For Tuesday, December 17

Cry, the Beloved Country Assignment One.

See your handout for details.

Study, find quotes, create outlines for your midterm.

SPECIAL POST-MIDTERM REVIEW

Each section of your exam will be timed.

 

You will have one multiple choice prompt (prose not poetry).  (probably 11 - 12 questions) (12 minutes)

 

You will have a short matching section over details from Beowulf.  (Think:  numbers, names, weapons, kennings) (10 -15 minutes)

You will need to write at least one of your 40 minute essays over Cry, the Beloved Country.  You may select another novel/play for the second essay.

 1.  The British novelist Fay Weldon offers this observation about happy endings:

“The writers, I do believe, who get the best and most lasting response from readers are the writers who offer a happy ending through moral development. By a happy ending, I do not mean mere fortunate events—a marriage or a last-minute rescue from death—but some kind of spiritual reassessment or moral reconciliation, even with the self, even at death.”

Choose a novel or play that has the kind of ending Weldon describes. In a well written essay, identify the “spiritual reassessment or moral reconciliation” evident in the ending and explain its significance in the work as a whole. You may select a work from the list below or another novel or play of literary merit.

 

2.  Choose a novel or play that depicts a conflict between a parent (or a parental figure)

and a son or daughter. Write an essay in which you analyze the sources of the conflict
and explain how the conflict contributes to the meaning of the work.  Avoid plot summary.

 

For Wednesday, December 11

Write a 50 minutes timed essay for homework.

Hints for essay writing.

1. Annotate the prompt carefully.  I will grade your annotations.  (Make sure you are actually answering the prompt.)
2. Start with your thesis; leave room for coming back to an introduction later.
3. Jot down a rough outline-thesis plus topic sentences
4. Remember:  It is your job to show how an author accomplishes his purposes.  This means your thesis must speak to the author's purpose.  You are writing about THE WRITING.
5. Stay organized with topic sentences that refer to your thesis
6. Do not forget the quotation sandwich format=use embedded quotations
7. Write in your own voice; do not use big words for the sake of using big words
8. If you find yourself running out of time, jump to your conclusion.

Your prompt:

 

1. (Suggested time—40 minutes)

 

In the following soliloquy from Shakespeare’s Henry IV, Part II, King Henry laments

his inability to sleep. In a well-organized essay, briefly summarize the King’s thoughts

and analyze how the diction, imagery, and syntax help to convey his state of mind. (I THINK WRITING ABOUT HOW THE DICTION LEADS TO TONE IS A GOOD OPTION; PERSONIFICATION WOULD WORK; APOSTROPHE MEANS I AM ADDRESSING AN ABSTRACT CONCEPT=SLEEP; CONTRASTING IMAGERY)

How many thousand of my poorest subjects

Are at this hour asleep! O sleep! O gentle sleep!

Nature’s soft nurse, how have I frighted thee,

That thou no more wilt weigh my eyelids down,

And steep my senses in forgetfulness?

Why rather, sleep, liest thou in smoky cribs,1

Upon uneasy pallets stretching thee,

And hush’d with buzzing night-flies to thy slumber,

Than in the perfum’d chambers of the great,

Under the canopies of costly state,

And lull’d with sound of sweetest melody?

O thou dull god, why liest thou with the vile

In loathsome beds, and leav’st the kingly couch

A watch-case or a common ’larum-bell? (alarm bell)

Wilt thou upon the high and giddy mast

Seal up the ship-boy’s eyes, and rock his brains

In cradle of the rude imperious surge,

And in the visitation of the winds,

Who take the ruffian billows by the top,

Curling their monstrous heads and hanging them

With deaf’ning clamour in the slippery clouds,

That with the hurly death itself awakes?

Canst thou, O partial2 sleep, give thy repose

To the wet sea-boy in an hour so rude,

And in the calmest and most stillest night,

With all appliances and means to boot,

Deny it to a King? Then, happy low, lie down!

Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown.

 

1 huts

2 not impartial

 

  



©

 

 

 

 

 

For Monday, December 9

Plan your one-line presentation from Beowulf.

Finish the novel Cry, the Beloved Country.

Think about your creative writing for C,tBC. 

For Tuesday, December 3

Make sure to read Cry, the Beloved Country and annotate your novel according to your bookmark.  We will have a review and then a quiz on the day you return from Thanksgiving.  Your bookmark tells you how far to read.

Blessings,
I will miss you over Thanksgiving!

For Wednesday, November 20

Read through Chapter 25 in Beowulf.
We will have a quiz over Beowulf's battle with Grendel's mother.

Two Voice Poem Performances on Wednesday.  You will have 30 minutes to work in class.

I would love for you to have read Chapters 1-7 in Cry, the Beloved Country by Friday, November 22.

For Monday, November 18

Read up through Chapter 18 in Beowulf.  Do not get bogged down with the "ancient story" of the Frisians.  We will talk about that story and draw a diagram of its details on Monday.  Pay attention to the Kingly traits of Siegmund and the negative traits of Hermod.

Write a 1 1/2 page letter home to your parents from Hrothgar's Court.  Pretend and get creative.  Our class has taken a trip to see the Danes and Geats gathered at Hrothgar's Court.  You decide whether Beowulf has killed Grendel yet or not.

Mrs. Fox's AP 12

We probably landed there in our 20th century clothing, so we will need to find garments to wear in order to "fit in."  What might have happened so far on our field trip?  What adventures have you and your classmates been on?  How long do you plan to stay?  Did you happen to fall in love while you were there?

Please do not answer each of those questions literally; I am just trying to get you thinking.  Use a kenning or two.  Write with some alliteration.  Include all your classmates.

Thank you for working so hard on your C.S. Lewis essays.  I am proud of you!

For Thursday, November 7

NEWS ALERT!

C.S. Lewis essays are not due until Friday, November 15.  I was having trouble meeting with all of you, so I wanted to extend the due date.  I will not have time for grading on Thursday night anyway.

Now...don't procrastinate....

For Tuesday, November 12

Work on C.S. Lewis essay.  Due date:  November 14.

If you need help, use my email:  shannonfox.english@gmail.com.

See you next week ~ with DONUTS!

For Wednesday, November 6

Read "The Yellow Wallpaper" by Charlotte Perkins.  Here is a link to the text.  At the bottom of the story, Ms. Perkins has answered the question, "Why did I write "The Yellow Wallpaper."  Read it; you will find it interesting.

http://www.library.csi.cuny.edu/dept/history/lavender/yellowwallpaper.pdf

TWHF paper due date:  November 14.  I am available to read rough drafts or proof detailed outlines.

For Thursday, October 31

Prepare an outline or graphic organizer for your essay over TWHF.  While your artistic rendering and reading of the novel is fresh, I want the foundation for your paper laid out.  We will have a twenty minute workshop on Friday before moving on to a short story boot camp.

You will need your big textbook in class on Friday.

Thanks guys.  I was impressed today.

Use your time and knowledge wisely.

For Tuesday, October 29

1. Finish our novel.
2. Prepare an artistic rendering (anything you choose) or (prepare a model of the finished product) that will accompany and compliment your analytical essay over C.S. Lewis's Till We Have Faces.

I have posted here a copy of the essay assignment handout.  For this weekend, I do not want you to do any writing.  I just want you working with your hands to create a visual model of your essay topic.  As you create, allow the process to quicken your awareness of the nuances of your subject's function within the novel.  Ask the Holy Spirit to guide your work.  This is more than a project for an AP Literature class.  Allow the novel to affect your life and thinking about God.  Possible topics are listed at the bottom of handout.

Assignment Handout:
“When C.S. Lewis published Till We Have Faces: A Myth Retold in 1956, he told friends that it was his favorite of all his books” (v).  This 20^th century novel teaches many lessons and is a fascinating case study in human nature.  Class discussions will focus on plot, theme, symbolism, and allegory.
Students desiring an A will complete:
            -a 1500 word critical analysis of Till We Have Faces that includes research from at least three outside sources.  These sources can include C.S. Lewis fiction novels and/or non-fiction books.  They also can be found by looking at research on the writings of C.S .Lewis.  (Since you have already read The Great Divorce and Mere Christianity, those would be prime candidates for your writing.)
Other ideas for secondary sources:
The Four Loves, C.S. Lewis
Any one or combination of The Chronicles of Narnia
Surprised by Joy, C.S. Lewis
Reason and Imagination in C.S. Lewis, Peter J. Schakel
Internet essays or short stories by Lewis
Internet essays on Lewis's writing
            -an artistic component that compliments your analysis
Students desiring a B will complete:
            -a 1,000 to 1,500 word critical analysis over the novel Till We Have Faces
            -an artistic component that compliments your analysis
Keep in mind that your grade matrix will begin at 100 or 89 respectively.  It will still be important for you to pay attention to detail and complete your work with excellence.

If you have questions or would like to discuss your project idea with me over the weekend, text/email me.  

DUE DATE:  BOP- 12 November 2013 

 Topic Ideas:

• The importance of longing-C.S. Lewis definition
• Veils
• Seeing and Perceiving (seeing the unseen)
• Love (perverted vs. spiritual)
• Writing as self-discovery
• The process of self-discovery
• The myth and its retelling (differences and their importance to Lewis theology)
• Building and Hiding
• The Nature of Sacrifice

If you have an idea, present it to me.  I would love for you to go  outside my list.

For Friday, October 25

Read Chapters 20-21 of Book 1 in Till We Have Faces.

Next, remind yourself of the story of Nathaniel coming to David to confront him about his sin with Bathsheba.  Either reread the story or recall its events.  II Samuel 12.  Reread Psalm 51. 
Consider the verses:  Colossians 2:9-12; Ezekiel 36:26, and Job 23:10.

Next, read Chapter 1 of Book 2 in Till We Have Faces. 

On the first page, Orual notes:  "The change which the writing wrought in me was only a beginning--only to prepare me for the God's surgery.  They used my own pen to probe my wound." 

In what ways has God performed surgery on your heart?  Mark each of Orual's references to the God's surgery?  What begins to happen in this chapter?

Annotate and think about these questions for our discussion in the Pavilion at Panorama Park on Friday. 
 

For Wednesday, October 23

Read through Chapter 19.  If you want to finish Book 1, that is fine, but our discussion will not move past 19. 

Thanks.  You guys are doing wonderfully.

For Monday, October 21

Read Chapters 14 and 15.  Annotate carefully.  You might reread the portion of the story in Chapter 11 where Orual sees/doesn't see the castle. 

For Tuesday, October 15

Read through Chapter 11 in Till We Have Faces.

Chapters 6 and 7 of Till We Have Faces introduces one of the main juxtapositions of this novel, that of perverted love vs. longing. 

• On Tuesday, you will write a timed essay wherein you discuss Lewis's portraits of perverted love and longing (agape love) in his fiction novels The Great Divorce and Till We Have Faces.  I would rather that your primary source be chapters 6 and 7 of TWHF, using TGD as back-up evidence. 
• Prepare a quote sheet for your usage during our timed writing on Tuesday.  

 

         












Template for your thesis:In the novels ______________________, C.S. Lewis juxtaposes the forces of perverted love and longing (or agape love) in order to ____________________________________________.

Here is a little bit of additional information on "longing" as perceived by C.S. Lewis.  You might read through it to gain insight or understanding, but you will only use the fictional texts for this essay. 

Quotes from:

Schakel, Peter J.. "Chapter 4; Love and Longing." Reason and imagination in C.S. Lewis: a study of  Till We Have Faces. Grand Rapids, Mich.: W.B. Eerdmans Pub. Co., 1984. 30-31. Print.

Sehnsucht, or longing, "which was also a powerful force in Lewis's life.  Lewis defines it as 'an unsatisfied desire which is itself more desirable than any other satisfaction.'  Momentary experiences of satisfaction, through sudden encounters with beauty in nature, literature, or music, or more often through the memory of such encounters, only intensify the desire, and the pain always associated with it.  When Lewis refers to it he uses such terms as 'stab,' 'pang,' and 'inconsolable,' or calls it a 'particular kind of unhappiness or grief, [but]...a kind we want.' Unlike other desires, in which pain arises from the absence of satisfaction, pain is inherent in this desire--inherent because attainment of its object is and remains inseparable from death, from death of self."  (Schakel 30).     

 

C.S. Lewis definition of longing:  "longing is God’s way of attempting to draw people to himself.  It is God’s way of preventing people from remaining satisfied with this world and forgetting that 'our real goal is elsewhere'" (Schakel 31).   

 

 

For Friday, October 11

Read chapters 7-9 for homework.  We will read chapter 10 together in class.

You will probably have a reading quiz.

For Wednesday, October 9

Read Chapters 1-5 of Till We Have Faces.  Make sure you read like a professor so you can pass my quiz on Wednesday.



EXTRA CREDIT OPPORTUNITY-OPTIONAL: ~ This opportunity will only appear on this post.

A mock facebook page for C.S. Lewis
Prepare on paper or poster board. (I may have a blank facebook page for you.)
Must include:
Picture
Short biography-Works Cited required
Major Works (5)
Five friends (start with the Inklings)
Favorite quote from Lewis
Favorite song - you will select this and then explain why you believe it to be Lewis' favorite.
Review the short story "Man Born Blind" (summary~do not spoil the end-recommendation)

This is an optional major grade. Due Date: Monday, October 14.

For Monday, October 7

Journal Entries for The Great Divorce.

Orual, from Till We Have Faces

Rewrite college essay if you so desire.

Bring your copy of Till We Have Faces, by C.S. Lewis.  If you have a chance, try to find out what C.S. Lewis has to say about this novel.

Read and memorize:  1 Corinthians 13:12 and 2 Corinthians 3:18

Have a blessed weekend!

For Tuesday, October 1

Finish The Great Divorce this weekend.  Your journal entries will not be due until Monday, October 7.  

Continue with your annotations, especially paying attention to setting/attitude.  Examine each of the illustrations below.  Select one image and compare it with one of the Ghost/Spirit interactions within the chapters.  Write a one page discussion explaining the parallels.  Use "snippet quotes" from the text (a minimum of 6).   

We will be working on your visual and written essays over the atmospheres of Heaven and Hell on Tuesday.

For Friday, September 27

Complete the final draft of your college essay.  You're welcome.

Watch out for "to be" verbs; they're boring!
Watch out for generic statements; they don't say anything.
Be in the moment! Action! Action! Action!

For Wedneday, September 25

Conduct a Web Quest on George McDonald, the Scottish author.
What did he write?  What influence did he have on his generation and the generations to follow?
What is his connection with C.S. Lewis?
Why might C.S. Lewis include him in The Great Divorce?
Beatrice is to __________ as George McDonald is to ________________.

Read Chapters 8-10 in TGD.

Remember to read the novel like a literature professor.
Grapple with Lewis's concepts; fight for understanding. 
You should probably highlight and reflect on 5 quotations per chap
ter.

For Monday, September 23

Read The Great Divorce through Chapter 7.

I have put study guide questions here for you.  Make sure you can mentally answer the questions before you come to class next Monday.  Enjoy your reading! Dig deep and ponder the Christian Journey.

Chapter Four (The Big Ghost)

1.                  Describe the approach of the Solid People.  Why does the earth shake at their coming?

2.                  Why does the Big Man not think it’s fair that the Solid Man has been sent to Heaven and he has not?  Who is Jack?

3.                  What reasons does the Big Ghost give for deserving to be sent to Heaven?  What does the Big Man say are his rights?

4.                  The Solid Man answers that, no, he will not get his right, but what instead?

5.                  The Big Ghost says he is not asking for anybody’s “bleeding charity.”  What is the Solid Man’s answer?

6.                  The Solid Man tells the Big Ghost that he has been sent to him to ask his forgiveness.  For what?

7.                  What does the Solid Man reveal about all of the men who worked under the Big Ghost?

8.                  What is the Big Ghost’s final response?  Why is this significant?

Chapter 5 (The Episcopal Ghost)

1.  The E.G. says that happiness is found in what?
2. Does the ghost believe in a literal Heaven or Hell?  Why are his views ironic in light of where he has been and where he is now?
3. What are his views on the resurrection?  On the death of Christ?
4. The ghost tells Dick that if he stays in Heaven, he wants a promise of a sphere of influence and a place that can use his talents as well as a free spirit of inquiry.  Dick tells him that he is bringing him not to the place of questions but of what?
5. When Dick inquires, “Do you believe that He exists?” what is the ghost’s answer?
6. The ghost finally tells Dick that he has to get to the grey town to do what?  What is so ironic about this statement?
7. On what topic did the Episcopal ghost “preach his famous sermon?”

Chapter 6 (Golden Apples)-Apples…again?

1. What is the via dolorosa of the man gathering apples?  Is this something he has put upon himself?
2. Why does the man have such a hard time picking up apples?
3. Of what does the voice remind the narrator?
4. What does the voice mean when it suggest that the man “stay here and learn to eat such apples?”  How would it be possible for the “very leaves” of that land to “teach” him how to eat such apples?

Chapter 7 (The Hard-Bitten Ghost (the cynical man)

1. What does the ghost in this chapter reveal early on about his desires to stay in heaven?
2. This ghost is a hedonist.  Define hedonism.  Connect this concept with the amusement parks in Hell.  Do you see any interesting parallels?
3. This ghost thinks that Heaven is, like all other advertised places, just another what?
4. Describe the narrator’s emtions after talking to this ghost.  Why does he feel this way?
5. Toward the end of this discussion, the ghost shows his resentment toward Heaven’s “management team” for what?
6. Later he asks, “Who wants to be rescued anyway?”  Explain the significance of this question generally.  Then explain it specifically in relationship to questions #5.

 

For Tuesday, September 17

Do a TPCASTT analysis over the two John Keats sonnets in your packet.  I have placed them at the bottom of this post for your convenience.

Finish reading Chapter 2 in The Great Divorce.  We will discuss the chapter and add to our analysis of setting and tone.

Work on polishing your Kafka essay.  REMINDER:  The final draft of the essay is due Thursday, September 19.

For those of you who were out on Friday, you will need to turn in your TPCASTT analyses over the Shakespeare sonnets on Monday.  Tuesday will be too late.

MLA citation format for The Metamorphosis in the AP textbook.

Lastname, First name. "Title of Story/novella." Title of Collection. Ed. Editor's Name(s). City of Publication: Publisher, Year. Page range of entry. Medium of Publication.




Keat's Sonnets:

When I have fears that I may cease to be

      Before my pen has glean'd my teeming brain,

    Before high piled books, in charactry,

  Hold like rich garners the full-ripen'd grain;

When I behold, upon the night's starr'd face,

  Huge cloudy symbols of a high romance,

And think that I may never live to trace

  Their shadows, with the magic hand of chance;

And when I feel, fair creature of an hour,

  That I shall never look upon thee more,

Never have relish in the faery power

  Of unreflecting love; -- then on the shore

Of the wide world I stand alone, and think

Till Love and Fame to nothingness do sink.

O Solitude! if I must with thee dwell,

            Let it not be among the jumbled heap

            Of murky buildings; climb with me the steep,—

Nature's observatory—when the dell,

Its flowery slopes, its river's crystal swell,

            May seem a span; let me thy vigils keep

            'Mongst boughs pavillion'd where the deer's swift

            leap

Startles the wild bee from the fox-glove bell.

But though I'll gladly trace these scenes with thee,

            Yet the sweet converse of an innocent mind,

            Whose words are images of thoughts refin'd,

Is my soul's pleasure; and it sure must be

            Almost the highest bliss of human-kind,

When to thy haunts two kindred spirits flee. 

For Friday, September 13

Analyze the two Shakespeare sonnets in your packet.  I think they are 18 and 116???, but I know they are:  "Shall I compare thee to a summer's day" AND "Let me not to the marriage of true minds admit impediments."  For each sonnet, completely fill out a TPCASTT worksheet or duplicate the tasks on your own sheet of paper.  When writing your "theme" as the last step, attempt to write a working thesis.

For extra credit:  Do an additional TPCASTT analysis for Shakespeare's sonnet "My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun..."

For Wednesday, September 11

Rough draft of The Metamorphosis essay is due today.  Do not bring me a written copy or a "start" or a few ideas.  This needs to be a complete draft, ready for serious revision in style and structure, but the content of your paper should be in tact.

College Essay final draft will be due on Monday, September 23. 

Thank you for drinking deeply from the Holy Sonnets of John Donne.  He is worth your efforts!

Second Post for Monday

This is an excellent biography about Kafka.  It could offer you some insight for your papers.


http://www.themodernword.com/kafka/kafka_biography.html

For Monday, September 9

WEEKEND ASSIGNMENT:

Select the topic for your Kafka essay.  Below you will find a copy of your assignment sheet which contains several suggestions.  You could also look at the questions at the end of the story in your textbook for some ideas.

 

Once you have chosen your idea, begin gathering evidence:

Required:

Step 1:  Mark every place in the story where your topic can be found.  Highlight the scene/quote and then decide what it says about your topic.

Step 2:  Think about the outside sources you might use for this essay:  a second short story, a Kafka poem, Kafka's biography, or the era in which the story was written.

Optional:

Step 3:  If you have time, you might read or look at the secondary sources to see if you can use them.

Step 4:  Write a thesis.

 

TEMPLATES FOR THESIS:

In Franza Kafka's The Metamorphosis, he explores the condition of the modern man through the transformation of Gregor Samsa into a "monstrous vermin".

Here:  I would look at each stage of Gregor's transformation and compare it to the modern man's feeling of powerlessness.

So a template:

In Franz Kafka's The Metamorphosis, he _____________ the __________________________________ through _____________________________________.

Choices for that last blank?  characterization, plot, theme, imagery, humor, etc.

 

 

Copy of your handout.

 

The Metamorphosis Essay Assignment

Kafka's The Metamorphosis strikes me as a particularly well-chosen novel for the Penn Reading Project, and I say this not only because the adult life into which you are entering will inevitably have its kafkaesque moments. Rather, with its exploration of identity, of belonging and exclusion, of tolerance and intolerance, The Metamorphosis raises many questions for people like you, students who are facing a time of transition and transformation. Of course, my hope is that your education at Penn (you can think Covenant) will not transform you into beetles, but into less earth-bound creatures. Nonetheless, the tale of the unfortunate Gregor Samsa can make us think more deeply about our own identity, about the fluidity of what we take to be stable and fixed, and about the perils and miracles of our own metamorphosis.  (Breckman)

http://www.upenn.edu/nso/prp/met/breckman_lecture.html

Essay Requirements:

·         You choose your own topic.

father-son relationship, family relationships, displacement/ isolation, the modern man, human condition, the nature of sacrifice, all transformations within the story, the plight of the artist, voice and power

·         1000-1200 word (exactly…no less/no more))

·         A balance of detailed examples (embedded quotes), explanations, and structural fluidity

·         Minimal use of “to be” verbs and helping verbs (maybe 5 for the essay)

·         Adding outside resources or additional Kafka short stories into your writing will give your essay added academic weight; therefore, “A” papers will probably include one or both of these. DO NOT RESEARCH WHAT OTHER LITERARY ANALYSTS SAY ABOUT THE METAMORPHOSIS IN PARTICULAR; STICK WITH KAFKA BACKGROUND, HISTORICAL RELEVANCE, AND/OR FAVORITE THEMES.  “A” papers that only include The Metamorphosis will be so spectacularly written that I will be weeping at their beauty as I grade them.

·         A bonus of 5 points will be given to all papers that include an artistic rendering (artwork must match your essay’s theme)

 

FINAL DRAFT DUE DATE:  BOP~18/19 SEPTEMBER 2013

ROUGH DRAFT DUE DATE:  11 SEPTEMBER 2013