UNIT 3:
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The Balance of Opposites— DATES: October 14—November 18, 2014 (21 Days)
— GENRE(S): Novel — CURRICULAR OBJECTIVES: Critical / Analytical Response to Literary Text — TEXTS: Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde; Independent Novel Studies: Lord of the Flies or The Invisible Man |
MAJOR ASSESSMENTS (See Associated CharT FOR BLOCK A or BLOCk C)
Sherlock Holmes
Sherlock has developed something of a public profile having successfully recovered two kidnapped children. A tabloid journalist is after him and makes it quite plain that she can either be a friend or a foe. Sherlock soon realizes that he is up against his old foe, the master criminal Moriarty, who assists others in the criminal underworld in planning their crimes. Moriarty soon has him in the frame; with the police believing not only that Moriarty is a figment of Sherlock's imagination but also that, it's Holmes who is the real criminal mastermind. With Moriarty having turned his world inside out, Holmes decides that there is only one course of action left open to him.
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LINK TO SHERLOCK: "REICHENBACH FALL" ON IMDB.COM
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Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde
The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is a novella by the Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson, first published in 1886. London lawyer Utterson is driven to investigate Edward Hyde, the unlikely protégé of his friend Dr. Henry Jekyll, suspecting the relationship to be founded on blackmail. The truth is worse than he could have imagined. Jekyll’s ‘full statement of the case’, the final chapter of the book, explores the idea of dual personality that led him to his experiments, and his inexorable and finally fatal descent into evil.
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SUPPLEMENTARY VIDEOS (WARNING CONTAINS SPOILERS)
Critical Analytical Response to Literary Text #1
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Independent Novel Studies
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The Invisible Man (Independent Novel : Option #1)
The Invisible Man is a suspense novel by H.G. Wells, narrating the tale of “Griffin,” a scientist who undergoes an irreversible procedure, the results of which eventually drive him insane: he has discovered how to make people invisible. Because he is mad and invisible, Griffin poses a special threat to the community. He can steal from people and assault them as if he were a ghost. As the police close in on him, he becomes more desperate and more dangerous. A tale of gripping suspense, the novel also offers ample comedy. The townspeople are eccentrics who, in their own peculiar ways, are as strange as Griffin. The humor provided by their odd behavior makes for a well-balanced novel—not too frightening, not too silly, but always entertaining.
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Lord of the Flies (Independent Novel: Option #2)
Lord of the Flies, William Golding's classic tale about a group of English schoolboys who are plane-wrecked on a deserted island, is just as chilling and relevant today as when it was first published in 1954. At first, the stranded boys cooperate, attempting to gather food, make shelters, and maintain signal fires. Overseeing their efforts are Ralph, "the boy with fair hair," and Piggy, Ralph's chubby, wisdom-dispensing sidekick whose thick spectacles come in handy for lighting fires. Although Ralph tries to impose order and delegate responsibility, there are many in their number who would rather swim, play, or hunt the island's wild pig population. Soon Ralph's rules are being ignored or challenged outright. His fiercest antagonist is Jack, the leader of the hunters, who manages to lure away many of the boys to join his band of painted savages. The situation deteriorates as the trappings of civilization continue to fall away, until Ralph discovers that instead of being hunters, they've become the hunted.
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