UNIT 6, Part 2 The Uncanny and Mysterious

UNIT 6, Part 2 The Uncanny and Mysterious Click the mouse button or press the space bar to continue Splash Screen

Unit 6, Part 2 MAIN MENU The Uncanny and Mysterious (pages 1184–1229) Click a selection title to go to the corresponding selection menu.

SELECTION MENU Selection Menu (pages 1186–1204) Before You Read Reading the Selection After You Read Grammar Workshop

BEFORE YOU READ Meet Agatha Christie Click the picture to learn about the author.

BEFORE YOU READ Connecting to the Story In “The Witness for the Prosecution,” Agatha Christie stays a step ahead of the reader just as some of the characters stay a step ahead of one another and the legal system.

BEFORE YOU READ Connecting to the Story As you read, ask yourself these questions: • Is there more here than meets the eye? What is it? • What unstated motives or reasons might each character have?

BEFORE YOU READ Building Background “The Witness for the Prosecution” is about a man in England who is accused of “willful murder,” or what people in the United States call premeditated, or planned, murder. At the beginning of the story, his solicitor, or lawyer, meets with him to learn the facts of the case.

BEFORE YOU READ Building Background The solicitor must prepare to meet the arguments of the prosecution; in this case, the British government, or Crown, which undertakes legal action against the accused. In a British court of law, the solicitor prepares the case, but does not argue it at trial. That is the job of the counsel for the defense, referred to in this story as the K.C., or King’s Counsel.

BEFORE YOU READ Setting Purposes for Reading The Uncanny and Mysterious As you read, think about what seems convincing and real, as well as what seems suspicious or mysterious, about the accused man, his story, and the woman who testifies against him.

BEFORE YOU READ Setting Purposes for Reading Motivation Motivation is the stated or implied reason or cause for a character’s actions. As you read, notice the motivations characters attribute to themselves, as well as those that are suggested by one character for another.

BEFORE YOU READ Making Inferences About Characters When you makeinferences about characters, you use your reason and experience to figure out what an author is not saying directly about a character.

BEFORE YOU READ Making Inferences About Characters Reading Tip: Taking Notes Use a chart to record details about the characters and your inferences.

BEFORE YOU READ cultivatev. to encourage or further the development of (p. 1188) Lauren cultivated Rachel’s friendship by calling her every night. pretextn. a reason or motive offered in order to disguise real intentions (p. 1189) Jill wanted to stay home, so she told her mother she was sick, but that was just a pretext. Click a vocabulary term to listen to the definition.

BEFORE YOU READ amicableadj. friendly (p. 1191) George and Tameka, who had an amicable relationship, talked to each other every day. recoilv. to shrink back physically or emotionally (p. 1195) Zach recoils at the thought of telling on his best friend. Click a vocabulary term to listen to the definition.

BEFORE YOU READ animosityn. ill will or resentment; active strong dislike or hostility (p. 1200) Jorge’s animosity toward Greg showed itself in his tense posture and scowl. Click a vocabulary term to listen to the definition.

READING THE SELECTION The Uncanny and Mysterious As you read, keep the following questions in mind: Who is the most mysterious character in the story? What questions would you ask this character if you could?

READING THE SELECTION Answer:Answers will vary. We seem to know least about French’s maid and the charwoman. You might want to ask the maid if she was hoping French’s nephew would be the principal beneficiary in the will, or how the charwoman got a hold of the letters.

READING THE SELECTION Reading Strategy Making Inferences About Characters Read the text highlighted in blue on page 1186.What inferences can you make about Mayherne based on the details so far? Answer:He appears to be a reasonable man, shrewd but not uncaring about his client.

READING THE SELECTION Literary Element Motivation Read the text highlighted in purple on page 1186. What is Mayherne’s motivation for preparing the best possible defense? Answer:Mayherne’s job as Vole’s lawyer is to defend him, so he must do his best to prove Vole’s innocence.

READING THE SELECTION Reading Strategy Making Inferences About Characters Read the second paragraph on page 1187 of your textbook.What can you infer about Vole based on this statement? Answer:He is shrewd; it is as though he is able to read Mr. Mayherne’s thoughts.

READING THE SELECTION Literary Element Motivation Read the text highlighted in purple on page 1187. Why do you think Vole includes these details? Answer:Vole wants to make himself look respectable to Mayherne. Vole wants to show that he is polite, mannerly, and considerate in order to prove his innocence.

READING THE SELECTION Reading Strategy Making Inferences About Characters Read the text highlighted in blue on page 1187.What might Mayherne infer from Vole’s anger? Answer:Mayherne might infer that Vole is justifiably angry at being accused of taking an interest in Emily French’s money.

READING THE SELECTION Literary Element Motivation What predictions can you make at this point about Vole’s guilt or innocence in this case? Answer:Answers will vary. Some will say that Vole had strong motivation to kill Miss French—money. Others, like Mayherne, will believe Vole’s story and find that his sense of honor motivated him more often than his need for money.

READING THE SELECTION The Uncanny and Mysterious Read the text highlighted in tan on page 1189. So far, what is mysterious to you about Vole’s relationship with French? Answer:There was really no good reason for Vole to be interested in French except for her money.

READING THE SELECTION Reading Strategy Making Inferences About Characters Read the seventh complete paragraph on page 1189. What can you infer about Mayherne from his reasoning here? Answer:Mayherne wants to believe that Vole is innocent. You could also infer that Mayherne knows something about human psychology from his comments about “the mentality of elderly ladies.”

READING THE SELECTION Reading Strategy Making Inferences About Characters Read the sixth paragraph on page 1190 of your textbook. What can you infer about Vole from his reaction here? Answer:Vole suddenly understands why he has been arrested for the murder—because he did indeed have a motive for killing French.

READING THE SELECTION Literary Element Motivation Read the text highlighted in purple on page 1190. What does Vole say motivates Mackenzie? What else might motivate her? Answer:Vole says Mackenzie is motivated by her loyalty or is just confused. Mackenzie could also be motivated by her own desire for the woman’s inheritance.

READING THE SELECTION Literary Element Motivation Read the fourth complete paragraph in the second column on page 1190 of your textbook. Given Voles and Mackenzie’s possible motivations, whose explanation do you believe? Answer:Some couldbelieve Vole is innocent because he seems not to have known about the will; others might wonder what motivation Mackenzie would have for lying about his character

READING THE SELECTION Reading Strategy Making Inferences About Characters Read the text highlighted in blue on page 1190.Which details here might lead you to infer that Vole is telling the truth? Answer:Vole acts as if he truly is a man who has identified the evidence that will prove his innocence.

READING THE SELECTION The Uncanny and Mysterious Read the first column on page 1192.Does the situation Mayherne describes seem mysterious to you? Answer:Somemight find it odd that a married man would visit an unmarried woman whom he has described as one who takes “violent fancies” to people. Some might think it perfectly natural for Vole to visit French alone if he saw her as a motherly figure.

READING THE SELECTION Literary Element Motivation Read the text highlighted in purple on page 1192. How does this information suggest a motivation for murder?

READING THE SELECTION Literary Element Answer:If Vole did know that French wanted to marry him, he might have believed that the only way he could get her money was to marry her—or kill her. Christie, through Mayherne, brings up one motivation after another that Vole may have had to kill French.

READING THE SELECTION Literary Element Motivation Read the text highlighted in purple on page 1192.How does Vole hold up under these accusations? Answer: He reacts emotionally but then becomes rational. The way his logical arguments win out over his emotional reactions may be one reason Mr. Mayherne believes he is innocent.

READING THE SELECTION Literary Element Motivation Read the text highlighted in purple on page 1193. Vole just said he and his wife had no maid. What motivation might he have for not mentioning this charwoman?

READING THE SELECTION Literary Element Answer: Perhaps the charwoman knows something incriminating about Vole that he doesn’t want Mayherne to know. Also, if Vole was motivated to lie about the maid in order to hide incriminating evidence, perhaps he is hiding other evidence as well.

READING THE SELECTION The Uncanny and Mysterious Read the text highlighted in tan on page 1193. What is so mysterious to Mayherne about this woman? Answer:She looks exotic, she acts strange, and she is very quiet. Mayherne is unsettled by her.

READING THE SELECTION The Uncanny and Mysterious Read the text highlighted in tan on page 1193. What is it exactly that he does not understand about Vole’s wife? Answer:Perhaps he is unsure of understanding someone from a different culture, or perhaps he is intimidated by her beauty.

READING THE SELECTION Reading Strategy Making Inferences About Characters Read the text highlighted in blue on page 1194.What is Mayherne most likely to infer from these questions? Answer:Mayherne is most likely to infer that the woman wants to protect Vole.

READING THE SELECTION Literary Element Motivation Read the last paragraph on page 1194 of your textbook. What might motivate Romaine to make such a statement? Answer: She has decided not to ally herself with her husband, a fact she communicates by her demeaning tone and her use of the word “stupid” to describe Vole and perhaps Mayherne for allying himself with her husband and/or for believing his story.

READING THE SELECTION Literary Element Motivation Read the text highlighted in purple on page 1195. What is the woman’s motivation for making this statement? Answer:She wants Mayherne to know that she has no real motive for protecting Vole and that she may have a motive for despising him.

READING THE SELECTION Reading Strategy Making Inferences About Characters Read the text highlighted in blue on page 1195.What inferences can you draw about Mayherne’s character based on this comment? Answer:You may say that Mayherne, rightly or wrongly, trusts his intuition. You may also say that he remains firm about his beliefs in spite of new information.

READING THE SELECTION Literary Element Motivation Read the text highlighted in purple on page 1196.What motivation does Mackenzie have for pinning the crime on Vole? Answer:Mackenzie is “attached” to French’s nephew; perhaps she fancies marrying him after he inherits French’s money.

READING THE SELECTION Reading Strategy Making Inferences About Characters Read the text highlighted in blue on page 1197.What inference might you make about this woman, based on her appearance? Answer:You might say that there is something wrong with her face or that she does not want Mayherne to see who she is.

READING THE SELECTION Reading Strategy Making Inferences About Characters Read the text highlighted in blue on page 1197. What can you tell about Mayherne by his reaction to the face? Answer:While he thinks kindly of handsome, well-spoken people, he is automatically prejudiced against the poor and disfigured.

READING THE SELECTION Literary Element Motivation Read the first paragraph on page 1198 of your textbook. What is Mayherne’s motivation for giving the woman so much less money than she had asked for? Answer:He knows that she is poor and is counting on the fact that she won’t be able to resist the money he is offering.

READING THE SELECTION The Uncanny and Mysterious Read the text highlighted in tan on page 1198. What is mysterious about this woman, the circumstances, and the letters?

READING THE SELECTION Answer:Note that the woman appears out of nowhere, that Mayherne doesn’t know who she really is or even what she looks like, and that the place where she meets Mayherne may or may not be her real address. Furthermore, the letters could be real or fake, and the person to whom they were written could be real or fake.

READING THE SELECTION The Uncanny and Mysterious Read the text highlighted in tan on page 1199. What remains a mystery to Meyherne? Answer:Mayherne does not understand the nature of the relationship between Vole and Heilger. He thinks that Vole has done something terrible to Heilger but that he will never know what.

READING THE SELECTION Reading Strategy Making Inferences About Characters Read the first paragraph in the second column on page 1199 of your textbook.What conclusions do you draw here about Janet Mackenzie? Answer:You may say that you believe she made up the negative information about Vole, or you may say that she was indeed telling the truth about Vole but was bullied on the witness stand.

UNIT 6, Part 2 The Uncanny and Mysterious