702/702 HW Due Friday May 1

Read Chapters 27 and 28 and answer questions on sheet given out in class today.

702/703 HW due Thursday, April 30th

Hey Humanities classes,

For tonight, please:

• Read chapters 25 & 26
• Write a first-person journal entry from Scout or Jem's POV addressing the events of both chapters (1-page minimum)

Thanks!

702/703 HW due Wednesday, April 29

Read Chapter 24

Answer questions: http://bit.ly/1EAyBKa

702/703 HW due Monday, April 27th

Hey everybody,

Please do the following for Monday:
-Read chapters 21 - 23.
-Make a creative response to these chapters from the perspective of your assigned character (you should have received this in class). This can be a journal, drawing, monologue, poem, etc.
Have a nice weekend!

702 HW due Tuesday, April 21st

Please respond to any combination of the following prompts in at least one page of writing (this means you can write a page on just one prompt, or shorter responses to two/all three prompts that make a page altogether):

1. How did what you learn in today's lesson provide a context for approaching rape and Mayella Ewell in TKaM? Please provide specific examples.

2. What is your experience hearing about sexual assault in the media or pop culture? This can (but doesn't have to) include some of the following recent terms commonly used in relation to the topic: rape culture; feminism; No More/Its On Us campaigns; college campuses and policies; slut-shaming; victim-blaming; Emma Sulkowicz; University of Virginia; dress codes)

3. Did you agree with Kerber's opinion that abortion restrictions are a legacy of coverture laws? If not, explain why. If so, do you think there are other oppressive policies that are called protective? 

702 & 703: resources on sexual assault

Hi everyone!

Thank you for your participation and insights on today's lesson (or last Friday's lesson if you're in 703). I was really impressed by everybody's maturity and thoughtfulness. Here are some of the resources used/referred to in this lesson:

For information on sexual assault: joyfulheartfoundation.org/learn

For help, including chat/phone hotlines: rainn.org/get-help

LREI's social justice page, including the project Carla and Claire mentioned: http://blog.lrei.org/social-justice/

I am answer any more questions you might have about this topic as well.

702 HW due Monday April 20

Click here for the quote analysis packet about Mayella's testimony in the trial.

703 HW due Monday, April 20th

Hey 703,

Thanks for your participation and awesome analysis during the lesson today! Your homework is as follows:

Instructions:

• Review the following legal terms

• Read chapter 20

• Answer the following questions

• Hand the questions in on Monday

Reminder of legal terminology:

• Closing argument: the final argument by an attorney on behalf of his/her client after all evidence has been introduced for both sides. The lawyer for the prosecution (in this case, Mr. Gilmer) makes the first closing argument. Then, the counsel for the defendant (in this case, Atticus) makes his/her closing argument. The closing argument may include the speaker’s opinions on the law, comment on the evidence, and usually requests a particular verdict (jury decision).

• Reasonable doubt: in a trial, the jury must believe that a defendant is guilty beyond reasonable doubt in order to find this guilty. This means that a juror must be convinced of the defendant’s guilt "beyond a reasonable doubt" in order to find him/her guilty.

Questions:

1.   On page 267, Dill makes a surprising discovery. How does Dolphus explain his to decision to, in Scout’s words, “deliberately perpetuate (commit) fraud against himself” (p. 268)?

2.   What is the “unspeakable” act Atticus says Mayella committed (p. 273)? Why is it unspeakable?

3.   Copy a compelling quote from Atticus’ argument appealing to ethos (ethics), and analyze it.

4.   Copy a compelling quote from Atticus’ argument appealing to pathos (emotion), and analyze it.

5.   Copy a compelling quote from Atticus’ argument appealing to logos (logic), and analyze it.

6.   Did you think the jury will find Atticus’ speech convincing? Why or why not?

Have a lovely weekend.

703 HW due Friday, April 17

Click here for the quote analysis packet about Mayella's testimony in the trial.

702 HW due Friday, April 17th

Hey 702,

Following are the questions from the HW handout (if you didn't get the handout - which has spaces to answer the questions by hand - and would like a copy, there are some in the extras bin in 513).
 

Instructions:

• Review the following legal terms

• Read chapter 20

• Answer the following questions

• Hand the questions in on Friday

Reminder of legal terminology:

• Closing argument: the final argument by an attorney on behalf of his/her client after all evidence has been introduced for both sides. The lawyer for the prosecution (in this case, Mr. Gilmer) makes the first closing argument. Then, the counsel for the defendant (in this case, Atticus) makes his/her closing argument. The closing argument may include the speaker’s opinions on the law, comment on the evidence, and usually requests a particular verdict (jury decision).

• Reasonable doubt: in a trial, the jury must believe that a defendant is guilty beyond reasonable doubt in order to find this guilty. This means that a juror must be convinced of the defendant’s guilt "beyond a reasonable doubt" in order to find him/her guilty.

Questions:

1.   On page 267, Dill makes a surprising discovery. How does Dolphus explain his to decision to, in Scout’s words, “deliberately perpetuate (commit) fraud against himself” (p. 268)?

2.   What is the “unspeakable” act Atticus says Mayella committed (p. 273)? Why is it unspeakable?

3.   Copy a compelling quote from Atticus’ argument appealing to ethos (ethics), and analyze it.

4.   Copy a compelling quote from Atticus’ argument appealing to pathos (emotion), and analyze it.

5.   Copy a compelling quote from Atticus’ argument appealing to logos (logic), and analyze it.

6.   Did you think the jury will find Atticus’ speech convincing? Why or why not?

Spring Break Assignment

Analyzing the trial in To Kill a Mockingbird

Read Chapters 17, 18, and 19 carefully.

Part 1

Imagine you are a member of the jury in Tom Robinson’s trial. You have heard the evidence presented by the prosecution (Mr. Gilmer) and the defense (Atticus). Now you are deliberating with the other members of the jury to decide whether Tom is guilt or not guilty of raping Mayella Ewell. Write out what you would say to your fellow jurors to try to convince them to vote with you.

Analyze the testimony of:

o   Sheriff Heck Tate

o   Bob Ewell

o   Mayella Ewell

o   Tom Robinson

For each witness, write a thorough analysis of their testimony, discussing:

·      What things did they say that seemed important to the case, in your opinion?

·      How much did you believe them? Why? Be specific—for each witness, use exact quotes from their testimony to back up your views (You can also summarize their testimony in your own words). Analyze their words as well as their demeanor (how they acted while testifying).

·      How does their testimony compare to the other witnesses’ testimony? If it is different, how do you explain those differences?

·      If you don’t believe them, what reason do you suspect them of not telling the truth?

·      How does what they said, and their credibility (their “believability”), make you think Tom is either guilty or not guilty of raping Mayella?

In addition, you should discuss:

·      What other thoughts do you have about the case and the way the trial went? About the way Mr. Gilmer and Atticus questioned the witnesses? About the way Judge Taylor ran the trial?

·      After hearing all of the witnesses’ testimonies, what do you believe? Is Tom Robinson guilty beyond a reasonable doubt of raping Mayella Ewell? Why or why not?

Extra Credit for Part 1: Given what you have been told in the novel about what types of people were on the jury, how would you adjust your arguments to most effectively convince them to agree with your opinion?

Part 2

Make a creative representation of the worldview of one of the following characters. (You may do one for the other character/s for extra credit.)

·      Tom Robinson

·      Mayella Ewell

·      Bob Ewell

You should base this as much as possible on what the text tells us about them, but you may also use your imagination and knowledge of life in 1930s rural Alabama to make inferences (educated guesses) to fill in the blanks that the text leaves:

In your work, you should represent such things as:

·      Their views of the world, including their:

o   values

o   hopes and dreams

o   fears

o   loves

o   hatreds

o   doubts

·      Their views of themselves (as they think they are / as they want to be)

·      Their views of specific members of Maycomb

·      Their views of race, class, and gender

·      Their views of the court and what happened during the trial

Possible formats

·      Drawing / painting / collage with text mixed in

·      Poem/s

·      Song/s (recorded would be awesome!)

·      Diorama

·      Conversation with someone else

·      Inner monogue (inner thoughts)

·      Speech

·      Journal entry/entries (we’ll pretend they can write well)

·      Letter/s

·      Video

·      Anything else you can think of