Humour and Dialect
Possum
by Paul Laurence Dunbar
"Ef dey ’s anyt’ing dat riles me"
"Ef dey ’s anyt’ing dat riles me"
A folk tale about three brothers. The two elder brothers are terrible to the younger and to the people of the town. The younger brother is good-natured and invites a strange man into the house one evening. The other two show him no hospitality and lose everything because of their bad temperaments.
When she wakes, Jane finds herself in her own bedroom, in the care of Mr. Lloyd, the family’s kind apothecary. Bessie is also present, and she expresses disapproval of her mistress’s treatment of Jane. Jane remains in bed the following day, and Bessie sings her a song. Mr. Lloyd speaks with Jane about her life at Gateshead, and he suggests to Jane’s aunt that the girl be sent away to school, where she might find happiness. Jane is cautiously excited at the possibility of leaving Gateshead.Soon after her own reflections on the past in the red-room, Jane learns more of her history when she overhears a conversation between Bessie and Miss Abbott. Jane’s mother was a member of the wealthy Reed family, which strongly disapproved of Jane’s father, an impoverished clergyman. When they married, Jane’s wealthy maternal grandfather wrote his daughter out of his will. Not long after Jane was born, Jane’s parents died from typhus, which Jane’s father contracted while caring for the poor.
"When the bees are humming in the honeysuckle vine"
Jane’s driver is late picking her up from the station at Millcote. When she finally arrives at Thornfield it is nighttime. Although she cannot distinguish much of the house’s facade from among the shadows, she finds the interior “cosy and agreeable.” Mrs. Fairfax, a prim, elderly woman, is waiting for Jane. It turns out that Mrs. Fairfax is not, as Jane had assumed from their correspondence, the owner of Thornfield, but rather the housekeeper. Thornfield’s owner, Mr. Rochester, travels regularly and leaves much of the manor’s management to Mrs. Fairfax. Jane learns that she will be tutoring Adèle, an eight-year-old French girl whose mother was a singer and dancer. Mrs. Fairfax also tells Jane about Rochester, saying that he is an eccentric man whose family has a history of extreme and violent behavior. Suddenly, Jane hears a peal of strange, eerie laughter echoing through the house, and Mrs. Fairfax summons someone named Grace, whom she orders to make less noise and to “remember directions.” When Grace leaves, Mrs. Fairfax explains that she is a rather unbalanced and unpredictable seamstress who works in the house.
The narrator describes the different kinds of flora that grow in the spring.
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Newland departs for Florida in spite of a request by Ellen.
"Oh, the little bird is rocking in the cradle of the wind,"
Joseph, Amelia, Georgy, and Dobbin depart for the continent. Amelia starts to appreciate Dobbin's presence.
Neville confides his past to the Reverend, openly admitting to feelings of "bitter hatred". Neville and the Reverend Crisparkle briefly discuss the situation between Edwin and Rosa.
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"The November sun invites me,"
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The author marvels at the flat nature of his surroundings.
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Sylvie plays the piano.
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Excerpt from Frederick Douglass' speech outlining the hypocritical nature of slavery in the United States of America.
"Summah ’s nice, wif sun a–shinin’,"
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