Week of February 27th--The Crucible!

1. The Crucible has a hard-hitting "moral of the story." What is it? Do you think this moral is still applicable in today's world? (use concrete details)

2. We have discussed one of the themes of The Crucible: Hypocrisy. Describe some of the hypocrisy in the drama (use concrete details)? What other themes do you find in The Crucible?

Week of February 27th--Macbeth!

1. What three things does Macbeth learn from the witches and apparitions and how does he react to them?

2. How does Macbeth react to Macduff's departure? (use concrete details)

3. What action is taken by Macduff and Malcolm in Act IV? (use concrete details)

Week of February 21st--The Crucible!

1. What is the relationship like between John and Elizabeth Proctor? Use evidence to support your answer.

2. How has Mary Warren's character changed? What has suddenly given her power? (Use concrete details)

3. Find 2 allusions in this Act?

4. Why is Proctor reluctant to tell Cheever about what Abigail told him? Is he justified in holding back?

5. Why hasn't John told the court what he knows? What does Elizabeth attribute his not telling to?

Week of February 21st--Macbeth (Act III)!

1. As Act III begins, Banquo is reflecting on what has happened to Macbeth. What 3 events does he state and what does he hope for himself ? (Use concrete details)

2. Wat reason does Macbeth give the murderers for wanting Banquo killed? What reason does he give for not doing it himself? (Use concrete details)

3. Why do you think Macbeth does not tell Lady Macbeth about his plan to murder Banque and Fleance? (Use concrete details)

4. When Banguo's ghost enters the banquet, what is Macbeth's reaction? (Use concrete details)

5. What does Lady Macbeth say to the guests is the reason for his behavior? What can you say about their relationship at this point in the play? (Use concrete details)

The Week of February 7th--Macbeth!!

1, With what words does Banquo reaffirm his loyalty to King Duncan?

2. What lie does Macbeth tell Banquo and why?

3. How do Macbeth and Lady Macbeth differ in their reactions to the murder?

4. Who are Macbeth's other victims? Why does he commit more murders?

5. Considering journal entry number 3, what are some recurring motifs in Act 2?

Week of February 7th--The Crucible!

1. Is there  moral compass in The Crucible? Who do you think is the moral compass and why?

2. Why is there so much tension between John Proctor and Abigail? What internl shifts have occured for both characters?

3. Describe and explain some of the heightened tension in Scene 2 (use concrete details).

Week of January 31st--Macbeth!

Dear Honor Students,

Please analyze the following quotes from Macebeth; identify the speaker, provide context for the meaning, and interpret the meaning.

1.   

Yet do I fear they nature;

It is too full o'th' milk of human kindness

To catch the nearest way. Thou wouldst be great,

Art not without ambition, but without

The illness should attend to it.

2.  

The Prince of Cumberland! That is a step

On which I must fall down or else o'erleap,

For in my way it lies. Stars, hide your fires; Let not light see my black and deep desires.

3.

Hie thee hither,

That I may pour my spirits in thine ear

And chastise with the valour of my tongue

All that impedes thee from the golden round.

Week of January 24th--The Crucible!

1. What do we learn in the opening narrative that is important to the events that follow?

2. What happened in the woods the night before Act One--begins?

3. Why is the town so stirred up by these events?

Week of Janaury 24th--Macbeth!

1. What are the witches planning at the beginning of the act?

2. What happened to the original Thane of Cawdor and why did he lose his title?

3. How do the wicthes greet Macbeth after the battle? Why?

4. What is the significance of Lady Macbeth's "unsex me" scene?

Week of January 9th--Native Son!

1. What are some of the reasons that Bigger begins to trust Jan and Boris Max?

2. Why does Bigger attack Reverend Hammond and discard the cross Hammond has given to him?

3. What two incidents in the novel indicate that the author believes that the psychiatric profession has contributed to racism?

Week of December 5th--Native Son!

1. Describe some of the many ways in which Bessie Mears, Bigger's girlfriend, is trapped in a life that is not of her own choosing (use concrete details).

2. Describe the way Bigger is hunted down after he has fled the Dalton home. How would this manhunt have been different if Bigger were white?

3. Mr. Dalton's private investigator, Mr. Britten, alternately expresses his hatred of African Americans and of Communists. After he interrogates Bigger, Bigger thinks to himself that "Mr. Britten was familiar to him; he had met a thousand Brittens in his life." What is it about Mr. Britten's thinking that makes him so easy for Bigger to understand, and how does Bigger intend to use Mr. Britten's prejudices to his own advantage?

Week of December 5th--Grapes of Wrath!

Please develop with your blog groups, 2 level 2 questions that pertain to your reading of Grapes of Wrath so far. You must also conprehensively respond to these questions (use concrete details)!

Week of November 28th--Native Son!

1. Compare and contrast Bigger's attitude toward the world around him and Mrs. Thomas'.

2. Mr. Dalton and Jan Erlone both profess to be friendly towards African Americans, yet they are hostile to each other. Compare and contrast their attitudes towards African Americans and explain their mutual hostility?

3. How is really fear to blame for the muder of Mary (this is a comprehensive question, be thoughtful and think of all aspects of fear that lead to the murder of Mary)?

Week of November 28th--Grapes of Wrath!

1. Explain the three-fold symbolism of giving the name Muley Graves to the dispossessed farmers.

2. Discuss what the family council meeting, before they set out, tells about the way of life and culture of the Joads.

3. What are clear examples of community for the nomadic Joads? And ruminate on the importance of community for these dispossessed farmers?

Week of November 14th--Native Son!

1. At the beginning of the novel, we are introduced to the Thomas family. Describe this family and the conditions in which they live? Be descriptive and use concrete details!

2, The title of Book One is Fear, how is this title symbolic and prophetic at the same time? What was Wright's intention with this title?

3. What initial event happens in the beginning of the novel that is clearly a foreshadowing of events to come?

4. How does Bigger feel about his home and its surroundings?

5. Who are Bigger's friends and what event takes place that creates a level of aggression with these friends?

6. Who are the Dalton's, and where and how do they live?

Week of November 14th--Grapes of Wrath!

1. How does the land turtle, that Tom Joad wraps up tight in his shirt, foreshadow events in the story?

2. What is corrupt and morally questionable about the bankers' agents that foreclosed on mortgages and drove farmers off of their land?

3. What happens to Tom Joad when he attempts to return home after 4 years in prison? Who does he meet along the way and what happens? Be specific and use concrete details!

4. Why does Tom Joad become so agitated with the truck driver that gives him a free ride? Make sure you are analyzing and using concrete details!

Week of November7th--Grapes of Wrath!

1.       Discuss the contextual importance of the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl in analyzing the significance of the Joads and their transient nature.

2.       What is at the heart of the plight of the Joads?

3.       Define what it means to be a composite character? How are the Joads actually a singular composite character; almost as if their characters are not fully developed unless in relation to each other.

Week of November 7th--Native Son!

1.       In the introduction, written by the author Richard Wright, Wright discusses at length the making of his protagonist, Bigger Thomas; he reflects on his childhood all the way up to his adulthood, and outlines specific examples of when he met a Bigger and the informing aspect of each incident. Please discuss the many Biggers that Wright experienced in the course of his life, and what did they ALL have in common. Please use concrete details to support your analysis.

2.       Analyze the following quote from the introduction to Native Son, written by Richard Wright:

From these items I drew my first political conclusions about Bigger: I felt that Bigger, an American product, a native son of this land, carried within him the potentialities of either Communism or Fascism. I don’t mean to say that the Negro boy I depicted in Native Son is either a Communist or a Fascist. He is not either. But he is product of a dislocated society; he is a dispossessed or disinherited man; he is all of this, and he lives amid the greatest possible plenty on earth and he is looking and feeling for a way out.

3.       What is at the heart of Bigger’s fears?

Week of October 25th--Gothic Literature!

Directions: Each member of each blog group must write their own Gothic Literature short story using their understanding of the tenents of Gothic Literature. For this week only, you have to write and post your Gothic Literature stories for your members to read and discuss. Good Luck!

Week of October 25th--Stone Diaries!

1. Identify scenes in the novel where there is situational irony and/or dramatic irony. Discuss how the irony informs the theme of the novel.

2. Identify the central purpose of the novel, and articulate and discuss the theme.

3. We have discussed the importance of style in conveying meaning, what is the writer's style in Stone Diaries and how does it work to inform meaning?