Wow! What a year we have had! What began with a feisty discussion about Miley Cyrus' twerking blossomed into an amazing year of writing, reading, and thinking! I am so proud of all of your growth!
As the year wraps up, I have one final blog task for you! Below is a survey of this course- please be honest! As awesome (or terrible) that you might think I am, I have room to grow and need your feedback to help chart my course. In addition to the feedback, please take a second to answer and reflect on the questions below.
Reflect on your journey- how have you grown as a student? How has this course prepared you for school? How has this course prepared you for life? Please be sure to include the following questions as well.
1. Which essay did you feel was the most difficult to write? Why?
2. Which essay did you find the easiest? What made it easy?
Connections and relationships come in the strangest places. Sometimes people we thought we have nothing in common with wind up understanding us better than our "best friends." O'Brien learns this in The Things They Carried. War brings together unlikely individuals and forces them to rely upon each other.
In a way, so does being a teenager. Your friends are an unlikely combination of different backgrounds, different personalities, and different races. Somehow it works.
The benefits of the online community is the way in which you can interact with different people in different places. Your task this week is to find 5 students from my blog list that you can relate to- that is find one person who "carries" something similar to you. Once you have identified them, write a 2-3 sentence response at the bottom of their blogpost.
Remember, you need to make sure that you find 1 student for each of your 5 items! You will be submitting to me next week your list of names!
The Things They Carried is a deeply personal account (albeit fictionalized) of Tim O'Brien's experiences in the Vietnam War. He begins his work with a moving account of 5 types of "things" that all of the men in his platoon "carried."
Carry is a funny verb- it has multiple meanings and interpretations. Much like the verb "love" its beauty is in its vagueness. Here is your first BP for this six weeks and for your new novel. In order to relate to the characters in the story, what are the five things you carry with you always? Be sure to provide one example of each of the following items.
A Physical Item - it can be a cell phone, it can be a special piece of jewelry or even a hairstyle. But what physical item do you feel naked without? Why is it special to you? What would you do without it?
Dreams/Goals - What is that dream you keep locked away and hidden- you know the one that drives you? What goals have you set for your life? How do they provide you with guidance?
Relationship - Who is your Martha? Not your "love" but the person you think of always- your confidant, your inspiration, your "person." It can be a relative or a friend or a role model- but who are they and why do they have such an impact on you?
Personality - What three adjectives come to mind when you think of yourself? Who do you want to be? Who do others think you are? What is your personality and how does it impact your life?
And lastly- what memory(ies) shape who you are? What are those experiences that shape and mold and impact you today? Why are they so important to you?
Good luck. I know this is personal, I know this is tough, but I know these will be good.
Everyday Use presents an interesting portrayal of two sisters- both raised in the same household, both proud of their heritage, and both completely opposite of each other.
On one hand there is Maggie, a relic of the past, simply recreating the story of her mother. She's loyal, simple, and absolutely stuck.
Then there is Dee/Wangero. She's independent, successful, ambitious and judgmental. She's critical of her mother's choices and acts superior.
Is that the only options facing children? Putting race aside, how do children honor the culture of their parents yet break away from the things they don't like? What does the "third" option look like?
Share your experience with this- how have you tried to honor/celebrate/respect your parents culture but establish your own identity? This should be well thought out- elaborate- use words, images, videos, music -whatever you need - to demonstrate how you are trying your best to be the "third" option.
Once upon a midnight dreary, While I pondered, weak and weary Of what I would write on my blog for class, Why, oh why is my teacher such an...
Oh, sorry, I was just reworking a little bit of Poe. I've been obsessing lately- as I usually do whenever I teach him. In fact, I just started watching The Following- a TV show built around the idea of a Poe obsessed Literature teacher who creates a cult. It's like someone just jumped into my brain. Alas, I digress.
Ever been to New Orleans? While most people know it for Mardi Gras or Cajun Food, New Orleans is also known as the most haunted city in the US. There are even tours offered to take willing patrons on a sight-seeing trip of the underworld.
What is it about the city that captivates visitors? The history? The architecture? No one is really sure- but the city certainly does feel haunted. Even if you don't believe in that sort of thing, one visit to the cemeteries (even during the daylight) or to the Garden District at night, and you can't help but deny that the hairs on the back of your neck stand up a bit higher than normal.
Personification is a funny thing. Authors have been using it for generations to imply that rocks or birds or grass or even Love is a living, breathing, thing. But what if an author, say a brilliant, deranged, opium addict, were to take personification and flip it. What if he were to make the personified item a malicious, evil, supernatural thing. What if a house wasn't haunted by something- what if the house was the "something" doing the haunting?
You've all seen a haunted house story (or two). Some are good (The original Amytiville Horror, The Shining, The House on Haunted Hill- again, the original) and some are not (see remakes of above). So, here is your blog task for this week- you have just been hired by me to write an original haunted house story. Seeking inspiration, you turn to the master and reread the Fall of the House of Usher. What are 5 things that Poe does in his story that you, a good follower of the genre, would copy? How would you use them?
Want a challenge? After you've done your five things- what are 2 things you would do differently?
Your blog is due next Tuesday at midnight...
Oh, and here's a little something for you to set the mood.
Like all literature, American literature is a unique reflection of American culture. As one of our first great writers, Hawthorne captures two key aspects of our unique cultural identity: a complete paranoia regarding authority and our fascination with the occult.
In this blogpost, choose one of the following prompts. Be sure to provide specifics where asked and give details to show your understanding. Your blogpost should be a minimum of 4 paragraphs and include appropriate media to support your thoughts.
Option One: In what ways has the USA's obsession with finding faults in leaders hurt our nation? Identify a leader in US History who has been wrongfully (or too severely) vilified and theorize as to what might have been had that particular person been able to perform their duties without unreasonable scrutiny. Feel free to use both current and historic examples, but they must be from the USA.
Option Two: Young Goodman Brown is a perfect example of our countries unique relationship with the "occult." It shows how our country, founded by a deeply religious yet deeply superstitious people, is infatuated with the "dark forces" around us. In what other ways is our fascination with the mysteries of the supernatural demonstrated? That is, in what other forms of art (literature, film, television, visual art) do you see this obsession with the occult? What does that say about American culture? Be sure to be specific- and be sure to be exact. For example, while the movie, The Ring is a good example of occult fascination, it is not an American story.
Enjoy!
Anti-heroes have become something of a hot topic lately in entertainment. Four of the highest rated TV shows of the current era (and widely considered by critics to be four of the best shows of all time - The Sopranos, The Wire, Mad Men, and Breaking Bad) feature morally ambiguous protagonists. Are audiences supposed to love Walter White or hate him? Should we feel sorry for Don Draper or hold him accountable for his wrong doings? What about Tony Soprano or Omar? And it's not just them -is Dexter Morgan - who is only a serial killer - really a bad guy? And what about Nancy Botwin, wasn't she only trying to support her family? Even the new adaptations of Sherlock Holmes portray him a little rough around the edges.
The anti-hero is nothing new in American Literature. Our unique literary heritages are ripe with characters that audiences love to hate- including Irving's Ichabod Crane. On one hand Crane is a school teacher - a noble profession no doubt - who is initially beloved by his community. On the other hand he is gluttonous, manipulative, greedy, and deceitful. In him, Irving gives us one of America's first and finest anti-heroes.
So here is your first blog task: Choose a modern day anti-hero from a TV show, movie, or book that you have read. Identify three characteristics that they share with Ichabod and write a brief blogpost (minimum 4 paragraphs) comparing the two. Don't know any "anti-heroes?" Ask one of your more morbid friends (or do a bit of research!) As always, this is due in 1 week. Add photos or other media (appropriately cited of course) to spice it up!
