You can catch up on your reading here.

Our main goal with this play is to gain a better understanding of Shakespearean language, snag a few allusions, and take an in-depth look into the motivations of each character. The first two are happy side-effects of the last. There are two questions we should keep in mind as we watch:

1. At what point does Hamlet’s sanity become questionable?

2. Why doesn’t Hamlet kill Claudius right away?

Of course, as with all questions worth asking, our initial attempts will raise more questions than answers, and will become more complex as we look deeper into the story. This is a good thing.

We’ll have a quick quiz tomorrow over the action so far. This will do several things for us:

• Help me see how you are understanding the story as individuals.
• Help you organize your thoughts about the play so far (you may use your notes; this quiz could be a good resource for you when you begin writing—a very rough draft of sorts).
• Help me check on how your writing is progressing. (Hint: it will not be fill-in-the-blank.)
• Help you decide whether the in-class discussions are sufficient for you to understand the play. You may decide to track down a copy to study from on your own (we have a few in the classroom, or you can use the link at the top of this post) if you have trouble answering the questions.

It is only logical that after reading Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex that we watch a video featuring Mike Rowe of Dirty Jobs, right? Maybe not, but the connection should become clear after you watch the video.

Our (my) goal in this class is to help you understand the connections between fiction and reality—that the stories we tell must in some way mirror our lives in a way that is sometimes obvious, oftentimes obscure.

A student asked today why Oedipus is relevant today. This was a great question (and one you should always ask of all your classes). Here’s the response I gave:

Oedipus’ story is relevant because it is essential. That may seem like a circular definition, but by “essential” I mean “basic to the human condition.” I gave a few examples of non-essential literature, both graphic novels because I knew the student was familiar with them: Watchmen and League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, both of which happen to be by Alan Moore. Watchmen is a brilliant revision of our view of superheroes; one that takes familiar characters (such as Batman) and subverts them (The Nite Owl) in a way that makes us see these characters in a different light. League of Extraordinary Gentlemen does something similar with characters from Victorian and Edwardian literature. The original superheroes and the characters from the late 19th century reflect earlier characters, and so on. Part of the fun of reading them is “getting” the references, and having one’s notions turned on their head. The other part of our interest in them is that they provide an interesting perspective on what it means to be human (in a skewed or magnified way, in the case of superheroes).

Oedipus, for modern readers, contains only the latter. Oedipus’ story is tragedy in it’s most pure form, and it is the simplicity of the story that speaks to all of us, that makes it essential.

In this video, Mike Rowe experiences what Aristotle called anagnorisis and peripeteia when castrating sheep. Oedipus is a pure example of a man whose view of his own life is turned upside down (peripeteia) by a single realization (anagnorisis).

Beyond the Freudian interpretations (every man is in a battle to overcome his father’s shadow, etc), Oedipus, with the simplicity of a fairy tale, clearly highlights an aspect of our own lives (hopefully not literally) directly, without muddying the vision by relying on previous works.

That’s why we read Oedipus.

We begin Hamlet tomorrow. I realize that the name Shakespeare strikes fear (or ironic eye-rolling) in the hearts (or faces?) of many-a high school junior. For those few, I offer a cheat sheet.

More to come.

Your goal is to record a conclusion and its premises every day. I do not suggest looking for formal arguments; the point is to recognize them when they pop up. This will be a daily assignment, and a difficult one at first, but it’ll soon become second nature.

The assignment will be made of two parts:

• A listing of premises and conclusion
• Inductive or deductive?

We will play with this a bit as the year goes on, perhaps adding venn diagrams or ways to counter the argument, but it will be two parts only at this point.

This assignment is worth one point every day. (For reference, most essays are worth fifty, and analyses are worth ten apiece.) Both parts must be present and correct in order to get credit. You may only turn in one per day, so no makeups unless you’re absent.

I recommend using an index card for each day. Keep one or two in your wallet, or a few clipped together in your bag; just make sure you take them everywhere—you never know when one will pop up!

All:

The format for any essay in my class (and the works cited page) can be found here. How to head your paper is over here.

Read through chapter 20 for Monday. (See the reading schedule for the rest of the week here.)

Third Hour:

Use the following prompt to guide your first essay over the novel. While we have not finished the book, you should have more than enough information to support your claims.

The following quotation comes from John Donne’s “Meditation #17”:

No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main. If a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less, as well as if a promontory were, as well as if a manor of thy friend’s or of thine own were: any man’s death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind, and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.

In your paper, create and support an argument about how theme of About a Boy compares or contrasts with the theme of John Donne’s “Meditation #17.” Remember that the actions and thoughts of the characters contribute to the theme of the book, so your support will primarily come from the characters’ thoughts and actions.

Put another way, you should do the following:

1. Decide what you believe Donne’s message is in “Meditation #17.”
   1. Write it down so you can reference it as you begin writing your paper.
   2. Remember the short paper you wrote over Donne’s piece? That might help here…
2. Read through your notes over the book, and skim through previous chapters.
   1. Which characters interact like Donne says he does?
   2. Which do not?
   3. Mark passages that answer these questions.
3. If a character changes his or her actions over time, definitely mark the passages that show this.
4. Create an outline.
   1. Write your overall explanation of the characters’ actions in relation to “Meditation #17” at the top. (This would be your thesis.)
   2. Group together similar (or contrasting) scenes together in your outline. (These would be your paragraphs; include as many paragraphs as necessary to make your point.)
5. Use your outline to write a rough draft.
6. Type it.
7. Be proud.
8. Bring it to class Monday.

This may seem like an awful lot, but break it down into manageable parts. For example, do #1-4 Saturday morning and #4-5 Sunday afternoon, and edit it as you type it Sunday night.

Fifth Hour:

Follow the format guidelines at the top of this page; bring your rough drafts to class Monday.

As always, email or post questions below.