TODAY IN CLASS
See the end of this post for the make-up assignment if you were absent on Monday.
And the late folder is open on http://www.turnitin.com/
Discussion of RHW, partly rooted in the significance of the luck/lucky, Paul's eyes, and overall motivation from yesterday, with an explicit discussion of theme(s) at the end of the period. There will be one more snippet to run through tomorrow: we will look closely at the scene in which Paul's mother stands outside the door, trying to identify the sound.
3rd period--all of this was abbreviated because of the Healthy Youth Survey
FOR TOMORROW
You have a busy several days: one final short story to read, and three short papers. You should write the first one tonight, or at least a solid working draft that you can revise later. I am copying/pasting the assignment here now, because it is not quite finished; I need to add the material on the thought paper, which I believe is well-described on a document on my home computer. (If not, I'll do it again). But here is what I have so far:
Assignment Due Friday, Oct. 22
Three short papers, divided into two types of writing which we will utilize throughout the year.
The One-Pager (or Microtheme)
- Must fit on one page, typed in the following format:
- Short heading: on the left, single-spaced (Name, class period, date)
- One-inch margins, 12-font type
- UNLIKE practically everything else, SINGLE-SPACE. (But please double-space between paragraphs unless you are absolutely out of room.)
- Content: Must have a strong thesis, clear organization, rich supporting details. Clarity of purpose, effective selection and organization of textual evidence, and concise, grammatically-correct writing style are the hallmarks of good one-pagers. Professional academic tone is expected.
The Thought Paper (described on the other side) OK--so not yet--this is the part I will add tonight and republish on Google.docs.
Here are the three prompts for Friday. I would suggest doing the “Araby” paper tonight. Thursday will be a work day (in full), so you will have two nights and a class period to read the next story and to do two other papers. Yes, the pace is picking up.
One-Pagers--these will be in the "Assessment" category
1) Notice that “Araby” begins and ends in darkness. Trace the various images of light and shadow through the story and show how they define the boy’s feelings at each point. [As I had time to develop in 1st, but not in 3rd/6th: this LOOKS easy and repetitive, given what we did in class. Your task, however, is write a model of the clear, complete, and fluent expression that the genre requires.
2) Identify the protagonist of “The Rocking-Horse Winner.” Justify your choice by looking not only at aspects of characterization, but also by connecting your decision to such features as elements of plot structure, symbol, and theme.
Thought Paper--these will always go in the Classwork/Daily Prep category
You will be writing on "Sonny's Blues" (pp. 49-70). There is never a "prompt" for a thought paper, and sometimes they are completely free of constraint. At other times, I will point you in a direction, but you can freely determine what you notice and ponder along the way. In this case, you'll be writing a thought paper on some aspect(s) of the literary element for your group. The DIFFERENCE, however, is that the thought paper gives you the opportunity to "explore"--to consider this or that, so long as you are truly "thoughtful" about it. Don't worry about actually WRITING this one until you get more information!
However, you may want to continue reading the story tonight. If you do, here are the category assignments:
A -- Tone and Style
B -- Theme
C -- Symbol(s)
D -- Point of View
E -- Character
F -- Setting
Make-up Work for Monday (10/18)
“THE ROCKING-HORSE WINNER”
Questions 1 and 2 are essentially “data-mining” (a bulleted list,
with page numbers) followed by several sentences of insightful commentary. Questions 3 and 4 should be short paragraphs
1) Trace the use of the words “luck”/“lucky” in the story.
List the relevant phrases or sentences in bullet form—write however much it takes to make the meaning clear. Include (and clarify) the
phrase “filthy lucker”—which is what Paul understands his uncle to
say. Then summarize how Paul has “bought into” his mother’s idea
of luck. Does he succeed?
2) Keep track of all references to Paul’s eyes—again, list them
out bullet style (you should have something like 12-14). Then
show how Lawrence’s emphasis on this feature helps to indicate how the boy changes as the story progresses.
3) Briefly characterize the relationship between Paul’s parents—
or at least Paul’s mother’s attitude about her husband—and explain
how/why it is important.
4) Consider the rocking-horse as a symbol. What exactly could
it symbolize, and how does that symbol connect with the meaning
of the story as a whole?
