american literature

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

by Mark Twain

Unit Plan

Monday, Nov 16th

  • discuss Frome ending – reread page 2
  • HMWK: TBA

Tuesday 17th

  • Horatio Alger and Twain reading
  • HMWK: read Twain bio and summary of Tom Sawyer (online)

Wednesday 18th

  • discuss Frome ending – reread page 2; Horatio Alger and Twain reading
  • HMWK: read Twain bio and summary of Tom Sawyer (online)

Thursday / Friday 19th and 20th

  • intro Twain with lexicon assignment: read “A True Story” and create lexicon using sheet; what is lost if all is converted to standard English?
  • HMWK: read chaps 1-6

Mon / Tues 23rd and 24th

  • discuss 1-6; Sawyer vs. Huck (myth vs. reality); “Huck Finn in Concord”; language of black and white - Cain and Abel – connotation and denotation; permission slips
  • HMWK: read chapters 7-12

Thanksgiving Break

Mon / Tues 30th and 1st

  • quick quiz; discuss 7-12: portrayal of Jim (how is he portrayed? what do you think of him?); selection from RAT Judy’s article; read 13, 14 and 15
  • HMWK: read 16 – participate twice in online discussion about Huck’s development

Weds / Thurs 2nd and 3rd

  • discuss; notes on minstrel shows; ‘Oh Susanna!”; Ernest Hogan; “Bones in Love” (online); check out an old minstrel show . . . (notice how their dialect changes as they paint their faces)
  • HMWK:
    • reread 14-15 – in your notes/journal, compare it to the minstrel show reading “Bones in Love”/
    • read Imaging Slavery in Mark Twa/in's Books and  Representing Jim
    • add 2 comments to online discussion/
    • check out the cartoon links (below) and add comments to discussion
Consider the following clips. Some meant for children. How are the black characters portrayed? What does this suggest about traditional media’s portrayal of black Americans?

            Amos and Andy notice the white crowd in the background`

            Clean Pastures

           

             Tom and Jerry "Plane Dumb" (1932) 

               Coal Black
               Little Black Sambo

       When I see an Elephant . . .

 

Fri / Mon 4th and 7th

  • Malcolm X handout (online); Condemning Twain: “African American Response”; Rick Shelburne; Defending Twain: Peter Salwen and J. Chadwick
  • HMWK: read 17-19; read summary of 20-30 CHANGE SUMMARY TO EXCLUDE CHAPTER  31(online); read chaps 31-34 

Monday 7th  6:30-9:00 PM viewing of “Bamboozled” dir Spike Lee

 

Tues / Weds 8th and 9th  

  • discuss; summary of 35-39 (online)
  • HMWK: finish book

Thurs / Fri 10th and 11th 

  • final discussion – review
  • HMWK: format paper 

Mon 14th

TBA

 

FINALS

  • in-class writing: final paper over Huck Finn; class evaluation