These images (all images of Afghanistan occuring during the time period in Part 2) could depict some of the main plot points of the beginning of Part II (Laila's Story) of A Thousand Splendid Suns. While these moments are important, they are by no means the only significant points in these chapters. Here is a link to Getty Images collection of photos of Afghanistan in the 1980s:

https://www.gettyimages.com/photos/afghanistan-1980

After having read these chapters:

1. 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. You may Copy/Paste from the PDF copy of ATSS on GClassroom OR clearly paraphrase the passage to familiarize your reader.
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 (1) supports your understanding of the thematic topic, "shelter," (2) deepens the character development, AND (3) builds a central message that aligns with one of the unit's essential questions (see the main ATSS page).

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 that you were assigned in class as your PEN NAME and be sure to add word count. Due by 11:59 pm on Sunday night! ​

​At the end of chapter 1 in A Thousand Splendid Suns, Nana says to her daughter, Mariam:

Learn this now and learn it well, my daughter: Like a compass needle that points north, a man's accusing finger always finds a woman. Always. You remember that, Mariam (Hosseini 6).

​In a thoughful and well-written paragraph, address the following points:

• Explain your understanding of this quote within the context of the story.
• Create a claim that either agrees or disagrees with Nana's warning to her daughter.
• Support your claim with anecdotal evidence from your understanding of society, historical events, or personal belief.
• End with a strong concluding statement.

Use your Pen Name!

Primary Blog Expectations (respond to the prompt above): 75-100 words, minimal errors in grammar and usage, thoughtful and thorough writing. Please use the name that you were assigned in class as your PEN NAME and be sure to add word count at the end of your response. Due by 11:59 pm TONIGHT!

Secondary Blog Response Expectations (read everyone's primary responses, select two that interest you, and respond to their ideas): 75-100 words EACH, minimal errors in grammar and usage, thoughtful and thorough writing. In these replies, you can contribute, agree, disagree, support, elaborate, challenge, clarify, and/or connect. Please use the PEN NAME that you were assigned in class as your PEN NAME and be sure to add word count at the end of your response. Due by 11:59 pm on Monday night!

​Day One-PRIMARY BLOG ENTRY-After actively listening to the linked NPR Podcast, please consider these three topics. Select ONE of these three topics to respond to in your Primary blog entry. In this Primary blog entry:

• Label your entry with its topic.
• Answer the aligned questions in a soild narrative paragraph (word count below).

Day Two-SECONDARY BLOG ENTRIES-Scan through all of the Primary Blog Entries and pick TWO (ONE form each of the OTHER two topics). For EACH Secondary Blog Entry you may respond with your choice of the following types of responses:

• Agree? Disagree? Why?
• Continue the discussion.
• Add additional thoughts.

1. Historical Narratives & Power: This episode explores how Afghanistan has been shaped by both internal and external forces over centuries. How does the way history is told influence our understanding of a place like Afghanistan? Who controls these narratives, and what impact does that have on global perceptions of the country?
2. Geopolitics & Identity: Afghanistan has often been referred to as the "graveyard of empires" due to its strategic location and history of resisting foreign control. How has Afghanistan's geography influenced its role in global politics, and in what ways has this shaped Afghan national identity?
3. Colonialism & Its Legacies: The episode highlights Afghanistan's encounters with colonial and imperial forces, from the British and Soviet invasions to U.S. involvement. How do the long-term effects of these interventions compare to those experienced by other nations with similar histories of foreign interference? What patterns of colonial influence do you see repeating across history?

Primary Blog Expectations (respond to the prompt above): 75-100 words, minimal errors in grammar and usage, thoughtful and thorough writing. Please use the name that you were assigned in class as your PEN NAME and be sure to add word count. Due by 11:59 pm Thursday night!

Secondary Blog Response Expectations (read everyone's primary responses, select two that interest you, and respond to their ideas): 75-100 words EACH, minimal errors in grammar and usage, thoughtful and thorough writing. In these replies, you can contribute, agree, disagree, support, elaborate, challenge, clarify, and/or connect. Please use the PEN NAME that you were assigned in class as your PEN NAME and be sure to add word count. Due by 11:59 pm on Friday night!

​Written in the TONE that your pen name persona would use, introduce yourself and give a good description of what you look like. Get creative! You should identify your genus and species, your habitat, what you eat in order to help people learn about who you are. Finally, find a weird or interesting fact to add some depth to your character. Have fun!

Now that you have read and analyzed Owen's poem, supplementing your understanding by viewing video clips and discussing, please take a moment to reflect on Owen's argument regarding war. Then answer the following prompts:
1. What is his argument and how does he use his poem to prove his argument? Please be sure to use multiple line references (3+ references) to support your analysis>
2. Once you have thoroughly explained Owen's argument regarding war, please compose a thoughtful response either refuting and supporting his stance.

In your Primary Blog Entry, you should respond to the questions above in a single entry. Your Secondary Blog Entry should respond to two of your colleagues' entries that are especially interesting to you.

Part One Expectations (respond to the prompt above): 200-250 words, 2 quotes from the novel, minimal errors in grammar and usage, thoughtful and thorough writing. Please use the assigned "pen name" given to you in class PLEASE FINISH BY FRIDAY NIGHT!

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. FINISH BY SUNDAY NIGHT!

After having explored the concept of the Monomyth (or Hero's Journey), you are ready to begin independent application of the 12+ stages of the Monomyth to a work of your choice. Please do the following steps in a narrative form (paragraphs, not list):

• Select a work with which you feel comfortably familiar.
• Summarize the work in a single sentence.
• The bulk of your response should be tracing the main character's journey through the stages of the Monomyth.
• Conclude your response with a reflection on how the essential learning that the main character learns can be developed into a thesis statement (author's argument + how + why + so what).

PLEASE ADD WORD COUNT AT END OF EACH BLOG ENTRY!

Primary Blog Entry 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.

Secondary Blog Entry 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.

(3 total blog entries for this assignment)

Just as Chris and the platoon are divided between Elias and Barnes, viewers also feel somewhat divided. You feel compelled to side with Elias because he is jaded and righteous and seems to care about his men, but you can't help but admire Barnes' hardiness, his determination to win the war and ability to survive. 

After our class discussion about allegory, the Christ figure and Machiavelli, as well as the inability of humans to be purely good or evil, you understand that this is a decision that is not as easy as one might hope. 

Imagine that you are a soldier in this platoon. Who do you follow, Sgt. Barnes or Sgt. Elias? Take into consideration all factors: survival, morality, reality of the war environment, psychological effects of the war, constant extreme stress, and any other factors that would affect your decision. Explain your decision in a thoughtful and well supported blog entry.

PLEASE ADD WORD COUNT AT END OF EACH BLOG ENTRY!

Primary Blog Entry 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.

Secondary Blog Entry 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.

(3 total blog entries for this assignment)

Now that you have read and analyzed the poem, "Facing It" by Yusef Komuyakaa, select 3 strong images from the poem and discuss their literal AND figurative meanings. Finish your response by explaining how these images and their metaphorical meaning helps your understanding of the theme of the poem (hint: revisit the title of the poem).


PLEASE ADD WORD COUNT AT END OF EACH BLOG ENTRY!

Primary Blog Entry 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. Due by 11:59 pm on Friday night (2-20-2015).

Secondary Blog Entry 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. Due by 11:59 pm on Sunday night (2-22-2015).

(3 total blog entries for this assignment)

Now that you have spent some time reading and considering the imagery, connotation, and theme in Randall Jarrell's poem, please respond to the following writing prompt:

• In reference to his poem, Jarrell wrote that the gunner, who sat hunched up and revolved with the turret, looked like a fetus in the womb. Based on this information, how would you interpret the first four lines of the poem? Remember to refer to the figurative imagery and connotation found within these lines.
• What does the abrupt and literal imagery of the last line suggest about the speaker’s attitude toward death, specifically in war?

Please compose a Primary Blog entry of between 200 and 250 words (be sure to add word count at the end of your post).

No Secondary Blog entries needed for this posting.

Prompt: Think about the items that you carry in your bag (backpack, purse, fanny-pack, man-bag, etc.). Choose two items and explain why you have chosen to "hump" these items wherever you go. What is the tangible and intangible element of each item and why? Then think and write about what these items say about you.

Primary Blog Post: 2 Full Paragraphs (200-250 words - use at least one MLA cited quote from the short story)
Secondary Blog Post: 1 Full Paragraph (100-150 words) X 2 (one each for two classmates)

*please note: you must use a "pen name" for this assignment (both primary blog entry and secondary blog entry) but you MUST let me know who you are so that I may give you credit.

     -(DAY 1) Primary Blog Post: Only those posted by the end of the day (Friday 2-6-2015 at 11:59 pm) will be scored.
     -(DAY 2) Secondary Blog Post: Only those posted by the end of the weekend (Sunday 2-8-2015 at 11:59 pm) will be scored.

Just as Chris and the platoon are divided between Elias and Barnes, viewers also feel somewhat divided. You feel compelled to side with Elias because he is jaded and righteous and seems to care about his men, but you can't help but admire Barnes' hardiness, his determination to win the war and ability to survive. 

After our class discussion about allegory, the Christ figure and Machiavelli, as well as the inability of humans to be purely good or evil, you understand that this is a decision that is not as easy as one might hope. 

Imagine that you are a soldier in this platoon. Who do you follow, Sgt. Barnes or Sgt. Elias? Take into consideration all factors: survival, morality, reality of the war environment, psychological effects of the war, constant extreme stress, and any other factors that would affect your decision. Explain your decision in a thoughtful and well supported blog entry.

PLEASE ADD WORD COUNT AT END OF EACH BLOG ENTRY!

Primary Blog Entry 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.

Secondary Blog Entry 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.

(3 total blog entries for this assignment)

Now that you have read the short story "war" and watched the short film adaptation, please answer the following questions:
1.     How would you characterize the ending of this story… a realization, a denouement, or an epiphany?

Denouement - after the climax, a gentle restoration of relationships prior to the events in the story

Realization - where a character becomes aware of a reality in his or her life

Epiphany -  a sudden, sharp realization, an awareness of a desire that can never be fulfilled, or "reality"

Explain your answer and describe its effect on the characters' different levels of denial. (100-150 words)

2.     What desires motivate the fat traveler? Explain. Are these in conflict?  (100-150 words)

3.     Why is the atmosphere of the overnight train appropriate? (100-150)

Primary Blog Entry: As you watch the film, "The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas," consider all the different ways the humans subconsciously and consciously invoke denial as a coping mechanism/survival tactic. Select two or three topics (single words) in which denial often occurs. List them, briefly define each topic, and explain how and why denial is so often found in the experience of each topic. ADD WORD COUNT AT END OF BLOG ENTRY!

Secondary Blog Entry: After you have posted your Primary Blog Entry, please read ALL of your colleagues' entries. Select two that interest you and respond to them in Secondary Blog Entries. You may agree or disagree and explain why, provide further examples and evidence, or offer an alternative way of addressing the topic. ADD WORD COUNT AT END OF BLOG ENTRY!

Primary Blog Entry 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.

Secondary Blog Entry 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.

(3 total blog entries for this assignment)  

After reading and annotating Jarrell's poem, The Death of the Ball Turret Gunner," please consider the following question:

     What does the imagery of the last line suggest about the speaker's attitude toward death?

Please post your response here, using your assigned Student Number (contact me if you forget it). Your response should:
     1. use the poems' title and author's name
     2. answer the prompt
     3. use a properly cited quote from the poem to support your ideas (hint: better quotes aren't just the last line)
     4. be between 100-150 words (hint: type response on Word Doc and the Copy/Paste into submission box)

 This blog response is due by 11:59 pm tonight.

Prompt: Think about the items that you carry in your bag (backpack, purse, fanny-pack, man-bag, etc.). Choose two items and explain why you have chosen to "hump" these items wherever you go. What is the tangible and intangible element of each item and why? Then think and write about what these items say about you.

Primary Blog Post: 2 Full Paragraphs (5-7 sentences each - use at least one MLA cited quote from the short story)
Secondary Blog Post: 1 Full Paragraph (5-7 sentences) X 2 (one each for two classmates)

*please note: you may use a "pen name" for this assignment (both primary blog entry and secondary blog entry) but you MUST let me know who you are so that I may give you credit.

     -(DAY 1) Primary Blog Post: Only those posted by the end of class will be scored.
     -(DAY 2) Secondary Blog Post: Only those posted by the end of class will be scored.