# 3 Soph Journal for the Third Quarter: Superkids! (The Unpardonable Sin)

Parents Gone Too Far?

Nathaniel Hawthorne's Rappaccini's Daughter explored the danger to mankind of "science gone too far" in the character of the retired botanist who created an Edenic prison for his flower-child daughter by separating her (with poison) from the real world. Sound unlikely? Not if you understand the symbolism of the allegory.

Check out this link at Dr. Phil.com that contains three articles (and links to many others) that detail real examples of parents just as obsessive as Dr. Rappaccini. Do parents like these also imbue their children with "poison" that makes it difficult, if not impossible, for them to live in the real world? These articles date back to 2005. Since the explosion of reality television and the Internet, I bet that you can provide even more examples of parents who push their children to perfection competing in the areas of academics, athletics, performing arts, and pageants. 

Research to find a real-life story of "parents gone too far" in their obsessive quest to raise a "Superkid." 

Summarize the details of the story, and then tell Schoolsville whether you agree, disagree, or recommend caution with the actions of these pushy parents.

This is your THIRD and FINAL journal for the marking period. Post before TUESDAY'S class. They are the stock character, your communion with nature experience, and this one. 

Print your three journal responses to turn in for a final grade on WEDNESDAY, MARCH 25. 

Weapons of Mass Instruction

7UP celebrates #FeelsGoodToBeYou campaign with raul lemesoff's 'weapons of mass instruction' from designboom on Vimeo.

Creative Writing #2 Journal: Degas or Vermeer? Post before Friday's 3-20 class

La classe de danse (The Dancing Class) 1873-1875 Edgar Degas oil on canvas

                                                           
The Star 1878 Edgar Degas

The Milkmaid 1658-1660 Johannes Vermeer oil on canvas

 

The Girl With The Pearl Earring (not dated) Johannes Vermeer

       In John Updike's The Lucid Eye in Silver Town, Jay and his Uncle Quin have a minor disagreement over which artist is better--the Dutch Master Johannes Vermeer or the French Impressionist Edgar Degas. The disagreement not only reveals Jay's early development of arrogance (he haughtily pronounces, "In terms of paint, I think Vermeer makes Degas look sick"), but also reveals something about Updike's own artistic vision. Assuming the young Jay might be a young John Updike (both showed early interest in fine art) and knowing Updike's typical characters and heroes,  one can assume that Updike's choice of Vermeer as Jay's favorite artist was carefully chosen. Like Vermeer, John Updike often makes the ordinary character his subject. Often bathed in a beautiful light or doing their jobs with concentration and care, Vermeer's ordinary servants and common laborers look extraordinary; likewise, Updike's heroes are common people dealing with common problems in uncommonly, extraordinary short stories and novels. Remember this: the modern writer, the modern artist, often attempts to make the ordinary extraordinary. The classical writer and artist had no use for the common man, peasant, serf, groundling, and certainly few women. His job was to write poems and plays about kings, nobles, religious leaders ... you know, the people who really mattered. That's what Brit Lit was all about, wasn't it, up until your study of Wordsworth and Shelly and Coleridge?

Now let's move on to our writing task. But first some questions to get you to perform a basic analysis of the paintings.

Analyze the painting in terms of its title, historical context, subject/theme, characters, color, light/shading, composition/perspective, symbols, and tone.

Which one of the paintings (shown above) do you prefer? Give your reasons, using the points of analysis that preceded this question.

How does the painting make you feel upon first glance?

Imagine the "story" that the painting tells.

If neither of these four paintings appeal to you, choose another by Degas or Vermeer (you can easily find them online) in order to complete this assignment below. 

Write a good solid paragraph or creative piece responding to any ONE of these options. Write a minimum of 200 words. 

1.Why do you like one of the paintings, or prefer it to one of the others? Do not be intimidated if you do not understand too much about artistic composition.

2. Compare and contrast the Degas paintings with the Vermeers. Which artist do you prefer? Why? Be specific.

3. You are one of the characters in one of the paintings. Write a 200 word minimum interior monologue where we can "hear" your thoughts as you converse with yourself (in the first person) in the setting provided by the painting.

4. Compose a descriptive "set" piece in which you describe what you see in vivid prose language, using good concrete nouns, motion picture verbs, vivid images, and/or original figures of speech. No need to tell a story. Just write to set a particular mood.

Post before Friday's class. If you need some inspiration, read  some of the responses by the Class of 2014 in the October 2013 archives.