Assignment 4: Tell Tale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe DEADLINE: Friday 15-10-2021

Please read The Tell-Tale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe, you can find the story here:  

The Tell-Tale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe (virginia.edu)

Now, pick one of the following discussion questions for your blog-post. Don't forget to write your answer in P.E.E.L. style and incorporate a conditional!

1. What is the significance of the title of the story, “The Tell-Tale Heart”? What does the title mean? 

2. Why does the narrator call himself “nervous” but not “mad” in paragraph 1? What does this tell us about him? How does the author’s point of view impact the telling of the story? 

3. What do you think the relationship between the old man and the narrator is? What could have been the reason for the old man’s “vulture eye”? 

4. Do you think the narrator would have killed the man if he did not have an “evil eye”? Cite evidence from the text to support your answer. 

5. The two main symbols in the story are the eye and the heart. What do these symbols represent? Why are they important? 

6. What sound does the narrator hear after the murder? In reality, what could it be? Why does it get louder and louder? 

7. The gender of the narrator is not revealed in the story, although many people assume it is a man. If the narrator were a woman, how would this change your interpretation of the story? 

8. Repetition- Poe is known for using repetition in his work. Find a line that is repeated and tell how it impacts the story.

Assignment 3: The Story of an Hour by Kate Chopin DEADLINE: Friday 8 October

Kate Chopin's The Story of An Hour (1894) is considered one of the finest pieces of Feminist Literature. 

You can find the story here:
https://archive.vcu.edu/english/engweb/webtexts/hour/

Choose one of the following discussion questions for your P.E.E.L. paragraph: 

1. Discuss the effect of foreshadowing in The Story of an Hour.

2. Discuss the effect of irony in The Story of an Hour. 

3. Discuss why The Story of an Hour can be considered a work of Feminist Literature. 

4. Exlain how expectations and reality don't always add up by providing an example from your own life. 

You might have to do some additional research on the terms above.

Don't forget to include conditionals in your paragraph.

Good luck! 

Assignment 2: "The Flowers" by Alice Walker DEADLINE Friday 1 October

Read Alice Walker's 'The Flowers' and answer one of the following study questions in a proper P.E.E.L. paragraph of approximately 150 words. 

You can find the (very short!) story here: 

Microsoft Word - Flowers.doc (weebly.com)

Study questions:

1. How does the author, Alice Walker, use the symbol of flowers to show Myop’s coming-of-age experience?         
2. What is the significance of the final sentence, according to you?
3. What clues in the text allow us to construct a historical context around this story?

Alternatively, create a drawing that symbolizes the way Myop feels when she discovers the body. Scan it/take a picture of it and upload. If you choose this option you do not need to write a P.E.E.L. paragraph, but you should write a few lines in which you explain the significance of your drawing. 

How to upload a picture to the blog

Step 1: Upload the image so anyone using the Internet can access it. Websites that allow you to upload images for free are picasa.google.nl or www.flickr.com

Step 2: Get the image URL for the image that you want to display on your blog. Photo-sharing websites usually have a text box that provides the image URL underneath each image. If you cannot find this text box, you can open the image in a new browser window and copy the URL where the image is located.

Step 3: Post the image URL on the blog under the assignment 

Assignment 1: A&P by John Updike, DEADLINE: Friday 24-09-2021

The first short story you are going to write a blog-post about can be found here:

http://www.tiger-town.com/whatnot/updike/

Read the story and answer at least one of the following questions in about 150 words:

1. Explain how this story argues for what we call "freedom of dress". Do you agree with this argument? Do people need to be told what to wear? If so, who gets to decide? 
2.  Why do you think Sammy quit his job? Explain.
3. Discuss (a) possible theme(s) of the story. 
4.  What does the story tell us about the time period in which it was written (the 60s)? Explain. Would the story have been different had it taken place today?

Welcome to the USA blog 2021-2022!

TIP: write your blog comments in a Word document first (which you save, of course) and then copy & paste your comment into the blog. If for some reason the blog is not working correctly at that moment, you won't lose your comment. 

Each student is expected to post or comment on each of the short stories we will read during the USA project. You will have to write 4 blog posts in total. 

Please ALWAYS start your comment with your name (first AND last name)

To comment, click on "comments" under the relevant post and leave your comment in the text box which will appear. Follow any other instructions and your comment will be visible on the blog under "comments" after a few minutes.

• There will be a question or discussion topic posted on the blog each week and your challenge is to respond to it in 2 – 3 substantial paragraphs (~/+ 150 words). You don’t need to do any research (though you may, if you wish!); your own opinions and insights after reading are all you need. 
• Use your own words (don't copy/past). If you want part of your post or comment to be a quote, then put those words in quotation marks and name or hyperlink your source.
• Extra credit can be earned by also commenting on each other's posts. Use positive language and remember, comment on the idea, not the person. 
• As the grammar topics of period 1 are 'conditional sentences' and 'linking phrases', you are required to demonstrate your skills regarding both of these topics in each of your blog posts (see rubric). 

Good luck!

Miss S.

Ps: Posts or comments which I consider to be offensive or wildly disrespectful will be deleted.