Weekend Homework

Seniors 
Read Carrie until p. 50. Choose three places in the text where you notice the setting's effect on a character and analyze them. Here are some examples of the steps we took for deep analysis based on our lesson on Friday:

1. Consider the connotations of the setting outside of the text. 

2. Read carefully for setting details around the event your are analyzing and analyze them using the functions of setting chart to push your thinking out of summary and into analysis.

“Classes droned behind closed doors”  (17).

This description implies both monotony and boredom that captures the most negative aspects of school as a lifeless and boring setting. The closed doors also suggest a separation between people and ideas.

“...two boys waiting for the lecture due them” (17)

The two boys waiting for the lecture also become part of the setting, implying that the students and discipline are part of a repetitive system with little meaning. The lecture strikes me as particularly meaningless. In this case, obedience and punishment are merely steps to be followed rather than opportunities for reflection or growth.

3. Notice and note details the author provides about how the important characters behave and think in this particular setting. If possible or appropriate, compare their actions in this setting with their actions in a different setting.

“Began pawing through the top drawer of his filing cabinet for a school accident form” (18).

Here, Morton, the Vice Principal, is described as “pawing,” a word that evokes an animal, rather than a human being. “A filing cabinet” typically represents bureaucracy and paperwork as does the “school accident form,” which reduces incidents in which students are hurt to a piece of paper. Knowing what we do about how traumatizing Carrie’s “accident” was gives us a sense of the inadequacy of this process. Morton is clearly going through the motions of his job rather than connecting with students.

AP Language 

Consult your peers' thesis statements here: Honor Code Thesis Statements . Feel free to borrow, steal and modify your own. Then, write an outline with your thesis statement, three arguments, your evidence, and ONE FULL BODY PARAGRAPH. I suggest writing one that feels difficult rather than the one that come most easily. You will have some time in class tomorrow to write the other two paragraphs and will turn in the essay. Here are the resources on body paragraphs:  Body paragraphs and checklist and Sample Essays