Pre-AP English II: Plot v. Theme

Click through the following examples to see how to change a plot-based statement into a theme-based statement.

Example 1:
Rand uses irony and symbolism in the characters' name changes to help the reader understand that
Equality 7's society is [PLOT] a Collectivist society is [THEME] based on a lie.

Example 2:
Rand uses images of darkness and light to help the reader arrive at the conclusion that
Equality 7 [PLOT]everybody [THEME] should be able to choose their own fate.

English I (Pre-AP): Of Mice and Men Tone Question

Please respond to the following question. Support your answer with embedded text evidence.

What is the tone of the final scene in the clearing, just prior to George killing Lennie?

If you don't already have this marked in your copy of the novel, this is the scene I'm referring to:

Lennie got up on his knees. “You ain’t gonna leave me, are ya, George? I know you ain’t.”
    George came stiffly near and sat down beside him. “No.”
    “I knowed it,” Lennie cried. “You ain’t that kind.”
    George was silent.Lennie said, “George.”
    “Yeah?”
    “I done another bad thing.”
    “It don’t make no difference,” George said, and he fell silent again.
    Only the topmost ridges were in the sun now. The shadow in the valley was blue and soft. From the distance came the sound of men shouting to one another. George turned his head and listened to the shouts.
    Lennie said, “George.”
    “Yeah?”
    “Ain’t you gonna give me hell?”
    “Give ya hell?”
    “Sure, like you always done before. Like, ‘If I di’n’t have you I’d take my fifty bucks—’”
    “Jesus Christ, Lennie! You can’t remember nothing that happens, but you remember ever’ word I say.”
    “Well, ain’t you gonna say it?”
    George shook himself. He said woodenly, “If I was alone I could live so easy.” His voice was monotonous, had no emphasis. “I could get a job an’ not have no mess.” He stopped.
    “Go on,” said Lennie. “An’ when the enda the month come—”
    “An’ when the end of the month came I could take my fifty bucks an’ go to a . . . . cat house—” He stopped again.
    Lennie looked eagerly at him. “Go on, George. Ain’t you gonna give me no more hell?”
    “No,” said George.
    “Well, I can go away,” said Lennie. “I’ll go right off in the hills an’ find a cave if you don’ want me.”
    George shook himself again. “No,” he said. “I want you to stay with me here.”
    Lennie said craftily—“Tell me like you done before.”
    “Tell you what?”
    “’Bout the other guys an’ about us.”
    George said, “Guys like us got no fambly. They make a little stake an’ then they blow it in. They ain’t got nobody in the worl’ that gives a hoot in hell about ‘em—”
    “But not us,” Lennie cried happily. “Tell about us now.”
    George was quiet for a moment. “But not us,” he said.
    “Because—”
    “Because I got you an’—”
    “An’ I got you. We got each other, that’s what, that gives a hoot in hell about us,” Lennie cried in triumph.
    The little evening breeze blew over the clearing and the leaves rustled and the wind waves flowed up the green pool. And the shouts of men sounded again, this time much closer than before.
    George took off his hat. He said shakily, “Take off your hat, Lennie. The air feels fine.”
    Lennie removed his hat dutifully and laid it on the ground in front of him.
    The shadow in the valley was bluer, and the evening came fast. On the wind the sound of crashing in the brush came to them.
    Lennie said, “Tell how it’s gonna be.”
    George had been listening to the distant sounds. For a moment he was businesslike. “Look acrost the river, Lennie, an’ I’ll tell you so you can almost see it.”Lennie turned his head and looked off across the pool and up the darkening slopes of the Gabilans. “We gonna get a little place,” George began. He reached in his side pocket and brought out Carlson’s Luger; he snapped off the safety, and the hand and gun lay on the ground behind Lennie’s back. He looked at the back of Lennie’s head, at the place where the spine and skull were joined.
    A man’s voice called from up the river, and another man answered.
    “Go on,” said Lennie.
    George raised the gun and his hand shook, and he dropped his hand to the ground again.
    “Go on,” said Lennie. “How’s it gonna be. We gonna get a little place.”
    “We’ll have a cow,” said George. “An’ we’ll have maybe a pig an’ chickens . . . . an’ down the flat we’ll have a . . . . little piece alfalfa—”
    “For the rabbits,” Lennie shouted.
    “For the rabbits,” George repeated.
    “And I get to tend the rabbits.”
    “An’ you get to tend the rabbits.”
    Lennie giggled with happiness. “An’ live on the fatta the lan’.”
    “Yes.”
    Lennie turned his head.
    “No, Lennie. Look down there acrost the river, like you can almost see the place.”
    Lennie obeyed him. George looked down at the gun.
    There were crashing footsteps in the brush now. George turned and looked toward them.
    “Go on, George. When we gonna do it?”
    “Gonna do it soon.”
    “Me an’ you.”
    “You . . . . an’ me. Ever’body gonna be nice to you. Ain’t gonna be no more trouble. Nobody gonna hurt nobody nor steal from ‘em.”
    Lennie said, “I thought you was mad at me, George.”
    “No,” said George. “No, Lennie. I ain’t mad. I never been mad, an’ I ain’t now. That’s a thing I want ya to know.”
    The voices came close now. George raised the gun and listened to the voices.
    Lennie begged, “Le’s do it now. Le’s get that place now.”
    “Sure, right now. I gotta. We gotta.”
   

Pre-AP English II: Anthem Socratic Seminar Question Types

Submit and answer one of each of the following by Thursday, February 28. I will pick several and post them to the website that evening. Be prepared to discuss them in class on Friday, March 1st. Questions may come from any section of Anthem; preference will likely be given to questions in the final half to third of the book. Include answers for each question.

WORLD CONNECTION QUESTIONS
Write one question connecting the text to the real world.

Example: If you could change your name, what would you change it to?


CLOSE-ENDED QUESTIONS
Write one question about the text that will help everyone in the class come to an agreement about events or characters in the text. This question usually has a “correct” answer.

Example: How did Equality-7 make light?


OPEN-ENDED QUESTIONS
Write one insightful question about the text that will require proof and group discussion and “construction of logic” to discover or explore the answer to the question.

Example: Why did Equality-7 rename Liberty-5 "The Golden One"?


UNIVERSAL THEME/ CORE QUESTIONS
Write one question dealing with a theme(s) of the text that will encourage group discussion about the universality of the text.

Example: Why is it wrong to not be given a choice in determining your destiny?


LITERARY ANALYSIS QUESTIONS
Write one question dealing with HOW an author chose to compose a literary piece. How did the author manipulate point of view, characterization, poetic form, archetypal hero patterns, for example?

Example: Why is Equality-7's/Liberty-5's/International-6's name ironic?

Due Thursday, February 28.

Pre-AP English II: IWA Sample

In class on Friday we walked through the IWA thesis. We ran out of time before we got to the body paragraph. So here's a walkthrough on both....

The thesis paragraph has two parts. One part is the thesis, what you'll prove in your essay, which will include the theme of the novel (a theme is always a complete sentence). The other part is how you'll prove it, what literary devices you'll use to prove your thesis.

Ayn Rand uses the names of her characters to add to the meaning of her work. She uses symbolism and irony to help the reader understand that collectivism is based on lies.

The paragraph would probably be a little better if I revised it so the theme appeared in the first paragraph, something like this:

Ayn Rand uses the names of her characters to help the reader understand that collectivism is based on lies. She accomplishes this with the symbolism and irony inherent in her characters' names.

In the first body paragraph, you'll use text evidence from the novel to make your point using the first literary device mentioned in your thesis paragraph. In the case of this essay, you'll need the symbolic characters' names as part of your quoted evidence.

Nowhere is this more apparent than in the scene involving Equality 7-2521's visit to the Home of Scholars in Chapter VII. "Collective 0-0009, the oldest and wisest of the Council" quizzes Equality 7 about his discovery of electric light. When Equality 7 says he worked on the invention on his own, Collective 0 says, "'What is not thought by all men cannot be true.'" Clearly, this is a lie. Collective 0's name acts symbolically for the collectivist society Rand so strongly opposes. By putting the falsehood in his mouth, Rand implies that the collectivism he represents is also based on lies.

To complete this body paragraph, I'd need to look at another symbolic name and link it to a lie of the collectivist society, too.

In the second body paragraph, I'd look at two ironically-named characters, and analyze how the irony in their names demonstrates the falsity of the society.

Of course, in your essay you'll be looking at names and name changes, but you'll still need at least two quotes from the book to make your case for each body paragraph (four total for an 85%, six total for 100%).

English Students: "Moving" Expository Essay Prompt

Read the information in the box below.

Why are you reading the information in this box? You are wasting time. Even if there were something relevant in this box, it would not help you write your essay successfully. It would only result in your essay sounding like everyone else’s essay, and that will hurt your score.

Did you read the information in the box above? Think carefully about your shame, and your shame for reading this paragraph, too.

Write an essay explaining the effect moving to a new place can have on a person’s life. Be sure to —

• clearly state your thesis
• organize and develop your ideas effectively
• choose your words carefully
• edit your writing for grammar, mechanics, and spelling

English Classes: Quickwrite on Improving Performance Second Semester

At the beginning of this six weeks, students were assigned a quickwrite on what they could do to improve their performance this semester. If you did not complete the assignment, please do so before I check English Binders later this week.

3-5 sentences.


Please place this in the front of your English Binder to receive full credit.

English I (Pre-AP): Of Mice and Men Test Preview

Tomorrow, you'll have a test on the first chapter of John Steinbeck's novel, Of Mice and Men. (If you haven't yet obtained a copy, print off the first nine pages from this online copy.)

We'll be on a shortened period, you'll have an advantage over the rest of the class, if you already know the following...

Literary Devices

• Alliteration
• Allusion
• Comparison
• Contrast
• Dialogue
• Hyperbole
• Metaphor
• Onomatopoeia
• Simile
• Third-Person Objective Point of View

Vocabulary

• Careless
• Clumsy
• Contempt
• Empathy
• Establish
• Familiarity
• Heron
• Irrelevant
• Lumbered
• Recumbent
• Skittering
• Stilt(ed)
• Willow

Mood/Tone Words

• Bleak
• Cheerful
• Inquisitive
• Sinister
• Tranquil

Pre-AP English II: Anthem Test Preview

Tomorrow you will be taking an AP-style test on Anthem. The excerpt you'll be tested on is somewhere in the first half of the novel, so be prepared. Also, you'll need to know the following...

Literary Devices

• Alliteration
• Allusion
• Flashback
• Foreshadowing
• Irony
• Metaphor
• Onomatopoeia
• Oxymoron
• Paradox
• Personification
• Simile

Wouldn't hurt you to know the meaning of the word abstract, either.

Pre-AP English II: IWA for Anthem

Base your IWA on one of the following prompts:

Novelists and playwrights often use the names of their characters to add meaning to their work.In a well-organized essay, analyze the significance of character names and name-changes in Anthem, and explain how they contribute to the novella’s meaning.


Darkness and light have long been used to symbolize ignorance and knowledge or sin and redemption. In a well-organized essay, analyze Rand’s use of darkness and light in Anthem, and discuss the way these symbols contribute to the overall meaning of the novella.

Tips to success:

Extensive plot summary will result in a REDO grade (no points), not a REVISE (85 points). Look at diction, metaphor, imagery, etc., and how the author’s use of these techniques contributes to meaning.

Remember that only REVISE and ACCEPTED essays will be taken for a grade, so submit your IWA early, rather than at the last minute to ensure that your essay will count!

*** More than 10 careless spelling mistakes***
will result in a REDO grade

All essays must be typed and adhere to the MLA formatting requirements (see below). All essays must be submitted with the draft in the LEFT pocket (inside front cover) of a 2-pocket portfolio folder. Failure to meet these minimum requirements will result in the draft being returned to the student unevaluated and with no score recorded.

• Type your paper on a computer and print it out on standard, white 8.5 x 11-inch paper.
  
  
• Double-space the text of your paper (paragraph settings). Use Times New Roman (Garamond if you're “fancy”); the font size should be 12 pt. (font settings).
  
  
• Leave only one space after periods or other punctuation marks.
  
  
• Set the margins of your document to 1" on all sides.
  
  
• Indent the first line of paragraphs one half-inch from the left margin. MLA recommends that you use the Tab key as opposed to pushing the Space Bar five times, or set your paragraphs to indent the first line 0.5". Do not skip a line (i.e., leave a blank line) between paragraphs.
  
  

Draft Deadline: Friday, February 15
85 Minimum Deadline: Friday, February 22
Drop Dead Deadline: Friday, March 1

English I (Pre-AP): Steinbeck/Of Mice and Men Presentation

Today's presentation is on the class blog. There were a couple interesting slides at the end that we didn't get to. Check them out.

English Students: EOC Challenge

FOR THE RECORD: If 95% of my students pass their End-of-Course (EOC) exam, I will celebrate their achievement by dyeing my hair red AND shaving my sideburns into stars (starburns).

English Students: Weekend Reading Assignments

Pre-AP English II: Read through Chapter III (3) of Anthem.

English I (Pre-AP) Read the first chapter of Of Mice and Men.