American Literature January 24 th and 27th

1. American LiteratureJanuary 24th and 27th • Grammar Notes • “Winter Dreams” Grammar Analysis • Read “Hills Like White Elephants” together and discuss in small groups using guided discussion questions. • T.S. Elliot: J Alfred Prufrock • Standard 2 & 3

2. Notes: Write this down • Dashes (em-dash) - An em dash is the width of an m. Use an em dash sparingly in formal writing. In informal writing, em dashes may replace commas, semicolons, colons, and parentheses to indicate added emphasis, an interruption, or an abrupt change of thought. • Examples: You are the friend—the only friend—who offered to help me. • Never have I met such a lovely person—before you. • I pay the bills—she has all the fun. • A semicolon would be used here in formal writing. • I need three items at the store—dog food, vegetarian chili, and cheddar cheese. • Remember, a colon would be used here in formal writing. • My agreement with Fiona is clear—she teaches me French and I teach her German. • Again, a colon or semi-colon would work here in formal writing. • Please call my agent—Jessica Cohen—about hiring me. • Parentheses or commas would work just fine here instead of the dashes. • I wish you would—oh, never mind. • This shows an abrupt change in thought and warrants an em dash.

3. Compound-complex sentence - a sentence having two or more coordinate independent clauses and one or more dependent clauses, as The lightning flashed  (independent clause) and the rain fell  (independent clause) as he entered the house  (dependent clause). • Anaphora -  the repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive clauses. Ex: "Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world, she walks into mine."(Rick Blaine in Casablanca) • Appositive - a word or phrase in apposition (juxtaposition or proximity). Ex: Denver, the capital of Colorado, is the home of the Denver Broncos, the best football team in the US.

4. For “Winter Dreams”, answer the following: • Sentence variety: Find an example of a periodic sentence, compound sentence, and a compound-complex sentence. • Fitzgerald frequently uses dashes in place of other punctuation; commas, semicolons, periods, parentheses. Write down two examples. What effect does this achieve? • Fitzgerald employs colons in places where other punctuation would suffice. What effect does this achieve? • Find an example of anaphora. What effect does it achieve? • Find two examples of appositives. What effect do they achieve?