How are your Quarter 2 books coming along? What are you reading? What are your initial impression? Are you seeing themes emerge to write about for your essay? Those of you reading the same novels, use this forum to help one another out a bit!
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Alright, I know you all have strong opinions about Victor, the Creature, and the pair's respective "crimes." So, is the Creature really a monster? And what about Victor?
Tell me about Robert Walton and the stranger, and how both characters fit the mold of the Byronic hero. You may also wish to discuss your reactions to these characters. How do you feel about them, their motivations, their emotions, and etc.? Also, does this bromance remind you of Gatsby and Nick in any way? Our study of short stories in Unit 2 should give you a good basis for reading literature carefully and critically, like a pro! I hope you feel like you've gotten this good foundation after reading some exceptional works of short fiction, and I'm wondering which concepts have stuck with you most from this unit. Consider what you learned in our study of short fiction and share with your classmates.
Perhaps you could also bring any questions to the table about concepts you are still having a difficult time understanding. For example, allegory always seems to be something difficult to "get," and people often mix up mood and tone. Classmates, help one another out to understand these literary concepts before we move on to everyone's favorite novel reading of the year, Frankenstein. "Once Upon a Time" is unique in many ways. Discuss the power of this allegory. What is the story meant to represent? How does imagery play a key role in the disturbing nature of the story? How does tone contribute similarly, and does it in any way remind you of "The Lottery"? What do you make of the frame narrative? What exactly is Gordimer discussing in the opening frame? How much of what she says there is metaphor? A short story, but rich with detail, "Once Upon a Time" is worthy of a careful examination. Put on your thinking caps and get discussing! It's time to share how your Quarter 1 Book is progressing! Fun!
So, tell us: what are you reading? Have you gotten very far into the book? Do you like it or not so far? How come? Any characters that you are loving or hating? Remember: no spoilers! Okay, I love this beautifully tragic story of Wing Biddlebaum, and part of the reason for this is the lovely writing from Sherwood Anderson. I would like you to share with your classmates some of the successful literary techniques used by Anderson, but I don't want you to just stop after telling me that Wing's hands are compared to the wings of a bird. I want you to tell me why this matters. How do literary techniques enhance the meaning of the story?
Consider metaphor, simile, symbolism, juxtaposition, and irony, to start. Psst... doing this is what you have to do in your timed writings on the AP exam. You've got to be able to break a piece down, stating why tone, for instance, matters to the characters, plot, and selection as a whole. And practice makes perfect!!! Feel free to discuss any of the questions listed here, or you may post your own idea relating to the story. 1. Consider the symbolism of the names in the story, such as Mr. Summers, Mr. Graves, Old Man Warner, Tessie Hutchinson. Why did Shirley Jackson name her characters as such? 2. Does it freak you out at all that the setting of this story seems to be any-small-town-USA? If so, what makes the setting so creepy? 3. In my opinion, both tone and mood are essential to convey Jackson's message. Do you agree? In an effort to review literary terminology and prepare for the AP exam, you may wish to define these elements of literature and explain how you view both throughout "The Lottery." Let's try to break down "Everyday Use" by thinking about why a quilt is so meaningful. As much as we can joke about English teachers reading symbolism into everything, this story really seems to support the idea that sometimes a simple thing isn't just a thing--that we, as beings with strong emotions and memories, often attribute special meanings to the objects around us.
Dee is horrified at the possibility of Maggie putting the quilts in the story to "everyday use," but to Mama and Maggie, that is exactly what the quilts are for--to be put to use. Dee leaves believing that Mama and Maggie don't understand their own heritage, but her plans for the quilts and even other family heirlooms (like the butter dasher) suggest that Dee's comment shows how ironically out of the loop she is in terms of family history. How do the characters in this story differ in their view of the quilts? What do they represent? What does Dee misunderstand about the quilts? How does the title, "Everyday Use," help us understand the symbolism and the clash between Mama and Dee over the meaning of heritage? Rainsford would really like to think that he is different from General Zaroff, especially in terms of the two characters' differing views on savagery and humanity. However, judging by what we know of Rainsford (his profession, his hobby, his philosophy as revealed through his conversation with Whitney), he may not be so far from Zaroff. When you examine the ending of the story, this point seems to be proven even more so. What do you make of this? Is Rainsford really better than Zaroff? Does he have a stronger sense of morality? Is he more civilized and humane? And maybe we should also consider what exactly "The Most Dangerous Game" is saying about the tendencies of human nature. Think about that conversation between Rainsford and Whitney about the hunter vs. the hunted, the feelings of fear, and consider what makes us so different from the animals we hunt. |
Welcome!This blog is an extension of the AP Lit & Comp classroom. Remember to keep an open mind as you read the comments of others and to use this as an opportunity to continue conversation about the literature we read in class. Happy blogging! Archives
March 2016
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