What was your favorite story we read

This is the third blog posting for the short story unit and is due before class starts on Friday, Oct. 2.

Now that we've read all the stories in the unit, we'd like to know which was your favorite and why. Select one of the stories we've read and explain what made it the favorite. Why did you like it? Make sure you point to specific examples from the story to support your reasons.

For your reference, here are the stories we've read: "The Moustache," "Through the Tunnel," "Initiation," "Marigolds," and "Rules of the Game."

Ranking the characters

This is the second blog posting for the short story unit and is due before class starts on Wednesday, Sept. 30.

So far, we've read about several teenage protagonists - Michael in "The Moustache," Jerry in "Through the Tunnel," and Millicent in "Initiation." Each have their own challenges and ways of overcoming them. Who had the most difficult decision? Take those three characters and rank them in order of who made the most difficult decision. In your response, rank the three characters and then explain why you put them in the order you did. Make specific references to the conflicts the characters faced and how they overcame them.

Remember, your response should be written in standard English with conventional punctuation and grammar. Put your first name only at the bottom of your entry.

What kind of person is Jerry?

We've begun reading several coming of age short stories, including "Through the Tunnel" by Doris Lessing. The story focuses on Jerry, a young boy vacationing with his mother, who envies a group of older boys swimming through an underwater tunnel.

As you know from our discussions and class notes, a coming of age story involves a young protagonist who begins the story as youthful and immature. The protagonist grows up during the story and undergoes a change. The above slide show contains the notes about the coming of age stories.

To get us started, let's take another look at Jerry from the beginning of "Through the Tunnel." How would you describe him? What is it about him that makes him immature or youthful? What are some examples from the text of his youthfulness? What does he need to do to grow up? Select a telling passage from the opening pages that helps illustrate how he is immature.

Write your answer in the comments section of this blog entry. Your answer should be a well-developed paragraph that fully answers the prompt and make direct references to the text and directly quote from the telling passage you selected. I suggest writing your response on a word processing program such as Word so you can spell check it and edit it before posting it to the comments section.

Examining your classmates' short story wiki pages

This response is due before class starts Thursday, Oct. 2

We've all had a chance to work on our short story pages on the classroom wiki. If you haven't done so, you should have information about three short stories on your page.

For this assignment, you are required to look at several of the pages compiled by your classmates, either in your class or a different period. You can view them all by clicking this link. View several of them and then decide who has posted the best symbolic picture on their page. In the comment section on THIS page, answer the following:

Who posted the picture that provided the best symbolic image from a short story? What made the picture so interesting and appropriate for the story? How does it help us understand important ideas from the story? Paste the address of the student wiki page you examined.

Who made a tougher decision?

This response is due before class starts Friday, Sept. 26

We've read about Jerry's swim through the tunnel, Millicent's personal initiation, and Michael's moustache.

The question for today is this: Which of the three characters do you respect the most for what they did? Select one of the characters and explain your decision using references to specific events in the short story.

Blog assignment: Update your wiki page

The assignment described below is due before class starts on Tuesday, Sept. 23

We have begun creating short story resource pages on the class wiki site, which is at http://millersenglish.pbwiki.com.

So far, you've begun posting information about the story "Through the Tunnel." To satisfy the homework requirements for this blog posting, you must complete your entry on "Through the Tunnel." That means you must have the following on your individual page:

• Title and author of the story
• An insightful passage from the story
• A several sentence response written by you about why you chose the passage you did
• A picture or image related to a theme or idea in the story
• A several sentence response written by you about why you chose the picture you did

Reminder: Go the main wiki page here. Once at the main page, find your individual page in the folder titled 'short story pages.' The folders are listed to the right on the main page. Open the folder and find your page. Remember, you need your username and password to edit the page.

Jerry, his swim through the tunnel, and us...

This response is due before class starts on Sept. 17, 2008

In the short story "Through the Tunnel," Jerry makes a treacherous swim through an underwater tunnel. It was not an easy accomplishment, but at the end of the story, Jerry is changed by his experiences. Although he is 11 years old in the story, we all can share in his ordeal.

In what way can you relate to Jerry? How are his experiences like some that you've had? What is it that makes Jerry similar to you or to typical teenagers?

Look to go beyond the purely literal in your answer. Don't just view his swim through the tunnel on a literal level. Think about what it can represent as a part of his growing up process.

photo credit: boy swimming in the big blue ocean by NanakofiAcquah on Flickr

Writing an impromptu essay

Our next unit is devoted to discussing several short stories, and during that time we will examine the difficulties faced by several of the characters in those stories. In several instances, those difficulties are caused by poor decisions made by the main character. It is something we can all relate to. Your first assignment, then, is to examine a decision from your own life which you regret. Read the following prompt and write a well-formed, thoughtful essay.

Each person has been in trouble at one time or another because he or she did something bad or said something wrong. Write a multi-paragraph essay describing an instance when you did something wrong you later regretted and the lesson you learned in the process.

Before writing, you should:

• brainstorm your thoughts or create an idea web
• Select a topic worthy of writing about
• Sketch out a rough organization for your essay

The essay is due Tuesday, Sept. 18

To complete this writing assignment, open up a Microsoft Word document and write it there. You will be given class time, but will also likely need to work on it outside class. You will hand in an electronic copy of the assignment.

Any happy returns?

In the short stories "A Visit to Grandmother" and "Rules of Game," we meet children and parents who just don't seem to effectively connect with one another. In "A Visit to Grandmother," Charles, after spending nearly 20 years away from his family, finally returns to confront his mother about her parenting style. While Meimei in "Rules of the Game" faces off with her mother over her chess-playing abilities. At one point, Meimei runs away, but she comes back to "ponder [her] next move." What do you think of the way Charles and Meimei handled their conflicts with their mothers? How would you have handled it?

What's in a name?

Shakespeare asked "What's in a name?" We might ask the same thing after reading Aharon Megged's wrenching short story, "The Name." In the story, three generations of a Jewish family become estranged over the naming of a newborn child. As a result of the differences in the family, the child's mother, at the end feels that her son "was in need of pity and of great love, as though her were alone, an orphan in the world." Do you agree? In what way is the child "an orphan in the world"?

Who do you think is the better mom?

In "The Lie" and "Teenage Wasteland," we see two different kinds of mothers. Mrs. Remenzel seems to follow the lead of her husband's snobbery when it comes to expecting her son, Eli, to attend the Whitehill School. However, at the end of the story, she doesn't turn as hypocritical as her husband. Daisy in "Teenage Wasteland," struggles with her son, Donny, and with her own parenting. She tries many different approaches to help her son, including hiring a questionable tutor. After reading both stories, which mother would you prefer to have? Why?

Is it really ironic?

Alanis Morrisette made millions of dollars singing about irony, but didn't really get it right. See for yourself if the examples in her song are actually irony. However, Kurt Vonnegut's short story, "The Lie," contains several strong examples of irony. Consider Dr. Remenzel's words at the beginning of the story and the effect of his actions at the end of the story. How does the irony in Vonnegut's story help enhance its theme?