Monday

 Today we are going to read, "Looking for Zora" by Alice Walker.  This week we will also look at Toni Morrison, Gregory Corso, Rita Dove and Billy Collins.

When you are finished I'd like you to answer the following:

1) What is your general response to this? How does one writer impact a person so much that they go looking for that person?

2) Does this change your view of Zora? Why or why not?

3) "Walker's optimism" writes critic Donna H. Winchell, "is ultimately born of her belief that something divine exists in every human and nonhuman participant in the universe. The inhabitants of her fictional world search...for that divine spark that makes them uniquely who they are." How might this quote apply to this essay? Cite evidence from the text to support your insight. 

 

Things to Study for Test

 "Hills Like White Elephants"

Know the symbolism of the setting, a major theme, the point of view, what's going on with the dialogue.

"Searching for Zora"

Summation. Why did Walker go looking for Zora? Answer the question: "Walker's optimism" writes critic Donna H. Winchell, "is ultimately born of her belief that something divine exists in every human and nonhuman participant in the universe. The inhabitants of her fictional world search...for that divine spark that makes them uniquely who they are." How might this quote apply to this essay?

Langston Hughes

Be able to list and explain a major theme in his poetry. Also look back at textbook questions on his poetry.

Allen Ginsberg

"Howl" "America" "Hum Bom" - explain what the poems are about and how they fit post-modernism

Gregory Corso

"Marriage" "The American Way"  - explain what the poems are about and how they fit post-modernism

Malcolm X and Malcolm Luther King

Go over study questions in textbook

"Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglas"

Explain a major theme of the narrative with examples.

Lincoln's 2nd Inaugural Address"

I might give you the text of this address on the test and ask you to SOAPSTone it and explain what Lincoln believes the Civil War has been about and what the next steps are. 

"The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock"

Theme. Discussion what is going on in the text.

Rita Dove

Discussion of poems. Look at text questions.

Billy Collins

Discussion of poems.  Look at text questions.

The Great Gatsby

Anything on the test you took. 

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

Anything on the test you took.

"Sonny's Blues"

Discuss the major conflict of the story and how this conflict connects a theme.

1) Write a paragraph overview of the story. What is it really about? What really happens?

2) There are a number of themes in the story including: suffering, darkness, feeling trapped and wanting to escape. How can you tie all of these into one dominate theme that is suggested in the title "Sonny Blues"? (Note there is no single answer for this questions).

Toni Morrison 

Look at study questions in Textbook.