Comm 12
Of Mice and Men
1. Begin movie; homework check - quotations completed (emphasizing theme, page/chapter #).
2. Tomorrow: Finish movie.
3. Monday: Review lit terms, essay outline.
4. Tuesday: Of Mice and Men test/in-class essay.
**If you are absent unexcused Tuesday you will not have the option to re-write at a later date; make sure you're here!!**
English 11
The Crucible
1. Review characters, theme, lit devices (irony, metaphor, paradox, tragedy, motif).
- Literary Devices:
A. (Verbal) Irony: instances in which the intended meaning of a word or phrase used is the opposite of what it actually means (which quotations use irony?).
B. Paradox: A statement or event contrary to what one might expect (for instance, the events of Salem as a paradox to what one might have expected from God-fearing people such as the Puritans) (other examples of paradox? hint: review the Overture before Act I).
C. Allegory: A story in which people, things, and happenings have another meaning, as in a fable or parable (how is The Crucible a political allegory?)
D. Tragedy: A serious play with an unhappy ending brought about by the characters or central characters impelled by fate or moral weakness, psychological maladjustment, or social pressure.
E. Crucible: (okay, not a literary device, but you still need to be able to identify and explain the significance of the title of the play). Literally, a container that resists heat or the hollow at the bottom of an ore furnace. Connotative: A severe test or trail; bearing of a cross - crux, crusis, + ferre - what does it mean to have a 'cross to bear'?
- Decide how the following themes (if applicable) are evident in Act I:
A. Human cruelty in the name of righteousness
B. The Individual and the Community
C. Justice vs. Retribution and Revenge
D. Godliness vs. Worldliness
E. Ignorance vs. Wisdom
F. The Puritan Myth
G. Order vs. Individual Freedom
- Do you see the following motifs in Act I?:
a. intolerance
b. hysteria
c. reputation
d. empowerment
e. accusations, confessions, legal proceedings
2. Be able to identify the speaker, significance, and themes illuminated by the following quotations:
A. "There are wheels within wheels in this village and fires within fires."
B. "Think on it now, it's a deep thing, and dark as a pit."
C. "They (the books) must be (heavy); they are weighted with authority."
