beasts of Tarzan |
