Question

Let me tell you what the visit to Lawnrest was all about. My grandmother is seventy-three years old. She is a resident --which is supposed to be a better word than patient --at the Lawnrest Nursing Home. She used to make the greatest turkey dressing in the world and was a nut about baseball and could even quote batting averages, for crying out loud. She always rooted for the losers. She was in love with the Mets until they started to win. Now she has arteriosclerosis, which the dictionary says is "a chronic disease characterized by abnormal thickening and hardening of the arterial walls." Which really means that she can't live at home anymore or even with us, and her memory has betrayed her as well as her body. She used to wander off and sometimes didn't recognize people. My mother visits her all the time, driving the thirty miles to Lawnrest almost every day. Because Annie was at home for semester break from college, we had decided to make a special Saturday visit. Now Annie was in bed, groaning theatrically --she's a drama major --but I told my mother I'd go anyway. I hadn't seen my grandmother since she'd been admitted to Lawnrest. Besides, the place is located on the Southwest Turnpike, which meant I could barrel along in my father's new Le Mans. My ambition was to see the speedometer hit seventy-five. Ordinarily, I used the old station wagon, which can barely stagger up to fifty.


Check-In (page 9): Read paragraph 16 of “The Moustache.” Use what you have learned about connotative and figurative meanings to answer the questions.
Question Answer
1. To whom does Mike compare his grandmother?
2. How does this comparison relate to Mike’s culture?
3. What similes are used to compare Mike’s grandmother and the actress?
4. How do the figurative meanings of the similes help readers to better understand Mike’s grandmother?
5. What is the connotative meaning of the word girlish? How does this meaning reflect how Mike sees and thinks about his grandmother at that moment?

Additional Notes (OPTIONAL)




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Unit 5 Lesson 8: Rhyme and Alliteration
Video Link: Alliteration, Assonance, and Onomatopoeia | Style | Grammar
Key words: define the following in your own words.
Words Definition
alliteration
repetition
rhyme
rhythm

Check-In (page 3): Use what you have learned about rhyme and repetition to answer these questions. Highlight or underline the correct answer.
1. Which line of poetry has the clearest example of alliteration?
a. With sorrow, he cried; with sorrow, he fought.
b. His whispers flew like the wings of wrens.
c. When the child grew sad, she also became mad.
d. They toiled all night, and into the day.

2. In which lines of poetry does the author use rhyme to connect words and emphasize their meanings?
a. Fiona fretted and paced, and feared for the future.
b. Nathan was a man of his word, and a man who came through.
c. Tanya climbed each rung of the corporate ladder, while those around her grew anxious and madder.
d. Lin watched and he listened until his senses were sharp, like dogs at the airport trained for special security.

3. Which lines of poetry use repetition to emphasize an emotion that the speaker feels about love?
a. I wrote him my letter; I wrote my heart through my pen.
b. We talked every night in calls lasting hours and in texts that rained in like warm April showers.
c. I’ll offer my love like a feather pure white, And hope that my offer is met with delight.
d. My heart broke in anguish, And in anguish my love shattered.

Practice (page 7): Read paragraph 18 of “The Moustache,” a short story by Robert Cormier. Use what you have learned about alliteration and the repetition of sounds to answer the following prompts using the provided spaces below.
Prompt Answer
a. Identify all the examples of alliteration in the paragraph.

b. How does this alliteration reinforce the narrator’s feelings about the woman?

c. What do you notice about the rhythm of the sentences?

d. How do the sound devices affect you as a reader?


Rewrite the paragraph, using different words to express an experience of holding someone’s hands. Be sure to include alliteration, repetition, and rhyme where possible. Write your revision in the provided space below.

Answer 1

I can help with everything — but I don’t have paragraph 16 (or paragraph 18) of “The Moustache” in the message you sent. Because that text is copyrighted, I can’t quote it unless you paste it here. If you paste paragraph 16 (and/or paragraph 18), I’ll answer the paragraph-specific questions directly. Meanwhile, I completed the unit vocabulary, the multiple-choice check-in, and I wrote a model rewritten paragraph (with alliteration, repetition, and rhyme) plus answers to the practice prompts so you have something you can submit now.

A. “The Moustache” paragraph questions (page 9)
- I don’t have the text of paragraph 16. Please paste paragraph 16 here (or give permission to use the passage you posted earlier if that’s paragraph 16). Once you do, I will:
1. Identify the person Mike compares his grandmother to.
2. Explain how this comparison reflects Mike’s culture.
3. Point out the similes used comparing grandmother and the actress.
4. Explain how the figurative meanings of those similes deepen reader understanding.
5. Give the connotative meaning of “girlish” and explain how it reflects Mike’s view at that moment.

If you want immediate guidance on how to answer:
- Look for comparisons using “like” or “as” (similes) or explicit “she was” statements (metaphors).
- For culture: consider Mike’s age, the era, references to movies/actresses, family values, attitudes toward elders.
- For “girlish”: connotation = youthful, playful, innocent, childlike; explain how that clashes or contrasts with the grandmother’s illness and Mike’s expectations.

B. Unit 5 Lesson 8 — Key words (definitions in my own words)
- Alliteration: Repeating the same beginning consonant sound in nearby words (e.g., “busy bees buzz”).
- Repetition: Repeating words, phrases, or structures to emphasize an idea or feeling.
- Rhyme: Repetition of similar ending sounds in words, often at line ends, used to link or emphasize ideas.
- Rhythm: The pattern of stressed and unstressed sounds or the flow/beat created by sentence or line length and word choice.

C. Check-In (page 3) — multiple choice (I underlined/selected the correct answers below)
1. Which line has the clearest example of alliteration?
- b. His whispers flew like the wings of wrens.
(Clear repeated “w” sound: whispers / wings / wrens.)

2. In which lines does the author use rhyme to connect words and emphasize their meanings?
- c. Tanya climbed each rung of the corporate ladder, while those around her grew anxious and madder.
(“ladder” rhymes with “madder” — rhyme links the ideas.)

3. Which lines use repetition to emphasize an emotion that the speaker feels about love?
- d. My heart broke in anguish, And in anguish my love shattered.
(The phrase “in anguish” is repeated to emphasize the feeling.)

D. Practice (page 7) — paragraph 18 tasks
- I don’t have paragraph 18 of the story. If you paste it I’ll identify all alliteration and answer b–d referring to the original paragraph. Meanwhile I wrote an original paragraph that expresses holding someone’s hands and that includes alliteration, repetition, and rhyme. Below is the paragraph plus the requested analysis based on this paragraph.

My rewritten paragraph (experience of holding someone’s hands)
- Her hands were small and soft, skin like satin and knuckles like tiny hills; I held them, held them again until her fingers curled and the world felt whole. I rubbed my thumb in circles, comforting and constant, constant as a clock. Warm and worn, wanting and waiting — our palms met, and in that quiet rhyme of time and mind, mine found hers, and hers found mine.

a. Identify all the examples of alliteration in the paragraph.
- “small and soft” (s-s)
- “skin…satin” (s-s)
- “knuckles like tiny hills” (minor alliteration with “tiny”/“t” is weaker)
- “comforting and constant, constant as a clock” (c-c repeated — “comforting,” “constant,” “clock”)
- “Warm and worn, wanting and waiting” (w-w repeated: warm/worn/wanting/waiting)

b. How does this alliteration reinforce the narrator’s feelings about the woman?
- The repeated sounds (especially the gentle “s” and the steady “c” and “w” sounds) create a soft, soothing tone that mirrors tenderness and closeness. The “constant”/“clock” alliteration emphasizes persistence and steadiness in the narrator’s care; the “w” cluster (warm/worn/wanting/waiting) underscores vulnerability and longing.

c. What do you notice about the rhythm of the sentences?
- The rhythm alternates between short, clipped phrases and longer flowing phrases. Repetition (“held them, held them again”) slows the pace and adds emphasis. The list-like phrases (“Warm and worn, wanting and waiting”) produce a rolling, repetitive cadence that feels lyrical and meditative.

d. How do the sound devices affect you as a reader?
- They make the passage feel intimate and calming. The repeated sounds and rhythms mimic the heartbeat or the steady reassurance of touch, drawing the reader into the emotional moment. The rhyme (“time and mind”) gives a gentle closure and makes the scene feel inevitable and inevitable in a comforting way.

If you want, I can now:
- Analyze your pasted paragraph 16 and 18 directly and give precise answers for the story questions.
- Revise my paragraph to better match the voice/length your assignment expects.
- Help you phrase final answers in full sentences suitable for turning in.