Tone/Close Reading Practice for Tuesday September 3rd

Please use your Attitude Word handout pg. 59 to determine the tone of the following passages. More than one tone might apply.

Next, choose either  passage 1 or 4 and apply the Close Reading techniques you learned from the video. Write a well written paragraph on your analysis.


1. "...I don't miss them now - don't get me wrong. But I do, just sometimes, miss the time when the place I called home had so much wrong with it that what kept it from falling apart was the joke all around it.  And I do, just sometimes, miss my state of mind, an easier dimension then, that allowed me to laugh at the thought of gigantic, mutant roaches living in my linen closet..."

2. "Jim Foxx, who convinced millions of the benefits of exercise in his book running, died a few months ago while jogging in Vermont."

3. "They sued him on trumped-up charges and convicted him in a kangaroo court, and they burned his home to the ground while the fire department stood around watching the flames consume the night.  Was this justice?  No. It was racism."

4. "I returned to Rainy Mountain in July.  My grandmother had died in the spring, and I wanted to be at her grave... My grandmother had a reverence for the sun, a holy regard that is now all but gone out of mankind... I remember her most at prayer.  She was the strength of the family.  She had at last succeeded to that holy ground."

Close Reading Part 2

Close Reading Part 1

Words to Know Week 2

ostentatious
pedagogy
surreptitious
ascetic
beguile

Heart of Darkness Syntax and Tone

Briefly explain Joseph Conrad's tone in The Heart of Darkness.  You will need to examine and analyze his syntax (sentence structure) and diction (word usage) in order to get an accurate picture of the tone. You will need to include at least two quotes to substantiate your answer.  The quotes do not have to be complete sentences.  You may quote phrases.  Please let me know if you have any questions.

Words to Know Week 1

pretentious
elusive
metaphysical
pedantic

Heart of Darkness

Welcome to our first blog.  Please read all the information below and comment with a well thought out paragraph by Friday, August 23rd. One paragraph per part.

Part I:  In The Heart of Darkness Joseph Conrad attempts to bring to light the evils of imperialism, specifically those promulgated by British society. We experience the motivations behind imperialism from several different perspectives, albeit through the eyes of one man, Marlow, our protagonist.  We are also privy to the realizations of each view; what really happens in the real world.  For example, we learn that Marlow's aunt belongs to a "help the savages type of society" which sends Englishmen to Africa with the goal of "civilizing" the people.  While this "help" might be well intentioned, it nonetheless strips the natives of their own culture and forces an unknown culture upon them, often times in a very brutal fashion.

Choose a character from the novel that represents one of the following groups:


The Company


Company workers - this includes all Steamboat workers


Idealists


Write a paragraph explaining the Imperialistic motivations for this character.  Were they self-serving motivations, were they altruistic, etc...?  Did they change their beliefs once experiencing Africa?  If yes, why?  If no, why?

Part II:  Why would Conrad write a novel concerning imperialism during this particular time in England's history?  This might require you to do a little research.  You only have to write one paragraph, so do not spend a lot of time researching.  You just need to get the basic facts.