- What is the significance of the title?
- What is the tone of the poem?
- What is your mood as you read it?
- Is there a Shift? Where? From what to what?
- What is the theme of the poem?
December 1: Take inventory on your semester/blog
November 21: What poem will you become over the Thanksgiving Break? If it's not "Immigrants in Our Own Land" it should be personally meaningful to you and worth memorizing. Please post a video of you reciting the poem to your blog by MONDAY DECEMBER 1ST.
November 20:Write a 1-2 paragraph response to "Immigrants in Our Own Land" in which you describe your relationship with RHS and school in general. Are you a proud native, a curious tourist, an optimistic immigrant, or a pessimistic immigrant? Why? Use real examples/stories to illustrate your ideas.
http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/179708
November 19: 1. Post your notes and thoughts on today's class.
2. Find a poem that doesn't suck. Post it to your blog and explain why you think it doesn't suck. Even better, explain why you think it has something meaningful to say, and point out a moment in the poem when the author does something you think effectively gets that meaning across.
November 18: Find a literature analysis book if you're not already reading one.
November 14: Write two personal statements (2-4 pp. total, typewritten, double-spaced, 12-point font, margins no wider than 1"), on the following topic: DUE MONDAY NOV. 17TH
Given what you learned about writing the personal statement essay on Wednesday, and given what you've learned about self-determination from reading Fahrenheit 451, write two personal statement essays to apply for college: one for yourself, and one for Guy Montag. Consider Robert Barrera's advice about what colleges look for (leadership, overcoming obstacles, diversity, passion/commitment, goals). For your essay, you will need one story that shows how you demonstrate at least one of these features. For Montag's essay, you will need to address at least THREE of these features and you will need to support your ideas with at least two textual examples for each feature. Please be sure to organize your essay in such a way that your reader can tell your main idea and follow your argument/s throughout. Please also proofread for mechanics (grammar, spelling, capitalization, and punctuation).
November 13: Study for Fahrenheit 451 exam and post your reading notes for the last 20 pp. of the book
November 7: Catch up on reading notes to pp.140
November 6: Read & take/post notes on pp.120-130
November 5: Finish reading to p.120 & post notes to your course blog
November 3: Vocabulary: Fall List 8
November 2: 1. Review Fahrenheit 451 to p.110
2. Contribute vocab word candidates in a comment to this post
October 31: Finish reading and taking notes to p.130 of Fahrenheit 451.
October 30: Finish/turn in questions/essays
October 27-29: Please answer the Fahrenheit 451 short answer questions with 2-4 sentences each. (TITLE: FAHRENHEIT 451 Q&A) DUE THURSDAY OCT.3OTH
ASSIGNMENT ONE
Answer Fahrenheit 451 short answer questions with 2-4 sentences each. (TITLE: FAHRENHEIT 451 Q&A)
Part 1
1. Describe the society (a fictional America) that Montag lives in. In what ways is it similar to, but more extreme than, our society? What signs are there that it is a “dystopia” (the opposite of a utopia, an ideal society)?
2. What makes Clarisse so special — so different from most people in her society? What qualities does Montag have that make him receptive to her influence?
3. Why do you think the mechanical hound has been programmed to react to Montag?
4. Why do you think the woman chooses to burn herself along with her books? Why does this have such a powerful effect on Montag — what does it mean to him?
5. What is the point of Bradbury’s description of the kind of television show that Mildred likes to watch (p. 44 - 46)? [“ sound and fury, signifying nothing”
6. What is shocking and disturbing about the way Montag finds out what happened to Clarisse? What does this tell us about Mildred and about their society?
7. Why does Montag get “sick” and try to avoid going to work?
8. What does the revelation that Montag has so many books hidden in his home tell us about him? Why do Montag’s hands seem to have a mind of their own — what does this actually mean?
9. What is Beatty’s explanation for the current state of their society?
10. What do you think of Mildred’s claim that she is happy, and why? How do you define happiness? Is being happy always the most important goal of life?
11. What events trigger Montag’s transformation from aloof, unthinking fireman to passionate, philosophical rebel?
12. Find three examples of foreshadowing in Part 1.
13. Like Hemingway, Bradbury sometimes writes in an elliptical style, giving us bits of information from which we must infer what is happening, what the characters are thinking and feeling. Find one example of this in Part 1.
14. Choose one paragraph or passage from Part 1 that is an example of Bradbury’s unusual writing style (e.g. p. 17/18, p. 24) and interpret its meaning.
15. What predictions might you make about later events in the story?
Part 2
1. What does Mildred say about why the television is better than books? What does she mean? Do you agree with her? Why or why not? What is the essential difference between books and television? 2. Why do you think Faber gave Montag his name and phone number?
3. How do you think Montag would respond to Mildred’s question about which is more important — her, or Montag’s books?
4. What do you think is the meaning of the title of Part Two (“The Sieve and the Sand”)?
5. Why does Montag visit Faber?
6. What does Montag mean when he tells Faber that his wife is dying?
7. What three things does Faber say are missing from their society? Explain the importance of these things.
8. What has Faber invented, and why is it important?
9. What disturbing things do the women in Montag’s parlor say to each other?
10. Why does Montag start reading poetry to the women? How do they react, and why?
11. What does Beatty say to Montag after he shows up at the firehouse? What is he trying to do? What does he know about Montag that gives him an advantage?
ASSIGNMENT TWO
Answer the following essay question. (TITLE: FAHRENHEIT 451 ESSAY 1)
Ray Bradbury wrote Fahrenheit 451 as a dystopian novel, a work featuring a negative view of society in the future. The lives of the characters are filled with entertainment but little true happiness. Describe three features in the world of the novel that lead to such a state? One example of a feature is the rampant use of “seashell” radios by the characters. How could this device contribute to the unhappiness even as it seems to provide information and entertainment? Other features may go beyond the realm of devices to that of activities, events, values, and expectations. Pay attention to specific examples of such features as you read the novel and consider how each one plays a role in the dystopian world created by Bradbury.
ASSIGNMENT THREE
Answer the following essay question. (TITLE: WHAT I'VE LEARNED IN THIS COURSE SO FAR.)
What have you learned so far in this course? (Note: You can include anything from literature, writing, technology, or your personal ideas about thinking, working, being creative, etc.)
October 24: Literature Analysis inventory: how many have you done? Are you prepared to get three done by the end of the semester? If you haven't started, start with Fahrenheit 451. If you have a book in progress, spend some time reading and/or answering questions. If you are "in between" books, pick something to read or ask Dr. Preston for suggestions.
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