Fun with Meter

Today we practiced the terms we learned yesterday. It was fun. You should have been here. There will be a quiz Monday. You should ask your friends who were here to run through the mnemonics we practiced with you. Then you might pass the quiz. ;-)

Poetry Intro

Today we went over several of the Poetic and Stylistic Terms on the Literary Terms handout, using them to explore Jean Toomer's poem "Reapers."

Tuesday: Faulkner Timed Writing

Today, after I collected the study guide and character sheet, we spent the day writing about Faulkner's novel.

Friday and Monday

Friday we spent the day norming and scoring essays from the "Eleven" AP test prompt.
Monday we spent one more day on Faulkner, reviewing theme and potential thesis statements and comparing Cash's thoughts on sanity with Emily Dickinson's from her poem, "Much maddness is divinest sense."

Wednesday/Thursday

Over the last few days we have written about and discussed Faulkner's As I Lay Dying, responding to the eight prompts below.

• New Due Dates: PC, SG, Character Sheet, and Faulkner Quickwrites due Monday, 10/24

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As I lay Dying Questions

1. Anse Bundren may be one of the most feckless characters in literature. Why do you think his neighbors repeatedly come to his aid? Is it out of pity, respect, guilt, charity, community, or is Anse just 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. What does the novel reveal about the ways in which human beings deal with death, grieving, and letting go of loved ones?
4. Why do you think Addie's chapter (40) 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?
5. In chapter 40, 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?
6. 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 does this add to Faulkner’s narrative?
7. What does Faulkner achieve through his use of fifteen different narrators and narrative voices? How does this shape the story and support Faulkner’s themes?
8. The title As I Lay Dying is an allusion to Homer’s epic The Odyssey* (you may have read it your freshman year), which tells the story of the hero Odysseus’ return from the Trojan War. In what way is the Bundren’s journey an odyssey? What is the effect of this connection on the overall meaning of the novel?

 

Fecklessness & Faulkner

We began the day with a look at an especially descriptive Faulkner quotation. Then we started a new sheet of quick writes with this one:

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

AILD SG, PC, and Character sheet are tentatively due this Friday, 10/21.

Faulkner Quiz 2

Today we had the second Faulkner quiz and spent the rest of the period generally discussing the book.

Shouldn't we be to 12 by now?

Today we planned an essay based on the "Eleven" prompt. For extra credit, students may actually write the essay (take no longer than 30 minutes and handwrite, please).

More Eleven

After getting our largely ancient copies of Sound and Sense, we continued our look at Cisneros' "Eleven" by hunting down and labeling all the figurative language and stylistic techniques we could find.

Being 11

Today we talked a bit about being eleven and then read and discussed Cisneros' short story, "Eleven." More "Eleven" work tomorrow.

As I Lay Tie Dying...

Today we spent the period talking about, and clarifying much of, Faulkner's novel, after a short quiz of course.

Fun with Figurative Language

After a look at another Faulkner quote, we spent the rest of the period playing and adjuducating figurative language bingo.

Home at Last!

Back in our new room, we warmed up with a Faulkner quotation and spent the rest of the day filling in the figurative language handout.

Figuratively Speaking

Today we started by reviewing the difference between figurative and literal, and then spent some time talking about As I Lay Dying in a general way. At the very end, we touched on the figurative language terms handout given in class.

As I Lay Dying Work

Today students did the assignment below for the first few chapters of As I Lay Dying.
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Getting Acquainted with As I Lay Dying

For the first few chapters of As I Lay Dying, carefully consider and respond to the questions below for each chapter. 

• You may work with a partner (and share a text) if you’d like and can do so efficiently; however, you may also choose to work alone.
• Work through as many chapters as you can in the period. This is not homework (though you may continue taking similar notes if you find it helpful).
• Unless the substitute decides otherwise, this will be collected Wednesday.

1. What do you learn about the narrator of the chapter in this chapter? Consider especially character traits and motifs associated with the character. What is the character’s relationship to Addie Bundren?
2. What do you learn about other characters in this chapter? Do you find this narrator trustworthy? Why?
3. What questions arise for you at the end of this chapter?
4. What questions from previous chapters are answered here?

Faulkner

Today we talked about modernism, William Faulkner, and his novel As I Lay Dying. The notes are at Moodle.
New Due Dates:

• Sections 1 through 31 by 10/10
• Finish it by 10/17
• Forum posts are due at Moodle by 10/10 and 10/17 as well.