Phoenix Jackson, an elderly black woman, makes the difficult journey on foot through the woods and hills of Mississippi in December 1940 to get medicine for her sick grandson. Along the way, she encounters obstacles like getting her dress caught in a bush, being frightened by a scarecrow, and having to climb over fences, but she perseveres due to her strong will. A white hunter helps pull her out of a ditch but also points his gun in her face, a reminder of the racism she faces. Despite the challenges to her body and will from the natural elements and other people, Phoenix's love for her grandson drives her to complete her goal.
"A Good Man is Hard to Find" by Flannery O'Connor PresentationBri Dold
AP English Literature and Composition is one of those classes where there is no right or wrong; there are no formulas or set values to which even the most unenthused mathematician can simply “plug and chug.” Literature is the exponent of collaboration, creativity, and communication, values instilled by Academy at the Lakes.
As a first semester project for AP English Literature and Composition, students in groups of four analyzed a short story and shared their analysis as a keynote-style presentation. Instances where the roles are reversed – students teaching other students and even teachers – is a great way to foster growth in public speaking among other soft skills all the while engaging seniors who seem to be halfway out Academy’s front door.
Our group focused on Flannery O’Connor’s “A Good Man is Hard to Find.” An example of Southern gothic literature, O’Connor explores the sentiments of the pre-civil rights era in rural Georgia. To preface our presentation, we posed two essential questions to our audience: (1) Does being a good person entail decency, nobility, wealth, social position, or piousness? (2) Are sinners those who are simply lost or looking for salvation?
Leading up to our group presentation, we collectively analyzed this short story, examining the work with a fine-tooth comb to exhaust every literary element and rhetorical device. This is the beauty of collaboration: we each were able to share our own, unique perspectives and interpretations about O’Connor’s words. Collaborative efforts go hand-in-hand with a balanced, liberal arts education, for the skills nursed in this environment empower the leaders of tomorrow.
"A Good Man is Hard to Find" by Flannery O'Connor PresentationBri Dold
AP English Literature and Composition is one of those classes where there is no right or wrong; there are no formulas or set values to which even the most unenthused mathematician can simply “plug and chug.” Literature is the exponent of collaboration, creativity, and communication, values instilled by Academy at the Lakes.
As a first semester project for AP English Literature and Composition, students in groups of four analyzed a short story and shared their analysis as a keynote-style presentation. Instances where the roles are reversed – students teaching other students and even teachers – is a great way to foster growth in public speaking among other soft skills all the while engaging seniors who seem to be halfway out Academy’s front door.
Our group focused on Flannery O’Connor’s “A Good Man is Hard to Find.” An example of Southern gothic literature, O’Connor explores the sentiments of the pre-civil rights era in rural Georgia. To preface our presentation, we posed two essential questions to our audience: (1) Does being a good person entail decency, nobility, wealth, social position, or piousness? (2) Are sinners those who are simply lost or looking for salvation?
Leading up to our group presentation, we collectively analyzed this short story, examining the work with a fine-tooth comb to exhaust every literary element and rhetorical device. This is the beauty of collaboration: we each were able to share our own, unique perspectives and interpretations about O’Connor’s words. Collaborative efforts go hand-in-hand with a balanced, liberal arts education, for the skills nursed in this environment empower the leaders of tomorrow.
Invisible Man is a novel written by Ralph Ellison, and the only one that he published during his lifetime (his other novels were published posthumously).
Valerie Estelle Frankel, author of From Girl to Goddess: The Heroine's Journey in Myth and Legend, shows the steps of the journey with art from myth and pop culture. There's also a free book on the topic at https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/623348 called
Chosen One: The Heroine's Journey of Katniss, Elsa, Tris, Bella, and Rey. Great for educators and students!
Discover the flip side of Joseph Campbell with the Villain's Journey--structure of films like Malificent, Star Wars, Joker, etc. Accompanies the Youtube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6diSBaEvY24
Musical Memory in Toni Morrison's BelovedSerhat Akbak
"… one crucial aspect of Morrison’s poetic scope has not been sufficiently considered: namely, the “aural” musicality of Beloved. While Jazz (1992), her next novel, as well as her third novel Song of Solomon (1977) … have been associated with musical forms of expression, this has generally not been the case with Beloved" (Eckstein 177). Eckstein argues that mnemonic design of Beloved is rooted in a dialogue with a decidedly African-American musical tradition. The novel is a perfect example of a jazz-text, as both its story and narrative discourse are largely musical in scope.
Invisible Man is a novel written by Ralph Ellison, and the only one that he published during his lifetime (his other novels were published posthumously).
Valerie Estelle Frankel, author of From Girl to Goddess: The Heroine's Journey in Myth and Legend, shows the steps of the journey with art from myth and pop culture. There's also a free book on the topic at https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/623348 called
Chosen One: The Heroine's Journey of Katniss, Elsa, Tris, Bella, and Rey. Great for educators and students!
Discover the flip side of Joseph Campbell with the Villain's Journey--structure of films like Malificent, Star Wars, Joker, etc. Accompanies the Youtube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6diSBaEvY24
Musical Memory in Toni Morrison's BelovedSerhat Akbak
"… one crucial aspect of Morrison’s poetic scope has not been sufficiently considered: namely, the “aural” musicality of Beloved. While Jazz (1992), her next novel, as well as her third novel Song of Solomon (1977) … have been associated with musical forms of expression, this has generally not been the case with Beloved" (Eckstein 177). Eckstein argues that mnemonic design of Beloved is rooted in a dialogue with a decidedly African-American musical tradition. The novel is a perfect example of a jazz-text, as both its story and narrative discourse are largely musical in scope.
2. Characters • Phoenix Jackson: very old black lady • Phoenix Grandson: Swallowed lye now needs medicine • The Hunter: Help Phoenix out the ditch • A pedestrian: Help her tie her Shoe
3. Setting • Time: December 1940 • Place: Southwestern Mississippi
6. A white hunter helps her out of a ditch but patronizes her and trivializes her journey. He also points a gun in her face and ask her don't this scare you.
8. The internal conflict between the old woman's will power and mother nature. She encounters many obstacles that would influence most people to give up but she has motivation to get her task done. These encounters include a bush catching onto her dress, a scarecrow frightening her and discouragement from a white man. She also had to climb hills, cross streams and crawl under barbed wire fences which is certainly not considered an easy task for an elderly woman.. If I was forced to deal with these obstacles I know that I would most likely have turned around but her will power was too strong to let Mother Nature win.
10. Pheonix suffers external conflict when she is trying to get to town, because of her age, her body and mind won't let her because she can barely see, walk, and is d
