Juniors Extra Credit

Great Gatsby - Read "The Snows of Kilimanjaro" by Ernest Hemingway
Hemingway supposedly wrote this story about Fitzgerald.  What connections do you see between Fitzgerald/Gatsby and the protagonist of this story?  Consider researching Fitzgerald's life and how it parallels Gatsby's, but also how Hemingway portrayed such a life in this story.

The Sun Also Rises - Read "Eyes of a Blue Dog" by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Ralphsun discussed dreams in class today in response to the final lines of TSAR "Isn't it pretty to think so?"  How does Marquez's work create a similar type of relationship between the male and female dreamers that Hemingway portrays in Jake and Brett?  Even if you don't want to do the extra credit, read this story, it is amazing.

The Bell Jar - Read "The Yellow Wallpaper" by Charlotte Perkins Gilman
Gilman chronicles a "hysterical" woman trapped in a room by her doctor husband.  She begins to hallucinate, believing that the wallpaper around her is moving.  Find direct comparisons to Plath's more modern text and conclude the significance of Freidan's "problem without a name" decades before Freidan was even born.

POST YOUR COMMENTS ON THIS BLOG.  THIS IS YOUR LAST EXTRA CREDIT.

Work for the week of May 29th - Juniors

Tuesday May 29th
Minutes: Michelle, Justin, Udovich
SAT Words: Abate, Asylum, Converge, Querelous, Substantiate
Reading Assignment: Finish book, Snows of Kilomanjaro
Homework Assignment: Please purchase House of Leaves on amazon.com for next Monday.

Wednesday May 30th
Minutes: Isabella, Bing, Lucy
SAT Words: Arid, Capitulate, Deleterious, Foster, Intrepid
Reading Assignment: http://www.teleportacia.org/war/wara.htm http://www.eblong.com/zarf/zplet/shade.html
http://ineradicablestain.com/skindex.html
Homework Assignment: How are these works different from anything you’ve read before?  Is any of this literature? Why or why not?


Thursday May 31st
Minutes: Christina, Allen, Harry
SAT Words: Perfidious, Prosaic, Spurious, Vindicate, Abscond
Reading Assignment:
Homework Assignment: PEER EDIT Draft Day!

Friday June 1st
Minutes: Ying, Kenny, Willy
SAT Words: Boisterous, Canny, Emulate, Enervate, Evanescent
Reading Assignment: Visit the following websites.
Game - http://www.secrettechnology.com/madethis/enemy6.html
Infinite Poetry - http://www.secrettechnology.com/sydney/sibera.html
Wittennoom -http://www.secrettechnology.com/wittenoom/artwork/p3.html
Cube - http://www.secrettechnology.com/ausco/poecubic2.html
Graph Poetry - http://www.secrettechnology.com/graphoem/two/graphoem2.htmlHomework Assignment: How are these poems different from anything you’ve read before?  Is this literature?

Work for the week of May 29th - Freshmen

Tuesday May 29th
Minutes: MAKE UP WEEK
SAT Words: Vacillate, Dilemma
Reading Assignment: Hills Like White Elephants by Ernest Hemingway
Homework Assignment: Create a thesis and provide 3 supporting quotes

Wednesday May 30th
Minutes: MAKE UP WEEK
SAT Words: Transparent, Obscured
Reading Assignment: Cathedral by Raymond Carver
Homework Assignment: Create a thesis and provide 3 supporting quotes

Thursday May 31st
Minutes: MAKE UP WEEK
SAT Words: Foolhardy, Asinine
Reading Assignment: To Build a Fire by Jack London
Homework Assignment: Create a thesis and provide 3 supporting quotes

Friday June 1st
Minutes: MAKE UP WEEK
SAT Words: Legerdemain, Grovel
Reading Assignment: The Secret Life of Walter Mitty by James Thurber
Homework Assignment: Create a thesis and provide 3 supporting quotes

Work for the week of May 21st - Freshmen

Monday May 21st
Minutes: George, Jimmy
Reading:
Homework: Work on your draft

Tuesday May 22nd
Minutes: Dionis, Carmen
Reading: "Rules of the Game" by Amy Tan
Homework: Develop a thesis statement based upon this story on either of the following topics: parent/child relationships, assimilation.  Have three quotes to support your point.


Wednesday May 23rd
Minutes: Victor, Daniel
Reading:
Homework: Final draft for peer editing


Thursday May 24th
Minutes: Joanne, Daisy
Reading: Through the Tunnel by Doris Lessing

Homework: Develop a thesis statement based upon this story that discusses parenting, accomplishing a goal, or growing up.


Friday May 25th
Minutes: Zarotsky, Olivia
Reading:
Homework: i-Search due today.

For Tuesday May 29th
Reading: Hills like White Elephants by Ernest Hemingway
Homework: Devise a thesis statement about this story using three quotations.  I will be checking HW.

Work for the Week of May 21st - Juniors

Monday May 21st
Minutes: Amy, Ralphsun Vinit
SAT Words: Bellicose, Enigmatic, Acrimony
TSAR: Ch. 14 and 15

Homework Assignment: Utilize our knowledge of bullfighting and attempt to understand the romanticism that Hemingway views in this brutal sport.  Try to characterize Romero.
GG: Reading Assignment: Ch. 5
Homework Assignment:Who is Jay Gatz?  Continue to unravel the mystery of Gatsby.
TBJ: Reading Assignment: Ch. 9 and 10
Homework Assignment:What is a dybbuk?  Please focus upon the rape scene which we will analyze in class.

Tuesday May 22nd
Minutes: Jason, Rifat, John
SAT Words: Expiate, Invective, Languid

TSAR: Ch. 16
Homework Assignment: Begin your allusion assignment.  Pick three allusions to be approved in class for tomorrow.  I will likely reject some of your suggestions so be prepared.  Considering Brett's fascination with Romero, why does Mike verbally abuse Cohn of all people?  Pay attention to how Romero describes his experiences as a bullfighter.
GG: Reading Assignment: Ch. 6
Homework Assignment: Focus on the final section of the chapter where Nick imagines Gatsby kissing Daisy.  Please analyze this section, particular the odd imagery that Fitzgerald employs.  What kind of decision does Gatsby make here?  Why?  How does Nick perceive this scene, especially if he is not in it?
TBJ: Reading Assignment: Ch. 11-12
Homework Assignment: Describe the nature of Esther's depression.  How does she react to therapy?  How does she react to shock therapy?  How do you interpret Esther's failed suicide attempts?

Wednesday May 23rd
Minutes: Michael, Shirley, Jack
SAT Words: Nadir, Rife, Harangue

TSAR: Ch. 16

Homework Assignment: 
Homework Assignment: Why do the eyes of T.J. Eckleberg return in this chapter?  Why do you think Nick mentions that it is his 30th birthday in this chapter?  What is the role of weather in this particular scene?
TBJ: Reading Assignment: Ch. 12-13
Homework Assignment: How do you interpret Esther's repeating of the term "I am"?  Does this have any connection with the nature of her depression?  Why doe Esther cry at her father's grave?

Thursday May 24th
Minutes: Kaile Kaung, Shin
SAT Words: Surfeit, Wizened, Discursive

TSAR: Ch. 17

Homework Assignment: Try to explain Cohn's strange behavior, hitting his friends and then apologize profusely afterwards.  We will be doing a close reading of the disappointed waiter: "All for sport.  All for pleasure."
GG: Reading Assignment: Ch. 7
GG: Reading Assignment: Ch. 8
Homework Assignment: Why does the gardener want to drain the pool?  Why does Gatsby refuse to leave without Daisy?  Is he crazy or romantic?
TBJ: Reading Assignment: Ch. 14-15
Homework Assignment: Focus on the titular line presented in this chapter.  Discuss Valerie and Mrs. Norris.  How are these two characters symbolic of the role of women in American society?  Focus on the newspaper clippings Joan shows Esther and Esther's declaration about her mother.

Friday May 25th
Minutes: Chris, Yejoon, Udovich
SAT Words: Maudlin, Oblique, Venerate

TSAR: Ch. 18

Homework Assignment: Show how Romero and Belmonte are foils for one another.  How do these men compare to the others in the story?  Try to understand the final line of the chapter.
GG: Reading Assignment: Finish the book
Homework Assignment:Is Gatsby's dream similar to the American Dream?  Is it a beautiful thing or something perverse?  How does Nick describe Daisy and Tom in this chapter?
TBJ: Reading Assignment: Ch. 16-17
Homework Assignment: Does the shock therapy help Esther?  Is this therapy a symbol? 

For Tuesday:
TSAR: Finish the book.  Analyze the dual meanings of the last line of the book.  Revisit the epigram of the book and discuss its meaning.
GG: Read Hemingway's story about Fitzgerald, "The Snows of Kilimanjaro." 
TBJ: Finish the book.  Is this a happy ending?

Extra Credit for Everyone! Freshmen

In continuation of our class discussion, I'd like us to ruminate over what makes a good teacher.  Let's try to use past experiences, before Stuyvesant, to not only pay respect, but analyze what makes an effective teacher.  Share your experiences but also, attempt to answer the following question:

What is the purpose of high school?  Once you've attempted to find an answer, try to consider what each teacher's role is in helping you reach that goal. 

I'll accept outside sources of course and encourage appropriate and polite student debate.  And please don't use this as an opportunity to bash a teacher.  If you're going to use someone as a negative example, let's leave out names.

Extra Credit for Everyone! TBJ

Those of us reading The Bell Jar, I'd like you to research 3rd wave feminism, particularly its music.  I'd like you to find out what led to this wave, who comprised it, and how the riot grrl movement used brash, obnoxious music in the name of creating a newer feminine identity.  Links to songs and research is greatly appreciated.  And let's try to use our own words instead of cutting and pasting information.

PLEASE NOTE THAT THE CONTENT OF SOME OF THIS MUSIC IS OFTEN CRASS AND SEXUAL IN NATURE AND MIGHT BE CONSIDERED OFFENSIVE.