Troll Island Notes 27: Tuesday, April 28, 2020

Literature 7-8
Read "Cub Pilot on the Mississippi" (p. 373 ff.) and respond in complete sentences. Due no later than noon tomorrow, Wednesday, April 28.
1.  What book does this selection come from? 2. Mark Twain is famous for his sense of humor.  Give an example from the first paragraph.  3.  According to Twain, many neighborhood boys found work on the steamboats, but "the grandest position of all" was a pilot.  How does the word "pilot" apply to a steamboat"?  Look in a dictionary.  4.  According to Twain on p. 374, he continues to profit from his experience as a pilot-in-training (a "cub pilot").  How can that be, since he isn't a pilot anymore?  5. Of all the pilots he trained with, Brown is the one he remembers most often.  Write out his humorous description of the man.  6. what effect did the presence of Brown have on his "soul"?  7. Name 3 things that made their first meeting awkward.  8. On p. 376, Twain uses "snake" language to describe Brown.  Quote what he says. 9. Who is George Ritchie, and how did he make life more difficult for Twain?  10. Explain how Brown's deafness and arrogance led to a problem.  11. Why did Twain clobber Brown, something he never would have done in ordinary circumstances?  12. This was obviously dangerous for Twain.  But why was it a danger to the boat?  13. What kind of one-sided "battle" did Twain have with Brown next?  14.  The captain has a talk with Twain after his watch (his shift) is over.  What does the captain question him about?  15. The captain's response is as surprising as it is humorous.  What does he tell Twain to do when they get to shore?  16. How happened to Brown? 
Read "About the Author" and respond in complete sentences.
17. What was Twain's real name?  18. What books is he famous for? 


American Literature
Please read aloud "Petit the Poet" (p. 513) or listen to it here and respond in complete sentences.  Due no later than noon tomorrow, Wednesday, April 28. 1. Which did you do?  2. What does the poet's name suggest about the kind of person that he was?  3.  According to his own self-evaluation in the poem, is his name accurate or ironic?  Briefly explain.  4. Like his name, the verse forms he mentions in ll. 5 and 15 are all derived from French.  How awesome is that?  5. These verse forms are complicated, and you don't need to know them all.  For example, "triolet" is defined this way: "a poem or stanza of eight lines in which the first line is repeated as the fourth and seventh and the second line as the eighth with a rhyme scheme of ABaAabAB."  Does that seem complicated to you?  The other terms resemble it.  That's why I'm not making you learn them.  6. Why is Petit talking about these forms?  7. What kind of verse is he using to say these things?  8. His poem isn't formless.  The lines about the poetic forms, as we have seen, are repeated.  The poem is also an (almost) inclusio.  Quote the relevant lines.  9. He  also uses the repeated image of a pine tree.  Quote the 2 lines that use this image.  10.  What does the pine seem to symbolize for him?  11. What contrasting plant image does he use for his own work? 
We will continue with this poem tomorrow, Lord willing. 


British Literature
Look for an invitation to a Zoom session in your inbox today, unless you haven't finished your reading of The Power and the Glory.  Your attendance and participation are both welcome and expected.  See yesterday's post for the topic and how to prepare. 
Our next (and final) novel of the year will be Lord of the Flies by William Golding.  Please arrange with Mrs. West to pick up a copy at school this week.  Reading assignments will begin in a few days.
Let's take a closer look at "When I Have Fears."  Read it aloud or listen to it again (link in yesterday's post). Respond in complete sentences.  1.  Look at the structure of the poem.  Each of the 3 quatrains begins with basically the same word.  What is it?  2. this repeated word highlights the fact that the speaker  is using 3 different metaphors to describe the same phenomenon.  3. What is the phenomenon?  4. What are the 3 metaphors?  5. The 3 metaphors are not randomly ordered; there is a progression to them.  How would you state the nature of the progression?  Explain briefly.
Shakespeare used a similar device in Sonnet 73.  6. What is the phenomenon described there? 7. What are the 3 metaphors that he used?  8. The 3 quatrains imaginatively describe the problem; the couplet provides a resolution of some sort to the problem.  In your own words, what is that resolution?  9. How does the couplet make you feel, and why?
10. This poem is particularly rich in alliteration and assonance.  Write out and mark 4 lines that give evidence of this.  11.  Given the topic of the poem, how is it appropriate that Keats would load it down with sound effects like these?  Due no later than noon tomorrow, Wednesday, April 28.


C.S. Lewis
Juniors' responses due today; seniors' due tomorrow.  Follow directions given in the previous post.  Remember to acknowledge receipt of other people's responses.  Follow up if you wish.


Luke and Acts
Read Acts 17:1-15.  Write and answer 10 how/why questions based on these verses. 


Poets and Prophets
As we have seen, an important motif Is. 40-48 is idolatry, a common motif in the Bible as a whole.  Today we focus on ch. 40, one of the most beautiful chapters in a book with a lot of beautiful chapters in it!  Read it aloud or chant it or listen to it (in the KJV) here.  1.  Which did you do?  2. What are your first impressions?  3. State in your own words the main idea of the following units: a) vv.1-2; b) vv. 3-5; c) vv. 6-8; d) v. 9; e) vv. 10-11; f) v. 12; g) vv. 13-14; h) vv. 15-17; i) vv. 18-20; j) vv. 21-22; k) vv. 23-24; l) vv. 25-26; m) vv. 27-28; n) vv. 29-31.  Due no later than noon tomorrow, Wednesday, April 28.


French students: check your inboxes.