Book Recommendations

Please recommend a book for someone to read for the independent work. Share a book either you’ve read from the list for the independent work, or one not on the list. Don’t give the book away, but try to interest the reader by introducing what the book is about.

Initial Description vs. Back-Story

Look back to June’ initial description for her three aunts. Now that you’ve read some of their back-stories, how does their past account for their present condition, characteristics, and personalities?

Mother-Daughter Relationships

Choose one of the mother-daughter relationships. Keeping in mind both of their stories, compare and contrast the mother and daughter. How are they different – and how are the cultures responsible for this? Despite different childhoods, how are the two they same?

First Four Stories

What best unites the first four stories? (I recommend including reference to the initial “parable.”)

Tone/Style Shifts?

As you now have read multiple stories by both generations, do you notice any major or subtle changes in tone or style? How is the tone or style different between the mothers’ stories and the daughters’ stories?

Chinese Culture

What do you find interesting, compelling, or repelling about Chinese culture? This could be something you learned via the story, research, or personal knowledge.

Symbols

Discuss 1-4 “universal” or “societal” symbols. (Avoid ones like street signs, etc.) When and why do you think they originated? If you are only exploring one, please be thorough.

Hypothesis: Narration Changes

Hypothesize about how the style of narration in The Joy Luck Club – i.e. stories from different perspectives, in different countries, in different generations – will affect the story? What exactly will be affected?

Generational Conflict

Why do you suppose there is always conflict between younger and older generations? Why is it that youth needs to question the belief-systems and values of the mature, even if they end up accepting it? Or do you think this isn’t necessarily the case?

Your Social Commentary

If you were to write some sort of social commentary, what would you criticize about your society? And how would you express that criticism? Through art, music, novel, movie, etc?

Alternate Endings

Endings to stories, especially long ones, are extremely important. They end the story emotionally, but they also put the finishing touches on the themes they have been exploring. In Great Expectations, Dickens presents us with two different endings. Explore something else we read this year, and how a different ending would change its thematic level. Be specific about what happens in your alternate ending; be specific about how this changes the thematic level of the story.

Comparing and Contasting Bildungsromans

Compare and contrast Great Expectations to a different story that can be classified as a Bildungsroman. Within this genre, how was Dickens’ novel the same and/or different to others? (You can use a movie or a different novel.)

Persuasive Writing

In writing your persuasive essay, what was difficult for you? What was easy?

Pip's Continual Change

We discussed Pip’s initial change a while back. But since then, he’s changed a lot, perhaps more subtly. How has Pip changed?

Novel as Commentary

As we discussed, Great Expectations is, in part, a social commentary. Using a topic we did NOT discuss in class, explain what you think Dickens is trying to tell his society.

This Week

You have until Sunday 11:59pm to make-up any blogs for the 3^rd marking period. None will be accepted after that,

Social Commentaries

A social commentary is some form of media that makes a critical observation about society, usually by portraying the aspect of society it sees as flawed. It hopes to invite change to society, at the very least by bringing it to the public sphere. Music, art, books, news, TV, and movies all can act as social commentaries

Use this post to share about a social commentary we did not talk about in class. What does this commentary find wrong about society? What methods does it use to persuade the audience? What sort of change does it hope to invite or inspire?

Persuasive Essay Topic

Use this post to share the topic on which you will be writing your persuasive paper. Why did you choose this topic? What sort of significance does it hold for you?

Mid-Marking Period

Since last week was the middle of the marking period, I am affording us this week to "make up" any missed blogs from the third marking period so far.

Appeals

When trying to convince someone of something, what is most important to appeal to: logic, emotion, ethics, or something else? Explain your answer.