Update Jan. 30

Students continued giving their fashion analysis presentations.

Homework:
Read through page 155 of Huckleberry Finn.

Update Jan. 29

Students should have read up through page 135 of Huckleberry Finn by today.
In class yesterday and today, we have been having student fashion analysis presentations. The audience is required to reflect on the presentations by writing responses to the following for each presentation:
1) What is one strength of the presentation?
2) What additional insight can you add to the presenters' analysis?

Homework:
Rhetorical notebook entry for "The Decay of the Art of Lying" due tomorrow.

AP
On Monday students took a timed synthesis essay test on the topic of the U.S. Postal Service. Today we analyzed a student response that demonstrates strong voice. We also reviewed spelling rules/guidelines. Finally, we continued our study of the satirical article on advertising methods.

Update Jan. 27

We read together from Twain's essay "The Decay of the Art of Lying." We read and annotated the first half.  We will continue work on this tomorrow.  We then read together pages 109-111 of Huck Finn. We discussed Sherburn's speech and what Twain might be saying about Southern culture. He seems to be pointing out a different kind of hypocrisy than that which he highlighted with the Grangerford episode, a hypocrisy of cowardice masquerading as bravado.

Homework:
Read through page 123 of Huck Finn.
Be prepared to present your fashion analysis any day this week.

Update Jan. 23

Students worked with their partners on their fashion analysis assignment. They will have one more in-class day to prepare for their presentations which will begin next week. Remember, the PowerPoints must be submitted on Monday.

Update Jan. 22

Students took a reading quiz on the following question. What was Twain satirizing about Southern society in the Grangerford episode of Huckleberry Finn?

We discussed this question after the quiz, noting the ways Twain satirized the South's religious hypocrisy, obsession with gentlemanly honor, slave culture, and feuding culture (including the Civil War itself). We noted that the Grangerford's appearance of gentility was only a façade, like the Gilded Age itself. This hypocrisy was captured in the symbolism of Colonel Grangerford's white suit, also worn by Twain in a carefully manicured public persona.

Students were paired off to work on their new assignment:

Fashion Analysis

 

As Mark Twain has demonstrated by wearing his white suit, even the clothes we wear are an argument. Read the following excerpt from the “For the Strength of Youth” booklet and note what it says about how our dress and appearance communicate messages for good or for bad.

Through your dress and appearance, you can show that you know how precious your body is. You can show that you are a disciple of Jesus Christ and that you love Him. … When you are well groomed and modestly dressed, you invite the companionship of the Spirit and you can be a good influence on others.  Your dress and grooming influence the way you and others act.  … When you dress immodestly, you send a message that is contrary to your identity as a son or daughter of God. You also send the message that you are using your body to get attention and approval.

Your assignment is to conduct a fashion analysis. You are to select a photograph or collection of photographs that illustrate a specific wardrobe or fashion style. Then, you should analyze the rhetoric of the clothing. Consider the following questions as you conduct your analysis:

1.     What emotions do you associate with the clothing?

2.     What is the viewer likely to associate with the clothing? (What does the clothing remind the viewer of?)

3.     What group of people would the clothing we associated with?

4.     What colors are dominant and what emotional effect do the colors have?

5.     What shapes are dominant and what is the effect?

6.     What message is the clothing intended to communicate?

7.     What does the clothing say about masculinity or femininity?

8.     What does the clothing say about authority?

9.     What does the clothing say about beauty?

10.  What does the clothing say about the body?

11. What does the clothing say about age?

12. What does the clothing say about individuality?

13. What does the clothing say about unity?

14. What does the clothing say about what is important?

15. What role, if any, does brand name play in the clothing?

You will work with a partner on this assignment. With your partner, prepare to make an oral presentation of your fashion analysis during class next week. For your presentation, you must bring a BRIEF PowerPoint presentation with your selected images. Do not include text in your PowerPoint; rather, be prepared to orally share your analysis in a concise, organized manner. You need to prepare notecards with main talking points. Your presentation should be 3-5 minutes in length. It should focus on both WHAT the clothing communicates and HOW it communicates.

Obviously, it would be inappropriate to show images during class that are pornographic in any way. Please be careful in your image selection. You need to bring your PowerPoint to class Monday so that you can load it onto my computer.

Update Jan. 21

Students took a brief reading quiz. Then we discussed whether or not Jim and Huck are friends. We noted that although Huck wants to believe it is a friendship, societal pressures make it an impossibility anywhere but on the raft. Whereas we are told the story through the narration of a young white boy, we must be wary readers and note what Huck may not realize. For example, Jim may not truly be happy to see Huck at the Grangerfords. Perhaps he intended to leave without Huck and regrets his discovery, but must keep up appearances with Huck. A lifelong slave, Jim would certainly have experience managing perceptions of the whites in his life.

We also viewed images of Mark Twain in his white suit. We discussed the ways in which the suit symbolizes hypocrisy and how Twain may be using it as a way of calling out his own hypocrisy as well as indirectly calling for others, particularly in the "genteel" Southern culture, to recognize the ways in which they too may be "whited sepulchers."

Homework: Finish the first draft of the "Modest Proposal."

Update Jan. 16

By today, you should have read up through page 88 of Huck Finn. Today in class we discussed our writing assignment (see details below). We also read a sample satirical article on gun control (http://www.theonion.com/articles/nra-sets-1000-killed-in-school-shooting-as-amount,28352/). We examined the way in which the author indirectly criticized various parts of the NRA's stance on gun control. We also noted that there is a difference between satire which tears down and satire that builds up. This article seems to represent the former, whereas "A Modest Proposal" is the latter.

Homework: Work on your own "Modest Proposal" imitation article.


A Modest Proposal Imitation Assignment

In “A Modest Proposal”, Jonathan Swift proposes a solution to Ireland’s poverty: turn the children of the poor into an edible delicacy. His essay employs the methods of satire: juxtaposition, irony, narrative point of view, understatement, overstatement, tone, etc. He takes an absurd idea so seriously that readers are shocked by the idea; then he turns the tables on the readers to redirect their shock towards their own assumptions about poverty. He uses the first portion of his essay to establish a logical voice for his narrator, so that the reader can be properly shocked by the proposal when he introduces it. He reveals his true beliefs about what should be done about poverty by saying, “Don’t talk to me about…” For this assignment, you need to write a satirical article imitating Swift’s use of satirical strategies.

Topic

Your satire should address a current social issue of your choosing. You might propose a solution to gun control or to the national debt. You might propose a solution to the United States’ international relations with Iran or North Korea. You might propose a solution to the problem of college student debt or the decline of the family. You might choose a state or even local issue such as air pollution in Utah. Whatever topic you choose to discuss, make sure that what you write is appropriate for publication in the AHS newspaper.

 
Humor

Satires use humor to ridicule those social practices and beliefs that the writer believes need to be changed. It can be effective when the humor causes the readers to reexamine their beliefs and assumptions about the topic. Please note that humor can be used as a weapon as well as a tool. Please be careful with the former. Do not use humor to be verbally violent or vulgar. This is a delicate balancing act. You must use humor with sharpness to cut to the root of the issue; however, after reading your entire article, the reader must come away enlightened. Satire can tear down, but more importantly it can build up. Please make sure that your satire does both.

 Additional Stipulations

1)      Title—Your title should imitate the form of Swift’s title, “A Modest Proposal for…”

2)      Length—Your article should be 550-600 words in length. Length is less important than strong writing and effective imitation of Swift’s rhetorical strategies.

3)      Format—Your article must be typed, in MLA format, and show careful proofreading.

4)      Due Date—The first draft of your article is due on Wednesday, January 22.