| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from This Side of Paradise by F. Scott Fitzgerald: fall for her.... Sally had published that information to her
young set and they were retailing it back to Sally as fast as
they set eyes on Isabelle. Isabelle resolved secretly that she
would, if necessary, force herself to like himshe owed it to
Sally. Suppose she were terribly disappointed. Sally had painted
him in such glowing colorshe was good-looking, "sort of
distinguished, when he wants to be," had a line, and was properly
inconstant. In fact, he summed up all the romance that her age
and environment led her to desire. She wondered if those were his
dancing-shoes that fox-trotted tentatively around the soft rug
below.
This Side of Paradise |
The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from The Arrow of Gold by Joseph Conrad: Monsieur, you don't know how wicked her heart is. You aren't bad
enough for that yourself. I don't believe you are evil at all in
your innocent little heart. I never heard you jeer at holy things.
You are only thoughtless. For instance, I have never seen you make
the sign of the cross in the morning. Why don't you make a
practice of crossing yourself directly you open your eyes. It's a
very good thing. It keeps Satan off for the day."
She proffered that advice in a most matter-of-fact tone as if it
were a precaution against a cold, compressed her lips, then
returning to her fixed idea, "But the house is mine," she insisted
very quietly with an accent which made me feel that Satan himself
The Arrow of Gold |
The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin by Benjamin Franklin: as a convenient number, viz., twelve. We had from the beginning
made it a rule to keep our institution a secret, which was pretty
well observ'd; the intention was to avoid applications of improper
persons for admittance, some of whom, perhaps, we might find
it difficult to refuse. I was one of those who were against
any addition to our number, but, instead of it, made in writing
a proposal, that every member separately should endeavor to form
a subordinate club, with the same rules respecting queries,
etc., and without informing them of the connection with the Junto.
The advantages proposed were, the improvement of so many more young
citizens by the use of our institutions; our better acquaintance
The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin |
