Read the following lines from "The Divine Comedy." Midway through the journey of our life, I found myself in a dark wood, for I had strayed from the straight pathway to this tangled ground. How hard it is to tell of, overlaid with harsh and savage growth, so wild and raw the thought of it still makes me feel afraid. In these lines, the "dark wood" most likely represents A. the loss of a loved one. B. the temptation of greed. c. the various sins of men. D. the fear of the unknown.

Have you ever thought you understood a person based on a story that you have heard about them? have you ever guessed about a person's personal life because of the clothes they wore? or, have you judged a person because of their friends? although classifying people in this way is typically discouraged, authors deliberately use your preconceived ideas to you form an opinion about the character or to at least have a better understanding. can you think of a time that you made a character call about someone based on external aspects? were you correct, or incorrect? has anyone ever made an incorrect assessment of you based on external aspects? write two paragraphs about it in your journal.