Friday, January 18, 2008

Accel 11 News

  1. In the interest of preserving my sanity, as well as my students' sanity, I will use your short story mini-test as your first grade on third quarter.
  2. Please remember to send me an electronic copy of your short story this weekend, if you haven't already.
  3. Thank you to everyone who got their outside reading forms and short stories in on time. I really do appreciate your effort.
  4. Finally, to those of you attending the cotillion, please be careful and have a good time.

Tuesday, January 15, 2008

Hawaii pics!

tlesniak/Hawaii

Accel 11 Binder Check

Wednesday, January 16

Journals: 10 of your own, Journals 12-24
Quotes: 7 of your own, Quotes 12-22
Close Reading Guide
Scarlet Letter symbolism notes
literary criticism notes
Literary Terms 3 and Short Story Literary Terms

Tuesday, January 8, 2008

The Outcasts of Poker Flat

Copy and paste the address below into your address field for a full text version of the story.

http://www.readbookonline.net/readOnLine/1101/

Analyzing Literature #1-3
Regional literature captures the atmosphere, or mood, of an area, by showing the region's habits, speech, appearance and customs.
1. What specific details of the setting does Harte use to create a portrait of the California landscape?
2. Find three examples of a character's use of western dialect (speaking like they're from the West).
3. Explain why you think the story would not be effective if the setting were changed.

Critical Thinking and Reading #1-2
What guesses about the attitudes of the people of Poker Flat can you make from each of the following passages?
1. "A few of the committee had urged hanging him as a possible example, and a sure method of reimbursing themselves from his pocket of the sums he had won from them."
2. " 'It's a fine justice,' said Jim Wheeler, 'to let this yer young man - an entire stranger - carry away our money.' "

Monday, January 7, 2008

Writing Assignment 4 photos




The Fall of the House of Usher

Follow this link to the full text of the story.

**If the link does not work, simply google "the fall ofthe house of usher full text" and there will be many sites from which to choose.

Questions are as follows...
Thinking About the Selection
8. How is the physical appearance of the interior of the House of USher related to the condition of Usher's mind?
9. What details early in the story foreshadow the ending?
10. Critics have argued that Madeline and Roderick are not only twins but are phsyical and mental components of the same being? What evidence is there to support this theory?
11. What is the significance of the fact that rather than helping Usher, the narrator finds himself becoming infected by Usher's condition?
12. Explain the two meanings of the story's title.
13. In what way is the ending of the story ambiguous?
14. Poe's story may suggest that the human imagination is capable of producing false perceptions of reality. Do you agree with this suggestion? Why or why not?

Analyzing Literature
Poe asserted that a story should be constructed to achieve a single effect - in this story that effect is terror.
How do each of the events contribute to the growing sense of terror in this story?
1. the description of the house
2. the description of Usher's painting
3. the entombment of Madeline
4. storms and other natural phenomena

Wednesday, January 2, 2008

Imagined Scenes

Here are the questions for today's classwork if you weren't able to finish in class. I could not find a link for the story, so just do your best from memory.

Thinking About the Selection
6a. What hints does Beattie provide that the relationship between the young woman and David is somewhat strained?
6b. What might be the main cause of this tension?
7a. How is the old man's attitude toward his sister similar to David's attitude toward the young woman?
7b. In what sense is the young woman's situation similar to the sister's situation?
7c. What is ironic, or surprising, about the sister's final comment?
8. What do you think the snow symbolizes, or represents, in the story?
9. Do you think it would be possible for the young woman to change her situation? Why or why not?

Analyzing Literature
"Imagined Scenes" is written in a postmodern format. It's written in a broken sequence of scenes that reflect the disjointed, fragmentary quality of contemporary life.
1. How are the beginning and ending of the stor unlike those in traditional short stories?
2. Why is the overall structure of the story appropriate for its subject?
3. What does the story suggest about the ability of people in contemporary society to communicate with one another?

Critical Thinking and Reading
In her story, Beattie captures the human tendency to think metaphorically, or to seek and understand the world through comparisons.
1. What do the postcards represent to the old man?
2. What do the scenes the young woman imagines represent to her?