English X01

Reading Report #10

Duarte Vega Dafne Idalia
210207393
April 11, 2011
READING REPORT #10

ONE SUMMER NIGHT

Graphic Organizer: Story Map

Reference

One Summer Night. Ambrose Bierce. 2010. Retrieved on March 10th, 2011 from the Short

Stories website:

www.eastoftheweb.com/short-stories/UBooks/OneSumm.shtml

Opinion

Well, although I liked the story in the end, I have to say that it was kind of boring. First – I

have to admit- I thought that the narrator was referring to another man thinking about Henry
Armstrong. I was when I read the text for the second time that I realized that the idea was

Henry thinking about his own death.

The first two paragraphs made me think that it was a murder story, or something alike,

and that the murderer was afraid of Henry Armstrong coming back for revenge.

The three men at the graveyard were too out of context in my opinion. And I don’t

even recall the actually said their reason to be there; you can infer it, but it’s never actually

clear. I feel that although the vocabulary was quite rich, or so I think, it lacks redaction skills

for it was boring and nonsense at some points.

Even so, I liked the end. At some point I thought the 3 men and Henry had an

agreement: Henry would fake his death and they’ll rescue him at night. But I was wrong. And

I never expected this “negro” guy (this way to call him seemed too racist to me) to kill Henry

for good.

I wish I could read this story but with a good redaction and with a more suitable title.

Vocabulary

1. Cavil (v): To find fault unnecessarily; raise trivial objections.

(…)made a body of evidence impossible to controvert and he accepted it without cavil.

The laywer had to accept without cavil.

2. Alloted (v): To parcel out; distribute or apportion

He had, withal, the invalid's apathy and did not greatly concern himself about the

uncommon fate that had been allotted to him.

The man was happy with the land allotted to him.

3. Torpid (adj): Deprived of the power of motion or feeling; benumbed.

No philosopher was he -- just a plain, commonplace person gifted, for the time being,

with a pathological indifference: the organ that he feared consequences with was

torpid.

I couldn’t stand up for my leg was torpid.

4. Portending (v): To serve as an omen or a warning of; presage.

It was a dark summer night, shot through with infrequent shimmers of lightning

silently firing a cloud lying low in the west and portending a storm.

The fast winds portending a storm that would destroy any ship in the sea.

5. Stammering (v): To speak with involuntary pauses or repetitions.

These brief, stammering illuminations brought out with ghastly distinctness the

monuments and headstones of the cemetery and seemed to set them dancing.

The kid was so nervous that he couldn’t avoid stammering.