Testivus For the Restivus
Sorry about the bad Seinfeld pun, but our celebration of the holidays will not begin until we complete our school duties.Read the classic Christmas story, The Gift of the Magi, in preparation for your test next Monday. Click here to follow the link to the text. You might want to print it out.
Focus on the point of view, the author's writing style (diction, sentence structure, narrative "tricks"), and the religious symbolism. Though the story is simple, some words might require a trip to the dictionary (or a click on the hyperlinks).
Here is the rest of the test review. E-mail me at fiospartan@aol.com if you have any questions.
Know definitions, examples, advantages of these points of view:
Interior monologue
First person subjective
First person detached autobiography
Third person—single character omniscient
Third person—dual character omniscient
Third person—multi character omniscient
Third person—objective (no character POV)
The Stone Boy
Review notes on handout. Focus especially on description.
Description and setting notes from class
Handout from Usher and Of Mice and Men
The Portable Phonograph—examples of concrete details, sensory images, figures of speech, richly connotative words;
Restorative power of music—The Portable Phonograph (DeBussy), Shawshank (Mozart), Life is Beautiful (Offenbach)
Important author notes— Walter Van Tilburgh Clark, Katherine Anne Porter, Cynthia Ozich, Roberto Benigni, Dorothy Parker, Shirley Jackson, O. Henry
The Shawl— examples of concrete details, sensory images, figures of speech, richly connotative words
The Jilting of Granny Weatherall—third person, single character POV--some use of stream of consciousness
A Telephone Call—interior monologue by Dorothy Parker
A & P—first person subjective, verisimilitude of character (notes)
The Lottery—third person, objective (no character POV)
The Gift of the Magi—third person, (single character POV)
Storytelling "tricks", religious symbolism, point of view, diction
Life is Beautiful—look over handout for Benigni notes and be able to write about one of the following:
Linguistic (language) humor
Cleverly foreshadowed gags
Mockery of Aryan Supremacy
The Power of Imagination—Making Life a Game
Cheapening the Holocaust?
posted by JTF @ 9:03 AM
5 comments
5 Comments:
ha. =) nice pun
Let me start by saying: I love you Fio. Now for my complaint. This very much so reminds me of a literature class. Though the intent was to focus on writing styles, we are simply taking pieces of literature and analyzing them. Instead of focussing on writing styles, we are focussing on memorizes different pieces of literature. This doesn't change the fact that Im staying up tonight studying the list of readings, but I would much rather be focussing on how to become a better writer tonight, not a list of authors I didn't care to learn about. Once again, I love you.
and i would like to start by admitting that after overhearing you say that i was a talented writer a few days ago, my week got a lot better. that said, strangely enough i agree with 'dirty'. i really do love how you encourage us to read and expand our vocabularly while leading an example of a teacher who seems to have some sort of a life other than st marks (bird watching and media enthusiast). now don't blush, but you really do inspire me to educate myself outside of the classroom. however, i wish we had more writing in your class. i understand your method of having us read literature and see examples of good writing, but you can't learn how to write that way, just like learning how to play the guitar or paint by watching a concert or looking at some works by picasso. you have to pick up the guitar pick or paintbrush yourself. i've been waiting for years to be in a creative writing class, but the semester is almost over and we have written two papers for you, three if you count the story for mack.
i think you know what course of action you must take.
If you ask any great writer for tips, 9 times out of 10 they will tell you to "Read, read, read."
It helps to see examples of what we're learning about in order to figure out for ourselves what works and what does not.
I do, however, hate having to study for three large tests on the same day.
Mike and Becca,
You're both at least partially right, but let me explain. First of all, remember the class is called creative AND critical writing. We've written three creative papers and one critical(the favorite work of art one). You'll be writing an old-fashioned five paragraph essay soon, too, and a research paper during the third quarter. Sorry, but that's part of the high school drill, and a major component of the class curriculum.
Also remember, I missed five weeks. In that time period we would have written at least one additional paper, probably a character sketch. I didn't expect Mr. Mac, or any substitute, to get on the grading treadmill as a last-minute replacement. His work with you was inspiring, I'm sure, but it only produced one graded paper and a few journal pages.
As for my journal, I hope you enjoyed writing your six journal assignments during the first quarter and are working earnestly on the nine that will be due prior to semester exams. A minimum of 5 of those 9 must be creative exercises, hopefully ones that might help in writing your short story. Journal writing is a critical exercise in the creative process, sort of like mental jumping jacks. Don't attempt to complete these during the last week of the semester or you'll risk some writing aches and sprains.
Now this short story assignment is another thing. It's a lot more involved than the 3-4 pages papers you've written. I'll be giving you instructions in the next few days. I think you'll be pleased.
Love your enthusiasm. Love you both.
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