Quotation analysis - The God of Small Things

Choose a short quotation from the novel.  Give a little context (speaker, situation), then explore the meaning and significance of the quotation (how it reveals or develops elements such as plot, character, atmosphere, theme...).  Be literary!

Voice lesson #2 on imagery

Consider this extract from Coleridge’s The Rime of the Ancient Mariner:
The many men, so beautiful! 
And they all dead did lie:
And a thousand thousand slimy things
Lived on; and so did I.
[...]
Within the shadow of the ship
I watched their rich attire:
Blue, glossy green, and velvet black,
They coiled and swam; and every track
Was a flash of golden fire.
 

Think of a cat or a dog you can describe easily.  First, write a description which reveals a positive attitude toward the animal.  Then think of the same animal and write a description which reveals a negative attitude.  Remember that the animal’s looks do not change; only your attitude changes.  Use imagery rather than explanation to create your descriptions.

Voice lesson #1 on imagery

Consider:
She looked into the distance, and the old terror flamed up for an instant, then sank again.  Edna heard her father’s voice and her sister Margaret’s.  She heard the barking of an old dog that was chained to the sycamore tree.  The spurs of the cavalry officer clanged as he walked across the porch.  There was the hum of bees, and the musky odor of pinks filled the air.
-Kate Chopin, The Awakening

Write a paragraph in which you create a scene through auditory imagery.  The purpose of your paragraph is to create a calm, peaceful mood.  Use one olfactory image to enhance the mood created by auditory imagery.

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Voice lesson #1 on detail

Until I returned to Cuba, I never realized how many blues exist.  The aquamarines near the shoreline, the azures of deeper waters, the eggshell blues beneath my grandmother’s eyes, the fragile indigos tracking her hands.  There’s a blue, too, in the curves of the palms, and the edges of the words we speak, a blue tinge to the sand and the seashells and the plump gull on the beach.  The mole by Abuela’s mouth is also blue, a vanishing blue.
-Cristina Garcia, Dreaming in Cuban

Choose a color and describe a scene using at least three varieties of that color.  Try to mix details of landscape and people. 

Voice lesson #2 on diction

Write a simile comparing a tree with an animal (or something else if you prefer).  In your simile, use a word that is normally used as a noun as an adjective.

Voice lesson #1 on diction

Fill in the blank below with an adverb:

                                   The man laughed ______________________.

Your adverb should make the laugh express an attitude.  Do not state the attitude.  Instead, let the adverb imply it.

W.H. Auden, Selected Poems

What were your first impressions of Auden's poetry? 

Macbeth - Act I recap

Comment on the significance of each scene (setting, plot, characterization, language, theme, dramatic effects, important quotations...).  What is the overall effect on the audience by the end of Act I?

Your review

Write a review (max. 350 words) of a short story.  Briefly summarize the story (without giving anything away), then focus on the elements you find interesting to comment upon, such as point of view, characters / characterization, plot, style, effects, etc.  Finish by giving your honest opinion and don't forget to sign your name!  Feel free to comment on your classmates' reviews. (due by November 13th, but try not to leave it until the last minute!)

Thought you might enjoy this parody!
Parodie iPhone 5 - (VOSTFR) par Spi0n

Book recs

Can you recommend any good (or great) books that you have read in English? Don't hesitate to mention why you liked (or loved!) these books (without giving anything away, of course).