HW 9/3: Gentleman in Moscow Interview

Welcome Seniors!  My first teaching mentor, Susie Carlisle, began her letter to seniors with the line, "Welcome to your Senior selves ... " and although I don't want to just steal Susie's line, I love the thought behind it and would like to extend the sentiment to you: you are yourself always, of course, in the broad sense of the tremendous idea encompassing the vast experiences of a human life.  But let's remember that we are at a particularly poignant place as seniors -- symbolically standing on the threshold to adulthood, ready to take the accumulated experiences and joys and hardships and lessons and triumphs of childhood and translate them into a productive and positive adult life.  You possess, in a sense, what Susie called the "promise of a seed" -- an amazing potential that needs only a little nourishing and time to self-actualize.  Thank you in advance for trusting me to help you along the way.  I am excited and humbled to get to be part of your senior experience, and I am looking forward to this year very much.  Yours, Mr. G :)

Now, here's your first HW assignment (because I love you):

Assignment for 9/3:
1. Watch or listen to this 2016 Wall Street Journal interview with Amor Towles.  Prepare a synopsis of no more than 1 typed page, double-spaced in which you track the general flow of the interview with specific examples and short quotations as needed.  It is not necessary to analyze the interview or to respond to it at this point; instead, focus on what is discussed ... and maybe a little of how it is presented.  Be prepared to discuss the interview in class tomorrow and to share a little of how hearing the author's ideas affect your understanding of the novel as a whole.
2. For those of you looking for a little more to dig into or to to talk about, here is a transcript of some interview questions that you are welcome to use as well: Amor Towles Q&A

Link to AP Prompts and Rubrics

https://secure-media.collegeboard.org/ap/pdf/ap18-frq-english-literature.pdf

https://secure-media.collegeboard.org/ap/pdf/ap18-sg-english-literature.pdf

Blizzard Bag III

For English 12 AP (A1 and A2): Read “Ajarry” in Underground Railroad, and participate in our Google Classroom online discussion ... including your initial post and at least one additional comment or question related to another post.

For English 12 CTP:                                                                            

Beowulf: Grendel’s Mother Ch 19-20                                                      

For the following questions, please include quotes (and line #’s) in your answers.  Use [  ]  ...  / as needed.

Ch. 19

1.      Why does Grendel’s mother come to Herot?

2.      Grendel’s mother is less powerful than Grendel.  How do you know?

3.      What act of violence does Gredel’s mother commit before she escapes?

Ch. 20

4.      Who is Esher?

5.      This chapter is Hrothgar speaking.  According to Hrothgar, where do Grendel and his mother live? What is it like? 

6.   Extra Credit: create a sketch of the monsters’ dwelling place, based on the description.  Label the important parts with “quote words” (w/line#s) from the book.  

HW 2/4: AP Prompt Highlighting

1. Please read through the "Question 3" prompts from AP Lit 1970-2017. 
2. For each one, highlight or underline the word or phrase that contains the essence of the prompt.
3. In the margin, please indicate a novel or play (abbreviations are fine) that would be a good choice to use in answering the prompt.
4. If you are unsure what a particular prompt is asking, or if you can't think of a novel which applies, please leave that prompt blank.  We can talk about it in class :)

Example (original):

1982. In great literature, no scene of violence exists for its own sake. Choose a work of literary merit that confronts the reader or audience with a scene or scenes of violence. In a well-organized essay, explain how the scene or scenes contribute to the meaning of the complete work. Avoid plot summary.

Example (marked up):

Their Eyes
1982. In great literature, no scene of violence exists for its own sake. Choose a work of literary merit that confronts the reader or audience with a scene or scenes of violence. In a well-organized essay, explain how the scene or scenes contribute to the meaning of the complete work. Avoid plot summary.

Please be prepared to explain your choice(s) in class.  We'll talk about the ones you feel most comfortable with -- and the ones that seem the toughest.

Example:

"I chose Their Eyes because each of the three major scenes of violence in the novel explore the question of trust and jealousy in romantic relationships -- an important stepping-stone to Janie's development as an independent character with a healthy romantic identity."

The Awakening Reading Schedule

.pdf available here 

Reading Assignments:

1/18  Ch. I-XV  p.1-45

Quiz and discussion on 1/22

1/22 Ch. XVI-XXVII p.45-83

Quiz and discussion on 1/25

1/25 Ch. XXVIII-XXXIX p. 83-116

Discussion 1/31, Written Exam 2/1

NOTE: Midterm Exams for English 12 AP are Tues. 1/29 (A1) and Wed. 1/30 (A2)

Make-Up Classwork 1/10: Hamlet IV.vi-vii Q's

1.       Hamlet left for England after declaring that he was going to think only “bloody” thoughts from this point onward.  It was going to be pretty difficult to do anything about Claudius from England, though.  What odd, offstage plot device sends Hamlet back to Denmark (IV.vi)?

2.            How are the tone and content of Hamlet’s two letters (to Horatio and Claudius) different?  In particular, what is does Hamlet’s diction (word choice!) imply in his letter to Claudius (IV.vii)?

3.            Claudius thinks perhaps that Laertes could kill Hamlet “accidentally” in a fencing match.  Claudius suggests that Laertes could just sort of happen to choose a sword “unbated,” or sharp, as opposed to the blunted weapon Hamlet would be using.  Pretty crafty, Claudius.  What does Laertes add to this plan in IV.vii.152-161?

4.            OK, so Laertes is crafty too.  But Claudius suggests they should have a “second” option, which is … (162-176)?

5.            Ophelia’s death, described in a hauntingly sad, sweet monologue by the Queen (IV.vii.181-198) dominates the ending of Act IV.  Does is come across as swift karma for Laertes’s evil plotting?  Does it seem like a logical or inevitable extension of her descent into madness?  Does she, perhaps, take her own life?  Is she finally taking charge of her life, but in an ultimately tragic way?  Why does Ophelia have to die??

6.            Water is sometimes a symbol of purification, sometimes destruction, sometimes cognition or deep intellect -- sometimes simply a natural, elemental symbol.  Which is it here, in relation to Ophelia’s death?  Use specific text details (w/line#’s) to support your thinking.

7.            Feeling bold?  Sketch a little image of Ophelia’s death and label some of the key details. (Not feeling bold?  Do a google search of Ophelia or Ophelia’s death and annotate a classic rendition of this scene … or several of them if this is intriguing to you.  Which parts are right out of the text, and which parts does the artist embellish?)

8.            Note: this “sentence completion” question is an attempt to get you to consider the significance of the juxtaposition of the death of Ophelia with the Gravedigger scene (V.i.).  We no sooner have processed the tragic death of Ophelia, then we have the “Clown” gravediggers debating whether or not Ophelia … (V.i.1-10)!

Make-Up Classwork 1/3: Hamlet Act IV

If you were absent on 1/3, please read Hamlet IV (scenes i-iv) and provide evidence for the following "Prove It!" statements:

1. (IV.i.) Gertrude tells Claudius that Hamlet is really crazy.

2. (IV.ii) Hamlet accuses Rosencrantz of working for the king.

3. (IV.iii) Hamlet refuses to give a straight answer about the whereabouts of the dead body.

4. (IV.iv) In Hamlet's soliloquy, he compares himself unfavorably to Fortinbras. (Note: Fortinbras makes a cameo appearance earlier in the scene, and Hamlet learns that Fortinbras will be going to war over a pretty much worthless piece of land just for the glory of it.)