For Friday

Hey you all! I'm so sorry that I have to cancel class today. My son James is allergic to sour cream and onion chips and he ate an entire bag (unbeknownst to me) last night. He's COVERED IN HIVES today. I brought him with me to work, but it's getting worse...so I have to take him home.

SO, Friday we will do what we were going to do today.

Until then, I would like you to ponder this question.

What does the title There Eyes were Watching God mean?

Instructions for Monday

Monday we start reading Their Eyes Were Watching God by the famous author Zora Neale Hurston. The book reads fast...but it is DEEP and very allegorical - it is also sad. The language at first can be hard to get into, but give it a second. It'll grow on you.

I have broken the class down into groups (which are as follows):

Chapter 1: Drew, Levi, Jennifer S., Tyler Annie
Chapter 2: Chris, Rachelle, Kyle, Taylor, Eric, Jennifer B
Chapter 3: Josh, Kimber, Garrett, Hannah, Lane

You need to read all three chapters, but for the chapter you are assigned you need to do the following:
Pick 2 moments in your assigned chapter that stand out to you
Pick 2 words that seem odd or important
Bring character profiles (not too in-depth...but enough for dicussion) for each character you encounter in the first 3 chapters.
Be able to describe the characters, discuss their place in the story, talk about their importance.

I think that this book is beautifully written, there is some very delicate prose.
As such, I would like you to choose one sentence that you find particularly meaningful or beautiful.

: )

Pick a winner!

Out of all the poets you heard today, who was your favorite and why?
Why do you think this person is considered a classic poet?

I'm a fan of Emily Dickinson, although that may be surprising since I hate rhymey poetry. However, there is something about her, most especially I heard a fly buzz when I died
that i really like.

Interesting fact. Dickinson wrote all of her poems on books she had made herself, with terrible handwriting, and then sewed these books up. They weren't published until after her death (for the most part).

Do you remember?

When was the first time you were exposed to poetry? Was it nursery rhymes? Was it song? Was it an actual poem in a book?

Sonnets

One of the most interesting things about Shakespeare is that we do not really know when his plays were written - instead we know when they were performed. In fact, it has been argued that Macbeth was written ten years before it was performed.

If this is the case, the writer of the play could seriously have been attempting to paint a black picture of a Scottish king (a very real threat).

As we know, King James became King...which means that Elizabeth's heir was Scots. Yikes!

What do you think of the fact that we don't have written dates for the plays, no signature for William Shakespeare, and no written version of the plays? We do have the first folio, but this was complied by the actors. The plays could have been completely different.

I guess, long story short. Do you think Macbeth was written for Elizabeth or James? do you think it was written when it was performed or earlier (as this movie suggests)?

Movie

Hmmmm...I don't know. I know it's been suggested that Elizabeth I had bastard children, but I don't know if I buy it. Also, I thought she was a woman who wasn't easily swayed in her opinions...and it appears here that her Puritan councilor really controls her.  That causes me pause.

However, I am intrigued by the movie thus far. I have heard that Oxford was the person who wrote the plays....interesting theory.

What do you guys think?

Cutting

If there is a character, or characters, that you could cut out of MacBeth...who would it, they, be? Why? How would this affect the play?

Contraversy

Did you know that some scholars argue that Shakespeare never existed? There are many theories about this idea. Some suggest that he was just a name, and the players at the theater wrote the shows. Others have suggested that Queen Elizabeth wrote many of the plays herself, and that is why the shows seem to differ greatly in voice after she died. Others claim that Sir Walter Raleigh wrote the plays, and used Shakespeare as a cover. Seriously - there are ALL KINDS of claims. For some reason many people find it hard to believe that a common man...one with very little education, wrote some of the world's most treasured, and perhaps well-known, pieces of work.

For this blog, do a quick google search for Shakespeare and conspiracies. What do you think? Do you think there is any truth to the matter?

Influences

Who do you think influences Macbeth to murder (and he does A LOT of it in this play).

I like to believe that it's all his own decision - yet, it is hard to argue with the fact that his wife plays a major part in his decision making.

Who do you think is to blame? The witches, Macbeth, or Lady Macbeth? or none...was it simply fate?

Gearing up for Shakespeare

I'm VERY excited about our Shakespeare unit. It's my most favorite type of theater. Many people are afraid of Shakespeare, or find him boring, because the language is hard to understand. We will work on converting that and see attempt to tackle it together.

Have you ever seen any Shakespeare? My favorite Shakespearean play is Twelfth Night, it's a HILARIOUS comedy. If I were to pick a drama, it would be Hamlet.

The Piano Lesson

I think the title of this play is significant - how does it apply to each character? Meaning: what lesson does the piano teach each character in this play?

Meta

The term metafiction is defined as such:

Metafiction, also known as romantic irony in the context of Romantic works of literature, uses self-reference to draw attention to itself as a work of art, while exposing the "truth" of a story. "Metafiction" is the literary term describing fictional writing that self-consciously and systematically draws attention to its status as an artifact in posing questions about the relationship between fiction and reality, usually using irony and self-reflection. It can be compared to presentational theatre, which does not let the audience forget it is viewing a play; metafiction does not let the reader forget he or she is reading a fictional work.

How does this term apply to The Real Inspector Hound?

Sets

There are many places where plays can take place. Sometimes people do Theater in the round, black box theater, street theater, regular theater, theater in the park....etc.

Theater is really all around you - as is performance. You play a character everyday in a certain setting. Your character changes when your setting does - at least mine does. I'm a completely different person at home than I am at school.

I think that setting makes the play - what do you think? Do you pay attention to setting when you watch a play? What does it do for you?

Who is your favorite!?

The Real Inspector Hound  is a play within a play, if you have not figured that out yet... :) The play within the play is particularly bad. Just awful. However, there is a unique twist towards the end...and you end up questioning your characters. It's very similar to The Mousetrap - a famous play that people were sworn to secrecy upon seeing.

Therefore, the characters in this play are different than they normally would be...as they are actors playing actors (for the most part).

While you have been doing your character analysis - who has become your favorite character?

I played Felicity while I was in college - so she is naturally mine. I also like how she uses her body for humor. She is typically a buxom woman and is usually dressed in sexy clothes - and much of her humor comes from making fun of that. She was an exciting character to play.

These are a few of my favorite things

On monday you will get a chance to read my favorite story - and you will be critically thinking about and analyzing this story.  (I can't wait because it's a good one).

What has been your favorite short story we have read so far during our super short unit? Do you have one that stands out to you the most? If so, why? Was their symbolism in your story? Did that make a difference for you?

It's all about the theory

If you were to choose one of the three theories that we worked with today to use on a daily basis (because you're cool and run around analyzing literature all the time) what theory would you use?

I haven't taught you this theory, but I prefer Performance Theory. Performance theory is simply the study of how life and human interaction is basically the action of portraying societal roles - and how these roles are different depending upon which setting a person is in. There is much more to it than that, but that's the theory in short. If you would ever like to geek out and learn about it, hit me up.

So, long story short....which theory provided you with a more rewarding understanding of the story? Did it matter at all?

Roses and Time and Voices

I think that the stories today kind of go hand in hand: both of them discussed freedom in one way or another.  Emily, in some ways, lives her life completely free....she doesn't even pay taxes, and does what she pleases. However, she let's life pass her by. She dies having wasted the freedom she always had -  by locking herself up in a house....like a caged bird.

The wife in "A Story of an Hour" longs for freedom, never has it, finally gains it and boom DEAD. 

I think that both of these stories can be considered feminist of sorts - one positive and another negative. It's almost as if both of these stories represent the voices of many women....those that realize they a free and those that long to be so....Anyway.... Segue to voices.....

In the first paragraph of the story, we see that Faulkner uses a first person plural narrator. Why do you think Faulkner prefers this? How does this affect your understanding of the story?

And it was all Yellow

I think a lot about titles - you heard me discuss that in Feed.

How would this story change if the title was The Orange Wallpaper or The Baby Poop Yellow Wallpaper. 

Does changing the title change the mood of the short story?

A rose is just a rose.....

So, did any of the words and their definitions today change the book for you?

I know the world fugue (or however it is spelled, left my book at school), completely changed the book for me.

What do you think?

Reading Rainbow

LEVAR BURTON

^^^^^^^^^ Reading Rainbow Guy.

Anyway.

You saw a lot of examples of the many types of YAL that exist yesterday in class. Which is your favorite sub-genre of YA, and why?

Ch ch ch changes! (sung in my best David Bowie voice)

I know I often say, "What does literature do?" Is it purposeful? Can we live without it? Sure. So, why do we have it...hmmm...

There are many answers to that question. I think that Literature teaches....even when being read for fun.

So, if there is one teachable moment you want to take away from Feed, what is it? Did this book teach you anything? Will it prompt you to change something about your life?

TM

The United States is an independent nation. It is also considered a masculine nation. Now, I'm not going to go all "fem theory" on y'all, but instead I will tell you that in a masculine nation people are more prone to ownership. In a more feminine nation, for instance Sweden, people are more prone to sharing things - they are not as territorial.

I think Anderson is pointing out that many people in the United States feel as if they have to own "things." Be that property, music, cars, etc. What does ownership do for people?

In the novel I feel that ownership is everything, it is a sign of how rich or popular someone is. Is it that way in real life?

I liked the book better.....

I think we can all agree that there would be no way to truly capture all of the messages and themes that exist within the novel Feed. If you were to try to turn this movie into a movie, on your own, what message or theme would be the most important for you to convey?

Education

I see a lot of ties with common core, a current educational trend, and the way education is taught in the book. In the novel it seems that education is geared totally towards consumption, people are taught to be better consumers rather than thinkers.

In regard to teaching, and teaching to the test....it seems that students are often taught to be good test takers rather than thinkers. I problem that I often encounter in college classes is that my students have never really been taught to "think." This doesn't mean that they are not smart, but they have never had to really look at the world or a subject - instead they have prepped for a test. Memorizing rather than learning.

What do you think? Have you noticed this in your own lives? And do you think that Anderson is making a subtle cultural critique about our educational system?

What's in a name?

We talked a bit about Titus and Violet in class today, but let's expand on it.

One of these seems harsh and cold - unwelcoming, while the other seems fresh and alive - welcoming.

Out of these two characters who do you envision "winning" the dystopia...meaning - who is going to be the hero at the end of this book? And do you think that the author, MT Anderson, named these two in such a way in order to send readers a certain message?

Dystopia

I believe that literature exists to serve as an escape for people. I also believe that literature is intended to teach us, and Dystopia most definitely teaches readers about the dangers of governmental control, high technology, and environmental abuse.

We discussed the central themes that come into play in Dystopian Literature today, and how this genre could be popular right now because it can be applied to the lives many of us lead.

What part of Dystopian literature most applies to your life?

First Post - Please Respond

Hi All! I just want to make sure that you received your invitation to the blog and can respond. So, this is a test of sorts.

Your blog posts will be due by the start of the next class. Meaning, if I post a prompt today...you must respond to it by 11:45 on Wednesday. Sound like a plan? Cool.

Here is your very first prompt to respond to:

I started reading when I was four years old and have been reading ever since. My favorite childhood book is hard to choose - it's a close tie between Little Women and Little House on the Prairie. Each one of these books had an impact on my life and definitely inspired me to become a reader.

What was your favorite childhood book?

This post does not need to be very long, because it is mostly a test. However, respond to at least one of your classmates' posts. You may begin by simply posting a reply to this post.

sorry for the room mix up today. Someone may have moved my sign. I look forward to getting started with you on Wednesday.

Best,
Kelly

Welcome to the Course

During this course you will be given weekly reading assignments and weekly prompts to respond to.

It's gonna be great.

Remember to log in and respond for every prompt. Also, reply to your fellow classmates posts and enter into a discussion.