Monday, November 25----Story of an Hour graphic organizer due

Add caption

Please turn in your "Story of an Hour" graphic organizer, whether you have finished it.

This is your last major grade of this marking period. The only other one is your vocabulary 2, 3 and 4, which was due on Monday.

Test on Monday on the vocabulary for week 2...don't forget the idioms

Tuesday, November 26- updated vocab

Monday, December 2- cumulative assessment on week 2 vocabulary. Don't forget the idioms.  Copies of all vocabulary sections can be found on the blog.

Today is the last opportunity to turn in your 'Story of an Hour" graphic organizer. This and Monday's vocabulary test closes the grades for this marking period.


Test words

laconic
throng
intrepid
accost
reticent
furtive
hapless
felon
hapless
irate
pretext
fabricate
adroit
gesticulate
vigilant
avid
cajole
rudimentary
enhance
nuance

idioms
to beard the lion in his den
Pyrrhic victory
a wet blanket
the sword of Damocles

Monday, November 25- day 2 of Kate Chopin's "The Story of an Hour"

Due today: Week 2, vocabulary 2, 3 and 4
Due at the close of class: graphic organizer for Kate Chopin's "The Story of an Hour"......
Homework: study vocabulary for cumulative assessment on Monday, December 2.

My grades will close on Wednesday, December 4
There is a cumulative list on Friday's blog.

Friday, November 22...The Story of an Hour by Kate Chopin

There are a few outstanding essays, which were due by yesterday. Unless we have had a conversation previously, at this point you have a ZERO. It is late at 10 points off the top per day. 

Due on Monday, November 25- vocabulary week 2, days 2, 3 and 4....Note that you will have a cumulative assessment on the 20 words and 4 idioms on Monday, December 2

Your homework over the Thanksgiving break is to make sure you learn them well. Find below the cumulative list.Week 2 words and idioms…There will be a cumulative test on Monday, December 2

I suggest that some folks prepare by making flash cards. 

1.      laconic

2.      throng

3.      intrepid

4.      accost

5.      reticent

6.      hapless

7.      furtive

8.      irate

9.      plethora

10.  felon

11.  vigilant

12.  adroit

13.  fabricate

14.  pretext

15.  gesticulate

16.  badger

17.  implore

18.  drudgery

19.  interminable

20.  perceive

idioms- the sword of Damocles

             Pyrrhic victory

             a wet blanket

             to pour oil on troubled water.

bonus for those who read this: What is the publication date of the following short story?  Name and response in the tin at the very beginning of class. yup; it's a 100 homework bonus points.

In class: we are reading Kate Chopin 's short story "The Story of an Hour."

"The Story of An Hour"     by Kate Chopin (1894)

Knowing that Mrs. Mallard was afflicted with a heart trouble, great care was taken to break to her as gently as possible the news of her husband's death.

It was her sister Josephine who told her, in broken sentences; veiled hints that revealed in half concealing. Her husband's friend Richards was there, too, near her. It was he who had been in the newspaper office when intelligence of the railroad disaster was received, with Brently Mallard's name leading the list of "killed." He had only taken the time to assure himself of its truth by a second telegram, and had hastened to forestall any less careful, less tender friend in bearing the sad message.

She did not hear the story as many women have heard the same, with a paralyzed inability to accept its significance. She wept at once, with sudden, wild abandonment, in her sister's arms. When the storm of grief had spent itself she went away to her room alone. She would have no one follow her.

There stood, facing the open window, a comfortable, roomy armchair. Into this she sank, pressed down by a physical exhaustion that haunted her body and seemed to reach into her soul.

She could see in the open square before her house the tops of trees that were all aquiver with the new spring life. The delicious breath of rain was in the air. In the street below a peddler was crying his wares. The notes of a distant song which some one was singing reached her faintly, and countless sparrows were twittering in the eaves.

There were patches of blue sky showing here and there through the clouds that had met and piled one above the other in the west facing her window.

She sat with her head thrown back upon the cushion of the chair, quite motionless, except when a sob came up into her throat and shook her, as a child who has cried itself to sleep continues to sob in its dreams.

She was young, with a fair, calm face, whose lines bespoke repression and even a certain strength. But now there was a dull stare in her eyes, whose gaze was fixed away off yonder on one of those patches of blue sky. It was not a glance of reflection, but rather indicated a suspension of intelligent thought.

There was something coming to her and she was waiting for it, fearfully. What was it? She did not know; it was too subtle and elusive to name. But she felt it, creeping out of the sky, reaching toward her through the sounds, the scents, the color that filled the air.

Now her bosom rose and fell tumultuously. She was beginning to recognize this thing that was approaching to possess her, and she was striving to beat it back with her will--as powerless as her two white slender hands would have been. When she abandoned herself a little whispered word escaped her slightly parted lips. She said it over and over under hte breath: "free, free, free!" The vacant stare and the look of terror that had followed it went from her eyes. They stayed keen and bright. Her pulses beat fast, and the coursing blood warmed and relaxed every inch of her body.

She did not stop to ask if it were or were not a monstrous joy that held her. A clear and exalted perception enabled her to dismiss the suggestion as trivial. She knew that she would weep again when she saw the kind, tender hands folded in death; the face that had never looked save with love upon her, fixed and gray and dead. But she saw beyond that bitter moment a long procession of years to come that would belong to her absolutely. And she opened and spread her arms out to them in welcome.

There would be no one to live for during those coming years; she would live for herself. There would be no powerful will bending hers in that blind persistence with which men and women believe they have a right to impose a private will upon a fellow-creature. A kind intention or a cruel intention made the act seem no less a crime as she looked upon it in that brief moment of illumination.

And yet she had loved him--sometimes. Often she had not. What did it matter! What could love, the unsolved mystery, count for in the face of this possession of self-assertion which she suddenly recognized as the strongest impulse of her being!

"Free! Body and soul free!" she kept whispering.

Josephine was kneeling before the closed door with her lips to the keyhold, imploring for admission. "Louise, open the door! I beg; open the door--you will make yourself ill. What are you doing, Louise? For heaven's sake open the door."

"Go away. I am not making myself ill." No; she was drinking in a very elixir of life through that open window.

Her fancy was running riot along those days ahead of her. Spring days, and summer days, and all sorts of days that would be her own. She breathed a quick prayer that life might be long. It was only yesterday she had thought with a shudder that life might be long.

She arose at length and opened the door to her sister's importunities. There was a feverish triumph in her eyes, and she carried herself unwittingly like a goddess of Victory. She clasped her sister's waist, and together they descended the stairs. Richards stood waiting for them at the bottom.

Someone was opening the front door with a latchkey. It was Brently Mallard who entered, a little travel-stained, composedly carrying his grip-sack and umbrella. He had been far from the scene of the accident, and did not even know there had been one. He stood amazed at Josephine's piercing cry; at Richards' quick motion to screen him from the view of his wife.

When the doctors came they said she had died of heart disease--of the joy that kills. 


Graphic organizer that was handed out in class. Note that the questions correspond to particular paragraphs. Some of the story might be cut off, but it is complete above and all the questions are correct.

Knowing that Mrs. Mallard was afflicted with a heart trouble, great care was taken to break to her as gently as possible the news of her husband's death.	How might heart trouble be more than a physical ailment? Note that this is the first thing we are told about her and how other people respond to her. Evidently this is--at least for those around her--an important part of who she is.
It was her sister Josephine who told her, in broken sentences; veiled hints that revealed in half concealing. Her husband's friend Richards was there, too, near her. It was he who had been in the newspaper office when intelligence of the railroad disaster was received, with Brently Mallard's name leading the list of "killed." He had only taken the time to assure himself of its truth by a second telegram, and had hastened to forestall any less careful, less tender friend in bearing the sad message.	1.       Why is she tantalizing her with hints? 2.        What does this suggest about how the family views Mrs. M.? 3.       What does this paragraph suggest about Richards' feelings for Mrs. M? 4.        Why is he in such a hurry? Is the code of the "southern gentleman" at work here, or could there be more to his concern than that?
She did not hear the story as many women have heard the same, with a paralyzed inability to accept its significance. She wept at once, with sudden, wild abandonment, in her sister's arms. When the storm of grief had spent itself she went away to her room alone. She would have no one follow her	1.       Why are we first told how she does NOT hear the news? What does this reaction suggest about her? about how "ladies" were expected to react? 2. What does this passionate response tell us about her? This is our first real clue as to what sort of person she is--aside from her reported state of health.
There stood, facing the open window, a comfortable, roomy armchair. Into this she sank, pressed down by a physical exhaustion that haunted her body and seemed to reach into her soul.	1.       How are the window and chair descriptions suggestive of longing or desire? What do they imply about her ordinary life? 2.       What does this very dramatic (even melodramatic) statement suggest about her psychological state?
She could see in the open square before her house the tops of trees that were all aquiver with the new spring life. The delicious breath of rain was in the air. In the street below a peddler was crying his wares. The notes of a distant song which some one was singing reached her faintly, and countless sparrows were twittering in the eaves.	1.       Note the contrast of motion and stillness. Why is the time of year so important? 2.       Delicious ordinarily refers to taste. Who is "tasting" here? 3.       She too has been "crying." What does this detail, as well as the other sensory images, tell you about what she is experiencing?
There were patches of blue sky showing here and there through the clouds that had met and piled one above the other in the west facing her window.	1.       How does this picture represent symbolically what she sees about her situation?
She sat with her head thrown back upon the cushion of the chair, quite motionless, except when a sob came up into her throat and shook her, as a child who has cried itself to sleep continues to sob in its dreams.	1.       Why is she compared to a dreaming child?
She was young, with a fair, calm face, whose lines bespoke repression and even a certain strength. But now there was a dull stare in her eyes, whose gaze was fixed away off yonder on one of those patches of blue sky. It was not a glance of reflection, but rather indicated a suspension of intelligent thought.	1.       What does her face tell you about her life? 2.       What sort of emotional state is she in?
here was something coming to her and she was waiting for it, fearfully. What was it? She did not know; it was too subtle and elusive to name. But she felt it, creeping out of the sky, reaching toward her through the sounds, the scents, the color that filled the air.	3.       In your first reading, what do you guess that "something" might be?
Now her bosom rose and fell tumultuously. She was beginning to recognize this thing that was approaching to possess her, and she was striving to beat it back with her will --aspowerless as her two white slender hands would have been. When she abandoned herself a little whispered word escaped her slightly parted lips. She said it over and over under her breath: "free, free, free!" The vacant stare and the look of terror that had followed it went from her eyes. They stayed keen and bright. Her pulses beat fast, and the coursing blood warmed and relaxed every inch of her body.	1.       What does this description of her hands suggest? 2.       What is happening to her? Why does she repeat "free? 3.       Note how the sensuality of what she sees has been tranferred to her body. Why might she react this way?
She did not stop to ask if it were or were not a monstrous joy that held her. A clear and exalted perception enabled her to dismiss the suggestion as trivial. She knew that she would weep again when she saw the kind, tender hands folded in death; the face that had never looked save with love upon her, fixed and gray and dead. But she saw beyond that bitter moment a long procession of years to come that would belong to her absolutely. And she opened and spread her arms out to them in welcome.	1.       Who would consider this joy "monstrous"? 2.       There seems to be no question whether her husband loved her, is there? What clues are there of HOW he loved her?
There would be no one to live for during those coming years; she would live for herself. There would be no powerful will bending hers in that blind persistence with which men and women believe they have a right to impose a private will upon a fellow-creature. A kind intention or a cruel intention made the act seem no less a crime as she looked upon it in that brief moment of illumination.	1.       What cherished domestic and 19th century myth does Chopin challenge here? 2.       Here Chopin--or is it Mrs. Mallard?-- is making a very general statement about relationships, particularly between men and women. How does it apply to this case?
And yet she had loved him--sometimes. Often she had not. What did it matter! What could love, the unsolved mystery, count for in the face of this possession of self-assertion which she suddenly recognized as the strongest impulse of her being! "Free! Body and soul free!" she kept whispering. Josephine was kneeling before the closed door with her lips to the keyhold, imploring for admission. "Louise, open the door! I beg; open the door-- you will make yourself ill. What are you doing, Louise? For heaven's sake open the door."	1.       Again, body and soul are connected. How does this anticipate the end? 2.       What does Josephine's plea say about the expectations of those around Louise (now given a name)?
"Go away. I am not making myself ill." No; she was drinking in a very elixir of life through that open window. Her fancy was running riot along those days ahead of her. Spring days, and summer days, and all sorts of days that would be her own. She breathed a quick prayer that life might be long. It was only yesterday she had thought with a shudder that life might be long. She arose at length and opened the door to her sister's importunities. There was a feverish triumph in her eyes, and she carried herself unwittingly like a goddess of Victory. She clasped her sister's waist, and together they descended the stairs. Richards stood waiting for them at the bottom.	1.       elixir (from Middle English, a substance of transmutative properties) 1. a sweetened aromatic solution of alcohol and water, used as a vehicle for medicine. 2. a medicine regarded as a cure for all ills. 3. the philosophers' stone. 4. the quintessence or underlying principle. How do these different definitions shed light on her revelation? 2.       Just what is coming through an "open window"? 3.       What has she conquered that would make her seem victorious?
Someone was opening the front door with a latchkey. It was Brently Mallard who entered, a little travel-stained, composedly carrying his grip-sack and umbrella. He had been far from the scene of the accident, and did not even know there had been one. He stood amazed at Josephine's piercing cry; at Richards' quick motion to screen him from the view of his wife. But Richards was too late. When the doctors came they said she had died of heart disease --of the joy that kills.	1.       Why is he stained by travel if he was not on the train? 2.       It is a "grip-sack," not a "briefcase" or "suitcase"; what does this word suggest

Thursday, November 21 finishing essay and new vocab

Anyone wishing to retake the week 1 cumulative vocabulary test, may do so immediately after school today in room 176. Also this is the make up, if you were absent.

In class: all essays are due at the close of class today.

New work due Monday, November 25.  Week 2 vocabulary days 2 / 3 and 4  class handouts   for those of you who completed the essay, you have class time today to work on these. For everyone else, this is homework.

Wednesday, November 20 last day for "The Red Convertible Essay"

Due tomorrow: week 2 day 1 vocabulary
If you turn it in today-and it is completely correct- you will receive 100 extra points...only counts at the very beginning of class.

In class: essay on "The Red Convertible"      due today at the close of class.

Tuesday, November 19...day 2 "The Red Convertible" essay

Due today: accept / except work sheet.....This is a graded assignment
In class: day 2 of "The Red Convertible" essay.....this will be due at the close of class tomorrow.

Homework for Thursday, November 20-week 2, day 1 vocabulary   class handout / copy below
Bonus: 100 points for anyone who turns this in on Wednesday (not Tuesday) and it is completely correct.

Monday, November 18... cumulative vocab test...."The Red Convertible" essay

In class: cumulative test on week 1 vocabulary

             day 1 Louise Erdrich's "The Red Convertible" essay

Please find below a copy of the class handout.

Homework: due Tuesday, November 16-effect / affect work sheet   in class handout / copy below

NOTE: While you are taking the test, I need to check in the graphic organizer on The Red Convertible, if you have not already turned it in. 

“The Red Convertible” by Louise Erdrich  essay

You are writing a text-based, evidence  essay on Louise Erdrich’s short story “The Red Convertible.”  Use the following as a guide line.

1.     Begin with an MLA heading

2.     Now review the following information on dramatic irony:

     An example of dramatic irony is in a movie where a detective does not know that the criminal responsible for the crimes in the city is his partner. The audience however is already aware of this fact and waits anxiously to know what will happen once the character finds out what they already know.

            There are three stages of dramatic irony:

a.      installation – audience is informed of something the character does not know about

b.      exploitation – using this information to develop curiosity among the audience

c.      resolution – what happens when the character finally finds out what is going on?

NOTE THAT THE FOLLOWING IS A GUIDE LINE. COMBINE IDEAS. You do not want a series of short, choppy sentences. REMEMBER TO INCORPORATE TEXT.

3.     Write the following introduction, which provides the genre, title, and the author and thesis statement.

In the short story “The Red Convertible,” by Louise Erdrich uses a first person narrator, Lyman, to recount a narrative with a poignant and ironic resolution. To heighten the mystery of the story as it unfolds and to foreshadow the dramatic irony of its ending, Erich plays with time within the narrative structure.

Paragraph 2. Put the narrative in context. Who are Lyman and Henry? Describe their relationship and use textual evidence to support what you say.  How do they spend their time together before “the army remember[ed] Henry had signed up to join it?”  Now look back at the paragraph where they find the red Olds. What was their initial reaction? (Incorporate text.) Where do they drive the car and for what reason? Was there a purpose to their journey?  What happens when they decide to leave? (weave in text from this scene). To close the paragraph you need an analysis statement. Answer this:  What has been portrayed in the two scenes you just wrote about that foreshadow something ominous might occur? (think about repose and flowing hair).

Paragraph 3. What is ironic about Lyman saying they were on to “greener pastures.”  In this paragraph you will talk about Henry’s return from Vietnam.  What was Henry’s experience in Vietnam? (quote). How did Henry behave when he came home? Give a specific example and quote. How does Lyman try to engage Henry with life again? Paraphrase what he did and how Henry seemed to respond? (insert text in your sentence.)

Paragraph 4. Describe the day Henry and Lyman drive the restored Olds to the river.  Incorporate text. How was the trip over there and how did the river appear. (Incorporate text). How does Erdrich foreshadow a tragedy?  Why do the brothers play fight? How does Henry behave after? (incorporate text.) What is ironic about his shouting, “Got to cool me off!?”  Make a connection with resolution.  Give a sentence describing the scene in the river; incorporate a few words from the text.  What previous scene does this bring to mind?

Conclusion.

  What is ironic about Henry’s death? What does he actually find? Why does Lyman let the Olds “plow softly into the water?”  Why does Erdrich end the story with “there is only water…running?”

copy of accept / except handout

Accept and Except

Accept

To hold something as true.  The officer accepts your point and has decided to let you off with a caution.    I accept she may have been tired, but that's still no excuse.

To receive something willingly.  I accept this award on behalf of the whole cast.   Do you accept dogs in your hotel?   Please accept my resignation. I don't want to belong to any club that will accept me as a member.  (Groucho Marx)

To answer yes (especially to an invitation).  The minister would love to accept the invitation to your ball, but she has a prior engagement.

Except

Except as a preposition means apart from, not including or excluding.  I can resist everything except temptation.  (Oscar Wilde)  I have nothing to declare except my genius.  (Oscar Wilde)

Except as a conjunction means but or 'if not the fact that'.

 I would go swimming, except I am scared of big fish. Except as a verb means to exclude.

 You are excepted from the ruling. 

Exercise : Accept/Except Spelling Exercise

Fill in the blank with either accept or except.

1. The whole army is out of step _______________ Fred.

2. I'll _______________ no money from that cheapskate.

3. Please _______________ this pot of Mama's chicken soup.

4. It will cure anything _______________ flat feet.

5. Rip could do anything _______________ make money.

6. I had to _______________ their negative evaluation.

7. All the girls went to the game _______________ Mary.

8. Howard could not _______________ the job.

9. __________ when there's a classic movie playing, Pete seldom watches TV.

10. I will _______________ your gift if you let me pay for my lunch.

Bonus: Name the typhoon that had had the highest wind velocity in recorded history and hit the Philippine Islands last week. It's all over the internet.