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Literature for Upper Intermediate students

SUBJECT: THE WHALE(MOBY DICK) BY HERMAN MELVILLE

PROJECT

GUIDELINEField: North

American Literature

Duration: 8 weeks

Teacher’s intro to the topic of

study

Task accomplishmen

tPortfolio

On line presentation

Mid test

Aim: Assess upper

intermediate students

Glossary

Links

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

.

The Panic of 1819.

The Monroe Doctrine 1823.

The Second Great Awakening in

1830.

The Indian Removal Act 1830.

The Texas annexation 1845 

1866 - Civil Rights Act of

1866

1861 - American Civil War begins at Fort Sumter..

The Pony Express 1860

The Pottawatomie massacre 

1856

Abraham Lincoln

President 1860

1875 - Civil Rights Act of

1875

1880 - University of Southern

California founded

1888 - National Geographic

Society founded

1890 - National American

Woman Suffrage Association foun

ded

Synopsis Herman Melville was born in New York City in

1819. He worked as a crew member on several vessels beginning in 1839,his successful early novels Typee (1846) and Omoo (1847). Subsequent books, including his masterpiece Moby-Dick (1851), sold poorly, and by the 1860s Melville had turned to poetry. Following his death in New York City in 1891, he posthumously came to be regarded as one of the great American writers.

Early Life Herman Melville was born in New York City

on August 1, 1819, to Allan and Maria Gansevoort Melvill (Maria added the "e" to the family name following her husband's death). In the mid-1820s, young Herman fell ill to scarlet fever, and though he regained his health not long afterward, his vision was left permanently impaired by the illness. 

Allan's oldest son, took control of the family's fur and cap business in New York following his father's death, while Herman Melville clerked at a bank to help make ends meet. During the 1830s, he was enrolled at Albany Academy and Albany Classical School, where he studied classic literature.

In 1841, Melville embarked on his second sea voyage after being hired to work aboard the Acushnet, a whaling ship. His subsequent wild journey provided the sparks for his yet-to-be-realized literary career: After arriving at the Marquesas Islands of Polynesia in 1842, Melville and a crewmate deserted the ship and, soon after, were captured by local cannibals

Although Melville was treated well, he escaped after four months on board another whaling ship, the Lucy Ann, and was jailed after joining the crew in a mutiny. He eventually wound up in Hawaii before catching a ride back to Massachusetts on the USS United States, arriving home more than three years after he left.

The author in 1851 delivered what would become his signature work, Moby-Dick (initially titled The Whale). Moby-Dick, categorized as American Romanticism, is based on both Melville's years of experience aboard whaleships and the real-life disaster of the Essex whaleship.

VISUAL TASK

Week 1 Essay: watch the video and summarise the main

ideas maximum 500 words. Deadline: handle in the second week

Summaries handle in 5 weeks WEEK 1 chaps 1-27

WEEK2Chaps 28-55

WEEK 3Chaps 55-82

Week 4Chaps

82-109

Week 5Chaps

110-135

WEEK 6 Mid testYou will have a mid test in week for specific

purposesAim: comprehension and literary

approach(Literary criticism according to the main literary trends and Melville’s approach.

10 questions, you will choose 5.

16

Week 7: On line presentation Using virtual resources: CamtasiaDuration: 5 mins.Approach: personal impression and literary

comments of Melville’s work.Contents: Historical backgroundMelville’s bioFavourite chapters

WEEK 8: PORFOLIO PRESENTATIONA portfolio is a follow-up work about the

tasks and weekly journal you have created while class attendance. See the tutorial.

LINKS https://sites.google.com/site/eawhermanmelville/timeline http://harpers.org/author/hermanmelville/

https://books.google.com.mx/books?id=X6HiMBp9sIgC&pg=PA683&lpg=PA683&dq=american+history+from+1819+to+1891&source=bl&ots=G3rY0LEtt7&sig=V9P5pvOqiWxHAciHVEiO4XIingw&hl=es&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiUjonN6vrJAhVMzWMKHbD0C34Q6AEILzAD#v=onepage&q=american%20history%20from%201819%20to%201891&f=false

http://www.ushistory.org/us/index.asp http://www.biography.com/people/herman-melville

http://people.brandeis.edu/~teuber/melvillebio.html#_billybudd http://

www.mobydickthewhale.com/moby-dick/moby-dick-table-of-contents.htm

SCORING PERCENTAGES

15%

20%

25%

40%

GRADING1 SUMMARY 2 MID TEST3 ORAL PRESENTATION 4 PORTFOLIO

END