d. The prophecy of the Great Man; impression on the

boy.

2. The first "Great Man" - Gathergold.

a. Ernest a boy.

b. His character, under the influence of the Face. c. Gathergold's career, appearance, and character. What does the long description of his home tell about him?

d. Attitude of the people toward him.

e. Feeling of Ernest toward him.

f. The Face renews the prophecy.

3. The second "Great Man"-Blood-and-Thunder.

a. Ernest a young man.

b. The character of Ernest.

c. The character of the second “Great Man.'

d. The attitude of the people toward the General. e. Ernest's feeling for him.

f. The Face speaks to Ernest.

4. The third "Great Man"-Old Stony Phiz.

a. Ernest a man of middle age.

b. The development of his character.

c. The character of Old Stony Phiz.

d. The feeling of the people for the statesman.

e. The feeling of Ernest for him.

f. The Face speaks again to Ernest.

5. The fourth "Great Man"

a. Ernest an old man.

b. His character.

c. The coming of the Poet.

the Poet.

d. The people do not recognize the Poet's work. Why

not?

e. Ernest has expected the Poet to resemble the Face.

Why? Why is this the most bitter disappointment of all? How does the poet himself explain his failure?

6. The true "Great Man" discovered.

a. The discourse of Ernest; the source of his power. b. The Poet discovers the "Great Man." Why should the Poet be the one to make the discovery?

c. The humility of Ernest.

II. For the kernel of the story, see American Note-Books, 1839. Hawthorne usually has a moral thought in his tales. In this one he plainly means to teach us that we grow like that which we constantly watch and admire and meditate on to show the influence which the vision of "the Good, the True, and the Beautiful" may have on character. The influence of the Face did not make Ernest rich, or powerful, or famous; but it made him what is far better- a good and wise man.

III. The story, between the introduction (1 above) and the conclusion (6 above), is constructed in four parallel parts. These correspond to four periods in the life of Ernest. The following chart shows this; and see also 2, 3, 4, 5 above.

The six points are discussed in the four parts, except that d and ƒ are omitted in 5. You would hardly expect the

people to recognize the profound wisdom of a great poet (d), and 5f is omitted because the story begins at that point to prepare for its climax; i. e., the conclusion begins. What sentence makes the climax of the story?

A writer without skill could easily fail, in four parallel parts, to make any progress toward his climax. If you follow each of the six points through the four parts you will readily see how the story rises constantly, and why the climax must be where it is. For example, c begins with the rich man; how little real greatness there is in a selfish miser, though he may have gathered tons of gold. A good general certainly gives his country valuable service, though war is greatly to be deplored. A statesman serves his country honorably in a more desirable field than war. And a great poet is the benefactor, not only of his country, but of his race. Here we can plainly see progress in the story. The climax goes one step farther, and places the wise and good man above even the poet. Go through the other five points and show how the plot rises through them also toward the climax. The suspense is made by the successive disappointments of Ernest.

IV. General Questions.

1. Is it the features or the expression of the Face that the Great Man is to resemble? What do the people look for? What does Ernest look for? Study the prophecy in the introduction, and the comparison made by Ernest of each man to the Face. Why do not the people recognize Ernest as the man of prophecy? Why does the poet recognize him? 2. Why is not Ernest mistaken when every one else is? 3. Make a list of all the names of persons used in this story, and explain the meaning of each. The suggestiveness of the proper names gives the tale an allegorical tone. Lang