Today I went through a PowerPoint demonstrating all the literary terms you will need to know for short stories. These are terms that will appear on tests in the future, so don't lose your notes!
After our long session of note-taking, we watched the music video of "The Suburbs" by The Arcade Fire (directed by the amazing Spike Jones). We then analyzed the lyrics to the song and found many parallels with the short story "Identities"(themes of isolation, security enforced by the law, barriers between upper and lower classes, boredom, and false perceptions of security). I went through a PowerPoint that showed the story analysis of "Identities" and highlighted important quotations that demonstrate imagery. After that, students had time to work on questions that were assigned. These are due next class.
During the second period of class, we discussed the stereotypes of 'the crazy cat lady' and the history of this theory. I also showed a clip of Sheldon and his cats from "The Big Bang Theory" to reinforce this notion in media culture. We then started reading "The Black Cat" by Edgar Allen Poe, which is another example of madness arising from feline pets. Please finish this story for next class.
Reminders:
- "Identities" questions: due Friday, Feb. 13, 2015
- Finish reading "The Black Cat" for Friday, Feb. 13, 2015
