1a. What information does Sandburg give in the opening paragraph? What do you learn from that paragraph about the Bunyan stories?
2a. How does Paul Bunyan get rid of the bee mosquitoes?
3a. Describe Benny. What is remarkable about him? What happens to him?
1b. Why does Sandburg include this introductory paragraph? What does he mean by the "bookless people"? What does he mean when he says that "Paul is as old as the hills, young as the alphabet"?
2b. Which of Paul Bunyan's qualities are revealed in the episode of the bee mosquitoes?
3b. A pun is a play on words. Explain the play on words in the phrase "hot-stove story" in the last line of the paragraph about Benny. What is the double meaning? (Keep in mind that in frontier America, people often sat around a fire or stove in the evening, spinning yarns.)
4a. Find examples in the story that teach the reader about pioneer American life. What do all the episodes in this selection have in common?
4b. Why would these tales of Paul Bunyan be appealing to the people that Sandburg describes in the opening paragraph of the selection? What do you learn about the lives and values of pioneer Americans from these tales?
5a. How effective is the use of an anecdotal style of writing in this selection?
5b. Compare and contrast "Paul Bunyan of the North Woods" with "The Ole' Feller Recollects how Joe Fournier Became Paul Bunyan." How likely is it that Sandburg's retelling of the Paul Bunyan tall tale is based on stories about Fournier? Explain your answer.
Tall Tale. Find three specific examples that made the tone of this tall tale lighthearted and humorous.
Anecdote. Why might Sandburg have chosen to use an anecdotal style of writing? How might it be similar to informal human speech or oral storytelling? Why did Sandburg choose to tell of many adventures briefly rather than give a more in-depth treatment of one particular story?
Hyperbole. Note at least eight examples of hyperbole in the selection. How does the use of hyperbole contribute to the tone of the tall tale?
1. Write a short tall tale with Paul Bunyan as the main character. Here are two ideas for situations: how Bunyan put out a huge forest fire or how he replanted a forest that was destroyed by a fire.
2. Come up with three new titles for "Paul Bunyan of the North Woods" that reflect his exaggerated character.
3. Pretend you are a poineer American from the time of Paul Bunyan. Write a short journal entry explaining what your daily life is like.
Writing Sentences. Write a sentence for each of the following found in this selection. Use restatement, apposition, and examples in your sentences to provide context clues for the words. (See the Language Arts Survey 1.16, "Using Context Clues to Estimate Word Meaning.")
1. apparition
2. shanty
3. bookless people
4. sailing vessels
5. sorghum
Compound Sentences. For each of the sentences below, indentify the simple subject(s), verb(s), and completer(s) if any are present. Then identify the kind of completer: direct object (DO), indirect object (IO), predicate adjective (PA), predicate noun (PN), or predicate pronoun (PP).
1. Sometimes the blue ox is called Benny; sometimes it is called Babe.
2. Paul and Benny enjoyed themselves; they logged the north United States.
3. Paul is considered a mythical character, but some scholars disagree.
4. Paul Bunyan may have been Joe Fournier; Joe was an expert feller.
5. Joe was born in Canada, and he logged Minnesota and Wisconsin forests.
6. Joe was known for his large hands; his thumbs were extremely long.
7. Joe was a large man, but he was not a giant.
8. "Bon Jean" means "Good John"; it sounds like "Bunyan."
9. Fournier was attacked in Bay City, and he died from the attack.
10. The attack spurred stories of the lumberjack; the stories became the basis for the legend of Paul Bunyan.
Researching Pioneer Americans: Research Log. Use this log to keep track of the sources you use, the information you find, and your reactions to what you learn.
Internet sources:
Books and other print sources:
What struggles did early pioneers face?
What food did they eat?
What kind of work did they do?
What did education mean to them?
What were their hopes and dreams?
Compare their lives with your own. What are the similarities and differences?
