CREATIVE WRITING ONLY (journal #2): An Interview With John Updike (due Oct. 6)

Your first assigned short story, A & P, is a classic coming-of-age tale that ends badly for the teenager testing the waters of self-reliance and righteousness. It was written in 1961 by John Updike, a master of fiction who was writing up til his death in 2009. It's fiction--if not based on a real experience, it certainly reads as if it could have happened. It contains the quality of verisimilitude, that of being "true to life," especially in the character of Sammy, who acts, talks, and breathes like a teenager stuck in Smalltown, USA with its smalltown ways. 

Once a young man frustrated with a stalled career as a cartoonist, John Updike tried his hand at fiction. His description of his first effort to write should encourage those of you who are intimidated or insecure in your own ability: "It's like sort of a horse you don't know is there, but if you jump on the back there is something under you that begins to move and gallop. So it's clearly a wonderful imaginary world that you enter when you begin to write fiction."

Updike went on to achieve the rare daily double of both popular and literary success; his novels read equally well on airplanes and in college classrooms. His greatest gift was his ability to make us care about everyday people doing everyday things, a trait that makes him particularly American, this celebration of the common man. 

Visit this web page and read the Updike interview. 
The entire interview? Well, as much or as little as you need to in order to respond to this prompt:

Respond to any one or some of Updike's interview answers in this interview. He talks about a variety of subjects: his childhood, his experience with teachers, his early appreciation of reading, his writing theories, teaching a creative writing class, the American Dream, etc. You may merely respond in a agree/disagree--like/dislike manner OR relate his (and your) responses to "A & P" in some way. 

So is this a creative assignment? Of course not, but I'm hoping that you find it insightful so that you know what to expect when you jump on the horse to write your own creative work. 

Remember, write an minimum of 250 words.

Soph # 3 Journal: The Conceit--due Monday, Oct. 6

I'm driving 65 mph on I-495, cars whizzing by me like I'm standing still (yeah, that's me in the picture above). 

Two guys darting in and out of traffic like it's some video game chase--I can only imagine how fast they're going. I'm on the gas just to keep up with the flow, the left foot covering the pedal (yeah, that's old-school bi-pedal technique), just in case . . . momentarily reverting to what Mr. Shaw instructed back in my tenth grade driver's ed class.

Then comes the inevitable question from the backseat driver, who actually occupies the other seat in the front. You know what I mean? (remember, a backseat driver is a common metaphor for someone who gives you unwanted directions when you are driving, whether they're in the back or the front)

"Are you using cruise control?"

"No," I answer curtly.

"Why not? Doesn't your foot get tired?" the passenger harps.

It is at that point that I begin my rant on the dangers of cruise control.

Clicking on the cruise control does prevent tired, cramping feet, I say. However, it has its problems, too. For one, it lulls you into a false sense of security, and the feet usually get further and further away for both the gas AND the brake pedals. At that point, how much control do I really have?

Like my car, I don't like to put my life in "cruise control." I want to be the one in charge as much as I can be, without being a "control freak." I'm no risk-taker, so most of the time I travel the "road more taken." And that's OK with me. I like to know where I'm going, traveling at my own speed. I haven't driven further north than Saratoga Springs, NY, or more south than Augusta, GA, but that doesn't mean I've led a boring, provincial life, either. I can make a Saturday night trip to Bed, Bath, and Beyond an adventure by taking some of the back roads to see the Belted Galloway cows on Center Meeting Road (click to enjoy) in Centreville.

How are you "driving" yourself through life?

Do you gas up first, and then check the oil, wipers, and air pressure before a big trip?

Do you have the "pedal to the metal" or are you driving more cautiously with "both hands on the wheel at 10 before 2?"

Do you prefer major roadways like the Kirkwood Highway or would you rather take the more scenic route?

When you drive, are you easily lured into the local McDonald's at the sight of the golden arches, or can you get from point A to point B without making a single stop?

Do you use your cell phone while driving, chatting and texting away instead of paying attention to the road? It's against the law, you know.

Obviously, all of these driving situations can be applied metaphorically to situations in our lives.

For instance, the guy who gases up and checks out his car before a trip is the man who begins all his endeavors in life with preparation and a plan.

The "pedal to the metal" driver travels recklessly through life, hellbent on getting things done in a hurry without concern for safety for himself or anyone else.

The guy who stops at McDonald's, well, he needs a little bit more self-control, doesn't he? Can't he wait a few minutes to get home to snack on last night's leftovers?

Hopefully, you have the idea of what makes a CONCEIT, an elaborate (sometimes far-fetched) extended metaphor. Two things that are essentially unalike, like driving a car and living one's life, are compared. The "extended" part of the metaphor means that different parts of each procedure are compared, like the examples that I've given above comparing driving a car to living one's life.

So now it's your turn.

Think of an area in which you have some knowledge and expertise. Maybe it's a hobby (reading) or activity (playing a sport, dancing, fishing etc.).

Think of a metaphor, and then extend it by breaking it down into parts.

For instance, reading a book is like developing a strong friendship.

How might choosing a book to read be like finding a friend? Examine its cover, its prologue, the reviews on the cover. How might this be similar to entering into a friendship? You can go on from here, and talk about opening the book the first time, feeling the stiffness of the book's bindings, maybe reading a few uneventful pages and then putting it down. How might this be like the beginning of a friendship, too?

Choose between one of these two assignments:

1. Make a conceit comparing two dissimilar but similar processes, like reading a book and making a friend.

2. Tell me what your LIFE is like. Let's avoid the commonly used "roller coaster" or "box of chocolates" metaphors. Even my "highway" metaphor has been done before. 

AVOID COMPARISONS THAT ARE TOO EASY TO UNDERSTAND because they are too similar.

For either choice, make sure you extend your general comparison with at least SIX specific comparisons. You'll probably find yourself doing many more. 

SOPH: Vocab sentences Unit 2 due Monday

Post BEFORE CLASS ON Monday ten (10) sentences using ten different vocabulary words correctly, giving a context clue to the meaning of the word within your sentence. You will be graded on the quality of your sentences. 

"Door rows" should work with words 1-10; "window seats" 4-6 should work with words 11-20.

Your context clue should use restatement, contrast, or inference (see p.7  of your vocab book if you need help with these).

Of course, identify yourself according to your first name, last initial, and section color.

e.g. Usually slightly nervous and uncertain, most ninth graders entering St. Mark's are somewhat taciturn during their initial days in school.

You will be graded on the correctness of both the word usage and also the context clue. 

Here are the twenty words along with some "observations" that I made in class:

1. accost---negative connotation usually--as in kiosk workers

2. animadversion

3. avid--usually a positive connotation

4. brackish—saline---Neti pot

5. celerity---Hermes----FTD florist logo

6. devious—often negative connotation

7. gambit---Queen’s gambit opening move in chess

8. halcyon—Greek myth

9. histrionic—pertaining to actors

10. incendiary—Molotov cocktail, for instance

11. maelstrom-used more often "figuratively" than literally

12. myopic--used more often "figuratively" than literally

13. overt—opposite is covert, as in the CIA 

14. pejorative-often used to describe how a connotation is "negative" in meaning

15. propriety--the "properness" of something

16. sacrilege

17. summarily ---"summarily dismissed" has become a (cliché)

18. suppliant--same root word as the verb "to kneel"

19. talisman—e.g.  "The Monkey’s Paw"

20. undulate---the verb illustrated by "doing the wave" at sporting events

Senior Retreat Day work/homework

All seniors not "retreating" should report to the Tech Lab for class. 

Creative Writing students should check My SMHS for a homework reading of some chapters from Stephen King that is due for Friday's class. There will be some kind of assessment (test, quiz) on this reading. Another assignment, "writing your own personal narrative," is posted, too, and we will talk about in class on Friday.

Modern American Themes students should look up to define EVERY word in the story "Why Don't You Look Where You're Going?" that you don't know---I may quiz you on the story on Friday and ask you to define words, allowing you to use your notes/definitions on that quiz.

Seniors: Creative Writing "The Names" --due Tuesday

Every student should supply at least one line from his or her own note card for the editors to "possibly" use as they construct our classroom poem based on Collins's "The Names."

Do this before class on Tuesday.

Seniors: # 2 journal ---Modern American Themes class only!

POST BEFORE CLASS ON MONDAY SEPTEMBER 22

For this post you are writing about one of the articles that you read in class on Tuesday and Wednesday. Basically, you are posting at Schoolsville (for the world to see) the work you did for one of the articles.

So you should:

Note: the title of article (put the title in quotation marks), the author of article, and the date published:

Then answer ….

What important issue, idea, concern, practice, or THEME is addressed in the article? (write in a 2-3 sentences)

Note three things that you learned from the article that you didn’t know

1.

2.

3.

Note two things that you found interesting and you want to know more about

1.

2.

Note one question that you now have about any of the information

1.

Sophs: Bring Vocab books to class on Thursday

Bring Vocab books to class on Thursday!

Sophomore Vocabulary Sentences Unit 1: due Wednesday

Post BEFORE CLASS ON WEDNESDAY ten (10) sentences using ten different vocabulary words correctly, giving a context clue to the meaning of the word within your sentence.

Rows closer to the door should work with words 1-10; rows closer to the windows should work with words 11-20.

Your context clue should use restatement, contrast, or inference (see p.7  of your vocab book if you need help with these).

Of course, identify yourself according to your first name, last initial, and section color.

e.g. Usually slightly nervous and uncertain, most ninth graders entering St. Mark's are somewhat taciturn during their initial days in school.

Seniors: Common App essays due Monday, Sept. 15

Por que?
Speeches ran long, but that's OK.
I'd like to do a special lesson for 9-11.
So ... don't stress on getting your Common App essays done for Thursday.
They will now be due on Monday, Sept. 15.

Seniors: 9-8 Summer Reading test

Test is tomorrow--all seniors (Creative Writing and Modern American Themes) should be able to relate details about one of their senior classmate's blogs (from ANY class) that was posted at Senior Journal #1.

Bring loose leaf paper and be prepared to write a 12-15 sentence paragraph on each of the two books.

Seniors: Weekend Homework

Of course, prepare for your summer reading test on The Old Man and the Sea and Unbroken. Try to recall the major themes, major characters, and major scenes in each book.

Also, read over the blog responses that your fellow seniors posted for Journal #1. Be able to write as an answer on your summer reading test with some detail what someone wrote about on that blog.

Stay cool. And  "the thing to do is to forget about the heat ...You make it ten times worse by crabbing about it."

Sophs: Schoolsville Weekend Lesson due for class on Monday 9-8

OK, so now you're here.Look around. It "is" Coolsville, isn't it?

This is your English homework for the weekend:

1. Complete vocabulary unit #1 up to and including the "completing the sentence" section. Bring your completed homework to class on Monday
2. Read through the comments that your classmates posted on their "favorite work of art." Pick one student response that you really like, and be able to summarize that response to the class on Monday.
3. As you were told in class, read the "Fish Out of Water" prose poem. Then re-read it, trying to figure out how the poem's title reflects not just the fish, but also the man in the poem.