Transcript Unit 1 Review

Unit 2 Review
Terms and Applications
Terminology of Literary Criticism
 Realism—a literary movement in which writers
represented ordinary people in extraordinary,
but real situations, rejecting the fantastic,
heroic, mythic, etc. Began in the 19th century
 Free Will—the ability to choose the course of
your actions and your life
 Determinism—denies free will and sees
humans as animalistic, controlled more by our
environment, genes, and biologic drives than
logic and thought—if we can’t see the soul,
then it must not exist.
Terminology of Literary Criticism
 Levels of Interpretation
 Action—what happens in the story
 Characters’ Motivation—why the characters
do what the do
 Author’s Motivation—why the author does
what he/she does
 Evaluation—is the literature successful at
what it attempts to do
 Narrative (Literary) Frame—that stands for
something else, as a flag symbolizing a
country
Terminology of Moral Systems
 Utilitarianism—the greatest good for the
greatest number (quality of “good”
considered)
 Absolute Ethics—ethical precepts that you
believe apply to everyone in every situation
 Relative Ethics—ethical precepts that may
change depending on the person or situation
involved
Terminology of Moral Systems
Shermer’s Secular Morality
 The Ask First Principle—ask the affected
person(s) if behavior is moral; the Golden
Rule with more emphasis on avoiding harm
 The Happiness Principle—always seek
happiness with someone else’s happiness in
mind; never seek happiness when it leads to
someone else’s unhappiness
Terminology of Moral Systems
Shermer’s Secular Morality
 The Liberty Principle—it is a higher moral
principle to always seek liberty with someone
else’s liberty in mind, and never seek liberty
when it leads to someone else’s loss of liberty
 The Moderation Principle—when innocent
people die, extremism in the defense of
anything is no virtue, and moderation in the
protection of everything is no vice
Terminology of Moral Systems
 Four Standards of “Right Action”
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Obedience to Authority—”do it because I say
so”
Effect on Others—consider how an action
helps or harms other people
Model of an Ideal Figure—”WWJD,”
“WWMCD,” basing ethical choices on
someone you admire
Intention—considering what the motive was
rather than merely the result of an action
Practice
Try to figure out which of the terms above best
represent the following:
 Take no actions that hurt others
 Ethan Frome
 My Antonia reflects the lack of economic
choice immigrants face in American society
 You can do whatever you choose
 It is wrong to murder—always!
 To know right, emulate Buddha
Practice
 Refraining from fighting a religious war
 If Daisy had confessed to the accident
 The first and last sections of Ethan Frome
 Finish your ABP because Mr. Cook said so
 Choosing to raise taxes only on the rich
 Choosing to forego the last cookie because
you know your little sister wants it
 Forgiving your brother for hitting you because
he was only trying to knock a bee off
Practice
 This could be seen as an introduction and
conclusion to a novel, in a way
 Ethan Frome is about a farmer, not a king
 Our “decisions” are only biological
imperatives
 Democracy, in theory, anyway
 Mattie shouldn’t have used the pickle dish
without Zeena’s approval
 Capitalism, in theory, anyway
 The death penalty in relation to the 10
Commandments
Practice
 Ray chooses to go against society and build
a ball field in his corn
 You follow the law because you fear jail
 Purposely hurting an infant always results in
jail time
 My Antonia is about farmers and immigrants
 You’re not charged with arson although you
mistakenly threw gas on the fire to put it out
 You do your school work because you know it
will make your parents happy
“The Mill”
—Edwin Arlington Robinson
The miller’s wife had waited long,
The tea was cold, the fire was dead;
And there might yet be nothing wrong
In how he went and what he said:
“There are no millers any more,”
Was all that she had heard him say;
And he had lingered at the door
So long that it seemed yesterday.
Sick with a fear that had no form
She knew that she was there at last;
And in the mill there was a warm
And mealy fragrance of the past.
What else there was would only seem
To say again what he had meant;
And what was hanging from a beam
Would not have heeded where she went.
And if she thought it followed her,
She may have reasoned in the dark
That one way of the few there were
Would hide her and would leave no mark:
Black water, smooth above the weir
Like starry velvet in the night,
Though ruffled once, would soon appear
The same as ever to the sight.
My Antonia
 At the beginning of the novel, what do Jim
and Antonia have in common?
 What is the geography where Jim and
Antonia live?
 What is the Shimerda’s first winter like?
 What adventures do Jim and Antonia share?
 Who are Otto and Jake?
 What causes the “feud”?
 How does the feud end?
My Antonia
 What religious conflicts are developed in the
novel?
 Why do the Burdens move to the town?
 How does the town treat the immigrant girls?
 Why are the dances a problem?
 Why does Antonia go to work for Wick Cutter?
 Why does Wick Cutter pummel Jim?
 Describe Jim’s sojourn in Lincoln.
 Who is Gaston Cleric?
My Antonia
 Why does Jim decide to go to Harvard?
 Why do some people think Antonia should be
ashamed? What is she instead?
 Why doesn’t Jim go back to see Antonia for 20
years?
 What makes him go back?
 What does he find when he goes back?
 What are Jim’s future plans?
 What do he and Antonia share?
Ethan Frome
 What is Starkfield like, according to the
narrator?
 How does Ethan Frome act in the opening
frame section?
 What is the state of Ethan and Zeena’s
marriage as the “past” section begins?
 What is Zeena’s illness?
 What attracts Ethan to Mattie?
 What are Ethan’s plans for his night alone
with Mattie?
Ethan Frome
 What happens during their night alone?
 What news does Zeena bring back from
Bettsbridge?
 Why can’t Ethan run away with Mattie?
 Where will Mattie most likely go?
 What is the first and only time Ethan stands
up to Zeena?
 What do Ethan and Mattie talk about on their
ride to the train station?
Ethan Frome
 Why do they decide to take the final sled
ride?
 What does the narrator find at Ethan’s
house?
 What is Ruth Hale’s judgment of life at the
Frome’s?
 Explain the symbolism of the pickle dish.
 Explain the simile of the butterfly in winter.
 In what ways could Ethan be considered a
tragic hero?