31 Eve's Diary // Due the week of May 4, 2015

Hi Everyone!

Read Eve's Diary by Mark Twain and answer the following question in about 1 page total:

• What do you think Twain's purpose in writing this story was:

• To inform about some concept (psychological? historical?) that he found important?
• To entertain with just a funny, interesting story?
• To persuade us to believe a certain way?

• Support your opinion of what the purpose was with several different quotations from the story and explain each quotation.

30 A Dark Brown Dog // Due the week of April 28, 2015

Hi Everyone!

This week, read A Dark Brown Dog by Stephen Crane and answer both of the following questions in about 1 page total:

1. How does Crane create a sense of sympathy for the dog? What language does he use to accomplish this?
2. Do you think the dog might be symbolic of a person or group of people from history or real life? Who might he symbolize? Why do think so? 

29 The New Dress // Due the week of April 21, 2015

Hi Everyone!

Read the story "The New Dress" by Virginia Woolf and answer at least one of the questions below in at least .5-1 page.

• The New Dress
• Questions:
• Is Mabel a likable, relatable character to you? Why or why not? Do you think Woolf wanted her to be? Why or why not? Provide evidence (quotations) from the text to back up your opinion. 
• Does Mabel change over the course of the story? Why or why not? Provide evidence (quotations) from the text to back up your opinion. 

28 Homework // Due the week of April 13, 2015

Hi Everyone!

MONDAY:
Write 2 more pages to your novel.

TUESDAY:

• Read the short story "A Rose for Emily" and answer one of the two questions below in at least 1/2 page.
• A Rose for Emily online free
• Question:
• This story is told by "we": who do you imagine this narrator (or narrators) to be? Young or old? Male or female? Both? What is their attitude toward Emily? How is this represented by their calling her "Miss Emily"? What do they remember about her? How does this shape your attitude toward her? Do you find yourself sympathizing with her situation as the center of the town's attention (and gossip)? 
• Do you think there is a theme (lesson, moral)  to this story? If so, what do you think it is?If not, or either way, what is Faulkner's purpose in writing the story? Why? Give evidence from the story.

27 Homework // Due the week of April 7, 2015

Hi Everyone!

MONDAY

Write the next two+ pages of your novella, keeping in mind that you want dynamic, round characters that will both:

• change in some way over the course of the novella. Feel free to make them change for the worse--there doesn't always have to be a happy ending 
• have multiple sides to them so the protagonist is not just kind and the antagonist is not just evil. The best antagonists are often relatable and even likable in some way

TUESDAY:
Go ahead and read the following story which can be found free online at:
Harrison Bergeron
Then answer the following essay question:

• Some people think Vonnegut was being critical of some ideas of Communism, the ideas that all people should be made equal or treated exactly equally or similar. Some people think Vonnegut was instead being critical of people's fear of communism by making the fear seem ridiculous. 
• Which do you think is true? Why?
• Email me if you're confused by the prompt!

26 Novella and The Yellow Wallpaper // Due the week of March 31, 2015

Hi Everyone!

MONDAY:
This week, you are beginning your novels! Given that you have 2 weeks (spring break), I'd like you to write a minimum of 4 pages double spaced—but feel free to write far more than this! I've had students write 80 page novels during these two months of time to write, so if you put your mind to it, you can really create a great chunk!

Just remember that everything you write should either:

1. Push the story plot forward or
2. Develop the characters

Have fun!

TUESDAY:
Read "The Yellow Wallpaper" which can be found for free at:

The Yellow Wallpaper

Answer 2 of the following prompts in at least 1/2 page each:

• Which is more injurious to the narrator--the psychological demons or the societal demons she faces? Why?
• How does Gilman use changes in language (diction, tone) to affect the narrator's shift from seeming sanity to madness? Be sure to give examples from the story.
• How does the changing description of the wallpaper reflect the narrator's changing character? Be sure to give examples from the story. 

25 A Farewell to Arms and Novellas // Due the week of March 16, 2015

Hi Everyone!

The homework is broken up by day this week, so be sure to check the homework for your specific day.

MONDAY

• Create a plot diagram for a story idea on which you would like to write a novella.
• You should plot out an inciting event, 4-5 rising action events, a climax, and your resolution (ending). 
• You can use brief phrases instead of complete sentences.
• Write a set of about 15-20 scenes that encompass your entire story.
• Write about a sentence for each scene so you know what happens during that scene.
• Don't include any scenes that you think will be boring or filler—no need!
• Every scene should do at least one of the 2 following things:
• Carry the story forward
• Teach us more about an important character

TUESDAY

• Read the short story "The Lottery" by Shirley Jackson. It can be found free online here:
• The Lottery
• Answer one of the following two prompts in about 1 page, double-spaced.
• What theme (moral) do you think the author is trying to get across to her audience? Do you think she gets it across well? Do you agree with the theme?
•  Is the lottery a collective act of murder? Is it morally justified? Is tradition sufficient justification for such actions? How would you respond to cultures that are different from ours that perform "strange" rituals?
• Describe the point of view of the story. How does the point of view affect what we know about the situation? How does it preserve the story's suspense?