Cormac McCarthy!

Today we begin All the Pretty Horses. I love this novel! I am confident that many of you will, as well; but, I want you to reserve judgement for at least fifty pages. Can you do that? Try hard. Read pages 1-30 for Monday.

And this next announcement is mostly for parents and guardians: I am attending the National Council of Teachers of English Conference in Philadelphia this year. This will be an opportunity for growth and reflection that will benefit me and my students this year and beyond. The timing, however, is unfortunate: I'll miss teacher conferences on the evening of November 19th. I will be available for conferences during the scheduled sessions on November 23rd and 24th. If you cannot attend at those times and would still like to have a conference with me, please let me know. I will schedule meetings and phone calls during the afternoons of November 16th, 17th, and 18th to accommodate as many families as possible.

Do Not Seek The Tresure

We're finishing up O Brother today, and moving on to All the Pretty Horses at the end of this week. You'll notice that ATPH is yet another story that follows the monomyth pattern, but this time the setting is the American Southwest and Mexico. The hero is a teenaged cowboy named John Grady Cole. The novel is wonderful and spare. I hope you like it.

Tomorrow, we'll be in the computer lab, where you can work on your creative writing piece. At the end of the hour, I'll ask you to give me a print-out of what you've accomplished so far. The final copies of those pieces will be due on November 11th.

In-Class Essay

Tomorrow, you'll write an in-class essay addressing this prompt:

"Compare and/or contrast Siddhartha and The Odyssey in terms of one element of the monomyth. Your thesis should go beyond commenting on the presence of the element in both works; rather, your thesis should make a claim about the importance of that element to the human condition and the human story."

Through the afternoon, I experimented with a couple of different ways to brainstorm ideas and come to a thesis statement. The least complicated way is to use a double-bubble map comparing and contrasting your element in each of the texts. For differences, include plot points and emotions unique to each character. In the center, include characteristics the texts share in terms of your element of the monomyth.

Here's a photo of the map we did during sixth hour:



To the right of the map is a draft of a thesis. The thesis needs editing, but you can see what we were thinking. Click the photo for a larger view.

Good luck! If you have questions, email me before 9:00. I'm old, and that's when I go to bed.

The Odyssey Concludes

I had fun listening to the dramatic readings of Book 22 today in class. Of course, I love Book 22 for all of the blood and guts and gore. Who wouldn't love life blood shooting like geysers through Antinous's nostrils, or the genitals of Melanthius cut out and thrown to the dogs?!

I'm just saying.

Jerry, Matthew, and Erik were all excellent as Odysseus in their respective class periods.

We're finishing up the text for Thursday and completing an exam on Friday. The exam is an in-class essay, and I'll give you the prompt, as well as some instruction on how to approach the essay, on Thursday.

Sentence Stretchers

Here I am in 262 on Thursday of MEA Break. My kindergartner is drawing on the white board, and I'm recording your best sentences from Tuesday's activity.

There were some great ones! Here they are:

A couple of weeks ago, boisterous Hermes trekked zealously to Circe's island.
Radiant Penelope cries continuously at her palace.
As Odysseus sailed, enraged Poseidon tortured persistently in the ocean.
In the morning, one ugly Polyphemus sat lonely in his cave.
After being blinded, one brash Polyphemus mourned terribly on his island.
A couple of days ago, gregarious Alcinous hailed lavishly in his dining room.
During the war, envied Achilles perished heroically on the battle field.
Last week, dangerous scylla killed brutally at the cave.
Many years ago, lavish Aeolus gave his children gave his children to each other in marriage gaily in his palace.
Every day, all mighty Zeus dictates prowerfully from above.
Long ago, one despondant Penelope deluded deceitfully in Greece.
Long ago, one lithe Calypso coaxed Odysseus benevolently into her island.
While Odysseus is off at sea, one abject Penelope gapes frantically at the evil suitors.
Colossal Helios shines radiantly in the sky.
One colossal Polyphemus upbraided the men dauntingly in the cave.
A long time ago, many tranquil lotus eaters savored incessantly in the Mediterranean.
One persuasive Eurylochus goaded incessantly on the island.
Years ago, one formidable Odysseus trekkend steadfastly on the sea.


Phew! Have a great break, and remember - quiz on Books 13-18 on Monday!

Epic Lives

It was fun to hear the Invocations of the Muse today in class. You described your epic adventures in all sorts of situations. Here's a smattering of the topics:

• Performing in a musical
• Choosing between soup and salad
• Finding a bathroom in Ikea
• Taking an AP Euro test
• Witnessing a zombie apocalypse
• LaCrosse try-outs
• Going to Chipotle

Actually, several people wrote about going to Chipotle. Who knew it could be such an ordeal?!

For Monday, read through Book X. See you then!

Into the Odyssey

As the days go by, we'll get deeper and deeper into the Odyssey. In Book V, we finally meet Odysseus himself, who is captive on Calypso's island. It's in this section of the text - Books V-XII - that we encounter the most well-known events of The Odyssey, including the Cyclops, the Sirens, Circe, and the Cattle of the Sun God.

In between assignments, check out this link to a Google Earth map of Odysseus's travels. You can even zoom in on present-day Ithaca. Look at all the zig-zagging he does! I'm frustrated for him.

Tuesday Update

I'm sure today was exhausting for you with the PLAN test and then a quick run-through of your daily schedule. In English, you took a vocabulary quiz and then we talked briefly about the precursors to The Odyssey. We'll continue this discussion tomorrow and Thursday.

A quick preview of the rest of the week: We'll be talking about our small press tomorrow, and I'll introduce the writing proposal. On Thursday, you'll have a quiz on Books 1-4 of The Odyssey. Friday, we'll be trying our hands at epic poetry by writing our own invocations of the muse.

Best wishes for a great week!

Siddhartha Palooza

Today, we did a review of the plot of Siddhartha using a flow map, as shown above. For tomorrow, you're finishing the book. At the beginning of the hour, groups will present on characters and major topics, and then you'll be able to use the notes sheets and the Hinduism/Buddhism terms sheet on your test. We'll take the test in the last half-hour of class.