1. Choose a passage that shows a significant development or change in one of the novel's characters. (I would prefer that you write about the character you were assigned earlier this week.)
2. In the comment box below write your name, the character, the page number of the passage, and explain how the passage helps Golding develop the themes in the novel.
3. Choose a passage that shows a significant development or change in one of the novel's motifs. (I would prefer that you write about the motif you were assigned earlier this week.)
4. In the comment box below write your name the motif, the page number of the passage, and explain how the passage helps Golding develop the themes in the novel.
5. Respond thoughtfully to someone else's character and/or motif comment. Write your name, the name of the classmate to whom your responding, the name of the character/motif, and a comment.
Thursday, December 20, 2007
D-block ch. 4 - 6
1. Choose a passage that shows a significant development or change in one of the novel's characters. (I would prefer that you write about the character you were assigned earlier this week.)
2. In the comment box below write your name, the character, the page number of the passage, and explain how the passage helps Golding develop the themes in the novel.
3. Choose a passage that shows a significant development or change in one of the novel's motifs. (I would prefer that you write about the motif you were assigned earlier this week.)
4. In the comment box below write your name the motif, the page number of the passage, and explain how the passage helps Golding develop the themes in the novel.
5. Respond thoughtfully to someone else's character and/or motif comment. Write your name, the name of the classmate to whom your responding, the name of the character/motif, and a comment.
2. In the comment box below write your name, the character, the page number of the passage, and explain how the passage helps Golding develop the themes in the novel.
3. Choose a passage that shows a significant development or change in one of the novel's motifs. (I would prefer that you write about the motif you were assigned earlier this week.)
4. In the comment box below write your name the motif, the page number of the passage, and explain how the passage helps Golding develop the themes in the novel.
5. Respond thoughtfully to someone else's character and/or motif comment. Write your name, the name of the classmate to whom your responding, the name of the character/motif, and a comment.
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
Lord of the Flies
E-Block
Chapters 1-3 (through page 57) by 12/14 (Friday).
Chapters 4-5 (through page 94) by 12/17 (Monday).
Chapters 6-9 (through page 154) by 12/20 (Thursday).
The rest of the novel (about 50 pages) will be read over the 11 days of vacation.
D-Block
Chapters 1-3 (through page 57) by 12/14 (Friday).
Chapters 4-6 (through page 108) by 12/20 (Thursday).
The rest of the novel (about 100 pages) will be read over the 11 days of vacation.
While reading students should be writing down pages numbers where they find motifs and characterization. They should also be thinking about how the characterization, symbolism, and events in the novel develop an answer to the following questions: In the novel how does William Golding characterize human nature? How does the novel show that it is dangerous for humans not to understand our inner nature? What role does human nature play in influencing the kinds of societies humans have created? Conversely, what role have societies played in influencing human behavior?
Chapters 1-3 (through page 57) by 12/14 (Friday).
Chapters 4-5 (through page 94) by 12/17 (Monday).
Chapters 6-9 (through page 154) by 12/20 (Thursday).
The rest of the novel (about 50 pages) will be read over the 11 days of vacation.
D-Block
Chapters 1-3 (through page 57) by 12/14 (Friday).
Chapters 4-6 (through page 108) by 12/20 (Thursday).
The rest of the novel (about 100 pages) will be read over the 11 days of vacation.
While reading students should be writing down pages numbers where they find motifs and characterization. They should also be thinking about how the characterization, symbolism, and events in the novel develop an answer to the following questions: In the novel how does William Golding characterize human nature? How does the novel show that it is dangerous for humans not to understand our inner nature? What role does human nature play in influencing the kinds of societies humans have created? Conversely, what role have societies played in influencing human behavior?
Tuesday, December 4, 2007
Monster Definitions & Reflections
Read the following thoughts on monsters.
Be prepared to discuss (with specific comments and questions) on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday.
Be prepared to discuss (with specific comments and questions) on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday.
Thoughts on Monsters…
For some of first term and all of second term, you have read about, thought about, written about, and talked about monsters and monstrousness. What is a monster? What is monstrousness? What makes someone or something a monster?
Etymologically, “monster” came into English from the Old French word “monstre” around 1300. “Monstre” has its roots in Latin words: one meaning “omen,” “portent,” “sign,” and another meaning “warn.”
In English “monster” originally referred to malformed animals that were read or interpreted as warnings. In other words, originally, the physical deformity was thought to be a sign of present or future evil. In the later half of the fourteenth century, “monster” was used to describe imaginary plants and beasts for the first time. Then, in the sixteenth century, the word’s meaning was expanded once more to include “enormous animals” and, finally, “inhumanely cruel and wicked people.” I’m especially interested in the first and last meanings.
Apropos of the first definition, it seems that in the literature we have studied, external irregularities — of size, of body, of countenance, of skin color, of language, of behavior, etc. — are often interpreted — sometimes wrongly, sometimes rightly— as signs of internal evil. An interesting permutation of this definition is found in the many works we have studied in which a character is rejected, ostracized (look it up!), exiled, excluded, belittled, discriminated against, prejudged, oppressed, subjugated, etc. because of outward appearance before thinking monstrously and committing monstrous acts. Howsoever, one thinks about the original English meaning of monster one must grapple with the question: what is the relationship between outward and inward monstrousness?
Apropos of the final definition, in each work we have studied there are inhumane humans and/or inhumane human-like creatures. (Note the paradox.) These monsters sometimes bear outward signs of monstrosity but just as often they are externally normal, sometimes even beautiful. Sometimes these monsters have virtues (intelligence, power, courage, etc.) that mask monstrousness. At times these “cruel” monsters might even be civilizations or cultures—a culture that appears righteous to its members (insiders) but is monstrous (cruel, inhumane, wicked) to those subjected to it or rejected by it (outsiders). This raises a question about the way monstrous “wickedness” is perceived. (Is an insurgent a martyr or a terrorist? Is the soldier a hero or monster? Can one devise a sane, just, objective means of distinguishing? Or is one forever trapped inside perspective with no hope of establishing an objective truth about who is the monster—who is cruel, wicked, inhumane.)
(Interestingly and perhaps usefully, “inhumane,” which is etymologically related to “not human,” means “lacking pity and compassion”; it is by definition monstrous (and, perhaps, not human) to lack pity and compassion. Perhaps, think about this in relation to the works we have read.)
Returning to the idea of deformities in the original definition of monster, can there be internal – emotional, psychological, spiritual – deformity? Can such internal deformities (an excess of prideful arrogance (i.e. hubris) for example) presage evil in the same way the physical deformities of “monsters” were thought to presage evil?
Here are some more definitions for reflection:
DEFINITIONS
mon·ster
n.
1. An imaginary or legendary creature, such as a centaur or Harpy, that combines parts from various animal or human forms.
2. A creature having a strange or frightening appearance.
3. An animal, a plant, or other organism having structural defects or deformities.
4. Pathology. A fetus or an infant that is grotesquely abnormal and usually not viable.
5. A very large animal, plant, or object.
6. One who inspires horror or disgust: a monster of selfishness.
[Middle English monstre, from Old French, from Latin mo
nstrum, portent, monster, from mon
re, to warn.
beast
n.
1. An animal other than a human, especially a large four-footed mammal.
2.
3. Animal nature as opposed to intellect or spirit: “So far the beast in us has insisted upon having its full say” (William Dean Howells).
4. A brutal, contemptible person.
[Middle English beste, from Old French, from Latin b
stia.]
de·mon
n.
1. An evil supernatural being; a devil.
2. A persistently tormenting person, force, or passion: the demon of drug addiction.
3. One who is extremely zealous, skillful, or diligent: worked away like a demon; a real demon at math.
4. Variant of daimon.
[Middle English, from Late Latin daem
n, from Latin, spirit, from Greek daim
n, divine power. See d
- in Indo-European Roots.]
Think. Ponder. Consider. Connect. Reflect…
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
Ways of Looking
On this blog you'll find readings, assignments, discussions, links, etc. related to the Ways of Looking Unit in Eleventh Grade Honors English.
Below you'll find motifs from Hamlet and comments on those motifs offered by last year's honors English juniors. The comments will give you an idea of one way this blog will be used.
Below you'll find motifs from Hamlet and comments on those motifs offered by last year's honors English juniors. The comments will give you an idea of one way this blog will be used.
Friday, April 13, 2007
madness and sanity
madness and normalcy: 1.4.81-82, 1.5.90-91, 2.1.94, 2.2.104, 2.2.159, 2.2.202, 2.2.217, 2.2.385-386
playing and acting
playing and acting:1.2.87, 1.2.2772.2.445-446 (etc.), 2.2.458+, 2.2.563-564, 2.2.548+, 2.2.578+, 2.2.633-634
words (speaking, writing, books, etc.)
words (speaking, writing, books, etc.): 1.3.143, 1.5.106-110, 1.5.148, 2.1.119, 2.2.117, 2.2.210+, 2.2.614
women--virtue (chastity) and vice (sexuality)
women--virtue (chastity) and vice (sexuality) [mothers, daughters, lovers, strumpets]: 1.2.150, 1.3 (nearly all of Laertes' speech to Ophelia and nearly all of Polonius' speech to Ophelia), 1.5.93-95, 1.5.112
men and manliness
men and manliness--fathers, uncles, friends, rivals: 1.2.67, 1.2.98, 1.2.105-11116, 1.2.143-144, 1.2.156-157, 1.2.191, 1.2.265, 1.3.50-55, 1.3.64+, 1.3.132, 1.5.46-47, 2.1.19-26
water and other fluids
water and other fluids: 1.2.80-83, 1.2.133-134, 1.2.159-160, 1.4.11, 1.4.21, 1.4.77, 1.4.85, 1.5.69-77
responses to authority
responses to authority--opposing, mocking, obeying, flattering: 2.2.120-121, 1.3.145, 2.2.30b
youth and age
youth and age: 1.3.8, 1.3.45-48, 1.5.45-47, 2.1.25, 2.1.129, 2.2.12, 2.2.207, 2.2.306-311
ghosts and spirits
ghosts and spirits: 1.1 (nearly all), 1.1.173-179, 1.4 (nearly all), 1.5 (nearly all), 2.2.627-632
flora and fauna
flora and fauna: 1.1.172, 1.2.139-140, 1.2.144, 1.2.154, 1.3 (many flower references to Ophelia), 1.5.39-40, 1.4.93, 1.5.46-47, 1.5.94, 2.1.70
I and eye (self and seeing)
I and eye (self and seeing): 1.2.11, 1.2.71, 1.2.83, 1.2.160, 1.2.191-193, 1.2.213, 1.2.250, 1.2.280, 1.5.22, 2.1.110, 2.2.216, 2.2.314, 2.2.488, 2.2.543, 2.2.546, 2.2.582 & 593
mirrors and likenesses
mirrors and likenesses: 1.1.48-51, 1.1.69-75, 1.1.120-124...for the many references to likenesses that are unrelated to the ghost's appearance scan the text for the word "like". This word is everywhere!
remembering and forgetting
remembering and forgetting: 1.2.2, 1.2.7, 1.2.147, 1.3.64, 1.3.90-93, 1.5.98, 1.5.102-119, 2.2.26, 2.2.460-474
Hamlet Motifs Assignment #1
Find two quotations from Act 1 and/or Act 2 that exemplify the motif you have been given.
Step 1: In the appropriate comment boxes above type in the quotations (with the proper citation: act, scene, line).
Step 2: After you have typed in the quotations, comment on them.
*Who is speaking? Who is being spoken to? What is the situtation (the context) in which the lines appear? And, finally, what do the lines mean in this context? What insights can you provide about the signficance of the quotation?
*Then, relate the quotations to the motif. How do the quotations relate the motif? What does Shakespeare's treatment of the motif reveal? What insights do you have about the significance of the motif as revealed by the two quotations?
*Then, ask a meaningful question about the motif and/or the quotations that other students willrespond to?
Step 1: In the appropriate comment boxes above type in the quotations (with the proper citation: act, scene, line).
Step 2: After you have typed in the quotations, comment on them.
*Who is speaking? Who is being spoken to? What is the situtation (the context) in which the lines appear? And, finally, what do the lines mean in this context? What insights can you provide about the signficance of the quotation?
*Then, relate the quotations to the motif. How do the quotations relate the motif? What does Shakespeare's treatment of the motif reveal? What insights do you have about the significance of the motif as revealed by the two quotations?
*Then, ask a meaningful question about the motif and/or the quotations that other students willrespond to?
Hamlet Motifs (and Relevant Quotations from Acts One and Two)
honesty and dishonesty:2.2.192-193, 2.2.220, 2.2.255, 2.2.287, 2.2.450,
appearance and truth: 1.2.79, 1.2.87-89, 1.5.114, 2.2.627-632, 1.3.84-86
corruption and virtue: 1.2. 133+, 1.4.90, 1.5.210, 1.5.49+
madness and normalcy: 1.4.81-82, 1.5.90-91, 2.1.94, 2.2.104, 2.2.159, 2.2.202, 2.2.217, 2.2.385-386
playing and acting:1.2.87, 1.2.2772.2.445-446 (etc.), 2.2.458+, 2.2.563-564, 2.2.548+, 2.2.578+, 2.2.633-634
words (speaking, writing, books, etc.): 1.3.143, 1.5.106-110, 1.5.148, 2.1.119, 2.2.117, 2.2.210+, 2.2.614
women--virtue (chastity) and vice (sexuality) [mothers, daughters, lovers, strumpets]: 1.2.150, 1.5.93-95, 1.5.112
men and manliness--fathers, uncles, friends, rivals: 1.2.67, 1.2.98, 1.2.105-11116, 1.2.143-144, 1.2.156-157, 1.2.191, 1.2.265, 1.3.50-55, 1.3.64+, 1.3.132, 1.5.46-47, 2.1.19-26
action and inaction: 2.2.593-607, 2.2.611-616
water and other fluids: 1.2.133-134, 1.4.11, 1.4.21, 1.5.69-77
responses to authority--opposing, mocking, obeying, flattering: 2.2.120-121, 1.3.145, 2.2.30b
fertility and sterility: 2.2.197-203, 2.2. 250-252, 2.2.322 & 332
youth and age: 1.3.8, 1.3.45-48, 1.5.45-47, 2.1.25, 2.2.12, 2.2.207, 2.2.306-311
life and death and the afterlife: 1.2.133-136, 1.4.73, 1.5.15-128
ghosts and spirits: 1.1 (nearly all), 1.1.173-179, 1.4 (nearly all), 1.5 (nearly all), 2.2.627-632
sleep and dreams: 1.5.42 & 66 & 81, 1.5.188, 2.2.275-279, 2.2.525-526
flora and fauna: 1.2.139-140, 1.5.39-40
fortune and fate: 2.2.247-254,
I and eye (self and seeing): 1.2.191-193, 1.2.280
food and appetites : 1.2.148, 1.2.187-188,
mirrors and likenesses: 1.1.48-51, 1.1.69-75, 1.1.120-124...for the many references to likenesses that are unrelated to the ghost's appearance scan the text for the word "like". This word is everywhere!
remembering and forgetting: 1.2.2, 1.2.7, 1.2.147
appearance and truth: 1.2.79, 1.2.87-89, 1.5.114, 2.2.627-632, 1.3.84-86
corruption and virtue: 1.2. 133+, 1.4.90, 1.5.210, 1.5.49+
madness and normalcy: 1.4.81-82, 1.5.90-91, 2.1.94, 2.2.104, 2.2.159, 2.2.202, 2.2.217, 2.2.385-386
playing and acting:1.2.87, 1.2.2772.2.445-446 (etc.), 2.2.458+, 2.2.563-564, 2.2.548+, 2.2.578+, 2.2.633-634
words (speaking, writing, books, etc.): 1.3.143, 1.5.106-110, 1.5.148, 2.1.119, 2.2.117, 2.2.210+, 2.2.614
women--virtue (chastity) and vice (sexuality) [mothers, daughters, lovers, strumpets]: 1.2.150, 1.5.93-95, 1.5.112
men and manliness--fathers, uncles, friends, rivals: 1.2.67, 1.2.98, 1.2.105-11116, 1.2.143-144, 1.2.156-157, 1.2.191, 1.2.265, 1.3.50-55, 1.3.64+, 1.3.132, 1.5.46-47, 2.1.19-26
action and inaction: 2.2.593-607, 2.2.611-616
water and other fluids: 1.2.133-134, 1.4.11, 1.4.21, 1.5.69-77
responses to authority--opposing, mocking, obeying, flattering: 2.2.120-121, 1.3.145, 2.2.30b
fertility and sterility: 2.2.197-203, 2.2. 250-252, 2.2.322 & 332
youth and age: 1.3.8, 1.3.45-48, 1.5.45-47, 2.1.25, 2.2.12, 2.2.207, 2.2.306-311
life and death and the afterlife: 1.2.133-136, 1.4.73, 1.5.15-128
ghosts and spirits: 1.1 (nearly all), 1.1.173-179, 1.4 (nearly all), 1.5 (nearly all), 2.2.627-632
sleep and dreams: 1.5.42 & 66 & 81, 1.5.188, 2.2.275-279, 2.2.525-526
flora and fauna: 1.2.139-140, 1.5.39-40
fortune and fate: 2.2.247-254,
I and eye (self and seeing): 1.2.191-193, 1.2.280
food and appetites : 1.2.148, 1.2.187-188,
mirrors and likenesses: 1.1.48-51, 1.1.69-75, 1.1.120-124...for the many references to likenesses that are unrelated to the ghost's appearance scan the text for the word "like". This word is everywhere!
remembering and forgetting: 1.2.2, 1.2.7, 1.2.147
Player Piano by Kurt Vonnegut
Post your comments about what the dystopian setting reveals about modern life and about how characters respond to the corrupt, flawed, inhumane setting. (For more explanation and guiding questions look below or at the hand out I have you on Friday, April 13.) Use the open response form. Your first comments based on the first 100 pages (or more) of the book are due by Wednesday April 25. (You can either post them yourself or email them to jcook@gloucester.k12.ma.us.
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
Post your comments about what the dystopian setting reveals about modern life and about how characters respond to the corrupt, flawed, inhumane setting. (For more explanation and guiding questions look below or at the hand out I have you on Friday, April 13.) Use the open response form. Your first comments based on the first 100 pages (or more) of the book are due by Wednesday April 25. (You can either post them yourself or email them to jcook@gloucester.k12.ma.us.
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
Post your comments about what the dystopian setting reveals about modern life and about how characters respond to the corrupt, flawed, inhumane setting. (For more explanation and guiding questions look below or at the hand out I have you on Friday, April 13.) Use the open response form. Your first comments based on the first 100 pages (or more) of the book are due by Wednesday April 25. (You can either post them yourself or email them to jcook@gloucester.k12.ma.us.
1984 by George Orwell
Post your comments about what the dystopian setting reveals about modern life and about how characters respond to the corrupt, flawed, inhumane setting. (For more explanation and guiding questions look below or at the hand out I have you on Friday, April 13.) Use the open response form. Your first comments based on the first 100 pages (or more) of the book are due by Wednesday April 25. (You can either post them yourself or email them to jcook@gloucester.k12.ma.us.
The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
Post your comments about what the dystopian setting reveals about modern life and about how characters respond to the corrupt, flawed, inhumane setting. (For more explanation and guiding questions look below or at the hand out I have you on Friday, April 13.) Use the open response form. Your first comments based on the first 100 pages (or more) of the book are due by Wednesday April 25. (You can either post them yourself or email them to jcook@gloucester.k12.ma.us.
Choose a Dystopian Novel
Hamlet’s Dilemma & Dystopian Fiction
"How weary, stale, flat, and unprofitable seem to me all the uses of [these worlds]"
The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
1984 by George Orwell
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
Player Piano by Kurt Vonnegut
www.amazon.com might help you select a title. Search for the title and author. Then, read the summary and reader comments.
"How weary, stale, flat, and unprofitable seem to me all the uses of [these worlds]"
The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
1984 by George Orwell
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
Player Piano by Kurt Vonnegut
www.amazon.com might help you select a title. Search for the title and author. Then, read the summary and reader comments.
Responding to a Dystopian Novel
Throughout the process of reading the novel, I will ask you to analyze the setting and the responses characters have to the setting. The explanation and questions below will help you analyze these two aspects of the novel.
SETTING – How is the world within the novel flawed, corrupted, fallen? How do its flaws reveal flaws in the modern world?
"Something is rotten in the state of..."
These dystopias are all set in some imagined version of the future, but each of these future is based on some aspects of the modern world. (In the modern world, we have video surveillance. In 1984, every moment of life is under video surveillance.) The authors ask the question "What if this or that aspect of modern life were to grow, to expand, to take over? How would human life change?" In dystopian novels the authors are especially interested in how certain aspects of modern life could worsen human existence or could so radically change it that being human would become unrecognizable.
While reading your novel consider the question, what aspects of modern life appear (perhaps in an exaggerated or expanded or intensified form) in the novel? How does the novel critique these aspects of modern life? How does the novel function as warning to the modern reader? How does the novel warn against expanding and intensifying some of the beliefs and behaviors made possible in the modern world?
Then, evaluate the critique of modern life. How revelant is the critique? In other words, how likely is the sort of future presented in the dystopia? Or, how likely is something *like* the future presented in the dystopia? And, how similar are aspects of *our* world to aspects of the novel?
Then, consider whether you agree or disagree with the implied critique? (For those reading 1984, Is video surveillance really that bad? Would it be better if there were more of it in our world? Or for those reading Brave New World, what do you think about soma? Is Mustapha Mond right? Or is John?)
CHARACTERS – How do characters respond to living in a flawed, corrupted world?
"Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer/The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,/Or to take arms against a sea of troubles,/And by opposing end them?"
How do the characters respond to the dystopia, the flaws in her or his world? Do they suffer the slings and arrows? Do they take arms against a sea of troubles? What do they do? How do they assert (or not assert) their sense that the world is broken, corrupt, flawed, an unweeded garden? Or do they not have that sense? Do they see nothing wrong with the world as it is?
Consider what each of the major characters thinks about the world within the novel and how each of the major characters responds to it. (The answers will vary from character to character. The characters in Hamlet see the world quite differently and they respond quite differently too. The same will be true in your novel.)
You will post your responses to www.jcookghs.blogspot.com or send your responses to jcook@gloucester.k12.ma.us for me to post them. (You will need a Google account in order to post comments.) Your first two responses (one on setting, one on characters) are due by April 25.
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