Saturday, December 28, 2013 Lorenzo Spagnuolo

English Midterm Review

Parts of Speech

- Nouns- a word used to name person, place, thing, or idea that can be used as the subject of
verb to make a statement, ask a question, or give a command. They can also be used as the object of the verb or of a preposition or as indirect objects. 1. Proper noun: the name of a particular place, person, or thing and always begins with a capital letter. 2. Common noun: the name of any one or more than one of a class of places, persons, or things. 3. Collective noun: a noun that refers to a group.

- Pronouns- a word used in place of a noun or of more than one noun or can take the place of
another pronoun. There are five kinds of pronouns: 1. Personal pronouns including possessive and reflexive/intensive I, me, you, he, she, him, it 2. Relative pronouns- who, whom, whose, which 3. Interrogative Pronouns- who, whom, which 4. Demonstrative- this, that, these, those 5. Indefinite- all, any, either, few, none

- Adjectives- a word used to modify (describe) a noun or a pronoun. - Verbs- a word that expresses action or helps make a statement.
1. Action verb: expresses action which can be physical or mental. 2. Linking verb: connects, or links, to the subject a noun, pronoun, or adjective that identifies or describes it. 3. Helping verbs and Verb phrases: a verb phrase is a verb of more than one word. Helping verbs help the main verb to express action or make a statement.

Gerunds- a form of a verb ending in -ing - Adverbs: a word used to modify a verb, an adjective, or another adverb. It tells how, when,
where, or to what extent.

- Prepositions- a word used to show the relationship of a noun or pronoun to some other word in
the sentence. It always introduces a phase.

- Conjunctions- a word that joins words or groups of words. - Interjections- a word that expresses emotion and has no grammatical relationship to the other
words in the sentence.

Sentences Structures and Parts

Saturday, December 28, 2013 Lorenzo Spagnuolo

- Subject- main word or group of words about which something is being said, i.e., what the
sentence is about.

- Verb- a word that expresses action or helps to make a statement. - Direct Object- receives the action of the verb or shows the result of the action and answers the
question what? or whom?

- Indirect Object- comes before the direct object and tells to whom or for whom the action of the
verb is done.

- Subject Complements- renames or completes the object and may be a noun or adjective. - Object Complements- renames or completes the object and may be a noun or adjective. - Subject-verb agreement- a verb should agree with its subject in number. Singular nouns have
singular verbs and plural nouns have plural verbs.

Types of Sentences

- Declarative - Interrogative - Imperative - Exclamatory

Active and Passive Voice

- Voice is the form a transitive verb takes to indicate whether the subject of the verb performs or
receives the action. In general, the passive voice is less direct, less forceful, and less concise than the active voice. Example: Passive: The letter was taken home by the banker and was locked up in the fireproof safe. Active: The banker took the letter home and locked it up in the fireproof safe.

MLA Formatting Literary Terms

- Alliteration- the repetition of constant sounds in a group of words close together - Characterization- the methods used to present the personality of a character in a work of
literature.

- Climax- the moment of highest emotional intensity in a plot, when the outcome of the conflict is
finally made clear to us.

- Conflict- a struggle between two opposing forces in a piece of literature. - Diction- a writers choice of words. - Epithets- an adjective phrase used to set apart, describe, and characterize a person, place, or
thing.

- Flashback- a scene in a story or play that interrupts the present action to tell about events that
happened at an earlier time.

- Foreshadowing- the use of clues that hint at important plot developments that are to follow in a
story or drama.

- Imagery- words or phrases that use description to create picture, or images, in the readers
mind.

- In Medias Res- in the midst of things - Irony- a contrast or discrepancy between what is is stated and what is actually meant, or
between what is expected to happen and what actually does happen.

- Metaphor- a comparison made between two things which are basically dissimilar, with an intent
of giving added meaning to one of them.

- Personification- a type of metaphor and figure of speech in which something nonhuman is given
human characteristics, or feeling.

- Plot- the sequence of related events that make up a story or a drama. - Point of View- the vantage point from which a narrative is told.
4. Omniscient point of view (all-knowing): when the narrator can take us all over the world, allow us to see into the minds of other characters, and help us to see events form several points of view. 5. Limited 3rd person point of view: when the writer tells the story from the vantage point of one character. 6. 1st person point of view: when an I tells the story.

- Setting- the time and place in which the events of a literary work take place. - Simile- a direct comparison made between two unlike things using a word of comparison such as
like, as, than, such as, or resembles.

- Suspense- a sense of uncertainty or anxiety about the outcome of events in a story of drama. - Symbol- something is a literary work which maintains its own meaning while at the same time
standing for something broader than itself.

- Theme- the main idea expressed in a literary work; the central insight that the wok gives us
about human life.

- Tone- the attitude a writer takes toward the subject or the reader of a work of literature. - Atmosphere- the general mood or feeling established in a work of literature.
Guidelines for close reading of short stories
2. Read actively for both pleasure and insight, asking yourself questions as you read. Respond to clues and draw inferences about the events and people of the story. The imaginary events and people in short stories can be enjoyed in their own right and can also provide us with greater awareness of ourselves and others.

3. Ask questions about unfamiliar words and references. If you feel uncertain about the meaning of a word and cannot get the meaning from context clue, be sure to check a dictionary or other reference work. 4. React to how the plot unfolds and make predictions as you read. Note the sequence of event and the logic with which the action develops. Ask yourself, What will happen next? Be aware of your response to the plot developments. 5. Ask yourself how characters are presented and how they develop. Watch for details that directly or indirectly reveal characters and their values. The author does not often tell us directly but wants the reader to draw inferences form the evidence in the story. 6. Be aware of the time and place of the story, and look for the effect of setting on the plot and characters. The opening paragraph of a story sometimes gives a detailed description of a setting, a clue that this place will play an important role in the story. Ask yourself what significance there might be to details the author give you. 7. Take note of the storys point of view. Ask yourself about the authors purpose in choosing to have a story told by a character in the story or by an outside voice 8. Dont accept everything in the story as face value. Ask yourself questions and be alert to the authors use of irony and symbolism. The central characters, object, and actions of a story sometimes represent more than they appear to be on the surface. Familiar objects of real life are often used as symbols in fiction. 9. Ask yourself about the central idea or point, the underlying meaning of the work. State this central idea or theme in a sentence.

Guidelines for close reading of non-fiction essays

1. Determine the purpose of the essay. Is the object to entertain, to inform, to persuade, to explain, or some combination of purposes? 2. Determine the tone of the essay. Is it formal or informal? Is it serious or light? Does it combine approaches? 3. How do you respond to the personality of the writer? What impressions do you get and why? 4. How do you respond to what the writer does with language. be aware of elements of style and their effect on you. 5. After clarifying your personal response to the essay, determine its main idea and state it in your own words.

A Separate Peace
Characters:

Gene Forrester: main character, narrator, very good at academics Finny: Genes best friend, gifted athlete, easy going. Finny is like Genes opposite but also his
double in a way.

Leper: shy, enjoys nature, likes to ski, keeps to himself, is the first one from Devon to enlist in
the army and is given a section 8.

Brinker Hadley: smart and into politics, student leader, tries to take Finnys place.

 Mr. Hadley: Binkers dad, endorses war. Mr. Prudhomme: was Gene and Finnys substitute master during the summer at Devon, liked
Finny, Finny is able to get away with things.

Mr. Ludsbury: very strict and is the master in charge of Genes dormitory. Dr. Standpole: the doctor who operated on Finny. Phil Latham: wrestling coach. Cliff Quackenbush: manager of the crew team. Chet Douglass: Genes main rival for the position of class valedictorian. Mr. Patch-Withers: The substitute headmaster of Devon during the summer session who
wasn't very strict. Setting: Devon boarding school in New England during WWII.

- The story starts with Gene in his 30s. He then flashes back to when he attended Devon and tells
the whole story of him and his best friend Finnys adventures and how Finny broke his leg. Finny is then determined to train Gene for the Olympics, which distracts Gene from his studies. Later on Finny trips and falls down a flight of stairs before his leg is fully healed. He has to have another operation on his leg and during the operation he dies.

Of Mice and Men

Characters: George: a small, quick-witted man who is a migrant worker and takes care of Lennie. Lennie: a large, dumb, childlike man who is dependent on George and likes petting soft things and then usually accidentally kills them. Lennie thinks that one day he and George are going to buy their own farm and have rabbits. Candy: an old ranch handyman who thinks he's useless on the farm and has a very old dog. Curleys wife: never given a name in the story and is the only female. Crooks: the black stable-hand who is isolated because of the color of his skin but Lennie makes friends with him. Curley: the bosss son who is a very mean spirited young man and likes to fight with others. Slim: the highly skilled mule driver who is the only character that seems to be at peace with himself. Carlson: a ranch hand who complains about Candys old smelly dog. Aunt Clara: Lennies aunt who cared for Lennie until she died. Setting: set in Salinas, California during the time of migrant workers on a ranch George and Lennie are opposites but they stick together. The story starts when they are dropped off by the bus and then have to walk to the ranch where they are to work. They work there until Lennies incident with Curlys wife when he kills her. George cannot live with Lennie anymore and decides to shoot him.

Acceleration
Characters: Duncan: main character, protagonist, throughout the story he is trying to make up for the time when he failed to save a drowning girl, overly protective, is 17 years old, works in subway lost and found, likes to read. Vinny: one of Duncans friends who is always hiding his arm because of a birth defect. Wayne: Duncans other good friend who is always in trouble and works at the Dairy Farm, bald, reckless Roach (Scott Weber): a murderer in the story who loses his diary with all his evil plans that Duncan later finds, antagonist, psycho, animal abuser Kim: Duncans ex girlfriend Jacob: works with Duncan in lost and found, grouchy, rude, lazy Setting: Toronto, august 2003, summer break As a punishment, Duncan is being forced to spend his summer working below the Toronto subway station in the lost and found, or what he calls, the dungeon. While down there he comes across some psychos diary and finds out that this guy is after 3 women. Because of past experiences of failure, Duncan is determined to stop who he calls Roach and save these women and other future victims. First he tries going to the police but they don't believe him because of his own criminal record, so he has to find out who this guy is and how he's going to stop him on his own. With the help from his friends Vinny and Wayne he is able to.

The Odyssey
Main Characters: Odysseus- main character, protagonist, nimble witted, master of strategy, sacker of cities, father of Telemachus, son of Laertes, husband of Penelope, favorite of Zeus, king of Ithaca Penelope- wife of Odysseus, patient, daughter of Icarus, mother of Telemachus, faithful to Odysseus and always believes he will return Telemachus- son of Odysseus and Penelope, godlike youth, was a baby when Odysseus left Zeus- king of kings, god of gods, gather of clouds, god of the sky, son of Kronos, the thunderer, father of men and gods, patron of guests, ruler of Mt. Olympus, brother of Poseidon and Hades Athena- patron of Odysseus, goddess of the flashing eyes, bright-eyed goddess, goddess of arts and wisdom, daughter of Zeus, disguises herself as Odysseus friend Mentes Poseidon- god of the sea, earth shaker, lord of the earthquake, god of the stable locks, sustainer of the earth, father of Polyphemus, angry with Odysseus Hades- god of the underworld, god of the dead, husband of Persephone Laertes- father of Odysseus, hermit, Penelopes father-in-law, depressed Eurycleia- old faithful maid servant of odysseus who now takes care of Telemachus Calypso- nymph of the plaited tresses, daughter of Atlas, holds Odysseus with her in her cave for 7 years Hermes- giant slayer, of the golden wand, keen-eyed, messenger god
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 Nausicaa- Phaeacian princess, of the white arms, white-armed princess, meats Odysseus when he washes up on shore Antonius- most arrogant of the Suitors, leads the campaign to have Telemachus killed, never is portrayed sympathetically, is the first to die when Odysseus returns. Eurymachus- manipulative, deceitful suitor, has influence over the other suitors. Achilles- fought with Odysseus in the Trojan war but dies, is visited by odysseus in the underworld. Suitors- the men that stay in Penelopes palace when Odysseus is away and are very rude, eat all her food, and take advantage of all her things, they want her to marry one of them Eumaeus- The loyal shepherd who helps Odysseus along with cowherd Philoetius reclaim his throne after his return to Ithaca, gives hospitality to Odysseus before he knows its actually him Circe- a formidable goddess, turns men into swine, child of the sun, daughter of the ocean Agamemnon and Clytemnestra- Greek leaders in Troy, married, Agamemnon survives the trojan war but when he goes home he is killed by his wife Alcinous and Arete- king and queen of the Phaeacians, Nausicaas parents, hosts of Odysseus and have sympathy for him after tells his whole story to them Aeolus- favorite of the immortal gods, controls the winds, gives Odysseus storm winds in a bag Nestor- king of Pylos, chief advisor of Greeks at Troy Polyphemus- most powerful of the Cyclops, godlike, blinded by Odysseus, son of Poseidon Lotus Eaters- eat the lotus plant and get lost in time Sirens- enchant sailors with their songs as they sail by, leading them to their death by crashing them in rocks Laestrygonians- giant cannibals Scylla and Charybdis- two monsters on the sea that Odysseus must pass threw, Scylla has 6 heads each with 3 rows of teeth and Charybdis sucks water into a giant whirlpool then spits it out Notes: The Odyssey by Homer was written sometime between 750 and 650bc. Homeric Simile: a long descriptive simile Epithet: a positive, descriptive phrase describing a person, place, or thing Epic: a long narrative poem that deals with the adventures of a hero Characteristics of an epic:

- The hero is a person of high social status and often of great historical or legendary importance - The actions of the hero often determine the fate of a nation or group of people - The hero performs exceedingly courageous, sometimes even superhuman, deeds that effect
the ideas and values of an era.

- The plot is complicated by supernatural beings and events - The setting is large in scale, involving more than one nation and often a long and dangerous
journey through foreign lands

- Long, formal speeches are often delivered by the main character

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- The poem treats universal ideas, such as good and evil, life and death
Birds and thunder claps are symbolic and stand for different things Odysseus has to leave his new son and his wife to fight in the Trojan War Odysseus fights in the war for ten years and then spends another ten years trying to get home Poseidon is angry makes its hard for Odysseus to get home because first Odysseus doesn't give thanks to the gods for helping him be successful in the Trojan War and then he blinds Polyphemus. Telemachus leaves Ithaca to go see Nestor to see if he can get any info about Odysseus Athena likes and watches out for Odysseus because of how smart he is When Odysseus leaves Troy he goes to Ismarus, city of the Ciones and lose 6 men per ship. Then a storm sweeps them for 9 days until they land in the land of the lotus eaters, and after that they go to the land of the Cyclops where Odysseus blinds Polyphemus. They then sail to the land of Aeolus, who give Odysseus a bag with the winds in it. They sail home and within ten days they are in sight of Ithaca, and so Odysseus finally sleeps. While he is a sleep his men open the bag of winds out of curiosity, and the winds send them all the way back to Aeoluss palace, where Aeolus is mad and doesn't give them a second chance. Odysseus and his men then go to the land of the Laestrygonians, where his ships are pelted with giant rocks and some are sunken. From there, Odysseus travels to Aeaea, home of Circe. Some of Odysseus men are then turned into pigs and with the help of Hermes, Odysseus saves them and they live their for a year. When they go to leave their friend Elpenor got drunk and fell off the roof and died, but Odysseus just leaves him. Odysseus now travels to the River of Oceans in the land of the Cimmerians and visits the dead. Odysseus sees many dead people he knew, including his mother, Anticleia, Achilles, Agamemnon, Heracles, King Minos, and also he sees Elpanor, who asks Odysseus to go back to Circes island and give him a proper burial. After going all the way back to Circes island, Odysseus and his men leave and soon approach the island of the Sirens. Odysseus instructs his men to put wax in their ears but tie him to the mass of the ship so he can here their songs. After passing the Sirens, they have to travel between Scylla and Charybdis, where 12 men are eaten by Scylla. Odysseus and his very hungry men then land on Thrinacia, the Island of the Sun, but they were warned not to eat any of the sun gods flock. Odysseus leaves his men to go rest and when he comes back he finds them eating the cattle of the sun god. When the Sun finds out he asks Zeus to punish them so when they leave the island Zeus sends a terrible storm that destroys all the ships and kills everyone but Odysseus, but the storm took Odysseus back to Scylla and Charybdis, and he barely makes it threw. Floating on pieces of wood from his ship, he washes up on Ogygia, Calypsos island. After living with Calypso for 7 years, she finally sends him on his way. Odysseus sails for 18 days until he reaches Scheria, the island of the Phaeacians, where he meets Nausicaa who takes him to talk to her father, king Alcinous. They give Odysseus a ship and load it with food and drink and gifts so he doesnt show up home empty handed. Odysseus finally lands in Ithaca, but he doesn't recognize it at first. Athena then disguises herself as a shepherd and tells him hes in Ithaca. Athena then tells him to hide out with Emaeus until he had a plan on how he is to conquer the suitors. Athena also disguises him as an old beggar. At the same time Odysseus is arriving home, Telemachus come home and sees Odysseus for the first time in 20 years, but Odysseus and Telemachus dont tell Penelope he is home until after he slaughters the suitors. Telemachus and disguised Odysseus go to the palace and sees how the suitors are acting. Odysseus sees and is disgusted. Later on when all the suitors are asleep, Odysseus and
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Telemachus remove all the arms so the suitors cant use them against them, and after that Odysseus, in disguise talks with Penelope and then has his feet washed by Eurycleia, who recognizes a scare on his leg and knows it is Odysseus, but Odysseus threatens her and tells her not to tell anyone. The next day Penelope gets Odysseus great bow, that only he has been able to string, and tells the suitors whoever can string and shoot the bow threw 12 small rings she will marry. They all try and fail, but then disguised Odysseus tries and does it on the first try. The suitors then know that he is Odysseus and Odysseus starts slaughtering the suitors. When they are all done killing them all Odysseus instructs some of the un loyal women maids to clean it all up and when they are done Telemachus takes them outside and hangs them. After the room has been cleaned and cleansed Penelope is brought in to see Odysseus. At first Penelope doesn't believe it is Odysseus but tests him by asking Eurycleia to go move her bed. By Odysseus reaction that the bed is immovable Penelope knows it is him.

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