Before you complete this blog entry, you must paraphrase this soliloquy on your Hamlet page on your own website: transcribe it in its original form, paraphrase it line by line, and please AVOID the use of Sparknote-like sources! 

Self-reproach: 'And all for nothing?'

'What's Hecuba to him, or he to Hecuba . . .?' demands Hamlet as he sees the player weeping for the sufferings of Hecuba. Faced with an actor who can cry at the imagined torments of a fictional character in a play, Hamlet reproaches himself for his own lack of action. The actor can weep 'for nothing', but Hamlet, with a murdered father, is incapable of taking revenge ('unrepugnant of my cause'). Like a day-dreamer ('John-a-dreams'), he does nothing.

     a. Do you think that Hamlet is being too hard on himself? Consider in turn each of the things he calls himself and decide if they are true ('rogue', 'peasant slave', 'dull and muddy-mettled rascal', 'John-a-dreams', 'coward', 'pigeon-livered'). Why does he level these accusations at himself. 

     b. Consider each of the seven things Hamlet calls Claudius in lines 532-3 and discuss justified you think each description is.

     c. Shakespeare often inserts lists into his plays (a literary device called copiousness). The accumulation of items helps to increase the intensity of the mood being created. Pick out the following lists: the player's reactions (lines 506-509); what the player would do if he acted Hamlet (lines 514-518); what Hamlet imagines a bully would do to him (lines 524-527); what Hamlet calls Claudius (lines 532-533). Write a new list to insert into the soliloquy (for example, a list concerning his mother, or his false friends).

Primary Blog Expectations (respond to the prompt above): 200-250 words, minimal errors in grammar and usage, thoughtful and thorough writing. Please use the Shakespearean character's name that you selected in class as your nom de plume and be sure to add word count. Due by 11:59pm on Friday 12/14! 

Secondary Blog Response Expectations (read everyone's primary responses, select two that interest you, and respond to their ideas): 100-150 words EACH, minimal errors in grammar and usage, thoughtful and thorough writing.  Please use the Shakespearean character's name that you selected in class as your nom de plume and be sure to add word count. Due by 11:59pm on Sunday 12/16!

These images could depict some of the main plot points of Chapters 17-24. While these moments are important, they are by no means the only significant points in these chapters.
After having read these chapters:
   -Select a single passage (this may be a single paragraph or several) that you feel best typifies the action and Shelley's authorial intent in this section of Frankenstein. This MLA-cited quote should not be included in your analysis.
   -Explain the action and context of the quoted passage (you must cite the passage) and then,
 -Explain how your understanding of this passage (1) supports your understanding, (2) deepens the character development, and/or (3) builds a central message that aligns with one of the unit's essential questions. 

BE SURE TO POST YOUR WORD COUNT AT THE BOTTOM OF EACH BLOG ENTRY!!

Primary Blog Expectations (respond to the prompt above): 200-250 words, minimal errors in grammar and usage, thoughtful and thorough writing. Please use the scientists's name that you selected in class as your nom de plume and be sure to add word count. Due by 11:59pm on Friday 11/16! 

Secondary Blog Response Expectations (read everyone's primary responses, select two that interest you, and respond to their ideas): 100-150 words EACH, minimal errors in grammar and usage, thoughtful and thorough writing.  Please use the scientists's name that you selected in class as your nom de plume and be sure to add word count. Due by 11:59pm on Sunday 11/18!

These images could depict some of the main plot points of Chapters 11-16. While these are moments are important, they are by no means the only significant points in these four chapters.

After having read these 4 chapters that introduce us to Victor Frankenstein:
     1. select a single passage (this may be a single paragraph or several) that you feel offers a possible comment on one of the unit's Essential Questions (please use an ellipsis when necessary),
     2. explain the action and context of the quoted passage (you must cite the passage) and then,
     3. explain how your understanding of this passage builds a central message that aligns with this particular Essential Question.

Primary Blog Expectations (respond to the prompt above): 200-250 words, minimal errors in grammar and usage, thoughtful and thorough writing. Please use the name you were assigned in class as your nom de plume and be sure to add word count. Due by 11:59pm Friday night 11-9-2018! 

Secondary Blog Response Expectations (read everyone's primary responses, select two that interest you, and respond to their ideas): 100-150 words EACH, minimal errors in grammar and usage, thoughtful and thorough writing. Please use the name you were assigned in class as your nom de plume and be sure to add word count. Due by 11:59pm Sunday night 11-11-2018!

These images could depict some of the main plot points of Chapters 5-10. While these moments are important, they are by no means the only significant points in these four chapters.
After having read these chapters:
   -Select a single passage (this may be a single paragraph or several) that you feel best approaches an answer to or a comment upon one of the unit's Essential Questions (at this point in the novel, you should be focusing in on one or two possible Essential Questions to follow for the entire unit). 
   -Explain the action and context of the quoted passage (you must cite the passage) and then,
 -Explain how your understanding of this passage (1) supports your understanding, (2) deepens the character development, and/or (3) builds a central message that aligns with one of the unit's essential questions. 

Primary Blog Expectations (respond to the prompt above): 200-250 words, minimal errors in grammar and usage, thoughtful and thorough writing. Please use the scientists's name that you selected in class as your nom de plume and be sure to add word count. Due by 11:59pm on Friday, 11/2/2018! 

Secondary Blog Response Expectations (read everyone's primary responses, select two that interest you, and respond to their ideas): 100-150 words EACH, minimal errors in grammar and usage, thoughtful and thorough writing.  Please use the scientists's name that you selected in class as your nom de plume and be sure to add word count. Due by 11:59pm on Sunday, 11/4/2018!

These images could depict some of the main plot points of Chapters 1-4 illustrating some main events in young Victor's life and development: his idyllic childhood and introduction to Elizabeth Lavenza, his mother's death, and his entrance into university. While these are moments are important, they are by no means the only significant points in these four chapters.

After having read these 4 chapters that introduce us to Victor Frankenstein:
     1. select a single passage (this may be a single paragraph or several) that you feel offers a possible comment on one of the unit's Essential Questions (please use an ellipsis when necessary),
     2. explain the action and context of the quoted passage (you must cite the passage) and then,
     3. explain how your understanding of this passage builds a central message that aligns with this particular Essential Question.

Primary Blog Expectations (respond to the prompt above): 200-250 words, minimal errors in grammar and usage, thoughtful and thorough writing. Please use the name you were assigned in class as your nom de plume and be sure to add word count. Due by 11:59pm Friday night 10-26-2018! 

Secondary Blog Response Expectations (read everyone's primary responses, select two that interest you, and respond to their ideas): 100-150 words EACH, minimal errors in grammar and usage, thoughtful and thorough writing. Please use the name you were assigned in class as your nom de plume and be sure to add word count. Due by 11:59pm Sunday night 10-28-2018!

​The painting above depicts a fate that Walden fears but is willing to face, risking the lives of his crew, in order to fulfill his all-consuming pursuit of fame's immortality. 

After having read these initial letters from the ship's captain to his sister:
     1. select a single passage (this may be a single paragraph or several) that you feel offers a possible comment on one of the unit's Essential Questions (please use an ellipsis when necessary),
     2. explain the action and context of the quoted passage (you must cite the passage) and then,
     3. explain how your understanding of this passage builds a central message that aligns with this particular Essential Question.

Primary Blog Expectations (respond to the prompt above): 200-250 words, minimal errors in grammar and usage, thoughtful and thorough writing. Please use the name you were assigned in class as your nom de plume and be sure to add word count. Due by 11:59pm Friday night 10-19-2018! 

Secondary Blog Response Expectations (read everyone's primary responses, select two that interest you, and respond to their ideas): 100-150 words EACH, minimal errors in grammar and usage, thoughtful and thorough writing. Please use the name you were assigned in class as your nom de plume and be sure to add word count. Due by 11:59pm Sunday night 10-21-2018!  ​

Read the prompt on pg 97 of the Jago text, followed by the stage directions for Lorraine Hansberry's play A Raisin in the Sun. Answer the questions found in the prompt for this passage in your blog response.

Primary Blog Expectations (respond to the prompt above): 100-150 words, minimal errors in grammar and usage, thoughtful and thorough writing. Please use the name you were assigned in class as your nom de plume and be sure to add word count. Due by 11:59pm Wednesday night 10-3-2018! 

Closely read the passage from Tess of the D'Urbervilles on pgs 72-73. While you are reading, consider how the author's use of setting develops the character of Tess for the reader. Please be sure to read the textual instructions to help support your analysis of this short passage.

Primary Blog Expectations (respond to the prompt above): 200-250 words, minimal errors in grammar and usage, thoughtful and thorough writing. Please use the name you were assigned in class as your nom de plume and be sure to add word count. Due by 11:59pm Monday night 10-1-2018! 

Please read the excerpt from The Great Gatsby on page 26-26 of your text. At the end of the novel, Nick Carroway, remembers Jay Gatsby as a person with a great "capacity for wonder." After reading this passage carefully, analyze how the style of the writing conveys this sense of Gatsby.
​
Primary Blog Expectations (respond to the prompt above): 300-350 words, minimal errors in grammar and usage, thoughtful and thorough writing. Please use the name you were assigned in class as your nom de plume and be sure to add word count. Due by 11:59pm Monday night 9-24-2018! 

Read the poem "Bored" by Margaret Atwood and then discuss your experience of it, your analysis of it, and how you might extend your analysis beyond the story. Please keep in mind that these are not entirely separate steps. Simply go through the steps as you compose your response.
Primary Blog Expectations (respond to the prompt above): 300-350 words, minimal errors in grammar and usage, thoughtful and thorough writing. Please use the name you were assigned in class as your nom de plume and be sure to add word count. Due by 11:59pm Thursday night 9-20-2018! 

Note: Thiis image was attached to the following question: Could the Tree of Knowledge be an ancient library? That's an interesting question to ponder.

​"Choose a book that you think would be appropriate for establishing common ground through discussion in our school or class. What issues would this book enable the community to explore? Why are those issues important to our school or community?" (Jago, et al. 8)

Primary Blog Expectations (respond to the prompt above): 200-250 words, minimal errors in grammar and usage, thoughtful and thorough writing. Please use the name you were assigned in class as your nom de plume and be sure to add word count. Due by 11:59pm Monday night 9-17-2018! 

Neil Gaiman is one of my favorite authors. His is the first name that comes to mind when I am asked these questions: Whos's your favorite author? What's your favorite book? Who is your virtual BFF? Which writer's life intrigues you the most? Who's going to be Husband #2 (Just kidding, Husband #1! Haha!)? I could go on...

Clearly, I am a fangirl, but this is because Gaiman has most often struck me with his "truthiness" and his unique world view. After today's readings, use Gaiman's quote below as a lens to illuminate your own understanding of what is a lie and what is, as Dickinson writes, "tell[ing] all the Truth but tell[ing] it slant." You should refer to something that you have read before to illustrate this point for you. Write thoughtfully and clearly (if you're a word count person, aim for 150-250) and please use the nom de plume we selected in class.

The image above could depict Jalil composing the letter that Laila reads  in Part IV of A Thousand Splendid Suns. While this moment is important, it is by no means the only significant point in these chapters.
After having read these chapters:
   -Select a single passage (this may be a single paragraph or several) that you feel best typifies the action and Hosseini's authorial intent in this section of ATSS. 
   -Explain the action and context of the quoted passage (you must cite the passage) and then,
 -Explain how your understanding of this passage (1) supports your understanding, (2) deepens the character development, and/or (3) builds a central message that aligns with one of the unit's essential questions. ​

Primary Blog Expectations (respond to the prompt above): 200-250 words, minimal errors in grammar and usage, thoughtful and thorough writing. Please use the name you were assigned in class as your nom de plume and be sure to add word count. Due by 11:59pm Tuesday night 4-10-2018! 

Secondary Blog Response Expectations (read everyone's primary responses, select two that interest you, and respond to their ideas): 100-150 words EACH, minimal errors in grammar and usage, thoughtful and thorough writing. Please use the name you were assigned in class as your nom de plume and be sure to add word count. Due by 11:59pm Wednesday night 4-11-2018!  ​

This image could depict Mariam at peace in the final chapter of Part 3.2 of A Thousand Splendid Suns. While this moment is important, it is no means the only significant point in these chapters.
After having read these chapters:
   -Select a single passage (this may be a single paragraph or several) that you feel best typifies the action and Hosseini's authorial intent in this section of ATSS. 
   -Explain the action and context of the quoted passage (you must cite the passage) and then,
 -Explain how your understanding of this passage (1) supports your understanding, (2) deepens the character development, and/or (3) builds a central message that aligns with one of the unit's essential questions. 

Primary Blog Expectations (respond to the prompt above): 200-250 words, minimal errors in grammar and usage, thoughtful and thorough writing. Please use the name you were assigned in class as your nom de plume and be sure to add word count. Due by 11:59pm Friday night 4-6-2018! 

Secondary Blog Response Expectations (read everyone's primary responses, select two that interest you, and respond to their ideas): 100-150 words EACH, minimal errors in grammar and usage, thoughtful and thorough writing. Please use the name you were assigned in class as your nom de plume and be sure to add word count. Due by 11:59pm Sunday night 4-8-2018!  ​​

The images above could depict scenes in Part 3.1 of A Thousand Splendid Suns. While these moments are important, they are by no means the only significant points in these chapters.
After having read these chapters:
   -Select a single passage (this may be a single paragraph or several) that you feel best typifies the action and Hosseini's authorial intent in this section of ATSS. 
   -Explain the action and context of the quoted passage (you must cite the passage) and then,
 -Explain how your understanding of this passage (1) supports your understanding, (2) deepens the character development, and/or (3) builds a central message that aligns with one of the unit's essential questions. 

Primary Blog Expectations (respond to the prompt above): 200-250 words, minimal errors in grammar and usage, thoughtful and thorough writing. Please use the name you were assigned in class as your nom de plume and be sure to add word count. Due by 11:59pm Friday night! 

Secondary Blog Response Expectations (read everyone's primary responses, select two that interest you, and respond to their ideas): 100-150 words EACH, minimal errors in grammar and usage, thoughtful and thorough writing. Please use the name you were assigned in class as your nom de plume and be sure to add word count. Due by 11:59pm Sunday night!  ​

These images could depict some of the main plot points of Part II of A Thousand Splendid Suns. While these moments are important, they are by no means the only significant points in these chapters.
After having read these chapters:
   -Select a single passage (this may be a single paragraph or several) that you feel best typifies the thematic importance of "shelter" in this section of ATSS. 
   -Explain the action and context of the quoted passage (you must cite the passage) and then,
 -Explain how your understanding of this passage (1) supports your contextual understanding, (2) deepens the character development, and/or (3) builds a central message that aligns with one of the unit's essential questions. 

Primary Blog Expectations (respond to the prompt above): 200-250 words, minimal errors in grammar and usage, thoughtful and thorough writing. Please use the name that you were assigned in class as your nom de plume and be sure to add word count. Due by 11:59pm on Friday night! 

Secondary Blog Response Expectations (read everyone's primary responses, select two that interest you, and respond to their ideas): 100-150 words EACH, minimal errors in grammar and usage, thoughtful and thorough writing.  Please use the name that you were assigned in class as your nom de plume and be sure to add word count. Due by 11:59pm on Sunday night! 

In Part 1 of A Thousand Splendid Suns, Nana says the following to her daughter, Mariam: “Women like us. We endure. It’s all we have.” Select three distinct passages from Part 1 that show how this sentiment informs Mariam’s life and how it relates to the larger themes of the novel. 

Primary Blog Expectations (respond to the prompt above): 200-250 words, minimal errors in grammar and usage, thoughtful and thorough writing. Please use the name that you were assigned in class as your nom de plume and be sure to add word count. Due by the end of Friday night! 

Secondary Blog Response Expectations (read everyone's primary responses, select two that interest you, and respond to their ideas): 100-150 words EACH, minimal errors in grammar and usage, thoughtful and thorough writing. Please use the name that you were assigned in class as your nom de plume and be sure to add word count. Due by the start of class on Monday!  ​

​The Road takes the form of a classic journey story, a form that dates back to Homer's Odyssey. To what destination are the man and the boy journeying? In what sense are they "pilgrims"? What, if any, is the symbolic significance of their journey?

Part One Expectations (respond to the prompt above): 200-250 words, minimal errors in grammar and usage, thoughtful and thorough writing. Please use the assigned "pen name" given to you in class as your nom de plume. DUE: Friday night at midnight (2/2)! PLEASE INCLUDE WORD COUNT!

Part Two Expectations (read everyone's first responses, select two that interest you, and respond to their ideas): 100-150 words EACH, minimal errors in grammar and usage, thoughtful and thorough writing.  DUE: Monday night at midnight (2/5)!

​The sardonic blind man named Ely, who the man and boy encounter on the road, tells the father that, "There is no God and we are his prophets" [p. 170]. What does he mean by this? Why does the father say about his son, later in the same conversation, "What if I said that he's a god?" [p. 172]. Are we meant to see the son as a savior? Why is Ely the only character named in this novel? What does this mean and how does it affect your understanding of the meaning of the work as a whole?

​Part One Expectations (respond to the prompt above): 200-250 words, minimal errors in grammar and usage, thoughtful and thorough writing. Please use the assigned "pen name" given to you in class as your nom de plume. DUE: Friday night at midnight (1/26)!

Part Two Expectations (read everyone's first responses, select two that interest you, and respond to their ideas): 100-150 words EACH, minimal errors in grammar and usage, thoughtful and thorough writing.  DUE: Monday night at midnight (1/29)!

​How is McCarthy able to make the post-apocalyptic world of The Road seem so real and utterly terrifying? Which descriptive passages are especially vivid and visceral in their depiction of this blasted landscape (pick at least 3 and please cite)? What do you find to be the most horrifying features of this world and the survivors who inhabit it? 

Part One Expectations (respond to the prompt above): 200-250 words (post word count), minimal errors in grammar and usage, thoughtful and thorough writing. Please use the assigned "pen name" given to you in class as your nom de plume. DUE: Friday night at midnight!

Part Two Expectations (read everyone's first responses, select two that interest you, and respond to their ideas): 100-150 words EACH (post word count), minimal errors in grammar and usage, thoughtful and thorough writing.  DUE: Sunday night at midnight!

These images could depict some of the main plot points of Chapters 17-24. While these moments are important, they are by no means the only significant points in these chapters.
After having read these chapters:
   -Select a single passage (this may be a single paragraph or several) that you feel best typifies the action and Shelley's authorial intent in this section of Frankenstein. This MLA-cited quote should not be included in your analysis.
   -Explain the action and context of the quoted passage (you must cite the passage) and then,
 -Explain how your understanding of this passage (1) supports your understanding, (2) deepens the character development, and/or (3) builds a central message that aligns with one of the unit's essential questions. 

BE SURE TO POST YOUR WORD COUNT AT THE BOTTOM OF EACH BLOG ENTRY!!

Primary Blog Expectations (respond to the prompt above): 200-250 words, minimal errors in grammar and usage, thoughtful and thorough writing. Please use the scientists's name that you selected in class as your nom de plume and be sure to add word count. Due by 11:59pm on Sunday 11/19! 

Secondary Blog Response Expectations (read everyone's primary responses, select two that interest you, and respond to their ideas): 100-150 words EACH, minimal errors in grammar and usage, thoughtful and thorough writing.  Please use the scientists's name that you selected in class as your nom de plume and be sure to add word count. Due by 11:59pm on Monday 11/20!

These images could depict some of the main plot points of Chapters 11-16. While these moments are important, they are by no means the only significant points in these chapters.
After having read these chapters:
   -Select a single passage (this may be a single paragraph or several) that you feel best typifies the action and Shelley's authorial intent in this section of Frankenstein. This MLA-cited quote should not be included in your analysis.
   -Explain the action and context of the quoted passage (you must cite the passage) and then,
 -Explain how your understanding of this passage (1) supports your understanding, (2) deepens the character development, and/or (3) builds a central message that aligns with one of the unit's essential questions. 

BE SURE TO POST YOUR WORD COUNT AT THE BOTTOM OF EACH BLOG ENTRY!!

Primary Blog Expectations (respond to the prompt above): 200-250 words, minimal errors in grammar and usage, thoughtful and thorough writing. Please use the scientists's name that you selected in class as your nom de plume and be sure to add word count. Due by 11:59pm on Sunday 11/19! 

Secondary Blog Response Expectations (read everyone's primary responses, select two that interest you, and respond to their ideas): 100-150 words EACH, minimal errors in grammar and usage, thoughtful and thorough writing.  Please use the scientists's name that you selected in class as your nom de plume and be sure to add word count. Due by 11:59pm on Monday 11/20!

These images could depict some of the main plot points of Chapters 5-10. While these moments are important, they are by no means the only significant points in these four chapters.
After having read these chapters:
   -Select a single passage (this may be a single paragraph or several) that you feel best typifies the action and Shelley's authorial intent in this section of Frankenstein. 
   -Explain the action and context of the quoted passage (you must cite the passage) and then,
 -Explain how your understanding of this passage (1) supports your understanding, (2) deepens the character development, and/or (3) builds a central message that aligns with one of the unit's essential questions. 

BE SURE TO POST YOUR WORD COUNT AT THE BOTTOM OF EACH BLOG ENTRY!!

Primary Blog Expectations (respond to the prompt above): 200-250 words, minimal errors in grammar and usage, thoughtful and thorough writing. Please use the scientists's name that you selected in class as your nom de plume and be sure to add word count. Due by the 11:59pm on Friday 11/10! 

Secondary Blog Response Expectations (read everyone's primary responses, select two that interest you, and respond to their ideas): 100-150 words EACH, minimal errors in grammar and usage, thoughtful and thorough writing.  Please use the scientists's name that you selected in class as your nom de plume and be sure to add word count. Due by the start of class on Monday 11/13!