Welcome

Yes! It's English 9!

Always check the calendar link. Homework will always be listed there.

Summer Reading

In case you didn't see this information elsewhere: The summer reading (for English, history, and biology) consists of two books. [NOTE: Be sure to check the school's website for all summer assignments.] Come to school in the fall prepared to discuss and write about those books. Annotate them; that is, take notes—in the books as well as, if you like, in a notebook. Your English, history, and biology teachers all thought there was value in both books for all of our classes. We would like you to read the books from the point of view of each of our classes.

For the English perspective, consider the following:
What is the point of view for each book? That is, what person is shaping the perspective of the book?
What kinds of information does each book present?
What ideas—both small and large—does each book convey (or try to convey)?

Neanderthals Rediscovered: How Modern Science is Rewriting Their Story, by Dimitra Papagianni and Michael Morse

• ISBN-10: 0500292043
• ISBN-13: 978-0500292044

The Inheritors, by William Golding

• ISBN-10: 0571329098
• ISBN-13: 978-0571329090

[NOTE: Check at Amazon first for the Golding book. B&N does not seem to carry it. You may have to buy a used edition or a different edition, which is fine. Sorry for the inconvenience, but Amazon does seem to be running short on copies. Don't wait to track one down!]

Complete end of the year schedule

In case you can't locate your handout, here's the complete schedule.

Assignment Schedule: Night

May 22-23: Read to p. 97; expect a brief quiz

May 24, 28: Finish the novel; there will be time in class to work on writing (see writing prompts below)

Show draft work: May 29 or 30

Further review of writing, if needed: See me again any time after that.

Final version: Any time during finals week (ends June 3-6)

Writing: Choose one of the following prompts for a five-paragraph essay that includes an introductory (thesis) paragraph and a conclusion. Every body paragraph must include details from the book, including direct quotations.

1. Reread the preface that starts on p. vii. Wiesel says, “I needed to give meaning to my survival.” What are three “meanings” or ideas that a reader should take from the book? That is, what abstract ideas, not ideas about Wiesel himself.

2. In the preface, Wiesel includes passages that he removed from the first draft of the book. Beginning on p. xi, he tells us more about his father’s death, and he says he cannot forgive himself. On p. 91 in the memoir, Elie sees a rabbi’s son abandon his father, and Elie worries that he will betray or abandon his own father. To what extent does Elie both betray and stay faithful to his father?

3. We discussed how Wiesel utilizes various motifs in his memoir. Explore how his use of motifs helps to develop characters and the book’s main ideas.

A brief survey

Follow the yellow-brick road . . . uh . . . I mean, the bluish link.





https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe7f3i1duN6e8icBN0hsqk5As-YHmR82oRvDZgJVUZ4Y_IYZQ/viewform?usp=sf_link

A little Macbeth-related writing

In class on Monday and Tuesday, you generated lists of virtues. Read Act IV, sc. iii of Macbeth and consider the virtues ("king-becoming graces") that Malcolm lists in ll. 107-110. Write a response (approximately a page or two): What do you think of his list? What points might Shakespeare want to make with this list? Due on April 24/25.

Macbeth questions

As I said in class, answer these questions (which mostly require you to speculate, not summarize or analyze) before you read the first two scenes of Act II. In case you lost the handout, the questions are:

Some Macbeth Questions

1. What is the plan for killing Duncan?

2. Why might this plan succeed?

3. Why might this plan fail?

4. For the most part, the plan is Lady Macbeth’s? Why is it largely her plan and not her husband’s plan?

Writing Assignments for The Odyssey

1. For March 12/13, read “The Geography of The Odyssey.” The link is available at the website. Write a response of one to two double-spaced pages. What is your opinion of the value of the epic’s historical and geographical basis? How does the discussion in this essay shape your own understanding of whether the tale is geographically and historically reliable? How might we benefit from knowing what’s accurate about the story? Why are people so interested to discover the factual origins of The Odyssey?

2. For March 18/19, write a creative piece of at least 500 words. You have two options for this story:

          a. Create a “lost tale” of the Odyssey, something else that happened to Odysseus and his crew along the way. This could even happen after the events of the epic.

          b. Tell a story of yourself on a journey (a trip to the mall; a drive to a relative’s house), but give it Greek epic elements: gods, fate, monsters.

For either version of assignment #2, I’m not expecting anyone to write in iambic pentameter (though you can try), but I do want you to break the story into lines of approximately 10 syllables.