AP Lit & Comp 11/28 – 11/29 ‘16

1. Allusions 9 & 10

2. Thesis statements/body paragraph #1

3. Finish Frankenstein discussion from

last class.

4. Chapters 19 – 24 analysis

Allusion 9: Biblical

• “Cast the first stone”

• In the book of John, a woman caught in

adultery was to be publicly stoned. But Jesus

said, "He that is without sin among you, let him

cast the first stone at her..."

• This is a warning against hypocrisy.

Allusion 10: Biblical

• Good Samaritan

• In the book of Luke, this is the parable in

which a Jew is attacked by thieves and left at the

side of the road. A passing Samaritan binds his

wounds, takes him to an inn, and cares for him.

• A Good Samaritan now refers to anyone who

freely helps others in their time of need.

Reader Response

• Please share your reader’s response with

me at this time, or if you did it on paper,

turn it in now.

The Life of Trees The pines rub their great noise

Into the spangled dark.

They scratch their itchy boughs

Against the house and the mystery

of that moan translates

into drudgery of ownership: time

to drag the ladder from the shed,

climb onto the roof with a saw

between my teeth, cut those suckers down.

What's reality if not a long exhaustive cringe from the blade, the teeth. I want to sleep and dream the life of trees, beings from the muted world who care nothing for Money, Politics, Power, Will or Right, who want little from the night but a few dead stars going dim, a white owl lifting from their limbs, who want only to sink their roots into the wet ground and terrify the worms or shake their bleary heads like fashion models or old hippies. If they could speak, they wouldn't, only hum some low

green note, roll their pinecones down the empty streets and blame it, with a shrug, on the cold wind. During the day they sleep inside their furry bark, clouds shredding like ancient lace above their crowns. Sun. Rain. Snow. Wind. They fear nothing but the Hurricane, and Fire, that whipped bully who rises up and becomes his own dead father. Then the young ones bend and bend and the old know they may not make it, go down with the power lines sparking, broken at the trunk. They fling their branches, forked sacrifice to the beaten earth. They do not pray. If they make a sound it's eaten by the wind. And though the stars return they do not offer thanks, only ooze a sticky sap from their roundish concentric wounds, clap the water from their needles, straighten their spines and breathe, and breathe again.

-Dorianne Laux

Poetry prompt from last class

• In the following poem, the speaker

examines the natural world and considers

humanity’s place in it. Read the poem

carefully. Then write an essay in which

you analyze how the poet uses literary

devices to comment on the way in which

humans should live their lives.

Most thesis statements…

• Captured the poem’s overall meaning first BEFORE mentioning specific devices.

• GOOD!

• Here’s an example:

• In the poem, “The Life of Trees,” Dorianne Laux compares humanity and nature and ultimately reveals that humans should be less materialistic and more in tune with themselves and their life.

• *Clear thesis – use “juxtaposes” instead of “compares”

Another example…

• In Dorianne Laux’s “The Life of Trees,”

she portrays the interaction of humans

with nature to reveal humanity’s

destructive and careless powers driven by

society which have no place in peaceful

and pure nature. Laux develops this

interaction through personification,

juxtaposition, and a disappointed tone.

Another example…

• In the poem, “The Life of Trees,”

Dorianne Laux compares the simplistic

lifestyle of trees to the complex life of

humans and ultimately reveals that to

achieve happiness, humans should live a

more simplistic lifestyle.

Here’s another I liked…

• In the poem “The Life of Trees,”

Dorianne Laux portrays human life as fast-

paced and ultimately reveals the need to

take a step backward and relax. Laux uses

personification, juxtaposition, and imagery

to show that rather than focusing on

“Money, Politics, Power,” humankind

should allow itself to “sleep and dream.”

Here’s another I liked…

• In the poem “The Life of Trees,”

Dorianne Laux juxtaposes the tranquil life

of trees with the bustling lives of humans

and ultimately displays her views on how,

ideally, humans should live their lives.

Laux uses diction, personification, and

imagery to show that if humans behaved

more like trees, life would be far more

peaceful and enjoyable.

Here’s another I liked…

• In the poem “The Life of Trees,” Dorianne Laux confronts man’s interference with nature, specifically trees, which ultimately reveals that nature’s simplicity is something we strive for, but it also something that we intentionally intrude upon. Laux utilizes personification, imagery, and sentence structure along with strategic capitalization to emphasize that even though we “cut those suckers down” we still “want to sleep and dream the life of trees.”

One more example…

• In the poem “The Life of Trees,”

Dorianne Laux displays a tense interaction

between society and nature, emphasizing

human diversion from peace, simplicity,

and tranquillity, using personification,

juxtaposition, and imagery.

Find a partner

• Open up the shared document on Classroom,

and read through the comments I made about

your thesis statement.

• Working with your partner, revise and write a

new joint thesis statement and post it in the new

shared document (which is above the previous

one.)

• Now, under your new thesis statement, write

your first body paragraph.

Writing the body paragraph

• When writing the poetry essay, you’ll need to use

lots of little snippets of the poem as evidence.

• Enclose these lines or partial lines of the poem

in quotation marks. If you come to the end of a

line, quote it like this, “Roses are red/ violets are

blue.”

• Remember, the point of the poetic essay is to

PROVE how the poet uses specific poetic

devices to convey the poem’s overall meaning.

From last time… • 1. What are your main impressions of the meeting

between Victor and the creature?

• 2. How does Frankenstein’s creation describe his early development? What gives him pleasure?

• 3. How does Frankenstein’s creation describe his impressions of the family in the cottage? What are their actions and way of life? How does he respond to what he sees? Does he seem to be evil by nature or good? Is the process by which the creature becomes aware and learns about people and language realistic? Explain.

• 4. How much does one’s appearance dictate one’s happiness? How does appearance affect the way people treat one another?

From last time… • 5. Should we judge the monster for doing what he

does, or should we give him leniency because of the way he was created?

• 6. In the story so far, do you think that Frankenstein is the victim or the villain? Explain.

• 7. What does the creature symbolize? Is he Victor’s consequence for defying God (by attempting to do what only God should do)?

• 8. If the creature were introduced into our society, how would we react? Are we, as a society, more enlightened than Shelley’s was?

• 9. Do you think that each of us has created a monster that we’re ashamed of? What might this be?

Ponder violence in Frankenstein… According to Thomas Foster, there are two

categories of violence in literature (ch.11)…

Character caused (specific injury)

Author caused (narrative violence)

Questions to ask about Frankenstein:

1. What does each act of violence represent

symbolically and thematically in the novel?

2. In each instance, why does Shelley use that

specific sort of violence and not some other?

• Deformities, physical marks or imperfections symbolically

mirror moral, emotional or psychological scars or

imperfections.

– Explain what you believe the creature’s physical

deformities represents.

– Do his imperfections reflect his own damage OR

something that’s wrong with the culture/society he lives

in, or both?

– Do a little digging and be ready to discuss violence and

scars, as they apply to Frankenstein (bring other ideas as

well for how this book might be applicable to How to

Read Literature Like a Professor.)

“Marked for Greatness” ch. 21

Analysis questions Chapters 19-24

• The last six chapters of Frankenstein are dense, filled with a great of plot development and significant demonstration of theme.

• It’s important we give this section the in-depth focus it merits; thus, I’m going to have you dig into analyzing these chapters and reflecting upon HOW Shelley uses them to convey themes.

• Your task is to discuss first, delve back into your book, and then respond to the questions. You may work with a partner or alone. Use textual support in your responses. You’ll have additional time next class to finish responding.

For next class… • Read and annotate the two poems on our class

website: “Eve to her Daughters” and “Do Not Go

Gentle Into that Good Night.” Come ready to

discuss these poems next class.

• Begin working on the Frankenstein Socratic

Seminar preparation which will be due on Friday.

(It’s on Classroom.)

• Order or go pick up a copy of A Tale of Two

Cities (you’ll need it by Tues/Weds of next week.