Hemingway, cont.

Finish reading "Big Two-Hearted River" part 2.

Answer the following questions:

1. How is “Big Two-Hearted River: Part One” different from Part Two? Why did Hemingway write them separately?
2. How is Nick Adams (Hemingway Hero) a good example of characteristics of Modernism?
3. For your assigned section of the story,
1. write a short summary of events
2. identify the key words and phrases
3. identify possible symbols or metaphors Hemingway uses and what they represent.

 Hemingway Literary Analysis Essay

Assignment: Write an essay in which you explain how Nick Adams is a typical Hemingway Hero and, as such, is a representative of the ideas of Modernism.  Refer to class handouts/questions and include examples from the short stories to support your answer. Use specific examples from at least three short stories, including quotations and page numbers.

Tips for writing your essay:

·        Quotations should not float as their own, separate sentences. Embed them into your sentences. (See the quotation example below)

·        Follow this format for punctuation around parenthetical citations:

Hemingway shows the disillusionment of Modernism in the setting of “Big Two-Hearted River.” When Nick arrives at the town of Seney, he finds “no town, nothing but the rails and the burned-over country” (133).

·        Write in PRESENT TENSE, not past. (See the quotation example above)

·        Refer to the author by his full name or last name only. You may refer to characters within the text by first name only.

·        Do not use first-person (I, me, we, us) or second-person (you) pronouns in your essay. Use only third-person pronouns (he, she, they, one).

Essay must be submitted to turnitin.com by 11:59:59pm on Tuesday, April 8.

Structure of the Essay:

I.                   Introduction

A.                  Attention-getter. (Hook the reader, reel them in. See what I did

there? It’s a fishing metaphor)

B.                  Thesis. Include the author’s full name and the title of the book.

Example: In his collection of short stories In Our Time, Ernest Hemingway develops Nick Adams as the typical Hemingway Hero.

C.                  Preview (Three) Main Points.

II.                Body of Essay

A.                  Paragraph 2 – First Characteristic of Hemingway Hero

1.                   Explain the characteristic AND how it reflects ideas of

Modernism.

2.                   Example from one story (including quotation and page number).

                Analyze how quotation demonstrates the characteristic.

3.                   Example from second story (including quotation and page

number). Analyze how quotation demonstrates the characteristic.

B.                  Paragraph 3 – Second Characteristic of Hemingway Hero

1.                   Explain the characteristic AND how it reflects ideas of

                Modernism.

2.                   Example from one story (including quotation and page number).

Analyze how quotation demonstrates the characteristic.

3.                   Example from second story (including quotation and page

                number). Analyze how quotation demonstrates the characteristic.

C.                  Paragraph 4 – Third Characteristic of Hemingway Hero

1.                   Explain the characteristic AND how it reflects ideas of

                Modernism.

2.                   Example from one story (including quotation and page number).

Analyze how quotation demonstrates the characteristic.

3.                   Example from second story (including quotation and page

                number). Analyze how quotation demonstrates the characteristic.

III.             Conclusion

A.                  Restate thesis (in different words), including recap of three main

            points.

B.                  Final thought (connecting Nick Adams to Modernism, or the

            Hemingway Hero to Modernism, or Hemingway to Modernism). What

            is Hemingway’s reason for creating the character this way? What

            statement is he making on Modernism? What idea(s) does Hemingway want

            the reader to walk away with?

QUIZ and Hemingway, continued

Quiz on the Nick Adams stories "Indian Camp", "The Doctor and the Doctor's Wife", "The End of Something", "The Three-Day Blow", and "The Battler" (all found in the collection In Our Time).

Ernest Hemingway, "Big Two-Hearted River" Part I and begin Part II (In Our Time).

• Read Part I.
• What insight does the setting at the beginning of the story offer to Nick's character? What tone is set?
• Where does the tone (and the setting) change? 
• What is the tone at the end of Part I? What does that say about Nick Adams?

James Thurber

Watch the following trailer for The Secret Life of Walter Mitty.

• Write a short plot synopsis of the story, based on the information given in this trailer.
• Read "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty" by James Thurber (782 or available here).
  
• How close was your synopsis to the real story? What details were changed?
• Thurber uses the psychological technique of free association, in which words, sounds, and events from Mitty's real life inspire elements of his daydreams. What causes Mitty to lapse into each daydream? What decidedly unheroic event snaps him out of each fantasy?
• Irony involves a discrepancy between what we expect to happen--or what we think is appropriate--and what really does happen. When a firehouse burns down, we sense the irony. When a big dog cowers in front of a mouse, we sense irony. Irony is one of the key elements of modern fiction. What is the central irony of Mitty's life--in other words, how is his actual life different from his daydreams?
• How does "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty" demonstrate elements of Modern fiction? (See the list in your notes or on p. 639)
• Watch the following interpretation of "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty." 

• What elements does this interpretation add to the story to make the storytelling effective?

Creative response: Draw a comic strip interpretation of one of Mitty's daydreams, including the events leading into and out of the daydream.

Nick Adams stories (cont.)

Finish stories from In Our Time and analyzing Nick Adams as the Hemingway Hero. (see 3/25/14 for assignment)

Hemingway Hero, Nick Adams Stories

Add characteristics of the Hemingway Hero to your notes on the Elements of Modernism:

Ernest Hemingway, In Our Time (selected stories)

“Indian Camp” (15-19)

“The Doctor and the Doctor’s Wife” (23-27)

“The End of Something” (31-35)

“The Three-Day Blow” (39-49)

“The Battler” (53-62)

Nick Adams is the typical Hemingway Hero.  Use these five short stories to give examples of each of the Hero’s characteristics. You need two examples for each question from two different stories. Reference specific story titles and events with page numbers in your answer, and you must refer to each story at least once.

1.       Physically or emotionally wounded.

2.       Alienated from traditional beliefs, values, and  relationships; a loner

3.       Believes world is filled with tragedy and irony (pain, loss, violence, death)

4.       Forced into heroic roles, does not volunteer, does not see self as heroic

5.       Master of sport, soldiering, and traditional male pursuits; finds beauty and solace in sport and its rituals; finds reward in having done a job well

6.       Ultimate goal:  show “grace under pressure,” face danger or death without cracking, complete the job capably

7.       Common metaphors symbolizing the hero’s quest: fishing, hunting, bullfighting

Intro to Modernism, Ernest Hemingway

Read the introduction to Modernism on pp. 636-43. Add the Elements of Modernism to your notes (on p. 639). Use the information from the introduction to answer these questions:

1. What is the American Dream?
2. What happened to the American dream in the early twentieth century?
3. In what ways did Modernism challenge tradition--especially in what people valued in art and literature?

Ernest Hemingway, "Soldier's Home" (685-691 or at this link)

Ernest Hemingway

• As you read the story, try to piece together a character profile of the returned soldier Harold Krebs. Take notes on Krebs's feelings, attitudes, and views on the war, his return home, his family, other people, his hometown, and his future.
• Read the story.
• Write a character profile on Krebs using the information noted as you read the story.
• How does this story display Elements of Modernism described in the introduction?

Realism Review

Read the selections by Stephen Crane (excerpt from The Red Badge of Courage) and Yusef Komunyakaa. Answer the questions on pages 424-429 in text book.

Ambrose Bierce (continued)

Ambrose Bierce, "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge"

Scene from the 1962 Short Film

• Bierce gives the audience several hints throughout Part III that these events are not really happening. Find four examples of these hints.
• Give an example of each of the three types of Point of View listed on p. 489 (omniscient, objective, and third-person-limited) found in the story.
• Using your notes from yesterday, is this a Realist or Naturalist short story? Which characteristics does it show?
• On construction paper, design a poster for a movie version of this story.  Include: 
• artwork to represent the film (without ruining it)
• a clever title (“An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” has already been taken)
• a one-sentence tagline making an audience interested in seeing your film but not ruining it
• Optional: Stars, Reviews from critics or viewers, etc.

Review Realism and Naturalism, Bierce

Characteristics of Realist Literature:

• Rejection of the idealized, larger-than-life hero of Romantic literature
• Detailed depiction of ordinary characters and realistic events
• Emphasis on characters from cities and lower classes
• Avoidance of the exotic, sensational, and overly dramatic
• Use of everyday speech patterns to reveal class distinctions
• Focus on the ethical struggles and social issues of real-life situations

Characteristics of Naturalist Literature:

• Attempt to analyze human behavior objectively, as a scientist would
• Belief that human behavior is determined by heredity and environment
• Sense that human beings cannot control their own destinies
• Sense of life as a losing battle against an uncaring universe

Ambrose Bierce, "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" 

• Read biographical background on Bierce and Literary Focus: Point of View (488-9)
• Read the short story (490-6)

English 11B, day 1

Course Description

            In English 11, the major focus is American Literature, but aspects of both literature and composition will be covered.  Students will develop their writing skills by using a writing process to complete multi-paragraph essays that attend to purpose, audience, development, structure, and style.  Students will also continue to refine their research, documentation, and persuasion skills. Students will use their knowledge and understanding of literary techniques and rhetorical devices to comprehend, respond to, interpret, and evaluate fiction and non-fiction selections.  

In addition to the history of American Literature and the traditional canon that expresses the shifts in our culture, the Grade 11 curriculum provides a clear presentation of the importance of marginalized cultures.  As a way to help students identify with all dimensions of the American literary culture, the curriculum will begin with an initial assignment to explore the dreams Americans possess by examining some important values in contemporary America.  After initial work with contemporary culture, each of the collections will include work which asks students to explore the “dreams” of members of the primary literary movement and those of members of marginalized cultures of the period as demonstrated in their writings.

Units of Study:

Tri B

• REVIEW: Rise of Realism:  Civil War to 1914 (Realism and Naturalism)
• The Moderns:  1914-1939
• Contemporary Literature:  1939-Present
• Research Writing; Research; MLA style/citation; Synthesis; On-Demand Writing

English 11B

Introductory Writing Assignment

Choose one of the following topics:

1. Write about an object owned and valued by you or by some member of your family. Your mother may own a wicker basket brought from Hungary by her grandmother in 1822. Your brother might think his arrowhead collection is the most magical thing in his life. Your father may have saved a battered trumpet he played in a high school marching band. Your job is to look at the object, perceive it physically (sight, smell, touch, taste, sound), and to write about its special history or meaning. Lead the reader toward an insight or understanding of its emotional or personal significance.
2. Recall a particularly good or bad experience in your life caused by a single event (perhaps the night you went camping in Oregon or the summer afternoon you spent shopping with your Italian aunt). Look in detail at all the sensory elements that return to your memory. Re-create the experience in such a way that the reader can see, hear, and feel the whole of it. At the end, reflect on the significance of the experience today (which might be different than how you felt about it at the time).

Note:

Ms. Johnson will use this writing assignment to evaluate whole class and individual writing strengths and weaknesses and establish goals for writing improvement.  For all other writing assignments, we will write multiple drafts and engage in peer revision and editing.

This assignment will be graded as follows:

                Exemplary:           30 points

                Proficient:             26 points

                Basic:                     23 points

District final, Reading

1 day to work on Reading final.


Reading Final = 5% of overall course grade.

District Final, Writing

Day 2 of the district writing final.

Writing final = 5% of overall course grade.

District Final, Writing

Day 1 of district writing final.

Writing final = 5% of overall course grade.

Miranda July

Read the short stories "The Swim Team" and "The Shared Patio."

• What traits of Contemporary Literature does July demonstrate in these two short stories? Give examples from each.
• In what ways are July's stories different from other examples of Contemporary Literature we've read?

Historical Research Essay DUE!

Final work time in the IMC on research essays.

• Look at comments (or listen if they're voice comments) on turnitin.com for Revision 1 of essay.
• Make the necessary changes or ask any questions you still have.
• Submit final draft of essay WITH WORKS CITED by 11:59:59 pm on Monday, March 3.

Turnitin.com