Doctorow on the making of Ragtime

Doctorow on the Making of Ragtime


How I Made It: E.L. Doctorow on 'Ragtime'

* By Boris Kachka
* Published Apr 7, 2008 (New York magazine)


(Photo: Jerry Bauer/Courtesy of E.L. Doctorow)

R agtime is a sprawling work that began with … your own old house in New Rochelle?
My previous book, The Book of Daniel, had been published the year before, and I had been emotionally depleted by it. So I sat around for a year. And I was staring at the wall, and had arranged my desk so that the only way out was through the sentences. I began to write about the wall, and I realized that this house was the first house on the hill built at that time. And then I imagined what things looked like from the bottom of the hill. From one image to another, I was off the wall and in a book.


And then you did some research?
When you’re working well, you don’t do research. Whatever you need comes to you. Walking around town was very much a part of it. I wrote a scene where Tateh and the little girl take trolleys up through Westchester, but I didn’t know if it was possible to take streetcars all the way up to Massachusetts. I was walking through the Public Library in midtown and banged my knee on a book and looked down, and I picked it up. It was a corporate history of trolley-car companies. This is the way the book was assembled.

You grew up in New York in the thirties, so there must be memories of long-gone places in there, too.
I know that I set off for college in Ohio from the old Penn Station, which is why I was able to describe it. And when I was a college student, a friend of mine was graduating and he sold me his Model T Ford. Even then [in the fifties], it was an antique. Fifteen dollars, and he totally overcharged me.

You’ve spoken a lot about nineteenth-century inspirations. What about your contemporaries?
I can’t think of any. There are two books that impressed me when I was very young. One was The Adventures of Augie March—the idea of having something so generous, and so adventurous and improvisatory. The other was the U.S.A. trilogy, by John Dos Passos. It’s interesting that of those thirties writers, he was the most self-effacing, and he had the most ambitious project of all, more ambitious than anything Hemingway or Faulkner did. I think I picked that up from him.

Right down to the modesty? You weren’t exactly shouting from the rooftops like Mailer.
Mailer made a terrible mistake. He often stood between his readers and his work. That kind of assiduous pursuit of celebrity, that’s not me.

You were praised and criticized for using historical figures—Ford, Morgan, Houdini—in fiction, as if it were a brand-new thing.
I did have a feeling then that the culture of factuality was so dominating that storytelling had lost all its authority. I thought, If they want fact, I’ll give them facts that will leave their heads spinning.

It’s hard to think there was a time when this kind of thing was controversial.
I heard secondhand that the editor of The New Yorker, William Shawn, was very critical of the book, that someone prepared a major review and he said no. I had transgressed in making up words and thoughts that people had never said. Now it happens almost every day. I think that opened the gates.

What else did the book do?
Well, after the book was published, I got a letter from the then-director of the Morgan Library, and he said he wanted to thank me, because as a result of my book [in which a black militant threatens to blow up the building], they were able to persuade the trustees to spring for the money to install a state-of-the-art security system.

O'Connor short story/E.B. White "About Myself"

Discuss "A Good Man is Hard to Find" by Flannery O'Connor.

SO, WHAT ARE THE DISTINGUISHING FEATURES OF THE "SOUTHERN GOTHIC" WRITING STYLE? Both Faulkner and O'Connor employ elements of the grotesque and examine moral flaws and failures. Any connections to be made?

Discuss E. B. White's short essay "About Myself"---What is his purpose? Who is his audience? What rhetorical strategies does he employ to achieve his purpose in this essay? Does the essay employ satire or irony? Rhetorical mode---description---but does White accomplish the task of describing himself (or any man or woman) in this essay?

(If time permits--begin watching RAGTIME)...Carry on....

Presentations, Homework for Tomorrow, and Extra Credit

We are going to TRY to finish the following presentations today:
*Journey in As I Lay Dying
*Motivations and Existence in As I Lay Dying
*Alienation and Loneliness in As I Lay Dying

Lets try to keep the presentations at 10 minutes each so that the groups are able to finish on time.

For tomorrow:
Please read "A Good Man is Hard to Find" by Flannery O'Conner and "About Myself" by E.B. White.

Because I printed out the copies, please annotate the text! I think you will really enjoy Flannery O'Conner!

Extra Credit for the Prezi Project:

For extra credit, you must have the extra credit completed for tomorrow! This is extra credit for your whole group. If you do not have a Facebook account, then you will not participate in this extra credit -- however as long as your group complete the requirements then the whole group will receive the extra credit.

https://docs.google.com/fileview?id=0B1015hZr-WuRN2JkNGE1MDgtYzFmNy00ZTUzLTg5ZmUtZmUwMDk0OWNiMWE2&

Presentations -- Monday and Tuesday

Agenda:

*10 minutes to prepare with your group
*Group Presentations for the remainder of the period
*Question and Answers after each presentation

Presentations Monday and Tuesday

Be prepared to present your presentations on Monday. I am shooting for around ten minutes for each group. If you go over, that is perfectly fine. WIth that said, a group or two may be bumped to present on Tuesday.

I will give you ten minutes at the beginning of class to collaborate with your group members to solidify the presentation or make those decisions of who you want to speak and present when.

See you Monday!

Prezi Presentations

Today you will begin working with your group to create a Prezi to teach us about your topic.

You will create a Prezi something like this:

As I Lay Dying: Comedy or Tragedy
http://prezi.com/3m9vq1mvdpyx/


For the rest of the period:

* Begin brainstorming and blocking out your information for your presentation with your group.

For a PDF version of the project guidelines handed out in class: https://docs.google.com/fileview?id=0B1015hZr-WuRNmEyNTJhYjctNjQwZS00ZmE0LTgxMmEtODdmNTg0ZDQwNWZk&hl=en

* Create a FREE Prezi.com account here:
https://prezi.com/profile/registration/?license_type=PUBLIC

DON'T FORGET TO WRITE DOWN YOUR ACCOUNT INFORMATION AND PASSWORDS.

Tomorrow be prepared to continue to work on the presentations with your groups!

Coming soon...

* More on literary criticism coming soon!

As I Lay Dying Presentations

As I Lay Dying Presentations
Instead of writing a paper on Faulkner’s text, you will be working together to complete and conclude the novel As I Lay Dying through a presentation.

I would like to introduce you to a new presentation tool. It is called Prezi. It is relatively easy to use and is much more interesting (in my opinion) than using simple Power Point.

Our Agenda for today: 12/9/09

*Welcome to Prezi! What is it? Please watch the “What is Prezi?” 1 minute video.

http://prezi.com/

The following groups will be:

Existence and Motivations in As I Lay Dying
Medina
Eliza
Micah
Celia
Sara

Death and Dying in As I Lay Dying
Malkah
Marguerite
Meredith G.
Amanda
Daniel

The Journey of Symbols, Archetypes, Myths in As I Lay Dying
Meredith J
Nautica
David
Lauren
Emily

As I Lay Dying as a Modernist Text
Kadisha
Nahoma
Elena
Mary
Erin

Loneliness & Alienation in As I Lay Dying
Ian
Hannah
Molly
Rachel
Linh
Martin

-- Begin to think about textual examples to use for your presentation – quotes and specific references to the text and materials used in class.

-- Think about what is this topic, who exemplifies, When and where are there textual examples of the novel, and Why is this an important topic to this novel as a whole?

-- Your final presentation will be a ten-minute presentation. You will also need to create and include a one-page handout for your presentation that outlines your topic, examples, and ideas about these topics.

I will provide you will further guidelines and rubrics tomorrow.

MAKE SURE YOU SAVE YOUR WORK OFTEN.

You will have the remainder of today, tomorrow, and Thursday to work on your presentation. We will present our Prezis to each other this Friday.

So, what IS the point?

Today we uncovered a little bit more of the story: and the plot thickens. (If there really is any plot to this book...)

We discussed today the descent of Darl into madness. One of the prevailing questions that Erin raised in class is this: Why? What is the point?

Let me suggest to you that although we have been reading this novel as a bit of comedy and a bit of tragedy, is there really anything comedic to this poor family full of people that just are trying hard at life -- but society fails them. Anse puts Cash's leg into cement and rips his skin off. Vardaman drives holes into his dead mother's face. Darl begins to talk to himself in the third person. Yet, we laugh at them. We ridicule them as white trash and just southern derelicts.

So, according to Faulkner, who are the real monsters? The Bundrens... or us? ;-) Are they a product of a society that laughs and mocks them? And maybe, just maybe, that is one of his points?

Do we do this to people in real life? Do we laugh at their predicaments? Do we take humor in their ignorance? Hmmm.... Does that reinforce their roles that society has set before them? and what does that do to their pursuit of freedom and hope that Crevoceur and the Declaration of Independence value in a world in which laugher and mockery is their oppression.

Just a few of MY thoughts. What do YOU think?
Ms. Moraites

HW: finish the novel and read the article on Darl's madness handed out in class.

Hemingway and Faulkner and My Other Favs

I hear you had a great class today with Ms. Gamzon and covering a short story by Hemingway. Hemingway is another of my favorite authors. I am particularly a fan of In Our Time by Ernest Hemingway.

In Our Time: http://www.amazon.com/Our-Time-Ernest-Hemingway/dp/0684822768

Really, most of the modern authors -- the ones that deal with these issues of loneliness and the questioning of existence, the existentialism, etc is MY specialty. It is the literature that I truly love. If you are like me, you may find some other philosophers interesting:

Sarte: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean-Paul_Sartre

Simone de Beauvoir http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/beauvoir/

I love this short story, "The Library of Babel" by Borges http://jubal.westnet.com/hyperdiscordia/library_of_babel.html You should definately check it out!

Tomorrow we are going to perplex ourselves with what you are reading tonight. I will give you an additional reading assignment tomorrow for over the weekend. I would like to finish up the book next week! How does that sound?

Ms. Moraites

How would you score your argument essay?

Here is the AP score rubric. What would you give yourself? How can you improve?

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&ct=res&cd=3&ved=0CA0QFjAC&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.gingercherry.com%2Fblog%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2007%2F08%2Fapwritrub.doc&rct=j&q=ap+writing+rubric&ei=WHsWS9ukHdGTlAej8NDPBQ&usg=AFQjCNGXd5anRpSNFv9w3oqgwDmlmflKYA

Working on our Conclusions

As we take a look at your essays today, what are some of the strategies for creating that WOW conclusion that will keep or boost you up to the next score on the AP exam.

Here is a little advice from Ms. Moraites:

The first step to an argument essay is to understand the point that you will argue for, against, or qualify. If you don't actually understand the argument, then your connections will be weak and may be faulty.

Figuring out what the argument is a lot like what we do in class. We take a text and analyze it -- what does it mean? What words are especially important? Who wrote it? Why would they say this?

As you begin writing your essay, it is important to start out your essay strongly and clearly! As a reader, it gets me interested in seeing what you have to say. Then, you will make connections, arguments, etc. But, it is equally important to end your essay with an UMPH! Keeping your essay solid throughout is not an easy task. Trust me, I have written many, many essays. Sometimes the conclusions come together and sometimes I felt like they didn't.

So, the question is -- how do I make that conclusion so awesome that the reader of your AP essay exam say "WOW! This student knows his/her stuff. This student is a solid 8! or 9! for this essay!"

Keeping that ending of your arguments and conclusion solid is one of the keys to keeping your reader engaged and interested in the points that you make.

Check out this website on Conclusions. What are you doing right? What could you work on?

http://www.unc.edu/depts/wcweb/handouts/conclusions.html

We will be working on these in class today and I am giving you an extra day to make changes and bring in a revised edition of your essay as a final copy for me. DUE TOMORROW! (THURSDAY!)


Our Agenda for today:

How do you work up to the conclusion? You have to be stating your thesis first and have made your arguments and points already.

How do you work through your paper? What does your intro say? What are the mini-thesis of each of your paragraphs or points to your argument. And can you share your conclusion?

Reflection: Where do you see gaps in your conclusion? How can it be made better? (Take a look at that website that I put above.)

Conference with a partner. Proof-read each other's papers.

When you do this, read the conclusion first. Do you have any extra suggestions for your partner?

Then go through the rest of your paper with your partner to suggest any other issues or concerns as well as things that are good with their writing!


Ms. Moraites

So, we've read some books, but What IS the American Dream????

For those of you working on your essays tonight. So, what IS the American Dream?

"Essentially the American Dream is an idea which suggests that all people can succeed through hard work, and that all people have the potential to live happy, successful lives. Many people have expanded upon or refined the definition of the American Dream, and this concept has also been subject to a fair amount of criticism. Many people believe that the structure of American society belies the idealistic goal of the American Dream, pointing to examples of inequality rooted in class, race, and ethnic origin which suggest that the American Dream is not attainable for all."

http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-the-american-dream.htm


This expansion and redefining of the American Dream spans from Crevoceur's time (and way before!) to now.

As you write your essay, you will want to first think about:

What IS Crevecour's vision of the American Dream?? <--- What does he state in this Letter? Analyze.

Then, defend, challenge, or qualify his vision. Use textual examples and personal experience examples to back up your your persuasion. You want to make me believe that your defense, challenge, or qualification is absolutely right!

Make sure you refer back to De Crevecour's letter to further support your thesis.

On Grief...

As we're talking about a book called As I Lay Dying, we should think about what some of the stages of grief are. Take a look at this for more info.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kübler-Ross_model

Essay due Wednesday!!

Your essay is due on Wednesday!! Don't forget!! Make sure you have a copy, printed, and ready to go for class!! If you need help, email me.

Quiz Tomorrow

For the quiz tomorrow, you should know:

Characters, Plot, Setting of Barn Burning * several questions on this
Characters, Plot, Setting of As I Lay Dying, so far (and published when?) * the majority of questions on this
Faulkner's Nobel Speech -- (When and) What is Faulkner's purpose for writing?
Cubism and how does it relate?
Interior Monologues
Stream of Consciousness -- Define

Other random information you might want to know for the quiz:

Faulkner's grandfather's nickname was "The Old Colonel" -- (From the movie we watched)

Other novels by Faulkner include:
Absalom! Absolom!
Light in August
The Sound and the Fury
Go Down, Moses
The Hamlet
Requiem for a Nun
Intruder in the Dust

Over the break

I hope you enjoyed watching O Brother, Where Art Thou? Pretty awesome movie, huh? Makes you think, hmmm, should I feel bad for laughing at this dysfunctional family and their problems???

As I mentioned in class, your reading assignment is to read to page 176 by Monday. If you do not have a book, unfortunately, they have not come in. What I suggest to you is to borrow one from a local library or you can purchase one for approximately $12 new at your local Barnes and Nobel or Borders store. If you have problems or are not able to purchase your own copy, please email me any concerns and I will make sure you get a copy for class.

I want to forewarn you that you will have a quiz on Tuesday December 1, 2009 on what we have discussed in class and have read so far.

Ms. Moraites

Handouts

I have been working on adding the handouts to Google Docs for you to access if you are not in class or if you lose them in your wild travels as teenagers. So, without much adieu, here they are. I will be updating these more often for you.

Full text of "Barn Burning"
http://www.rajuabju.com/literature/barnburning.htm

Handouts:

Gatsby Wrap-Up
http://docs.google.com/fileview?id=0B1015hZr-WuRODEyNGQwZjMtODcyYi00NzI3LTgxMTItOGYyY2M5MmUxMWY0&hl=en

As I Lay Dying Intro Packet with Nobel Prize Speech
http://docs.google.com/fileview?id=0B1015hZr-WuRNmU2YjMzZGItYjk3NC00YjQzLThlM2EtYTVlNzZhOGI5ODg0&hl=en

Cubism and Interior Monologues
http://docs.google.com/fileview?id=0B1015hZr-WuRNGNkNzFjZjItOTA1YS00OGU3LWEwMWUtYTFiYWUzZGVjMGYx&hl=en

As I Lay Dying Discussion Handout
http://docs.google.com/fileview?id=0B1015hZr-WuRMDIxYzc0ZDUtOGEwNy00OTQ1LThiODItYTJiNjZlNTJiNzNi&hl=en

Comedy or Tragedy?

Southern Gothic:

Today we will be watching the film O Brother, Where Art Thou? in class.

How can we feel both comedy and tragedy at the same time?

Think about: What are the connections to As I Lay Dying?

Monday's Agenda

Because Friday's quiz and activity took most of the time, we will continue with discovering As I Lay Dying together on Monday. Sorry for those of you who were excited to share out what you had read! I really think taking the time to cover the characters/narrators will help you make a bit more sense out of what we are reading.

I just want to say that the stream of consciousness / interior monologues that you wrote were brilliant! I think the four of you that shared had fantastic interior monologues. -- Two of which were filled with poetic language and complex ideas while the other two exemplified the essence of fragmentation of thought, yet all were disconnected from the present reality. So, two different styles of writing that both accomplished the same thing. Awesome!

The handout given in class should give you even more clarification on what this type of writing looks like. Thank you for your contributions. That kind of participation is encouraged and those participation grades certainly will be boosted for those of you who frequently contribute in class in activities -- for example, this exercise, our in-classroom discussions, and the 5 minute free-write reflections that I will continue to have you write in class.

On Monday, we will really begin to dissect the first section of As I Lay Dying in small groups. (!!!!)

Ms. Moraites

Ms. Moraites' E-mail

Thanks for a great discussion today, and I hope you are enjoying reading the book and that I was able to shed light on a few things for you today. As you begin to think about the novel and start writing your papers, I encourage you to email me any questions or concerns about assignments or even drafts or outlines of your upcoming paper due. Basically, if you need me in any way, please let me know because I want to help you. I check my email constantly at home or on my iPhone, so I will/should respond quickly. :-)

You can email me at:

ms.moraites@gmail.com

Have a great weekend!
Ms. Moraites

As I Lay Dying 11/20/09

Agenda:

1. Intro to the characters -- who are they? Why so many perspectives??
2. Read first chapter aloud
3. Small group discussions

Homework:
Read to page 84 for Monday
Work on Essay due Dec 2nd

Faulkner Reading Assignment

Thank you for your discussion today!

Again, follow the handout's reading assignments. The assignments are due the day listed. If you did NOT read "Barn Burning" for today and respond in class, you are also expected to read it and turn in a response reflecting on the story for tomorrow.


You can access the full first reading assignment by going to the barnes and noble website. You MUST CREATE A Barnes and Noble ACCOUNT to have a full preview. Otherwise, you will not be able to read the whole assignment for tomorrow.

http://search.barnesandnoble.com/As-I-Lay-Dying/William-Faulkner/e/9780679732259/?itm=1&USRI=as+i+lay+dying

See you tomorrow! Be prepared to break up into small groups for discussion :-)

Literary Terms for quiz Fri. 11/20

You should know these terms for the short quiz tomorrow:

mood, narrative, oxymoron, paradox, parallelism (the rhetorical effect it has), antithesis, anaphora, parody, periodic sentence, personification, point of view, prose, repetition, rhetoric, rhetorical modes:

Exposition
Argumentation
Description
Narration


Link to Yoknapatawpha County--Extra Credit question

Extra Credit Question: Can you answer the trivia question posted on the blog?

Agenda for 11/18/09

1. Get As I Lay Dying from library
2. Watch video about Faulkner for background

Homework: Read "Barn Burning" and his Nobel Speech for tomorrow
Full text of Barn Burning online at http://www.rajuabju.com/literature/barnburning.htm

(and) for those of you who were not in class on Tuesday's wrap-up of the great novel The Great Gatsby, there is a one page reflection on the question assigned.

Wilderness of Childhood Essay Michael Chabon

The New York Review of Books

Volume 56, Number 12 · July 16, 2009
Manhood for Amateurs: The Wilderness of Childhood
By Michael Chabon

When I was growing up, our house backed onto woods, a thin two-acre remnant of a once-mighty wilderness. This was in a Maryland city where the enlightened planners had provided a number of such lingering swaths of green. They were tame as can be, our woods, and yet at night they still filled with unfathomable shadows. In the winter they lay deep in snow and seemed to absorb, to swallow whole, all the ordinary noises of your body and your world. Scary things could still be imagined to take place in those woods. It was the place into which the bad boys fled after they egged your windows on Halloween and left your pumpkins pulped in the driveway. There were no Indians in those woods, but there had been once. We learned about them in school. Patuxent Indians, they'd been called. Swift, straight-shooting, silent as deer. Gone but for their lovely place names: Patapsco, Wicomico, Patuxent.

A minor but undeniable aura of romance was attached to the history of Maryland, my home state: refugee Catholic Englishmen, cavaliers in ringlets and ruffs, pirates, battles, the sack of Washington, "The Star-Spangled Banner," Harriet Tubman, Antietam. And when you went out into those woods behind our house, you could feel all that history, those battles and dramas and romances, those stories. You could work it into your games, your imaginings, your lonely flights from the turmoil or torpor of your life at home. My friends and I spent hours there, braves, crusaders, commandos, blues and grays.
The Charles Bronfman Prize

But the Wilderness of Childhood, as any kid could attest who grew up, like my father, on the streets of Flatbush in the Forties, had nothing to do with trees or nature. I could lose myself on vacant lots and playgrounds, in the alleyway behind the Wawa, in the neighbors' yards, on the sidewalks. Anywhere, in short, I could reach on my bicycle, a 1970 Schwinn Typhoon, Coke-can red with a banana seat, a sissy bar, and ape-hanger handlebars. On it I covered the neighborhood in a regular route for half a mile in every direction. I knew the locations of all my classmates' houses, the number of pets and siblings they had, the brand of popsicle they served, the potential dangerousness of their fathers.

Matt Groening once did a great Life in Hell strip that took the form of a map of Bongo's neighborhood. At one end of a street that wound among yards and houses stood Bongo, the little one-eared rabbit boy. At the other stood his mother, about to blow her stack—Bongo was late for dinner again. Between mother and son lay the hazards—labeled angry dogs, roving gang of hooligans, girl with a crush on bongo—of any journey through the Wilderness: deadly animals, antagonistic humans, lures and snares. It captured perfectly the mental maps of their worlds that children endlessly revise and refine. Childhood is a branch of cartography.

Most great stories of adventure, from The Hobbit to Seven Pillars of Wisdom, come furnished with a map. That's because every story of adventure is in part the story of a landscape, of the interrelationship between human beings (or Hobbits, as the case may be) and topography. Every adventure story is conceivable only with reference to the particular set of geographical features that in each case sets the course, literally, of the tale. But I think there is another, deeper reason for the reliable presence of maps in the pages, or on the endpapers, of an adventure story, whether that story is imaginatively or factually true. We have this idea of armchair traveling, of the reader who seeks in the pages of a ripping yarn or a memoir of polar exploration the kind of heroism and danger, in unknown, half-legendary lands, that he or she could never hope to find in life.

This is a mistaken notion, in my view. People read stories of adventure—and write them—because they have themselves been adventurers. Childhood is, or has been, or ought to be, the great original adventure, a tale of privation, courage, constant vigilance, danger, and sometimes calamity. For the most part the young adventurer sets forth equipped only with the fragmentary map—marked here there be tygers and mean kid with air rifle—that he or she has been able to construct out of a patchwork of personal misfortune, bedtime reading, and the accumulated local lore of the neighborhood children.

A striking feature of literature for children is the number of stories, many of them classics of the genre, that feature the adventures of a child, more often a group of children, acting in a world where adults, particularly parents, are completely or effectively out of the picture. Think of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, The Railway Children, or Charles Schulz's Peanuts. Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy presents a chilling version of this world in its depiction of Cittàgazze, a city whose adults have all been stolen away. Then there is the very rich vein of children's literature featuring ordinary contemporary children navigating and adventuring through a contemporary, nonfantastical world that is nonetheless beyond the direct influence of adults, at least some of the time. I'm thinking of the Encyclopedia Brown books, the Great Brain books, the Henry Reed and Homer Price books, the stories of the Mad Scientists' Club, a fair share of the early works of Beverly Cleary.

As a kid, I was extremely fond of a series of biographies, largely fictional, I'm sure, that dramatized the lives of famous Americans—Washington, Jefferson, Kit Carson, Henry Ford, Thomas Edison, Daniel Boone—when they were children. (Boys, for the most part, though I do remember reading one about Clara Barton.) One element that was almost universal in these stories was the vast amounts of time the famous historical boys were alleged to have spent wandering with bosom companions, with friendly Indian boys or a devoted slave, through the once-mighty wilderness, the Wilderness of Childhood, entirely free of adult supervision.

Though the wilderness available to me had shrunk to a mere green scrap of its former enormousness, though so much about childhood had changed in the years between the days of young George Washington's adventuring on his side of the Potomac and my own suburban exploits on mine, there was still a connectedness there, a continuum of childhood. Eighteenth-century Virginia, twentieth-century Maryland, tenth-century Britain, Narnia, Neverland, Prydain—it was all the same Wilderness. Those legendary wanderings of Boone and Carson and young Daniel Beard (the father of the Boy Scouts of America), those games of war and exploration I read about, those frightening encounters with genuine menace, far from the help or interference of mother and father, seemed to me at the time—and I think this is my key point—absolutely familiar to me.

The thing that strikes me now when I think about the Wilderness of Childhood is the incredible degree of freedom my parents gave me to adventure there. A very grave, very significant shift in our idea of childhood has occurred since then. The Wilderness of Childhood is gone; the days of adventure are past. The land ruled by children, to which a kid might exile himself for at least some portion of every day from the neighboring kingdom of adulthood, has in large part been taken over, co-opted, colonized, and finally absorbed by the neighbors.

The traveler soon learns that the only way to come to know a city, to form a mental map of it, however provisional, and begin to find his or her own way around it is to visit it alone, preferably on foot, and then become as lost as one possibly can. I have been to Chicago maybe a half-dozen times in my life, on book tours, and yet I still don't know my North Shore from my North Side, because every time I've visited, I have been picked up and driven around, and taken to see the sights by someone far more versed than I in the city's wonders and hazards. State Street, Halsted Street, the Loop—to me it's all a vast jumbled lot of stage sets and backdrops passing by the window of a car.

This is the kind of door-to-door, all-encompassing escort service that we adults have contrived to provide for our children. We schedule their encounters for them, driving them to and from one another's houses so they never get a chance to discover the unexplored lands between. If they are lucky, we send them out to play in the backyard, where they can be safely fenced in and even, in extreme cases, monitored with security cameras. When my family and I moved onto our street in Berkeley, the family next door included a nine-year-old girl; in the house two doors down the other way, there was a nine-year-old boy, her exact contemporary and, like her, a lifelong resident of the street. They had never met.

The sandlots and creek beds, the alleys and woodlands have been aban- doned in favor of a system of reservations—Chuck E. Cheese, the Jungle, the Discovery Zone: jolly internment centers mapped and planned by adults with no blank spots aside from doors marked staff only. When children roller-skate or ride their bikes, they go forth armored as for battle, and their parents typically stand nearby.

There are reasons for all of this. The helmeting and monitoring, the corralling of children into certified zones of safety, is in part the product of the Consumer Reports mentality, the generally increased consciousness, in America, of safety and danger. To this one might add the growing demands of insurance actuarials and the national pastime of torts. But the primary reason for this curtailing of adventure, this closing off of Wilderness, is the increased anxiety we all feel over the abduction of children by strangers; we fear the wolves in the Wilderness. This is not a rational fear; in 1999, for example, according to the Justice Department, the number of abductions by strangers in the United States was 115. Such crimes have always occurred at about the same rate; being a child is exactly no more and no less dangerous than it ever was. What has changed is that the horror is so much better known. At times it seems as if parents are being deliberately encouraged to fear for their children's lives, though only a cynic would suggest there was money to be made in doing so.

The endangerment of children—that persistent theme of our lives, arts, and literature over the past twenty years—resonates so strongly because, as parents, as members of preceding generations, we look at the poisoned legacy of modern industrial society and its ills, at the world of strife and radioactivity, climatological disaster, overpopulation, and commodification, and feel guilty. As the national feeling of guilt over the extermination of the Indians led to the creation of a kind of cult of the Indian, so our children have become cult objects to us, too precious to be risked. At the same time they have become fetishes, the objects of an unhealthy and diseased fixation. And once something is fetishized, capitalism steps in and finds a way to sell it.

What is the impact of the closing down of the Wilderness on the development of children's imaginations? This is what I worry about the most. I grew up with a freedom, a liberty that now seems breathtaking and almost impossible. Recently, my younger daughter, after the usual struggle and exhilaration, learned to ride her bicycle. Her joy at her achievement was rapidly followed by a creeping sense of puzzlement and disappointment as it became clear to both of us that there was nowhere for her to ride it—nowhere that I was willing to let her go. Should I send my children out to play?

There is a small grocery store around the corner, not over two hundred yards from our front door. Can I let her ride there alone to experience the singular pleasure of buying herself an ice cream on a hot summer day and eating it on the sidewalk, alone with her thoughts? Soon after she learned to ride, we went out together after dinner, she on her bike, with me following along at a safe distance behind. What struck me at once on that lovely summer evening, as we wandered the streets of our lovely residential neighborhood at that after-dinner hour that had once represented the peak moment, the magic hour of my own childhood, was that we didn't encounter a single other child.

Even if I do send them out, will there be anyone to play with?

Art is a form of exploration, of sailing off into the unknown alone, heading for those unmarked places on the map. If children are not permitted—not taught—to be adventurers and explorers as children, what will become of the world of adventure, of stories, of literature itself?


Copyright © 1963-2009, NYREV, Inc. All rights reserved. Nothing in this publication may be reproduced without the permission of the publisher. Please contact web@nybooks.com with any questions about this site. The cover date of the next issue will be December 17, 2009.

Great Gatsby Discussion questions

Pre-Reading

1. Why are we still reading a book written in the 1920's? What gives a book its longevity?
2. How was the 1920's a reaction to WWI?
3. Some people think that having money leads to happiness. Do you agree? Why or why not? What are the advantages or disadvantages of being wealthy.
4. What is the "American Dream"? Where did it originate, and how has it changed over the centuries?
5. Have you ever wanted to relive a moment from your past, to redo it? Describe the situation. How and why would you change the past?


Chapter 1

1. Notice how many times Fitzgerald uses the words hope, or dream. Why does he do this?
2. Nick starts the novel by relaying his father's advice "Whenever you feel like criticizing anyone, just remember that all the people in this world haven't had the advantages that you've had." List Nick's advantages. Does he reserve judgement in the novel?
3. Pay attention to time. What is the day and year during the first scene at Daisy's house?
4. Describe Nick. What facts do you know about him, and what do you infer about him? What kind of a narrator do you think he will be?
5. What image does the author use to describe Jordan Baker? What does it mean?
6. How does Nick react to Jordan?
7. What does Tom's behavior reveal about his character?



Chapter 2

1. Describe the "valley of ashes." What does it look like and what does it represent?
2. Describe Mr. Wilson and Myrtle. Do they seem to fit into the setting?
3. What more have you learned about Nick in this chapter? Is he similar or different than the people he spends his time with?
4. Describe the violent act Tom comitted against Myrtle. What does this reveal about him?



Chapter 3

1. Pay attention to Nick's judgements. What do they reveal about his character that he does this (especially in relation to his opening comments)?
2. Describe Gatsby the first time Nick sees him.
3. What rumors have been told about Gatsby? Why does Fitzgerald reveal rumors rather than fact?
4. What does Nick think of Gatsby after meeting him?
5. How is Gatsby different from his guests?
6. Why does Nick choose to share his thoughts and feelings with Jordan?
7. Nick thinks he's one of the few honest people he knows, why? Do you think he is honest?


Chapter 4

1. List all of the rumors told about Gatsby.
2. Why does Fitzgerald list all of Gatsby's party guests?
3. Why does Gatsby tell Nick about his life? Do you believe Gatsby? Does Nick?
4. What role does Meyer Wolfsheim play in the novel? Why is there so much focus on his nose and what does this tell you about Fitzgerald's politics?
5. What does Jordan's story of Daisy's marriage reveal about Daisy?
6. Why did Gatsby want Daisy to see his house?
7. Nick says, "There are only the pursued, the pursuing, the busy and the tired." What does Nick mean? How does each character in the novel fit into this schema?


Chapter 5

1. Why does Gatsby deliver so many goods and services to Nick's house?
2. Describe the effect of rain on the plot.
3. Why does Gatsby offer Nick work? How does Nick feel about this?
4. Explain the significance of the green light.
5. Why does Gatsby get so many phone calls? What does this say about him?


Chapter 6

1. How truthful was Gatsby when he relayed the story of his life to Nick? Why does Fitzgerald tell the story of Jay Gatz now?
2. Describe the meeting of Tom and Gatsby. What does this meeting reveal about them?
3. Why did Daisy and Tom find Gatsby's party loathsome?
4. How did Gatsby measure the success of his party?
5. When Nick told Gatsby that "you can't repeat the past", Gatsby replied, "Why of course you can!" Do you agree with Nick or Gatsby?



Chapter 7

1. Who is Trimachio? Explain how this describes Gatsby.
2. Describe Daisy and Gatsby's new relationship.
3. Compare George Wilson and Tom. What did each man learn about his wife and how did they each react?
4. If Daisy says she's never loved Tom, is there someone whom she thinks she loves?
5. Describe the fight between Gatsby and Tom. What do these men think of each other? How are they similar and how are they different?
6. What was significant about Nick's 30th birthday?
7. What do you think Tom and Daisy were saying to each other in the kitchen? Do you think that Tom knew Daisy was driving the "death car"? Why, why not?
8. At this point, how would you end the novel?


Chapter 8

1. How does Fitzgerald achieve a melancholic mood in the beginning of this chapter?
2. How are seasons used in constructing this novel?
3. Who is Dan Cody and what is his significance in Gatsby's life?
4. How does Nick's statement "You're worth the whole bunch put together" show a change in Nick from the beginning of the novel?
5. How does T. J. Eckleberg affect Mr. Wilson?



Chapter 9

1. Why did Nick take care of Gatsby's funeral?
2. How was Jay Gatz's childhood schedule consistent with the adult Gatsby's behavior?
3. Who attended Gatsby's funeral? How and why is this significant?
4. What is the purpose of Nick's last meeting with Jordan?
5. Why does Nick call Tom and Daisy "careless people"?


Post Reading

1. Does this novel have villains and heroes? Why, why not? If yes, who fits into these categories and why?
2. Nick is both part of the action and acting as an objective commentator. Does this narration style work? Why, why not?
3. How did Fitzgerald use weather to reflect the mood of the story?
4. Again, why are we still reading a book written in the 1920's? What gives a book its longevity? And which of its themes are eternal in the American psyche.

AP Packets/Great Gatsby

Play Roaring Twenties game
www.mccord-museum.qc.ca/en/keys/games/game_0_1920s/

Great Gatsby Treasure Hunt

www.huffenglish.com/gatsby/gatsbyhunt.html

Journal Prompts:

1. “Write about the American Dream? What is it and what does it mean to you? What are your dreams for the future?” “If money was not an issue…What effect would wealth have upon the dreams that you wrote about earlier?”
2. “How do you feel about the characters that you have met in the Great Gatsby so far? Do any of the characters remind you of anybody that you know? How have the female characters been portrayed so far? ”
3. “Literature often reflects the time period in which it is created. What have you learnt or did you already know about the period in which The Great Gatsby was written?”
4. “What are your impressions of Gatsby? Do you believe the account of his past? Why/Why not? Given Daisy's story, what do you think will happen next in the novel?”

5. “Have you ever wanted to repeat the past? How realistic do you think Gatsby's dream is?”
6. “What is great about the Great Gatsby? What are your opinions of Gatsby now that you have finished the novel? How great was he and why?”
7. “The Great Gatsby is a novel about … Avoiding a simple plot summary, discuss what you think the novel we have just read is really about. What is Fitzgerald trying to do in his book?”

Fri. 11/6 AP Packet Great Gatsby

Go over AP Multiple Choice

AP Packet Essay #3 DUE MONDAY

Read Great Gatsby to page 102 for TUESDAY!

The Great Gatsby

Agenda:


The Roaring Twenties!

Break into groups of approx. 4 people and work on creating a portrait of images, videos, icons, and info for your topic.

Ms. Moraites' portrait of the 1920s http://wallwisher.com/wall/gatsbyand1920s


*American Society of the 1920s http://wallwisher.com/wall/per9amersociety

*The American Dream http://wallwisher.com/wall/per9amerdream

*The Lost Generation – F. Scott Fitzgerald and Zelda http://wallwisher.com/wall/per9lostgen

*Art Movements of the 1920s http://wallwisher.com/wall/per9arts20s


Share with the class the highlights of your topic.

Homework:
1. Continue to read
2. What emerging theme do you see in The Great Gatsby? Post an answer on the wall link below:

http://wallwisher.com/wall/themesofgatsby

AP Packet #2 Read Question #1 in packet #2

Read Question #1 in packet #2

Begin working on a 40 minute essay

Packet multiple choice questions due FRIDAY

Ms. Moraites' Research

Hi everyone!

I am doing research on integrating pop culture in the classroom. I would like to involve you in my research and writing process! Please go to this website and post your answer to the following question:

(Click the link below and double click the wall.)

What is your favorite song, music artist, or music video of '08/'09? Of all time??
If you can't decide, what songs do you DISLIKE?

Thank you!
Ms. Moraites

Week of 10/19-10/23 Vocab and Readings

Continue work on Their Eyes Were Watching God and The Bluest Eye projects.


Finish reading your book by Friday.There will be a quiz on Friday about the vocabulary words and the books.


Vocabulary for this week: Literary Terms

generic conventions
genre
prose
poetry: lyric dramatic epic narrative
drama: tragedy comedy farce melodrama
hyperbole
homily
imagery: visual auditory tactile gustatory olfactory
inference/infer
invective
irony: verbal irony, situational irony, dramatic irony

Readings for Monday, Oct. 26 in The Bedford Reader

Maya Angelou Champion of the World pg. 93
Brent Staples Black Men and Public space pg. 180
Gloria Naylor The Meanings of a Word pg. 406


Check online for quizzes on books.

Figures of speech

New literary terms for next week:

hyperbole
irony
metaphor
metonymy
oxymoron
paradox
personification
simile
synedoche
understatement (litote)
asyndeton
polysyndeton

The Bluest Eye Group

Here is a good website for materials about The Bluest Eye:

academic.brooklyn.cuny.edu/english/melani/cs6/morrison.html

Zora Website

Here is a good website for Zora Neale Hurston:

www.zoranealehurston.com

Go to this website, explore, set up a reading and discussion schedule for your group

Week of 10/5 Agenda Hurston/Morrison

This week we will begin to discuss and read Zora Neale Hurston and Toni Morrison

Mon. Finish discussion of Alice Walker's "Beauty"

Tuesday--Go over AP Packet 2 passages/ Turn in O'Brien papers

Wednesday--Go over AP packet 2 more passages; Set reading schedules with groups

Thursday--Discuss first reading assignments

Friday--Continue discussion of novels

Fri. Agenda Hurston/Walker/Morrison

1. Discuss "How It Feels to be Colored Me"

2. Chunk and read Alice Walker's "Beauty: When the Other dancer is the Self"

3. Set up reading schedule for reading group. End of marking period is Oct. 16. Projects should be presented on Oct. 14, 15, and 16.



LINK TO MLA CITATION WEBSITE:

http://honolulu.hawaii.edu/legacylib/mlahcc.html

How it Feels to be Colored Me/Nobel Lecture

Toni Morrison's Nobel Prize Lecture
nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/literature/laureates/1993/morrison-lecture.html


How It Feels to be Colored Me: finish reading for Homework
grammar.about.com/od/60essays/a/theireyesessay.htm


Zora Neale Hurston website:
www.zoranealehurston.com/

The Toni Morrison society:

www.tonimorrisonsociety.org/readers.html

Video interview with Toni morrison:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DUr_XoMCPFA

Wed. 9/30 PSAT Meeting

Things They Carried paper and AP Packet #1 due next Tuesday Oct. 6

AP paper #1 Things They Carried

3-5 page paper, 12 pt. Time font, MLA citation and style, Due Oct. 6

How would one read O'Brien's The Things They Carried "literarily" versus "literally"? Using examples from your readings of the text, discuss the rhetorical devices O'Brien uses to tell "story truth" versus "happening truth"--or how he proceeds to tell "a noble lie." Be sure to use MLA citation for this paper.

1. Reading literally differs from reading literarily in several ways, including your relationship to the "truth" of the text, as well as its meaning.

2. When you read literally, you are trying to find meaning; when you read literarily, you are attempting to make meaning.

3. Literary texts provide various signals that invite us to read them literarily; they open themselves to multiple interpretations.

4. Good literary questions call attention to problematic details of the texts under analysis and encourage readers to return to the texts to reconsider those problems.

5. Such formal features as plot, setting, character, point of view, and theme provide you with opportunities to ask specific questions that will help you analyze a short story.

Things They Carried

View video of Tim O'Brien

Tomorrow: Full class discussion about The Things They Carried

More quizzes on gradesaver.com/the-things-they-carried/study-guide/


The Things They Carried Quiz 1

1. Which war is the subject of this book?

a) The Korean War
b) The First Gulf War
c) World War II
d) Vietnam

2. Who is the narrator of The Things They Carried?

a) Lieutenant Cross
b) Michael Herr
c) Kiowa
d) Tim O'Brien

3. The book is best described as

a) a collection of short stories
b) a novel
c) a memoir
d) a series of stories

4. The author's own term for the book's structure is

a) memoir
b) war fiction
c) novel
d) meta-fiction

5. The book is set in all of the following places except

a) Minnesota
b) Vietnam
c) Massachusetts
d) Canada

6. What does Jimmy Cross treasure most?

a. his gun
b. his slingshot
c. his bible
d. letters from a girl

7. Martha is

a. a nurse
b. an actress
c. a soldier
d. a student






8. In "The Things They Carried" why does Jimmy Cross feel guilty?

a. he doesn't miss Martha
b. he killed a Vietnamese boy
c. he let one of his men die
d. he cheated on Martha

a) 9. What was Ted Lavender doing when he died?

a. peeing
b. walking
c. hunting
d. scouting

10. According to Kiowa, what was the most remarkable thing about his death?

a. how little he was carrying
b. how slow it was
c. its speed and gravity
d. that he killed his killer, too


11. When Jimmy Cross visits the narrator in "Love," he says that he and Martha

a. never saw one another again
b. are married
c. met again but went their separate ways
d. are in love and are engaged

12. What did Martha give Jimmy Cross, twice?

a. a pebble
b. a picture of her playing sports
c. letters
d. a kiss

13. When he is still in love with Martha, Jimmy Cross is obsessed with her

a. poetry
b. virginity
c. university
d. knees

14. Where is "Love" set?

a. Vietnam
b. Cambodia
c. Massachusetts
d. Japan

15. In "Love," what does Cross ask O'Brien to do?

a. burn Kiowa's body
b. burn photographs of Martha
c. write about his love for Martha
d. write about him as if he was a hero

16. Who is Linda?

a. O'Brien's childhood sweetheart
b. the sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong
c. Jimmy Cross's sweetheart
d. a Japanese nurse

17. What did Linda die of?

a. consumption
b. a heart attack
c. she was shot in Vietnam
d. a brain tumor

18. All of the following are stories in the collection except

a. "How to Kill a Viet Cong"
b. "The Man I Killed"
c. "How to Tell a True War Story"
d. "Notes"

19. O'Brien felt all of the following while at war except

a. fear
b. boredom
c. shame
d. pride

20. In many of the stories, O'Brien is how old?

a. 16
b. 40
c. 43
d. 55


21. Where is he when O'Brien decides to go to Vietnam?

a) at home
b) at the meatpacking factory
c) in a boat on a river
d) in the car in Minnesota

22. Who does O'Brien say saved his life?

a) his father
b) Sam Smith, canadian
c) Elroy Berdahl, lodge owner
d) Tim O'Brien

23. What had O'Brien planned to do after college?

a) go to Canada
b) go to Yale
c) go to Harvard
d) go to Vietnam


24. Why is Lee Strunk afraid of Dave Jensen in "Friends"?

a) He is afraid he will maim him.
b) He is afraid he will kill him.
c) He's afraid his friend will steal his girlfriend.
d) He's afraid that he hurt his feelings.

25. What is the macho Curt Lemon afraid of?

a) the dentist
b) Mary Anne
c) the enemy
d) O'Brien

Agenda Thurs 9/24

Discuss readings of The Things They Carried

Please post your thoughts and comment on the following:
What story so far in The Things They Carried has affected you most? O'Brien has stated that his stories are meant to convey "a noble lie." What do you feel is his noble lie? In what way is "story truth" more real than "happening truth?"

Friday AP Terms Quiz Links to Examples

Here are the new words for Friday's quiz:
Know logos, pathos, ethos

Click the words for examples of these AP terms. For a definition, see your AP packet.

• caricature
• clause
• colloquial/colloqualism
• conceit
• connotation
• denotation
• diction
• didactic
• euphemism
• extended metaphor

Things They Carried 3 Questions 3 Observations

Friday,

Post your 3 questions and 3 observations as comments here for the class.

The Things They Carried Essay Discussion questions

Suggested Essay Topics

1. “The Man I Killed” is the only story that focuses primarily on a Vietnamese character. Why does this shift in focus occur in this particular story? Why are Vietnamese characters largely absent from the rest of the text?

2. Although the work is supposedly about the Vietnam war, the final story focuses not on the war but on an episode from O’Brien’s childhood. Discuss how this story relates to the stories of the war. What is O’Brien’s purpose in ending his collection of stories this way?

3. What do the terms “story-truth” and “happening-truth” mean in the context of the book? How do they differ?

4. Although The Things They Carried contains a story called “The Man I Killed,” it is unclear whether O’Brien actually killed anyone in Vietnam. What purpose does this ambiguity serve?

5. How does shame fit into O’Brien’s portrayal of the war experience?

6. Discuss the structure of the work. Do the stories progress in a linear manner? How does the work’s fragmented style contribute to the themes that run through the stories?

Reading Schedule Things They Carried

Read for:

Fri. 9/18 "On the Rainy River"

Mon. 9/21 to page 116 "Stocking"

Wed. 9/23 to page 180 "Field Trip"

Fri. 9/25 Finish book

Check out Vietnam War links and videos on blog page

Agenda Week of 9/14 Things They Carried

Monday and Tuesday--Write critical lens from Summer reading


Wednesday, 9/16

View part of O'Brien video

Discuss "The Things They Carried"

"What they carried was partly a function of rank, partly of field specialty. As a machine gunner, Henry Dobbins carried the M-60, which weighed 23 pounds unloaded, but which was almost always loaded. He also carried between 10 and 15 pounds of ammunition draped in belts across his chest and shoulders."

"The things they carried were largely determined by necessity. Among them were P-38 can openers, pocket knives, heat tabs, wristwatches, dog tags, mosquito repellant, chewing gum, candy, cigarettes, salt tablets, packets of Kool-Aid, lighters, matches, sewing kits, Military Payment Certificates, and two or three canteens of water."

"They carried the land itself--Vietnam, the place, the soil-powdery-orange-red dust that covered their boots and fatiques and faces. They carried the sky. The whole atmosphere, they carried it, the humidity, the monsoons, the stink of fungus and decay, all of it, they carried gravity."

"They carried all the emotional baggage of men who might die. Grief, terror, love, longing--these were intanigbles, but the intangibles had their own mass and specifc gravity, they had tangible weight. They carried shameful memories. They carried the common secret of cowardice barely restrained, the instinct to run or freeze or hide...They carried their reputations. They carried the soldier's greatest fear, which was the fear of blushing."

* Briefly discuss the differences between "literal" things that the soldiers carried and "figurative" things. What are some "literal" and "figurative" things that the students carry with them every day to school? Monday and Tuesday--Write critical lens from Summer reading


Wednesday, 9/16

View part of O'Brien video

Discuss "The Things They Carried"

"What they carried was partly a function of rank, partly of field specialty. As a machine gunner, Henry Dobbins carried the M-60, which weighed 23 pounds unloaded, but which was almost always loaded. He also carried between 10 and 15 pounds of ammunition draped in belts across his chest and shoulders."

"The things they carried were largely determined by necessity. Among them were P-38 can openers, pocket knives, heat tabs, wristwatches, dog tags, mosquito repellant, chewing gum, candy, cigarettes, salt tablets, packets of Kool-Aid, lighters, matches, sewing kits, Military Payment Certificates, and two or three canteens of water."

"They carried the land itself--Vietnam, the place, the soil-powdery-orange-red dust that covered their boots and fatiques and faces. They carried the sky. The whole atmosphere, they carried it, the humidity, the monsoons, the stink of fungus and decay, all of it, they carried gravity."

"They carried all the emotional baggage of men who might die. Grief, terror, love, longing--these were intanigbles, but the intangibles had their own mass and specifc gravity, they had tangible weight. They carried shameful memories. They carried the common secret of cowardice barely restrained, the instinct to run or freeze or hide...They carried their reputations. They carried the soldier's greatest fear, which was the fear of blushing."

* Briefly discuss the differences between "literal" things that the soldiers carried and "figurative" things. What are some "literal" and "figurative" things that the students carry with them every day to school?

Agenda Wed and Thurs. Sept. 9. 10

1, Review "A" words for quiz on Friday

2. Also know ANAPHORA, LOGOS, PATHOS, ETHOS

3. Discuss President Obama's speech to students

4. Thurs. P/U The Things They Carried

5. Break into discussion groups for summer readings:

The Time Traveler's Wife
The Color of Water
The Bell Jar
The Perks of Being a Wallflower

Agenda Tues. Sept. 8

Elements of Style quiz

www.docstyles.com/write.htm


Read "Ambush"

"They carried all the emotional baggage of men who might die. Grief, terror, love, longing--these were intangibles, but the intangibles had their own mass and specific gravity, they had tangible weight. They carried shameful memories. They carried the common secret of cowardice.... Men killed, and died, because they were embarrassed not to."

A finalist for both the 1990 Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Critics Circle Award, The Things They Carried marks a subtle but definitive line of demarcation between Tim O'Brien's earlier works about Vietnam, the memoir If I Die in a Combat Zone and the fictional Going After Cacciato, and this sly, almost hallucinatory book that is neither memoir nor novel nor collection of short stories but rather an artful combination of all three. Vietnam is still O'Brien's theme, but in this book he seems less interested in the war itself than in the myriad different perspectives from which he depicts it. Whereas Going After Cacciato played with reality, The Things They Carried plays with truth. The narrator of most of these stories is "Tim"; yet O'Brien freely admits that many of the events he chronicles in this collection never really happened. He never killed a man as "Tim" does in "The Man I Killed," and unlike Tim in "Ambush," he has no daughter named Kathleen. But just because a thing never happened doesn't make it any less true. In "On the Rainy River," the character Tim O'Brien responds to his draft notice by driving north, to the Canadian border where he spends six days in a deserted lodge in the company of an old man named Elroy while he wrestles with the choice between dodging the draft or going to war. The real Tim O'Brien never drove north, never found himself in a fishing boat 20 yards off the Canadian shore with a decision to make. The real Tim O'Brien quietly boarded the bus to Sioux Falls and was inducted into the United States Army. But the truth of "On the Rainy River" lies not in facts but in the genuineness of the experience it depicts: both Tims went to a war they didn't believe in; both considered themselves cowards for doing so. Every story in The Things They Carried speaks another truth that Tim O'Brien learned in Vietnam; it is this blurred line between truth and reality, fact and fiction, that makes his book unforgettable. --Alix Wilber --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Discussion questions

* Why does the narrator lie to his daughter, and how does he justify it? Do you think she will ask him the same question when she's older? Why/Why not?
* The narrator "keep[s] writing war stories." What does he expect the writing to do? Do you think it is working?
* Why doesn't the narrator let the soldier pass? How do you think you would have reacted in a similar situation?
* Why do you think the narrator focuses on the gory details of the soldier's death?
* Kiowa tells the narrator that it was a "good kill." What does this phrase mean in its military context? Do you agree or disagree with Kiowa's interpretation? Why/Why not?
* How do individuals justify killing during wartime when they would not kill during times of peace? What does this tell you about humans' tendencies toward self-preservation?
* What steps could the narrator take to end his own torment about killing the man? How can we come to grips with the guilt we feel over some of our actions?

HW: Read transcript of President Obama's speech to students. We will discuss his writing strategies.

Scoring AP essays

Scoring Your AP English Language and Composition Essays
Adapted from: English Language and Composition, 3rd Edition

Each of the three AP English Language and Composition essays equals one-third of the total essay score, and the entire essay (free-response) section equals 55% of the total exam score.

Each essay is read by experienced, well-trained high school AP teachers or college professors. The essay is given a holistic score from 1 to 9. (A score of 0 is recorded for a student who writes completely off the topic-for example, "Why I think this test is a waste of money." A student who doesn't even attempt an essay, who leaves a blank page, will receive the equivalent of a 0 score, but it is noted as a dash [-] on the reader's scoring sheet.) The reader assigns a score based on the essay's merits as a whole, on what the essay does well; the readers don't simply count errors. Although each essay topic has its own scoring rubric (or guide) based on that topic's specific information, a general scoring guide for rhetorical analysis and argumentation essays follows. Notice that, on the whole, essay-scoring guides encompass four essential points; AP readers want your essay to be (1) on topic, (2) well organized, (3) thoroughly developed, and (4) correct in mechanics and sophisticated in style.
High Score (8-9)

High-scoring essays thoroughly address all the tasks of the essay prompt in well-organized responses. The writing demonstrates stylistic sophistication and control over the elements of effective writing, although it is not necessarily faultless. Overall, high-scoring essays present thoroughly developed, intelligent ideas; sound and logical organization; strong evidence; and articulate diction.

*

Rhetorical analysis essays demonstrate significant understanding of the passage, its intent, and the rhetorical strategies the author employs.
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Argument essays demonstrate the ability to construct a compelling argument, observing the author's underlying assumptions, (addressing multiple authors in the synthesis essay) and discussing many sides of the issues with appropriate evidence.

Medium-High Score (6-7)

Medium-scoring essays complete the tasks of the essay topic well - they show some insight but usually with less precision and clarity than high-scoring essays. There may be lapses in correct diction or sophisticated language, but the essay is generally well written.

*

Rhetorical analysis essays demonstrate sufficient examination of the author's point and the rhetorical strategies he uses to enhance the central idea.
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Argument essays demonstrate the ability to construct an adequate argument, understand the author's point, and discuss its implications with suitable evidence. The synthesis argument will address at least three of the sources.

Medium Score (5)

Essays that earn a medium score complete the essay task, but with no special insights; the analysis lacks depth and merely states the obvious. Frequently, the ideas are predictable and the paragraph development weak. Although the writing conveys the writer's ideas, they are presented simplistically and often contain lapses in diction or syntax.

*

Rhetorical analysis essays demonstrate uneven or insufficient understanding of how rhetorical strategies create an author's point. Often, the writer merely lists what he or she observes in the passage instead of analyzing effect.
*

Argument essays demonstrate the ability to present an argument, but they frequently provide limited and inadequate discussion, explanation, or evidence for the writer's ideas. The writer may not address enough of the sources in the synthesis essay. Oversimplification of the issue(s) minimizes the essay's effectiveness.

Medium-Low Score (3-4)

These essays are weaker than the 5 score because the writer overlooks or perhaps misreads important ideas in the passage. The student may summarize the passage's ideas instead of analyzing them. Although the writer's ideas are generally understandable, the control of language is often immature.

*

Rhetorical analysis essays demonstrate little discussion of rhetorical strategies or incorrect identification and/or analysis of those strategies.
*

Argument essays demonstrate little ability to construct an argument. They may not clearly identify the author's point, may not present multiple authors' points of view in the synthesis essay, and may offer little evidence for the student's position.

Low Score (1-2)

These essays demonstrate minimal understanding of the topic or the passage. Perhaps unfinished, these essays offer no analysis of the passage and little or no evidence for the student's ideas. Incorrect assertions may be made about the passage. Stylistically, these essays may show consistent grammatical problems, and sentence structure is usually simple and unimaginative.

*

Rhetorical analysis essays demonstrate little ability to identify or analyze rhetorical strategies. Sometimes these essays misread the prompt and replace it with easier tasks, such as paraphrasing the passage or listing some strategies the author uses.
*

Argument essays demonstrate little ability to understand the author's point (or multiple authors in the synthesis essay) and then construct an argument that analyzes it. Minimal or nonexistent evidence hurts the essay's effectiveness. Some students may substitute an easier task by presenting tangential or irrelevant ideas, evidence, or explanation.

Agenda Week of Sept. 2-4

Discuss AP Essay grading scale and criteria.

Share essays and peer edit in groups of 4. Establish rubric and categories of overall PURPOSE/main idea (MEANING), handling of prompt, organization and development, sentence structure (SYNTAX), use of language (DICTION), grammar and usage.

Handout: AP Resource packet

Assignment: Go over AP terms --first ten words "the A list" for quiz next Friday

First novel: The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien

Summer Work reminder for AP English Language and Composition

School will be starting in a little over a week. I'm looking forward to meeting those of you I don't already know and working with all of you throughout the year. I hope you've had a wonderful summer despite all the rain.

This is just a reminder about doing the summer work (which counts as 25% of the 1st marking period grade):

1. Read two books on the 11th grade reading list. All 11th graders will be getting a critical lens essay assignment in class to do. I strongly recommend The Time Traveler's Wife, The Color of Water, and The Perks of Being a Wallflower. I really enjoyed these books.

2. Read/review The Elements of Style and Eats, Shoots, and Leaves. Both the SAT and the AP English exam have multiple choice questions on grammar and style. You need to be writing with excellent grammar, punctuation and style throughout the year.

3. Read 5 essays from the recommended lists on the summer work handout or from the link on the website (you can pick short ones to read, but try to vary your choices between the old and the new writers). Write 5 essays of your own analyzing the essays you've read using SOAPStone as a model for analysis (you don't have to follow the pattern exactly). SOAPStone is a tool that is recommended for AP English Language to give you practice for the questions on the exam. We're going to be SHARING and DISCUSSING your work on these essays in groups in class during the first weeks. You'll get practice with the 1-9 point grading scale of the AP exam. Be sure to have copies of the essays you read and wrote about on hand as well.
Write and turn in 5 essays well-written and you'll get an A on the assignment. Write and turn in 5 essays extremely well-written and you'll get an A+. I'm counting on all of you to do well.

4. I know it sounds like a lot of work, but it's work that will pay off. It will provide a baseline for you during the year and give you an idea of what you need to do to get a 3 or higher on the exam in May. It's also 25% of your first marking period grade, so it really helps.

5. Please feel free this week to sign in to the website for your class and post comments, questions or share essays for the class to read. That's why each class has a blog. It's not hard to sign in or become a follower. The blog will ask you for an email address to use to post comments. The blogs will have important links and assignments for you during the year, so try to become familiar with them.

The websites again are: apenglish5.blogspot.com and apenglish9.blogspot.com

6. We'll be reading Tim O'Brien's The Things They Carried and Toni Morrison's The Bluest Eye during the 1st marking period. So once we get past the summer work and review, we'll be reading and discussing literature and life in class (and isn't that what an English class is designed to do?).

So enjoy the rest of the summer, but make time to complete the summer work. See you soon.

SOAPSTONE

SOAPSTone

Analysis Strategy



SOAPSTone (Speaker, Occasion, Audience, Purpose, Subject, Tone) is an acronym for a series of questions that we must first ask themselves, and then answer, as we begin to plan our compositions, or if we’re analyzing others’ essays and writings.




Who is the Speaker?
The voice that tells the story. Before we begin to write, they must decide whose voice is going to be heard. Whether this voice belongs to a fictional character or to the writers themselves, students should determine how to insert and develop those attributes of the speaker that will influence the perceived meaning of the piece.



When analyzing others’ writing, we ask ourselves who is speaking? Is it the writer? A persona? How can we tell? What does the writing say about the speaker?

What is the Occasion?
The time and the place of the piece; the context that prompted the writing. Writing does not occur in a vacuum. All writers are influenced by the larger occasion: an environment of ideas, attitudes, and emotions that swirl around a broad issue. Then there is the immediate occasion: an event or situation that catches the writer's attention and triggers a response.



Why are we writing? What am I concerned with? Or, when analyzing others’ writing, what are they writing in response to? What’s happening in the larger world? What is the specific reason the person is writing (or speaking)?

Who is the Audience?
The group of readers to whom this piece is directed. As we begin to write, we must determine who the audience is that we intend to address. It may be one person or a specific group. This choice of audience will affect how and why we write a particular text.



When analyzing others’ writing, we have to determine who the writer had in mind, as well, and why.



Questions to keep in mind: Is the writing intended to challenge a predicted point of view? To build on a predicted shared point of view? Is the audience a peer group? Superiors? Other? Are there both intended and unintended audiences?


What is the Purpose?
The reason behind the text. We need to consider the purpose of the text in order to develop the thesis or the argument and its logic. We should ask ourselves, "What do I want my audience to think or do as a result of reading my text?"



When analyzing others’ writing, we need to determine this same answer in regard to the purpose. What am we, as readers, supposed to think or do as a result of this person’s writing?

What is the Subject?
We should be able to state the subject in a few words or phrases. This step helps us to focus on the intended task throughout the writing process.



As well, when reading others’ writings, we should be able to state the subject in a few words or phrases, as well, especially if the writing is done well.

What is the Tone?
The attitude of the author, often toward his or her writing and/or topic. The spoken word can convey the speaker's attitude and thus help to impart meaning through tone of voice. With the written word, it is tone that extends meaning beyond the literal, and we must learn to convey this tone in our diction (choice of words), syntax (sentence construction), and imagery (metaphors, similes, and other types of figurative language). The ability to manage tone is one of the best indicators of a sophisticated writer.



Additionally, we should read others’ writings carefully to understand tone, because this meaning is central to understanding. We look for clues that help us “hear” the writer, and thus make judgments about his or her tone.







Source: This handout adapted from AP Central for Teachers

Link for Essays

This is a great link to find essays to read:

http://grammar.about.com/od/60essays/a/classicessays.htm

Summer Reading

Advanced Placement
English Language and Composition
Summer Reading Program 2009-2010
School of the Arts

OVERVIEW:
This summer, you will complete the standard SOTA Commencement Reading List items (2 novels from the selections on that list, 11th grade). In addition, you will need to read the following reading selections in preparation for Advanced Placement English Language and Composition this fall semester. Your first compositions in class will be based on one or more of these readings, and we will study them further during the first unit; therefore, you should make sure that you have a thorough understanding of these works.

1. Eats, Shoots and Leaves, Lynn Truss (for grammar review, available in library)
2. The Elements of Style, Strunk and White (for style review)

3. In addition to the books above, read at least five essays from among the following essayists (many of these writers have essays online):
Joseph Addison, Margaret Atwood, Francis Bacon, James Baldwin, Wayne C. Booth,
Joan Didion, Annie Dillard, W.E.B. Dubois, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Ellen Goodman,
Nadine Gordimer, William Hazlitt, bell hooks, Thomas Jefferson, Martin Luther King,
Charles Lamb, Barry Lopez, Norman Mailer, Nancy Mairs, Toni Morrison, George
Orwell, Carl Sagan, Richard Steele, Henry David Thoreau, James Thurber, Alice Walker,
Eudora Welty, E.B. White, or Virginia Woolf.

Answer the following questions for EACH essay:
• What is the author’s SUBJECT?
• What is the OCCASION?
• Who is the AUDIENCE?
• What is the PURPOSE of the essay?
• Who is the SPEAKER (what kind of person is the author based on and how he/she writes the essay)?
• What is the TONE of the essay?
• How does the essay begin? (i.e. with an anecdote, or question or description, etc.)
• How does the essay end?

You will need to turn in your answers on the first day of class. Write an essay analyzing each of the 5 essays you have read. Your essays should be 1-2 pages long, double-spaced.