APEnglish–Los Al

Please post your answers as comments to this post:

Brent Staples, “Black Men and Public Space”

1. Define public space.
2. How does he use anecdotes to make his case?
3. What are his examples? Evaluate their effectiveness.
4. What does it mean to inhabit public space?

Scott Russell Sanders

1. What is his thesis?
2. What examples does he employ to illustrate his thesis?
3. Why 2nd person narrative?
4. Explain Sanders’ syntax in paragraph 1.  How does he use rhythm to create emphasis?

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Period 5

Today began with a rather difficult quiz on the Scarlett Letter. Although there were only 7 matching questions, many of them seemed to have multiple answers. This led to an intense debate between Mr. Eldridge and Mr. Fanelli. Eldridge challenged Fanelli to a quote-off, and  eventually proved his answer by showing that Hester is not astray in the physical world.

Then, the class studied the syntax used on page 75 of the Scarlett Letter. The study began with “It may seem marvellous, that, with the world before her…” and ended on page 76 with “…because the result of martyrdom.” Eldridge pointed out that the narrator of the story has a hard time directly stating his point. He uses the repetition of certain, subjective phrases such as “it may be” to imply his point. For example, the narrator says, “It might be, too, – doubtless it was so, although she hid the secret from herself, and grew pale whenever it struggled out of her heart, like a serpent from its hole, – it might be that another feeling kept her within the scene and pathway that had been so fatal.” The repetion of “it might be” another reason that keeps Hester in the Puritan village implies that there is another reason that she remains. We then discussed what this reason may be. The answer was found in the passage stating that she stayed because “there trode the feet of one with whom she deemed herself connected in a union, that, unrecognized on earth, would bring them together before the bar of final judgement…” In other words, Hester is waiting for her “baby daddy” to come back to her. We also learned that Hester’s partner-in-crime is Dimmesdale. Because many students did not recognize the foreshadowing and syntax of the novel, Eldridge urged us to read carefully and slowly.

Next, we were given this weeks vocabulary for The Scarlett Letter, which is actually List 2. The test will be “later this week”, so be ready because many of us cannot afford to fail another quiz.

Finally, we were given the Detail 5 Worksheet. In the midst of the transition between topics, the class began a series of interesting conversations. First, Karly pointed out Mr. Eldridge’s hair, asking if she could bring in some products to “spike” it. Mr. Eldridge replied that his hair looks like it always does. In fact, he has always had a receding hairline. Then, Eldridge pointed out that the BJAM Experience is quite the interesting group, considerring that none of us actually sit at out assigned table on a daily basis. Fanelli pointed out that we are sort of the “alternative-rock” group because we are “alternative”. Jake White then argued that any band name with the word “experience” is classified as an “80s-hair-metal”. Whatever that means. Anyways, about 5 minutes later, we began the worksheet. Shortly after, the bell rang. So finish that worksheet tonight and do not forget to read the Bedford Reader!

Brooke Slater

Pictures!
80s hair metal group…aka: the BJAM experience
http://www.themovieblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/motley-crue-crue-fest.jpg

The Scarlet Letter

Period 6

I would like to apologize ahead of time for my lack of quality and character in the following class notes. I was not aware of my scribe-ing responsibilities until approximately three-elevenths in to the class period. I hope you find this satisfactory…

The class walked in to see the dreaded laptop-of-doom projecting the Scarlet Letter Quiz on Chapters 7-9. It was a seven question matching quiz, which was simple and comprehendable had you read the book. Mr. Eldridge was even kind enough to give us a couple minutes to discuss with our fellow groupmates on what we thought the answers were. We then traded papers and went over the correct and irrefutable answers. (This week’s vocab list was also passed out. For those of you that were not present today, aka KATE CHAMBERS, be sure to get it from a friend. The quiz will either be this Friday, or next Monday. It has not been decided yet, so be prepared!)

Soon after, Mr. E asked the class if they knew why Hester Prynne did not simply leave town when she was freed. As many blurted out what they thought to be true, no one seemed to be correct so we resorted to the text to find the answer. Mr. E. told the class to open our books to Chapter 5 where he pointed out the unusual syntax of the author. The second paragraph of the chapter seemed to be a long bunch of sentences with mixed ideas that seemed to avoid a main concept; the author was essentially rambling on as though he did not know what he was talking about. This continues for majority of the page until the next paragraph where he clarifies and offers another explanation as to why Hester Prynne had stayed in town. By the end of our discussion, we (or Mr. E, rather) concluded that Hester stayed for Pearl’s father; she stayed out of her love for the mystery man, and simply wanted to be around him and “see his face.” Furthermore, after much discussion, the class figured out who the father was–Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale. In conclusion, Mr. E pretty much ruined the surprise for us all. But it’s okay. I assume it will better our understanding of the text as we continue analyzing the Scarlet Letter and it’s massive amount of symbolism, foreshadow, and all the other literary devices intelligent authors can use.

WIth five minutes left, Mr. E hurriedly passed out green Detail worksheets and told us we had time to finish. Evidently, we did not. The worksheet was then assigned for homework to be discussed tomorrow at the beginning of the period.

To close, Shira volunteered to feed Mary-Kate as Kate was absent today. Justine and Lindsey watched her and suggested we feed the fish more food so as to make it obese. Shira refused as she told them it would most definitely cause the fish to perish. Nevertheless, Justine and Lindsey still adamantly persisted in encouraging the overfeeding of good ol’ Mary-Kate.

The end.

-a.Chang

P.S. HABITAT FOR HUMANITY FUNDRAISER!!~ next Tuesday, October 27th. @ Paul’s Place, located on Los Alamitos Blvd from 4PM to 9PM. Simply mention that you are there for Habitat for Humanity of Los Alamitos High School and a portion of the proceeds will go towards our club. You can dine-in or take-out so be sure to stop by to show your support! Just stop by on your way home and grab a quick bite. It is much appreciated! I personally recomment their chili cheese fries; they’re amazing…

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Period 6

-Some noteworthy quotes to start off today’s scribe notes:

“Alcohol is what you want”

-Mr. E

“If they [Greek comedians] wore real genitalia, it would smell”

-Mr. E

-So we had another pop quiz on Bedford Reader, which is Mr. E’s way of making sure we’re honest. Obviously he doesn’t trust us very much considering that we have a quiz every day (on average) but then again “it’s ap”.

-Mr. E doesn’t know what a scarf is… I’ll attach a picture for him. He’s also a bit of a hypocrite, calling out people for wearing warm clothes when he in fact is wearing the warmest outfit (Correction: He’s not because his long sleeves are rolled up about 5 inches)

-We started talking about sanitizers and bacteria after Allison squirted her whole arm with sanitizer. Some important points

1. 1Antibacterial stuff is DANGEROUS. It creates super bacteria (the .01% not being killed) which multiplies and spreads. Not good!
2. Purell is ineffective because it does not have enough alcohol (only 63% but it should have over 70%)
3. The best way to keep germs away is to wash your hands!
4. Cold weather doesn’t make you sick “Are Eskimos always sick? NO” But staying in cramped quarters sharing germs does.

-Diction worksheet

• * In Greek comedy, they wear genitalia to be funny (it’s fake! See above)
• * Outstanding is a pun. Used to mean excellent but also standing out. As in: the stomachs were outstanding
• * Changing the sentence to use the words accept them would cause disturb the balance as all the other phrases in the sentence were very concrete but to accept is abstract. Not visual
• * Author’s attitude: Humorous, wry, comical

-Lindsey passed out trope worksheets of Mr. E’s favorite: paradoxes!

• * For example: It ain’t over till it’s over; Nobody goes to that restaurant because it’s too crowded. All said by Yogi Berra.

-Homework: Finish our essays from Bedford

And to leave you with one lasting thought:

-This statement is false.

-Barazani

Period 5

As I was hurrying to fifth period, Allyson announced that we had a quiz on the Bedford Reader today in class. I would really like to cry at this moment just to get out of the quiz. But to our advantage, it was open notes and book. The quiz was 10 questions and we were instructed to choose 5 and answer them in 2-4 sentences. We then graded the quizzes in class.

Eldridge then exclaimed that the thesaurus is an evil foe in the works of writing.

Our next task was to complete the diction worksheet of the day!!! The passage was a description of people’s enormous bellies. Although it was quite a disturbing passage, it contained some nice rhetorical devices. A pun was found in the first sentence “outstanding”. The usual meaning of this word is not used here. Instead, it was used to describe the stomachs as standing out. The author made this adjective physical and the passage was no longer concrete but abstract.

Torrey and Chris looked awfully tired so Eldridge sent them outside to get some fresh air and sunlight so they can wake up.

We decided to catch up on our tropes today. Jenna VB presented her trope which was similes. Simile is the Greek meaning of “a like thing”. A simile is the comparison of two different things using the words “like” or “as”. The purpose of a simile is for explanation, allusion, or decoration.

Some Simile stereotypes:

• ·         “As precise as a surgeon”
• ·         “As quiet as a mouse”
• ·         “As cunning as a fox”

We were even able to fit in another trope. Two tropes in one day!!! Colleen presented on oxymoron which derives from the Greek elements oxy-sharp and moros-dull/foolish. An oxymoron is a combination of contradictory words or phrases. Opposite words, ideas or terms are combined to create a paradoxical effect. There are two types of oxymoron. This first is objective oxymoron which is obvious contradictions and the second is subjective oxymoron which is a contradiction that requires an opinion.

The bell then rang and we were free to leave.

Fun FACT of the day- Hadley is a puritan. She’s evil.

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Period 6

Here are my scribe notes for 0ctober 13th in period 6…
-Mr. Eldridge did get a haircut
-we took the 3rd vocab quiz on the scarlet letter
-we started working on the diction sheet of the day which involved an abuelito, flies, and a lonely light bulb
-Justine thought that light bulbs were people
-we started discussing the difference between nude and naked and apparently the connotations are very different
-Wyatt was complaining that he couldn’t concentrate
-Eldridge commented that Mikey was actually looking at a dictionary
-Eldridge started eating while Nicole looked at him with a starved animal expression
-we took another quiz! This one was for the scarlet letter chapters 4-6
-we found out that we have a essay due Friday on pg 333 topic 3 in the Bedford Reader so that will be fun!!
-and it was a lovely rainy day!!
The happy students of Mr. Eldridge’s class left for home and now we get to read a story about death! YAY!
So I put in rain on google for a picture and this is what I got.
His name is Rain and he is a Korean singer! Sexy?

~Allison Valdes

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Period 5

“SPRAY THE SPRAY!”

Today in AP Lit/Comp, class began with Hadley hitting Desiree and when she complained, Eldridge went over and said “U-D-serve it.”

Shortly after that, we began to finish working on the Tone worksheet from yesterday and we learned some things about Tone:
Tone has an attitude towards:
The subject matter
The reader
Or
Him/Herself as the author.
(And if we take a look at our own lives, we often make fun of ourselves in normal
everyday conversation just as many authors do in their own works.”

*Off of a tangent from one of our at home readings a few nights ago, we also learned that Eldridge’s favorite magazine is the New Yorker but they come once a week so he finds that they begin to stack up and pile up everywhere.  However, he said he feels good when he at least reads the comics.*

Continuing with the worksheet, Eldridge called on Brian Joseph to answer the first question and he replied by stating that the passage had a mocking tone because of how the author stated that clothes need to be bought many months prior to the time they will be needed.  Discussion continued with many others in the class contributing as well as we finished working on yesterday’s Tone worksheet.

After we finished going over the answers for the first Tone worksheet, Eldridge went over to Jake and asked if he was a clown because Jake was acting very strangely while looking for his cocaine pamphlet which he misplaced.  (We also learned that he found the pamphlet on the ground upon further interrogation from Eldridge.)  Eldridge then stated that Brooke probably had taken in and burned it because she didn’t want to look at it anymore.

As we began to start the next Tone worksheet, we talked a little about Mark Twain and how he is a “down-to-earth guy.”

After, Eldridge interjected how Margo has a strange laughter and then Jake said he NEEDED to find his cocaine pamphlet.  We also learned out last week he had an HIV and a Hepatitis B pamphlet in class.  FINALLY, Jake found his pamphlet on cocaine and peace was restored to the classroom.

Now class was able to resume, but when Eldridge asked Allison the answer to the first question on the second Tone worksheet, she stated that she was not able to answer it because she was helping Jake to look for his cocaine pamphlet the entire time.  Eldridge then commented on how cocaine just takes over our lives.  Drugs are bad. Don’t do drugs.
When we finally came to the apply section of the second Tone worksheet, Eldridge was asking people what movies they picked and both Andy and Michael said they don’t see bad movies so Eldridge came to the conclusion that they both go to the movies together and they only see the good ones.

Next, two girls from the Los Al Chronicle came in to inform the class that one of them runs the advice column in the newspaper so if anyone has any deep, dark, secret, or any kind of problems at all, they can just place it into the yellow envelope hanging on the whiteboard.  But don’t sing with your real name.  And make it a good problem or it won’t make it into the newspaper.

After that, Eldridge passed out a “Transitions” worksheet to help us with our essay writing for this weekend.  There is no in class essay this week because of the short week (No school on Friday for us students. Yay =]) and also because of the hell we put Eldridge through last weekend when he had to read and grade all of our papers.  So we have more time to work on it this weekend, and now we have a list of Tone words and a page on transitions which we can use to apply to our essay writing skills and get A’s on our essays from here on out.

Also, we started outlining “Grant and Lee: A study in Contrasts” by Bruce Catton.  However, we didn’t finish so finish going over and filling in the outline for homework tonight everyone.

At the end of class, the smell in the corner nearest the fish smelled bad apparently so Eldridge ended class by saying “SPRAY THE SPRAY” and so Brooke had to pass over the fragrant spray which covered up the foul smell of whatever smelled in that corner.

Period 6

Before the bell rang, Shira fixed Ryan’s note on the board about her tiara, which is still missing.
Both doors of Mr. Eldridge’s room were open for once.
It was overheard that Mr. Eldridge is not a baseball fan (except for the Playoffs).

We were asked to get out Tone1 and Tone2 worksheets.
Mr. Eldridge dropped two stacks of paper on the floor.  While he laughed, Kris, Shira, and Michael picked them up.
The one stack of papers was about tone and the other was TSL AP Vocab List 2.

Shira laughed so hard at some comment from Kris that she was gasping for air.
Eldridge advised her to breathe.
Yesterday, Shira was sad about her missing tiara.
Apparently she has had a lot of things stolen and it runs in the family.
Eldridge thinks it is a part of life.

Ms. Stuart visited Mr. Eldridge for a few minutes.

We talked about Tone1 (Erma Bombeck describing buying clothes out of season and a store clerk’s reaction)
It is ironic that Erma wants a swim suit in August.
-Eldridge’s mom puts out Christmas stuff in October-
In the passage, there are strange attitudes conflicting in the passage: the speaker’s, her interactions with the clerk, and the clerk’s.
We discussed Bombeck’s attitude: Kate thinks she’s a maverick, Roy thinks she’s care free, Eldridge thinks that buying a swim suit if it’s hot is logical
-5th period thinks the fish bowl stinks-
What is odd in the passage: the clerk is shocked (aghast) that Bombeck is doing something outside of her world.
The clerk gets her sense of order from the store she works in and believes that her reality is the only one that exists.
Bombeck’s attitude toward this is defiant, frustrated, and mocking.
-Eldridge got exasperated at Tamura-
It is ironic that Bombeck’s logical desire to buy a swim suit when it is hot is self-described as “mad-Mitty.”
-Tori (a blond student in one of Eldridge’s classes) showed up to drop off an assignment.
Further irony is found when the clerk is wearing hot, warm clothes in August.
-Bombeck is making fun of the store: it is absurd to turn up the AC so that one has to wear warm clothes when it’s hot outside. thus the store is out of touch with reality
The overall tone: mocking, incredulous, sarcastic, satirical.

We should know the words under Tone Words: An Alphabet List
The other side are tone words by category and is just helpful.

We then looked at the Tone2 passage by Mark Twain.
Twain does not like Cooper (wrote The Lst of the Mohicans) at all.
Twain is realistic and ironic while Cooper is dramatic and makes TLM like a soap opera.
In the passage, Twain is trying to convince that his style is better so he can sell his work and eat.
The tone is disdainful and critical (from me), irritated, sortta negative (Bender), scornful.
Tht attitude at the beginning is dismissive: “But that is Cooper’s way” burn!

Eldridge thinks Transformers was hilarious and ridiculous (over dramatic and too much slow-motion)
On the subject of rambling: John McCain on economics is mixed with Miss South Carolina on world issues.

The handout on Transitions is to be reviewed in our leisure.
TSL vocab is due on Monday

We were given a worksheet for us to outline “Grant & Lee” in out Bedford Reader.
Eldridge thought the essay was really great-inciteful.
The civil war completely changed the country.
Before the war, people said, “the United States are…”
After the war, people said, “the United States is…”
Catton’s structure communicates ideas of the war’s opposing forces
1st paragraph: first time the generals met and the last day of the war @ Appomattox
-the civil war’s first battle at Bull Run was at one guy’s back yard,
so the guy moved to Appomattox to get away from the war.
The war ended in his front room at Appomattox.
2nd paragraph-the generals were symbols of their causes
3rd paragraph- Catton’s thesis statement

on the outline:
#1-intro
#2-Robert E Lee

We have to finish the outline for homework along with Bedford Reader

-Susan Sorenson

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