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How to Read Problematic Novels: A Rationale for Educators

This unit will help students begin to think about how to approach novels that are “problematic” in subject matter, presentation, composition, setting, or character development. We will focus on the elements of a text that can make it “problematic”: stereotypes, irony, lack of information, reference to cultural taboos, etc. Students will be encouraged to view these texts as objectively as possible so that we evaluate what makes the texts problematic, rather than what makes the reader problematic. For example, if we read a text that presents a cultural taboo in a different light (making it a problematic moral text), we will read that taboo in the context of the text and in the context of the community that is reading it, rather than through our own personal perspectives. We will, through a careful study of key texts, figure out some good ways to approach a problematic text and what to do with it as a conscious reader. This unit will guide students towards being able to participate in a larger reader community and being able to make objective conclusions about a text that may not be considered “appropriate” by general audiences. This unit will promote creative and analytical thinking so that students are not making generalizations or judgments about texts; rather, they are entering into conversations with the texts and the communities of readers that they inhabit.

How to Read Problematic Novels: A Rationale for Students

In this unit we will study many novels that are frequently challenged or banned in classrooms and school districts for various reasons concerning subject matter, presentation, composition, setting, and character development. We will study these as “problematic” novels focusing on certain elements that cause these texts to be challenged, including stereotypes, irony, lack of information, reference to cultural taboos, and more. In this course you are encouraged to take an in depth look at these texts, evaluating why certain characteristics are taboo, dirty, and frowned upon within the classroom and cultural society as well. For example, when we read a text that presents a cultural taboo (making it a problematic moral text) we will evaluate that taboo both in the context of the novel and of the larger community the text is a part of as opposed to reading only through our own perspectives. Our goal is to learn and practice techniques, which help us to be conscious readers, so instead of ignoring the fringe literature or being afraid to study or discuss it we gain an understanding of how to approach these texts and what to do with them once we have. This unit will guide you towards being able to participate in a larger reading community, able to make objective conclusions about a text that is often considered “inappropriate” by general audiences. This unit will promote creative and analytical thinking so that you are not making generalizations or judgments about texts; rather, you are entering into conversations with the texts and the communities of readers that they inhabit.

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Common Core State Standards Addressed:

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.11-12.1: Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text, including determining where the text leaves matters uncertain.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.11-12.3: Analyze the impact of the author’s choices regarding how to develop and relate elements of a story or drama (e.g., where a story is set, how the action is ordered, how the characters are introduced and developed).

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.11-12.4: Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in the text, including figurative and connotative meanings; analyze the impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone, including words with multiple meanings or language that is particularly fresh, engaging, or beautiful. (Include Shakespeare as well as other authors.)

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.11-12.5: Analyze how an author’s choices concerning how to structure specific parts of a text (e.g., the choice of where to begin or end a story, the choice to provide a comedic or tragic resolution) contribute to its overall structure and meaning as well as its aesthetic impact.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.11-12.7: Analyze multiple interpretations of a story, drama, or poem (e.g., recorded or live production of a play or recorded novel or poetry), evaluating how each version interprets the source text. (Include at least one play by Shakespeare and one play by an American dramatist.)

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.11-12.1: Write arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive topics or texts, using valid reasoning and relevant and sufficient evidence.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.11-12.3: Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, well-chosen details, and well-structured event sequences.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.11-12.4: Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience. (Grade-specific expectations for writing types are defined in standards 1–3 above.)

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.11-12.5: Develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach, focusing on addressing what is most significant for a specific purpose and audience. (Editing for conventions should demonstrate command of Language standards 1–3 up to and including grades 11–12 here.)

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.11-12.6: Use technology, including the Internet, to produce, publish, and update individual or shared writing products in response to ongoing feedback, including new arguments or information.

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CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.11-12.9: Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.11-12.10: Write routinely over extended time frames (time for research, reflection, and revision) and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of tasks, purposes, and audiences.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.11-12.1: Initiate and participate effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grades 11–12 topics, texts, and issues, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.11-12.4: Present information, findings, and supporting evidence, conveying a clear and distinct perspective, such that listeners can follow the line of reasoning, alternative or opposing perspectives are addressed, and the organization, development, substance, and style are appropriate to purpose, audience, and a range of formal and informal tasks.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.11-12.1: Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.11-12.2: Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.11-12.5: Demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships, and nuances in word meanings.

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Day 1

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Day 2

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Day 3

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Classroom Map Explanation:

This classroom is set up for twenty to twenty-five students. The teacher’s desk is in the back corner of the room so as not to present as the focus or importance of the classroom. The teacher’s goal is to meld into the classroom as a facilitator not an authoritarian. Also in the back of the classroom is the classroom library and reading station. Students are encouraged to read and borrow books from the classroom library and the reading station is designed for student comfort. The classroom is equipped with Smartboard technology for two Smartboard each connected to the a student computer. This gives students the opportunity to learn and manipulate technology as opposed to technology as a teacher’s toy. The teacher’s computer is linked to a projector that projects on the classroom’s whiteboard. The students also have twenty in-class computer workstations. This allows students to stay focused and working throughout the day and enhances productivity as groups or pairs of students can be working on different things at different times. The in-class computer stations mean that not all students have to go into the computer lab so some students can finish their work. The classroom provides students with two private workstations for those who need to make up a test or quiz, need some quiet time, or are overwhelmed by the classroom activities. Finally, the classroom has four circular tables. Students sit at table groups and this becomes their “home team” for working on assignments. Each student has chair with wheels so that when the class has whole-group discussion, literature circles, or other activities that require the students to move around they can easily move their chairs. This ideal classroom is designed for comfortability and work efficiency. The classroom design allows students to learn and manipulate technology, read and relax, work independently or with a group, and have resources on hand.

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Student Profile:

This unit is designed for a twelfth grade advanced placement course with twenty to twenty-five

students. The school population is a working class, blue-collar neighborhood which also draws

from the low-income population as well as from a few blocks of families in the white-collar

professions. All multiple intelligences are represented and all learning styles. This unit provides

a variety of opportunities for students to learn in ways that work best for them.

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Description of Major Activities:

1. Writer’s Notebook:Each class period begins with a fifteen minute segment. Students are given a writing prompt which they must respond to within the fifteen minutes in their writer’s notebook. These writing prompts serve as an anticipatory set for the day’s lesson. The prompt may not always connect explicitly to the reading for that day but the theme or topic is what will be focused on. Following student completion of the writing, class discussion about the prompt will fill in the rest of the fifteen minute time segment.

2. Position Paper: The students will complete a _____________ position paper following completion of Lolita. This position paper asks the students to determine whether Lolita has a moral. This activity will connect to our unit study on perspective, taboos and morals, and genre studies showing students what they learned through evaluation of shorter texts assists in evaluation of the novel.

3. Reading Activities: Students will have frequent in class reading activities. Individually, in groups, or as a whole class, we will read and analyze various texts including short stories, poetry, film clips, and music to aid in our understanding of perspective, narration, readership, language, etc.

Assessment

Students will be formally assessed on their position paper at the end of the term. Grading will be based on the included rubric. Writer’s notebooks will also be collected periodically and checked for completion. The various reading activities that we complete daily will be collected for credit based on either correctness or completion, depending on the style and purpose of the activity. Because this is largely an inquiry- and discussion-based unit, students will also be holistically assessed on their participation and thought throughout the unit.

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Lolita and “difficult texts” Timeline:

This six week unit is designed to take place somewhere near the middle of the school year. It is important for this unit, that the students and instructor have developed a rapport as well as the instructor and students’ parents/guardians. Week 1: Introducing and Contextualizing: Week one of the six-week unit will introduce the content of the unit. The class will begin a discussion of the topics covered in Lolita and the various other texts read throughout. It is likely that this first conversation regarding content will be heavy/intense and will address issues such as sexuality, childhood, language, pedophilia, power, and relationships. All of these concepts will be discussed more thoroughly throughout the unit.

Week 2: Questioning:Week two students will examine perspective and how it influences text and other genres. Students will investigate film clips, art, and music to gain an understanding of the importance and power of perspective. Students will continue their reading of Lolita and examine the influence Humbert’s perspective has on the text and on their readership. Finally students will read a news article and examine perspective from that angle.

Week 3: Reflecting on personal bias/experience: Week three students will examine the relationship between narration and readership through defining an unreliable narrator and reading examples of unreliable narration. This will translate into a discussion on vigilant readership and how to read without a judgmental mindset but evaluative mindset. Students will participate in read and respond activities where they must interpret a passage and rewrite in an objective manner manipulating the narration.

Week 4: Evaluate:In week four, the students are coming to end of the novel and as readers are looking at and evaluating the novel as a whole in terms of moralistic importance. The students will look at both part one and two of the novel and study the language and style determining how that affected their readership and evaluation of the text. Students will also take a closer look into the taboos presented by the novel and work through their significance. The position paper will be introduced at the end of the week.

Week 5: Conclude and Film Study: Week five will address the afterword by Nabokov as he says Lolita has not (was not intended by him to have a moral). This discussion connects with the position paper as students will either agree or disagree with Nabokov. We will end the week viewing the film and study how this genre representation differs (or does not) in tone, mood, perspective, irony, etc. We will also read interviews with Kubrick. This week will help develop the students position paper through viewing the same text differently.

Week 6: Writing Focus:Week six provides students with the opportunity to work on their position papers in class and conference with the instructor. The final day of class, students will present one issue or topic

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from their position paper to the class. This activity may require extra time. During this week, students will also be experimenting with writing and style through different writing activities that require them to think about Lolita and the other texts studied differently as they learn to manipulate language.

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Text List:

Main Novel: Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov

Supplementary Texts: “Cask of Amontillado” - Edgar Allen Poe “Tell all the Truth but tell it slant” - Emily Dickenson “Murder” – David Baker “Pedophilia” – Michael Seto, Annual Review of Clinical Psychology “Lost in Translation” – Lera Boroditsky, Wall Street Journal “Little Red Riding Hood”

o Charles Perraulto Brothers Grimmo Italo Calvinoo Roald Dahl

American Travel Atlas “Crazy Horse Dreams” – Sherman Alexie, The Lone Ranger and Tanto Fistfight

in Heaven

Supplementary Music and Film: “Janie’s Got a Gun” - Aerosmith “My So-Called Life” – Pilot Lolita – Stanley Kubrick, 1962

Supplementary Art: Luncheon of the Boating Party, Renoir Mary Roberts Ebert with Betty, Ebert The Rehearsal, Degas

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Letter To ParentsLolita and difficult texts

Dear ________________,

In a few weeks we will be starting a new 6-week unit in our 12th-grade English class. This unit will give students an opportunity to work with some complex reading material as literature for evaluation and as mentor text for writing. The main text that students will be studying is Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov. This is a fascinating text that is well respected and widely studied in the literary community, but its subject material has been challenged several times since publication. For this reason, I wanted to begin a conversation explaining why I chose this book for our classroom and what I hope your student will gain from a critical reading of this text.

First, I would like to make clear that we will not be engaging this text in order to study its subject matter. While it is seen as a “controversial” text, the main subject of the book—pedophilia—in my opinion is not very controversial. Rather, it is a sensitive topic and will be treated as such in our classroom. It is impossible to not acknowledge that this is a theme in the novel, and we will have some discussions about its presence in the book, but my objectives for the unit have to do with much more than these topical discussions.

We will move past evaluating the subject matter to a place where we can think critically about how the author presents the subject matter. This phase of the unit will include discussion about the power of language, literary techniques, and writing style and convention. Students will think deeply about how language affects subject matter and how language can evoke emotion. Students will then have opportunities to include the techniques that we learn in their own writing. We will evaluate how perspective works in literature, analyzing multiple texts and genres and practicing a critical literacy that always engages and questions texts. From these exercises I hope that students will learn to always be surprised by what they read or view and to always challenge the perspective that is presented to them. In our reading of the text specifically, we will look at some of the larger themes in the novel, like unreliable narration, American/European incongruity, romance and seduction in language, and the presence of moral.

My goal with this unit is to get students to a point where they can actively engage discussions that exist in their communities and move beyond simple judgments of morals and ethics to a point of critical analysis, where perspective and presentation will be considered. I believe that this type of deep critical thinking is necessary for participating in our society where we must always question how things are presented to us.

I encourage you to read this novel with your student and discuss your reactions to the text. I also would encourage that you work with them on any writing that they do for class—question their writing as you would any work of literature.

Please let me know as soon as possible if you are uncomfortable with your student reading Lolita and I will arrange for an alternative unit plan.

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As always, please contact me with any questions, comments, or concerns. I also welcome your suggestions as we begin to work towards a more global sense of literacy and critical reading in the classroom. I am excited to see the discussion that comes out of this unit!

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Unit Plan X: Lolita “difficult” texts

Week 1: Introduction/Contextualizing Sexuality, Childhood, and Language

Lesson 1.1: Introduction of ContentMaterials Needed:

Copies of Lolita (to be distributed) Writer’s Notebook

Activities: Bell Work - Writing Prompt: (15 minutes)

o What does it mean to be a child? What does it mean to be innocent? What does it mean to be corrupt or corrupted?

Whole Group Discussion: (15 minutes)o Lolita deals with issues of sexuality, pedophilia, power relationships,

family relationships, right/wrong, etc. These concepts will be embedded in our unit, but our study goes beyond these concepts and this text.

o Disclaimer: Don’t get tripped up in what the novel is saying as much as what it is doing.

Table Groups - Contextualizing Activity: (15 minutes) o Students work with their tablemates to research one of the following at the

in-class computer station: pedophilia, Vladimir Nabokov, or Lolita. Pedophilia: Definition, historical progress, societal consequences Vladimir Nabokov: Who is he, what did he write, what was his

motivation for writing Lolita Lolita: When published, widely accepted theme, reason for being

challenged Whole Group Discussion: (20 minutes)

o Present findings from previewing activity o Return to discussion from bell work writing - discuss possible ways this

writing prompt (and our responses) will/may connect to our reading. Homework:

Begin reading Lolita - page 1 - 15Lesson 1.2: Innocence and Experience

Materials Needed: Lolita Copies of anticipation guide (see appendix) Writer’s Notebook


o How do you know someone is a child? What does it mean to be a “child?” Anticipation Guide: (15 minutes)

o Each student will be given a list of statements relating to Lolita regarding innocence and experience. These statements will ask students to make a value judgment which may later be challenged. Students will need to retain the anticipation guide for reference and discussion later in the unit.

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Reading Activity: (35 minutes) o William Blake Innocence and Experience

William Blake was a poet and artist from the British Romantic period. He is known for pairing religious and political issue of his time. In small groups, work through two poems and attempt to create a definition of innocence and/or experience. Large group discussion questions: How do we define innocence? How is this different or similar to our definition of child? What are differences between innocence and experience?

Homework: Continue reading Lolita - page 15 - 30 Brainstorm three books that, at this point, you would pair with Lolita in terms of

writing style, content, setting, etc. This is to be completed after reading. Lesson 1.3: Look into Psychology

Materials: Lolita Writer’s Notebook Venn Diagram Discussion Prompts Pedophilia reading


o Define pedophilia and pedophile. What does this person look like? What does Humbert look like?

Readings: Diagnosis of “pedophilia” from field of psychology. (5 minutes)o Each student pair gets one passage to read in completion independently.

Say Something Activity: (10 minutes) o After completing the reading student pairs will participate in a say

something activity. o Record responses in Writer’s Notebook

Whole Group Discussion: (20 minutes) o Each pair shares what they read and said about that passage. o Lead discussion about profile using discussion prompts. See appendix.

Venn Diagram: (10 minutes) o Visual representation of characteristics of Humbert, profile person, and

their shared characteristics. See appendix. Group Discussion: (5 minutes)

o Similarities and differencesHomework:

Lolita continue reading pages 30 - 45 Continue adding characteristics to Venn diagram

Lesson 1.4: Settings - America and Europe Materials:

Lolita Writer’s Notebook Paired art copies

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o Where are the settings in the novel thus far, list them? Why are they important?

Selected Readings from Lolita (25 minutes)o Where is HH from? How does this setting differ from the main setting of

the novel? Why does he come to America, and not return to Europe? Text Study (25 minutes)

o Look at Luncheon of the Boating Party (Renoir, French) and Mary Roberts Ebert with Betty (Ebert, American) and compare/contrast. How are these images similar? How are they different? What sort of feelings and reactions might come from looking at these paintings?

o Comparison and Contrast: American versus European culture. Homework:

Lolita continue reading pages 45 - 60Lesson 1.5: Language Study

Materials: Lolita Writer’s Notebook


o Brainstorm a time when you were deeply affected by language, either written or spoken. What did that look like? You may draw or write this out. Examples include: a production (movie, musical, concert, etc.), a speech (personal or well-known), a piece of writing (novel, advertisement, etc.), an event (wedding, funeral, reunion).

Whole Group Discussion: Discuss how language can be used to enhance meaning. How do poets differ from news reporters? What techniques are used to create different emotional effects? What have you noticed so far in Lolita that uses language in an unexpected way? Nabokov said that this book was a manifestation of his “love affair with the English language.” What does this mean? How can we see this in the text, and what effect does it have for readers?

Group Work Activity: Individually, write a short paragraph/passage about any real or fictional scene. Write how you normally would, in your own voice. In your group, assign each other “characters” and use this character to “fluff” your writing. Insert words and phrases that your character might use. Reflect on your use of language in this exercise. How does the writing change? How does the meaning change (if it does)?

Homework: Lolita continue reading pages 60 - 80 Additional reading: “Lost in Translation” by Lera Boroditsky (Wall Street

Journal)

Week 2: Questioning Deeper study into content of Lolita

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Lesson 2.1: Perspective Materials:

Lolita Writer’s Notebook Perspective list Copy of Readings


o Describe the meaning of perspective? How can someone’s vision of something change based on changing perspectives?

Scenario Activity: (25 minutes) o Students will be grouped together. Each group of students will read one of

the following versions of “Little Red Riding Hood” (listed by author): Charles Perrault Brothers Grimm James Thurber Italo Calvino Roald Dahl

The students will then be asked to analyze those texts based on the written perspective given to them. This activity will help guide students through understanding the importance and power of perspective.

Whole-Group Discussion: (15 minutes) o Each group of students will share their opinion of the texts as motivated

by the perspective in which they were instructed to read that text with. As a class we will note and discuss the differences in understanding elicited by a change in perspective.

Writing Closure Activity: (5 minutes) o Students will be given a short piece of writing. They will have to rewrite

that piece of writing channeling their unique perspective as a student. This will be used as an exit ticket assessment for the lesson.

Homework: Lolita continue reading pages 80 - 95

Lesson 2.2: Perspective in Multiple Genres Materials:

Lolita Writer’s Notebook Film/Screen Clip: My So-Called Life (Pilot)

Activities: Bell Work: Pick a scene from Lolita. Write a short screenplay that illustrates how

you imagine that scene in a contemporary setting. Watch part of TV episode in class. Look at how perspective develops and how

this scene enacts/alludes to the relationships in Lolita.Homework:

Lolita continue reading pages 95 - 110Lesson 2.3: Perspective in Multiple Genres

Materials:

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Lolita Writer’s Notebook Music Clip : “Janie’s Got A Gun” 3-level guide: “Janie’s Got A Gun”

Activities: Bell Work - Writing Prompt: (15 minutes) 3-Level Guide: (10 minutes)

o “Janie’s Got a Gun” Whole Group Discussion:

o Perspective. How the song relates to Lolitao What perspective is presented? How is this different? How is this reflected

in the medium/presentation?Homework:

Lolita continue reading pages 110 - 125Lesson 2.4: Perspective in Multiple Genres

Materials: Lolita Writer’s Notebook Art Work: The Rehearsal, Edgar Degas, 1873

Activities: Bell work: What experiences do you have with fine art? What questions do you

have? What’s more accessible for you, literature or artwork? Short lecture: observing art—colors, lines, allusions, etc. Small groups: look at Degas piece. Observe the piece from an objective

perspective and then consider multiple perspectives (the girls, the man, etc). How might this piece relate to our reading of Lolita? How is this type of comparison helpful and/or dangerous?

Large group discussion: Summarize findings, discuss opinions on comparing text and art. Does this represent a different perspective or is it unrelated?


Lesson 2.5: Perspective in Multiple GenresMaterials:

Lolita Writer’s Notebook Poem: Emily Dickinson, “Tell all the Truth but tell it slant”

Activities: Bell work: Read poem and respond privately. Small groups: What is significant in the poem? What is the author/speaker telling

us? Large group: Discuss small group findings. Introduce next activity. Small groups: Find three specific passages in Lolita that you can relate to this

poem. Write a thesis statement for each, showing how you might connect the two.


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Example: how perspective exists in art, film, music. Show paintings that shift perspective. Show film, play song. What does a shift in perspective do for viewers?

Week 3: Reflecting Where does personal bias/experience become a part of us as readers

Lesson 3.1: Travelogue Reading Experience Materials:

Lolita Writer’s Notebook Travel Atlas


o What might be different if you were living out of a car? What kinds of people do nothing but travel?

Whole Group Discussion: (10 minutes) o Most of the book is a “travelogue” throughout America. How much

traveling have you done? What does it mean to be a tourist? Travel Atlas: (30 minutes)

o In groups students will map the travel destinations of Lolita and Humbert providing a visual representation of their sporadic and widespread travel.

Closure: (5 minutes) o Why did they move so much?


Lesson 3.2: Unreliable Narration and Readership Materials:

Lolita Writer’s Notebook Sticky Note Paper (Markers)


o Describe the narrator of Lolita? What characteristics make him seem trustworthy or vise-versa?

KWL Activity: Unreliable narrator (10 minutes) o Students will circulate the room, writing on large pieces of paper what

they know about unreliable narration, what they want to know, and following the activity what they learned.

Whole-Group Discussion (20 minutes) o Definition: how can you classify a fictional narrator as unreliable?o What does it mean for the context of the book?

KWL Activity: Learned (10 minutes) o Students answer the questions written on the “W” paper and fill out the

“L” (learned) paper. Homework:

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Lolita continue reading pages 170 - 185 Lesson 3.3: Vigilant Readership

Materials: Lolita Writer’s Notebook “Cask of Amontillado” – Poe


o Write about your reading process. What do you do when reading to help you understand and interpret the reading?

Unreliable Narration Example: (30 minutes) o Read Edgar Allen Poe’s “Cask of Amontillado” o Read as a class teaching/modeling vigilant reading, showing students how

to pay attention to details and evaluate rather than judge. What to pay attention to: (10 minutes)

o Go over what is most important for students to note and interpret when reading.

Contextualization o How students will know when they are reading an unreliable narrator.


Lesson 3.4: Vigilant Readership Materials:

Lolita Writer’s Notebook Reading: “Crazy Horse Dreams” (Sherman Alexie, The Lone Ranger and Tonto

Fistfight in Heaven)Activities:

Bell Work - Writing Prompt: Thinking about your reading of Lolita, discuss your relationship with Humber Humbert (you as reader, he as narrator). Do you trust him? Do you believe him? Have there been points in your reading when this changed?

Unreliable Narration Example: Alexieo Small groups: Work in literature circles to read and evaluate the narration

of “Crazy Horse Dreams.” Large group: Discuss findings, including specific examples from the text. Large group: How does this relate to Lolita? Similarities and differences? Where

else might we find this type of narration, where might it be useful, what can we learn as readers and writers?


Week 4: EvaluateFinish reading the novel and evaluate the writing style and message of the text

Lesson 4.1: Taboos

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o What does it mean for something to be taboo? Write about an experience you had with something taboo; what did you experience or witness?

Taboos within Lolita: In small groups, identify five “taboos” that you have encountered in Lolita. Discuss where (in what cultures) and why these are considered taboo. What is Lolita saying about these concepts?

Position Paper: Introduce position paper, students will begin working on at the end of the week and turn in final copy at the end of the unit. Topic: Does Lolita present a moral?


Lesson 4.2: Morals Materials:

Lolita Writer’s Notebook


o What are morals? What does it mean to be moral? Whole-Group Discussion:

o Construct examples of morals. Evaluate and works towards a definition of “moral.” How does this relate to “taboo?”

Activity: Individual writing. Reflect on your own experiences with morals. Write about a time when a moral wasn’t so clear for you. What sort of a situation was this? What came out of it?

Homework: Continue writing. Lolita continue reading pages 245 - 260

Lesson 4.3: Language Study Materials:

Lolita Writer’s Notebook “Murder” poem (David Baker)

Activities: Bell Work - Writing Prompt:

o How are black and white crimes confused by language? Language: Activity

o In small groups, read “Murder” poem. Separate the language into two categories: poetry and story. Include in the poetry category words or phrases that express poetry (imagery, metaphor, beauty). In the story category, include words or phrases that describe what is happening in the poem.

Large Group Discussion: Lolita

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o How does HH seduce the reader with his language?Homework:

Lolita continue reading pages 260 - 275 Lesson 4.4: Lolita (wrap-up)



o As best you can, summarize Lolita in a paragraph or less. Large group discussion: Lolita summary, synopsis, discussion. What has actually

been happening in the book? How does the text interact with the concepts we’ve been looking at?


Lesson 4.5: Materials:


Activities: Continue discussion from previous class. Focus on Humbert Humbert as a

character and as a narrator. How do we feel about him at this point? What has been surprising?

Homework: Lolita continue reading pages 290 - through end, including afterword by Nabokov

Week 5: ConcludeFilm study

Lesson 5.1: Placing the Afterward Materials:

Lolita Writer’s Notebook Position paper instructions


o What do you think about Lolita having completed the novel and read other texts that deal with taboos and moral issues?

Reading Exercise and Discussion: (40 minutes)o Afterward by Nabokov. Students will work in table groups to read and

evaluate. He says that Lolita has no moral. What does that mean? Position Paper: (5 minutes)

o Introduce in more depth position paper assignment. Provide students with guidelines, writing prompts, and time-frame. Students will have some in-class time for research and writing.

Homework:

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Position Paper - Outlining/Brainstorming Lesson 5.2: Transitioning: Genre Interpretations of Same Text

Materials: Lolita Writer’s Notebook Film


o Where are you in your brainstorming? Compose a preliminary thesis statement for your position paper.

Individual student conferences: (40 minutes) o Students will have in class time to work on pre-development of individual

position papers. Instructor will circulate room to discuss preliminary ideas with each student, offer suggestions, and ensure that the students are on the right track.

Film Discussion: (5 minutes) o What to look foro How the film will affect position paper

Homework: No homework

Lesson 5.3: Film Study Materials:

Lolita Writer’s Notebook Film


o What are you expecting out of this film? What specific scene(s) do you think will be important to include? Problematic?

Film Viewing: o First half


Lesson 5.4: Film Study Materials:

Lolita Writer’s Notebook Film Interviews


o What would you change about the film so far? How is the novel presented differently?

Film Viewing: o Second half

Closure Activity:

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o Large group: Reactions to the film. What was left out? Why? Homework:

Position paperLesson 5.5: Post Film Learning



o Where does the film represent a different perspective? How? How does the film represent the tone, mood, perspective, irony that is all implicit

in the language of the novel? Compare/contrast Activity: Venn diagram

Homework: Position paper

Week 6: Writing Focus

Lesson 6.1: Transitioning Reading Skills to Writing Ability Materials:


Activities: Bell Work (extended)– Write a short passage about a road trip or vacation. It can

be real or fictional. Write in your normal voice. Lecture: Characterization, word-play, tone, mood, perspective, irony, language

(definitions, examples) Group Work:

o In pairs, exchange stories and create a new scenario/background for your writing piece. Choose a character and add in a disturbing or surprising trait. With this in mind, rewrite your partner’s story. Discuss how these characterizations change either the narrative or the interpretation.

Homework: Position paper

Lesson 6.2: Manipulating WritingMaterials:


Activities: Bell Work – What was your most passionate reaction to a text? This can be a

book, a poem, a song, etc. Describe what you felt and how the text got you there. Language and Emotion:

o How writing/language evokes emotion? How emotion can be translated into writing?

o Writing can be elusive and ironic Writing Exercise:

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o Write a passage about ______. In small groups, re-write using more “artistic” language. Play with words, develop elusive metaphors, etc.

Closure Activity: Homework:

Position paperLesson 6.3: Position Paper


Activities: Bell Work – What are some questions that you still have about your paper? These

can be conceptual, technical, anything you’re wondering about as we get closer to the due date.

Position Paper: o In-class time for students to develop and finalize position paper.

Student Conferences: o Meet with students to check in with position paper development.

Homework: Finalize position papers (first draft)

Lesson 6.4: Revision Activities Materials:



o Explain an experience you have had in the past with classroom revision. What instructions were you given? Were they helpful or confusing? Do you feel the revisions you made improved your writing?

Position Paper: o Explain revision process and pair students together to review writing. o Thoughtshot, snapshot, exploding a moment, and making a scene revision

exercise. (Revised for ______writing) Students work in pairs to review completed drafts of position

papers using Lane and Harper’s revision techniques. Students will locate where they are missing action and explanation.

Homework: Position paper revisions

Lesson 6.5: Class Presentations Materials:

Writer’s Notebook Completed position papers (to be turned in)


o Write about your process for developing the position paper. What in class was helpful to you and what was not? What would be helpful for you (in class) in the future?

26

Class Presentations: o Each student presents a piece (argument, theme, motivation, finding) of

their position paper to the class. If we run out of time will continue the next day.


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AppendixTable of ContentsLesson 1.2 Anticipation Guide p. 29

Lesson 1.3 Article Unavailable for copying

Lesson 1.3 Venn Diagram p. 30

Lesson 1.4 Artwork p. 57-58

Lesson 1.4 Article p. 43-47

Lesson 2.1 Short Stories p. 48-56

Lesson 2.3 3-level guide p. 31

Lesson 2.4 Artwork p. 59

Lesson 2.5 Poem p. 38

Lesson 3.3 Short Story p. 32-37

Lesson 3.4 Short Story Unavailable for copying

Lesson 4.3 Poem p. 39-42

Lesson 5.1 Paper Instructions p. 60

Lesson 5.1 Paper Rubric p. 61

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Difficult Texts UnitAnticipation Guide

Directions: Read the following statements. Using a scale 1-5, mark whether you agree or disagree with each (1 = disagree strongly, 5 = agree strongly). We will evaluate these statement both before and after our reading today.

“Childhood” for most does not last past the early teen years.

Adults are less innocent than children.

Children can learn from adults.

Innocence and experience are directly tied to one’s age.

Childhood might be different in different cultures.

Children are easy to corrupt.

Children are corrupted by adults, not by other children.

Children are helpless to abuse by authority figures.

Your childhood has a lasting impact on your entire life.

It is the parent’s job to protect their children.

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Lolita Venn Diagram Use this graphic to classify Humbert Humbert according to what we know about pedophiles from the in-class reading.Continue to fill this in throughout your reading. Note if anything changes as you read further.

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Humbert Humbert Pedophile: Clinical Psychology

“Janie’s Got A Gun”Aerosmith3-level guide

Janie's got a gunJanie's got a gunHer whole world's come undoneFrom lookin' straight at the sunWhat did her daddy do?What did he put you through?They said when Janie was arrestedthey found him underneath a trainBut man, he had it comin' Now that Janie's got a gunshe ain't never gonna be the same.Janie's got a gun

Janie's got a gunHer dog day's just begunNow everybody is on the runTell me now it's untrue.What did her daddy do?He jacked a little bitty babyThe man has got to be insaneThey say the spell that he was under the lightning andThe thunder knew that someone had to stop the rain

Level 1: Put an “X” on the line next to the statement(s) that can be supported by details in the reading.

____ 1. Janie was thirteen years old.

____ 2. Janie was arrested.

____ 3. Janie’s father was found underneath a train.

Level 2: Put an “X” on the line next to the statement(s) that can be inferred from details in the reading.

____ 1. Janie shot her father.

____ 2. Janie’s father was abusing her.

____ 3. Janie’s mother died when she was young.

Level 3: Put an “X” on the line next to the statement(s) that can be supported by the reading and life in general.

____ 1. Trouble comes from the direction we least expect it.

____ 2. How often do we supply our enemies with the means of our own destruction.

____ 3. Those who take temporary advantage of their neighbors’ difficulties may live to repent of their insolence.

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THE CASK OF AMONTILLADO

by Edgar Allan Poe(1846)

THE thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as I best could, but when he ventured upon insult I vowed revenge. You, who so well know the nature of my soul, will not suppose, however, that gave utterance to a threat. At length I would be avenged; this was a point definitely, settled --but the very definitiveness with which it was resolved precluded the idea of risk. I must not only punish but punish with impunity. A wrong is unredressed when retribution overtakes its redresser. It is equally unredressed when the avenger fails to make himself felt as such to him who has done the wrong.

It must be understood that neither by word nor deed had I given Fortunato cause to doubt my good will. I continued, as was my in to smile in his face, and he did not perceive that my to smile now was at the thought of his immolation.

He had a weak point --this Fortunato --although in other regards he was a man to be respected and even feared. He prided himself on his connoisseurship in wine. Few Italians have the true virtuoso spirit. For the most part their enthusiasm is adopted to suit the time and opportunity, to practise imposture upon the British and Austrian millionaires. In painting and gemmary, Fortunato, like his countrymen, was a quack, but in the matter of old wines he was sincere. In this respect I did not differ from him materially; --I was skilful in the Italian vintages myself, and bought largely whenever I could.

It was about dusk, one evening during the supreme madness of the carnival season, that I encountered my friend. He accosted me with excessive warmth, for he had been drinking much. The man wore motley. He had on a tight-fitting parti-striped dress, and his head was surmounted by the conical cap and bells. I was so pleased to see him that I thought I should never have done wringing his hand.

I said to him --"My dear Fortunato, you are luckily met. How remarkably well you are looking to-day. But I have received a pipe of what passes for Amontillado, and I have my doubts."

"How?" said he. "Amontillado, A pipe? Impossible! And in the middle of the carnival!"

"I have my doubts," I replied; "and I was silly enough to pay the full Amontillado price without consulting you in the matter. You were not to be found, and I was fearful of losing a bargain."

"Amontillado!"

"I have my doubts."

"Amontillado!"

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"And I must satisfy them."

"Amontillado!"

"As you are engaged, I am on my way to Luchresi. If any one has a critical turn it is he. He will tell me --"

"Luchresi cannot tell Amontillado from Sherry."

"And yet some fools will have it that his taste is a match for your own.

"Come, let us go."

"Whither?"

"To your vaults."

"My friend, no; I will not impose upon your good nature. I perceive you have an engagement. Luchresi--"

"I have no engagement; --come."

"My friend, no. It is not the engagement, but the severe cold with which I perceive you are afflicted. The vaults are insufferably damp. They are encrusted with nitre."

"Let us go, nevertheless. The cold is merely nothing. Amontillado! You have been imposed upon. And as for Luchresi, he cannot distinguish Sherry from Amontillado."

Thus speaking, Fortunato possessed himself of my arm; and putting on a mask of black silk and drawing a roquelaire closely about my person, I suffered him to hurry me to my palazzo.

There were no attendants at home; they had absconded to make merry in honour of the time. I had told them that I should not return until the morning, and had given them explicit orders not to stir from the house. These orders were sufficient, I well knew, to insure their immediate disappearance, one and all, as soon as my back was turned.

I took from their sconces two flambeaux, and giving one to Fortunato, bowed him through several suites of rooms to the archway that led into the vaults. I passed down a long and winding staircase, requesting him to be cautious as he followed. We came at length to the foot of the descent, and stood together upon the damp ground of the catacombs of the Montresors.

The gait of my friend was unsteady, and the bells upon his cap jingled as he strode.

"The pipe," he said.

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"It is farther on," said I; "but observe the white web-work which gleams from these cavern walls."

He turned towards me, and looked into my eves with two filmy orbs that distilled the rheum of intoxication.

"Nitre?" he asked, at length.

"Nitre," I replied. "How long have you had that cough?"

"Ugh! ugh! ugh! --ugh! ugh! ugh! --ugh! ugh! ugh! --ugh! ugh! ugh! --ugh! ugh! ugh!"

My poor friend found it impossible to reply for many minutes.

"It is nothing," he said, at last.

"Come," I said, with decision, "we will go back; your health is precious. You are rich, respected, admired, beloved; you are happy, as once I was. You are a man to be missed. For me it is no matter. We will go back; you will be ill, and I cannot be responsible. Besides, there is Luchresi --"

"Enough," he said; "the cough's a mere nothing; it will not kill me. I shall not die of a cough."

"True --true," I replied; "and, indeed, I had no intention of alarming you unnecessarily --but you should use all proper caution. A draught of this Medoc will defend us from the damps.

Here I knocked off the neck of a bottle which I drew from a long row of its fellows that lay upon the mould.

"Drink," I said, presenting him the wine.

He raised it to his lips with a leer. He paused and nodded to me familiarly, while his bells jingled.

"I drink," he said, "to the buried that repose around us."

"And I to your long life."

He again took my arm, and we proceeded.

"These vaults," he said, "are extensive."

"The Montresors," I replied, "were a great and numerous family."

"I forget your arms."

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"A huge human foot d'or, in a field azure; the foot crushes a serpent rampant whose fangs are imbedded in the heel."

"And the motto?"

"Nemo me impune lacessit."

"Good!" he said.

The wine sparkled in his eyes and the bells jingled. My own fancy grew warm with the Medoc. We had passed through long walls of piled skeletons, with casks and puncheons intermingling, into the inmost recesses of the catacombs. I paused again, and this time I made bold to seize Fortunato by an arm above the elbow.

"The nitre!" I said; "see, it increases. It hangs like moss upon the vaults. We are below the river's bed. The drops of moisture trickle among the bones. Come, we will go back ere it is too late. Your cough --"

"It is nothing," he said; "let us go on. But first, another draught of the Medoc."

I broke and reached him a flagon of De Grave. He emptied it at a breath. His eyes flashed with a fierce light. He laughed and threw the bottle upwards with a gesticulation I did not understand.

I looked at him in surprise. He repeated the movement --a grotesque one.

"You do not comprehend?" he said.

"Not I," I replied.

"Then you are not of the brotherhood."

"How?"

"You are not of the masons."

"Yes, yes," I said; "yes, yes."

"You? Impossible! A mason?"

"A mason," I replied.

"A sign," he said, "a sign."

"It is this," I answered, producing from beneath the folds of my roquelaire a trowel.

"You jest," he exclaimed, recoiling a few paces. "But let us proceed to the Amontillado."

35

"Be it so," I said, replacing the tool beneath the cloak and again offering him my arm. He leaned upon it heavily. We continued our route in search of the Amontillado. We passed through a range of low arches, descended, passed on, and descending again, arrived at a deep crypt, in which the foulness of the air caused our flambeaux rather to glow than flame.

At the most remote end of the crypt there appeared another less spacious. Its walls had been lined with human remains, piled to the vault overhead, in the fashion of the great catacombs of Paris. Three sides of this interior crypt were still ornamented in this manner. From the fourth side the bones had been thrown down, and lay promiscuously upon the earth, forming at one point a mound of some size. Within the wall thus exposed by the displacing of the bones, we perceived a still interior crypt or recess, in depth about four feet, in width three, in height six or seven. It seemed to have been constructed for no especial use within itself, but formed merely the interval between two of the colossal supports of the roof of the catacombs, and was backed by one of their circumscribing walls of solid granite.

It was in vain that Fortunato, uplifting his dull torch, endeavoured to pry into the depth of the recess. Its termination the feeble light did not enable us to see.

"Proceed," I said; "herein is the Amontillado. As for Luchresi --"

"He is an ignoramus," interrupted my friend, as he stepped unsteadily forward, while I followed immediately at his heels. In niche, and finding an instant he had reached the extremity of the niche, and finding his progress arrested by the rock, stood stupidly bewildered. A moment more and I had fettered him to the granite. In its surface were two iron staples, distant from each other about two feet, horizontally. From one of these depended a short chain, from the other a padlock. Throwing the links about his waist, it was but the work of a few seconds to secure it. He was too much astounded to resist. Withdrawing the key I stepped back from the recess.

"Pass your hand," I said, "over the wall; you cannot help feeling the nitre. Indeed, it is very damp. Once more let me implore you to return. No? Then I must positively leave you. But I must first render you all the little attentions in my power."

"The Amontillado!" ejaculated my friend, not yet recovered from his astonishment.

"True," I replied; "the Amontillado."

As I said these words I busied myself among the pile of bones of which I have before spoken. Throwing them aside, I soon uncovered a quantity of building stone and mortar. With these materials and with the aid of my trowel, I began vigorously to wall up the entrance of the niche.

I had scarcely laid the first tier of the masonry when I discovered that the intoxication of Fortunato had in a great measure worn off. The earliest indication I had of this was a low moaning cry from the depth of the recess. It was not the cry of a drunken man. There was then a long and obstinate silence. I laid the second tier, and the third, and the fourth; and then I heard the furious vibrations of the chain. The noise lasted for several minutes, during which, that I might hearken to it with the more satisfaction, I ceased my labours and sat down upon the bones.

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When at last the clanking subsided, I resumed the trowel, and finished without interruption the fifth, the sixth, and the seventh tier. The wall was now nearly upon a level with my breast. I again paused, and holding the flambeaux over the mason-work, threw a few feeble rays upon the figure within.

A succession of loud and shrill screams, bursting suddenly from the throat of the chained form, seemed to thrust me violently back. For a brief moment I hesitated, I trembled. Unsheathing my rapier, I began to grope with it about the recess; but the thought of an instant reassured me. I placed my hand upon the solid fabric of the catacombs, and felt satisfied. I reapproached the wall; I replied to the yells of him who clamoured. I re-echoed, I aided, I surpassed them in volume and in strength. I did this, and the clamourer grew still.

It was now midnight, and my task was drawing to a close. I had completed the eighth, the ninth and the tenth tier. I had finished a portion of the last and the eleventh; there remained but a single stone to be fitted and plastered in. I struggled with its weight; I placed it partially in its destined position. But now there came from out the niche a low laugh that erected the hairs upon my head. It was succeeded by a sad voice, which I had difficulty in recognizing as that of the noble Fortunato. The voice said--

"Ha! ha! ha! --he! he! he! --a very good joke, indeed --an excellent jest. We will have many a rich laugh about it at the palazzo --he! he! he! --over our wine --he! he! he!"

"The Amontillado!" I said.

"He! he! he! --he! he! he! --yes, the Amontillado. But is it not getting late? Will not they be awaiting us at the palazzo, the Lady Fortunato and the rest? Let us be gone."

"Yes," I said, "let us be gone."

"For the love of God, Montresor!"

"Yes," I said, "for the love of God!"

But to these words I hearkened in vain for a reply. I grew impatient. I called aloud --

"Fortunato!"

No answer. I called again --

"Fortunato!"

No answer still. I thrust a torch through the remaining aperture and let it fall within. There came forth in return only a jingling of the bells. My heart grew sick; it was the dampness of the catacombs that made it so. I hastened to make an end of my labour. I forced the last stone into its position; I plastered it up. Against the new masonry I re-erected the old rampart of bones. For the half of a century no mortal has disturbed them. In pace requiescat!

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Emily Dickinson, 1955

Tell all the Truth but tell it slant --

Success in Circuit lies

Too bright for our infirm Delight

The Truth's superb surprise

As Lightning to the Children eased

With explanation kind

The Truth must dazzle gradually

Or every man be blind --

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MurderBY DAVID BAKER1.

Language must suffice.

Years ago, under a sweet June skystung with stars and swept back by black leaves barely rustling,

a beautiful woman nearly killed me.

Listen,she said,and turnedher lovely face to the stars, the wild sky....

2.

No.

No: years ago,

under a sweet, June skystrung with stars and swept back by black leaves barely rustling,

under this skybroad, bright, all rung around

with rustling elders—or intoxicating willows, or oaks, I forget— under this sky,

a beautiful woman killed me, nearly.

I say beautiful. You had to see her.

Listen,she said,

and turned a lovely shell of her earto the swirl of starsand the moon smudged as a wingtip in one tree, not far.

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http://www.poetryfoundation.org/bio/david-baker

3.

Yes: she scraped my back bloody against a rough trunk. Yes: she flung back her lovely faceand her hair, holding me down,

and the tree shook slowly, as in a mild, persistent laugh or wind,

and the moon high in that black tree swung to and fro ...

there were millions of stars up where she stared past us, and one moon, I think.

4.

Excuse me.

My friend, who loves poetry truly, says too much nature taints my work.

Yes. Yes. Yes.Too many birds, stars— too much rain, too much grass—so many wild, bowing limbshowling or groaning into the natural night ...

and he might be right. Even here.

That is, if tree were a tree.That is, if star or moon or even beautiful womancraning the shell of her earwere what they were.

They are, I think, not.

No: and a poem about nature contains anything but.

5.

When they descended to us, they were a cloud of starssweeping lightly. They sang to us urgently

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about our lives,

they touched uswith a hundred thousand hair-soft, small legs—

and held down by such hungers, we let them cover us, this beautiful woman, this me,

who couldn’t move,who were stung—do you hear?—who were stung again, were covered that quickly, crying to each other to fly away!

6. ... I just can’t erasethe exquisite, weeping languageof the wasps, nor her face in starlightand so tranquil under that false, papery, bobbing moonjust minutes before,saying listen,

listen,

nor then the weightof her whole natural body pinning down mineuntil we both cried out for fear, and pain, and still couldn’t move.

7.

Language must suffice.First, it doesn’t. Then, of course,

it does. Listen, listen.

What do you hear? This nearly killed me.I’ll never knowwhy she didn’t just whisper Here they come, warn Move!cry They’ll kill us!Yes: I will save you ...Yes: I love you too much to watch you suffer!But it’s all I recall, or now need.

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And, anyway, I loved her, she was so beautiful. And that is what I have had to saybefore it’s too late, before they have killed me, before they have killed you, too,

or before we have all become something else entirely,

which is to say before we are only language.

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Lost in TranslationNew cognitive research suggests that language profoundly influences the way people see the world; a different sense of blame in Japanese and SpanishBy LERA BORODITSKY

The Gallery Collection/Corbis

'The Tower of Babel' by Pieter Brueghel the Elder, 1563.

Do the languages we speak shape the way we think? Do they merely express thoughts, or do the structures in languages (without our knowledge or consent) shape the very thoughts we wish to express?

Take "Humpty Dumpty sat on a..." Even this snippet of a nursery rhyme reveals how much languages can differ from one another. In English, we have to mark the verb for tense; in this case, we say "sat" rather than "sit." In Indonesian you need not (in fact, you can't) change the verb to mark tense.

In Russian, you would have to mark tense and also gender, changing the verb if Mrs. Dumpty did the sitting. You would also have to decide if the sitting event was completed or not. If our ovoid hero sat on the wall for the entire time he was meant to, it would be a different form of the verb than if, say, he had a great fall.

In Turkish, you would have to include in the verb how you acquired this information. For example, if you saw the chubby fellow on the wall with your own eyes, you'd use

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one form of the verb, but if you had simply read or heard about it, you'd use a different form.

Do English, Indonesian, Russian and Turkish speakers end up attending to, understanding, and remembering their experiences differently simply because they speak different languages?

These questions touch on all the major controversies in the study of mind, with important implications for politics, law and religion. Yet very little empirical work had been done on these questions until recently. The idea that language might shape thought was for a long time considered untestable at best and more often simply crazy and wrong. Now, a flurry of new cognitive science research is showing that in fact, language does profoundly influence how we see the world.

The question of whether languages shape the way we think goes back centuries; Charlemagne proclaimed that "to have a second language is to have a second soul." But the idea went out of favor with scientists when Noam Chomsky's theories of language gained popularity in the 1960s and '70s. Dr. Chomsky proposed that there is a universal grammar for all human languages—essentially, that languages don't really differ from one another in significant ways. And because languages didn't differ from one another, the theory went, it made no sense to ask whether linguistic differences led to differences in thinking.

The search for linguistic universals yielded interesting data on languages, but after decades of work, not a single proposed universal has withstood scrutiny. Instead, as linguists probed deeper into the world's languages (7,000 or so, only a fraction of them analyzed), innumerable unpredictable differences emerged.

Of course, just because people talk differently doesn't necessarily mean they think differently. In the past decade, cognitive scientists have begun to measure not just how people talk, but also how they think, asking whether our understanding of even such fundamental domains of experience as space, time and causality could be constructed by language.

For example, in Pormpuraaw, a remote Aboriginal community in Australia, the indigenous languages don't use terms like "left" and "right." Instead, everything is talked about in terms of absolute cardinal directions (north, south, east, west), which means you say things like, "There's an ant on your southwest leg." To say hello in Pormpuraaw, one asks, "Where are you going?", and an appropriate response might

45

be, "A long way to the south-southwest. How about you?" If you don't know which way is which, you literally can't get past hello.

About a third of the world's languages (spoken in all kinds of physical environments) rely on absolute directions for space. As a result of this constant linguistic training, speakers of such languages are remarkably good at staying oriented and keeping track of where they are, even in unfamiliar landscapes. They perform navigational feats scientists once thought were beyond human capabilities. This is a big difference, a fundamentally different way of conceptualizing space, trained by language.

Differences in how people think about space don't end there. People rely on their spatial knowledge to build many other more complex or abstract representations including time, number, musical pitch, kinship relations, morality and emotions. So if Pormpuraawans think differently about space, do they also think differently about other things, like time?

To find out, my colleague Alice Gaby and I traveled to Australia and gave Pormpuraawans sets of pictures that showed temporal progressions (for example, pictures of a man at different ages, or a crocodile growing, or a banana being eaten). Their job was to arrange the shuffled photos on the ground to show the correct temporal order. We tested each person in two separate sittings, each time facing in a different cardinal direction. When asked to do this, English speakers arrange time from left to right. Hebrew speakers do it from right to left (because Hebrew is written from right to left).

Pormpuraawans, we found, arranged time from east to west. That is, seated facing south, time went left to right. When facing north, right to left. When facing east, toward the body, and so on. Of course, we never told any of our participants which direction they faced. The Pormpuraawans not only knew that already, but they also spontaneously used this spatial orientation to construct their representations of time. And many other ways to organize time exist in the world's languages. In Mandarin, the future can be below and the past above. In Aymara, spoken in South America, the future is behind and the past in front.

In addition to space and time, languages also shape how we understand causality. For example, English likes to describe events in terms of agents doing things. English speakers tend to say things like "John broke the vase" even for accidents. Speakers of Spanish or Japanese would be more likely to say "the vase broke itself." Such differences between languages have profound consequences for how their speakers

46

understand events, construct notions of causality and agency, what they remember as eyewitnesses and how much they blame and punish others.

In studies conducted by Caitlin Fausey at Stanford, speakers of English, Spanish and Japanese watched videos of two people popping balloons, breaking eggs and spilling drinks either intentionally or accidentally. Later everyone got a surprise memory test: For each event, can you remember who did it? She discovered a striking cross-linguistic difference in eyewitness memory. Spanish and Japanese speakers did not remember the agents of accidental events as well as did English speakers. Mind you, they remembered the agents of intentional events (for which their language would mention the agent) just fine. But for accidental events, when one wouldn't normally mention the agent in Spanish or Japanese, they didn't encode or remember the agent as well.

In another study, English speakers watched the video of Janet Jackson's infamous "wardrobe malfunction" (a wonderful nonagentive coinage introduced into the English language by Justin Timberlake), accompanied by one of two written reports. The reports were identical except in the last sentence where one used the agentive phrase "ripped the costume" while the other said "the costume ripped." Even though everyone watched the same video and witnessed the ripping with their own eyes, language mattered. Not only did people who read "ripped the costume" blame Justin Timberlake more, they also levied a whopping 53% more in fines.

Beyond space, time and causality, patterns in language have been shown to shape many other domains of thought. Russian speakers, who make an extra distinction between light and dark blues in their language, are better able to visually discriminate shades of blue. The Piraha, a tribe in the Amazon in Brazil, whose language eschews number words in favor of terms like few and many, are not able to keep track of exact quantities. And Shakespeare, it turns out, was wrong about roses: Roses by many other names (as told to blindfolded subjects) do not smell as sweet.

Patterns in language offer a window on a culture's dispositions and priorities. For example, English sentence structures focus on agents, and in our criminal-justice system, justice has been done when we've found the transgressor and punished him or her accordingly (rather than finding the victims and restituting appropriately, an alternative approach to justice). So does the language shape cultural values, or does the influence go the other way, or both?

Languages, of course, are human creations, tools we invent and hone to suit our needs. Simply showing that speakers of different languages think differently doesn't tell us

47

whether it's language that shapes thought or the other way around. To demonstrate the causal role of language, what's needed are studies that directly manipulate language and look for effects in cognition.

That language embodies different ways of knowing the world seems intuitive, given the number of times we reach for a

word or phrase in another language that communicates that certain je ne sais quoi we can't find on our own.

—Steve Kallaugher

One of the key advances in recent years has been the demonstration of precisely this causal link. It turns out that if you change how people talk, that changes how they think. If people learn another language, they inadvertently also learn a new way of looking at the world. When bilingual people switch from one language to another, they start thinking differently, too. And if you take away people's ability to use language in what should be a simple nonlinguistic task, their performance can change dramatically, sometimes making them look no smarter than rats or infants. (For example, in recent studies, MIT students were shown dots on a screen and asked to say how many there were. If they were allowed to count normally, they did great. If they simultaneously did a nonlinguistic task—like banging out rhythms—they still did great. But if they did a verbal task when shown the dots—like repeating the words spoken in a news report—their counting fell apart. In other words, they needed their language skills to count.)

All this new research shows us that the languages we speak not only reflect or express our thoughts, but also shape the very thoughts we wish to express. The structures that exist in our languages profoundly shape how we construct reality, and help make us as smart and sophisticated as we are.

Language is a uniquely human gift. When we study language, we are uncovering in part what makes us human, getting a peek at the very nature of human nature. As we uncover how languages and their speakers differ from one another, we discover that human natures too can differ dramatically, depending on the languages we speak. The next steps are to understand the mechanisms through which languages help us construct the incredibly complex knowledge systems we have. Understanding how knowledge is built will allow us to create ideas that go beyond the currently thinkable. This research cuts right to the fundamental questions we all ask about ourselves. How do we come to be the way we are? Why do we think the way we do? An important part of the answer, it turns out, is in the languages we speak.

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Corrections and Amplifications

Japanese and Spanish language speakers would likely say "the vase broke" or "the vase was broken" when talking about an accident. This article says that Japanese and Spanish speakers would be more likely to say "the vase broke itself."

—Lera Boroditsky is a professor of psychology at Stanford University and editor in chief of Frontiers in Cultural Psychology.

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Little Red Riding Hood

Charles Perrault

Once upon a time there lived in a certain village a little country girl, the prettiest creature who was ever seen. Her mother was excessively fond of her; and her grandmother doted on her still more. This good woman had a little red riding hood made for her. It suited the girl so extremely well that everybody called her Little Red Riding Hood.

One day her mother, having made some cakes, said to her, "Go, my dear, and see how your grandmother is doing, for I hear she has been very ill. Take her a cake, and this little pot of butter."

Little Red Riding Hood set out immediately to go to her grandmother, who lived in another village.

As she was going through the wood, she met with a wolf, who had a very great mind to eat her up, but he dared not, because of some woodcutters working nearby in the forest. He asked her where she was going. The poor child, who did not know that it was dangerous to stay and talk to a wolf, said to him, "I am going to see my grandmother and carry her a cake and a little pot of butter from my mother."

"Does she live far off?" said the wolf

"Oh I say," answered Little Red Riding Hood; "it is beyond that mill you see there, at the first house in the village."

"Well," said the wolf, "and I'll go and see her too. I'll go this way and go you that, and we shall see who will be there first."

The wolf ran as fast as he could, taking the shortest path, and the little girl took a roundabout way, entertaining herself by gathering nuts, running after butterflies, and gathering bouquets of little flowers. It was not long before the wolf arrived at the old woman's house. He knocked at the door: tap, tap.

"Who's there?"

"Your grandchild, Little Red Riding Hood," replied the wolf, counterfeiting her voice; "who has brought you a cake and a little pot of butter sent you by mother."

The good grandmother, who was in bed, because she was somewhat ill, cried out, "Pull the bobbin, and the latch will go up."

The wolf pulled the bobbin, and the door opened, and then he immediately fell upon the good woman and ate her up in a moment, for it been more than three days since he had eaten. He then

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shut the door and got into the grandmother's bed, expecting Little Red Riding Hood, who came some time afterwards and knocked at the door: tap, tap.

"Who's there?"

Little Red Riding Hood, hearing the big voice of the wolf, was at first afraid; but believing her grandmother had a cold and was hoarse, answered, "It is your grandchild Little Red Riding Hood, who has brought you a cake and a little pot of butter mother sends you."

The wolf cried out to her, softening his voice as much as he could, "Pull the bobbin, and the latch will go up."

Little Red Riding Hood pulled the bobbin, and the door opened.

The wolf, seeing her come in, said to her, hiding himself under the bedclothes, "Put the cake and the little pot of butter upon the stool, and come get into bed with me."

Little Red Riding Hood took off her clothes and got into bed. She was greatly amazed to see how her grandmother looked in her nightclothes, and said to her, "Grandmother, what big arms you have!"

"All the better to hug you with, my dear."

"Grandmother, what big legs you have!"

"All the better to run with, my child."

"Grandmother, what big ears you have!"

"All the better to hear with, my child."

"Grandmother, what big eyes you have!"

"All the better to see with, my child."

"Grandmother, what big teeth you have got!"

"All the better to eat you up with."

And, saying these words, this wicked wolf fell upon Little Red Riding Hood, and ate her all up.

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Little Red Cap

Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm

Once upon a time there was a sweet little girl. Everyone who saw her liked her, but most of all her grandmother, who did not know what to give the child next. Once she gave her a little cap made of red velvet. Because it suited her so well, and she wanted to wear it all the time, she came to be known as Little Red Cap.

One day her mother said to her, "Come Little Red Cap. Here is a piece of cake and a bottle of wine. Take them to your grandmother. She is sick and weak, and they will do her well. Mind your manners and give her my greetings. Behave yourself on the way, and do not leave the path, or you might fall down and break the glass, and then there will be nothing for your sick grandmother."

Little Red Cap promised to obey her mother. The grandmother lived out in the woods, a half hour from the village. When Little Red Cap entered the woods a wolf came up to her. She did not know what a wicked animal he was, and was not afraid of him.

"Good day to you, Little Red Cap."

"Thank you, wolf."

"Where are you going so early, Little Red Cap?"

"To grandmother's."

"And what are you carrying under your apron?"

"Grandmother is sick and weak, and I am taking her some cake and wine. We baked yesterday, and they should give her strength."

"Little Red Cap, just where does your grandmother live?"

"Her house is a good quarter hour from here in the woods, under the three large oak trees. There's a hedge of hazel bushes there. You must know the place," said Little Red Cap.

The wolf thought to himself, "Now there is a tasty bite for me. Just how are you going to catch her?" Then he said, "Listen, Little Red Cap, haven't you seen the beautiful flowers that are blossoming in the woods? Why don't you go and take a look? And I don't believe you can hear how beautifully the birds are singing. You are walking along as though you were on your way to school in the village. It is very beautiful in the woods."

Little Red Cap opened her eyes and saw the sunlight breaking through the trees and how the ground was covered with beautiful flowers. She thought, "If a take a bouquet to grandmother, she will be very pleased. Anyway, it is still early, and I'll be home on time." And she ran off into

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the woods looking for flowers. Each time she picked one she thought that she could see an even more beautiful one a little way off, and she ran after it, going further and further into the woods. But the wolf ran straight to the grandmother's house and knocked on the door.

"Who's there?"

"Little Red Cap. I'm bringing you some cake and wine. Open the door for me."

"Just press the latch," called out the grandmother. "I'm too weak to get up."

The wolf pressed the latch, and the door opened. He stepped inside, went straight to the grandmother's bed, and ate her up. Then he took her clothes, put them on, and put her cap on his head. He got into her bed and pulled the curtains shut.

Little Red Cap had run after flowers, and did not continue on her way to grandmother's until she had gathered all that she could carry. When she arrived, she found, to her surprise, that the door was open. She walked into the parlor, and everything looked so strange that she thought, "Oh, my God, why am I so afraid? I usually like it at grandmother's." Then she went to the bed and pulled back the curtains. Grandmother was lying there with her cap pulled down over her face and looking very strange.

"Oh, grandmother, what big ears you have!"

"All the better to hear you with."

"Oh, grandmother, what big eyes you have!"

"All the better to see you with."

"Oh, grandmother, what big hands you have!"

"All the better to grab you with!"

"Oh, grandmother, what a horribly big mouth you have!"

"All the better to eat you with!" And with that he jumped out of bed, jumped on top of poor Little Red Cap, and ate her up. As soon as the wolf had finished this tasty bite, he climbed back into bed, fell asleep, and began to snore very loudly.

A huntsman was just passing by. He thought it strange that the old woman was snoring so loudly, so he decided to take a look. He stepped inside, and in the bed there lay the wolf that he had been hunting for such a long time. "He has eaten the grandmother, but perhaps she still can be saved. I won't shoot him," thought the huntsman. So he took a pair of scissors and cut open his belly.

He had cut only a few strokes when he saw the red cap shining through. He cut a little more, and the girl jumped out and cried, "Oh, I was so frightened! It was so dark inside the wolf's body!"

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And then the grandmother came out alive as well. Then Little Red Cap fetched some large heavy stones. They filled the wolf's body with them, and when he woke up and tried to run away, the stones were so heavy that he fell down dead.

The three of them were happy. The huntsman took the wolf's pelt. The grandmother ate the cake and drank the wine that Little Red Cap had brought. And Little Red Cap thought to herself, "As long as I live, I will never leave the path and run off into the woods by myself if mother tells me not to."

They also tell how Little Red Cap was taking some baked things to her grandmother another time, when another wolf spoke to her and wanted her to leave the path. But Little Red Cap took care and went straight to grandmother's. She told her that she had seen the wolf, and that he had wished her a good day, but had stared at her in a wicked manner. "If we hadn't been on a public road, he would have eaten me up," she said.

"Come," said the grandmother. "Let's lock the door, so he can't get in."

Soon afterward the wolf knocked on the door and called out, "Open up, grandmother. It's Little Red Cap, and I'm bringing you some baked things."

They remained silent, and did not open the door. The wicked one walked around the house several times, and finally jumped onto the roof. He wanted to wait until Little Red Cap went home that evening, then follow her and eat her up in the darkness. But the grandmother saw what he was up to. There was a large stone trough in front of the house.

"Fetch a bucket, Little Red Cap," she said. "Yesterday I cooked some sausage. Carry the water that I boiled them with to the trough." Little Red Cap carried water until the large, large trough was clear full. The smell of sausage arose into the wolf's nose. He sniffed and looked down, stretching his neck so long that he could no longer hold himself, and he began to slide. He slid off the roof, fell into the trough, and drowned. And Little Red Cap returned home happily and safely.

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The Wolf and the Three Girls Italo Calvino

ONCE there were three sisters who worked in a certain town. Word reached them one day that their mother, who lived in Borgoforte, was deathly ill. The oldest sister therefore filled two baskets with four bottles of wine and four cakes and set out for Borgoforte. Along the way she met the wolf, who said to her,"Where are you going in such haste?" "To Borgoforte to see Mamma, who is gravely ill." "What's in those baskets?" "Four bottles of wine and four cakes." "Give them to me, or else – to put it bluntly – I'll eat you." The girl gave the wolf everything and went flying back home to her sisters. Then the middle girl filled her baskets and left for Borgoforte. She too met the wolf. "Where are you going in such haste?" "To Borgoforte to see Mamma, who is gravely ill." "What's in those baskets?" "Four bottles of wine and four cakes." "Give them to me, or else – to put it bluntly – I'll eat you." So the second sister emptied her baskets and ran home. Then the youngest girl said, "Now it's my turn." She prepared the baskets and set out. There was the wolf. "Where are you going in such haste?" "To Borgoforte to see Mamma, who is gravely ill." "What's in those baskets?" "Four bottles of wine and four cakes." "Give them to me, or else – to put it bluntly – I'll eat you." The little girl took a cake and threw it at the wolf, who had his mouth open. She had made the cake especially for him and filled it with nails. The wolf caught it and bit into it, pricking his palate all over. He spat out the cake, leaped back, and ran off, shouting, "You'll pay for that!" Taking certain short cuts known only to him, the wolf ran ahead and reached Borgoforte before the little girl. He slipped into the sick mother's house, gobbled her up, and took her place in bed. The little girl arrived, found her mother with the sheet drawn up to her eyes, and said, "How dark you've become, Mamma!" "That's because I've been sick so much, my child," said the wolf. "How big your head has become, Mamma!" "That's because I've worried so much, my child." "Let me hug you, Mamma," said the little girl, and the wolf gobbled her up whole. With the little girl in his belly, the wolf ran out of the house. But the townspeople, seeing

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him come out, chased him with pitchforks and shovels, cornered him and killed him. They slit him open at once and out came mother and daughter still alive. The mother got well, and the little girl went back and said to her sisters, "Here I am, safe and sound!"

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Little Red Riding Hood and the Wolf

As soon as Wolf began to feelThat he would like a decent meal,He went and knocked on Grandma's door.When Grandma opened it, she sawThe sharp white teeth, the horrid grin,And Wolfie said, ``May I come in?''Poor Grandmamma was terrified,``He's going to eat me up!'' she cried.

And she was absolutely right.He ate her up in one big bite.But Grandmamma was small and tough,And Wolfie wailed, ``That's not enough!I haven't yet begun to feelThat I have had a decent meal!''He ran around the kitchen yelping,`Ì've got to have a second helping!''Then added with a frightful leer,`Ì'm therefore going to wait right hereTill Little Miss Red Riding HoodComes home from walking in the wood.''He quickly put on Grandma's clothes,(Of course he hadn't eaten those).He dressed himself in coat and hat.He put on shoes, and after thatHe even brushed and curled his hair,Then sat himself in Grandma's chair.In came the little girl in red.She stopped. She stared. And then she said,

``What great big ears you have, Grandma.''`Àll the better to hear you with,'' the Wolf replied.``What great big eyes you have, Grandma.''said Little Red Riding Hood.`Àll the better to see you with,'' the Wolf replied.

He sat there watching her and smiled.He thought, I'm going to eat this child.Compared with her old GrandmammaShe's going to taste like caviar.

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Then Little Red Riding Hood said, ``But Grandma,what a lovely great big furry coat you have on.''

``That's wrong!'' cried Wolf. ``Have you forgotTo tell me what BIG TEETH I've got?Ah well, no matter what you say,I'm going to eat you anyway.''The small girl smiles. One eyelid flickers.She whips a pistol from her knickers.She aims it at the creature's headAnd bang bang bang, she shoots him dead.A few weeks later, in the wood,I came across Miss Riding Hood.But what a change! No cloak of red,No silly hood upon her head.She said, ``Hello, and do please noteMy lovely furry wolfskin coat.''

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Le déjeuner des canotiers

Artist Pierre-Auguste Renoir

Year 1880–1881

Type Oil on canvas

Dimensions 129.9 cm × 172.7 cm (51 in × 68 in)

Location The Phillips Collection, Washington, DC

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington,_DC

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Phillips_Collection

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pierre-Auguste_Renoir

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Auguste_Renoir_-_Luncheon_of_the_Boating_Party_1880-1881.jpg

Mary Roberts Ebert with Betty

Charles Ebert – c. 1906

Oil on canvas

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The Rehearsal

Edgar Degas, c. 1873-75

Oil on canvas

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Lolita: Position Paper

Directions: Write a 750 - 1000 word position paper on Lolita. In this essay, you must define what the controversy of the text is about and explain why the issue is important; present relevant examples, illustrations, and evidence to support your position; present your point of view/opinion clearly; and address each side of the argument/issue fully.

Prompt: Does Lolita present a moral?

Grading rubric on the following page.

Do not use any other sources except Lolita for this essay. I want to read your thoughts not someone else’s.

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rubric

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