As we’ve been reading Into the Wild, we have returned to one question again and again:

• Why did he do it?

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):

• Why do you do ______?
• What do you want to do with your life?/What goals do you hold?
• What plans do you have to achieve these?
• What obstacles do you foresee?/What obstacles are in place now?
• How can you overcome them/turn them into opportunities?

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…

Here’s the outline so far.  If you have a brilliant idea, post it below.  We’ll continue discussion tomorrow.

1. I. Peace

1. A. Characters Introduced

1. 1. Billy, the only one who has hair

2. 2. Otto, has a wrench

3. 3. Deric MacGrave, extremely thin

B. Talks about normal life

1. 1. Spend days playing in streets

2. 2. Rules/guiding strings

3. 3. School, self-writing blackboard

4. 4. Market

5. 5. Our songs

2. II. Rules for Breaking/Market Vandalized

1. A. Billy is guided by the Strings to vandalize the market (Couldn’t control himself, enjoyed destroying the market)

2. B. Wakes up next day and looks for Deric MacGrave, finds him on the street, broken, with X’d-out eyes. He had fallen

1. 1. 1st miss rule

3. III. Nothing test

1. A. Billy is terrified, decides to stay in bed all day.

2. B. Later, Otto comes in to find Billy. Billy is guided to yell at Otto.

1. 1. 2nd miss rule

3. C. Otto says he is going to tell the Blackboard. Leaves, Billy runs after him.

4. IV. Twisted School

1. A. Billy follows Otto out into the street

2. B. Otto trips and neck snaps on his own Strings. His eyes roll up to X’s.

3. C. Billy drags Otto to the school to see if he can help.

4. D. Writes Question on Blackboard.

5. E. The Board gives a Twisted Drawing in response.

6. F. Billy throws Otto’s body into Blackboard, breaking it. He finds a recording machine…

5. V. End of the Line

1. A. Billy decides to solve his own problems.

2. B. He climbs his Strings.

3. C. Finds nothing, just his Strings tied to a bar.

4. D. Realizes he had been controlling himself all along.

5. E. He has grown out of his strings.

(credit to LD for the title)

We’re gathering resources for our next synthesis question:

Read the following sources carefully.  Then write an essay in which you develop a position on whether Lincoln Logs or Legos better promote creativity in children.  Synthesize at least three of the sources for support.

Post your info on Lincoln Logs or Legos below.  Remember, this is not an assignment for credit, but simply a chance for us to create our own question.

Mixed Ink

During the last three weeks of this session we will be pulling from everything we’ve done before: critical analysis of texts, cultural analysis of works, integration and synthesis of works from different eras and cultures, and explication of literary devices.  "How will we do this?" you ask?  By answering an apparently simple question:

What do Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, Wilfred Owen’s "Dulce Et Decorum Est," H.G. Wells’s The Time Machine (and The Days of the Comet, and The Island of Dr. Moreau, and Conrad’s Heart of Darkness), the Danse Macabre, 1984, punk music (The Clash!), Twitter, Wikipedia, The Wisdom of Crowds, The Starfish and the Spider, DIY, Internet piracy, and podcasting have in common?

Our answer can be as simple and complex as we want, but it will take our understanding of all these cultural phenomena and works and the skills we’ve acquired this year to pull off a solid answer.

Now that’s a cumulative test.