Category: Family

The Poisonwood Bible (Book 2: Revelations and Book 3: The Judges) - Culture and Morality

3/7/2019

There is often a sense of moral ambiguity that one can experience because of cultural conflict. I’ve often been faced with questions such as, "Do I believe this is right or wrong because of the way I was raised, or is it right or wrong because of a universal set of morals that all humans share?"

As we read The Poisonwood Bible, we encounter these kind of questions constantly. Some Westerners are immediately put off by many aspects of Kikongo culture (and the culture of the Prices!) portrayed in the novel, such as their treatment of women and twins, and well as some of their ideals related to marriage and education. Yet, I still question how much my culture influences my perspective and moral standing on these issues.

Reflect on these tensions for yourself, and compose a piece of personal writing addressing some (not all) of these questions:
- To what extent do you think our morals are defined by our home cultures?
- Do you think it is ever appropriate to say that the traditions or values of another culture are immoral?
- Have you had any cross-cultural experiences in your own life that made you realize that perhaps what is considered right and wrong in your own culture may not be universal?
- Have you wrestled with these tensions as you read The Poisonwood Bible as well?

Primary Blog Expectations (respond to the prompt above): 200-250 words, minimal errors in grammar and usage, thoughtful and thorough writing. Please use a name that you select as your nom de plume and be sure to add word count. Due by 11:59 pm on Friday 3/8!

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 your nom de plume and be sure to add word count. Due by 11:59 pm on Sunday 3/10!

Frankenstein: Chapters 1-4 (Primary and Secondary Blog Posts)

10/26/2018

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!

A Thousand Splendid Suns Part II (Primary and Secondary Blog Posts)

3/21/2018

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!

A Thousand Splendid Suns: Part I (Primary and Secondary)

3/16/2018

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!

Frankenstein: Chapters 11-16 Primary Blog Post

11/1/2016

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.

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 start of class on Monday 11/7!

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 Thursday 11/10!

Frankenstein: Chapters 1-4 Primary Blog Post only!

10/10/2015

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 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 supports your understanding, deepens the character development, and/or builds a central message that aligns with one of the unit's essential questions.

Your blog post must be 250 - 300 words, minimal errors in grammar and usage, thoughtful and thorough writing. Please use the assigned scientist given to you in class as your nom de plume.

Jane Eyre - Chapters 1-10; Gateshead (Primary and Secondary Blog Entries)

2/4/2015

Jane in the Red Room

Now that you have been introduced to Jane, please respond to any or all of the questions below. You need to use textual evidence (quotes) from both Bronte's novel and from the chapters selected from Foster's book. After you have posted your Primary Blog Entry, please take some time to read ALL of your colleague's entries and then compose a thoughtful response (your Secondary Blog Entry) to TWO selected Primary Entries.

1. If you had to infer (guess) based on these chapters what type of woman society thought of as acceptable, what type of woman would that be?.

2. Reread the descriptions of fire in this segment. This is an important image that becomes more important as the novel progresses. What do you think it might mean?

3. What type of relationships does Jane have with her cousins? Her aunt? The servants at Gateshead? (not just the biological relationship, but also the emotional relationship).

4. What’s with the red room? What was your reaction to this section?

Part One Expectations (respond to the prompt above): 200-250 words, 2 quotes from the short story, minimal errors in grammar and usage, thoughtful and thorough writing. Please use the assigned "pen name" given to you in class - Please finish by 11:59 pm on the Thursday night before this section's class discussion.

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. Please use the assigned "pen name" given to you in class. - Please finish by the following Sunday night at 11:59 pm

As I Lay Dying - Independent Study

4/30/2014

Each student has been assigned a topic (you will find your name in the list at the bottom of the page).

1. After reading As I Lay Dying, you will respond to your assigned prompt in a 400-550 word informal response.

2. Once you have posted your informal response as a blog entry (I suggest typing on a word document and then copy/pasting into the blog entry box - ADD WORD COUNT AT END OF RESPONSE), you will then read all of your colleagues' entries.

3. You will then respond to 2 colleagues' entries (each in a different topic from yours and from each other) in 100-150 word informal responses. This is similar to the usual blog entries that we have completed, except that you will discussing and responding to different topics.

This is an important activity and, done correctly, will expose you to at least three different lens analyses of As I Lay Dying. In light of the importance of this activity, I will be counting this assignment as a 200 point Summative Assessment (100 points for Primary Responses and 50 points each for Secondary Responses).

The Due Dates are:
-Primary Responses must be completed by Sunday, May 4th at midnight.
-Secondary Responses must be completed by Tuesday, May 6th at midnight.

Topics:
1. Family and Honor - Samantha, Abigail, Edgar, Jahnai
As I Lay Dying could be read as a metaphor for any family; the Bundrens are stuck together on a long journey, to help or hurt each other. The conflicts between feelings of desire, love, honor, and a longing for identity outside the family eventually lead to disaster.

How do the Bundrens exemplify "family values?"
How do they fail to?
Does Faulkner see the Bundrens as a typical American family?
(Are most people like this?)
Do you?

2. Religion - Nathaniel, Cynthia, Akwasi
The religious characters in the book (Whitfield, Cora) have very little positive impact on the Bundrens. Addie explicitly rejects religion after her affair with Whitfield. Cora uses her religious outlook chiefly as a way to judge and criticize the impoverished and low-class Bundrens. Anse often quotes scripture to justify his own selfish actions.

Do you agree with Faulkner’s depiction of religion in modern life?
If so, build upon it. If not, create a counter-argument.

3. Mortality and Ritual - Brittani, Thomas, Arvinda
To the ancient Greeks, burial ritual was an extremely important religious task, representative of the loyalty a person has engendered in his family in life. Agamemnon speaks from hell to Odysseus: "As I lay dying, the woman with the dog's eyes would not close my eyes as I descended into Hades." He is referring to his wife Clytemnestra, whom conspired to murder him.
Do the Bundrens betray Addie, or do they honor her? Does Addie betray them by asking Anse to make the journey to Jefferson?
Does it matter what happens to our bodies after we die?

4. Sanity - Elizabeth, Nicole, Denean
“Sometimes I think it aint none of us pure crazy and aint none of us pure sane,” says Cash. He then decides that if a person acts without thinking about how his actions affect other people, he is crazy.

Do you agree with Cash? Are we all a little crazy?
How does society use the word “crazy”—or even “mental illness”— to define people?
Does Darl deserve his fate? How are Darl's "special powers" of narration related to what happens to him?

5. Perspective - Maricarmen, Stephanie, Patricia
Comment on the multiple perspectives of the novel. What do we learn cumulatively about the characters through their various voices?

What is the effect of these shifts in view?
Which is the truer perspective of ourselves: the one from our eyes or from the eyes of others?
You may analyze in depth one voice, or contrast two opposing voices (Darl and Jewel, for example).
6. Desire - Shayna, Kayla, Abril
All of the family members use their mother’s burial as an excuse to go to town in order to acquire something.

Which desires are more sympathetic, and which are less so?
Is this a betrayal of Addie?
Do our modern desires for material goods come between us and those we love?

7. Symbolism - Julie, Thalia, Adam
Faulkner's shifting voices often finds commonality in elemental natural symbols: water, fire, horse, earth, sky, eye, wood, bird, etc.

Choose one or more of these and make a unified comment on the symbol's ties to an allusion, perspective, insight, comment, or traditional generic convention.