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Profred ur peepers

Othello 1.1 Quote Log

Don't be an idiot

Outliers CH 1 & 2

• After having read the 1st chapter, what are the structural elements that made you academically successful?
• In what ways have you been tracked?
• How much of an advantage do you think you have received from being in AP English?
In what ways have you benefited from accumulative advantage?


1 page at least

City of Angels Prompt

Use a character to reveal the writer's feelings about a place or a group of people. The goal of the writing assignment is humorous writing. Think "City of Angels."
The idea is the character is like a fish out of water, and through them being out of place, you reveal what it would be like to be in place.
3-5 pages, due Wednesday.

40 Minute Timed Practice Test

Prompt: How does the author establish tone in this piece, specifically focusing on the use of rhetorical devices including syntax and diction.

Text:

“The agent came for me during a geography lesson. She entered the room and nodded at my fifth-grade teacher, who stood frowning at a map of Europe. What would needle me later was the realization that this had all been prearranged. My capture had been scheduled to go down at exactly 2:30 on a Thursday afternoon. The agent would be wearing a dung-colored blazer over a red knit turtleneck, her heels sensibly low in case the suspect should attempt a quick getaway.

‘David,’ the teacher said, ‘this is Miss Samson, and she’d like you to go with her now.’

No one else had been called, so why me? I ran down a list of recent crimes, looking for a conviction that might stick. Setting fire to a reportedly flameproof Halloween costume, stealing a set of barbecue tongs from an unguarded patio, altering the word hit on a list of rules posted on the gymnasium door; never did it occur to me that I might be innocent.
Though she seemed old at the time, the agent was most likely fresh out of college. She walked beside me and asked what appeared to be an innocent and unrelated question: ‘So, which do you like better, State or Carolina?’” (Sedaris 4-5).

China US Prompt

What is the author's message, and how does he use diction and syntax to achieve that goal?

A Man WIthout a Country

Reading Kurt Vonnegut's latest work, A Man Without A Country, makes one thing clear. Vonnegut believes the title is self-descriptive.
Vonnegut was one of this country's leading novelists. I say "was" because he has not written a novel for years (with the exception of 1997's forgettable Timequake) and does not plan another. A Man Without A Country is not a novel. It is a slim collection of essays, speeches and summaries of interviews from over the last several years. They are more accurately characterized as the musings of a man in his early 80s reflecting on where his country sits in the waning years of his life. It is not a pretty commentary.
It is apparent Vonnegut is not in today's American mainstream, if he ever was. Vonnegut is a humanist. ("We humanists try to behave as decently, as fairly, and as honorably as we can without any expectation of rewards or punishments in an afterlife.") Vonnegut is a socialist. ("Christianity and socialism alike, in fact, prescribe a society dedicated to the proposition that all men, women, and children are created equal and shall not starve.") He is a self-described Luddite and a man with a dim view of what humankind has done to the world and the resulting effect on man's future. He also is not afraid to speak his mind on any of these points despite the fact many of his positions will not make him a popular figure in today's America.
Vonnegut was and is best known his use of humor and satire in his writing. Elements of it appear in this collection. Yet his wit may be even more sardonic then ever, often requiring him to tell readers when he is being serious and when he is not. Yet even Vonnegut appears to realize that his days of humor may be numbered.


Read more: http://blogcritics.org/books/article/book-review-sadly-kurt-vonnegut-is/#ixzz0kKiFq1jE

What the Dog Saw

(wrong title, but you get the idea)

Malcolm Gladwell through his three books, The Tipping Point; Blink; and Outliers in the past decade has radically changed the way we understand our world and ourselves. For the first time in What the Dog Saw, Malcolm brings together, the best of his writing from The New Yorker.
Malcolm presents a bittersweet tale of the inventor of the birth control pill, and also the dazzling inventions of the pasta sauce founder Howard Moscowitz. Malcolm sits with Ron Popeil, who is known as the king of the American kitchen, as he sells skewer ovens, and divines the secrets of Cesar Millan, who is known as the "dog whisperer" as he can calm savage animals with the touch of his hand. He explores cleverness tests and cultural reporting and " retrospection bias" and why it was that everyone in Silicon Valley once tripped over themselves to appoint the same college graduate.
According to Gladwell, "Good writing does not succeed or fail on the strength of its ability to influence. It succeeds or fails on the strength of its ability to connect you, to make you think, to give you a sight into someone else's head. This book is yet another example of the optimistic spirit and persistent curiosity. Gladwell is a brilliant investigator of the hidden extraordinary.

Me Talk Pretty One Day

"As far as I was concerned, the French could be cold or even openly hostile. They could burn my flag or pelt me with stones, but if there were taxidermied kittens to be had then I would go and bring them back to this, the greatest country on earth."

David Sedaris's new collection, Me Talk Pretty One Day, tells a most unconventional life story. It begins with a North Carolina childhood filled with speech-therapy classes ("There was the lisp, of course, but more troubling than that was my voice itself with its excitable tone and high, girlish pitch") and unwanted guitar lessons taught by a midget. From budding performance artist ("The only crimp in my plan was that I seemed to have no talent whatsoever") to "clearly unqualified" writing teacher in Chicago, Sedaris's career leads him to New York (the sky's-the-limit field of furniture moving) and eventually, of all places, France.

Sedaris's move to Paris poses a number of challenges, chief among them his inability to speak the language. Arriving a "spooky man-child" capable of communicating only through nouns, he undertakes language instruction that leads him ever deeper into cultural confusion. Whether describing the Easter bunny to puzzled classmates, savoring movies in translation (It Is Necessary to Save the Soldier Ryan), or watching a group of men play soccer with a cow, Sedaris brings a view and a voice like none other. "Original, acid, and wild" --said the Los Angeles Times to every unforgettable encounter

Dorian Gray

In class I posted today that we were to read up to Chapter 5 tonight, but for homework you are to read chapter 5 and 6 with your usual blogging assignment. I apologize for the late notice.

Mr. George

Scarlet Letter Essay 1

Directions: Compose a paper of no longer than 3 full pages relating to the following topic. It is due in class on Friday Feb 12.

Describe why Dimmesdale’s torment was especially poignant for him, and why he believes it is a blessing from God. Begin with his original sin and take us all the way to his end.

Scarlet Letter Reading Schedule

Here is the schedule for the text:

1. SL #1 45-56
2. SL #2 56-72
3. SL # 3 72-90
4. SL # 4 91-107
5. SL # 5 107-126
6. SL # 6 126-144
7. SL # 7 144-158
8. SL # 8 158-185
9. SL # 9 185- 211
SL # 10 211-235

Crucible Long Papers

Topics:
1.) Describe John Proctor’s redemption. Questions to consider include: Why is he unable to be redeemed in the beginning of the play? What are key shifts that allow him to be redeemed? How is he ultimately redeemed? How can he be seen as a symbol of Christianity?
2.) Describe Abigail Williams’s rise and fall from grace. Questions to consider include: Why does the reader dislike Abigail? What makes her, as opposed to the other sinners, specifically the most detestable? How is her end worse than all the other characters?

What I would like you to focus on in these essays is the human side of each of these characters? How does the author manipulate the reader into feeling certain emotions for these characters? What is it about being human that makes us feel this way?

This essay should be at least 3 pages long and no longer than 5. It should be in MLA format. I expect there to be no errors, so make sure you have someone proof read.

100 Points.

Due Tuesday January 5th

Crucible Debate

Debate (50 points) Each speaker will have between 2 and 3 minutes to make their argument and will be penalized for going shorter or longer than that period of time. The debates will take place on the Thursday after we return from break. Students need to come in with their texts ready to outline arguments and gather support on Tuesday, and then with an outline of their arguments on Wednesday. Groups will then rehearse, and debates will take place on Thursday January 7th.

Topic 1: Who is the most at fault for the terrible destruction of the witch trials in Salem? In making your argument, make sure you deal with the counter arguments that could be presented
Proctor Group: Mike, Nathaniel, Genevieve
Abigail Group: Scott, Dante, Christina
Danforth Group: Tim, Kerri, Tru


Topic 2: What perpetuated the witch hunt once it began, cowardice or vengeance?
Vengeance: Riddhi, Rachael, Stephen
Cowardice: Kevin, Ashley, Coralie

Crucible Apology Letter

Please write an apology letter from one character to another at least a page in length. 25 points. (Put it in letter format, sign the letter by hand (though the letter should be typed), and place your actual name on the back of the paper, not the front.

You can choose the amount of time that has elapsed, but it must be from a living character, to either another living character or a dead character. Make the time that has elapsed understood in the context of the letter.

Due Friday December 18th

Crucible Characters

Students are to write a one-page description of a character (double spaced). Due Thursday December 17th. Post on blogs and print out. Thesis is a one sentence description of the character. 1st body paragraph is blatant description and quote support (think body paragraph of an essay). 2nd paragraph needs to be an extended simile about the character. Conclusion is a one-sentence analogy to a person in the world today. (25 points).

Characters:
John Proctor
Goody Proctor
Judge Danforth
Abigail Williams
Mary Warren
Reverend Hale
Reverend Parris
Giles Corey

Crucible Reading Schedule

1. Crucible 1:1-8 (no blog)
2. Crucible 2:8-30
3. Crucible 3:31-49
4. Crucible 4:49-67
5. Crucible 5:67-81
6. Crucible 6:81-98
7. Crucible 7:98-113
8. Crucible 8:113-127
9. Crucible 9:127-END

Thanksgiving HW

Students are to write two one-page descriptions of a character. Due Monday November 30. Post on blogs and print out. Thesis is a one sentence description of the character. 1st body paragraph is blatant description and support (think body paragraph of an essay). 2nd paragraph needs to be an extended metaphor about the character. Conclusion is a one-sentence analogy to a person in the world today. (30 points each).

Potential Characters.
• Mr. Phillips
• Lydia
• Lizzy
• Darcy
• Jane
• Caroline
• Mrs. Bennet
• Mr. Bennet
• Bingley
• Wickham
• Colonel Fitzwilliam
• Mary

P&P Essay Topics

1.) After completing the novel, what do you consider to be the most appropriate title: First Impressions, or Pride and Prejudice?
2.) Give the novel a new title and argue why that should be the novel’s title instead of Pride and Prejudice.
3.) Contemplate the three marital motives we see expressed in the novel, and clearly describe what you consider to be the most favorable basis for a marriage, both in the characters dispositions, and the motives behind the match. Use explicit examples from the text to support your assertion.
4.) How can this novel be read as a critique of the classist structuring of society?
5.) Who do you think is the most to blame for the delay of their felicity, Darcy or Elizabeth? Explain how this occurred and why they are to blame.