Grade 10 Text Analysis Worksheet

Grade 10 Text Analysis Worksheet

Read each passage carefully and answer the questions that follow. Pay close attention to literary devices, theme, and author's purpose.

Passage 1: Excerpt from 'The Great Gatsby' by F. Scott Fitzgerald

"Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgastic future that year by year recedes before us. It eluded us then, but that’s no matter—tomorrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms farther.... And one fine morning— So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past."

1. What literary device is most evident in the phrase "boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past"?

2. Explain the symbolic meaning of the "green light" in the context of the passage.

Passage 2: Excerpt from 'I Have a Dream' Speech by Martin Luther King Jr.

"I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. I have a dream today!"

3. The primary rhetorical device used in the repeated phrase "I have a dream" is  .

4. Martin Luther King Jr.'s primary purpose in this excerpt is to inform his audience about historical events.

5. Analyze how the use of anaphora in the speech contributes to its overall impact and persuasiveness.