Dystopian novel vocabulary - wiki post #1

This posting is due before class starts on Friday, Feb. 1.

We've begun creating our wiki resource page on our dystopian novels. For this unit, all assignments will be posted there, rather than in the comment section of this post.

This assignment requires that you find a vocabulary word from your novel.

When you find a good word (and one that hasn't been used yet this year), please add it to the vocabulary page, along with the sentence from the novel, the page number, and a short definition in your own words. Your word should be unique in the class; that is, you shouldn't post the same word as someone else. Therefore, before you post your word and definition, read through the existing words to see if your word is there already. If it is, you need to find another word.

Post your word on the vocabulary page here. Remember you need to log in and use the password key to be able to edit the page.

Record the following for your word: 1) the word and sentence from the book in which it is used; 2) page number as it appears in the book; 3) easy to understand and accurate definition; and 4) your name, so we can keep track of who is contributing what.

Link to vocabulary page
Link to Dystopian novel wiki resource

1984 and Fahrenheit 451: Just what kind of world are they?

Note: This blog spells out the assignment for the wiki post #1 due Tuesday, Jan. 29 on the class calendar.

As we continue with our Dystopian Literature unit, we will begin using the class wiki page to compile and gather ideas about the novel. Directions for creating this wiki resource page can be found at that site, but I will continue to post information on assignments here.


Each group will create their own page where they will record their ideas. It is expected to grow and evolve as more ideas are added. The first posting I'd like each group to create involves describing just how the world of their novel is a dystopia. Describe what makes the London of 1984 or the nameless country in Fahrenheit 451 a dystopia. What are the dystopian characteristics of those worlds?


Each group should collaborate in class to write and post a well-developed paragraph that makes mention of events and ideas in the novels and connects it to the definitions of dystopia we've used in class. Post your paragraph on your new wiki resource page.

The Future is Now? - blog posting #1

This blog posting is due before class starts on Tuesday, Jan. 8 - click here for the calendar of due dates

By now, you should be started on the first part of 1984 or Fahrenheit 451. If you remember from the introductory PowerPoint presentation, we discussed the four perspectives from which we are going to look at the novels.

• Threats to individual privacy
• Dangers of governmental power
• The power of information, propaganda, and language distortion
• The potential for mindless entertainment to stifle individual thinking

For your first blog response on these novels, I'd like you to go back to the first few pages of your novel. Select a telling quote and write a response that discusses how one or more of those four perspectives is revealed through the quote and why it may be important to larger ideas in the novel. What is the author trying to show?

In addition to your response, record the quote in proper MLA format with book title and page number, like this: "...text of quote, blah, blah, blah" (Fahrenheit 451, 13)