Eyes Journal 9

There are two parts to tonight's journal.

1.  Edit one of the following class commentary outlines for the clarity of ideas and the organization of ideas.

2.  Continue practicing your editing skills by commenting on 3 other students outlines from journal 7 for clarity of ideas and organization.

Post your improved class outline and your 3 comments in journal 9.

Per 3

I.  The purpose of the passage is to discuss how when women choose to settle for an opportunity that is less desirable they forfeit their chance of achieving their ideals of love.

II.   In the passage, Hurston introduces Joe as a charming and ambitious man who entices Janie to take a risk and change her situation.

However, Joe objectifies Janie by defining her not based on her qualities but how he wants her to be.

IV.  Although Joe portrays a life with him as being easy going and rich, Janie see through his portrayal.

Per 4

I.  The purpose of this passage is to describe how when women settle their expectations for love, they gamble with their potential for

II.  Hurston characterizes Joe as an ambitious and charming figure who tries to entice Janie to marry him.

III.  Although Joe appears charming, he is in fact domineering figure who attempts to control others to benefit himself.

IV. By Janie’s reactions to Joe

V.  Hurston uses elements of nature to express Janie’s desire for change and growth.

 

Eyes Journal 8

Study your vocabulary - test on Tuesday

Make certain the outline for the cultural presentation is complete up to the conclusion (we’ll address those on Wednesday). 

Final journal read chapters 18-20 this journal is due Wednesday.

Identify a scene that interests you in the last chapters.   Retell the scene using Hurston's style from a minor character's perspective.

For example, if I were writing from an earlier chapter, I might choose to write about what it was like for one of the men to sit on the porch with Joe as Janie worked inside.  This would give me an opportunity to discuss how the townspeople saw Joe and Janie's relationship.

Eyes Journal 7

No reading

Develop a simple outline (thesis [purpose of the passage], context, topic sentences, and points to argue) for last night's passage.

Bring material for your cultural group to class on Friday

Eyes Journal 6

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 images or language?  How do the images 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)

Tuesday February 14th

No reading tonight.  Catch up on your assignments.

1.  Edit your topic sentence for your group commentary paragraph. 
FYI Tomorrow the groups will get together examine the topic sentences and edit one to share with the class.  The class will place all of the topic sentences on the board and choose the best topic sentences and then organize them for the class paper.  Once the topic sentences have been chosen for the class, return to your groups and edit your commentary paragraphs.  One student is charged with commenting on my blog with the paragraph. 
2.  Finish your blog
3.  Check your journal entries for completeness
4.  Take tonight as a chance to apply the information you learned about commentary writing to your commentary paragraphs or your cultural paper.  

Eyes Journal 5 -Monday Night

Do not work on your group assignments tonight, we'll discuss them further tomorrow.
 
Read Chapters 7-10

Your journal for tonight is to write a pastiche of Hurston's style.  A pastiche is an artistic work that imitates another work or artist.  For your pastiche, you will be using the paragraph in chapter 7 that starts with, "So Janie began to think of Death [...]" (84).  Please make note of Hurston's stylistic choices (techniques, sentence structure, dialect...) as you read and then write a pastiche of the paragraph.  It needn't be perfect, but your reader should hear an echo of Hurston's style from your creative passage.  I find it easiest to go sentence by sentence for this.  For example, I decided to keep the "so," but then changed the character from Janie to someone else and choose an abstract noun to personify. 

Example:

So Lydia started to consider Jealousy.  Jealousy, that small creature with the sharpened nails who danced in the shadows of each man's heart.  The deceptive one who spied on 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?  She peers through the facades that everyone creates.  Peers directly and intimately never resting with her nails clicking, searching for the first crack to let her in.   

Abstract nouns you could consider using:

Revenge, giggles, time, escapism, lust, morale, pride, or any other that strikes your interest.


Have fun with the creative writing.

Monday's Class

It seems that the plague has hit the youngest member of my family, so I'll be out of the building tomorrow.   During class, you will need to accomplish two things.

1.   Complete a paragraph for our class commentary. 
Bring your journal entry from this weekend so you can work in small groups to develop a topic sentence, your key points, the support you'll use, and your analysis.

2.  Work with your cultural group to discuss your findings, establish a thesis and identify the topic sentences. 

Eyes Journal 4

Read Chapters 5-6

This weekend's journals will have two parts.

Part 1: As you're reading the chapters look for descriptions of setting.  Try to find two to three places where the setting either connects to a mood, tone, characterization, or conflict.

Part 2.  Returning to last night's passage, find the lines that connect to your category (Joe's view of Janie, Janie's view of Joe, Joe's Agenda, or Janie's dream - those of you who were absent choose only one area).  Identify the techniques within the line and analyze them.  Also write down any questions that come up as your analyzing.  This can be a list of points.

Reminders:
Study your vocabulary the test is the 21st
Bring in your annotated (underline and take notes on what you read) article Monday