ENG IV - Song Lyrics

Here are the lyrics to 5 songs we listened to and worked with in class on Thursday and Friday. You can choose to work with any of these songs for your next project checkpoint!

Project Options

Again, these are the 10 project options you have to choose from:

1. Character scrapbook- must include pictures and words including characters views, feelings, thoughts, emotions, etc.
   
2. Letter- from a characters point of view to a friend/family member. This letter should address the type of situation they are in, what problems/oppression are they facing, and how they feel about it. Quotes from the work you are using would be good to use here!
3. Journal- from the characters point of view. This is a more personal reflection of what is going on in the characters life and how they are feeling (inner thoughts and feelings). Quotes would again be good here
4. Soundtrack- pick 10 songs that deal with oppression or the feelings/ideas that go along with it. You must print out the lyrics to the songs and make a cd if you choose. You must give a 1-2 sentence explanation of why you chose the song and how it fits in with the topic.
5. Cartoon- for the story as a whole capturing the overall situation or theme. About 8 panels in length and include pictures and text.
6. Poem- relating to the subject of oppression and does not have to be from the characters point of view. Should be at least 15 lines and creative and original.
7. Newspaper article- Write an article that covers the historical time or place of the work you are dealing with. This may require some research. Also, take a look at the newspaper to get ideas of how to write this type of article.
8. Artwork- make, draw, create a piece of original artwork dealing with oppression.
9. Essay- Choose another piece of oppression literature or media to read or view and compare it one of the works we read in class. Write about the similarities and differences in both of the pieces and explore the main themes or ideas about oppression.
10. Short story- Create your own character and situation dealing with oppression. There is no required length for this option, but it should be long enough that a plot and characters are developed.

Checkpoint 1: February 21st
Checkpoint 2: February 28th
Checkpoint 3: March 6th

Scholarship Opportunities February

I just received a new sheet of scholarships from guidance. Take a look. If you see one that you are interested, Google it, and make sure to talk to guidance for any other information you need. Click on each to enlarge.

AP Lit: Booker T. Washington Speech at the Atlanta Exposition

For those of you not in class on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, we did two things. We read a speech by Booker T. Washington that is integral to a fuller understanding of the first few chapters of the novel. We are also reading two drafts of a poem by Langston Hughes, comparing the versions, and analyzing Hughes' tone towards Booker T. The actual speech appears in the post below. I'll be posting a specific assignment, as well as the copies of the drafts, from Langston Hughes' poem tomorrow.

Here's the assignment:

AP Lit: Booker T. Washington & Tuskegee Institute

Today in class we read the text of Booker T. Washington's speech at the opening of the Atlanta Exposition. Booker T. Washington founded Tuskegee Institute, a college Ralph Ellison attended and depicts in the first few chapters. In case you missed the speech, it can be found here:

English IV Homework and Project due 2/21

1.) Today in class we looked at a power-point about the author of Kaffir Boy, Mark Mathabane. We learned a little more about his life growing up in apartheid South Africa and also explored what the term apartheid really means. The point of this power-point was to give you more background information on the author and context for the chapter in Kaffir Boy we are reading. The chapter we are reading is from a much longer book so I wanted to cover some of the other information that was important about Mathabane's life and what he went through growing up. The reading of the chapter is due tomorrow, 2/21, and we will be going over the discussion questions on handout sheet.
2.) PROJECT CHECKPOINT #1 IS TOMORROW 2/21!! Make sure you complete 2 out of the 10 project options for this checkpoint. Your next project checkpoint, #2, will be in another week, February 28th.

AP Lit: Homework 2/20

Today in class we took a quiz on chapter two (no makeups!) Everyone needs to make sure they keep up on the reading, as this is a thick book and a thick book (pages & symbolism).

For tonight, I just want you to write a half page explaining the doctor's affect on the narrator. How does the doctor in chapter three (the golden day) describe the narrator? What is the doctor's opinion about Mr. Norton and the school in particular.

Due tomorrow.

AP Lit: Invisible Man Project Sheet

Hey there. Here's the project sheet for The Invisible Man. Although the project isn't due until March 16th, I'd start working on it now, as most options require that you synthesize or analyze throughout the novel. (Click on the picture to enlarge.)

A sweet resource for this project may be Invisible Man Online. It has tons of stuff about tons of stuff related to the novel.

For those of you who choose the ballad option, I will be posting examples and links to assist you in using this genre.

For those of you who are choosing the symbolism route (either the paper or the posters), here are two nice charts of symbols as they relate to theme, etc. I nabbbed them from the Invisible Man Online site. Enjoy.

Project Checkpoint #1

Ladies and Gentlemen, as I told you, your first 2 parts of the project will be due on Wednesday, February 21st. Make sure you are following all the directions on the sheet and especially the specific directions for each option. I will be grading you on things such as creativity, originality, relevance to the poem/short story/article you are working with, and if you fully completed the task to the best of your ability (or if it looks like you threw it together last minute).
List of poems/short stories/articles to work with:
1. Immigrants in Our Own Land
2. I Walk in the History of My People
3. The Women of Afghanistan
4. Borders
5. Kaffir Boy

Although you will be working on this project over the weekend, do not forget to start the Kaffir Boy reading because we will be discussing it in class on Tuesday and you may want to use it for your project too!

Borders Short Story Activity

This is the group activity we did for 2 days in class on the short story Borders. All the groups did an excellent job coming up with creative stories and skits! Great Job! But it is not too late to complete this assignment on your own and receive credit. Read the story and choose one of the two options to complete!

AP Lit: Louis Armstrong

In case you missed it, we did a little quizzy thingy in class today. We also discussed the homework, and talked and wrote a little bit about Louis Armstrong's "Black and Blue."

Here's Armstrong, and text of the song.

(from http://www.photos12-vintage.com/images/FRN03049_122.jpg)

Black and Blue
- Louis Armstrong

Cold empty bed...springs hurt my head
Feels like ole ned...wished I was dead
What did I do...to be so black and blue

Even the mouse...ran from my house
They laugh at you...and all that you do
What did I do...to be so black and blue

Im white...inside...but, that dont help my case
Thats life...cant hide...what is in my face

How would it end...aint got a friend
My only sin...is in my skin
What did I do...to be so black and blue

(instrumental break)

How would it end...i aint got a friend
My only sin...is in my skin
What did I do...to be so black and blue

(from http://www.lyricsfreak.com/l/louis+armstrong/black+blue_20085352.html)

In your journal, explore either the author’s words or the musical things you hear going on. Try to describe the sounds you hear. May you focus on:
• the instruments
• the structure
• Armstrong’s voice
• the mood of the song
• or…if you’re a wimp (☺), just focus on the words

From Sparknotes.com

Ellison works blues and jazz—specifically that of Louis Armstrong—into the novel to complement the narrator’s quest to define himself. Because jazz depends on the improvisational talents of individual soloists and because it developed primarily among African-American musicians, it serves as an elegant and apt metaphor for the black struggle for individuality in American society. It also makes an appropriate soundtrack, as it were, for a novel about the search for such individuality. Armstrong, widely considered the most important soloist in the history of jazz, almost single-handedly transformed jazz—which originally evolved as a collective, ensemble-based music—into a medium for individual expression in which a soloist stood out from a larger band.

In the Prologue, the narrator listens specifically to Armstrong’s “(What Did I Do to Be So) Black and Blue.” This track relates directly to Invisible Man on a thematic level, as it represents one of jazz’s earliest attempts to make an open commentary on the subject of racism. Fats Waller originally wrote the song for a musical comedy in which a dark-skinned black woman would sing it as a lament, ruing her lighter-skinned lover’s loss of interest in her. Later, however, Armstrong transformed the piece into a direct commentary on the hardships faced by blacks in a racist white society. Like Invisible Man, the song’s lyrics emphasize the conflict between the singer/speaker’s inner feelings and the outer identity imposed on him by society. The narrator listens to Armstrong sing that he feels “white inside” and that “my only sin / is in my skin.” By placing this song in the background of his story without directly commenting on it, Ellison provides subtle reinforcement for the novel’s central tension between white racism against blacks and the black struggle for individuality.

AP Lit: Invisible Man Homework

Hello folks...for tomorrow:

In the prologue, we meet the narrator, the invisible man (x). What can you tell about him? More specifically, cite two character traits evident in the prologue and explain them.

For each, make sure to:
Say it (Topic Sentence)
Show it (Textual Details)
Explain it (Your Commentary)

Also, today in class we did the following:

• Listened to Louis Armstrong's "Black and Blue" (we'll discuss it further tomorrow)
• watched a video gamish version of the prologue that I purloined from YouTube (if you'd like to see it again, do a search for "invisble man ellison" and it's like the second or third entry. I'd embed it here but I can't access it through school.
• Read the beginning of the prologue in class in preparation for tomorrow's discussion.
• Lastly, we discussed the overall structure of Invisible Man. See the illustration below to compare the major works we have discussed so far this year.

Intro to Oppression

This is the overview sheet on the concept or idea of

OPPRESSION. It is very important that you understand the
definition of the word and what it means since it will be the basis for future class readings and discussions.

This next handout will help you while reading different types of poetry.

The 5 easy steps help you to break down the poem so it is easier to
read and understand. We will be using this as a guide for the poetry
we read in the classroom.

AP Lit: Invisible Man Reading Schedule

Here you go, folks. I'm giving this out in class, as well, but if you are without while at home, here you go.

AP Lit: Stream of Consciousness, etc.

For Monday :

Make sure to have Invisible Man. I'll be distributing a reading schedule.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
On Monday we will watch our films.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Homework:
Now it’s time for you to take a stab at stream of consciousness writing. Remember, one type of stream of consciousness is meant to capture the interior monologue that a character is having.

Choose one of the following options:
- create a character in a situation and attempt to capture the interior monologue he or she is having
- try your best to capture your stream of consciousness at this moment OR from your SOC during sometime yesterday

Classwork & Discussion that led to the homework:
Remember, in class on Thursday and Friday we read excerpts from John Dos Passos' The Big Money & James Joyce's Finnegan's Wake and focused on the authors' use of stream of consciousness and its intended effect. Notice how Dos Passos achieves an angry tone by omitting periods and standard English grammar (the pace is quickened) and notice how Joyce...well...again, I'm not sure what any of that means. But notice the onamatopoeietic words & what not :).

The Big Money


Finnegan's Wake - Chapter One

AP Lit: Work for Thursday, February 8th

I have a team leader meeting this morning. I’ll be in later. Ms. Rick will guide you. Here are your tasks today:

1. Film Projects – Finish! Export! When your films are done, export them. Make sure the final .mov file is in your documents folder (the server folder). The one exception is if your server folder is full…then pop that bad boy in the users-hard drive-shared folder and I’ll find it. Now, today you’ll work at your own pace. If you want to throw down a musical track, then do it. Just make sure you accomplish task #2 during the class period and task three for homework.
2. Look to the end of this post. There is a comments button. Click on comments and type in the text from your voiceover (the poem or poem segment). Make sure to type it correctly and preserve the line breaks, punctuation, etc. I need a copy of everyone’s segment so that we have something to look at while watching your films. Make sure to put your name underneath. Again, no handles. I'm speaking directly to you lukeperrylover6532.
   
3. Lastly, I have a hand out for you about stream of consciousness narrative. I'm giving this out in class, but I also have one posted below. Get this done, as it is due tomorrow at the beginning of class.

Attention: Hey guys...sorry about the problems with the comment thing. You no longer have to register to post. I had the settings set like that to discourage random spammers. It's fixed now. Sorry for the inconvenience.

This will be the first writing assignment I will be doing with you on Wednesday and Thursday . The point of this essay is to get you thinking about the issues and problems in the world around you and to form some sort of opinion on them. This assignment is a good lead into what we will be doing for the next month or so.


Yes this is a test, but don't get nervous! This is only a pre-test to see how much you already know about the ideas and topic we will be working with in the next few weeks. Just try to answer the questions the best you can. This is one test you can't fail if you just try.

So...My Projects are Due Next Week. Where Should I Start?

Writing Help
Scan down the page. There's lots of advice here. You may have to go to the bottom of the page and click on "older posts" to find what you are looking for. If this doth not satisfy you, google "memoir" writing and seek further assistance elsewhere.

Reading Help
If you are trying to catch up on your reading, and have yet to read the short memoirs for the project, you can download and read them below. All of the following are from either In Brief or In Short, two excellent collections of creative nonfiction edited by Judith Kitchen and Mary Paumier Jones, in case you're interested (thanks for the help Ricky).


On the Street - Vivian Gornick
Around the Corner - Sharon Bryan
Artifacts - Brenda Miller
Calfing Heifers - Ann Daum
Ice Cream - Susanna Kaysem
Enough Jam - Maxine Kumin
MRI - Jim DeCamp
On Two Wheels - Lee Gutkind
Rose Vegetables - David J. Duncan
Snow - John Haines
Stuck With Strangers - Castle Freeman, Jr.
Suspended - Joy Harjo
The Signature of God - Judson Mitcham
The Usual Story - Fred Setterberg
Volar - Judith Ortiz Cofer
Here are the chapter length memoirs.

Other Reading Materials You May Need
Here are any other materials needed for the reading portion of the project (story note sheets, response ?'s, storyboards, etc.).

New Hampshire Memoir Class Course Description

I thought that this course intro contained a couple of great memoir nuggets. Digest and enjoy.