F451 Day 6

Read pages 85-104 (the bottom of the page). Blog two quotations and two responses of your own choosing.

F451 Day 5

Read pages 71-85, blog two quotations and two responses of your own choosing.

F451 Day 4

Pages 52-68

Questions:
1.) Explain Beatty's idea that, "A book is a loaded gun in the house next door" (58).
2.) Refute Beatty's claim that "If you don't want a man unhappy politically, don't give him two sides to a question to worry him; give him one. Better yet, give him none" (61).

F451 Day 3

Pages 35-52:

a. Why do you think Bradbury incorporates the scene with the woman? What is the woman supposed to represent?
b. What does Guy mean by this quote, “Well, this fire’ll last me the rest of my life. God! I’ve been trying to put it out, in my mind, all night. I’m crazy with trying” (51). Try and relate it to another quote from the reading.

F451 Day 2

1. Pages 18-35 (the top of the page after the Rules).
a. What do we learn about firemen in this section? Both who the firemen are, and their history?
b. Why does Clarisse not fit in at school? What is strange about the definitions she uses? Does that remind you of anything?

F451 Day 1 HW

1. Pages 3-18 (midway through the page at the break)
HW Questions:
i. What is revealed about the world of the novel by the things that Clarisse says about why people think she is strange?
ii. What do we learn about Mildred and Guy’s relationship by Mildred’s suicide attempt?

Native Son HW

Due Monday, a 2 page paper stating your vote in the case (death or life in prison), and then explaining the reasoning behind your vote. You should use the text as support for your reasoning. Proper MLA format, double spaced.

1984 Midterm Reading

Class, please be up to page 104 for class on monday. You do not need to blog. I will remind people tomorrow during midterms, but please make sure your classmates know if they are curious.

Thank you,
Mr. George

Othello Reading Schedule

Listed below are the reading assignments for Othello. For each assignment select one quote and blog its significance. Please title each blog with the corresponding title "Othello (#)". Thank you.

Othello 1: 1.1– 1.2: p. 3-28
Othello 2: 2.1-2.3 29-53
Othello 3: 3.1-3.3 54-67 (When Desdemona enters)
Othello 4: 3.3 – 3.4 67-82
Othello 5: 4.1 p. 83-94
Othello 6: 4.2. p. 94-103
Othello 7: 4.3-5.1 103-114
Othello 8: 5.2 p. 114- 128

12 Angry Men 11/17

For homework tonight and for the rest of the book, students are to track the specific character assigned to them. They will have to be prepared to discuss everything that character said and did from the reading the night before. Students should have notes about these characters ready for class.

Reading schedule:
11/17: 29-48
11/18: 49-59
11/20: 59- END

12 Angry Men Due 11/16

For your homework over the weekend read up to the end of the first paragraph on page 29. What I would like you to do is to keep a character list 1-12, and a description of each character. The description could just be adjectives or short thoughts. I recommend putting this in your book next to the characters as you read and then transcribing it after onto a sheet of paper (or typing it). Also, please list page numbers that support your assertion next to your description.

Oedipus Wednesday 10/21

Read pages 67-81 and blog 1 quote and 1 response.
Due Wednesday.

Homework 9/11

Students are to select a quotation and respond to a major theme the quote expresses, or simply to outline the importance of the quotation within the context of the novel.

“We were careless and wild, and I suppose we could be thought of as a sign of the life the war was being fought to preserve….They noticed our games tolerantly. We reminded them of what peace was like, of lives which were not bound up with destruction.” (24).

“To keep silent about this amazing happening deepened the shock for me. It made Finny seem too unusual for – not friendship, but too unusual for rivalry.” (45).

“You and Phineas are even already. You are even in enmity. You are both coldly driving ahead for yourselves alone. You did hate him for breaking that school swimming record, but so what? He hated you for getting an A in every course but one last term.” (53).

“’Listen, pal, if I can’t play sports, you’re going to play them for me,’ and I lost part of myself to him then, and a soaring sense of freedom revealed that this must have been my purpose from the first: to become a part of Phineas” (85).

“‘I mean as much as you can say a season can love. What I mean is, I love winter, and when you really love something, then it loves you back, in whatever way it has to love.” I didn’t think that this was true, my seventeen years of experience had shown this to be much more false than true, but it was like every other thought and belief of Finny’s; it should have been true.” (111).

9/10 HW ASP summer reading

How does the war impact the text A Separate Peace. 1 paragraph post on blogs

The Bell Jar Reading Schedule/ Activities

The Bell Jar Reading Schedule:

The chapter that corresponds to the day means that you need to be finished with that chapter by that day.

Wednesday May 6th: Ch 1
Thursday May 7th: Ch 2
Friday May 8th Ch 3
Monday May 11 Ch 5
Tuesday May 12 Ch 6
Wednesday May 13 Ch 7
Friday May 15 Ch 9
Monday May 18 Ch 11
Tuesday May 19 Ch 12
Wednesday May 20 Ch 13
Thursday May 21 Ch 14
Friday May 22 Ch 15
Wednesday May 27 Ch 19
Thursday May 28 Ch 20

We will be doing an in class creative writing unit that goes along with the text. You will have 20 minutes to respond to a creative writing prompt pertaining to the chapter read from the night before at the beginning of class. You will then share your work with two fellow students in your writing group, each reading the others work. You’ll take a couple of minutes to list some likes and dislikes and some areas of improvement.
You will have to hold on to each assignment because you will be turning in your creative writing journal at the end of the text. You’ll also need to select four of the assignments to expand on in final draft form that you will turn in at the culmination of the text (typed and at least 2 pages).

There will be 14 journal responses to be turned in at the end. Four of which need to be typed final drafts. Each journal will be worth 5 points, and each final draft will be worth 35 points.

The Bell Jar

Folks, get THIS, copy! You can get it or order it at Barnes and Noble, it'll ship by the time we get back from break. Make sure you get the one with this cover. If there are ANY money issues, let me know!

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Feb Break Reading

Please read to page 104, it is the conclusion of Section 1 of the text. Please post notes on the readings, keeping track of what you consider important developments (30 points).

Be prepared to discuss and answer questions on the reading.

A Separate Peace Essay Topics

Student Essay Topics:

1. How did Leper’s theory about survival apply to Gene and Finny.
2. Did Finny break the system or did the system break Finny.
3. Was Gene really a savage or a good boy underneath?
4. Did Gene see Finny as a friend or an enemy.
5. In what ways was a separate peace portrayed in the novel.
6. Is Gene having a problem with Finny, or simply an internal character struggle.
7. Who is Gene’s true enemy and did he really defeat him?
8. Compare and contrast Gene and Finny, who’s a better friend?
9. How did the approaching war change Gene and Finny?
10. How does Finny symbolize a separate peace.
11. Did Gene intentionally make Finny fall out of the tree?
12. Was Gene to blame for Finny’s death?
13. Did Gene change after Finny’s death?
14. What does friendship teach Gene and Finny?
15. How did Phineas influence Gene?
16. Does Finny’s optimistic attitude have any meaning because he died in the novel?
17. How is this a story about boys becoming men?
18. How did the external conflict of the war affect the internal conflicts between Gene and Finny?
19. How does Finny help Gene conquer his true enemy.

Compose an essay that is at least 3 pages long responding to one of the prompts. This paper should be in MLA format, double spaced, and with no errors.

Due Friday December 13th.

HW 11/17

Finish reading chapter 2 and chapter 3.

For each chapter select a quote that you find important, respond to that quote with important insight (i.e. foreshadowing, textual relevance, a theme you think it relates to, or why it is important), and then ask a question that could guide discussion. For example, are Gene's feelings for Finny platonic? (NOT, what does the word jounced mean?)

ASP CH 1

Read all of Chapter 1 of A Separate Peace. As you read select one quote you find important, explain the quotes significance, and then ask a question that you think could facilitate discussion in class.

Furthermore, for this specific assignment I'd like you to characterize the two main characters: Narrator and Phinaes.

I'd like you to list 5 adjectives that describe them, and a quote that you feel describes them.

Have a good weekend.

Oedipus/ Antigone Debate

Debate Groups:

Team 1: Riddhi, Nathaniel, Ashley, JuChan
Team 2: Mike, Nicole, Julia, Daniel
Team 3: Rachael, Stephen, Jeff, Nicole
Team 4: Scott, Brianna, Kevin, Michaela
Team 5: Kerri, Tim, Jefi, Kathryn
Team 6: Coralie, Christina, Dante, Berdine


Topic 1: Oedipus’ Life is determined by fate.
Topic 2: Oedipus is more to blame for his end than Creon.
Topic 3: In an ancient Greek society Antigone deserved her death.

Antigone Next Week

Tuesday Quote ID
Wednesday Paper due
Thursday/ Friday Debates.

Antigone/ Oedipus Paper

Essay Topics: “Antigone” / “Oedipus”
English 10 Honors
Due: Wednesday October 29, 2008

Directions: Write a well constructed 3-4 page paper on one of the following topics. Your paper should include an introduction, thesis, supporting body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Use evidence from the text to support your assertions.
100 Points

Topic 1: Compare and contrast Oedipus and Creon. Which do you think suffered a worse fate? Why?

Topic 2: In analyzing the aggressive sexism in “Antigone,” what is the prevailing message to the Greek audience about a woman’s role in society?

Topic 3: “Absolute power corrupts absolutely.” Describe the downfall of Creon in “Antigone” in relation to how we see him in “Oedipus.” What sparks this change? What do you see as the turning point for Creon’s downfall? Describe the different ways Sophocles shows the corrupting force of power.

Choose Your Own Topic: If you have another topic you want to write about you can. You must bring in a written proposal of the topic by Sunday October 26 and get it accepted by Mr. George.

Post on Blog and turn in hard copy.

HW Due 10/23

Finish Antigone.

Post on Blog

HW: Due 10/21

Create blog. 

Read to 226.

Answer the 3 questions. 

Reading Directions

1.) Pick out a quote and type it into the blog. 

2.) Describe the significance of the aforementioned quote. 

3.) Ask a question about the reading. 

Iago/ Roderigo Characterization

Directions: “What are Iago’s feelings toward Othello? Cite at least two quotations from the text. Also, characterize Roderigo. Surf the net, and find an actor (not the one in any of the movies), who you think would best suit the role of Roderigo. Upload a photo of the actor into your blog post. "

1984 Essay Topics

1984
Essay Exam 100 points
Directions: Choose one of the following and respond in an essay. Your answers must have a clear thesis statement that is developed using specific details from the novel. The essay should be between 3-5 pages long. This sheet needs to be stapled to the front of your essay!!!! Due 2/25
1) Compare and contrast 1984 and V For Vendetta focusing on the differences and similarities in the two main characters. Make sure to pay special attention to the final outcomes for these characters, and how they try and rebel against their regimes.
2) Compare and contrast 1984 and V For Vendetta focusing on the differences and similarities in the governments and societies that these stories take place in. How do these societies dictate the type of rebellion we see take place in the two tales?
3) Are we supposed to see Winston as a hero, a failure, or just your average man? Make sure to argue using contributing factors such as the society he lives in, his options for rebellion, and his final outcome.
4) Create a topic of your own. You must submit the question to me formally for approval via email (pgeorge@trinitycatholic.com) before the 20th of February.

Grading: Your essays will be graded on the following rubric.
Thesis/ Intro (15): clear and focused argument with good introduction.
Organization (10): clear connections between paragraphs and topics, smooth flow

Support (30): provides accurate and specific details to support ideas
Clarity (25): Clear, strong language that is easy to understand, choose words carefully for effect; no 1st or 2nd person, standard English grammar, punctuation.
Conventions (10): Proper spelling, black ink, MLA format.
Conclusion (10): Restatement of main argument, and conclusion of argument that logically flows from the rest of the paper.

V for Vendetta trailer:



Here is a trailer for the film 1984:



Here is a cool video that Mac used based on the premise of the book:

Ignorance is Strength

Background: This is a compiled list of passages from Emmanueal Goldsteins treatise on oligarchal collectivism as found in the text 1984. Hopefully the quotations in this passage will help you to make sense of the meaning of this section as a whole.

Ignorance is Strength

“For long periods the High seem to be securely in power, but sooner or later there always comes a moment when they lose either their belief in themselves, or their capacity to govern efficiently, or both. They are then overthrown by the Middle, who enlist the Low on their side by pretending to them that they are fighting for liberty and justice. As soon as they have reached their objective, the Middle thrust the Low back into their old position of servitude, and themselves become the High.” (202).
“From the point of view of the Low, no historic change has ever meant much more than a change in the name of their masters.” (202).
“There then arose a school of thinkers who interpreted history as a cyclical process and claimed to show that inequality was the unalterable law of human life.” (202).
“In the past the Middle had made revolutions under the banner of equality, and then had established a fresh tyranny as soon as the old one was overthrown. The new Middle groups in effect proclaimed their tyranny beforehand.” (203).
“Ingsoc…had the conscious aim of perpetuating unfreedom and inequality.” (203).
Draw Pendulum swing
“The cyclical movement of history was now intelligible, or appeared to be so; and if it was intelligible, then it was alterable. But the principal, underlying cause was that, as early as the beginning of the twentieth century, human equality had become technically possible.” (203).
“The earthly paradise had been discredited at exactly the moment when it became realizable.” (204).
Insert of new technological luxury: constant surveillance
“But the new High group, unlike all its forerunners, did not act upon instinct but knew what was needed to safeguard its position. It had long been realized that the only secure basis for oligarchy was collectivism. Wealth and privilege are most easily defended when they are possessed jointly. The so-called “abolition of private property” which took place in the middle years of the century meant, n effect, the concentration of property in far fewer hands than before; but with this difference, that the new owners were a group instead of a mass of individuals.” (206).
In doing so: “economic inequality has been made permanent” (206) using the same fundamental ideas of socialism, just for a different purpose.
Problem arises of perpetuating a hierarchical society:
“Either it is conquered from without, or it governs so inefficiently that the masses are stirred to revolt, or it allows a strong and discontented middle group to come into being, or it loses its own self-confidence and willingness to govern.” (207).
“A ruling class which could guard against all of them would remain in power permanently. Ultimately the determining factor is the mental attitude of the ruling class itself.” (207).
“The first danger had in reality disappeared. Each of the three powers which now divide the world is in fact unconquerable” (207).
“The second danger, also is only a theoretical one. The masses never revolt of their own accord, and they never revolt merely because they are oppressed. Indeed, so long as they are not permitted to have standards of comparison they never even become aware that they are oppressed.” (207).
“Therefore, the only genuine dangers are the splitting-off of a new group of able, underemployed power-hungry people, and the growth of liberalism and skepticism in their own ranks…it is a problem of continuously molding the consciousness both of the directing group and of the larger executive group that lies immediately below it.” (207).
“Big Brother is the guise in which the party chooses to exhibit itself to the world. His function is to act as a focusing point for love, fear, and reverence, emotions which are more easily felt toward an individual than toward an organization.”
Description of 3 sects of The Party
“Membership in these three groups is not hereditary.” (208).
“Its rulers are not held together by blood ties but by adherence to a common doctrine.” (209).
“Proletarians, in practice, are not allowed to graduate into the Party. The most gifted among them, who might possibly become nuclei of discontent, are simply marked down by the Thought Police and eliminated.” (209).
“From the proletarians nothing is to be feared. Left to themselves, they will continue from generation to generation and from century to century, working, breeding, and dying, not only without any impulse to rebel, but without the power of grasping that the world could be other than it is.” (210).
“They can be granted intellectual liberty because they have no intellect. In a party member, on the other hand, not even the smallest deviation of opinion on the most unimportant subject can be tolerated.” (210).
“He (party members) is supposed to live in a continuous frenzy of hatred of foreign enemies and internal traitors, triumph over victories, and self-abasement before the power and wisdom of the party.” (211).
Crimestop: the faculty of stopping short, as though by instinct, at the threshold of any dangerous thought. (Protective stupidity)
“Oceanic society rests ultimately on the belief that Big Brother is omnipotent and that the party is infallible.” (212).
“The alteration of the past is necessary for two reasons, one of which is subsidiary and, so to speak, precautionary. The subsidiary reason is that the party member, like the proletarian, tolerates present day conditions partly because he has no standards of comparison.” (212)
“But by far the more important reason for the readjustment of the past is the need to safeguard the infallibility of the Party.” (212).
“The mutability of the past is the central tenet of ingsoc.” (213).
“The control of the past depends above all on the training of memory.” (213).
“And since the party is in full control of all records, and in equally full control of the minds of its members, it follows that the past is whatever the party chooses to make it.” (213).
“In oldspeak it is called, ‘reality control.’ In newspeak it is called doublethink” (214).
“Doublethink lies at the very heart of Ingsoc, since the essential act of the party is to use conscious deception while retaining the firmness of purpose that goes with complete honesty.” (214).
“For the secret of rulership is to combine a belief in one’s own infallibility with the power to learn from past mistakes.” (215).
“The party rejects and vilifies every principle for which socialist movement originally stood and it chooses to do this in the name of socialism.’ (216).
“For it is only be reconciling contradictions that power can be retained indefinitely. In no other way could the ancient cycle be broken. If human equality is to be forever averted – if they High, as we have called them, are to keep their places permanently- then the prevailing condition must be controlled insanity.” (216).

Why should human equality be averted? To be continued…..

War is Peace

Background: This is a compiled list of passages from Emmanueal Goldsteins treatise on oligarchal collectivism as found in the text 1984. Hopefully the quotations in this passage will help you to make sense of the meaning of this section as a whole.

WAR IS PEACE:
(Quotation Summary)

“It is warfare of limited aims between combatants who are unable to destroy one another, have no material cause for fighting, and are not divided by any genuine ideological differences.” (186)
“With the establishment of self-contained economies, in which production and consumption are geared to one another, the scramble for markets which was a main cause of previous wars has come to an end, while the competition for raw materials is no longer a matter of life and death.” (187)
“Moreover, the labor of the exploited people round the equator (what they are fighting for) is not really necessary to the world’s economy.” (188).
“The primary aim of modern warfare is to use up the products of the machine without raising the general standard of living.” (188)
“Ever since the end of the nineteenth century the problem of what to do with the surplus of consumption goods has been latent in industrial society.” (188).
“When the machine first made its appearance it was clear to all thinking people that the need for human drudgery, and therefore to a great extent for human inequality, had disappeared.” (189).
“But it was also clear that an all around increase in wealth threatened the destruction-indeed, in some sense was the destruction- of a hierarchical society.” (189).
“The essential act of war is destruction, not necessarily of human lives, but of the products of human labor.” (191).
“It is deliberate policy to keep even the favored groups somewhere near the brink of hardship, because a general state of scarcity increases the importance of small privileges and thus magnifies the distinction between one group and another.” (191)
“War … accomplishes the necessary destruction…in a psychologically acceptable way. In principle it would be quite simple to waste the surplus labor of the world by building temples and pyramids, by digging holes and filling them up again… but this would provide only the economic and not the emotional basis for a hierarchical society.” (192).
“An inner party member may often be aware that the entire war is spurious and is either not happening or is being waged for purposes quite other than the declared ones; but such knowledge is easily neutralized by the technique of doublethink.” (192)
“The two aims of the party are to conquer the whole surface of the earth and to extinguish once and for all the possibility of independent thought.” (193).
“There are therefore two great problems which the party is concerned to solve. One is how to discover, against his will, what another human being is thinking, and the other is how to kill several hundred million people in a few seconds without giving warning beforehand.” (193)
Parties goal: Surround one of the other super powers and simultaneously, without the prior knowledge of the other party, set off enough weapons to annihilate said country. Then, do the same thing to the other super power.
3 key tenants: “Everywhere there is the same pyramidal structure, the same worship of a semi-divine leader, the same economy existing by and for continuous warfare.” (197).
“Here it is necessary to repeat what has been said earlier, that by becoming continuous war has fundamentally changed its character. In past ages, a war, almost by definition, was something that sooner or later came to an end, usually in unmistakable victory or defeat.” (197)
“Cut off from contact with the outer world, and with the past, the citizen of Oceania is like a man in interstellar space, who has no way of knowing which direction is up and which is down.” (198)
“They (the party) are obliged to prevent their followers from starving to death in numbers large enough to be inconvenient, and they are obliged to remain at the same low level of military technique as their rivals; but once that minimum is achieved, they can twist reality into whatever shape they choose.” (198)
“The war, therefore, if we judge it by the standards of previous wars, is merely an imposture. It is like the battles between certain ruminant animals whose horns are set at such an angle that they are incapable of hurting one another.” (199).
“The war is waged by each ruling group against its own subjects, and the object of war is not to make or prevent conquests of territory, but to keep the structure of society intact. The very word “war,” therefore, has become misleading. It would probably be accurate to say that by becoming continuous war has ceased to exist.” (199).
“A peace that was truly permanent would be the same as a permanent war.” (199).

Therefore: WAR IS PEACE

1984 Background Vocabulary

Directions: Students are to take 7 of these words and use them three separate times each (one notecard for each word, with the word on the front, and the three usages on the back). I want one sentence using the term in an analogous relationship, one where they use the term then define it in their own words, and one where they use the term in a sentence.

1984 Vocabulary: WAR IS PEACE (184-199)

(dictionary.com)

Neolithic: of, pertaining to, or characteristic of the last phase of the Stone Age
Irrevocable: unable to be repealed or annulled
Gyroscope: used to maintain equilibrium, determine direction
Arbitrary: subject to individual will or judgment without restriction
Annihilating: to reduce to utter ruin or nonexistence
Chivalrous: having the qualities of chivalry, as courage, courtesy, and loyalty
Reprisals: Retaliation for an injury with the intent of inflicting at least as much injury in return
Meritorious: deserving praise, reward, esteem, etc
Fecundity: fruitfulness or fertility, as of the earth
Archipelago: a large group or chain of island
Armaments: the arms and equipment with which a military unit or military apparatus is supplied
Inviolate: free from violation, injury, desecration, or outrage
Dilapidated: reduced to or fallen into partial ruin or decay, as from age, wear, or neglect.
Antiseptic: free from or cleaned of germs and other microorganisms.
Empirical: derived from or guided by experience or experiment
Espionage: the act or practice of spying.
Inherent: existing in someone or something as a permanent and inseparable element, quality, or attribute
Drudgery: menial, distasteful, dull, or hard work.
Confer: to consult together; compare opinions
Privations: Lack of the basic necessities or comforts of life.
Obsolete: no longer in general use
Deliberate: carefully weighed or considered
Scarcity: insufficiency or shortness of supply; dearth
Austere: severe in manner or appearance
Laborious: requiring much work, exertion, or perseverance
Besieged: to crowd around; crowd in upon; surround
Credulous: willing to believe or trust too readily
Adulation: to show excessive admiration or devotion to
Orgiastic: of, pertaining to, or having the nature of an orgy
Spurious: not genuine, authentic, or true
Preponderance: superiority in weight, power, numbers
Diminution: the act, fact, or process of diminishing; lessening; reduction
Indefatigably: incapable of being tired out; not yielding to fatigue; untiring
Soluble: capable of being solved or explained
Superseded: to replace in power, authority, effectiveness, acceptance, us
Assimilate: to take in and incorporate as one's own; absorb
Tacitly: understood without being openly expressed; implied
Execrate: to detest utterly; abhor; abominate.
Barbarous: uncivilized; wild; savage; crude.
Distinguishable: to mark off as different
Impose: to lay on or set as something to be borne, endured, obeyed, fulfilled
Impair: to make or cause to become worse
Inimical: adverse in tendency or effect
Palpable: readily or plainly seen, heard, perceive
Obliged: to require or constrain, as by law, command, conscience, or force of necessity
Ruminant: contemplative; meditative
Plundered: To rob of goods by force, especially in time of war
Inviolate: free from violation, injury, desecration, or outrage

Final Essay

Othello
Essay Exam 100 points
(This is so you can formulate your ideas as we read the text)

Directions: Choose one of the following and respond in an essay. Your answers must have a clear thesis statement that is developed using specific details and quotations from the novel. The essay should be between 3-5 pages long. This sheet needs to be stapled to the front of your essay!!!! Due 3/27
1) Take one motive we have discussed, or that you have come up with on your own, and ascribe it to Iago’s character. Make an argument that this motive is the reason for his actions throughout the play.
2) Take two complementary characters and make an argument as to why they compliment each other and how they do. How does each character make the other more pronounced? How are they defined through their juxtaposition?
3) Is Othello simply a puppet who is manipulated by Iago? Do we sympathize with Othello, or, as a reader, do we blame him for his actions? Make an argument.
4) Which female character do you think is a better example for a modern female reader, Desdemona or Emilia? What does each character represent as a wife and as a female?
5) Create a topic of your own. You must submit the question to me formally for approval via email (pgeorge@trinitycatholic.com) before the 24th of March.
Grading: Your essays will be graded on the following rubric.
Thesis/ Intro (15): clear and focused argument with good introduction.
Organization (5): clear connections between paragraphs and topics, smooth flow

Support (25): provides accurate and specific details to support ideas
Clarity (25): Clear, strong language that is easy to understand, choose words carefully for effect; no 1st or 2nd person, standard English grammar, punctuation.
Conventions (5): Proper spelling, black ink, MLA format (including quote format).
Style (15): Student uses and effective writing style that is captivating. Vocabulary and sentence structure are varied.
Conclusion (10): Restatement of main argument, and conclusion of argument that logically flows from the rest of the paper.

Why Shakespeare is the Man

Why Shakespeare Is The Man: A rambling treatise

Considering that all of you are taking an honors English course, I am going to tell you now, very straightforwardly, you need to learn Shakespeare. Gentlemen, if you want to get girls, you need to read Shakespeare. Ladies, if you want true romance, you need to read Shakespeare. If you want virtue, he’s got it. You want morality, he’s got it. You want fighting, war, racism, murder, treachery, love, suspense, deceit, comedy, and sexually charged 16 year olds? He’s got all of that too.
All kidding aside, to properly assimilate yourself into a truly academic setting, an adult culture, or even to understand life in general, you need to read Shakespeare.
We read once, “great books only tell us what we know already.” If you don’t know where that quote is from, I will be sadly disappointed. (Insert concerned looks on your faces and me saying, “1984 you idiots!”) Shakespeare is the king of that. He deals with all the complexities of life and articulates them in a historically unparalleled way. Everything you’ve ever wanted to say, he’s said, and way better than you ever could.
References to Shakespeare pop up all over the place once you know what you are looking for. For example the films: O, She’s the Man, 10 Things I hate about You, Romeo Must Die and many more are all examples of plot lines ripped off from Shakespeare. Furthermore, famous lines from Shakespeare pop up in song, film, writing, and television. The question remains, why? Why in the world are we still reading the literature of someone who has been dead for almost 400 years? What is relevant about it? Why does it still speak to us?
Like all things that are timeless, Shakespeare’s works deal with universal truths and the intricacies of the human condition. He delves into the psyche of the villain and hero, of the king and pauper, and of man and woman. The difference, the enduring difference, between Shakespeare and say our writing is the delicacy, complexity, and depth of his words; the unimaginable command with which he manipulates every nuance of every phrase. It is a command so thorough that scholars for years have attempted to condemn his writing as the work of many, rather than that of a single man. For example, the average person has a 4,000 word vocabulary; Shakespeare on the other hand, used over 29,000 words in his writing alone. 29,000! Think about that. Take a minute and try and think of even 100 words off the top of your head, then multiply that by 290. Wow.
Here’s a little background knowledge that may make the man behind the myth a little more interesting. Shakespeare’s famous sonnets were in fact written to two different people. The first is referred to as the “dark lady.” A lascivious woman who Shakespeare lusted after in his writing. The second was a man! Most often understood to be a young man. It has been widely debated whether this young man was the object of Shakespeare’s homosexual desire, or whether he was simply a friend who he loved dearly. Judge for yourselves.
Furthermore, Shakespeare’s veracity as the author of his writing has been highly speculated upon. His works have been presumed to be authored by such historical figures as Francis Bacon, Edward DeVere (the 17th Earl of Oxford) and many others. As members of the technological age I’m sure all of you are wondering how this is even possible, let me explain. The first question that needs answering is how could a commoner in the 1600s acquire the knowledge of foreign language, government, religion, and law necessary to write such extensive works? This astonishment is only compounded when we recognize that William Shakespeare of Stratford upon Avon had no formal education. There is no record of his attendance at any grammar, secondary, or university school. So, the question remains, who is William Shakespeare?
What we know is that there was a man named William Shakespeare who lived at Stratford upon Avon in England, and the preponderance of evidence points to this man as being the author of the greatest plays ever written in the English language. He had a wife who was eight years his senior named Anne Hathaway (ever heard the name before?). That couple bore three children, Susanna, Hamnet, and Judith. Shakespeare was born in April of 1564 and died on April 23, 1616. These are the facts, this is all we know.
Lastly, Shakespeare will be a challenge, but it should be one that you embrace. The language from these texts is ubiquitous in our culture, and will recur over and over again as your life goes on. Get to know them well, and if you can’t become smarter by reading them, then you’ll at least sound smarter for having read them.
Shakespeare is my homeboy, he should be yours too.

The Green Eyed Monster

Directions:
Answer each of these questions in a short response. Use your newly created blog to answer them. Simply copy and paste the questions from below to your blog and title the new post "The Green Eyed Monster" Answer each question in a few thoughtful sentences.

1.) Define the term jealousy as best you can:

2.)What are some of the characteristics of a jealous person?

3.) What makes people jealous?

4.) Is it “ok “to be jealous or is jealousy a bad thing? Why?

5.) Describe what you think it would feel like to be cheated on?

6.) Why is it such a terrible thing to be cheated on?

7.) What could be some after affects for the person who was cheated on?

8.) What would being cheated on make you want to do?

Shakespeare Quotes

Some Great Shakespeare Quotes:

“That man that hath a tongue, I say, is no man, if with his tongue he cannot win a woman.” – The Two Gentlemen of Verona

“I dare do all that may become a man, who dares do more is none.” – Macbeth

“I like God do not play with dice and do not believe in coincidence.”

“And thus I clothe my naked villainy / With old odd ends stolen forth from holy writ/And seem a saint when most I play the devil.” – Richard III

“There are no coincidences Delia, only the illusion of coincidence.”

"Did my heart love till now? forswear it, sight! For I ne'er saw true beauty till this night." – Romeo and Juliet

“"Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them" – Twelfth Night

"Honest plain words best pierce the ear of grief" - Love’s Labors Lost

"Ignorance is the curse of God, knowledge the wing wherewith we fly to heaven" - Henry VI

"Words without thoughts never to heaven go" – Hamlet

"If I lose mine honour, I lose myself" – Anthony and Cleopatra

"Be just and fear not" – Henry VIII

"The course of true love never did run smooth" – Midsummer Night’s Dream

"Love all, trust a few, do wrong to none" – All’s Well that Ends Well

"They do not love that do not show their love" – Two Gentlemen of Verona
"Love sought is good, but given unsought is better" – Twelfth Night

"Praising what is lost, makes the remembrance dear" – All’s Well That Ends Well

"Wisely and slow; they stumble who run fast" – Romeo and Juliet

"To thine own self be true; and it must follow, as the night the day, thou can'st not then be false to any man" – Hamlet

"The private wound is deepest" – Two Gentlemen of Verona

"O, flatter me, for love delights in praises – Two Gentlemen of Verona

"Defend your reputation, or bid farewell to your good life for ever" – Merry Wives of Windsor

"He that filches from me my good name, robs me of that which not enriches him, but makes me poor indeed" – Othello

"Sleep seldom visits sorrow; when it doth, it is a comforter" – Tempest

"When sorrow comes, they come not single spies, but in battalions" – Hamlet

"Do thy worst old Time; despite thy wrong, my love shall in my verse ever live young" – Sonnet 19

"How hard it is for women to keep counsel !" – Julius Caesar

Othello Essay

The Devil's in the Details

The play "Othello," by William Shakespeare, is a classic for many reasons but mainly because of the complexity of the characters he creates. No one personifies this more than Iago, one of the most duplicitous characters in the history of theater. Iago is portrayed as honest and loyal, but his true identity isn't divulged until the penultimate scene of the play. Iago's chicanery is revealed, yet he will not articulate his motive, once again denying the reader, and the injured parties, any satisfaction. Iago's true motive is that he has no motive; instead, he is used as the essence of pure evil, and as a foil to the Christian image of Desdemona.
Shakespeare attempts to ascribe certain motives to Iago, but none can be deemed sufficient to justify his perfidy. In the opening scene Iago complains of Cassio's appointment as Othello's lieutenant: "He, in good time, must his lieutenant be, and I- God bless the mark! - His Moorship's ancient" (1.1.28-30). This complaint is further backed by the argument that Iago has more experience, and more specifically, that he has more battle experience. Iago views Cassio as a lady's man, and a philologist, certainly not someone cut out to be an army lieutenant. It is a classic comparison of field experience versus intellectual capacity, and many times the victor has been the elocutionist. Therefore, we as the reader can hardly feel that Cassio deserves to be killed for his favorable appointment.
Shakespeare then has Iago articulate an argument that we as the reader can't help but find fallacious. Iago asserts, almost whimsically, that he believes abroad Othello, 'twixt my sheets h'as done my office (1.3.378). It is a wildly spurious accusation that he belies in the next breath by admitting that he isn't even sure if it is true. Now does this seem like a valid reason to ruin a marriage, injure one man violently, have a wife killed, and have a man commit suicide? Any reader would have a hard time believing that.
With no justifiable motive for his actions, we are left to view Iago as the essence of pure evil. Iago's treachery is so complete, and his deception so comprehensive that we are forced to view him as Othello later does, as almost a caricature of the Devil. Othello, when Iago's duplicity is revealed, even looks to Iago's feet to see if he has hooves, a blatant reference to the allegedly hooved Devil: "I look down towards his feet- but that's a fable. If that thou be'st a devil, I cannot kill thee" (5.2.282-283). Othello laments his inability to kill Iago if he truly be the devil, and later goes on to call him exactly what the reader is to view Iago as, a "demi-devil" (5.2.297). Shakespeare is often known for the subtlety and complexity of his writing, but most important, the deliberate nature of it. If he calls a man the Devil, he is certainly implying that there is at least a chance that he is. That chance is compounded by the lack of ulterior motives and the preponderance of evidence pointing to Iago's unjustified malevolence. Therefore, we are left with the simple conclusion that this is in fact a morality play in which Iago is the essence of enmity, and Desdemona the essence of beneficence.

The character of Desdemona is to be viewed in juxtaposition to Iago, and if we are to accept Iago as purely evil, then we must look at Desdemona's actions as wholly good. Desdemona is the pinnacle of virtue in her chastity, honesty, and faithfulness. In her tête-à-tête with Emilia, Desdemona tells us that she would not cheat on Othello for the entire world. Now, we generally would dismiss this as whimsical hyperbole, but Emilia moves the conversation to the practical application of having the world, and therefore, having the ability to nullify any wrongdoing. Desdemona is now faced with the omnipotence of the almighty, and even with that power, she dismisses Emilia's desire as lascivious, and claims that we would, "Beshrew me if I would do such a wrong for the whole world" (4.3.80). This claim would be challenging to veraciously make, even for the most pious person, yet Desdemona makes it with vigor.
Desdemona continues her saint like behavior when she remains unyieldingly faithful and loving, even as her husband's behavior has turned malicious. We see Iago's pernicious poison slowly working over Othello, and his actions begin to reflect his jealousy. Othello even ventures so far as to hit Desdemona, and her reaction could only be described as Christian: "I have not deserved this…I will not stay to offend you" (4.1.241-247). Simply put, Desdemona employs what Jesus implores us to do in Matthew 5:39, turn the other cheek. She embodies the essence of Christian virtue, and therefore, when juxtaposed to the devil-like Iago, we see her in diametrical opposition. We are to conclude that Desdemona is the yin to Iago's yang, and through this established relationship each is further stratified.
Shakespeare uses Iago and Desdemona to create, in essence, a morality play. We see the classic battle between good and evil take place between Iago and Desdemona, but it is not a fair fight. Through Iago's perniciousness he manipulates Othello and Roderigo to create a veritable army of destruction. He manipulates these characters, and as one would assume, three always beats one. Desdemona is eventually seen as a martyr, dying for what she believes in, and the only false words we hear her utter, are a defense of her love and her lord. Desdemona dies a pure death attempting to divert the blame from her lord to herself: "Nobody- I myself. Farewell. Commend me to my kind lord" (5.2.123-124). Desdemona's faith as a Christian is confirmed in this double entendre that alludes to both Othello, and her "Lord" above. This deed consummates the narrative of this morality play, and forces us to conclude that Iago's purported motives are insufficient, and that he truly is purely evil.