Trotter's American Literature, Period 3

Poetry In Music?

2012-01-29T21:37:00.000-07:00

Please Quote One Of Your Favorite Song Lines Or Lyrics And Explain How It Exhibits At Least One Poetry Term? Make sure that your quoted lyrics are appropriate. Please italicize the song lyrics, include the song title/artist(s), and qualify or establish the connection between the poetry term and the lyrics. (Due Wednesday 2-01-2012 By 2:30p.m.)

Ruminate: "H.O.A.H.B.Truck Documentary" and "The American Dream?"

2012-01-23T14:57:00.000-07:00

With regard to the H.O.A.H.B. Truck documentary, react to the commentary that it makes about the "American Dream", mentality, and lifestyle. Furthermore, how does it connect or relate to our studied literature so far this semester? Please respond thoughtfully. In your response, include at least one quotation from a studied text. Please wonder, relate, question, think, etc... (Response Due Wed. 1-25-12 at 2:30p.m.).

American Dream?

2012-01-06T13:08:00.002-07:00

What is your ideal American Dream? Make certain that you respond in a class appropriate and specific manner. This blog response may reference current readings and the American Dream movie trailer we watched. Please complete this by Monday, January 9th, 2012 at 2:30p.m.

Emerson/Thoreau Experiment?

2011-12-09T09:06:00.002-07:00

Choose one of the following:

Option 1: Take a break and find some solitude-turn off the cell phone, TV, ipod, etc... Get out in nature and actually listen to yourself think. Go to a natural setting where you won't be distracted by people or anything else. Think about some of the transcendental ideas that connect with you. How do they affect you? How can you do a better job of applying them to your life? Contemplate your life, the world, and the impact you want to make. Be honest in your evaluation and compare who you truly are to who you want to be. Essentially, I am asking you to evaluate your life under the umbrella of transcendentalism.

Option 2: If, like Thoreau, you're into pain and suffering, attempt to simplify your life by getting back to life's essential details. In other words, give up a possession or a few possessions that you regularly use and have significant value to you, but end up cluttering your time. Record the changes you made in your life. Be honest-did you cheat and use it occasionally or borrow from someone else? If so, what does that reveal about you? How do friends and family react to your decision to give these things up? Has it made your life any easier or is this possession really a necessity? Will you continue to limit your use of these things? What have you learned about yourself? Why did you choose to give up what you did?

Please include a connecting or revelant quotation from Emerson or Thoreau that connects with your chosen experiment. Complete your experiment and response by 2:30p.m. on Monday, December 12th.

A Satirical Witch Hunt?

2011-11-14T07:09:00.001-07:00

Compare the "She's a Witch!" scene from Monty Python's Holy Grail with The Crucible. What does it make you think about regarding the play's text, characters, theme, relationships, and court?

"The Crucible" And Cartoon Commentary?

2011-10-23T22:25:00.000-06:00

Please Read The Linked Political Cartoons And Blog About How They Specifically Connect With Arthur Miller's Intent For Writing The Crucible http://www.loc.gov/rr/print/swann/herblock/fire.html Please Quote Which Cartoon You Are Referencing When You Respond. This blog response should be completed by 2:30p.m. on Wednesday, October 26th, 2011.

A "Crucible" Of Motivation?

2011-10-05T07:15:00.002-06:00

Based upon your own understanding and any studied background information regarding The Crucible, what motivation exists for some of the characters and the drama's author, Arthur Miller? Please complete this blog response by 2:30p.m. on Friday, October 7th.

"Appendix"- What Is It Good For?

2011-10-05T07:13:00.000-06:00

How does The Crucible "Appendix/Act II Scene 2" that we read impact your thematic understanding of the drama and its two primary characters- John and Abigail? Should it be included in each production or reading of the drama? Why? Defend your position using textual evidence. Please respond to this blog during class on Wednesday, October 5th.

Evidence In Your World?

2011-08-28T19:36:00.002-06:00

Can you find evidence of Puritanical thinking and Rationalist ideology in today's world? If so, where? What do you think about these ideas? How do they impact you? Do they connect with your worldview? Please provide lucid examples to support your claims. This blog post response is due no later than 2:30p.m. on Monday, August 29th.

Inspired?

2011-08-16T10:20:00.002-06:00

"All my life I had been looking for something, and everywhere I turned someone tried to tell me what it was. I accepted their answers too, though they were often in contradiction and even self-contradictory. I was naïve. I was looking for myself and asking everyone except myself questions which I, and only I, could answer. It took me a long time and much painful boomeranging of my expectations to achieve a realization everyone else appears to have been born with: That I am nobody but myself.”
--Ralph Ellison, From Invisible Man

How do the Inspired Bicycles presentation and the Ralph Ellison quote relate to your world? Do they provide you with a new perspective? How should we examine our lives? Who are we? How shall we live? Should we follow our dreams? What are our realizations? Can the presentation and quotation connect with your academic endeavors? Did they make you look twice? Did they inspire and motivate you? If you have seen one of these before, what is your new reaction? Other reactions? Please connect and comment using complete sentences. This blog post should be completed by Wednesday, August 24th, 2011 at 2:30p.m.

Topiary Reflection?

2011-05-06T09:17:00.002-06:00

If anything, what did A Man Named Pearl make you contemplate? Quotes? Thoughts Reflection? Critique? Please finish this blog in class today.

Significant Gatsby?

2011-03-09T08:05:00.000-07:00

So far, what do you find most prevalent and significant about the characters, tone, and atmosphere in The Great Gatsby? In your response, please include one quotation from Chpts. 1-4 that really supports your claims about prevalence and significance. (This blog response must be completed by Fri., March 11th at 2:30p.m.)

Indifferent Proximity?

2011-02-25T08:52:00.001-07:00

"Did you ever see an amusement park?"
"No, Father."

"Well, go and see an amusement park." The priest waved his hand vaguely. "It's like a fair, only much more glittering. Go to one at night and stand a little way off from it in a dark place- under dark trees. You'll see a big wheel made of lights turning in the air, and a long slide shooting boats down into the water. A band playing somewhere, and a smell of peanuts-and everything will twinkle. But it won't remind you of anything you see. It will all just hang out there in the night like a colored balloon-like a big yellow lantern on a pole." Father Schwartz frowned as he suddenely thought of something. "But don't get up close," he warned Rudolph, " because if you do you'll only feel the heat and the sweat and the life."

-F. Scott Fitzgerald, from Absolution

What does the aformentioned passage imply about the "American Dream", and what is your reaction to this possible modernist (pgs. 523-536 in Am. Lit. text) commentary? Please comment and incorporate specific references to lines from the passage. (Due By 2:30p.m. On Monday, Feb. 28th.)

Is There Poetry In Your Music?

2011-02-02T21:42:00.002-07:00

Ruminate: H.O.A.H.B.T. and the "American Dream?"

2011-01-25T21:27:00.002-07:00

With regard to the H.O.A.H.B. Truck documentary, react to the commentary that it makes about the "American Dream", mentality, and lifestyle. Furthermore, how does it connect or relate to our studied literature so far this semester? Please respond thoughtfully. In your response, please wonder, relate, question, think, etc... (Response Due Fri. 1-28-11 at 2:30p.m.)

Inspired Redux?

2011-01-07T07:02:00.001-07:00

How does the Danny McCaskill Way Back Home presentation relate to your world? Can his new exploits connect with your academic endeavors? Again, did he make you look twice? Did he inspire and motivate you? Other reactions? Please connect and comment using complete sentences. This blog post should be completed by Monday, January 10th, 2011 at 2:30p.m.

Emerson/Thoreau Experiment?

2010-12-07T11:19:00.001-07:00

"Rip Van Winkle" and Change?

2010-11-28T23:03:00.000-07:00

What can we learn from the elements of satire and change exhibited in Rip Van Winkle? Can this old text under the umbrella of Romanticism exhort us to think? Please reflect by 2:30p.m. on Fri., Dec. 2nd.

"Satirical Witch Hunt?"

2010-11-08T09:14:00.000-07:00

Compare the "She's a Witch!" scene from Monty Python's Holy Grail with The Crucible. What does it make you think about regarding the play's text, characters, theme, relationships, and court?

"The Crucible" And Cartoon Commentary?

2010-11-01T09:17:00.002-06:00

Please Read The Linked Political Cartoons And Blog About How They Connect With Arthur Miller's Intent For Writing The Crucible http://www.loc.gov/rr/print/swann/herblock/fire.html This blog response should be completed by 2:30p.m. on Wednesday, November 3rd, 2010.

Appendix- What Is It Good For?

2010-10-18T07:04:00.001-06:00

A "Crucible" Of Motivation?

2010-09-29T10:36:00.002-06:00

Evidence In Your World?

2010-08-27T08:44:00.001-06:00

Inspired?

2010-08-16T09:07:00.000-06:00

"All my life I had been looking for something, and everywhere I turned someone tried to tell me what it was. I accepted their answers too, though they were often in contradiction and even self-contradictory. I was naïve. I was looking for myself and asking everyone except myself questions which I, and only I, could answer. It took me a long time and much painful boomeranging of my expectations to achieve a realization everyone else appears to have been born with: That I am nobody but myself.”
--Ralph Ellison, From Invisible Man

How do the Inspired Bicycles presentation and the Ralph Ellison quote relate to your world? How should we examine our lives? Who are we? How shall we live? Should we follow our dreams? What are our realizations? Can the presentation and quotation connect with your academic endeavors? Did they make you look twice? Did they inspire and motivate you? If you have seen one of these before, what is your new reaction? Other reactions? Please connect and comment using complete sentences. This blog post should be completed by Friday, August 20, 2010 at 2:30p.m.

Significant Gatsby? Messsage- Complete Letter To Parents For Conferences And Turn In To Mr. Trotter On Thursday, March 4th. Template For Letter Is On Webpage Above Handouts. I forgot To Have You Do This.

2010-03-01T09:01:00.001-07:00

So far, what do you find most prevalent and significant about the characters, tone, and atmosphere in The Great Gatsby? In your response, please include one quotation from Chpts. 1-5 that really supports your claims about prevalence and significance. (This blog response must be completed by Wed., March 3rd at 2:30p.m.)

Indifferent Proximity?

2010-02-16T13:38:00.001-07:00

Redux-Poetry In Your Music?

2010-02-02T11:05:00.000-07:00

Ruminate: H.O.H.B.T And The "American Dream?"

2010-01-11T08:47:00.000-07:00

With regard to the H.O.H.B. Truck documentary, react to the commentary that it makes about the "American Dream", mentality, and lifestyle. Furthermore, how does it connnect or relate to our studied literature so far this semester. Please respond after each film excerpt we view, but you should onlyhave one blog response entry. In your response, please wonder, relate, question, think, etc... (Response Due Wed. 1-20-10 at 2:30p.m.)

American Dreaming Of "... tigers/ In red weather?"

2010-01-07T10:23:00.000-07:00

What Is Your Version Of The American Dream? Please respond with passion, thoughtful reflection, and meaning. (Response Due Mon. 1-11-2010 By 2:30p.m.)

Emerson/Experiment?

2009-12-09T11:38:00.000-07:00

Economy of Gothic Romanticism?

2009-11-23T08:39:00.000-07:00

Compare Edgar Allen Poe's short story The Fall Of The House Of Usher (pages 264-279) with the poem The Fall Of The House Of Usher (page 279) by Reed Whittemore. Does the comparison make you think? Gothic Romanticism? Economy? Value? Other? Please defend your argument with at least one quote from either text. Blog response due by Monday, November 30th.

Change?

2009-11-19T13:58:00.002-07:00

What can we learn from the elements of satire and change exhibited in Rip Van Winkle? Can this old text exhort us to think?

Cartoon Commentary?

2009-10-28T09:15:00.003-06:00

Appendix-What Is It Good For?

2009-10-09T09:41:00.001-06:00

How does The Crucible "Appendix/Act II Scene 2" that we read impact your thematic understanding of the drama and its two primary characters- John and Abigail? Should it be included in each production or reading of the drama? Why? Defend your position using textual evidence. Please complete this blog response by 2:30p.m. on Monday, October 12th.

Motivation?

2009-09-21T16:21:00.000-06:00

Evidence In Your World?

2009-09-01T11:26:00.002-06:00

Inspired?

2009-08-19T07:07:00.002-06:00

--Ralph Ellison, From Invisible Man

How do the Inspired Bicycles presentation and the Ralph Ellison quote relate to your world? How should we examine our lives? Who are we? How shall we live? Should we follow our dreams? What are our realizations? Can the presentation and quotation connect with your academic endeavors? Did they make you look twice? Did they inspire and motivate you? Other reactions? Please connect and comment using complete sentences. This blog post should be completed by Friday, August 21st, 2009 at 2:30p.m.

Topiary American Dream?

2009-04-27T07:01:00.002-06:00

How did the film, A Man Named Pearl, impact you? What did it challenge you to think, feel, and believe about the American Dream? Please share your passionate response. (Due by 3:30p.m. Wed., April 29th.)

Do I Dare Respond Like Prufrock?

2009-04-05T16:00:00.003-06:00

Poet Ezra Pound stated that The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock, "... is a portrait of failure, or of a character which fails, and it would be false art to make it end on a note of triumph ..." Please respond and react to this excerpt from his review of the poem; furthermore, what aspects of the poem, The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock, and character, Prufrock, "speak" to you? Why? How? Please use quotations from the poem to defend your analysis and explication.

Gatsby and Geography?

2009-02-26T19:01:00.000-07:00

Compare and contrast Gatsby's social class with that of Tom and Daisy Buchanan. Based upon our reading so far, how does geography contribute to the definition of social class in The Great Gatsby? (Due by 3:30p.m. Monday)

Indifferent Proximity?

2009-02-12T10:03:00.003-07:00

"Did you ever see an amusement park?"
"No, Father."
"Well, go and see an amusement park." The priest waved his hand vaguely. "It's like a fair, only much more glittering. Go to one at night and stand a little way off from it in a dark place- under dark trees. You'll see a big wheel made of lights turning in the air, and a long slide shooting boats down into the water. A band playing somewhere, and a smell of peanuts-and everything will twinkle. But it won't remind you of anything you see. It will all just hang out there in the night like a colored balloon-like a big yellow lantern on a pole." Father Schwartz frowned as he suddenely thought of something. "But don't get up close," he warned Rudolph, " because if you do you'll only feel the heat and the sweat and the life."

-F. Scott Fitzgerald, from Absolution

What does the aformentioned passage imply about the "American Dream", and what is your reaction to this possible modernist (pgs. 523-536 in Am. Lit. text) commentary? Please comment and incorporate specific references to lines from the passage. (Due By 3:30p.m. On Wednesday, Feb. 18th.)

Poetry In Music?

2009-02-02T06:52:00.001-07:00

Please Quote One Of Your Favorite Song Lines Or Lyrics And Explain How It Exhibits At Least One Poetry Term? Make sure that your quoted lyrics are appropriate. Please italicize the song lyrics, include the song title/artist(s), and qualify or establish the connection between the poetry term and the lyrics. (Due Wednesday 2-04-2009 By 3:30p.m.)

Ruminate: H.O.H.B.Truck And The American Dream?

2009-01-26T06:44:00.002-07:00

With regard to the H.O.H.B. Truck documentary, react to the commentary that it makes about the American Dream, mentality, and lifestyle. Furthermore, how does it connnect or relate to our studied literature so far this semester. In your response, please wonder, relate, question, think, etc... (Due Fri. 1-30-09)

Dreaming- "... tigers/ In red weather?"

2009-01-07T09:51:00.001-07:00

What Is Your Version Of The American Dream? Please respond with passion, thoughtful reflection, and meaning. (Due Fri. 1-09-2009)

Emerson/Thoreau Experiment?

2008-12-09T10:09:00.003-07:00

Choose one of the following:

Option 1: Take a break and find some solitude-turn off the cell phone, TV, ipod, etc... Get out in nature and actually listen to yourself think. Go to a natural setting where you won't be distracted by people or anything else. Think about some of the transcendental ideas that connect with you. How do they affect you? How can you do a better job of applying them to your life? Contemplate your life, the world, and the impact you want to make. Be honest in your evaluation and compare who you truly are to who you want to be. Essentially, I am asking you to evaluate your life under the umbrella of transcendentalism.

Option 2: If, like Thoreau, you're into pain and suffering, attempt to simplify your life by getting back to life's essential details. In other words, give up a possession or a few possessions that you regularly use and have significant value to you, but end up cluttering your time. Record the changes you made in your life. Be honest-did you cheat and use it occasionally or borrow from someone else? If so, what does that reveal about you? How do friends and family react to your decision to give these things up? Has it made your life any easier or is this possession really a necessity? Will you continue to limit your use of these things? What have you learned about yourself? Why did you choose to give up what you did?

Please include a connecting or revelant quotation from Emerson or Thoreau that connects with your chosen experiment. Complete your experiment and response by 2:30p.m. on Friday, December 12th.

Change?

2008-11-24T06:53:00.002-07:00

What can we learn from the elements of satire and change as exhibited in Rip Van Winkle? Can this old text exhort us to think?

Appendix-What Is It Good For?

2008-10-15T07:25:00.002-06:00

Are You Motivated Too?

2008-09-29T06:36:00.001-06:00

Based upon your own understanding and any studied background information regarding The Crucible, what motivation exists for some of the characters and the drama's author, Arthur Miller?

Worldview?

2008-09-03T10:10:00.002-06:00

Do you see evidence of the worldviews of the Puritans and Rationalists around you today? What do you think about these worldviews? How do they impact you?

The Big Picture?

2008-08-15T13:54:00.001-06:00

“All my life I had been looking for something, and everywhere I turned someone tried to tell me what it was. I accepted their answers too, though they were often in contradiction and even self-contradictory. I was naïve. I was looking for myself and asking everyone except myself questions which I, and only I, could answer. It took me a long time and much painful boomeranging of my expectations to achieve a realization everyone else appears to have been born with: That I am nobody but myself.”
--Ralph Ellison from Invisible Man

Question: What connections can you suggest that link Franklin's Autobiography and Ellison's aforementioned quotation? How might Ellison's quotation suggest "Big Picture" ideas that correlate with American Literature? (If needed, use the best portions of your first quickwrite.)

Ruminate: H.O.H.B. Truck And The American Dream

2008-05-14T07:12:00.003-06:00

With regard to the H.O.H.B. Truck documentary, react to the commentary that it makes about the American Dream, mentality, and lifestyle. In your response, please wonder, relate, question, think, etc...

Do I Dare Respond Like Prufrock?

2008-04-04T07:43:00.003-06:00

Poet Ezra Pound stated that The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock, “…is a portrait of failure, or of a character which fails, and it would be false art to make it end on a note of triumph…” Please respond and react to this excerpt from his review of the poem; furthermore, what aspects of the poem, The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock, and character, Prufrock, “speak” to you? Why? How? Please use quotations from the poem to defend your analysis and explication.

Proximity?

2008-02-14T15:53:00.003-07:00

"Did you ever see an amusement park?"
"No, Father."
"Well, go and see an amusement park." The priest waved his hand vaguely. "It's like a fair, only much more glittering. Go to one at night and stand a little way off from it in a dark place- under dark trees. You'll see a big wheel made of lights turning in the air, and a long slide shooting boats down into the water. A band playing somewhere, and a smell of peanuts-and everything will twinkle. But it won't remind you of anything you see. It will all just hang out there in the night like a colored balloon-like a big yellow lantern on a pole."
Father Schwartz frowned as he suddenely thought of something.
"But don't get up close," he warned Rudolph, " because if you do you'll only feel the heat and the sweat and the life."

-F. Scott Fitzgerald,
from Absolution

What does the aformentioned passage imply about the "American Dream", and what is your reaction to this possible modernist (pgs. 523-536 in Am. Lit. text) commentary? Please comment and incorporate specific references to lines from the passage.

Poetry In Music?

2008-01-28T09:03:00.001-07:00

Please Quote One Of Your Favorite Song Lines Or Lyrics And Explain How It Exhibits One Of Our Studied Poetic Terms?

Dreaming- "...tigers/ In red weather?"

2008-01-09T07:26:00.000-07:00

What Is Your Version Of The American Dream?

A Severe "Thinking" Test

2007-11-12T08:16:00.000-07:00

What are your parting thoughts regarding The Crucible and how it challenges readers to think?

Appendix-What Is It Good For?

2007-10-10T09:42:00.000-06:00

How does The Crucible "Appendix" that we read impact your thematic understanding of the drama and its two primary characters- John and Abigail?

Are You Motivated?

2007-09-28T13:00:00.000-06:00

Based upon your own understanding and any studied background information regarding The Crucible, what motivation exists for some of the characters and the drama's author, Arthur Miller?

Old And New Worldview?

2007-09-05T08:18:00.000-06:00

Do you see evidence of the worldviews of the Puritans and rationalists around you today?

The Big Picture?

2007-08-27T07:46:00.000-06:00

“All my life I had been looking for something, and everywhere I turned someone tried to tell me what it was. I accepted their answers too, though they were often in contradiction and even self-contradictory. I was naïve. I was looking for myself and asking everyone except myself questions which I, and only I, could answer. It took me a long time and much painful boomeranging of my expectations to achieve a realization everyone else appears to have been born with: That I am nobody but myself.”
--Ralph Ellison,
From Invisible Man

Question: What connections can you suggest that link Franklin's Autobiography and Ellison's aforementioned quotation? How might Ellison's quotation suggest "Big Picture" ideas that correlate with American Literature? (If needed, use the best portions of your first quickwrite.)

"The Great Gatsby" = Modernism?

2007-05-09T09:04:00.000-06:00

Explain the relationship of The Great Gatsby to the movement of modernism. What modernist tenets does it employ? How is the novel modernist?

How "Great" is "The Great Gatsby?"

2007-04-25T20:45:00.000-06:00

When Carraway points out his criticism of Daisy in chapter 1, do you think he is deviating from his father's advice of not passing judgments? Do you think he is justified because Tom and Daisy are more fortunate than him or is it just a human trait that can't be subdued so easily?

Fitzgerald's "Winter Dreams"

2007-04-16T07:30:00.000-06:00

Does Dexter view Judy as a person he loves or just a status symbol he wants to obtain? Use descriptions from the story to support your opinion.

T.S. Eliot and Edwin Arlington Robinson

2007-04-04T17:40:00.000-06:00

Do T.S. Eliot and Edwin Arlington Robinson embody the modernist ideals stated in the text on page 533? How?

"The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock"

2007-03-23T07:17:00.000-06:00

Does Prufrock's indecisiveness speak to you? What would you do or say if you were Prufrock? Please react to the questions and your peers' comments.