Cultural Literacy

AP Literature

1- Achilles’ Heel This term is from Greek Mythology. According to myth,

when Achilles was a baby, his mother dipped him in the River Styx because the waters from this river gave immortality to humans. His mother held him by his heel, so that was the only place on his body not touched by the water. Achilles’ heel was his one area of vulnerability. Eventually, Achilles was killed during the Trojan War when a poisoned arrow struck his heel.

The term has come to refer to a person’s area of particular vulnerability.

Example: Her inability to resist rich desserts was her Achilles’ heel, keeping her from losing the ten pounds she wanted to lose.

2- Pound of Flesh This phrase comes from Shakespeare’s Merchant of Venice.

In this play, Shylock, a moneylender, agrees to finance a fleet of ships for a young merchant, Antonio. In the contract, Shylock demands a pound of Antonio’s flesh as payment should anything happen to the ships. When the ships are lost at sea, Shylock insists that he must have a pound of flesh, as the contract demanded.

This phrase is used to describe someone’s insistence on being repaid, even if the repayment will destroy or harm the debtor.

Example:

“Sure, that initial low rate for a credit card is tempting for a college freshman, but eventually, the company will want their pound of flesh when you get over your head in debt.”

“We don’t read and write poetry because it’s cute. We read and write poetry because we are members of the human race. And the human race is filled with passion. And medicine, law, business, engineering; these are noble pursuits and necessary to sustain life. But poetry, beauty, romance, love– these are what we stay alive for.” ~Robin Williams as John Keating in Dead Poets Society

1) Copy the quotation (add to #4 in your notebook)

2) Summarize or paraphrase Williams / Keating’s point.

3) Explain what the quotation is saying about life.

Add to Quote Response (#4)

3- Sacred Cow In Hinduism, cows are considered to be sacred; thus,

cows are not to be harmed, and certainly not killed for food. If a cow wanders into a shop, the merchant can only try to lure it out with food; he is not allowed to interfere with it by prodding or poking, even if it is breaking everything in his shop.

The idiom “Sacred Cow” refers to something that cannot be interfered with or harmed in any way.

Example: When budget cuts are called for because the company is losing money, employees know not to suggest abandoning the annual company picnic. That event is a sacred cow as far as the chairman of the board is concerned.

4- Crossing the Rubicon

After defeating the Gauls in the Gallic Wars, Julius Caesar was ordered home by his enemies in the Senate, so he traveled south toward Italy. The Rubicon was the river forming the northern boundary of Italy. By Roman law, a general was forbidden from crossing into Italy with any army. Nevertheless, Caesar led his army across the river, making civil war inevitable. After Caesar crossed the Rubicon, there was no turning back for him and his troops.

To cross the Rubicon is to take an irreversible step, often involving some danger.

Example: When I told my boss exactly what I thought of her, I knew I had crossed the Rubicon and would soon be seeking employment elsewhere.

Add to#5, Cultural Literacy

5- Pearls Before Swine In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus admonished his

followers to “cast not your pearls before swine.” That is, his followers were to deliver their message to those who would appreciate it, not to those incapable of appreciating something of value. Swine, or pigs, would be unable to appreciate pearls if the jewels were given to them.

To “cast one’s pearls before swine” is to offer something precious to someone, or a group of people, unable to appreciate the value of what they are being given.

Example: I gave my sister a rare, expensive first edition of To Kill a Mockingbird, and she simply said, “I’ve already read that book.” I realized I was casting my pearls before swine.

6- Once in a Blue Moon A “blue moon” is a second full moon within the

same calendar month, a phenomenon that occurs approximately every three years. It is thought that calendar makers traditionally pictured the first full moon in red and a second full moon in the same month in blue.

This phrase describes something that occurs very rarely.

Example: I almost always turn in my homework on time, but once in a blue moon I get lazy and decide to take the consequences of skipping an assignment.

#5

7- Mrs. Grundy In Speed the Plough, a 1798 play by Thomas

Morton, Mrs. Grundy is a character who never appears on stage. However, other characters frequently ask, “What would Mrs. Grundy say?” Mrs. Grundy is a narrow-minded, conventional, prudish person.

The word “Grundyism” and the phrase “Mrs. Grundy” refer to such an attitude of narrow-minded prudishness.

Examples: My mother said, “At the risk of being a Mrs. Grundy, I really don’t think you should go out in public in that outfit.

8- Crocodile Tears Crocodiles were once thought to shed large tears before

devouring their prey. This belief, which dates to ancient times, comes from the fact that crocodiles have small ducts in the corner of their eyes which release “tears” when the crocodile opens its jaw wide. Obviously, a cold-blooded reptile has no real feelings of sympathy for its prey.

To shed crocodile tears is to show false sympathy for someone.

Example: Although Judy shed crocodile tears for Maria when Maria was passed over for the promotion, it was apparent that Maria’s loss was seen by Judy as an opportunity to advance her own position in the company.

9- Sirens In Greek mythology, Sirens were sea creatures who

lured sailors to their deaths on the rocky shores by singing a beautiful, irresistible song. They are usually depicted as women, or as half-woman, half bird.

“Sirens” can refer to anything that tempts a person away from safety and toward a destructive path. A “siren song” is the temptation used to lure a person.

Example: I had intended to stay home and study for finals, but the siren song of my friends describing all the fun we could have at the lake was too much for me to resist.

10- Read the Riot Act Under English Common Law, an unruly crowd

had to be read the Riot Act before action could be taken, to force them to disperse.

To “read the riot act” is to issue a stern warning that if unacceptable behavior does not cease, severe consequences will follow.

Example: After asking us to be quiet several times, my father stormed upstairs and read us the riot act. After this, we knew it was really time to go to sleep.

11- Thirty Pieces of Silver / Betrayed with a Kiss

In the Bible, Judas Iscariot was the disciple who agreed to betray Jesus to the authorities in exchange for payment. The thirty pieces of silver were the price of Judas’ betrayal. The way Judas identified Jesus for the authorities was to approach Jesus and greet him with a kiss of identification.

“Thirty pieces of silver” refers to payment received for an act of treachery. “Betrayed with a kiss” refers to a supposed friend’s treachery.

Examples: When the city council member abruptly changed his vote to support the wealthy developer’s controversial project, some of his colleagues muttered that he undoubtedly would receive thirty pieces of silver from the developer.

12- Gordian Knot According to legend, Gordius was a Greek king. He

tied an extremely complex knot, and an oracle prophesied that whoever untied it would rule all of Asia. Alexander the Great “untied” the knot simply by cutting through it with his sword.

A “Gordian knot” is any extremely complex problem, and “cutting the Gordian knot” refers to solving such a problem in a quick, decisive manner.

Example: Each year, school counselors face the Gordian knot of scheduling classes so that teachers will have reasonable class sizes and students will have the opportunity to take the classes they need.

13- Ivory Tower A French poet, Alfred de Vigny, was said to have shut

himself in an ivory tower so that he could compose his poems. Furthermore “ivory towers” are mentioned in various 18th-century fairy tales. The term thus refers to a beautiful, unreachable place. It has come to have negative connotations of being out of touch with reality.

A person who is secluded or protected from the real world and thus out of touch with reality is said to be residing in an “ivory tower.”

Example: The engineers feared that the leaders of the company, sitting in their ivory tower, did not understand why the people in the field needed increased resources to insure the new bridge truly would be safe.

14- All that Glitters is not Gold

This is a proverb derived from a Latin translation of Aristotle. The proverb read, “Do not hold as gold all that shines as gold.” In other words, just because something looks like gold, one should not assume that it actually is gold.

The message of the proverb is that something which appears valuable on the outside, may in fact be less than valuable. Appearances can be deceptive.

Example: When I expressed envy for the superstar who seemed to have everything, my friend simply said, “Remember, all that glitters…”

15- Sound and Fury In Shakespeare’s Macbeth, when Macbeth is informed that his

wife has died, he speaks of the inevitability of death:

Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player,

That struts and frets his hour upon the stage,

And then is heard no more. It is a tale

Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,

Signifying nothing.

The phrase “sound and fury” refers to a great, tumultuous, and passionate uproar that actually is unimportant or meaningless.

Example: The “Y2K” hysteria leading up to the turn of the millennium turned out to be just so much sound and fury.

Quiz Coming Soon! Make sure you review the following terms: 1. Achilles’ Heel2. Pound of Flesh3. Sacred Cow4. Crossing the Rubicon5. Pearls Before Swine6. Once in a Blue Moon7. Mrs. Grundy8. Crocodile Tears9. Sirens10.Read the Riot Act11.Thirty Pieces of Silver / Betrayed with a

Kiss12.Gordian Knot13.Ivory Tower14.All that Glitters is not Gold15.Sound and Fury

Allusions of the week

Add this to #3in your notebook.

9.4.13

9.26.13Derivatives practice–

please get a copy of a root dictionary from the front of the room and add to your vocabulary list

9.27.13Take a moment to

review your vocabulary words for the week

Label your paper Root Word Quiz #8

9.30.13 We need to start your Lord of the Flies

essay assessment immediately

The only things you may have on your desk are: a pencil or blue/black ink pen, a couple sheets of paper, notes from class, and your Lord of the Flies book

You will only have the time available in this class period– I will not allow you to stay late or come back later to finish this

10.1.13Please copy the vocabulary roots for the week. Label this

paper #20 in your notebook. 1) ACER, ACID, ACRI (bitter, sour, sharp)2) CIDE (kill) 3) CISE (cut) 4) LOC (place) 5) PAN (all) 6) PARA (beside, alongside) 7) PUNCT (point, dot) 8) SAT, SATIS (enough) 9) VAL, VALE (strength, worth) 10)VIC, VICIS (change, substitute, deputy)

Add to #3 in your notebook: Your Quiz over this has been moved until after Fall Break -I’m planning for Wednesday Oct 16th

10.23.13

Create a new section in your notebook for Cultural Literacy. It will be #6 in your notebook.

Allusions of the week

Add this to #___ in your notebook.

10.30.13

Add to #6 in your notebook.

11.6.13

11.13.13

Allusions of the week

Add this to #___ in your notebook.

11.20.13

12.4.13

12.11.13

"The writer's job is to tell the truth," Ernest Hemingway once said. When he

was having difficulty writing he reminded himself of this, as he

explained in his memoirs, A Moveable Feast. "I would stand and look out over

the roofs of Paris and think, 'Do not worry. You have always written before and you will write now. All you have to

do is write one true sentence. Write the truest sentence that you know.' So finally I would write one true sentence, and then go on from there. It was easy

then because there was always one true sentence that I knew or had seen

or had heard someone say." 

12.18.13