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Annotations are not:
- copying the brief description from somewhere else
Annotate That
Database summary: Interprets on the attempts of suicide by characters in the story 'The Sledding Accident,' written by Edith Wharton. Indication of weakness from the character named Ethan; Role of Matrie Siver as protector and shelterer; Representation of a domestic community.
Your annotation: This article mentions two major ideas about the sledding accident in Ethan Frome. First, that the insistence of sitting forward by Ehtan Frome is a way to protect Mattie Silver. Second that the real incident upon this chapter was based -- the 1904 Court House Hill sledding accident -- led to Edith Wharton working with a survivor of the accident. When she consulted the woman, Miss Spencer, she found that the person who volunteered to guide the sled -- Miss Crosby -- was killed after several trips down the hill, because she volunteered to guide the sled. The novelist's research proves that the forward position was more dangerous. That was why Wharton wrote the paragraph where they switch positions.
Why?: You are connecting the two ideas, the idea of the paragraph's intent and the research done by the author, found in this article. You're providing synthesis -- a brief complete summary -- and analysis -- why it matters.
Annotate This
Database summary: In the following essay, Scharnhorst provides an alternative interpretation of the character of Mattie Silver as a conniving temptress.
Your annotation: This article talks about how Mattie Silver looks to Ethan Frome as a protector. She does not desire him at all, instead weighing her options (including prostitution). She is frightened of being homeless. She wants to marry the Irish grocer. Mattie's fears that Zeena is unhappy with her causes her to shrink toward Ethan as a protector, as she did when the limb full of snow broke. Instead, the article says that Ethan is only imagining her attraction to him. All her rosy descriptions come from Ethan's mind, not her behaviors or words. The two words "feigned" and "illusion" as well as "seemed" on the night of their dinner further indicate that her attraction is all in his mind. She wants him to protect her, to be strong enough to kill them both, especially if Zeena would make her homeless. This article contends that Mattie Silver isn't the two-faced temptress.
Why?: Go ahead and give away the spoiler of the article. This annotation is meant to be revelatory about what's in the article, not keep it a secret.