| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from Alexander's Bridge by Willa Cather: "Did you think I had forgotten you were
in town, Hilda? Do you think I kept away by accident?
Did you suppose I didn't know you were sailing on Tuesday?
There is a letter for you there, in my desk drawer.
It was to have reached you on the steamer. I was
all the morning writing it. I told myself that
if I were really thinking of you, and not of myself,
a letter would be better than nothing.
Marks on paper mean something to you."
He paused. "They never did to me."
Hilda smiled up at him beautifully and
Alexander's Bridge |
The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from The Garden Party by Katherine Mansfield: boy. "Why does she come here at all--who wants her? Why doesn't she keep
her silly old mug at home?"
"It's her fu-ur which is so funny," giggled the girl. "It's exactly like a
fried whiting."
"Ah, be off with you!" said the boy in an angry whisper. Then: "Tell me,
ma petite chere--"
"No, not here," said the girl. "Not yet."
...
On her way home she usually bought a slice of honey-cake at the baker's.
It was her Sunday treat. Sometimes there was an almond in her slice,
|
The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne: This short rest seemed delicious to me; there was nothing
wanting but the charm of conversation; but, impossible to speak,
impossible to answer, I only put my great copper head to Conseil's.
I saw the worthy fellow's eyes glistening with delight, and, to show
his satisfaction, he shook himself in his breastplate of air,
in the most comical way in the world.
After four hours of this walking, I was surprised not to find
myself dreadfully hungry. How to account for this state
of the stomach I could not tell. But instead I felt an
insurmountable desire to sleep, which happens to all divers.
And my eyes soon closed behind the thick glasses, and I fell into
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea |
