Blog Evaluation

Since this is the last blog of the year, please evaluate your blogs. Which topic did you like best? Which topic was not your favorite? Did you put some effort into writing your blogs? Did you just do the minimum? Do you think blogging was a good learning experience? What did you learn from writing your blogs? Will you continue to blog on your own or will you shut down your blog after the semester is over? Would you recommend that next year's juniors have a blogging experience?

Also list your top three stories that we read this year.

Spring Break

There is no blog this week. You are on spring break for heaven's sake. Go have fun, but don't forget to read AQWF. Enjoy!

The Great Gatsby

The book takes place in the Roaring Twenties. There was great music in the 20s. In the book sometimes Fitzgerald actually tells the reader names of songs he thought of while he was writing. Your blog this week should feature a play list of music from the 1920s to accompany events in the book. You do not need to import the music to your blog; you just have to write the titles and artists and tell why you picked those tunes for those events.

The Poetry of Stephen Crane

Stephen Crane - In the desert

In the desert
I saw a creature, naked, bestial,
Who, squatting upon the ground,
Held his heart in his hands,
And ate of it.
I said: "Is it good, friend?"
"It is bitter - bitter," he answered;
"But I like it
Because it is bitter,
And because it is my heart."

Stephen Crane's poetry is naturalistic and different from any we have read so far. It is also symbolic. Go here to find more of his poems. Some of my favorites are "I met a Seer," "'Think as I think,' said a man," and "A man said to the universe." Find a poem you like or dislike and reflect on it.

Mark Twain's Wit

Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens) was a famous writer, but he was also a famous speaker. There are many interesting quotes attributed to him. Sometimes the quote actually came from someone else, but because Twain wrote or said it, the quote became "his." "Three may keep a secret if two of them are dead" actually was first written by Ben Franklin, but I have a magnet that attributes that quote to Twain. As Twain aged, he became very cynical, especially after the death of his daughter. Find a Mark Twain quote on the Internet, post it on your blog, and write why you like it or what it means to you.

Stories of the Quest for Civil Rights

There are probably thousands of little-known stories about the Civil Rights Movement. I found one here, but they are all over the Internet. Find a story; post the link; write a connection to what we have read (HOS, King, X, Moody, Baldwin, Walker).

A Walk Through Harlem

http://www.thirteen.org/harlem/map.html

Click on the above link to find a shortened walk through Harlem. Click on all the blinking dots to find out more about the city and who lived there. Find the approximate location of Bessie's dentist office and the sisters' apartment (the street numbers are in HOS). Then go here to check out the people and events that made Harlem famous. Check out a couple of people or events you don't know about.

Write a paragraph connecting the information you found on these two websites to what Bessie and Sadie tell about Harlem in their book.

Expressions in Art

Tom Feelings was an artist who created art about the Middle Passage and slavery. His artwork was very emotional. Find a piece of art online that portrays a similar subject or event to those described by the Delany sisters and that expresses the same emotional intensity that Sadie and Bessie had about subjects and events in their lives. Write a short reflection connecting the artwork to a subject or event in the book.

The artwork came from http://www.juneteenth.com/middlep.htm

Having Your Say

This week you have the opportunity to have your say on anything you feel strongly about. Sadie and Bessie told how they honestly felt about the world they lived in. Pick something you care about and write. Be honest and forthright. Have your say!

Does Whitman connect to you?

Read this poem. Write a reflection about anything in this poem that connects to you in some way or reflect on Whitman's ideas about childhood.

Emily Dickinson's Garden of Poetry

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/entertainment/jan-june10/dickinson_06-09.html



Watch the video; find a Dickinson poem about flowers, gardens, or insects and post it on your blog; write the message you think she is trying to convey in the poem.

(For some reason I can't get the link to activate so you will have to copy and paste in the browser address window.)

Welcome Back to Blogging

I hope you all feel energized to get back to blogging about American Literature. I know I am pumped to begin reading all the great things you have to write. So on with the blogging for this week's question:

We have been studying the transcendental and antitranscendental writers. Which set of writers do you prefer and why?

Thanks

In case there is anyone looking here for your next assignment, I thought it would be a good way to communicate with you all. I hope things are going OK. I know I have asked you to do a lot of the TSL stuff without me, but I am confident that you can. Because you are the classes you are, I am not worried about you. When I get back...projecting Monday at this point...we will backtrack a little. I have moved the TSL paper due date until January 20 so no worries about having to do it without a little input from me.

I am having you read some short stories by Hawthorne before I get back because they are easier and would have been covered next week anyway. I hope Mr Swanson is doing a good job. I talked to him on the phone, and he was very complimentary about my classes and very willing to help, but he doesn't have a clue about the stuff I teach. I hope that you have been able to learn some things this week in spite of everything.

Please let others know this message is here. Take care, and I will see you next week to resume our journey through the twists and turns of American Lit.

Ms. W