Tuesday Feb. 12
Today in class we:
1. Discussed the end of Eyes
2. Assigned commentary, rubric
3. Looked at example commentary passage coding/thesis/paragraph structure
4. Wrote on commentary passage
Homework: Code passage, rough thesis draft

Monday February 11
Today we:
1. Discussed 13-16
2. Look at introductions
3. Did our WHAT'S THE EFFECT?!?!?!?!?! hand-out

Homework:
Finish Eyes!

Friday! Feb. 8

Today in class we did the following:
1. Lit terms test
2. Discussed chapters 9-12
3. Looked at example introductions
Homework:
1. Read Eyes ch. 13-16
2. Journal 5: Ch 13-16: Tonight, I want you to practice analyzing specific language. You’ll do this by analyzing each sentence (on its own) of the assigned paragraph. Your analysis does not have to be in complete sentences or form a coherent whole, you just need to demonstrate that you can look at individual words and phrases for meaning. You should have analysis after EVERY sentence.  Be sure to find a way to show which sentences are yours and which are Hurston’s

My example: (p. 125… “All night…like ants”, just about three pages in to Ch. 14). Note: Hurston’s language is italicized.

 All night now the jooks clanged and clamored. Hurston uses onomatopoeia with “jooks” and “clamored” to create vivid aural imagery for the reader; she also has “jooks” as the subject, implying that these establishments take on a life aside simply from humans. Blues made and used right on the spot. “Blues” here could be a play on words—referring to music or emotion. The word “used” implies the blues are totally spent, not mean to last a lifetime, perhaps showing how fleeting this moment is. Dancing, fighting, singing, crying, laughing, winning and losing love every hour. The list of gerunds shows activity, particularly with words like “fighting”. The natural juxtapositions of more positive actions (“laughing”) and negative ones (“crying”) not only creates hyperbole but shows the richness of the emotional experience. Even the syntax, a fragment, implies movement, action but still a lurking undercurrent of the impossibility of the moment lasting forever. Work all day for money, fight all night for love. The use of the word “all” creates clear hyperbole and the split sentence, with parallel structure creates juxtaposition not just between “money” and “love” but how each is procured. Hurston seems to imply that these are the only actions of life. Interestingly, the more negative of the two verbs, “fighting”, is paired with love, which creates somewhat of a paradox. Can we ever get love from fighting? The rich black earth clinging to bodies and biting the skin like ants. First, we get an image of the earth (“rich” and “black”); due to the previous mention of money, one cannot help but wonder if Hurston creates another pun here. The verb “clinging” seems to imply that the soil is almost desperate, as if it is more attached to the humans than they are to it. Finally, the simile created at the end “biting the skin like ants”, shows how troublesome the land can be, like a pest. However, we get a complex image, the land is both “rich” and “biting”, implying, as before, that such an emotionally rich experience comes with the good and the bad; in suffering there is beauty, in beauty there is suffering. Again, the use of another fragment could imply that the moment is fleeting; times seems to move quickly in the paragraph.

Your paragraph: Page 113 (in my book), it is the ninth paragraph in Ch. 13. It begins “But don’t care how firm your determination is, you can’t keep turning round in one place like a horse” and ends with “day and night she worried time like a bone”. 

Feb. 7

Today in class we did the following:
1. A brief note on symbol vs. motif, clarification on journal expectations.
2. Discussed Ch. 7 and Ch. 8
2. Code Ch. 8 Passage (first 5 lines together)
3. Write a thesis on Ch. 8 passage
4. Look at sample introductions, parts of an introduction

Homework:
1. Lit terms test TOMORRROW
2. Read 9-12
3. Journal 4: Using your thesis statement from today, write an introductory paragraph. As this is a short journal assignment, your paragraph should be free from any errors and should be a thoughtful piece of writing.

Weds. Feb. 6

Sorry I was gone again today, guys. I really hope to be back tomorrow.

Today in class you did the following:
1. Answered questions for Eyes 5 and 6 while Kelsi initialed your lit terms.
2. Began reading 7 and 8.

Homework:
1. Read Chapters 7 and 8 (remember to keep tabbing).
2. Eyes Journal 3: Examine the manner in which Hurston uses personification and animalization in these two chapters. First, find at least six examples of personification and/or animalization and analyze the specific language of EACH example (consider what being/object/animal Hurston is humanizing/dehumanizing and what characteristics she gives). Then, decide the ultimate effect of this personification/animalization. What overall purpose does it serve in the text? This should not be a short answer; show me the thought process you go through to determine the effect of these techniques.

Tuesday

Homework:
Read Ch 5 and 6
Lit terms due tomorrow

Monday Feb. 4

Today in class we did the following:
1. Introduced tabbing
2. Discussed Eyes Ch. 1 and Ch. 2
-Your questions
-Manning's questions
2. Analyzed passage on page 11, listing techniques, patterns, changes, tension. Then, I created a commentary thesis for you, with paragraph breakdowns.
3. Read Chapter 3 together.

Homework:
1. Read Ch. 3 and Ch. 4
2. Eyes Journal 2. Compare and contrast Hurston's characterization of Jody and Logan. 
Consider:
-How does Hurston characterize each man (think of methods of characterization)? 
-What techniques can we associate each character with? 
-What is the ultimate effect of the difference in characterization?
Please use specific examples in your answer.

Friday February 1!!

Happy Friday!!

Today in class we did the following:
1. Gallery Walk
2. Intro Eyes/Zora!!!!!!!!!!!
3. Eyes page 1
4. Checked out Eyes

Homework:
1. Read Ch. 1 and 2 of Eyes
2. Eyes Journal 1:  Identify two important choices Hurston makes in the first two chapters; these choices should be literary techniques. Then, for each choice, find examples (what), explain how Hurston treats the technique (how) and the effect of the technique. Your journal entry should NOT be in the form of a thesis but rather a few exploratory paragraphs. This assignment is meant to show your thought process, not necessarily be a summative assessment of your understanding of the text. That being said, to receive credit, you must show thoughtful, insightful work (and include examples from the text).
REMEMBER: If your effect is cliche, I will cry (and not in an "oh, you moved me to tears" way in an "oh, the humanity" way).