Due Wednesday, June 8

Read King's Letter from a Birmingham Jail.

Pay careful attention to his use of rhetorical appeals, allusions, syntax, structure, and other persuasive techniques.

Which parts of the letter do you find most effective?

You may wish to print a copy and bring it to class with sections annotated and highlighted to help with discussion.

Extra Credit Information

Due Friday, June 10th by 2:30:

1. Obtain and read the Dos Passos passage after reading my preface:

Preface:

John Dos Passos was an influential Modern writer at the same time as Hemingway, Faulkner, and Fitzgerald. Like Hemingway, his experiences in World War I contributed greatly to his writing. One of his most famous works, the U.S.A. trilogy, traces the lives of several characters in the years preceding, during, and following World War I. In addition to telling the stories of these characters’ lives, he includes several “biography” sections in this work, in most cases of famous Americans. The biography he presents in this section is of a different sort. Read this section carefully and answer the following questions in detail using specific quotations from the text. The excerpt is challenging, so you may find that you need to read it more than once.


2. Think about and read the following questions:


1. Identify several instances in which Dos Passos uses language/structure in a unique way. What overall effects does this use of language have on the piece?
2. What insight does this piece give into society of this time period in regards to racial relations?
3. How is war depicted in this passage?
4. What are some ironies that this excerpt addresses?
5. What role does repetition play in this passage?
6. How does this passage’s style and content compare to the writings of Hemingway, Faulkner, and Fitzgerald? (Be sure to address all three.)
7. What is your personal opinion of this passage? (Reactions, thoughts, comments, etc.)

Assignments to work on

Create a 4 quadrant chart in which you write down the following information for Fitzgerald, Hemingway, Steinbeck, and Faulkner

Location(s)
Types of Characters
Common Themes
Stylistic Observations
A defining Quotation

This will be turned in along with your Rough Draft and Final Copy of your Author Imitation Essay.

Author Imitation Assignment

Rough Draft Due 6/1 (Please put your name only on the back of the last page)
Final Copy Due 6/3

Your task is to write a short story in the style of one of the major 4 Modern American authors we have studied this semester. You have randomly been assigned your author based on your last name. If you want to switch with someone with another author, you both must come in and get my formal permission to switch authors.

The alphabet breakdown:

A-Free: Hemingway
Gloe-Kuce: Faulker
Kuch-Misc: Fitzgerald
Og-Van: Steinback

Your short story should be between 3-4 pages in length (hopefully closer to 3.) You must imitate your author in regards to:

- Subject matter
- Setting
- Characters
- Themes
- Style (diction, syntax, figurative language, etc.)

Other students will be reading your story and attempting to guess which author you are imitating. Therefore, give your story a real (and hopefully significant title) as opposed to calling it “Hemingway imitation story.” Also, this is why for your rough draft, you name should occur only on the back of the last page.

Due Thursday, May 18th

Read "Flight" by Steinbeck.

(This story is available in your textbook, so the link is provided just in case you forgot to take your book home.)

Due Tuesday, May 10

Sorry for the late post. Let you group members know the stories are now online.

Read "Hills like White Elephants" and "A Clean well-lighted Place."

Suggested thinking topics:

Hills: What can be inferred about the relationship between the man and the woman? How does the extensive use of dialog convey some of these dynamics?

Place: Alienation and isolation? Importance of paragraph beginning "'Good night', the other said" in terms of style and content?

English Reading Due Monday, May 9th! English!!!

WELCOME BACK!

For Monday, please read the story "In Another Country" by Ernest Hemingway. (722-727).

Pay special attention to:

- The role of technology
- Existential elements (alienation, creation of essence, anxiety)
- Symbolism of characters

(In other words, if I ask a question about these topics in class, you should be able to point to specific quotations and add your own thoughts.)

Here is the complete text (I think) just in case you've forgotten your book.)

Harlem Renaissance Assignment Due 4/22

All of the poems for the Harlem Renaissance activity can be found here.

Remember a reaction for each collection of poems includes:

Author(s):
Titles of Poems:

Paragraph addressing the following:

-Observations about STYLE
- Observations about CONTENT
- Comparison to previous author(s)
- Personal reactions (yes, this part can be written using informal voice.)

Due April 4

Due: Importance Paragraph!

I recommend also working on:

- Making sure you have 4 viable importance quotations.
- Beginning the process of compiling Works Cited and Works Consulted pages.

I have moved information on MLA formatting to the top of the Research Paper Page. The link to "Dr. Abel Scribe" has particularly good examples of MLS guidelines that are organized well.

Due 2/28 (Monday after Spring Break)

Due: Discuss Gatsby 5-6

Due: Importance thinking activity. (See research paper site for explanation.)

NOTE: The "Thinking Activity" will only be complete for 2 or your importance quotations. Use this time to research additional importance quotations if necessary.

You may certainly complete the activity for all 4 of your quotations if you choose, but only 2 will be required to earn full points on the activity.

Due 3/15

Read "Winter Dreams" in your text book.

Link here if needed.

Make sure to apply discussion points from today's class as you do your reading.

Also, note the Great Gatsby reading calendar on the side.

Due Friday, 3/5

(Not Thursday, oops)

Read the "Jilting of Granny Weatherall" paying careful attention to elements of Modernism such as existentialism, the role of the narrator and point of view, experimentation, etc.

Due Monday, Feb 28

Nothing, really. Just keep working on your importance cards.

If you were absent today, we read and discussed The Valley of Childish Things by Edith Wharton. Please have it read for next time, so you'll know what's going on when we finish our discussion. (You'll need to use the link; it's not in our text.)

“Valley of Childish Things”
Discussion Questions

Note: An allegory is a narrative with a symbolic meaning beyond the literal story.

1. What elements of the “Valley of Childish Things” suggest that this story should be interpreted allegorically?

2. What symbolism can be found in the descriptions of the environment and surroundings?

3. What are some of the possible interpretations of this story on an allegorical level?

4. What traits of mankind does this story seem to comment on?

5. What significance can be assigned to the man’s final scolding at the end that she “should have taken better care of her complexion?

Importance Card work...

Work on reading articles for your importance. After this weekend, you should have generated at least 2-3 quotation cards that should work for your importance.

Write a 1 1/2 page reflection on the play Trifles, by Susan Glaspell. Consider such things as symbolism, gender identity, character motivations, parallel themes, or whatever else strikes your fancy. There is no structure requirement, but maintain a formal academic voice, so no "I" or "you."



Mr. Wright (dead)
Mrs. Wright (in jail)
Mr. Henderson (attorney-Liam)
Mr. Hale (Farmer-Nizar)
Mr. Peters (Sheriff-Daniel)
Mrs. Peters (Ashlyn)
Mrs. Hale (Deirdre)

Due 2/16

Study for your history test.

Begin thinking about what your importance will be for your research paper.

Due 2/4

I almost forgot to post this! Hopefully, if you checked earlier, you'll check back again. Pass the word on to your history groups to let people know it's now available.

Directions: For each sentence, identify the sentence type and add any necessary punctuation. You may find it helpful to break down and label the component pieces of the sentences as phrases, IC's, and DC's.

Simple, Compound, Complex, or Compound-Complex Practice: Assignment

Due 2/3

The packet explaining phrases, clauses, and different sentence types is available here. You do not need to read beyond the phrases and clauses section to complete the homework.

Practicing Phrases and Clauses worksheet.

Additional explanations and exercises are available on Lesson 3 at the Sprague Online Writing Center

Due Wednesday, 2/2

Also, please print the following worksheet and follow the directions at the top. Bring the completed worksheet to class for Friday. (Yes, I know there are like 5 number 7's but it's really not worth the hassle of changing it.)

If you are having a difficult time with parts of speech, you can find additional information and practice exercises on the parts of speech page of the Online Sprague Writing Center.

Due Tuesday, 1/18

Make sure to read "To Build a Fire" by Jack London. An e-text is available here in case you didn't take your book home for the weekend.

Semester 1 final information is available to the left. Note that there the essay component will be thesis/antithesis structure.

The make up assignment for the Romanticism in-class essay will be available next week.

Due 1/10

Please bring a rough draft of your satire paper today. For the ease of our editing, please do not directly reveal what your satire is on by titling your paper, "My Satire of Facebook" or something like that. We want to see if your peer editors are able to guess your target just by what you've written.

We will also be continuing our discussion of Huck Finn's ending today, so come with an opinion!