Reading Schedule

Episode 1: (Chapters 1- 4) Huck is living with the Widow Douglas, who is teaching him about region and having go to school. Tom Sawyer starts a gang who says there are gonna steal for passing wagons. Tom plays a trick on Jim. Huck is in Tom's gang for a little while but nothing really comes of it and he quits. Huck realizes his dad is back and gives all the money to Judge Thatcher. This episode ends with huck's dad in his room. Huck goes to Jim for advice or a prophet and Jim really doesn't tell him anything important. ends by Pa showing up.

Episode 2: (5- 7) Pa gives Huck a hard time for being eduated and tells him to stop going to school or he'll whip him. Then he questions Huck about the money and Huck says he doesn't have it. Pa says he will get it from Judge Tatcher cause it's his. Then he goes to the Judge and demands for the money. The judge decided he wanted custody of Huck and go to the law. Well there is a new Judge in town who doesn't want to break up a son and dad. Pa then plays off the judge's Gullibilty, saying he would quit drink and is a changed man. The judge gives him a room and new clothes, pa gets drunk and the judge gives up on him. So Pa tries to get the money again, and he also kidnaps Huck. Well they live in a cabin and Pa is careful not to leave anything Huck could use to escape. Huck eventually finds a saw and starts sawing through the floor everytime Pa leaves. One night Pa comes back really drunk and tries to kill Huck. The next day, Huck finds some logs and Pa takes them to the town to sell them. While Pa is way, Huck finishes sawing thorugh, makes it look like he was killed and leaves.
 
Episode 3: (8-11)
Episode 4: (12-16) 

Here is the reading schedule for this week and for break:

12/17 chapters 8-9
12/18 chapter 10
12/19 FINAL
12/20 No class
12/21 No class

Break
12/26 chapters 11=12
12/27 chapters 13-14
12/28 chapters 15-16
1/2     chapters 17-18
1/3     chapters 19-20
1/4 Don Hather

Study Questions

1. Compare and contrast the lies Huck gives to Mrs. Judith Lotus to the lies he tells the watchman? (chap 11 and 13). Think about purpose and results. Remember lies and inventing (or reinventing) personas is a motif. What theme do you think these lies reinforce?
2. Make a list of names Huck uses or invent.
3. Contrast the gang on the Walter Scott to Tom’s Gang (you might even look at some of the rules of Tom’s Gang). What is the significance of these two gangs? What idea is Twain trying to reinforce?
4. Look up Walter Scott on the internet. Why would Twain name the sinking boat Walter Scott? What is he making fun of? (Hint: Research the name and read about who Walter Scott was).
5. Look up the dimensions of the Mississippi. Write them down. Look up the Mississippi in Illinois and Missouri. What does the internet say about the river in these two states? Find a picture of the Mississippi. Why do you think Twain used the Mississippi as a symbol?
6. What are Huck’s descriptions of the river when he and Jim first leave Jackson Island (before the storm)? What theme does this reinforce?
7. Why does Huck want to save the gang of murders? What is funny about this? What does it say about Huck?
8. What is the significance of the following quote: “Do you reckon Tom Sawyer would ever go by this thing? Not for pie, he wouldn’t. He’d call it an adventure—that’s what he’d call it; and he’d land on that wreck if it was his last act. And wouldn’t he throw style into it?—wouldn’t he spread himself, nor nothing? Why you’d think it was Christopher Columbus discovering Kingdom-Come.”
9. What is funny about the discussion between borrowing and stealing? Discuss what you think the significance of this is.
10. Make a list of references to death so far in the novel.
11. List the allusions so far.
What was your favorite event that happened in chapters 11-13? Why?


Huck Discussion Questions: XV - XX

1. Discuss the significance of the fog incident and Jim's interpretation of it. "The lot of towheads was troubles we was going to get into with quarrelsome people and all kinds of mean folks, but if we minded our business and didn't talk back and aggravate them, we would pull through and get out of the fog and into the big clear river, which was the free states, and wouldn't have no more trouble" (64). Consider the major themes as well as foreshadowing.

2. How does Huck feel about playing the trick on Jim? Comment: "It was fifteen minutes before I could work myself up and humble myself to a nigger; but I done it, and I warn't sorry for it afterwards, neither" (65). How does this statement contribute to the overall meaning of the novel?

3. Discuss the significance of the following quotes from Chapter XVI:

"Jim said it made him all over trembly and feverish to be so close to freedom. Well, it made me all trembly and feverish, too, to hear him because I begun to get it through my head that he was most free -- and who was to blame for it? Why me. I couldn't get it out of my conscience, no how nor no way." (66).

"Here was this nigger which I as good as helped to run away, coming right out flat-footed and saying he would steal his children -- children that belonged to a man I didn't even know; a man that hadn't ever done me no harm." (67). Explain the irony in this quote as well as the significance.

"Well, then, says I, what's the use you learning to do right, when it's troublesome to do right and ain't no trouble to do wrong, and the wages is just the same?" (69).

"Doan' less' talk about it, Huck. Po' niggers can't have no luck. I awluz 'spected dat rattle-snake skin warn't done wid its work." (70).

4. Why do the bounty hunters give Huck money? What is ironic about their reaction to Huck's story?

5. What does the destruction of the "naturally" created raft by the "industrially" created steamboat symbolize?

6. Speculate on why Twain put Huckleberry Finn aside for a few years at the end of XVI?

7. Describe the Grangerford house. What is satirical about the furnishings, art, and poetry? What does this description say about the Grangerfords?

8. The first part of Chapter XVII reveals an example of the theme of Huck playing on Buck's gullibility. Discuss this example as well as other examples of the novel's major themes evident in

Chapters XVI & XVII.

9. What does Huck's reaction to "Moses and the candle" indicate? Discuss the meaning of "Moses" as a motif in the novel.

10. What does Twain satirize in his description of the church service and the hogs that sleep under the floor?

11. What does the feud symbolize? Does this remind you of another famous piece of literature? Explain. Through the feud incident, Twain satirizes human traits and behaviors. Discuss.

12. "I was powerful glad to get away from the feuds, and so was Jim to get away from the swamp. We said there warn't no home like a raft, after all. Other places do seem so clamped up and smothery, but a raft don't. You feel mighty free and easy and comfortable on a raft"(88). Discuss the paradox. Furthermore, this excerpt from the final paragraph of Chapter XVIII is significant in that it pertains to the major themes of the novel. Explain.

13. Huck and Jim's manner of dress on the raft is symbolic. What do clothes represent?

14. Why doesn't Huck expose the Duke and the King (Dauphin) as frauds?

15. Who is the most shrewd, the King and the Duke or Huck? Why? Give some examples.

16. What does Twain satirize in the plan to present Romeo and Juliet? Discuss Romeo and Juliet as a motif.

17. Discuss the significance of the pirate and the revival meeting. What is Twain satirizing?

18. Is Twain making a statement about society through the antics of the King and Duke? Explain.

Friday -

Today, we are going to review chapter 6 and look at chapter 7 of Huckleberry Finn, and then we'll discuss your Poetry Out Loud poems and give you some time to study for your final or to post your Huckleberry Finn questions to your blogs!

HUCK FINN chapter 5-6

We are going to look at chapters 5-6 today and then I'll give you some time to work on either POETRY OUT LOUD or to Study for next week's Final.


Study Questions for Chapters 5 - 11

Huck Discussion Questions: V - XI (5 -11)

1. Pap: "I won't have it. I'll lay for you, my smarty; and if I catch you about that school I'll tan you good. First you know you'll get religion. I never seen such a son." Discuss the meaning and irony.
2. How does the refusal of the court to grant custody of Huck to the Widow Douglas and Judge Thatcher reflect on society?
3. Even though Huck is regularly beaten, he prefers to stay at the shanty. Why? How does this reflect one of the major themes?
4. Comment on Pap's drunken tirade over the "govment." What message is Twain sending?
5. What major theme is reflected by Huck's escape from his father and his discovery of Jim?
6. What is ironic about Huck wishing Tom were there to help plan the escape? How do you think the plan would have developed had Tom been there? Would it have been successful?
7. Discuss the irony in Huck's finding bread to eat. He also seems to modify his position on prayer. Discuss.
8. Discuss Jim' actions after meeting Huck.
9. Discuss how running into Jim represents Huck's rebirth. Discuss the resulting conflict in Huck's mind.
10. Significance: "People would call me a lowdown Abolitionist and despise me for keeping mum."
11. Even though Jim seems to rely on superstition, many of his predictions are rooted in knowledge.
Explain the significance.
12. Discuss the trick that Huck plays on Jim. It that typical of Huck's character? What does he learn?

13. What do we learn about Huck's character from his trip to shore?
14. When Mrs. Loftus discusses the money that Tom had found, a common human trait emerges. Discuss.
15. Discuss the satire revealed in the amounts of the rewards.

Today, you need to choose your poem and begin to memorize it for Poetry Out Loud. 

The POL competition is on Wednesday 1/30 at 6:30 pm on the school stage.  This is a requirement.  You must have a poem memorized and ready to perform.  This is also an easy grade:

50 points for the memorization
30 points for showing up to the performance
20 points for the acting of the poem.

The winner of POL receives a $50 gift certificate to Radio Shack and has a chance to go the State Championship in March.

Here is a link to the POL judging guidelines
This rubric is also how you will be graded on the "acting" portion.

Poetry Out Loud website can be found here

Tips for performance can be found here

Huck Finn chapters 3-4

 

Discussion Questions NOTICE - IV

 

1) Describe the Widow Douglas.  How does Huck respond to the Moses story?  What does this tell the reader about Huck's character?  (Moses will be a motif in this book) 

2) Discuss superstition as a motif.  Provide examples.
 

3) Discuss Huck's view of death and the afterlife.  Death is mentioned frequently in chapter 1.  Why?
 

4) Comment on the trick Tom and Huck play on Jim.
 

5) "Jim was most ruined for a servant..."  Discuss the significance of this quote.
 

6) Considering the themes listing in the objectives, comment on Tom's decision to leave 5 cents for the candles.  Do you think Huck would have done the same thing?   Why or why not?
 

7) Compare and Contrast Tom and Huck.
 

8) Why does Tom think it important that the gang be considered "highwaymen" rather than burglars?
 

9) Discuss Huck's conflict over Miss Watson's view of prayer.
 

10) Why does Tom Sawyer call Huck a "numskull"?
 

11) Comment: "I reckoned he believed in the A-rabs and the elephants, but as for me I think different.  It had all the marks of a Sunday school."
 

12) Why does Huck want to give all the money to Judge Thatcher?  

 

THEMES:

 

Major Themes: Mark Twain described the major theme of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn as an irony: "A sound heart and a deformed conscience come into collision and conscience suffers defeat." We can define the "deformed conscience" as a conscience influenced by the laws of society and a sense of duty toward those laws. The laws of society at the time of Huck's journey considered people of African descent as property and, therefore, less than human. Huck's struggle with his "deformed conscience" represents a major conflict in the novel. Furthermore, the novel is rich in common themes, themes that we will discover in many other pieces of literature.

1. The conflict between the individual and society - Huck's struggle with his "deformed conscience"
2. The conflict between the emotional and the rational
3. Appearance vs. reality - hypocrisy and "phoniness"
4. Superstition - as a method of explaining and understanding
5. Tolerance vs. prejudice
6. Dehumanization - dehumanizing human beings to oppress them
7. Death and rebirth
8. Coming of age - the hero's journey
9. The role of the outsider
10. The nature and significance of the following human traits: gullibility, ignorance and naivete

Other significant themes include: the feeling of loneliness and isolation; the quest for freedom; romantic vs. real; implied vs. literal; the role of women; the concept of family.  

NOTES:

Picarsque Novel: Usually a satirical novel which depicts in realistic detail the adventures of a roguish hero of low social class who survives by his or her wits in a corrupt society.

Bildungsroman: A novel whose principal subject is the moral, psychological and intellectual development of a youthful main character.

Episodic Plot: A structure that features distinct episodes or a series of stories linked together by the same character. Huck Finn can be broken up into 8 or 9 episodes.

Romanticism:
Work of literature that deal with imagination, that represent ideals of life, these works often include fantastic adventure stories, spiritual connections with nature, gothic stories of the fantastic. Authors include: Sir Walter Scott, Fenimore Cooper, Poe.

Realism:
Works of literature that depict life and people as they really appear. Hence Realistic.
Themes include corruption of society as a whole, racism.

Anithero:
A protagonist who doesn't fit the traditional description of a hero.

Persona:
An assumed identity or character.

Satire:
A work of literature that uses irony and hyperbole to attack and mock some aspect of society as a way to promote social change.

Huck Discussion Questions: V - XI

1. Pap: "I won't have it. I'll lay for you, my smarty; and if I catch you about that school I'll tan you good. First you know you'll get religion. I never seen such a son." Discuss the meaning and irony.
2. How does the refusal of the court to grant custody of Huck to the Widow Douglas and Judge Thatcher reflect on society?
3. Even though Huck is regularly beaten, he prefers to stay at the shanty. Why? How does this reflect one of the major themes?
4. Comment on Pap's drunken tirade over the "govment." What message is Twain sending?
5. What major theme is reflected by Huck's escape from his father and his discovery of Jim?
6. What is ironic about Huck wishing Tom were there to help plan the escape? How do you think the plan would have developed had Tom been there? Would it have been successful?
7. Discuss the irony in Huck's finding bread to eat. He also seems to modify his position on prayer. Discuss.
8. Discuss Jim' actions after meeting Huck.
9. Discuss how running into Jim represents Huck's rebirth. Discuss the resulting conflict in Huck's mind.
10. Significance: "People would call me a lowdown Abolitionist and despise me for keeping mum."
11. Even though Jim seems to rely on superstition, many of his predictions are rooted in knowledge.
Explain the significance.
12. Discuss the trick that Huck plays on Jim. It that typical of Huck's character? What does he learn?

13. What do we learn about Huck's character from his trip to shore?
14. When Mrs. Loftus discusses the money that Tom had found, a common human trait emerges. Discuss.
15. Discuss the satire revealed in the amounts of the rewards.

Huck Finn

HUCKLEBERRY FINN QUESTIONS 

 Discussion Questions NOTICE - IV

1) Describe the Widow Douglas.  How does Huck respond to the Moses story?  What does this tell the reader about Huck's character?  (Moses will be a motif in this book)
2) Discuss superstition as a motif.  Provide examples.
3) Discuss Huck's view of death and the afterlife.  Death is mentioned frequently in chapter 1.  Why?
4) Comment on the trick Tom and Huck play on Jim.
5) "Jim was most ruined for a servant..."  Discuss the significance of this quote.
6) Considering the themes listing in the objectives, comment on Tom's decision to leave 5 cents for the candles.  Do you think Huck would have done the same thing?   Why or why not?
7) Compare and Contrast Tom and Huck.
8) Why does Tom think it important that the gang be considered "highwaymen" rather than burglars?
9) Discuss Huck's conflict over Miss Watson's view of prayer.
10) Why does Tom Sawyer call Huck a "numskull"?
11) Comment: "I reckoned he believed in the A-rabs and the elephants, but as for me I think different.  It had all the marks of a Sunday school."
12) Why does Huck want to give all the money to Judge Thatcher? 

Huck Finn and Final

Review for Test on Romanticism

1 – Be able to discuss with examples how Emerson (Nature and Self-Reliance)  and Thoreau (Walden and Civil Disobedience fit the ideas of Transcendentalism.  You will need to be able to pick out  a theme for each essay and use specific examples.

2 – Discuss the meaning of the “A Psalm of Life”, “The Tide Falls”, “The Chambered Nautilus” and “Old Ironsides”.  Be able to analysis rhyme scheme, stanza structure, and metaphor in each poem.  Also apply the question: What gives life purpose to the poems.

3 – List the elements of American Gothic literature and give examples of these elements in “The Fall of the House of Usher” and The Scarlet Letter.

4 – Be able to discuss the following questions as connected to the literature of the Romantic Period:

“Is the price of progress ever too high?”

“Is it patriotic to protest one’s government?”

“Does everyone have a dark side?”

“Where do people look for the truth?”

5 - Be able to discuss the meaning of Fuller's essay "Woman in the 19th Century" and compare it with "Self-Reliance"

6 - Answer text questions about Huckleberry Finn

7 - Summarize the following: Benjamin Franklin, Patrick Henry, Jonathan Edwards, and John Smith. 

Huck Finn Geography

HUCKLEBERRY FINN

Introduction:

            Huckleberry Finn, published in 1885, is considered not only a great book, but according to Ernest Hemingway (and many critics), it is the foundation of American literature.  It is the first novel to address uniquely American problems such as slavery and the hypocrisy of American Society (particularly of the Southern Gentile Tradition).  It is the first novel to have as its narrator a true American: an uneducated homeless boy of the lower class who has been raised for most of his life by no one and who owns nothing but his own ingenuity.  In fact it is the naivety of the narrator that allows Mark Twain to condemn society.  Huck Finn, while a liar, a thief, a minor conman (or con-boy), a rapscallion, a dirty waif, and a prankster, is ironically the most honest and good person in the book.  Fortunately Huck’s lack of sophistication limits his ability to be anything but true to heart.  It is his redemption.  The novel, a biting satire, employs all three types of irony we’ve discuss to create humor, plus it employs devices such as the use of allusion as a way to mock past literature for Huckleberry Finn is a novel in the school of realism. Twain believed that literature had to have characters and situations that could be found in the real world and to address real world problems (and Twain does entertain scenes with events that mimic and mock real events that happened in his day).  This idea of realism is one of the reasons the novel contains four types of dialect and discusses ideas such as slavery and freedom.  Twain opposed and absolutely hated romantic literature: literature where unlikely things happened such a fantastic escapes, magic, and Robin Hood-like heroes.  He pokes fun at these types of novels, perhaps too much fun.  Twain also uses his mockery of Romanticism to address the absurd nature of American idealism.  Huck Finn has been called vulgar and has been banned in high schools and in libraries since its publication.  Beware you will encounter the “N” word regularly.  Twain used it for a reason.  It should shock you and it should make you think.

Unit Learning Goal: Students will demonstrate knowledge of nineteenth century foundation works of American Literature by analyzing satire in Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and relating one of its main themes to another text and issue of the time. 

TEXTS:

“Historical and Context of the transition from Romanticism to Realism”; selected poetry by Walt Whitman and Emily Dickinson; excerpts from The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglas; “The Gettysburg Address”, “The Emancipation Proclamation”, “Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address”; The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

Standards:

RL1 – Cite Strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text, including determining where the text leaves matters uncertain

RL2 – Determine two of more themes or central ideas of a text and analyze their development over the course of a text, including how they interact and build upon one another to produce a complex account; provide an objective summary of the text

RL3 – Analyze the impact of the author’s choices regarding how to develop and relate elements of a story (e.g. where a story is set, how the action is ordered, how the characters are introduced and developed)

RL 4 – Determine the meaning of words and phrase as they are used in text, including figurative and connotative meaning; analyze specific word choices on tone

RL 5 – Analyze how an author’s choices concerning how to structure specific parts of a text contribute to its overall meaning

RL 6 – Analyze a case in which grasping a point of view requires distinguishing what is directly stated in a text from what is really mean (i.e. satire, sarcasm, irony)

RL 9 – Demonstrate knowledge of nineteenth century foundational works of American Literature

RI 1 – Cite strong textual evidence to support of analysis of what a text says

RI 8 – Delineate and evaluate the reasoning in seminal U.S. texts (e.g. Presidential Addresses)

RI9 – Analyze nineteenth century foundation U.S. documents of history and literary significance for themes, purposes and rhetorical features (e.g. Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address, The Gettysburg Address). 

Learning OBJECTIVES:

By the end of the novel students will be able to

1)    Define realism, satire, dialect, antihero, unreliable narrator, irony (situational, dramatic, and verbal), episodic plot, romanticism, dramatic foils, hyperbole, motif, picaresque novel, parable, sarcasm, simile, metaphor, oxymoron, allegory, euphemism, bildungroman

2)    Pick out examples of symbols, irony and dialect

3)    Example the meaning of at least one major symbol

4)    Discuss how Huck is both an unreliable narrator and an antihero

5)    Discuss how Huckleberry Finn, the novel, fits both a bildungsroman and picaresque novel

6)    Give examples of and discuss the following motifs in the book: superstition, parodies of previous literature (romantic novels and Shakespeare), the adopting of personas (or reinventing self), childhood games, religion, lies and cons, death, and perhaps one or two others that I will bring up in class

7)    Be out to pick out and example five – ten allusions

8)    Outline the plot according to the six elements

9)    Break up the book into three sections or three movements (and briefly explain each movement)

10) Break up the book into 9 episodes

11) Give a list of characters in the book with a brief description of each and their general purpose in the novel

12) Compare and Contrast Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer

13) Discuss the idea of and the historical reference of Family Feuds

14) Discuss the different types of conflict found in Huckleberry Finn

15) Discuss how Mark Twain uses allusions to back up his major themes and develop his characters

16)   Keep a list of Huckleberry Finns stories and pranks

17) Discuss how Huckleberry Finn is honest in dishonest world

18) Briefly explain the following themes: Racism and Slavery, Intellectual and Moral Education, The hypocrisy of society (appearance vs. reality), conflict between the individual and society, the quest for freedom (both freedom away from society and freedom within society), superstition vs religion, death and rebirth, coming of age and the hero’s journey, the concept of family, the role of the outsider, the nature and the significance of the following traits: gullibility, ignorance, and naivety, tolerance vs. prejudice. 

19) Define and use various vocabulary words that appear in the book

20) Develop a project based on some aspect of the novel.

21) Answer study questions as you read.

 Fenimore Cooper's Literary Offenses

by Mark Twain

"The Pathfinder" and "The Deerslayer" stand at the head of Cooper's novels as artistic creations. There are others of his works which contain parts as perfect as are to be found in these, and scenes even more thrilling. Not one can be compared with either of them as a finished whole. The defects in both of these tales are comparatively slight. They were pure works of art.
--Professor Lounsbury

The five tales reveal an extraordinary fullness of invention. ... One of the very greatest characters in fiction, Natty Bumppo... The craft of the woodsman, the tricks of the trapper, all the delicate art of the forest were familiar to Cooper from his youth up.

--Professor Matthews
Cooper is the greatest artist in the domain of romantic fiction in America.

--Wilkie Collins
It seems to me that it was far from right for the Professor of English Literature at Yale, the Professor of English Literature in Columbia, and Wilkie Collins to deliver opinions on Cooper's literature without having read some of it. It would have been much more decorous to keep silent and let persons talk who have read Cooper.

Cooper's art has some defects. In one place in "Deerslayer," and in the restricted space of two-thirds of a page, Cooper has scored 114 offenses against literary art out of a possible 115. It breaks the record.

There are nineteen rules governing literary art in domain of romantic fiction -- some say twenty-two. In "Deerslayer," Cooper violated eighteen of them. These eighteen require:

1. That a tale shall accomplish something and arrive somewhere. But the "Deerslayer" tale accomplishes nothing and arrives in air.

2. They require that the episodes in a tale shall be necessary parts of the tale, and shall help to develop it. But as the "Deerslayer" tale is not a tale, and accomplishes nothing and arrives nowhere, the episodes have no rightful place in the work, since there was nothing for them to develop.

3. They require that the personages in a tale shall be alive, except in the case of corpses, and that always the reader shall be able to tell the corpses from the others. But this detail has often been overlooked in the "Deerslayer" tale.

4. They require that the personages in a tale, both dead and alive, shall exhibit a sufficient excuse for being there. But this detail also has been overlooked in the "Deerslayer" tale.

5. The require that when the personages of a tale deal in conversation, the talk shall sound like human talk, and be talk such as human beings would be likely to talk in the given circumstances, and have a discoverable meaning, also a discoverable purpose, and a show of relevancy, and remain in the neighborhood of the subject at hand, and be interesting to the reader, and help out the tale, and stop when the people cannot think of anything more to say. But this requirement has been ignored from the beginning of the "Deerslayer" tale to the end of it.

6. They require that when the author describes the character of a personage in the tale, the conduct and conversation of that personage shall justify said description. But this law gets little or no attention in the "Deerslayer" tale, as Natty Bumppo's case will amply prove.

7. They require that when a personage talks like an illustrated, gilt-edged, tree-calf, hand-tooled, seven- dollar Friendship's Offering in the beginning of a paragraph, he shall not talk like a negro minstrel in the end of it. But this rule is flung down and danced upon in the "Deerslayer" tale.

8. They require that crass stupidities shall not be played upon the reader as "the craft of the woodsman, the delicate art of the forest," by either the author or the people in the tale. But this rule is persistently violated in the "Deerslayer" tale.

9. They require that the personages of a tale shall confine themselves to possibilities and let miracles alone; or, if they venture a miracle, the author must so plausibly set it forth as to make it look possible and reasonable. But these rules are not respected in the "Deerslayer" tale.

10. They require that the author shall make the reader feel a deep interest in the personages of his tale and in their fate; and that he shall make the reader love the good people in the tale and hate the bad ones. But the reader of the "Deerslayer" tale dislikes the good people in it, is indifferent to the others, and wishes they would all get drowned together.

11. They require that the characters in a tale shall be so clearly defined that the reader can tell beforehand what each will do in a given emergency. But in the "Deerslayer" tale, this rule is vacated.

THEMES:

Major Themes: Mark Twain described the major theme of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn as an irony: "A sound heart and a deformed conscience come into collision and conscience suffers defeat." We can define the "deformed conscience" as a conscience influenced by the laws of society and a sense of duty toward those laws. The laws of society at the time of Huck's journey considered people of African descent as property and, therefore, less than human. Huck's struggle with his "deformed conscience" represents a major conflict in the novel. Furthermore, the novel is rich in common themes, themes that we will discover in many other pieces of literature.

1. The conflict between the individual and society - Huck's struggle with his "deformed conscience"
2. The conflict between the emotional and the rational
3. Appearance vs. reality - hypocrisy and "phoniness"
4. Superstition - as a method of explaining and understanding
5. Tolerance vs. prejudice
6. Dehumanization - dehumanizing human beings to oppress them
7. Death and rebirth
8. Coming of age - the hero's journey
9. The role of the outsider
10. The nature and significance of the following human traits: gullibility, ignorance and naivete

Other significant themes include: the feeling of loneliness and isolation; the quest for freedom; romantic vs. real; implied vs. literal; the role of women; the concept of family.  

NOTES:

Picarsque Novel: Usually a satirical novel which depicts in realistic detail the adventures of a roguish hero of low social class who survives by his or her wits in a corrupt society.

Bildungsroman: A novel whose principal subject is the moral, psychological and intellectual development of a youthful main character.

Episodic Plot: A structure that features distinct episodes or a series of stories linked together by the same character. Huck Finn can be broken up into 8 or 9 episodes.

Romanticism:
Work of literature that deal with imagination, that represent ideals of life, these works often include fantastic adventure stories, spiritual connections with nature, gothic stories of the fantastic. Authors include: Sir Walter Scott, Fenimore Cooper, Poe.

Realism:
Works of literature that depict life and people as they really appear. Hence Realistic.
Themes include corruption of society as a whole, racism.

Anithero:
A protagonist who doesn't fit the traditional description of a hero.

Persona:
An assumed identity or character.

Satire:
A work of literature that uses irony and hyperbole to attack and mock some aspect of society as a way to promote social change.

HUCKLEBERRY FINN QUESTIONS 

 Discussion Questions NOTICE - IV

1) Describe the Widow Douglas.  How does Huck respond to the Moses story?  What does this tell the reader about Huck's character?  (Moses will be a motif in this book)
2) Discuss superstition as a motif.  Provide examples.
3) Discuss Huck's view of death and the afterlife.  Death is mentioned frequently in chapter 1.  Why?
4) Comment on the trick Tom and Huck play on Jim.
5) "Jim was most ruined for a servant..."  Discuss the significance of this quote.
6) Considering the themes listing in the objectives, comment on Tom's decision to leave 5 cents for the candles.  Do you think Huck would have done the same thing?   Why or why not?
7) Compare and Contrast Tom and Huck.
8) Why does Tom think it important that the gang be considered "highwaymen" rather than burglars?
9) Discuss Huck's conflict over Miss Watson's view of prayer.
10) Why does Tom Sawyer call Huck a "numskull"?
11) Comment: "I reckoned he believed in the A-rabs and the elephants, but as for me I think different.  It had all the marks of a Sunday school."
12) Why does Huck want to give all the money to Judge Thatcher? 

Tuesday

We will continue with the Fireside poets today.

We will read Oliver Wendell Holmes pages 348 - 352.  Answer questions 1-4 and 6 on page 353.

Monday - Romantics

Today we are going to take a quiz on the "Transcendentalists" and then move on to the Fireside poets and Longfellow.

Learning Goal: Analyze how an author's choices concerning how to structure specific parts of a text contribute to the overall meaning of a text as a whole.  

Objective: Be able to discuss the importance of rhyme scheme and stanza structure. 

Today, we are going read Longfellow's poem "A Psalm of Life" and the "The Tide Falls" and relate it to the question: What Gives Life Purpose.  We will look at rhyme scheme and stanza structure.  At the end of class you will write a blog about how rhyme scheme and stanza structure help determine meaning in this poem.

HW: Answer questions 2, 3, 4, and 5 on page 347.

Thursday and Friday

Learning Goal: RI2, Analyze a complex set of ideas and explain how they develop over the course of the text

Today's Objective: Identify Emerson's theme in "Nature" and discuss how he expands upon the idea. 

What we will do today: Read the background information of Emerson, read the essay "Nature", discuss the theme and ways he develops it.

Do questions 2,3, 5 and 7.

FOR FRIDAY

Read Margaret Fuller’s “Woman in the Nineteenth Century” on page 402 (read the back info on Margaret Fuller as well as she was a pretty interesting woman) and then answer questions 1-6 on page 408.

If you finish this before the end of class, please pick out your Poetry Out Loud poem from the following weblink:

https://www.poetryoutloud.org/poems-and-performance/find-poems

Emerson

Today - we are going to hear your themes and summaries of Thoreau's "Civil Disobedience".

Then we will move onto Emerson

see - Shmoop: https://www.shmoop.com/american-romanticism/
Ralph Waldo Emerson: "Self-Reliance"

Learning Goal: RI2, Analyze a complex set of ideas and explain how they develop over the course of the text

Today's Objective: Identify Emerson's theme in "Self-Reliance" and discuss how he expands upon the idea. 

What we will do today: Read the background information of Emerson, read the essay "Self-Reliance" discuss the theme and ways he develops it.


On page 375 answer questions 1, 4, 5 and 6.

Thoreau

Civil Disobedience

Learning Goal: Determine the central ideas of a text and analyze their development; provide an objective summary of the text.

Today's Objective: Read "from Civil Disobedience" and determine the theme that Thoreau develops and then write a summary of the text using specific examples to back up your ideas.

 

HW: questions 1-4, 6 and 7 on page 388.

 

Review for Test on Romanticism

1 – Be able to discuss with examples how Emerson (Nature and Self-Reliance)  and Thoreau (Walden and Civil Disobedience fit the ideas of Transcendentalism.  You will need to be able to pick out  a theme for each essay and use specific examples.

2 – Discuss the meaning of the “A Psalm of Life”, “The Tide Falls”, “The Chambered Nautilus” and “Old Ironsides”.  Be able to analysis rhyme scheme, stanza structure, and metaphor in each poem.  Also apply the question: What gives life purpose to the poems.

3 – List the elements of American Gothic literature and give examples of these elements in “The Fall of the House of Usher” and The Scarlet Letter.

4 – Be able to discuss the following questions as connected to the literature of the Romantic Period:

“Is the price of progress ever too high?”

“Is it patriotic to protest one’s government?”

“Does everyone have a dark side?”

“Where do people look for the truth?”

Walden

Learning Goal: Determine two or more central ideas of a text and analyze their development; provide an objective summary of the text.

Today's Objective: Read "from Walden" and determine two themes that Thoreau develops and then write these themes and how Thoreau develops them with a summary of the text.

HW: questions 1-4, 6 and 7 on page 388.

We will be reading Thoreau for the next few days.  He is the most important essayists of the 19th century - so important that the two essays you'll read hit Common Core Standards RI2, RI4, RI5, RI6, and RI9.

Smile.

Thursday

I. Thesis

What is your thesis?

Order of development: How, Why, in What Way will you prove your thesis (these will be your main points):

1)

2)

3)

Point 1:

Evidence from Text:

Point 2:

Evidence from Text:

Point 3:

Evidence from Text:

Tuesday

THEMES:

2010. Palestinian American literary theorist and cultural critic Edward Said has written that “Exile is strangely compelling to think about but terrible to experience. It is the unhealable rift forced between a human being and a native place, between the self and its true home: its essential sadness can never be surmounted.” Yet Said has also said that exile can become “a potent, even enriching” experience. Select a novel, play, or epic in which a character experiences such a rift and becomes cut off from “home,” whether that home is the character’s birthplace, family, homeland, or other special place. Then write an essay in which you analyze how the character’s experience with exile is both alienating and enriching, and how this experience illuminates the meaning of the work as a whole. Do not merely summarize the plot. 

Go here

Nature vs. Human Law
Nature of Evil
Sin vs. Forgiveness or Punishment vs. Forgiveness
Individual vs. Society
Exile
Public Guilt vs. Private Guilt
Civilization vs. Wilderness or Town vs. Woods
Good vs. Evil

Analysis Essay:
Students will need to analysis some aspect of The Scarlet Letter and connected it to a theme. Things that can be explored include symbolism, tone, diction, characters and events. I expect students to use their didactical journals for focus on examples. I also expect all students to choose something small to concentrate on. I would rather you spend three pages examining one paragraph in relation to a theme, than to try and examine something like Pearl’s role as Savior and Chillingworth’s role as the devil (unless you view these roles from looking at one paragraph or one page). This would be too large. You couldn’t examine it in enough detail in three pages. Remember I’m looking for precise thesis statements and evidence that is analyzed. 

Remember - thesis statement.

Connect the symbol, character or literary element to a theme.  Then present an order of development or list of things you will cover in your essay.

Thesis Statement

Your thesis statement directs all of the ideas, quote selection, and commentary in your essay. Therefore, a muddled or imprecise thesis statement will lead to an unclear or meaningless essay.

A thesis statement is NOT:

1. An abstract concept. For example, “Greed” is not a thesis statement.

2. A general “universal” truth. For example, the following sentence is not a thesis statement: “For thousands of years, man has been greedy.”

A thesis statement IS a statement that provides direction for the analysis of a theme or idea presented by a particular text. Therefore, in order to construct an effective thesis statement, you must first determine what a text is suggesting about an abstract concept (like greed, for example).
Your thesis statement will address an abstract concept PLUS the evaluation of that concept through a particular text.

A thesis statement for “The Pardoner’s Tale” might address the abstract concept of greed as it is handled in the story. The first two examples are NOT thesis statements. The third one is a complete thesis statement:

a. Greed is something that man has struggled with for centuries, as demonstrated in “The Pardoner’s Tale” by Chaucer. (Abstract Concept Only)

b. “The Pardoner’s Tale,” written by Chaucer, is a story about how three men kill one another while looking for Death. (Plot Summary)

c. “The Pardoner’s Tale,” written by Chaucer, suggests that the “deadly” sin of greed is stronger than any oath of friendship, and will ultimately lead those who give into its allure to their own destruction. 

EXAMPLES OF POSSIBLE THESIS STATEMENTS:

In the Scarlet Letter, the theme of exile transforms the characters of Hester, Dimmesdale, and Chillingworth.

In the Scarlet Letter, the "A" on Hester's chest represents Hester, herself, and reflect her transformation - from Adulterer to Able to Absolution.  The "A" is Hester's soul.

In the Scarlet Letter, Pearl represents the theme of forgiveness.  She is the force sent - like a female Christ figure - to allow Hester and Dimmesdale to be saved from their sin.

Monday

Today we need to look at the final two chapters of The Scarlet Letter and finish your blog posts.

Tomorrow we will review, Wednesday take a test, and Thursday and Friday work on analysis essays.

Friday Letter

Read chapter 21.

Thursday

Today we need to look at chapter 20 and work on dialectical journals.  Remember you will need to write an essay next week.  We will talk about your ideas today in class.

Wednesday Scarlet

Today we need to look at chapter 19.

Remember that we will be finished with the book on Monday.

Scarlet Tuesday

Today we need to review your quizzes from Friday, read and discuss chapter 18.

Unit Goal

Unit Learning goal: Students will demonstrate knowledge of nineteenth century foundation works of American Literature by determining how a theme is developed over the course of text by analyzing structure, author’s choice of details, and character; and, by writing an essay on how these elements (or one of them) influences the meaning of the novel as a whole.

 

Scale/Rubric relating to learning goal:

4 – The student can write a 5-10 page essay that explores how structure, details (symbol, imagery, figurative language) is developed of the course of the novel and how it influences the meaning of the novel. 

 

3 – The student can write a 3-5 page essay that explores how structure, details (symbol, imagery, figurative language) is developed of the course of the novel and how it influences the meaning of the novel. 

 

2 – With some direction/help from the teacher the student can write a 3-5 page essay that explores how structure, details (symbol, imagery, figurative language) is developed of the course of the novel and how it influences the meaning of the novel. 

 
1 – Even with help from the teacher the student is unable to the student can write a 3-5 page essay that explores how structure, details (symbol, imagery, figurative language) is developed of the course of the novel and how it influences the meaning of the novel. 

Monday - Scarlet Letter

So today we need to look at chapter 17 of the Scarlet Letter.  Remember you should be done with your blogs by next Tuesday.

11/5 - Chap. 17
11/6 - Chap. 18
11/7 - Chap. 19
11/8 - Chap. 20
11/9 - Chap. 21
11/12 - Finish Novel

Halloween

We need to talk about/go over your Letters, your impersonations, and then read chapter 16.

BLAHHAHAHAHAHAHA.

Tuesday

Remember to wear your letters tomorrow.

Today - we need to read chapter 15.

 Class Work: 

A)   Hester Prynne: Fit or Unfit mother.  Argue your answer. 

B)   Discuss Chillingworth’s outward action with his true intentions.  What real person reminds you of Chillingworth.  Be prepared to do an impersonation.

C)   Choose a character and write a biography of them.

D)   Choose a piece of music that would show Hester’s state of mind in chapter 14.  Be prepared to play and explain it for the class.

E)    What letter should Dimmsdale wear?  Why?

F)    Everyone in your group needs to choose a letter to represent themselves, create it and wear it on Wednesday

Let's look the meaning of some the names:

LEARNING GOAL: RL9 - read and discuss classical literature of the 19th century.  Determine a theme of a text by referring to specifics from a text.  

Objective: record and analyze specifics from the text as you read.  Make sure these specifics interest you and relate to some larger idea or connection. 

Lets look at some symbols:

Hester Prynne

Hester: Hestier in Greek mythology, Zeus’s sister, a woman of beauty

            hestier (hasty)

Prynne: prurient

             prune: purify her sin

             pry: probe into the interior of one’s heart

                               

Arthur Dimmesdale

Arthur: Adam, adultery

Dimmesdale: dim + dale:  dim interior  (to hide one’s sin)                      

 

Roger Chillingworth

Roger: rogue (revenge)

Chillingworth: chilly (cruel, inhumane)

                        + worth (induce Arthur to speak out his own sin)

                                    

Pearl: good, pure and precious

 

 

The Scarlet Letter

Today, we need to read and discuss chapter 14 and then work on dialectical journals.

10/29 - Chap. 14
10/30 - Chap. 15
10/31 - Chap. 16 and wear your letter to class.
11/2 - TEST over chapters 1-16
11/5 - Chap. 17
11/6 - Chap. 18
11/7 - Chap. 19
11/8 - Chap. 20
11/9 - Chap. 21
11/12 - Finish Novel
11/13 - Review.  Dialectical Journals Due
11/14 - TEST
11/15 - Work on Essay
11/16 - Work on Essay
Essay Due when we return from Thanksgiving Break




Unit Learning goal: Students will demonstrate knowledge of nineteenth century foundation works of American Literature by determining how a theme is developed over the course of text by analyzing structure, author’s choice of details, and character; and, by writing an essay on how these elements (or one of them) influences the meaning of the novel as a whole.


You should be drawing from your dialectical journals to develop these essays. 

Also we need to discuss possible essays and thesis statements:



THEMES:

2010. Palestinian American literary theorist and cultural critic Edward Said has written that “Exile is strangely compelling to think about but terrible to experience. It is the unhealable rift forced between a human being and a native place, between the self and its true home: its essential sadness can never be surmounted.” Yet Said has also said that exile can become “a potent, even enriching” experience. Select a novel, play, or epic in which a character experiences such a rift and becomes cut off from “home,” whether that home is the character’s birthplace, family, homeland, or other special place. Then write an essay in which you analyze how the character’s experience with exile is both alienating and enriching, and how this experience illuminates the meaning of the work as a whole. Do not merely summarize the plot. 

Go here

Nature vs. Human Law
Nature of Evil
Sin vs. Forgiveness or Punishment vs. Forgiveness
Individual vs. Society
Exile
Public Guilt vs. Private Guilt
Civilization vs. Wilderness or Town vs. Woods
Good vs. Evil

Analysis Essay:
Students will need to analysis some aspect of The Scarlet Letter and connected it to a theme. Things that can be explored include symbolism, tone, diction, characters and events. I expect students to use their didactical journals for focus on examples. I also expect all students to choose something small to concentrate on. I would rather you spend three pages examining one paragraph in relation to a theme, than to try and examine something like Pearl’s role as Savior and Chillingworth’s role as the devil (unless you view these roles from looking at one paragraph or one page). This would be too large. You couldn’t examine it in enough detail in three pages. Remember I’m looking for precise thesis statements and evidence that is analyzed. 

Remember - thesis statement.

Connect the symbol, character or literary element to a theme.  Then present an order of development or list of things you will cover in your essay.

Thesis Statement

Your thesis statement directs all of the ideas, quote selection, and commentary in your essay. Therefore, a muddled or imprecise thesis statement will lead to an unclear or meaningless essay.

A thesis statement is NOT:

1. An abstract concept. For example, “Greed” is not a thesis statement.

2. A general “universal” truth. For example, the following sentence is not a thesis statement: “For thousands of years, man has been greedy.”

A thesis statement IS a statement that provides direction for the analysis of a theme or idea presented by a particular text. Therefore, in order to construct an effective thesis statement, you must first determine what a text is suggesting about an abstract concept (like greed, for example).
Your thesis statement will address an abstract concept PLUS the evaluation of that concept through a particular text.

A thesis statement for “The Pardoner’s Tale” might address the abstract concept of greed as it is handled in the story. The first two examples are NOT thesis statements. The third one is a complete thesis statement:

a. Greed is something that man has struggled with for centuries, as demonstrated in “The Pardoner’s Tale” by Chaucer. (Abstract Concept Only)

b. “The Pardoner’s Tale,” written by Chaucer, is a story about how three men kill one another while looking for Death. (Plot Summary)

c. “The Pardoner’s Tale,” written by Chaucer, suggests that the “deadly” sin of greed is stronger than any oath of friendship, and will ultimately lead those who give into its allure to their own destruction. 

EXAMPLES OF POSSIBLE THESIS STATEMENTS:

In the Scarlet Letter, the theme of exile transforms the characters of Hester, Dimmesdale, and Chillingworth.

In the Scarlet Letter, the "A" on Hester's chest represents Hester, herself, and reflect her transformation - from Adulterer to Able to Absolution.  The "A" is Hester's soul.

In the Scarlet Letter, Pearl represents the theme of forgiveness.  She is the force sent - like a female Christ figure - to allow Hester and Dimmesdale to be saved from their sin.

The Scarlet Letter

Today we are going to talk about chapter 11.

First I want you to look at the following video.  When we are done, I want to discuss it.  I will be asking you questions.

Tuesday - The Scarlet Letter

So today we are going to look at the revised reading schedule for the Scarlett Letter; reading chapter 10; and discuss the vocabulary quiz on Friday.

Revised Reading Schedule

10/23 - Chap. 10
10/24 - Chap. 11
10/25 - Chap. 12
10/26 - Chap. 13
10/29 - Chap. 14
10/30 - Chap. 15
10/31 - Chap. 16 and wear your letter to class.
11/2 - TEST over chapters 1-16
11/5 - Chap. 17
11/6 - Chap. 18
11/7 - Chap. 19
11/8 - Chap. 20
11/9 - Chap. 21
11/12 - Finish Novel
11/13 - Review.  Dialectical Journals Due
11/14 - TEST
11/15 - Work on Essay
11/16 - Work on Essay
Essay Due when we return from Thanksgiving Break

Friday

10/12 chapters 3-4
10/15 chapter 5
10/16 chapter 6
10/17 chapters 7-8
10/18 chapters 9-10
10/19 chapter 11
10/22 chapter 12
10/23 chapter 13
10/24 chapter 14
10/25 chapter 15
10/26 chapter 16-17
10/29 chapter 18-19
10/30 chapter 20
10/31 chapter 21-22
11/1 chapter 23-24
11/2 Finish Dialectical Journals
11/5 Review for Test
11/6 Test
11/7 - 11/9 Work on Scarlet Letter Essay
11/12 Essay Due

Thursday

Class Work:

1) Outlining the plot up to chapter 8.
2) List all the characters in the book so far with a brief description/summary of each.
3) List at least five symbols with a discussion of why they are important.
4) List and explain how one theme works in the novel so far.
5) If create a movie version of this book who would you cast in the roles?
6) Create a poster for your movie.  
 (Poster will be due on Tuesday)

Remember that next Wednesday there will also be a vocabulary quiz.

Wednesday

Today we need to put words of the day on the board.

We also need to discuss chapter 6, dialectical journals, grades, and then read chapter 7-8.

Monday

Today you are going to turn in your personal narratives, and we will read chapter 5. 

Remember that your projects are due tomorrow!  Hopefully you filmed them. 

Also remember to work on your dialectical journals. 

Friday

Today we are going to put words of the day on the board and look at chapters 3-4.  I will also give you some time to work on dialectical journals. 

Here is a reading schedule for you to follow:

10/12 chapters 3-4
10/15 chapter 5
10/16 chapter 6
10/17 chapters 7-8
10/18 chapters 9-10
10/19 chapter 11
10/22 chapter 12
10/23 chapter 13
10/24 chapter 14
10/25 chapter 15
10/26 chapter 16-17
10/29 chapter 18-19
10/30 chapter 20
10/31 chapter 21-22
11/1 chapter 23-24
11/2 Finish Dialectical Journals
11/5 Review for Test
11/6 Test
11/7 - 11/9 Work on Scarlet Letter Essay
11/12 Essay Due

THEMES:
Nature vs. Human Law
Nature of Evil
Sin vs. Forgiveness or Punishment vs. Forgiveness
Individual vs. Society
Exile
Public Guilt vs. Private Guilt
Civilization vs. Wilderness or Town vs. Woods
Good vs. Evil

EXAMPLE OF A DIALECTICAL JOURNAL:

from the novel Their Eyes Were Watching God

(Zoe Wassman):  
 

Journal #1:

“Ships at a distance have every man’s wish on board. For some they come in with the tide. For others they sail forever on the horizon, never out of sight, never landing until the Watcher turns his eyes away in resignation, his dreams mocked to death by Time. That is the life of men.

Now, women forget all those things they don’t want to remember, and remember everything they don’t want to forget. The dream is the truth. Then they act and do things accordingly.” (Pg. 1)

 
The first two paragraphs are defining the gender roles used throughout Hurston’s novel. Just like in a lot of literature, the women are the weaker gender, and men the stronger, more efficient gender. These two paragraphs are saying that men are more empirical than women, especially in their dreams. When men think something is unattainable, like a ship that rarely docks on land, they let it go and move on. When women think something is unattainable, they can’t discriminate the difference between they want and what it true, meaning that women live a more romanticized life. This creates the dynamic for the unsuccessful relationships and unrealistic expectations throughout the novel as a whole.