Mrs. Good’s English 5-6c

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Here to listen to the chapters

Note: You may not download them, please do not try.  If you find you need a more portable version of the chapters, you may bring your IPod to me before or after school and we will try to load the book onto it.  Be aware: you may lose the music currently installed on the IPod as my computer goes through the recognition process.   

Phonological deviations of the speech of the characters in Zora Neale Hurston’s folktales:

1. substitution of “d” sound for “th” sound
2. substitution of “k” sound for “c” (kin)
3. the double negative (“Ah know you can’t make none”)
4. the inflection of strong verbs as if they were weak. (“throwed”)
5. overinflection (“All turtles loves water”)
6. variant use of pronouns (“and scratched he head”)

“If there is a single distinguishing feature of the literature of black women–and this accounts for their lack of recognition–it is this: their writing is about black women; it takes the trouble to record the thoughts, words, feelings, and deeds of black women, experiences that make the realities of being black in America look very different from what men have written. There are no women in this tradition hibernating in dark holes contemplating their invisibility; there are no women dismembering bodies or crushing skulls of either women or men; and few, if any, women in the literature of black women succeed in heroic quests without the support of other women or men in their communities.”

By: Mary Helen Washington

(Pear Tree)

Phoebe – This website describes the Greek Goddess Artemis, also known as Phoebe. Use this as one piece of insight into the symbolism of Janie’s friend Phoeby, whom Janie tells her story to.

“Are you a Hypocrite” – Hypocrisy is a theme throughout Janie’s marriage to Joe Starks. This website explains what hypocrisy is, the different kinds of hypocrisy, and causes of hypocrisy. This can be used as a reference tool for exploring Jody’s character.

Hurricane Preparation – As Janie and Tea Cake are preparing to leave because of the hurricane that is coming, students can find out more about how a hurricane behaves as well as the preparation requirements.

“The Color of Folklore” – Hurston’s novel incorporates many colors that can be viewed as symbolic. This article gives the symbolism of the colors used in folklore. This will provide deeper meanings of Hurston’s use of color.

Swamps – This is a simple website that gives basic information about swamps. It lists different kinds of swamps and how swamps are made. This information could be used to explain Janie’s living conditions in the muck. It also has pictures of these swamps.

Anchors – This website offers the history of anchors. This resource will help compare Logan Killicks to Killicks’ (a name to the meaning, which is anchor). Use to compare Logan’s character to the functions of the anchor.

Posts are due by February 1st at 9 p.m.

In Chapter 4, Jordan Baker reveals the back story between Gatsby and Daisy – use this information to respond to the following:

• Ladies: please write a diary entry for Daisy’s personal journal – focus on the period just before her wedding – explain the scene (situation) and why Daisy makes the choices she does.  (Write from Daisy’s point of view.)
• Gentlemen: please write a letter to Daisy that was written before Daisy’s marriage to Tom – explain the situation and why Gatsby makes the choices he does. (Write from Gatsby’s point of view.)

Remember to include not only the people and events that occurred during a particular time, but also the writer’s thoughts and feelings.

On line responding to this post is no longer available.  Late responses must be submitted via paper in the yellow basket in class.  – Mrs. Good 

Posts are due by January 14th at 9 p.m.

Go to the website below. Watch the movie and consider the aspects notated on the page. When you are done, come back to this blog site and post at least three things you found interesting that were different or similar to the present. Be sure to specify what the similarity or difference is for each item listed.The Roaring Twenties Movie Note: Movie is 27 minutes long — You do NOT need to complete the quiz at the end of the movie. 

On line responding to this post is no longer available.  Late responses must be submitted via paper in the yellow basket in class.  – Mrs. Good

Please visit the four sites under “McCarthyism” to research and study McCarthyism as a parallel to The Crucible. As you read the information at the sites, take notes and think about the information in relation to the play. After visiting the sites, your group will devise a chart/poster detailing the parallels you discover between the depiction of events in the play and the actual events Miller witnessed in the 1950′s. The chart/poster information will be presented to the class and then displayed in the classroom.

The time frame in which you could post responses to this blog question has expired. Late responses are due in writing (in the yellow basket) by Friday (11/30). Any responses not received will receive a 0 (zero) for the assignment. See me if you have questions or concerns. – Mrs. Good

Responses Due by 12 AM (midnight) the night of Monday (11/26/07)Respond to the following statement.Fear of community pressures force leaders to administer the law without regard for human welfare.

If you have not responded, but feel you have a valid reason and should receive some credit for your response, please use the “Contact Mrs. Good” tab and email me directly.

Provide me with your response and an explanation as to why you feel you should still recieve credit for the assignment.

See me on Monday to discuss your email.

Mrs. Good

Responses Due by 12:00 a.m. (midnight) Friday, November 2

The “American Dream” varies from person to person. As we delve into the concept of the “American Dream”, you must consider what it is for you. Thus, you will read and explore multiple perspectives to help you formulate a concept of your own. (Note: Art is considered a form of text to be read. How to Read an Image)

Using the links under the heading “American Dream” (to the left), select two links to work with. You must use two different genres of text, take one type from each of the options listed below. After you have made your selection, you will need to:

1. Identify the opinions for each piece
2. Compare or Contrast the opinions (How are they similar or different from each other)
3. Explain how the opinions contribute to the overall concept of the “American Dream”

(Note: There are enough choices to work with that no two students should use a pairing already used in a response. In other words, if someone has already responded using “Art- American Gothic” and “Speech – Farwell Address”, you may use either one paired with something else, but not the same combination that was used.)

Option 1 Option 2

Art, Lyric, Poem Essay, Fiction, Speech

Remember: Your post must specify which two texts you are using.

If you have not responded, but feel you have a valid reason and should receive some credit for your response, please use the “Contact Mrs. Good” tab and email me directly. Include your justification for being awarded credit; then specify which blog you are responding to and provide your response.

See me on Monday to discuss the results of your email.

Mrs. Good

Does Hamlet live and die by making free choices, or are his choices all controlled by forces larger than himself?

To what extent are the female characters in this drama pivotal to the story’s structure? Does everything happen in this play because of a woman?

One of the great paradoxes of this play is that Hamlet, the hero of one plot, is the villain of the other. This realization reflects directly the duality of human nature. What other characters does Shakespeare use to advance similar notions? How?

Queen Gertrude is the cause of many of the conflicts in the play. If Claudius didn’t lust after her, he most likely wouldn’t have killed King Hamlet. Some argue that Hamlet had an Oedipus complex and lusted after his mother as well.

Oedipus was a person who was cursed to kill his father and marry his mother. So, the Oedipus complex is when a son lusts over his mother. This leads to depression because the child cannot fulfill his desire.

If Hamlet had the Oedipus complex, we can understand why he was delayed in his revenge (he could sympathize with Claudius), and why he suffered from depression (he couldn’t fulfill his desire to be with his mother).

Do you agree that this was Hamlet’s ultimate problem? Is this the element that actually propels Hamlet into action?

Upon further thought, I think responding to this blog will be extra credit. This one is a challenge. If you do not respond to this blog you will not be penalized. See everyone in class on Thursday. (Edited by Mrs. Good 9/19/07 @ 4:30 p.m.)

To what extent does Hamlet correspond to classical or medieval notions of tragedy? What (if anything) is Hamlet’s fatal flaw? Why does he hesitate to act after promising his father’s ghost that he will avenge his murder?

Classical Tragedy:
According to Aristotle’s Poetics, tragedy involves a protagonist of high estate (“better than we”) who falls from prosperity to misery through a series of reversals and discoveries as a result of a “tragic flaw,” generally an error caused by human frailty. Aside from this initial moral weakness or error, the protagonist is basically a good person: for Aristotle, the downfall of an evil protagonist is not tragic (Macbeth would not qualify). In Aristotelian tragedy, the action (or fable) generally involves revolution (unanticipated reversals of what is expected to occur) and discovery (in which the protagonists and audience learn something that had been hidden). The third part of the fable, disasters, includes all destructive actions, deaths, etc. Tragedy evokes pity and fear in the audience, leading finally to catharsis (the purgation of these passions).

Medieval Tragedy:
A narrative (not a play) concerning how a person falls from high to low estate as the Goddess Fortune spins her wheel. In the middle ages, there was no “tragic” theater per se; medieval theater in England was primarily liturgical drama (related to public worship), which developed in the later middle ages (15th century) as a way of teaching scripture to the illiterate (mystery plays) or of reminding them to be prepared for death and God’s Judgment (morality plays). Medieval “tragedy” was found not in the theater but in collections of stories illustrating the falls of great men (e.g. Boccacio’s Falls of Illustrious Men, Chaucer’s Monk’s Tale from the Canterbury Tales, and Lydgate’s Falls of Princes). These narratives owe their conception of Fortune in part to the Latin tragedies of Seneca, in which Fortune and her wheel play a prominent role.

Hamlet says, “Nothing is either right or wrong but thinking makes it so.” Is he correct in regards to the world of this play? Do you think he’s correct in regards to the world in general?

In the voyage towards discovering the man, Hamlet, we get nearer to discovering ourselves: do we identify with his sensitivity, his self-exploration, his cunning and survival strategies, his anger, his flashes of violence and cruelty, his decline into fatalism, his inability to suffer fools gladly, his disillusionments, his loathing of hypocrites? Or does all this just add up to our identifying with his humanity?

What is your opinion on the matter?