Friday

TOK today. Be sure you have read ALL Orwell essays from the linked pack on the right or from the textbook.

"Shooting an Elephant"
"A Hanging"
"The Spike"
"How the Poor Die"
"Down the Mine"
"Politics and the English Language"
"You and the Atomic Bomb"

Thursday

Students practiced an oral commentary on self-selected passages from "The Spike." The reading assignment is to complete "How the Poor Die."

An orals schedule will be posted on my door tomorrow morning.

Wednesday

Students selected passages from "The Spike" and practiced orals. Afterward, they were assigned "How the Poor Die" to read for Friday.

Tuesday

Class prepared and practiced an oral commentary on "Down the Mine." Read "The Spike" and select thirty to forty lines that you think are particularly rich in detail and meaning.

Monday

Read "The Spike" for Wednesday.

Friday

Read "Down the Mine." Choose an approximately 30-line section. List all the violations (or clear demonstrations) of Orwell's rules from "Politics and the English Language" or the spirit of those rules in your chosen passage.

Thursday

Read "Down the Mine." Choose an approximately 30-line section. List all the violations (or clear demonstrations) of Orwell's rules from "Politics and the English Language" or the spirit of those rules in your chosen passage.

Wednesday

Students should complete the work on "A Hanging" and read "Politics and the English Language" for Friday.

See last Wednesday's post for the questions on "A Hanging."

Tuesday

Read "You and the Atomic Bomb" for Thursday. Note two of the best examples you find of Orwell's use of understatement. How do those uses affect the piece?

Wednesday

Assignment from "A Hanging" due Tuesday.

1. Mark which paragraphs are predominantly descriptive; then mark which paragraphs are predominantly narrative; then mark which passages are predominantly commentarial; and then mark which passages seem to you the most emotionally charged or even biased. What case is the author making?

2. Discuss the role of these details: the dog, the puddle, the dialogue at the end.

3. What three sense details struck you most forcefully? Explain why.

4. Find two metaphors in "A Hanging." Are they decorative for simple visual appeal (many are) or do they convey and idea or meaning beyond the picture? Explain.

Choose one of the following. Write your pieces clearly and be prepared to present them.

5. a. You're editing "A Hanging" for space. Cut 50-75 words and defend your choice. Mark the edits on your copy and write your defense. Pretend you are making a case to the editor-in-chief, and this essay was your assignment to ready Orwell for publication in your magazine.

5. b. Describe a gruesome scene you witnessed: a robbery, fight, accident, a death. Get 15-20 sharp sense details and a purposeful metaphor into the writing.

Tuesday

Students shared writings from "Marrakech" and did some classwork on "Shooting an Elephant." They  should read "A Hanging" by next class period and mark paragraphs as "narrative" or as "commentary." Highlight what you think of as the "thesis" of the piece. Is it a persuasive piece? 

Here is the classwork for today:

Keep this work very neat and orderly, and have it with you for Wednesday's class (January 21):
1. Look up symbol in your Literary Handbook. Write the definition on your paper. Then determine what the elephant might symbolize. Be sure it is consistent with the essay's action. 
2. Look up and define situational and verbal irony. Find and list four examples from "Shooting an Elephant" with at least one representative example for each type of irony.
3. Do the same for tone (tone can reveal irony), and extract three passages that prove what you say. See board for adjectives describing tone. (They are all words describing ATTITUDE -- and keep in mind, whose attitude toward what? bitter, callous, condescending, contemplative, contemptuous, critical, cynical, defensive, defiant, desperate, detached, determined, didactic, diplomatic, disdainful, dramatic, formal, friendly, enthusiastic, humorous, indignant, informal, intimate, ironic, judgmental, lighthearted, malicious, mocking, nostalgic, objective, persuasive, reflective, reverent, sarcastic, sardonic, satirical, sincere, sympathetic, tragic, urgent, or vindictive.)
4. Look at the essay's point of view. In simple terms, in what point of view is it presented? Now, think more closely, and describe what creates the ironic gap between the narrator and the subject of his narration.
5. Who does Orwell address -- that is, who is his audience? What would he like for them to think or do?
6. Read "A Hanging" for Wednesday, January 21. Prep for exam commentary, which will be Thursday (reread The Piano Lesson and review all Donne poems).

For those who missed the Orwell passage from "Marrakech," here it is.

Monday

A-day exam was today. Please see posts below for assignments for Wednesday.

Friday

Today students emulated a piece by Orwell for presentation next class period. Please bring it to class typed. Here is the piece to be emulated. They are also to read "A Hanging."

Thursday

Keep this work very neat and orderly, and have it with you for Wednesday's class:

1. Look up symbol in your Literary Handbook. Write the definition on your paper. Then determine what the elephant might symbolize. Be sure it is consistent with the essay's action.

2. Look up and define situational and verbal irony. Find and list four examples from "Shooting an Elephant" with at least one representative example for each type of irony.

3. Do the same for tone, and extract three passages that prove what you say. See board for adjectives describing tone.

4. Look at the essay's point of view. In simple terms, in what point of view is it presented? Now, think more closely, and describe what creates the ironic gap between the narrator and the subject of his narration.

5. Who does Orwell address -- that is, who is his audience? What would he like for them to think or do?

6. Read "A Hanging" for Wednesday. Prep for exam commentary, which will be Monday.

Those who missed the Orwell passage from "Marrakech," here it is.

Wednesday

Today we watched the ending of The Piano Lesson on video. Students are assigned George Orwell's "Shooting an Elephant" for Friday. Read it and consider the ironies you encounter. Also, bring coats for an outdoor experience.

Tuesday

Today's class started with George Orwell and did a writing exercise based on a selection extracted as "Marrakech." (This class is not in sync with B-day at this point.) Finish this piece and revise it as you type it. Have it for Thursday.

"Shooting an Elephant": please read, with an eye toward irony, for Thursday.

Monday

B-day started the movie version of The Piano Lesson today.