Blog Assignment #3: Making Connections to "The Lottery"

Assignment: This is an exercise in providing proof for claims/assertions. In this case, I'm going to take the pressure off you, a little bit at least. You need not come up with a theme or subject matter. For the sake of this post, I want you to begin with ONE of these topic sentences:


a - Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery" concerns itself with the 'tribal' nature of any small community.

b- Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery" concerns itself with concepts of magic and superstition and their place in society.

d- Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery" concerns itself with the concept that it can be acceptable to require the individual to sacrifice for the greater good.

e-  In Shirley Jackson's, "The Lottery," one theme is Man's ability (and need) to rationalise generally unacceptable actions.

Begin your post by starting with one of the sentences above. Then enter to a discussion about how this theme is present, not only in the short story but also in present society.  In half of your entry point to textual evidence for the topic sentenc you chose. Spend an equal amount of time pointing to examples from contemporary society (pop culture or your family or school or neighborhood sphere) that seem to serve as proof for this idea. What parallels or comparisons can you make?

Aim for a good solid paragraph, no less than 100 words.

Note: There should be no need for outside research. Your ability to complete this blog entry really requires only your textbook and your ability to mine your personal experience and/or observation.

Blog Assignment #2: From "Girl" to "Boy"

 Assignment: In Jamaica Kincaid's "Girl," we have a story that does not have a conventional structure. We are missing fiction elements like plot, character development, and setting. We have a story featuring all dialogue (though there aren't the conventional markers of dialogue, like indenting with each speaker or quotation marks). The dialogue is primarily spoken by a mother who is delivering advice to her daughter.  It seems that the advice is broken up into:

• homemaking skills (cleaning,cooking, sewing, etc.)
• manners
• morals
• how to carry on relations with the opposite sex
• social conventions
• accusations

Via this mainly one-person dialogue (the daughter is only heard 2 times), we get a sense of the setting, Antigua. We get a sense of the relationship between the mother and daughter. And we get a sense of conflict (whether the daughter is or isn't a slut). There are also plenty of implicit lessons about what it means to be a female within this setting.

For this assignment, I'd like you to write an imitation in which you have a mother or father deliver similar instructions/advice to a son. Rather than Antigua, set your story in the U.S. What sorts of practical skills would a boy need to have? What sorts of manners would his mom/dad call for?  What advice would the mother or father give regarding how to interact with the opposite sex? Finally, I'd like for your set of instructions/advice to have its own hidden conflict. Be sure to have a strand of similar worries that come out in the mother or father's advice.

A successful imitation will give a sense of the setting (is it suburban or rural, big city or small?) A successful imitation will give the reader a sense of the relationship between the parent and the son. A successful imitation will imply lessons about what it means to be a boy or young man in the U.S. in 2013. Finally, it will provide the conflict that is necessary to any piece of fiction.

Blog Assignment #1: Introduce Yourself

Welcome!

Step 1:  Watch the tutorial I've provided.  Note: There are numerous tutorials available regarding how to set up a blog on Blogger. If this one isn't as informative as you'd like, choose another.  If you have additional questions, don't hesitate to contact me. In fact, there are numerous sites that help a person build a blog. I chose this one because it's free and easy.

Step 2: Create a blog using the instructions provided in the tutorial.  As you can see in the video, it literally takes about 5 minutes. You're welcome to keep it simple or jazz it up.  For class purposes, we're mainly going to rely on the blog to post writing I'd like you to share with classmates, so there really isn't a need for "bells and whistles," unless you decide to do so and unless you are technologically sound.

Note: In creating the blog, be sure to write down (and keep in a safe place) your blog address and password information.

Step 3: Create blog post #1:

As a means of introducing yourself, I'd like you to share your answers to the questions below. Don't think too hard about your answers. You might want to make it easy on yourself by copying the list of questions and pasting them into your blog entry.

Rather than a crafted response, let your answers be gut reaction. Your answers might be one word or sentences long. Be as serious or as silly as your personality dictates! If a question stumps you or you think it's stupid, skip it. However, I'd like you to aim to answer at least 20.

1. My greatest asset is __________.
2. The nicest thing I ever did for anyone was __________.
3. The nicest thing anyone ever did for me was __________.
4. One question I have about life is ___________.
5. One thing I've always wondered about is ___________.
6. My teachers last year will tell you that I am __________.
7. My friends will tell you that I am ___________.
8. People like me because __________.
9. One thing most people don't know about me is _________.
10. I am an expert on __________.
11. I want to know more about __________.
12. When I am 30/40/50/60 (choose one), I will __________.
13. Five years from now, I will __________.
14. When I want to, I have the ability to ___________.
15. A famous person I admire is __________ because __________.
16. The bravest thing I ever did was __________.
17. I have trouble dealing with __________.
18. I appreciate it when teachers __________.
19. I am proud of my __________.
20. I like ___________ because ___________.
21. I really need to ___________.
22. My favorite class is __________ because __________.
23. My friends make me laugh when they ____________.
24. My pet peeve is ___________.
25. When I am sad I ___________.
26. The most stressful thing in my life is __________.
27. The most influential person in my life is __________ because __________.
28. If I had one hundred dollars, I would __________.
29. I am named for ___________.
30. It was easy to learn ____________.
31. It is difficult to learn __________.
32. I have no regrets about __________.
33. I regret __________.
    
34. A friend once showed me how to ___________.
35. I like ____________ music, particularly these songs: ____________.
36. My favorite color is ____________.
37. One dish I can cook well is ___________.
38. My favorite place on earth is ___________.
39. What is a mistake that taught you a lesson? What did you learn?
40. What is an obstacle you face in completing this class? How can you, your classmates, and your teacher help you get around it?

EXTRA CREDIT OPPORTUNITY #1: Figure out how to post some photos of yourself (or photos of anything that will help us learn more about you) within this blog entry. Posting 5 photos will get you 5 extra credit points (one extra credit point per photo...up to 5 photos). Posting more photos will NOT get you more extra credit, but your classmates and I will certainly have a look at them :)
Step 4: Once you've published your first post, write me a quick e-mail at the e-mail I've listed on my syllabus, giving me your blog name and your web address.  As these come in, I'll link them to the class blog.

Step 5:  Check the classroom blog for a list of your classmates' blogs. You can find the class blog at this address:  http://lcsclitany.blogspot.com The list will appear on the right-hand side. Respond to at least one classmate's post.