Advanced Placement Program Pine Tree I.S.D. Drive Copy of... · 5/23/2019 Team Drive Copy of AP...

5/23/2019 Team Drive Copy of AP Language Summer Reading 2019 - Google Docs

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Pine Tree I.S.D. Advanced Placement Program

Summer Independent Study 2019 English III Language and Composi�on

Dear Students and Parents, I’m glad you have chosen to sign up for English III AP next year. The course is called AP Language and Composi�on© and is owned by College Board. This rhetoric course focuses upon argument, wri�ng, and purposeful use of language. We primarily read nonfic�on texts such as speeches, le�ers, essays, sa�re, literary nonfic�on such as biographies, and visual images. We will some�mes use novels, short stories, poetry, and drama as support texts. For your summer reading, you will read the novel The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver and three (3) supplementary texts which I will provide. You can order the book or buy it at Books-a-Million. A used copy will be fine. You will take a multiple

choice test over all of the reading material within the first week which will be recorded in Skyward as a

major grade. The wri�en responses and annota�ons for the nonfic�on texts will be turned in by the end of the first week of school for four daily grades. They may be typed or handwri�en. Students not comple�ng any por�on of the summer assignment will be removed from the class. There are three ac�vi�es students need to complete:

● Read The Poisonwood Bible and answer the wri�en response ques�ons. Write around 750 words total for all five ques�ons. Make sure to number your responses.

● Annotate the nonfic�on texts following the instruc�ons. See a�achment. ● Make a list of 5 quotes from The Poisonwood Bible . See instruc�ons.

Google Classroom Code: ft4fwdo (all lowercase, 4 is the only number)

Sincerely, Terri Davis tdavis@p�sd.org English III/English III AP teacher UIL Ready Wri�ng, Spelling, and Literary Cri�cism Sponsor



AP Language and Composition Summer Assignment 2019

TEXTS Kingsolver, Barbara. The Poisonwood Bible: A Novel . New York : HarperPerennial, 2008.

Details: ISBN 978-0-06-157707-9, 546 pages, 7 Books, 5 Narrators Thoreau, Henry David. “The Ba�le of the Ants.” 1854. (teacher-provided text) Lumumba, Patrice. “Independence Day, 1960.” (teacher-provided text) Frost, Robert. “The Mending Wall.” 1914.

ASSIGNMENTS: 1. 5 Response Ques�ons 2. Annota�ons of supplementary texts 3. List of 5 quotes

INSTRUCTIONS I. The Poisonwood Bible

A. Read about the history of the Congo 1. h�p://www.historyworld.net/wrldhis/PlainTextHistories.asp?historyid=ad34 2. Be prepared to discuss and respond to ques�ons about the social and poli�cal background of the

Congo and how it relates to The Poisonwood Bible. 3. Be prepared to discuss connec�ons between the history of the Congo and thema�c topics.

B. Take notes as you read The Poisonwood Bible.

1. Make notes about insigh�ul connec�ons to the thema�c topics, poignant passages, and observa�ons about wri�ng style.

THEMATIC TOPICS: Colonialism/Imperialism Gender Race Rela�ons Guilt/Forgiveness Jus�ce/Injus�ce Knowledge/Innocence Salva�on/Redemp�on Communica�on Barriers Sacredness, Spirituality, Honor

ANNOTATIONS : Syntax Imagery Details Point of View Tone Figura�ve Language Theme Symbolism Voice Mo�f Text Structures Use of phrases/clauses Connec�ons to real life Use of sentence lengths Ques�ons Word Choice (Dic�on) Aha! Moments Metaphor or Analogy

C. Respond to 5 ques�ons from the list below in complete sentences. Include page numbers for reference . Write around 500-750 words for ALL ques�ons. May be typed or handwri�en. Do not count words of 3 or fewer le�ers.

1. What are the implica�ons of the �tle phrase? 2. How does Kingsolver differen�ate among the Price sisters, par�cularly in terms of their voice? Consider how each

sister’s and Orleanna’s voice shapes what we know about each other, the family’s place in the Congo and our own perspec�ve on the historical events that relate to the book.

3. Balance is an important concept. What kinds of balance emerge as important poli�cally, socially, historically, personally (for the characters)?

http://www.historyworld.net/wrldhis/PlainTextHistories.asp?historyid=ad34



4. What do we learn about cultural, social, religious, and other differences between Africa and America? To what degree do Orleanna and her daughters come to an understanding of those differences? Do you agree with what you take to be Kingsolver's message concerning such differences?

5. What differences and similari�es are there among Nathan Price's rela�onship with his family, Tata Ndu's rela�onship with his people, and the rela�onship of the Belgian and American authori�es with the Congo? Are the novel's poli�cal details--both imagined and historical--appropriate?

6. How does Kingsolver present the double themes of cap�vity and freedom and of love and betrayal? What kinds of cap�vity and freedom does she explore? What kinds of love and betrayal? What are the causes and consequences of each kind of cap�vity, freedom, love, and betrayal?

II. Read and annotate “Mending Wall”, “The Ba�le of the Ants”, and “Independence Day, 1960” by Prime Minister Lumumba. INSTRUCTIONS: Use the margins on either side of the texts. To make this more manageable, divide the text into

“chunks” or sec�ons according to when you no�ce shi�s (tone, subject, structural pa�ern, etc.). On the right side, briefly paraphrase the literal meaning of the passage. The le� side is reserved for you to make notes about the tools the writer uses and YOUR commentary, insights, and observa�ons about why he is using those tools. You should relate the tools to a specific audience, the theme, purpose, or rhetorical or persuasive purpose. Use the list below to get you started, but be sure to remark about the SIGNIFICANCE of what you no�ce. Rely mostly on the note-taking techniques you used during 10th grade. Here are some ideas to get you started:

● Symbolism ● Visual descrip�ons/imagery ● Sa�re ● Allusion ● Point of view ● Personifica�on ● Rhetor ● Audience(SPECIFIC groups) ● Syntac�cal Devices ● Different Forms of Repe��on ● Parallelism ● Sentence Lengths

● Purposeful use of punctua�on

● Desired outcomes ● Arrangement of details

(structure) ● Dic�on ● Allegory ● Juxtaposi�on ● Analogy

III. Mimicking Style: Make a list of page numbers of pithy or poignant sentences, paragraphs, or quotes that

resonate with you, u�lize imagina�ve descrip�ons, or create a strong tone from The Poisonwood Bible . We will use these at the beginning of the school year. Choose one quote that is your favorite.

GLOSSARY: a-ana (Kikongo) Child. Afrikaans A language that developed from 17th-century Dutch and is an official language of South Africa. Also called Taal.

akala (Kikongo) Man. attaché A person officially assigned to the staff of a diploma�c mission to serve in a par�cular capacity: a cultural attaché; a

military attaché.

aurora borealis Luminous bands or streams of light that are some�mes visible in the night skies of northern regions and are thought to be caused by the ejec�on of charged par�cles into the magne�c field of the earth. Also called northern lights.

authenticité (French) Authen�city. babushka A woman's head scarf, folded triangularly and worn �ed under the chin. bákala mpandi (Kikongo) Good, strong man. baki (Kikongo) Thief. bàndika (Kikongo) To kill with an arrow; sex between a husband and wife. bängala (Kikongo) Poisonwood tree.



bangala (Kikongo) Something precious and dear. bantu (Kikongo) People. barnstorming party To go about (the country) performing plays, giving lectures or campaign speeches, playing exhibi�on games, and so on, especially in small towns and rural districts. Originates from the use of barns as hangars in the early days of avia�on, to tour (the country) giving short airplane rides, exhibi�ons of stunt flying, and so on. batiza (Kikongo) To terrify. báza (Kikongo) Twins. Beelezi (Kikongo) Belgians. béene (Kikongo) Truth. béene-béene (Kikongo) As true as the truth can be. bënduka (Kikongo) Any of a family (Hirundinidae) of small, swi�-flying, insect-ea�ng passerine birds with long, pointed wings and a forked tail, including the barn swallow and purple mar�n: most species migrate, o�en between widely separated summer and winter homes. benduka (Kikongo) Crooked walker. bidibidi (Kikongo) Bird. bidila dipapfumu (Kikongo) Cemetery for ngana, religious leaders. bikinda (Kikongo) Spirits of the dead. biläla (Kikongo) Song of mourning. braai (Afrikaan) Barbecue or party. á bu (Kikongo) No ma�er; more or less. cadeau (French) A gi� or present. casques bleus (French) Police with blue helmets. citoyen (French) Ci�zen. école secondaire (French) Secondary school such as a high school. commerçant (French) Storekeeper or merchant. Congo A country of west-central Africa with a short coastline on the Atlan�c Ocean. Called Zaire for many years. Now known as the Democra�c Republic of Congo. conniption Tantrum; fit of anger; hysteria. de trop (French) Too much. demijohn A large, narrow-necked bo�le made of glass or earthenware, usually encased in wickerwork. dikonko (Kikongo) Edible locusts and crickets. dimba (Kikongo) Listen. dundee (Kikongo) Several meanings, including an antelope, a small plant, a hill, and the price you pay for something. exodus A departure of a large number of people. The Exodus marked the departure of the Israelites from Egypt. Filaires Any of nematode worms that are parasi�c in vertebrates and are o�en transmi�ed as larvae by mosquitoes and other bi�ng insects. The adult form lives in the blood and lympha�c �ssues, causing inflamma�on and obstruc�on that can lead to elephan�asis. fufu (Kikongo) A staple food in the tropics made from the root of a scrub. fufu nsala (Kikongo) Forest-dwelling, red-haired rat that prefers darkness. fyata (Kikongo) Being poor, without money. gree-gree (Kikongo) A charm worn around the neck to ward off evil. hantu (Kikongo) A place or �me. hemiplegia Paralysis affec�ng only one side of the body. hootenanny A mee�ng of folk singers, as for public entertainment. ici (French) Here. impala Medium-sized, reddish antelope of central and south Africa. invertebrate zoology The study of animals that do not have a backbone or spinal column. jezebel A loose, immoral woman. Jim Crow laws The systema�c prac�ce of discrimina�ng against and suppressing African Americans, following the Civil War and con�nuing un�l the Civil Rights Movement. kakakaka (Kikongo) E.coli bacteria, which spreads a disease that causes the destruc�on of intes�ne; also means hurry up.



Khrushchev, Nikita Premier of the U.S.S.R. from 1958 to 1964. kibáazu (Kikongo) A curse. kintu (Kikongo) All animals or inanimate objects, things that are not muntu.

ko ko ko Sound made to simulate knocking on a door when the house does not have a door. kukweka (Kikongo) Courtship ritual. kuntu (Kikongo) The quality of being something: beau�ful; hideous; lame; and so on. kwashiorkor (Kikongo) Severe protein malnutri�on, especially in children. la cité (French) City. léa (Kikongo) Nothing much. leba (Kikongo) Fig tree. l'enveloppe (French) Envelope. lenzuka (Kikongo) People who are outcasts from the village because they are viewed as bad luck. Livingstone, Dr. David A Sco�sh missionary and explorer in Africa. maintenant (French) Now; at the present �me. malala (Kikongo) Oranges with blood-red juice. malaria An infec�ous disease characterized by cycles of chills, fever, and swea�ng, caused by the parasi�c infec�on that is transmi�ed by the bite of an infected female mosquito. mama (Kikongo) Mother; also used before the name or �tle of a woman. mamba Extremely poisonous African tree snakes similar to the cobras. manene (Kikongo) Path or trail. mangwansi (Kikongo) Green beans. manioc A shrubby tropical American plant widely grown for its large, tuberous, starchy roots, which are eaten as a staple food in the tropics a�er leaching and drying to remove cyanide. Cassava starch is also the source of tapioca. Also called cassava. mankondo (Kikongo) Bananas. mankulu (Kikongo) Ancestors. marchè (French) Marketplace. martyrdom The suffering of death by a martyr; extreme suffering of any kind. maw The mouth, stomach, jaws, or gullet of a voracious animal, especially a carnivore; the opening into something felt to be insa�able. mawalalal (Kikongo) Rain in the distance that does not move toward you. mbote (Kikongo) Hello or goodbye. mbote ve (Kikongo) No good. melee A noisy, confused fight or hand-to-hand struggle among a number of people. midiki (Kikongo) Milk. mondele (Kikongo) White daughter. mongo (Kikongo) Mountain. mookoo (Kikongo) One. muntu (Kikongo) Any living, dead, or unborn person or a god. mvúla (Kikongo) A pale white termite that comes out a�er a rain. mvundla (Kikongo) Rabbit. mwana (Kikongo) Children. nanasi (Kikongo) Pineapple. nanasi mputu Papaya. ndolo (Kikongo) Rain. ngana (Kikongo) Religious leader. ngondi (Kikongo) Types of weather. ngonndo (Kikongo) Red and black monkey. nguba (Kikongo) Peanut. nguka (Kikongo) Caterpillars. nkazi ndolo (Kikongo) Gentle rain. nkento (Kikongo) Woman.



nkisi (Kikongo) Charm made to ward off evil. nkoko (Kikongo) River. nkundi (Kikongo) Friend. nommo (Kikongo) The force gives life; word. nommo bandu (Kikongo) The li�lest one on the bo�om; the reason for everything. nsongonya (Kikongo) Swarm of migratory ants that eat all vegeta�on and animals in their path. ntu (Kikongo) Exis�ng without nommo.

nuni ndolo (Kikongo) Thunderstorm. nuus ( Afrikaan) News. nyoka (Kikongo) Snake. nzolani (Kikongo) Most precious one. nzole (Kikongo) A double-size pagne that symbolizes the unity of marriage. nzolo (Kikongo) Dearly beloved. okapi A forest mammal related to the giraffe but smaller and having a short neck, reddish-brown body, creamy white cheeks, and whi�sh stripes and bands on the legs. pagne (Kikongo) Wax-printed fabric approximately 12 yards long that is wrapped around a woman's hip and �ed at the waist. palindrome A word, phrase, verse, or sentence that reads the same backward or forward. papier hygiénique ( French) Toilet paper. Piggly Wiggly Grocery store chain popular in parts of the United States. pirogues A canoe made from a hollowed tree trunk. poisonwood A medium-sized tree with poisonous sap that causes derma��s. prix-fixe (French) Fixed price. pygmy A member of any of various peoples having an average height less than 5 feet; an individual considered to be of li�le or no importance. quinine A bi�er, colorless, amorphous powder derived from certain cinchona barks and used in medicine to treat malaria. résidence (French) Home. sarong A skirt consis�ng of a length of brightly colored cloth wrapped about the waist that is worn by men and women. Schistosomiasis Any of various generally tropical diseases caused by infesta�on with schistosomes, characterized by infec�on and gradual destruc�on of the �ssues of the kidneys, liver, and other organs. Also called bilharziasis, snail fever.

supplémentaire (French) Addi�onal. tata (Kikongo) Father; used before the name or �tle of a man. tours de maître (French) Towers of the masters. tribes of Ham The book of Genesis in the Bible refers to Noah's curse on Ham's son, Canaan, in which Noah condemns all of Canaan's descendents to a life of slavery. tsetse flies Any of a family of small flies, including the species that carries the trypanosomes that causes sleeping sickness. umvundla (Kikongo) Jungle rabbit. vermifuges A medicine that expels intes�nal worms. Whipworm Roundworms with a whiplike front por�on that is parasi�c in the intes�nes of mammals. zulu (Kikongo) Sky.



English III AP Language and Composition

Summer Independent Study 2019 Short Supplemental Texts

“Mending Wall” “The Battle of the Ants”

“Independence Day, 1960”

Pine Tree High School



Independence Day, 1960 By Prime Minister

Men and women of the Congo, Victorious independence fighters, I salute you in the name of the Congolese Government. I ask all of you, my friends, who �relessly fought in our ranks, to mark this June 30, 1960, as an illustrious date that will be ever engraved in your hearts, a date whose meaning you will proudly explain to your children, so that they in turn might relate to their grandchildren and great-grandchildren the glorious history of our struggle for freedom. Although this independence of the Congo is being proclaimed today by agreement with Belgium, an amicable country, with which we are on equal terms, no Congolese will ever forget that independence was won in struggle, a persevering and inspired struggle carried on from day to day, a struggle, in which we were undaunted by priva�on or suffering and s�nted neither strength nor blood. It was filled with tears, fire and blood. We are deeply proud of our struggle, because it was just and noble and indispensable in pu�ng an end to the humilia�ng bondage forced upon us. That was our lot for the eighty years of colonial rule and our wounds are too fresh and much too painful to be forgo�en. We have experienced forced labour in exchange for pay that did not allow us to sa�sfy our hunger, to clothe ourselves, to have decent lodgings or to bring up our children as dearly loved ones. Morning, noon and night we were subjected to jeers, insults and blows because we were "Negroes". Who will ever forget that the black was addressed as "tu", not because he was a friend, but because the polite "vous" was reserved for the white man? We have seen our lands seized in the name of ostensibly just laws, which gave recogni�on only to the right of might. We have not forgo�en that the law was never the same for the white and the black, that it was lenient to the ones, and cruel and inhuman to the others. We have experienced the atrocious sufferings, being persecuted for poli�cal convic�ons and religious beliefs, and exiled from our na�ve land: our lot was worse than death itself. We have not forgo�en that in the ci�es the mansions were for the whites and the tumbledown huts for the blacks; that a black was not admi�ed to the cinemas, restaurants and shops set aside for "Europeans"; that a black travelled in the holds, under the feet of the whites in their luxury cabins. Who will ever forget the shoo�ngs which killed so many of our brothers, or the cells into which were mercilessly thrown those who no longer wished to submit to the regime of injus�ce, oppression and exploita�on used by the colonialists as a tool of their domina�on? All that, my brothers, brought us untold suffering.



But we, who were elected by the votes of your representa�ves, representa�ves of the people, to guide our na�ve land, we, who have suffered in body and soul from the colonial oppression, we tell you that henceforth all that is finished with. The Republic of the Congo has been proclaimed and our beloved country's future is now in the hands of its own people. Brothers, let us commence together a new struggle, a sublime struggle that will lead our country to peace, prosperity and greatness. Together we shall establish social jus�ce and ensure for every man a fair remunera�on for his labour. We shall show the world what the black man can do when working in liberty, and we shall make the Congo the pride of Africa. We shall see to it that the lands of our na�ve country truly benefit its children. We shall revise all the old laws and make them into new ones that will be just and noble. We shall stop the persecu�on of free thought. We shall see to it that all ci�zens enjoy to the fullest extent the basic freedoms provided for by the Declara�on of Human Rights. We shall eradicate all discrimina�on, whatever its origin, and we shall ensure for everyone a sta�on in life befi�ng his human dignity and worthy of his labour and his loyalty to the country. We shall ins�tute in the country a peace res�ng not on guns and bayonets but on concord and goodwill. And in all this, my dear compatriots, we can rely not only on our own enormous forces and immense wealth, but also on the assistance of the numerous foreign states, whose co-opera�on we shall accept when it is not aimed at imposing upon us an alien policy, but is given in a spirit of friendship. Even Belgium, which has finally learned the lesson of history and need no longer try to oppose our independence, is prepared to give us its aid and friendship; for that end an agreement has just been signed between our two equal and independent countries. I am sure that this coopera�on will benefit both countries. For our part, we shall, while remaining vigilant, try to observe the engagements we have freely made. Thus, both in the internal and the external spheres, the new Congo being created by my government will be rich, free and prosperous. But to a�ain our goal without delay, I ask all of you, legislators and ci�zens of the Congo, to give us all the help you can. I ask you all to sink your tribal quarrels: they weaken us and may cause us to be despised abroad. I ask you all not to shrink from any sacrifice for the sake of ensuring the success of our grand undertaking. Finally, I ask you uncondi�onally to respect the life and property of fellow-ci�zens and foreigners who have se�led in our country; if the conduct of these foreigners leaves much to be desired, our Jus�ce will promptly expel them from the territory of the republic; if, on the



contrary, their conduct is good, they must be le� in peace, for they, too, are working for our country's prosperity. The Congo's independence is a decisive step towards the libera�on of the whole African con�nent. Our government, a government of na�onal and popular unity, will serve its country. I call on all Congolese ci�zens, men, women and children, to set themselves resolutely to the task of crea�ng a na�onal economy and ensuring our economic independence. Eternal glory to the fighters for na�onal libera�on! Long live independence and African unity! Long live the independent and sovereign Congo!

Mending Wall By Robert Frost

Something there is that doesn't love a wall, That sends the frozen-ground-swell under it, And spills the upper boulders in the sun, And makes gaps even two can pass abreast. The work of hunters is another thing: I have come after them and made repair Where they have left not one stone on a stone, But they would have the rabbit out of hiding, To please the yelping dogs. The gaps I mean, No one has seen them made or heard them made, But at spring mending-time we find them there. I let my neighbor know beyond the hill; And on a day we meet to walk the line And set the wall between us once again. We keep the wall between us as we go.



To each the boulders that have fallen to each. And some are loaves and some so nearly balls We have to use a spell to make them balance: 'Stay where you are until our backs are turned!' We wear our fingers rough with handling them. Oh, just another kind of out-door game, One on a side. It comes to little more: There where it is we do not need the wall: He is all pine and I am apple orchard. My apple trees will never get across And eat the cones under his pines, I tell him. He only says, 'Good fences make good neighbors'. Spring is the mischief in me, and I wonder If I could put a notion in his head: Why do they make good neighbors? Isn't it Where there are cows? But here there are no cows. Before I built a wall I'd ask to know What I was walling in or walling out, And to whom I was like to give offence. Something there is that doesn't love a wall, That wants it down. I could say 'Elves' to him, But it's not elves exactly, and I'd rather He said it for himself. I see him there Bringing a stone grasped firmly by the top In each hand, like an old-stone savage armed. He moves in darkness as it seems to me Not of woods only and the shade of trees. He will not go behind his father's saying, And he likes having thought of it so well He says again, "Good fences make good neighbors."



“The Battle of the Ants” by Henry David Thoreau

excerpted from Walden

You only need sit s�ll long enough in some a�rac�ve spot in the woods that all its inhabitants may exhibit themselves to you by turns.

I was witness to events of a less peaceful character. One day when I went out to my wood-pile, or rather my pile of stumps, I observed two large ants, the one red, the other much larger, nearly half an inch long, and black, fiercely contending with one another.

Having once got hold they never let go, but struggled and wrestled and rolled on the chips incessantly. Looking farther, I was surprised to find that the chips were covered with such combatants, that it was not a duellum , but a bellum , a war between two races of ants, the red always pi�ed against the black, and frequently two red ones to one black. The legions of these Myrmidons covered all the hills and vales in my wood-yard, and the ground was already strewn with the dead and dying, both red and black. It was the only ba�le which I have ever witnessed, the only ba�le-field I ever trod while the ba�le was raging; internecine war; the red republicans on the one hand, and the black imperialists on the other.

On every side they were engaged in deadly combat, yet without any noise that I could hear, and human soldiers never fought so resolutely. I watched a couple that were fast locked in each other's embraces, in a li�le sunny valley amid the chips, now at noonday prepared to fight �ll the sun went down, or life went out.

The smaller red champion had fastened himself like a vice to his adversary's front, and through all the tumblings on that field never for an instant ceased to gnaw at one of his feelers near the root, having already caused the other to go by the board; while the stronger black one dashed him from side to side, and, as I saw on looking nearer, had already divested him of several of his members. They fought with more per�nacity than bulldogs. Neither manifested the least disposi�on to retreat. It was evident that their ba�le-cry was "Conquer or die." In the meanwhile there came along a single red ant on the hillside of this valley, evidently full of excitement, who either had dispatched his foe, or had not yet taken part in the ba�le;



probably the la�er, for he had lost none of his limbs; whose mother had charged him to return with his shield or upon it. Or perchance he was some Achilles, who had nourished his wrath apart, and had now come to avenge or rescue his Patroclus. He saw this unequal combat from afar--for the blacks were nearly twice the size of the red--he drew near with rapid pace �ll be stood on his guard within half an inch of the combatants; then, watching his opportunity, he sprang upon the black warrior, and commenced his opera�ons near the root of his right foreleg, leaving the foe to select among his own members; and so there were three united for life, as if a new kind of a�rac�on had been invented which put all other locks and cements to shame. I should not have wondered by this �me to find that they had their respec�ve musical bands sta�oned on some eminent chip, and playing their na�onal airs the while, to excite the slow and cheer the dying combatants. I was myself excited somewhat even as if they had been men. The more you think of it, the less the difference. And certainly there is not the fight recorded in Concord history, at least, if in the history of America, that will bear a moment's comparison with this, whether for the numbers engaged in it, or for the patrio�sm and heroism displayed. For numbers and for carnage it was an Austerlitz or Dresden. Concord Fight! Two killed on the patriots' side, and Luther Blanchard wounded! Why here every ant was a Bu�rick--"Fire! for God's sake fire!"--and thousands shared the fate of Davis and Hosmer. There was not one hireling there. I have no doubt that it was a principle they fought for, as much as our ancestors, and not to avoid a three-penny tax on their tea; and the results of this ba�le will be as important and memorable to those whom it concerns as those of the ba�le of Bunker Hill, at least. I took up the chip on which the three I have par�cularly described were struggling, carried it into my house, and placed it under a tumbler on my window-sill, in order to see the issue. Holding a microscope to the first-men�oned red ant, I saw that, though he was assiduously gnawing at the near foreleg of his enemy, having severed his remaining feeler, his own breast was all torn away, exposing what vitals he had there to the jaws of the black warrior, whose breastplate was apparently too thick for him to pierce; and the dark carbuncles of the sufferer's eyes shone with ferocity such as war only could excite.

They struggled half an hour longer under the tumbler, and when I looked again the black soldier had severed the heads of his foes from their bodies, and the s�ll living heads were hanging on either side of him like ghastly trophies at his saddle-bow, s�ll apparently as firmly fastened as ever, and he



was endeavoring with feeble struggles, being without feelers and with only the remnant of a leg, and I know not how many other wounds, to divest himself of them, which at length, a�er half an hour more, he accomplished.

I raised the glass, and he went off over the window-sill in that crippled state. Whether he finally survived that combat, and spent the remainder of his days in some Hôtel des Invalides, I do not know; but I thought that his industry would not be worth much therea�er. I never learned which party was victorious, nor the cause of the war; but I felt for the rest of that day as if I had had my feelings excited and harrowed by witnessing the struggle, the ferocity and carnage, of a human ba�le before my door.

Kirby and Spence tell us that the ba�les of ants have long been celebrated and the date of them recorded, though they say that Huber is the only modern author who appears to have witnessed them.

"Aeneas Sylvius," say they, "a�er giving a very circumstan�al account of one contested with great obs�nacy by a great and small species on the trunk of a pear tree," adds that "this ac�on was fought in the pon�ficate of Eugenius the Fourth, in the presence of Nicholas Pistoriensis, an eminent lawyer, who related the whole history of the ba�le with the greatest fidelity." A similar engagement between great and small ants is recorded by Olaus Magnus, in which the small ones, being victorious, are said to have buried the bodies of their own soldiers, but le� those of their giant enemies a prey to the birds.

This event happened previous to the expulsion of the tyrant Chris�ern the Second from Sweden." The ba�le which I witnessed took place in the Presidency of Polk, five years before the passage of Webster's Fugi�ve-Slave Bill.

Originally published by Ticknor & Fields in 1854, Walden, or Life in the Woods by Henry David Thoreau is available in many editions, including Walden: A Fully Annotated Edition edited by Jeffrey S. Cramer (Yale University Press, 2004).

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