Activity 1: Make two lists...In terms of preparation and the actual discussion...

1)What are the characteristics of a bad literary discussion?
2) What are the characteristics of a good literary discussion?

Activity 2) I will facilitate a large group discussion (half the class) using student questions and theme reflections.  The other half will observe and comment on both the questions raised and characteristics of the discussion.

Homework/Activity 3: Read chapter 8 (pp 74-80) and write a text-based thematic reflection, and one discussion question for tomorrow.

Tomorrow there will be a reading quiz on chapters 1-7: (15-20 points)
It will consist of  a series of direct quotes.  I will ask you to either identify who is speaking, or who is speaking to whom.  If you are closely reading and annotating and use context clues, you should be able to correctly answer the questions.

Reading Workshop Day (with a little discussion)

Activity 1: In groups of 3, discuss your questions for chapter V only (I know you wrote questions for chapter IV also).  

Alternate putting your passage (give them time to find it in their text) and questions out to your group.  Ask them for their responses - supported by textual evidence - before you provide your own thoughts on your question.  I encourage each of you to ask follow-up and clarifying questions of each other and mindfully listen to one another's questions and comments.

Activity 2: Reading, summarizing and question writing, and text-based theme reflections (note: your questions and textually-based themes may address the same passages).

Read chapters VI and VII.  Do one text-based theme reflection for those chapters and write one question (using the direct quote/summary of key points in the direct quote/followed by a question format).

Note: I need another day or two to finalize the essay assignment and gather some supporting materials for it.

HW: Finish whatever you do not finish today in class.

Learning Target: I will practice paraphrasing challenging passages, and then writing discussion questions using question stems. 

Topic Journal Word: In your composition notebook, please take 10 minutes to write about "Utopia".
Definitions and an example sentence are provided below.

1) an imagined place or state of things in which everything is perfect. The word was first used in the book Utopia (1516) by Sir Thomas More.

2 ) often capitalized :  a place of ideal perfection especially in laws, government, and social conditions

3) :  an impractical scheme for social improvement

synonyms:

paradise, heaven (on earth), Eden, Garden of Eden, Shangri-La, Elysium; idyll, nirvana, God's country;  "it may be your idea of Utopia, but it's not mine"

Briefly share what you wrote with a classmate. What genre did you choose? Non-fiction reflection? Rant? Internal monologue in a question and answer format? Poem? Fictional Parody?  

Spoiler alert: _____________ is Pearl's father. In light of this, what do you think of Dimmesdale's words and actions (or lack thereof) in the paragraph starting at the bottom of page 46 and continuing through the top of page 47, and his words at the top of page 48?  Re-read and then discuss with a partner.

If you have not already written your Text-based theme reflection for chapters III and IV, do that now. Don't forget to embed one or two short direct quotes (with page #'s) into the flow of your reflections. 

Note: I have decided to wait until tomorrow to hand out the full Scarlet Letter Essay assignment.

Next, begin today's evenings reading and question writing.  

In/class & Homework:

AP close reading and questioning practice: summarizing key passages for meaning and asking meaningful questions about those passages

1) Read chapter V (53-60) 

2) Then, write your Text-based theme reflection for chapter V.  Don't forget to embed one or two direct quotes with page #'s into your reflection.

3) Next, for chapters IV and V, paraphrase one passage from each chapter and then write a follow-up question using the question stems provided for you or writing questions with stems of your own which are of similar complexity. We will discuss these questions tomorrow.


Steps in the process:

a) Before you can even get to a critical question, particularly with a challenging text, paraphrase a complex sentence/idea.

Find a 1-3 sentence passage in your reading which captures your attention. Perhaps it seems related to a theme you are tracking or perhaps it intrigues you for some other reason. Record the passage exactly. Then, summarize it. 

Here is an example:

Copy the direct quote: "The founders of a new colony, whatever Utopia of human virtue and happiness they might originally project, have invariably recognized it among their earliest practical necessities to allot a portion of the virgin soil as a cemetery, and another portion as the site of a prison” (33). 

Summarize the passage in detail, making sure to explain key points: The founders of new societies have always recognized that the practical demands of human civilization necessitate a plan to deal with death and criminals. Because no matter what their hopes and ideals might have been, the fact remains, human beings are mortal and flawed.

b) Writing Discussion Questions...

Going back to Hawthorne’s original wording, what key words within Hawthorne’s phrasing beg bigger questions, or seem to tease out bigger themes and questions about those themes?

For example, see the questions below, created with the use of question stems. It takes patience and practice and good thinking to come up with good questions.

By the way, there are weak questions! Here’s one:

What are the strengths and weaknesses of Hawthorne’s description?

Instead, try this:  What are the strengths and weaknesses of Hawthorne’s depiction of the founders of Utopian societies; is he dismissive of their utopian ideals or does he provide a useful reality check?

Here are some more examples of good question stem questions for that passage...

• Given Hawthorne’s claim, what seems to be his attitude about Utopian thinkers and the founders who aimed to create Utopian societies?
• What case can be made that “invariably” may be the most important word in the sentence?
• What other words in the sentence can you make an argument for being the most important for revealing an attitude?
• Explain how your knowledge of the founders of America’s New England colonies can impact your reading of this entire sentence.
• What are the implications of Hawthorne contrasting the founder’s original projections for human virtues and happiness with a society’s earliest practical necessities? 

So, to recap:

For both chapters IV and V, do the following on a sheet of looseleaf or notebook paper:

1) identify a passage of interest

2) copy the passage down word-for-word (include the page # in parentheses)

3) summarize the passage, making sure to explain key points

4) write a good discussion question about that passage

The Scarlet Letter Essay Preview (I will hand out the full assignment on Monday)

 Writing about a key theme: a theme is an overarching message/idea about people, society, etc. that a work of literature can teach a reader.  

An author may advance a central theme through a particular character’s development, through the juxtaposition of two key characters, other conflicts, or through the use of rhetorical elements such as imagery, symbols, metaphor, or other figurative language.

A reader can make inferences about a key theme based upon the literary elements listed above, as well as by analyzing diction patterns, the author’s syntax and style, and the author’s tone in key passages.

Your thesis statement should make a precise and concise argument about an important message /idea that Hawthorne’s novel can teach readers.

Pitfalls to avoid: clichés (don’t judge a book by its cover") , one-word 'generic themes' like “revenge”, "sin" "redemption", "secrets",  or vague phrases like “good vs. evil," "the human condition, ” or "appearances vs. reality."

Meta-cognition Reflection Piece (one-time piece; due along with essay): Along with the essay, I will also ask you to write a reflection on how you developed an interest in this theme as you read. In addition to noting how particular passages and the novel as a whole influenced your interest in a particular theme, I want you to examine how your personality, intellect, worldview and life experience may have influenced what themes you payed particular attention to. Reflect on what made you notice or pay attention to a particular theme(s) in The Scarlet Letter. How does that theme(s) intersect or in some way relate to your own ideas, opinions, or questions about life, society, religion, human nature, etc? And, of course, also simply pay attention to and reflect on how particular passages in the text may have steered you towards a particular theme which it seems that Hawthorne is developing.

Textually-based Theme Reflections (Daily pieces in notebook/3-ring binder): To help you prepare for your essay and your metacognition reflection piece, after each day’s reading (either that night or the following morning), you will write a paragraph sharing your interpretation of how particular passages from that day’s reading might be related to a theme(s) that you see developing in the text.  These daily entries will help you write the metacognition reflection piece and your essay.  In these paragraphs you can also reflect on how your own questions and ideas about these themes influenced what you noticed in that day’s readings (personal metacognition reflection).  

American Romanticism

—Romanticism is the name given to those schools of thought that value feeling and intuition over reason.

—Romantics believed that the imagination was able to discover truths that the rational mind could not reach.

—Usually accompanied by powerful emotion and associated with natural, unspoiled beauty.

—Imagination, individual feelings, and wild nature were of greater value than reason, logic, and cultivation.

—Romantic writers placed a new emphasis on intuitive, “felt” experience and often contrasted poetry with science, which they saw as destroying the very truth it claimed to seek.

—The romantics wanted to rise above “dull realities” to a realm of higher truth and searched for exotic settings in the more “natural” past or in a world far removed from the grimy and noisy industrial age.

—Romantic writers tried to reflect on the natural world until dull reality fell away to reveal underlying beauty and truth. 

Summary of Romanticism Powerpoint—

Values feeling and intuition over reason.

—Place faith in inner experience and the power of imagination.

—Shuns the artificiality of civilization and seeks unspoiled nature.

—Prefers youthful innocence to educated sophistication.

—Champions individual freedom and the worth of the individual.

—Reflects on nature’s beauty as a path to spiritual and moral development.

—Looks backward to the wisdom of the past and distrusts progress.

—Finds beauty and truth in exotic locales, the supernatural realm and the inner world of the imagination.

—Sees poetry as the highest expression of imagination.

—Finds inspiration in myth, legend, and folklore.

Homework: Read and annotate Chapters 3 & 4 of The Scarlet Letter; on Monday you can do Textually-based Theme Reflectioon #2 in class

   

October 15, 2014 3AP Language and Comp

Bellringer:  The Individual vs. Society in Arthur Miller’s work

Arthur Miller once argued that modern tragedy stems from a protagonist’s struggle against a stifling, strangling environment that has robbed him of his sense of dignity (Steinberg 84-85). The protagonist, Miller said, is any man willing to throw himself into the battle to regain his lost pride and self-respect. And thus is much of Miller’s work patterned; he evokes tragedy by setting the man against the system. What varies is the degree to which the protagonist is a hero, and the degree to which the work is a condemnation of societal flaws.

How and why does John Proctor embody the tragic hero as defined above by Miller?

Activity 1: Questions about the last scene and a one about the play as a whole

1.       How have Elizabeth and John Proctor come to terms? Explain the irony in their reconciliation. Why won’t Elizabeth be hanged?

2. At the end of Act 3, Deputy Governor Danforth asks John Proctor if he is going to confess to witchcraft, saying “I have seen your power; you will not deny it!” (Act 3, Scene 3).  Proctor replies that “God is dead!” and continues while laughing insanely.

A fire, a fire is burning! I hear the boot of Lucifer, I see his filthy face! And it is my face and yours Danforth! God damns our kind especially and we will burn, we will burn together! (Act 3, Scene 3)

2.       Why do you think Arthur Miller has the condemned say the Our Father/The Lord’s Prayer as they are about to be lynched?  What effect might it have on the audience?

Homework: 
1) Bring The Scarlet Letter tomorrow and every day for the next four weeks.

2) In your notebook/or looseleaf portion of binder: Arthur Miller has been quoted as saying “The tragedy of The Crucible is the everlasting conflict between people so fanatically wedded to this orthodoxy that they could not cope with the evidence of their senses.” What does he mean by “this orthodoxy”? What is “the evidence of their senses”? Do you agree that this is the basic conflict? Using your own reasoning and observations of life, as well as scenes from the movie version of The Crucible, write a well-developed paragraph that addresses these questions. 

On tap for tomorrow...

Activity 1) Discuss response to Arthur Miller "Orthodoxy" quote


Activity 2: Read the following, and then discuss the questions that follow:

McCarthyism

Throughout the 1940s and 1950s America was overwhelmed with concerns about the threat of communism growing in Eastern Europe and China. Capitalizing on those concerns, a young Senator named Joseph McCarthy made a public accusation that more than two hundred "card-carrying" communists had infiltrated the United States government. Though eventually his accusations were proven to be untrue, and he was censured by the Senate for unbecoming conduct, his zealous campaigning ushered in one of the most repressive times in 20th-century American politics.

While the House Un-American Activities Committee had been formed in 1938 as an anti-Communist organ, McCarthy’s accusations heightened the political tensions of the times. Known as McCarthyism, the paranoid hunt for infiltrators was notoriously difficult on writers and entertainers, many of whom were labeled communist sympathizers and were unable to continue working. Some had their passports taken away, while others were jailed for refusing to give the names of other communists. The trials, which were well publicized, could often destroy a career with a single unsubstantiated accusation. Among those well-known artists accused of communist sympathies or called before the committee were Dashiell Hammett, Waldo Salt, Lillian Hellman, Lena Horne, Paul Robeson, Elia Kazan, Arthur Miller, Aaron Copland, Leonard Bernstein, Charlie Chaplin and Group Theatre members Clifford Odets, Elia Kazan, and Stella Adler. In all, three hundred and twenty artists were blacklisted, and for many of them this meant the end of exceptional and promising careers.

During this time there were few in the press willing to stand up against McCarthy and the anti-Communist machine. Among those few were comedian Mort Sahl, and journalist Edward R. Murrow, whose strong criticisms of McCarthy are often cited as playing an important role in his eventual removal from power. By 1954, the fervor had died down and many actors and writers were able to return to work. Though relatively short, these proceedings remain one of the most shameful moments in modern U.S. history.

The Army-McCarthy hearings dominated national television from April to June 1954. A subcommittee of the Senate Committee on Government Operations was seeking to learn whether Senator Joseph R. McCarthy had used improper influence to win preferential treatment for Pvt. G. David Schine, a former member of the senator’s staff who had been drafted. McCarthy countercharged that the army was trying to derail his embarrassing investigations of army security practices through blackmail and intimidation.

Overwhelmed by post-war paranoia and intolerance, Miller began work on the third of his major plays. Though it was clearly an indictment of the McCarthyism of the early 1950s, “The Crucible” was set in Salem during the witch-hunts of the late 17th century. The play, which deals with extraordinary tragedy in ordinary lives, expanded Miller’s voice and his concern for the physical and psychological wellbeing of the working class. Within three years, Miller was called before the House Committee on Un-American Activities, and convicted of contempt of Congress for not cooperating. 

1.       As a socially conscious writer, Miller intended this play as a comment on McCarthyism. What are the parallels between the incidents Miller dramatizes and the acts of Senator McCarthy in the 1950s?

Activity 3: The Crucible and society’s fragility

Considering the myriad productions and cross-cultural power of “The Crucible,” Miller wrote:

I have wondered if one of the reasons the play continues like this is its symbolic unleashing of the specter of order’s fragility. When certainties evaporate with each dawn, the unknowable is always around the corner. We know how much depends on mere trust and good faith and a certain respect for the human person, and how easily breached these are. And we know as well how close to the edge we live and how weak we really are and how quickly swept by fear the mass of us can become when our panic button is pushed. It is also, I suppose, that the play reaffirms the ultimate power of courage and clarity of mind whose ultimate fruit is liberty.

Choose three of the four questions to briefly write about and/or discuss

1.       What is “The Crucible” telling audiences in 2014? What warnings might it hold?

2.       Have any current concerns or fears in America created any modern-day witch-hunts in our country? Who are the targets, and why do you think they have been targeted either justly or unjustly?

3.       Why is doing the right thing so often the hardest thing? What is the true meaning of integrity?

Activity 4) Scarlet Letter Pre-reading 

THE CHARACTERS
By Relationship

Parris: A minister in Salem who is more worried about his reputation than the life of his daughter or the lives of his parishioners
Betty: Parris's young daughter; stricken at the beginning of the play; one of the girls who "cry out" during the trial
Abigail: Orphan; niece of Parris; tauntress; mistress of Proctor; leads "crying out" during the trial
Tituba: Parris's slave from Barbados; first accused witch
Putnam: Vindictive, bitter villager who believes he has been wronged and cheated; leading village voice against the witches
Mrs. Putnam: Wife of (Thomas) Putnam; first plants the idea that Betty has been bewitched
Ruth: Daughter of the Putnams; one of the girls who "cry out" at trials
Mercy Lewis: Putnams' servant; also involved in accusation of witches; one of the girls who "cry out" during the trial
Proctor: Good man with human frailties and a hidden secret; often the voice of reason in the play; accused of witchcraft
Elizabeth: Wife of (John) Proctor; a cold, childless but upright woman who at first cannot forgive her husband's frailties; an accused witch
Mary Warren: Proctor's servant; an easily swayed young girl who plants the evidence of witchcraft on Elizabeth; one of the girls who "cry out" during the trial
Hale: A minister who is a recognized authority on witchcraft; at the play's end tries to save the accused
Danforth: Deputy Governor of Massachusetts who is taken in by the testimony; attempts to get confessions of accused witches
Hathorne: One of the judges for the trials
Rebecca: Wife of the respected Francis Nurse; midwife; exemplary Christian; accused witch
Francis: Husband of Rebecca; had land dispute with the Putnams Giles Corey Old, garrulous villager; inadvertently causes his wife to be accused
Sarah Good: Accused witch who cracks under the strain of imprisonment
Susanna: Doctor's messenger; one of the girls who "cry out" during the trial
Martha: Giles Corey's wife who likes to read; accused witch
Goody Osburn: Midwife at birth of three Putnam babies who were born dead; accused witch

Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God

Last night's homework was to read and annotate to the top of page 5. 
 First and foremost, we read in order to understand and make meaning, or sense, of the text as a whole; however, an ability to deconstruct the rhetorical situation, structure, and language of a text can help us understand it.

Teacher's Tip...Note that Edwards is engaging in the a form of synthesis and rhetorical analysis for the purpose, ostensibly, of warning sinners of the precarious danger that they have put themselves in.  He synthesizes passages from Amos, Deuteronomy, and the Psalms, all Old Testament texts, and performs very pointed rhetorical analysis of them, seeking to understand what the mix of theses texts might mean for the souls of his audience.  At the top of page 5, he shares his thesis, his conclusion, as a result of his study of the passages he selected.

Selection of details/content...How does his selection of the biblical passages for study influence his conclusion or message? 
What might his sermon look like if someone else had selected the biblical passages, and they chose passages which emphasized God's forgiveness and love?


What rhetorical elements did you notice and did any of them help you deconstruct the text?  (rhetorical elements, strategies, appeals, audience, purpose, main points,  structure of arguments and textual support he draws upon) 

Homework: Read the Preface and the beginning of Act One of The Crucible

 

 

 

Puritan society in the New World was a radical combination of hard work and no play. The desire to reach salvation through physical and mental reform led the Puritan colonists to focus on the eradication of sin within their colony. As stated in 1 Peter 5:8, “the devil… walketh about, seeking whom to devour.”. This mentality of always being wary of sin led the Puritans to always be sober and vigilant, under threat of satanical intervention. Because of the focus on purity, society began to police itself through norm and taboo. Those who wanted to stay in good grace with the church did not stray from the rules set by the Puritan ministry, for fear that they would be exiled by the community as well. Puritans also envisioned themselves as God’s “ambassadors” to the New World. This is emphasized by the third text which describes the “city upon a hill”. Puritans believed that if they strayed from the desires of the church, they would disgrace the name of God, and by proxy, the name of their neighbor. They believed that “they are charged with saving the world from itself” (text #4). This “divine importance” motivated the strict guidelines set by the church and as a result pressured the Puritans to refrain from sin.

 

Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God

 

Read about Jonathan Edwards, then begin reading the sermon...

 

Page 1...

 

What does the preface tell us about the author's purpose and audience?

 

 

Page 2...What mood is suggested by the diction of the title?

 

What are the SOAPS for the text?

 

What is the subject?

 

Who was the immediate audience? Who are the secondary audiences?

 

Who is the speaker?

 

What is the occasion?

 

What is Carmel (an allusion)?

 

Where was this printed?

 

What was it near?

 

Where was it sold?

 

What was one of the background texts for this sermon?  Where would we find that?

Homework...Read and annotate to the top of page 5 (rhetorical elements, strategies, appeals, audience, purpose, main points,  structure of arguments and textual support he draws upon) 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Using Short Quotes

Eg. The small run down wooden prison where Hester is kept at the beginning of the novel is meticulously described with a series of words with negative connotations. Words such as “gloomy”, “ugly”, “rust” and “weather-[stained]” help create a bleak setting and a foreboding atmosphere in the novel’s opening chapter (Hawthorne 33).   However, the narration also notes that the “fragile beauty” of a fully in bloom rose bush thrives  in this rough and unkempt setting (33). The fact that “delicate gems” like roses can survive in such a harsh and ugly environment conveys the sense that Hester too can retain her dignity and beauty despite being imprisoned in  such a dismal and depressing structure (33).   

Topic Journal: Happiness

John Calvin and Calvinism
Calvinism

Homework: Tonight, take 20-30 minutes to do the following: 

Task: Synthesize, that is, analyze and draw conclusions from, the following four passages  below which address the Puritan mindset.  

Product: Write a well-developed paragraph reflection that addresses the types of sins the Puritans might focus upon and the pressures that might exist to be "pure" in such a society. Make a claim/thesis early in your paragraph and support it with sound reasoning and textual support. Be sure to embed short quotes (less than a sentence) from at least three of the sources into the grammatical flow of your paragraphs.  Submit it directly to turnitin.com bin titled Sins and Synthesis.

Text 1) 1 Peter 5:8 (the epigraph to Understanding the Puritan Mindset/Puritan Beliefs)

Text 2) Romans xiii: 12-14 (Paragraph 3 of Understanding the Puritan Mindset/Puritan Beliefs)

The influence of American Puritanism is pervasive in the literature of the nineteenth century. The uniquely American Puritan vision of the seventeenth century arose from the English Puritanism that engendered it. Indeed many first-generation American Puritans, such as John Cotton (1584–1652) and John Winthrop (1588–1649), were emigrants from England who sought religious freedom in the New World. First-, second-, and third-generation American Puritans developed and refined a special vision of Calvinist theology that has continued to influence American self-definition into the present. When Ronald Reagan argued in his 1980 presidential campaign that the United States had lost much of its former glory and should return to its position of past leadership in the world, he quoted John Winthrop's sermon "A Model of Christian Charity" (1630), delivered 350 years earlier during the sea voyage that ended in establishment of the Massachusetts Bay Colony:

Text 3) 

He shall make us a praise and glory, that men shall say of succeeding plantations: "The Lord make it like that of New England." For we must consider that we shall be as a city upon a hill, the eyes of all people are upon us. So that if we shall deal falsely with our God in this work we have under-taken, and so cause Him to withdraw His present help from us, we shall be made a story and a by-word through the world: we shall open the mouths of enemies to speak evil of the ways of God and all professors for God's sake; we shall shame the faces of many of God's worthy servants, and cause their prayers to be turned into curses upon us, till we be consumed out of the good land whither we are going. (P. 23)

This declaration succinctly articulates what has come to be known as American exceptionalism. At the root of American society and culture lie a vision of uniqueness and a sense of mission. In the introduction to her American Exceptionalism, Deborah L. Madsen states,

Text 4) Exceptionalism describes the perception of Massachusetts Bay colonists that as Puritans they were charged with a special spiritual and political destiny: to create in the New World a church and a society that would provide the model for all the nations of Europe as they struggled to reform themselves (a redeemer nation). . . . Thus America and Americans are special, exceptional, because they are charged with saving the world from itself and, at the same time, America and Americans must sustain a high level of spiritual, political and moral commitment to this exceptional destiny—America must be as "a city upon a hill" exposed to the eyes of the world. (Pp. 1–2)

This Puritan notion of election, divine sanction, and high purpose has pervaded American identity, politics, and culture ever since, although it has evolved over several centuries from a specifically religious vision into a much more secular one: rather than exemplifying a pure church America's mission became exemplifying a free, egalitarian, democratic society.

Period 4 has to finish watching the Kalcutta Slum portion and the rest of Happy on Monday

Synthesize, that is, analyze and draw conclusions from, the following Biblical and sermon passages which influenced or revealed Puritan ideas.  What types of values do they reveal? What types of behaviors might be most looked down upon in such a society? What pressures might there be to be "pure" in such a society?

1 Peter 5:8 (the epigraph to Understanding the Puritan Mindset/Puritan Beliefs)

Romans xiii: 12-14 (Paragraph 3 of Understanding the Puritan Mindset/Puritan Beliefs)

The influence of American Puritanism is pervasive in the literature of the nineteenth century. The uniquely American Puritan vision of the seventeenth century arose from the English Puritanism that engendered it. Indeed many first-generation American Puritans, such as John Cotton (1584–1652) and John Winthrop (1588–1649), were emigrants from England who sought religious freedom in the New World. First-, second-, and third-generation American Puritans developed and refined a special vision of Calvinist theology that has continued to influence American self-definition into the present. When Ronald Reagan argued in his 1980 presidential campaign that the United States had lost much of its former glory and should return to its position of past leadership in the world, he quoted John Winthrop's sermon "A Model of Christian Charity" (1630), delivered 350 years earlier during the sea voyage that ended in establishment of the Massachusetts Bay Colony:

He shall make us a praise and glory, that men shall say of succeeding plantations: "The Lord make it like that of New England." For we must consider that we shall be as a city upon a hill, the eyes of all people are upon us. So that if we shall deal falsely with our God in this work we have under-taken, and so cause Him to withdraw His present help from us, we shall be made a story and a by-word through the world: we shall open the mouths of enemies to speak evil of the ways of God and all professors for God's sake; we shall shame the faces of many of God's worthy servants, and cause their prayers to be turned into curses upon us, till we be consumed out of the good land whither we are going. (P. 23)

This declaration succinctly articulates what has come to be known as American exceptionalism. At the root of American society and culture lie a vision of uniqueness and a sense of mission. In the introduction to her American Exceptionalism, Deborah L. Madsen states,

Exceptionalism describes the perception of Massachusetts Bay colonists that as Puritans they were charged with a special spiritual and political destiny: to create in the New World a church and a society that would provide the model for all the nations of Europe as they struggled to reform themselves (a redeemer nation). . . . Thus America and Americans are special, exceptional, because they are charged with saving the world from itself and, at the same time, America and Americans must sustain a high level of spiritual, political and moral commitment to this exceptional destiny—America must be as "a city upon a hill" exposed to the eyes of the world. (Pp. 1–2)

This Puritan notion of election, divine sanction, and high purpose has pervaded American identity, politics, and culture ever since, although it has evolved over several centuries from a specifically religious vision into a much more secular one: rather than exemplifying a pure church America's mission became exemplifying a free, egalitarian, democratic society.

Read the brief intro to Romanticism (cover page) followed by the 4-page document "Understanding the Puritan Mindset/Puritan Beliefs" and "Overview of Salem"

Annotate/write out 

Main Points (in the margin and at the end)

Key supporting facts and details

Questions (evaluative and interpretive)

3. (65%)       Similarity of the grammatical structure in a pair or series of related words, phrases, or clauses. Let Every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and the success of liberty.

9. (70%)    Opposition, or contrast, of ideas or words in a parallel construction.  We shall support any friend, oppose any foe.

13-15 Instructions

The following three questions address ethos, pathos and logos. Read the following passage. It has been broken into three parts – A, B, C – each appealing primarily to either ethos, pathos or logos. Answer the following questions by selecting the part of the passage which best applies and circling in the corresponding letter, A, B, or C on your answer sheet.

A)  To those people in the huts and villages of half the globe struggling to break the bonds of mass misery, B) we pledge our best efforts to help them help themselves, for whatever period is required -- not because the Communists may be doing it, not because we seek their votes, but because it is right. C) If a free society cannot help the many who are poor, it cannot save the few who are rich.

13.       In which part of the passage does Kennedy most directly appeal to the shared ethics/moral sense (ethos) of the audience by stressing the United States actions will be guided by our morals?

14.       In which part of the passage does Kennedy most directly appeal to logical reasoning (logos), one which stresses that certain things must be done if a certain result is expected?

IF you got these wrong, you may gain points by handing in the following:

- A copy of your grade slip

- A sheet of paper which indicates which clearly indicates your name, the name of the class and period, the date and numbers for the questions you missed and for which you are submitting evidence of learning (e.g., 4 and 13)

- If you missed question 3 and/or 9, you will write an original sentence which uses the rhetorical strategy you missed

-You will also include an explanation of why that sentence is a good example of that rhetorical term. In essence, you will be doing a rhetorical analysis/explanation of your sentence.  

If you missed 13 and/or 14, revisit the passage, select the right answer, and briefly explain why that appeal most directly applies.

Please clearly number and label all of your answers. 

HW: Read and annotate (for main idea and supporting details/points) the following sections "Puritanism", "Nathaniel Hawthorne" and "Manifest Destiney"

Quiz scores from yesterday have been entered, but I need to wait to hand back the quizzes; a number of people were absent yesterday and still have to take the quiz.

You will receive your quiz from last week, and, most of you, will receive your book reviews.  We will talk about the book reviews and quizzes tomorrow. I will allow you to revisit the skills/terms addressed on certain questions that a fairly high percentage of people missed.

Watch some more of Happy through the Bhutan episode...

Bellringer:  Although I'm not sure it's workable for a variety of reasons, let's assume a country like the US decided to track Gross National Happiness (like Bhutan is doing).  Write a reflection on how that might impact the way our country would operate. What would be some of the elements of  Gross National Happiness? 

The suggestion of measuring Gross Domestic Happiness actually contains a subtext, an implicit criticism of how our focus on the economic index of Gross Domestic Product both reveals and influences our individual, corporate, and national priorities.  Do you feel that we focus too much on Gross Domestic Product and other financial indices such as the stock market? Why or why not? Do you think that a focus on national financial measures distort our  priorities and make them too materialistic or do they help us to shape healthy and necessary national priorities?

A few news items...

We will take the quiz on Tuesday when we get back from the weekend.  I will give you about twenty minutes today to review for it.

The book reviews...Sorry! I am behind schedule with grading. 
I will try to grade some more today and then finish them this weekend.

I have had to change my mind about rewrites. For a variety of reasons, other AP Language and Composition teachers are not treating it as a rewrite-eligible assignment, and I am going to have to follow their lead.  In short, it is a relatively small point value assignment and not a process paper (multiple drafts and peer reviews) so it does not make sense for teachers and students to get bogged down in it.

I am going to show you a documentary on happiness, appropriately called "Happy".  I think you will find it enlightening.  We will begin it today and finish it on Tuesday after the quiz.  Enjoy, and think about what makes you happy, or could help you to feel happier in the future.
Happy

Ingrid Bergman

Harpo Marx

Find at least one example of Groucho using a pun and explain the pun.

Allusions, be they to pop culture or history, the Bible, etc., can be very effective or can cause confusion.  Given the distance between Groucho's time and our own, many of the allusions might not be familiar to us.  How well would you have understood the letter were it not for the footnotes?

With a partner, answer questions 2, 3, 5, and 6 on page 61.

Read JFK Inaugural address on pages 69-72.

Homework... answer questions 2, 4, 5, 6, 7 (look up subordinate clause on your phone if needed), 9, 10, 11, 12, 13.

JFK quiz tomorrow (15 points).  Know the following terms for the quiz:

alliteration                   allusions          
archaic diction             anaphora        
parallelism                   imperative sentence    
cumulative sentence    periodic sentence
antithesis                     zeugma          
rhetorical question      hortative sentence     personification   
ethos                            pathos

Bellringer: Complete journalism survey

Activity 1: Review answers for 29-32


Activity 2: Form groups of 2 or 3 and discuss what you wrote about love.

Reflection on writing...What genre did you write in for this week's topic (Love)? Was it different than the genre you chose last week for After High School?
In general, did you try anything new in terms of tone or style?

Activity 4: Work on paragraphs for questions 34-38 

HW: Read 59-63:

Annotate/comment on the sample close analysis essay on pages 62-63.  At a minimum, annotate for what appears to be the  writer’s primary purpose in each paragraph.

Group Guidance tomorrow in Room 148