5.
To confirm your understanding, write a summary of “The Feather Pillow."

"The Feather Pillow" begins with a blond, young girl named Alicia, who had just recently been newly wed three months prior, in April, to an impassive man named Jordan. The young couple had moved into an almost empty house, which had little services to offer his housebound wife. Day by day, with little to do at home to keep her occupied, Alicia would occupy her time by waiting for her husband's arrival every evening. Soon, however, as seasons changed to autumn, the young girl contracted a mild case of influenza and began to feel languid. As the days followed, her symptoms did not subside, but became even worse. One day with the aid of her husband at her side, Alicia was able to walk around her garden, but unfortunately that was the last day. The following day she was too weak to even get out of bed. The doctors were summoned; unsure of the cause of her deteriorating condition they prescribed rest. The next day arrived, and Alicia's efforts to get out of bed were apparently becoming fruitless. Hallucinations began to plague her thoughts, which made the complications even worse. All that her worried Jordan could do was pace the floor frantically up and down by her bedside begging the doctors to save his wife's life. But with no prevail, the enigmatic doctors could not figure out what was wrong with poor Alicia. With no cure for Alicia's illness, the young wife died two days later. Preparing to wash Alicia's bed-sheets, the servant noticed two small, dark bloodstains. Trying to raise the pillow to the light to further investigate her findings, the heavy weight of the pillow caused it to crash on to the floor. Jordan picked up the pillow and placed it on the dining room table, where he sliced it in half. Beneath the feathers, there was a large parasite with a large proboscis. Within a period of only five days and five nights, this normally small parasite had made a feast of Alicia's blood, and had caused the newly wedded wife to die abruptly.

1. read the following excerpt from franklin d. roosevelt's "fireside chat 19":

on the other side of the picture, we must learn also to know that guerilla warfare against the germans in, let us say serbia or norway, us; that a successful russian offensive against the germans us; and that british successes on land or sea in any part of the world strengthen our hands.

remember always that germany and italy, regardless of any formal declaration of war, consider themselves at war with the united states at this moment just as much as they consider themselves at war with britain or russia. and germany puts all the other republics of the americas into the same category of enemies. the people of our sister republics of this hemisphere can be honored by that fact.  

the true goal we seek is far above and beyond the ugly field of battle. when we resort to force, as now we must, we are determined that this force shall be directed toward ultimate good as well as against immediate evil. we americans are not destroyers — we are builders.

analyze the effectiveness of this excerpt. how does it function within the speech as a whole? how does the structure of the excerpt to convey the speech's purpose and key points? support your argument with evidence from the speech. (10 points)