Tuesday, April 22, 2014

NO PAPERS ACCEPTED AFTER WED AT 3PM

YOUR PAPERS ARE DUE ON WEDNESDAY!


I will be at on a conference starting on Thursday so I will not be here to collect papers on Thursday.
Get me your papers on Wednesday!

Tuesday, February 25, 2014

The Catcher in the Rye

NY Times article about teens relating to Holden today:

http://roomfordebate.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/02/01/teenagers-speak-up-on-salinger/
A collection of links explaining aspects of the novel:

http://www.wahlbrinck.de/catcherintherye/ext.htm
Here is an article about Holden from the author Gish Jen. I think it will help us out as we look at the first 15 chapters of the novel.

http://www.newliteraryhistory.com/catcherintherye.html


Wednesday, February 19, 2014

VALE and More Outside Sources for A Lesson Before Dying

I have mentioned VALE in class before as a good place for outside sources and here is the link:

valenj.org

Once you click the link, click on "subscribed databases". Then click on Essex County College Only and the user identification is :

essexecc

and the password is:

door42

More outside sources for A Lesson Before Dying:

http://departments.mercer.edu/fys/files/coretexts/gaines.html

http://www.laguardia.edu/lesson/students.html

http://alessonbeforedyingalfonzo.weebly.com/literary-criticism.html

http://www.michigan.gov/documents/hal_lm_ER2003_152518_7.pdf


ESSAY DUE FEB 26 (NO LATE PAPERS)
Use 2 OUTSIDE SOURCES (NO OUTSIDE SOURCES=FAIL)

3 PAGES, DOUBLE SPACED, SIZE 12 TIMES NEW ROMAN

Huck Finn

1)      Argue that the character of Jim is the only righteous and honest character in a sea of white characters who are all greatly flawed proves that Twain wanted to show that despite the “civilized” nature of white society, it is not perfect and slavery, which denies human rights, is a hypocritical institution. Defend your thesis with outside sources and examples from the text.

2)      We discussed the river as being symbolical to Huck and Jim throughout the novel; explain what the river could have symbolic meant to each of them. Defend your thesis with outside sources and examples from the text.

3)      Lying occurs frequently in this novel. Curiously, some lies, like those Huck tells to save Jim, seem to be “good” lies, while others, like the cons of the duke and the dauphin, seem to be “bad.” What is the difference? Are both “wrong”? Why does so much lying go on in Huckleberry Finn? Explain in your essay what the difference is between the types of lies with examples from the text. Defend your thesis with outside sources and examples from the text.

4)      Using the articles on the class blog and other reliable sources, discuss the issue of the “n” word in this novel. Why it should stay or why it should go?

A Lesson Before Dying

1)      Education is very important in this novel, both its attainment and the lack of it. Tante Lou continually refers to Grant as “the teacher.” The other men call him “Professor.” Yet Grant hates teaching, echoing the feelings of his own teacher, Matthew Antoine. Contrast the opinions of education presented in this novel. Why do some seek it and others consider it a burden? What role does it play in the characters’ lives and the life of the community?

2)      Reread the description of Vivian from Chapter 4 and the passage in Chapter 15 about Vivian’s marriage. What was the cause of conflict between Vivian and her family over her marriage? What causes the conflict between Vivian and Tante Lou over her relationship with Grant?

3)      Paul earns Grant’s respect through his treatment of Jefferson and his visitors. How is Paul different from the other jail keepers? How do his actions at the end of Jefferson’s life demonstrate Paul’s goodness? Why might he have chosen to attend the execution even though it was not part of his job/

4)      Symbolism is important in this story as it is in many stories. Pick two or three symbols from the novel and explain the role it plays and its significance. Defend your thesis with outside sources and examples from the text.

5)      Compare Rev. Ambrose and Grant’s approach to helping Jefferson. What did they disagree about? How did each man defend his beliefs? Defend your thesis with outside sources and examples from the text.