Unit 8: Disillusionment of the American Dream: Modernism of Mice and Men

Unit 8: Disillusionment of the American Dream: Modernism Of Mice and Men

The Modern Age (pg. 704-712) 14 points—put your answers on a separate sheet

1. (1)What historical events mark the “modern age”?

2. (2)Describeprohibition and the ramifications of the law.

3. (2)Discuss the economic status of the US during the 1920s and 1930s.

4. (2)List all important information about F. Scott Fitzgerald you found in the reading.

5. (1)What major literary movement emerged in the quest for new ideas?

6. (1)What was the Modernists’ common purpose?

7. (1)What is Imagism?

8. (2)What is an expatriate? Name at least 3 writers who were expatriates and discuss how it may have affected their writing.

9. (2)How would you define this literary movement in your OWN words (You won’t find it in the book. You have to use your brain for this one)?

Walking Through a Painting:

Directions: Take a piece of paper and fold it vertically. Write down the left and then down the right column, filling the page with words and phrases reflecting your ideas about the artwork. Be as descriptive as possible in your word choice.

After viewing:

Where are the images of the sun and moon in the painting?
How does the artist convey a sense of movement in the painting?
Explain why Delaunay might have chosen to paint the sun and moon in an abstract way.
What kind of feeling does the painting give to you? Explain your response.
To Delaunay, the circle was a symbol of the universe, a cosmos of harmony and order. Considering the painting and its title, what does the artist imply about contrasts and harmony?
How does the artist show harmony and order amid the contrasting colors and shapes?
What might Delaunay’s depiction of contrasting colors and circles suggest about the twentieth century?

Modern Poetry: Imagist Poems

“An ‘image’ is that which presents an intellectual and emotional complex in an instant of time.” Ezra Pound

When reading poetry, you should always…

Paraphrase

Connect

Interpret

Attitude (Tone) & Shifts
Title
Theme

Apply

OF Mice and MEN

“The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry.” Robert Burns, Scottish poet

What does this proverb mean to you? Discuss the meaning by giving an example from your own experiences. (5-7 sentences—10 points)

______

Carmichael English III: Quarter 2 packetPage 1 of 32

To a Mouse

On turning her up in her nest with the plough,

November 1785.

Robert Burns

Small, sleek, cowering, timorous beast,
O, what a panic is in your breast!
You need not start away so hasty
With hurrying scamper!
I would be loath to run and chase you,
With murdering plough-staff.
I'm truly sorry man's dominion
Has broken Nature's social union,
And justifies that ill opinion
Which makes thee startle
At me, thy poor, earth born companion
And fellow mortal!
I doubt not, sometimes, but you may steal;
What then? Poor beast, you must live!
An odd ear in twenty-four sheaves
Is a small request;
I will get a blessing with what is left,
And never miss it.
Your small house, too, in ruin!
It's feeble walls the winds are scattering!
And nothing now, to build a new one,
Of coarse grass green!
And bleak December's winds coming,
Both bitter and keen!
You saw the fields laid bare and wasted,
And weary winter coming fast,
And cozy here, beneath the blast,
You thought to dwell,
Till crash! the cruel plough past
Out through your cell.
That small bit heap of leaves and stubble,
Has cost you many a weary nibble!
Now you are turned out, for all your trouble,
Without house or holding,
To endure the winter's sleety dribble,
And hoar-frost cold.
But Mouse, you are not alone,
In proving foresight may be vain:
The best laid schemes of mice and men
Go often askew,
And leaves us nothing but grief and pain,
For promised joy!
Still you are blest, compared with me!
The present only touches you:
But oh! I backward cast my eye,
On prospects dreary!
And forward, though I cannot see,
I guess and fear!

Carmichael English III: Quarter 2 packetPage 1 of 32

Paraphrase

Connect

Interpret

Attitude & Shifts
Title
Theme

Apply

Literature Circles

MY Group:

DIRECTIONS: Make sure you understand what is expected of you as well as the rest of your group. Use the sample questions to get started, but provide independent, elaborate answers. Each group member should contribute equally. At the end of the discussion, you are responsible for turning in the group’s notes. For each literature circle you must prepare three level 3 lit crit questions. Each question must be written down and identified by a school of literary criticism. See examples and non examples below.

Level 1 Questions: The answer is explicitly found in the text. These are your basic recall questions.

Example: What is the protagonist’s name?

While these questions have value in their own right, they do not elicit discussion and should not be used as one of your 3 questions. If there is only one “right answer”, you do not want to use it as a discussion questions. Points will be deducted if you generate level 1 questions.

Level 2 Questions: The answer can be inferred, and understood, but is not directly stated in the test.

Example: Why does Huck feel the need to fake his own death?

Again, these questions have value, but do not elicit thoughtful and sustained discussion. Usually they can be answered in a few sentences and again, there is usually one “right” answer, so they do not make good discussion questions. Points will be deducted if you generate level 2 questions.

Level 3 Questions: Answers derive from synthesized information with these questions.

Example: Is an egalitarian society truly possible?

These are the questions you want to strive for. These are thought provoking questions that elicit strong discussion. Answers require pulling information from the text and outside the text, including but not limited to your own opinion. These are the types of questions you want, and the only types of questions that will earn you all your points.

(3 points) Practice: Generate a level 1, level 2 and level 3 question for the story of Cinderella.

You also are required to identify the school of literary criticism (page 3) that your questions would fall under. This will also help you in generating true level 3 questions; if it doesn’t fall under a school of literary thought, most likely it is not a level 3 question. What school would the level 3 example fall under? ______. Now identify which school your level 3 question for Cinderella would fall under.

Discussion Check list / To get full credit students must
3 Questions / Have all 3 questions prepared BEFORE class; all three questions must be level three questions that elicit thought and discussion / 12345
Discussion Participation / Students will lose points for each time they are off task during the discussion. Ms. Carmichael will also look at the discussion log and deduct points for students who are not well represented in the discussion. Ideally the discussion notes should reflect equal participation among all members of the group. It is up to the group to encourage equal participation, but it is up the individual to assert him/herself in the discussion. / 246810
1214161820
Discussion Notes / Simply based on following the instructions / 12345
Reflection / Simply based on completion / 12345
Total_____/35
Letter: A B CD F

Vocabulary:The following fifteen words include the slang of the time. They are defined for you. Another list of 25 follows.

bindle: a bed roll and/or pack of personal belongings.
jack: money
graybacks: lice
tick: mattress
buck: a man
buckler: those who move or load heavy objects (sacks of grain, for example)
skinner: a driver of a draft (team of animals)
tart: prostitute
mules: shoes or slippers
found: free food and lodgings in addition to wages
hoosegow: jail
hame: part of the collar for a draft animal
booby hatch: insane asylum
floozy: cheap, immoral woman
snooker: a variation of pool played with 15 red balls and 6 balls of assorted colors

Structure:

Steinbeck wrote Of Mice and Men (MM) as a play/novelette. That is, the structure of the book is very much like a play even though it appears to look like a short novel. Notice how easily the book breaks down into acts and scenes as in a play:

Carmichael English III: Quarter 2 packetPage 1 of 32

Act I

Scene i. A sandy bank of the SalinasRiver

Scene ii. The interior of a bunk house

Act II

Scene i. The same as Act I, scene ii

Scene ii. The room of the stable buck, a lean-to

Act III

Scene i. One end of a great barn

Scene ii. Same as Act I, scene i

Carmichael English III: Quarter 2 packetPage 1 of 32

Also, what we learn about the characters comes primarily through ______, just like in a play. There is a ______person ______narrator who sets the scene and paints the backdrop for us. It is the characters themselves who reveal the story. Their ______and ______are the basic substance of the book.

Chronlog: Fill in the blanks to complete the plot summary (10 points)

George and Lennie leave Weed because ______
Lennie likes to pet ______
They are going to work ______
George and Lennie want to buy ______
On the farm, Lennie will tend ______
George and Lennie clash with ______
Curley jealously guards ______
Slim gives Lennie ______
Carlson shoots ______
Candy offers to help pay for ______
Lennie crushes ______
Curley's wife threatens ______
Curley's wife discovers ______
Curley's wife invites Lennie to ______
Lennie breaks ______
Lennie hides ______
Lennie is tormented by ______
George steals Carlson's ______
For the last time, George tells Lennie about ______
George kills ______

As you read, follow each character and take careful notes, paying special attention to how each one portrays the theme of loneliness (21 points).

Physical Description / Strong or weak or both? Explain

George

Lennie
Candy
Crooks
Curley
Curley’s Wife
Slim

Analyzing Literary Elements

Give three examples of irony (either verbal, situational, or dramatic) that you find in the novel.

Give three examples of symbolism that you find in the novel. Name the idea or thing and what it stands for.

Parallels and Contrasts:

Parallels are things that are similar or alike and their similarity provides emphasis. Contrasts, on the other hand, are things that are different, but they also provide emphasis. Give examples of each from the novel. The first one in each case is give as an example.

Parallels:

1. George and Lennie’s dream and Curley’s wife’s dream: both are never ______.

Contrasts:

1. George is ______; Lennie is ______

Unit 9: The Modern American Dream: Modern Drama

Langston Hughes & the Harlem Renaissance’s Affect on Modern & Contemporary Culture

The Harlem Renaissance (1920s)

Read page 910-911 carefully, then answer the following questions.

1. (3) Describe the characteristics of the Harlem Renaissance. Consider what inspired the movement and who was involved as you respond.

2. (3) Artists during the Harlem Renaissance shared the urgent need to document the ______of their people; what kinds of incidents would you expect these artists to have documented. List a few and describe why they would need to be documented.

3. (3) Why was it important for the writers and artists of the Harlem Renaissance to live and work together in one community? How is this similar/different to your own experiences working in groups?

4. (2) What are some major thematic ideas you can expect to see in Harlem Renaissance and Harlem Renaissance inspired works? (this isn’t straight up in the reading, you must use your own brain to come up with this response).

“Harlem: A Dream Deferred”

By Langston Hughes

What happens to a dream deferred?

Does it dry up

Like a raisin in the sun

Or fester like a sore—

And then run?

Does it stink like rotten meat?

Or crust and sugar over—

Like a syrupy sweet?

Maybe it just sags like a heavy load.

Or does it explode?

(2) How does the sum total of all the imagery add up to answering the question put forth by the speaker in line one, “ What happens to a dream deferred?
(1) What is the unspoken message the speaker is telling the reader about going after their own dreams?

Langston Hughes’ Themes, Dreams, and Imagery affects on Modern & contemporary works: “Juicy” & A Raisin in the Sun

“Juicy”

By Notorious B.I.G.

It was all a dream

I used to read Word Up magazine

Salt ‘n Peppa and Heavy D up in the limousine

Hangin’ pictures on my wall

Every Saturday Rap Attack, Mr. Magic, Marley Marl…

No honies play me close like butter played toast

From the Mississipi down to the east coast…Sold out seats to hear bigie Smalls speak

Livin life without fear

Puttin’ 5 karats in my baby girl’s ears

Lunches, brunches, interviews by the pool

Considered a fool ‘cause I dropped out of high school

Stereotypes of a black male misunderstood…

We used to fuss when the landlord dissed us

No heat, wonder why Christmas missed us

Birthdays was the worst days

Now we sip champagne when we thirsty

Uh, D*** right I like the life I live

Cause I went from negative to positive

And its all good…

What images from the verse does the poet use to demonstrate the poverty he endured prior to achieving Hip-Hop fame?

What images from the verse does the poet use to demonstrate the rewards of wealth and Hip-Hop fame in the reader’s mind?

Poetic Theme: Reach for Your DreamsHow do both sets of verses reflect this theme?

Study guide A Raisin in the Sun

Act 1 Scene 1

Describe the Younger apartment.
Why can’t Travis get enough sleep at night?
According to Walter, what does a man need?
What is the family anxiously awaiting? Who does it belong to?
What does Walter want to do with the item coming in the mail? Beneatha? Ruth?
What tragedy did Mama and Big Walter undergo?
What is Beneatha’s opinion of George Murchison? Of Marriage? Of God? How does her mother react to these opinions?
Read the following poem and annotate it. What similarities/differences do you see between the poem and the Youngers’ situation?

KitchenetteBuilding (Gwendolyn Brooks)

We are things of dry house and the involuntary plan,

Grayed in and gray. “Dream” makes a giddy sound, not strong

Like “rent”, “feeding a wife”, “satisfying a man”.

But could a dream sent up through onion fumes

Its white and violet, fight with fried potatoes

And yesterday’s garbage ripening in the hall,

Flutter, or sing an aria down these rooms,

Even if we were willing to let it in,

Had time to warm it, keep it very clean,

Anticipate a message, let it begin?

We wonder. But not well! Not for a minute!

Since Number Five is out of the bathroom now,

We think of lukewarm water, hope to get in it.

Act 1 Scene 2

What is wrong with Ruth?
What is Beneatha really looking for?
Why does Asagai call BeneathaAlaiyo, “One for whom bread/food is not enough”?
Where did Ruth go instead of to Dr. Jones?
What is Walter Lee’s bad habit?
What does Mama say is dangerous?
Why does Mama say that Walker Lee is a disgrace to his father’s memory?

Act 2 Scene 1

How does Walter Lee feel about college?
Who is Prometheus? Why would George compare him to Walter?
How does Walter react to the news that Mama spent money on a house?
List some key details about the new house.
Why does Mama want the house?

Act 2 scene 2

How does mama show Walter Lee that she trusts him?

Act 2 Scene 3

What does the family give Mama as a gift?
Who is Mr. Lindner? What does he want?
Why does Beneatha say, “Thirty pieces and not a coin less”? What is it a reference to?
What news does Bobo bring?
What revelation is revealed about Walter’s investment?

Act 3

Who does Beneatha blame for the loss of the money? Why?
What does Asagai ask Beneatha?
What 2 kinds of people is the world made up of according to Walter? Do you agree? Explain.
How does Mama react to Walter Lee’s phone call to Lindner?
Why does Mama make Travis stay in the room when Lindner arrives?
Describe Walter Lee’s speech to Lindner
At the end of the play, what does Mama compare Walter Lee to?

Define/identify the following by giving examples of how they are used and/or seen in the play (8 points)