ENGLISH 4 (WILLIS), SPRING, 2009

(Wednesdays)

1. 1/21 Introduction; biographical material on Eugene O'Neill

(HW - buy your books, if you haven't already; send an email to Mr. Willis.)

2. 1/28 Read Long Day's Journey Into Night up to p. 95, the end of Act 2.

(HW - "The Appointment In Samarra," "Godfather Death," "A & P," "A Rose For Emily.")

3. 2/4 Finished Long Day's Journey Into Night.

(HW - Write essay 1 on a theme from Long Day's Journey Into Night.)

4. 2/11 Turned in essay; discussed short stories assigned class 2 ("A & P" and "A Rose For Emily" only); read "Oedipus the King."

(HW - "Miss Brill," "The Tell-Tale Heart," "A Good Man is Hard to Find," and "The Five-Forty-Eight." Also, you have two weeks to read The Lord of the Flies.)

5. 2/18 Handed back essays; read "Antigone"; discussed short stories assigned class 4, plus "The Appointment in Samarra" and "Godfather Death"; read one student essay to the class.

(HW - finish reading The Lord of the Flies; write essay 2, focusing on one of the five major characters: Ralph, Jack, Piggy, Simon, or Roger.)

6. 2/25 Turned in essay; discussed The Lord of the Flies.

(HW - "The Open Boat," "The Storm," "To Build A Fire," and "Greasy Lake." Also, you have five weeks to read Les Miserables.)

7. 3/4 Handed back essays; discussed short stories assigned class 6; read and discussed "The Road Not Taken,' "Ozymandias," 'Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening," 'To An Athlete Dying Young," and "To His Coy Mistress"; read A Streetcar Named Desire to p. 42.

(HW - Continue reading Les Miserables.)

8. 3/11 Read A Streetcar Named Desire to p. 97; had "love" discussion.

(HW - continue reading Les Miserables.)

9. 3/18 Finished "Streetcar"; read two "Streetcar" essays of former students; read and discussed 'The Death Of The Ball Turret Gunner,' "The Flea," and "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock."

(HW - continue reading Les Miserables.)

10. 3/25 Read the first 49 pages of "Death of a Salesman" through Charley's line "Jesus!" I can't give you the exact page numbers in your book because, remember, I have the Ninth Edition. We also read and discussed the poem "Batter My Heart, Three-Personed God."

(HW - finish reading Les Miserables; read "A Clean, Well-Lighted Place," "Barn Burning," and 'Araby.")

11. 4/1 Took, corrected, and discussed a quiz on Les Miserables.

(HW - "The Gospel According to Mark," "Young Goodman Brown," "The Rocking-Horse Winner," and "The Chrysanthemums.')

4/8 Spring break; no class

12. 4/15 Finished and discussed "Salesman"; discussed short stories assigned classes 10 and 11 (except for "A Clean, Well-Lighted Place"); read and discussed the poem "The Tyger."

(HW - write essay 3 on any theme from either Les Miserables, A Streetcar Named Desire, "Death of a Salesman," "Oedipus," or "Antigone" or write five short poems.)

13. 4/22 Turn in essay; read Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.

(HW - "The Lottery," "The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas," "An Occurrence At Owl Creek Bridge," "Harrison Bergeron," "The Story of an Hour," and "The Cathedral.")

14. 4/29 Discuss short stories assigned class 13; read "Lest We Forget," (which includes "Colin's Choice"), "Mr. Rose" and "The Doorway," and "Barrington Bunny."

(HW - write essay 4 on Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, any short story, poem or a reflection on your life, similar to "Lest We Forget.")

15. 5/6 Turn in essay; read "Strange Snow"; read past reflective essays of students; read "The Lover of Horses."

16. 5/13 Read "The Unknown Citizen," "In Westminster Abbey," "I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud"; discuss any short stories and/or poems not yet discussed.

17. 5/20 Review for final.

18. 5/27 Final exam (we will correct it in class, and you will know your semester grade before you leave.)

Final Exam

75 quotations from the works read - you must identify the speaker; 53 questions matching work and author; 39 general questions on the works = 167 total questions.

Number Wrong on Final x .6 = % wrong (then subtract from 100%)

A+ = 96-100%
A = 93-95
A- = 90-92
B+ = 86-89
B = 83-85
B- = 80-82
C+ = 76-79
C = 73-75
C- = 70-72
D+ = 66-69
D = 63-65
D- = 60-62
F+ = 56-59
F = 0-55

Semester Grade

Each of your four essays (as well as the Les Miserables quiz) = 1/10 of your grade; the final exam = 5/10 (1/2).

Rules and Information

1. Late essays will be downgraded 1/3 of a grade for every day late. In other words, if an essay is due on a Wednesday, and you turn it in on the next Wednesday, it will go down 2 1/3 grades (an "A+" would become a "C"; a "B" would become a "D-"; a "C+" would become an "F").

2. If you are absent on the day an essay is due, you may email it to me to avoid the downgrade penalty. You will be charged 25 cents/page for the printing.

3. If you are absent on the day of the Les Miserables quiz, you must make it up before the next class. You and I will make arrangements as to time and place.

4. On your third absence, you will be dropped from the class.

5. If you need to miss class, please call me at 925-443-9135.

6. My website's address is www.geocities.com/jimwillisca. Then click on "Las Positas Students" (near the top).

7. My email address is jimwillisca@comcast.net.