For Wednesday, January 28

1)  TOP PRIORITY:  Complete your digital essay for Gatsby.  Make sure your theme is apparent with fitting quotes and images.  We need enough quote to sell that this is one of the novel's major themes.  Make sure to tie your essay theme to today's audience.  Today, I viewed Alayna's, Sydney's, Sierra's, and Luke's.  They all did a good job demonstrating Fitzgerald's messages that transcend time.

2)  You will be reading "A Modest Proposal" by Jonathan Swift.  Your pre-reading assignment is to peruse the following questions:  (can be find under Questions on Rhetoric and Style).  Then, as you read Swift's essay, annotate accordingly.  I will expect you to not only underline the device (for example:  diction mentioned in question 2), but to also write in the margin how the device works in the passage.  If you need to use a second sheet of paper, that is fine.  If the question does not lend itself to annotation, just think about it for team discussion.  Pretend you are reading to write an essay.  I will be checking your annotations.

3)  Read "A Modest Proposal" by Jonathan Swift.  It is in your AP Language and Composition textbook, or you can find the complete text online.  Annotate according to the Rhetoric and Style Questions.

4)  Acquire a copy of the novel The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde.  You will need this novel on February 3.

A Modest Proposal-Questions on Rhetoric and Style:

1.  How does Swift want the reader to view his speaker?  That is, how would Swift want his reader o describe the persona he adopts?
2.  Note Swift's diction in the first seven paragraphs.  How does it show quantification and dehumanization?  Explain the purpose of Swift's specific word choices.
3,  At the beginning of the essay, Swift explains the anticipated results before revealing the actual proposal.  Explain the rhetorical purpose of such a strategy.
4.  In paragraph 9, why doesn't Swift end the sentence after the word food?  Explain the purpose and effect of the modifiers included there.
5.  Identify examples of appeals other than the classical appeals, such as appeals to thrift, economy, and patriotism.  Explain the rhetorical strategy behind each example.
6.  Consider the additional proposal that Swift mentions in paragraph 17.  Explain the rhetorical strategy at work in that paragraph.
7.  Which targets does Swift ironically identify in paragraphs 21 and 22.  Note the rhetorical progression of paragraphs 21-26.  By using such a method, what is Swift satirizing?
8.  What are the assumptions behind each of Swift's claims in paragraphs 21-26?  Explain them.
9.  Read carefully, paragraphs 29-31.  What are the "expedients" that Swift discusses there?
10.  To what do the "vain, idle, visionary thoughts" (para. 31) refer?  What is Swift's tone here?
11.  How does the final paragraph of the essay contribute to Swift's rhetorical purpose?
12.  By publishing such an outrageous text, what might Swift have hoped to bring abaout amond the people of Ireland?