During the first segment, we reviewed Joshua's final Macbeth essay. I provided instruction on forming a clear thesis and combining sentences by eliminating unnecessary words or ideas. Further , I drafted a model answer that we read and then reviewed noting how the model exhibits the clarity the test essay did not. We then turned our attention to our next novel, "The Things They Carried." I first discussed how to supplement the homework answer . I explained the use of paradox in the novel's epigraph and introduced the author's concept of the difference between historical truth and fictional truth especially when narrating war stories. We then studied the tone, syntax,and diction employed to describe the death of Ted Lavender. I distributed portions of Hemingway's "Farewell to Arms' -which we read- and explained tonight's homework to compare the tone, diction and syntax Hemingway employs to describe the death of soldiers with O'Brien's style.