Sandwich Analysis
Questions to Ask Yourself Before Choosing a Quote to Analyze
1. Is it quote worthy or can it be easily paraphrased? Does it address your theme statement (your introductory statement)? Why did you choose the quote for analysis? What stood out?
2. Do you understand the quote enough to analyze it? Before deciding, scrutinize each word. Separate it into its parts. What about the language (figurative language, word choices) seems significant?
3. What does the quote contribute to the passage? Does it support your thesis statement – the BIG IDEA or main theme of the passage?
Let’s Make Our Sandwich
1. First slice of bread for your sandwich: This is where you introduce the scene that houses the quote you are going to analyze. Then use a “signal phrase” to introduce the quotation. For example, “Homer writes…” or “Penelope implores her husband, “…”
2. Sandwich Content - hummus, lettuce and tomato:
This is the salient quote you have chosen. It should be of reasonable length with consideration of the length of the entire paper. This sometimes means you will be using ellipses (. . .).
3. Second slice of bread for your sandwich:
or phrase from the quote for a deeper and more precise analysis.
Mia Palli
Mrs. Mancini
English I Honors
6 February 2019
The Odyssey: A Hero’s Journey
Stage 2 Call to Adventure:
A hero often invites challenges with open arms. Odysseus has been known
to do this more than once. After a brief encounter with the Lotus Eaters, our Greek
hero and his men travel to the land of the Cyclopes. He chooses to face the
Cyclopes “for they may be wild savages, and lawless, / or hospitable and god
fearing men” (9.74-75). Although Odysseus could have easily continued on his
journey, he puts himself and his crew to the test by confronting the Cyclopes.
Again, our hero tests the waters and takes an unnecessary risk, ignoring the
requests of his men to rob Polyphemus and flee. He admits, “… I refused. I
wished / to see the caveman, what he had to offer- / no pretty sight, it turned out,
for my friends” (9.130-132). Odysseus and his men are trapped in Polyphemus’
cave, yet our hero’s cunning allows him and his remaining men to return to their
ship, albeit nearly escaping death. While he may have unnecessarily put his life and
the lives of his crew members at stake, using his wit and courage, Odysseus, once
Stage 5 Crossing the Threshold:
Pampering and seduction can only restrain a man for so long. After
spending a year on Circe’s island, Odysseus is pulled aside by his shipmates, who
ask him to “shake off this trace” (10.183) and remember their journey back to
Ithaca. Consequently, Odysseus immediately reminds Circe of her promise to help
him return home: “Help me make sail for home. Day after day / my longing
quickens, and my company / give me no peace…” (10.195-197). Despite how
lavishly they live under Circe’s care, Odysseus is incapable of abandoning his
family and the hopes of his crew. As he sets out, Circe leaves him with advice to go
to the underworld and encounter the spirit of Tiresias, a blind prophet. Odysseus
then bravely descends into the unknown. He might have given in to temptation for
a time, but when he finally leaves for the underworld, Odysseus emerges as the
hero we have come to admire.
Stage 8 Ordeal/Stage 9 Reward:
Sometimes it takes an act of violence for a man to reclaim his world when it
is taken from him. While Penelope’s suitors test their strength in stringing
Odysseus’ bow, Odysseus sits aside, patiently waiting for Eumaeus to bring him
the bow and allow him to attempt the seemingly impossible task. Effortlessly,
Odysseus strings the bow and shoots an arrow through the twelve axe heads and
“grazed not one” (21.218) leaving the suitors in awe. Our highly skilled hero joins
his son, Telemachus, in facing the suitors who have so boldly disrespected him and
hour has come. You die in blood” (22.273). Their blatant disrespect for all
Odysseus stands for is unforgivable; the only acceptable form of repayment is their
lives. After numerous attacks, Odysseus and his men fight like “falcons who show
no mercy to the flocks of birds they pursue and capture,” and prevail, leaving the
room “reeking with blood” (960). Finally, Odysseus regains his rightful place as
king of Ithaca. In treating his enemies ruthlessly to reclaim his throne, Odysseus
exhibits passion, pride, and revenge -- unequivocal signs of a hero.
Student Models for A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah
Lorenzo/2
As he witnesses the loss of life around him, Ishmael personifies the forest: “We took the guns and ammunition off of the bodies of my friends and left them there in the forest, which had taken on a life of its own, as if it had trapped the soul that had departed from the dead. The branches of the trees seemed to be holding hands and bowing their heads in prayer.” It seems that the forest is also mourning, for this quiet and peaceful place had become the setting of war, carnage, and death. In a way, he is saying that everyone and everything in Sierra Leone is being affected by the war. This is one of the tragedies of war. Not even the smallest tree or the youngest child can avoid its terrible fate.
Elma/2
Ishmael conveys the grief he suffers by personifying the trees in the forest. His despair was so strong that even the “branches of the trees seemed to be
misery might extend that even Mother Nature is in pain—and yet Ishmael utilizes personification to show the reader how terribly haunting the life of a boy soldier really is.
Lucia/2
In the excerpt, from author Ishmael Beah’s book, Memoirs of a Boy Soldier, Ishmael describes the horrific experience of fighting in the front lines at the ripe time of being a teenager. From his first experience in the middle of warfare, he writes, “The short trees in the swamp began to shake as the rebels made their way through them. They weren’t visible, but the lieutenant had passed the word down through a whisper…” Ishmael’s words here offer an insightful depiction of the tension and eerie silence through the art of imagery. Pictures of moist mud and shivering bushes pop up between the lines almost as if giving the text a second dimension. Such descriptive language gives readers an idea of the unpredictable, terrifying world of being a child soldier.
After the battle, the surviving soldiers collect the guns and ammunition off the bodies of the dead. Ishmael writes about the emotional task of retrieving the supplies from his friends who had been killed: We “left them there in the forest, which had taken on a life of its own, as if it had trapped the souls that had departed from the dead.” He goes on to describe the branches of the trees seemingly holding hands in prayer. Ishmael uses personification to paint a picture of the aura of the forest. The forest has not only captured the souls who have passed on but also the minds of those who are still breathing. Knowing how depressing the scenario feels, tells us more about the children fighting in it and the scarring lives they are living.
Matt/2
“trapped the souls that had departed from the dead.” The dead soldiers were not there physically but their presence could be felt. This feeling is often explained about people who are close to dying, because they recall everyone in their life and believe they are there with them. Beah further describes
