AP Lit & Comp9/7 & 9/10 ‘18

1. Reminders

2. Why read?

3. Satire and parody / Dystopias 101

4. Author’s purpose / BNW overview

5. Small groups analyze chapters 1-4

6. For next class…

Reminders• 1. Remember to submit on Classroom (or physically turn in)

your summer assignment TODAY.

– This includes your HTRLLAP study guide and the

dialectical journals for Brave New World.

– My goal is to grade 5 summer assignments each day. So

approximately 9 days until I get them all done. I will

return it to you in Classroom as I grade them.

• 2. I will take your copy of the HTRLLAP book (extra credit

for annotations) –just make sure your name is on the inside

cover.

• 3. Syllabus acknowledgement form due no later than next

class. (on Classroom)

Why do we read?

• Some great thoughts last class during discussion:

– teaches us empathy

– the victor writes history; the victim often writes literature

– exposes us to the humanity, the human condition

– we read for connection and for purpose

• I like how Crash Course answers these questions. Let’s watch.

Consider this…

• “You think your pain and your heartbreak are

unprecedented in the history of the world, but

then you read. It was books that taught me that

the things that tormented me most were the

very things that connected me with all the

people who were alive, or who had ever been

alive.”

- James Baldwin

This is why I LOVE literature…• In his book How to Read Novels Like a Professor,

Thomas Foster says:

• “When Huck and Jim are floating south on their raft, where are we? How is it that we can identify with a being as monstrous, literally, as John Gardner’s Grendel?...

• The novels we read allow us to encounter possible persons, versions of ourselves that we would never see, never permit ourselves to become, in places we can never go and might not care to, while assuring that we get to return home again…The give and take between creator and audience starts in the first line, runs through the last word, and causes the novel to stay in our minds long after we close the cover.”

Ultimately…

• Literature is more than just entertainment;

literature can be philosophical, leading us to rich

understandings about ourselves and the world

around us. Literature can also teach us to look

within ourselves and question the world around us.

• My goal: through the close, deliberate study of

literature in this course, you will study who you are,

determine how you’ve arrived at this point in your

life, and determine where you go from here. By

becoming critical, analytical, and discerning

readers, you will begin to better understand the

human condition and how your life fits into it.

Create the following

• A new folder in your Google Drive for AP Lit

• Within that folder, create a notes doc for Brave

New World.

• PAPER NOTES ARE FINE AS WELL.

In that notes document, do the following:

1. Find a definition for satire and put it in your

own words.

2. Now, find a definition of parody and put it in

your own words.

3. How are satire and parody connected?

Add anything you’re missing

• satire: an attack on or criticism of any stupidity

or vice in the form of scathing humor or

critique

– the shaming that takes place in satire is meant to

bring about a change in the described situation

Two types of satire:

• Horatian satire: relies mainly on lighthearted humor and wit to—often self-deprecatingly—point out the silly notions or mistakes in a particular situation or agenda.

• The Onion, "America's Finest News Source," is a long-running, extremely popular, and brilliantly performed example of Horatian satire.

• Most of the ridiculous scenarios in The Onion news pieces are meant as a commentary on the absurdities of various political, economical, and social factions and their stances; the rest is just for laughs, and can be classified as parody or just plain teasing

• SNL (Saturday Night Live) The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and The Simpsons are also great examples of Horatian satire.

Two types of satire:

• Juvenalian satire:

– is a lot more hard-hitting than Horatian satire. It is often used to portray conditions very similar to or worse than reality, but by using some sort of allegory or metaphor.

– Any bitter and ironic criticism of contemporary persons and institutions that is filled with angry moral indignation and pessimism.

– Much less dependent on humor than Horatian satire, and often includes open outrage, very thinly concealed contempt, and biting ridicule.

Examples of Juvenalian satire

• George Orwell's best known works, Animal Farm and 1984 are both examples of Juvenalian satire. They show conditions that are clearly not commendable, and use (often) irony and wit to describe and thus condemn them.

• Animal Farm, for instance, uses the allegory of farmyard animals to represent the various strata of Russian society and describes how they were betrayed by their conniving leaders after the well-meaning 1917 Revolution that eventually led to the dictatorial Stalinism.

Juvenalian satire examples

• Jonathan Swift's “A Modest Proposal” caused uproar due to

his grim and satirical suggestion that the poor populace of

Ireland should sell their children to the rich as food.

• The "proposal" was a satire of the oppressive conditions

faced by the poor and their inconsiderate treatment by the

rich classes.

• Many popular songs are excellent examples of Juvenalian

satire – Lorde’s “Royals” is one example (“We don’t care,

we’re driving Cadillac's in our dreams.”) – showing the

crass, privileged, and selfish nature of the rich and/or

Hollywood

Parody• A parody imitates the manner and characteristic features of a

particular work in order to mock it, poke on it, or comment upon it.

• Examples:

• Austin Powers (spoof on James Bond movies)

• Spaceballs (spoof on Star Wars movies)

• Blazing Saddles (spoof on American Western movies)

• Young Frankenstein (spoof on classic monster movies)“

• Scary Movie (spoof on horror movies)

• Parody can be used to develop satire. Watch for Huxley’s use of parody in developing his satire.

Dystopias: Definition

• Utopia: A place, state, or condition that is ideally perfect in respect of politics, laws, customs, and conditions.

• Dystopia: A futuristic, imagined universe in which oppressive societal control and the illusion of a perfect society are maintained through corporate, bureaucratic, technological, moral, or totalitarian control. Dystopias, through an exaggerated worst-case scenario, make a criticism about a current trend, societal norm, or political system.

Characteristics of a Dystopian Society

•Notice how many apply to Brave New World

Propaganda is used to control the citizens of society.

Information, independent thought, and freedom are restricted.

A figurehead or concept is worshipped by the citizens of the society.

Citizens are perceived to be under constant surveillance.

Citizens have a fear of the outside world.

Citizens live in a dehumanized state.

The natural world is banished and distrusted.

Citizens conform to uniform expectations. Individuality and dissent are bad.

The society is an illusion of a perfect utopian world.

Why did Huxley write BNW?

• Look over what you wrote in response to this prompt.

• Take two minutes each to share your thoughts with a partner.

• Now share out your pairs’ main thoughts with the class.

Setting - BNW

• London, England

• 600 years into Huxley’s future

• Freedom, diversity, and conflict have been

replaced by:

• efficiency, progress, and harmony

By mentioning the ten world controllers,

Huxley implies that society in the entire world

operates the same way as London.

We need four groups

• Focus JUST on your assigned chapter. You’ll be

“teaching” your part of it to the class later.

• Have one group member create a Google doc to share

with everyone in the group.

• Put your group member names at the top.

• This is where you’ll record ideas and quotes, etc. that

you want to be sure to remember when sharing out

with us.

We need four groups

Each group will become experts on its assigned

chapter. Make sure to cover:

1. Character development and purpose

1. Identify key characters, how they are developed,

and what their purpose seems to be in your

chapter.

2. Cite key quotes and or description from/about

that person (or people) which demonstrate

character.

We need four groups

2. Language: diction, syntax, figurative language,

imagery, and tone

-Discuss Huxley’s overall use of these

techniques and then give key examples of

each.

-Discuss HOW Huxley is using them to

create a mood, an image, a feeling, etc.

We need four groups

3. Plot details, new terms, and satire

Take us through the important plot details

and explain why you believe they’re

significant.

Identify any new BNW terms that are

introduced in this chapter and explain them

to us. Finally, provide us with several

examples of satire and explain how they are

helping Huxley drive home his message

For next class…• We will need to spend a chunk of next class

going through our syllabus, and then we’ll share out for chapters 1-4 of BNW.

• The only thing you need to do for next class is carefully review chapters 5-7.

– Write down your top five observations from this section, formulate 3-5 thoughtful discussion questions, and cite two passages or lines of memorable style.

• We will also work on the “All Watched Over By Machines of Loving Grace” poem next class.