Writing Task
You have read Robert Service’s “The Cremation of Sam McGee” about a man fulfilling his friend’s dying wish. Write an essay identifying the tone of the passage and how it is established through the author’s word choice. Be sure to use specific evidence to support your response.
Student Response
“I’ll cash in the trip, I guess; and if I do, I’m asking you that you won’t refuse my last request.” This is the dying wish of Sam McGee, a character in Robert Service’s poem, “The Cremation of Sam McGee.” Sam McGee is a man from Tennessee who finds himself in the snowy tundra of Alaska searching for gold. Sam’s last wish was for his friend Cap to cremate him, and Cap doesn’t quit until Sam’s promise is fulfilled. Throughout the poem, the author establishes a determined tone through his word choice.
At the beginning of the story, the author portrays “Cap” as determined by his thoughts and actions. The author begins the story by telling the reader that they are looking for gold but goes on in the sixth stanza showing the determined tone of the story, “A pal’s last need is a thing to heed, so I swore I would not fail.” Cap promises that he wouldn’t fail to accomplish Sam McGee’s wish. These lines from Service’s poem show the determination of Cap to fulfill Sam’s last wish of cremation after his death.
By the end of the story, Cap’s determination to keep his promise is even more apparent as he continues to press on. In stanza nine the journey gets tougher for Cap, “And every day that quiet clay seemed to heavy and heavier grow; And I went on, though the dogs were spent and the grub was getting low; The trail was bad, and I felt half mad, but I swore I would not give in; And I’d often sing to the hateful thing, and it hearkened with a grin.” Even though Cap’s dogs were tired and the food was getting low, he still kept going to keep his promise with Sam McGee. This stanza is a good example of the determined tone of the story by showing that Cap won’t quit until the job is done.
Because of Cap’s promise to Sam, he feels that he must do everything in his power to fulfill the last wish, and it shows the determined tone of the story in many ways. Through the use of Cap’s thoughts and actions, Service wrote an entertaining story in which the character will not give up exhibiting the determined tone of the story to the reader.
Writing Details
As an ELA teacher, I feel writing is the most challenging skill to teach. With that being said, I also feel like writing is one of the most rewarding parts of being an ELA teacher. To see the progress in my students this year after they felt so defeated at the beginning of the year has been AWESOME!
This is a good writing example from a recent lesson in my 2020-21 8th-grade ELA class.
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