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Unit 1, Part 3

We Are All One

Unit 1, Part 3

We Are All One

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Unit 1, Part 3Unit 1, Part 3

(pages 136–145)


Before You Read

Reading the Selection

After You Read


For pages 136–145

7.3.A Describe multiple themes in a work of fiction.


Meet Laurence YepClick the picture to learn

about the author.


How much do you enjoy taking care of animals? If given the opportunity, would you provide food, shelter, or protection for an animal? for an insect? Why or why not?

Connect to the Folktale


Partner Talk With a partner, talk about the meaning of the expression “We are all one.” Begin by deciding if you agree with these statements:

Connect to the Folktale

• What happens to one person affects everyone.

• Every person or thing is connected to every other person or thing; we’re all part of one family.


Build Background

This folktale takes place in some legendary time in China. The Chinese people who came to live in the United States brought this folktale and others with them.

• Chinese people retold these tales to remind themselves of life at home and to show how to survive in a strange and often hostile land.


Build Background

• The folktales were meant to teach children how a Chinese person should behave.

• During the Great Depression of the 1930s, the U.S. government created work projects to help the unemployed. Jon Lee was given the job of gathering and translating into English traditional stories from Chinese immigrants who were living in Oakland, California. “We Are All One” is a retelling of one of those stories.


lacquer n. a liquid that is poured on wood or metal and dries to form a shiny coat. Lin’s parents bought a black lacquer cabinet in Chinatown.

Click a vocabulary term to listen to the definition.

omen n. a sign or an event thought to foretell good or bad fortune. Some people believe that finding a penny is a good omen.


Set Purposes for Reading

As you read this story, pay attention to the extraordinary individuals and animals the old peddler counts on.



The theme of a literary work is its overall message about life or about human nature. Folktales across cultures contain similar themes. For example, “friendship is important” is a theme that is common to many folktales.

Theme



Discovering the theme of a story is important because it helps you to see a work’s deeper meaning. A story’s theme can teach you lessons about life. As you read, ask yourself: What is the author’s main message? What is the author trying to tell me about life?

Theme



Theme

Click the image to view the animation.



Plot is the sequence of events in a story. When you interpret plot events, you use your understanding of the world to decide what events in the plot mean. Do events in the plot resemble events in everyday life? Do they suggest a deeper meaning about life?

Interpret Plot Events



When you interpret something, you decide for yourself what it means to you. To interpret plot events, think about


• what you already know about human nature and about the world

• what the events in the story might mean



As you read, list plot events and their meaning in a graphic organizer like the one shown.





Click the image to view the animation.


Interpret Imagine that you are listening to your best friend talk about a soccer game. Your friend describes how the star player scored the winning goal. Think about how your friend’s facial expression, tone of voice, and body language help you interpret whether your friend is pleased or disappointed with the results of the match.



Unit 1, Part 3Unit 1, Part 3Unit 1, Part 3Unit 1, Part 3


Interpret Plot Events Is a mother’s advice usually right or wrong? How does that help you know that the peddler will look for the magical herb?

Answer: A mother’s advice is usually right. The peddler trusts his mother’s advice that a magical herb exists.


Interpret Plot Events What does the act of searching for the herb mean to the peddler? What does it mean to the reader?

Answer: Possible responses: To the peddler, the search may mean that he wants to help someone in need; to the reader, the search means that the setting will shift.


Theme How is the expression “we are all one” a clue to the theme?

Answer: The expression is another way of saying that all creatures are connected and responsible for one another.


Theme How does the peddler’s decision illustrate the theme of the story?

Answer: He is concerned with all life, not just the life of the rich man.


Theme Explain how the queen’s speech reveals the theme of the folktale.

Answer: The queen repeats that all creatures are connected.


In what way do details of this picture help you better understand the story?

Answer: Like the lone figure in the painting, the peddler is not like other people—he is a lone soul who cares about all creatures, no matter how small.


Cultural History

The story alludes to the legend of the great emperor Yü and his taming of the great floods. According to the legend, about 4,000 years ago in ancient China, Yü built canals that led a river into the sea, thereby preventing flooding that had previously caused great damage. Yü is believed to be the founder of China’s oldest dynasty, called Hsia. Why does the queen refer to this story when speaking to the peddler?


Cultural History

Answer: Possible response: You may conclude that the reference indicates the importance of the peddler’s mission.


A centipede is a long, flat insect with many pairs of legs.


Interpret Plot Events The peddler protects the centipede. How might this act help the peddler later in the story?

Answer: The centipede might do something to reward the peddler for his kindness.


Landscape differs from the other artwork in that the landscape is green rather than yellow, gray, or brown. How does this detail relate to the story’s theme?

Answer: Possible answer; Green is the color of nature, and it is nature that helps the peddler meet his goal.


Theme How does the centipede prove that “we are all one”?

Answer: The centipede helps the peddler by revealing where he will find the magic bead.


How does this painting help you picture the setting?

Answer: Possible response: The old peddler and his wife may have lived in a village like the one in the painting. Also, they might have worn clothes like those shown in the painting.


Whom or what is the peddler able to count on in this story?

Answer: The peddler can count on the ants and the centipede to help him.


Language History

The Middle English word bede comes from the Old English word gebed, meaning “a prayer.” To keep track of repeated prayers, people used a string of small round balls (today called a rosary). Because each round ball stood for one bede (or prayer), the word eventually came to mean the round balls themselves. Today, bead means a small object that can be threaded on a string. What do you think is the nature of the herb that the peddler will find?


Language History

Answer: Possible response: The herb will answer one’s prayers.


Theme The gatekeeper and the peddler are different. How might this difference relate to the story’s theme?

Answer: Unlike the peddler, the gatekeeper does not treat every form of life as equal. This difference emphasizes the story’s theme of the importance of treating everyone equally.


Theme What advice does this folktale offer?

Answer: Because we are all one, you can make a difference in others’ lives. Help those in need, and your kindness will be rewarded.


Answer: He saves the ants’ nest.

Respond and Think Critically

1. What is the peddler’s first act of kindness toward another creature? Describe it. [Recall]



2. When the rich man sees the peddler at the gate, what does he say? What do the rich man’s first words tell you about his personality? Explain. [Infer]

Answer: The rich man says that the peddler will be beaten if he is wasting the rich man’s time. The rich man’s first words make him seem impatient.



3. How does the story end? How do you think the peddler will act, now that his life has changed? Explain. [Analyze]

Answer: The peddler is rewarded for helping the rich man. You may suggest that the peddler will not change because he is kind, and money is not important to him.



TIP: Analyzing

Here are some tips to help you analyze how the story’s title relates to its theme. Think about what the author shows you through the events, characters, and dialogue in the story.



• Think about when the title phrase is stated in the story.

• What do the characters do after saying the phrase?

• How do the characters’ actions fit the theme and the phrase?



Answer: If we act as though we are all one, then all will benefit.

4. Theme How does the title, “We Are All One,” relate to the story’s theme? Explain. [Analyze]



Answer: The peddler’s acts of kindness toward the ants and the centipede are the most important events. These events reveal the importance of treating every creature kindly.

5. Interpret Plot Events Review your chart of plot events. Which events do you think are most important to the story’s theme? Explain. [Evaluate]



Answer: You may suggest that the peddler is the extraordinary individual because he treats all creatures with kindness.

6. Who or what is the extraordinary individual in this story? Use details from the story to support your answer. [Interpret]


Respond to these questions.

1. Which item might be covered by lacquer — a shield or a dress?

Answer: A shield could have a coat of lacquer; a dress would not.


2. What might be seen as a good omen — a star shooting across the sky or a dead flower in the grass?

Answer: A star shooting across the sky might be seen as a good omen; a dead flower has negative connotations.


Write a Blurb A blurb is a short piece of writing that praises and promotes something, such as a book or a movie. You often see a blurb on the cover of a book. What does “We Are All One” say about life? Write a blurb in which you answer this question. The story’s title can help you answer the question.


Write about times when you helped other people or animals and expected nothing in return. Describe what happened and explain why you acted as they did and how you felt afterward.



Possible answer:

I like to draw imaginary creatures and then make up stories about them. The unicorn is my favorite. It’s so beautiful, and its horn makes it unique.


Every little noise would sound suspicious.

No one would feel happy about being in such a gloomy, scary place.

In my eerie setting, darkness would make everything look different.


For what is the rich man offering a reward?

A. a cure for his deafness

B. a cure for insomnia

C. a cure for his skin disease

D. a cure for his eye disease


What did the candy peddler set out to find when he heard the announcement about the rich man’s need?

A. an insect that could cure all diseases

B. a magical herb that his mother told him about

C. a magician with healing powers

D. a very wise doctor from a nearby town


What did the city in his first dream turn out to be?

A. a bee hive

B. a garden of herbs

C. the palace of the rich man

D. an ant’s nest


What did the peddler see that had bright orange skin and red tufts of fur?

A. a spider

B. a centipede

C. a frog

D. a magical tree


How was the peddler finally able to see the rich man?

A. After he begged, the gatekeeper finally let him in.

B. He showed the gatekeeper the magical bead.

C. The rich man was passing by the gate and saw him.

D. The queen ant led him through the gate.

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