Assignment 1: Slavery Discussion

Hello students,

Here is your first assignment on the blog. Simply reply to the prompt by leaving a comment using your full name. Remember, if you do not reply by 11:59 pm on Saturday, you will receive no credit!

Here are a few links that you can look over to help you:
PBS Slavery
Jim Crow Law History
Mark Twain History
Local Color Definition
Huckleberry Finn Study Guide

Assignment:

First, write a paragraph about what you think you know about how slaves were treated in America. Then, look at the PBS web site and discuss an aspect of slavery that you did not know about. Finally, answer the question: Do you think the impact of slavery still has an effect on American society today?

Length: Three short paragraphs, 200-300 words (use word count to ensure length)

We will be discussing this further in class when we come back, so be sure to read the replies of other students as well.

- Mr. Nguyen

Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

Hello students,

Here is a brief overview of what we're going to be discussing and analyzing as we read Huckleberry Finn:

The plot of Huckleberry Finn is entertaining and masterfully written, but we will be delving into the book’s historical, cultural, and literary significance as well. We will be discussing social topics such as freedom, equality, justice as well as evaluating literary ones such as censorship, setting, and theme. By the end of the unit, we will be looking at the grand question that the book presents: How do you evaluate your society's norms and values? Are you happy with today’s America, and what changes would you make in order to have a “more perfect” society?

This may seem daunting, but we will be doing things such as group activities and creative projects along the way. As long as you think while you read, you will get a lot out of the book.

Here are questions to consider as you read:

The essential question:
How do you evaluate your society's norms and values?

The unit questions:
- In Huckleberry Finn, what is the nature of Huck's conflicts regarding racism?
- How does the time period/setting of Huckleberry Finn influence the story?
- What influence did Mark Twain have on American literature?

The content questions:
- What does the term "local color" mean in a literary work?
- What is "conflict" and how are they dealt with in the book?
- What is the typical plot structure of a narrative? Does Huckleberry Finn adhere to it?
- What is "style" and how does it shape the text of the book?
- What themes are addressed in Huckleberry Finn and how are they developed?

I will be posting more updates shortly, stay tuned!

- Mr. Nguyen

Testing

Hello students,

This is my first blog post. Please respond here if you are able to view and comment on this page!