Hope everyone is in the midst of a great spring break! Rest up and get ready for the rest of the school year; it will be a blur!
1. Nausea–Read and annotate up to p. 94.
Archives for April 2017
HW due 4/19: Siddhartha and Mandala Info
April 10, 2017 By
Hope everyone is in the midst of a great spring break! Rest up and get ready for the rest of the school year; it will be a blur!
1. Siddhartha–Read and annotate the chapters Amongst the People and Samsara.
2. Mandala Project due April 27
FYI: There are many great mandalas in the header photo for this page!
You are also expected to turn in an artist statement wherein you explain what each aspect of your mandala represents. The artist statement should be one page and single spaced.
Be sure to visit this link to get a sense of the process of making a mandala. This is the beginning step of the Mandala Project!
Mandala notes:
Carl Jung and the mandala:
“I had to abandon the idea of the superordinate position of the ego. … I saw that everything, all paths I had been following, all steps I had taken, were leading back to a single point — namely, to the mid-point. It became increasingly plain to me that the mandala is the centre. It is the exponent of all paths. It is the path to the centre, to individuation… I knew that in finding the mandala as an expression of the self I had attained what was for me the ultimate.” – C. G. Jung. Memories, Dreams, Reflections.
If we agree that the center of the mandala represents this center of the universe, thus the center of the self (the true self), then what would reside at the center of you…your true self. As seen in many of the examples, much, if not all, of the mandala is abstract expression. Certainly the center of the mandala should be abstract as it is a representation of your Self; yet, as you move beyond the center, closer to the edge, your visual may become more concrete as you are closer to your persona/ego, that which is tangible/material. So how will you represent your true self… We understand that the mandala is an expression of Self at the moment of its (the mandala’s) creation as the Self is always a work in progress.
The Mandala will be worth 150 points and count as a project/essay grade. Keep in mind:
- Your base structure of your mandala should be a series of geometric shapes. The primary, and largest, shape must be a geometric shape. Within there must be an arrangement of smaller geometric shapes.
- All geometric shapes must be PRECISE. The craftsmanship in general should be precise.
- The Mandala should use colors meaningfully. Meaning, you should be able to explain why you chose the colors you chose.
- All visuals beyond the base structure should be purposeful and powerful. Meaning, there should be a rationale for everything present in your Mandala and that rationale should be of great significance to you. Further, the images should be aesthetically pleasing in presentation.
- The Mandala should reflect great creative effort!
- The Mandala should reflect great overall effort!
- The Mandala should reflect you!
Ultimately you should create a mandala that you will be proud to share with the entire class!
As for dimensions, there is flexibility here: if square 12-16 inches on each side; if circular, appx. 12-16 inches in diameter. Once again, there is flexibility here. Review the following link to get another sense of the creation process. Note that the structure of the mandala should consist of precise geometric shapes.
Due 4/19: Poet Study
April 10, 2017 By
Hope everyone is in the midst of a great spring break! When you have a spare moment, I would encourage you to read some of your chosen poet’s poetry. As a reminder, here are the details for the poet study, your PBA for this class:
Looking ahead to your Poetry PBA Portfolio, start thinking about your main opinion, or thesis, about your poet’s work. Read a significant body of work by your poet (20-30 poems). Ultimately, you will focus your study on 10 poems. Some good questions to ask yourself as you read:
- What themes do you notice in your poet’s work?
- Where and how do these themes appear?
- Which poems you’ve read most clearly show these themes?
- What techniques (poetic devices, style, language, etc.) does this poet use most often, and how do they affect the poems?
- What effect do they have? In other words, how do they shape and change your reading of the poems?
- What tone, or mood do you get from these poems? How do they make you feel?
- Take some notes on your answers to these questions, and start coming up with an opinion about your poet’s work.
Your PBA will include (in this order):
- Cover Sheet
- A 1-2 page mini-bio of your poet.
- A 5-7 page essay that introduces and analyzes the work of your poet, including a strong claim (a thesis) about your poet and his/her work. In this analysis you should demonstrate great control of your poet’s work. Finally, your discussion must be complemented by 3 primary or secondary sources (critical/analytical in nature).
- The 10 poems (untouched) chosen for this project.
- Two original poems mirroring your poet’s style.
- As an appendix: Annotated copies of the ten poems chosen for this project.
Due 4/6: Nausea
April 4, 2017 By
1. Nausea–Read and annotate the following sections:
- (54-57) Begin with “I turn left and, through the Rue des Voiliers…” Stop at 7:00 p.m.
- (61-70) Bottom of the page: “My Dear Antoine—” Stop with “Wednesday” on p. 70.
Keep in mind, that prior to 61 we learn that Antoine hasn’t heard from Anny in five years. He also says that he will undoubtedly see Anny.
FYI, notable sections skipped prior to p. 54:
- P. 40 (First three paragraphs)
- P. 45 (First full paragraph)
- PP. 46-50 (Idle banter) “My neighbors are silent.”
- P. 52 (The “little movement” paragraph)
- P. 53 (“A gas lamp glowed”)
Due 4/6: Siddhartha
April 4, 2017 By
1. Siddhartha–Read and annotate the chapter Kamala.
2. (Due Friday, 4/7) The Alchemist Essay (2 pages)
I would strongly encourage you to work on this sooner rather than later.
ANYTHING OVER 2 PAGES WILL NOT BE READ. Make every word, every sentence, every paragraph count! Be sure to print out and read the rubric closely. This is a close-reading essay, meaning you should focus on one or two very specific aspects of the novel and build your argument only around that. For instance:
- Symbolism of the sheep
- The dichotomy of the old woman and the old man
- Nameless characters
- Symbolism of the oasis
- The role of the Crystal Merchant
- The role of fate (keeping in mind the great lie)
- Symbolism of the desert
- Etc…
You have just one draft for this essay: the final draft. Any prewriting and editing along the way is up to you. This 2 page essay gives me an opportunity to see just what you have learned thus far this year. So, I expect to see the following:
- Necessary intro that prepares your thesis
- Thesis that clearly articulates point(s) of analysis and a compelling/substantive argument
- Topic sentences that clearly articulate an insightful assertion
- Properly introduced evidence
- Evidence that meaningfully illustrates/illuminates your point and is worth discussing.
- Analysis that is focused on the evidence and is insightful/substantive.
- A writing style that relies on active verbs and very few passive to be or to have verbs.
- Structurally sound sentences.