HOD & Moral Darkness

Taken from Google Images

After reading the first ten pages of Conrad's Heart of Darkness, I want you to consider the following questions and respond in your journals:

•What details suggest that this novel will be a tale of darkness?  What is the tone of the novel?  How is this tone created?

•Take a few minutes and work with a partner to locate these suggestive details from the text.  How does Conrad's story foreshadow moral darkness?

Austen's Big Picture Idea

Taken from Google Images

 

You have finished Pride & Prejudice!  Congratulations! 

AP English is all about looking at the "Big Picture" idea of a text.  It's great that Elizabeth and Darcy both got what they wanted in the end, but it's time to ask yourself the "So what?" question.  Based on the events and outcome of the novel, I want you to discuss in your journal what Austen's overall message was in Pride & Prejudice.  Why did Lizzy and Darcy end up together?  What moral or lesson is Austen teaching to her readers?  By writing this novel, is Austen saying anything else about England during the Regency Period?  Be specific and use evidence from the text!

Tuesday Journal Prompt

Sarcasm is Mr. Bennet's First Language
Taken from Google Images

 

I know what a lot of you may be thinking about Pride and Prejudice: it's just about a bunch of chicks trying to get married.  And you're right - they are; however, you're also wrong.

Austen uses literary devices to illustrate the fact that her characters are flawed, and oftentimes, quite ridiculous.  AP is all about thinking "big picture".  What message is Austen conveying to readers about these "chicks" who are only trying to get married?

Austen's satire begins with the very first line of Pride and Prejudice: "It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife" (1).  Is she being serious?  Did Jonathan Swift really want the aristocrats to eat the beggers' children?

Why does Austen use literary devices like satire and irony?  If you had to determine the tone of P&P, what would it be and why?  Think "big picture".  What is she telling us about life during The Regency Period in England?