video distraction #2

this is so catchy, a mixture of macabre ridiculousness and cutesy animation. I love the chorus section when the "super glue" figure just stands with mouth open. It's good tragicomedy.

Poetry Handouts

Here are the three TPCASTT handouts for "Sonnet XXX," "When I Heard the Learn'd Astronomer," and "Who Makes the Journey."

https://www.dropbox.com/s/uanvjhez7zj5hi6/Sonnet%20XXX.doc

some video distraction

I haven't done much with sharing non-homework work on the blog, but want to get started. So, here's a beautiful night run through Bangkok. Parkour is a contemporary ballet, and I could watch hours of how these athlete/artists carve through the cityscape.

Light Emitting Dudes - LED Freerunning from Frank Sauer on Vimeo.

 

TKAM part II exam review

Here is a link to our Socratic notes from today:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/iiooxplhigzwm53/tkam%20socratic%20end%20of%20book.doc

ROAR Term II: Book into Film

For this term, select a book from the list below. Read the book, and compose 2 set of ROAR notes. Then, read the film adaptation of your book. Compose 1 post that makes use of film terms and analyzes how it adapts the book.

Do select a book that interests you, but also one that you will be allowed to watch the film version (check to see what the film is rated). Also, check the ROAR selections website that is listed on the right-hand column.

You are required to prove you legally watched the film, so no downloading or illegal streaming.





Fresh Films!


Life of Pi by Yann Martel 
The novel follows young Pi Patel, a 16-year-old whose family moves from India to North America on board a Japanese cargo ship, along with a number of his father's zoo animals. When the ship sinks, Pi is left alone in a lifeboat with a hyena, an orangutan, a zebra, and a Bengal tiger. 

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald 
The novel is set on Long Island during the roaring 1920s. Nick, just returned from the war, rents a house in West Egg where he is invited to the extravagant parties hosted by his guarded and mysterious neighbor, Jay Gatsby. Nick eventually learns Gatsby's story – the tale of a young man who corrupts himself in seeking to attain the American Dream and gain the love of the idealized, and unattainable woman, Daisy.

The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky  
This is a coming-of-age story about a high school freshman who deals with the challenges of most high school kids – making friends, having a crush, going on a first date, dealing with emerging sexuality, experimenting with drugs – but must also face the suicide of his best friend. He is helped through his first year by two senior friends and a teacher.


The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien 
The prequel to the "Lord of the Rings," "The Hobbit" is set in the time "Between the Dawn and the Dominion of Men." It follows Bilbo Baggins's quest to secure a piece of the treasure guarded by Samaug, a dragon, as he travels through Middle Earth.

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On Video/Netflix

Playing the Enemy by John Carlin
Invictus is the true story of how Nelson Mandela joined forces with the captain of South Africa's rugby team, Francois Pienaar, to help unite their country. Newly elected President Mandela knows his nation remains racially and economically divided in the wake of apartheid. Believing he can bring his people together through the universal language of sport, Mandela rallies South Africa's underdog rugby team as they make an unlikely run to the 1995 World Cup Championship match.

A Scanner Darkly Philip K. Dick
America in the near future has lost the war against drugs. Though the government tries to protect the upper class, the system is infested with undercover cops like Fred, who regularly ingest the popular Substance D as part of their work. In a bizarre twist, the drug has caused Fred to develop a split personality, of which he is not aware.

The Namesake Jhumpa Lahiri
What’s in a name? A MIT professor and his wife face this question, when hospital authorities won’t allow them to leave with their baby until it is given a name. The staff is ignorant of the cultural difference that allow for Bengali families to spend a good deal of time and deliberation before deciding their child’s name. Thus, Ashima and Ashoke are forced to enter a “pet” name for their son- Gogol.

Slumdog Millionaire Vikas Swarup (Q&A)
Jamal Malik is an 18 year-old orphan from the slums of Mumbai. With the whole nation watching, he is just one question away from winning a staggering 20 million rupees on India's "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?" But when the show breaks for the night, police arrest him on suspicion of cheating; how could a street kid know so much? Desperate to prove his innocence, Jamal tells the story of his life in the slum where he and his brother grew up, of vicious encounters with local gangs, and of Latika, the girl he loved.

A Civil Action Jonathan Harr
This is the true story of a town’s fight against deadly environmental toxins in the town of Woburn, MA. With a class action lawsuit to file, lawyers represent families impacted by the pollution. However, the case that could ruin the law firm firm.

Antwone Fisher Antwone Fisher (Finding Fish)
This autobiography tells how Fisher was born in prison to an incarcerated mother and a father who had been shot. After being placed in foster care, Fisher was treated brutally and blamed for his own misfortunes. Through these experiences, he eventually found his way into a stable job in the Navy.

Everything Is Illuminated Jonathan Safran Foer
With only a yellowing photograph in hand, a young man sets out to find the woman who might or might not have saved his grandfather from the Nazis. Accompanied by an old man haunted by memories of the war, and a dog named Sammy Davis, Jonathan is led on an amazing journey into an unexpected past.

Fever Pitch Nick Hornby
Love sports? This book tells the story of the author's unhealthy relationship with soccer. As a fan of Arsenal, a London soccer team, Hornby describes his life as it relates to the successes and failures of his favorite team.

Pride and Prejudice Jane Austen
Bride & Prejudice

The five Bennet sisters, including strong-willed Elizabeth and young Lydia, have been raised by their mother with one purpose in life: finding a husband. When a wealthy bachelor takes up residence in a nearby mansion, the Bennets are abuzz. But when Elizabeth meets up with the handsome and snobbish Mr. Darcy, a battle of the sexes ensues.

Cold Mountain Charles Frazier
A wounded Confederate soldier walks away from the horrors of the war and back home to his pre-war sweetheart, Ada. This love story connects Inman's odyssey through the devastated South with Ada's struggle to revive her father's farm.

Girl With a Pearl Earring Tracy Chevalier
When Griet becomes a maid in the household of the painter Johannes Vermeer, she thinks she knows her role: housework, laundry, and the care of his six children. What no one expects is that Griet's quiet manner, quick perceptions, and fascination with her master's paintings will draw her inexorably into his world. Their growing intimacy sparks whispers; and when Vermeer paints her wearing his wife's pearl earrings, the gossip escalates into a huge scandal.

Secret Window Steven King (Four Past Midnight)
Mort Rainey is a successful writer going through a rather unfriendly divorce from his wife of ten years. Alone and bitter in his cabin, he continues to work on his writing when a stranger named John Shooter shows up on his doorstep, claiming Rainey stole his story. Mort says he can prove the story belongs to him and not Shooter, but while Mort digs around for the magazine that published the story, people begin to die.



Darwin, His Daughter, and Human Evolution

Creation



Imperial Life in the Emerald City: Inside Iraq's Green Zone

Green Zone 




The Juliet Club
and
Letters to Juliet: Celebrating Shakespeare's Greatest Heroine, the Magical City of Verona, and the Power of Love





Winter's Bone: A Novel




Between a Rock and a Hard Place

127 Hours




True Grit

examples for your TKAM homework

For the last week of reading To Kill a Mockingbird, you will "Shine a Light" on one paragraph from your reading. This is just like your test, so select a strong paragraph and:

1: connect the passage with one of the five thematic topics of a “Southern Novel”

2: explain the situation in the quotation by providing context from the novel

3: analyze the use of literary devices by identifying the devices and explaining why they are used

            Personification                     Dual Narrative Voice            Simile                    Hyperbole            Euphemism

            Situational Irony                  Dramatic Irony        Metaphor            Allusion                        Indirect Characterization

Here are some samples from your tests! 

Passage A

It connects with traumatic violence because after seeing Miss Maudie’s house burn down, Scout “shudders” when her father lights the stove. This shows her uneasiness with fire, and is similar to how Miss Maudie just stands and looks at the “black hole” that used to be her home. The trauma with fire is ironic since it was strangely cold and had snowed, and it also indirectly shows how Miss Maudie is affected by the fire.

Passage B

The thematic topic is decorum because it is known by everybody that girls shouldn’t be acting like boys. This takes place when Scout and her family are at Finch’s landing for Christmas, and Aunt Alexandra criticizes Scout on the way she dresses and that girls should shine in their father’s eye. Her metaphor explains the decorum of girls needing to act properly by wearing pearls and dresses, especially since Atticus’ wife had died.

Passage C

The fact that Miss Caroline, the first grade teacher, was from Winston County was a big deal. It separated her from the students, who were mostly farm kids. This class separation is shown when Miss Caroline doesn’t understand her students, especially Walter who doesn’t have a lunch. Scout and the class judge their teacher since she comes from a place filled with “liquor interests, Republicans,” and makes an allusion to North Alabama and their role in the Civil War.

Passage D

As Francis and Scout are having a conversation, the topic of ancestry comes up. Their families are celebrating Christmas at Finch’s Landing, and Francis criticizes Atticus for supporting a back man and acting like a “nigger lover.” This ruins “the family name.” Their ancestry is also ruined since Scout hangs out with kids of a lower social class, who Francis calls “stray dogs” as a metaphor for Dill. 

Passage E

This is an example of ancestry as the narrator talks about her Uncle Jimmy and Aunt Alexandra as they have a son named Henry, who leaves home to get married and gave birth to Cousin Francis. Euphemism was used as Scout describes Francis as being “produced” and that he is “deposited” at his grandparent’s home every Christmas so the parents can pursue their own “pleasure,” which shows that the family doesn’t care about him.