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?