Provide plenty of evidence from the texts you are reading to support the claims you are making as you answer these questions. You should quote words, phrases, and sometimes whole sentences; paraphrase parts of the texts; and/or summarize sections of the texts to help you make your case for your interpretation of what is going on in these stories. ALWAYS provide page numbers (if present) in parentheses at the end of the sentence in which you quote, paraphrase, or summarize text. The page numbers should look like this (5-6). Note that the period goes outside the parenthesis. If you are quoting material from two different pages in one sentence, place the page numbers in parentheses right after the quoted material in the sentence to indicate which information came from where. For help with placement of page numbers in your sentences, see https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/02/.
Explain how EACH chapter from HRLLP that you read this unit relates to ONE or MORE texts that you read/listened to this unit or in previous units.
How does connection to home, family, and the Appalachian mountains impact THREE characters of your choice in the second half of The Coal Tattoo?
Explain how the mountainous terrain in The Refugee; or A North-Side View of Slavery (1856) by James Adams impacts events in this slave narrative.
The tall tale “Severe Courtship” and humorous story “Parson John Bullen’s Lizards” can be hard to get through. They both rely on literary representations of supposed Appalachian dialect. I’d like to make sure you understand the stories, so please summarize them. Include enough details and plot points so I can tell you understand the story. You don’t need to do a word-for-word translation, though. Just read the stories slowly to understand them (it’s easy to get frustrated and skim) and then summarize them for me, so I can tell if you understand them. (Call me if you get stuck and need help. I don’t mind at all lending a hand.)
What is the benefit of telling a story using a representation of dialect? Of course, it’s harder to read, but why have your reader plow through such tough stuff? What’s the benefit? This encyclopedia entry–“Language and Dialect”–will help you puzzle through this.
Write a character sketch of Celia Shaw in “The Star in the Valley.” How is she described physically? Mentally? Morally? What are her relationships to other characters? What motivates her? How does your estimation of her change throughout the course of the story? (Learn about Mary Noailles Murfree and about the literary movement called “local color.” Doing so will help you understand what Murfree is up to with this character.)
Compare the Jack from “Big Man Jack, Killed Seven at a Whack” as told by Ray Hicks with the Jack from “Jack and the Mad Dog” as written by Tony Earley. How are these Jack characters similar? How are they different?