If you have missed reading part of Ibsen's play, you may read the missed sections online. Click here to access a website will the full text of the play.
The 25-question multiple choice exam on A Doll's House will be Friday, May15. Students doing May Term need to take this exam as the last assignment for their fourth quarter grade.
Monday, May 4, 2009
Henrik Ibsen
- Born in Skein, Norway
- Lived his early life in poverty, stung by social rejection.
- Hired as a playwright by the National Theater in Bergen.
- Left Norway in 1862, starting a 27-year self-imposed exile. During this time he wrote his finest plays.
- "A literary pioneer who created the modern, realistic prose drama.”
- The bold, social commentary in his plays often earned him criticism.
- “A Doll’s House (1879) aroused controversy because it portrayed a woman whose actions were not considered acceptable at the time.”
- Ibsen was a revolutionary playwright who provided detailed stage directions that precisely described sets, lighting, props and how actors should interpret their lines.
Friday, March 13, 2009
Essay and Test on March 27
The final exam for your choice book unit is Friday, March 27. That is also the date that your essay is due. If you are leaving early for spring break, you need to complete both assessments before you leave. Below is a description of the essay assignment.
For the choice book analytical essay you need to compare your choice novel to two other works studied in World Literature. Your comparison should analyze a common topic by detailing text to text connections – remember that you can discuss the differences in how the texts approach the topic as well as the similarities. The A to Z Taxonomy of Common Issues is a great place to start for essay ideas. You may use any films, poems, short stories or novels read in World Literature this year for the two texts that you will compare to your choice novel. Since you may not have ready access to the short stories or previous novels read in World Lit, supporting details for main points for those texts simply need to be paraphrases of events and ideas. However, you should support main ideas about your choice novel with direct quotations from the text.
Comparison Texts
World Literature I major texts:
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe
Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse
Choice novel (Life of Pi by Yann Martel, Snow by Orhan Pamuk, The Last Summer of Reason by Tajar Djaout, Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
Films: Il Postino, The Cup, Surviving Picasso
World Literature II texts (so far)
The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
Films: Pride and Prejudice, Lagaan
Various short stories (keep track of them in your notebook)
The essay should be two pages long, 12-point font, double spaced.
The essay is due on Friday, March 27 or the day before you leave for spring break!
For the choice book analytical essay you need to compare your choice novel to two other works studied in World Literature. Your comparison should analyze a common topic by detailing text to text connections – remember that you can discuss the differences in how the texts approach the topic as well as the similarities. The A to Z Taxonomy of Common Issues is a great place to start for essay ideas. You may use any films, poems, short stories or novels read in World Literature this year for the two texts that you will compare to your choice novel. Since you may not have ready access to the short stories or previous novels read in World Lit, supporting details for main points for those texts simply need to be paraphrases of events and ideas. However, you should support main ideas about your choice novel with direct quotations from the text.
Comparison Texts
World Literature I major texts:
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe
Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse
Choice novel (Life of Pi by Yann Martel, Snow by Orhan Pamuk, The Last Summer of Reason by Tajar Djaout, Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
Films: Il Postino, The Cup, Surviving Picasso
World Literature II texts (so far)
The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
Films: Pride and Prejudice, Lagaan
Various short stories (keep track of them in your notebook)
The essay should be two pages long, 12-point font, double spaced.
The essay is due on Friday, March 27 or the day before you leave for spring break!
Sunday, February 8, 2009
Jane Austen's Influence
Jane Austen, 1775-1817
- The daughter of a rector—the seventh of eight children—educated at home and never lived apart from her family
- Her novels are closer to 18th century satire than Romantic Age works.
- Observed social behavior with “shrewd perceptiveness.”
- Common theme—maturity achieved through loss of illusions
Novels:
Sense & Sensibility (1795)
Pride & Prejudice (1796)
Northanger Abbey (1797)
Mansfield Park (1811)
Emma (1814)
Persuasion (1815)
**Sense and Sensibility first published in 1811
Pride & Prejudice Characters
The Bennet Sisters:
Jane Bennet--the beautiful, eldest daughter
Elizabeth Bennet - The novel's protagonist
Mary Bennet - The middle Bennet sister, bookish
Catherine (Kitty) Bennet - The fourth Bennet sister, a flirt
Lydia Bennet - The youngest Bennet sister, a flirt
Love Interests:
Fitzwilliam Darcy - A wealthy gentleman, the master of Pemberley
Charles Bingley - Darcy's best friend, has a considerable fortune.
George Wickham - A handsome, fortune-hunting militia officer.
Mr. Collins - A pompous clergyman who stands to inherit the Bennet's home.
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Key Word Prediction
Consider the key words from the first pages of The Handmaid’s Tale and predict the story.
palimpsest: a parchment that has been erased to make room for other text
pedantic: overly concerned with minute details
debase: to reduce in value or dignity
servile: submissive; fawning
angels
football
thongs
unwoman
nunneries
colonies
blood
shatterproof
black market
prayvaganzas
Econowives
anarchy
palimpsest: a parchment that has been erased to make room for other text
pedantic: overly concerned with minute details
debase: to reduce in value or dignity
servile: submissive; fawning
angels
football
thongs
unwoman
nunneries
colonies
blood
shatterproof
black market
prayvaganzas
Econowives
anarchy
Margaret Atwood Background
Margaret Atwood was born in Ottawa, Ontario, in 1939.
Atwood was raised a strict agnostic, and she believes atheism is a religion.
Her formal degrees are from the University of Toronto and Radcliffe College. She has also received 16 honorary degrees.
She is Canada's most eminent novelist and poet.
Her novels include strong women characters, and the books explore contemporary issues and sexual politics.
Her novels: The Edible Woman (1969); Surfacing (1973); Lady Oracle (1977); Life Before Man (1980); Bodily Harm (1982); The Handmaid's Tale (1986); Cat's Eye (1989); The Robber Bride (1993); Alias Grace (1996); The Blind Assassin (2000); and Oryx and Crake (2003).
The Handmaid's Tale film was released in 1990, and the book was recently staged as an opera.
For more information on Margaret Atwood, read her full biography at Contemporarywriters.com.
View this ten-minute clip of a Bill Moyers interview with Margaret Atwood to hear first-hand some of the political and religious beliefs that influenced The Handmaid's Tale.
After viewing the clip, respond in your journal to one of the following Atwood quotations from the video clip. Your personal response should be at least one full-paragraph. You may also wish to make connections between the quotation and films, books, and current events.
"When societies come under stress, these kinds of things happen. People start looking around for human sacrifices--for someone they can blame."
"In order to preserve our freedoms, we have to give them up for now."
"The theocracy that I put in The Handmaid's Tale never calls itself Christian. In fact, it never says anything about Christianity . . . . The slogans are all from the Old Testament."
"I believe in the America of Thoreau. Thoreau, the conscientious objector. Thoreau, the man who stood upon his principles."
Atwood was raised a strict agnostic, and she believes atheism is a religion.
Her formal degrees are from the University of Toronto and Radcliffe College. She has also received 16 honorary degrees.
She is Canada's most eminent novelist and poet.
Her novels include strong women characters, and the books explore contemporary issues and sexual politics.
Her novels: The Edible Woman (1969); Surfacing (1973); Lady Oracle (1977); Life Before Man (1980); Bodily Harm (1982); The Handmaid's Tale (1986); Cat's Eye (1989); The Robber Bride (1993); Alias Grace (1996); The Blind Assassin (2000); and Oryx and Crake (2003).
The Handmaid's Tale film was released in 1990, and the book was recently staged as an opera.
For more information on Margaret Atwood, read her full biography at Contemporarywriters.com.
View this ten-minute clip of a Bill Moyers interview with Margaret Atwood to hear first-hand some of the political and religious beliefs that influenced The Handmaid's Tale.
After viewing the clip, respond in your journal to one of the following Atwood quotations from the video clip. Your personal response should be at least one full-paragraph. You may also wish to make connections between the quotation and films, books, and current events.
"When societies come under stress, these kinds of things happen. People start looking around for human sacrifices--for someone they can blame."
"In order to preserve our freedoms, we have to give them up for now."
"The theocracy that I put in The Handmaid's Tale never calls itself Christian. In fact, it never says anything about Christianity . . . . The slogans are all from the Old Testament."
"I believe in the America of Thoreau. Thoreau, the conscientious objector. Thoreau, the man who stood upon his principles."
The Handmaid's Tale Reading Schedule
The date indicates the day the reading is due. Be prepared for quizzes, discussions or activities based on those pages.
Feb. 2: pp. 1-33
Feb. 4: pp. 34-66
Feb. 9: pp. 67-106
Feb. 12: pp. 107-188
Feb. 18: pp. 189-233
Feb. 20: pp. 234-311
Feb. 2: pp. 1-33
Feb. 4: pp. 34-66
Feb. 9: pp. 67-106
Feb. 12: pp. 107-188
Feb. 18: pp. 189-233
Feb. 20: pp. 234-311
Monday, January 26, 2009
World Lit II Overview
World Lit II examines the essential question: How do humans express themselves through their political and personal relationships?
Atwood and Austen
In February we will read The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood and view the hot new Kiera Knightley re-make of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. Political and personal concepts studied during this unit include women's roles, oppression, civil liberties, sexism, censorship, religious fanaticism, the death penalty, love and war.
We will also make thematic connections to short stories and poetry in the World Masterpieces textbook.
Choice Unit
In March students pick one of the following novels to read:
Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
The House of Spirits by Isabel Allende
July’s People by Nadine Gordimer
Nectar in a Sieve by Kamala Markandaya
Waiting by Jin Ha
This choice unit continues to explore many of the concepts introduced in The Handmaid's Tale, and book clubs discuss how people survive political upheavals while maintaining their personal relationships.
With March also comes a World Lit all-time favorite--the Bollywood blockbuster Lagaan. 99% of World Lit students love this film. In fact, whenever I run into past World Lit students, they ask me if I have shown Lagaan yet. A few years ago a bunch of World Lit boys, inspired by this film, even started playing cricket on Sunday afternoons at an Edina park.
Politics and Relationships in Plays
During the Fourth Quarter, World Lit students will not only read the following plays (either in their entirety or excerpts), but also see the dramas come to life through film. The guiding question for this drama unit is: What are the personal and societal obstacles that people must overcome to have a successful marriage/committed relationship?
Othello by William Shakespeare
A Doll’s House by Henrik Ibsen
Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde
Atwood and Austen
In February we will read The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood and view the hot new Kiera Knightley re-make of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. Political and personal concepts studied during this unit include women's roles, oppression, civil liberties, sexism, censorship, religious fanaticism, the death penalty, love and war.
We will also make thematic connections to short stories and poetry in the World Masterpieces textbook.
Choice Unit
In March students pick one of the following novels to read:
Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
The House of Spirits by Isabel Allende
July’s People by Nadine Gordimer
Nectar in a Sieve by Kamala Markandaya
Waiting by Jin Ha
This choice unit continues to explore many of the concepts introduced in The Handmaid's Tale, and book clubs discuss how people survive political upheavals while maintaining their personal relationships.
With March also comes a World Lit all-time favorite--the Bollywood blockbuster Lagaan. 99% of World Lit students love this film. In fact, whenever I run into past World Lit students, they ask me if I have shown Lagaan yet. A few years ago a bunch of World Lit boys, inspired by this film, even started playing cricket on Sunday afternoons at an Edina park.
Politics and Relationships in Plays
During the Fourth Quarter, World Lit students will not only read the following plays (either in their entirety or excerpts), but also see the dramas come to life through film. The guiding question for this drama unit is: What are the personal and societal obstacles that people must overcome to have a successful marriage/committed relationship?
Othello by William Shakespeare
A Doll’s House by Henrik Ibsen
Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde
Supplies Needed
World Literature students use a single subject, composition notebook to showcase their thinking and writing in World Literature. Notebooks need to be in class every day as participation points will be given on a regular basis vs. turning in the notebook at the end of the unit like in World Lit I.
The classroom magic markers are all running dry. To make all of our Thinking Map posters, A to Z lists, and other activities, room 271 desperately needs markers. Consider donating a pack of markers for extra credit.
The classroom magic markers are all running dry. To make all of our Thinking Map posters, A to Z lists, and other activities, room 271 desperately needs markers. Consider donating a pack of markers for extra credit.
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Siddhartha Vocab and Tests
The vocabulary test for Siddhartha will be on finals day along with a scantron exam on plot and characters and a blue book essay.
To study for vocab, see if you can answer the "I have . . . Who has" questions below. Also, you can create you the 4-square for your assigned word for extra credit by adding it as a comment to this post.
Who has a heap of combustibles for burning a corpse?
Who has the quality of being calm and even-tempered?
Who has the practice of self-denial and austerity?
Who has being elevated in status or of being of high rank?
Who has something that is essential to the nature of a thing?
Who has a wandering person who lives in the forest?
Who has to bring into existence or to give birth?
Who has pale or dull complexion?
Who has deep, extensive learning?
Who has utter discontent or boredom?
Who has burdensome or great difficulty?
Who has commanding respect and dignity?
Who has twisted or woven together?
Who has the act of asking for forgiveness or atonement?
Who has a prostitute or hooker?
Who has religious washing or ritual cleansing?
Who has reincarnation or cycle of life—death—rebirth?
Who has urging or making a strong emotional appeal?
Who has perfection, in other words the perfect syllable for meditation?
To study for vocab, see if you can answer the "I have . . . Who has" questions below. Also, you can create you the 4-square for your assigned word for extra credit by adding it as a comment to this post.
Who has a heap of combustibles for burning a corpse?
Who has the quality of being calm and even-tempered?
Who has the practice of self-denial and austerity?
Who has being elevated in status or of being of high rank?
Who has something that is essential to the nature of a thing?
Who has a wandering person who lives in the forest?
Who has to bring into existence or to give birth?
Who has pale or dull complexion?
Who has deep, extensive learning?
Who has utter discontent or boredom?
Who has burdensome or great difficulty?
Who has commanding respect and dignity?
Who has twisted or woven together?
Who has the act of asking for forgiveness or atonement?
Who has a prostitute or hooker?
Who has religious washing or ritual cleansing?
Who has reincarnation or cycle of life—death—rebirth?
Who has urging or making a strong emotional appeal?
Who has perfection, in other words the perfect syllable for meditation?
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Hinduism and Buddhism in Siddhartha
Define the following Hindu terms and write at least one sentence about how they relate to Siddhartha.
Dharma
Brahmin
Samsara
The Vedas & The Upanishads
Om
Atman (Brahman/Self)
Define the following Buddhist terms and write at least one sentence about how they relate to Siddhartha.
Meditation
Four Noble Truths
Eightfold Noble Path
Nirvana
Historical Buddha (Sakyamuni)
Karma
Dharma
Brahmin
Samsara
The Vedas & The Upanishads
Om
Atman (Brahman/Self)
Define the following Buddhist terms and write at least one sentence about how they relate to Siddhartha.
Meditation
Four Noble Truths
Eightfold Noble Path
Nirvana
Historical Buddha (Sakyamuni)
Karma
Monday, January 5, 2009
Siddhartha Reading Schedule
Come to class having read the pages indicated the night before as homework.
Jan. 6: pp. 3-24
Jan. 7: pp. 25-36
Jan. 8: pp. 37-42
Jan. 9: pp. 45-61
Jan. 12: pp. 63-85
Jan. 13: pp. 87-100
Jan. 14: pp. 101-115
Jan. 15: pp. 117-127
Jan. 16: pp. 129-137
Jan. 20: pp. 139-152
A multiple choice exam on plot, character and vocabulary as well as a blue book essay will be completed on finals day. Finals are January 21-23.
Jan. 6: pp. 3-24
Jan. 7: pp. 25-36
Jan. 8: pp. 37-42
Jan. 9: pp. 45-61
Jan. 12: pp. 63-85
Jan. 13: pp. 87-100
Jan. 14: pp. 101-115
Jan. 15: pp. 117-127
Jan. 16: pp. 129-137
Jan. 20: pp. 139-152
A multiple choice exam on plot, character and vocabulary as well as a blue book essay will be completed on finals day. Finals are January 21-23.
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