Update March 19

Students should have read through page 53 in Uncle Tom's Cabin by today. We are taking a reader-response approach to this novel, trying to understand why it was a best-seller of the 19th century and how it was able to turn the tide of popular opinion on slavery in America.

In class, students will write a personal reflection on each reading assignment. They will also create a word web for one vocabulary word from each reading assignment.

A word web includes the following:
1) word
2) part of speech
3) definition
4) sentence from Uncle Tom's Cabin showing how it is used in context
5) synonym and antonym (must be the same part of speech)
6) etymological word parts ("roots"), each with a picture representing the meaning of the root and other words that also use the same root

By studying etymology, student can enhance their vocabulary more rapidly and meaningfully than by memorizing word lists.

Update March 17

We read together from Uncle Tom's Cabin. By tomorrow, please read through page 35.

Update March 4

We are working on revising our Huck Finn rhetorical analysis essays. Second drafts will be due on Thursday.

We looked at some model student papers to see how the four-part quotation analysis functions. We also examined transition sentences.  Students should ensure they have a clear thesis statement which tells specifically what Twain is saying about American society.

Homework: Work on your essay.

Update Feb. 28

First draft of Huck Finn rhetorical analysis essays due today.

We enjoyed a presentation by Dr. Steven Walker on humor in the Bible.

An address by Dr. Walker from a BYU-ID devotional can be found at the following link:
http://www2.byui.edu/Presentations/transcripts/majorforums/2003_07_17_walker.htm

His recent book is available on amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/Illuminating-Humor-Bible-Steven-Walker/dp/1620321483

Update Feb. 25

Students are working on their rhetorical analysis essays of Huckleberry Finn. We discussed rhetorical strategies typically associated with satire or which are predominant in the novel:

1. irony
1. verbal irony--irony in which a person says or writes one thing and means another, or uses words to convey a meaning that is the opposite of the literal meaning.
1. understatement--a figure of speech in which a writer or speaker deliberately makes a situation seem less important or serious than it is
2. dramatic irony--irony that is inherent in speeches or a situation of a drama and is understood by the audience but not grasped by the characters.
3. situational irony--irony involving a situation in which actions have an effect that is opposite from what was intended, so that the outcome is contrary to what was expected.
2. juxtaposition or parallel scenes/characters/situations
3. exaggeration
1. caricature--where particular aspects of a character are exaggerated to create a silly or comic effect, often the follies of an individual or a stereotype are amplified for critical examination
4. parody-- an imitation of a particular writer, artist or a genre exaggerating it deliberately to produce a comic effect
5. allusion--a brief and indirect reference to a person, place, thing or idea of historical, cultural, literary or political significance. It does not describe in detail the person or thing to which it refers, but relies on the reader's familiarity to "fill in" the unstated significance of the reference.
6. symbolism

Homework: Continue working on your essay outline. We moved the due date for the first draft from Thursday to Friday this week.

Update Feb. 21

We discussed the questions from Lectures on Faith related to Twain. Students were officially assigned the rhetorical analysis essay on Huck Finn, the first draft of which will be due next Thursday.  Students began creating T-charts for their essays.

Huck Finn Rhetorical Essay

Prompt: Analyze the strategies Mark Twain uses to satirize American society in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn? Why are those strategies likely to be effective for his audience? What is he saying about American society?

Guidance:

·         Ensure that your argument is cohesive. It should not be simply a collection of paragraphs talking in isolation about Twain’s rhetorical strategies; rather, paragraphs should work together to reveal how Twain’s novel works to communicate his main ideas.

 

·         Do not just identify Twain’s rhetorical strategies. Show how those strategies relate to the historical occasion and the concerns of his audience. (Use your SOAPSTone analysis.)

·         Remember, Twain publishes the novel in 1884, long after the end of slavery. Thus the novel is more likely to be about the failure of Reconstruction than about slavery.

·         Use the four-part quotation analysis pattern for each body paragraph:

1.       Claim

2.       Background/Context for the Quotation

3.       Quotation (or paraphrase, or summary)

4.       Commentary on the quotation

·         Length: I am not specifying a length because I don’t want you to fill pages with fluff. Rather, consider all that we have learned about Huckleberry Finn and consider that this assignment is worth 150 points and is the main assessment of what you have learned this term. It would be impossible to do this topic justice in a five paragraph essay.

To get started, you need to create a T-chart showing Twain’s rhetorical strategies and the effects of the strategies on the readers.