Lab Activity 47: Author's Purpose

Chapter 10: Tone and Purpose
Lab Activity 47: Author's Purpose

Objective
To identify an author's purpose

Step 2: Read the poem in the Lab Manual to answer the questions that follow.

11. The purpose of the title is

a. to persuade the reader to locate a copy of the original Hans Christian Andersen tale "The Little Mermaid."

b. to inform the reader that what follows is a commentary on the rest of the Hans Christian Andersen tale.

c. to entertain the reader with the happy ending of the film adaptation of "The Little Mermaid."

d. to entertain the reader with a better ending to the original Hans Christian Andersen story.

12. The speaker of the poem is

a. the mer-king.

b. the mermaid's sister.

c. the witch.

d. the Little Mermaid.

13. The purpose of stanza 1 is

a. to persuade the reader to compare her description of home to that of the reader's.

b. to inform the reader about the comfort and happiness she felt at home.

c. to inform the reader about the unhappiness she experienced at home.

d. to entertain the reader with a family story.

14. The purpose of stanza 2 is

a. to inform the reader about the price she was required to pay for her choice.

b. to persuade the reader to help her escape her unfortunate choice.

c. to entertain the reader with images from her new life.

d. to inform the reader about the differences in her new life and the one she had hoped to have.

15. The purpose of stanza 3 is

a. to persuade the reader to take her side in the story.

b. to inform the reader about the bitter ending to her story.

c. to persuade the poet to rewrite the ending to be more pleasing to other readers.

d. to entertain the reader with a happy scene.

16. The word travail in stanza 4 means

a. happiness.

b. hope.

c. journey.

d. hardship.

17. The purpose of stanza 4 is

a. to inform the reader that the prince is her husband, but she is not happy with him.

b. to entertain the reader with a humorous view of her mortal husband.

c. to entertain the reader with a sneak preview at what life is like after the wedding.

d. to persuade readers to be true to themselves rather than trying to accommodate the apparent wishes of a potential mate.

18. In stanza 4, the speaker is addressing

a. young women.

b. young men.

c. parents.

d. writers.

19. What is the implied meaning of stanza 4?

a. The Little Mermaid regrets the decision to give up all she was to try to please the prince.

b. The Little Mermaid has no regrets, but she thinks everyone should make his or her own decisions.

c. The mer-king should have taken a more active role in his daughter's life, and then disaster could have been averted.

d. The mer-king was too controlling of his daughter, which drove her away.

20. Which statement is the best summary of the poem?

a. The wicked witch misled the Little Mermaid, but the mer-king father intervened to take care of the problem.

b. The Little Mermaid made her decision to leave an unhappy home, and in order to snare the love of a handsome prince, allowed a witch to cast a spell on the young man.

c. By accepting a witch's magic, the Little Mermaid agreed to become human to be like the prince she loved; however, she regrets her decision because he fell in love with someone else and left her with a broken heart and the pain of mortals.

d. The handsome prince made a huge sacrifice by becoming a merman, but he was unhappy with his choice and doomed to eternal travail.