Literature Analysis Reading Notes

·         Narrator-Holden Caulfield

·         “bored by all that David Coperfield crap.

·         Failed all subjects except for English

·         He seems smart but just refused to apply himself

·         His teacher tells him that he flunked Holden, and tries to give him advice to think about his future but Holden interrupts him and leaves.

·         Holden appears to lack social skills.

·         He reads a book while bright red hunting cap.

·         Describes an annoying student who lives next to him.

·         This is more evidence of Holden not social connecting with his peers.

·         His roommate Stradlater, is attractive and sexually experienced.

·         He tells Holden that he is taking out a girl named Jane who Holden has feelings for.

·         Holden tries to convince him not to go out with her but when they leave, Holden sits in his room tormented at the thought of them together.

·         Holden wants to say hello to her when she comes to meet Stradlater but decides not to once she is there.

·         When Stradlater returns, Holden questions him and they end up getting in a fight.

·         This chapter seems to support the idea that Holden has problems connecting with his peers.

·         Holden describes the death of his brother Allie.

·         The night he died, Holden punched out all the windows in his garage.

·         Maybe this could be the reason Holden is socially odd, and struggles to participate in society.

·         Holden decides to go back to New York and doesn’t tell his family about it.

·         This is something that most people wouldn’t do.

·         Why wouldn’t he want to let his family know he was coming home?

·         When he arrives in New York he goes to a phone booth and considers calling some people who once meant a lot to him but then decides not to and walks away.

·         Another odd act by Holden.

·         I don’t understand why he would back out of this. What does he have to lose?

·         Holden calls a woman he has never met.

·         He got her number from a friend and he knows that she used to be a stripper and he hopes to have sex with her.

·         The two are talking on the phone and before they set up a meeting, Holden hangs up.

·         This is yet another odd social act he commits. He appears to not know what he wants.

·         Holden flirts with three women and feels as though he is “half in love with one of them”.

·         This scene made me think of Holden a little differently.

·         He surprisingly is acting smooth and like he is not a social outcast.

·         Holden recalls him and Jane’s first meeting while on vacation one summer in Maine.

·         The elevator guy sends a prostitute to Holden’s room for him

·         Holden agrees at first then when she is naked, ready to have sex, he lies and says that he recently had spinal injury.

·         And then the guy who gave him the prostitute comes in the room and beats him up.

·         Holden again acts very odd and predictably awkward.

·         Holden tells his sister that he is leaving home for good.

·         She is very sad and asks to go with him and he angrily refuses.

·         He takes her to the zoo and watches her and seeing how happy she is makes Holden happy as well.

Poem analysis: "O Captain! My Captain!"

Dramatic situation can be distinguished after gaining some background information. In the poem, Whitman, the author, is memorializing Abraham Lincoln after his death. The narrator is one of the sailors on a ship which the captain lead. There is extended metaphors within the poem. The captain is Abraham Lincoln, the ship is the union, the fearful trip is the civil war.The poem has a structure that that amplifies the mood and tone. The first two stanzas present a happy tone and the following lines reveal the sadness and disappointment with the captains death. Whitman uses phrases that reveal his respect for Abraham Lincoln as a leader. Phrases like "grim and daring" and "fearful trip". The central tone of the piece is proud/respectful. The repetition of the word heart reveals the narrator's grief over the death of his captain.

AP essays

The practice AP essay prompts were difficult, but about what I expected to see on the AP test. I didn't struggle too much with deciding on a what to write about, the hardest part was only having fifteen minutes per essay. When I finished all three, I went back to proofread and I noticed very poor structure and mechanics due to short time period. But I can definitely see how this will prepare me for success on the actual AP test.

A Tale of Two Cities lecture notes

• ·        First conceived the idea for this novel while acting in the drama The Frozen Deep, which he helped write.

• ·         “I have so far verified what is done and suffered in these pages as that as I have certainly done and suffered it all myself.”

• ·         Personal intensity in his work.

• ·         Dickens played the role of Richard.

• ·         The play had a plotline of “self-sacrifice” which he returned in A Tale of Two Cities.

• ·         Dickens met a theatrical family and fell in love with Ellen.

• ·         Resulted in him separating from his wife.

• ·         Ellen played as lucy in the play.

• ·         Dickens creates Lucie in A Tale of Two Cities, giving her some of Ellen’s appearance and that final “e”.

• ·         Originally he thought of the names Richard or Dick, rather than Sydney.

• ·         The name Richard represents a connection to The Frozen Deep.

• ·         London had double the population of Paris.

• ·         Dickens visited Paris at least fifteen times.

• ·         The novel was published a few chapters at a time.

• ·         This helped him restrict his focus.

Beginning of "Great Expectations"

In the beginning of the novel "Great Expectations" by Charles Dickens, Pip is established to be the main character. The author reveals that his parents are dead when he describes his encounter with a convict while visiting his parents gravestones. The escaped convict demands that Pip helps him out by gathering supplies so, out of fear, Pip complies.

Great Expectations: study questions

1. How did Philip Pirrip obtain the nickname Pip?

2. Where does Pip live and with whom?

3. Who does Pip meet while looking at his parents gravestones?

4. What does Pip do for the convict?

5. Who does Pip see when he returns to the gravestones?

6.  Why is Pip overwhelmed with guilt?

7. Why do the police officers burst into Pip's home?

8. Why does Pip think they come in his house?

9. Who does Pip help the police look for?

10. Who does Pip meet that he finds beautiful?