The Dreamer and Fun Home

We looked at a few selections to help inspire us on the way to writing a Not for College Essay.

In the comment box, please respond to either the Fun Home selection or The Dreamer Did Not Exist. Please try to address one or more of the following considerations:

a) How is the writer's voice important to the meaning of the piece as a whole?
b) What is significant about how the piece is arranged (here you can make comments about the arrangement of Bechel's illustrations)?
c) What problematic idea or experience is being explored in the piece?  If you feel that this particular problem is "solved" in the selection, it is probably not worth too much attention.

Portrait of the Artist: Passage Explication

In the comment box below, explicate a passage from the first section of Portrait of the Artist.  Take a look at the link to New Critical theory on the blog tab, and check out this description of the art of explication by some guy named "Mr. Cook":

"A friend, Mr. Ryan Gallagher at Malden (MA) High School, writes, "A passage explication is an essay that takes apart the pieces of a prose passage to demonstrate how it creates meaning [on its own and in relation to the rest of the work]. Its main question can be reduced to the simple idea of 'What does the passage mean? What is its purpose? How does it create that meaning and achieve its purpose? How does it fit in with the rest of the text (if available)?'"

A further note on the etymology of explication: in Latin explicare means "to unfold," so it might be useful to imagine Joyce's text as compressed (or folded) into a particularly dense and layered package of potential meaning.

Your job as an explicator is to unfold the densely layered mass, to report on what you discover as you unfold, and to speculate upon the significance of what you discover.

Another friend, Mr. John Brassil, an AP Language teacher in Maine who is active with the College Board, talks about "close reading" as walking through the landscape of a text. What do you notice? (What is odd? What is interesting? What's similar? What's different? What stands out? What blends in?) And then, what might be significant about what you've noticed in relation to the text as a whole (or, to extend the metaphor, the landscape as an ecosystem)? We recommend that you walk through the passage from beginning to end, commenting as you go about what you notice and how it might be significant."

Let me add here that you should explore your passage with an eye toward the development of Stephen's artistic consciousness.  Based on the evidence you have in the passage, what do you Stephen's artistic temperament or aesthetic theory will be like? 

Portrait, Part I

Please post a response in the comment box to help with our discussion of A Portrait of the Artist . . ., which will most likely take place either Tuesday or the Monday when we return from break.  Try to focus on two principal questions:

What artistic, intellectual, or moral development does Stephen undergo in pt. 1?

What thematic or conceptual threads connect the fragmented narrative?  If you pay attention to the motifs that appear, these may help guide you to an answer to this question. 

Jane Eyre: The End.

Bid a fond farewell to Jane by commenting on the final chapters of the book. What do you make of the ending?  How did the final chapters shift your perspective of the early chapters of the book?  As always, keep in mind the presiding question of the Bildungsroman unit: what has been Jane's intellectual, social, spiritual or artistic development?

In your comment box, revisit chapters seventeen through twenty seven by responding to another student's ideas, uncover something new to discuss, analyze, revise, observe, synthesize . . .



You may also want to consider the essay "Plain Jane's Progress" when commenting --  not necessary, but it may help move you along.

At home, read ahead in Jane Eyre for next week, Chapts. 28-End.

Jane Eyre Chapters 1-16

In your comment box, revisit chapters one through sixteen by responding to another student's ideas, uncover something new to discuss, analyze, revise, observe, synthesize . . .

At home, read ahead in Jayne Eyre for next week, Chapts. 17-27.

Wide Sargasso Sea

In our meeting for Wide Sargasso Sea, we began as usual by briefly discussing our initial impressions of the book, which were generally favorable.  Many students pointed out the strangely detached tone of the narrative as particularly interesting, and others had a strong (usually negative) reaction to Mr. Rochester, but appreciated the narrative shift from Antoinette's voice to Rochester's.  I asked if any of the students could find it in themselves to empathize with Rochester, and the answer was a solid "no."  Students were much more eager to talk about this book as opposed to other books we've read over the summer.

The project for the rest of the meeting was to try to nail down what the central conflict is in the book, and we did this in order to practice using conflict as a way of arriving at a central assertion.  Responses were very interesting and centered around similar problems.  In most of the responses, the problem centered around "ways of seeing."  Students mentioned "truth vs. perception," "the demands of a society on intimate, personal experience," "problems with self-perception," "others seeing you for what you are not," and the "impossibility of ever truly knowing another person."  I explained that these are all fantastic starts on the road to a solid assertion, and that students should always seek to dig a little deeper.  What exactly is the conflict between truth and perception?  Why are societal demands and personal demands in conflict?  Why do others often see you for what you're not, and why does it matter?

After this, we combed the book for images, metaphors, symbols and situations that bring to life some of the conflicts.  Mirrors are very prominent in the book, and there are also complex images that radiate symbolic meaning, such as the orchid, the burning parrot, windows, etc.  An shrewd student brought up the color red as important and tried to speculate about its importance, even connecting it to the red room in Jane Eyre.

All told, this was a fun and productive meeting that put us in a good position to write our central assertions in September. 

Literary Analysis Web Directions

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've thought about the following questions: 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 of a, 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 week of class.

Due DatesThe physical "web" in whatever form you create is due Monday, Sept. 10th.
The "teaching your peers" part of the assignment will take place during the week of Tuesday, September 10 through Friday, September 14.

GradingAdvanced 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.

Invisible Man pt. Two, August 10

We rearranged the time of this meeting a little bit to try to get out of Mr. Kearns' way and accommodate a few students, but even after doing this, we unfortunately had a record low turn-out.  So it was hard to get a discussion moving very well as the few people in attendance became tapped-out rather quickly.  We were able to hit on a few important things, and there were some fascinating and instructive insights offered by those who attended.

I started off by once again reiterating that the goal for the summer is to do our best to move from the level of making significant observations (not always easy in itself) to making assertions about why those observations are meaningful in the context of the book as a whole.  I then moved on to describe the nature of Questions 1-3 on the AP exam, taking more time to describe question 2, known as a passage analysis.  I brought up the skill of "close reading" in relation to question 2, for which there is no solid definition, but I offered the following advice: a) look closely at words in a passage for multiple meanings, echoes of other words, shades of meaning, levels of diction, or groups of words that may suggest irony, patterns of words etc. b) pay attention to the syntax of sentences and what the syntax may suggest, particularly regarding tone, and c) do your best to associate all you have observed re: words, syntax, tone, phrasing, etc to what you determine is meaningful about the passage as a whole.  Use your quotation response journals as a chance to practice these skills, and we will be practicing them during the school year in a formal setting.

As for The Invisible Man, we returned to Trueblood's dream (which few of us wanted to think about last time) and took notes -- passage analysis style -- on what we noticed going on in the passage.  Most of us primarily noted the dominant images in the passage: the grandfather clock, the white room, the white woman who is both seductive and threatening, the warm and cold water, and so on.  We thought through the book and tried to connect these dominant images to other parts of the book, and students brought up the woman at the Battle Royal, for instance.  We then discussed how the passage dramatizes sexual relationships as a power struggle or struggle for control, as in the scene at the end of the book when the Invisible Man meets Sybil.  One of the students noted the slightly humorous tone of the passage, and another brought up other borderline absurd images such as Ras on horseback with a spear, and Jack's glass eye falling out.  Someone mentioned that the humor in the book relieves the heavy-handedness of the metaphors, but the humor does this without losing the impact or seriousness that is suggested by the metaphor.  We then thought about some of the big metaphors, such as Clifton's sambo dolls, and how every detail is so suggestive: it is what we could call a controlling image, embedding a tremendous amount of meaning in a single object. Several students brought up the Invisible Man's first speech to the Brotherhood as a meaningful moment, and one student pointed out how the tone of the narrative or speech changes dramatically according to the level of emotion experienced by the narrator, as though the "thinking brain" gives way to the "reptilian brain."  These students were analyzing the text on the level of tone and figurative imagery, which are essential skills. Retelling the story was not a concern, for they saw the story embedded in the images and language choices of the author.

I'm really hoping to see more of you next time, for all of our sakes!  I need to address a few things, however:

a) if you are not able to make a meeting, you are expected to post a comment in the comment box for that meeting.  They need to be at least 250 words and should extend the discussion of the book in some way.  I'll be looking at, and marking these, very soon.

b) If are not able to make a meeting, you must send me a quotation journal by email.  I am very concerned about some students that have not been giving me any work.  I am not accepting late papers -- this is an AP class and everyone was informed of the expectations in the commitment letters.  The three quotation response journals and one creative project (detailed at next meeting) as well as the blog comments will be averaged and rolled into your first quarter grade.  Those who attended meetings will receive some form of credit for coming, although if you did not attend meetings you will not be downgraded for anything -- only if you did not turn in work.

And finally: the next meeting is scheduled for Friday, August 24 at 9:00.  The book: Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys.  Hopefully that will accommodate everyone, even band campers (!).  Thanks for reading, Mr. Telles.

Invisible Man Part I: July 23rd Meeting.

This meeting went very well, even in the face of dental emergencies and enraged food service personnel.  We started things off by reminding ourselves of the goal for the next few meetings, which is to move beyond simply observing and pointing out themes and motifs in a piece of literature and begin making assertions about them.  What is the book revealing about these themes?  How do these motifs connect to some deeper source of meaning?  I noted that this is particularly important with Invisible Man, as the book is dense and filled with things that would seem insignificant or even totally unnecessary without a larger context of meaning in place to illuminate them.

From there we shared our first impressions of the book, and it was clear that the students had much more of a reaction to this book than Invisible Cities, or at least they were better able to articulate what struck them most.  One student commented on the "density" of the book, and when asked what it was that gave her that impression, she replied very shrewdly that she (as a typical reader) was expecting a fairly linear story about race relations and instead was confronted with a very complicated and ambivalent individual facing a huge array of characters with layers of deception and motivation.  Others replied that they really responded to the way in which Ellison blows up and exaggerates some of the more grotesque aspects of the story; Ellison plays on the line of "reality" and absurdity, and many found that interesting rather than grating. 

While sharing quotes, we found that the themes of "blindness" and the nature of perception were on a lot of the students' minds.  Some students mentioned the veil imagery, which gave us a brief opportunity to discuss historical figures such as W.E.B. Dubois and his metaphor of the veil and double consciousness, as well as Booker T. Washington in relation to the College.  One student made the brilliant observation that there are unique power relationships in the novel: often power is polarized between to sources (like Mr. Norton and Bledsoe) which feed each other but secretly rely on deception to keep the power relationship in place.  I noted that there is sometimes a third agent (i.e. Lucius Brockway) who serves the power relationship by keeping the pressure under control from underground (literary and figuratively).  We did not have a chance to think this through and connect it to the Invisible Man's own situation at the beginning of the book, underground and siphoning off power from the major power company.  But I did pose the question that haunts the end of the book: what do we do in the face of deep and ingrained cultural corruption that we can not control?  Do we hide underground or do we face it?

In this vein, one student mentioned the ironic inversion of what is crazy as opposed sane, and how often the book is so astute at revealing the insanity of cultural compliance, the insistence on stereotyping and self-enslavement.  Someone then brought up the great comic moment when the Invisible Man is trying to throw out Mary's black-face coin bank, only to have people tell him repeatedly to pick it up.   In a related sense, the letters in the Invisible Man's briefcase -- as well as the endless letters and pieces of paper in his dream -- are a symbol of a constant deferral of one's hopes.  Stereotypes are thrown back at you, and your hopes (the Golden Day of achievement) are endlessly deferred.

Next time we get together, we are going to take a moment to look at the language of some of the speeches and dreams.  We tried to hone in on some of the parts of the book that no one wanted to think about, namely Trueblood's dream and situation.  Take another look at that scene and see if you can come to the meeting with an idea or two about how this episode sits in the greater context of the book.

Our next meeting is planned for Monday, August 6th at 10:15.  I know that Mr. Kearns is running his History meeting earlier in the day, and I'm sorry if you'll be experiencing AP fatigue.  I'll let you know of any changes.  The standard quotation response journal will be due on that day for chapts. sixteen to the end.  Ten quotations.  Thanks, Mr. Telles.

July 9th, Invisible Cities.

We started this meeting by sharing some first impressions of Italo Calvino's Invisible Cities, moved on to discuss our goals for the summer, and then started to try to establish some essential conflicts that are present in the "novel," if we can call it that.  It would be best here to start with repeating our goals:

a) we will practice the skill of connecting the parts of work of literature to what we determine to be its whole.  By "parts," I mean both discreet elements such as language from passages and plot details, but also elements such as tone, shifts in tone, the structure of the literature, literary and rhetorical devices, and any other significant element of the language.  By "whole," I mean that you must have a sense of what the whole piece of literature is concerned with, what the literature is revealing to you, or what really matters at the core of the piece.  Ultimately, you should be able to identify the parts of a piece of literature and demonstrate how they contribute to the essence of the whole.

b) we will practice moving beyond the stage of observing (I see this in the literature, I see that in the literature) and pushing ourselves to make a bold assertion about what all these details are leading to.  Try doing this in your quotation response journals.  Basically, we are going to practice moving from pointing out parts to establishing the whole.

One of the students asked a very sharp question yesterday: she was wondering what is ultimately the difference between AP Lit and AP Language as far as what is expected as an outcome -- in an essay, for instance.  In general, this comes down to what your bold assertion (or thesis) will look like.  In AP Language students will often read speeches, memoirs, researched arguments etc., and explore the rhetorical strategies used by the authors to make a point or argument.  In AP Lit, you will often be dealing with a work of literature that does not necessarily have an argument, but drops you on the doorstep of a deep and insoluble human conflict.  Your assertion, therefore, will identify the conflict and communicate why it is deep, meaningful and significant, but it will not try to simplify and solve the problem.  The AP exam wants you to explore the complexity of the problem.

** Invisible Cities**

First impressions of this book were mixed.  Some of the students enjoyed its meditative quality and seemed to be interested in the book's freedom from narrative conventions.  Some really enjoyed the vividness of the details of each city.  One student found the book's repetitions and apparent contradictions frustrating and not particularly illuminating, and another found the individual descriptions of the cities to be too short for the reader to become absorbed in anything.  Another really enjoyed the dialogue between Polo and Khan the best.

I next asked the class to try to decide, in pairs, what fundamental conflict or problematic idea haunts the book.  One pair decided that there seemed to be a conflict between practicality and purpose on one hand (Khan) and a total absorption in details on the other (Polo).  One group noted a conflict between memory and language, with language often warping or obliterating memory.  One student noted that the prospect of unlimited creativity and imaginative possibility is inherently destructive and needs boundaries.  Another student noted that there seemed to be a problem of "knowing": Khan has a drive to know as much as he can about his kingdom, and Polo runs in the opposite direction, collapsing what can be known through ambiguity and mystery.  Communication, as one student remarked, seems to be at the heart of all of these problems. 

After this we shared some quotes and thought briefly about how they may connect to these fundamental conflicts, although we did not have enough time to connect them in a very satisfying way.  Some great quotes were shared: the two part city in which the circus is its only permanent element, the city that is always pushing its waste somewhere else, the city of consumers who are constantly disposing of one thing for the next, and the beautiful final paragraph about suffering.

It was a great start over all, especially nailing down what's essential about the book and the course. 

*** For Next Meeting ***

The next meeting is scheduled for Monday, July 23rd on the first 15 Chapters of Invisible Man (by Ralph Ellison).  You will need to turn in a quotation response journal with ten quotations on that date.  There will be ten more for the second half. 

If you missed the meeting for Invisible Man, please respond to some of the ideas in this blog post with a minimum 250 word response in the comment section.  This needs to be done before the next meeting time.

Thanks for reading, Mr. Telles.

First Post

Hi there: Try leaving one of your favorite words in the comment box. Please see me if you are having trouble leaving a comment or logging on to the blog. Don't worry: your failure to log on does not mean that the blog has found you to be lacking in character. It probably has something to do with your choice of shoes. Thanks, Mr. Telles.