The Themes:
1.This novel is filled with multiple themes but the predominate one focuses on the death of the American Dream. This can be explained by how Gatsby came to get his fortune. Through his dealings with organized crime he didn't adhere to the American Dream guidelines. Nick also suggests this with the manner in which he talks about all the rich characters in the story. The immoral people have all the money. Of course looking over all this like the eyes of God are those of Dr. T.J. Eckleburg on the billboard.
2.The second theme that needs to be acknowledged is the thought of repeating the past. Gatsby's whole being since going off to war is devoted to getting back together with Daisy and have things be the way they were before he left. That's why Gatsby got a house like the one Daisy used to live in right across the bay from where she lives. He expresses this desire by reaching towards the green light on her porch early in the book. The last paragraph, So we beat on, boats against the current, born back ceaselessly into the past reinforces this theme.
3.Fitzgerald was in his twenty's when he wrote this novel and since he went to Princeton he was considered a spokesman for his generation. He wrote about the third theme which is the immorality that was besieging the 1920's. Organized crime ran rampant, people were partying all the time, and affairs were common play. The last of which Fitzgerald portrays well in this novel.
4.The eyes of T. J. Eckleburg convey a fourth theme in this novel. George Wilson compares them to the eyes of God looking over the valley of Ashes. The unmoving eyes on the billboard look down on the Valley of Ashes and see all the immorality and garbage of the times. By the end of the novel you will realize that this symbolizes that God is dead.
English 11: The Death of the American Dream
Tuesday, 4 January 2011
Monday, 3 January 2011
The Great Gatsby
NOVEL UNIT: The Great Gatsby
“In leaving something unsaid the beholder is given a chance to complete the idea and thus a great masterpiece irresistibly rivets your attention until you seem to become actually a part of it.” –on the value of art and suggestion, Kakuzo Okakura--
The novel unit is designed to give students the chance to expand the fundamentals learned during the short story unit at a much larger scope. Students will learn how to break a novel down by applying basic prose elements such as themes, plots, subplots, characters (and character development), while learning about symbols, metaphors, imagery, and word choice. Students reading The Great Gatsby will learn about social issues of America during the Roaring Twenties and the failure of the American Dream. In the novel we will look at characters and characterization, and see how they prove to be harsh, lively, compelling and most of all—human.
OBJECTIVES:
At the end of the unit students will be able to
1) Define character development, irony, metaphor, personification, subplot, atmosphere and allusion and symbol
2) List all the characters that appear in the novel and describe their physical appearance, motivations, social class.
3) List various allusions and foreshadows and discuss what they mean in relation to plot.
4) List the various types of conflict that occur throughout the novel and discuss who the conflicts are between.
5) Keep a journal that outlines each chapter by listing setting (if applicable), characters, conflicts, and summaries.
6) List three themes and in a paragraph or more discuss how these themes work in the novel.
7) In an essay of a page or more discuss how Fitzgerald uses particular images or characters as symbols and discuss how these symbols reflect larger themes or ideas in the novel.
8) Outline the character development (inward change) of various characters (to be mentioned later).
9) List and outline four subplots in either novel.
10) List and outline the central plot.
11) In a paragraph or more discuss how social class or social problems fit in the novel and relate them to conflict and theme.
12) Pick out two or three examples of similes and/or metaphors and in a paragraph discuss how they are used.
13) Given a quotation identify the speaker.
14) Write various journal entries from different characters’ points of view, which demonstrates an understanding of the character and the character’s attitude towards life.
ACTIVITIES TO BE INCLUDED:
1) Quizzes
2) Reading (inside and outside of class)
3) Viewing Documentaries and Movies that relate to the novel
4) Listening to CDs that relate to the novel
5) Journals
6) Group questions and group work
7) Drawings
8) Unit Final
Possible memorization and acting of characters
“In leaving something unsaid the beholder is given a chance to complete the idea and thus a great masterpiece irresistibly rivets your attention until you seem to become actually a part of it.” –on the value of art and suggestion, Kakuzo Okakura--
The novel unit is designed to give students the chance to expand the fundamentals learned during the short story unit at a much larger scope. Students will learn how to break a novel down by applying basic prose elements such as themes, plots, subplots, characters (and character development), while learning about symbols, metaphors, imagery, and word choice. Students reading The Great Gatsby will learn about social issues of America during the Roaring Twenties and the failure of the American Dream. In the novel we will look at characters and characterization, and see how they prove to be harsh, lively, compelling and most of all—human.
OBJECTIVES:
At the end of the unit students will be able to
1) Define character development, irony, metaphor, personification, subplot, atmosphere and allusion and symbol
2) List all the characters that appear in the novel and describe their physical appearance, motivations, social class.
3) List various allusions and foreshadows and discuss what they mean in relation to plot.
4) List the various types of conflict that occur throughout the novel and discuss who the conflicts are between.
5) Keep a journal that outlines each chapter by listing setting (if applicable), characters, conflicts, and summaries.
6) List three themes and in a paragraph or more discuss how these themes work in the novel.
7) In an essay of a page or more discuss how Fitzgerald uses particular images or characters as symbols and discuss how these symbols reflect larger themes or ideas in the novel.
8) Outline the character development (inward change) of various characters (to be mentioned later).
9) List and outline four subplots in either novel.
10) List and outline the central plot.
11) In a paragraph or more discuss how social class or social problems fit in the novel and relate them to conflict and theme.
12) Pick out two or three examples of similes and/or metaphors and in a paragraph discuss how they are used.
13) Given a quotation identify the speaker.
14) Write various journal entries from different characters’ points of view, which demonstrates an understanding of the character and the character’s attitude towards life.
ACTIVITIES TO BE INCLUDED:
1) Quizzes
2) Reading (inside and outside of class)
3) Viewing Documentaries and Movies that relate to the novel
4) Listening to CDs that relate to the novel
5) Journals
6) Group questions and group work
7) Drawings
8) Unit Final
Possible memorization and acting of characters
Sunday, 5 December 2010
HUCKLEBERRY FINN FINAL: Review GUIDE
KNOW ALL OF THESE:
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.
SAMPLE SHORT ANSWER QUESTIONS:
1) Give at least three examples of scenes that fit the THEME: the individual vs. society.
2) List 9 episodes and give three events for each.
3) For the following characters list what they did or why they are important in the novel.
King (the late Dauphin)
Duke of Bridgewater (or Bilgewater)
Ben Rogers
Judith Loftus
Colonel Sherburn
Harvey Wilks
4) List three literary allusions in Huck Finn (please don’t use an author more than once) and discuss what the allusions reinforce (think main ideas or themes).
5-8) Name the speaker of the following quotes and briefly discuss the significance of the quote:
“Here was this nigger, which I had as good as helped run away, coming right out flat-footed and saying he would steal his children—children that belonged to a man I didn’t even know; a man that hadn’t ever done me no harm”
SPEAKER:
SIGNIFICANCE:
“Is a cat a man? Well den, dey ain’t no sense in a cat talkin’ like a man. Is a cow a man? Is a cow a cat? Well den she ain’t got no business to talk like either one… Is a Frenchman a man? Well den! Dad blame it, why doan’ he talk like a man?”
SPEAKER:
SIGNIFCANCE”
“I’d been selling an article that takes the tartar off the teeth—an it does take it off, too, and generly the enamel along with it.”
SPEAKER:
SIGNIFICANCE:
“They call this a govment that can’t sell a free nigger till he’s been in the state six months… Here’s a govment that calls itself a govment, and lets on to be a govment and thinks it is a govment, and yet’s got to set stock-still for six whole months before it can take a-hold of a prowling, thieving, infernal, white-shirted free nigger.”
SPEAKER:
SIGNIFICANCE:
9. Discuss how Huckleberry Finn is both an unreliable narrator and an antihero.
10. Give an example of dramatic foil in the novel and discuss the significance of this dramatic foil. What idea(s) does this foil reinforce?
11. What is the major symbol of the novel? Discuss how it is used? What scenes or moments reinforce this idea? What is Twain saying with this symbol about society?
SAMPLE MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS
1: At the beginning of the novel, why does Huck quit Tom Sawyer's gang?
a. He has no parent to ransom.
b. He feels guilty about robbing people.
c. The gang's adventures are imaginary.
d. The Widow forces him to quit.
2: When Huck sees Pap's boot print in the snow, what does he do?
a. He tells Miss Watson.
b. He quits school.
c. He tries to get Tom's gang to search for Pap.
d. He sells his fortune to Judge Thatcher.
3: How does Huck cover up his escape from Pap's cabin?
a. He makes it look as if a robber killed him.
b. He leaves a note explaining his disappearance.
c. He doesn't; he just escapes.
d. He leaves evidence indicating that Jim was at fault.
4: Who, in addition to Huck, is hiding on Jackson's Island?
a. Jim
b. Tom Sawyer
c. Miss Watson
d. The Duke and the King
5: Who is Sarah Williams from Hookerville?
a. Tom Sawyer's cousin
b. Jim's new owner
c. Miss Watson's niece
d. Huck in disguise
6: What are the Grangerfords and the Shepherdsons feuding about?
a. The theft of cattle
b. The death of an infant
c. Nobody really remembers.
d. A land dispute
7: Where does Huck hide the money he steals from the Duke and the King?
a. In the mattress of his bed
b. In the wigwam on the raft
c. In a well
d. In the coffin
8: Whom do the Phelpses mistake Huck for?
a. Tom Sawyer
b. Sid Sawyer
c. Judge Thatcher
d. Jim
9: At the end of the novel, after Huck leaves them in search of Jim, what happens to the Duke and the King?
a. Huck never finds out.
b. They get tarred and feathered and driven out of town.
c. They have another successful Royal Nonesuch.
d. They take a steamboat up the Mississippi River.
10: Who has the logical plan of escape to free Jim from the Phelps' farm?
a. Jim
b. Tom Sawyer
c. Huck
d. The Duke
11: According to Tom Sawyer, why must Jim's escape be so elaborate?
a. That is the way it is done in romance novels.
b. To fool the ignorant villagers
c. To ensure success
d. To throw off suspicion
12: Who gets shot during Jim's escape?
a. Jim
b. Huck
c. Uncle Silas
d. Tom Sawyer
13: Who says the following: "Doan' hurt me — don't! I hain't ever done no harm to a ghos'. I awluz l
iked dead people, en done all I could for 'em."
a. Huck
b. The Duke
c. Jim
d. Tom Sawyer
14: Who says the following: "I say orgies, not because it's the common term, because it ain't – obsequies bein' the
common term – but because orgies is the right term. Obsequies ain't used in England no more, now – it's gone out."
a. Tom Sawyer
b. The King
c. Uncle Silas
d. Judge Thatcher
15: Who says the following: "You don't know about me without you have read a book by the name of
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer; but that ain't no matter."
a. Jim
b. Huck
c. Uncle Silas
d. Tom Sawyer
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.
SAMPLE SHORT ANSWER QUESTIONS:
1) Give at least three examples of scenes that fit the THEME: the individual vs. society.
2) List 9 episodes and give three events for each.
3) For the following characters list what they did or why they are important in the novel.
King (the late Dauphin)
Duke of Bridgewater (or Bilgewater)
Ben Rogers
Judith Loftus
Colonel Sherburn
Harvey Wilks
4) List three literary allusions in Huck Finn (please don’t use an author more than once) and discuss what the allusions reinforce (think main ideas or themes).
5-8) Name the speaker of the following quotes and briefly discuss the significance of the quote:
“Here was this nigger, which I had as good as helped run away, coming right out flat-footed and saying he would steal his children—children that belonged to a man I didn’t even know; a man that hadn’t ever done me no harm”
SPEAKER:
SIGNIFICANCE:
“Is a cat a man? Well den, dey ain’t no sense in a cat talkin’ like a man. Is a cow a man? Is a cow a cat? Well den she ain’t got no business to talk like either one… Is a Frenchman a man? Well den! Dad blame it, why doan’ he talk like a man?”
SPEAKER:
SIGNIFCANCE”
“I’d been selling an article that takes the tartar off the teeth—an it does take it off, too, and generly the enamel along with it.”
SPEAKER:
SIGNIFICANCE:
“They call this a govment that can’t sell a free nigger till he’s been in the state six months… Here’s a govment that calls itself a govment, and lets on to be a govment and thinks it is a govment, and yet’s got to set stock-still for six whole months before it can take a-hold of a prowling, thieving, infernal, white-shirted free nigger.”
SPEAKER:
SIGNIFICANCE:
9. Discuss how Huckleberry Finn is both an unreliable narrator and an antihero.
10. Give an example of dramatic foil in the novel and discuss the significance of this dramatic foil. What idea(s) does this foil reinforce?
11. What is the major symbol of the novel? Discuss how it is used? What scenes or moments reinforce this idea? What is Twain saying with this symbol about society?
SAMPLE MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS
1: At the beginning of the novel, why does Huck quit Tom Sawyer's gang?
a. He has no parent to ransom.
b. He feels guilty about robbing people.
c. The gang's adventures are imaginary.
d. The Widow forces him to quit.
2: When Huck sees Pap's boot print in the snow, what does he do?
a. He tells Miss Watson.
b. He quits school.
c. He tries to get Tom's gang to search for Pap.
d. He sells his fortune to Judge Thatcher.
3: How does Huck cover up his escape from Pap's cabin?
a. He makes it look as if a robber killed him.
b. He leaves a note explaining his disappearance.
c. He doesn't; he just escapes.
d. He leaves evidence indicating that Jim was at fault.
4: Who, in addition to Huck, is hiding on Jackson's Island?
a. Jim
b. Tom Sawyer
c. Miss Watson
d. The Duke and the King
5: Who is Sarah Williams from Hookerville?
a. Tom Sawyer's cousin
b. Jim's new owner
c. Miss Watson's niece
d. Huck in disguise
6: What are the Grangerfords and the Shepherdsons feuding about?
a. The theft of cattle
b. The death of an infant
c. Nobody really remembers.
d. A land dispute
7: Where does Huck hide the money he steals from the Duke and the King?
a. In the mattress of his bed
b. In the wigwam on the raft
c. In a well
d. In the coffin
8: Whom do the Phelpses mistake Huck for?
a. Tom Sawyer
b. Sid Sawyer
c. Judge Thatcher
d. Jim
9: At the end of the novel, after Huck leaves them in search of Jim, what happens to the Duke and the King?
a. Huck never finds out.
b. They get tarred and feathered and driven out of town.
c. They have another successful Royal Nonesuch.
d. They take a steamboat up the Mississippi River.
10: Who has the logical plan of escape to free Jim from the Phelps' farm?
a. Jim
b. Tom Sawyer
c. Huck
d. The Duke
11: According to Tom Sawyer, why must Jim's escape be so elaborate?
a. That is the way it is done in romance novels.
b. To fool the ignorant villagers
c. To ensure success
d. To throw off suspicion
12: Who gets shot during Jim's escape?
a. Jim
b. Huck
c. Uncle Silas
d. Tom Sawyer
13: Who says the following: "Doan' hurt me — don't! I hain't ever done no harm to a ghos'. I awluz l
iked dead people, en done all I could for 'em."
a. Huck
b. The Duke
c. Jim
d. Tom Sawyer
14: Who says the following: "I say orgies, not because it's the common term, because it ain't – obsequies bein' the
common term – but because orgies is the right term. Obsequies ain't used in England no more, now – it's gone out."
a. Tom Sawyer
b. The King
c. Uncle Silas
d. Judge Thatcher
15: Who says the following: "You don't know about me without you have read a book by the name of
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer; but that ain't no matter."
a. Jim
b. Huck
c. Uncle Silas
d. Tom Sawyer
Monday, 22 November 2010
Notes:
How to break apart Huck Finn:
Three Movements:
Movement 1 - Chapters 1-11: St. Petersburg (land)
The introduction to society and the escape from it.
Episodic Structure:
Episode 1: Tom's Gang (chapters 1-4)
Episode 2: Huck and Pap (chapters 5-7)
Episode 3: Jackson Islands (chapters 8-11)
Traditional Plot:
Inciting Event: Huck fakes his death (or could you argue that it's when Huck's Pap returns?)
Huck Finn Personas: Sarah Mary Williams, George Peters.
Huck's stories (his family is dead or sick and he is seeking help)
Motifs: Death, Snakes.
Three Movements:
Movement 1 - Chapters 1-11: St. Petersburg (land)
The introduction to society and the escape from it.
Episodic Structure:
Episode 1: Tom's Gang (chapters 1-4)
Episode 2: Huck and Pap (chapters 5-7)
Episode 3: Jackson Islands (chapters 8-11)
Traditional Plot:
Inciting Event: Huck fakes his death (or could you argue that it's when Huck's Pap returns?)
Huck Finn Personas: Sarah Mary Williams, George Peters.
Huck's stories (his family is dead or sick and he is seeking help)
Motifs: Death, Snakes.
Tuesday, 16 November 2010
Literary Terms for Huckleberry Finn
Picarsque Novel: Usually a satirical novel which depicts in realistic detail the adventures of a roguish hero of low social class who survives by his or her wits in a corrupt society.
Bildungsroman: A novel whose principal subject is the moral, psychological and intellectual development of a youthful main character.
Episodic Plot: A structure that features distinct episodes or a series of stories linked together by the same character. Huck Finn can be broken up into 8 or 9 episodes.
Romanticism:
Work of literature that deal with imagination, that represent ideals of life, these works often include fantastic adventure stories, spiritual connections with nature, gothic stories of the fantastic. Authors include: Sir Walter Scott, Fenimore Cooper, Poe.
Realism:
Works of literature that depict life and people as they really appear. Hence Realistic.
Themes include corruption of society as a whole, racism.
Anithero:
A protagonist who doesn't fit the traditional description of a hero.
Persona:
An assumed identity or character.
Satire:
A work of literature that uses irony and hyperbole to attack and mock some aspect of society as a way to promote social change.
Tuesday, 9 November 2010
Thesis Statements and Order of Development
Due today: Thesis statement and order of development.
A couple websites that could help you: Writing Thesis Statements
or how to write a literary analysis
A couple websites that could help you: Writing Thesis Statements
or how to write a literary analysis
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