Q2 Extra Credit: A Cure for Winter Break Boredom

In case you are bored over break, here is an extra credit opportunity to engage and entertain you. It is worth up to 5 points. These seemingly little points add up; take advantage. Read and consider the following poem as it relates to the texts we’ve read thus far in English 10.

Fear
By Raymond Carver

Fear of seeing a police car pull into the drive. 1
Fear of falling asleep at night.
Fear of not falling asleep.
Fear of the past rising up.
Fear of the present taking flight. 5
Fear of the telephone that rings in the dead of night.
Fear of electrical storms.
Fear of the cleaning woman who has a spot on her cheek!
Fear of dogs I've been told won't bite.
Fear of anxiety! 10
Fear of having to identify the body of a dead friend.
Fear of running out of money.
Fear of having too much, though people will not believe this.
Fear of psychological profiles.
Fear of being late and fear of arriving before anyone else. 15
Fear of my children's handwriting on envelopes.
Fear they'll die before I do, and I'll feel guilty.
Fear of having to live with my mother in her old age, and mine.
Fear of confusion.
Fear this day will end on an unhappy note. 20
Fear of waking up to find you gone.
Fear of not loving and fear of not loving enough.
Fear that what I love will prove lethal to those I love.
Fear of death.
Fear of living too long. 25
Fear of death.

I've said that…



Your mission should you choose to accept it:

Part I
1. Divide the poem into six sections.
2. Keyword Note the poem. For each section of the poem, write down 2-3 of the most important words or concepts.
3. At the bottom of the page, using at least one word from each section, write a 2-3 sentence summary of the main idea or purpose of the poem.

Part II
1. Rewrite Raymond Carver’s poem from the perspective of one of the characters we’ve read about this year in English 10. Your poem must be the same length as Carver’s poem and must follow his same form. You may select any character, minor or major from one of the following texts:

a. The Namesake
b. Siddhartha
c. The Road
d. The Odyssey
e. All My Sons

2. Do not reveal the name of the character in your title or in the poem. The examples and details that you incorporate into the poem should reveal the complexity of the character and make evident who it is that you are describing. What are his or her motivations, fears, desires, flaws, and/or strengths? Think beyond the obvious, and use your creativity.
3. Create an appropriate thinking map to help you chart out your ideas before you begin writing the poem.
4. Turn these in no later than Friday, January 8.

Enjoy your break. I'll look forward to seeing you in the new year.

Figurative Language in The Story of an Hour

As you read The Story of an Hour, look for these figures of speech. Mark them and comment on their effect in the margins of the page.

Figures of Speech or Figurative Language

Alliteration- the repetition of two or more words of a word group with the same letter, as in apt alliteration's artful aid or she sells seashells by the seashore.

Metaphor- a term or phrase is applied to something or compared to something in order to suggest a similarity; a direct comparison as in “A mighty fortress is our God” or “You are my rock”

Simile - a figure of speech in which two unlike things are compared using like or as, as in “she is like a rose.”

Personification- giving personal or human characteristics to inanimate/ nonliving objects or idea, as in “Dawn with her rosy-fingers” or “The night crept into morning.”

Paradox - A figure or speech in which a seemingly self-contradictory statement is nevertheless found to be true. Example: standing is more tiring than walking. “Some things are simultaneously knowable and incomprehensible.”

Oxymoron- A figure of speech in which contradictory terms appear side by side; a compressed paradox, as in “cruel kindness” or “to make haste slowly” or “there was deafening silence” or “jumbo shrimp”

The Story of An Hour

Kate Chopin, 1851-1901
Often wrote about problems facing women in society.
Wrote over 100 short stories and 1 novel, The Awakening

Setting: The action takes place in a single hour in an American home in the last decade of the 19th century

Key vocabulary words:

elusive - hard to express or define
tumultuously- noisily, in and agitated manner
exalted - elevated
elixir - a substance with the power to cure all ills
importunities - annoyances, bothersome things

As I read aloud, mark all of the literary devices that you recognize. (For example, metaphor, simile, symbolism...) If you see something that looks like figurative language and you don't know the name, mark that too. Consider the effects of these literary devices on the reader and the development of the plot. We'll talk more...

Final Discussion Questions - 5 PIES

Here is the homework for the weekend. Many of you got a good start on this in class. Remember that often we must write down our ideas to better understand what it is that we think. Remember to get out your shovels and dig deeply.

Please write a PIE for 5 of the 7 questions listed below. Remember a PIE must contain:

Point = Make a claim about the play that is interesting and original.

Illustration = Provide a direct quote or evidence from the play with a page citation.

Explanation = Offer Analysis of the quote that explains how it relates to the point that you make in the first sentence.

1. What is the point of Joe saying, “They were all my sons”? Why is this phrase the play’s title?
2. Why does Joe decide to shoot himself? Think about multiple reasons. What are his other options?
3. How does Chris see Joe...
o at the start of the play?
o when he discovers Joe’s guilt?
o after he reads Larry’s letter to Ann?
4. Which characters have a strong sense of obligation to others? How does that influence their actions and reactions in the play? What is said and implied about individual and social responsibility in this play?
5. How does the fact that Joe is his father affect Chris’s judgment?
6. How is the play a commentary on the concept of the American Dream?
7. Is Joe Keller basically a good man? Justify your answer.

A sample PIE from Ms. Benson:

Point: Chris' idealistic outlook changes to a shameful reality because he realizes that he was a coward for not challenging his father earlier.

Illustration: Shortly after Joe admits to his horrific lie, Chris says, "I was made yellow in this house because I suspected my father and I did nothing about it...Now if I look at him all I'm able to do is cry" (Miller 80).

Explanation: Chris' view of himself and the world are shattered as much by Joe's unethical actions as by Chris' own inability to act. Joe killed twenty-one pilots, but Chris is also guilty for allowing Steve Deever to take the fall for his dad. As Chris proclaims, "I did nothing about." As a result, Chris must now accept that his cowardly inactivity contributed to a shameful and unjust reality for the Deever family.

Notice that I offer an introductory clause that provides context for my quote.

Images from the Play

Here are a few different scenes, sets and images from "All My Sons."

How do these compare to your visualization of the play? What is the significance of the symbols on the cover at right?

Act III Journal Reflection

We got so close... There are just a few pages remaining for you to read this evening. Finish the play and then complete this 1-page journal reflection in your notebooks.

Dig deeply. Do not allow yourself to be satisfied with simple answers. Life is complex, and so is this play.

What is your reaction to the end of this play? Make a text-to-self connection.

Why does Joe make the decision that he does at the end of the play? Think about multiple reasons.

What are his other options? What is your opinion of what he’s done?

All My Sons 4-Square Notes for Act I and II

The final multiple choice test for "All My Sons" will happen on Monday, December 14th . The vocabulary quiz will happen on Tuesday, December 15th.

You should create a 4-square chart to record main ideas and important details from the reading for Act I and Act II.

The stopping points for the Act I 4-square are as follows:

Pages 5-15, 15-28, 28-40. In each box record the main idea for that section of text as well as two details. In the final box, record a summary of the author's intent.


The stopping points for Act II 4-square are as follows:

Pages 40-57, 57-65, and 65-71. In each box record the main idea for that section of text as well as two quotes. In the final box, record a summary of the author's intent. That is, what is Miller's point in writing? What message is he trying to convey about a particular topic?


Thanks for all of the enthusiastic reading in class. I didn't know we had so many talent thespians in our midst. See you tomorrow.