Day Nine / 5.25.10

Today we had a Socratic seminar on Freud and what drives/motivates us. Here's the handout that we looked at to contribute to the discussion. After that, we talked briefly about the book, then we went outside. Outside we discussed Wendell Berry's nature poems. Finally, we started working on writing our own nature poems, from the perspective of Bill and/or Jake.

Homework: Read Chapter 13, finish Nature poem.

Day Eight / 5.20.10

Today we went over the poem Tintern Abbey by William Wordsworth, to establish a sense of pantheism, and to explore - in a very abridged fashion - the romantic ideal and how that may have influenced Hemingway. The poem can be read in full, right here. Then Mr. Ankeny took you on Hemingway's spiritual journey in Chapter 11, as we followed a Dante-istic journey through hell and purgatory before reaching Hemingway's "heaven."


Next, we watched a clip from the movie The Sun Also Rises, and evaluated whether or not the story would be better if we knew more about Jake and Brett's past and/or Jake's wound.

Finally, we watched a segment talking about Hemingway, his code hero, and some other important stuff.

Day Seven / 5.18.10

Today we started by reading "The Myth of Sisyphus" by Albert Camus. We had a minor discussion on Nihilism, Existentialism, Utilitarianism, and Determinism, then dove into a Socratic seminar on the purpose of life, how we generate morals, whether our actions are predetermined or a matter of choice.

Finally, we discussed Chapters 8-11, briefly.

Your essays are due on Thursday. Here are the rubrics for the two essays (you choose one of the two essays). Iceberg Creative. Iceberg Analytical.

Day Six / 5.17.10

Today we had a Vocab 28/29 Quiz on Monday.

Also, we took the Sun Also Rises Quiz #1. You can view a preview here.

Day Five / 5.11.10

Today we evaluated what would make a good boyfriend or girlfriend, then linked those thoughts to how Jake, Cohn, or Brett are good/bad guys/girl. We also brainstormed aspects of a loving relationship, then evaluated what aspects were present with Jake and Brett. Next we watched a clip from The Royal Tenenbaums that I felt was representative of the complexities of Jake and Brett's restricted love relationship (see below). After that we covered Chapters 5-7 briefly, then looked at a slideshow of Hemingway's life. If you'd like to read more about Hemingway, his seminal biography is Ernest Hemingway: A Life Story by Carlos Baker. Finally, we went over vocabulary words.



Homework: Read Ch. 8/9. Vocab Quiz Monday. Quizzy-Poo #1 Monday.

Day Four / 5.10.10

Today we handed back more papers, and if you haven't checked yet, grades are online (as of Friday 5.7.10). Then we watched a short video on Paris in the 1920s (see below). After that, we discussed Modern Realist Narration and the idea of the Flaneur (or wandering observer). Here's a handout that corresponds to the Flaneur. After that, we evaluated certain texts where Hemingway uses Jake as his flaneur (they're here). We thought about Jake's feelings in relation to his surroundings. We'll discuss our work tomorrow (5.11) in class.

Homework: Read Chapter 7

Part of the video we watched today:

Day Three / 5.6.10

Today we started with a quote by Papa, from his memoir, A Moveable Feast.

“All you have to do is write one true sentence. Write the truest sentence that you know.”
Next, we analyzed three pieces of fiction: Hemingway's "Cat in the Rain," Carver's "Little Things," and Goodman's "La Vita Nuova." We answered questions from this sheet. If you'd like to learn more about Allegra Goodman, her website is here.

After that we divided up and analyzed characters.

For homework, you should read Chapters 5/6.

Day Two / 5.4.10

At first, we went over the Iceberg, due 5.21.10. Then we talked about a poem from Hemingway. It's pasted below.

Neo-Thomist Poem

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not
want him for long.

To read Psalm 23, it's right here. To read a really long Wikipedia article about Thomism, it's right here.

Next, we evaluated a series of poems that relate to the Epigraph of The Sun Also Rises (yes, I confused this with epigram, and was calling the epigraph an epigram all day). The poems are here. Finally, we had a partially successful, but mostly unsuccessful, classroom discussion of the first two chapters.

Reading Assigned: Chapters 3/4

Day One / 5.3.10

Today we started with a discussion of what we know about Hemingway. Then, we read the short story "A Clean Well-Lighted Cafe." You can find the story here. After reading, we discussed.

Homework: Read Chapters 1-2. Do 4 analysis questions (2 literary, 2 style).