Lord of the Flies Illustrations

Almost 10 students...

...have viewed this blog today, and it is not even 11 in the morning. I guess we still have some reading to do. LOL.

PS BTW

I am not sure how this "dialectical journal" assignment I have been hearing about from some of you became associated with AP English.
We don't really like those dialectical journals.
The ONLY assignment is the one in the post below, which we do like.

We also like

Thoughts on and Questions for Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse-Five

Hi. I hope you are doing some good work and having some good fun this summer. I also trust, that despite the intensity of this book at times and some of its somber ideas, you will find some genuine pleasure in the freshness (still, after all these years) of the the narrative voice, the bizzare plot, and the depth of insight into our world Vonnegut is able to deliver.

It is important to understand that the firebombing of Dresden during WWII, around which the plot of the novel revolves, was real, and Vonnegut was there as a POW. 

The story centers on protagonist Billy Pilgrim. Your first task is to briefly summarize the literal plot of the novel in a quick paragraph. This is the basic starting point of any analysis of any work of art. This should be done in broad strokes, not minute detail. We simply want to know what happens, literally.

The back cover jacket of your copy of the novel claims Slaughterhouse-Five is "one of the world's great antiwar books". Focusing on Billy Pilgrim (not on the the obvious destruction and death of the literal firebombing), what happens to him and what does he do that supports this idea? Compose another brief paragraph. (Notice: In the first paragraph, we merely need to describe what happens. In this paragraph, we need describe what happens and then explain how those details demonstrate the "antiwar" claim.

The three most common words in the book are "So it goes". In what type of situations does Vonnegut employ the phrase? What does it suggest about his attitude? How does it fit, or not fit, with events in the book such as war and the belief system of the Tralfamadorians? This is another paragraph.

Lastly, if possible, tell me what insights you gained into human nature and society from this book.

Make yourself think patiently and write clearly while you do answer these few questions.

Bring this work with you on the first day of class.

Later,

McCurnin

David Foster Wallace Graduation Speech

This is Water (audio) (text)

AP Form Bubbling Party!

We will be filling out our AP test forms and student booklets in class on April 16th & 17th. If you are absent on this day, you will need to come in on your own time and get yours filled out.

If you are in Ms. Ali's AP Psychology class, you will be doing this beginning April 10th. If you are in that class, you will need to bring the little AP number stickers you get there to my class on these days. The rest of you will get your stickers with me in AP Lit.

This can be a real pain in the rear if a bunch of people are absent or if you forget your stickers. Please do your best to take care of business.

As a result of this, the reading schedule for Invisible Man has been altered. The final discussion will be on April 20 & 21.

Invisible Man Reading Schedule

for                         chapters             pages
4/2 and 4/3             14-15              296-332
4/6 and 4/7             16-17              333-382
4/8 and 4/9             18-19              383-422
4/10 and 4/13         20-22              423-478
4/14 and 4/15         23-24              479-534
4/16 and 4/17         25-Epilogue    535-581

Peetie Wheatstraw

Pick Poor Robin Clean (1927)

Bledsoe's "favorite spiritual"

Recorded in 1914 by the Tuskegee Institute Singers

Swing Low Sweet Chariot

Reverend Homer A. Barbee

Idea: Homer Barbee transforms the Founder into a mythological figure. Recount and analyze his speech to demonstrate the validity of this idea.

Idea: This transformation is designed to have an effect on the students at the college. Explain.

Idea: Barbee's blindness, noticed by the narrator only at the end of the speech, furthers Ellison's use of the motif of blindness and invisibility. What is Ellison suggesting about the the ideology preached by the college and Barbee, especially regarding its effect on the young men and women who attend the college.

AP Exam

If you need to pay for the test and have not done so, you MUST do so by tomorrow (Tuesday, 3/10) or you will not have a test ordered for you.

If this is a problem, I strongly recommend you communicate with Linda Vancil either by email or in person.

Her office is in the North main office

linda_vancil@ddouglas.k12.or.us

The Vet

1369: "My hole is warm and full of light"

With the exception of the narrator's grandfather who, despite his profound influence, only briefly appears, the vet is the first character who openly states his opposition to the established white power structure and the injustices of society. What is his history? What is suggested by how he now lives? What does he say to both the narrator and Norton? How do his statements inform our understanding of the issues and contradictions the narrator faces? Does the narrator take his words to heart?

The Booker T. Washington Statue at Tuskegee

Booker T. Washington and the Atlanta Exposition Speech

Here.

Louis Armstrong: (What Did I Do to Be So) Black and Blue?

Invisible Man Reading Questions

Read Prologue and answer these questions.

1.     The notion of “invisibility” is clearly going to be an important part of the novel. Make an early attempt to define what the narrator means by being “invisible”. What is the effect of the title lacking “the” or “an”? How do the motifs of light and darkness begin to fit into all of this?

2.     Who is Louis Armstrong? How does the narrator feel about him and his music? His song “What Did I Do to be So Black and Blue” leads the narrator into a kind of reefer-induced vision. What is “Weltschmerz” (9)? What about the stories he “hears”?

3.     The “Prologue” ends with an often paradoxical discussion about “action” and “responsibility” (13-14). What seems to be his general message?

White Noise Timed Writes

I believe I have graded everything submitted. If you do not have a score in the gradebook, it is up to you to make-up the timed write or resubmit it. Take care of this immediately.

Here is the translation of your score in the gradebook to an AP score. (This scale will shift upward as we move towards the test and get more practice.)

7-9 = 50
   6 = 48
   5 = 45
   4 = 42
   3 = 38
   2 = 35