Article: “If You Go Black Friday Shopping on Thanksgiving, You’re Part of

the Problem” by Matt Walsh

Directions: Answer in complete sentences. Cite from the article where applicable.
1. Vocabulary Words Key words to define. You may use context clues or a dictionary to define
the terms
below.
a) Dispelled

b) Tenuous

2. The author establishes his tone and perspective on this topic in the opening paragraph.
a) What is that tone and how do you know?

b) Does that tone change or not throughout the rest of the article? Provide textual examples.

3. Summarize the author’s main claim, and note any counterclaims he addresses.

4. Delineate how the author explains irony and employs irony to make his point. In other words,
consider thecultural contradiction of the Black Friday shopping weekend AND the author’s own
use of verbal irony in the article. Provide examples.

5. How does the author sum up our entire economic system? What does he do to support that
premise, and inyour opinion, is he right? Explain.

6. Consider the following quote from Henry David Thoreau’s Walden: “Simplicity, simplicity,
simplicity.”
Thoreau believed that to live life to its fullest, people needed to simplify, to get rid of
unnecessary material possessions and even unnecessary socializing. Would the author of this
article agree with Thoreau? Why or why not?