| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte: farther off, Miss Eyre; sit down exactly where I placed it--if you
please, that is. Confound these civilities! I continually forget
them. Nor do I particularly affect simple-minded old ladies. By-
the-bye, I must have mine in mind; it won't do to neglect her; she
is a Fairfax, or wed to one; and blood is said to be thicker than
water."
He rang, and despatched an invitation to Mrs. Fairfax, who soon
arrived, knitting-basket in hand.
"Good evening, madam; I sent to you for a charitable purpose. I
have forbidden Adele to talk to me about her presents, and she is
bursting with repletion: have the goodness to serve her as
 Jane Eyre |
The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from Adventure by Jack London: We could have used dynamite if we wanted to."
"He's right," Sheldon assured her, as they swung in behind. "Any
weapon was permissible. I lay in the grass where he couldn't see
me, and bushwhacked him in truly noble fashion. That's what comes
of having women on the plantation. And now it's antiseptics and
drainage tubes, I suppose. It's a nasty mess, and I'll have to
read up on it before I tackle the job."
"I don't see that it's my fault," she began. "I couldn't help it
because he kissed me. I never dreamed he would attempt it."
"We didn't fight for that reason. But there isn't time to explain.
If you'll get dressings and bandages ready I'll look up 'gun-shot
|
The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from The Forged Coupon by Leo Tolstoy: out that immortal life is a reality, that love is a
reality, and that one must live for others if one
would be unceasingly happy."
At this point one realises the gulf which divides
the Slavonic from the English temperament. No
average Englishman of seven-and-twenty (as Tol-
stoy was then) would pursue reflections of this
kind, or if he did, he would in all probability keep
them sedulously to himself.
To Tolstoy and his aunt, on the contrary, it
seemed the most natural thing in the world to
 The Forged Coupon |