Frankenstein Paradise Lost Question 5

The last line of 284:264, Satan resigns that it is: “Better to reign in Hell than serve in Heaven.”  In what ways is this statement a truth for either Victor or the Creature?

Frankenstein Paradise Lost Question 4

Satan describes this thirst for power and glory and states on 284:262-263 that he does not care where he rules, only that he rules.  In what way is this similar to Victor’s hunger for power?

Frankenstein Paradise Lost Question 3

Revenge is a common motif in Frankenstein.  Where is Paradise Lost does Satan {the Creature} describe revenge?  What is his attitude toward revenge? {How is this similar to the Creature in Frankenstein?}

Frankenstein Paradise Lost Question 2

There is a loss of hope expressed on 280:66-68.  How are these lines similar to the loss of hope Victor feels in Frankenstein?  If there is a point in the story at which Victor loses hope, where would that be and why?

Frankenstein Paradise Lost Question 1

On page 280:45-50 of the text, Milton describes the hell to which Satan is resigned.  Compare this to the hell to which the creature is resigned?  What about Victor’s hell?

Student Questions over Frankenstein

Post questions for your classmates. You must answer FOUR and can answer up to EIGHT.

Rime of the Ancient Mariner

It is clear that Mary Shelley has incorporated elements from other works into her famous text Frankenstein.  There are parallel ideas and structural elements in both The Rime of the Ancient Mariner and Frankenstein.  Discuss similarities that you have read about so far.  At the end of the poem, the Mariner learns his lesson and seeks penance from those who will listen.  Discuss also, how Victor and the Mariner are similar characters. 

The Alchemist

While this is not the first time I have read the book, I am still moved by Coelho's words. It seems with the turning of the pages and the distance of Santiago's journey, the author instills these little bits of wisdom throughout the text.  As you read, keep note of quotations that are particularly inspirational or eye-opening for you. A question on the 2004 AP Lit. exam asks students to answer the following question: "Critic Roland Barthes has said, 'Literature is the question minus the answer. ' What is the central question the work raises and to what extent if any is the question answered."

Consider some of these quotations as you search for the question and the answer the text may or may not provide.  Also, feel free to include your own quotations.  These are just some of my favorites from the first few pages:

Pg. 10 "I couldn't have found God in the seminary, he thought, as he looked at the sunrise."
Pg. 11 "It's the possibility of having a dream come true that makes life interesting."
Pg. 15 "It's the simple things in life that are the most extraordinary; only the wise men are able to understand them."
Pg. 16 "Everyone seems to have a clear idea of how other people should lead their lives, but none about his or her own."
Pg 18 " 'What 's the world's greatest lie?' the boy asked, completely surprised.
          'It's this: that at a certain point in our lives, we lose control of what's happening to us, and our lives become controlled by fate. That's the world's greatest lie.' "

Welcome Seniors! Class of 2013!

This is my test run of the blog. I just want to make sure that everyone has access to the blog and is able to post.  The first book we are reading for the month of June is the Alchemist.  What I'd like you to do is post a message greeting your fellow AP students and just let us know if you have started the book and if so, what page are you on? 

If you haven't set up a Gmail account, we will be using many of Google's tools this fall. It will be beneficial for you to do this.  Once you get an account set up, please let me know your address.  You can send the message to my Gmail account or school address.

Happy Reading! I hope you are enjoying this beautiful summer!
MA

AP Literature Exam Free Response Question

Throughout the course of the year we have read novels and plays that share common literary themes: love & hate, good & evil, the question of truth, fate & freewill, the meaning of greatness, the nature of justice, the clashing of cultures, tradition vs. modernity, and man vs. nature.  These common themes are also present in the AP Literature Exam's Free Response Questions.  Choose one novel or play that we have read and explain why you think it is the most relevant novel to study in AP Literature.  In what ways does it meet multiple themes and how does its universality apply to a multitude of possible response questions?

Schedules for poetry presentations:

Monday, April 16
 Rosie "Because I Could Not Stop for Death" by Emily Dickinson

Brittany "One Art" by Elizabeth Bishop

Kyle "1861" by Walt Whitman

Kristina "Into My Own" by Robert Frost

Tuesday, April 17

Mitchell  "I Crave Your Mouth" by Pablo Neruda

McKenzie  "When I Consider How my Light is Spent" by John Milton

Wednesday, April 18

Crystal  " Poison Tree" by William Blake.

Chaz  "Tears Idle Tears"  by Lord Alfred Tennyson

Connor "To An Athlete Dying Young" by AE Housman

Ian "Ballad of the Goodly Fere" by Ezra Pound

Thursday, April 19

Christine "Introduction to Poetry" by Billy Collins

Becca  "Do they have a reason?" by Stephen Dobyns

Jacob "Alone With Everybody" by Charles Bukowski

April IS Poetry Month

I cannot think of a better way to begin the month of April than poetry.  Hopefully you have been thinking about a poet or a few poets from the classroom text or maybe others you have been introduced to in other classes.  Your final project for AP Lit. will be the completion of a research project reflecting the background information on a poet and a poem that you will analyze.  In about two weeks we will begin presentations and you will have built some confidence and mastery of poetry going into the AP exam. Similar to the novel project, I want you to have fun with the assignment, but please choose a poem with literary merit.  I will have final say on what is or isn't appopriate for this assignment. Please post your ideas below.

Here are some suggestions to get you started if you are still searching:
William Wordsworth
Emily Dickinson
Robert Frost
T.S. Eliot
John Keats
Percy Bysshe Shelley
William Blake
George Gordon, Lord Byron
Alfred, Lord Tennyson
Thomas Hardy
A.E. Housman
William Butler Yeats
Rita Dove
Carl Sandburg
Langston Hughes
Walt Whitman
Gwendolyn Brooks
Sylvia Plath
Pablo Neruda
Anne Bradstreet
Edna St. Vincent Millay
Nikki Giovanni
Billy Collins
Elizabeth Bishop
Ezra Pound