AP Scores

I don't know how many of you will actually look at this blog again (especially since I know most of you detested it during the school year) but I just wanted to let you know that I am incredibly proud of each and every one of you. The scores were great, but more importantly, I wanted to thank you for your hard work this past semester. All of you improved tremendously over the semester and it could not have been done without your hard work and dedication. I know that I worked you hard at times, and I know at times your probably wanted to kill me, or Joseph Conrad, but you did the work without [much] complaint. I hope you understand that all the work I asked you to do was to not only prepare you for the AP test and college, but hopefully the real world.
On a more sappy note, I already miss you guys. During my last semester teaching, you were the bright spot in my day. Coming to school and preparing lessons for you was a privilege for me. I know that probably sounds strange, but it is true. Your potential and hard work inspired me to work harder because I never wanted to let you down.
Thank you for a great semester. Thank you for all of the open discussions, whether it be about gender, racism, imperialism, life, or death. You taught me just as much as I taught you; I am a better teacher and person because of each and everyone of you.
I hope you continue to keep in touch. I will be going to back to school full time in August at UNCC, so I may see some of you around on campus. If you would like to continue using this blog to discuss school, your summer reading, or anything at all, please feel free to do so (With that being said, has anyone started reading Harper Lee's Go Set a Watchman? I heard Atticus Finch is a racist in this novel!? Thoughts?)
So because I am Ms. Payseur, and because I am annoying, I am going to leave you with one of my favorite poems. I promise, you don't have to do a TPCASTT :) It's from the preface of Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman.

Have a great summer. 

Have an even better freshman year. 

Study hard.

 Meet interesting people. 

Be a little weird.

Love,

Ms. Payseur

sarahpayseur@gmail.com

 

2001 Question 2: Due Thursday

The following is a Question 3 sample from 2001. Directions:

1. Read the prompt and begin brainstorming what you would use.
2. DO NOT read other classmates' entries before writing your response. 
3. Draft an outline on your own paper.
4. Write a couple paragraphs about what characters you would contrast and how they effect the overall work. Be sure to include how you would organize your essay (progression of ideas and  what specific details you would use). You may use your novel and notes to help you!  You DO NOT need to write an entire essay. The purpose of the exercise is to review the novels that we have read.

2001:
One definition of madness is “mental delusion or the eccentric behavior arising from it.”  But Emily Dickinson wrote:

 “Much madness is divinest Sense--

     To a discerning Eye--"

Novelists and playwrights have often seen madness with a “discerning Eye.”  Select a novel or play in which a character’s apparent madness or irrational behavior plays an important role.  Then write a well-organized essay in which you explain what this delusion or eccentric behavior consists of and how it might be judged reasonable.  Explain the significance of the “madness” to the work as a whole.  Do not merely summarize the plot.

2004 Question 3 Prompt: Due Wednesday

The following is a Question 3 sample from 2004. Directions:

1. Read the prompt and begin brainstorming what you would use.
2. DO NOT read other classmates' entries before writing your response. 
3. Draft an outline on your own paper.
4. Write a couple paragraphs about what characters you would contrast and how they effect the overall work. Be sure to include how you would organize your essay (progression of ideas and  what specific details you would use). You may use your novel and notes to help you!  You DO NOT need to write an entire essay. The purpose of the exercise is to review the novels that we have read.

Critic Roland Barthes has said, "Literature is the question minus the answer." Choose a novel or play and, considering Barthes' observation, write an essay in which you analyze a central question the work raises and the extent to which it offers any answers. Explain how the author's treatment of this question affects your understanding of the work as a whole. 

2010 Question 3 (Due Tuesday)

The following is a Question 3 sample from 2010. Directions:

1. Read the prompt and begin brainstorming what you would use.
2. DO NOT read other classmates' entries before writing your response. 
3. Draft an outline on your own paper.
4. Write a couple paragraphs about what characters you would contrast and how they effect the overall work. Be sure to include how you would organize your essay (progression of ideas and  what specific details you would use). You may use your novel and notes to help you!  You DO NOT need to write an entire essay. The purpose of the exercise is to review the novels that we have read.

Question 3 (Suggested time—40 minutes. This question counts as one-third of the total essay section score.)
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. You may choose a work from the list below or one of comparable literary merit. Do not merely summarize the plot.

"Dover Beach" Matthew Arnold: Due Wednesday

"Dover Beach" was published in 1867. Many have considered this poem a reaction to Darwinism and a new mode of thinking. After you have analyzed this poem, write a response. Connect to King Lear if you can. Then respond to at least one classmates' post.

"The Black Walnut Tree" Blog: Due Thursday

After you have highlighted and annotated the student samples, look back at your own essay and write a reflection:

• What score would you give your essay? Why? 
• Are you surprised by any of the sample scores? Why or why not?
•     Based on these essays and their scores, what do you wish you would have done differently?
• Is there anything that you could of incorporated that would have made your essay better?

Question 3: Due Wednesday

The following is a Question 3 sample from 2008. Directions:

1. Read the prompt and begin brainstorming what you would use.
2. DO NOT read other classmates' entries before writing your response. 
3. Draft an outline on your own paper.
4. Write a couple paragraphs about what characters you would contrast and how they effect the overall work. Be sure to include how you would organize your essay (progression of ideas and  what specific details you would use. You may use your novel and notes to help you!  You DO NOT need to write an entire essay. The purpose of the exercise is to review the novels that we have read.

Question 3 (Suggested time—40 minutes. This question counts as one-third of the total essay section score.)

 In a literary work, a minor character, often known as a foil, possesses traits that emphasize, by contrast or comparison, the distinctive characteristics and qualities of the main character. For example, the ideas or behavior of the minor character might be used to highlight the weaknesses or strengths of the main character. Choose a novel or play in which a minor character serves as a foil to a main character. Then write an essay in which you analyze how the relation between the minor character and the major character illuminates the meaning of the work. You may choose a work from the list below or another appropriate novel or play of similar literary quality. Do not merely summarize the plot.

AP Review: Due Tuesday

Your AP Lit Exam is May 6th. Knowing that it's coming up in a few short weeks, what would you like to focus on in the last few weeks before the exam? Any weaknesses you would like to address? On the same note, what do you feel confident about?

Heart of Darkness Review (Due Thursday)

What do you think is the single most important quote from Heart of Darkness?

1. Support your answer as to why you chose that quote.
2. Respond to a classmates' response. 

Question 3 (Due Wednesday)

The following is a Question 3 sample from 1997. Directions:

1. Read the prompt and begin brainstorming what you would use (You may use your novels).
2. DO NOT read other classmates' entries before writing your response. 
3. Write a couple paragraphs about what scene you would use and how it pertains to the overall work. You DO NOT need to write an entire essay. The purpose of the exercise is to review the novels that we have read.

1997 Prompt:
Novels and plays often include scenes of weddings, funerals, parties, and other social occasions. Such scenes may reveal the values of the characters and the society in which they live. Select a novel or play that includes such a scene and, in a focused essay, discuss the contribution the scene makes to the meaning of the work as a whole.

Iambic Pentameter

"Nothing can come from nothing"~ King Lear

After returning from Spring Break, we will be beginning Shakespeare's King Lear. Since we are delving further into poetry and ultimately, Shakespeare, it's imperative that we get a grasp on the rhythm and meter of poetry. While we have briefly mentioned iambic pentameter in class, we have not thoroughly explored the topic. The beginning of your poetry packet discusses meter; be sure to review this before watching this video. After watching the video, take the short quiz to see how you stack up! Click HERE to watch the Iambic Pentameter Lesson!

1. On the right side of the screen, click WATCH, to view the video. 
2. And then THINK to take the quiz (You don't have to do the writing questions, this is a quiz for you to self-assess).
3. Read the DIG DEEPER section. Go to several of the links that seem interesting to you. Write a conversation starter about your findings. Respond to at least two other classmates.
4. On your King Lear quizzes, there will be questions about meter. You will also be expected to know how to mark a poem for meter. 

Write Your own Poetry Prompt!

1. Pick any poem out of the Literature Sense & Sound book and make a TPCASTT.
2. Based on the Sample Question 1 Assignments that I gave you on Friday, write a Question 1 Prompt.
3. Post the poem and the prompt on the class blog.
4. After the poems and prompts are posted on the blog, choose one to write your Question 1 Essay. Claim the poem by posting your name underneath the poem & prompt. Only one person can sign up for each poem. (There may be an instance where two people sign up for the same poem, but do that as a last resort only!!!)
5. After you have “claimed” a poem. Write a Question 1 essay. Share this as a Google document with me and the writer of the prompt. This is due Friday
6. By Tuesday, you should have graded and scored your partner’s essay. 

Discuss this week's poetry

Discuss Langston Hughes' "The Negro Speaks of Rivers" & Octavio Paz' "The Street"

• You need to write one conversation starter (1 paragraph) about any or all of the poems. Your conversation starters can be personal or reflective in nature, or they may be analytical. Refer to specific lines and incorporate quotes in your response. You may also pose questions as well. 

•  You will also need to reply to at least one classmate's conversation starter (1 paragraph). Be sure to address (by name) the classmate(s) that you are responding to. 

Feminism in the Modern World

After reading many of your blog posts, I wanted to remind you of a couple of things from Foster's How to Read Literature Like a Professor:
1. "Don't Read With Your Eyes" I know at times this may be hard to do, since the only tool to decoding the world around you, is a 2015 model, but we still must consider the social and historical climate of the time period of the work. Remember Foster states, "Instead try to find a reading perspective that allows for sympathy with the historical moment of the story, that understands the text as having been written against its own social, historical, cultural, and personal background" (Foster 228).
2. "It's All Political". Chopin wrote about the world around her. As Foster states, "The world contains many things, and on the level of society, part of what contains the political reality of the time--power structures, relations among classes, issues of justices and rights, interactions between the sexes and among various racial and ethnic constituencies" (Foster 115). It is no wonder that Chopin would chose this as a topic of her writing, yet many of you may be surprised to find out that Kate Chopin did not consider herself a feminist. After reading her novel, many find this difficult to believe. Is Kate Chopin like modern women today who have a hard time identifying with the title of feminism?

Discuss Feminism in our Modern Society: You are not limited to these questions.
What does it mean to be a feminist today? Are there negative connotations associated with the word? Why? or Why not? What is the image of the modern women? Do we still have two polar opposites on the spectrum: Reisz and Ratignolle? Is feminism an illusory or real?

I have added Aziz Ansari's commentary for an important reason. While I know he's a comedian, and not an authority on feminism, comics often satirize the world around them. In that sense, like Chopin, Ansari is also commenting on the political and social issues of the time.. This is just one of many viewpoints on modern day feminism. Feel fee to respond to Ansari's arguments as well.

The Awakening Questions & Comments

1. Are the Globe-Democrat and the Times-Herald reacting against Chopin's treatment of her subject or the subject matter itself?

The Awakening Questions & Comments

2. The critics [from this assignment] assert that a writer of Chopin's talent should have chosen a more appropriate subject matter. Are talent as a writer and choice of subject matter so easily separable?

The Awakening: Comments and Questions

3. Willa Cather says that Edna Pontellier, like Emma Bovary, is one of those people who "really expect the passion of love to fill and gratify every need in life" and that she is a victim "of the over-idealization of love." Does the text of The Awakening justify that description of Edna Pontellier?

The Awakening Comments and Questions

4. Are Edna's dissatisfactions the product of:

•            a. her individual personality--that is, she is spoiled.
•            b. her particular circumstances--that is, her husband is a drag;
•            c. the situation of middle-class women of the time--that is, she is given comfort in exchange for self-determination and freedom.
•             d. human nature and the human condition, which generates longings that they cannot satisfy, 

The Awakening Comments and Questions

5. Even her detractors praise Chopin's style. Describe its characteristic. Is it dated? Chopin does not fill up her scenes with inventories of concrete detail. Does she lack interest in material actuality? Or is she simply a poor observer?

The Awakening Discussion

Becoming familiar with a novel and understanding its complexities and ambiguities is crucial in writing your Question 3 Essay. Discussion stimulates a deeper understanding of the novel. Unfortunately with the snow days, we have limited time to discuss The Awakening in class. Therefore, the class blog will have to make do.  This blog will be open for discussion until Monday. Feel free to respond continually over the weekend. As an AP teacher, I feel like we have barely scratched the surface on what we need to discuss.  While you will be getting a grade for your interactions on this blog, this is more or less an open forum for you in hopes you will gain a deeper understanding of the novel. As you are discussing with your classmates, take notes!!! Whether, your are writing in your own personal copy of the novel, adding to your Major Works Data Sheets, or simply writing new notes on your own paper, its imperative that you have something to refer back to.

1. Come up with a conversation starter. It may be something that you have discussed with your group that we didn't get to talk about, your own observation, something you didn't quite understand, or commentary relating this novel to modern-day life. It really does not matter as long as your stimulating discussion in a thoughtful way.

2. Respond to your classmates. I will not tell you how many times to respond. I care more about the quality of the comments and your engagement with the text and your classmates. 

As always, when discussing be sure to make apt and specific references to the text. Since we do not all have the same novel, be sure to include chapter numbers.

Tennyson's "Ulysses"

Discuss Tennyson's "Ulysses". 

• You need to write one conversation starter (1 paragraph) about any or all of the poems. Your conversation starters can be personal or reflective in nature, or they may be analytical. Refer to specific lines and incorporate quotes in your response. You may also pose questions as well. 

•  You will also need to reply to at least one classmate's conversation starter (1 paragraph). Be sure to address (by name) the classmate(s) that you are responding to. 

You should have completed your TPCASTTs before posting.

Critical Response: Details in The Awakening

Write a Critical Response in which you analyze specific details of The Awakening. Post your Critical Response on the blog by Wednesday evening. If you can't post, and you want a grade, you should email me your Critical Response and I will post it for you.

After everyone has posted, on Thursday afternoon, respond to two of your classmates' critical responses. Do not be critical of one another's writing, but focus more on the content, or ideas, of the paragraph. Did anyone include something that you haven't thought about before? Can you add more evidence to someone else's argument? Do you completely disagree with someone's argument? Please remember to be considerate when commenting. The purpose of this is to stimulate discussion :)

Poetry: Donne, Housman, and Dylan

Discuss this week's poetry. 

• You need to write one conversation starter (1 paragraph) about any or all of the poems. Your conversation starters can be personal or reflective in nature, or they may be analytical. You may also pose questions as well. 

•  You will also need to reply to at least one classmate's conversation starter (1 paragraph). Be sure to address (by name) the classmate(s) that you are responding to. 

You should have completed your TPCASTTs before posting.

This discussion ends on February 5th at 11:59PM ET.