HW Due Mon. Feb. 6

Read the background to reading Jane Eyre:
JANE EYRE: PENGUIN BOOKS USA

Read and annotate Jane Eyre to chapter 9 (p. 70 in Norton Critical Edition). Pay special attention to Bronte's use of literary techniques. Track her use of literary techniques in your dialectical journals (5 pages minimum for first reading assignment).

HW Due Tues. Jan. 31

On loose leaf: Write an introduction to the Open Question (AP English Literature and Composition, 2015) using the prompt and our thematic ideas below it, or another thematic idea you come up with independently. You are writing ONLY about Medea. 

Question 3 (Suggested time—40 minutes. This question counts as one-third of the total essay section score.)
In literary works, cruelty often functions as a crucial motivation or a major social or political factor. Select a novel, play, or epic poem in which acts of cruelty are important to the theme. Then write a well-developed essay analyzing how cruelty functions in the work as a whole and what the cruelty reveals about the perpetrator and/or victim. You may select a work from the list below or another work of equal literary merit. Do not merely summarize the plot. 

Suggested Text List (YOU WILL BE WRITING ABOUT MEDEA)
Beloved A Bend in the River Billy Budd Black Boy Catch-22 Cat’s Eye The Crucible Frankenstein A Gesture Life Great Expectations Heart of Darkness Invisible Man The Kite Runner The Last of the Mohicans Lord of the Flies Mansfield Park Medea The Merchant of Venice Night The Odyssey Oliver Twist One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest Othello The Red Badge of Courage The Scarlet Letter Sister Carrie Sophie’s Choice Tess of the d’Urbervilles To Kill a Mockingbird Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? Wuthering Heights
STOP END OF EXAM

Themes:

1. Cruelty contributes to the downfall of the hero.
2. Medea’s cruelty through the play reveals that she is not a character to empathize with, and is sadistic and spiteful.
3. Lack of empathy results in acts of cruelty.
4. If there is thin line between love and hate, then revenge is the marginal factor.
5. When blind passion is illuminated, the object of affection becomes the recipient of revenge.
6. Impulse overcomes priorities of love and family.
7. Cruelty reveals the truth masked in revenge.
8. Wounded pride leads to cruel vengeance.
9. Cruelty is the exploitation of a victim’s weakness as means to justify the perpetrator’s weakness.
10. When driven by cruel intentions, an individual loses his or her humanity.

Dialectical Journals: Reading/Explication de Texte Due Friday 1/20

Read and annotate "Medea and the Tragedy of Revenge" by Anne Burnett (University of Chicago Press).
You do not need to print, a copy will be provided to you soon. Begin to read online.
Your dialectical journals will be returned to you shortly. You must produce 10 full pages of response to this scholarly article. As we perform Medea, make connections to your understanding of the play.

Important notes for dialectical journal entries:

1. Date and title each page of your dialectical journal. The title should correspond with the text or texts that you are reading. 
2. Your journal must be divided into two columns.
3. Left column is for text evidence. You can use evidence from the scholarly article and from the play. Please indicate page and/or line numbers with the direct text evidence.
4. Right column is for response. "Refer to the 12 Steps to Explication de Texte" handout for ideas.  (you must be logged into WJPS email to open this document). DO NOT SUMMARIZE THE TEXT EVIDENCE. You must use evidence from the entire documents. Please do not just concentrate on one section. You have to prove that you read, understood, and responded in an AP-level manner to the whole documents. 
5. Journals are due on Friday 1/20 at the start of class. Please do not leave these for the last minute. You are receiving ample time to complete this, and do it well.

Independent Reading Response #2: Due 1/3

Please share your final copy and print it. Be sure to include the choice in your title.
Thank you and happy holidays!
AP Lit Choice Board

Tragic Terms Quiz #2 12/20, Watch/Notes Video Due Wed. 12/21

Due Tomorrow: Tragic Terms Quiz #2 tomorrow.
Study definitions in notes notebook. Be able to define, identify all terms. Word bank will be provided on quiz.
Word Bank:
Plot
Central Theme
Character
Verbal Expression
Spectacle
Song
Chorus
Orchestra
Prologos
Parados
Episode
Stasimon
Exodos
Skene

Due Wednesday: Watch You Tube Video "Professor Edith Hall on Euripides' Medea". Take Cornell Notes in notes notebook. Left side: Notes, key ideas Right side: Reactions, questions, links to class lessons, prior knowledge, connections, thoughts.

Buy Norton Critical Edition of Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte. You will need it soon! See required texts list for link to correct edition on Amazon.

HW Due Mon. 12/19

Read, annotate, and define bolded words "Context: Medea & Jason".DO NOT do the literary 3x3s. We will do them in class on Monday. Please bring your annotated copy with the definitions to class. There are no extra copies. If you have lost it, print from the link above.

Tragic Terms Quiz #2 on Tuesday. Word list to come.

Trip Tomorrow: 12/14/16

We will visit The Morgan Library & Museum tomorrow. We will take a bus there and back. Please make a note that this is a change from the original plan. No students will be dismissed in Manhattan.
Bring a lunch with you and we will eat once we return from the trip. You can store your lunch in your locker.

Prepare for the trip by reading about the author, Charlotte Bronte, and the exhibition, An Independent Will 

Please adhere to these guidelines for tomorrow's trip:

Be in full uniform. Students not in full uniform will not be allowed to attend.
Be on time. We will be leaving sometime during period 2.
Bring a notebook and pen so you can take notes during the tour.
Eat breakfast. We will not have a chance to eat until we return.
We will split up into two groups.
From our educators who will lead our tours:

We will meet your class at the front of the museum, take them to stow any coats and bags, and then we will divide in two for the remainder of your visit. (It speeds things up if these two groups are determined in advance.) Both groups will spend time studying primary materials in the Bronte exhibition and learning about J.P. Morgan and his historic 1906 library. At the end of the program we will reconvene downstairs to collect belongings and say good-bye. We are scheduled to be finished at 12.15.

During their visit of the Morgan students will participate in group discussions; be encouraged to talk, ask questions, and explore.