1: John Proctor's Confession

In lieu of a formal class test on The Crucible, you will be responding to 5 posts, Monday through Friday of this week.  Each post will be worth 20 points.  Here is today's question.  Watch the film clip below.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Eel02K-WPo

In a well-structured paragraph, discuss and evaluate this man's analysis of John Proctor's confession.  He calls John Proctor a savior.  Are Proctor's actions at the end of the play as valiant as this man claims them to be?  Why or why not?

NOTE: The quote worksheet must be handed in by FRIDAY, without exception.

SAT

Answers to Reading Section #9:

7. D (easy)
8. E (medium)
9. D (medium)
10. D (medium)
11. B (medium)
12. C (easy)
13. A (medium)
14. E (medium)
15. C (medium)
16. B (medium)
17. E (medium)
18. A (medium)
19. D (medium)

Strategies for the SAT:

VOCABULARY—

• Define A-E before reading the sentence.
• Read the sentence, paying close attention to the KEY word(s) that hint at the definition(s) that you are looking for.
• Try to fill in the blank(s) on your own.
• Re-examine the choices (A-E), and select the BEST answer.

GRAMMAR—

• Bracket all prepositional phrases to avoid confusion.  This strategy will help you highlight the subject and verb.
• Mark the subject and verb. Make sure that they agree (e.g., if the subject is singular, then the verb should be singular)
• If there is more than one verb in the sentence, make sure that they are all in the same tense.
• Check the comma usage by running through the comma rules we’ve been studying (e.g., prepositional phrase, transition, subordinating conjunction, coordinating conjunction)
• Check the semi-colon usage.
• If you still cannot locate the error, check for the following concepts:
• parallelism (if there is a list in the sentence, this could be the answer)
• pronoun-antecedent agreement
• modifiers (make sure that the modifier matches the subject of the sentence)

READING—

• Look at the questions to see the line numbers that you are supposed to examine.  Mark those line numbers on your passage.
• Read the italicized print before the passage.  It will help to set up the context of the passage.  It will also help give you an overview of what the passage is about.
• Read the passage in its entirety.  Annotate as you read.
• Answer the questions, rereading not just the singular line numbers but the paragraph or line before and after.

GOOD LUCK! :)

Quote WS DUE DATE and HW for Monday

The quote worksheet from this week will be collected on 5/7 since we will solely focus on SAT prep for the next week. 

In addition, you must read the rest of The Crucible for Monday.  The notes you take on Act 4 will be collected and counted toward the fourth quarter.

Vocabulary for 4/26-4/27

—ING ADJECTIVES

NOTES:

You use many “—ing” adjectives to describe the effect that something has on your feelings, or on the feelings of people in general. If you talk about ‘a surprising number’, you mean that the number surprises you. Look at the following examples:

1.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  He lives in a charming house just outside the town.

2.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 She always has a warm welcoming smile.

Most “—ing” adjectives have a related transitive verb.  (i.e., compel, daunt)

57.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            Compelling—evoking interest, attention, or admiration in a powerfully irresistible way

SAMPLE SENTENCE—It is difficult for me to understand why the judges find the girls’ testimonies compelling; I just cannot understand why everyone believes Abigail’s lies.

58.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            Daunting—seemingly difficult to deal with; intimidating

SAMPLE SENTENCE—The scene in the courtroom is daunting for Elizabeth.  She is being questioned about the character of her husband but is instructed not to look at him.  Although she knows of his infidelity, she cannot confess it when Danforth commands.

59.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       Cunning—having or showing skill in achieving one's ends by deceit or evasion

SAMPLE SENTENCE—One cannot argue the fact that Thomas Putnam is cunning.  Even when Giles Corey brings evidence of Putnam’s avarice to Danforth and Hathorne, they quickly dismiss it without even questioning him.

—TION/—SION  NOUNS

NOTES:

The /shun/ sound at the end of words is spelled several different ways: —tion as in motion and —sion as in profession. Words that end in —tion and —sion often name things. They show an act of or state of. 

60.   ASPERSION— an attack on the reputation or integrity of someone or something

The verb “asperse” means to attack the integrity of someone.

SAMPLE SENTENCE—Abigail and the girls cast aspersion on Mary, claiming that she made a compact with the Devil.

61.   COMPUNCTION—a feeling of guilt or moral scruple that follows the doing of something bad; remorse

SAMPLE SENTENCE—It is evident at the end of Act 3 that John Proctor feels compunction for his lechery.

Homework for Act 3: Due Thursday

We've read Act 3.  We've watched the Hollywood version of Act 3.  Now, it's time for you to dissect Act 3.  Skim through the pages of Act 3 of The Crucible.  Find at least 10 quotes from the text that develops character conflict or elaborates upon a specific character's desires and motivations (i.e., Putnam's desires/Abigail's desires/Proctor's desires).  Remember, I called your attention to important pages while we watched and discussed the film version today.

This Week’s Critical Lens Prep

ANALYZING QUOTES: April 23^rd – April 27^th

Quote	Interpretation: What do you think this person meant? When you interpret this, be sure that your own philosophy comes into play.	Application to Piece 1	Application to Piece 2
MONDAY— Alexander Solzhenitsyn once said, "The sole substitute for an experience which we have not ourselves lived through is literature."		Title: Author: Thorough discussion of character/scene: Reasoning:	Title: Author: Thorough discussion of character/scene: Reasoning:
TUESDAY— Albert Schweitzer once said, "The tragedy of life is what dies inside a man while he lives."		Title: Author: Thorough discussion of character/scene: Reasoning:	Title: Author: Thorough discussion of character/scene: Reasoning:
WEDNESDAY— Sophocles once said, "Life contains but two tragedies. One is not to get your heart's desire; the other is to get it."		Title: Author: Thorough discussion of character/scene: Reasoning:	Title: Author: Thorough discussion of character/scene: Reasoning:
THURSDAY— George Gordon Byron once said, "Adversity is the first path to truth."		Title: Author: Thorough discussion of character/scene: Reasoning:	Title: Author: Thorough discussion of character/scene: Reasoning:
FRIDAY— TS Eliot once said, "This is the way the world ends. Not with a bang but a whimper."		Title: Author: Thorough discussion of character/scene: Reasoning:	Title: Author: Thorough discussion of character/scene: Reasoning:

VOCABULARY AS OF 4/23     

NOTE: THERE ARE ONLY 56 WORDS BECAUSE OF THE TWO DAYS WITH ASSESSMENTS (CRUCIBLE QUIZ AND VOCABULARY TEST #2)

1. patronizing    
2. repress        
3. pragmatic        
4. reticent    
5. capricious    
6. frivolous
7. ignominious    
8. squalor    
9. subjective        
10. objective    
11. vulnerable    
12. anomaly
13. revere        
14. pretentious    
15. condescending    
16. alleviate    
17. uncanny    
18. conventional
19. vilify        
20. slander    
21. trepidation        
22. turbulence    
23. puritanical    
24. crucible
25. rapturous        
26. languish    
27. indulge        
28. hedonism    
29. convoluted    
30. abstention
31. misanthrope    
32. avarice        
33. recoil        
34. enervate    
35. meek        
36. averse
37. relinquish        
38. dissension
39. rue
40. disseminate
41. disdain
42. chastise
43. contempt
44. spurn
45. scorn
46. surreptitious
47. malice
48. stringency
49. iniquity
50. iniquitous
51. malevolent
52. malicious
53. valor
54. valorous        
    

55. amoral (adj)—without morals

• a/an is a PREFIX that means "without"
• al is a SUFFIX that indicates that the word is an adjective
• Since "AMORAL" is an adjective, it can only:
  • modify the subject or direct object of a sentence
  SAMPLE: S + Vt + DO
  In The Crucible, the amoral characters outweigh the virtuous ones.
  
  
  NOTICE HOW THE WORD "AMORAL" MODIFIES THE WORD "CHARACTERS"
  
  
  • function as the subject complement of the sentence
  SAMPLE: S + LV + SC
  In second scene of Act Two, Abigail is amoral.
      
  NOTICE HOW THE WORD "AMORAL" ADDS INFORMATION ABOUT THE SUBJECT, "ABIGAIL."

56. maniacal (adj)— suggestive of or afflicted with insanity; seemingly insane

• the word "maniac" means "madman"
• al is a SUFFIX that indicates that the word is an adjective—having the qualities of a crazy person
• Since "MANIACAL" is an adjective, it can only:
  • modify the subject or direct object of a sentence
  SAMPLE: S + Vt + DO
  The girls' maniacal behavior shocks the men of Salem
      
  NOTICE HOW THE WORD "MANIACAL" MODIFIES THE WORD "BEHAVIOR"
  
  
  • function as the subject complement of the sentence
  SAMPLE: S + LV + SC
  After Tituba falsely confesses to witchcraft, the girls become maniacal.
      
  NOTICE HOW THE WORD "MANIACAL" ADDS INFORMATION ABOUT THE SUBJECT, "THE GIRLS."