Michael Lesy Wisconsin Death Trip

A Prayer for the Dying is in part inspired by this book (later turned into a film).



Check it out!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=voKdxD07PgE


Another interview with Stewart O'Nan about A Prayer for the Dying

www.weeklywire.com/ww/05-10-99/boston_books_1.html

More 2nd person stories

Read Nathaniel Hawthorne's "The Haunted Mind"
http://www.ibiblio.org/eldritch/nh/hmind.html


Read Italo Calvino's "If on a winter's night a traveler...""


http://www.sccs.swarthmore.edu/users/00/pwillen1/lit/winter.htm


Another example:


They are coming for you, to take you to the firing squad, the gallows, the stake, the electric chair, the gas chamber. You have to stand up; but you can't. Your body, gorged with fear, is too heavy$to move. You'd like to be able to rise and walk between them out the open door of your cell with dignity; but you can't. So they have to drag you away.

Or, it is coming, it is upon you and the others; bells or sirens have gone off (air raid, hurricane, rising flood), and you've taken shelter in this cell-like space, as out of harm's way as you can be, and out of the way of those trained to cope with the emergency. But you don't feel safer; you feel trapped. There's no place to run, and even if there were, fear has made your limbs too heavy, you can barely move. It's an alien weight that you shift from the bed to the chair, the chair to the floor. And you are shivering with fear or cold; and there is absolutely nothing you can do except try not to be any more terrified than you already are. If you remain very still, you pretend that this is what you have decided to do.
(Susan Sontag, The Volcano Lover 2.4.217; original emphasis(1))

Writing in the Second Person POV

What is the Second Person

An example
from
www.writing.com/main/view_item/item_id/1200131-That-Second-Person


Let us talk about writing, just me and you. Pull up a chair and make yourself comfortable. Pour a cup of joe, or whatever your favorite poison is. Settle in and we'll get down to the nitty gritty. I can go on for hours about this writing business, but I won't take up too much of your time today. Writing is one my favorite subjects. I'm thinking it might be yours too. Why do I think it might be yours? Well, you're here aren't you? That's a pretty good indication. I could be wrong though, and I'm more than willing to admit that. But let's talk a bit if you don't mind.

See this paragraph above? That's one way to use the second person properly, when directly addressing someone. I'm addressing you, the reader and possible writer, directly. The paragraph is written with a specific audience in mind, not a general one. I blame my first college professor for my pet peeve about the misuse of the second person. He pounded it into my freshmen skull many years ago that "you" had no place in any essay except for extraordinary circumstances. When I had him again for nearly every other English class, that lesson was simply emphasized in other writings. Other professors touched on it in literature, but he really sent it home.

I mostly blame advertisement for the misuse of the second person in new writing. I don't know how many times I have driven my family to distraction because I've absentmindedly disagreed with an advertisement. Listen to those things sometime - advertisements. Most of them are trying to target a specific market, but the way the commercials are written is so broad. The net thrown tries to catch as many people as possible. The public at large is included in the message. "You" is inclusive. The message is worded so everyone hearing it is led to believe they need that product or service by the simple use of that one little word. It's no wonder beginning writers use it in their writing; they're exposed to it constantly.

Another reason some beginning writers use the second person incorrectly is because they are "telling the tale." Most people learn to talk before they learn to write, and more people are better at telling stories than writing them. When beginning writers start to write the stories in their heads, often things become lost in the translation. Oral telling is different than the written word, and some writers don't make the distinction between what's said and what's written. When storytellers have an audience in front of them, they can say "It's so black that you can't see your hand in front of your face..." or "...the wind's so cold it'll cut right through ya." Storytellers talk directly to their audience. Even if the audience doesn't "feel" the cold, the use of the second person can bring them deeper into the story.

It can be done; Half Asleep in Frog Pajamas by Tim Robbins is a fictional novel written in second person, and there are several short stories which use the second person well, but they are rare. Also, the "choose your own adventure" genre of fiction has often been written in second person. Now that the Internet is so well established, interactive stories and many role playing forums are perfect homes for fictional stories that incorporate the second person.

In non-fiction writing, the use of the second person is commonplace. As in this opening sentence from Take Control of Your Sales by Sonya Carmichael Jones, "Regardless of your writing genre, marketing is the primary means by which your book sales are generated." This article addresses a specific audience, the book writer who wants to sell books. By inserting "you" into the article, the author attempts to draw the writer in and make the article personal. Such casual writing is routine nowadays. However, the above sentence could just have easily been written, "Regardless of genre, marketing is the primary means by which book sales are generated." Both are correct, it's simply a matter of preference.

If used properly, use of the second person can draw the reader into a piece like no other word. Such as this statement: "If you're one of the millions of people in the United States who has ever..." It is written directly to a specific audience. It attempts to hook that audience immediately. Hopefully, anyone who falls into the category of the article will read the rest of article with interest. Those who do not fall under the umbrella of whatever the article covers will most likely not read it. However, since they are not the intended audience, the use of the second person has fulfilled a purpose as well.

Using the second person is the easy way, but it can alienate half the readers in the blink of an eye. Consider an article written about some extreme sport where the author has written "... and you feel the rush of wind screaming through your hair. This is why you dig freefall, the rush..." Well, there went all of his sensitive bald readers and anyone who's never felt freefall, or those who don't "dig" it.

Using the second person can be a very powerful tool in an author's toolkit. But if it's used incorrectly it can gum up the works good and proper. Generally, try not to use the second person in an essay or a fictional story that is not aimed at a specific audience. There are always exceptions of course. What would this wonderful language be without exceptions? In my opinion, there are ways to get around using the second person - notice how I have not used it since the first paragraph except in quotations? A writer simply has to be creative. It's more fun that way. Is there a better way to enhance writing skills than finding more creative ways to say things? I can't think of one.

Well, I enjoyed this time with you. I hope you did too. Thanks for coming by and listening to me voice my opinion. It was a blast. I've got to get on to other things, but I hope you'll stop by again soon.

Take care.
from
www.writing.com/main/view_item/item_id/1200131-That-Second-Person

UNTIL GWEN--Dennis Lehane

UNTIL GWEN--Dennis Lehane 

 

www.youtube.com/watch?v=_lXthgpRBoM

Click on this link and read (saving paper):

 

adlibris.com/se/images/UntilGwen.pdf

What does this picture say about the story?

An interview with Dennis Lehane

theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2004/05/hookers-guns-and-money/3125/


Until Gwen Response
What about "Until Gwen" sticks out the most to you? You could focus on a scene, an image, a character, the style, the point of view, a theme--anything really. Write a perfect paragraph of 5-7 sentences in response.

Also:


"Until Gwen"
Use the title "Until Gwen" in a sentence about the main character of this story: "Until Gwen, he ______. During Gwen, he ______. After Gwen, he ______." Do the same with the main character's father: "Until Gwen, his father ______. During Gwen, his father ______. After Gwen, his father ______." Describe the lasting impact Gwen had on these two men. Are there similarities?

At the story's end, the main character has all the means to completely re-invent himself. Financially he is secure. On paper he has no past. He is able to completely start somewhere new where no one knows him. If you could write an epilogue to this story, one year later, where would he be?


Post your comments!

Continue reading A Prayer for the Dying over the holidays.

Current Contests: Sokol--a poem and/or story
Gannon--1-3 poems
Lelia Tupper Scholarship---essay, and creative writing variety, (up to 12 pages total--4 essay and 8 creative writing)
Scholastic  --Jan 6
Frederick Douglas 500 word essay--Jan 6

A Prayer for the Dying

A Prayer for the Dying Discussion questions

READING GROUP GUIDE
A Prayer for the Dying
A Novel
by Stewart O’Nan
ISBN-10: 0-312-42891-X
ISBN-13: 978-0-312-42891-4
About this Guide
The following author biography and list of questions about A Prayer for the Dying are intended as resources to aid individual readers and book groups who would like to learn more about the author and this book. We hope that this guide will provide you a starting place for discussion, and suggest a variety of perspectives from which you might approach A Prayer for the Dying.
About the Book
Set in Friendship, Wisconsin, just after the Civil War, A Prayer for the Dying tells of a horrible epidemic that is suddenly and gruesomely killing the town's residents and setting off a terrifying paranoia. Jacob Hansen, Friendship's sheriff, undertaker, and pastor, is soon overwhelmed by the fear and anguish around him, and his sanity begins to fray. Dark, poetic, and chilling, A Prayer for the Dying examines the effect of madness and violence on the morality of a once-decent man.
About the Author
Stewart O’Nan’s novels include Last Night at the Lobster, The Night Country, and A Prayer for the Dying. He is also the author of the nonfiction books The Circus Fire and, with Stephen King, the bestselling Faithful. Granta named him one of the Twenty Best Young American Novelists. He lives in Connecticut.

Discussion Questions
1. The book is narrated in the second person, addressing the main character, Jacob, as “you.” Who is speaking? Why do you think the author chose this mode to tell the story?
2. When Jacob is called to take care of Clytie, he has a very hard time pulling the trigger. Look at the passage (p. 49) in which he has to convince himself to kill her. Why does he agonize when he knows it’s the right thing? What does it mean that he’s “still clinging to some dream of innocence, blamelessness”? Does he continue to cling to that dream later in the story?
3. Why does Jacob elect to bleed and treat the bodies of some victims, even after Doc has told him not to, and even though he knows he’s putting himself in danger? Why is precision and diligence so important to him even when everyone around him is worried only about survival?
4. What role does religious faith play in the story? How does it influence Jacob, Chase, and other citizens of Friendship? Is their faith rewarded?
5. Jacob is a veteran of the Civil War. How does his experience there affect the way he behaves in the crisis in Friendship? How did the war change him?
6. How would you describe the relationship between Jacob and Doc? How do their different ideas about the world lead to different strategies for handling the outbreak in Friendship?
7. How does Jacob’s relationship with Marta affect his behavior in the outbreak? How do his priorities as a father and husband conflict with his responsibility to the town?
8. How do you interpret the book’s ending? What is Jacob choosing when he returns to Friendship? What do you imagine happening to him next?
9. Is Jacob sane at the end of the book? How does the author demonstrate the changes in his mind as conditions worsen?
10. “You’ve stopped believing in evil,” the narrator says of Jacob early in the story (p. 6). “Is that a sin?” Is there evil in this story? Does Jacob come to see it by the end?
11. How do the book’s two epigraphs relate to each other? Why do you think the author chose them?
12. Jacob is committed throughout the book to saving Friendship, and willing to sacrifice himself if necessary. Is he naïve? Does his commitment to principle do more harm than good in the end?

Wrapping up The Eyre Affair

Good Morning Everyone,

Today, you will have two periods worth of studio time.  During this time, you should be finishing the peer reviews that we started last class as well as continuing to work on your blog.

Peer Reviews--Due today at the end of the period.  Please print them out and hand them in to me.  (I will not be able to accept late peer reviews because today is my last day with Contemporary Writers (unless you are absent, in which case, you can e-mail it to me).


Blogs Requirements (a reminder)
-Due at the end of class: a link to your character's blog--you can e-mail this to me or print this out.  I would like you to do this again even if you have previously provided me with a link.
-Final Blog due date: Monday (take the weekend to polish your character's blog.
-a blog designed to include background information on your character, pictures of your character, things your character likes (you could have the character follow certain blogs in order to indicate this)
-hypertext blog entry (this should include links, pictures, videos, etc.)
-magical realism blog entry
-5-7 other entries from the point of view of your character
-developed entries (these should not be one sentence long.  They should be (roughly) at least two well-developed paragraphs in length
-appropriate spelling and grammar (unless, of course, you have chosen a character that speaks in a dialect, etc.  (in which case you should make a note of it somewhere).

Lastly, thank you all for a wonderful four weeks of student teaching.  It has been a great experience.  I enjoyed being able to work with such a receptive group of creative writers.  If you need to e-mail me for any of the aforementioned assignments (or even about college admissions, etc.), you can reach me at Jennifer.Hoffmann@Rochester.edu .

Peer Review Day

Good Morning Everyone,

Today, we will be finishing up the 1999 A&E film adaptation of Jane Eyre that we began in class on Friday.  If you have not yet posted a comment to the blog in response to it (using one of the questions in the last post) make sure that you do in order to receive class credit.

For the rest of the period, you will be working on a peer review of a classmate's blog.  This will count towards your classwork grade.  This will allow you to share your blog with another member of the class as well as to learn more about the peer review process.  Additionally, this will allow you to see what you need to edit or build upon in your own blog. 

In order to receive credit for this, please answer the following questions about your partner's blog in a word document that you will print out and hand in at the end of class.  You should give one copy to the person whose blog you reviewed and one copy to me.  To receive full credit, you should be thorough and point to specific examples in your partner's test.  You should always provide constructive criticism--any reviews that include hurtful criticisms or put-downs of the person being reviewed will receive no credit. 


Name:
Partner's Name:
Date:

1. Does this blog fit your expectations of a blog in general?  Does it have enough background information on the character?  Does it adequately use media modes other than text?
2. Does the blog fit the voice of the character it is aiming to adapt?  Why or why not?  What are some particularly well-written passages?  What are some passages that could be improved upon?
3.  Do the blog posts fit the project requirements? Are the blog posts well-developed?  (Are they at least a couple of paragraphs long?  Do they get across some unified idea?  Are there 5-7 distinct blog posts?  In addition to these posts, does the blog include the hypertext post and the magical realism post?  Point to specific examples. 
4. Did you find any sentences or ideas that were unclear (either because of sentence structure or because they expressed concepts that were difficult to follow)?  If possible, suggest a way to improve these sentences (without rewriting them for your partner). 
5. Pick a quote you particularly liked from your partner's blog and explain why. 
6. Are there grammar and style issues (other than ones used to fit with the character's voice)?
7. What are the blog's greatest strengths?  Explain.
8. What could be improved in the blog?  Explain. 
9. Additional comments:

Jane Eyre and its Adaptations

Good Morning,

Today we are going to be thinking about The Eyre Affair by looking at the source of some of the characters that it reappropriates, Jane Eyre.  I will be presenting a power point that covers Charlotte Bronte's background, The Victorian Era, the novel, and the novel's adaptations.  Afterward, we will look at one of the recent film adaptations.

Class Credit: Post a comment to the blog that responds to Fforde's use of Bronte's characters in light of what you have seen in class today.  To help you think of something to write, you might one to consider one or more of the following questions: What types of scenes does Fforde choose to depict, and why do you think he chooses them?  Does Fforde seem faithful to the characters, why or why not?

Magical Realism and the Eyre Affair

Good Morning Everyone,

Today, we will be taking a look at magical realism in The Eyre Affair.  In order to do this, you are all going to work in groups of 4-5 people.  Your group will work to answer the following set of questions on a poster paper:

1.  What is magical realism?  Put both what you remember from past classes at SOTA as well as what you find from a brief google search.  I particularly recommend this site: http://english.emory.edu/Bahri/MagicalRealism.html

2.  How does Fforde use magical realism in the novel?  Provice specific examples.

At the end of the first period, your group will share its answers with the rest of the class, so make sure to write clearly on your paper to help you present.

Assignment:

For the rest of second period, complete a blog entry that uses some of the elements of magical realism. 

Homework:
*Work on your blogs (remember for the unit assignment, I will be looking for the hyptertext entry, the magical realism entry, and the 5-7 entries that illustrate a week (or other time frame) in the life of your character).

*Read through chapter 31 in The Eyre Affair (clearly, the quiz is Friday).

Allusions in the Eyre Affair

The Eyre Affair is filled with literary and historical allusions and references that make reading it enjoyable.  It does this by referencing people, places, and items outside of the novel in a way that brings another layer of meaning to the plot and its events.  In this way it creates an experience of meta-reading, something that is not unlike the experiences that we had when reading the hypertext fiction and working to create our own. 

However, you can only experience the reading this way if you are in on the allusions (and the jokes that they are trying to make, in the case of Fforde's novel).  Did you recognize all the allusions?  How did you feel when you recognized one?  How did this compare to how you felt when you did not recognize one? 

In order to delve into the book, you will each be embarking on a webquest to determine to what each of the items listed below is referring.

al·lu·sion

Noun:

An expression designed to call something to mind without mentioning it explicitly; an indirect or passing reference. The practice of making such references, esp. as an artistic device.

Look up the following references:

Boswell
Pickwick

Goliath (as in "Goliath Corporation")
Crimean War
William Thackeray
Mycroft
Cardenio
Longfellow
surrealism
impressionism
Gad's Hill
Martin Chuzzlewit
Dickens
Haworth House
Austen
Swift
Gulliver's Travels
Mill on the Floss
Byron
Keats
Poe
Acheron Hades
chimera
Henry Fielding
Styx Hades
Jane Eyre
Bronte
Francis Bacon
Toad (toady) news
Stoker
Spike
Liz Barrett Browning
The Chesire Cat
Bowden Cable
Wordsworth
Braxton Hicks
Felix Tabularasa

Studio Time:  With this understanding of the meaningful use of allusions and references in mind, edit your Hypertext blog entry.  If you have time you may want to start on the seven blog entries that will be due as part of your end-of-unit assignment, due at the beginning of next week. 

Homework:
*Read the next 50pp. in The Eyre Affair (be ready for another reading quiz this week)
*Start to work on your blog entries for your unit assignment
*Poke around Jasper Fforde's website-->www.jasperfforde.com

Kids Philosophy Slam Contest

Here is an essay contest you might be interested in:

philosophyslam.org/rules_fin.html#special

Setting up Your Blog and Hyptertext Posts

Blog Setup and Hypertext Entry

             Last class, we discussed Hypertext Fiction, a type of narrative that has existed since the early 1900s in textual form and that has grown and flourished in the digital age and with the capabilities that it allows.  This class session will require you to utilize some of these capabilities on your own as you begin to set up the blog from the perspective of your chosen character. 

Process:

1. Choose the blog site you want to use
1. http://www.blogger.com/
2. www.wordpress.com
3. www.opensalon.com

                                                              i.      Save this as a last resort.  It will not allow you the same kind of design capabilities as the other sites.  It will also not allow you enough space to write a biography for your character.

2. Fill in the basic information for the blog using the information that you researched for your character sketch.  (If you have not completed your character sketch or your I-Remember exercises, it will be difficult for you to complete these exercises). 
1. Fill in background information that is appropriate for your character.
2. Provide a photograph that is appropriate for your character.
3. List interests that fit with those of your character
4. Follow other blogs that your character would be likely to follow.
5. Use a blog template that your character would be likely to use.

etc., etc., etc.

3. Adapt one of your writing pieces
1. Choose one of your I-Remember exercises

                                                              i.      Pick one that is well developed and that you like

2. Find some words or phrases to turn into links

                                                              i.      Link to appropriate sites that relate to what your character is saying

                                                            ii.      Make this something meaningful.  Your goal is to add an additional layer of meaning and to create a winding narrative. 

3. Add appropriate pictures and videos to better get across your character’s message.

Due:  By the end of class today, December 1^st

Requirements:

*Thoroughly complete the process listed above.

*Write in the voice of your character.  Write something that is well developed (you may want to add onto what you wrote for the I-Remember exercises). 

*Use elements of hypertext narratives (as briefly touched upon in #3) in order to create a second layer of meaning.   

*Use the conventional standards for written English (though you may need to deviate to write authentically in the voice of your character).

Hypertext Fiction

Good Morning Everyone!

In preparation for starting our blogs, we are going to be exploring hypertext fiction today.  I will be presenting you with some background as well as giving you some time to navigate these modern works of literature yourselves.

When looking at these works please consider the following questions:
1. What choices did the author have to make in order to create this piece?
2. What choices are available to the reader?  What limitations are there?
3. What modes (textual, aural, visual, etc.) does the author employ?
4.  How might you adapt all of this when you begin to set up your blog?
Please, post a comment in which you answer these questions for one of the works that you look at during the presentation.

You will need the following links during the course of the presentation:

Digital Novels before the Internet:

http://www.wwnorton.com/college/english/pmaf/hypertext/aft/index.html

Hyptertext Fiction after the WWW:
http://www.sunshine69.com/July_2_Twins.html
http://collection.eliterature.org/1/works/joyce__twelve_blue.htmtwelve_blue.htm

Hypertext Fiction Today
 http://www.uoguelph.ca/shakespeare/folio/folio.html
 Interactive Fiction
 http://www.malinche.net/demos/adventure.html
http://www.malinche.net/demos/zork.html

Delving into The Eyre Affair

Good Morning Everyone,

Today we will be beginning a discussion of The Eyre Affair and building more off of our character sketches.

For Homework: Read up to Chapter 15 by Tuesday

Agenda:

1. Quiz on the first five chapters of The Eyre Affair. If you finish early, consider the following discussion questions.

2. Discussion of the reading:

A. Characterization (which we have been dealing with in the character sketches) is what writers use to help readers learn about characters in the story. There are two forms of characterization:
1. direct characterization--the narrator simply tells the reader about the character
2. indirect characterization--the reader learns about the character through his or her words, actions, and reactions. (Whether you know it or not, your character sketch forced you to complete both of these types of characterization).

Thursday Next is the first-person narrator of The Eyre Affair, and she uses both direct and indirect characterization to tell readers about herself.

**What are some examples of these types of characterization in the book? What is the difference between Fforde's use of direct v. indirect characterization? In what ways is each type of characterization effective?

B. First-person point of view-- uses a character in the story to tell the story. In this perspective, the readers only get the thoughts of thenarrator, so they may not know everything that's going on in the story.

** Why do you think the author chose to use first-person point of view for this story? What does this accomplish? Does it allow the narrator to seem reliable? What do these insights suggest for your blog--which will be written from this point-of-view?

3. Starting the I-Remember Exercise--

(You will have some more time to work on this next Tuesday).

Literary Adaptation and Memoir

For this class we are going to return to some of the “I-remember”-type exercises. This time, however, you are going to write these from the point of view of the literary character that you have chosen. In order to successfully complete these, you should refer to the character sketch that you completed last class. (If you have not completed the character sketch, you should do this first and complete this assignment for homework). Write with this information in mind. Refer to the story that your character is from, and write phrases that use the same type of tone, sentence structure, and vocabulary as your character as you respond to two of the prompts.

This assignment will count for credit towards your second-marking-period grade. In order to receive full credit, you will need to answer at least three of the questions in a manner that is thorough enough to illustrate that you have been on task. In answering these questions, you should illustrate a sincere attempt to take up and maintain the voice of your chosen character (not your voice). You also will need to spellcheck and proofread your work.

I-Remember Prompts
(Choose at least three to write about. Remember that you are writing in the voice of your chosen character).

1. “Give me a memory of your mother, aunt, or grandmother. If it’s an aunt, say her name; for example, ‘I remember my aunt Gladys…” Be detailed.” (6).

2. “Tell me some details about an uncle or a grandfather. Make sure to name the uncle: ‘I remember Uncle Phil…’” (38).


3. “Tell me something. It doesn’t have to be the traditional subjects. How about how to tie a shoe, be a good mother, how to clean the refrigerator, make pudding, change a tire? Something that is deep in your bones—driving in rush hour on the I-94 to work each day” (38).

4. “Give me a picture of a teacher you had” (7).


5. Write about something that seems ordinary to you (123).

Prompts adapted from: Goldberg, Natalie. Old Friend from Far Away: The Practice of Writing Memoir. New York: Free Press, 2007.

Friday's Class: Character Sketches Continued

Good morning everyone!

Today, we will be finishing our character sketches. These will be due to me by the end of the period.

Once you finish, if there is time left in the period, you should start on the reading homework. For Tuesday, you will be expected to have read up to Chapter 6. There will be a quiz on this material.

Lastly, I wanted to make a note about how you can reach me if you have any questions throughout this unit. You can e-mail me at: Jennifer.Hoffmann@Rochester.edu.

The Eyre Affair Unit Ms. Hoffmann

The Eyre Affair Unit Ms. Hoffmann

An Introduction to this Unit

In The Eyre Affair, Jasper Fforde adapts the work of other authors in a variety of ways. As you work your way through his novel, you will discover a number of direct references and allusions to many different works and characters. At some points, he summarizes key plot events of canonical works, and at others, he imagines alternative events and endings. His experiments with adaptation take him so far that he even paints a picture of what these characters would act like if ripped from the pages of their literary homes and dropped into the “real world.”

Your project for this unit will require you to complete a similar task. You will create your own adaptation of a literary figure (you will be asked to focus your re-appropriation on a single character—though you may choose to include occasional allusions and references to others at your own discretion). However, instead of completing a narrative in the fashion that Fforde does, you will be asked to create a blog in which you write various posts in the voice of this character.


Character Sketch Directions

As a first step towards this, you will need to choose a character whose identity you wish to assume through a blog. For the purposes of this activity, this needs to be a fictional, literary figure. This could be a character from a novel, novella, or lengthy short story. If the character is from a shorter work, it may be difficult to complete this task.

Once you complete some initial research to figure out which character you would like to use, you will need to let me know which character you have chosen. (If you have a lot of trouble, you may want to use a character from one of the novels that we have read for this class). Then, you can go ahead and start working on the following questions. You should perform some online research about these characters in order to provide informed answers. Your completed character sketch will be due at the end of the period.

This will count as one of the grades for the second marking period. In order to receive full credit, you will need to do the following:

1. Answer each question as thoroughly as possible in the time allotted. You should have enough writing to illustrate that you have been on task for the rest of this period as well as second period.

2. Reference the sites that you used to find out information about your character. There is a space for this at the end of the questions. However, if you want to include quotes from these sites, you need to put them in quotation marks and include a link to the site right after the quote.

3. Note that you will NOT receive full credit if your entire paper is made up of quotes or if you have copied text without attributing it to the site on which you found it. It is expected that you will mostly perform research on various sites and type up your synthesis of your findings for this activity.

4. Spellcheck and proofread

Please copy and paste the following questions into your own word document. Answer as many questions as thoroughly as possible.



Name:
Class:
Date:

Character Sketch

1. Character Name:

2. Name of the literary work from which the character originates:

3. Name of the author of this work:

4. Genre of this work:

5. Original publication date of this work:

6. The setting (both time and place) of this work:

7. What does your character look like? Write a rich, adjective-filled explanation. Include textual references to the character’s appearance. (Do what you can to find examples using Google Books, Project Gutenberg, and other online libraries. You will need to obtain some kind of a copy of the text for reference for the rest of this unit by Monday, November 21st.)

8. What is your character like? Is the character a hero, a villain, or neutral? What is your character’s occupation? What are your character’s habits? What are your character’s passions? What are your character’s dreams? Write a vibrant description that accurately captures your character’s personality. Describe him/her as you would to someone who has never read about him/her.

9. What does your character do? What/How does your character think?

10. Describe your character’s relationships with other characters that are from the same text. What do these others say about your character?

11. Is your character’s childhood depicted in the piece that you chose? Write about some significant events from his/her childhood.

12. Write about other significant events that happen to your character.

13. Write some important quotes that your character says. If you character never speaks, include some important quotes about your character.


14. Include the links from which you obtained your information. (You should have sites listed other than Wikipedia and those like SparkNotes. Do some real research; you need to get inside of this character’s head):


If you are having trouble:

1. Refer to one of the following resources:
-A reference to the importance of character traits and examples of them: http://character-in-action.com/character-traits-make-a-whopping-difference/

-More character traits:
http://cte.jhu.edu/techacademy/web/2000/kochan/charactertraits.html

2. A resource describing the basics of analyzing a literary character:
-http://www.enotes.com/topics/how-write-character-analysis

3. Think in terms of something that you know and work from there. For instance, assuming that this character has access to a Facebook page, think about the sort of things that they would post or include in their profile. You could include these sorts of things in your answers to the questions above.


4. Ask!

Rita Dove

Period 1---read aloud the rest of the poems in Mandolin

HMWK:  Read Beulah's section for Monday/  Test on Thomas and Beulah

Period 2--Work on Poetry Cycle --Due Wednesday, Nov. 16

Check out Rita Dove videos:

www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/21787

www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/21327


www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/20412

The First Book
Rita Dove

Open it.

Go ahead, it won't bite.
Well...maybe a little

More a nip, like.  A tingle.
It's pleasurable, really.

You see, it keeps on opening.
You may fall in.

Sure, it's hard to get started;
remember learning to use

knife and fork?  Dig in:
You'll never reach bottom.

It's not like it's the end of the world--
just the world as you think

you know it.

Figment Girls with Grit contest

blog.figment.com/2011/11/01/the-girls-with-grit-contest/

Rita Dove

About the Oriental Ballerina:


www.youtube.com/watch?v=zV16g979jRM

Read aloud and discuss "Mandolin". Respond and analyze  one of the poems in a comment posted here for credit.

Rita Dove and Billy Collins at the White House:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=vi33BQRtIKo&feature=related 

Rita Dove, introduced by Barack Obama:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=vi33BQRtIKo&feature=related

2nd period: 
Begin planning and outlining your poetry cycle.  Discuss with Ms. Gamzon and Ms. Hoffmann.

Join Figment!

Try to join our group on figment.com

figment.com/groups/1956-Ms-Gamzon-s-Contemporary-Writers

Happy Halloween! Storytelling

Share some "Bloodsucking Fiends" stories and enjoy donuts and cider!

HMWK:  Read the poems in "Mandolin " for Wednesday.  We'll be reviewing and responding to them.

Reader Response to a Poem:
Select one of the poems in "Thomas and Beulah". How does the poem make you feel? In what ways can you relate to the poem? What has Rita Dove done with imagery, form, theme, rhythm, language, etc. to make this poem work? Any lines that particularly strike you as interesting or powerful? Think about poetic technique: enjambment, caesura, metaphor, simile, alliteration, assonance, consonance, linebreaking, stanzaic form, apostrophe, onomatopeaia, etc.


Begin working on Poetry Cycle assignment:
Similar to Thomas and Beulah, consider some characters in your own life, imagined characters, or actual historical characters. Imagine the significant chronological dates in their lilves--high points and low points. consider how to construct a series of 8-10 (preferably more) poems that tell a story (narrative poetry) and explore these key moments and occasions.

• a. Your poetry cycle should consist of 8-10 poems
• b. Your poetry cycle should be accompanied by a chronology to support the key dates and occasions you chose to write about.
• c. At least two of the poems should explore the same event from two different perspectives or viewpoints (like "Courtship" in Thomas and Beulah). These poems can have the same title.
• d. Place one poem per page, single-spaced, 12 point type in a clean font and be sure to title each poem. you may want to title the entire cycle as well. Use italics for dialogue, songs, memories, etc as you observe in Rita Dove's work. Experiment with different stanzaic forms and poetic styles.
• e. Poems can, of course, be narrative or lyric, but remember that the overall cycle is a narrative and must tell a story of a life or lives although we only see "fragments" or moments/snapshots of those lives.

Rita Dove/ Thomas and Beulah/ RPO Poems

Begin reading aloud Thomas and Beulah
Check out link to her web site!
www.poetryarchive.org/poetryarchive/singlePoet.do?poetId=6719
Critical article: personal.georgiasouthern.edu/~jpellegr/articles/dovearticle.html
www.suite101.com/article.cfm/african_american_lit_retired/62567

The poem cycle set to music:
www.amazon.com/Thomas-Beulah-Rita-Amnon-Wolman/dp/B000065CWO

Listen to Gabriela Lena Frank's "Three Latin American Dances"
1. Introduction: Jungle Jaunt
2. Highland Harawi
3. The Mestizo Waltz

Links:

about the composer: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gabriela_Lena_Frank

Harawi: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harawi

Mestizo: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mestizo

Check out images of Peru, Andes, etc.

STUDIO TIME:
Finish your Bloodsucking Fiends stories for Monday!  On Monday, we will have some Halloween goodies and share some stories.  I encourage to think about reading your story to the class.

Also, a reminder:  FIRST COFFEEHOUSE READINGS   THURSDAY, NOV. 3  7 pm
As always, 20 points extra credit for readers,  10 points extra credit for attendees

Bloodsucking Fiends wrap-up

With a partner or two, discuss the reading guide questions.   Choose 3 of the questions and post a very insightful comment with your partner for classwork credit.

Answers to classwork BSF Quiz #3 Ch. 17-24:

Chapter 17 and 18
1. c. 2. a. 3. d. 4. b. 5. d. 6. c. 7. d. 8. c. 9. c. 10. c. 11. c. 12. b.
Part 2, Nesting: Chapter 19, Jody's Delicate Condition and Chapter 20, Angel
1. b. 2. d. 3. d. 4. a. 5. b. 6. d. 7. b. 8. c. 9. b. 10. b. 11. d. 12. c.
Part 2, Nesting: Chapter 21, Angel Dust and Chapter 22, A Nod to the Queen of the Damned
1. c. 2. d. 3. b. 4. b. 5. a. 6. c. 7. b. 8. d. 9. a. 10. d. 11. a. 12. b.
Part 2, Nesting: Chapter 23, Mom and Terrapin Pie and Chapter 24, The Return of Breakfast
1. a. 2. b. 3. b. 4. d. 5. a. 6. d. 7. b. 8. a. 9. b. 10. b. 11. b. 12. c.

If you have not done the last two quizzes for classwork, be sure to pick up a copy and complete it on your own now that you have (we hope) finished reading the book!

We will be picking up Rita dove's Selected Poems today.


Continue to work on your stories for Bloodsucking Fiends--DUE Monday, HALLOWEEN!

Work on contest entries for contests that are due NOV. 1--Bennington, Hollins, etc.


RPO Poems (Bolero) due at end of week.  PLEASE, please try to do this.  EXTRA CREDIT AVAILABLE!!!

RPO Project and Contests

The next RPO project/contest is for the November concerts.  These have a Spanish/Latin theme.
Please listen to the following recordings and think about creating poems inspired by the music.  The winning poems will be read at the concerts, just like the postcards in September.

 Arild envisioned the poetry to flow off of the Ravel Bolero and/or the Gabriela Lena Frank Three Latin American Dances (Spanish/Latin elements).


Bolero
www.youtube.com/watch?v=3-4J5j74VPw


Gabriela Lena Frank Three Latin American Dances 

www.youtube.com/watch?v=mavn0xKNcEs

And don't forget Hollins, Bennington, Scholastic, New England /young Writers Conference, etc.

Scholastic Haiku contest

www.scholastic.com/dellhaiku/?eml=SMP/e/20111018//txtl/DellHaiku/0/ContestDeadline/SL1//////&ym_MID=1373091&ym_rid=6224539

Answers to BSF quiz #2:

Part 1, Fledgling: Chapter 7, Suiters and Chapter 8, Dinner with the Vampire
1. a. 2. b. 3. a. 4. a. 5. d. 6. c. 7. c. 8. d. 9. b. 10. b. 11. d. 12. d.
Part 1, Fledgling: Chapter 9, He Knows If You've Been Bad or Good, So You'd Better... and Chapter 10, Walking, Talking, and Bumping in the Night
1. c. 2. d. 3. c. 4. a. 5. c. 6. a. 7. b. 8. a. 9. a. 10. c. 11. c. 12. b.
Part 1, Fledgling: Chapter 11, Lather, Rinse, Repent and Chapter 12, Fashionably Doomed
1. b. 2. b. 3. d. 4. b. 5. c. 6. b. 7. b. 8. c. 9. d. 10. d. 11. b. 12. b.

Part 1, Fledgling: Chapter 13, To-Do List of the Fashionably Doomed and Chapter 14, TwoLosts Do Not Make a
Found
1. d. 2. a. 3. d. 4. a. 5. d. 6. a. 7. b. 8. c. 9. d. 10. a. 11. c. 12. a.
Part 2, Nesting: Chapter 15, Learning the Licks and Chapter 16, Heartwarming andUL-Approved
1. a. 2. a. 3. a. 4. a. 5. c. 6. b. 7. c. 8. a. 9. a. 10. a. 11. a. 12. b.

Bloodsucking Fiends Writing Assignment

Continue reading Bloodsucking fiends and finish by Friday this week.   We'll be moving on to Rita dove and some poetry.


Finish short writing assignments for me and for Ms. Hoffmann.

And here's your next assignment (actually we've been working towards this):

NEW ASSIGNMENT a/la Bloodsucking Fiends (it's that time of year!)
Write a short story that involves an encounter with an "imaginary being" --a little touch of magical realism, here.  Your short fiction piece can be funny, sarcastic, spooky, or "deadly serious."  What would it be like to talk to or perform an action  with a ghost, a werewolf, an angel, a zombie, or yes, a vampire?  Or any mythical or fairy tale character--fairy, leprechaun, Minotaur, satyr, ogre, troll, etc.?


Other things:  Writing contests--Check out Bennington's writing contest and The Blue Pencil online. 

Part 1, Fledgling: Chapter 1, Death and Chapter 2, Death Warmed Over
1. d. 2. b. 3. b. 4. b. 5. d. 6. c. 7. c. 8. a. 9. d. 10. a. 11. d. 12. b.
Part 1, Fledgling: Chapter 3, Oh Liquid Love and Chapter 4, Blooms and the City of Burned Clutches
1. a. 2. a. 3. a. 4. c. 5. b. 6. a. 7. b. 8. c. 9. d. 10. c.
Part 1, Fledgling: Chapter 5, Undead and Somewhat Slightly Dazed and Chapter 6, The Animals
1. a. 2. a. 3. b. 4. d. 5. c. 6. c. 7. b. 8. a.
11. d. 12. c.
9. a. 10. d. 11. a. 12. d.

How well did you do?

Ms. Hoffmann: On Vampires and Parody

1. Gallery Walk
2. Readings
3. Presentation
4. Writing Exercise

The Inner Workings of Parody

par·o·dy

   /ˈpærədi/ Spelled [par-uh-dee]  IPA noun, plural -dies, verb, -died, -dy·ing.

noun 

1.   a humorous or satirical imitation of a serious piece of literature or writing: his hilarious parody of Hamlet's soliloquy.

2.   the genre of literary composition represented by such imitations.

3.    a burlesque imitation of a musical composition.

4.   any humorous, satirical, or burlesque imitation, as of a person, event, etc.

5.    the use in the 16th century of borrowed material in a musical setting of the Mass (parody Mass).

verb (used with object)

6.   to imitate (a composition, author, etc.) for purposes of ridicule or satire.

7.   to imitate poorly or feebly; travesty.

Source: www.dictionary.com

GENRE: A type or category of literature or film marked by certain shared features or conventions. The three broadest categories of genre include poetry, drama, and fiction. These general genres are often subdivided into more specific genres and subgenres. For instance, precise examples of genres might include murder mysteries, westerns, sonnets, lyric poetry, epics, tragedies, etc. Many bookstores and video stores divide their books or films into genres for the convenience of shoppers seeking a specific category of literature.
CONVENTION: A common feature that has become traditional or expected within a specific genre (category) of literature or film. In Harlequin romances, it is conventional to focus on a male and female character who struggle through misunderstandings and difficulties until they fall in love. In western films of the early twentieth-century, for instance, it has been conventional for protagonists to wear white hats and antagonists to wear black hats. The wandering knight-errant who travels from place to place, seeking adventure while suffering from the effects of hunger and the elements, is a convention in medieval romances. It is a convention for an English sonnet to have fourteen lines with a specific rhyme scheme, abab, cdcd, efef, gg, and so on. The use of a chorus and the unities are dramatic conventions of Greek tragedy, while, the aside, and the soliloquy are conventions in Elizabethan tragedy. Conventions are often referred to as poetic, literary, or dramatic, depending upon whether the convention appears in a poem, short story or novel, or a play.

Source: http://web.cn.edu/kwheeler/index.html

Mini Writing Exercises

1.      Write a paragraph that describes a monster (whether it be a vampire or another magical being that you know well).  Make sure that this description fits with the conventions of the genre to which the being belongs (i.e.—a vampire might have fangs; a zombie might eat brains, etc.).  Use rich language and adjectives to create a vivid image for your reader.

2.     Parody a vampire attack (or a part of one) in a paragraph.  Use the Moore reading as well as the more serious, short readings from class for ideas of conventions you might want to twist. 

Bloodsucking Fiends

As the book begins, Moore effectively creates and develops the setting of his story. Setting the scene for an entire book can
be a difficult task, but by using descriptive language, and contrasting images, the setting is memorable.
1) 1. Moore uses the contrasting beauty of the San Francisco skyline and a homeless man to set the stage for his tale. How do these contrasting images work to create a feeling of mystery? Why does the image of the Emperor lead the reader to believe that things are not always what they seem in San Francisco?
2. Writing exercise: Using Moore's first chapter as an example, write an introduction to a short story in which you establish the setting. This exercise should be no more than one page in length.
3. Explain why setting the scene in a story such as Blood Sucking Friends is important. Would the book still be as interesting if the author did not take the time to establish the setting for his interesting characters?

or

After Jody wakes up in the dumpster, she is surprised to discover she feels completely changed. After traumatic experiences, we often must change to cope with what has happened to us. Everyone deals with it differently, and Jody is no exception. The change can be for the good or make one's life worse, but pushes us to accept change.

1) 1. Rewrite Jody's experience waking up in the dumpster. As you rewrite the passage, try a different tone than Moore's. What type of tone did you choose to address this passage? How does it differ from Moore's tone?

OR
Journal Entry: Describe an event in your life that has helped to define the person you are today. How did the event change you, or make you more direct on your path to self discovery?

Chapter Abstracts
Chapter abstracts are short descriptions of events that occur in each chapter. They highlight major plot events and detail the important relationships and characteristics of characters and objects. The Chapter Abstracts can be used to review what the students have read, or to prepare the students for what they will read. Hand the abstracts out in class as a study guide, or use them as a "key" for a class discussion. They are relatively brief, but can serve to be an excellent refresher of the text for either a student or teacher.
Part 1, Fledgling: Chapter 1, Death and Chapter 2, Death
Warmed Over Abstract
* The story begins with the Emperor, a wise homeless man, looking over San Francisco. * The Emperor is upset because a vampire is killing people in his beloved city. * As Jody walks home, she is attacked by a strange man.
Part 1, Fledgling: Chapter 3, Oh Liquid Love and Chapter 4,
Blooms and the City of Burned Clutches Abstract
* Her attacker bites her and then makes her drink her blood. * Jody wakes up in a dumpster with a burned hand. * Jody finds that her shirt is full of money * Jody takes the bus home, thinking her boyfriend will be worried about her. * Instead, she finds him complaining about her on the phone.
Part 1, Fledgling: Chapter 5, Undead and Somewhat Slightly
Dazed and Chapter 6, The Animals Abstract
* Kurt is upset with Jody but does not ask her if she is okay. * Jody becomes very upset and throws a plant at Kurt, which knocks him out. * She then drinks Kurt's blood because she cannot resist the blood. * Jody realizes she is a vampire and needs to find a safe place for the day time.
Part 1, Fledgling: Chapter 7, Suiters and Chapter 8, Dinner with
the Vampire Abstract
* The story shifts to Thomas Flood, a country boy in the big city. * Tommy lives in a small apartment with five other men in Chinatown. * As the chapter ends, Tommy meets the Emperor who helps Tommy find a job.
Part 1, Fledgling: Chapter 9, He Knows If You've Been Bad or Good, So You'd Better... and Chapter 10, Walking, Talking, and Bumping in the Night Abstract
* Jody suddenly regains consciousness when the sun sets. * She hates waking alone; she's lived with ten men in five years. * Jody counts the money her attacker left her, almost seventy thousand dollars. The attacker must have turned her into a vampire on purpose. * Jody gets a call from someone she does not know who tells her she can be killed.
Part 1, Fledgling: Chapter 11, Lather, Rinse, Repent and
Chapter 12, Fashionably Doomed Abstract
* The night workers at the Marina Safeway are known as "the Animals" because of their rowdy behavior. * The Animals are Simon, Clint, Christian, Jeff, Drew, Troy Lee, Gustavo, Barry, and Lash. * The new night manager turns out to be Tommy, who all of the Animals seem to like. * Jody walks by the store and is hit on by Tommy and Simon. She accepts a date with Tommy.
Part 1, Fledgling: Chapter 13, To-Do List of the Fashionably Doomed and Chapter 14, Two Losts Do Not Make a Found Abstract
* The workers put the Safeway stock room back together. * Troy Lee and Tommy go to Chinatown and Troy Lee explains that Tommy's roommates want to marry him to gain citizenship. * Tommy cannot say no to a panhandler.