(If you're looking for the project directions they're below. &, if you have not, don't forget to respond to the racism/ethnocentrism/imperialism in Heart of Darkness controversy with an intelligent blog comment.)
***In class today I forgot to give you the options for the next book.***
Each of these books picks up at least one theme from a book we have already read this year. As we read we'll be analyzing the book on its own and comparing it to what we've already read. If you want to take a look at any of these or want to get started on the reading stop by 2207 tomorrow. You'll choose a book on Wednesday. These are the books that GHS owns that are challenging, engaging, and speak to the themes we've been dealing with this year. (If you have another idea -- something of "literary merit" that you want to read -- bring it up in class on Wednesday.) (Further note: I'd like at least one other student to read the book too so you can carry on an analytical dialogue in the comment box.)
The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien
The Color Purple by Alice Walker
Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe
Beloved by Toni Morrison
Go Tell It on the Mountain by James Baldwin
Moby-Dick by Herman Melville
The Awakening by Kate Chopin
Equus by Peter Shaffer
Long Day's Journey into Night by Eugene O'Neill
The Theban Plays (Oedipus the King, Oedipus at Colonus, and Antigone) by Sophocles
Monday, March 29, 2010
Interact analytically and imaginatively with a text
Stage or Film a Scene (from either King Lear or Heart of Darkness)
* Each member of the group will watch at least three productions based on the play or novel.
* Each member of the group will write an annotated bibliography for the productions.
* Each member of the group will also write an essay responding to the other productions, especially with regard to the relationship between the versions and your understanding of the original text.
All of the above due Friday, April 16.
* Film or stage the scene. Thoughtful, imaginative use of theatrical elements is important.
* Write a behind-the-scenes newspaper article about the production. The article should include reflective quotations from every member of the group, discussing each person’s role and experience. The article should also discuss the relationship between your production and other versions.
The above due before the AP English Literature and Composition Test, May 6.
***or***
A Critical Blog for Future Students
* Each member of the group will read at least three critical essays about King Lear or Heart of Darkness.
* Each member of the group will write an annotated bibliography for the critical essays.
* Each member of the group will write her/his own essay in which s/he synthesizes her/his critical reading into her/his own (new) understanding of King Lear or Heart of Darkness. (This essay will have a works cited page.)
All of the above due Friday, April 16.
* Write a critique of at least two online help-for-students websites (Sparknotes, BookRags, etc.). (You will need a works cited page for this too.)
* Produce your own alternative "important quotations explained".
* Post all of the above on a blog of your own.
The above due before the AP English Literature and Composition Test, May 6.
* Each member of the group will watch at least three productions based on the play or novel.
* Each member of the group will write an annotated bibliography for the productions.
* Each member of the group will also write an essay responding to the other productions, especially with regard to the relationship between the versions and your understanding of the original text.
All of the above due Friday, April 16.
* Film or stage the scene. Thoughtful, imaginative use of theatrical elements is important.
* Write a behind-the-scenes newspaper article about the production. The article should include reflective quotations from every member of the group, discussing each person’s role and experience. The article should also discuss the relationship between your production and other versions.
The above due before the AP English Literature and Composition Test, May 6.
***or***
A Critical Blog for Future Students
* Each member of the group will read at least three critical essays about King Lear or Heart of Darkness.
* Each member of the group will write an annotated bibliography for the critical essays.
* Each member of the group will write her/his own essay in which s/he synthesizes her/his critical reading into her/his own (new) understanding of King Lear or Heart of Darkness. (This essay will have a works cited page.)
All of the above due Friday, April 16.
* Write a critique of at least two online help-for-students websites (Sparknotes, BookRags, etc.). (You will need a works cited page for this too.)
* Produce your own alternative "important quotations explained".
* Post all of the above on a blog of your own.
The above due before the AP English Literature and Composition Test, May 6.
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Responding to *Heart of Darkness*: Imperialism, Ethnocentrism, Racism, the so-called Noble Savage, etc.
Extend the Wednesday discussion in the comment box.
Respond to the novel itself.
Respond to the readings (Achebe, etc.)
Respond to your classmates and teacher.
Due by class time on Monday.
Respond to the novel itself.
Respond to the readings (Achebe, etc.)
Respond to your classmates and teacher.
Due by class time on Monday.
Friday, March 5, 2010
Reading Heart of Darkness
Reading Heart of Darkness
Comments on chapter one (page 15-55) are due by pumpkin time on Tuesday, March 9.
Comments on chapter two (page 56-90) are due by pumpkin time on Friday, March 12.
Comments on chapter three (page 91-124) are due by pumpkin time on Tuesday, March 16.
Imperialism in relation to hypocrisy, cruelty, absurdity, madness, and evil. (Is Marlow suggesting something about civilization, about human nature?)
What is the significance of darkness, fog, forest, and many haunting but inscrutable (mysterious, uncertain, dark, foggy, impenetrable) aspects of observed physical reality? Think about the connection (or lack of connection) between the physical and the psychological. Is Conrad suggesting something about existence, about the relationship between the mind and the world, about the relationship between self and other?)
What is significant about the role of women, about the role of race? Think about power, knowledge, control.
What is significant about the role of the river? What is its relationship to time, to space, to mind?
Write a 300+ word response by each of the above dates (three total). You can write insightfully about any aspect of the novel but I've put suggestions above.
Comments on chapter one (page 15-55) are due by pumpkin time on Tuesday, March 9.
Comments on chapter two (page 56-90) are due by pumpkin time on Friday, March 12.
Comments on chapter three (page 91-124) are due by pumpkin time on Tuesday, March 16.
Imperialism in relation to hypocrisy, cruelty, absurdity, madness, and evil. (Is Marlow suggesting something about civilization, about human nature?)
What is the significance of darkness, fog, forest, and many haunting but inscrutable (mysterious, uncertain, dark, foggy, impenetrable) aspects of observed physical reality? Think about the connection (or lack of connection) between the physical and the psychological. Is Conrad suggesting something about existence, about the relationship between the mind and the world, about the relationship between self and other?)
What is significant about the role of women, about the role of race? Think about power, knowledge, control.
What is significant about the role of the river? What is its relationship to time, to space, to mind?
Write a 300+ word response by each of the above dates (three total). You can write insightfully about any aspect of the novel but I've put suggestions above.
Reading and Responding to King Lear
Reading King Lear
1. Take notes on the following motifs by marking down the motif(s), speaker(s), act, scene, lines. For example, parenthood/sex/unfaithfulness, Gloucester, 1.1.8-1.1.24; Goneril, Regan, Cordelia, saying v. truth, 1.1.60+; Cordelia, Lear, “nothing” 1.1.96; Lear, appetite/savagery 1.1.131, 136; Kent, loyalty, madness, flattery, wisdom, emptiness, hollowness 161-174
What is the relationship between literal and figurative imagery, on the one hand, and thematic development on the other?
Is what is said understood? Is what is said true? (flattery, lies, etc.)
Is what is seen or (otherwise sensed: touched, smelled) understood? Is it true?
(Eyes are very important!)
What is natural? What is unnatural (or monstrous)?
What is sane? What is mad?
What is wisdom? (What is reasonable?) What is foolishness? (What is excessive?)
What is loyalty and faithfulness? What is betrayal and unfaithfulness?
What is kindness? What is cruelty?
How are these related to age and youth?
How are these related to parents and children?
How are these related to rank and status?
How are these related to property and wealth?
How are these related to the line between animals and humans?
How are these related to storms and calms?
How are these related to planets, stars, fates?
What is the significance of nothingness, emptiness, hollowness, loss, and nakedness in the play?
What is the significance of eating, appetites, consuming in the play?
What is the significance of sex and lust in the play?
What is the significance of blood (both as a signifier of family and of violence)?
All of the aforementioned motifs interact, weaving in and out of each other to form a matrix of association. So when Lear denies Cordelia her inheritance, he doesn't say "get away from me; you're no longer my daughter" (in Elizabethan English and iambic pentameter). He evokes several motifs and images: "Thy truth, then, be thy dower" "For by the sacred radiance of the sun... by all the operation of the orbs" "paternal care" "property of blood" "gorge his appetite" "avoid my sight" (1.1.120-139).
Also be on the look out for inversions: the natural becoming unnatural, the truth that is false, the sight that is a lie, the fool that is wise, etc. & look out for parallels. ("Monster" is tagged on Cordelia and Edgar in Act One.) Look out for motif-words with ambiguous multiple or shifting meanings (especially "nature"). Listen for playfulness and for echoes. Figurative associations often haunt the literal meanings. And repetitions often reveal the play's obsessions.
2. On the blog analyze at least two interrelated motifs. Your comments should refer to at least two specific passages (at least one passage for each motif). Demonstrate your understanding of the play so far by linking the motifs and the passages to each other and to the overall events and themes. Again, we're using close attention to small particulars to illuminate the whole. At the beginning of your post include your name, name the motifs, and quote the passages (include act.scene.line). Your insightful well-supported commentary comes next.
Comments on act one are due by pumpkin time on Monday, March 8.
Comments on acts two are due by pumpkin time on Wednesday, March 10.
Comments on acts three are due by pumpkin time on Monday, March 15.
Comments on acts four are due by pumpkin time on Wednesday, March 17.
Comments on acts five are due by pumpkin time on Friday, March 19.
1. Take notes on the following motifs by marking down the motif(s), speaker(s), act, scene, lines. For example, parenthood/sex/unfaithfulness, Gloucester, 1.1.8-1.1.24; Goneril, Regan, Cordelia, saying v. truth, 1.1.60+; Cordelia, Lear, “nothing” 1.1.96; Lear, appetite/savagery 1.1.131, 136; Kent, loyalty, madness, flattery, wisdom, emptiness, hollowness 161-174
What is the relationship between literal and figurative imagery, on the one hand, and thematic development on the other?
Is what is said understood? Is what is said true? (flattery, lies, etc.)
Is what is seen or (otherwise sensed: touched, smelled) understood? Is it true?
(Eyes are very important!)
What is natural? What is unnatural (or monstrous)?
What is sane? What is mad?
What is wisdom? (What is reasonable?) What is foolishness? (What is excessive?)
What is loyalty and faithfulness? What is betrayal and unfaithfulness?
What is kindness? What is cruelty?
How are these related to age and youth?
How are these related to parents and children?
How are these related to rank and status?
How are these related to property and wealth?
How are these related to the line between animals and humans?
How are these related to storms and calms?
How are these related to planets, stars, fates?
What is the significance of nothingness, emptiness, hollowness, loss, and nakedness in the play?
What is the significance of eating, appetites, consuming in the play?
What is the significance of sex and lust in the play?
What is the significance of blood (both as a signifier of family and of violence)?
All of the aforementioned motifs interact, weaving in and out of each other to form a matrix of association. So when Lear denies Cordelia her inheritance, he doesn't say "get away from me; you're no longer my daughter" (in Elizabethan English and iambic pentameter). He evokes several motifs and images: "Thy truth, then, be thy dower" "For by the sacred radiance of the sun... by all the operation of the orbs" "paternal care" "property of blood" "gorge his appetite" "avoid my sight" (1.1.120-139).
Also be on the look out for inversions: the natural becoming unnatural, the truth that is false, the sight that is a lie, the fool that is wise, etc. & look out for parallels. ("Monster" is tagged on Cordelia and Edgar in Act One.) Look out for motif-words with ambiguous multiple or shifting meanings (especially "nature"). Listen for playfulness and for echoes. Figurative associations often haunt the literal meanings. And repetitions often reveal the play's obsessions.
2. On the blog analyze at least two interrelated motifs. Your comments should refer to at least two specific passages (at least one passage for each motif). Demonstrate your understanding of the play so far by linking the motifs and the passages to each other and to the overall events and themes. Again, we're using close attention to small particulars to illuminate the whole. At the beginning of your post include your name, name the motifs, and quote the passages (include act.scene.line). Your insightful well-supported commentary comes next.
Comments on act one are due by pumpkin time on Monday, March 8.
Comments on acts two are due by pumpkin time on Wednesday, March 10.
Comments on acts three are due by pumpkin time on Monday, March 15.
Comments on acts four are due by pumpkin time on Wednesday, March 17.
Comments on acts five are due by pumpkin time on Friday, March 19.
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
As I Lay Dying Essay
Distortion
Flannery O’Connor, a 20th century southern writer, has commented in a few places about the purpose of grotesque distortion:
“I am interested in making a good case for distortion because I am coming to believe it is the only way to make people see.”
“I have to make the reader feel, in his bones if nowhere else, that something is going on here that counts. Distortion in this case is an instrument; exaggeration has a purpose, and the whole structure of the story or novel has been made what it is because of belief. This is not the kind of distortion that destroys; it is the kind that reveals, or should reveal.”
Write an essay in which you “make a good case for distortion” in As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner. How do distortions – grotesques, exaggerations – help Faulkner to reveal what would otherwise remain hidden? How do distortions contribute to the effectiveness of As I Lay Dying?
***
Madness
One definition of madness is “mental delusion or the eccentric behavior arising from it.” But Emily Dickinson wrote:
Much Madness is divinest Sense --
To a discerning Eye --
Much Sense -- the starkest Madness --
‘Tis the Majority
In this, as All, prevail --
Assent -- and you are sane --
Demur -- you're straightway dangerous --
And handled with a Chain --
Novelists and playwrights have often seen madness with a “discerning Eye.” How does madness or irrational behavior play an important role in a novel or play? (Write a well-organized essay) explaining what this delusion or eccentric behavior consists of and how it might be judged reasonable. Explain the significance of the “madness” to the work as a whole.
***
Semitransparent Envelope
Virginia Woolf wrote that “life is a luminous halo, a semitransparent envelope surrounding us from the beginning of consciousness to the end.” Explain how William Faulkner shows the "semitransparent envelope" around his characters and how this envelope of consciousness is significant to the work as a whole.
1000+ words, twelve-point font, double spaced
Flannery O’Connor, a 20th century southern writer, has commented in a few places about the purpose of grotesque distortion:
“I am interested in making a good case for distortion because I am coming to believe it is the only way to make people see.”
“I have to make the reader feel, in his bones if nowhere else, that something is going on here that counts. Distortion in this case is an instrument; exaggeration has a purpose, and the whole structure of the story or novel has been made what it is because of belief. This is not the kind of distortion that destroys; it is the kind that reveals, or should reveal.”
Write an essay in which you “make a good case for distortion” in As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner. How do distortions – grotesques, exaggerations – help Faulkner to reveal what would otherwise remain hidden? How do distortions contribute to the effectiveness of As I Lay Dying?
***
Madness
One definition of madness is “mental delusion or the eccentric behavior arising from it.” But Emily Dickinson wrote:
Much Madness is divinest Sense --
To a discerning Eye --
Much Sense -- the starkest Madness --
‘Tis the Majority
In this, as All, prevail --
Assent -- and you are sane --
Demur -- you're straightway dangerous --
And handled with a Chain --
Novelists and playwrights have often seen madness with a “discerning Eye.” How does madness or irrational behavior play an important role in a novel or play? (Write a well-organized essay) explaining what this delusion or eccentric behavior consists of and how it might be judged reasonable. Explain the significance of the “madness” to the work as a whole.
***
Semitransparent Envelope
Virginia Woolf wrote that “life is a luminous halo, a semitransparent envelope surrounding us from the beginning of consciousness to the end.” Explain how William Faulkner shows the "semitransparent envelope" around his characters and how this envelope of consciousness is significant to the work as a whole.
1000+ words, twelve-point font, double spaced
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