Monday, 27 February 2012
Monday, 13 February 2012
Persuasive Essays
You need to come up with a topic and a thesis statement.
Below is the outline of unit. First draft is due Tuesday 2/21.
Argumentation or Persuasion Paper
ASSIGNMENT: Students will need to complete three drafts of a paper that takes a position on an argument and seeks to persuade a “real” audience about some topic of importance (the author should define the importance especially if the importance is not naturally apparent). The paper needs to be 3-5 pages in length and the thesis must be supported with evidence: Expert testimony or credentials, factual data, rebuttal of opposing points, and an appeal to the audience’s self-interest. The student will be expected to do some research and show this research in her/his paper. Citations should be in MLA format.
Papers will be graded on a rubric that includes: Introduction/Thesis Statement/Order of Development, Quality of Reasoning (how well you make an argument and back it up), Use of Expert Witnesses/Evidence/Rebuttal/Appeal to Self-interests, Voice/Word Choice/Audience Awareness, Grammar and Conclusion.
A minimal of three drafts will be completed, and an in-class peer review (Murray’s Feedback) and a conference with the teacher will help the student shape the work.
OTHER DUE DATES:
TOPIC DUE: 10 points. I need a topic before anyone can actually start research. This should be written down and turned in on a page with your name on it.
THESIS STATEMENT DUE: 15 points. I want a thesis statement written out and handed in so I can look over what you are arguing and where you might be going. If you can give me an itemized thesis statement (a thesis statement plus order of development) it will be easier for me to direct you.
Blog Postings of at least 3 sources in MLA format
ROUGH DRAFT 1 DUE: 25 Points.
2nd Draft Due: 25 Points.
Works Cited Page Due: 25 points.
Final Draft Due: 100 points.
The above due dates are final. If you miss a date you miss the points, and you will still be expected to turn in the assignment before I allow you to move on. You are still responsible for handing in a thesis.
Below is the outline of unit. First draft is due Tuesday 2/21.
Argumentation or Persuasion Paper
ASSIGNMENT: Students will need to complete three drafts of a paper that takes a position on an argument and seeks to persuade a “real” audience about some topic of importance (the author should define the importance especially if the importance is not naturally apparent). The paper needs to be 3-5 pages in length and the thesis must be supported with evidence: Expert testimony or credentials, factual data, rebuttal of opposing points, and an appeal to the audience’s self-interest. The student will be expected to do some research and show this research in her/his paper. Citations should be in MLA format.
Papers will be graded on a rubric that includes: Introduction/Thesis Statement/Order of Development, Quality of Reasoning (how well you make an argument and back it up), Use of Expert Witnesses/Evidence/Rebuttal/Appeal to Self-interests, Voice/Word Choice/Audience Awareness, Grammar and Conclusion.
A minimal of three drafts will be completed, and an in-class peer review (Murray’s Feedback) and a conference with the teacher will help the student shape the work.
OTHER DUE DATES:
TOPIC DUE: 10 points. I need a topic before anyone can actually start research. This should be written down and turned in on a page with your name on it.
THESIS STATEMENT DUE: 15 points. I want a thesis statement written out and handed in so I can look over what you are arguing and where you might be going. If you can give me an itemized thesis statement (a thesis statement plus order of development) it will be easier for me to direct you.
Blog Postings of at least 3 sources in MLA format
ROUGH DRAFT 1 DUE: 25 Points.
2nd Draft Due: 25 Points.
Works Cited Page Due: 25 points.
Final Draft Due: 100 points.
The above due dates are final. If you miss a date you miss the points, and you will still be expected to turn in the assignment before I allow you to move on. You are still responsible for handing in a thesis.
Monday, 6 February 2012
February 6th 2012
As we start reviewing for the final on Huckleberry Finn, make sure you can do the following things:
OBJECTIVES:
By the end of the novel students will be able to
1) Define realism, satire, dialect, antihero, unreliable narrator, irony (situational, dramatic, and verbal), episodic plot, romanticism, dramatic foils, hyperbole, motif, picaresque novel, parable, sarcasm, simile, metaphor, oxymoron, allegory, euphemism, bildungroman
2) Pick out examples of symbols, irony and dialect
3) Example the meaning of at least one major symbol
4) Discuss how Huck is both an unreliable narrator and an antihero
5) Discuss how Huckleberry Finn, the novel, fits both a bildungsroman and picaresque novel
6) Give examples of and discuss the following motifs in the book: superstition, parodies of previous literature (romantic novels and Shakespeare), the adopting of personas (or reinventing self), childhood games, religion, lies and cons, death, and perhaps one or two others that I will bring up in class
7) Be out to pick out and example five – ten allusions
8) Outline the plot according to the six elements
9) Break up the book into three sections or three movements (and briefly explain each movement)
10) Break up the book into 9 episodes
11) Give a list of characters in the book with a brief description of each and their general purpose in the novel
12) Compare and Contrast Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer
13) Discuss the idea of and the historical reference of Family Feuds
14) Discuss the different types of conflict found in Huckleberry Finn
15) Discuss how Mark Twain uses allusions to back up his major themes and develop his characters
16) Keep a list of Huckleberry Finns stories and pranks
17) Discuss how Huckleberry Finn is honest in dishonest world
18) Briefly explain the following themes: Racism and Slavery, Intellectual and Moral Education, The hypocrisy of society (appearance vs. reality), conflict between the individual and society, the quest for freedom (both freedom away from society and freedom within society), superstition vs religion, death and rebirth, coming of age and the hero’s journey, the concept of family, the role of the outsider, the nature and the significance of the following traits: gullibility, ignorance, and naivety, tolerance vs. prejudice.
OBJECTIVES:
By the end of the novel students will be able to
1) Define realism, satire, dialect, antihero, unreliable narrator, irony (situational, dramatic, and verbal), episodic plot, romanticism, dramatic foils, hyperbole, motif, picaresque novel, parable, sarcasm, simile, metaphor, oxymoron, allegory, euphemism, bildungroman
2) Pick out examples of symbols, irony and dialect
3) Example the meaning of at least one major symbol
4) Discuss how Huck is both an unreliable narrator and an antihero
5) Discuss how Huckleberry Finn, the novel, fits both a bildungsroman and picaresque novel
6) Give examples of and discuss the following motifs in the book: superstition, parodies of previous literature (romantic novels and Shakespeare), the adopting of personas (or reinventing self), childhood games, religion, lies and cons, death, and perhaps one or two others that I will bring up in class
7) Be out to pick out and example five – ten allusions
8) Outline the plot according to the six elements
9) Break up the book into three sections or three movements (and briefly explain each movement)
10) Break up the book into 9 episodes
11) Give a list of characters in the book with a brief description of each and their general purpose in the novel
12) Compare and Contrast Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer
13) Discuss the idea of and the historical reference of Family Feuds
14) Discuss the different types of conflict found in Huckleberry Finn
15) Discuss how Mark Twain uses allusions to back up his major themes and develop his characters
16) Keep a list of Huckleberry Finns stories and pranks
17) Discuss how Huckleberry Finn is honest in dishonest world
18) Briefly explain the following themes: Racism and Slavery, Intellectual and Moral Education, The hypocrisy of society (appearance vs. reality), conflict between the individual and society, the quest for freedom (both freedom away from society and freedom within society), superstition vs religion, death and rebirth, coming of age and the hero’s journey, the concept of family, the role of the outsider, the nature and the significance of the following traits: gullibility, ignorance, and naivety, tolerance vs. prejudice.
Wednesday, 1 February 2012
Study Questions for the last four chapters
Huck Discussion Questions XL-Chapter the Last
1. What do we learn about Jim in these chapters?
2. What effect does the Doctor's speech in support of Jim have? How do you feel about that?
3. What is the significance of the bullet?
4. Where is Huck going at the end of the novel? What does this imply about his view of the world in which he lives?
5. Comment on the style of the novel. Do you feel it represents the Realist tradition as we have discussed it? What aspects of Huck's character make him a good narrator? What problems did you encounter (if any) due to Huck's narration? Speculate on how a different narrator or a third person omniscient narrator would impact the story.
1. What do we learn about Jim in these chapters?
2. What effect does the Doctor's speech in support of Jim have? How do you feel about that?
3. What is the significance of the bullet?
4. Where is Huck going at the end of the novel? What does this imply about his view of the world in which he lives?
5. Comment on the style of the novel. Do you feel it represents the Realist tradition as we have discussed it? What aspects of Huck's character make him a good narrator? What problems did you encounter (if any) due to Huck's narration? Speculate on how a different narrator or a third person omniscient narrator would impact the story.
Tuesday, 31 January 2012
Thursday, 26 January 2012
Episode 8
Assignments: Outline episode 8 on blog and include the following information:
1) Summary of episode
2) List of new characters
3) Personas (include King (2 personas), Duke, Huck, Jim.
4) Major Themes (2 themes)
5) Allusions, Symbols, Ironies (at least one of each)
6) Discuss Huck's change in this episode
1) Summary of episode
2) List of new characters
3) Personas (include King (2 personas), Duke, Huck, Jim.
4) Major Themes (2 themes)
5) Allusions, Symbols, Ironies (at least one of each)
6) Discuss Huck's change in this episode
Monday, 16 January 2012
Study Questions for Huck Finn
Huck Discussion Questions XXIV - XXVII
1. As we have discussed, clothes can play a symbolic or thematic role in the novel. Huck even says that he "never knowed how clothes could change a body before." Discuss the thematic role of clothes in these chapters.
2. Comment on the last paragraph of Chapter XXIV. Make a connection to Twain's description of the Arkansas town. Why is Huck's response to the Peter Wilks incident so strong? Why does Huck make moral evaluations now (you'll recall that he remained morally neutral concerning the prior schemes of the duke and king)?
3. What qualities do the Wilks girls have that allow them to be fooled so easily?
4. Why is it significant that Joanna eats in the kitchen? What is the significance of her nickname? What themes are revealed?
5. What statement about the behavior of people does Twain make through the Dr. Robinson incident?
6. Previously Huck has refused to hinder the antics of the king and duke. Now he attempts to foil their scheme. Why? What theme(s) from the novel can you apply to Huck's change in attitude?
Huck Questions XXVIII - XXX
1. Twain was heavily criticized for bad taste due to his description of the funeral toward the end of Chapter XXVII. Why do you think he was criticized, and do you think the criticism justified?
2. On page 141 Huck says, ". . . here's a case where I'm blest if it don't look to me like the truth is better, and actuly safer, than a lie." Explain.
3. In these three chapters Huck finds himself having to lie for various reasons. How do his motives differ?
4. Why doesn't Twain involve Jim more in these chapters?
5. Does Huck's escape from Hines say anything about Hines' character?
6. How does Huck feel about Mary Jane? Why does Huck tell her to go away? Significance?
7. Discuss the significance of Huck's statement, ". . . anybody but a lot of prejudiced chuckleheads would a seen that the old gentlemen was spinning truth and t'other one lies."
8. What does the doctor represent?
9. By the end of Chapter XXX, do you think Twain vindicates the characters of the duke and king or does he have them remain as villains? Explain.
Huck Discussion Questions XXXI - XXXV
1. Would you say that Chapter 31 represents the climax of the novel? Why or why not?
2. Huck says, "All right, then, I'll go to hell." Explain the irony in that statement.
3. Discuss the symbolism of the imagery at the beginning of Chapter 32.
4. Discuss Huck's understanding of Providence (215)? Would Miss Watson agree?
5. How does Twain use irony in the discussion between Huck and Mrs. Phelps about the "steamboat accident."
6. One of the recurring themes becomes apparent when Huck discovers that the Phelps are expecting Tom Sawyer. Which theme comes to mind and why?
7. Huck and Tom both agree to help Jim escape; however, their motives are different. Explain.
8. "...and as they went by I see they had the king and duke astraddle of a rail - that is, I knowed it WAS the king and the duke, though they was all over tar and feathers. ...Well it made me sick to see it; and I was sorry for them poor pitiful rascals. ...Human beings CAN be cruel to one another" (225). Comment. What does this reveal about Huck's character?
9. Discuss the irony in Tom's reaction to the stealing of the watermelon.
10. Why does Huck let Tom take control?
Huck Discussion XXXVI-XXXIX - Written Assignment
Directions: Please write a minimum of three paragraphs on the following topic. Supply evidence from Chapters 35 - 39 to support your answer. It is due next class period. Think carefully about your answer.
Twain criticizes the Romantics. The Romantics based their literature on the conviction that imagination and emotion were superior to reason. You will recall that in Chapters 12 & 13, Twain names the wrecked steamboat The Walter Scott after a Romantic author, metaphorically relating it to the demise of Romanticism. Obviously, Twain was not a fan of Romantic fiction.
The Question: How was Twain's disdain for Romantic fiction evident in Chapters 36-39?
Hint - Think about:
1. Tom's character as symbolic of the Romantic;
2. how Huck has changed since Tom arrived;
3. the practicality of the plans for Jim's escape;
4. the consideration for Jim's welfare in these plans.
Huck Discussion Questions XL-Chapter the Last
1. What do we learn about Jim in these chapters?
2. What effect does the Doctor's speech in support of Jim have? How do you feel about that?
3. What is the significance of the bullet?
4. Where is Huck going at the end of the novel? What does this imply about his view of the world in which he lives?
5. Comment on the style of the novel. Do you feel it represents the Realist tradition as we have discussed it? What aspects of Huck's character make him a good narrator? What problems did you encounter (if any) due to Huck's narration? Speculate on how a different narrator or a third person omniscient narrator would impact the story.
1. As we have discussed, clothes can play a symbolic or thematic role in the novel. Huck even says that he "never knowed how clothes could change a body before." Discuss the thematic role of clothes in these chapters.
2. Comment on the last paragraph of Chapter XXIV. Make a connection to Twain's description of the Arkansas town. Why is Huck's response to the Peter Wilks incident so strong? Why does Huck make moral evaluations now (you'll recall that he remained morally neutral concerning the prior schemes of the duke and king)?
3. What qualities do the Wilks girls have that allow them to be fooled so easily?
4. Why is it significant that Joanna eats in the kitchen? What is the significance of her nickname? What themes are revealed?
5. What statement about the behavior of people does Twain make through the Dr. Robinson incident?
6. Previously Huck has refused to hinder the antics of the king and duke. Now he attempts to foil their scheme. Why? What theme(s) from the novel can you apply to Huck's change in attitude?
Huck Questions XXVIII - XXX
1. Twain was heavily criticized for bad taste due to his description of the funeral toward the end of Chapter XXVII. Why do you think he was criticized, and do you think the criticism justified?
2. On page 141 Huck says, ". . . here's a case where I'm blest if it don't look to me like the truth is better, and actuly safer, than a lie." Explain.
3. In these three chapters Huck finds himself having to lie for various reasons. How do his motives differ?
4. Why doesn't Twain involve Jim more in these chapters?
5. Does Huck's escape from Hines say anything about Hines' character?
6. How does Huck feel about Mary Jane? Why does Huck tell her to go away? Significance?
7. Discuss the significance of Huck's statement, ". . . anybody but a lot of prejudiced chuckleheads would a seen that the old gentlemen was spinning truth and t'other one lies."
8. What does the doctor represent?
9. By the end of Chapter XXX, do you think Twain vindicates the characters of the duke and king or does he have them remain as villains? Explain.
Huck Discussion Questions XXXI - XXXV
1. Would you say that Chapter 31 represents the climax of the novel? Why or why not?
2. Huck says, "All right, then, I'll go to hell." Explain the irony in that statement.
3. Discuss the symbolism of the imagery at the beginning of Chapter 32.
4. Discuss Huck's understanding of Providence (215)? Would Miss Watson agree?
5. How does Twain use irony in the discussion between Huck and Mrs. Phelps about the "steamboat accident."
6. One of the recurring themes becomes apparent when Huck discovers that the Phelps are expecting Tom Sawyer. Which theme comes to mind and why?
7. Huck and Tom both agree to help Jim escape; however, their motives are different. Explain.
8. "...and as they went by I see they had the king and duke astraddle of a rail - that is, I knowed it WAS the king and the duke, though they was all over tar and feathers. ...Well it made me sick to see it; and I was sorry for them poor pitiful rascals. ...Human beings CAN be cruel to one another" (225). Comment. What does this reveal about Huck's character?
9. Discuss the irony in Tom's reaction to the stealing of the watermelon.
10. Why does Huck let Tom take control?
Huck Discussion XXXVI-XXXIX - Written Assignment
Directions: Please write a minimum of three paragraphs on the following topic. Supply evidence from Chapters 35 - 39 to support your answer. It is due next class period. Think carefully about your answer.
Twain criticizes the Romantics. The Romantics based their literature on the conviction that imagination and emotion were superior to reason. You will recall that in Chapters 12 & 13, Twain names the wrecked steamboat The Walter Scott after a Romantic author, metaphorically relating it to the demise of Romanticism. Obviously, Twain was not a fan of Romantic fiction.
The Question: How was Twain's disdain for Romantic fiction evident in Chapters 36-39?
Hint - Think about:
1. Tom's character as symbolic of the Romantic;
2. how Huck has changed since Tom arrived;
3. the practicality of the plans for Jim's escape;
4. the consideration for Jim's welfare in these plans.
Huck Discussion Questions XL-Chapter the Last
1. What do we learn about Jim in these chapters?
2. What effect does the Doctor's speech in support of Jim have? How do you feel about that?
3. What is the significance of the bullet?
4. Where is Huck going at the end of the novel? What does this imply about his view of the world in which he lives?
5. Comment on the style of the novel. Do you feel it represents the Realist tradition as we have discussed it? What aspects of Huck's character make him a good narrator? What problems did you encounter (if any) due to Huck's narration? Speculate on how a different narrator or a third person omniscient narrator would impact the story.
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