FRIDAY IN CLASS
Some continued discussion on A Doll House, but mostly, this is a work I want you to work through on your own.  We will approach two things in particular on Tuesday, however:  the different responses of Nora and her husband to Dr. Rank's announcement, and the final conversation between the Helmers.  TONE will be the main factor for the final conversation:  Nora's very different tone from earlier in the play (yes, she's had quite a few different responses early in the play [???? briefly], but within this scene she seems fairly consistent:  [?].  But in the final scene, Torvald is all over the place:  why?  What does this show about him?

We will also try to make some useful generalizations about society's pressures vs. individual choices.

The Final Exam
Usually the first semester exam is truly comprehensive:  summer reading, all of the short stories, and whichever works we do by the end of the semester (some constants, some variation here over the past several years).  But this year I've decided not to re-visit the short stories for the final exam, though certainly all the literary support material concerning elements of fiction should be well in mind.

So the test will be on the last three major works:
Kafka's "Metamorphosis"
Conrad's "Heart of Darkness"
Ibsen's "A Doll House"

For the last two works, there will be a short objective/short response section, with the emphasis on HoD. You cannot expect to perform well on an open question in May if you don't know the works, and this is some small measure of accountability.  However, I don't expect this section total to require more than about 25 minutes of invested time.  This section will include some ID questions using either elements from the texts or essential quotes as a basis; there will be some choice.

So mostly, the test will be what an AP test is supposed to be--an opportunity to show your skill in writing about literature.  There will be a passage analysis on Ibsen, and an open question for which all three could be possible choices.  However, instead of expecting 40-minute responses to each one, I'm aware that you'll have only about 30 minutes for each one.  The writing shouldn't be that much shorter though--because these works are so recent  (and you'll have fewer choices to rule in/rule out, ponder overall), what ought to be shorter is the time it takes to choose, plan,  and get your essay underway.