HOMEWORK #4: Footbinder

1. Pleasure Mouse looks forward to the visit from the footbinder right up until the big moment. Along the way she visits a number of characters who develop various ironies for the reader. Choose one of these characters and explain how his/her scene with Pleasure Mouse is ironic.

2. Who do you blame more for the footbinding--Pleasure Mouse's mother or father. Why?

HOMEWORK #3: Pied Piper of Tucson

Charles "Smitty" Schmid

Again, this is a five point assignment. Answer on time, or you will lose 10%/day--that's .5 points.

A. Go to the Short Story Links on the right. Click on Casebook: J.C. Oates
Of the "Four Critical Interpretations" which do you agree with the most? Why?

B. Now click on the link called Time:Smitty
How is the teen culture of the article similar to Connie's lifestyle? Do you think Oates is blaming the victim by "killing" Connie in her story? Why or why not?

HOMEWORK #2: "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?"

This assignment is worth 5 points. Click on comments and answer ABC.

A. Look at the name Arnold Friend. Now take out the "R" in each word. Write the new "name."

B. Look up the meaning of the new "name" of Arnold Friend. How does this meaning change the way you look at the story?

C. What happens to Connie after she goes off with Arnold Friend? Provide an example from the text as evidence.

HOMEWORK #1: "Stuff"

How does J.T. Leroy "prove" to the reader that "Stuff" is a true story? Click COMMENT and write a short paragraph in response.

Course Overview

Course Overview: SophoMorphology 08/09

This ain't yer brother's or sister's sophomore English.

The focus of Fall Semester is on writing. You will almost always be working on a draft of an essay. As a general rule, three out of four class meetings will cover writing, grammar, and vocabulary, while one day will center on Literature.

As we move into Othello, in Quarter 2, I will change up the cycle so that we spend two out of every five class meetings addressing the play.

Quarter 1: Approximately seven weeks: Sept 10--Oct 30

Grammar: parts of speech, parts of a sentence, sentence completeness. Exercises drawn from Grammar for Writing

Writing Assignments: review elements of the paragraph, narrative/descriptive (biographical essay), persuasive (Tabor editorial), literary analysis (short story element). Set up writing workshop and have partners use each week the skills of revising, editing, and proofreading

Literature: select short stories and Fences

Quarter 2: Approximately eight weeks: Oct 31--Jan 19

Grammar: phrases (prep, participial, gerund), clauses, sentence types. Exercises from Grammar for Writing

Writing Assignments: Students will use the three different essay types from Q1 (narrative, persuasive, lit. analysis) to respond to teacher-created topics.

Speech: Prepare persuasive speech before Christmas Break. Use vacation time to memorize and practice--ski lifts and tropical beaches are excellent for this type of exercise--then deliver
speeches in January. Final competition will be around Jan 20th. Serious cash money prizes and mad props to the winners. Would you prefer to attend college at Dartmouth or UMass Dartmouth? This honor could ultimately make the difference for you!

Literature: select short stories and Othello

Quarter 3:

Literature: 1984 and Their Eyes Were Watching God

Quarter 4:

Literature: Zodiac