Jane Eyre Discussion.

Hi Everyone:

For this post, consider something that one of your peers shared regarding Jane Eyre chapts. 1-15.  Use their comment to deepen the discussion, extend the discussion, or politely disagree and offer alternative interpretations.  Also: was there something you had wanted to say but didn't get a chance?

Jane Eyre Chapters 1-15

For this post, you can respond to chapters 1-15 of Jane Eyre in one of two ways:

1) Jane's Personal and Social Development:  Describe what kinds of breakthroughs or changes Jane is experiencing and why you think they matter.  Choose some representative scenes or quotes that demonstrate what you are discussing.

2) The novel and the Romantic Movement: How is this novel adhering to, deviating from, or challenging the Romantic Movement as you understand it?  What scenes stick out to you as representative of this?

A good length for the response would be approximately 250 words.

Meeting Re-Cap for August 24th, and New Assignment.

Hi Everyone: We had a great meeting on Monday, if under-attended, during which we discussed Wide Sargasso Sea.  In brief, we talked about the intersections of race, class, culture and gender that the novel is concerned with, and we talked about the unique way that Rhys carefully uses tone and perspective in such a way that the reader feels simultaneously close to, and distant from, the characters in the novel.  We were also able to make connections between this novel and other novels we have read this summer, primarily in the way that the novels explore identity formation against a backdrop of deeply conflicted cultural situations, which sets us up for the first unit of the year.

Our next goal is to complete a project which I will detail below.  This project is going to be due the week of the 14th-18th of September, during which students will informally present what each has created.  Please send along any questions to me along the way.

Here is the assignment:

Literary Analysis Web

Literary Analysis Web

Making meaning by relating the parts to the whole and the whole to the parts

The Process and the Question
Over the summer we have kept a few essential questions in mind when discussing all of the reading material: What could each of you do to show that you understand how the parts contribute to a whole? How can you show that a writer’s choices -- choices of individual events, of the order of events, of the (sometimes strange) descriptions and details, of the repeated images, of the characters and characterization, etc. -- fit together to suggest something the significance of the work as a whole?

You will answer these questions by creating a literary analysis web in response to Invisible Cities, Invisible Man, or Wide Sargasso Sea.

The Web, part one: the center
Each student will make a web. At the center of the web will be a robust paragraph (100 words to 300 words or so), explaining in your own words, your understanding of what the novel you’ve chosen is fundamentally all about. What exactly do you think the novel suggests?

(Hint: To begin thinking about the essential themes in the novels review your passage responses and the summaries of summer session discussions written by Mr. Telles.)

The "introductory" paragraph will explain your "big idea," your "bold, insightful assertion" about the novel's meaning. Spend some time with this. The GHS schoolwide rubric says that in order for such paragraphs to be considered proficient they must be clear, supportable, debatable, and insightful; the ones that are advanced will also be sophisticated and/or original . (Warning: Do not turn to the internet looking for an answer. Rely on your own interpretive skills, your own heart and mind. Each year several students ignore this warning and end up receiving no credit (0) for one or more summer reading assignment.)

The Web, part two: the threads
Then you will connect the central paragraph to interpretations of how at least four passages in the novel support your "big idea," your "bold assertion," your "central insight". Choose passages that show development over the course of the novel (beginning, middle, and end) as well as a range of choices made by the author that contribute to the novel’s development.  (Let me make it clear that four is a minimum and to create a thoroughly convincing web you might need to refer to more passages.)

These "interpretations" need to show two things: an understanding of the passage itself and an understanding of how the passage supports your "big idea," your central insight about the significance of the whole. How you show your understanding of the passage and your understanding of its connection with the "big idea" is up to you.

To show your understanding of a passage what will you do? Will you write a paragraph (in the manner of a standard essay) explaining how the passage supports the central paragraph? Will you quote the passage in one font and offer an explication (an unfolding of meaning) in relation to your big idea by using another font? Will you create a picture that shows an understanding of the passage (and its relationship with the central paragraph)? Will this picture show symbolic understanding as well as literal understanding of the passage?

To show the connections what will you do? Will you draw lines? Will each connecting line include a sentence linking the passage with the big idea? Will you use a "footnote" or "endnote" system in which you put numbers in your central paragraph that will lead to numbers which offer explanations of how passages support the central paragraph? Will you create Powerpoint slides to show connections?

And, finally, will you go beyond? Will you show not only how the big idea is connected with passages but also how the passages are connected with each other? What else might you do to show the relationship between the parts of the novel and your understanding of the whole?

Note:

I know some of you are thinking, just tell me what to do! This is too vague.

Part of AP English Lit & Comp is learning how to be a critical, creative, resourceful, and independent reader and writer. I want you to show me that you don't need to be led by the hand but can come up with appropriate, innovative solutions to challenges. In this case I've given you a few parameters (write a central assertion, connect that central assertion to an understanding of at least four passages). I've given you some examples of how you might complete the assignment. I've left the rest up to you.

The Web, part three: teaching your peersYou will be creating a physical object -- a web -- and you will be called upon to explain the web at some point during the second or third week of class.

Due DatesThe physical "web" in whatever form you create is due September 9th, 2014.
The "teaching your peers" part of the assignment will take place during the week of Monday, September 14 through Friday, September 18.

Grading

Advanced webs will offer an insightful, sophisticated, perhaps original understanding of the novel as a whole. This overall understanding will be linked to persuasive, nuanced understanding and interpretation of how at least four passages drawn from key moments throughout the novel support your understanding of the whole. These webs may go "beyond" the parameters of the assignment in some significant, meaningful way.

Proficient webs will offer a clear, thoughtful, plausible, understanding of the novel as a whole. This overall understanding will be linked to a reasonable understanding and interpretation of how at least four passages from the beginning, middle, and end of the novel contribute to the whole. The webs are generally considered to have succeeded in fulfilling the assignment but not to have exceeded expectations for a student entering an introductory college-level course at a competitive college or university.

Webs that need improvement may not offer a clear or plausible understanding of the novel as a whole. The central paragraph may point out themes but may not offer interpretation or insight as to the meaning of the themes in the novel. These webs refer to at least four passages but may not adequately show an understanding of the passage or of how the passage contributes to the work as a whole. The understanding and connection of some passages may be effective The passages may not be drawn from the beginning, middle, and end of the novel. In general these webs do not meet the expectations for a student entering an introductory college-level course at a competitive college or university.

Webs that receive warning status may include the weaknesses cited above but also fail to adhere to the basic parameters of the assignment. They may show little to no understanding of the novel or of the passages.

Any web that includes language or material taken directly from another source will receive a zero.

Meeting Re-Cap for Monday, August 10th.

Hi Everyone:

I would like to give you an update on how our discussion went last Friday and give you a few pointers for the next assignment.  Let’s start with our next meeting.  Looks like the best time for our next meeting would be Monday, August 24^th, 9:00 A.M. in room 2209.  This time we will be discussing Jean Rhys’ Wide Sargasso Sea, and the assignment for this book is the same as the past three assignments (see blog).  The final assignment for the summer will be a bit more project-based, but I will let you know all about that at our next meeting.  Wide Sargasso Sea is a very intriguing book that deals with intersections of race, class, cultural imperialism and complicated family connections.  As you are reading, try to resist dismissing the main character, Antoinette, as simply “crazy.”  In the past, students have been tempted to describe the book as the story of someone “going crazy,” but that’s hardly a meaningful assertion.  Try to consider how the book is framing Antoinette’s experiences and then analyze / make meaning out of her responses.  She is not going to explain her responses to you; you will have to look for patterns of behavior and make your own conclusions.

Although there was low attendance at the last meeting, the discussion of Invisible Man part two went very well.  I asked about general impressions of the end, and many students commented on how Ellison really pushes the limits of “reality” as the book goes on, culminating in moments like Ras appearing on horseback with a spear, the Invisible Man literally (?) living in a hole, and Brother Jack’s eyeball falling out.  To the great credit of the students at the meeting, some brought up the most complicated and troubling parts of the book, namely the very uncomfortable moments of sexuality.  As we talked through those moments, students generally thought that those moments were significant because they tend to bring together all of the major tensions in the book: race relations, power struggles, hidden desire, cultural masks, and the need to establish an identity.  We then talked through some of the themes we brought up last time with certain questions in mind.  How does the novel deal with identity and frame what “identity” is?  What is the novel revealing about systems of control and power in American culture?  Why does Ellison use such heavy, almost cartoonish metaphors throughout the book?  We also took a little time to analyze and dissect two passages (Ellison’s description of the college and Ellison’s later description of Clifton’s death) in order to gain insight into how carefully Ellison structures even the short episodes of the novel.  In a grand scale, we noted how Ellison structures the novel with certain significant events, e.g. repeated speeches which show development and repeated moments of “rebirth” or awakening for the protagonist.

Finally, we started to ponder the question of where the book leaves us.  In a world of deception and corruption, is it really a solution to hide away from it in a hole?  But if we face it, do we do this at our own peril?

Thanks for reading, and I look forward to seeing you next time, Mr. Telles.

Meeting Re-Cap for Monday, July 27th.

Hi Everyone:

I would like to give you a quick update on last week’s meeting, but first I should let everyone know that the next meeting will be Monday, August 10^th, at 9:00 A.M. in room 2209.  The assignment is the same as it was for the last meeting, but this time simply apply it to chapters 16-end of Invisible Man.  Once again, if you were not able to make the meeting last Friday, please add a thoughtful comment in the comment box below.

We started the meeting with a review of the question types of the AP Exam and the modes of writing we will be employing this year.  We then took some notes on modes of criticism, namely New Criticism as it relates to AP Literature and Post-Modern Criticism and its lenses as it relates to possibilities for research in the second half of the year (see a friend’s notes if you missed this). 

We then tried an exercise that will be a feature of the class during the year. As practice for passage analysis, students broke up into groups and chose a few sentences from either Invisible Man or Invisible Cities.  From there they marked up the sentences, creating codes and diagrams intended to demonstrate to the class what they thought were the essential elements of the writer’s style.  The responses were very interesting, with students picking up on Ralph Ellison’s acerbic and often exaggerated use of metaphor and his heavily rhythmic use of syntax and punctuation, which approximates conversational speech or an orator’s techniques.  These and other insights were an excellent way to begin questioning how these stylistic idiosyncrasies tie into the threads of meaning in the texts.

We were not left with much time to talk about the first half of Invisible Man, unfortunately, but it was a very exciting start.  Students brought up Ellison’s interesting tendency to push situations to a breaking point, causing almost utter disbelief in the reader.  Metaphors are very in-your-face and surreal (e.g. the paint factory with its “Optic White).  One student made the great point that the narrative seems to follow a build-up and crescendo effect, beginning each new episode in a relative “real” world and building to a point that feels like a bad dream.  Another student noticed that there is a birth and rebirth pattern in the story.  I spent a little time talking about the implied historical figures in the story: Booker T. Washington, W.E.B. Dubois, Marcus Garvey (all worth looking up).  We noted that a central thematic concern in the book is a questioning of systems of control.  Who is really in control, where is the real source of power, and why must the real source of power be hidden behind a veil (e.g. Mr. Bledsoe, Mr. Brockaway)?  Some of the last things brought up were the Invisible Man’s eviction speech scene and the Trueblood scene, which will be a perfect gateway to get into the deepest issues of the book, but for now we’ve got a great macro view of how the book is structured.

Thank you, and we’ll see you next time, Mr. Telles.

Friday Meeting Re-Cap: Invisible Cities.

Hi Everyone:

Here is a quick re-cap of last Friday’s meeting, which went very well.  We started the meeting with a brief discussion of the differences between AP Language and AP Literature, which I’ll discuss again briefly when school starts, and we also talked about the three writing activities on the AP exam itself, which should not be taken as an indication that the class is going to be test-centered, but as an opportunity to point out what kinds of writing we will be primarily focusing on this year.  The writing on the AP Lit exam isn’t unique to the exam and is transferrable to college-level writing in the humanities.

I then asked the class for their reactions to Invisible Cities, and from there we discussed the book for the rest of the meeting.  Reactions were generally favorable, even when mixed with bemusement or confusion.  One student found the descriptions of the cities to be perplexing but exciting, and she was kept wondering what leaps of invention the author would come up with next.  Another liked the symmetry of the cities, the way elements of the cities mirrored each other and seemed to have an internal logic.  A student commented that she found the cities became increasingly more interesting as the book went on, and the final cities were the most vivid and memorable.  All of these comments struck me as surprising since most years I find that students respond more strongly to the Khan / Polo discussions than the city descriptions, but this year students seemed to like the inventive detail more than the philosophy.

From here I asked some leading questions, e.g. is there a plot?  Is there an internal tension or conflict that is being worked out?  This prompted a response in which one student, who generally liked the book, felt that ultimately nothing in the book spoke to her as a person, and she was wondering if she was missing something.  One student said that she thought that the tension between expanding one’s control or one’s “empire” to the point where it can not be sustained is a central problem; there is nothing one can do to stop the corruption that builds up beyond one’s reach.  Another student felt that the tension between being immersed in the concrete detail of life (symbolized by Polo) and working with abstractions (symbolized by Khan) was at the root of things.  I offered that the book seems to be working out the limitations of language and storytelling.  How do we get across experience: through concrete detail, through emblematic or symbolic gestures?  Can the complexity of experience even be told directly or must it be suggested?

We talked about many other issues: representations of women in the book, the dual impulses of fear and desire that run through the book, the fact that the book subtly encourages the reader to side with Polo, and the depth of the last paragraph of the book. 

If you could not join us, please add your comments on any of these issues in the comment box below, and explain yourself as fully as you can.  Thanks for reading, Mr. Telles.

Date and Instructions for the Next Meeting, Monday, July 27th (Invisible Man Chapters 1-15)

Hi Everyone:

My next post will be a quick re-cap of our meeting on July 10^th, but before I get to that I should first announce that the next meeting will have to be shifted a bit from the originally planned date.  We were originally going to meet Friday, July 24^th, but I need to change the date to Monday, July 27^th, 9:00 A.M. in room 2209.  Sorry about the change (but you get a few extra days!)

This time we will discuss chapters 1-15 of Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man.  The assignment for these chapters is very similar to the last assignment.  Here are the retooled directions:

Description: This assignment is a hybrid which combines the skill of responding to a passage in an exploratory and provisional way (as in the traditional quotation response journal) and something approaching the more focused and formal skill of the AP-style passage response (Question 2) on the AP Literature exam.  Use the rubric that you were given before the end of the school year to guide you through the shorter quotation responses.  The same rubric is applicable to the longer portion of the assignment, only rather than including personal connections and open-ended questions, you should maintain your focus on what is being asked of you in the directions.

Directions:

Part One:  After reading chapters 1-15 of Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man, respond to four passages from throughout the text.  Try to choose passages that do one of two things: 1) In preparation for the bildungsroman unit during the school year, try to choose passages that advance, complicate, or illuminate the main character's social, intellectual, or creative development.  In other words, what are the big moments of change and what do they reveal?  OR 2)  Try to select passages that contain things that seem to jump out of the narrative as highly unusual, grotesque, uncomfortable or incongruous.  Try to make some sense out of these things or make connections to the larger story.

As always, Keep in mind these fundamental questions: why does your passage matter so much, and how does your passage function on its own and in relation to the rest of the book?  Each response has a 60 word minimum.

Part Two:  Write one longer response to a passage, around 300-500 words.  You simply want to choose a passage that exemplifies one of the two threads above but seems especially important.

***For those who did not make it to the meeting last Friday, please read my description of the discussion below and write a 300-500 word contribution in the comment section.