“Ginger for the Heart”
This short story takes place in California during the mid 1800s. A Chinese- American girl named Yenna falls in love with a young man. When the man must go away to work in the gold fields, they promise to wait for each other. As a symbol of her love, Yenna gives the man a large ginger root. After four years, the man returns. Yenna is surprised that the ginger is still fresh. The man explains that he always kept the ginger close to his heart and his sweat and tears kept it from drying out. The man asks Yenna to come away with him, but Yenna cannot leave her blind father. The man angrily throws the ginger in the fire, but it doesn’t burn. They see this as a sign that they must always stay together.
Literary Word
symbol: is anything that stands for or represents something else. Authors use symbols to create an added level of meaning.
Academic Words
abstract = existing only as an idea or quality rather than as something concrete you can see and touch
➡ The dove is a symbol for the abstract ideas of peace and love.
devoted = giving someone or something a lot of love, concern, or attention
➡ The woman was very devoted to her parents and spent a lot of time taking care of them.
mutual = felt by two or more people toward one another
➡ The two men had a mutual respect for each other.
significance = importance or meaning of something
➡ We could not understand the significance of our father’s watch until he told us the story of how he got it.
Word Study: The /z/ Sound
The /z/ sound is found in words that have the letters z, x, and s. The /z/ sound may be at the beginning or end of syllables.
The letter s often stands for the /z/ sound. The letter s is often pronounced /z/ when it is after a voiced consonant. The third-person singular (-s) and plurals (-s, -es) are usually pronounced with the /z/ sound. The letter z always stands for the /z/ sound.
Highlighted Words
ebony, hard black wood
discern, see
New World, America
extinguished, put out
epidemic, a large number of cases of a particular infectious disease happening at
the same time
nimbly, quickly; skillfully
calloused, covered in thick, hard skin
Compound and Complex Sentences
A compound sentence contains two independent clauses. They are usually connected with a coordinating conjunction, such as and, but, or, or so. Use a comma before the conjunction. A comma is not necessary if the independent clauses are short.
A complex sentence contains an independent clause and one or more dependent clauses. The two clauses are connected with a subordinating conjunction, such as while, though, because, or until. If the dependent clause begins the sentence, use a comma.
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