Writing About Literature

As we are closing our Short Fiction Boot Camp, let's evaluate our own literary analysis skills. Watch the following video and then, in the comments, discuss what you've been doing lately in the context of the video. Compare! Are we doing what Ms. Harter advocates?

Treat the video as text--quote the video in your response!

Remember the rules we've discussed about blog entries. Respond thoughtfully to your peers (unless you are the first to comment, of course).

Hello, 2014-2015 AP Scholars, and welcome to your first blog post!

Tomorrow in class, we will be watching 3 clips from Beloved, the film. If you are not aware, Beloved was not particularly well-received--and it did not make nearly as much money at the box office as the production team had hoped. Oprah Winfrey, who owned the rights to the book (which allowed her to turn it into a movie) and played Sethe, has stated in interviews that she was very depressed as the result of the film's poor reception.

For your posting: you are to discuss the trailer in relation to your understanding of the novel. A trailer is a teaser and is meant to pique interest in a soon-to-be-releasted film. You know the novel--does the trailer appear to be accurate? Does it appear to be an appropriate audio-visual enactment of the text?

As with all blog posts, if you are not the first person to post, you must respond specifically to a classmate who has already posted.

Double check your Blog Rubric before you post.

All posts must be entered by 10pm tonight.

Jane: The Modern Woman

Ahh, ye olde Huffington Post.

So, Ms. Rouleau stumbled upon this lovely article online this weekend: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/16/jane-eyre-lessons-_n_4101000.html

Your job, in the comments, is to critique it.

Now, keep in mind, it is what it is. It's a fluff piece--by no means is it accurate literary criticism. You CAN keep the following questions in mind:

• Does it do the novel justice? 
• Is it accurate? 
• Are there any inconsistencies? 

Respond in the comments and remember the general rules of bloggy blogs. 

Thanks! 

Red Red Room

Hello, fearless scholars:

As you've already seen, pages 13-17 describe Jane's imprisonment in the Red Room. Reread those pages and then answer the following question(s).

Please refer to the blog rubric posted on Edline. Make sure to interact with your previous classmates' postings. Agree, disagree, or build on their points.

Why has Bronte elected to imprison Jane in a location that is infrequently visited and that is mostly furnished in red? How do these aspects contribute to Jane's devastating reaction? 

PASSIVE VOICE (first blog)

Hello ladies and gents!

One of the biggest problem I've observed in your writing is passive voice. Some are more heinous offenders than others, but either way, I want to deepen your awareness of it. This way, you will recognize it when you see it and therefore avoid it.

I promise that your college professors will appreciate that you know the difference...my first lit/comp professor MASSACRED me on my first paper for my use of passive voice and my overuse of the verb "to be."

Passive voice is not inherently bad; there are times when you SHOULD use it (creative writing is a nice place for it). However, in analytical writing, active voice is always the best choice.

So, here's your second weekend assignment (other than reading Young Goodman Brown"):

Watch the video here: http://www.flocabulary.com/active-passive-voice/

We're going to circumvent the system: it will ask you to log in...

username: erouleau@saintrays.org
password: englishrocks

If it doesn't come up, just type "passive voice" into the search engine. The full title is "Active and Passive Voice" by the Grammar Detective.

In the comments, either find a place where you've used passive voice and then correct it, or write two sentences--one in passive voice, and then that sentence rewritten to be in active voice.

Any issues, just jot them in the comments. I get email notifications every time one of you posts.

Just post before we meet again! See y'all Monday!

Monday Morning Quarterbacks

Hi, 2012-2013 APE! 

First of all, let me say it formally here: I am so very proud of you for taking and completing the course. I'm excited that you've taken the exam and have some time to take a deep breath. More importantly, realize that the pressure is off. We still have a few more assignments to round out the year, but I'd like our concluding activities to be reflective and pleasant. 

On that note, consider this your swan song--here, in your comment (worth 15 points, but completion credit only--no rubric!) tell the 2013-2014 APE group what you wish you had known/done/realized/understood. 

If you wished you had taken your work more seriously, say that. If you wish you hadn't freaked out so much, say that. If you'd like next year's bunch to known that they WILL evolve as readers and thinkers, tell them that. Think about when you were in the trenches--what did you wish someone had told you? 

There's nothing like a Monday morning quarterback, and nothing like a May 10th APE student. 

Comment below, lovlies. 

American Ambition

Hello, ambitious scholars! We must stop meeting like this.

So, the Death of a Salesman that you read was not the first draft Arthur Miller wrote (duh). In one of the original drafts, Willy says to Biff:

To enjoy yourself is not ambition. A tramp has that. Ambition is things. A man must want thingsl You're lost. You are a lost boy. And I know why now. Because you hate me you turned your back on all your promise. For spite, for spite of me, because I wanted you magnificent.

Clearly, you see a variation of that in the big ol' fight in the kitchen at the end of Act II. Now, it's not clear why Miller changed the script as he did (and elminated that particular tidbit), but Ms. Rouleau thinks it's probably because he didn't want the issue of materialism to be so heavy handed. Part of Miller's genius (and part of why DOAS is so enduring) is that the issue (problem) of American materialism isn't so in-your-face...it's lurking, quietly, in the corner.

So, here's the question: where is materialism apparent in the version of the play that YOU read? Is the materialism in the final play as effective as those abandoned lines? More effective? Less effective?

There are several key instances where you can point out "things," physical, material, tangible "things" that address that issue of materialism, but certainly in a quieter and less obtrusive way.

Sound off in the comments, chickees. And I want textual evidence. Feel free to use the page numbers in the textbook.