Honors English I

Honors English I: Books Covered The books read in this class may vary from school to school, so below I have listed some staples that most classes seem to cover. If your class read any of the following books, click here. - The Iliad by Homer - Odyssey by Homer - To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee - Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare - The Marrow Thieves by Cherie Dimaline - The Hobbit by J.R.R Tolkien If you want an ever deeper analysis of Romeo and Juliet, click here. These books have already been covered in an English study guide made by Simple Studies, so to get the most diverse content, this study guide won’t be going over them. However, these study guides do an amazing job of covering these books, and you should check them out! Below is the list of books/poems that will be covered for Honors English I. - 1984 by George Orwell - The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare - A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens - Dandelion Wine by Ray Bradbury For these books, there will be character descriptions, plot summaries, and useful quotes for analysis! 1984 by George Orwell Characters ● Winston Smith - rather small man in Oceania who carries the weight of rebellious thoughts against the totalitarian regime of Big Brother. He is a member of the Outer Circle, where he slaves away at the profit of The Party. Fatalistic. ● Big Brother - is big brother a person? Is “it” an idea? All we know is that “BIG BROTHER IS ALWAYS WATCHING YOU”. ● Julia - Winston’s lover. She has dark hair and enjoys having sex with Party members secretly. She is extremely optimistic and doesn’t carry the same hatred Winston does. ● Mr. Charrington - he owns a bookstore in Oceania. He sold Winston a diary and gives him and Julia a room to have sex without telescreens. Winston thinks he is against the Party, but he is really a member of the Thought Police. ● O’Brien - an intriguing man in the Inner Circle who Winston believes is a member of the Brotherhood and wishes to destroy the totalitarian government ● Parsons - Winston’s fat neighbor who works at the Ministry of Truth, his kids are Junior Spies who call out adults for thoughtcrime Plot Summary Winston Smith is a citizen of Oceania, where Big Brother is their people through telescreens. The Party rules everyone, and this includes changing history, eliminating free speech, and creating NewSpeak, a language that eradicates the chance of rebellion by removing words. Thoughtcrime is the worst, and this entails thinking illegal thoughts. Winston secretly hates the Party. However, he does the dirty work and is employed at the Ministry of Truth, where he changes news to fit the party’s narrative. He notices irregularities and learns about the Brotherhood’s leader, Emmanuel Goldstein. As a personal rebellion against Oceania and its laws, Winston buys a diary behind closed doors to write down his illegal thoughts. The Brotherhood is an apparent secret organization against the Party, and Winston suspects a man named O’Brien as a member. When at work, Winston fears that a woman named Julia is going to punish him for thoughtcrime, instead, she gives him a message that says she loves him. As a result, they begin meeting to have sex in a room above the bookstore he bought his illegal diary at. Sex is illegal. Winston is always waiting for the day that he and Julia will get caught, but something interrupts. Finally, O’Brien contacts him. O’Brien invites Winston and Julia to his Inner Circle party with members of the Brotherhood. He gets a copy of Goldstein’s manifesto and reads it to Julia above the notorious bookstore, where the owner reveals himself as thoughtcrime police and arrests the two. Winston is taken to the Ministry of Love, where he finds out that O’Brien was luring him into illegal actions. Winston spends months getting destroyed mentally and physically and barely holds himself together. However, he manages to do it. He is then taken to Room 101. Room 101 is designed to be his worst nightmare, involving his phobia of rats. Winston wishes his pain unto Julia, which is the last straw for O’Brien, who considers himself successful. Therefore, he releases Winston, a broken man, out to the real world where he becomes the best citizen Big Brother could ever ask for, and the hate in his heart disappears. Useful Quotes (all are directly from 1984): “War is peace, freedom is slavery, ignorance is strength.” ￫ Paradox “Who controls the past controls the future. Who controls the present controls the past.” ￫ Paradox “We shall meet in the place where there is no darkness.” ￫ Hopeful tone “But if thought corrupts language, language can also corrupt thought.” ￫ Chiasmus “Until they become conscious they will never rebel, and until after they have rebelled they cannot become conscious.” ￫ Chiasmus “Doublethink means the power of holding two contradictory beliefs in one's mind simultaneously, and accepting both of them.” ￫ Juxtaposition The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare Characters ● Shylock - lives in Venice, a moneylender, Jewish, grossly mistreated by the Christians, makes a deal with Antonio & Bassanio for a pound of flesh knowing they can’t pay it back ● Antonio - truly hates Jews, is depressed, takes the risk for his friend Bassanio (who he is probably in love with), promises a pound of his flesh if he can’t return Shylock’s money ● Portia - a beautiful, intelligent heiress from Belmont, has to choose her spouse from three caskets, schemes into marrying her love, Bassanio, helps save Antonio from dying ● Bassanio - needs the money so he can choose Portia’s correct casket, which he does end up doing ● Gratiano - accompanies Bassanio on the trip to Belmont, falls in love with Nerissa, Portia’s lady in waiting ● Lorenzo - friends with Gratiano and Bassanio, a Christian man in love with Jessica ● Jessica - Shylock’s daughter, Jewish, runs away from dad for Lorenzo Plot Summary Antonio sulks around Venice’s bars with a sadness that he can’t put his finger on. Antonio’s friend, Bassanio, needs money to pursue Portia in Belmont, but Antonio’s money is invested in ships that are still at sea. Instead, Antonio recommends that Bassanio go to Shylock where Antonio will guarantee his loan. Portia is expectant upon Bassanio so that she can help him choose the correct casket with Portia’s picture in it, as this is what her father finds necessary in a spouse. The two men head to Venice to see Shylock, however, Shylock has a hidden grudge against Antonio. Antonio has harassed him for being Jewish and sells no-interest loans. Shylock agrees to give them 3,000 ducats with 0% interest, the only stipulation is that Antonio must give a pound of flesh if Bassanio can’t pay the money back in 2 months. Meanwhile, in Belmont, the Prince of Morocco chooses the gold casket for Portia, the wrong one. The prince of Arragon chooses the silver casket, also the wrong one. Portia knows the lead casket is correct, and Bassanio doesn’t wait long upon arrival to declare his love and choose the correct casket. At this time, Shylock finds out that Jessica escaped for Lorenzo, but is rejoiced at the fact that Antonio’s ships have crashed. Gratiano and Nerissa fall in love, so the two couples decide to have a double wedding. Both women give their men a ring, saying this is something they can never give away. Soon after, Antonio calls the 4 to tell them that his ships have wrecked and he is forced to give a pound of flesh to Shylock. Gratiano and Bassanio rush back to Venice, and Portia and Nerissa secretly decide to dress up like men and help free Antonio. Shylock is taken to court by the duke of Venice, who gives the floor to a legal expert (Portia). She begins by asking Sherlock for mercy, he refuses. Bassanio offers double the money knowing he can get it from Portia, he refuses. Then, she says it is true, Shylock is entitled to 1 pound of flesh. Before Shylock gets too excited, she adds that if any blood is shed, the contract is void. Shylock accepts the money, but Portia says he either gets what is in the contract or nothing. He chooses nothing. Portia takes it one step further and claims he was plotting murder, so he has to give up half of his land to the state, half of his land to Antonio, and die. Instead, they come to the agreement he gets to keep half of his property and has to convert to Christianity, Antonio gets the other half, and when he dies his will must leave the land for Jessica and Lorenzo. Bassanio and Gratiano still don’t know that the lawyer and “his” clerk are Portia and Nerissa. The two girls ask for their promise rings, to see how their future husbands react. Foolishly, they give them up. The girls are waiting for the two men at Portia’s estate, and they ask what happened to the rings. The men are at a loss for words, but Portia gives in easily and tells the men that she was the lawyer and Nerissa was the clerk. They reconcile their issues and find out that Antonio’s ships made it back safely. Together, they all celebrate the good turn of events. Useful Quotes (all are directly from The Merchant of Venice) “If you prick us, do we not bleed? if you tickle us, do we not laugh? if you poison us, do we not die? and if you wrong us, shall we not revenge?" ￫ Rhetorical Question “I will buy with you, sell with you, talk with you, walk with you... but I will not eat with you, drink with you, nor pray with you” ￫ Repetition “It is enthronèd in the hearts of kings; It is an attribute to God himself,” ￫ Metaphor (for mercy) “How far that little candle throws his beams! So shines a good deed in a naughty world.”￫ Symbolism A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens Characters ● Charles Darnay - born into the Evrémonde French aristocracy, moved to England as he was upset with aristocracy, tells Doctor Manette his background, goes back to save Gabelle ● Sydney Carton - works with Stryver as an attorney, an alcoholic, ambitionless man, changes to a respectable man for Lucie, looks extremely similar to Darnay ● Doctor Manette - in prison for 18 years and went crazy, made shoes to pass time and pain, loves his daughter, once a prominent physician ● Lucie Manette - French woman raised in an English ward as her parents were “dead”, compassionate, kind, family-oriented, brings her father happiness again ● Madame Defarge - wife of Monsieur Defarge, despises the aristocracy, shows no mercy, spends her time knitting a list of people who she finds necessary to die for the revolution ● Marquis Evrémonde - a member of the aristocracy in France, Darnay’s uncle Plot Summary It’s 1775, Jerry Cruncher does weird jobs for Tellson's Bank, and his most recent one is to stop the Dover mail-coach and instruct him to tell Lorry to wait for a young woman at Dover. Lorry brings Lucie Manette to Paris where Monsieur Defarge has been taking care of her father, and they believe he can be “Recalled to life” through her. 5 years later, Darnay is sent to court for being a spy and has Stryver on his team. Stryver is an extremely ambitious lawyer, but Carton saves the day by using their identical faces to say he must be English if he looks like an Englishman. Doctor Manette and his daughter watched the case. Carton shared his feelings for Lucie and questioned Darnay what life is like with a woman like Lucie in his life. Carton is secretly, yet immensely jealous of Darnay for his affiliation with Lucy. Marquis blames a poor child for getting in his way while traveling and the carriage kills the child. Darnay is in France and Marquis tells him about the child, Darnay removes himself from the Evrémonde name and is on his way to leave until he finds out his uncle was murdered. There was a note left saying “Jacques”, a name that French Revolutionaries often use. One year later, Darnay asks Manette for his approval for Lucie, and promises if Lucie accepts he will reveal his history. Carton tells Lucie he loves her and she has changed him as a man. Lucie accepts Darnay and Manette goes back to his prison self upon hearing of Darnay’s past. Cruncher is now a “Resurrection-Man”, as he takes a man named Cly’s body out of a cemetery and sells it. Darnay welcomes Carton into their home, and Doctor Manette returns to normal after 9 days. In 1789, the French Revolution began, and aristocrats were killed in the streets. Gabelle works on the Evrémonde estate, gets arrested, and asks Darnay for help. Darnay arrives but is arrested as soon as he gets there. The Manettes come to rescue Darnay, and the Doctor’s time in Bastille prison helps get Darnay out. However, Darnay is sent right back in by Madame Defarge. Carton and Barsad (real name Solomon Pross) create a plan to save Darnay. At Darnay’s trial, Madame Defarge releases a letter she found in Manette’s cell. Manette was imprisoned because Darnay’s dad and uncle raped a woman and stabbed a man, and after asking for his help, realized Manette might report the bodies to someone. They arrested him to save themselves. Darnay is set to die within 24 hours for his family’s bad deeds. Carton hears Defarge saying she will also kill Lucie and her daughter because the two killed were her brother and sister. Carton makes the Manettes leave, drugs Darnay, and switches spots with him. Defarge goes to get Lucie when she sees Pross’s wife. They get in a fight and Defarge ends up shooting herself. Carton dies by guillotine but is more than happy to have finally found purpose in his life. Useful quotes (all of these are directly from A Tale of Two Cities) “It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest that I go to than I have ever known.” ￫ Repetition, Euphemism “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness,” ￫ Anaphora, Repetition, Paradox “I love your daughter fondly, dearly, disninterestedly, devotedly.” ￫ Alliteration “It would be easier for the weakest poltroon that lives, to erase himself from existence, than to erase one letter of his name or crimes from the knitted register of Madame Defarge.” ￫ Symbolism “incapable of their directed exercise, incapable of his own help and his own happiness” ￫ Anaphora