1st Trimester
I. Narration
A. First Person: Gene narrates
B. Subjective
C. Limited
D. Involved
E. Looks back 15 years, when he narrates story
F. Frame Story: changes time (back and forth)
II. Setting
A. the Devon School, New Hampshire
1. old boarding school
2. reputation for excellent academics and athletics
B. WWII- 1942-1943
III. Characters
A. Gene Forrester
1. Narrator
2. Southerner
3. Teenager
4. Studious- earns high grades (not naturally smart; fails
test when he goes to the beach)
5. Introverted- Finny pulls him out of his shell
6. Realistic, deliberate, + practical
7. Ambitious for himself
8. Swayed by peer pressure
9. Causes Finny’s fall
B. Phineas (“Finny”)
1. From Boston
2. Charismatic
3. Superb natural athlete and sportsman; mediocre student
4. Extroverted; a natural leader, spontaneous
5. Imaginative, romantic, energetic
6. Selfless, totally honest and trusting
7. Tries to exclude negative aspects of life
C. Elwin Lepellier (“Leper”)
1. More like Finny- independent, doesn’t care what others
think
2. Intellectual “loner”
3. Follows on the Fringes of the Devon Society
4. A dreamer who falls apart when faced w/ the harshness of
reality
D. Brinker Hadley
1. More like Gene- needs external approval
2. The story’s catalyst
3. Has a “political” personality
4. The leader of the school’s official activities (quits
all the clubs when no one’s in them à tries to be like a fat Finny)
IV. Plot
An
introverted teenager in a college prep school causes a crippling injury to
another student. Although the teen is
not blamed for the injuries, he tries to compensate for the injury by filling
the injured student’s life w/ companionship and academic assistance. When the injured student learns who caused
his injury, he runs down a hallway and falls down stairs, re-injuring his
leg. He dies shortly after.
V. Theme: Evil
cannot be overcome if we do not first recognize its existence in all of us.
VI. Tone: serious
I. Narration
A. third person
B. omniscient
C. subjective
D. detached, uninvolved
II. Setting
A. Owl Creek railroad bridge
B. Northern Alabama
C. The American Civil War
III. Characters
A. Peyton Farquhar
1. 35 years old
2. wealthy Alabama planter
3. from an old, respected family
4. devout Confederate patriot
5. gentlemanly
6. straight nose (aristocratic)
7. firm mouth
8. broad forehead (smart)
9. long, dark hair; moustache + pointed beard (wants to be
action-loving + daredevilish)
10. large dark, gray eyes (sensitive)
11. a loving husband + father
IV. Plot
A. A Patriotic Southern planter is captured while
attempting to sabotage a railroad bridge which is in Union hands. He is hanged. While dying, he completes an imaginary miraculous escape when the
rope breaks, but it never really happens.
V. Theme: Hope
continues, even beyond reality
VI. Tone: serious
-prayer
-3 steps: 1) making thread or yarn
2) weaving
3) cutting and sizing; coloring
Step 1
-Taylor
wants God to make him a spinning wheel to make what God
wants.
-wants
his emotions to give energy
-make
his soul the recipient of God’s love
-then,
the goodness will come out of my mouth
Step 2
-wants
to create the raw product, then start to piece it
together
-the
Holy Spirit will energy for the action
-then,
he wants God to weave him into whatever He wants
-God’s
commandments are what cleanses him
-then,
God can dye it into whatever He wants
Step 3
-he
wants every action of his to be holy
-then,
he can look good, and therefore praise God
-he
wants to wear the robe b/c it’s the only thing you can wear
to get to heaven
Type- Metrical lyric
Form- 3 sestets
Meter- Iambic Pentameter
Rhyme- ABABAC
Poetic Devices- apostrophe (line 1)
Metonomy: using the part to describe the whole
Analogies: comparing spinning wheel to good
person
Tone- Connotative, symbolic
The
Primary Purpose:
-praise
God
-teach
a lesson
-be
simplistic
Themes
Introduced by Puritan Literature:
-love/hate
relationships
-cowboys/Indians
2nd Trimester
Metrical Lyric; Blank Verse (Iambic
Pentameter)
Poetic Devices: metonomy (all of the lists)
personification (nature as a female)
Theme:
You should not fear death; your soul will be freed.
Metrical Narrative; Trochaic Octometer
Rhyme Scheme: XAYAAA (lines 1 + 3 are
variables; internal rhyme)
*The subject goes into depression at
end à says
it will last forever
“The
Devil and Tom Walker”- Washington Irving (i think)
I.
Narration
A.
3rd Person
B.
Omniscient
C.
Subjective
D.
Detached
II.
Setting
A.
Boston Area, 1727
B.
The Walkers’ dilapidated house
C.
A swampy forest outside of town w/ an Indian fort and a
forest of trees w/ names carved in them
D.
Tom Walker’s Office in Town
III.
Character
A.
Tom Walker
1.
greedy miser
2.
too miserable to be afraid
B.
The Devil
1.
dark, covered w/ soot
2.
dressed as a half-Indian
3.
coarse, dark hair
4.
red eyes
5.
carries an ax
C.
Mrs. Walker
1.
termagent (i think)
2.
greedy miser
3.
violent
IV.
Plot
A greedy miser meets the Devil in the
forest + is offered wealth in exchange for his soul. He, at first, refuses the offer; his wife tries to make a deal w/
him, but is killed + taken by the devil after a violent struggle. The misery later reconsiders the deal. He refuses to become a slave trader, but
eagerly agrees to become an usurer after being given Capt. Kidd’s hidden
treasure. Later, the miser tries to
escape the deal by becoming an enthusiastic church-goer + carrying bibles. However, he is caught swearing and can’t
reach his Bibles in time to protect himself, so he‘s taken.
V.
Theme: “Tongue-in-cheek” humor about hypocrisy, greed, and
the married state.
VI.
Tone: Humorous, satirical
I.
Narration
A.
1st Person
B.
Subjective
C.
Involved observer
D.
Not in the action
II.
Setting
A.
an abandoned Italian chateau
B.
richly furnished, but bizarre + gothic
C.
a bedroom decorated w/ many portraits
D.
night, lit by candles
III.
Characters
A.
Narrator
1.
injured + in pain
2.
tired + nearly delirious
B.
Lady in the Portrait
1.
young + beautiful
2.
passionately devoted to her husband
3.
obsessed w/ needing his total attention; jealous of his love
of art
C.
The Painter
1.
obsessed w/ his art
2.
loved his wife through his art
3.
was blind to how he was ‘draining’ her
IV.
Plot
An injured man finds shelter in an
abandoned chateau. Unable to sleep, he
reads a book that describes the painting in his room. He learns that one portrait was painted so passionately that the
artist drained the life out of his wife.
V.
Theme: a gothic & symbolic examination of how people can
drain each other through a too narrow focus on their tasks, which neglects the
needs of others.
VI.
Tone: gothic, surrealistic
*Ahab & Ishmael à from
old testament
*Ahab wants to get Moby Dick b/c he
took is leg. Ahab’s
assaulting
the forces of nature. The crew
represents
America.
I.
Narration
A.
1st Person
B.
Subjective
C.
Limited
D.
Involved
II.
Setting
A.
the ante-bellum South
B.
various stops down the Mississippi River
III.
Characters
A.
Huckleberry Finn
1.
a boy
2.
son of the town drunkard
3.
partially educated
4.
clever
5.
thinks he is inferior
6.
honest à only lies to survive
7.
sensitive
B.
Jim
1.
a man/child
2.
a slave
3.
full grown
4.
married + a father
5.
servile
6.
dignified whenever possible
7.
well-educated in slave lore
8.
sensitive
C.
Tom Sawyer
1.
a boy
2.
leader of the town’s boy population
3.
imaginative
4.
adventurous
5.
romantic
6.
ambitious
7.
loyal
D.
Pap
1.
drunkard
2.
lazy
3.
ignorant
4.
violent
E.
“The King”
1.
in his sixties
2.
a con man
F.
“The Duke”
1.
in his thirties
2.
a con man
IV.
Plot
A.
Part I
1.
intro referring to Tom Sawyer
2.
boyish pranks in St. Petersburg + Tom’s gang
3.
Pap returns
4.
Pap kidnaps Huck
5.
Huck escapes
B.
Part 2
1.
Huck hides out alone on Jackson Island
2.
Huck meets Jim
3.
they explored the abandoned, sinking house (Jim finds the
dead Pap, doesn’t tell Huck)
4.
Huck impersonates a girl w/ Judith Loftus
5.
they escaped from Jackson’s Island
6.
Huck’s joke about being lost in the fog + his apology
7.
Huck wants to turn Jim in, but decides to lie + save him
8.
Huck becomes involved in the Grangerford/Sheperdson feud
C.
Part 3
1.
they meet up w/ King + Duke
2.
Huck sees Col. Sherburn kill Boggs. Sherburn faces up to a lynch mob
3.
The king and the duke try to put on Romeo & Juliet +
fail
4.
they swindle the town of Bricksville w/ The Royal Nonesuch
5.
the King & the Duke try to swindle the Wilkes girls, but
Huck saves the girls’ fortune
6.
Jim is betrayed and sold back into slavery
D.
Part 4
1.
Huck meets Aunt Sally and Uncle Silas Phelps, and Huck
impersonates Tom Sawyer. Tom
impersonates his half-brother Sid.
2.
Huck and Tom work all summer to ‘free’ Jim
3.
Jim’s escape
4.
denouement where the Phelpses discover who’s who, and Huck
and Jim discover the secrets about their lives. (Pap’s dead & Jim’s freed)
V.
Theme
A.
human growth and dignity can be found in unexpected places
B.
the rites of passage
VI.
Tone: serio-comic
Type: Metrical Lyric
Form: 3 Quatrains
Rhyme: repeated similar sounds; irregular
Meter: non-standard repeated rhythm
Poetic Devices: (conceit
or extended metaphor)
Paraphrase: Hope is a delicate thing, but never goes away.
Tone: Thoughtful
Type: Metrical Lyric
Form: 6 Quatrains
Rhyme: repeated similar sounds; irregular
Meter: non-standard repeated rhythm
Poetic Devices: personification (of death)
Paraphrase:
Tone: Thoughtful
Type: Metrical Lyric
Form:
Rhyme: no rhyme pattern
Meter: Iambic Pentameter
Poetic Devices:
Paraphrase:
Tone: Pensive, thoughtful
Type: narrative, then lyric
Form: 2 Pentains
Rhyme: no pattern
Meter: free verse
Poetic Devices: Symbols (both his soul and the spider are
searching)
Paraphrase: Narrator compares a spider releasing filament to
what his soul must do to anchor itself
in a secure place.
Tone: Pensive
I.
Narration
A.
first person frame story
B.
subjective
C.
involved in narration, but not action
D.
limited
II.
Setting
A.
Angel’s Camp gold mining town saloon
B.
flashbacks to second narrator’s youth
C.
Gold Rush era
III.
Characters
A.
Narrator
1.
newspaper writer
2.
impatient
3.
slightly gullible
B.
Simon Wheeler
1.
elderly
2.
fat
3.
bald
4.
likes to tell stories to get attention
C.
Jim Smiley
1.
habitual gambler
2.
generally lucky
IV.
Plot
A.
A Newspaper writer is sent on a ‘wild goose chase’ by being
told to ask Simon Wheeler about a fictitious character, but whoever sent him
knew that Simon would tell endless tall tales about other subjects. Simon tells a story about a lucky gambler w/
an outstanding jumping frog named Dan’l Webster. Smiley accepts a bet from a stranger. While Smiley is looking for a frog for the stranger to arrange a
contest, the stranger pours quail short down Dan’l Webster’s throat, making him
too heavy to jump.
V.
Theme: Even people who think themselves most clever can be
fooled.
VI.
Tone: ‘Tongue-in-cheek’ humor, local color
I.
Narration
A.
3rd Person
B.
omniscient
C.
subjective
D.
detached
II.
Setting
A.
11/23/1850
B.
Poker Flat
C.
High Sierras
III.
Characters
A.
John Oakhurst
1.
gambler
2.
calm
3.
intimidating
4.
kills himself rather than die of cold and starvation
B.
Uncle Billie
1.
suspected sluice robber
2.
a drunkard
3.
steals the party’s horses
C.
Mother Shipton