Month: September 2020

Separate Peace: Chapters 7-9

Posted on by kcarpenzano

 

 

Passages

The following passages might prove to be important. Re-read the sections with these passages and think about why they might be significant? What do they mean? What are important ideas, imagery, or words? How do they add to the story or a theme? Do they incorporate any literary devices?

Chapter 7

“They laughed at him a little, and he squirmed and looked guiltier than ever. He had a very weak foothold among the Butt Room crowd, and I had pretty well pushed him off it. His glance flickered out at me from his defeat, and I saw to my surprise that I had, by making a little fun of him, brought upon myself his unmixed hatred. For my escape this was a price I was willing to pay.”

“Not long afterward, early even for New Hampshire, snow came. It came theatrically, late one afternoon; I looked up from my desk and saw that suddenly there were big flakes twirling down into the quadrangle, settling on the carefully pruned shrubbery bordering the crosswalks, the three elms still holding many of their leaves, the still-green lawns. They gathered there thicker by the minute, like noiseless invaders conquering because they took possession so gently. I watched them whirl past my window—don’t take this seriously, the playful way they fell seemed to imply, this little show, this harmless trick.”

“Not that it would be a good life. The war would be deadly all right. But I was used to finding something deadly in things that attracted me; there was always something deadly lurking in anything I wanted, anything I loved. And if it wasn’t there, as for example with Phineas, then I put it there myself. But in the war, there was no question about it at all; it was there.”

 

Chapter 8

“[P]eace had come back to Devon for me. So the war swept over like a wave at the seashore, gathering power and size as it bore on us, overwhelming in its rush, seemingly inescapable, and then at the last moment eluded by a word from Phineas; I had simply ducked, that was all, and the wave’s concentrated power had hurtled harmlessly overhead, no doubt throwing others roughly up on the beach, but leaving me peaceably treading water as before. I did not stop to think that one wave is inevitably followed by another even larger and more powerful, when the tide is coming in.”

 

Chapter 9

“I did not know everything there was to know about myself, and knew that I did not know it; I wondered in the silences between jokes about Leper whether the still hidden parts of myself might contain the Sad Sack, the outcast, or the coward.”

Perfect Paragraph practice continued / student examples

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Jimena

Martin

Capucine

Tanguy

 

Louis

 

Brune

————

 

Thelmina

In Margaret Atwood’s novel The Handmaid’s Tale, Atwood creates a contrast between Offred’s colorful , emotional past and her dark, passive present. These shifts reveal her ability to alternate back and forth between a numb “survival mode” and her thriving interior identity. For example, while Offred is observing Serena outside, her memories come flooding back: “I once had a garden, I can remember the smell of the plump shapes of bulbs, held in the hands, coolness, the dry rustle of seeds through the fingers…time could past more swiftly that way.” The senses are active in this passage, through images such as the “smell of…bulbs” and the “dry rustle of seeds through the fingers.” It is as if her body remembers and longs for her past, which is brought to life through her detailed description of this flashback. Similarly, Offred creates a tone of nostalgia as she enters the kitchen: “The kitchen smells of yeast, a nostalgic smell. It reminds me of other kitchens, kitchens that were mine. It smells of mothers; although my own mother did not make bread. It smells of me, in former times, when I was a mother.” Once again, the sense of smell engages the past self she keeps inside, it even goes as far as helping her to realize that she once had a mother and once was a mother–something that should be obvious to her, but she has clearly kept hidden in her mind. Her longing for the past is reinforced by a diction of nostalgia that is present in words such as “nostalgic,” “reminds,” and “former times.” All of these elements contribute to an emotional, precise vision of her past, and her nostalgic description of each of these flashbacks illustrate the gap between the freedom of her past and the enslaving present.

Her enslaving present is, in fact, described in a totally different way than her past. It is described in an extremely nonemotional way which illustrates this “survival mode” she needs to be in as she lives with the Gilead Society. One of the characteristics of this “survival mode” is the way she lists every object surrounding her as if she needs to know what object she could use in case of emergency. For example, as she describes her bedroom she also enumerates every object she “possesses” ” A chair, a table, a lamp. Above on the white ceiling, a relief ornament in the shape of a wreath, and in the center of it a blank space, plastered over, like the place in the face where the eye had been taken out. There must have been a chandelier once. They removed anything you could tie a rope to.”. This very robotic way of speaking comes in a total opposition to her description of the past. The punctuation perfectly highlights that shift in her mood as she talks about the present which, coupled with the enumeration of objects, demonstrates how she has to act as she lives as a handmaid but also how she repeals all her feelings to be focused on what could happen around her. Even on her walks to go shopping, she still describes her surroundings in a very precise way which practically makes the reader feel like it’s a report : “The wall is hundreds of years old too; or over a hundred, at least. Like the sidewalks, it’s red brick, must have been plain but handsome. Now the gates have sentries and there are ugly new floodlights mounted on mental posts above it, and barred wire along the bottom and broken glass set in the concrete along the top.”. In this quote, Offred gives more historical indications on, for example, the age of the wall but also on the new constructions. This knowledge in every change that occured in her surroundings could be another characteristic of her “survival mode”. In fact, it shows how careful she needs to be with this society and how each detail could help her to escape her position and this society or at least stay alive and carry on her memories. 

OIB Essay Practice

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  1. The development of some literary characters depends greatly on the influence of another character. How does this statement apply to two works on your OIB syllabus?
  2. Literature is not just for art’s sake, but also a vital critical reflection of the spirt of its time. How do two literary works from your OIB program both reflect and challenge the spirit of the times in which they were written?
  3. “I regret that it takes a life to learn how to live.” (Jonathan Safran Foer) Sometimes the moments of true understanding come when it is too late to change or take action. Discuss this idea in two OIB works.

Onomatopoeia and Cystic Fibrosis

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Onomatopoeia List

Quiz next Tuesday, September 22nd on these words

Cystic Fibrosis

Ghost Science Extension Activity: Cystic Fibrosis

 

Read the article below adapted from KidsHealth.org and watch the video then discuss the questions that follow.

 

READ

What is Cystic Fibrosis?

Cystic fibrosis (CF) is a disease that causes the body to make thick, sticky mucus (like the stuff that comes out of a runny nose). This causes problems in two major areas: the lungs and the digestive system.

The mucus is thick and sticky and can clog up the lungs. This creates a place where bacteria can easily grow — and bacteria cause infections.

Mucus-producing cells line the digestive tract, and this can make it difficult for people with CF to digest food and get all the vitamins and nutrients they need.

What Causes CF?

CF is not a contagious disease you can catch like a cold. It is an inherited disease, which means that it’s passed down from parent to child. Someone who has CF was born with it. Maybe you’ve heard someone say, “It’s in your genes.” They don’t mean your blue jeans. Genes make up the blueprint each of your cells follows to make you a unique individual.

Genes determine your eye and hair color and also are responsible for certain health problems. People with CF got the disease because their moms and dads each had a gene for CF. You need two CF genes (one from mom and one from dad) to have cystic fibrosis.

Most people don’t know that they carry the gene for CF until they have a child who has the disease because carriers of the CF gene do not have the disease themselves.

How Is CF Treated?

The aim of CF treatment is to keep the lungs clear of mucus and free of infection. People with CF sometimes put on special vests that shake up their chests to loosen mucus from their lungs. If they don’t clear their lungs, it’s very hard to breathe and they could get a serious lung infection. People with CF must also take many medicines every day to help keep them from getting sick. Some people with CF must breathe through a mask hooked up to tank of oxygen they carry around with them.

People with CF have problems with their digestive tracts that make it hard to break down food properly. Most kids with CF take medicine that helps digest food and some get nutrients through a feeding tube. This is a tube that connects to a tiny hole in their stomachs called a g-button like the one pictured below. This hole does not hurt and it is not open to the air. It stays closed with a plastic lid that opens and connects to the feeding tube when it is time to get nutrients. People with g-buttons only need to change them every few months. You can watch a boy named Jake change his in this video. 

Here’s is Maya’s g-button with her feeding tube attached Here is a picture of a g-button on a real person. Since no feeding tube is attached, its lid is closed. WATCH

Click the picture to watch a video about cystic fibrosis.

 

DISCUSS

  1. What are symptoms of cystic fibrosis? What are the two main body systems affected?
  2. Is the disease contagious?
  3. What are treatments for CF?
  4. What questions do you have about the disease?

Perf paragraph outline: tone in The Handmaid’s Tale (written together in class)

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Question: How does the tone of Margaret Atwood’s novel show Offred’s state of mind?

Thesis Statement:

In Margaret Atwood’s novel The Handmaid’s Tale, Atwood creates a contrast between Offred’s colorful , emotional past and her dark, passive present. These shifts reveal her ability to alternate back and forth between a numb “survival mode” and her interior identity.

a) “I once had a garden, I can remember the smell of the plump shapes of bulbs, held in the hands, coolness, the dry rustle of seeds through the fingers…time could past more swiftly that way”

b)” The kitchen smells of yeast, a nostalgic smell. It reminds me of other kitchens, kitchens that were mine. It smells of mothers; although my own mother did not make bread. It smells of me, in former times, when I was a mother”

c) ” A chair, a table, a lamp. Above on the white ceiling, a relief ornament in the shape of a wreath, and in the center of it a blank space, plastered over, like the place in the face where the eye had been taken out. There must have been a chandelier once. They removed anything you could tie a rope to.”

d) “The wall is hundreds of years old too; or over a hundred, at least. Like the sidewalks, it’s red brick, must have been plain but handsome. Now the gates have sentries and there are ugly new floodlights mounted on mental posts above it, and barred wire along the bottom and broken glass set in the concrete along the top.”

 

 

Transformation of outline into a coherent paragraph:

In Margaret Atwood’s novel The Handmaid’s Tale, Atwood creates a contrast between Offred’s colorful , emotional past and her dark, passive present. These shifts reveal her ability to alternate back and forth between a numb “survival mode” and her thriving interior identity. For example, while Offred is observing Serena outside, her memories come flooding back: “I once had a garden, I can remember the smell of the plump shapes of bulbs, held in the hands, coolness, the dry rustle of seeds through the fingers…time could past more swiftly that way.” The senses are active in this passage, through images such as the “smell of…bulbs” and the “dry rustle of seeds through the fingers.” It is as if her body remembers and longs for her past, which is brought to life through her detailed description of this flashback. Similarly, Offred creates a tone of nostalgia as she enters the kitchen: “The kitchen smells of yeast, a nostalgic smell. It reminds me of other kitchens, kitchens that were mine. It smells of mothers; although my own mother did not make bread. It smells of me, in former times, when I was a mother.” Once again, the sense of smell engages the past self she keeps inside, it even goes as far as helping her to realize that she once had a mother and once was a mother–something that should be obvious to her, but she has clearly kept hidden in her mind. Her longing for the past is reinforced by a diction of nostalgia that is present in words such as “nostalgic,” “reminds,” and “former times.” All of these elements contribute to an emotional, precise vision of her past, and her nostalgic description of each of these flashbacks illustrate the gap between the freedom of her past and the enslaving present.

c) ” A chair, a table, a lamp. Above on the white ceiling, a relief ornament in the shape of a wreath, and in the center of it a blank space, plastered over, like the place in the face where the eye had been taken out. There must have been a chandelier once. They removed anything you could tie a rope to.”

d) “The wall is hundreds of years old too; or over a hundred, at least. Like the sidewalks, it’s red brick, must have been plain but handsome. Now the gates have sentries and there are ugly new floodlights mounted on mental posts above it, and barred wire along the bottom and broken glass set in the concrete along the top.”

 

Chapter 5 Perfect Paragraph written together in class

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In John Knowles’ novel A SEPARATE PEACE, Knowles uses the symbol of Finny’s shirt and diction of grandeur to show Gene’s guilty, toxic obsession with Finny. For example, when Gene found himself in their room alone after Finny’s accident, he has an idea to wear Finny’s clothes and searches for his pink shirt: “I looked for and finally found his pink shirt.” This item of clothing is much more than a shirt to Gene. It symbolizes the night when Gene first felt jealous of Finny, because he could “get away with anything.” By putting on the shirt, Gene becomes Phineas : “I was Phineas, Phineas to the life. I even had his humurous expression in my face, his sharp, optimistic awareness.” Here, more than imitate Finny, by putting on his clothes Gene clearly hopes to “become” his roommate. This is demonstrated when he repeats “Phineas” and also in the fact that he wants not just to look like Finny, but also to adopt his “sharp, optimistic” outlook that allows him to get away with things at school. The shirt signifies everything Gene wishes to be and envies Finny for. Furthermore, in the same passage the narrator describes the effect Finny’s clothes have on him. He uses words such as “rich,” “noble,” “high,” “Spanish grandee,” “aristocrat,” and “triumphant” to express his feeling of intoxicating “grandeur” in response to taking on the role of Finny. The fact that these words are so hyperbolic shows the intense desire, admiration, and perhaps even his grief he has for Finny. Conceivably, these emotions indiciate that he is devoted to replacing Finny—in other words, to soothe his guilt by living out the life that he took away from him. All in all, Gene’s narration in this extract reveals his unhealthy obsession with Finny, and the power his guilt has over him.

Dorian Gray Links — Partner Work

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The Handmaid’s Tale (Rebecca, Baptiste)

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1jwQz1VXbKwengL_Rx0KGVPhnWj4R-zrX5jaOjUsFCNw/edit?usp=sharing

Love in the Time of Cholera (Madeleine, Daniela)

https://docs.google.com/document/d/15BYUxPEYZ3FDu7UDw1ikCcbAWfDli5j57epOIGvAqcA/edit?usp=sharing

Sweet Bird of Youth (Debora, Maryam)

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1fhRweDrtF60vfiIzfTiGIu-8kdOPh6Twwxb_rG1d2CY/edit?usp=sharing

Intimate Apparel (Lana, Angelina)

IMG_8256

A Stranger in the Village

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1WyZgzM6kikizebtsHq74Eq1y5lqyrtD5zFvlxigmKqM/edit?usp=sharing

Interpreter of Maladies

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1kf3t2cpOudd-fWt1kqUC9fUHxEa8PN0w7Nae6hSFt9w/edit?usp=sharing

Frost (Adriana)

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1IKYhkFFN62Cm643LTCjzgwLpr5YuKxaVGDiFmCvtLZA/edit?usp=sharing

 

 

Chapters 4-6 of A Separate Peace

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Evidence it was by accident:

“I reached out but you were gone. You went down through those little branches underneath and when I reached out there was only air.” chapter 5

“what happened there at the tree, that goddamn tree, I’m going to cut down that tree, who cares who can jump out of it”

“it was the first clumsy physical action I had ever seen him make”

“He had never been jealous of me for a second. Now I knew that there never was and never could have been any rivalry between us”

ON PURPOSE

“I deliberately jounced the limb so you would fall off”

“If anyone had been suspicious of me I might have developed some strength to defend myself but there was nothing, no one suspected”

“I did not cry then or ever about Finny”

“he must be too sick or too noble to tell them”

“trying to empty my mind…to forget who I was”

“I cried because of kindness which I had not expected”

“Finny his balance gone swung his head around to look at me for an instant with extreme interest, and then he tumbled sideways”

 

Oral Exam Practice Schedule

Posted on by kcarpenzano

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1T7CwByS2i1OEpjeNzjXA5qI1Y8d2dtyHYQOQ323LlQQ/edit?usp=sharing

Schedule / weekly presentation order

 

Oral Examination Guidelines:

Candidates are given a passage by the examiner of not more than 40 lines from
one of their three works in depth: The Tempest, a novel or a poem.
This passage is prepared in a room with other students where ID cards and
convocations are checked. No personal notes, cell phones or dictionaries are
available. The student prepares the first half of the oral, situating the passage in
the work as a whole, analyzing it thematically and stylistically and linking it to
two other works on the syllabus.

After 30 minutes the examiner takes the candidate to the exam room where
the student is invited to read a part of the passage and to speak for at least 10
minutes uninterrupted. If the student encounters difficulties of any sort, the
examiner will help out with questions. After 10 minutes of commentary, the
candidate should move on to making stylistic and thematic links with two other
works on the syllabus. If the commentary appears to exceed ten minutes, the
examiner reminds the student that it must be finished up. Links to other works
should be well developed, lasting a good two minutes for each one. This is the
opportunity for candidates to lead the examiner towards themes and stylistic
devices they are particularly interested in. During the entire oral exam the
examiner will be taking notes on a document to be kept for a year in case of
questions of any sort.

In the second half of the oral, the examiner asks questions about other works
on the syllabus, often following the lead given by the student. All three works in
depth must be touched on and ideally another 3 to 5 works. Since this is a
literature exam, students are awarded extra points if they spontaneously speak
about style without prompting from the examiner. At the end of the oral the
examiner collects all the notes taken by students during the preparation period.

Summary: 
FIRST HALF (15 minutes) Candidate leads
Introduction: Situation and Thesis (1 to 2 minutes)
Commentary: Parts and Detailed analysis (8 minutes)

Links: Stylistic and thematic comparison to two other works (5 minutes)

SECOND HALF (15 minutes) Examiner leads
Thematic and stylistic questions on 4 to 6 other works on the syllabus are
discussed in a literary conversation.

FIRST PART OF ORAL (15 minutes)

I. INTRODUCTION: SITUATION OF THE PASSAGE, THESIS (why the
passage is important in the work as a whole) (1 to 2 minutes)
The conclusion should be given in the introduction. Unlike in French
orals, OIB students should immediately state what the passage is about and
why it is important in the work as a whole.

For example, Act 1 Scene 2 lines 66-105 is part of Prospero’s first
conversation with Miranda which serves as a exposition device in which
Prospero explains the background and introduces some of the key characters
in the story. In this section of the conversation, which is in many ways a
monologue delivered to Miranda, he establishes the dichotomy between
himself and his brother Antonio. To do so, Prospero not only offers a detailed
description of his brother’s betrayal, but uses opposing language of “good”
and “trust” versus “evil” and “false” to describe himself and his brother
respectively. The student’s introduction should entail a brief reference to
how the actions and words of each character before and after this extract
show Prospero to be a reliable if not dispassionate narrator here.

II. COMMENTARY (8 to 9 minutes)
A. Defining Parts (1 to 2 minutes)
The candidate should point out (without giving precise line numbers) various
movements and shifts  in the passage. Changes in ideas should be noted,
progressions defined. In order to find these, the student should look for changes
in TONE. Where does an author, narrator, character, persona move from anger
to self-pity, from cool reasoning and detachment to an emotional outburst?
Why? These changes in tone are often signaled by punctuation, (exclamation
marks especially), indentations or a change in line length. Once the passage or
poem is divided into parts according to different ideas and tones, the examiner
will have a clear indication of the student’s understanding of its importance. The
student will have a clear outline from which to proceed!

B. Detailed analysis (6 to 8 minutes)
Here, the student should go down through the passage, not in a strictly linear
fashion as in a French « explication de texte » (there will not be enough time to
do so). However, the text should be followed more or less chronologically to
make it easier for the examiner to follow and for the student not to forget
important elements. This is what is meant by linear but not too linear. The
main ideas must be explained and important stylistic devices pointed out:
metaphors, similes, sounds (alliteration, assonance and consonance), line length
if important, repetitions, and striking images, especially those which recur in the
work as a motif. In all cases style must be linked to meaning.

C. Conclusion (1 minute)

Without any unnecessary repetition, a conclusion should be once again drawn as
to the overall importance of the passage within the work as a whole. For
example, one might conclude that Prospero’s exposition introduces many of the
important themes of the play, such as the use and abuse of power, manipulation,
and natural order, which he himself will struggle with.

D. Links (4 to 5 minutes)
This is the moment when candidates take the oral into their own hands. Though
it may appear difficult to link a passage to other works on the syllabus, this is not
hard if one takes into account both stylistic and thematic possibilities. For
example, if the passage given is an exposition device (to continue our Tempest
example), it suffices to find a moment of exposition in any other work on the
syllabus: Chillingworth’s conversation with the Townsman, Esther’s
conversations with any of the characters in Act 1 scenes 1-5, Baldwin’s use of
anecdote.

A student may choose to make a comparison based on a similar theme (use of
power, abuse of power, leadership, manipulation, desire for knowledge, illusion
versus reality) and so forth.

To complete the comparison, style must be taken into account. Lahiri’s semi-
omniscient narratives offer a singular subjective viewpoint, like Prospero’s, and
the reader must read between the lines to understand more fully, while
Hawthorne offers insight into a variety of character’s thoughts and pasts for the
reader to critique. Shakespeare uses reflection upon the past, as does
Hawthorne, but not always for the same purposes. So the possibilities for links
are nearly endless and candidates are encouraged to use whatever comparisons
or contrasts they deem interesting and able to sustain for more than just a
sentence. To develop links it is necessary to speak both about what is similar and
different in two works, both stylistically and thematically.

SECOND PART OF THE ORAL (15 minutes)

This part of the oral is intended to be a conversation between the candidate
and the examiner in which different points of view are exchanged, moving
from one work to another according to the depth of knowledge and opinions
of the candidate. The examiner will be looking for what candidates know, not
what they do not know. Students are encouraged to be active and to speak
about style as often as possible, always in relation to the author’s aims. The
more sophisticated the literary analysis, the richer the exchange will be.
GOOD LUCK! Most OIB students recall their literature oral as a wonderful
moment, so enjoy it!

Epigrams continued

Posted on by kcarpenzano

Pick any one of these epigrams and write a (perfect) paragraph in which you explain: what the statements mean, how they relate to the novel, and your opinion of them.

    • None of us can stand other people having the same fault as ourselves.
    • It is only shallow people who do not judge by appearance.
    • Nowadays people know the price of everything and the value of nothing.
    • Whenever a man does a thoroughly stupid thing, it is always from the noblest motives.
    • There are only two kinds of people who are really fascinating–people who know absolutely everything, and people who know absolutely nothing.
    • The secret of remaining young is never to have an emotion that is unbecoming.