Novel Projects
AP Language Novel Projects
(Our Casual Conversations)
2022 updated
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
Summer Reading Seminar 2024
Topics:
Who is the most tragic character? Why?
Discuss the injustices inflicted upon the characters. Sympathy? Empathy?
What is the theme of the novel? Explain
How has society improved since the 1930s
If Steinbeck wrote this same framework of a novel today, what groups would be represented instead of Candy, Lennie, George, Curly's wife, and Crooks?
What is significant about the style of Steinbeck?
Reading Prior to Seminar
Read Gospel of Mark
(This can be skimmed, read intently, studied, or absorbed by the family Bible. Concentrate on the following: the crucifixion and numbers. Spend 1/2 page to 1 full page in composition book with notes about Jesus's life, the Bible's relationship to numbers, and definitely the crucifixion. This will help with Old Man and the Sea, Brave New World, and just about every piece of Western World literature between 0 AD - 1950 AD.
Other potential cheats to assist:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crucifixion_of_Jesus
JUST AN FYI: This assignment is not an endorsement of a particular theological belief. :-)
Old Man and the Sea
Ernest Hemingway - Not AP Lang
1952 Nobel Prize for Literature
Discuss the allegorical nature of Hemingway’s novel.
Analyze the theme of the novel.
Stylistically, discuss his approach to the novel’s development. (Diction, dialogue, exposition)
Baseball? Why baseball and Joe DiMaggio?
Post paper and seminar, has your opinion changed of this Nobel Literature Prize
“A man can be destroyed but not defeated,” says the old man after the first shark attack. At the end of the story, is the old man defeated? Why or why not?
Analyze whether or not Santiago would be a tragic hero falling due to hubris
Discuss the Christian iconography of Old Man and the Sea with Christ’s agony on Calvary
Likes and dislikes of this novel?
The Sun Also Rises
Ernest Hemingway 1926
Ecclesiastes 1 - King James Bible
1 The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem.
2 Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity.
3 What profit hath a man of all his labour which he taketh under the sun?
4 One generation passeth away, and another generation cometh: but the earth abideth for ever.
5 The sun also ariseth, and the sun goeth down, and hasteth to his place where he arose.
6 The wind goeth toward the south, and turneth about unto the north; it whirleth about continually, and the wind returneth again according to his circuits.
7 All the rivers run into the sea; yet the sea is not full; unto the place from whence the rivers come, thither they return again.
8 All things are full of labour; man cannot utter it: the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing.
9 The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun.
National Public Radio (NPR) on the Lost Generation
Look at the seminar questions prior to and during reading. Make notes in your composition notebook about each one with page numbers. This novel’s theme happens to be far more complex than the simplistic writing style.
NOTE: If you listen to the novels on audiobooks, make sure the text is in front of you. Interact with the text. All grades are based upon effort—not accuracy.
PowerPoint History Prior to Seminar
1. Discuss the portrayal of masculinity in the novel. How do characters like Jake Barnes and Robert Cohn embody different aspects of masculinity? How do their identities as men shape their relationships and interactions with others?
2. The characters in The Sun Also Rises are often described as "lost" or "disillusioned." What are the causes of their sense of disillusionment, and how do they cope with it throughout the novel? How does the shadow of World War I loom over the characters' lives and relationships?
3. How does Hemingway explore the theme of identity in the novel? Consider Jake's struggle with his emasculation, Brett's search for fulfillment, and the characters' attempts to find meaning in their lives. Jake, the novel's narrator, is a journalist and World War I veteran. During the war Jake suffered “the war wound” which was an injury to the genitals that rendered him impotent; tragically, it was a common injury. If unfamiliar with any of the medical terms in this question, look them up.
4. Consider the character of Brett Ashley. How does she challenge traditional gender roles, and what does her behavior reveal about the constraints placed on women in the 1920s? Compare and contrast her to women of today.
5. Discuss the significance of the bullfighting scenes in the novel. What do these scenes reveal about the characters' attitudes towards death, violence, and the search for meaning? Make sure you understand the difference between a bull and a steer.
6. How does Hemingway's spare, understated prose style contribute to the novel's impact? What effect does this style have on the reader's interpretation of the characters and events? Be able to discuss the use of dialogue, the short descriptive sentences, and the plot elements that seem to be missing. Other miscellaneous items to discuss: portrayal of the black boxer, constant reference to Cohn’s Jewish heritage, the consumption of alcohol, the setting in Europe—namely Paris and Pamplona.
Age of Englightenment
A Modest Proposal Assignment
This lesson is an attempt to demonstrate the use of the rhetorical triangle and the necessity for a balanced argument. Read "A Modest Proposal" by that great Anglo-Irishman Jonathan Swift on the Internet or in the textbook. Kick back, grab a snack, and enjoy the world's greatest piece of satire. You will thank me later for this scrumptious opportunity to gorge yourself on grade A literature.
1. In your composition book list 3 purely logical reasons Swift employs to end hunger in Ireland. Explain how they will work.
2. Next, provide a quotation which illustrates humour in this piece of rhetoric.
3. List at least one example of Swift's usage of Ethos, Pathos, and Logos in this piece along with the two sentences explaining its usage.
4. Enjoy! Bon Appetit
Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift
Age of Enlightenment 1700s
2024-2025
During this year, Gulliver will be approached in small groups. The class will only read excerpts of all four books demonstrating the caustic and vitriolic satire of the master.
The Voyage to Lilliput:
Read Chapter 6
In composition notebook, list at least 7 of the 10 attacks on English society that Swift disguises as the utopian principals of the Lilliputians.
Write down 1 or 2 confusing aspects of the chapter you would like explained.
The Voyage to Brobdingnag:
Read Chapter 7
Remember that Jonathan Swift, though he lives under a political structure similar to ours in the United States, does not have the right to free speech.
In composition notebook, list 2-3 attacks on English society that Swift disguises as praise of his homeland.
Then, in two sentences (25-50 words) explain how he is careful to describe the events and the status of England without getting into trouble.
(A bit of Ethos and plausible deniability).
The Voyage to La Puta:
Read Chapter 5: The Grand Academy
Answer the following questions in your composition notebook:
What is the first experiment Gulliver witnesses?
What is the second experiment Gulliver witnesses?
How were the scientists attempting to build a house?
What novel (new) way of plowing was proposed by scientists?
Concerning spider webs and astronomy, what two men are being mocked?
What is colic? How did the academy attempt to cure it?
Pick a nationwide icon of invention and create a mockery of his or her work. (Think Elon Musk, Dr. Fauci, Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Jeff Bezos)
The Voyage to the Island of the Houyhnhnms
Read Chapter 5: WAR
In the third paragraph, how are religious wars mocked?
List 5 reasons for war according to Gulliver.
Why do the Houyhnhnms believe Gulliver is lying about war?
How does Gulliver explain the methods of war? (response to claws and teeth).
Give 3 examples of Swift's disgust with the judicial system
Book II - The Voyage to Brobdingnag
SKIPPING IN 2021
Summary of the Book
Watch this video (#3) prior to reading:
Reading Excerpt
Read chapter VI (6) and VII (7) beginning on page 149 and ends 161 "They have the art of printing..." STOP
Remember that Jonathan Swift, though he lives under a political structure similar to ours in the United States, does not have the right to Freedom of Speech.
Explain how he is careful to describe the events and the status of England without getting into trouble.
(A bit of Ethos and plausible deniability).
Then detail what he attacks in chapters VI and VII. Provide two quotations for each chapter.
Book III - The Voyage to LaPuta (Use your Spanish :-) skills)
Reading ONLY Book III and only the first 6 chapters (I, II, III, IV, V, VI) 38 pages
Read and look for passages that attack science, monarchy, government, or society
1-2 per chapter. 10 minimum
Jot down the quote, page, and your interpretation.
Jot down any questions you have (could be vocab, history, or comprehension questions)
2-3 of these are fine.
Look for this to be read on-line, YouTube, or audiobook.
Get a library card, download the audiobook app, and use it. This is NOT cheating.
Grade based upon effort, not accuracy.
The Voyage to LaPuta pokes fun mostly at science (which but for a few exceptions has been perpetually incorrect throughout history in its experimentation.
Science has always been a lie or a failure minus the following examples: Heliocentrism (planet revolve around the sun), the round not flat nature of the earth, the lightbulb, human flight, the phonograph, the steam engine, the photograph, modern medicine, satellite technology, the internet, polo vaccine, proof of dinosaurs, the industrial revolution, math, the green revolution, the tripling of human life expectancy, organ transplant surgery, the iPhone, the population explosion, Apple music, man landing on the moon, roller coasters, and Disney's Pixar
Bartleby, the Scrivener by Herman Melville.
Industrial Revolution 1853
2023-24
“Bartleby, the Scrivener” is a coy document. Part office comedy, part ghost story, part Zen koan, the text seems determined to subvert the expectations of its reader. No wonder some critics have read the story as Herman Melville offering a middle finger to the literary establishment of his day. In 1852, the year before the story’s publication, Melville—once a big seller—had been declared “crazy” in the papers. (“HERMAN MELVILLE CRAZY,” read one headline.) His Moby Dick about whaling had not been a hit; he had lost the allegiance of the literary figures he considered his allies; and he was dangerously low on money.
But “Bartleby” is much more than a grave marker (if that) for Melville’s ambitions. It is a searing critique of American capitalism, a protest story, an existentialist paean to the necessity of going on in an absurd world, not to mention a commentary on the rambunctious labor politics of 1840s New York.
Melville will be pursued this year in a group reading project (post essay).
Assignment will be posted on Google Classroom
ORIGIN OF GRANDILOQUENT
First recorded in 1585–95; grandiloqu(ence) + -ent
WORD ORIGIN FOR GRANDILOQUENT
C16: from Latin grandiloquus, from grandis great + loquī to speak
All you need to write is this: Etymology: Latin 1585. (You may have to look in a couple of spots to find it)
3. In your Composition Book, write one or two bullet points per page on what you think is happening. 45-60 brief explanations. We are doing this to strengthen your ability to read difficult text and build your confidence. There will be some bumps. Don't worry about it. It is not about right vs wrong, but development.
4. (No cheating!!!!!!!!!)
Iconic Non-fiction of the 20th Century
Brave New World
(1932)
Aldous Huxley
Seminar Questions:
Discuss the historical allusions throughout the novel? Explain significances.
(Shakespeare, Pavlov, Ford, Freud, Marx, Lenin, Malthus, Mussolini)
Exposition: Discuss the world of Huxley. When is this? Where is this? What is this? What elements of Western World Society does he scrutinize in the novel.
Explore the rationale behind chapter three's structure. What does Huxley accomplish.
Who was Huxley? Who was his famous relative?
Does Huxley’s world exist today? Similarities? Differences?
The Cypress Project….would it work? Why? Why not?
The Brave New World caste system: humane or inhumane, moral or immoral
Brave New World – Utopia or dystopia?
What is the climactic moment of the novel?
Discuss the literary elements throughout the novel.
(Foils, symbols, themes, motifs, characterization)
Discuss the Christian iconography of the novel. Compare it to Santiago. Numbers? Ceremony?
Why destroy religion, sex, and family? To what end?
Detail in the group how Huxley toyed with Christian iconography in the novel.
Overall impression of the novel? Elaborate on what you the reader experienced from the novel.
How does the theme tie into the TIMELINE we will study this year?
On 21 October 1949 Huxley wrote to George Orwell, author of Nineteen Eighty-Four, congratulating him on "how fine and how profoundly important the book is". In his letter to Orwell, he predicted:
Within the next generation I believe that the world's leaders will discover that infant conditioning and narcohypnosis are more efficient, as instruments of government, than clubs and prisons, and that the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging them and kicking them into obedience.
The Grapes of Wrath
John Steinbeck - 1939
The Book of Revelation 14: 12-20
12 Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.
13 And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them.
14 And I looked, and behold a white cloud, and upon the cloud one sat like unto the Son of man, having on his head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle.
15 And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to him that sat on the cloud, Thrust in thy sickle, and reap: for the time is come for thee to reap; for the harvest of the earth is ripe.
16 And he that sat on the cloud thrust in his sickle on the earth; and the earth was reaped.
17 And another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven, he also having a sharp sickle.
18 And another angel came out from the altar, which had power over fire; and cried with a loud cry to him that had the sharp sickle, saying, Thrust in thy sharp sickle, and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth; for her grapes are fully ripe.
19 And the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vine of the earth, and cast it into the great winepress of the wrath of God.
20 And the winepress was trodden without the city, and blood came out of the winepress, even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a thousand and six hundred furlongs.
Angela's Ashes - 1996
Frank McCourt
The 20th Century 1930s and 1940s
Angela’s Ashes by Frank McCourt
2024 - 25
(A short story approach)
Follow the early life of the McCourt family, immigrants from Ireland in the 1930s, in this 1996 Pulitzer Prize memoir (a historical account or biography written from personal knowledge or special sources ).
Irish immigration to the United States was profound from the 1820s up until the 1930s. At one time, Irish Catholics made up 1/3 of all immigrants to the United States. The Irish (1/2 of my family tree) were the first group of immigrants to ruin this country. :-) Then the Italians ruined the country in the mid to late 1800s, and then the Germans ruined it in the east and Chinese in the west. Today, the country is ruined by people from every continent on the planet. We let immigrants' kids do anything in this country, including becoming president and vice-president. LOL. Of course, I am writing this with "tongue-in-cheek". Angela's Ashes belongs on the Timeline. Essay three. But style is pure literary magic. This is much different from Melville, Steinbeck, and Swift.
ALL WORK IN YOUR COMPOSITION NOTEBOOK
First: Read the following article: outline the information learned. Use the headings in the article from the History Channel to create your outline. Provide 2-4 facts per heading.
https://www.history.com/news/when-america-despised-the-irish-the-19th-centurys-refugee-crisis
Read Chapter One: Page 11-46
There will be a test over chapter one.
Know the following vocab words: loquacious, pompous, pious, cacophany, wafting, concoction
Read Chapter Two:
There will be a test over chapter two.
Know the following vocab words: lavatory, fortnight, queue, cavort
The Film Trailer
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NPXP17JJ4GY&pbjreload=101
Thomson Reader (the following passages will shed light on more modern immigrants)
Read the following:
"Crossing the border without Losing your Past" - Oscar Casares page 110
"American Dreamer" - Bharati Mukherjee page 114
Post novel / article seminar:
Teams develop 2 seminar questions, submit questions, followed by a casual conversation
End of 2024 - 25
The Irish Potato Famine
England subjugates Ireland in 1801 with the Act of Union of Great Britain and rules until 1921 Irish Revolution
Only non-Catholic land owning males could vote for members of Parliament.
Only non-Catholics could own land (thus all representation were Irish Protestants and Anglo-Irish)
(See family historical genetics)
Irish Catholics reduced to peasantry and share-cropping.
(Same thing as black Americans post-Civil War throughout the Jim Crowe era)
1845-1852 Potato Crop failed. Irish Catholics only ate potatos. Food of the poor and only cash crop.
Thus, the Irish Catholics were thrown off the land. They headed to America or starved.
Irish Catholics view the Famine as their own holocaust.
Irish Population in 1845 was 8 million.
Between 1845-1852:
1 million starved to death
1 million immigrated to the United States
After 1852, the Irish continued to leave and continue to the United States: 6 million between 1820-1920
Current population of Ireland as of 2023: 5 million
2016-17 Project
Frank McCourt
AP Language will cover Pages 1-212
In groups of 3 research the following and share on Google Drive
A. Catholicism: the sacraments and each's purpose
B. Irish Revolution: facts, figures, dates, and reasons
C. Historical References: Eamon DeValera, Michael Collins, F.D. Roosevelt, Henry VIII, Cardinal Wosely, & James Cagney. (Born, died, picture, and 5 life events)
D. Irish Immigration to USA: facts, figures, dates, and reasons
E. Irish Potato Famine: facts, figures, dates, and reasons
F. Infant Mortality Rates: Europe/USA 1800-1940, causes and diseases
WARNING!
The following is a list of objectionable passages to be avoided in Angela's Ashes Skipping them will in no way disrupt the continuity of the novel; however, it may spare the reader uncomfortable or offensive material. Read at own peril....material will not be covered in class.
Chapter XI (pg. 252-257)
Chapter XIV (chapter)
Chapter XV (chapter)
Chapter XVII (pg. 344-354)
Chapter XVIII (pg. 359-end)
The Autobiography of
Malcolm X - 1965
The 20th Century 1930s and 1940s and 1950s
The Autobiography of Malcolm X by Alex Haley 1965
Malcolm X Reading Assignment
Chapter One (23 pages) - NIGHTMARE writing assignments for Composition Notebook
1 - Look up the philosophy of Marcus Garvey and bullet point 10 points on his belief
2 - Evaluate and critique the diction on pages 2 and 3.
3 - List 2 quotations/examples of Malcolm X criticizing blacks. React to this. Thoughts. Shocked?
4 - Based upon pages (9-23), With 3 examples/quotations, why is Malcolm X so hateful and distrustful and defiant toward whites and the government.
Chapter Two (19 pages) - MASCOT - OWP Assignments for the Composition Notebooks
1. Look up 7-10 facts about Joe Louis and his career.
2. Beginning on page 27 and stopping at Mr. Ostrowski on page 30, defend or refute this statement, Malcolm X is too critical of white America.
3. Provide two quotations from the text (cited with MLA) that justify Malcolm X's fascination with Boston.
4. Defend Mr. Ostrowski and his advice. (Explain why he would tell Malcolm to be a carpenter)
(Think Atticus Finch)
Chapter Three (18 pages) - HOMEBOY - OWP assignments for Composition Book
1. Explain Malcolm X's attack on so-called middle class blacks. Support with 2 quotations. (41-45)
2. Look up the etymology of the term "uncle-tom" (Racial term). Explain it. (49) "For two bits-Uncle Tom a little bit-white cats especially like that."
3. OWP - Write about anything that shocked you, challenged your thinking, supports your thinking, extends your thinking, or makes you question your thinking in the first three chapters.
4. Analyze the tragedy of the Conk. Support with 2 quotations. (54-58).
Chapter 4 (14 pages) - LAURA - OWP assignments for the composition book
1. Youtube 2 of the following: "Lindy Hopping, the flapping eagle, the kangaroo, or the split. Also, listen to Count Basie and Duke Ellington while reading the chapter. React to the music. Likes? Dislikes? Views today?
2. Laura represents a Mea Culpa on Malcolm X's part. In a half a page, comment on how society may have pushed Malcolm X away from Laura. Support with one quotations.
Chapter 5 (14 pages) - HARLEMITE - OWP assignments for the composition book
1. In describing his attire, Malcolm X states, "many white people simply stopped in their tracks to watch me pass" (Haley 81). React to this. Why would Malcolm X dress this way to draw attention to himself? Does modern society see this from young black males today? Explain.
2. Look up 10 facts on the history of the Harlem Renaissance.
3. Review the history of Harlem between pages of 84-86. Can this "white flight" be seen in the greater Cincinnati area? Can you explain? See the video below for insight into Cincinnati's Over-The-Rhine district
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BRPsLnmiXDk
Chapter 6 (24 pages) - DETROIT RED - OWP assignments for the composition book.
1 Malcolm X states, "All women, by their nature, are fragile and weak: they are attracted to the male in whom they see strength" (Haley 96). React. Defend. Dispute.
2. React to the prostitution discussed in this chapter. React from a racial stand point? A feminine viewpoint. A social standpoint. A masculine standpoint. A moral standpoint. (Pick one or two)
3. Selling drugs, dressing flashy, packing guns, and subverting the law were all part of the Harlem world Malcolm X found himself caught up in. React. Compare/contrast to today.
4. In this chapter pick one quote to expound upon. Why did you pick it? Was it disturbing? Eye opening? Thought provoking? Explain!
Chapter 7 (18 pages) - Hustler - OWP assignments for the composition book.
1. Look one of the following riots for facts (L.A. 90s, Watts 60s, Baltimore 15, Ferguson 14),then compare and contrast it to the mood of the 1940s Harlem riot from Malcolm X
2. React to the prostitution section that Malcolm X found himself working in. How does this conflict with the romanticized version of the 1940s (the greatest generation). React to the shocking stories.
Chapter 8 (8 pages) - Trapped - OWP assignments for the composition book.
2020 UPDATED VERSION
1. Watch / listen to this song by Billie Holiday which in mentioned on page 131. Look up Billie Holiday and write down 5-7 facts about her life while you are listening to her music. It's beautiful music. Use Wikipedia.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6P96s6bIeQk
2. Remember Henry Louis Gates? The Harvard professor that got arrested for breaking into his own house? He was part of the famous beer summit with President Obama? He also did this video. He is a magnificent historian. Watch the following video of his view of the Harlem Renaissance and juxtapose it with the first hand account of Malcolm X in this chapter right now.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9gboEyrj02g
2019 and back. Forget this question from Chapter 8.
1. Compare and Contrast the chapter with the experiences of Jack Kerouac's regarding music, sex, drugs and the underworld. This could be a 5 paragraph AP Lang Test question. Try and write a page on the mood, tone, and perception of the similar worlds.
Chapter 9 (17 pages) - Caught - OWP assignments for the composition book
1. React to Malcolm X's view of women between 137-139. Do you see that in America today? In the world?
2. It is white America's fault that Malcolm X turned to a life of crime. Defend or refute in 1/2 page.
3. Look up modern day prison racial demographics. How much is caused by the inherent racism built into the system? How much is caused by poverty? How much caused by the broken black community?
I, Too by Langston Hughes
(Remember Walt Whitman's "America Singing")
BY LANGSTON HUGHES.
I, too, sing America..
I am the darker brother.
They send me to eat in the kitchen
When company comes,
But I laugh,
And eat well,
And grow strong..
Tomorrow,
I’ll be at the table
When company comes.
Nobody’ll dare
Say to me,
“Eat in the kitchen,”
Then..
Besides,
They’ll see how beautiful I am
And be ashamed—.
I, too, am America...
.
What happens to a dream deferred?.
Does it dry up like a raisin in the sun?
Or fester like a sore— And then run?
Does it stink like rotten meat?
Or crust and sugar over— like a syrupy sweet?.
Maybe it just sags
like a heavy load..
Or does it explode?
I know what the caged bird feels, alas!
...When the sun is bright on the upland slopes;
When the wind stirs soft through the springing grass,
And the river flows like a stream of glass;
...When the first bird sings and the first bud opes,
And the faint perfume from its chalice steals—
I know what the caged bird feels!.
I know why the caged bird beats his wing
...Till its blood is red on the cruel bars;
For he must fly back to his perch and cling
When he fain would be on the bough a-swing;
...And a pain still throbs in the old, old scars
And they pulse again with a keener sting—
I know why he beats his wing!.
I know why the caged bird sings, ah me,
...When his wing is bruised and his bosom sore,—
When he beats his bars and he would be free;
It is not a carol of joy or glee,
...But a prayer that he sends from his heart’s deep core,
But a plea, that upward to Heaven he flings—
I know why the caged bird sings!
The 20th Century 1946-1950
On the Road by Jack Kerouac 1957
Assignment Due
NOVEL ASSIGNMENT
1. The novel. First make sure you have post-it notes. If you need them, I have them. Remember, this book shall be returned; don't write in it. You must read Part I - (pages 1-99). Each chapter has different tasks. (Warning: some of the novel contains objectionable material - most in Parts II & III)
Chapter 1 & 2 - Using mini-post-its...tag three spots of Kerouac's reckless style in the novel. Comment on post-it why you picked it.
Chapter 3 - tag with a post-it a spiritual part, a rebellious part, and a romantic part. (remember what romantic means)
Chapter 4 - In you Composition Book respond to a humorous part of the chapter....How does it fit with free-spirit of the novel?
Chapter 5 - On a post-it, pick 3-4 lines which reflect upon the post-World War II "loneliness" experienced by Kerouac. Briefly, write why you picked the passage.
Chapter 6 & 7 - Personally react to Dean's situation. Comp Book. What does it reflect about this generation? How does it make you feel as a reader?
Chapter 8 & 9 - Tag a passage from each chapter which reflects the chaotic writing of the novel. Listen to Charlie Parker or Miles Davis on Pandora while reading these chapters. Then, in the Comp Book, pick a passage about the party and relate it to the restlessness of Kerouac.
Chapter 10 - Comp Book - Support with a quote or two the lugubrious nature of this chapter.
Chapter 11 - On post-its, tag three passages and bullet point on them how it reflects the lost or rebellious nature of the era.
Chapter 12 - Sal meets a girl (Terry). Reflect upon, with support, the tone of the chapter.
Chapter 13 - Tag three different moods reflected in the chapter. Then describe on the post it the mood (i.e. fear, anxiety, joy, fleeting hope)
Chapter 14 - Find a thematic passage in 14, reflect upon it in Comp Book in regards to how it reflects Kerouac's message of part I.
The 20th Century 1960s
Travels with Charley by John Steinbeck - 1962
Part I and some of Part II
Read Part One: Pages 3 to 16
IN YOUR COMP BOOK (not in the book)
1. Name the chapters (be creative)
2. Find and jot down two passages and comment on them. Why you like them? Agree? Disagree? Etc.
Read Part Two: Pages 19 to 26 Stop "I had promised"
Activities:
1. Re-read "Seven Ages of Man" and list out the ages
2. In Part II, read poem below, think of the "Tomorrow" speech, and then react to Steinbeck's philosophy on life at the beginning of this section.
3. Begin marking the motif "Ftt". (SKIP 2019)
4. Read 33-42, pick one passage that strikes you and react. Analyze theme, philosophy, style, personal connection. Whatever!
Seven Ages of Man, by William Shakespeare
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WtEUySDDg-I
(Benedict Cumberbatch reading above)
All the world's a stage,
And all the men and women merely players,
They have their exits and entrances,
And one man in his time plays many parts,
His acts being seven ages. At first the infant,
Mewling and puking in the nurse's arms.
Then, the whining schoolboy with his satchel
And shining morning face, creeping like snail
Unwillingly to school. And then the lover,
Sighing like furnace, with a woeful ballad
Made to his mistress' eyebrow.
.
Then a soldier,
Full of strange oaths, and bearded like the pard,
Jealous in honour, sudden, and quick in quarrel,
Seeking the bubble reputation
Even in the cannon's mouth. And then the justice
In fair round belly, with good capon lin'd,
With eyes severe, and beard of formal cut,
Full of wise saws, and modern instances,
And so he plays his part. The sixth age shifts
Into the lean and slipper'd pantaloon,
With spectacles on nose, and pouch on side,
His youthful hose well sav'd, a world too wide,
For his shrunk shank, and his big manly voice,
Turning again towards childish treble, pipes
.
And whistles in his sound.
Last scene of all,
That ends this strange eventful history,
Is second childishness and mere oblivion,
Sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything.
MacBeth's Final Speech
Speech: “Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow”
(from Macbeth, spoken by Macbeth)
Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow,
Creeps in this petty pace from day to day,
To the last syllable of recorded time;
And all our yesterdays have lighted fools
The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle!
Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player,
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage,
And then is heard no more. It is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing.
Song of the Open Road
BY WALT WHITMAN
1
Afoot and light-hearted I take to the open road,
Healthy, free, the world before me,
The long brown path before me leading wherever I choose.
Henceforth I ask not good-fortune, I myself am good-fortune,
Henceforth I whimper no more, postpone no more, need nothing,
Done with indoor complaints, libraries, querulous criticisms,
Strong and content I travel the open road.
The earth, that is sufficient,
I do not want the constellations any nearer,
I know they are very well where they are,
I know they suffice for those who belong to them.
(Still here I carry my old delicious burdens,
I carry them, men and women, I carry them with me wherever I go,
I swear it is impossible for me to get rid of them,
I am fill’d with them, and I will fill them in return.)
(READ or SKIM the entirety of the poem if you choose)
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/48859/song-of-the-open-road
PART II (Less than 50 pages)
1. On pages 43-48 and pages 54 "I have spoken with approval" to 58 (the end), analyze Steinbeck's style in your composition book citing two examples from the text.
2. Highlight a couple of passages you wish to discuss due to the subject matter.
3. Between pages 70 "On such a trip as mine" and 72 "Some years ago" offer commentary between Steinbeck's experience and your own.
4. Between pages 76 "On the long journey" and 82 "It rained in New York State" evaluate two passages which interest your and why.
5. Read the entire section between 89-119. And answer the following based upon the reading:
a) Evaluate the tone of Steinbeck when he is discussing the nature of the new interstate highways
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SASy66ViBB8 (Pilot/Flying J Commercial)
b) Pick two parts of this section and discuss why the subject matter was interesting to you.
c) Pick a serious passage and analyze the tone and message
d) Explain the best part of the Lonesome Harry passage at the end.
Part III. 32 pages THIS SECTION IS EXTRA CREDIT
Skip to page 137. Begin at "A number of years ago," and finish on 151 at the end of chapter.
1. In composition book compose a 1/2 page to full page response on two separate topics.
Analyze Steinbeck's tone and message for each given passage. (Think AP Lang test)
Skip to page 166 and read up to 176 and stop at "In the middle of the night" (1st full paragraph)
2. Comment on two statements of this passage. Relate it to the modern world, your life, politics, society.
3. Read 189 to 197 "When I was a child growing" and analyze the effectiveness of at least one (1) rhetorical device used within the passage. (write 1/4-1/2 page in composition book).
Part IV Read 243 to 273 (all 30 pages)
1. Focusing upon the tone and mood of the passage, analyze John Steinbeck's stance toward America's South.
Support the argument with at least 3 quotations. Rough draft this in the composition book. We may formally type and submit this as an essay.
2. Make a t-chart in composition book of your likes and dislikes of the novel.
