CULTURAL-LIFE VALUES & BELIEFS UNIT III

OBJECTIVES

• Define non-fiction and explain purpose and effect of this style of writing on

the common reader.

• Explore and apply varied punctuation, sentence structure, and diction to

individual written responses focused on theme and essential questions.

• Analyze and explain how point of view, characterization, and literary

elements help determine meaning of text and impact on the reader.

READING STANDARDS:

• Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says

explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text, including determining where the

text leaves matters uncertain (RL.11.1)

• Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in the text, including

figurative and connotative, and technical meanings; analyze how an author uses and

refines the meaning of a key term or terms over the course of a text (RI 11.4)

• Read and comprehend literary nonfiction text complexity band proficiently at level

(RI.11.10)

WRITING STANDARDS:

• Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development,

organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience

(W.11.4)

• Demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word

relationships, and nuances in word meanings (L.11.5)

• Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English

grammar and usage when writing or speaking (L.11.1)

ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS

• When is it appropriate to challenge the beliefs or values of

society?

• How do beliefs, ethics, and/or values influence different

people's behavior?

• How do our values and beliefs shape who we are as

individuals and influence our behavior?

TEXTS:

POETRY

• Adrienne Rich “Power”

SHORT STORY

• Nathaniel Hawthorn “Young Goodman

Brown”

• Richard Wright “The Man Who Was

Almost a Man” *

• Susan Glaspell “A Jury of Her Peers”

• Flannery O’Conner “A Good Man is Hard

to Find”

NOVEL

Rebecca Skloot The Immortal Life

of Henrietta

Lacks

NATHANIEL HAWTHORN

•1804 Salem, MA-1864 Plymouth, NH

•Added the “w” to separate from “Hanging Judge” Hathorn, grandfather.

• American novelist, dark romantic, and short story writer Focus on

history, morality, and religion.

•Dark Romantics draw attention to the unintended consequences and

complications that arise from well-intended efforts at social reform

•The Scarlet Letter and The House of Seven Gables

FLANNERY O’CONNER

•1925-1964, in Savannah, Georgia. Her father died of systemic lupus

erythematosus when she was a teenager; she died from lupus after a 10

year battle

•Studied writing at the University of Iowa

•Her work was informed by her experiences growing up as a Catholic in

the South. Religion was a recurring theme in her work

•Known as the preeminent writer of "Southern gothic" fiction

•Numerous awards

SUSAN GLASPELL

•1876, Davenport, Iowa-1948, Provincetown, Mass

• Drake University; local colour writer

• American dramatist and novelist who, with her husband, George

Cram Cook, founded the influential Provincetown Players in 1915-

nontheatre group of writers and artists whose common aim was the

production of new and experimental plays.

•Pulitzer Prize- Alison’s House

REBECCA SKLOOT

•1972 in Springfield, Illinois

•Focus on science and medical nonfiction

•B.S. in biological sciences and an MFA in creative nonfiction

•#1 New York Times Best Seller for 6 years

•Taught creative writing and science journalism at the University of

California Berkeley, New York University, University of Memphis, and

the University of Pittsburgh

ADRIENNE RICH

•1929 Baltimore, Maryland- 2012

•Radcliffe College, graduating in 1951, and was selected by W. H. Auden for the Yale Series of

Younger Poets prize for A Change of World (Yale University Press, 1951) that same year.

•1953,-married Harvard University economist Alfred H. Conrad; had three sons

•Content became increasingly confrontational—exploring women’s role in society, racism, and

the Vietnam War. Made a shift from careful metric patterns to free verse

•In 1997, she refused the National Medal of Arts, stating that "I could not accept such an award

from President Clinton or this White House because the very meaning of art, as I understand it,

is incompatible with the cynical politics of this administration." She went on to say: "[Art] means

nothing if it simply decorates the dinner table of the power which holds it hostage.“

•Received many additional awards

RICHARD WRIGHT