what they say of one another?

INTERPRETATION.--It is fair to suppose in every novel that the author
has had a more or less distinct purpose in writing it. It may be to
present in life-like pictures some dramatic events in history; or to
paint vivid scenes that illustrate the spirit of an age; or to hold up
ideals of bravery, patriotism, patience, devotion, or some other virtue;
or to show the working out of some great truth or principle of life.

What seems to you the purpose of the author in _Ivanhoe_? What ideals of
character does he hold up? What service has he done for the reader of
history?

METHOD OF NARRATION.--Who tells the story? Would it be difficult to
rearrange the plan so that Ivanhoe or some other character should tell
it? Why?

Does the narrator speak from the standpoint of one who somehow or other
knows all that the characters do and think and feel, or of one who
recounts merely his own feelings and what he sees and hears?

Compare _Ivanhoe_ in this respect with _The Vicar of Wakefield_, or with
some other novel.

STYLE.--Does Scott attempt to reproduce the language of a time other
than his own? Does he introduce dialect? Do the characters talk
naturally as we should expect persons of different birth and education
to talk, or do they talk alike?

Note how Scott describes an outdoor scene (p. 6); a man (p. 7); a scene
of action (pp. 300-306). Try to imitate his methods in descriptions of
your own.

Note the parts of the story where the movement of events is very rapid
(pp. 322-330), and others where the author introduces description or
exposition (pp. 148-152) to retard the movement.

Do you find the sentences natural and easy, or formal and hard to read?
Are there many unfamiliar words?

THE LIFE AND CHARACTER OF THE AUTHOR.--What are the main facts of
Scott's boyhood? his education? his professional career? his success as
a poet? his change from poetry to prose? his success as a novelist? his
financial distress? his struggle to meet the demands of the law and of
his own honor?

Would you judge from _Ivanhoe_ that the author was a man of learning? a
lover of nature? fond of social life? fond of animals? fond of children?

Write what you think we have reason to believe of Scott's character from
reading this book.

OUTLINE FOR THE STUDY OF THE VICAR OF WAKEFIELD

I. Preparation

It is well to suggest to pupils who have read _Ivanhoe_ and now turn to
the _Vicar of Wakefield_ that th