Heart of Darkness Part II

For Thursday, read Part II of HOD.

Also, post a reading blog response and post a response to a classmate's Part I post using these links to the blogs.

Into the Darkness... Reading Blog #1

For Tuesday, read part one of Heart of Darkness and post a response to your reading blog.  You can choose the topic, but make sure you respond using one of these prompts.

Isn't it Ironic... Don't you think?

Please consider the following song lyrics and answer the questions that follow in a post to your blog (no need to write in essay form, just post responses for review on Friday):

“Great Nations of Europe” by Randy Newman

The Great Nations of Europe had gathered on the shore.
They'd conquered what was behind them and now they wanted more,
so they looked to the mighty ocean and took to the Western sea -
the great nations of Europe in the 16th century.

Hide your wives and daughter; hide the groceries too.
The great nations of Europe comin through.

The Grand Canary Islands first land to which they came
they conquered all the canaries there which gave the land its name
there were natives there called guanches, guanches by the score
bullet's, disease the Portuguese, they weren't there any more

Now they're gone, they're gone, they're really gone.
You never seen anyone so gone.
There's pictures in a museum, some lines written in a book
but you won't find a live one, no matter where you look.

Hide your wives and daughters; hide the groceries too
The great nations of Europe comin through.

Columbus sailed for India found Salvador instead.
He shook hands with some Indians and soon they all were dead.
They got tb and typhoid and athletes foot, diphtheria and the flu
'scuse me great nations comin through.

Balboa found the Pacific, and on the trail one day,
he met some friendly Indians whom the Church told him were gay,
soooooooooooooo
he had them torn apart by dogs on religious grounds they say
the great nations of Europe were quite holy in their way.

Now they're gone, they're gone, they're really gone.
You never seen anyone so gone.
Some bones hidden in a canyon some paintings in a cave
they're no use tryin to save them, there's nothin left to save.

Hide your wives and daughters; hide your sons as well
with the great nations of Europe you never can tell.

Where you and I are standing at the dawn of a century
Europes have sprung up everyone as even I can see
but there on the horizon is the possibility
that some bug from out of Africa might come for you and me
destroying everything in its path from sea to shining sea
like the great nations of Europe in the 16th century. 

QUESTIONS FOR YOUR BLOG POST: What examples from the song are ironic?  How can you tell?  What examples are not ironic?  How can you tell?

Colonialism and Post-Colonialism on the River to the Heart of Darkness

Before we begin reading Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad, we'll spend some time Wednesday exploring the colonial and post-colonial experience in the Philippines.  I've asked some Filipinos in Santa Maria, Tarlac to help us try to define a "post-colonial mentality" that many Filipinos debate after periods of Spanish, Japanese and American colonial rule.

Please listen to the following 25-minute recording and note quotes and questions you would like to discuss on Wednesday.

In-Class Essay and Major Work Review

We'll finish off our unit on One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest on Monday with an in-class essay.  You may use your book ONLY during the essay.  You'll have 50-minutes to write, and you'll want to consider the following criteria for earning an advanced score (4):

40% --- STANDARD: Uses a clear, logical, purposeful, and effective structure
Description: Well-organized essay containing an introduction with a thesis that answers the prompt and gives a blueprint of where the author is going to take the reader.  Body paragraphs clearly support and add depth to the claim made in the introduction.  Conclusion provides a response to the "so what?" question

40% ---- STANDARD: Uses detailed and persuasive references to the text
Identifies the madness or the irrational behavior of a character and persuasively explains the nature of this delusion or eccentric behavior and how it might be judged reasonable in the context of the entire work. Using apt and specific textual illustrations but without belaboring the plot, they fully explore not only the nature of the character’s madness but also its significance to the work as a whole.

20% --- STANDARD: Uses correct grammar, spelling, and sentence construction
Most sentences are well-constructed; correct punctuation, spelling and capitalization are used.

Lastly, you'll want to complete your major work review for OFOCN, so you can consider the novel for one of your Fantastic 4 (or 5) novels for the AP open question.

Welcome Back!

Getting back on the bus this week.
Here is what is left of the Merry Prankster's bus from the 1960s.

I hope you enjoyed your break.  We'll use this week to wrap up our study of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.  Take a look at today's news.  This does not bode well for us as we continue to improve our writing.

For Thursday, take a look at the Google Document feedback I've provided on your reading blog posts on the topic of fog.  I'd like you to write a reflection on where you are in your introduction writing.  Next week, you'll be writing an in-class essay, and your introduction will be a critical component.

Lastly, if you are a discussion leader for Thursday, please reread the passages I've assigned, so you can come to class prepared to discuss some literary waves (key passages/quotes) from your assigned sections.

Fall Break Assignment

Finish reading OFOCN.

Read the Sketches by Ken Kesey, Foreward by Chuck Palahniuk and Introduction by Robert Faggen.  These sections provide an interesting closure to our reading.

Post a blog response on the topic of character change in the novel (focus on a single character).

Enjoy your time off!

For Thursday's Panel Discussion...

Continue reading OFOCN pp. 175-221.

Also, please take a look at the introductions for our guest speakers, so you can be thinking about questions you might like to ask on the topic of "The Psychology of Power."

Here is the link to introductions.