To continue practicing writing sentences, at the beginning of class I had Lena compose two sentences describing what she did today and/or yesterday. She produced two clearly drafted sentences after which we discussed certain parts of speech contained in each sentence i.e. subject and verb. Lena then underlined these parts of speech in her two sentences. We reviewed chapter vocabulary and then completed reading chapter 9. I paraphrased on the board a critical passage in the novel wherein the author describes the function of writing or literature as easing pain by memorializing the pain in words . Lena copied this thought into her notes and then took a chapter 9 quiz upon completing reading chapter 9. She scored 100%.
Marcel did a formidable job in class discussion today addressing the overuse of coincidence in Dickens , Estella's explanations to Pip of her essential nature, and the relationship of the bildungsroman genre to Estella's parting words to Pip, "Do we part with you as a visionary boy or ..a man?" Estella's parting words to Pip encapsulate the genre's theme of the journey from boyhood to self aware manhood. Marcel offered a good explication of the importance of the word"visionary" in describing Pip's imaginative boyhood which doomed him into believing Miss Havisham was his benefactor and Estella his intended betrothed. We further studied the text noting language describing Pip's character growth in his plea to Miss Havisham to assist Herbert, and in his newly found compassionate attitude toward Magwitch. who risked "peril " to see Pip . As to Miss Havisham, we read aloud textual passages wherein Miss Havisham feels remorse having at last realized that ,blinded by her own ordeal ,she failed to recognize that Pip ,in love, was sorely reminiscent of herself before she was jilted. I reviewed the homework study questions and supplemented Marcel's responses where appropriate in order to explain the rather obtuse escape plan of Pip and Magwitch to row a boat to the middle of the Thames and there hail a passenger ferry to the Netherlands as if it were a taxi. Marcel astutely questioned the practicality of the plan and whether this was an accepted practice in the 1840s . As we are having a quiz on Wednesday, I last addressed the scope and format of the quiz . For homework due Wednesday , study for quiz ,read chapters 48 and 49 and answer study guide questions.
On the board, I placed some fill in the blank plot review questions which Lena copied into her notebook and completed. This exercise tied into a theme of the novel - how writing ,whether by authors or others, can be a means of coping with pain. I noted how May etches her pain into short messages that she inserts in her own version of the "wailing wall" and how Lily longs to be a writer to give meaning to people's pain. In order to acclimate Lena to writing some sentences I then had Lena write a few sentences in her notebook describing a few things she did yesterday. Last,we continued to read chapter 9, stopping to discuss the context of the vocabulary words and salient plot developments.
Bobby discussed Steinbeck's negative view of women as depicted in the novel, and we contrasted that view with the author's admiration for the type of male bonding working men share as illustrated by the bond between Lennie and George. We noted the contrast between George and Lennie's relationship and Curley's relationship with his wife which is devoid of trust or affection. We then examined the detailed description of George and Lennie's dream of owning a farm and annotated in the novel the Edenic imagery representing the American Dream. The allure of the dream is contagious as the old crippled ranch hand,Candy, offers to contribute his savings to help purchase the farm. We discussed how then, for just those ephemeral moments, their American Dream seems achievable . However, focusing on the novel's numerous instances of foreboding foreshadowing ,we noted how the dream will likely never materialize. Last, we incorporated our class discussion into Bobby's study guide homework answers. For HW read next 10 pages.
Using the Chapters 2 and 3 study guide , we supplemented Bobby's notes to examine additional instances of foreshadowing. Bobby reviewed specific text portions and then suggested what might be foreshadowed by the language. We further discussed the symbolism surrounding the mercy killing of Candy's dog as Steinbeck's criticism of society's treatment of the weak and the poor. We read aloud the pages where the act of the mercy killing is intentionally paused or delayed by the quotidian thereby adding dramatic tension to this part of the plot line. Bobby addressed this technique in his study guide answers. We then completed the vocabulary work for chapters 1 -3 by placing definitions in the notebook.For homework, read to end of ch 3, answer remaining 3 study guide questions.
In Chapter 8, Lily writes a letter to her estranged father, T Ray, and an acrostic poem using the word "Daddy". Lena previously drafted a hypothetical letter to T Ray from Lily. Today, after we finished reading Ch 8 , Lena composed an acrostic poem using her own name. Cari and I did the same using our names ,and we all shared our "poems". After reviewing chapter 8 notes and the text, Lena then completed a chapter 8 reading comprehension quiz . She did very well. As we started chapter 9, we noted how the video on beekeeping which we saw last month demonstrated many of the same beekeeping practices described in the book,
As Part III of the novel unravels the novel's mysteries often through the use of coincidence, we examined Dickens' use or overuse of coincidence analyzing which ones organically work and which ones seem too far fetched. Marcel felt that because the book was fiction some use of coincidence was justified..I then placed thematic notes on the board noting how the novel's villain, Compeyson, was a forger, Pip worked in a "forge" as blacksmith 's apprentice, and how the novel 's genre requires Pip to "forge " or discover his true self or identity,. We explored the novel's continued motif of clothes as a disguise or cover for one's true identify as this motif reappears as Pip attempts to disguise ,Magwitch , a convict, from discovery by authorities and by Compeyson.Pip notes the more he tries to disguise Magwitch the more Magwitch's true identify peers through. We also reviewed Marcel's study guide homework making additions where necessary , and the MLA citations Marcel prepared for his research paper. For homework due Monday read ch 44-47.
