..."Only the Dead Know Brooklyn" Notes and Homework Questions ONLY THE DEAD KNOW BROOKLYN--NOTES BY THOMAS WOLFE THE STORY PREMIS: • YOU WILL NEVER LIVE LONG ENOUGH TO KNOW THE WHOLE OF BROOKLYN. IT WOULD TAKE A GUY A LIFETIME TO KNOW BROOKLYN THROUGH AND THROUGH. AND EVEN THEN YOU WOULDN’T KNOW IT. THE AUTHOR • BORN 1900 AND DIED 1938 • HE WAS BORN IN ASHERVILLE, NORTH CAROLINA AS THE 8TH CHILD IN THE FAMILY • HE ENTERED COLLEGE, THE UNIVERSITY OF CHAPEL HILL, AT THE AGE OF 15. • HE TRAVELED TO THE WEST COAST AND BECAME ILL WITH PNEUMONIA • HE WAS TRANSPORTED TO JOHN HOPKINS FOR SURGERY WHERE HE DIED OF MILITARY TUBERCULOSIS OF THE BRAIN. THOMAS WOLFE IN HIS WRITINGS TRIES TO PUT ALL OF HIS EXPERIENCES OF THE HUMAN HEART ON THE HEAD OF A PIN. • THE THEME OF THIS STORY IS COMMUNICATION. • • The author is an American journalist and essayist. With wit and an eye for detail he describes the outward trappings which reveal the inner meaning behind the attitudes of his subjects. HOMEWORK: DUE THE DAY AFTER WE COMPLETE THE STORY. ONLY THE DEAD KNOW BROOKLYN by Thomas Wolfe A. For each of the following words, provide an appropriate translation from the Brooklyn dialect into standard English. Then write a sentence for five of the words. Sentences must reflect the story. 1. eveh 2. dat 3. den 4. duh 5. neveh 6. befoeh 7. hoid 8. yuh 9. foeh 10. heah 11. bawn 12. somp’n 13. ast 14. dose 15. keh 16. boids 17. troot 18. dere ...
Words: 474 - Pages: 2
...pretty much set the tone for our relationship over the years. During a break he and I were talking outside of one of the halls by ourselves and he asking me about myself and how I came to the company….. So being completely nervous talking to him I’m going on and telling him just about my ENTIRE life story up to that exact moment ( I can be wordy at times ) so at some point during all of my blabbering , Big Steve got a sentence in and asked me where I was from and so I told Brooklyn and then...
Words: 471 - Pages: 2
...then crosses the Brooklyn Bridge. There, he notices a man leaning against the cables. Ronald chooses to keep going with his journey. Later, Ronald sees the same man again. Ronald is now alone in a field. He decides to keep driving because he is starting to get scared. Ronald keeps on seeing the suspicious man in a lot of places but each time he asks someone if they saw this man, they always say no. At one point, Ronald thought that he shouldn't be alone anymore. He then meets a girl. She agrees to go to Amarillo, Texas...
Words: 860 - Pages: 4
...An Assest Motherless Brooklyn, a book written by Jonathan Lethem began with two detectives, Lionel Essrog and Gilbert Coney, on a stake-out. They were keeping watch over a meditation center located in Manhattan. We learned that Detective Essrog is not just your average detective; he suffers from Tourette’s syndrome, a psychological condition causing an assortment of compulsive behaviors. Although Essrog and Coney are staking out the Zen center for their boss, Frank Minna, he hasn’t told them any details regarding the subjects or the reason. Minna’s unexpected appearance at the Zen center leads to his abduction and a car chase in which Detectives Essrog and Coney finally catch up with Minna, but have found that he is already dying of multiple stab wounds and will not tell them why he was being attacked or by whom. We later find out that Minna has died from these injuries. This violent death leads Essrog to recall the history of his boss’ creation of his “Minna Men”. The “minna men were four orphaned boys taken under Minna’s wing while living at the St. Vincent’s Home for Boys in Brooklyn. Primarily, Minna hired Essrog, Coney, Tony Vermonte, and Danny Fantl to do various work for his “moving company”, but eventually Minna became a father figure to them; the four motherless boys yearned to be like Minna, who ruled the various streets of Brooklyn through his shady connections and unscrupulous activities. Minna taught the boys everything they needed to know; they learned to act...
Words: 1085 - Pages: 5
...Tina Fey’s sitcom “30 Rock” ends tonight, dammit. I haven’t yet seen the finale (I’ll be watching it along with you screener-deficient folks), but I’m genuinely sad to lose my Thursdays with this awesomely dense comedy, which amounted to a grenade made of zingers. Sweet yet sour, at once funny ha-ha and funny-peculiar—and also funny-relevant, if that were a thing—“30 Rock” is quotable to a nearly psychotic degree. I’ll miss it like a stalker misses her stalkee. I could take pretty much any angle in looking back on “30 Rock,” but I’ll take the one that I am currently experiencing: looking straight at the Empire State Building. When the sitcom débuted, it was based on Fey’s experience as the first female head writer for “Saturday Night Live,” but it quickly became something bigger, stranger, and bolder: a surreal machine capable of commenting on anything, from feminism and prismatic perspectives on race to national politics, reality television, and corporate culture—always from a New Yorker’s P.O.V. Not that the characters were native New Yorkers, mind you, other than Tracy (who was born in Yankee Stadium and attended middle school at an Exxon station in the Bronx). The rest had moved to Manhattan from somewhere else: Pennsylvania, Florida, Massachusetts, Georgia. They were ambitious nuts who lived for their jobs, injecting the office comedy mold with both workaholism and a recurrent anxiety about what that might mean. (“I wish I’d worked more,” confessed Jack on his near-deathbed...
Words: 1153 - Pages: 5
...Brooklyn, New YorkDecember 18th, 1888I peered around the graffitied wall into an abandoned warehouse. He said they would be in here, and heis always right. I caught sight of my target: the Beater. He stood lanky, with dark robes. His face appearedsuddenly as sunlight shifted in through the window. I almost fell off the three barrels I was standing on. He hadhair as black as night, and piercing green eyes that seemed to stare through the wall and pick my feelings apart,piece by piece. Gods, was he handsome. Even better looking than--Don’t go there now, don’t think about him.You left him, and it was your choice. To save him. He was speaking to another man.“Do you have it?”“Yeah, I can get you ten pounds in time for your little celebration,” The Beater replied,...
Words: 2013 - Pages: 9
...Embria Moore Miles 3rd period 12 November 2013 “Judging by the marks on his neck, there was struggle.” “He has skin under his fingernails.” “She has been dead for two hours.” Quite often you hear medical examiners use similar phrases. Most people enjoy watching CSI, Criminal minds, and Law and Order. If you haven’t guessed by now, I am totally interested in crime scenes and how people die. A forensic pathologist is a great profession that requires hard work, dedication, and flexibility. A Forensic Pathologist is a person who examines the bodies of people who died suddenly, unexpectedly, or violently. They are in charge of determining a person death. A medical examiner perform autopsy and trace evidence from the body for further information. This profession works hand and hand with criminal law. As a medical examiner, you are responsible for finding the exact cause of death. “I wanted to be a forensic scientist for a long time. It's like putting the pieces of a puzzle together. Solving mysteries seemed like it would be fun, scary and exciting all at the same time.” Forensic Pathologist performs a full death investigation. As a coroner, evaluates crime scene evidence. There is a large vocabulary that forensic pathologist must learn. The terminology that medical examiners use is totally different from everyday language. They...
Words: 1117 - Pages: 5
...The Dew Breaker by EDWIDGE DANTICAT Religion: “A ka is a double of the body, I want to complete the sentence for him --- the body’s companion through life and after life. It guides the body through the kingdom of the dead”. (17) Chapter 1 My favorite quote from chapter one “the book of the dead” is the following “A ka is a double of the body. The body’s companion through life and after life. It guides the body through the kingdom of the dead” because I feel that it has so much connection to ka’s father beliefs which she doesn’t quite understand but it means a lot to him considering he sees ka as his good angel. Death/ assassination: “We have a proverb, he continues. “one day for the hunter, one day for the prey. Ka your father was the hunter; he was not the prey.” (21) Chapter...
Words: 1784 - Pages: 8
...producers, musicians and vocalists from all over the world. For two weeks, each group attend lectures by musical legends, work together on tracks, and perform in the city’s best clubs and music halls. For the public, it’s got a impressive program of film screenings, parties, lectures from musical legends like Brian Eno and Erykah Badu, and concerts that range from hip-hop and improvisational jazz to traditional house and experimental drone music. In Red Bull Music Academy, in addition to the sounds filling the recording studios and lecture halls, there were installations by lots of local artists. Wednesday 01 May – A Night of Improvised Round Rubin Dueds: Red Bull Music Academy Special Night of Improvised Round Robin was at the Brooklyn Masonic Temple. There were serious of improvisations. Red Bull Music Academy site explains the concept; Format was simple. One musician starts a solo improvisation lasting five minutes. Another musician then joins for five minutes of duo improvisation. After those five minutes, musician #1 leaves the stage and musician #3 joins musician #2 for another five minutes, and so on and so forth for two hours. (1) The night featured a ton of incredible performers from different genres including (in order...
Words: 1965 - Pages: 8
...intricately describe contemporary America, following the Wall Street Crash. Both authors have their own ways of conveying an image, Miller uses stage directions to illustrate important settings whilst Steinbeck implements evocative vocabulary to carefully describe each significant location to the reader. Miller’s first description portrays Brooklyn, the setting of the Loman household with a gentle flute melody playing in the background, ‘it is small and fine, telling of grass and trees and the horizon’. The house is described as being ‘small and fragile-seeming’ with ‘towering angular shapes behind it, surrounding it on all sides’. This detailed description conveys to the reader that there is a sense of claustrophobia and inferiority, suggesting that this house is out of place in the daunting city. The opening location of Steinbeck’s ‘Of Mice and Men’ serves as a foil to ‘Death of a Salesman’, as it outlines the beauty of the Salinas River in rural California. There are however some links between the two introductions; the Salinas River is described as ‘twinkling over the yellow sands in the moonlight’, which directly opposes the description of Brooklyn ‘an angry glow of orange’ in scene one of ‘Death of a Salesman’. Rural California seems to be a very still and peaceful place where wildlife such as rabbits, raccoons and deer are able to thrive amongst ‘sycamores with mottled, white, recumbent limbs and branches that arch over the pool’. Steinbeck then describes the Gabilan Mountains...
Words: 1597 - Pages: 7
...Orthodox movements are very similar in their observance and beliefs, differing only in the details that are emphasized. They also differ in their attitudes toward modern culture and the state of Israel. They all share one key feature: a dedication to Torah, both Written and Oral. Personally, this religion seems to be the biggest outcast of them all and knowing neighbors around my block are Orthodox Jews really grabs my attention. I hear stories about the family and how some of their beliefs are shocking to us who are not Orthodox Jews. I never really knew much about them but now this is my great opportunity to do so. Background: The largest population of orthodox Jews are in Israel, then followed by USA, and finally in some Eastern European countries. Their population reaches close to One Million and growing. Many orthodox Jews live in together in large communities. For example in the city of Jerusalem, Israel or Brooklyn, NY, there are tens of Thousands of orthodox Jewish families living in a closed tight knit community. Approximately 10 percent of the Jewish population in the US is orthodox. All men will be wearing long black garbs, black hats and long beards. Both men and boys will also have curls by their side.The women will be dressed according to their Jewish Tradition. A custom called Tzniyus (modest). No part of their body will be exposed except from their palm and face. They will only wear skirts or dresses, for pants are forbidden. Married women will either wear...
Words: 1100 - Pages: 5
...raised in central Florida. While living in Florida I experienced living in multiple cities. For example, Orlando, Tampa, Apopka, Kissimmee and Ocoee throughout my lifetime. I have been currently living in Apopka for one year and continuing on. I have two parents my mother, Aesha H Slayton and my father Lorenzo Slayton. My mother was born and raised in New York in the city Brooklyn and moved here to Florida when she was in middle school with her siblings. She has 2 younger brother’s one younger sister and two older sisters. My mom got married when she was 19 years old. She had her first child which is me when she was about 20 years old. my mother was born a Muslim and raised to be Muslim just like me. All my moms brothers and sister are Muslim as well. My father was born in Florida. He lived here all his life. He grew up mostly in winter garden. He has been working at his same job for 18 years as the supervisor for Manheim’s inspection center. He has 3 sisters and 3 brothers that I know of. My dad grew up with only his mother in his life. I never met his dad he dead before I could even remember his face. I know absolutely nothing about his dad besides negative things. My dad doesn’t talk much about him. But my dad loves his mother. My dad was and still is a mommies little boy. He always has. He visits his mother at least every other day and takes care of her so well. My dad is Christian and goes to church when he can. Everybody who meets my dad loves him. He has a great personality...
Words: 605 - Pages: 3
...and his mother Mallie Robinson He died on October 24, 1972 due to a heart attack has was 53 and currently in Stamford Hospital he was pronounced dead at 7:10 am he had 3 kids Sharon Robinson, Jackie Robinson Jr, and David Robinson and he was married to Rachel Robinson. The main event that he lived through was segregation this event or time period lasted from 1896 to 1954. Segregation was the separation of different colored people which means that only certain colored people could use certain things or go certain places. An example of this would be restaurants they would have a separate entrance for blacks. When Jackie was 20 World War II started...
Words: 517 - Pages: 3
...Urban Issues Urban Violence My topic of discussion for this paper is urban violence. An incident that occurred about a little over a month ago that really bothered me has caught my attention about how much crime goes on in my area so frequently. A 1-year-old boy name Antiq Hennis was shot in the left side of his head on Sunday, September 1, 2013, on a Brooklyn street in the Brownsville area and ended up being pronounced dead at Brookdale University Hospital and Medical Center where he was rushed shortly after the shooting. He was sitting in a stroller with his parents on the corner of Livonia Avenue and Bristol Street in the Marcus Garvey Village projects in Brownsville about 7pm that night. A witness name Gina Gamboa was in the Brownsville area when she heard the shooting and noticed that one man was running away from the scene and one man was just standing there and then left the scene. He then came back and noticed that the baby’s head was to the side and stroller was covered in blood. Police sources say that the bullets aimed to the 1-year-old boy was meant for his father, Anthony Hennis, and accidently hits the stroller and killed his son. Family members mentioned that Anthony, the little boy’s father has a record of more than 20 arrests and that they believe the shooting was payback from earlier when the father had a dispute with someone. Unfortunately, the gun man had bad aiming and killed the little boy. Bishop Willie Billips, a local anti-violence activist was...
Words: 1513 - Pages: 7
...ever closer to the truth about their family and their links to a secret order that has existed since the time of the pharaohs. II – Personal Summarization When Julius Kane tries to summon Osiris through the Rosetta Stone in the British Museum, he also releases Set, the Egyptian god of chaos, who seals him in a coffin, as his children Sadie and Carter Kane watch. He also releases the other children of the Demon Days:Nephthys, Isis, Horus, and Osiris. The British police come to Carter and Sadie's grandparents' home, as Carter is with Sadie because of the twice-a-year visit, and question Carter and Sadie. Amos Kane, a fairly eccentric, peculiar character, who is the children's uncle and Julius's brother, brings them to the family mansion in Brooklyn. That night, Carter's soul (known as a ba), travels to Phoenix, Arizona, where he sees Set, and learns that he will summon an extreme storm on his birthday. The next morning, Carter and Sadie describe what happened, and Amos tells them he will...
Words: 4176 - Pages: 17
