Really? It's over?

Hello to any of you kids who are sadly bored enough to drop by and see if I'm doing anything here.

The last day of school always catches me off guard, because there is just SO incredibly much going on. I never feel like I have the chance to say goodbye to you guys like I really want, so I will try do a better job at that in writing sometime later this week. After I've had a chance to miss y'all and stuff.

Tonight was Ms. Moore's last night in town, and she came over for dinner. We became too lazy to actually make dinner, so she decided it was time to introduce Husband to Taconmadre. She and I drooled about how good it was, and when we drove up to it, Chris asked incredulously, "In the green bus?!"

But yes, he loved it, and you guys would've been mildly impressed at my ability to place a fairly complicated order entirely en espanol. Better yet, when I got my food, I realized I'd ordered it right.

Here are some pics from after graduation last night, just for fun.

Luckies!

If you're here on Monday evening because you remembered that you had a question due tonight, you're my favorite. Leave your name here by 10 p.m., and I'll give you an effort point. And smile because you have a flaky teacher who left her books at school.

DIDLS link

Yeah, I know you don't want to look at this now, but trust me. This right here will be a super awesome resource for you as you're doing your summer assignment (standard OR AP), and especially if you're going to be in AP next year. Remember that it's here.

An interesting article

Several of you had strong reactions (good and bad) about the ending of the novel, The Grapes of Wrath. I just ran across this story on CNN and thought it might be interesting to read in light of Rose of Sharon's final act in the book.

Question 3 Deadline

You need to have completed thoughtful responses to Question 3 by 10:00 p.m. on Wednesday, May 21st.

Just a reminder that on Wednesday, I will be showing The Namesake and The Joy Luck Club after school. The movies will last from approximately 2:35 - 5:00. Bring money for pizza if you like. Attending the movie will replace your lowest quiz grade with a much higher one. :)

Angela's Ashes, Question 3

For this response, you will need to choose two passages / quotes that come from anywhere in Chapters 3, 4, or 5. You will be looking for textual evidence to support one of the following statements:

1) Angela is a heroic woman.

or

2) Angela is a weak woman.

Look for two passages that support your assertion, write about them here, and include your own commentary. Be sure to include the page numbers from which you are quoting. Do not use any of the same passages that are included in others' responses.

The Namesake, Question 3

Notice that this novel is written in the present tense, which is not the way the majority of novels are composed. Instead of writing,

"Gogol returned to high school...he took his turn at the podium and recited the speech from Macbeth."

Lahiri writes it this way instead:

"Gogol returns to high school...he takes his turn at the podium and recites the speech from Macbeth."

What is the effect of Lahiri's writing that the novel is written this way? It's unusual, so why does she choose to do it? Pick two quotes from between pages 75-150 that support your assertion. Try not to pick quotes that other people have already used in their responses.

The Joy Luck Club, Question 3

Refer to the story that Lena recounts at the very start of the chapter titled "The Voice From the Wall." Why was she obsessed with the way the man died, even though it was decades before she was born? What have you been taught about life and what comes next? Do you believe what you've been taught, or do you have other ideas?

Kids can become fixated on ideas like Lena does here. For example, when I was in Kindergarten, there was a solar eclipse one day. We were told not to look directly at the sun, or we would go blind. None of us makes it a habit to look directly at the sun anyway, but I was completely paranoid all day that I would glance upward on accident and my retinas would shrivel up and fall out. For weeks, I would ask my teacher each morning if there was to be another eclipse that day, just in case.

Find another quote in this chapter that shows the way a child can take one idea and run with it, include it here along with your own commentary. You may choose to include your own fears or worries from childhood that no longer make sense to freak out about.

Be sure to note there are multiple parts of this question/response.

Question 2 Deadline

I'll be checking at 10:00 p.m. Sunday, May 18th, for your responses to Question 2. Looking forward to reading what you share!

The Joy Luck Club, Question 2

This round is a two-part question: you should first respond to the quote I've supplied by sharing your opinions and questions about the passage. Then answer the questions I've posed below.

Respond to the last five paragraphs at the end of the chapter titled Scar.

In Chinese culture, ancestors are shown great respect and often believed to be watching those left behind. What evidence have you already seen of this connection across the generations? What kidn of relationship can there be with a family member who died before you were even born? Think also of the generations who will come after you - do they owe you anything? How do you feel about the belief that these things are vitally important?

Angela's Ashes, Question 2

This round is a two-part question: you should first respond to the quote I've supplied by sharing your opinions and questions about the passage. Then answer the questions I've posed below.

Comment on the quote on page 51:
"Your Pop. That means she's in a good mood. If she says your father it means she's in a bad mood."

Compare the McCourts' arrival in Ireland to the Joads' arrival in California. Discuss the generosity (or lack) of the communit already there.

The Namesake, Question 2

This round is a two-part question: you should first respond to the quote I've supplied by sharing your opinions and questions about the passage. Then answer the questions I've posed below.

Respond to the quote on pae 55 that ends with Gogal's father saying, "Finish it, Gogol. At your age, I ate tin."

Consider Gogol's "annaprasan." What is this ceremony about? In your family or culture, what kidn of attitudes exist about food? Why is the act of eating ritualized across the world? What is the significance, and what is the impact to the community?

Question 1 Deadline

Your response to Question 1 should be posted no later than 10 p.m. on Thursday, May 15th.

The Joy Luck Club, Question 1

This book centers around the rich stories of eight women: four women and their four daughters. The first chapter is told by a daughter, Jing-Mei, whose mother has very recently died. Prominent in Jing-Mei's mind is whether or not she is like her mother, and whether she really ever knew her mother.

I've heard many times in my life that we inevitably turn into our parents, whether we want to or not. I remember growing up, I did not want to be compared to my mother, even though pictures of us as children were completely identical. I remember one day when I was in middle school, we were digging around under the bathroom sink trying to fix a pipe. When we stood up and both looked into the mirror simultaneously, I gasped. It was undeniable; I was a carbon copy of her. I made peace with looking like her, but that's not where the similarities ended. Like Jing-Mei, I was obsessed with this idea after my mother died. I felt that all her quirks and flaws had flown out into the universe and landed on me. I heard myself sneeze in the same annoying way she did; I started talking in my sleep just like I'd always made fun of her for. I even started adopting her verbal tics, like "for crying out loud" and "heavens to Betsy" -- weird exclamations from decades ago.

Are you like your parent(s)? What do you hope to inherit from them, and what do you wish like crazy to avoid? And what happens if one day you wake up and realize you got it all - the good, the bad, and the ugly? Share your thoughts here.

The Namesake, Question 1

The first couple chapters of The Namesake are mostly about the birth and naming of our main character, Gogol Ganguli. And what a mouthful his name is. As you read, the naming of this child was complicated by the family's distance from their native India and American laws that prohibited the baby being unnamed for long. The Gangulis were forced to name their baby against their will, and had to turn their back on a cherished family tradition.

My mom thought up my name, which is fine by me because my dad wanted to name me Phaedra. (He later named a dog that instead - whew.) But Mom had no particular inspiration for my name and always answered me with "I don't know, I just liked it!" when I would nag her about the story behind my name selection. I even told people I was named after my Uncle Leon. (I did have an uncle Leon, but I was not named after him.) I wanted my name to mean something, but all it stood for was something that tickled my mother's fancy. That's good enough for me now, but it sure wasn't fulfilling back then.

Talk here about your name and how you got it. Is it somehow tied to your cultural heritage? Are you named after someone in your family? If you had to rename yourself, would you? What are the pros and cons of having the name that you do?

Angela's Ashes, Question 1

In the first pages of Angela's Ashes, the author recounts the young life of his parents, especially the birth and childhood of his mother. Interestingly, he does so in the third person - talking about his mother as if she weren't his mom, from an objective storyteller's viewpoint.

My Grandma Starr (mom's mom) used to tell me a story about the first time she ever saw the ocean as a little girl, maybe around age 4. In her old-timey bathing suit and bathing cap, she walked into the water, unnoticed by her busy parents. She just kept walking and walking into the ocean, and it never occurred to her to stop. She was up to her nose when an adult finally noticed and ran in after her. Silly girl. A couple more steps, and my life may have never happened.

Is it difficult to imagine your parents as children? What do you know about their young lives? Are there stories that you find amazing or particularly interesting?

Share them here.

Trying something new

Dear ladies and gentlemen of my English classes,
Welcome to my latest way of pestering you about literature and writing.

This week, you will receive your final novel for English III: either The Namesake, The Joy Luck Club, or Angela's Ashes. All exquisitely written pieces of American literature that have their origins in another country.

Just as The Grapes of Wrath followed a family's migration, each of these books also chronicles a family's immigration into the United States. We'll be discussing the theme of Journey that all these works share, The American Dream, as well as what it means to be "a stranger in a strange land."

This website is one way you will show me that you are reading and thinking about these themes as you go. Each of you will be expected to post comments and topics to this site in the next three weeks; in fact, part of your major grade for this novel will depend on your doing so.

More details to come in class.

Lurv,
LAR