February 27, 2017 - March 3, 2017 Agenda

Monday, February 27th: 

Grammar Warm-up:

Correct the following sentences:

1.     Tecumseh was born around 1768 in what is now Ohio the Shawnee lived through out the Midwestern states.

2.     His father was a leader he was killed when Tecumseh was a child.

3.     Tecumseh’s brother Cheeseekan taught him the ways of Shawnee warfare he also taught Tecumseh leadership and speaking skills.

4.     Tecumseh wanted to unite all the people from the Great Lakes region.

5.     He was recognized as a leader when he was young, he was only sixteen when he took part in his first battle.

6.     Cheeseekan was killed in a battle, Tecumseh became chief.

7.     Tecumseh hated the practice of torture he would not permit it when he was leader.

8.     Tecumseh and another brother, Tenskwatawa, built a village for their people in the Tippecanoe River, people from many places came to live in the village.

9.     Tecumseh traveled, organizing a league of American Indians, while he was away, his village was destroyed in the Battle of Tippecanoe.

10. Because an American general burned the village, Tecumseh supported the British in the War of 1812 he was killed in that war.

Discussion over Frankenstein Essay:

 Briefly go over the topics for the Frankenstein essays. This will be due next Tuesday. Extra credit points of 100 will be given if turned in by Thursday, March 2nd.  


Themes to Explore in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

Taking into account the philosophy of the time, think about the role of the creator, Victor Frankenstein, with the role of a divine creator (God, if you) and how one might see the disastrous effects that occur when man attempts to usurp God’s perceived role as creator. You don't have to agree or disagree with the premise - just be aware of how a 19th Century reader may interpret Victor Frankenstein's wanderings onto the hallowed grounds of creation.

Choose one of the following topics and write a 750 word minimum essay. The essay will be given bonus points if turned in by Thursday. 

ESSAY TOPICS for MARY SHELLEY'S FRANKENSTEIN

Analyze the warning Mary Shelley implicitly gives regarding out of control

scientific discovery and the havoc it may wreak in nature.

Analyze the significance of the subtitle of Frankenstein and the symbol-

ism of the Prometheus myth as it pertains to Victor and his creation of the monster.

Consider Gothic literature and analyze how Shelley’s novel is a classic

example of Gothic literature.

Taking a feminist perspective, analyze the roles of nature and women in Frankenstein, and the effect male dominated science has on both.

Think about the role of nature in romanticism and specifically in the novel,

Frankenstein.

Research romanticism in literature and analyze how Shelley’s novel is an

example of romantic literature.

Contrast and compare Mary Shelley’s novel with any novel that deals with issues of nature versus technology; man as creator challenging the gods’ preeminence as creators; or with the loss of man’s innocence in pursuit of knowledge. One book you might want to consider would be BRAVE NEW WORLD.

Compare and contrast the warning implicit in Shelley’s novel against

rampant, out-of-control technology, and any event in technology,

science, commerce, warfare, and/or terrorism that proves or disproves

her concerns about modern science and scientific inquiry.

Compare and contrast the story of Frankenstein with the biblical story of the Garden of Eden and the tree of knowledge. Compare and

contrast Victor’s role with that of Adam. Discuss Victor’s role in relation-

ship to his creation of the monster to God’s relationship to His creation Man.

Do a little research into Mary Shelley's life - you might want to take a look

at the blog I posted on her life - and see if the tragedies she experienced may

have colored the themes she explored in her masterpiece. She had already experienced

the loss of her mother a few weeks after her birth, a cold rejecting relationship with her stepmother, a scandalous love affair, social disgrace, poverty, and the death of her first born daughter - all by the age of nineteen, the age at which she wrote FRANKENSTEIN. Do you think that she may have worked through any, all or none of these issues through her art?

For Tuesday, February 28th, please bring the excerpt with the multiple choice questions.  

Tuesday, February 28th: 

Excerpt from Olive Kitteridge with multiple choice questions

Went over in class

Discussion of vocabulary in the excerpt from Olive Kitteridge

Frankenstein:

Discussion of Frankenstein essay

Discussion of writing analysis

Wednesday, March 1^st:

Writing Notes Over “The Rattler”

“He uses the wire to describe the snake and paints a picture for the audience to see the snake’s appearance in the story.”

Instead of writing "The author gave the reader the impression of being harmless...." Show instead passages and your analysis of the passages that set up a calm, tranquil scene. It is a tranquil evening in the desert; the warmth of the day is giving over to the cool of the evening. Suddenly, a snake appears, a six foot rattlesnake, breaking the calm of this scene. 

"There are different kind of emotions that the reader can interpret while reading the passage" - this is vague and doesn't say very much. In the above sentence write what is in the story that arouses different kinds of emotions and what kinds of emotions.  Is it the battle for life that the man and the snake engage in that arouses conflicting feelings of allegiance in the reader? 

Why did the man feel sad after killing the snake - did the man see a common spirit in the snake? That both he and the snake simply want to live as much as the other one does? 

Does the man respect the snake? Why? Explain why he doesn't cut off the rattles after he kills the snake. What does this say about his feelings about the snake? 

Do not list figurative language - "the author uses a metaphor when he states that....he lay there like a live wire."  That is flat and obvious! What inherent likeness does the live wire have with the snake? They are both in a quiet inert mode at the moment, but they are both lying there with the tremendous potential of causing sudden, shocking, violent death. 

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The author provides the reader with the time and location of the event. Not only does the author use organization to set time and place, but puts an order to each action. For example, “he drew back his head and I raised my weapon.” This demonstrates how well organized the author chose to be to aid the flow of the story, and to add to the flow of excitement.

This is a little dry. Instead of listing it as if it were a crime scene, describe the setting of the scene - it is a warm day in the desert giving itself over to the cool of the night. This suggests that it is a tranquil scene, quiet, peaceful; however, this tranquility is suddenly broken by the sight of a rattlesnake - man's ancestral enemy. The snake is lying there, waiting, appraising the man as the man is appraising the snake. Each assessing the other’s potential to do harm. When the man raises the weapon in an offensive move, the snake counters.

You need to explain more fully how the author uses organization - see above. 

You need to analyze the man's point of view towards the snake. You can use the man's own words. Go through the piece and write down what he says and what emotions each sentence evokes. 

The snake is showing that it will not attack unless attacked, which makes its killing by the man seem almost unnecessary. This shift from the man’s point of view to the snake’s makes the reader sympathize more with the snake.

The man's remorse over the killing of the snake is shown when he imagines "what might have been" had he allowed the snake to live - the snake undulating his way into the bushes to continue living his life. 

Discuss the archetypal symbol that the snake represents: it is the symbol for death, eternal life, sex, regeneration, etc. This is more than just a guy with a hoe killing a snake. 

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"...a different point of view is seen throughout this story...." - this is very vague and doesn't say very much. 

The shifting points of view challenges the reader to see the battle of life and death between the man and the snake from alternating perspectives - the man's and the snake's. 

"By using very descriptive details and using literary techniques..." - again, doesn't say much and states the obvious. Every writer uses descriptive details and literary techniques.  

"This quote is an example of the introduction of a specific time and event that the author demonstrates to us."  Again, this doesn't say much and states the obvious. The writer creates at the beginning of the narrative a landscape cooling from the harsh desert heat. The beginning is painted in descriptive tones of peace, tranquility, and quiet.  Abruptly, the peace is disturbed by the sudden appearance of a snake - a rattlesnake. Thus begins the narration of a deadly battle of life and death between a man and his ancestral enemy – the snake. 

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"There are different kind of emotions that the reader can interpret while reading the passage" - this is vague and doesn't say very much. In the above sentence write what is in the story that arouses different kinds of emotions and what kinds of emotions.  Is it the battle for life that the man and the snake engage in that arouses conflicting feelings of allegiance in the reader? 

Why did the man feel sad after killing the snake - did the man see a common spirit in the snake? That both he and the snake simply want to live as much as the other one does? 

Does the man respect the snake? Why? Explain why he doesn't cut off the rattles after he kills the snake. What does this say about his feelings about the snake? 

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"The emotions expressed through selection of detail...." 

"The chronological structure...allows the reader to visualize the encounter with the snake..." - vague and doesn't really say anything. 

Describe the TYPE of story structure and WHAT the story structure REVEALS and how the structure HEIGHTENS the tension. Is it because we think the man is going to let the snake go, and there is a vacillation (much like a snake) between the man's desire to let the snake go, and his need to be the protector of the family by killing the snake. 

Describe the man's encounter with the snake - in very descriptive language! Also be aware of the conflict the man is going through - he recognizes the snake as a fellow being that wants - very much like the man - to be left alone to live his life. 

The simile comparing the snake with a live wire should give you a great opportunity for analysis. What characteristics do the two share? They are both inert, yet throbbing with potentially lethal violence. The comparison is apt - the snake and the live wire are physically similar, yet both are seemingly in a benign inert state. But if disturbed, both could explode with deadly violence. 

The analysis "This tells the reader how the main character is provoking the rattlesnake..." is not really analysis but is merely retelling what the writer has already recounted.

Look at the writer's choice of diction _ "his fair and furious signal"..."quite sportingly telling me" - What is the writer conveying with those phrases (diction and syntax)? The writer is using a gentleman's sporting terms that the snake is a fair, fierce opponent who is warning the man that he will defend himself.

In-class writing exercise:

Choose a paragraph from “The Rattler” and write a one paragraph analysis focusing on one element of the prompt: organization, point of view, language, selection of detail. 

Remember to use verbs and adjectives that are interesting and colorful.  It is also helpful if you use verbs and adjectives that relate to the theme, subject, or tone of the piece. “The Rattler” is set in the desert; the evening cool is slowly overcoming the day’s heat; there is dry brush; a snake, etc. Use colorful verbs and adjectives that capture the theme, subject, or tone of “The Rattler”.

Thursday, March 2nd:
Shortened Day today - each class 34 minutes long.
Begin work on grammar - sentence combining. 

Friday, March 3:

Please bring Frankenstein book to class on Monday to turn in.
Please submit your Frankenstein culminating essay to turnitin.com by midnight,  Tuesday, March 7th. 

Went over the handouts from Sentence Combining for High School Students.

Pages 44 - 48; Adjective Clauses: Practice 1 and 2