Cholly is less of an offender than Mr. Henry....what do you think?

Dear oib class,

Well, we're still in Autumn, but that's ok.  We were exploring the topic of love and we want to lay the groundwork on how that's related to beauty and power, so let's talk about the ugliness of the Breedloves tomorrow.  I'd also like to think about the difference between the Macteers and the Breedloves, but I think we'll wait until Winter to do that.
I'm hoping to do Winter and some of Spring on Wednesday, work some more on Spring on Thursday and start moving to Summer, and hopefully finish our discussion the following Monday.

In the meantime, you should be:

--working on a possible essay topic for your free topic essay.  You can choose either Bluest Eye or Poisonwood Bible or both...You can focus it on passage work, but if you do that, remember that you must have an argument that you're hoping to work out through the selected passages.  I'd like an essay topic by THURSDAY.  That essay will be due the week before vacation (possible Thursday the 14th)

--your rewrites are due on the 7th

The Bluest?

Watch a clip from Imitation of Life

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ggkLhL2xjdc

What's Coming Up

Check out BAM's website http://www.bam.org/

Here's some of what I see coming up there:
Hamlet, Metamorphosis, Throne of Blood, Frankenstein and, if you like trapeze, check out Raoul in November.

Week of September 20th

Dear oib class,

It's The Bluest Eye for the next couple of weeks, with you guys running the show.  I expect everyone to get a chance to really present some ideas through the piece you are responsible for.  Ultimately, you'll be writing an essay on a topic of your choice, so keep an eye out for what interests you.

On Monday, I'll give you an hour to meet in your groups.   You should:
--report back on what you've found after rereading the section in the novel that belongs to you
--you should all then discuss the seasonal reference and how it relates (ironically, perhaps) to the events in the seasonal section
--you should track down the primer elements and relate them to the unit

I presume this will keep us busy for a while...
I'd love it if you posted your findings on the blog.  This way we can have a patchwork of thoughts on The Bluest Eye!!

Have a great weekend class

After the DST!

Dear oib class,
Congratulations, you have survived your first DST!  And  you wrote on a bac question!  Good for you.  You are now on your way.  Did you find a good thesis?  Did you define your terms?  If you did, you're already half way there.  Now, all you've got to do is finish writing that essay.  Revision, anyone?
Post away and tell the class what your impressions of the questions were.  Hauntings, anyone?

DST #1

Dear oib class,
sharpen your wits, take out your notes and books from last year and get ready for our first DST!  You'll be writing on Monday, September 13th.  Reread your compo from last year to refresh.