The Vinegar Man

1、The Vinegar Man,-By Group7,Give a brief biography of poet.,Ruth Comfort Mitchell Young was an American author and playwright who wrote under her maiden name Ruth Comfort Mitchell ,as well as Mrs.Sanborn Young.She was born in San Francisco,California and spent summers in the of Los Gatos,where her pa

2、rents and grandparents had summer homes.At the age of fourteen,her first poem was published in the newspaper,thus launching her literary career.,In 1914,her literary friends in San Francisco introduced her to Sanborn Young,who had recently sold his business and was traveling.The couple were married

3、in October 1914 and moved to New York City. She wrote nowels,poems,short stories and plays. Both the Youngs were involved in Republican politics.Ruth served as Republican National Committeewoman ,national and state president of Pro-America. In february 1954,Ruth was found dead in the bathtub.,The si

4、tuation and literary trends in America at that time,As the wounds of the Civil War slowly healed,many Americans became discontented with the growing materialism of society in the United States.Regional writers began to drop their narrow provincial focus, while still using realistic descriptions of e

5、veryday life.,As they concentrated increasingly upon the grimmer aspects of reality and a deterministic view of life,they were called naturalists. Other writers were quietly exploring the fate of the individual. They drew their readers close to their characters mental and emotional processes.,The se

6、tting of the poem,The Vinegar Man lives in the tumble-down shed by the Hounted House.And its a murky place which is mixed with deep,sticky spiders and empty cans.He sells the vinegar for a living.Because the Vinegar Man is old,poor and a little queer,children taunt him.,When he was young,he was a ma

7、n who was sensitive,passionate and meticulous.The person who finds the dead Vinegar Man thinks the Vinegar Man died when he tore his valentine.,Vocabulary words for selection,glare verb to stare angrily or fiercely 怒目而视 tumble-down shed adjective and noun 破败不堪的小木屋 tumble-down ( of a building) old an

8、d in a poor condition so that it looks as if it is falling down 破败不堪的；摇摇欲坠的 shed 小木屋,pungent adjective having a strong taste or smell 味道(或气味）强烈的；刺激性的 murky adjective dark and dirty 黑暗的，肮脏的 pepper a pepper noun 胡椒 ，辣椒 pickle noun 腌菜，泡菜,ketchup noun a thick red liquid made from tomatoes that you eat w

9、ith food 番茄酱 chowchow noun酱什锦菜 dingy adjective dark, dirty,and in bad condition昏暗的；肮脏的；破旧的 quaint adjective unusual and attractive,especially in an old-fashioned way 奇特的，老式而别致的，古色古香的,Give an explanation of the poets probable meaning or intention. What was she thinking about? What did she think about

10、 it?,The poet describes a story that an old and poor vinegar man is teased by people and no one shows respect to him.They just laugh at him.From the verse,the poet shows unusual powers of sympathetic intuition.She wants us to be kind and courteousto people who are odd and different.,How did you and

11、your group feel about the poem? What did it make you think about? How did it make you feel?,Everyone in the world all have a long way to go .You experience the childhood,the motherhood or the fatherhood,you will have you own family,household and work,then you will older and older.You will desperatel

12、y find that much wrikles appear in your face,and your hands and legs and stiff and clumy.,Perhaps you are beautiful and glamourous and charming when you are young,as time goes by,you will be little and old and different.some people will tease and consult you.so just show your respect and kindness to the people who are odd and different.On the other ha