Sample Passage Analysis questions

1.Please consider the following passage:

 “I could never quite give up the hens,” Mrs. Mortimer said. 'It would be an awful wrench to give them up. I didn't mind the cherries and I didn't even mind the calves so much. But the hens are company. I can talk to the hens.”

Create the following the clues for yourself:

Denotative meaning of “hens”________________

What does Mrs. Mortimer’s society expect of women (gender roles) that directly relates to what hens literally do? ______________________________________

Answer: In a figurative sense, why are the hens so important to Mrs. Mortimer (what do they represent to her)? Please include a discussion of gender roles and the idea of isolation in your answer.

 2.Consider the following passage:

The letter was typewritten, which was not unusual. It was unsigned, which was unusual. It enclosed an American bill — fifty dollars. It did not seem in the least like any letter she had ever had from her husband, or any letter she could imagine him writing. But a strange, cold feeling was creeping over her, like a flood rising around a house.

Think about the imagery of the last line. Think about some of the feelings/words you connotatively associate with floods. Think about some feelings/things you connotatively associate with house. Considering how the story ends, what does this imagery figuratively suggest?

Gender and Feminist Criticism Notes

As promised, here are the notes from the Prezi, in a less dazzling format.

Gender and Feminist Literary Criticism Notes

-Believe it or not, gender does not mean male or female

-Male? Female? That is your sex. You'll have to check that off on any job application

-Gender, rather, is our beliefs on what a "man" is and what a "woman" is.  Where do these beliefs come from? SOCIETY!

-"One is not born a woman, one becomes one"- Simone de Beauvior In other words , an individual

may be born female (sex), but may not behave in a way that society deems to be "womanly"  (gender)

-Therefore, gender is created by what one does, not by what one is.

-So, terms like "ladylike," "girly," "manly" "gentlemanly" all refer to how well one can act or perform their gender role in society

-Who comes up with the gender roles? Gender roles are actually determined by what we call "gender norms" a.k.a, just whatever is considered to be "normal" by our cultures and society. Sounds nice, right?

-Unfortunately, "Gender roles" often lead to gender stereotypes, and people might get persecuted or bullied when they step outside of their gender roles. A female not interested in clothes? A male who doesn't like sports?

-Can you think of any gender stereotypes? What are some things that only men are supposed to do or be good at? How about for women?

Male Gender Stereotypes: •All men enjoy working on cars

•Men are not nurses, they are doctors

•Men do "dirty jobs" such as construction and mechanics; they are not secretaries, teachers, or cosmetologists

•Men do not do housework and they are not responsible for taking care of children

•Men play video games

•Men play sports

•Men enjoy outdoor activities such as camping, fishing, and hiking

•Men are in charge;

•As husbands, men tell their wives what to do

•Men are lazy and/or messy

•Men are good at math

•It is always men who work in science, engineering, and other technical fields

•Men do not cook, sew, or do crafts

Female Gender Stereotypes:

Girls are supposed to wear dresses

Girls are supposed to serve food

Women are supposed to take care of babies

Women are supposed to have "clean jobs" such as secretaries, teachers, and librarians

Women are nurses, not doctors

Women are not as strong as men

Women are supposed to make less money than men

The best women are stay at home moms

Women don’t need to go to college

Women don’t play sports

Women are not politicians

Women are quieter than men and not meant to speak out

Women are supposed to be submissive and do as they are told

Women are supposed to cook and do housework

Women are responsible for raising children

Women do not have technical skills and are not good at "hands on" projects such as car repairs

Women are meant to be the damsel in distress; never the hero

Women love to sing and dance

Women are supposed to look pretty and be looked at

Women do not play video games

Women are flirts

Women are never in charge

-Can you see how many of these actually are true of many men or women that you know? They may even be true for you personally, but they do not apply to every single man or woman alive. That is what makes them stereotypes; the fact that these things are considered, "the norm" and expected of every male or female.

-Note: Actual gender roles are generally neither positive nor negative (I think everyone can appreciate a good house cleaner or an amazing cook);  they are simply inaccurate, sweeping statements about male and female characteristics

**Feminist critics intepret texts with a special attention towards women's rights

-So, what does the study of gender  have to do with Feminism? A feminist critic (anyone, male or female, can be a feminist critic) looks for how gender roles are portrayed in a text, often noting the inequalities that exist between men and women.

What a Feminist Critic Looks For

1.Who has power? Who's in charge?

2.Isolation

3.Individualism

3.Gender roles-namely what's expected of women in society

4.Language-how do women speak: with power or with restraint, obedience, or fear?

5.Figurative Language: early women writers often used "coded" language to undermine or fool men

***And then they ask: overall, does the text go against or simply reinforce unfair gender stereotypes/roles?

Continuing with Gender and Feminist Criticism Prezi

For those who missed school and checked the blog and found no new info, I just wanted to let you know what we did in class: I presented on Gender yesterday, and will be continuing the same presentation today.

What your future holds:

As I have been saying since last Wednesday, you have a test Friday on "The Good Corn" and Turned." This test will be passage analysis, so it will not require you to remember specific facts just for the sake of spitting them back (although, it would be helpful to remember what happened so that you're not completely without a context while reading the passages on the exam). I would start studying by doing the following:

-Understand the difference between connotative and denotative meaning. Be able to apply your understanding.
-Understand figurative language: imagery, symbols, similies, metaphors. Be able to apply your understanding.
-Understand what "theme" is. Be able to apply your understanding.
-Reread "The Good Corn" and "Turned" (see Siena webpage or past blogs for access to those stories)

**Tomorrow I'll be posting the notes from the Prezi on the blog, along with a couple of the videos shown in class. You will be responsible for understanding some gender and feminist criticism concepts. In class review/practice will begin on Wednesday.

When Good Corn "Turns" Bad...or does it...?

AGENDA:

1.Free-Style Friday!

Please take a few minutes to write on the following prompt:


Choose a character from either story and for just a brief moment, become that individual. You are to write a diary/journal entry as one of the characters describing their thoughts and feelings at a particular moment in the story--of your choosing.



2. Please write in your notebook what Mrs. Marroner might say to her husband (Please note that it will be in question form)

"Turned" Passages Part 2

HW: 

1. Please finished "Turned." Click here for the Microsoft Word Version (which is much easier to read). For those of you who do not have Microsoft Word, here is a PDF version--Click here.

2.Please complete the chart handed out in class. Forget your chart at school? Click here to download a new one.
Note: "Status" refers to social class ( middle class, upper-middle class, lower-middle class, lower class, upper class, etc)

Sympathetic= you care for and relate to a character's emotions and personality. You may "root" for this character at some moments, try to understand the reasoning behind their actions, or feel sorry for them at other points.

Unsympathetic= you have negative or bitter feelings toward a character. You may even be disgusted with a character and his/her actions, which make it hard to relate to or understand that individual.

"Turned" Passages

Yesterday's blog was somewhat inaccurate. I will use it as a springboard for today's work!

We will be reading "Turned" by Charlotte Perkins  Gilman, but in a hip, new fashion.

I will read a passage. After each passage there will be the following options available.

1. Five Word Challenge
2. Detective Notes, with evidence
3. Question Master
4. Discussion

Rules for Vocab Duel:

1.While reading, you are going to write down words that are confusing to you
2. When the time comes you are going to exchange your list of confusing vocab with another group.
3. If you figure out the word only using context clues, you get 4 points.
4. If you need help from a dictionary, that is fine, but it is worth 2 points and the word must then be properly used in an original (group created) sentence.

Rules for Five Word Challenge:
1. Choose five words that best summarize the mood/tone of the passage.
2. Write 1 sentence that describes the mood/tone of the passage.

Rules for Detective Notes:
1. Answer the questions posed to you
2. Include quotes from the story to support your answer (evidence)
3. Explain the quotes

Question Master:
1. Come up with a question that involves making a prediction of some sort.
2. Pose that question to another group

Rules for Discussion:
1. All Groups will be given a question or a set of questions to think about and discuss.
2. Whole Class Discussion on responses

Reactions Part 2 and "Turned"

Hello everyone. Today, we're going to continue forming opinions on the three characters in "The Good Corn."

We're then going to shift to the next story, "Turned" by Charlotte Perkins Gilman.

Agenda:
1. Whose Side Are You On?
2. Turned- Passages and predictions
3. Vocab Duel