Due 12/2

You should be familiar with the following concepts for next time: (Yes, most of this should be review)Make sure you could successfully comment or use any of these terms in an analysis.

Exposition
Conflict
Rising Action
Falling Action
Denouement
Antagonist
Protagonist
Direct/Indirect Characterization
Foreshadowing
Third person omniscient
Third person limited
First person
Setting
Stereotyping/Character types/archetypes

Additional terms that will be important for analyzing a prose passage:

Repetition
Selection of Detail
Missing information
Order of events

Due Monday, November 30th

"Araby" by James Joyce (65-69)
"A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings" by Gabriel Garcia Marquez (362-366)

Focus Topic:

Stories often focus on characters' reactions as they encounter something that is new and or unexplained to them. What are some instances in these stories where characters interact with something new and/or something they do not understand, and how do these interactions illuminate the overall meaning of the story?

And, of course, GREGOR:

5 meaningful adjectives
3 significant quotations from the story
1 picture of symbolic importance
1 poem (minimum of 5 lines) honoring Gregor's spirit
1 philosophical, thought provoking question for us to ponder.

Due November 17th

Please read "Good Country People" by Flannery O'Connor.

Focus Topic: Characters sometimes go to unusual ends to create a sense of identity for themselves. Consider the various ways that Hulga seeks to define herself and create her self-identity.
Posted by Kathleen

You may also want to get a head start reading the "Metamorphosis" for Thursday, since this is a LONG story. (In fact, it's a novella--a little novel!)

Focus Topic: Often, the environment a character experiences has a significant impact on their sense of the world or even their own identity. Find instances in which Gregor's identity is influenced by his reactions to the changing environment around him and consider what this reveals about his character's development.

Due 10/12

I almost forgot to post your reading! What a near tragedy.

College Essay Due

Reading
“Rose for Emily” 56-62
“The Short Happy Life of Francis MacComber” 258-278

Focus Idea: Commonly in literature, characters feel dissatisfied with their current situation in life. For these two stories, analyze different examples of when characters feel dissatisfied and consider how these feelings contribute to the meaning of the work as a whole.

Read on, AP English. Read on.

Due Tuesday, November 10th

You will need to read the following stories AND take notes on the specified topics for each. Your notes should include page numbers and at times, some direct quotation from the text, as some thoughts about why this topic is important for the meaning of the story. Please have your notes for each story start on a SEPARATE sheet of paper. Your notes MAY be done in as a list.

"Young Goodman Brown" 93-102

Focus Idea: often times in stories, the impression characters have of other people or their behavior is shattered. Write down examples in the story of when Young Goodman Brown has his perceptions of other people destroyed. Make sure to include thoughts on why having this perception destroyed is important.

"Yellow Wallpaper" 153-164

Focus Idea: Frequently in literature, characters experience a loss of power. Write down examples from the story of how the female narrator lacks power. Make sure to include your thoughts on why her losing or lacking power is important to the meaning of the story.

Due 11/6

Read "Cub Wants to be a Pilot" (1598-1603) and "Once More to the Lake" (1605-1609)

Also, remember your college admissions essay assignment is due 11/13:

You must select a topic for either an admissions essay or a scholarship essay. Your prompt must allow for a topic that can produce an essay of at least 300-400 words. (Therefore, for many of you, short answer questions will not count.) Please do not include an essay that is significantly longer than 800 words.

If you need a prompt, go online to the Common Application site, or search for a possible scholarship topic.

You must retype the prompt at the top of the page. Then include the text of your essay and a word count. When you turn yours in, you can request comments if you're interested.

Due 11/4

"Living like Weasels" 1568-1570. (I also recommend reading the analysis following, but not required)

"The Battle of the Ants" (1558-1560)