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.
Monday, September 24, 2012
Friday, September 7, 2012
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.
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.
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