I'm Baaaaaa-aaaaack

Try not to look so shocked...you had to figure I'd be back eventually...right?

For the Revolution in Cairo piece, journal assignments will be plagarized right off some schmoe's college blog. Grab them here (obviously numbers are different).

Vocab tomorrow....Debates set-up will be posted before Monday...Huckleberry Finn read to Chapter 22 by Wednesday, March 2nd.

Monday, February 14, 2011: Huck Finn work while I'm Out

Happy Valentine's Day...the Costal twins get a little stronger everyday. Though Henry is still in intensive care, he is doing much better. Thank you for all your thoughts and well wishes.

For this week, please keep reading Huck Finn through Chapter 13. Mr. Sera will also be intermittingly assigning you work to prepare you for the exam (only two and a half months to go). 

For each day, you will also have a journal to write.

Monday's journal: For Chapters 4 - 6, write about a few instances in which "society" fails Huck, Jim and/or Pap. How does the failure occur, and what is Twain trying to say about the conventions of civilized life?

Tuesday's Journal: Return to Jackson Island. It's baaaaaaaaack...how does the symbolic nature of Jackson's Island different this time around. What does the island symbolize to Huck and then Jim, how is this different than in Tom Sawyer?

Wednesday's Journal: Discuss the episode with Huck and the rattlesnake. What metaphor could Twain be harkening here? Discuss why you think the way you do.

Check the blog everyday for further assignments.

To Keep Track While I am Gone...

By Monday, please read Huck through Chapter Seven. Write a journal in your notebook for each of the following questions:

1. There is a great deal of irony in the interactions among the boys in Chapter 2. Twain tells us a great deal about their perceptions of the world. The way in which they handle Huck's entrance into the gang is especially interesting. He almost "cries." What do their actions and his reactions say about their perceptions?

2. Discuss your impression of the dialect used throughout the novel thus far. Does actually reading the book change your previous stance on the re-write discussion from earlier this year? 

Midterm Study Guide

Three portions of the test: Essays, Short Answers, Reading Comprehension & Annotation, SAT Sentence errors.

Things you need to know (or have read) to do well on the test:

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer

People's History of the United States Chapters 1 - 3
All Columbus supplements from the blog and notes taken during Columbus debate
The Scarlet Letter
The Interesting Narrative on the Life of Olaudah Equiano
The Autobiogrpahy of Benjamin Franklin
NPR stories on Haiti and media discussion with Ted Koppel
Active Reading notes & Costal's Keys to Writing

Is that you, Huck?

Provide your opinion as Journal #23...is there a market for this rewrite, or this simply literary blasphemy?

Class Notes & Resources: Week of Jan 3

Info for class on Huck and Haiti stuff.

Tom Sawyer Essay Assignment

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer Essay: Your assignment over break was to read The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. We will have only two planned discussion periods for the novel, Friday of this week and Monday of next week. All of your questions and comments on the novel will be reserved for those days. On Friday you will hand in an essay discussing one of the following essay questions. Each family will choose one of them (two families may share only numbers 3 & 4). Each should make specific reference to the text and may include 3rd party research.


1. What does Tom learn by the end of the novel. Discuss the ways in which he changes as a person and in society. Be sure your answer reflects not only changes in Tom’s personality, but also in his feelings toward St. Petersburg. How does his conversation with Huck in Chapter 35 reflect this? Be sure to cite instances from the conversations in your essay.

 

2. Write a comparison/contrast essay c/cing the characters of Tom and Huck. In your essay, reference specific instances from Chapters 26, 33 & 35 to support your views.

3. Discuss the role of superstition in the novel. How do the superstitions and beliefs in the supernatural shape the residents of St. Petersburg? What types of comments is Twain making about mid-19th Century America.

4. In what ways is Tom Sawyer a satire? How does Twain use irony to accent his story? Use reference to the character Dobbins or other minor characters to support your thesis.