1984 Chapter 3

Chapter 3

1. The first paragraph of the chapter references the "purges of the 50's." Use the internet to research "the purges in Russia." Based on your findings, what do you suppose happened in Oceania?

2. Why does Winston not wear pajamas?

3. Winston reflects: "If the Party could thrust its hand into the past and say of this or that event, it never happened -- that, surely, was more terrifying than mere torture and death? " Do you agree? Why or why not?

4. What does the term 'Ingsoc' mean?

5. What question or questions do you have about 1984 from reading this far?

1984 - The Early Chapters

In order to ensure a strong foundational understanding of the novel, you should be able to explain who each of these characters are and also the following terms: Winston Smith O Brien Emmanuel Goldstein Thought Police Newspeak Big Brother

Of Mice and Men Essay

The Assignment: By considering the characters, relationships social and economic circumstances in the novel, write a 5 paragraph personal essay in which you show what reading Of Mice and Men teaches about human existence.

For peer editing:

-Switch with 2 other people
-Have each of your peer evaluators use a different colour pen or pencil
-Have each of your peer evaluators write: "Marked By" and their name
-Everyone will be assigned marks for peer editing so take your time and do a thorough job :)
-In addition to corrections peer evaluators should add written comments at the end of the essay. The comments should explain the essay's strength(s) and one or two areas the writer could improve.
-Peer Markers should read each paper twice:

-On the first read, look at some of the "micro" (or specific) issues such as:
spelling, capitalization, punctuation, word choice, formatting (eg. separation of paragraphs), introduction of quotations

-On the Second look, peer markers should try to consider some of the "macro" (or general) issues such as:

-Does the introduction provide a clear topic (or thesis) statement, one that squarely answers the essay question?

-Does the introduction outline several main points that support the topic or thesis statement?

-Does each body paragraph focus on a main point? Does the writer observe the point-proof-comment approach to essay writing? Are quotations or specific references to the text used to prove main points?

-Does the writer conclude logically? (A note about conclusions-sometimes writers tend to throw in all remaining afterthoughts, however, a conclusion should only restate what has been stated already. If you have a flash of inspiration at the end, give your point room in the introduction and its own body paragraph

Above all, don't be afraid to ask your teacher(s) and classmates for help. Essay writing is tricky business but the more you work at it, the more comfortable it will get.

Short Story Test- Friday, February 23rd

The story I have selected for the test is Edgar Alan Poe's "The Mask of the Red Death." You can read it by following this link or you can hear it by following this link. You may choose to read the story online, in paper format and/or listen to an audio version.

Your responses may be posted to your blog or written out by hand. Please answer all questions using full sentences and paragraphs (where appropriate). You will be asked to respond to the following:

Describe the narrative point of view (4). Is it first person or third person? Is it limited or omniscient? Is the narration retrospective or written in present tense?

Where is the story set? Why do you think the author chose this setting for this particular story?(4)

Who is the protagonist in the story? Who is the antagonist? What are each of them trying to accomplish? (4)

What theme or themes does this story raise? (4)

Explain why you feel Prince Prospero is either a static, dynamic, three dimensional or a flat character. (4)

In a well written paragraph, explain whether you would like to see this short story adapted into film format. Use details from the story to explain why you would or would not like to see a film version of "The Mask of the Red Death"

Theme in "The Destructors"

A Note on Theme: Strictly speaking, 'theme' refers the main idea(s) in a piece of writing. Most fiction explores more than one theme at a time. Some typical themes in literature are: loss of innocence, the limits of human endurance, the line between right and wrong. There are many others.

Read "The Destructors" by Graham Greene and answer the questions below.

1) What do you feel is the main theme or themes explored in this story?

2) Who is the most static character in the story? Who is the most dynamic? Explain.

3) It's been said that "little in literature is black and white, rather most fiction is about the grey area in between." Write a paragraph responding to "The Destructors" in which you agree or disagree with this statement.

"The Shining Houses" by Alice Munro

Our focus for this Alice Munro short story is characterization. Characterization has to do with not only the physical attributes of a character but also the psychological make up. Fully realized or "three-dimensional" characters have thoughts, opinions and individual motivations just like real people do.

Writers don't necessarily develop each and every character. Sometimes they use "flat" or "one-dimensional" characters. As readers, we only get to see one aspect of these are characters.

Some characterization terms:

protagonist- this is the main character in a story (not necessarily 'the good guy'--some protagonists aren't very nice)

antagonist- this character works against the main character

static character- a character who does not change as a result of his or her experiences

dynamic character- a character who does change as a result of his or her experiences

Responding to "The Shining Houses"

1) Write a brief (one paragraph) character sketch of Mary. Be sure to include information about her age, gender, marital status, profession, ethnicity and also describe what she's like as a person.

2) Why do you think that Munro chose to tell the story using Mary as a reflector character?

3) Write the speech imagined in question number 6 on page 26 of the reading.

Thursday, February 10th

Hi,

For today, I would like you to look into this business of simple and compound sentences. CLICK HERE to go to a site that gives a definition, reviews sentences fragments and presents some interactive quizzes so that you can check to see how you are doing.

There is a lot of information so I am only asking you to read and complete the activities to the end of self check 5. Please, take your time and read carefully. I've never had a student who couldn't learn these concepts if they were motivated enough to do so.

Then, respond on you blogs to the following questions:

1) How confident are you now about your ability to tell the difference between a simple sentence, a sentence fragment and a compound sentence?

2) How well did today's activity suit your learning style? Do you prefer to work through grammar information like you did today, or do you prefer a teacher led lesson?

3) What questions do you still have about the material?

Finally, I would like you to spend the rest of your time working on your The Last Lecture reading and response. I would like you to have the first three sections of the book read and responded to by the end of tomorrow's class.

Have a great day!