Embarrassment of Riches

• Engels
• Middelbare school
• havo
• Leerjaar 5

Embarrassment of Riches

Embarrassment of Riches by George Monbiot, published in The Guardian, September 2019

Do you agree with the following statements: 'For the sake of life on Earth, we should set an upper limit on the money any person can amass.' & ' Life on earth depends on moderation.'

What is then the meaning of Monbiot's text? Did the text change your opinion (compared with the opinion you had before you had started your reading).

Identify the tone and mood conveyed in the text. Support your choice with relevant examples.

TONE

rebuking, reprimanding (lines 18 - 21)

reflecting (61 - 63)

resentful (84  85)

MOOD

foreboding (85 - 86)

intriguing 

resentful or affirmative

Which textual features does Monbiot use in his essay, and how do these features help shape the meaning which the author intends to convey? 

neologism

alliteration

rhetorical appeals (pathos, ethos, logos)

rhetorical questions or hypophora (choose a correct one)

a sentence structure pattern: subject + verb + object

personification

simple sentence / a one word sentence

conditional sentences (realistic & unrealistic)

paradox

oxymoron

Conditional sentences

Realistic conditional sentence: 

Lines 62 - 63: If we succeed in this task, we inevitably demolish our life support system. / Line 82: If everyone is to flourish, we cannot offer rich. 

Unrealistic conditional sentence: 

Lines 63 - 64: Were the poor to live like the rich, and the rich to live like the oligarchs, we would destroy everything. 

Vocabulary

amass (l. 2)                                 oligarch (l. 64)

ecocide (l.9)                               limitarianism (l. 75)

convene (l. 23)                          blasphemous (l. 78)

surplus (l.29)                              flourish (l. 82)

conquer (l. 34)                           moderation (l. 87)

suppress (l. 38)                         moderate

anathema (l. 55)

demolish (l. 63)

IB portfolio: Embarrassment of riches

Include the analysis of the text: Embarrassment of Riches in your IB portfolio.

write two short paragraphs in which your analysi:

1. your conceptual understanding of the text

2. global issues conveyed in the text