Dr. E. likes to eat Domino's while he grades FINAL EXAMS.

First Semester Final Exam

Choose two works -- whether long or short, it doesn't matter -- from Unit 1 (the Anglo-Saxon or "Emergent" period), Unit 2 (The Middle Ages), or the poems covered so far in Unit 3 (the Renaissance) which you think do a particularly good job of providing insight on a single important issue. Write a 300-500-word essay on the subject. Some suggested important issues might include: the love of God; relationships between husband and wife; the goodness of creation; the virtues of honesty, humility, or self-sacrifice; avoidance of evil.

Assignment--yes--over the Christmas Break

Your assignment for Christmas break is as painless as we could possibly make it. Our hope is that it will even enrich your holiday.
You are to read a biography of a Christian, or an autobiography by a Christian.
Here's a link to last year's blog page that goes into more detail about the assignment. You might need to copy and paste it into the address bar. Enjoy.

http://evansandevans.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2008-12-10T20%3A12%3A00-08%3A00&max-results=7

(If anyone wants to borrow my bio of Eric Liddell--the runner--please let me know. This is rather hard to find.)

Thanksgiving

After Thanksgiving vacation, on Monday Nov. 30, A.P. English class will not meet; we will make up the 90 minutes sometime between then and the end of the semester. Since only Ji will be on campus at 8:00 a.m., she should go to the office in the upper school and either offer to help the office staff with any errands that need to be done or ask permission to study quietly in the teacher work room. We will resume class on Wednesday Dec. 2; for Thursday Dec. 3, be sure to have read the sonnets of Wyatt and Surrey. Have a great holiday.

Jousting, but not an endorsement

Disclaimer: We've never attended one of these, and we can't promise it's not sheer schlock. Still, it could be fun, whether kitschy or not--and it could count as your outside event.

Just FYI:

$30 -- 'Medieval Times' Dinner Show near Atlanta, 40% OFF^*

Last Update: 10/28/2009, 2:58 AM ET

Atlanta Castle in Lawrenceville, Georgia

Travel dates: Nov. 1 - Dec. 30

By Jessica DeBolt
Travelzoo Staff

Greetings Lords and Ladies. All Travelzoo subjects are invited to save up to 40% off tickets to a Medieval Times Dinner and Tournament.

From Nov. 1 - Dec. 30, tickets are as little as $30 (reg. $49.95) each, when you book a four-pack ($120 for four). Tickets are also discounted for groups smaller than four: Book a three-pack for $100 ($33.33 each) or two-pack for $75 ($37.50 each).

Enjoy a four-course Medieval Banquet at the Atlanta Castle in Lawrenceville, Georgia. Guests will be entertained by live jousting, sword fights, equestrian skills and falconry.

This deal is even available over popular holiday weekends.

Book by Nov. 29:

• Click here for tickets and more information. Choose a date and enter the quantity of tickets, then select "Regular" or choose any extras. Enter the code 2PZ9 (for a 2-pack) or 3PZ9 (for a 3-pack) or 4PZ9 (for a 4-pack) and click "Continue."

'Medieval Times Dinner & Tournament' 5900 Sugarloaf Pkwy Ste. 517, Lawrenceville, GA

My Turn Contest

I've not forgotten about the Newsweek-Kaplan "My Turn" essay contest, but--to my chagrin, the event seems to have breathed its last during the '08/'09 school-year. I'm still looking into it and also examining alternatives. Please let me know if you're aware of a comparable contest.

The Rest

Thanks to Emma's e-mail to me, everyone not going to Charleston gets a week off--and everyone going to Charleston gets a little vacation. Just please keep reading your novel, wherever you spend the week. You'll need to be 3/4ths of the way through when I see you again the week of the 19th--we'll probably undertake some sort of in-class writing on the 21st.

Also, please finish out List 5 of the SAT words. We'll have a cumulative and not-too-overwhelming quiz on the five lists. The point may seem moot, since you will have just finished the SAT, but you'll encounter most of those words for the rest of your life.

One last item: please recite our mantra, "memory, symbol, pattern," as you read, and think about all you've learned from the professor (Dr. Foster AND Dr. Evans). LOOK HIGH AND LOW FOR EXAMPLES in your book!
A second "last" item: Anyone find any egregious apostrophe errors yet?

Abrogation, Approbation, Conflagration

Your first SAT-word vocab test shouldn't be bad. Here's the final word on the format: we'll choose 35 or so words, then YOU'll choose 20 and define them. You probably know half of them already, yes?

Gregor

Be sure to finish Kafka's Metamorphosis by 9/30. While you read, be on the lookout for representative elements of existentialism, including alienation, the absurd, and the search for meaning. When you hear the term 'kafkaesque' in the future, you'll probably think back to the bleakness of Metamorphosis and understand the allusion.

You can find countless links to the entire text online. Here's one:

https://records.viu.ca/~Johnstoi/stories/kafka-E.htm

And another (be sure to read all three sections):
http://www.globusz.com/ebooks/Kafka/00000010.htm

Enjoy!

New Novel and a Couple of Due Dates

Please go ahead and line up a comp. lit novel, either from amazon.com or from the library. You'll need this in tow by September 30th. Remember that the Pines System through the Athens-Clarke Library allows you to borrow from any facility in the whole state of Georgia, so our librarians can find and order most anything you want. Make sure this book portrays life outside the Western-European tradition and is written by an author who either still lives in another region or is only first or second generation American or British.
Here are a few recommendations, but you may choose something else, as long as you clear it w/ us:

The Kite Runner OR A Thousand Splendid Suns, by Khaled Hosseini

The Kitchen God's Wife, by Amy Tan

The Inheritance of Loss, by Kiran Desai

Things Fall Apart, by Chinua Achebe, coupled w/ three stories from Uwem Akpan's Say You're One of Them

A House for Mr. Biswas, by V.S. Naipaul

One Hundred Years of Solitude, by Gabriel Garcia Marquez (please talk to us if you choose this one.)

DUE DATES (with apologies to Jiyeong for the confusion):

9/23:
-Rough draft of short story paper--please make sure this is in an almost-finished state by Wed. and carefully follow the guidelines on the handout I gave you. We probably will peer-edit and teacher-edit.

-Two important points from each of the final chapters of HTRLLAP--I really don't mind if you borrow from my list of important points from the last blog post, as long as you fill in a few details to let me know you're familiar with the chapters.

9/24
Final draft of short story paper

Foster's Last

Study Questions and Pointers for HTRLLAP, Quiz 4

--Know a couple of illnesses authors frequently use, and know what makes these particular diseases "choice" ones.

--Understand what Foster means about reading w/ more than just your eyes

--Be able to give a brief description of deconstruction...brief, very brief.

--What trumps everything in literature?

--Be able to give a couple of examples of irony from literature and authors who use it.

--What is the second point Foster makes about irony? (e.g. The Satanic Verses and its reception by Muslim clerics)

--What is the basic plot-line of "The Garden Party"?

--What is one possible deeper interpretation of the story Foster mentions?

-- In the "Envoi" section, what warning does Foster issue to the reader who's finishing his book?

Forgetaboutit.

In case any of you missed the update I sent via Emma T., I'll reiterate this bit of good news: You DON'T have to read your short story and start the paper this week after all. We'll tackle that AFTER you finish Foster's book. Just please pay special attention to the case study and student paper Foster cites, since I'll eventually want you to to write something similar.

Additionally, you won't have to take the Beowulf test until Thursday, the 17th, so that we'll have plenty of time to tie together any loose ends. For now, here's the revised schedule:
--Beowulf short paper-- Th, 9/10

--Foster's HTRLLAP--Finish by Wed, 9/16

--Beowulf Test--Thurs, 9/17

And speaking of fairy tales...

I wish I could have squeezed everyone into this photo, but a phone camera can only do so much. Also, seeing this picture before The Lady of Shalott adorned the back wall makes me happy we've decorated.
And Riggs, who gave you that shirt?

Here's a heads-up for quiz 3 over HTRLLAP:

--Be able to explain a couple of points Foster makes about a character's being submerged in water and/or drowning. (Note the chapter title for this topic.)

--What does a character's moving south usually signify? (Make sure you know what 'amok' means.)

--What does autumn usually symbolize in literature?

--Be able to define archetype and intertextuality and give a couple of examples of each.

--Why do authors often focus on characters w/ disabilities?

--To what end do writers frequently use blindness or sight in a story (or poem)?

--At what point in a story should the author usually tell the audience about a distinguishing feature of a character?

--What do heart ailments often signify in literature?

--Why do authors choose some illnesses over others?

--Other than AIDS, name an illness authors often employ in stories and what that particular disease might represent.

Foster--second round for Quiz 2

In order to minimize burn-out or overload, I've typed up the second list of important concepts from HTRLLAP.

Remember to bring your essays to our next class, and be prepared either to read yours--or have someone else read yours--aloud.

Foster, Chs. 10-15:

--- importance/meaning of specific elements of weather and water, Fisher King mythology
---Interlude: What does Foster say about writers and intentionality?

---violence and its importance on literal and symbolic levels

---symbolism--and when it is and isn't universal

--- Foster's opinion of political writing and his reasons for this opinion

--- the importance of Christianity and the Christ figure in Western literature

---significance of flight and a couple of examples of the flight myth

---importance of IRONY and its role when placed in the middle of a work

Out and About

Be sure to check the classroom's bulletin board to see my recent posting of upcoming literary/theatre events in the Athens/Atlanta area. If I weren't experiencing computer problems, I'd also post them on this blog, but that will have to wait.

Meanwhile, I'll add here that Atlanta's Shakespeare Tavern offers a full schedule of productions. If you choose to attend, you should fully experience the night as an Anglophile by ordering a Cornish pasty or serving of Shepherd's pie, along with (soft) cider.

Please feel free to add to the list in the classroom any brochures, clippings, etc. about other events--or if you can figure out how, you can add them here.

Better Late Than Never

Hello, wonderful Seniors! You can be proud of your poignant personal-interest essays, and your reflections on The New Yorker articles were very perceptive.

The illustration above will, I hope, remind you to bring your well-crafted introductory paragraph about a fairy tale of your choice to class next Wednesday. Pay special attention to the specifics we reviewed in class--particularly the carefully-worded thesis statement.
Also bring mental preparedness for your "written recitation" of the Alexander Pope poem and a quiz on the first 73 pages of How to Read Literature Like a Professor. To help preserve your sanity, I'll list below the salient points I want you to remember from Foster's intro and the first nine chapters:

---***Memory, symbol, pattern***----these concepts will be your constant companions all year, so please learn them well.
---Major elements of the quest, inc. the real reason vs. the ostensible reason
---Significance of food and drink/breaking bread together
---Significance of vampires and ghosts; essential elements of the genre
---Structure of the sonnet form, inc. lines, stanzas, shape, and the sentence as the basic unit of poetry
---What Foster means by asserting that there's "only one story."
---Shakespeare's place in literary allusions
---The Bible's place in literary allusions, along with major examples
---The literary canon and the importance of fairy tales, esp. Hansel and Gretel
---The real meaning of 'myth' and the widespread misconception about its meaning

Although she doesn't know it yet, I'm going to ask Emma Tingle to be our class emissary and information coordinator. I've chosen Emma for two reasons: 1) She, like most of you, is a responsible student, and 2) I know the Tingles' phone number by heart.

See you next week.