Sunday afternoon

Hello, fourth and fifth periods!  Please check all three points below to confirm that you are up to date in class.

First, for those students who missed the notes on South Africa, please peruse the following printed in red for your ready reference:

South Africa - rich in resources, including diamonds and gold
British and Afrikaners (of Dutch descent) fought over South Africa in the Boer Wars.  The Brits won, but the Afrikaners stayed as well and mainly lived in the rural regions.

The South African government was based on apartheid, which keeps the indigenous Africans (the blacks) powerless and fearful.

The Pass Laws required all to carry a pass (a domestic passport) at all times.  If a black was caught without his or her pass, he or she would be sent to prison.

In 1960 in Sharpeville, South African police gunned down blacks who were peacefully protesting the Pass Laws.  This even became known as the Sharpeville Massacre.

The Bantu Education Act required the blacks to attend inferior schools and be trained for menial labor.

In 1976, in Soweto, South African police gunned down blacks were were peacefully protesting the Bantu Education act, particularly the requirement that the blacks had to be taught in Afrikaans, the language of their oppressors.

Steve Biko tried to fight against apartheid.  He was murdered by the South African police.

Nelson Mandela tried to fight against apartheid and was incarcerated for 29 years at Robbins Island.  He was released around 1990 and was elected as the first indigenous president of South Africa. 

Mandela established the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, pursuant to which those who had committed crimes during apartheid were allowed to confess their crimes, in exchange for amnesty.

Second, fourth and fifth periods need to read up to chapter 8 for Tuesday, which is on page 53.  Please annotate your pages and be prepared for a reading quiz.  You also have a vocabulary assignment for Wednesday.  If you do not have the handout that I distributed on Friday, I have copied it below for you and printed most of it in blue for your ready reference:

Impassive - expressionless: showing no outward sign of emotion, especially on the face

Dispassionate - calmly objective: not influenced by emotion or personal feelings

Gape, gaping - stare with mouth open: to look at somebody or something in surprise or wonder, usually with an open mouth

Oblivious - stare with mouth open: to look at somebody or something in surprise or wonder, usually with an open mouth

1.    Semblance - trace of something: a small amount of something 2.    look of being something: an outward appearance or imitation of something 3.    copy: a representation, likeness, or copy

Indelible - impossible to remove or alter: physically impossible to rub out, wash out, or alter

Incessant - unceasing: continuing for a long time without stopping

Pittance - unceasing: continuing for a long time without stopping

1.    Precipitous - done rashly: done or acting too quickly and without enough thought 2.    like precipice: very high and steep

1.    Precarious - unsafe: dangerously unstable, unsteady, uncertain, or insecure 2.    not well founded: based on uncertain premises or unwarranted assumptions

Innate - present from birth: relating to qualities that a person or animal is born with integral: forming an integral part of something

1.    Congenital - existing at birth: describes an unusual condition present at birth 2.    ingrained in somebody's character: firmly established as part of somebody's character or beliefs

1.    Deviance, deviant - different from traditional norm: diverging sharply from a customary, traditional, or generally accepted standard, or displaying such divergent behavior 2.    offensive term: an offensive term for somebody whose behavior is different from a customary, traditional, or generally accepted standa

Sporadic - occurring irregularly: occurring at intervals that have no apparent pattern

Homework for Tuesday, October 30, 2012 – Read and ANNOTATE Kaffir Boy through page 53.

 

Homework for Wednesday, Halloween – write a mesmerizing paragraph or two using, in rich context, ten of the words from the foregoing list.

 Invictus

Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the Pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds, and shall find, me unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll.
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.

William Ernest Henley 

You may recite this poem any time before the Thanksgiving break, in class, spontaneously, and receive up to TEN points of extra credit.  To earn your full ten points, you must do something interesting as you recite the poem OR deliver or perform the poem in an interesting, unique manner.

 

Third, if you missed the handout from last Wednesday with your assignment that was due in class on Friday, I have copied it below in red for your ready reference:

 

Twelve Words

Inaudible – cannot be heard – adj.

Cower – to crouch in fear –v.

Din – a loud noise – n.

Taut – pulled tight, either physically or emotionally – adj. or adv.

Writhe – to twist and turn as if in pain – v.

Impregnable – impossible to break into: too strong to be captured or entered by force

 – adj.

Ominous – threatening – you know the pos

Surly – bad-tempered: bad-tempered, unfriendly, rude, and somewhat threatening – adj.

Unscathed – unharmed or uninjured – adj.

Plaintive – sad and mournful – adj.

Incredulous – describes the state of one being in disbelief – you know the pos

Spent – used up, exhausted – adj.

Homework – write a coherent, artistic, paragraph or two using 10 of the foregoing 12 words.  This is due Friday, October 26, 2012 at the beginning of class.  If you fail to submit your paper timely, you have ONE week to submit it for a late grade.  As I have stated previously, this one week policy is in place for all work and has been since the beginning of the second six weeks.  You may not make up reading quizzes.  As always, please see me if you need help.

 

That's all - have a great day!