Per 4 & 5 English Literature 12

June 19th, 2024

We will finish the book – then we will discuss the book – then you will do close readings of the book.

Then tomorrow I want to watch this:

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7923710/

I’m on episode 6 if you want to get caught up.

June 18th, 2024

How much of the story can we get done by today?

I would say to Pg. 85. If that’s the case, then start on these discussion questions.

Also get the second close reading taken care of.

1. What do you think of the portrayal of immigration to Quebec in the 1970s in this book? How might the experience be similar or different in 2014?

2. The short chapters of this novel make it unique. What was your reaction to the structure? Did you find yourself making connections between the chapters?

3. This is a story of political oppression and the loss of human rights, but it is also funny. What is the purpose of humor in a tragic story? What does humor do for the main character? What does it do for you as a reader?

4. The word ‘ru’ means a lullaby in Vietnamese and in French, a stream. How are these two meanings reflected in the book?

5. The American Dream plays a significant part in the narrator’s life. What does her version of it look like? Does she achieve it?

6. Although the narrator of Ru is a fictional character, the author has told the press that the experiences in book accurately reflect her own recollections. How does knowing more about an author’s life change your experience of reading their fiction?

7. If this book were presented as a non-fiction book that is based on fact, would your experience reading it change? Why do you think the author chose to call it a ‘novel’?

June 14th, 2024

The whole unit is here – updated for 2024 class:

I will hand out copies of Ru by Kim Thuy – Here is an online version: Ru – Kim Thuy This is a fast unit or a’ hidden final paper’ in a book. I have taught you everything about how to complete all assignments. The whole unit is a review or ‘summative assessment’. Here’s the outline of the final week:.

I will give you an outline of the “Thematic Focus” as I always do:

The_Vietnamese_diaspora_in_the_U_S

Take a look at these articles today:

1. Refugee_Gratitude(Nguyen)
2. Refugee Narratives in Ru
3. Book Review_ Ru by Kim Th

Annotated bibliography due Friday at Midnight (June 14th)

Part 1 (Summary)

1.The main idea of this article is…….

2.The topics covered in this article are…….

3.The author’s point of view in this article is……

Part 2 (Rhetoric) 

1.The author of this piece is/is not credible because……

2.The author knows a lot about this topic because….

3.From this piece, the author wants you to………….

Part 3 (Reflection)

1.This article supports my ideas because…..

2.This article was helpful to me because….

3.This article added to my knowledge about this topic because….

 

Close Reading Ru

 

While we are reading, take these discussion questions into consideration:

June 11th, 2024

Please work on your concept map – it will be due tonight (period 4)

Period 5 will not be here because of a grad assembly.

June 10th, 2024

First, this is an overview of the final I’d like to discuss:

Concept Map Final Gothic_Unit

i have some paper copies of this as well. First, I would like for you to finish these two sheets:

Parasite – First Observations 21

Narrative Elements

June 5th, 2024

A couple of things to think about:

First, this is an overview of the final I’d like to discuss:

Concept Map Final Gothic_Unit

Please ask me some questions and pose some comments so that this Version1 can look better moving forward. Your grade will also depend on this thing looking pristine and everyone being on the same page.

Discussion for Stephen King:

Period 4 – specific questions

Period 5 – the whole thing!

Parasite: Last Gothic element – here are some handouts I’d like for you to take into consideration.

Parasite – First Observations 21

Narrative Elements

June 4th, 2024

This is the modified question for this entire unit:

How does modern media show elements of the Gothic movement? Which elements are the most prevalent to the movement in contemporary society? What do these Gothic elements that are used say about the state of the world today?

You will use multiple sources, but keep in mind the academic paper The Modern Gothic” by Dryden as your framework. I will list other sources below (Some of which we haven’t explored yet.)

-Linda Dryden “The Modern Gothic”

-Your Gothic elements chosen film / TV show

-The assigned Podcast piece (Jane Eyre, Frankenstein, Dracula, The Raven, Wuthering Heights, Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde)

-A Stephen King short story (Word Processor of the Gods, I am the Doorway, The Man who would not Shake Hands, The Reaper’s Image, Uncle Otto’s Truck)

We will watch a (slightly edited) version of Parasite on Wednesday.

June 3rd, 2024

So today I’m not here, and I will give you two tasks:

1. Podcast should be done (or almost done.) If you need some time to finish it, then I say fantastic. Turn in today to teams. 1 per group but say your names so I can give everyone credit.
2. Now it’s time for finding the gothic elements of Genre fiction – specifically Stephen King.

The horror genre is a very large genre – and without getting into it in large detail, Stephen King, author of over 60 novels and over 100 short stories, has rewritten horror for today’s contemporary audience. The reason we’re reading a few of his short stories is for the Gothic elements that are unavoidable in most horror stories and how the framework of the movement is still apparent today.

Your task for this two-day assignment is to read two of his short stories. (There are five to choose from) and complete the worksheet. We will discuss the questions on Tuesday / Wednesday

Here they are:

stephen_king_questionsV2

What we will do as a class is come up with similarities differences from the horror genre and the Gothic Movement with a Venn diagram for the class. You can use these elements as help for your final thesis.

These are the stories – they’re all good, but some are better than others. I will assign you one and you can choose another one by yourself.

I Am the Doorway

(From Night Shift Collection – a Space Gothic, horror mashup with Event Horizon vibes)

The Man Who Would not Shake Hands

(From Skeleton Crew – Curse story within story or “epistolary format” – very Gothic)

The-Reapers-Image-Stephen-King

(From Skeleton Crew – uses Gothic symbols / mirrors, dualism, haunted house etc. Short)

Word Processor of the Gods

(From Skeleton Crew – not as gothic but just a great story – my personal favorite of the bunch)

Uncle Otto’s Truck

(From Skeleton Crew – supernatural, great characterization that King is well known for.)

 

FYI – Moving forward

This is the modified question for this entire unit:

How does modern media show elements of the Gothic movement? Which elements are the most prevalent to the movement in contemporary society? What do these Gothic elements that are used say about the state of the world today?

You will use multiple sources, but keep in mind the academic paper The Modern Gothic” by Dryden as your framework. I will list other sources below (Some of which we haven’t explored yet.)

-Linda Dryden “The Modern Gothic”

-Your Gothic elements chosen film / TV show

-The assigned Podcast piece (Jane Eyre, Frankenstein, Dracula, The Raven, Wuthering Heights, Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde)

-A Stephen King short story (Word Processor of the Gods, I am the Doorway, The Man who would not Shake Hands, The Reaper’s Image, Uncle Otto’s Truck)

May 31st, 2024

See yesterday’s blog.

May 30th, 2024

So you will do the presentations today – and then we can work on the next part of this unit:

You are to complete the following:

There will be five groups – each will create a podcast (using phones or other small media) and familiarize yourself with Anchor (Spotify program – I have the instructions below)

1. Jekyll and Hyde
2. Frankenstein
3. Dracula
4. The Raven
5. Wuthering Heights
6. The Picture of Dorian Grey

Now I know you haven’t read these books/ poem – that’s the whole point of this podcast. I’m not teaching you these books, but teaching you how to not read these books! So the focus is on the ‘book’, but you are to have a fun podcast that values entertainment over education – while making us (the listener) believe that we are  smarter for having listened to you.

Here are some prompt ‘book discussion’ questions to get you going.

Podcast Generic Questions

TIP: I suggest that you research the assigned book a little bit online. These books are so well known that some poor sucker has had to have done a prezi on it at some point in their high school career. Find something like that and get the info out of it. Now that you know the elements of Gothicism pretty well, you already have enough to go off. Voila, you’re experts!

Rules:

1. Should be no more than 10 minutes edited.

2. Everyone’s voice should be heard at least once.

3.  Due Tuesday, December 12th at the end of class.

Instructions for anchor (Podcast editor):

Quickstart-Guide-Anchor

May 29th, 2024

Annotated bibliography due tonight. 20 – 30 minutes (depending on class).

Modernizing the Gothic World:

Your task today – One of 5 (To substitute the close reading passages and discussion) is to find a contemporary media piece that encapsulates at least three elements of the gothic and get prepared to make a presentation in front of the class on Thursday, proving your claims.

1. Explain the elements of Gothic you’ll be talking about
2. Show the clip (Cannot be classic Gothic – you have to use a modern movie / TV show / Song etc.)

May 28th, 2024

Here’s a fun infographic for “Gothic Literature”:

Quick lecture for what Gothic Literature is all about – take notes:

Metonymy of Gothic:

wind, especially howling	rain, especially blowing
doors grating on rusty hinges	sighs, moans, howls, eerie sounds
footsteps approaching	clanking chains
lights in abandoned rooms	gusts of wind blowing out lights
characters trapped in a room	doors suddenly slamming shut
ruins of buildings	baying of distant dogs (or wolves?)
thunder and lightning	crazed laughter

 

 Vocabulary of Gothic:

Mystery	diabolical, enchantment, ghost, goblins, haunted, infernal, magic, magician, miracle, necromancer, omens, ominous, portent, preternatural, prodigy, prophecy, secret, sorcerer, spectre, spirits, strangeness, talisman, vision
Fear, Terror, or Sorrow	afflicted, affliction, agony, anguish, apprehensions, apprehensive, commiseration, concern, despair, dismal, dismay, dread, dreaded, dreading, fearing, frantic, fright, frightened, grief, hopeless, horrid, horror, lamentable, melancholy, miserable, mournfully, panic, sadly, scared, shrieks, sorrow, sympathy, tears, terrible, terrified, terror, unhappy, wretched
Surprise	alarm, amazement, astonished, astonishment, shocking, staring, surprise, surprised, thunderstruck, wonder
Haste	anxious, breathless, flight, frantic, hastened, hastily, impatience, impatient, impatiently, impetuosity, precipitately, running, sudden, suddenly
Anger	anger, angrily, choler, enraged, furious, fury, incense, incensed, provoked, rage, raving, resentment, temper, wrath, wrathful, wrathfully
Largeness	enormous, gigantic, giant, large, tremendous, vast

Before we get into the novel, I would like to read an academic paper with you that will help supplement the PPT. It is this PDF:

Modern Gothic

You will complete an annotated bibliography on this. These are the elements of the annotated bibliography:

Part 1 (Summary)

1.The main idea of this article is…….

2.The topics covered in this article are…….

3.The author’s point of view in this article is……

Part 2 (Rhetoric)

1.The author of this piece is/is not credible because……

2.The author knows a lot about this topic because….

3.From this piece, the author wants you to………….

Part 3 (Reflection)

1.This article supports my ideas because…..

2.This article was helpful to me because….

3.This article added to my knowledge about this topic because….

May 27th, 2024

Finalize your stories – we’ll see how that goes. There’s always a plan B for those that feel like this will be a relax time:

Here is the PowerPoint that will help you understand what Gothic Literature is all about – take notes:

elements_of_gothic_literature_ppt

Before we get into the novel, I would like to read an academic paper with you that will help supplement the PPT. It is this PDF:

Linda Dryden – The Modern Gothic and Literary Doubles_ Stevenson, Wilde and Wells (2003)

You will complete an annotated bibliography on this. These are the elements of the annotated bibliography:

Part 1 (Summary)

1.The main idea of this article is…….

2.The topics covered in this article are…….

3.The author’s point of view in this article is……

Part 2 (Rhetoric)

1.The author of this piece is/is not credible because……

2.The author knows a lot about this topic because….

3.From this piece, the author wants you to………….

Part 3 (Reflection)

1.This article supports my ideas because…..

2.This article was helpful to me because….

3.This article added to my knowledge about this topic because….

May 24th, 2024

Short Story Peer Editing Checklist

Work block for getting everything in order. You can leave if you want social time with peers. I’m giving this time to people that will use it.

It’s due Monday – 1500 words MAX / double spaced / 11:59PM

May 23rd, 2024

“Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow,

Creeps in this petty pace from day to day,

First drafts & elevator pitches should all be finished today. Please have the rough draft (it can be a stinker – as long as it’s done!!!) done for Friday.

For those of you that need structure:

Research a mundane object and find a deeper analogy to life through it. – This exercise works better if it’s something you’re familiar with. Ex: Lego, Curling, Matchbox Cars, The time streetlights come on etc.

Some students have come up to me and asked to start their first draft. I say okay. I will keep giving you prompts through Friday. I have opened up a teams file in order for you to show me your progress.

Progress update – turn in what you have so far by Friday, May 25th

This is a story that got me into Murakami in the first place. It’s short, but powerful. We will talk about this in the second half of class.

Murakami, “On Seeing the 100% Perfect Girl One Beautiful April Morning”

1. What is your opinion of the story? What is its meaning?
2. If the author had told his story to the girl, what do you think would have happened?
3. What would you have done in his situation?
4. The author talks about his tastes in women. Do you think beauty is subjective or objective?
5. Is the author in truly in love with the girl or just infatuated?
6. Does the author believe in the idea of a 100% perfect partner for him? Do you for yourself? Can you measure love by a percentage?
7. Do you believe in fate?

Write down two questions related to the article you’d like to answer your classmates next class.

1.

2.

Discuss the meanings of these phrases with a partner.

• Potentiality knocks on the door of my heart.

 

• The cold, indifferent waves of fate proceeded to toss them unmercifully.

May 22nd, 2024

First, some of you are down on yourselves for writing a “steaming” pile of garbage for a first draft. You’re not alone. Look at this piece:

First Drafts

Since we have finished the novel, I would like to read you another Murakami short story I have used in another unit. This, of course, is extra.

It is called “The Second Bakery Attack”.

The Second Bakery Attack

The first bakery attack was never published in English, but there was a short film made about the story in Japan. It is here (Very 70’s art film vibe):

If we have time left, we can watch it.

Things to Consider for your own Story:

Connect three memories together to a common theme. Vehicles drive a narrative. This theme can act like analogy. For example Loss – Connect to three memories. Unity – Three memories etc. They can all be linear or sporadic. 

Describe a regret / mistake and then change the reality to the ideal

Research a mundane object and find a deeper analogy to life through it. – This exercise works better if it’s something you’re familiar with. Ex: Lego, Curling, Matchbox Cars, The time streetlights come on etc.

A mistake you tried to cover up, yet were unsuccessful. A moment of shame.

Explain the same memory from three different perspectives.

Talk to a partner about a childhood memory of theirs. Now make it yours in a story.

Write about how someone has influenced your life in the most subtle of ways.

A mistake you tried to cover up, yet were unsuccessful. A moment of shame.

May 21st, 2024

Today is a discussion. You can have about 15 minutes to get everything in order before we start. Here are the questions posted for you again:

1. Hear the Wind Sing opens with thoughts about the writing process and its relation to general satisfaction with life. Why do you think the protagonist evokes fictitious Derek Hartfield’s experiences? How does Hartfield’s status as a “fighter…a man who used words as weapons” echo throughout the novel?
2. How would you characterize the Rat? How does his personality shift or change between the two novels? What does the Rat value most in life?
3. Discuss the relationship between the protagonist and the Rat. What common traits do they share? How do they complement each other?
4. Few characters in Wind are acknowledged by their given names, and are instead referred to by general identifiers: “the girl,” “the twins,” “the Rat.” Why do you think Murakami made this stylistic decision? What effect does it have on the reader? What does this choice assert about identity?
5. In Hear the Wind Sing, the protagonist comments that the Rat “out-and-out despised” the rich (page 9), despite being born into a wealthy family. What role do class and status play in these novels? How does Rat actively fight his upbringing and social class?
6. Hear the Wind Sing  features moments of extreme malaise from its protagonist. How do the narrator and the Rat abate their sadness? What comforts—if only temporary solutions—do they afford themselves in their despair?
7. Discuss the protagonist’s childhood and adolescence as presented in Hear the Wind Sing. What clues are you given about his personality via descriptions of his upbringing?
8. J the bartender maintains a significant presence in Wind. What is his role in the novels? How does he act as a soundboard for both the protagonist and the Rat?
9. On page 25, the protagonist comments that “for the life of me I couldn’t remember what it was like to meet a girl under normal circumstances.” Examine his relationship with women as discussed in these novels. How do his early experiences with women affect his outlook on life?

May 16th, 2024

Writing Prompt #5

Use at least three of these Murakami tropes in one of your previous prompts:

Get ready for these discussion questions (In person) on Monday:

1. Hear the Wind Sing opens with thoughts about the writing process and its relation to general satisfaction with life. Why do you think the protagonist evokes fictitious Derek Hartfield’s experiences? How does Hartfield’s status as a “fighter…a man who used words as weapons” echo throughout the novel?
2. How would you characterize the Rat? How does his personality shift or change between the two novels? What does the Rat value most in life?
3. Discuss the relationship between the protagonist and the Rat. What common traits do they share? How do they complement each other?
4. Few characters in Wind are acknowledged by their given names, and are instead referred to by general identifiers: “the girl,” “the twins,” “the Rat.” Why do you think Murakami made this stylistic decision? What effect does it have on the reader? What does this choice assert about identity?
5. In Hear the Wind Sing, the protagonist comments that the Rat “out-and-out despised” the rich (page 9), despite being born into a wealthy family. What role do class and status play in these novels? How does Rat actively fight his upbringing and social class?
6. Hear the Wind Sing  features moments of extreme malaise from its protagonist. How do the narrator and the Rat abate their sadness? What comforts—if only temporary solutions—do they afford themselves in their despair?
7. Discuss the protagonist’s childhood and adolescence as presented in Hear the Wind Sing. What clues are you given about his personality via descriptions of his upbringing?
8. J the bartender maintains a significant presence in Wind. What is his role in the novels? How does he act as a soundboard for both the protagonist and the Rat?
9. On page 25, the protagonist comments that “for the life of me I couldn’t remember what it was like to meet a girl under normal circumstances.” Examine his relationship with women as discussed in these novels. How do his early experiences with women affect his outlook on life?

 

May 15th, 2024

Writing Prompt #4

 After waking up and painstakingly fussing with  your morning ritual, you go to the kitchen and find someone you can’t remember making breakfast. You don’t remember who this person is, but they remember you in vivid detail, down to your preferred eggs and morning beverage – even where you sit. How do you find out about them without telling them you have no recollection of who they are?

Reading: Up to page 75 (hopefully)

Questions:

1. How would you characterize the Rat? How does his personality shift or change between the two novels? What does the Rat value most in life?
2. Discuss the relationship between the protagonist and the Rat. What common traits do they share? How do they complement each other?
3. Few characters in Wind are acknowledged by their given names, and are instead referred to by general identifiers: “the girl,” “the twins,” “the Rat.” Why do you think Murakami made this stylistic decision? What effect does it have on the reader? What does this choice assert about identity?
4. In Hear the Wind Sing, the protagonist comments that the Rat “out-and-out despised” the rich (page 9), despite being born into a wealthy family. What role do class and status play in these novels? How does Rat actively fight his upbringing and social class?

May 14th, 2024

Writing Prompt #3

1. You arrive home after walking from the restaurant. The phone rings. The person who calls you is someone you haven’t talked to in years. They have a request. You can either accept or refuse the request. The final question is – do you go out again or do you stay home and go to bed? How did the phone call make you feel?

Wind_Pinball – Haruki Murakami

1. How would you characterize the Rat? How does his personality shift or change between the two novels? What does the Rat value most in life?
2. Discuss the relationship between the protagonist and the Rat. What common traits do they share? How do they complement each other?
3. Few characters in Wind are acknowledged by their given names, and are instead referred to by general identifiers: “the girl,” “the twins,” “the Rat.” Why do you think Murakami made this stylistic decision? What effect does it have on the reader? What does this choice assert about identity?
4. In Hear the Wind Sing, the protagonist comments that the Rat “out-and-out despised” the rich (page 9), despite being born into a wealthy family. What role do class and status play in these novels? How does Rat actively fight his upbringing and social class?

May 13th, 2024

Writing Prompt #2

1. A character walks home. They think of a story they’ve just heard at a restaurant and make associations as they walk. Where are they walking and how is this imagery tied together with the story they just heard (or told?) What is that strange glow coming from down the street?

THE NOVELLA: Wind_Pinball – Haruki Murakami

Postmodern elements within:

metafiction

unreliable narration

self-reflexivity

intertextuality, 

thematization of both historical and political issues.

Answer these questions on a separate document:

1. Hear the Wind Sing opens with thoughts about the writing process and its relation to general satisfaction with life. Why do you think the protagonist evokes fictitious Derek Hartfield’s experiences? How does Hartfield’s status as a “fighter…a man who used words as weapons” echo throughout the novel?
2. How would you characterize the Rat? How does his personality shift or change? What does the Rat value most in life?
3. Discuss the relationship between the protagonist and the Rat. What common traits do they share? How do they complement each other?

May 10th, 2024

Superfrog Saves Tokyo wrap up.

Quick Write:

So – You’re writing two people sitting down at a restaurant. They are having a conversation about something you (the author) feel passionate about. Minimal description of restaurant – maximum dialogue.

THE NOVELLA: Wind_Pinball – Haruki Murakami

Postmodern elements within:

metafiction

unreliable narration

self-reflexivity

intertextuality, 

thematization of both historical and political issues.

Answer these questions on a separate document:

1. Hear the Wind Sing opens with thoughts about the writing process and its relation to general satisfaction with life. Why do you think the protagonist evokes fictitious Derek Hartfield’s experiences? How does Hartfield’s status as a “fighter…a man who used words as weapons” echo throughout the novel?
2. How would you characterize the Rat? How does his personality shift or change? What does the Rat value most in life?
3. Discuss the relationship between the protagonist and the Rat. What common traits do they share? How do they complement each other?

May 9th, 2024

Strecher, Matthew Carl. The Forbidden Worlds of Haruki Murakami. University of Minnesota Press, 2014. 

SUMMARY OF PAPER:

A: 20 -26 End of Modernity

SUMMARY: How a sheep is a representation of modernism in Japan / Japanese drive fore inciting change / two sides to the issue and how the country itself is divided. Murakami’s symbolism of something larger is applied through his characters.

B: 26-32 Lack of Mind

SUMMARY: To avoid flaws of modernism, respect has to be diminished. Narrates with reflective self – conflicts with ones “other” uses irony – serious topics / deal with as if they’re in the past. ambiguous terms mean that author is disenfranchised from passion / take ownership of your own actions. Murakami deals with the other / (Kind of like Bunburying) in his fiction so as to avoid “true emotion” a facet of postmodernism. 

C: 32-44 Love Story Between Postmodern People

SUMMARY: Loss of self identity – modernist to postmodernist / girlfriend teaches him – unable to find their place in a modern society – fragmentation of self – have to deal with societies expectation / incapable of love – construct their own world – waning of affection – accepting “non-partisan society” communist ideologies in postmodern thinking. two types of love “fantast /infatuation” Romance ‘realistic’. Individual freedom more than status quo.

D:44-51 A new Switch Panel in a Death Chamber

SUMMARY: Multinationalism – journey to find one’s place. Disorder that challenges the narrative – the archetype is smashed. Emotional and subjective truth – Postmodernism relates to multidimensional reality – ‘Rizome” Old vs. New . Everyone has their own individual design “Advanced capitalism” “Shoveling snow” finds new world through connection – move away from questioning reality Fragmentation of oneself – become the outsider “Postmodernism adopts you / you do not adopt it” The different worlds (Shadow vs. Reality) the travel between the two .

E: 51-57 Violence and Empathy

SUMMARY: Empathy cures violence – not everyone is born the same. Critique of advanced consumer hierarchical society It is hard to shift the modern traditionalist way of thinking to a new postmodern word.

Today should be entertaining for you – seeing those connections to the Literary Theory of Postmodernism and a short story by Haruki Murakami.

Here is the short story:

Superfrog saves tokyo

(I have paper copies as well)

And what we can do together is this worksheet that explains all the elements of Postmodernism.

Elements of Postmodernism

Your task is to find some parts of the story and give concrete examples to which quote fits which element and why – kind of like an ‘idea’ search.

THE NOVELLA: Wind_Pinball – Haruki Murakami

metafiction

unreliable narration

self-reflexivity

intertextuality, 

thematization of both historical and political issues.

Answer these questions on a separate document:

1. Hear the Wind Sing opens with thoughts about the writing process and its relation to general satisfaction with life. Why do you think the protagonist evokes fictitious Derek Hartfield’s experiences? How does Hartfield’s status as a “fighter…a man who used words as weapons” echo throughout the novel?
2. How would you characterize the Rat? How does his personality shift or change? What does the Rat value most in life?
3. Discuss the relationship between the protagonist and the Rat. What common traits do they share? How do they complement each other?

Tomorrow, you will start a free write that is connected in three parts.

May 8th, 2024

Please complete an annotated bibliography with your group (as seen below). Here is the document.

Murakami’s Postmodern World

You only need to complete 1 section for the annotated bibliography.  See the corresponding pages. We’ll talk about it as a whole tomorrow.

Remember the annotated bibliography formatting:

Part 1 (Summary)

1.The main idea of this article is…….

2.The topics covered in this article are…….

3.The author’s point of view in this article is……

Part 2 (Rhetoric)

1.The author of this piece is/is not credible because……

2.The author knows a lot about this topic because….

3.From this piece, the author wants you to………….

Part 3 (Reflection)

1.This article supports my ideas because…..

2.This article was helpful to me because….

3.This article added to my knowledge about this topic because….

Murakami’s Postmodern World

SECTIONS:

A: 20 -26 End of Modernity  ( Bradyns’s Group  ) Maddy, Sophia, Michael, Andrew, Monika, Bowyn

B: 26-32 Lack of Mind (  Connor’s group   )Gavin, Nola, Wonki, Laura, Cici

C: 32-44 Love Story Between Postmodern People   (Sahib’s Group  ) Joseph, Alex, Finn, Jacob,

D:44-51 A new Switch Panel in a Death Chamber (  Sharma Group    ) Beny, Simon, Ilya, Pouria

E: 51-57 Violence and Empathy ( Kam’s Group / Nathan Group ) Aangid, Leo, Kevin, Varun,

Due Tonight at Midnight. Teams 11:59PM

May 7th, 2024

I love new units: Postmodernism and the fragmentation of  fictional narrative.

We are all Post/modern – but what the hell does this mean?

Here is the overview of the unit:

Pinball Introduction

Then here is the PPT – there are two – one as a theoretical piece and the other as a kind of ‘questionnaire’.

I will go over this:

PostModernism

Now we will discuss this:

Quiz Are you post Modern

Here’s how Murakami sees writing – I want to read excerpts before we get into a short story, then the novella.

Novelist as a Vocation – Haruki Murakami

What are the elements of Postmodernism in today’s society? What is worth writing about?

May 6th, 2024

Modernism in class write today. Please have your outlines ready. I will have paper for you as well so that you won’t worry about anything except getting this thing done.

May 3rd, 2024

Download this if you don’t have it already done:

Literary-3-Paragraph-Specific-OutlineDownload

Think about this question for a paragraph intro response:

How are elements of Modernism highlighted in either the Hemingway, Woolf or Mansfield text?

Come up with a claim:

So the LITERARY ELEMENT shows ONE FACET OF MODERNISM. (Check PPT).

Elements of Modernism are here: modernism-modernist-literature FINAL

Follow structure from the template.

 

Monday, May 6th we will have an in class write on this topic.

May 2nd, 2024

Both the story and the questions are in this one document:

The Mark on the Wall Virginia Woolf

NOW as a final:

Think about this question for a paragraph intro response:

How are elements of Modernism highlighted in either the Hemingway, Woolf or Mansfield text?

Example Thesis: Throughout Hemingway’s short story HLWI, the dialogue/allusion/metaphor shows individualism and fragmentation of the modernist philosophy / society.

So the LITERARY ELEMENT shows ONE FACET OF MODERNISM. (Check PPT).

You will need some time to get the basics of a three paragraph essay down – this is just a review of the literary essays you’ve done all throughout high school. But just in case, I have a PPT so that you understand the structure. I’ll go over it as a formality.

How-to-Write-Essay-BasicsDownload

Literary-3-Paragraph-Specific-OutlineDownload

May 1st, 2024

THE-GARDEN-PARTY1921Download

I’ll read this to you:

After reading page 1-2 of “The Garden Party,” please answer the following questions.

 

Exposition:

Setting:  What is the setting of the novel?  How does the author communicate that to the reader?  What details does she include to show the reader the setting?

Mood: What do you think the mood is in this part of the story?

Character:  What characters are introduced at this point in the story?

Character:  Who is Laura?  What do we know about her at this point in the story?  How does the author characterize her?

Conflict:  At this point, predict what you think the conflict will be in the story.  Cite textual evidence for your prediction.

 

I’ll read this to you:

After reading p. 3-6 of “The Garden Party,” answer the following questions.

 

Characterization:  Describe the relationship with Laura and her mother.

Characterization:  Describe the garden party about to be thrown.  What kind of people do you think will be there?  What does the party communicate about the Sheridans?

 

You read this and complete it tonight:

After reading pages 6-12 of “The Garden Party,” answer the following questions.

 

Characterization:  What is Laura’s reaction to the man killed?  What does this reveal about her character?

Characterization:  What is Jose’s and Mrs. Sheridan’s reactions to the man killed?  What does this reveal about their characters

Plot:  What does Mrs. Sheridan suggest they do for the poor widow?  Why does Laura question this on p. 10?

Mood:  How does the mood in the story change on p. 10 when Laura goes to the cottages down the hill?  What type of concrete details does the author use to change the mood?

Plot:  How is death portrayed at the end of the story?  Is Laura shocked by what she sees?  Why or why not?

Symbolism: What does the black hat with the yellow flowers symbolize?  When Laura sees the dead man why does she say “Forgive my hat”?

Plot:  What do you think Laura would have said if she finished her question at the end of the story?

Conflict:  What was the central conflict of this story?

Theme:  A major theme in the story is the relationship between classes.  What do you think the author was trying to communicate to the reader about class distinctions?

Theme:  In what ways has Laura grown up in this short story?

Character:  After reading the story, using the vocabulary we learned on character (round or flat, minor or major, static or dynamic) please describe the following characters.

 

Laura:

Laurie:

Mrs. Sheridan:

Jose:

Mrs. Scott:

 

April 30th, 2024

15 minutes to prepare the questions for HLWE

Then we’ll go over it together in class – circle time.

Depending on your insight, we can start the second of three stories today as well:

Think about this question for a paragraph intro response:

How do elements of Modernism show in either text?

Example Thesis: Throughout Hemingway’s short story HLWI, the dialogue/allusion/metaphor shows individualism and fragmentation of the modernist philosophy / society.

So the LITERARY ELEMENT shows ONE FACET OF MODERNISM. (Check PPT) – we’ll talk about this as well for each story.

April 29th, 2024

Welcome to the Modernism unit.

Here is the power-point. I would like you to take notes as I will be going into detail about them:

modernism-modernist-literature FINAL

modernism-modernist-literature FINAL Modernism_Notes

I have questions for discussion that will come right after this lecture (some during)

I have a story that you will be reading next with the questions that go with it:

HillsPDFText

The following are due tomorrow – be prepared to discuss these questions as we will be doing a round table discussion with these questions as a base to springboard.

hills like white questions

The following is an interesting take on the piece. An academic paper I found online – you don not need to read it. Just for extra comprehension :

Hills like WE Conversation Analysis

April 26th, 2024

Repeat of yesterday.

The assignments are ready to submit on teams now.  I’ll paste yesterday’s blog again.

I will ask that the class is silent. People do need this time to work, not socialize. If you do need to talk, please go outside, take a walk, and then get it all out of your system.

April 25th, 2024

Please work well today.

I will ask that the class is silent. People do need this time to work, not socialize. If you do need to talk, please go outside, take a walk, and then get it all out of your system.

If you need any help, I will help you to the best of my abilities.

Please see the guidelines of the Independent Novel Study for help.

April 24th, 2024

Today, we will look at the independent novel study.

Here is the overview information on the independent novel study grade 12 version (This will be due in a month so don’t worry too much now): You will be doing a five paragraph ‘Reflective Journal’ Reader Response – this is heavily guided. I will go over it with you. Here’s the overview of the two parts you need to turn in:

INDEPENDENT NOVEL STUDY GRADE 12

1. Here’s the “Reflective Journal” reader response:

Reflective Journal Questions

2. The journal templates (Just in case you didn’t do them yet): DUE FRIDAY

Journal Template

April 23rd, 2024

I’m not here. I’m worse today than yesterday and would truly be useless in class.

So – work on the conclusion. The whole thing will be due Wednesday (Body / Conclusion) because of my absence. See you tomorrow for the Independent Novel Study final.

Conclusion:

1. Idea Revisited: Jack as Earnest is a microcosm for going against Victorian norms and exploring the true meaning of the Aesthetic as having dual nature.
2. Detail about the Idea: The Importance of Being Earnest plays on Jack’s ideals of being true to himself as he grows throughout the play and realizes through his ‘hall of mirrors’ of self-awareness.
3. Brief Quote from Journal: Wilde lives through Jack’s realization as he knows that “duplication and duplicity are at the centre of the plot” (Drugeon 97) and both embraces and satirizes the shallowness of the Aesthetic as such.
4. Final Point Brought from Intro and explored further: To look for an absolute beauty in both art and the world around the art, the character must also look within themselves in order to understand true beauty. Wilde not only looks at the dualism of the character, but the two sides to the movement he embraces as well.

 

April 22nd, 2024

Since I really want you to understand this stuff, I will be giving each individual pointers on their intro paragraph so that you have a good idea moving forward for the body paragraph. I will check your claim and then you will tell me where you’re going with it. While I do this, please be working on the body paragraph by yourself to see if you can do it without help.

BODY PARAGRAPH:

Framework: (Overall idea for body paragraph – restate claim from intro sentence 5)

“Wilde’s plays invariably seem to lead the artists who produce them into a hall of mirrors where reality and fiction, creator and creature, spectator and actor come face to face…discover that they can merge and exchange identities,”

-Victorian norms are standardized variations of class / pecking order

Evidence:

Earnest as Jack / Jack’s reflection of himself to others in different social contexts

Explain the two:

How Aesthetics are seen through the character to an ‘immoral end’. Selfishness / Vanity is the winning trait of the Aestheticist – merging of character at the end of the story, acceptance and identity revealed.

Evidence:

Explain:

Evidence:

Explain:

April 18th, 2024

Today will be the final day for the rough drafts. Once again, I will post the structure and you can see me any time you’d like for help and ideas. The rough draft of the introduction is due at the end of class today. You should be on your conclusions.

Purdy-Literary-Analysis-Detailed-V4

1. Answer this Question:

How does Wilde both honor and satirize the Aesthetic movement through his play The Importance of Being Earnest?

OR

How is Aestheticism shown in Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest?

Keep in mind the frame: Aestheticism

1.

1. Hook / literary theory used: Within the Aestheticism movement, beauty over substance is an overall guide to how one views art.
2. Quote from outside source: The artists of the Aesthetic style, embracing the precepts of “Art for Art’s Sake,” (p 98) would agree that it is how one looks as opposed to how one acts that is truth.
3. Answer the elements of the question: Dualism represents the two sides to a persona or how one sees a subject or object.
4. Introduce the Author: Oscar Wilde believes that within a world that holds Aesthetics to be the highest standard of what beauty is – he concludes that beauty is not without its dark side.
5. Make a Claim: In the Importance of Being Earnest, Wilde shows the character’s dualism through the main character, jack, coming to terms with his darker nature and embracing the dynamic qualities of his identity, thus revealing that Aesthetics are a shallow interpretation of reality.
6. Explain the claim as it relates to your literary theory: Jack, like most of the emptiness of Victorian standards of the time is a symbol for one’s darker selves masked while putting on airs of superiority as their ‘fake’ counterparts, thus, through style over substance, Wilde demonstrates his distaste of the upper echelons and their empty values through actions and hypocrisy.

 2.

Body Paragraph(s):

Framework:

“Wilde’s plays invariably seem to lead the artists who produce them into a hall of mirrors where reality and fiction, creator and creature, spectator and actor come face to face…discover that they can merge and exchange identities,”

-Victorian norms are standardized variations of class / pecking order

Evidence:

Earnest as Jack / Jack’s reflection of himself to others in different social contexts

Explain the two:

How Aesthetics are seen through the character to an ‘immoral end’. Selfishness / Vanity is the winning trait of the Aestheticist – merging of character at the end of the story, acceptance and identity revealed.

Evidence:

Explain:

Evidence:

Explain:

3.

Conclusion:

1. Idea Revisited: Jack as Earnest is a microcosm for going against Victorian norms and exploring the true meaning of the Aesthetic as having dual nature.
2. Detail about the Idea: The Importance of Being Earnest plays on Jack’s ideals of being true to himself as he grows throughout the play and realizes through his ‘hall of mirrors’ of self-awareness.
3. Brief Quote from Journal: Wilde lives through Jack’s realization as he knows that “duplication and duplicity are at the centre of the plot” (Drugeon 97) and both embraces and satirizes the shallowness of the Aesthetic as such.
4. Final Point Brought from Intro and explored further: To look for an absolute beauty in both art and the world around the art, the character must also look within themselves in order to understand true beauty. Wilde not only looks at the dualism of the character, but the two sides to the movement he embraces as well.

 

April 15th, 2024

I promised that we would go over the literacy 12 exam. This will still happen. You will just complete the exam today as a practice.

Here are the instructions:

1. On your device, click this link: I promised that we would go over the literacy 10 exam. This will still happen. You will just complete the exam today as a practice.Here are the instructions:
   1. On your device, click this link: https://bced.vretta.com/#/en/bced-landing/grad/sample/literacy12
   2. Select “Form A”
   3. Start the test. Get used to the formatting – how the test is structured, the buttons etc. Everything is on the left hand side to continue,
   4. Do the multiple choice
   5. Do the graphic organizer but save your written work on a separate document
   6. PART B – Choose a ‘pathway’ that interests you more.
   7. Do the multiple choice questions
   8. When you get to the written response, save your work to a separate document.
   9. Finish self reflection if you want
   10. Check your answers.
2. Select “Form A”
3. Start the test. Get used to the formatting – how the test is structured, the buttons etc. Everything is on the left hand side to continue,
4. Do the multiple choice
5. Do the graphic organizer but save your written work on a separate document
6. PART B – Choose a ‘pathway’ that interests you more.
7. Do the multiple choice questions
8. When you get to the written response, save your work to a separate document.
9. Finish self reflection if you want
10. Check your answers.

April 12th, 2024

We will go over the 1st step of a literary analysis together today. You have everything already in your head, so this process should be easier than you think.

How does Wilde honor the Aesthetic movement through his play The Importance of Being Earnest?

This is your question! Now how can you answer in a way that is academic?

To make a literary analysis essay really work, you need another academic paper to connect your ideas. Here is the first part of constructing such an essay. Do you remember the DeOrnellis piece?

When Life Imitates Art_ Aestheticism in The Importance of Being Earnest

So today – Answer these questions, and that’s your intro paragraph:

1. What is aestheticism in your own words?
2. How is aestheticism shown in Oscar Wilde’s play?
3. Show proof of that through
   1. The Deornellis piece When Life Imitates Art_ Aestheticism in The Importance of Being Earnest
   2. The play: Wilde IOBE Annotated
4. Keep the essay structured to these sentence guidelines: Purdy-Literary-Analysis-Detailed-V4

April 11th, 2024

Please get this done by midnight tonight. I think that, if you spend your time wisely, you can get it done in class.

Part 1 (Summary)

1.The main idea of this article is…….

2.The topics covered in this article are…….

3.The author’s point of view in this article is……

Part 2 (Rhetoric)

1.The author of this piece is/is not credible because……

2.The author knows a lot about this topic because….

3.From this piece, the author wants you to………….

Part 3 (Reflection) Keep in mind this question:

How does Wilde both honor and satirize the Aesthetic movement through his play The Importance of Being Earnest?

1.This article supports my ideas because…..

2.This article was helpful to me because….

3.This article added to my knowledge about this topic because….

April 10th, 2024

So what was your favorite scene from the play? I will show you three versions of it today before we get to the annotated bibliography.

Speaking of that:

Let’s go over this Piece before you do annotated bibliographies. We’ll get into somewhat of a semi circle.

When Life Imitates Art_ Aestheticism in The Importance of Being Earnest

Remember annotated bibliographies? They’re back!! But how to annotate?

Let’s take a look in depth at this piece using annotation strategies. Not all will be applied to this particular piece, but some can be. Let’s look at the document:

This is from Patricia Kain (Harvard University)

The process of writing an essay usually begins with the close reading of a text. Of course, the writer’s personal experience may occasionally come into the essay, and all essays depend on the writer’s own observations and knowledge. But most essays, especially academic essays, begin with a close reading of some kind of text—a painting, a movie, an event—and usually with that of a written text. When you close read, you observe facts and details about the text. You may focus on a particular passage, or on the text as a whole. Your aim may be to notice all striking features of the text, including rhetorical features, structural elements, cultural references; or, your aim may be to notice only selected features of the text—for instance, oppositions and correspondences, or particular historical references. Either way, making these observations constitutes the first step in the process of close reading.

The second step is interpreting your observations. What we’re basically talking about here is inductive reasoning: moving from the observation of particular facts and details to a conclusion, or interpretation, based on those observations. And, as with inductive reasoning, close reading requires careful gathering of data (your observations) and careful thinking about what these data add up to.

How to Begin:

1. Read with a pencil in hand, and annotate the text.

“Annotating” means underlining or highlighting key words and phrases—anything that strikes you as surprising or significant, or that raises questions—as well as making notes in the margins. When we respond to a text in this way, we not only force ourselves to pay close attention, but we also begin to think with the author about the evidence—the first step in moving from reader to writer.

Here’s a sample passage by anthropologist and naturalist Loren Eiseley. It’s from his essay called “The Hidden Teacher.”

. . . I once received an unexpected lesson from a spider. It happened far away on a rainy morning in the West. I had come up a long gulch looking for fossils, and there, just at eye level, lurked a huge yellow-and-black orb spider, whose web was moored to the tall spears of buffalo grass at the edge of the arroyo. It was her universe, and her senses did not extend beyond the lines and spokes of the great wheel she inhabited. Her extended claws could feel every vibration throughout that delicate structure. She knew the tug of wind, the fall of a raindrop, the flutter of a trapped moth’s wing. Down one spoke of the web ran a stout ribbon of gossamer on which she could hurry out to investigate her prey.Curious, I took a pencil from my pocket and touched a strand of the web. Immediately there was a response. The web, plucked by its menacing occupant, began to vibrate until it was a blur. Anything that had brushed claw or wing against that amazing snare would be thoroughly entrapped. As the vibrations slowed, I could see the owner fingering her guidelines for signs of struggle. A pencil point was an intrusion into this universe for which no precedent existed. Spider was circumscribed by spider ideas; its universe was spider universe. All outside was irrational, extraneous, at best raw material for spider. As I proceeded on my way along the gully, like a vast impossible shadow, I realized that in the world of spider I did not exist.

 

2. Look for patterns in the things you’ve noticed about the text—repetitions, contradictions, similarities.

What do we notice in the previous passage? First, Eiseley tells us that the orb spider taught him a lesson, thus inviting us to consider what that lesson might be. But we’ll let that larger question go for now and focus on particulars—we’re working inductively. In Eiseley’s next sentence, we find that this encounter “happened far away on a rainy morning in the West.” This opening locates us in another time, another place, and has echoes of the traditional fairy tale opening: “Once upon a time . . .”. What does this mean? Why would Eiseley want to remind us of tales and myth? We don’t know yet, but it’s curious. We make a note of it.

Details of language convince us of our location “in the West”—gulch, arroyo, and buffalo grass. Beyond that, though, Eiseley calls the spider’s web “her universe” and “the great wheel she inhabited,” as in the great wheel of the heavens, the galaxies. By metaphor, then, the web becomes the universe, “spider universe.” And the spider, “she,” whose “senses did not extend beyond” her universe, knows “the flutter of a trapped moth’s wing” and hurries “to investigate her prey.” Eiseley says he could see her “fingering her guidelines for signs of struggle.” These details of language, and others, characterize the “owner” of the web as thinking, feeling, striving—a creature much like ourselves. But so what?

3. Ask questions about the patterns you’ve noticed—especially how and why.

To answer some of our own questions, we have to look back at the text and see what else is going on. For instance, when Eiseley touches the web with his pencil point—an event “for which no precedent existed”—the spider, naturally, can make no sense of the pencil phenomenon: “Spider was circumscribed by spider ideas.” Of course, spiders don’t have ideas, but we do. And if we start seeing this passage in human terms, seeing the spider’s situation in “her universe” as analogous to our situation in our universe (which we think of as the universe), then we may decide that Eiseley is suggesting that our universe (the universe) is also finite, that our ideas are circumscribed, and that beyond the limits of our universe there might be phenomena as fully beyond our ken as Eiseley himself—that “vast impossible shadow”—was beyond the understanding of the spider.

But why vast and impossible, why a shadow? Does Eiseley mean God, extra-terrestrials? Or something else, something we cannot name or even imagine? Is this the lesson? Now we see that the sense of tale telling or myth at the start of the passage, plus this reference to something vast and unseen, weighs against a simple E.T. sort of interpretation. And though the spider can’t explain, or even apprehend, Eiseley’s pencil point, that pencil point is explainable—rational after all. So maybe not God. We need more evidence, so we go back to the text—the whole essay now, not just this one passage—and look for additional clues. And as we proceed in this way, paying close attention to the evidence, asking questions, formulating interpretations, we engage in a process that is central to essay writing and to the whole academic enterprise: in other words, we reason toward our own ideas.

When you’re ready, you can complete an annotated bibliography of the DeOrnellis piece.

Part 1 (Summary)

1.The main idea of this article is…….

2.The topics covered in this article are…….

3.The author’s point of view in this article is……

Part 2 (Rhetoric)

1.The author of this piece is/is not credible because……

2.The author knows a lot about this topic because….

3.From this piece, the author wants you to………….

Part 3 (Reflection)

1.This article supports my ideas because…..

2.This article was helpful to me because….

3.This article added to my knowledge about this topic because….

April 9th, 2024

We will finish Act 3 today.

You have the rest of class to complete the questions and even then, we can probably start the discussion if everything goes well.

Gwendolyn: Jalen / Wonki

Cecily: Nathan / Joseph

Armaan: Lady Bracknell / Leonardo

Jack: Daniel / Sophia

Algernon: Kam / Andrew

Merriman: Hailey / Simon

Chasable: Naya / Monika

Prism: Owen Hall / Beny

April 8th, 2024

The class will be broken up into two parts:

Part 1: Finish those questions for the discussion we will be having today (Time is based on how you are working in class).

Part 2: Act 2 discussion – same rules as before. If we have time, we can start act 3.

April 5th, 2024

Very simple Friday – My actors will continue with act 2 – I will stop when necessary, and then you will have time to work on the Act 2 questions. That’s that!

April 4th, 2024

CAST ACT 2:

Cecily: Bradyn / Joseph

Miss Prism: Owen / IliJa

Merriam: Hailey/ Simon

Chausable: Naya K. /Monika

Algernon: Kam / Andrew

Jack: Daniel/ Nola

Gwendolyn: Jalen / Wonki

Kevin: Narrator

 

What a week!

So I am happy that Martin got to be with you for the past 2 days. He knows his stuff!

So we will be doing a discussion today on act one – I want to see how much you have retained.

As for turn backs and miscellaneous duties – my life has been on hold for the past few weeks, so I will have to extend all turn backs to the following week. I hope you understand.

Here are the questions I’d like to discuss:

Act One

1. Why does Jack Worthing call himself “Ernest” instead when he is in “town” (London)?
2. Why has Algernon invented an invalid friend named “Bunbury”?
3. Jack has an insurmountable impediment to marrying Gwendolen in his background: what, as Lady Bracknell sees it, is this problem? How does she propose that he resolve this problem? What is Wilde satirizing in this situation?
4. How does Wilde use the subject of cucumber sandwiches to reveal the characters of Jack and Algy?
5. How does Wilde satirize the vacuous mentalities and lifestyles of the British aristocracy in Lady Bracknell’s interview with Jack?
6. How does Wilde use the cigarette case to facilitate the exposition of the dramatic action?
7. The character of Algernon Moncrieff reflects the public persona of the dramatist himself: in what ways in Algy like Wilde? Refer to background
8. Why is the classical allusion in which Wilde compares Lady Bracknell to the Gorgon particularly apt? You may look this answer up.
9. The other classical allusion, to the Emperor Augustus, is more oblique: why did Wilde choose the name “Augusta” for Lady Bracknell? You may look this answer up BUT CITE YOUR SOURCE!
10. What is the essence of such Wildean aphorisms as the following?” “[Women flirting with their own husbands] looks so bad. It is simply washing one’s clean linen in public?
11. What point is Wilde making about journalism in general and reviewers in particular when Algernon remarks, “You should leave that [literary criticism] to people who haven’t been at They do it so well in the daily papers”?
12. What tools of satire -irony, juxtaposition, understatement, paradox -are apparent in this opening act? CITE SPECIFIC LINES FROM THE

Then act 2 – after that, annotated bibliographies. Then after that – essay. Then New unit!

Oh, I’m sure you’re wondering about the independent novel study. I will be having you focus on that after this unit is over – so more time to do your reading!

April 1st, 2024

Welcome back!

I won’t be here for a few days.

I would like for you to read this with the TTOC – It’s Act 1 of the play. I want to do Act 2 with you all as it is the best act!

Here’s the play:

Wilde IOBE Annotated

What is a parody, satire or farce?

What is comedy?

3 parts to this unit:

1. Discussion Questions: (Due tomorrow – Just act 1)

ACT-1-3-Q-Earnest (1)

March 13th, 2024 – March 15th, 2024

ESSENTIAL QUESTION:

How does Wilde both honor and satirize the Aesthetic movement through his play The Importance of Being Earnest?

Here is the lecture on Aestheticism. Note time.

Aesthetics PPT

We will read this:

happy

And answer the questions for a discussion on Friday:

1. How has the writer brought out poverty?
2. How has the writer brought out exploitation?
3. How has the writer brought out hypocrisy?
4. What is the theme of the story “The Happy Prince”?
5. Why does the Happy Prince weep?
6. What did the Swallow tell the Happy Prince about the city and the people?
7. What did the Swallow report to the Happy Prince about human misery or suffering?
8. Discuss the end of the story “The Happy Prince”.

March 11th, 2024

Today, I will get you all up to date with the quote journal entry practice. This is not a time for you to mess around – It’s a very important aspect of your grade.

Here is the document:

Quote-Journals_Final-V3.0

This is the controlling question:

Which of the following themes run through five or more of these quotes? Use reasons and examples to support your answer.

Allow me to give those a structure of sorts for those that need structure. This is not a structure based assignment, however – please keep that in mind.

Model answer: Model Answer

Reader Response focus:

So I will put down these questions that are in the graphic:

• Do you like or dislike the text?
• Do you agree or disagree with the writer?
• Does the text clash with your personal views?
• How does the text relate to you personally?
• To what extent did the text challenge or change your opinions or beliefs?
• Did you learn anything from the text? If so, what did you learn?
• What is your overall reaction to the text?

March 8th, 2024

So there is a divide and I thought hard about this – to merge both the period 4 and 5 mindset, I think that there can be a compromise. So this is what is going on.

This is the final day for all of you “Panic Workers” to get the good draft in tonight. It’s all good – I have been there before. As long as you work and don’t mess around, there’s no problem with taking this route.

That being said, all the workers that get their stuff in a little quicker, you can spend this day  as an extra planning day for when I officially talk about the quote journal in class write (that will be on Tuesday).

Here is the information for the Quote Journal assignment:

The following is a document for your quote journals assignment – I’s a mid term of sorts but don’t stress about it too much – I thought it would be a nice culmination to the quotes and your takeaway.

Here is the document:

Quote-Journals_Final-V3.0

This is the controlling question:

Which of the following themes run through five or more of these quotes? Use reasons and examples to support your answer

 

March 7th, 2024

After coming back yesterday, I have decided that we can continue with the one on one sessions for the narratives. It makes me really engaged and excited to see exactly what you are all doing. Since this week for the most part has been kind of a wash, I have just made it a tutoring session until Friday!

These are the finalized dates:

1. Rough draft: Due tonight, Thursday March 7th – Completion
2. Good draft due Friday night, March 8th – Major grade

The Friday night is the absolute latest – You can get it in earlier and that will help me out, but I want these things graded soon and it’ll take a week to do so.

March 6th, 2024

Today, I’d like to meet with you in small groups in order to get an idea of where you are in regards to the narrative. There’s two ways this class can go moving forward through the week:

1. You can finish the narrative today – I have printouts of the peer review that you can look at in depth. It will be due tonight.
2. The good draft can be due tomorrow at midnight because of my own absence and inability to control yesterday to how I would have liked because of illness. This might be the more viable option.

The quote journals will go as planned. They will be due with the in class writing on Friday of this week. You will have tomorrow in class to get ready, ask questions and create a sheet to fill out for preparation.

March 5th, 2024

Your Transcription is finished. Now you have to write a rough draft following these basic conventions:

[Printout]

I’ll be reading each transcript during this time so that I can give you pointers if you need them.

And make your own narrative into something that combines an oral formulaic tradition to the traditional written format. Remember a rough draft is without boundaries – have something of worth for a peer review tomorrow. I have an old peer review for you to look at. This must be completed by Wednesday so that you can finalize your story (expand or contract) to 1500 words.

Peer Review Narrative

March 4th, 2024

The Narrative “Autobiography” is on specificity – you should all have an idea now so the task is to get it all written down in an organized way. The sooner you do this, then the better it is to look it over and get reviewed.

Yet the best method is through the oral formulaic tradition. The story comes out clear and concise (even with asides) when the student actually talk about their memory, record it, and then transcribe their thoughts.

I don’t have a model for this – you’re on your own and I’ll try to break it down as easy as possible.

So here is your task today:

1. You have your idea. Now with a partner (or partners) I’d like for you to record your story on an I-phone or some device that records.
2. Those of you that have personal stories that you don’t want to share – Find a quiet place where you can record yourself.
3. Transcribe your words (to edit – don’t be exact) so that it is easy to work on paper.

Random questions FAQ:

How long? Doesn’t matter.

Can others talk when I am reciting the story? I encourage it. Makes the holes in your story filled.

When is it due? Tomorrow – beginning of class for next step.

Do I turn in the audio? You can – optional – but I need the transcription.

Can I just skip the audio and just write? No. Goes against the idea. 

March 1st, 2024

Final Journal Entry (#20)

“When there is evil in this world that justice cannot defeat, would you taint your hands with evil to defeat evil? Or would you remain steadfast and righteous even if it means surrendering to evil?”

-Lelouch Lamperouge (Chosen by Fossen & Renard, esq.)

Here are the sheets for online students:

Narrative Essay Outline_Student

Here is a worksheet for the timeline. I will give you big paper to take home as well. All you need to do is look for 10 memories of your past in a linear way. Ask family / friends for ideas.

A Timeline of Your Life

Don’t worry about trying to understand everything right away.  Just come up with 10 memories based on a linear method. Think about what highlights your life has been shaped by. Doesn’t have to be big.

Also I will repost some of the narratives from the beginning of the unit. Do you remember those free-writes you did? Bring them out!

Prompts to Begin a Narrative Idea

February 29th, 2024

Journal #19

There are only two tragedies in life: one is not getting what one wants, and the other is getting it.

-Oscar Wilde

Okay – all three close readings are due today. After some time for completion, I will assign you some brainstorming sheets I usually provide the 10’s – but it’s a 9 – 12 brainstorming lesson. Should be good.

10 memories – give me an overview and pitch them to the class tomorrow (leaving out the more personal ones) This is a workshop to help you come up with a long piece. That will be tomorrow. By the weekend, you should have an idea in place for execution next Monday.

Here are the sheets for online students:

Narrative Essay Outline_Student

Here is a worksheet for the timeline. I will give you big paper to take home as well. All you need to do is look for 10 memories of your past in a linear way. Ask family / friends for ideas.

A Timeline of Your Life

Don’t worry about trying to understand everything right away.  Just come up with 10 memories based on a linear method. Think about what highlights your life has been shaped by. Doesn’t have to be big.

February 28th, 2024

Journal #18

“Man only likes to count his troubles; he doesn’t calculate his happiness.”

― Fyodor Dostoevsky, Notes from Underground

1. Independent Reading Novel (Journal)
2. Listening to final chapter for the class.
3. Final close reading. (Due tomorrow – today is last day in class)

February 27th, 2024

Journal #17

“The free soul is rare, but you know it when you see it—basically because you feel good, very good, when you are near or with them.”

-Charles Bukowski

-Independent novel reading continued.

You have exactly 30 minutes in class to do the second close reading. Then we will “read” the final chapter for this book. I believe that the audio is successful enough for these purposes. I want to start your own autobiographical non-fiction narrative as soon as possible.

February 26th, 2024

Journal #16

-Reading Chapter 2 and finding a quote to put into your second close reading. Here is an example of a previous student’s work regarding Black Swan Green (Chapter 2) It’s not done the same as the template, but you can get the general idea:

CloseReadings_BlackSongGreen

February 22nd, 2024

Journal #15

“It’s one thing to enjoy a story, but it’s quite another to take it for the truth.”

-Patrick Rothfuss

We will do two things:

Finish chapter 1 (I also have the audiobook file. Perhaps this can be the norm moving forward?)

Close reading – I will model one chapter for you for the close reading, then you will do it by yourself. Please follow along with me as I do it. The template is below – there are no paper copies as copying down the quote will take much longer to do:

Annotation_Template

February 21st, 2024

Journal #14

“She said the mystery of life isn’t a problem to solve, but a reality to experience.”

-Frank Herbert

Reading – then we will read some more in a circle. I like circles.

Black Swan Green – David Mitchell

Here is the close reading information for chapter 1 – only answer what is pertinent to this unit (autobiographical style and substance):

Close Reading Outline V2

1. First Impressions:
2. What is the first thing you notice about the passage?
3. What is the second thing?
4. Do the two things you noticed complement each other? Or contradict each other?
5. What mood does the passage create in you as a reader? Why?

 

1. Vocabulary and Diction:
2. Which words do you notice first? Why did they stand out from the others?
3. How do the important words relate to one another?
4. Does a phrase here appear elsewhere in the story or poem?
5. Do any words seem oddly used to you? Why? Is that a result of archaic language? Or deliberate weirdness?
6. Do any words have double meanings? Triple meanings? What are all the possible ways to read it?
7. Look up any unfamiliar words. For a pre-20th century text, look in the Oxford English Dictionary for possible outdated meanings. Look up very common words as well since they often have several possible meanings.

 

1. III. Discerning Patterns:
2. Does an image here remind you of an image elsewhere in the book?
3. How does this pattern fit into the pattern of the book as a whole?
4. How could this passage symbolize something in the entire work? Could this passage serve as a microcosm, a little picture, of what’s taking place in the whole narrative or poem?
5. What is the sentence rhythm like? Short and choppy? Long and flowing? Does it build on itself or stay at an even pace? How does that structure relate to the content?
6. Look at the punctuation. Is there anything unusual about it? What about capitalization?
7. Is there any repetition within the passage? What words are repeated? Why are they repeated?
8. How many types of writing are in the passage? (e.g., narration, description, argument, dialogue, rhymed or alliterative poetry inserted into the prose passage, etc.)
9. Can you identify paradoxes in the author’s thought or subject?
10. What is left out or silenced? What would you expect the author to say that the author seems to have avoided or ignored? What could the author have done differently—and what’s the effect of the current choice?

 

1. Point of View and Characterization:
2. How does the passage make us react or think about any characters or events within the narrative?
3. Are there colors, sounds, physical description that appeals to the senses? Does this imagery form a pattern? Why might the author have chosen that color, sound or physical description? Is it symbolic? Foreshadowing?
4. Who speaks in the passage? To whom does he or she speak? Does the narrator have partial or omniscient viewpoint? How does that viewpoint help or hinder the reader’s comprehension?

 

1. Symbolism, Schemes, Tropes:
2. Are there metaphors, similes, figures of speech? What kinds? Why might the author have chosen them?
3. Is there one controlling metaphor? If not, how many different metaphors are there, and in what order do they occur? How might that be significant? Consult the “Schemes and Tropes” section of the Course Packet or on the class website under “Rhetoric” and see if any of these rhetorical tools appear in the writing.

 

1. Importance (the most vital part of the exercise):
2. Why is it important for the reader to know what you have just analyzed and explained? How does the passage you have chosen help us understand the story, poem, or play more completely?

February 20th, 2024

Journal #13

“If you only read the books that everyone else is reading, you can only think what everyone else is thinking.”
― Haruki Murakami

Autobiographical Non Fiction

Pre-Assessment:

Pick one of these topics and write about them for 15 minutes:

Prompts to Begin a Narrative Idea

The Novel is Black Swan Green by David Mitchell.

Here is the PDF of the entire book:

Black Swan Green – David Mitchell

Here is a write up on his work:

Countless novels address the dynamic time between childhood and adulthood. Whether readers encounter the young heroes of classic mythology, the quirky protagonists in the work of Judy Blume or J. D. Salinger’s unforgettable Holden Caulfield, the experiences of adolescence are always distinctly familiar and, therefore, thoroughly relatable. Adolescence is a universal subject: a time bursting with “firsts”, an age of sexual and political awakening, and therefore, it is the beginning of the realization of our complete selves. Subsequently, it is a subject brimming with possibilities for writers — a seedbed for tales that reflect the full range of human experience and emotion, yielding stories that are painful, joyful, awkward, and almost always humorous.

But what is it that makes a story structured around this subject successful? We should enjoy being taken along for the ride, witnessing the challenges a character is faced with. If the author has done his or her job, we root for the young character’s ultimate, yet uncertain — and sometimes unrealized — triumph. Undoubtedly, a sense of authenticity is necessary. This authenticity can be evidenced in characters who we swear we have met before (or wish we would); in carefully laid out language that situates us firmly with regard to place and time; and perhaps most importantly, in the revelation of character flaws so familiar and particular that they erase any evidence of the line between reality and fiction. More precisely, the creation of an authentic voice is required— not only for each character, but for the novel as a whole.

This kind of authentic voice is one of the highlights of David Mitchell’s award-winning novel Black Swan Green. Jason Taylor, the protagonist of the novel, is a stuttering young poet, trapped somewhere between boyhood and manhood. Around him, Mitchell creates a careful architecture of pop culture references, political dialogue, and slang which is indicative not only of Jason’s origins, but also of his age. Accordingly, much of this guide focuses on the utility of language and on demonstrating how voice may function as the foundation for a novel.

But beyond Mitchell’s narrative voice, one of the most interesting characteristics of Black Swan Green is its versatility–it provides many teachable vantage points that can serve as catalysts to the study of literary genre. The novel straddles the line between young adult literature and literary fiction. It can be studied on its own, examined within the tradition of young adult literature, discussed from the perspective of the British novel, or viewed as a counterpoint to post-modern literature

We will only be reading five chapters of this book together. Then you will, for your final project, becoming up with a chapter of your life in the same vein as the narrator of the novel.

So, to boil it all down, you will be doing these three final  things:

1. Informal discussions while reading together
2. 3 close reading passages on the book
3. Original ‘chapter’ of your own story, or ‘coming of age’ / ‘rite of passage’ piece.

Next week, you’ll have ideas you can come up with and write rough / final. This week will be working on the chapters and the close reading.

The chapters are as follow:

1. January Man
2. Hangman
3. Relatives

We’ll start with January Man today.

February 16th, 2024

In class write today. Please get all of your work in to me by the end of your (respective) class. If you have any notes you’d like to attach to your draft, I would love to see them. I’ll bring a stapler.

February 15th, 2024

No Journal – I want you to use this entire class to get ready for the in class writing that will be tomorrow.

I have an overall outline for you – this might be more accessible for some.

Since this is more of an ‘achievement’ assessment, my help will be minimal. In 2 days, this will be over.

Problems? Look at this. I have printouts as well.

How To Booklet Essay Outline Samples for each paragraph and tips (EDITABLE)

February 14th, 2024

Journal #12

There’s no such thing as dead languages, only dormant minds. that as long as we are being remembered, we remain alive. One of the pitfalls of childhood is that one doesn’t have to understand something to feel it.

-Carlos Ruiz Zafon

*Reading & Journals*

This class is for you to finish your Obama Intro / Partial body paragraph.

If you are up to the challenge and finished with Obama, before I give you all the Malcom X Speech on Thursday, this is the actual oration of the speech with subtitles that was done in 1964.

February 13th, 2024

Journal #11

“My life amounts to no more than one drop in a limitless ocean. Yet what is any ocean, but a multitude of drops?”

― David Mitchell, Cloud Atlas

Reading – You’re doing well. Keep up this work style.

I have printouts of this rough draft I would like for you to complete:

Obama_Outline

This is the rubric I will be using for your work:

Obama Paragraph Final Rubric

Use your time wisely today. This thing is due tomorrow – and I would like to start the Malcom X Paper tomorrow as well if the consensus of class fits this model.

February 12th, 2024

Journal #10

CHOOSE ONE OF THREE (selected by Daniel Fossen)

February 9th, 2024

Journal #9

“No man chooses evil because it is evil; he only mistakes it for happiness, the good he seeks.”

-Mary Shelley

Let’s finish sentence 4 and then I want you to turn in your 1st paragraph MLK worksheets

What a Friday! Here’s a 37 minute speech on Obama’s “More Perfect Union!”

Obama’s “A More Perfect Union”

Obama Paragraph Final Rubric

Barak Obama Final

Watch the 37 Minute video. This will give you time to follow along with the transcript and use the skills you have learned so far for a full rhetorical analysis essay process.

February 8th, 2024

Journal #8

“Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to reform (or pause and reflect).”
― Mark Twain

MODEL EXAMPLE:

Martin Luther King, an avid civil rights activist and preacher, delivered a powerful speech on the societal changing day of august 28^th 1963, stressing the severity of the issue of inequality, in the United States, that we are able to correct but not doing so.  King uses hard hitting facts and evidence to draw attention to this blatant discrimination towards the black community while taking these facts a step up to use as topics for motifs, metaphors, and analogies to further get the point across. His potent use of strong language in the constant use of anaphora following the rule of threes, slowly ramping up in the rigor of each word, bring light to the ever-growing issue of racism in order to motivate people to make a positive change in their behavior and stand with one another. King challenges the people standing by, whether black, White, Asian, Latino, to strive forward and do something while simultaneously sympathizing with the black community affected by racism in daily life, importantly acknowledging the anger that they, and himself included, feel.

• Printout of the structure.
• Get it done by the end of class.

February 7th, 2024

Journal #7

“Before a dream is realized, the Soul of the World tests everything that was learned along the way. It does this not because it is evil, but so that we can, in addition to realizing our dreams, master the lessons we’ve learned as we’ve moved toward that dream. That’s the point at which most people give up. It’s the point at which, as we say in the language of the desert, one ‘dies of thirst just when the palm trees have appeared on the horizon.’”

-Paulo Coelho (The Alchemist)

Let’s read one of the greatest speeches in recent history:

I Have a Dream by Martin Luther King Jr

I will print these out as well so you can write down literary devices, notes, etc.

Remember to see if an argument is valid/ sound:

1. Ethos / Pathos / Logos in speech or article
2. Mode of argument
3. Rhetorical devices used (repetition / parallelism / anecdote etc.)
4. Are there logical fallacies?

I will print these out as well so you can write down literary devices, notes, etc.

We will watch an excerpt and talk about it.

Then we’ll be ready to form an essay.

How To Booklet Essay Outline Samples for each paragraph and tips (EDITABLE)

This will be the guide for your essay  – we will go over this in detail.

Let’s go over what you have done with MLK first. You have about 10 – 15 minutes in class to get everything sorted out. We will outline your ideas today and tomorrow using the above ‘Precis’ structure.

MLK Paragraph Rubric

 

February 6th, 2024

Journal #6

“The truth knocks on the door and you say, “Go away, I’m looking for the truth,” and so it goes away. Puzzling.”

― Robert M. Pirsig, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry Into Values

The big PPT – (We will only doing a select number of slides from this – continue notes from the ELP PPT)

4KtRUtUmVjsKgsh8

First, with rhetoric, there is more than just “Ethos Pathos & logos.” Authors use literary devices to persuade their audiences as well.

• Alliteration – the recurrence of initial consonant sounds – rubber baby buggy bumpers
• Allusion – a reference to an event, literary work or person – I can’t do that because I am not Superman.
• Amplification – repeats a word or expression for emphasis – Love, real love, takes time.
• Analogy – compares two different things that have some similar characteristics – He is flaky as a snowstorm.
• Anaphora – repeats a word or phrase in successive phrases – “If you prick us, do we not bleed? If you tickle us, do we not laugh?” (Merchant of Venice, Shakespeare)
• Antanagoge – places a criticism and compliment together to lessen the impact – The car is not pretty but it runs great.
• Antimetabole – repeats words or phrases in reverse order – “ask not what your country can do for you — ask what you can do for your country.” (J F Kennedy)
• Antiphrasis – uses a word with an opposite meaning – The Chihuahua was named Goliath.
• Antithesis – makes a connection between two things – “That’s one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind.” (Neil Armstrong)
• Appositive – places a noun or phrase next to another noun for descriptive purposes – Mary, queen of the land, hosted the ball.
• Enumeration – makes a point with details – Renovation included a spa, tennis court, pool and lounge.
• Epanalepsis – repeats something from the beginning of a sentence at the end – My ears heard what you said but I couldn’t believe my ears.
• Epithet – using an adjective or adjective phrase to describe – mesmerizing eyes
• Epizeuxis – repeats one word for emphasis – The amusement park was fun, fun, fun.
• Hyperbole – an exaggeration – I have done this a thousand times.
• Litotes – makes an understatement by denying the opposite of a word that may have been used – The terms of the contract are not disagreeable to me.
• Metanoia – corrects or qualifies a statement – You are the most beautiful woman in this town, nay the entire world.
• Metaphor – compares two things by stating one is the other – The eyes are the windows of the soul.
• Metonymy – a metaphor where something being compared is referred to by something closely associated with it – The knights are loyal to the crown.
• Onomatopoeia – words that imitate the sound they describe – plunk, whiz, pop
• Oxymoron – a two word paradox – near miss, seriously funny
• Parallelism – uses words or phrases with a similar structure – I went to the store, parked the car and bought a pizza.
• Simile – compares one object to another – He smokes like a chimney.
• Understatement – makes an idea less important that it really is – The hurricane disrupted traffic.

Let’s read one of the greatest speeches in recent history:

I Have a Dream by Martin Luther King Jr

I will print these out as well so you can write down literary devices, notes, etc.

Remember to see if an argument is valid/ sound:

1. Ethos / Pathos / Logos in speech or article
2. Mode of argument
3. Rhetorical devices used (repetition / parallelism / anecdote etc.)
4. Are there logical fallacies?

I will print these out as well so you can write down literary devices, notes, etc.

We will watch an excerpt and talk about it.

Then we’ll be ready to form an essay.

How To Booklet Essay Outline Samples for each paragraph and tips (EDITABLE)

This will be the guide for your essay  – we will go over this in detail.

Let’s go over what you have done with MLK first. You have about 10 – 15 minutes in class to get everything sorted out. We will outline your ideas today and tomorrow using the above ‘Precis’ structure.

MLK Paragraph Rubric

February 5th, 2024

Journal #5

“Monsters are real, and ghosts are real too. They live inside us, and sometimes, they win.”
― Stephen King

So we finished annotated bibliographies. Now for the first real unit of the course: Rhetorical Analysis.

 

Here’s a PPT that I’d like for you to take notes on:

Pathos_Logos_Ethos

There’s a little assignment here that I’d like for you to do and a sheet we can look at:

Assignment:

1. Sell a product using Ethos / Pathos / Logos
2. It can be real or imaginary
3. Present it at the end of the class
4. you can be in groups (up to 3)

ethos-pathos-logos-definitions-and-worksheet

The big PPT – (We will only doing a select number of slides from this – continue notes from the ELP PPT)

4KtRUtUmVjsKgsh8

First, with rhetoric, there is more than just “Ethos Pathos & logos.” Authors use literary devices to persuade their audiences as well.

February 2nd, 2024

Journal #4

“It is not for me to judge another man’s life. I must judge, I must choose, I must spurn, purely for myself. For myself, alone.”

― Herman Hesse, Siddhartha

Today, we will look at the independent novel study. We’ll go to the library and Mrs. Royle will go over some books with you. Then you’ll choose one and bring it back to class. Talk to me if you need any help with this.

Here is the overview information on the independent novel study grade 12 version (This will be due in a month so don’t worry too much now):

INDEPENDENT NOVEL STUDY GRADE 12

The journal templates:

Journal Template

And the final paper for it called “Reader Reflection”.

Reflective Journal Questions

Please finish your annotated bibliography for tonight at midnight. Late work is a red flag for all works moving forward, so make a good impression and turn it in!

See February 1st blog for details about the annotated bibliography.

February 1st, 2024

Journal #3

“Our lives are not our own. We are bound to others, past and present, and by each crime and every kindness, we birth our future.”
― David Mitchell, Cloud Atlas

You were confused yesterday? I am happy about this. Let’s go through the Percy article again and you can use a template to put that summary to work:

(Due Friday 23:59)

Here is the lecture:

Annotated Bibliography 2022

And template:

AB_ Template

(250-500 words) 

1.The main idea of this article is……. 

2.The topics covered in this article are……. 

3.The author’s point of view in this article is…… 

1.This article supports my ideas because….. 

2.This article was helpful to me because…. 

3.This article added to my knowledge about this topic because…. 

Here are a few good examples of annotated bibliographies from other students:

 1.Percy, W., “Loss of the Creature”, Message in the Bottle, Picador, 2000.  (Print)

The main idea of this article is the factor of expectations, one cannot truly experience something to its full extent with prior expectations. It gives examples such as family’s trip to the Grand Canyon, could a tourist’s experience really compare to the explorer’s who discovered it in the first place? When you see something, do you “see it for what it is” (p.47) or are you just looking at it. The author attempts to persuade the reader that perception “may be recovered by leaving the beaten track” (p.48); as well as using visual elements and stories to explain why one’s perception needs to be recovered in the first place. Does an individual only care for an experience if its validated, or if it levels up with “the “it” of their dreams” (p.53). Is it really possible to escape our consciousness, is that the only way we could truly live fulfilling experiences? This is a question I repeatedly asked, this article supports my ideas of how others are desperate for validation and approval. How most “unique” experiences were only lived to tell the tale, but while this article helped me call out others flaws, I did not expect for it to render so relatable to myself as well. One day, the day I finally get to see the attraction that I have been wanting to for so long, how could I properly “see” it? This article is fascinating, it will very often pop into my mind, but I have heavy doubt that it will affect the way I live my life. I will still take photos, tour popular places, brag about my so-called “unique” experiences. Although this article did contain enlightening lessons, it has far too many liberating rules for my way of living life.  

2. Percy, W., “Loss of the Creature”, Message in the Bottle, Picador, 2000.  (Print)

The idea of this article is that we should try to have authentic experiences. If we go to Paris for example, most people will hit all the popular tourist spots. The Eiffel tower, the louvre, etc. But you are not experiencing Paris, you are only experiencing what society wants you to experience. An authentic experience would be exploring the side streets, going to night clubs, stepping off the beaten path so to speak. But the author also says that we should not be conscious of the experience as it’s happening, since that would make it not authentic. At that point you’re conscious of you experiencing the experience rather than the experience itself. So, you should seek out authentic experiences, but you shouldn’t be conscious while within said authentic experiences. This seems contradictory at first, but on further thought I can pull away a simple message from this. You should go off the beaten path to do things that are different and unique and enjoy whatever comes your way. The author also brings up that a lot of people try to validate their experiences as authentic. If they find something unique, they want to know for sure that it’s unique. I think this isn’t the case for most people and if it is, it shouldn’t be. If that experience brought you happiness, who cares if it’s “the real thing”. Your happiness shouldn’t have to be justified by societal norms of what’s truly authentic. There is something to be said about looking for the authentic experience. If you’re in a different country, it’s probably a good idea to try and immerse yourself in their culture, but you shouldn’t obsess over it. Back to my example with Paris: if you’ve managed to go to the outskirts of town into a small bar where everyone’s a local speaking French, and you see something from your home country, that shouldn’t make you think that the experience is in any way less enjoyable. What I’m trying to say is, do everything in moderation; try to have authentic experiences, but don’t obsess over having the perfect experience.  

January 31st, 2024

Journal entry #2

“Is it possible, in the final analysis, for one human being to achieve perfect understanding of another?
We can invest enormous time and energy in serious efforts to know another person, but in the end, how close can we come to that person’s essence? We convince ourselves that we know the other person well, but do we really know anything important about anyone?”

― Haruki Murakami, The Wind Up Bird Chronicle

Today, I would like to introduce you to annotated bibliographies. These are integral for research purposes. I am introducing them earlier on, just because everything we read together will be logged so that you have a bookmark to refer.

Let me introduce what an annotated bibliography is first.

Then we will read a piece by a smart thinker. We will discuss this piece, then you will complete an annotated bibliography on this fella. This will be your first assignment.

Here is the lecture:

Annotated Bibliography 2022

The written piece that we will be discussing is in the following PDF:

Loss of the Creature

You will be answering these questions (written as sentence stems):

Part 1 (Summary)

1.The main idea of this article is…….

2.The topics covered in this article are…….

3.The author’s point of view in this article is……

Part 3 (Reflection)

1.This article supports my ideas because…..

2.This article was helpful to me because….

3.This article added to my knowledge about this topic because….

January 30th, 2024

Journal Entry #1

“A truth once seen by a single mind ends up by imposing itself on the totality of human consciousness.”
― Anonymous, The Arabian Nights

Write about this for about 10 minutes. This is the guide for ‘journal writing’:

Quote Journal Project V3

Welcome to class.

First, I would like you to write a paragraph in your journal (right under the quote journal) about what it is you would like out of class following these questions:

1. What are my plans for post-secondary? To what end will these plans meet?
2. What are my strengths in English Literature? Be specific.
3. What are my weaknesses in English Literature? Be specific.
4. What do you expect out of this class this semester? – This is an important question because each grade 12 class I’ve designed is tweaked for each dynamic.
5. What is my expected grade? Why?

Let’s discuss these questions as a class.

Below is the syllabus for the class. Spend some time looking over it with a partner and pose any questions to me regarding the class. Each pair should come up with one or two questions.

Syllabus-English-12-2024 V2