Journal # 5: Family Tree
Due: Mon Mar 6
Choose Either Prompt here

1. Throughout the novel in various footnotes, Cadwalladr annotates various TV shows and films that had a profound effect on popular culture in her childhood.  On page 13 she analyzes Love Story; on page 20 she examines Man About the House; on page 27 she examines a British Soap called Coronation Street; on page 86 she analyzes Dallas, on 119 she analyzes Charlie's Angels  and on 180 The Good Life.  Read through these examples and then in your journal write an annotation for a TV show that had significant impact on popular culture as you were growing up.  Describe the show and explain its affects on popular culture.  Then explain how this TV show affected your personal life in some way.
2. Or, read through the columns Tiffany writes: page79 and page 144.  What do these columns tell us about Tiffany and how does she differ from her sister Rebecca and cousin Lucy.  How do you react to these columns?
3. Or, be creative and read through the account of the disastrous caravan holiday.  Describe one of your own less than successful family holidays.  Why are these holidays often doomed to failure?
   

Journal # 4: The Ninth Life of Louis Drax
Due: Mon 27th Feb
Respond to one of these prompts:

1) In both Mark Haddon’s novel and Liz Jensen’s novel, we see the world through the eyes of a child who each narrate the story. Louis Drax is a disturbed and odd child. When combined with Louis’s favorite subjects, like “vampire bats and death stuff and the swastika” (9), and his rule about pet keeping (Right of Disposal p. 5), what is the overall impression of Louis’s character? Is this an authentic nine- year-old voice, and if so, why? What things that he discusses make this seem authentic? Consider how he views the world, how he captures adult conversations he only superficially understands and so on. What does Jensen seem to be saying about childhood and parenting so far?

Or
2) Write about any aspect of the novel that intrigues you at this point. Explain what you find intriguing and why and consider how this relates to your own life, experiences, or what you have studied.

Journal # 3 on The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time: Due Wed Feb 8th
Read the two articles under course documents on Blackboard about Asperger's Syndrome.  Then summarize one of the article.  You may choose which article you want to summarize.  Remember to begin your summary by identifying the title of the article and the author and main idea  in your first sentence.  Since there is no named author in the first article, you will say this:  In "Asperger's Syndrome" published in the Harvard Mental Health Letter, the writer ......Use present tense in your summary.  Focus on the main ideas and use your own words.  Label this paragraph "summary."  Then apply the article to the novel to show whether the novel illustrates or proves or disproves what the article says.  Label this paragraph "application. "  You can quote from the novel where appropriate or necessary.


Journal # 2 on About a Boy: Due Mon Jan 30th
Read the following article on Reader Response Criticism by Professor Pete Ellertsen and then use these ideas to write a journal on About a Boy. You might want to focus on Marcus’s experiences at school and bullying or your own experiences with how important it is to at least look like a sheep (not stand out).  You might want to explore Will’s immersion in popular culture or his relationship with women.  You might want to look at the characters or just one of them.


“An important tool for analyzing literature is known as reader response theory, and from time to time you will be called upon to write reader-response journals in this class. I also encourage students to use reader response as a technique for analyzing literature, because it helps you keep your focus on what the work means to you instead of regurgitating the standard Hamlet-is-a-play-of-revenge type of drivel that all too often passes for literary analysis. Reader response originates with an educator named Louise Rosenblatt, who defines it like this:

‘The special meaning, and more particularly, the submerged associations that these words and images [in a literary work] have for the individual reader will largely determine what the work communicates to him. The reader brings to the work personality traits, memories of past events, present needs and preoccupations, a particular mood of the moment, and a particular physical condition. These and many other elements in a never-to-be-duplicated combination determine his response to the peculiar contribution of the text. ‘

Among other things, reader response theory frees you up from having to guess at the "hidden meaning" an author may or may not have been thinking about when he or she wrote a story, poem or play. In fact, many writers refuse to say what their works “mean.” As novelist Bobbie Ann Mason told students: "I don’t think I should decide what a story means and then tell you what to think. Instead, I think you should reach your own conclusions. A story should stand on its own; besides, the author can’t always be around to explain it. (KET) Instead, you create your own meaning. That doesn't mean you don't have to read the work carefully, and it doesn't mean you can plug just any old meaning, or message, into a work. (Hamlet isn't about stock car racing, no matter what personality traits, memories, needs and preoccupations we may bring to our viewing of the play!) But it does mean you are free to find a meaning in the work that makes sense to you instead of parroting somebody else's interpretation. The best way to do reader response is to ask yourself three questions:

   1. What about this story, poem or play stands out in my mind?
   2. What in my background, values, needs and interests makes me react that way?
   3. What specific passages in the work trigger that reaction?

http://www.sci.edu/classes/ellertsen/rosenblatt.html

Reading Journal #1: Due Mon 23rd
1-2 typed pages
Fever Pitch traces the story of the author Nick Hornby from his first introduction to Arsenal Football Club through the trials and tribulations of over two decades as a devoted fan. Some read the book as a book about football. Some would say that the book is not about football at all, but about obsession, and about growing up, and about relationships. This extract focuses on his early exposure to football and his relationship with his father and reveals much about the culture of England in the late 60s. Hornby is often praised for insight into childhood, adolescence, and suburban life. In your reading response consider the following:

Based on your experiences and knowledge of the world, how persuasive is this portrayal of a young boy and his Saturday afternoon outings with his father? What makes this persuasive?  What makes Hornby’s portrayal of his younger self realistic or not?  What arguments does Hornby seem to make about parent child relationships?