Vacation Work (oxymoron)

Please read carefully.

I. 
Grendel
Finish reading and taking notes on the novel by class time on Monday, February 24. (Things get pretty weird and interesting as Gardner uses Grendel to explore being and meaning. Use the blog post below for some guidance. I've also posted some vocabulary that might be helpful into the blog's vocabulary tab. We'll deal with the vocabulary in greater depth when we return.)

Make sure you've shared the Friday class work with me: your 3-2-1* and your chapter titles with me in your "Grendel in class" Google document.

*Describe the three most important events and explain what makes each thematically important; describe and explain two of John Gardner's interesting and significant strategies, techniques, and/or language choices; describe an mystery, confusion, or question about the first four chapters that interests you.

II.
Advertising, Marketing, Consumerism, Commodification, and Making Meaning
When we missed class on Thursday, we missed the last of two days of documentaries exploring how what we consume and how we're persuaded to consume affects and is affected by the ways we make meaning in our lives (our desires, our fears, our hopes, our goals, our values; the ways we live and the ways we make sense of how we will).

Here is a compressed version of Thursday's class.
1. At the top of the margin to the right are essential questions to think about in relation to this part of the unit.
2. In class on Friday, I gave you a handout with notes on The Ad and the Ego. (We were supposed to watch parts of this documentary on Thursday, but now the notes will have to suffice.) Read and prioritize the fifteen ideas from the documentary on the handout.
3. In the margin to the right are links with PBS resources related to the essential questions. (One link will take you to Merchants of Cool which you watched parts of on Wednesday. Another link will take you to The Persuaders which you were supposed to watch parts of Thursday. The final link will take you to a trailer for Generation Like, which will air on PBS starting Tuesday.)**

**Option: You can earn homework extra credit by watching one (or more) of these documentaries and by making a list of fifteen concepts in the documentary (or documentaries). (Use The Ad and the Ego list as a model.)

All of this work will prepare us for our first Q1 "Synthesis" essay some time after February Vacation.

Grendel: essential questions, what to do when reading, what to look for in each chapter

Read, take notes, and be prepared to relate your reading & notes to the big questions in class on Friday.

Think about these issues and questions. Apply them to yourself and apply them to Grendel.

Thinking about life's "meaning"

* What exactly do we mean by the questions, "What is the meaning of life?" or "What gives life meaning?" or "How do you find meaning in life"? (The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy suggests, "Perhaps when we speak of “meaning in life,” we have in mind one or more of these related ideas: certain conditions that are worthy of great pride or admiration, values that warrant devotion and love, qualities that make a life intelligible [make sense], or ends [goals or purposes] apart from base pleasure that are particularly choice-worthy.")

* To what extent is finding meaning (or making meaning out of life and what life gives us) a necessary human act? To what extent is finding or making meaning foolish, absurd, even fraudulent?

* What are some of the different ways people find meaning in life or make meaning out of life? 

* How is the particular way a person finds or makes meaning significant? How might the way a person finds meaning in life affect the person's inner life and outward actions? How might it affect the person's life path? How might it affect others?

Thinking about nihilism and nihilistic existentialism

* Why might someone reject the ways others find meaning in life? Why might someone mock those who try to create meaning? Why might we see existence as just existence—a string of purposeless, random, accidental events? 

* If a person rejects the possibility of a meaning in life, how might this affect the person's inner life and outward actions? How might it affect the person's life path? How might it affect others?

What to do while you're reading...

• Look for what stands out. What is strange? Eccentric? Difficult? What is interesting? Vivid? Suggestive? Emotionally affecting? What is significant in relation to the questions? In relation to the human dilemma? In relation to cultural and historical issues? Take notes.
• Look for patterns—repetitions, connections, similarities, contrasts—within the text. (What words and images repeat? How do these repetitions help develop themes? What characters are similar? How does the author draw our attention to those similarities? What characters are different? How does the author draw our attention to these differences? What emotions, ideas, concepts recur and contrast?) Take notes on the patterns.
• Look for connections to other texts (Beowulf, Hamlet, Lord of the Flies, "On Seeing England for the First Time," Present Shock, etc.). Take notes on the connections to other texts.
• Look for connections to your prior knowledge and experiences (schema). Take notes on these connections.
• React personally. Note what you think and feel about particular statements, characters, events, etc. Write down your thoughts and emotional reactions.

 In chapter 1 pay particular attention to...
Grendel's language
Grendel's attitude to the ram (Aires), other animals, and plants
Grendel's attitude toward spring
Grendel's attitude toward humans and "theories" (killing them and their response to Grendel killing them)
Grendel's experience with the chasm
in relation to life's meaning or lack of meaning

In chapter 2 pay particular attention to...
Grendel's language
Grendel's relationship with his mother and the "large old shapes"
Grendel's experience with the bull (Taurus)
Grendel's thoughts about his encounter with humans (and his thoughts about the differences between humans and other animals)
How all of this affects Grendel's self-image and world-view
in relation to life's meaning or lack of meaning

In chapter 3 pay particular attention to...
Grendel's language
Grendel's thoughts and feelings about human nature and human civilization while watching Hrothgar expand his kingdom and power (& how might this be related to Beowulf)
Grendel's thoughts and feelings about human nature and human civilization while listening to the Shaper (& how might this be related to Beowulf)
References to twins (Gemini)
How all of this affects Grendel's self-image and world-view
in relation to life's meaning or lack of meaning
 

In chapter 4 pay particular attention to...
Grendel's language
Grendel's thoughts, feelings, and actions in response to the stories told by the Shaper (particularly the one about the brothers--& how might that story be related to Beowulf) and in response to how humans treat him and each other
References to crabs (Cancer)
How all of this affects Grendel's self-image and world-view (pay especial attention to the imagery associated with Grendel's feelings--and the "presence" he feels)
in relation to life's meaning or lack of meaning

In chapter 5 pay particular attention to...
Grendel's language and the dragon's language
How Grendel gets to the dragon (How does Gardner suggest both that he is in Grendel's mind and a being separate from Grendel? Why might Gardner do this? How is this like and unlike Simon's encounter with the Lord of the Flies?)
What the dragon says, how he says it (both the abstract language and the imagery), how it relates to Grendel's situation, how Grendel reacts, etc.
References to lion-like qualities (Leo)
in relation to life's meaning or lack of meaning
 
In chapter 6 pay particular attention to...
How/why Grendel becomes a murderous monster (and what that has to do with dragon, the shaper, and Grendel's experiences with humans)
Grendel's language and Unferth's language
Unferth's beliefs (and Grendel's mockery of those beliefs)
Apple imagery (allusion???)
References to virgins (virgo)
in relation to life's meaning or lack of meaning

In chapter 7 pay particular attention to...
Grendel's language (particularly the way he plays with language) and the structure of the chapter (Weird things start to happen. Why?)
Wealtheow (What is her back-story? What way(s) of finding/making meaning does she emobdy? How does she affect Grendel and others including Unferth? What other characters does Grendel compare her with?)
References to balance (libra: balancing scales) 
in relation to life's meaning or lack of meaning

In chapter 8 pay particular attention to...
The structure of the chapter (Whose language does Grendel seem to mimic?)
Red Horse and Hrothulf (what ways of making/destroying meaning do they represent? how might their ways of thinking and their relationship be related to Grendel and the dragon?)
Hrothgar (what is happening with his kingdom? what is the significance of the dream that Grendel imagines for him?)
References to scorpions (Scorpio)
in relation to life's meaning or lack of meaning
 
In chapter 9 pay particular attention to...
The suggestive, symbolic imagery at the beginning of the chapter (A "hart" is a red male deer and is the name of Hrothgar's meadhall.)
Ork and the Priests (How do they represent ways of making meaning? How does Grendel respond? How is this response similar to and different from his response to the Shaper, Unferth, and Wealtheow?)
References to Sagittarius (half-man, half-horse archer)
 in relation to life's meaning or lack of meaning

In chapter 10 pay particular attention to...
Grendel's attitude. What has happened to the "strange joy" Grendel experienced in chapter 6?
The Shaper and Grendel's Mother
References to Capricorn (horned goat)
in relation to life's meaning or lack of meaning

In chapter 11 pay particular attention to...
Grendel's attitude. What has changed?
The Strangers [Geats] (How is the stranger, the Beowulf-figure, characterized? Note the suggestiveness of the imagery. Note the echoes...] How do the other characters respond to the stranger? Each response is revealing.)
References to water (Aquarius: the water-bearer)
in relation to life's meaning or lack of meaning

In chapter 12 pay particular attention to...
How the battle between Grendel and the stranger is suggestively depicted (Note the imagery. What does the particular imagery suggest?)
(Grendel has mocked and debunked others' ways of making meaning; how does the stranger mock his mocking, attack his nihilism, and make a counterargument?) 
How previous moments in the novel are echoed here
References to fish (Pisces)
in relation to life's meaning or lack of meaning

Grendel by John Gardner (getting started)

Today, you got your new books. You looked at the drawings, the blurbs on the back of the book, the note about the author, the epigraph, and (perhaps) spot read a few pages. This gave us an idea about what we're getting into thematically and stylistically.

Then, we read some of the Anglo-Saxon epic Beowulf, the basis for John Gardner's imaginative adaptation. We now have knowledge of a lot of the source material for the novel.

Now we're ready tackle the first chapter.

Here are some overarching questions to consider while reading:

The novel as a whole

1.        How does John Gardner explore human values, morality, and purpose in Grendel? What does the novel as a whole suggest about human values, morality, and purpose?

The novel and the modern world

2.        The novel was first published in 1971 and Gardner says he was particularly interested in using the Beowulf story to explore modern alienation and nihilism; what connections can we make to the modern world?

While reading chapter one consider these questions:

Chapter One [Aires: Ram]

1.     How is the zodiac sign—Aires, the ram—significant (meaningful) in the chapter? (Notice that the zodiac is one of the ways people have tried to find meaning--patterns and purpose--in world around us.)

2.        At the end of the chapter how do the humans attempt to transform death into victory? How does Grendel feel about this? (Notice that this question is related to the first essential question.

Be ready to analyze and discuss the first chapter on Monday. (I could always throw out a reading check assignment too.)

Discussing *Lord of the Flies* and Claims of Universality

Sudden Argument Tuesday
Be prepared to develop your position on these three questions in a "fish bowl" conversation tomorrow (Tuesday, February 4).

To what extent do you agree with the view of humanity that William Golding develops in Lord of the Flies?

To what extent can Lord of the Flies represent universal truths about human nature even though the characters are all male, all pre-adolescent, all in prep school, and all British?

To what extent is Lord of the Flies a critique of ethnocentrism (the idea that one's own culture is superior to others) and to what extent does it perpetuate ethnocentrism?

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Tomorrow's conversations will be a springboard into our study of Question 3 on the AP English Language and Composition Exam.

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After you participate in a conversation, extend your participation with a 300+ word response in the comment box below. What did you not have the chance to say? I'm especially interested in the following: clarification and refinement of your position, development of specific support for your position, and thoughtful rebuttal of alternative positions. (Alternative or opposing positions are also called counterclaims.) Post by class time on Friday, February 7.

How to Prepare for the Midyear Exam

Section 1: General Academic and Subject Specific Vocabulary
* Know and be able to apply the following vocabulary lists found here:

General Academic Vocabulary
* Adjectives to describe satirical/humorous/ironic/sarcastic tones
* Adjectives and verbs to discuss personal essays
* Lord of the Flies vocabulary

Subject Specific Vocabulary
* Vocabulary about vocabulary
* Vocabulary about sentences
* Vocabulary (and an acronym) about discourse
* Vocabulary about satire
* Vocabulary about personal narratives
* Vocabulary about Hamlet and Elizabethan Drama
* Vocabulary about Lord of the Flies and allegorical novels
* Additional vocabulary about rhetoric and argument

Study cards can be an effective learning strategy.
Quizlet and Study Blue are tools that your peers recommend.

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Section 2: Identifying Sentence Errors
* Study the SAT Identifying Sentence Errors handout and the How We Use Language: Style and Conventions (Semester One) handout.

* Review your own writing for common errors.
* Practice identifying sentence errors at the College Board website. Click here.


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Section 3: AP English Language rhetorical analysis multiple choice
* Study subject specific vocabulary (See above)
* Use multiple choice strategies (including reading questions before reading the passage, reading the passage and the questions actively, eliminating obviously wrong answers, learning from other questions in the section, choosing the best answer available) 
* Practice AP English Language multiple choice questions here (pages 18-34, answers on 34) 

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Section 4: AP English Language rhetorical analysis essay (Q2) 
* Review comments on your prior Q2 essays (both in class and take home): "On Seeing England for the First Time" (take home), "A Brief Study of the British" (in class), and Hamlet passage (in class).  
* Look at Q2 prompts, scoring guides, and sample responses here. 

Good luck!!!!! Or, "break a leg!" 

Self- and Peer-Assessment of Your William Golding letter

Lord of the Flies Expository Letter Writing Assignment

Imagine that you are William Golding. From his point of view write a letter to the students of Gloucester High School explaining how the character(s) you have focused on (Ralph, Piggy, Jack, Simon, Roger, Sam and Eric, the littluns, etc.) and the visual motif you have focused on (the island, shell, glasses, fire, rocks, pigs, the beast, the boys’ appearance, etc.) contribute to the meaning of the novel. You will write a single letter that will explain the significance of both the character and the motif. Circle the character and visual motif you have written about.

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Self/Peer Assessment: I expect that you self-assess your letter and that you have a classmate peer-assess the letter. The revision history and comments in Google Docs will provide evidence of the self- and peer-assessment. (For peer-assessment share the document with a peer.)

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Introduction. (The purpose of the introduction is to engage the reader with a big idea essential to the thesis and to let the reader know what the letter will be about.)

Find and comment on the opening big idea (also known as a theme or exploration of a question) relevant to the novel and to the world beyond the novel that leads into the rest of the essay.  (This opening big idea might include information about Golding’s life (World War II and/or teaching). It might also include your essential question. Give yourself and a peer feedback on this opening. How engaging is it? How relevant is it?

Find and comment on the transition between the big idea and the thesis.  Give your peer feedback on this transition.

Find and comment on the thesis statement or statements. This thesis is a clear, bold, insightful, nuanced, precise response to the prompt: How does Golding use a particular character and a particular motif (or symbol) to develop a theme (or meaning or a big idea or a response to an essential question)? There might be separate statements about the character and the motif , there might be a single statement involving both. Give yourself and a peer  feedback on this thesis. How clear is the thesis? How nuanced, insightful, and precise?  

In your draft the big idea, transition, and both parts of the thesis should be labeled and annotated.   

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Body Paragraphs. (The purpose of a body paragraph is to develop and support a part of the thesis.)

Figure out and comment on the organization of the paragraphs. (Is there a big lump of a paragraph about the character, followed by another big lump about the motif? Is Golding’s use of the character developed in a series of chronological paragraphs, followed by another series of another series of chronological paragraphs about the motif? Is the development of the character and motif blended together into a series of chronological paragraphs? Or, is there another organizational system at work.)

Identify and comment on the transitions between paragraphs.

Identify and comment on the statement at the beginning or near the beginning of each paragraph that indicates exactly what part of the thesis that paragraph will develop.  These statements are called “topic sentences” or “mini-theses” or “body points”. Is the topic sentence clear, nuanced, insightful, precise? In the rest of the paragraph has the writer kept the promise made in the topic sentence/mini-thesis/body point? Give yourself and a  peer feedback on the topic sentences/mini-theses/body points.  

Within each paragraph you need supporting evidence (including direct quotations) to illustrate how Golding uses the character and motif to develop a theme. Identify and comment on the supporting evidence. Is the evidence specific? Is it relevant? Is it thorough—or has the writer neglected significant, relevant parts of the text? Is the evidence integrated into the writer’s own sentences or is there an over-reliance on block quoting? Mark the evidence. Comment as necessary. Give yourself and your  peer feedback on the evidence.  

Development: Here is the heart of this writing task. You need to explain clearly and convincingly how the evidence supports your thesis. Identify and comment on the explanations. Is each piece of supporting evidence connected to the thesis? Is each explanation clear? Is each explanation focused on supporting and developing the thesis? Is each explanation accurate? Is each explanation thoroughly developed? Is each explanation convincingly developed? Is each explanation nuanced? Mark the explanation. Comment as necessary. Give yourself and you  peer feedback on the explanation.  

Notes on advanced writing:

Has the writer shown that changes in the character and changes in the motif/symbol contribute to the development of the theme/idea/response to the question? Or, has the writer treated the character and motif/symbol as static? If you're unsure look at the evidence. Is it all from one part of the book? Is it organized chronologically to show change and development as the book progresses?]

Has the writer explained nuances by looking closely at particular language choices in key passages? (Ralph "cradles" the shell as a father cradles a vulnerable child; Ralph's child, the democratic order, is near death, and Ralph, no longer the childish optimist of the first two chapters, wants to prevent its death.) Or, has the writer relied exclusively on broad, general statements about the character and/or motif? (E.g. The conch shell represents order and here is a quotation that shows that the conch shell represents order.)

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Conclusion. (The purpose of the conclusion is to drive home the point of the letter and to drive home the significance of that point.) Find and comment on the conclusion. Does the writer return to the letter’s central thesis? Does the letter return to the fundamental, essential big idea, which is important both within the novel and beyond the novel? Have you skillfully woven the big idea together with your thesis? Mark where you see the big idea and the thesis in the conclusion. Comment as necessary. Give yourself and your peer feedback on the conclusion.  

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Style. Comment on the letter’s style. Has the writer created logical transitions between the paragraphs? Has the writer written in first person from William Golding’s point of view? Has the writer tried to incorporate elements of William Golding’s writing style (varied sentence structure, formal word choices, somber tone)? Comment on the particular elements  Has the writer incorporated elements of William Golding’s experiences? What words has the writer used from the Lord of the Flies vocabulary list? Self: Comment as necessary. Peer: Give your peer feedback on the style.  

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English Language and Letter Writing Conventions. Comment on the writer’s use of conventions. Does the letter have any run-on sentences, incomplete sentences, or homophone errors? Where? Does the letter include an appropriate opening salutation and an appropriate closing? Find and comment.  Does the letter use appropriate letter writing spacing? (Do you think an informal or business format is more appropriate?)  Does the letter use appropriate quotation conventions? Does the letter observe other capitalization, punctuation, usage, and grammar conventions? Ask questions if you have them. Self: Edit as necessary. Peer: Give your peer feedback on the use of conventions.  

Finally…

Look over the self and peer assessment comments.

Read the essay aloud using a one-foot voice.

Revise and proofread your letter accordingly. (The letter should embody the best writing you are currently capable of producing.)

A final draft is due by class time Friday, January 24. (If this presents a problem email me immediately.)
Turn in a hard copy of the final draft.
You can show the self- and peer-assessment either in the shared document or by handing in a hard coy.

Lord of the Flies End-of-Unit Assessments

(1) Lord of the Flies Vocabulary quiz
Make study cards.
The quiz is on Friday, January 17.

(2) Lord of the Flies Characters, motif, events, and lenses quiz
Study reading checks, your own reading notes, and lens notes.
The quiz is on Tuesday, January 21.

(3) Lord of the Flies Analysis of a character and visual motif (symbol)
A complete draft must be shared with me by class time on Wednesday, January 22.
Revisions will be accepted until Friday, January 24 at midnight.
Final draft is due by class time on Friday, January 24. (See me if this presents a problem.)

Imagine that you are William Golding. From his point of view write a letter to the students of Gloucester High School explaining how Golding develops a particular character* and a particular visual motif to explore an essential question about the human condition**. You will write a single letter explaining Golding's use of both the character and the motif. (Remember that in the letter you will pretend to be Golding.)

Support your explanation of the character’s and the motif’s significance by citing places in the novel where you, as Golding the author, use the character to develop the novel’s meaning and specific places where you, as Golding, use the motif to develop the novel’s meaning**. Make sure you thoroughly and insightfully explain how the parts -- the particular uses of the character(s) & object(s) -- contribute to the meaning of the novel as a whole**.

* Or, pair of characters (Sam and Eric) or group of characters (littluns)

**Think of "explore an essential question about the human condition" as a different way of saying "develop a theme" or "develop the novel's meaning." Make sure the essential question is one that you think is central (or essential or fundamental) to the novel.]

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Special considerations because you're writing as Golding...

(1) Consider what Golding has said about his mankind and his novel.

When thinking about Golding’s point of view and Golding’s purpose in constructing the novel, consider some statements Golding has made about the novel.

“I believe that man suffers from an appalling ignorance of his own nature.”

“The theme (of Lord of the Flies) is an attempt to trace the defects of society back to the defects of human nature. The moral is that the shape of society must depend on the ethical mature of the individual and not on any political system however apparently logical or respectable.”

For more of Golding's views you'll find his Nobel Lecture at nobelprize.org.

(2) Consider Golding's life.
The following is an excerpt from the Nobel Prize website. (Golding won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1983.)

"Taught at Bishop Wordsworth's School, Salisbury. Joined the Royal Navy in 1940 and spent six years afloat, except for seven months in New York and six months helping Lord Cherwell at the Naval Research Establishment. He saw action against battleships (at the sinking of the Bismarck), submarines and aircraft. Finished as Lieutenant in command of a rocket ship. He was present off the French coast for the D-Day invasion, and later at the island of Walcheren. After the war he returned to teaching [until 1962], and began to write again. Lord of the Flies, his first novel, was published in 1954."

You have additional biographical notes here.

(3) Consider Golding's writing style, particularly his syntax and diction. 

Use sentence structures and word choices characteristic of Golding’s way of writing. (In other words, identify and mimic a few sentence structures used by Golding. Also, use words from the vocabulary list!