11R Homework January 21-24, 2014
Monday: Review the novels you’ve read to prepare for the Regents
exam: make the chart, as discussed in class: due next Tuesday.
Tuesday: STUDY FOR THE REGENTS EXAM!!
Wed.: STUDY FOR THE REGENTS EXAM!!
Thurs.: STUDY FOR THE REGENTS EXAM!!
Fri.: STUDY FOR THE REGENTS EXAM!!
Regents Review
Novels
9th grade-11th grade
How do I write a critical lens essay?
 Interpret or explain what you think the quote means.
 Then, pick TWO books (underline titles) that support what you
said the quote means. [Don’t forget the authors!!!].
 Agree or disagree with your interpretation of the quote.
 Choose supporting examples that are literary terms and
elements (themes, conflicts, POV, setting, etc.) that best help
you prove your opinion of the quote.
 Use your examples to prove your interpretation of the quote.
 YOU MUST HAVE TWO EXAMPLES PER BOOK!!!
 BE SPECIFIC WITH SPECIFIC DETAILS FROM THE NOVEL, PLAY, OR
MEMOIR!!!
 REMEMBER: SPECIFIC DETAILS….SPECIFIC DETAILS…SPECIFIC
DETAILS from each work.
Critical Lens Quotes
 “Courage is grace under pressure.”
- Hemingway
 “Wise people, even though all laws were abolished, would still
lead the same life.”
- Aristophanes
 “Do What you can with what you have.” - T. Roosevelt
 “Difficulties are things that show what men are.”- Epicetus
 “The belief in a supernatural source of evil is not necessary; men
alone are quite capable of every wickedness.” - Conrad
 “Man’s inhumanity to man makes countless thousands mourn.” Burns
 “If everyone were clothed in integrity, if every, heart were just …
the other virtues would be well-nigh useless.”
- Moliere
 “All conflict in literature is, in its simplest form, a struggle
between good and evil.”
- Author Unknown
Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck
Setting
Characters
Conflicts
Themes
Symbols
Ranch
California
1930s
Lennie
George
Curley
Curley’s Wife
Candy (& dog)
Crooks
Slim
Carlson
Red dressed
girl
Aunt Clara
M v. M
Curley picks
fight w/ Len
and Len
crushes his
hand
M v. Soc:
After Len
killed CW, he
was going to
be killed by
the ranch
hands
M v. Nature:
Lennie trying
not to kill the
puppy
People are
lonely even if
surrounded by
a crowd. (C’s
Wife: no one
talks to her)
Rabbits:
Lennie’s
dream/ his
simplicity
People don’t
realize what
they have
until it is gone
(G tells L how
his life will be
better if he’s
gone. It is not
better.
Ranch G/L
want to own:
symbolizes
freedom/
American
Dream
Romeo and Juliet, William Shakespeare
Setting
Verona,
Italy
Mantua
Characters:
Romeo
Lord/Lady
Montague
Benvolio
Juliet
Nurse
L/L Capulet
Tybalt
Mercutio
The Prince
Count Paris
Friar Laurence
Conflicts
M v. Man
Romeo killed
Tybalt, Juliet’s
cousin and was
banished
M v. society:
R & J’s families
hate each other
so being
together is a
problem.
M. v. Self
Juliet thinks
the Friar
might be
trying to kill
her w/ the
potion that
will make her
seem dead.
She decides
to drink it
anyway.
Themes
Love is blind. R & J
are supposed to
hate each other b/c
they come from
enemy families.
They, instead, fall in
love.
Feuds/lies do not
solve problems,
they create them.
R/J don’t tell their
parents they are
married. This
causes banishment,
“death” of Juliet and
death of Romeo.
The Odyssey, Homer
Setting
Greece /
surrounding
area
Characters:
Odysseus
Cyclops
Circe
Sirens
Charybdis
Scylla
Penelope
Telemachus
Conflicts
M v M:
O. Battles the
Cyclops and
outsmarts
him.
M v. Self:
Wants to hear
Siren song;
his men plug
ears; he is
strapped to
mast of ship.
Themes
Don’t let
excessive
pride take
over.
Symbols
The bow of
Odysseus
Ithaca (home)
Use your
Penelope’s
mind/
tapestry
intelligence to
help you out
of a tight spot.
Don’t lose
hope.
Night, Elie Wiesel
Setting
Point of View
Characters
Conflicts
Themes
WWII
Sighet,
Transylvania
First person
Eliezer Wiesel:
narrator, 14
Man v. Man:
Rabbi El.’s son
leaves him to
ensure his own
survival
Bread thrown on
the train pits each
man vs. the other
Faith is
important in
times of
desolation.
Controlled
language allows
Auschwitz, Poland
events to speak
[concentration/exte
for themselves
rmination camp]
and is in sharp
Buna [sub-camp of
contrast to the
A.]
reality about
Gleiwitz, Poland
which it speaks.
[sub-camp of A.]
Buchenwald,
Poland
[concentration
camp]
Chlomo Wiesel: his
dad, well respected in
Jewish community
Eliezer’s mother
Tzipora: E’s sister
Moche the Beadle:
Elie’s religious teacher
Wiesel waited 10 Martha: servant of
years before
Wiesels
writing Night.
Mdme Schaechter:
prophet = screams
about fire.
Man v. Self: Elie
losing his faith in
God
Extreme hatred,
if unchecked,
can result in
horror.
If good people
stand by and do
Man v. Society:
Mosche warns them nothing, evils
will abound.
that they are in
mortal danger.
They ignore him,
and face the
conditions in the
camps.
Others?
Characters, continued
Dr. Mengele: Nazi, decides who lives and who dies at their camp.
Stein of Antwerp: wife Reisal is related to Mrs. Weisel
Juliek: plays the violin
Franek: another prisoner
Yossi and Tibi: brothers
Idek: Jewish man in charge of their block/ whips Elie for seeing him doing
something he shouldn’t have been doing.
Akiba Drumer: prisoner
Zalman: prisoner
Rabbi Eliahou: very religious / well loved / son abandons him during the run to
Gleiwitz.
Meir Katz:
Night: Symbols
 Fire: Madame Sch. screams that she sees flames
and death. It symbolizes their fate once they arrive
in the concentration camp. They must work in order
to avoid the flames of death.
 Night = darkness. This novel is a period of
darkness, not only for Elie but also for all the Jews.
 Nazis: symbolize the hatred of one group of people
toward another.
 Moshe the Beadle symbolizes unused knowledge.
 Mr. Wiesel: symbolizes Ellie’s will to live. When he
dies, Ellie’s will is broken.
Themes, more
Maintaining faith in a
benevolent God is difficult to do
in times of continued tragedy.
People turn on each other when
they, themselves, are abused.
Lord of the Flies, William
Golding
Setting
Characters Conflicts
Symbols
WWII
Deserted, idyllic
island
In the Pacific
Ocean
Point of View
Third Person,
omniscient
narrator
Foreshadowing
Simon’s convo w/
pig’s head = his
death
Rocks & Roger
Ralph
Piggy
Simon
Sam ’N Eric
Percival
Henry
Jack
Roger
Bill
Robert
Maurice
Man v. Man
Man v. Self
Piggy’s glasses:
intelligence
The conch: order
/power /
civilization
The island: Eden
/ perfect place
Man v. Society
Face Paint: hides
faces to allow for
savagery
The Little ’uns
Birthmark Boy
Man v. Nature
Naval officer
Parachutist
The Beast: fear /
themselves
Themes
Power corrupts,
absolute power
corrupts absolutely:
Jack gains power,
then steals fire & P’s
glasses, beats a kid
randomly, and sets
fire to the island to
hunt down & kill
Ralph.
At his heart, man is a
beast.
The boys have
everything they need
to survive and have
fun. Yet they still
have the same
problems the adults
have. Others?
The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, William
Shakespeare
Setting
Characters
Conflicts
Symbols
Themes
Rome
Caesar: wants to be
emperor.
Antony: loyal friend
of JC/ turns crowd vs.
B and starts a war.
Calpurnia: JC’s wife/
has dream of JCs
death
Brutus: becomes
leader of conspirators/
wants to kill JC b/c he
fears JC will become
a dictator.
Portia: B’s wife/ to
prove her worth, stabs
self in leg/ kill self by
swallowing hot coals.
Cassius: despises JC/
leader of the
conspiracy, convinces
Brutus to join.
Casca: stabs JC 1st
Man v. Man
Conspirators kill
Caesar before he
gains too much power.
weather
Power corrupts,
absolute power
corrupts absolutely:
Antony, Octavius
& Lepidus create a
hit list of 300
Romans
44BC
Point of View
It’s a play; there
isn’t one
Characters:
Soothsayer: warns
JC of death on
3/15/44
Artemidorus:
teacher/ writes
warning letter.
Man v. Self: Brutus:
should I kill Caesar or
not?
Man v. Society
Portents and
omens
Eagles
replaced by
crows before
battles at end
The will:
deception
used by
Antony to
sway the
crowd away
from Brutus.
Language/Words
have the power to
manipulate and/or
inspire.
Antony’s funeral
oration
Don’t be mindless
sheep. Think about
what leaders are
saying and why they
are saying it.
Others?
Themes, continued
Power can go to one’s head:
Antony takes power and abuses
it with JC’s will/ also he makes
a “hit list” of people to kill once
the conspirators have left and
he, Octavius, and Lepidus have
formed the 2nd Triumvirate.
The Color of Water, James McBride
Setting
Point of View
Characters
New York:
Brooklyn,
Queens
First person
(2 narrator)
James
McBride:
main
character/
narrator
Virginia
Kentucky
(summers /
James “bad”
period to
stay w/ his
sister Jack)
Oberlin, Ohio
Wilmington,
Delaware
Conflicts
Man vs. self:
James
struggles to
Andrew
identify who
Dennis
he is /Ruth
McBride: 1st
changes who
husband
Ruth McBride she is when
Jordan
she moves to
Tateh
NY
Mameh
Hunter
Sam
Jordan: 2nd
Man vs. Man:
Dee Dee
husband
Ruth vs. her
dad who
Chicken Man: Peter: her 1st sexually
his death
boyfriend
molests her.
spurs James
to get back
Frances:
on the “right childhood
track”
friend
Themes
Finding
yourself
through
mistakes,
struggles and
hardships.
Ex: James
questions the
color difference
b/t himself and
his mother so he
doesn’t
understand who
he is when he is
younger, but
eventually he
investigates his
mother’s past
and discovers
who she is
Themes continued
When Ruth married her first
husband, her family disowned
her. So she had to find her own
path through life with her
husband and children
She also changes her religion to
one that is more relevant to her
and her new life.
Symbols
Color: what color is God? Is he black or
white? The minister says he’s all colors /
James’s brother then says he’s gray/
James’s mother says God is the color of
water = water has no color.
Bicycle: her way of grieving/ escape from
grief after husband dies. James is
embarrassed b/c it showed she was
different from others.
Names (changing them): change of
identity. Rachel when in U.S. / Ruth when
she moved to N.Y.
Foreshadowing
Ruth’s feelings for her father
are cold, we find out it’s b/c he
molested her.
Macbeth, William Shakespeare
Setting
Characters
Conflicts
Themes
Symbols
Scotland,
Circa 1100
CE
Macbeth
Lady
Macbeth
Man v. Man
Macbeth v.
Duncan,
Banquo,
Macduff
Appearances
can be
deceiving.
The crown
Duncan
Malcolm
Donalbain
Banquo
Fleance
Macduff
Lady Macd.
Lennox
The Witches
Hecate
Man v. Self
Macb
pondering
whether or
not to kill
Duncan
Man v.
society
Macb not
secure in his
position as
king
Lust for
power can
lead to loss
of humanity.
We must
accept
responsibilit
y for actions.
Our future is
beyond our
control.
Bloody
Dagger
Blood
Witches
In Cold Blood, Truman Capote
Setting
Characters
Conflicts
Kansas, 1959
The Clutters:
Herb, Bonnie
Nancy, Kenyon
Man v. Man
People do
Dick/Perry vs. things as a
the Clutters
result of their
upbringing
Man v. Self
(nurture)
Perry may
rather than as
not have
a result of
wanted to kill
their nature.
the Clutters
The death
Man v. Society penalty should
Dick/Perry
not be a
and those who means of
want them to
punishment
get the death
for violent
penalty
criminals.
Mexico, Las
Vegas, Florida
The killers:
Richard Eugene
Hickcock
Perry Smith
The detectives:
Alvin Dewey
Harold Nye
Clarence Duntz
Roy Church
Others:
Bobby Rupp
Susan Kidwell
Nancy E
Floyd Wells
Willie Jay
Barbara Johnson
Themes
Symbols
The mattress
box
The yellow
bird in Perry
dream
Willie Jay
“Sophisticated” vocabulary

Thematically, metaphorically,
symbolically

grapple, condemned, spawned, cowardly,
mutilated, exterminated,

vindicated, heroically, valiantly,
perseverance, vapid, sangfroid,
juxtaposed

 Lost: was thwarted,
defeated, foiled
malarkey, pivotal, apocryphal,
counterproductive,

 Man v. man: external
struggle / turmoil
moreover, furthermore, consequently,
culmination,

theoretically, simultaneously, vivid [ly],
skillfully,

protagonist, antagonist,

fabricated, foundational, enlightened,

unruly, arduous, inane,

emancipated, liberated, proclaim,
decapitated, cognizant, adversity,

propensity, enhances, fosters, engender,
 A lot, many: a plethora,
multitudinous, an
abundance
 A few, some: hardly
any, several
 Man v. self: internal
struggle / turmoil
 Important: momentous,
significant, essential