We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights; that among these are liberty, and the pursuit of happiness;--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. Consider the context in which inalienable is used in this excerpt. What is the most likely definition of inalienable?

cold, distant, or unfeeling
incapable of being taken away
sympathetic towards suffering
strange, odd, or foreign

Compare dee’s and her mother’s spoken language

Read the following excerpt from life on the mississippi by mark twain. no girl could withstand his charms. he "cut out" every boy in the village. when his boat blew up at last, it diffused a tranquil contentment among us such as we had not known for months. but when he came home the next week, alive, renowned, and appeared in church all battered up and bandaged, a shining hero, stared at and wondered over by everybody, it seemed to us that the partiality of providence for an undeserving reptile had reached a point where it was open to criticism. how does twain's use of understatement serve his purpose? be sure to use specific details from the text to support your answer.

As you progressed through old english texts to middle english to modern english, how did your understanding of the literature change?