Two High School English teachers nerding out on all their course readings, and everything around them, to bring you an in-depth look at how to study literature and write about it!
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn - Is the Novel Relevant to a Modern Audience?
In the final episode of Season 2 Mr. Fernando and Coach Bart discuss the ending of the novel and the final major essay for the quarter. Through the use of The New York Times article, "The Idea of America" by Nikole Hannah-Jones, they discuss the issues of American hypocrisy and racism to arrive at the prompt question at issue: Is the novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn as a satire of slavery and the racist ideologies upon which the country sits still a relevant and appropriate text for the modern classroom? Through Hannah-Jones' historical context, as well as the commentaries of Jane Smiley ("Say it Ain’t So, Huck:
Second thoughts on Mark Twain’s 'Masterpiece'") and Toni Morrison("Introduction to The Oxford Mark Twain: The Adventures of Huck Finn"), they examine the novel's ironies in formulating the scathing satires, while also weighing the consequences of the inherent racism perpetuated by the book's unflinching use of the N-word and stereotypical portrayals of its characters. The last half of the podcast, Mr. Fernando and Coach Bart provide specific tips on how to build and finalize the major essay. Special thanks to Kanye West for the introductory song "Good Morning" from his 2007 album Graduation, and to Frank Sinatra providing the sweet outtro melody of "My Way (lofi remix)."
24 Sept 2020
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn - Huck, Jim and the Satire of American Race Relations
In this episode, Coach Bart and Mr. Fernando discuss the relationship between Huck and Jim as the central force of the narratives satire of American race relations. As we discuss Huck and Jim's multi-faceted relationship, we focus on the role society (or "sivilization") plays in creating the barriers Huck's personal development or coming of age meet during his adventures and how Jim acts as a catalyst for Huck's challenging of those societal constraints. We also introduce the Shepherdson's and Grangerford's feud as well as the Duke and the King (or dauphin) as static characters meant to exemplify the inherent pitfalls of society. The last part of the podcast is used to discuss the Timed Writing Essay to be conducted during the Asynchronous day. Special shout out to Nas for the intro song "Ether" off his 2001 album Stillmatic released by Ill Will and Columbia Records and outro son, "I Can" off his 2003 album God's Son, also released by Ill Will and Columbia Records. #huckfinn #americanlit #satire #nas
16 Sept 2020
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn - Introductions
In this week's episode, Coach Bart and Mr. Fernando begin the discussion of the always-controversial The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain (aka Samuel Clemens). While the book is considered to be a masterwork of American Satire and abolitionist literature, the use of racially insensitive language and portrayals of slaves feeds the argument that the novel may cause more harm than good. The discussion in this episode centers on Twain's use of satire, specifically through forms of irony, as a way to discuss the failures of American social institutions as they are all dependent on a foundation of racism and hypocrisy, and Twain seeks to hold a mirror up to his audience for the purpose of self-examination. Musical introduction and conclusion credits go out to Eric B. and Rakim for their 1987 song "Paid in Full" off the duo's solo album of the same name. The song is written and produces by Eric Barrier and Rakim Allah.
10 Sept 2020
Born a Crime - Part III - Who You were Actually Born to Be
In our final episode talking about Trevor Noah's Born a Crime, Coach Bart and Mr. Fernando discuss the final part of the novel in relation to the Major Essay and the focus on issues of race within the book comparable to American society. While identifying the elements of wage disparity, education and the achievement gap, and systemic issues within laws and law enforcement, we also identify key elements of the final four chapters to look to as supporting details for the essay. The latter half of the podcast is some direct instruction and tips on how to Ace the essay by way of proper primary and secondary source integration, essay development, and revision strategies. THIS IS NOT A 5-PARAGRAPH ESSAY!
31 Aug 2020
Born a Crime - Part II - Identity Shaped by Others
In episode 2, Coach Bart and Mr. Fernando delve into the world around Trevor as a formative influence on his adolescence. As Trevor moves through high school in South Africa, the pressures of fitting in with friends and trying to find a girlfriend are at the forefront of the narrative of Part II. As always, the specter of Apartheid pervades, along with the vacancy of masculinity in Trevor's life, and we watch him navigate a world that asks him to change to meet the social expectations within those spheres of influence. Coach Bart and Mr. Fernando wrap up the podcast with a brief overview of the Major Essay to be completed by the end of the unit and using the Timed Writing Assessment as a starting point for that Major Essay. Credits: the introductory song is "Wakanda" from the Black Panther (Original Score) - written by Ludwig Göransson ft. Baaba Maal (in remembrance of Chadwick Boseman); the exiting song is an instrumental version of the Pharcyde song "Passing my By" from their 1992 album Bizarre Ride II the Pharcyde.
13 May 2020
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep: From DADES to Blades
As a wrap-up of season one of American L_it! Mr. Fernando and Coach Bart identify the elements of the Major DADES Essay to help you put together a strong Thesis, supported by well-articualted sub-claims in your topic sentences, and to identify all the necessary evidence to write an (Android) killer essay! Follow these laser tube-like guidelines and you'll be sure to blast this class into tiny pieces to claim your grade and earn yourself some long-deserved peace!
12 May 2020
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep: Dial Up "Long Deserved Peace"
In the final novel-centric episode, Mr. Fernando and Coach Bart dive deep into chapters 19-22 of DADES, focusing, as always on Ontology, Empathy, and Entropy. Their normal inside jokes and English-Nerdiness aside, this episode is especially helpful with the creation of sub-claims and evidentiary analysis for those all-important Final Major Papers. So lock up those goat gates to keep the vindictive androids at bay, or get a box for those electric toads, because here comes Episode 5!
12 May 2020
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep: Ready to Retire
Looking at DADES Chapters 16-19, Mr. Fernando and Coach Bart look at the climax of the novel and focus on the elements of Ontology, Empathy, and Entropy throughout the ending of this story.
26 Apr 2020
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep: The Plot (literally) thickens
In our discussion of Chapters 10-15 of DADES, Coach Bart and Mr. Fernando discuss the continual forward momentum of the narrative toward the eventuality that is the conclusion of whether or not Androids dream of electric sheep, or to be more direct, whether Androids are human or just human-adjacent. We meet new characters that help us see the humanity in Rick and John, but also in characters like Pris and Rachel. We also learn about the importance of Officer Resch in Rick's character Arc, and Roy's contradictory existence with John in the apartment. Finally, we see Rick's connection to Mercerism and the eventuality of shared consciousness in empathy.
6 Apr 2020
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep: Enter the Entropy
In this week's episode, focused on chapters 3-9 of Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? Coach Bart and Mr. Fernando provide a brief review of the previous chapters, followed by a summary of chapters 3-9, and some observations about our two main characters (Rick and John). They then put on their Van Ness Pet Hospital Suits and start collecting all the short-circuiting Symbols and Themes, to try and get them to all of you before they cease functioning (really they just identify the themes of Empathy, Entropy, and Ontology present in these chapters). Run-time is just over an hour and ten minutes, but if you are just looking for the characters and themes, skip to about the 30-minute mark of the podcast.
27 Mar 2020
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep: Androids and Ontology
In this episode, we begin our discussion of Philip K. Dick's 1968 Science Fiction classic Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? As a multi-episode series, we will begin with some opening remarks about the major themes of the novel as well as the main focus of the novel. As an academic study of the novel, the goal will be to apply a theoretical framework to a reading of the text. As we continue to study the story, we will also discuss the 1982 film Blade Runner, the film inspired by the novel. The comparisons we will draw will help you arrive at a better understanding of both mediums in delivering a powerful message about existence, the state of being, empathy, and how to define what it means to be human.
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