Unit 8 Appetite
I Teaching objectives
1. to interpret the difficult sentences listed in Language Work VII in written
forms independently.
2. to analyze the organization and development of the essay so as to have a
further comprehension of the essay Learning methods of definition used in a writing.
3. to comment on the topics listed in Language Work VIII II Teaching time: six class periods III Teaching Procedures Step 1 library work
1. What are the dictionary definition of ‘appetite’? (Pre-reading Q - 1) Cambridge Advanced English Dictionary with Chinese ... : desire (esp. for food)
Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English: a desire or wish, esp. for food;
a desire to satisfy any bodily want
The American Heritage Dictionary: a desire for food or drink; a physical craving or desire
2. about the author
Laurence Edward Alan \– May 13, 1997) was an English poet, novelist,and screenwriter,
raised
in
the
village
of Slad, Gloucestershire.His most famous work was an autobiographical trilogy which consisted of Cider with Rosie (1959), As I Walked Out One Midsummer Morning (1969) and A Moment of War (1991). The first volume recounts his childhood in the Slad Valley. The second deals with his leaving home for London and his first visit to Spain in 1935, and the third with his return to Spain in December 1937 to join the Republican International Brigades. Laurence Edward Alan
Step 2 organization and development
Part 1 the common existence of appetite in one’s daily life and its general
definition(paragraph 1)
Part 2 the author’s unique type of appetite (paragraph 2-3) Part 3 the methods to achieve this type of appetite(paragraph 4-6) Part 4 the importance of retaining this type of appetite(paragraph7-8)
Step 3 In-reading Comprehension
Comprehension by analyzing and following the organization and development of the essay. Part division: Part I
Paras. 1-3 Definitions
1. L begins his essay by defining ‘appetite’ in the first three paras.. Give L’s definitions and identify those key words concerned. (comp. 3-2)
1st definition: one of the major pleasures in life, the keenness of living, ... (para. 1)
1.1 How does L succeed in making his notion of appetite clearer in the 1st para.? (comp. 3-1)
The language he uses becomes more concrete / specific, and less abstract / general: a major pleasure of life - keenness of living - a sense that tells you ... to exist - you still have an edge on your longings. He ends by using vocabulary directly connected with eating.
2nd definition: any condition of unsatisfied desire, any burning in the blood (para. 2)
1.2 What’s the meaning of ‘got’ in what Wilde said and also in ‘I got mine once only’? Explain the paradox in what Wilde said. (comp. 3-3) ‘satisfied’.
Those whose desires are always satisfied are more pitiable. I got my desire satisfied before, which nearly killed me. So since then, I would rather be in need of something than possessing / achieving it. Do you agree with Wilde?
As there is no more longing in life, what there is left for them is nothing but boredom. (Recall Churchill’s ‘Hobby’ in Book 5)
So I’ve preferred longing for sth to having got it ever since.
3rd definition: state of wanting (para. 3)
1.3 What does the word ‘no’ refer to in para. 3? (comp. 3-5)
The negation in the sentence ... the greatest pitch of happiness was not in actually eating...
1.4 Besides, the whole toffeeness of toffees was imperceptibly diminished by the gross act of having eaten it. (ll. 17-18)
the whole toffeeness: While toffees refer to the sweets in a concrete sense, toffeeness refers to the appeal toffee holds for the child. (comp. 3-4) ie. the lust (= violent desire to possess sth) for the toffee - gazing at it beforehand, the first bite, imperceptibly: that can’t be perceived
Once the toffee is eaten, the appeal of this long-coveted sweet decreases. (comp. 3-4)
Apart from that, the entire attraction of the toffee is gone without your noticing it when you actually go so far as to eat it.
1.5 Toffee is the example L uses to further his explanation of the 3rd definition. (Analysis)
A child can be very excited about a toffee. The sight of it may make his mouth water, tempting him to reach out a hand in the eagerness of sucking its delicious taste. But this same sensation begins to fade after his first bite. The longer the taste stays, the flatter the taste becomes. This personal experience of the author is experienced
at its most commonplace and is, therefore, in no sense unfamiliar to most people.
No doubt, the example of toffee can most effectively build up a picture vivid enough for the reader to perceive, making it possible for him to accept more easily the idea that there is no greater pleasure than that when one is kept in a state of wanting.
1.6 The definition follows the ‘one-leads-to-the-other’ pattern:
pleasures in life, keenness of living --- unsatisfied desire, wanting --- childhood experience as an example
Para. 4 General conclusion
1. How does the first word in para. 4 relate to the previous para.? (comp. 3-6)
What follows ‘so’ is a conclusion from what has been said before.
2. What does L conclude from his experience of eating his long-coveted toffee? What generalization does he make from this conclusion? (O&D - 1)
... once the toffee was gone one was left with nothing, neither toffee nor lust.
So ... one of the keenest pleasures of appetite remains in the wanting, not the satisfaction.
3 So, for me, one of the keenest pleasure of appetite remains in the wanting, not the satisfaction. (ll.20-21) wanting: lacking
As far as I am concerned, the greatest pleasure appetite can offer is the longing for what I have yet to achieve rather than to feel content with what I have already achieved.
To me, ‘appetite’ means that you have something you want, you are in lack of something and want to get it. It doesn’t mean that you have got everything and you are quite satisfied with it.
4. Which sentence in para. 3 conveys a similar message to the sentence ‘the object
