Stranger Cultural Journal and Journal 1

The Stranger

Cultural Journal:
After each chapter take a moment to consider how the cultural topics can connect to the novel.  Pull quotations that are interesting and seem to discuss the topics.  Take a couple of minutes to write about how Camus addresses the topics and what he seems to suggest.  This journal is to help prepare you for the graded class discussions which start Thursday. 


Journal 1:

Read Chapters 1 and 2

Keep track of what Meursault does and how you respond to his actions.  Choose a couple of lines that develop an aspect of his character to which you respond strongly and discuss them in your journal.  Then consider why Camus would create such a protagonist.

Choose a word, phrase, or idea that recurs in the chapters. Tab your idea and then choose two to three strong examples to analyze in your journal.  The only rule is that you are not allowed to discuss the sun or heat - too obvious.   Keep your mind open to interesting connections and patterns.


Advice:

Your next paper will ask you to examine the novel in its entirety.  In preparation for the essay, I would start tabbing lines that peak your interest, seem to connect to a theme, or make you ask a question.  Tabbing now will make developing your topic and ideas later an easier process.

Final Eyes Journal

Great job working on commentary skills during the unit.  I can see that you are starting to find more techniques and to question the author's choices.  The next step is to sift through your findings and draw connections that you can organize into paragraphs.  We'll tackle organization over the next week.

Tonight's journal should help us practice developing the purpose and, potentially, our topic sentences.

Read chapters 19 and 20 

Make a list of all of the themes you can find.  These should be one or two word entries.  A good way to look for themes, is to examine the conflicts and how they are resolved or not, and/or the motifs present in the text. 

Example: 
The conflict: Logan struggles with Janie's unresponsive nature
The resolution:  Logan demands Janie works with him which pushes her further away.

Theme: Passion

Motif: Pear Tree

Theme:  Passion

After creating your list, choose three of the themes and write a theme statement for each one.  The theme statement should be a sentence or two explaining what Hurston suggests about the theme.


When you are finished, consider pasting the journals into turnitin.com.  They are officially due on Friday, but you may turn them in at any time. 

Good luck, 
Townzen

Eyes Journal 6

Read Chapter 18  
You will receive a passage from chapter 18 in class tomorrow for commentary practice.

Journal: 
Develop a simple outline: topic sentences and a purpose statement for the passage from journal 5.  Also comment on the journals of three different students.  Cut and paste those comments below the outline.  They should appear on one post.

Eyes Journal 5

Read Chapters 11-17

Journal:  Prepare the following passage for writing a commentary.  Do not write the paper, but take notes as if you were going to write the paper.  Please print out a copy of your blog and bring it to class on Monday.  We will discuss the passage and discuss organization for the essay on Monday.  

Commentary steps to follow:

1.  Read the passage through once with pencil in hand.  As you read write questions in the margin about words or ideas that catch your attention.
2.  Before the second reading, clarify any unknown words and make certain you understand what is happening in the piece.  Then identify the point of view, characters involved and the subject of the passage.
3. On the second reading mark the passage.  Look for patterns in the text: if an image, word(s) or idea repeat.  What feeling does the passage evoke?  What words help create the feeling will establish the mood and tone.  If you don't know where to start, use your knowledge of Hurston's style to get you started.
4. Read again to develop your analysis.  How does Hurston use the image or language?  How does the image or language connect to other parts of the passage? 
5. Identify a purpose for the passage

Advice:  You must cover the entire piece.  Use the commentary graph to make certain you cover all areas available for analysis.



Passage:

They put her to bed and sent for her married daughter from up around Ocala to come see about her.  The daughter came as soon as she could and took Annie Tyler away to die in peace.  She had waited all her life for something, and it had killed her when it found her.
      The thing made itself into pictures and hung around Janie's bedside all night long.  Anyhow, she wasn't going back to Eatonville to be laughed at and pitied.  She had ten dollars in her pocket and twelve hundred in the bank.  But oh God, don't let Tea Cake be off somewhere hurt and Ah not know nothing about it.  And God, please suh, don't let him love nobody else but me.  Maybe Ah'm is uf fool, Lawd, lad dey say, but Lawd, Ah been so lonesome, and Ah been waitin', Jesus.  Ah done waited uh long time.
      Janie dozed off to sleep but she woke up in time to see the sun sending up spies ahead of him to mark out the road through the dark.  He peeped up over the door sill of the world and made a little foolishness with red.  But pretty soon, he laid all that aside and went about his business dressed all in white.  But it was always going to be dark to Janie if Tea Cake didn't soon come back.  She got out of the bed but a chair couldn't hold her.  she dwindled down on the floor her head in a rocking chair.

(Hurston, 119-120)

Station break

Study Study Study

Literary term vocabulary test tomorrow. 

You can start on your reading chapters 11-17, but you will not have a journal entry until Monday.

Eyes Journal 4

Read Chapters 7-10

Your journal for tonight is to write a pastiche of Hurston's style.  Using the paragraph on page 84 that starts with, "So Janie began to think of Death [...]," please write a pastiche of the paragraph that shows your understanding of the techniques present.  For example, you will change the character from Janie to someone else and you will choose an abstract noun to personify.  Halfway through the paragraph the narration switches from first person to third person - you should do this too.

Example:

So Lydia started to consider Jealousy.  Jealous, that small creature with the sharpened nails who danced in the shadows of each man's heart.  The deceptive one who spied on your dark thoughts like an opera attender without monocles, and without a seat.  Why would jealousy want to sit, and what secret thought wouldn't reach her...