WELCOME STUDENTS!

This is a place for us to discuss openly and honestly the literature we are reading. Here we are all just communicating our thoughts on what we are reading. There are no right and wrong answers. However, you are expected to be polite, mature, and on topic.

Sunday, December 30, 2012

Oh, the humanity!

When Huck leaves the raft and ventures into the "sivilized" world, he encounters a variety of people and situations. Select one of the following episodes and comment on what Huck learns from these "sivilized" people and what is Twain's purpose in this episode? CHOICES: The Grangerfords or The Wilks or The Duke and Dauphin or Colonel Sherburn and Boggs.



CATCH: YOU MAY NOT POST ON THE SAME EPISODE AS THAT THE PERSON WHO POSTED BEFORE YOU DID. SAY SOMETHING NEW. (The deadline to post a response to this question is midnight, Tuesday, January 1, 2013.)

Thursday, December 27, 2012

The Narrative Voice



Huck Finn is a thirteen-year-old boy. Why does Twain use a child as the center of consciousness in this book? Cite a passage where you really saw the "center of consciousness" and explain how so? (The deadline to post a response to this blog is midnight Dec. 29, 2012.)

Monday, December 24, 2012

I'd like to teach the world to read...

Happy Holidays!  In a few short days, you will begin your final semester of high school life.  I am excited that I will get to witness those last few exciting days with you!  More importantly, I am excited that we will be reading some great works of literature. Books are such an essential element of a fulfilled life.  I know that you all have read many wonderful books in your years of reading.  So, my question to you in this blog is "If you could require the world to read one book (with the exception of the bible), what would it be and why would you want them to read it?"  I will share mine with you:  "I would require the world to read Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter.  This book teaches about honesty, responsibility, courage, and freedom.  It emphasizes the importance of individuality and inner peace.  I can't wait until we read it together."  Post your book choice and reason by midnight, Thursday, December 27, 2012).

Saturday, December 22, 2012

"He need both of you..."

A great deal of A Lesson Before Dying focuses upon Grant's internal conflict with religion and his external conflict with Reverend Mose Ambrose.  Select a passage/scene(cite it) that reflects this struggle and explain its significance in the scope of the novel and explain how Gaines uses this conflict to develop Grant. Also, indicate which side wins in this passage and how so. (The deadline to post a response to this blog question is midnight, December 24, 2012.)

Wednesday, December 19, 2012

The power of a word...

Below is a poem entitled Incident; it was written by Countee Cullen, one of America's best African American poets. Read the poem and then respond to the question below.
Incident by Countee Cullen

Once riding in old Baltimore,
Heart-filled, head-filled with glee,
I saw a Baltimorean
Keep looking straight at me.

Now I was eight and very small,
And he was no whit bigger,
And so I smiled, but he poked out
His tongue, and called me, "Nigger."

I saw the whole of Baltimore
From May until December;
Of all the things that happened there
That's all that I remember.

In A Lesson Before Dying, the first 4 chapters focus on the power of just one word as this poem does. Using only the first 4 chapters of the novel to support your claims, explain the power of the one word in the novel and how it is used as a catalyst for this novel. Who do you think is most affected by the word? Why? (The deadline to post a response to this question is midnight December 21,2012. Remember use only your initials when posting a response. )

Saturday, May 19, 2012

AP Independent Pre-Course Reading Selections

As you are trying to select your independent novel to read, check here to see which novels/plays have already been selected.  Remember only one person to each novel. 
Selected works include
All the Pretty Horses
Beloved
Brave New World
The Catcher in the Rye
The Color Purple
Cry the Beloved Country
Death of a Salesman
A Gathering of Old Men
The Grapes of Wrath
The Handmaid's Tale
In Cold Blood
Invisible Man (by Ralph Ellison)
Jane Eyre
The Kite Runner
Light in August
Looking for Alaska
Maggie: A Girl of the Streets
Native Son
No Exit
The Old Man and the Sea
One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest
Oryx and Crake
The Plague
The Poisonwood Bible
Ponder Heart
The Reader
The Road
Snow Falling on Cedars
Soldier X
Sula
This Boy's Life
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time