Monday, November 24, 2014

Essays on As I Lay Dying

AGENDA:

Read and discuss essays

http://www.semo.edu/cfs/teaching/index.html


Jstor---articles in journals, etc.
http://www.jstor.org/

Noodle tools:
http://www.noodletools.com/

See essay regarding journey and characters:
http://www.semo.edu/cfs/teaching/20735.html

Friday, November 21, 2014

Faulkner/O'Connor

AGENDA:

Quiz on vocabulary from "A Rose for emily"
Grade, go over and hand in AP Multiple Choice packets
Continue discussion of "A Good Man is Hard to Find"

HMWK: FINISH reading As I Lay Dying for discussions Monday and Tuesday
Papers are due when we return on Dec. 1

Shmoop Discussion questions:


Good vs. Evil Theme

"A Good Man is Hard to Find" is a confrontation of between a grandmother with a rather superficial sense of goodness, and a criminal who embodies real evil. The grandmother seems to treat goodness mostly as a function of being decent, having good manners, and coming from a family of "the right people." What a contrast, when the grandmother encounters The Misfit, who seems straightforwardly evil, with little to no sense of guilt, and a genuine desire to do cruel or destructive things for their own sake. Understanding the motivations of The Misfit, and what "goodness" means by contrast, is one of the central puzzles of the story.

Questions About Good vs. Evil

1.       According to the grandmother, what is a "good man"? Is she sincere when she calls Red Sammy a good man? How about The Misfit?

2.       What motivates The Misfit – why does he do what he does? Is he a wholly evil character? Why or why not?

3.       Why would The Misfit say he never thinks the punishment fits the crime? Is he genuinely innocent, or does he believe himself to be? Has he forgotten his crimes? Does he have no sense of right and wrong?

4.       What does it mean when The Misfit says the grandmother would have been a good woman if he had been there to shoot her every minute of her life? What kind of "goodness" does he have in mind? Is this the beginning of a transformation in The Misfit?

Try on an opinion or two, start a debate, or play the devil’s advocate.

The Misfit has no sense of right and wrong, and for this reason doesn't feel any punishment can ever "fit" the crime.

The Misfit recognizes the grandmother's final gesture as good, and understands "goodness" to be the unconditional love given by divine grace

Religion Theme

·          

The central confrontation between the grandmother and The Misfit in "A Good Man is Hard to Find" revolves around Jesus. The grandmother brings up praying to Jesus in the hope that she can induce The Misfit to spare her life by appealing to his religious sense. It turns out, however, that The Misfit has probably thought about Jesus more seriously than she has. The Misfit's doubt in Jesus leads him to think that there is no real right or wrong, and no ultimate point to life. At the story's climax, the grandmother appears to receive a moment of divine grace, which might transform her and The Misfit. How this ending is understood is the major question of the story.

Questions About Religion

1.       Is the grandmother a real religious believer? Does she have genuine faith? What evidence can you find either way?

2.       Does The Misfit believe in Jesus? If he does, to what degree? If not, why not?

3.       Between The Misfit and the grandmother, who seems to have a more solid foundation in faith?

4.       Why would The Misfit attach so much importance to the question of whether Jesus did what he's supposed to have done? Why is this an all-or-nothing question for him?

5.       Is the grandmother's "moment of grace" a genuine moment of grace? What evidence do you see either way?

Try on an opinion or two, start a debate, or play the devil’s advocate.

The grandmother never took her religious faith seriously.

The grandmother's final gesture is a genuine moment of grace.

Manipulation Theme

Flannery O'Connor understood her story "A Good Man is Hard to Find" as a tale of good, evil, and divine grace. Other critics, however, have seen in it something more cynical. Many see it as the story of a selfish woman who uses manipulation to get what she wants, but is ultimately unable to save herself by her acts. There are several moments in the story when the grandmother manipulates others, including her family members and the criminal. An interesting question is whether she ever stops manipulating, and, if so, when.

Questions About Manipulation

1.       Is the grandmother an unusually manipulative person, or is her behavior fairly understandable? Why?

2.       In her confrontation with The Misfit, does the grandmother use purposeful, calculating manipulation, or is her attempt to save her own life desperate and not thought-out?

3.       Does the grandmother ever stop trying to manipulate The Misfit? At what point? How can you tell?

4.       Is the grandmother's moment of grace actually just another manipulation? Is The Misfit fooled by it?

Try on an opinion or two, start a debate, or play the devil’s advocate.

The grandmother never stops trying to manipulate The Misfit, and is stopped only when he kills her.

The grandmother's attempts to save her life are desperate from the beginning, and can hardly be considered deliberate manipulation.

 

Family Theme


Besides its more serious themes, "A Good Man is Hard to Find" contains some mercilessly funny comedy about a dysfunctional family, and the ways they get on each other's nerves. You know, the kind of family that could be in a National Lampoon movie? There's the two troublesome and annoying kids, the hot-headed dad who tries to maintain control of a situation and fails, the wife busy attending to the baby, and the grandmother, who's a case all to herself (and also the main character). Though the story starts out seeming like a comedy, it takes a serious turn when the family encounters a criminal, who kills them one by one. Whether this family members attract any genuine sympathy from the reader, or from each other, or whether they death presents little more than a black comedy is an issue up for debate.

Questions About Family


  1. Is the family in the story a caricature of a family, or are they realistic in certain aspects? Why?
  2. Are there any points in the story at which one of the family members comes across as sympathetic? If so, where are they? If not, why?
  3. Do any of the family members care for each other? If yes, then what evidence can you find in support?
  4. Does the grandmother really care about the rest of her family, or is she purely self-interested?

Try on an opinion or two, start a debate, or play the devil’s advocate.

The family in "A Good Man is Hard to Find" is pure caricature.

The grandmother is purely self-interested, and shows little concern for the rest of her family.



Society and Class Theme

The grandmother in "A Good Man is Hard to Find" gives great importance to being "a lady," and her ideas about what that means reflect an old-fashioned, somewhat upper-crust Southern mindset. She uses the n-word and longs for the good old days when kids were polite, people were trustworthy, and there were pretty plantations to visit. All of this leads her to associate being "good" with coming from a respectable family and behaving like a member of her social class; those who don't are outsiders. Her sensibilities are in for quite a shock when she meets The Misfit.

Questions About Society and Class

1.       In what ways does the grandmother reflect a particular Southern social class? To what extent is this conscious on her part?

2.       How does the grandmother's social class play a role in her confrontation with the Misfit, and in the story's larger contrast between good and evil?

3.       Do any characters besides the grandmother display an awareness of class or social status?

4.       Does the story adopt a negative view towards the kind of southern culture the grandmother represents? Is it instead positive, or neutral? How can you tell?

Try on an opinion or two, start a debate, or play the devil’s advocate.

The grandmother's values are only concerned with appearances, and are therefore criticized and mocked by the story.

 

Wednesday, November 19, 2014

Discussion of "A Rose for Emily"/"A Good Man is Hard to Find"/Southern Gothic

AGENDA:

Discuss "A Rose for Emily"

HMWK: Read Flannery O'Connor's "A Good Man is Hard to Fiind"

http://edsitement.neh.gov/lesson-plan/flannery-oconnors-good-man-hard-find-whos-real-misfit 

  • How does Flannery O'Connor describe the cultural and physical landscape of the South? What are the characteristics of the literary genre known as "Southern Gothic"?
  • What are the key themes Flannery O'Connor explores in "A Good Man is Hard to Find"?

  • The following questions can be given to students in advance or used to guide discussion during class:
    1. What qualities of the grandmother do you like? What qualities do you dislike? How did you feel when The Misfit killed her? Why?
    2. How would you characterize the other members of the family? What is the function of images like the following: the mother's "face was as broad and innocent as a cabbage and was tied around with a green head-kerchief that had two points on the top like a rabbit's ears" and the grandmother's "big black valise looked like the head of a hippopotamus"?
    3. How does O'Connor foreshadow the encounter with The Misfit?
    4. What does the grandmother mean by a "good man"? Whom does she consider good people? What are other possible meanings of "good"? Why does she tell The Misfit that he's a good man? Is there any sense in which he is?
    5. What is the significance of the discussion of Jesus? Was he a good man?
    6. What is the significance of the grandmother's saying, "Why you're one of my babies. You're one of my own children"?
    7. What is the significance of The Misfit's saying, "She would of been a good woman if it had been somebody there to shoot her every minute of her life"?
    There are, of course, no absolute answers to these questions; the story resists easy solutions, violates the reader's expectations.
     

Tuesday, November 18, 2014

Faulkner "A Rose for Emily"

AGENDA:

Read and discuss "A Rose for Emily"

http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=a+rose+for+emily+lesson+plan&FORM=HDRSC3&adlt=strict#view=detail&mid=F58350F91DF2C11873C5F58350F91DF2C11873C5

HMWK:
Go over questions about the short story for tomorrow
Read essay on "As I Lay Dying" journey
Quiz on vocab on Friday


Vocabulary--"A Rose for Emily"

cupola
noun- small structure built on top of a roof

encroach

verb- to advance beyond proper limits

obliterate

verb- to remove all traces of

august

adj- marked by majestic dignity

coquettish

adj- flirtatious

bemuse

verb- to make confused

anonymous

adj- not named or identified

edict

noun- formal command or decree

remit

verb- to release from guilt

dispensation

noun- an exemption from a law

perpetuity

noun- lasting indefinitely

archaic

adj- relating to a more primitive time

alderman

noun- member of a legislative body

disuse

noun- cessation of use or practice

dank

adj- unpleasantly moist or wet

mote

noun- speck

gilt

adj- covered with gold

spare

adj- lean

pallid

adj- dull

vanquish

verb- to overcome in battle

temerity

noun- nerve

diffident

adj- hesitant through lack of self-confidence

deprecation

noun- expressed disapproval

slunk

verb- to move stealthily

torso

noun- human or animal body apart from the head and appendages

tableau

noun- silent motionless play

spraddle

verb- sprawl

vindicate

verb- to free from blame

pauper

noun- a very poor person

livery

noun- stable where horses and vehicles are kept for hire

kin

noun- one's relatives

acrid

adj- bitter

pall

noun- something that covers

mute

adj- unable to speak

Monday, November 17, 2014

As I Lay Dying Study guides and Reading Questions

AGENDA:

As I Lay Dying Study Guide (with timelines for each character):

http://englishbusselman.weebly.com/uploads/1/3/8/2/13827069/great_study_guide_for_as_i_lay_dying.pdf

Oprah's website:

http://www.oprah.com/oprahsbookclub/Faulkner-101-How-to-Read-William-Faulkner

Toni Morrison and William Faulkner:

http://www.oprah.com/oprahsbookclub/Faulkner-101-Toni-Morrison-and-William-Faulkner


Part 1:
1. Discuss the different kind of relationships the Bundren siblings have with each other. Is Cora right about Darl being Addie's favorite son?

2. What type of marriage do you think Anse and Addie have? How do you feel about Anse as a father and a husband? How do Addie's children feel about her?

3. Discuss what the involvement of Doctor Peabody and Cora and Vernon Tull in the Bundrens' saga says about the importance of community in country life.

4. What does Cash's list of the 13 reasons for beveling the edges of the coffin tell us about him?

5. As far as we know, Dewey Dell hasn't told anyone about her pregnancy. Do you think she's incapable of articulating her condition in words, or do you think Faulkner meant her to be representative of the times?

6. How does Vardaman come to the conclusion that "My mother is a fish" (p. 84)? As you continue reading, look for other ways Vardaman attempts to keep his mother alive.

PART 2:
1. Anse Bundren may be one of the most feckless characters in literature, but why do you think his neighbors repeatedly come to his aid? Is it out of pity, respect, guilt, charity, community...or is Anse that good at manipulation?

2. Faulkner allows Darl and Vardaman to express themselves in language that would be impossible given their lack of education and experience in the world. Why does Faulkner break with the realistic representation of character in this way?

3. Which are the most sympathetic voices in the novel? Discuss which characters you most and least identify with.

4. What does Darl's tale of how Jewel bought his first horse reveal about Jewel's personality and his relationship with his family?

5. What does the novel reveal about the ways in which human beings deal with death, grieving, and letting go of loved ones?

6. Is Tull and Jewel's search in the river for Cash's tools an act of love or obligation?

Part 3:
1. Why do you think Addie's chapter is placed where it is? How does her chapter change your earlier perceptions of the Bundren family? For example, how well did Cora really know Addie?

2. On pages 173–174, Addie meditates on the distance between words and actions. Is Faulkner saying that words—his own chosen medium—are inadequate? What do Addie's definitions say about her as a woman?

3. Anse Bundren alone thrives in the midst of disaster. What was his real reason for wanting to go to Jefferson? Who else gets what they came for?

4. Humor and the grotesque are often interdependent in this novel, such as Vardaman's accidental drilling of holes in his dead mother's face so she can breathe, the family setting Cash's broken leg in cement and the family's apparent imperviousness to the stench of Addie's rotting corpse. What are other examples? What was your reaction to such moments?

5. Darl is able to describe Addie's death when he is not present and intuit Dewey Dell's pregnancy. What does this uncanny visionary power mean, particularly in the context of what happens to Darl at the end of the novel?

6. The Bundrens must endure a number of obstacles on their way to Jefferson. To what extent are the elements against them, and to what extent do they sabotage themselves?

7. What compels loyalty in this family? What are the ways in which that loyalty is betrayed? Who do you feel makes the ultimate sacrifice for the family? Overall, do you find this novel to be hopeful or pessimistic? Share your comments.

Think you know As I Lay Dying? Take our quiz!

Friday, November 14, 2014

As I Lay Dying/Intro to Paper/Character Tracking--The Journey

AGENDA:

View Franco's movie (10 minutes)/Franco interview

http://insidemovies.ew.com/2013/10/12/james-franco-as-i-lay-dying-2/

Continue to work in groups to track character journey

Wednesday, November 12, 2014

Modernism and Faulkner

AGENDA:

EQ: What is American Modernism?

What is Modernism?

Modernism in Literature The following are characteristics of Modernism:
  • Marked by a strong and intentional break with tradition. This break includes a strong reaction against established religious, political, and social views.
  • Belief that the world is created in the act of perceiving it; that is, the world is what we say it is.
  • There is no such thing as absolute truth. All things are relative.
  • No connection with history or institutions. Their experience is that of alienation, loss, and despair.
  • Championship of the individual and celebration of inner strength.
  • Life is unordered.
  • Concerned with the sub-conscious.

American Modernism

Known as "The Lost Generation" American writers of the 1920s Brought Modernism to the United States. For writers like Hemingway and Fitzgerald, World War I destroyed the illusion that acting virtuously brought about good. Like their British contemporaries, American Modernists rejected traditional institutions and forms. American Modernists include:
  • Ernest Hemingway - The Sun Also Rises chronicles the meaningless lives of the Lost Generation. Farewell to Arms narrates the tale of an ambulance driver searching for meaning in WWI.
  • F. Scott Fitzgerald - The Great Gatsby shows through its protagonist, Jay Gatsby, the corruption of the American Dream.
  • John Dos Passos, Hart Crane, and Sherwood Anderson are other prominent writers of the period.
Mini Lesson: Make a chart to identify aspects of modernism. In the left column list the characteristics of modernism; in the middle column find specific passages; in the right column write an analysis of the passage.

Monday, November 3, 2014

Essays/Quiz Bluest Eye Week of 11/3-11/7

AGENDA:

Quiz on The Bluest Eye

READ AND DISCUSS: Essays from last week

Tuesday: Read, annotate and discuss Gloria Naylor's "The Meanings of a Word" and Dick Gregory's "Shame"

Wednesday: Read, annotate and discuss Toni Morrison's "Nobel Lecture" and Faulkner's "Nobel Speech"
EQ: What do these speeches argue is the role of language and writing?
HMWK: Read to pg. 40 in As I Lay Dying
Link to Toni Morrison's speech:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ticXzFEpN9o 

Faulkner's speech:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ENIj5oNtapw


Thursday: Finish discussion of Morrison's speech
Review the characters and action in As I Lay Dying
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yZMy7TOf6XA