"Best of Vignettes" Results.

Winner (7 votes).
Maybe if you get mad enough, you’ll go back inside and call my teacher and say, “I guess she doesn’t want to go to school this year, thank you. Have a nice day. Goodbye.” But you don’t. You hand me my Flintstone vitamin that tastes like purple.

—Shaina, from "Yellow Dresses and Purple Dinosaurs" in One Day at a Time.

Runners Up (5 votes each).
I had been able to seek refuge in the skies while my problems wrapped themselves around my ankles like vines.

—John, from "Bird" in City Something.

The silence was not awkward, although you might’ve expected it to be, we knew what it meant and we held onto its every word.

—Maddie, from "Phone Calls" in Longing.

Honorable Mentions (3 votes each).
Younger siblings are products of the older sibling. They are like smaller replicas of original works of art. They are for the most part the same, but they just lack true originality and uniqueness.

—Tyler, from "#2" in Circle of Consideration.

My neighborhood is not a dangerous place. It is about as dangerous as Switzerland, but without the cool knives and watches.

—Christopher, from "Neighborhood" in People.

12.6 In Class Essay.

Answer one of the essays below using textual analysis and interpretation. Cite page numbers. (Essay will be marked as a 15 point quiz grade.)

1. Why is “Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong” a “true” war story? Using proper citations, give supporting evidence referencing both “Sweetheart” and “True War Story.”
2. In “Good Form,” O’ Brien talks about “story-truth” and “happening-truth.” At the end of this chapter, when asked by his daughter to tell the truth about if he killed anyone or not, he gives two contradictory answers and yet offers both as honest answers. How can both answers be true?
3. In “The Lives of the Dead,” O’ Brien’s narrative weaves between that of Alpha Company and the death of his childhood love, Linda. Why does he include the story about Linda? What purpose does it/she serve within the larger context of the text?
   

Keep up with the times.

Here's how.

Dropping Knowledge.

It’s called the copyright page!

Homework for Friday, 11.30.

1. Read and annotate "Speaking of Courage" and "Notes," pp. 137-161 (25).
2. Email me your "best" line from your vignettes. By "best" I mean a line that is strong writing in that it demonstrates effective figurative language (metaphor, simile, personification), imagery, tone, or other literary techniques.
   

Monday, 11.26 In Class Instructions & Homework.

By Today.
You should have read “Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong,” “Stockings,” and “Church” over the long weekend.

In Class.
In groups of two or three, read and annotate “The Man I Killed,” “Ambush,” and “Style” (pp.124-136 [13]). Stop a few times to discuss. You should be able to start and finish it in class.

Homework.

1. From the in-class reading and based on your annotations, post a discussion question to The Eighth Block. Only one question per group is needed; be sure to list your group members at the beginning of the post.
2. Review and “amp up” (strengthen) annotations and character maps. I will check both on Wednesday. See below for a reminder about character map expectations.
   

Each student should choose a character to track in their notebook. By “track” a character, you will essentially “zoom in” and following that throughout the book. Establish a few fresh pages in your notebook that you will use exclusively for this purpose. List examples first of what is known about that character, for example: what he carries, physical descriptions, personality traits and tendencies, thoughts, and both what he says and what others say about him. Secondly, list questions that you have about that character, for example, “On page 13, why does he kick the dead boy in the head?” or “On pp. 13-14, what is the moral he is referring to?” Try to speculate answers to your questions based on the reading. * Always give page numbers!

Other considerations: How the character’s personality develops, his background, common expressions or sayings, his job, and motivations, and his significance in the story. What does this soldier’s story contribute to the book? What techniques do you notice when he speaks or is mentioned? Again, support with quotes from the text.

Weekend homework compromise.

Instead of reading 41 pages ("Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong" through "The Man I Killed") for Monday, please read pp. 89-123. This is 34 pages and consists of "Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong," "Stockings," and "Church." We'll spend the majority of time in class on "Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong," so focus most of your reading and annotating efforts there. (Some sophomore classes are skipping "Stockings" and "Church" entirely, but since they are very short chapters I think you can manage.)

Have a terrific--and long!--Thanksgiving weekend. Go Pack!

~ prb.

"Looking for a Brother."

Check out Teslow's photo montage currently on display in the gallery's "Faculty as Artists" exhibit. Be sure to read his didactic statement. Post any thoughts or questions you have if you are so inclined.

And while you're in the gallery, check out other works by Blake faculty.

Homework for Tuesday, 11.20.

According to the group you were in today in class, investigate your assigned plot line from "How to Tell a True War Story." Answer the corresponding questions in your notebook . Refer to at least three specific passages from the text. Come to class prepared to discuss. Additionally, remember that there will be a homework check of your character maps.

1. First plot line: Curt Lemon.
• Make a chart that shows how many different versions there are.
• How do the versions overlap? How do they differ?
• What are the implications of each version? (In other words, for each version, assuming it were the only telling we had, what would it mean? What would it imply about the characters, the situation or the truth implied?)

1. Second plot line: Listening Patrol.
• Why does this plot line belong in this story? How does it relate?

Lastly, I will return all pending homework back to you no later than noon this Wednesday (if not sooner). This includes the following:

• Grammar Quiz retakes.
  
• "The Things You Carry."
• Vignette series and artistic bonus.

Thank you for your patience.

Homework for Monday, 11.19.

1. Read and annotate “How to Tell A True War Story” and “The Dentist,” pp. 67-88 (21). (See the post from 11.9 for annotation expectations.)
2. Post your answers to the following:
• Explain the quotation: “I survived, but it’s not a happy ending. I was a coward. I went to the war.” Use textual evidence to support your answer.
• Who is the narrator? (The answer “Tim O’ Brien” is insufficient in and of itself.)
  

The Things "I" Carry.

Homework for Thursday, 11.15.

- The Things You Carry -

1. Debriefing today's in-class activity .
You can disregard the "Think-Pair-Share" debrief given on today's handout. Instead, answer the following two questions in your notebook:

• How can today's in-class activity serve as a metaphor for the text
• How would the activity had been different if you were under the stress of war?
  

2. Writing prompt.
In one typed, double-spaced page, write a "The Things They Carry"-like piece that address the following questions:

• What do you “carry?”
• What’s in your backpack?

Requirements:

• One typed, double-spaced page, submitted by email or to mamabear server faculty dropbox before class.
• Organize your writing intentionally in a list format, as O’ Brien does in the title piece.
• Like O’ Brien, include:
• items of necessity, convenience, and sentimental value.
• items that are both literal (things) and figurative (ideas, emotional “baggage”).
• the concept of weight, again, both literally (pounds, ounces, etc.) and figuratively (grief, burden).
  

Today's Lesson in Physics, or: Your Teacher is an Idiot.

According to a recent poll, I ride my bike to work approximately 79% of school days. Due to an off-campus appointment, today fell into the 21% of days in which I drive. I was on pace to be six-and-a-half minutes early to homeroom. I was feeling quite proud of this would-be feat, which was of course compounded by the Packers 34-0 embarrassment of the Vikings yesterday at Lambeau.

It was a fist-pump kind of day, but today would yield no such fist-pump. As I turned left from the Wedge parking lot into the alley, I was met with my coffee in my face and on my brand new pants. It was strewn about the steering wheel, dashboard, and middle console, too. Miraculously, thanks to some unknowable saving grace, my sweater (also brand new) was spared.

This was no gravity-defying, anti-Newtonian coffee. Quite the opposite, in fact, is true. This coffee was simply doing what objects in motion tend to do when the vehicle they're traveling in hits a reinforced steel pole. You see, for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.

Attempts to get out of my car (1996 Ford Taurus, "Stegataurus") by means of the driver side were futile--the door was crunched such that I couldn't open it more than two inches. I decided I would assess the damage once at school, and so I drove on, noting with a glance at the clock that I would now merely be on time for homeroom.

As it turns out, I was late, due in large part to the godawful Lyndale-Hennepin stoplights. The damage to the car is embarrassing, not merely because I drove directly into a reinforced steel pole, but because I will now have to enter and exit my car from the passenger side door. Worse yet, perhaps, is that I am really--I mean really--upset about the lost half mug of coffee. It was perhaps my best brew in recent memory.

Homework for Monday 11.12.

1. Read and annotate "The Things They Carried," pp. 1-26. Your annotations should:

• Mark significant passages.
• Raise questions in the margins.
• Highlight key words, images, patterns.
• Summarize chapters.
• Draw connections through page number references (for example, "See page xx for ...")
  

Come Monday prepared to discuss.

2. Also, don't forget that the vignettes assignment artistic bonus is due on Monday. In addition to turning the piece in, please title it and write 2-3 paragraphs on why you chose the image and how it connects to your vignettes. Use the "Didactic Statements" document (from the US Art Department) in the Class Documents section as a guide.

Homework for Monday 11.5.

1. Read Lorene Cary’s responses to your questions.

2. Poetic Descriptions handout.
Groups:

• Repetition: Maddie, Scott, and Shaina.
• Similes: Becca, John, Kellins, Nik, and Taylor.
• Metaphors: Carly, Christopher, and Tyler.
• Alliteration and assonance: Andi, Erik, and Jack.
  

First, reread the HMS pages listed in your group's category. Make note of how the poetic device is used.

Then, post your answers to the following questions (be sure to include your name and group at the top of your post):

• What makes your particular poetic device “work”?
• What does it add to the narrative? How does it add to the narrative?

Lastly, ask yourself, do my vignettes include examples of this poetic device?

• If yes, do they “work”? How can you strengthen them to be even more effective?
• If no, add them.
  

3. Reminders about vignette series assignment.
You will have part of class time with laptops this coming Monday and Wednesday to work on revisions of your vignettes. Unlike the memoir assignment, I am not requiring that you meet with me, but if you would like more in-depth feedback it is your responsibility to schedule a time with me Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday. I encourage all of you to do so.

The final draft is due at the beginning of class Thursday, November 8th. Recognize. Email the final draft (all three vignettes in one document) or copy the document to my mamabear server faculty folder.

Things to revisit and consider in the revision process:

• The assignment sheet. Make sure you understand the requirements. Ask for clarification if need be.
• Your peers' comments. They likely saw things that you didn't.
• Your own reflections. You may now see things that you previously didn't.
• The student examples I handed out. What made them "work"? (Why were they effective?) Why did I use them as models?
  

* Don’t forget about the bonus! I'd like for all of you to consider doing the bonus, and the weekend is an excellent opportunity to get started on it. Let me know if you would like to borrow a camera. (LW has five digital cameras that I am willing to check out to the class.)

Bonus Challenge.

Write a rendition of "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" that is comprised of American Lit Block Five-specific lyrics. In other words, take the original tune and make it ours. Post your lyrics for all to see. Winner will be determined by a class vote.

Reflect, Reread, & Respond.

Prep for Thursday's discussion.

• Answer the questions below in your notebook. To do so:
• Consider the following “lenses:” name, gender, age, ethnicity, social/class circumstances, “place,” and use of language.
• Go beyond the surface. It is okay to start on the surface—even if it might be obvious—but then penetrate the surface and go deeper by considering the larger implications of what the surface means.
• Include page number citations.

1. What is Esperanza’s identity? (What constitutes her perspective?)
2. How is it defined? Who defines it?
3. How does her identity affect her reality? her “dreams”? (What tension exists between the two?)
4. Does her perspective change from the beginning to the end? How?

• Post your answer to the question below. Give page number references.
• What is distinctly "American" about House on Mango Street? (Why is it an American Lit text?)

* Remember to include your name at the top of your post.

Clarification on Wednesday's homework.

Wednesday's homework is to:
1. Finish Mango Street, pp. 85-110.
2. Choose one of Cisneros' vignettes to "mimic" (imitate). By this I mean that you should take the subject matter of one of her vignettes (such as identity in "My Name" or place in "The House on Mango Street") and rewrite it your own voice and perspective. Make it your own. Refer to my example below for further clarification.

"The Upper Deck on 17th & Como"
We didn't always live on Como. Before that we lived on 14th (The Burn Unit), and before that we lived in a house on 10th (unnamed). Before 10th it was 25th (La Case Verde), and before that it was Pioneer Hall. Every time we moved it seemed we’d lose a guy. By the time we got to 17th & Como we were no longer six—it was just Eric, DeRoo, and I. I didn’t mind so much, though. If I could afford it I’d live alone.

We didn’t have to leave The Burn Unit, but it was best for everyone involved. Mike’s rules were too strict, and rather than break them we knew it was best just to get out. Even though Como wasn’t too far away (it was only four blocks), we had to leave and leave fast, before we did start breaking rules.

The Upper Deck is ours—well, ours in the sense that it’s not university housing. We don’t have to share the bathroom with fifteen other guys who don’t know how to hit the garbage can or the toilet. We even have our own living room and kitchen. Best of all, there isn’t an RA stopping by all the time telling us we’re making too much noise. We have a landlord now, and we don’t even know him. His name is Paul Chen, and I only know that because I write his name on my rent check on the first of every month.

Get the idea? (Yes, I recognize this example resembles more of a copy than an imitation. If you're stuck, start with a "copy" and then revise based on any illuminations that surface.)

HMS quiz.

Shout Out to Taylor for finding an online House on Mango Street quiz. (Not to be confused with today's in-class quiz.) Give it a try.

Quarter One eval.

Click here.

By popular demand ...

In recent insignificant news:

As of yesterday, my car radio cuts out when in reverse or park. I didn't think the radio had anything to do with the gears. I guess this is what distinguishes a teacher from an automotive engineer.

Thoughts on "Why is everything [in 'Black Ice'] so race focused?"

Lorene Cary doesn't have a choice but to focus on race. She has to look through the lens of what it means to be black, because to be black is to be a member of a non-dominant group and as such, she is not granted the same power and privilege that is would otherwise be assumed as a member of the dominant group. Having been assigned a "position" by the dominant group, which is often reinforced by stereotypes, race is more apparent; Cary consciously sees, lives, and breathes it every day. It defines her, though again, she did not choose for this to be the case. Her daily experience constantly reinforces this point, as informed by the culture of power. She didn’t make the rules, but is forced to live by them.

People in dominant groups, on the other hand, don’t have to look through the lens of what it means to be dominant, to have power, to have privilege. All of this is assumed, implied, and especially so if they were born into this power and privilege. They know nothing else. They are less inclined to "see, live, and breathe” their position and the greater implications of it because it is constantly reinforced—whether consciously or not!—by those around them, most of whom are also members of the dominant group. They "made" the rules and have the choice to break them, ignore them, or as is too often the case, pretend they don't even exist.

I welcome your thoughts.

Challenge: Before Wednesday's class ...

1. What does W.A.S.P. mean? Find out. Post your response.
2. Scope out St. Paul's School and impress Wednesday's guest, Mr. Mahoney, with your ill knowledge of all things SPS.

Irony.

So, The Eighth Block is launched and the email to hype its debut is out. And as I admire the fruits of labor of nearly an entire weekend--although I admit I did take a few breaks: for my Lake of the Isles run, to check out Minneapolis' Dance Band (from which I took this week's quote) and of course, to watch the Packers bruise the Giants 35-13--I can't help but think where this thought was going before the insertion of a tangental sentence clause. Ah yes, as I admire the fruits of labor of nearly and entire weekend, I can't help but realize that this American Lit class blog is needing more, well ... American Lit. True, you can visit the Online Resources and download duplicate copies of all class handouts, but that will only get you so far. Look for more American Lit-related content soon: extended metaphors, stock characters, enjambments, heroic couplets, and the like. Look for subtext, too; it'll be there, just tougher to find.

By request ...

"Chocolate Rain."

Borne ceaselessly into the past.

Ultimately, literature is a study of the past. Writers assemble (and sometimes disassemble) the images of their life in order to recreate themselves and the characters of their life in the present moment. But the present moment soon becomes the past, and the process repeats itself. Present. Past. Present. Past. Repeat. The present only exists but for a ... now ... and now. Now. And then it is gone. It is the past.

No matter how hard we try to project ourselves into the future, the past is always present, informing and affecting each thought, each action, each pen stroke. The future is unknownable, out of grasp. Our best effort to conceptualize it will always fall short. The future is merely a thrift store of antique memories for which we hope to get a good deal on and refurbish when we have the time. But then again, what is time but a measurement of the past?

prb.