You guys are doing great. The handout I gave you today is not meant to get you thinking about the paper, but rather how to continue your search. Online is a great start, but you might think about dropping by Barnes and Noble or Gardner’s. Take a peek around the mythology section (or the children’s section) and see what you dig up. Share your sources!
As always, email me with questions or comments.
As we’ve been reading Into the Wild, we have returned to one question again and again:
Now, I turn this question to you. Your first writing assignment of this session is an explanation/exploration of your own life. Chris McCandless realized that there was something amiss in his world, and he attempted to fix it. Whether he found his answers is not something we can ever know, but we can take the lens we’re using to study him and turn it on ourselves.
I ask that you write a piece on your own life. It may take the form of an analysis, a narrative, a treatise, even an anthem. Do some freewriting, look over your journals, create an outline of ideas (we’ll talk about this tomorrow), then decide which form would be best. I’ll talk with each of you individually about your outlines on Friday (13), so have a solid start by then.
Here are some questions you might consider (add more to the "Comments" section if you think of others more pertinent):
This is not a simple assignment, nor is it a chance for you to rant against the wrongs done to you, but an exploration of your aspirations and current situation. Remember, if we’ve learned anything so far,it’s this: When you’re heading into the wild, better have a map…
Lack London’s short story "To Light a Fire" can be found here
Here’s your reading schedule for Into the Wild. Read through the chapter number given before the date given:
Friday (06): Ch 2
Monday (09): Ch 5
Tuesday (10): Ch 7
Wednesday (11): Ch 8
Thursday (12): Ch 10
Friday (13): Ch 12
Finish book before Monday (23).
Or not. Stupid snow. Hopefully it gave you guys a chance to spend some time with Okonkwo and crew. If not, go outside today and finish up the novel. We’ll be discussing the end in class tomorrow, and I don’t want to ruin the ending for you. Here’s the plan:
Until now, we’ve focused on the effects of Okonkwo’s father’s legacy on the man, and Okonkwo’s choices in interacting with those around him. The final section places him in an environment that he cannot control, and forces him to realize that he does not have complete power over those around him. This is a sobering realization for our strong protagonist, and he makes some difficult choices (or are his (re)actions purely a result of his environment? We’ll see).
On Tuesday and Wednesday (if we finish our discussion of Okonkwo’s life on Monday) I will present a brief overview of Existentialist ideas. If you want to get a head start, I suggest The Stanford Encyclopedia of Psychology‘s page on “Existentialism” or *sigh* the Wikipedia‘s entry. We may also read Jean-Paul Sartre’s “Existentialism is a Humanism” to gain a better understanding of our author’s ideas (you can find a copy here).
By Thursday we will discuss Part One of The Stranger. Thirty pages per night may be more than you’re used to reading, but Sartre’s prose is not too dense. Do plan to set aside some time to read the book in chunks, though.
On Friday we will discuss your tentative (hypo)thesis statements in class. I will also ask you to write a brief paragraph contrasting the philosophies of Things Fall Apart and The Stranger. (Hint: it goes beyond TFA=fate and TS=choice.) More on this later.
English classes are interesting. We teachers often push aside works of nonfiction in favor of fiction’s many incarnations while asking you to produce short works of nonfiction in response (think essay, book report, research paper…). Think about it: if all that you consume is fiction, what do you predict your writing will look like? Exactly.
Please to not misinterpret me: Fiction is vitally important to our understanding of the world. (Remember our discussions on the magnifying glass, the different lenses, and the fact that most communication is metaphorical.) That said, my goal with this section is to remove the pressure of fictional analysis while focusing on three vital skills: communication, collaboration, and connection. You will communicate your ideas and knowledge; collaborate with your peers; and make connections between what you know, what others know, your books, and the outside world.
Each of you has chosen a work of nonfiction from this list (if you don’t have your copy yet, email me now. I’ll buy it for you and meet you at Starbucks if I have to.):
These books cover a wide range of topics (group intelligence over singular genius, the impact of complex pop culture, the resilience of non-hierarchical organizations, how ideas/products become popular, and the impact of relationships and the media on young women), but they all share one thing on common: how we are impacted by the world/people around us.
Each day you may be asked to teach the class about what you’ve read so far. Others who are reading the same work may add to your lecture if they want to. This will be uncomfortable for you at first, but remember, we all want to learn about each of the books, but can’t read them all. Use your reading journal or notes to help you keep track of your thoughts if you’d like.
If you are not teaching your book, take notes in your journal. Write down any lightbulb connections you make between the book and yours, any questions you have, or anything you might want to study further. This will allow you to make sure you understand what is being presented and solidify the connections you make between your book and others’.
After a book has been taught, I will ask the other readers of the book about their thoughts on it so far, and any connections they’ve come across. Before the break, I asked each of you to bring one connection between your book and the outside world to class on Monday. If you’ve found one, keep looking! We can never make too many connections, and I’ll be asking for them often.
We will then open the floor to those who have not read the book but have questions or connections to contribute to the class’s understanding.
This is not a series of presentations. This is not a book report. I will not ask you to stand in front of the class. This is a discussion amongst peers about how parts of the world works. The steps above will only be in place for the first few days. After that, we should be in the habit of explaining what we’ve read, sharing ideas and connections, and building on one another’s ideas. The length of this assignment is dependent upon how deep we want to delve into the topics. We begin work on the final project on day one, so please come prepared. What form the final project takes is dependent upon where our discussions take us.
Grades. Because I have to. Best advice: have fun, talk to others about what they’re reading, share what you know, make connections beyond the classroom.
If you’re keeping track, here’s the breakdown:
