Having examined the traditional Gothic genre through the study of Poe, we today directed our attention to a modern twist on the genre, the Southern Gothic exemplified by William Faulkner. I outlined on the board the characteristics of Faulkner's style , and discussed how through allusions to the Civil War ,the Southern Gothic often is driven by the haunting historical ghost of slavery. Nina first located examples of the traditional Gothic elements in the opening pages of "A Rose For Emily" and I directed attention to the Civil War allusions ( a word I defined). I further defined imagery, metaphor ,and simile, after which Nina identified Faulkner's visual imagery as manifested in various similes and metaphors. Last, we analyzed the unique point of view of the story, the plural "we" . During the second half of the session, I distributed a grammar assessment exercise which I reviewed.Additonally, I distributed an essay prompt on Poe, and we discussed how to create an essay outline ,a topic sentence, and an introduction paragraph. HW- complete grammar assessment, write first paragraph, read next section of story.
Nina did exceptional work today in identifying the various forms of irony in Poe's "Cask of Amontillado." We noted how the author creates tension through the continuing use of dramatic irony as we watch a somewhat deranged narrator ensnare his nemesis . I then defined the word"macabre" and we discussed Poe's use of the macabre as a motif .We specifically compared the use of the premature burial plot in both Poe short stories we have studied this week . Nina further discussed elements of the Gothic . We next compared the different tone between "Fall of the House of Usher" and "Cask of Amontillado" examining how the narrator in today's reading quite coldly reports his murder scheme with a subtle glee. Next, we read and discussed Poe's famous poem,"The Raven". By way of introduction, I noted the poem's symbols on the board, and pointed out Poe's use of rhyme and rhythm in his poetry. I defined the literary term "meter" as the series of accented and unaccented syllables in a line of poetry. As we read the poem, we stopped to examine rhyme , rhythm ,and alliteration .Last,we commented on the mood of the poem again noting pervasive elements of the Gothic and the thematic victory of a dark force. HW- read the first two sections of Faulkner's Southern Gothic story ," A Rose For Emily."
We explored the doppelgänger motif in the"Fall of the House of Usher." Nina offered insightful examples of doubling and mirror images from the text ,and we then identified examples of the Gothic genre within the story. I then analyzed the symbolism of the doppelgänger perhaps as a battle between the rational /sane and the irrational /insane. Within this thematic possibility we then addressed how the protagonist ,a painter/musician, must struggle within his art to peer into the darker aspects of Man's nature and yet retain his sanity. We additionally examined Poe's story within the story technique noting how the embedded story reflects what is actually transpiring in the plot or how art is imitating life. Last, we examined the types of irony and why the first person narrator in the story is a good example of the unreliable narrator. Nina actively participated in class discussion on all of these ideas and kept notes on these topics. HW-Read Poe's "Cask of Amontillado" and locate examples of verbal and dramatic irony,
GT and I revised and edited the final copy of his paper. We improved word choice and sentence structure. I did a mini lesson on run-on sentences.We edited for grammatical errors. We also wrote the conclusion together. GT has an excellent command of the English language and did a great job on his final paper.
We continued drafting GT's paper. I did a mini-lesson on transitions/ paragraph hooks today. We practiced using the transitions within and between the paragraphs in the essay. We revised GT's first body paragraph and continued writing the second body paragraph. GT will continue drafting the second body paragraph for homework.
GT had finished watching the film for homework. We discussed the ending of the film. We discussed more differences and similarities between the novel and the film. We revised GT's introduction clarifying his thesis. We began working on the first body paragraph. I reviewed the flip-flop organizational pattern which we decided to use for this comparison/contrast essay. GT will find his textual evidence and cite it correctly for his first body paragraph for homework.
GT finished writing his thesis statement for his comparison/contrast essay. He then wrote the introduction for his essay. He did a nice job. We continued discussing the comparisons between the film and the book. Because he did not finish watching the film, we watched about 15 minutes more of the movie. GT needs to finish watching the movie for homework so that he can continue drafting his essay.
GT and I discussed the section of the book that he had read for homework. We discussed: the rising action, the climax, the falling action and the resolution. We also discussed in great detail the ending and the epilogue of the book. We watched the first part of the film of the book. I then discussed the structure of a comparison/ contrast essay. We discussed the two different forms of organization: flip flop and block. We then discussed how GT will structure a comparison/contrast essay comparing the novel and the film. We began to compose the thesis statement and the introduction. GT will watch the rest of the film for homework noting the similarities and differences to include in his essay.
Abby and I finished the unit we had started in the vocabulary book. We dealt with synonyms and antonyms for the entire unit. We also read an informational text piece and defined the vocabulary words using context clues. We also worked briefly on her college essay.
GT completed the final assessment in the vocabulary book. It covered all of the words in the entire book. He did well. We then discussed the part of the novel that GT had read for homework. We discussed in detail the recurring theme. We also discussed the movie versus there book. GT has not seen the movie, but he said that he is going to watch it. GT will complete the novel for homework and prepare for his final writing assessment on the book.
