McGuffey's Fifth Eclectic Reader, Revised Edition · Lesson CXIII · Part 11: Country, sea and the great classics

119. A Picture of Human Life (Samuel Johnson)

Goal: Your child retells the story of Obidah's journey and explains how it is a "picture" of a person's life.

⏱ About 40 minutes · 6 steps

Open it at the Internet Archive ↗

You'll need

  • The book, open to this lesson
  • A notebook or lined paper and a pencil

What's in the book

An allegory by Samuel Johnson. Obidah sets out at dawn full of hope, leaves the straight road for a pleasant shady path, wanders until night and a storm overtake him, and finds a hermit, who tells him that "human life is the journey of a day" and that it is never too late to begin again. Definitions follow.

The lesson, step by step

  1. About the author

    The book says Samuel Johnson (b. 1709, d. 1784) was born in Lichfield, England, the son of a bookseller, had to leave Oxford because of poverty, and lived most of his life in London. His works include his "Dictionary" of the English language, "The Rambler" and "Rasselas."

  2. Words and meanings

    The words and meanings are printed at the end of the lesson. Read a few together before the reading, so they don't trip your child up:

    Caravansary, a kind of inn in the East, where caravans (or large companies of traders) rest at night.

    Deviations, wanderings from one's course.

    Mitigation, abatement, the act of rendering less severe.

    Labyrinth, a place full of winding passages.

    Your child reads each meaning aloud, then uses the word in a sentence of their own.

  3. Read aloud

    Your child reads the story aloud. Obidah starts out like this:

    He was fresh and vigorous with rest; he was animated with hope; he was incited by desire;

    Then read the hermit's words very carefully:

    Remember, my son, that human life is the journey of a day.

  4. Talk about it

    SayWhy did Obidah leave the main road? Did he mean to go wrong?

    SayThe hermit says the day is like a whole life. What is the morning? The pleasant path? The storm?

    SayWhat hope does the hermit give at the end?

  5. Tell it back

    Close the book.

    SayTell me the story of Obidah's day, then tell me what it means.

    Older children can write their narration in a short paragraph instead. Don't correct while they talk; just listen.

  6. Copywork

    Your child copies:

    Remember, my son, that human life is the journey of a day.

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