Assignment for March 29th, 2011

Read chapters 1-10 of The Awakening by Kate Chopin and respond to the following questions. 

Also, write a 3-4 reader response essay about your feelings regarding the first 10 chapters.  Reflect on what you read and make predictions about the rest of the novel based on what you know so far.

Study Questions 

Chapter 1
1. What kind of bird is hung in the cage?

2. Why does Leonce return to his own cottage?

3. What are the Farival twins doing at the main house?

4. Who is Edna bathing with?

5. How does Leonce look at Edna when she returns?

6. What does Leonce give to Edna upon her return?

7. What are Edna and Robert laughing about?

8. Where is Leonce going to spend the evening?

9. Why doesn’t Robert go with him?

10. Does Leonce keep his promise to the children?

Chapter 2

1. How does Edna look at objects?

2. How does Edna’s appearance differ from other women?

3. What about Robert’s appearance makes him seem immature?

4. Why does Robert smoke cigarettes?

5. How do we see the intimacy between Robert and Edna at this point?

6. Why does Robert want to go to Mexico?

7. Why does Madame Lebrun take in guests?

8. How is Edna’s background different from the other guests at Grand Isle?

9. What is Edna’s sister doing in the East?

10. Why does Robert assume Leonce wouldn’t be coming home for dinner?

Chapter 3

1. Why does Edna have trouble talking to Leonce when he comes home from Klein’s?

2. What does Leonce do after he tells Edna that Raoul has a fever?

3. What is Leonce’s opinion of raising children?

4. Why is Edna so upset after she checks on Raoul?

5. What does the sea sound like when Edna goes outside?

6. What is different about this particular argument with Leonce that causes Edna to cry?

7. What does Edna feel while she cries?

8. Is Edna upset about the fact that she is crying?

9. What does Leonce send to Edna while he is away?

10. Is Leonce considered a good husband?

Chapter 4

1. What is given as an example of Edna’s lack of mothering?

2. What is a “mother-woman”?

3. Who is considered a classic mother-woman?

4. What are three differences between Adele and Edna’s appearances?

5. When are Adele’s hands considered most beautiful?

6. Why did Edna cut a pattern for winter clothes for her children?

7. How do Edna and Robert know that Adele is pregnant again?

8. Why does Edna blush when Robert tells Adele it is safe to eat a bonbon?

9. Why doesn’t Edna feel entirely comfortable at Grand Isle?

10. According to Edna, what is the most distinguishing characteristic of the Creoles?

Chapter 5-6

1. What is clear about Edna and Robert’s relationship?

2. Why is Robert allowed to spend so much time with married women at Grand Isle?

3. How does Edna feel about Adele’s beauty?

4. Why does Edna sketch?

5. Why does Edna repulse Robert’s head from her arm?

6. Why does Edna crumple up the picture of Adele?

7. How is the sea described here?

8. Why did Edna go bathing with Robert?

9. What is Edna beginning to realize?

10. Why is Edna’s realization potentially dangerous?

Chapter 7

1. What is Edna’s attitude toward sharing confidences?

2. What is it about Adele that started to bring Edna out of her shell?

3. Why does Adele insist on bringing her needlework to the beach?

4. What is the difference in the way Edna and Adele dressed for the beach?

5. What is Edna gazing at when Adele begins questioning her thoughts?

6. What does Edna’s childhood meadow story tell her and us about her present state?

7. Why is Edna confused when Adele begins stroking her hand?

8. What is different about Edna’s relationship with Leonce and the other men she talks about?

9. How does Edna feel when she is away from her children?

10. How does Edna feel after sharing about herself with Adele?

Chapter 8

1. What is different about Adele’s eyes when she talks to Robert?

2. What is Adele’s fear when she asks Robert to leave Edna alone?

3. How does Adele explain that fear to Robert?

4. Why is it important that nobody take Robert seriously?

5. What does Robert tell Adele about Alcee Arobin?

6. What is Robert’s thought about Edna?

7. How do the lovers walk?

8. Why does Madame Lebrun have someone else working the treadle of her sewing machine?

9. How does Madame Lebrun account for things going wrong in her life and the world?

10. What news does Madame Lebrun have for Robert?

Chapter 9

1. Why is the hall lit up and decorated?

2. Why are the Pontellier children exerting authority over the other children?

3. What songs do the Farival twins play?

4. Why does Adele keep up with her music?

5. What is Edna looking at when she sat on the windowsill?

6. What does Mademoiselle Reisz look like?

7. What does Edna think of when she hears the song Adele plays that she calls “Solitude”?

8. What is different about Edna as she hears Mademoiselle Reisz’s first chords on the piano?

9. What is Edna’s reaction to Mademoiselle Reisz’s music?

10. Why does Mademoiselle Reisz think Edna is the only one worth playing for?

Chapter 10

1. How does Edna feel when Robert is not around?

2. What is the odor Edna smells down by the sea?

3. Why had Edna not been able to learn to swim?

4. What is different about this night?

5. How does Edna feel when she starts swimming?

6. What is she looking for when she swims out?

7. What does Edna experience after she swims a certain distance?

8. How does Edna describe the night to Robert when he walks her home?

9. How does Robert describe it?

10. What happens in the silence when Edna is in the hammock and Robert is sitting by her?

Red Badge of Courage Unit

Here is a link to an e-text of the novel Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane. You can read the entire novel at this link, but I still believe it would be more useful for you to have your own copy of the novel. You can definitely find it at McKay's Bookstore.  However, no one can have the excuse that they did not have a copy of the novel to read this week!

http://www.enotes.com/red-badge-of-courage-text/

Below are study questions for you to answer this week as you read Chapters 1-10 this week.  As you come to each question, if you do not know the meaning of a word look it up in a dictionary.

The Red Badge of Courage
by Stephen Crane
Chapter 1
1. What is the main character’s reaction to the war which is taking place?(p.3)

2. Comment on the dialogue and vocabulary thus far in the story. What does it tell you about place and time? Why is it important that it never be altered, should the story be reedited and updated?

3. What does Henry’s mother tell him about his duty when enlisted? (P.5)

4. The first of many references to colour is made on p.7. To what does “a part of a vast blue demonstration” refer?

5. How does the author consistently refer to his main character, instead of using his name? Why would he have done this?

Chapter 2
1. Define metaphor. Metaphorically, to what is the youth comparing bravery and battle? p.11

2. The youth fears two things. What are they? P. 12

3. Explain the line, “He was convicted by himself of many shameful crimes against the gods of traditions.” p. 12

4. Throughout this chapter, as with the novel, color is an important factor. Find three passages where color is employed to effectively capture/establish mood. Cite the passages with their page numbers.

5. Define personification. Find an example of personification. Cite the passage, and its page number.

Chapter 3
1. Explain the passage on p. 21: “...he instantly saw that it would be impossible for him to escape from the regiment. It inclosed him. And there were iron laws of tradition and law on four sides. He was in a moving box.” What figurative device is this?

2. What evidence is there that the youth’s fear of battle and his own merit within battle are increasing?

3. What reassurance does the youth try to give himself that he will be able to stand in battle? P.24

Chapter 4
1. What discussion takes place at the beginning of this chapter?

2. Define simile. Find two examples of this device within this chapter.

3. What mood is left for the youth and the reader at the end of this chapter? How is this achieved?

Chapter 5
1. Of what does the youth have a memory at the beginning of the chapter? How is this blended in with the reality of his current situation?

2. How does the youth initially react when faced with the reality of a battle? p.33

3. Find an example of repetition on p.36. Why would this style device be used?

4. What contrast does the youth himself note at the end of this chapter?

Chapter 6
1. Why is the youth compared, metaphorically, to a ‘jaded horse’? Why is this description appropriate?

2. List 5 words or phrases from p.39 which capture the vision and mood of what the youth saw and felt. How do these choices help to explain his decision to flee?

3. Why did the youth run on this occasion, not during the first encounter?

4. How does the mood of the youth, as he flees, contrast with the mood of those fighting?
Give proof.

5. Explain the passage on p.40: “Death about to thrust him between the shoulder blades was far more dreadful than death about to smite him between the eyes.”

Chapter 7
1. What is a moral dilemma? Explain the effectiveness of the first line of this chapter. How does it focus the reader on the issue of moral dilemma?

2. Why does the mood and thinking of the youth turn against his comrades, who stayed and fought?

3. An image of sanctuary is given on p.45. Cite the passage which holds this image, and explain the concept of sanctuary. Where else in the chapter is this image seen?

4. How is the peace of the youth’s surrounding shattered? He had seen death before. Why did this have such a dramatic effect upon him?

Chapter 8
1. What contrasting images are seen at the beginning of this chapter? In what way is this effective for both the reader and the youth?

2. Define irony. What irony does the youth see in his own actions at the beginning of this chapter?

3. The colours blue and gray are recurrent throughout this novel. To what do they literally, and sometimes figuratively, refer. Consider the history of this story carefully before selecting your answer. What is the difference between literal and figurative?

4. What dilemma faces the youth at the end of this chapter?

Chapter 9
1. From what does this novel gain its chosen title?

2. What does juxtaposition mean? What juxtaposing thoughts does the youth have about wounded persons?

3. Why do you think Crane chose to identify his characters by name only during dialogue, and in third person with descriptors such as ‘tall’, ‘ loud’, and ‘tattered’?

Chapter 10
1. Describe the character of the ‘tattered’ soldier, based on the dialogue he has in this chapter? Why is dialogue an effective style device for Crane to use, based on the narrative he is relating?

2. What can the reader tell about the personality of the youth, based on this chapter?
Support your observations with examples from the chapter.

3. Explain the statement on p.60: “The simple questions of the tattered man had been knife thrusts to him.”

Assignment for October 5,2010

Your assignment for this week is to read "Sinners in the Hand of an Angry God," by Jonathan Edwards (in your American Lit. book). Also, write a sermon to present to the class. Essentially this should be a persuasive essay on a topic of your choice. I have listed some possible topics below. Your sermon should be typed, and in MLA format. As you write your sermon this week, consider sermons that you have heard ( the good and the bad) and use those as a guide for what works and what does not. Some people really like to use stories and humor, but other people really enjoy sermons that are more straight-laced. Try to find YOUR voice and style.  Typed, your sermons ought to be about 2-3 pages, if you are making use of the various rhetorical devices and strategies we have talked about in class. Make sure that you find passages from scripture (or other religious texts) to support your thesis. (Yes, your sermon should have a thesis!)

Possible Topics
Love your Neighbor
Caring for the Poor
Stewardship
Obedience
The Beattitudes
Love
Listening to God
Individual Calling
Faith
Hope in Difficult times
Joy

Here is a new link to the ebsco database, just in case you were having trouble accessing it from the other link.
This will take you to an authentication page, and from there you will be able to find the database.

http://tntel.tnsos.org/failed_authentication.htm

Point of View Essay

         Go to the following link in order to view the website that will walk you through the process of writing your Point of View essays. Remember that facts are ALWAYS better than opinions when it comes to writing argumentatively. Think about all possible sides of the issue and be sure to consider that the sample articles might not cover everything. This website has a wealth of information about various topics, and it also has Research Guides that direct you through the entire process of writing your persuasive essay in a column on the right side of the screen once you begin looking at the point and counterpoint and critical analysis essays. Be very careful to avoid plagiarism and give credit to the author of whatever source material you use in your essay. I have included a link to a helpful site to use when documenting source in MLA style. Your essay should be 3-4 pages in length, double-spaced throughout in 12pt. times new roman font.  Please comment on this post to let me know which topic you are using.

http://web.ebscohost.com/pov/search?vid=1&hid=110&sid=899456df-2782-4e63-ae4b-845f1a9d2953%40sessionmgr114

MLA Style and Format (how to site sources)
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/01/

This guide is intended to help you evaluate the controversial topics provided in EBSCO Publishing’s Points of View Reference Center™. Using this analysis will enhance your ability to read critically, develop your own perspective on the issue of poverty, and write or debate an effective argument on the topic.
Before You Read
• In a single sentence, state what you currently think is the controversy surrounding poverty.
• On the opening screen, Browse by Category, click on "People & Society," and then click on "Poverty."
• View the Result List of four records on the Points of View tab that includes this guide.
Each topic in Points of View Reference Center™ has three main Points of View essays. While there may be many opinions on the issue, these essays are designed to provide a base from which you may engage in further analysis:
• The Overview provides general background information on the issue.
• The Point essay presents one opinion on the issue in a persuasive position essay.
• The Counterpoint essay offers an alternative or opposite view of the issue.
As You Read
Reading all three essays will enable you to better understand the controversy, providing a foundation from which you can broaden your knowledge of the topic.
• Read the Overview, Point and Counterpoint essays. You will be able to move between the Overview, the Point and the Counterpoint essays by clicking on the colored rectangles in the sidebar featuring the Points of View icon.
• Take notes on the main ideas. Start by printing out the essay and highlighting the main ideas and circling key words.
• Review the terms in the Understanding the Discussion section of the Overview.
• Organize your ideas. Click on the article "Organize Your Ideas Visually" on the sidebar. Use one of the graphic organizer templates provided to break the essay down into its main points.
 You will see several links in the Related Items box on the right hand side of the screen. Exploring these added features will enhance your understanding of the topic you're studying.
• Click on one of the photos in the Related Items and record your reaction to the picture you chose. Did viewing this picture change your current view on poverty? How?
• Under the "What Experts Say" tab, click on the link and read the article provided. Is the author of this article promoting the same argument put forth in the Point or the Counterpoint essay? If the writer is supporting a new viewpoint on the topic, what is it?
• The Result List also offers many other kinds of research articles, such as Periodicals, Newspapers, Reference Books, etc. Click on one of these tabs and read one of the articles. What source tab did you use and what is one benefit of using this type of source? What is one drawback? What new information did you learn from reading this article?
You Decide
Based on the readings and review of the Related Items offered, consider the Point and Counterpoint essays in light of your own set of personal values.
• Reflect on which arguments about poverty you accept: Point, Counterpoint, or a completely different argument. For you, what is the single most compelling argument regarding poverty, and why?
Write an 800-1,000-word essay response to the above question that contains a thesis statement and 2-3 supporting arguments. See "Write a Thesis Statement" and "Write a Persuasive Essay" on the sidebar for tips on how to write your essay.
• Use facts from other resources found in Points of View Reference Center, other than the Overview, Point, and Counterpoint essays. See "Judge Fact vs. Opinion" on the sidebar to help determine the value of the information you find.
• Investigate some of the sources cited in the Bibliography at the end of each Point of View essay to see what kind of sources those authors consulted.
• For website information, first review the article titled "Evaluate a Website" on the sidebar. Use the information you find there to guide your decisions on which site’s information would add value to your essay.
• Suggest ways in which the controversy surrounding poverty could be resolved.
See these other Points of View "How To" topics for additional help. They can be found on the sidebar of each essay.
• Write a Topic Sentence
• Take Good Notes
• Go From Notes to Outline
• Organize Your Ideas Visually
• Write a Conclusion
• Cite Sources
• Create a Bibliography
• Write a Research Paper
Debate It
• Debate the issue. To create an effective debate, refer to the tips offered in the "Use Strategy in a Debate," "Give an Oral Presentation," and "Start a Debate Club" articles in the sidebar.
• Have someone else read either the Point or The Counterpoint essay on poverty. Imagine you are facing this person in a debate setting. Take notes on the points (contentions) you would make to oppose the arguments (rebuttals).
• When the speaker is finished, respond to the arguments presented with opposing arguments, pointing out any contradictions you may have heard.

This I Believe Essay

Our first assignment of the semester is going to be a personal essay entitled, This I Believe. This will be an extremely short essay (between 350 and 500 words), but it will help us to get to know each other and to explore the concept of voice and tone in our writing.  Below is a description of the project as found on This I Believe's website.

"This I Believe is an international project engaging people in writing and sharing essays describing the core values that guide their daily lives. More than 90,000 of these essays, written by people from all walks of life, are archived here on our website, heard on public radio, chronicled through our books, and featured in weekly podcasts. The project is based on the popular 1950s radio series of the same name hosted by Edward R. Murrow" (http://thisibelieve.org/).

This assignment is a great way to find your voice as a writer. Please visit the link above and listen to at least two essays (by one male and one female) before class on September 7, 2010. Please let me know which essays, authors, and your thoughts about what you read/ heard in the comments section below.

Mrs. McNeely

American Literature Text

We will be using The Heath Anthology of American Literature, Volume 1 (Paperback)

by Paul Lauter (Editor), et al. You can purchase this book from Amazon at the following link:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/039586822X/ref=dp_olp_used?ie=UTF8&condition=used 

or from Textbooks.com at the following link:

http://www.textbooks.com/ISBN/9780669329728/Paul-Lauter-and-Richard-Eds-Yarborough/Heath-Anthology-of-American-Literature-Volume-I_-_066932972X.php?CSID=DWKO3SZ2KDTKQTTCQ2OMMCKS#mplistings


Please contact me if you have any questions regarding the selection of this textbook. 


Mrs. McNeely