Film connections to "a separate peace"

There are several ways to examine Knowles iconic novel. One way is to examine it as a war film, wherein young adolescents are prepared for the hardships of war. Another way is to examine the text as a test of friendship, an examination of honor and betrayal. Does Gene betray his friend Finny by “accidentially” pushing him from the tree? Does this question even matter, given what transpires after the initial accident? One can even examine the text as a crisis of identity for Gene who—at least psychologically—attempts to become Finny.

Another way of fleshing out the novels themes is to compare it to a similar work from another time period, and that’s what we’ll do with a final analysis of the the novel. We’re going to compare it to a film version of William Wharton’s novel Birdy, a book about another male friendship during a time of war: the Vietnam War. Our setting has changed locale as well, as we are now in the lower-class neighborhood of Philadelphia rather than the wealthy, ensconced woods of New England. How does the friendship between Birdy and Al mirror that of Finny and Gene? What similarities do you see between these two texts? Which differences? How does comparing the two give you deeper insight into Knowles book?

We will begin watching the film Tuesday. While doing so, I will meet with students to discuss your paragraphs on Finny, a revision of which is due next week.

Week 13 syllabus: November 18 on

WHAT IS THE PEACE THAT GENE MAKES with Finny? How is Leper unable to adopt the separate peace that Gene and Finny somehow create for themselves, in the midst of WWII? And what is the aftermath that eventually breaks that separate peace apart, tearing apart the fragile peace that they had created together? This week we will focus on a few moments within the novel, and also begin working on vocabulary!

MONDAY

• Close examination of chapters eight and nine, sharing annotations and discussing a pivotal moment in the novel: Leper’s telegram to Gene, asking for his help. Small group exercise adding to your annotations.

• HW: Read chapter ten. If you are already done with this chapter, you are caught up!

TUESDAY

• Lecture on chapter 8 and 9, and close textual analysis of chapter ten.

• HW: Reading chapter eleven for homework.

WEDNESDAY

• Vocabulary day! Have your pencils sharpened, and your dictionary at hand. Today we will embark upon our language study of Knowles novel.

• HW: Spend 30 minutes working on the crossword. Read chapters 11 thru 13 in the novel.

THURSDAY & FRIDAY

• No class for parent teacher conferences.

• HW: Spend 30 minutes working on the crossword. Read chapters 11 thru 13 in the novel.

Early impressions of Finny

How does Finny confound social order? He both follows and defies Devon’s rules, walking the line between disrespect for teacher’s authority and embracing the school’s zeitgeist. How does Finny do both? In-class writing day. Your paragraph should be posted by the end of class today.

You should follow the standard organization for argumentative paragraphs: a) claim; b) sentence setting up quote; c) direct quote; d) your commentary. Remember that part D is at least half the paragraph. In your commentary, you not only explain your idea, you also include other examples from the text in your own words (I.Y.O.W.), explore counter-examples, develop the depth of your claim (topic, debatable thesis statement, whatever you want to call it). A few logistics:

• Include in the first couple of sentences: Knowles’ novel A Separate Peace;

• Include after “the quote the citation” (Knowles #).

• Don’t write directly into Squarespace, because web sites crash. Write it elsewhere, then copy and paste it.

• Use Phineas or Finny, and be consistent.

Post your paragraph as a comment to this thread.

Exploring Pink

From Mr. Easton’s refrigerator: a Van Gogh painting, “Bouquet of Flowers in a Vase,” featuring pink. Click on the image above to watch a short segment from Sunday Morning on the color pink.

More on van Gogh’s painting:

https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/436525

Some other articles to explore:

https://www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-history-pink

 https://www.history.com/news/pink-triangle-nazi-concentration-camps

What makes for a good emblem?

Finny dons a pink shirt as his emblem, even though his peers might find it offensive because of of LGBTQ connotation (which is an anachronism for our novel…such a term did not exist in America in the1940s). Why does Finny don the shirt as his emblem? What is he trying to adopt when he wears the shirt to Mr. Patch Withers’s soiree?

The following article describes some emblems that are associated with companies, institutions, cities, sports teams, even comic book heroes. What makes for an excellent emblem? Later this quarter you will design your own emblem, and the following definition(s) will be useful for that project:

Audio for A Separate Peace

Click on the image above to access audio files for the novel.

Week 11 syllabus: November 4 on

WHAT IS FRIENDSHIP? The ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle defines the various types of love, and describes philia as the love between brothers or close friends. As you read through A Separate Peace, take note of Gene and Phineas’s friendship. In what ways are they close? In what ways are they different? Our novel begins 15 years after the novel’s central events, which take place in the early years of WWII. As ever, remember to circle words and write your questions in the margins. As we discuss, you’ll have the opportunity to pose these questions to the class.

MONDAY

• Discussion: What did you discover about Knowles’s experience at Exeter? How did the war effect student life during this time period? From there, we will read the first part of chapter one together, examining the setting and language that Knowles uses to establish his tone.

• HW: Finish reading chapter one. Pay careful attention to how the author describes the events at the tree, the jumping contest that Finny creates and pushes his friends to partake in: What do you make of this game? When and where have you encountered this same type of peer pressure?

TUESDAY

• Grade reports. I will collect missing work, making corrections as needed. We will also spend time discussing annotation, looking at your notes on “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas,” and collecting your annotations on “The Machine Stops” and “Chelkash.” Discussion on annotation.

• HW: Re-read chapter one, checking your annotations.

WEDNESDAY

• Finalizing 1st quarter grade reports. Then discussing last night’s annotations, emblems, and Finny’s choice of a pink shirt as an emblem. Why does Finny speak about whatever he thinks? And why does he show surprise when people are shocked by his frank observations?

• HW: Read and annotate chapter two. Also, read the blog entry on emblems.

THURSDAY

• Examining the color pink. Brainstorming ideas for your emblem. How does Finny push boundaries, a “calm ignorance of the rules,” while at the same time being a model student? And how do the boys remind the faculty “what peace was like”? How does Finny embody “this careless peace”?

• HW: Read chapter three.

FRIDAY

• How does Finny confound social order? He both follows and defies Devon’s rules, walking the line between disrespect for teacher’s authority and embracing the school’s zeitgeist. How does Finny do both? In class writing day. Your paragraph should be posted by the end of class today.

• HW: Read chapter four.

Background reading for A separate Peace

Short video from the History Channel on the American homefront in WWII:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9aRVVae2i_c

On the experience of families on the homefront:
https://www.pbs.org/thewar/at_home_family.htm

A more detailed essay—a book review—about schools during WW2:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1xmFNVDeOOrPRLCIMGf9aqPvUuPUQM-Ts/view?usp=sharing

An essay written by John Knowles in 1995 about his life at Exeter, the school on which his novel is based":
https://libguides.exeter.edu/c.php?g=440360&p=3001740

Essays from The Exeter Bulletin, the school publication where Knowles attended school during WW2, about life at Exeter during the 1940s:
https://libguides.exeter.edu/c.php?g=440360&p=3076076

Week 10 syllabus: October 28 forward

WE WILL BEGIN WORK ON A SEPARATE PEACE, the first full novel we’ll study this year. The novel, which is set during the early years of WW2 at an East Coast private school, traces a friendship put at risk by an accident and a moral dilemma not too different from that in Gorky’s “Chelkash.” Make sure you pick up your copy of the novel this week.

MONDAY

• No class today on account of late start day.

• HW: Final draft (and first graded draft) of “Chelkash” paragraph is due tomorrow. Bring in a printed copy.

TUESDAY

• As we wrap up our short story unit, we will pause to explore the genre of horror, mystery, and other Halloween related stories. Choose one story to read from the list posted on our class blog, and write a two sentence summary/analysis of that story.

• HW: Short summary posting is due by start of class tomorrow.

WEDNESDAY

• Reading “The Sound of Thunder” by Ray Bradbury. What is the moral dilemma at the center of this story. We will also listen to the following short stories by Ambrose Bierce:

• HW: Finish reading the Bradbury. Remember to circle vocabulary, and to write your notes in the margins. Annotations should reflect the reader’s dialogue with the text about meaning. This will be graded, so do it!

THURSDAY

• Halloween! We will pause for a bit of American literature holiday fun.

• HW: Obtain your copy of our next novel, if you already haven’t.

FRIDAY

• Introduction to A Separate Peace, by John Knowles.

• HW: Read and annotate chapter one for class on Monday.

The American Ghost Story

When searching for a Halloween related short story to read, start with this source. It has a great collection of iconic, canonical stories that you have likely encountered. But there will surely be come you have not:

https://americanliterature.com/halloween

Your homework is to post the title, author, and a summary of the story you’ve read as a comment to this blog post. In your description of the story, include one sentence that covers the who-what-when-where of the story (setting, characters, plot). Add another sentence that summarizes the morale of the tale, and your thoughts on the story (theme, what you think of the story).

Week 9 syllabus: October 21 on

OUR FOCUS THIS WEEK will be writing, and we will use the Russian short story, “Chelkash” by Maxim Gorky to review what we’ve already learned about inflated phrases and wordiness, and also examine sentence purpose as it relates to paragraph structure, and also the quality of claim. Next week, we will start reading our first novel, John Knowles A Separate Peace, ISBN #9780743253970. Please make sure you order this edition, so that everyone has the same page numbers for reference purposes.

MONDAY

• Collecting crosswords. We will then discuss the story, ‘Chelkash” in C-234, the next door board room.

• HW: Hold onto your discussion notes. You will need them to write your paragraph, explaining the most important, least obvious lesson that Gorky wants the reader to get from the story. Bring in a printed copy on Tuesday.

TUESDAY

• Examining your paragraph(s) for wordiness, specifically looking for vague language (indefinate pronouns and collective nouns) and rhetorical language (phrasing that obviously signals the reader). We will work in small groups to analyize classmates paragraphs and then begin revising.

• HW: Revision one of your paragraph is due tomorrow. Please have a printed copy of the paragraph(s) stapled to the old one.

WEDNESDAY

• Today’s focus will be revising your body paragraphs for structure. Specifically, we will label the purpose of each sentence in the paragraph, and then consider how to re-organize these sentences, revise them, or delete some sentence (parts) altogether. We will use the same format as yesterday.

• HW: Working on the second revision of your paragraph(s). In this one, I want you to evaluate each body paragraph for structure. Go beyond the obvious “claim/topic sentence, set-up of quote, quote, and commentary” that we expect in every body paragraph. Just as with yesterday, I want you to staple the old copies to the new one, which should always be on top.

THURSDAY

• Quality of claim day. Today we will examine the quality of your claim overall. What argument does the writer make? What should the reader know and understand having read the story? Today will be a reading day, wherein you post your paragraph on our class blog, and then read everyone’s paragraph. After reading them all, choose THREE that you think posit the best argument, selecting these by posting your name as a comment to that paragraph/post.

• HW: Finish the work we started in class, reading all the paragraphs and then choosing your favorite three. Begin revising your paragraph, specifically addressing the quality of your argument.

FRIDAY

• We will have a short printing tutorial. Then a class-long lecture, reviewing the four paragraphs the class has chosen for examination.

• HW: Final draft (and first graded draft) of “Chelkash” paragraph is due on Tuesday (no class on Monday for late start).

The quality of the claim

Please post your twice-revised paragraphs to this blog entry as a comment below. You are then to read everyone’s paragraph. While reading, think about the argument the writer presents. What are their arguments about? What is their view of the story, and what are they saying ABOUT what the story MEANS?

After reading all the paragraphs are posted, select the top three paragraphs. Your criteria should include: Which is the most interesting claim? Which is the least obvious claim? Which provides the best evidence in support of their claim? Which paragraph makes the best case in support of their view of the story?

Post your name as a comment to the three paragraphs you believe make the best argument.

Due by 7 AM on Friday, October 25.

Examining the organizational structure

Our first evaluation of the “Chelkash” paragraph was an analysis of the language, or style we used in our writing. Now we’re going to look at the structure, or order that we used in responding to the prompt, or question.

First, in the same peer-editing circles, read through the revised papers. As we did the first round, have nothing in your hands save the paper—no marking of any kind on the paper. Second, re-read the papers. During this round, you will want to write a bulleted list of sentences in the paper, not so much describing what the writer says, but the PURPOSE of each sentence. Some possible descriptions you might use:

• main idea, or claim about what we learn from the story;

• plot summary sentence, setting up quote;

• direct quote from story;

• supporting explanation of writer’s idea;

• detail sentence providing more depth;

• contrasting idea, illustrating another view;

And so on. Your challenge, as an editor, is to evaluate what’s included in the paragraph, and more importantly, WHY the writer has included that sentence. Write your bulleted list in the margins of the paper, or on the back of the paper. If possible, include it on the front. When done, initial your list. BEWARE: once a few lists have been provided, you may be tempted to look at and to copy their lists. AVOID doing so. It’s perhaps useful to compare your analysis to others, once complete. But try to make your analysis your own, without the influence of others.

Working on the Wordiness Issue

Students should post PRIME examples of the inflated phrasing and wordiness that we want to eliminate from our writing. You can provide one of two types: vague wording (including indefinite or personal pronouns) as well as rhetorical phrasing (language the tells the reader what s(he) should think, rather than letting the ideas stand for themselves).

For example, vague wording includes: some, many, ____thing, very, this, that, it, people, etc.

For example, rhetorical phrasing includes: this quote shows that, in the story written by, here the author clearly shows that, one can clearly see that. etc.

After everyone in your group has either circled or underlined the phrasing THEY suspect is inflated, you should post your own, complete sentences that you agree contain such wordiness. Post that as a comment to this blog entry.

Week 8 syllabus: October 14 forward

OUR SHORT STORY UNIT WILL CONCLUDE with a reading of a Russian literary classic, “Chelkash” by Maxim Gorky. We will use this story to review elements of story, but also to practice body paragraph structure and MLA format of citation. We will use this story to frame our approach to analyzing literature. What does the author want his readers to realize about life, because of the story? What does Gorky want his audience to understand about money and the influence of industrialization upon our humanity?

MONDAY

• Examining part one of the story, looking at: sea, sound, machines, people. We will create a language list that Gorky uses in association with these four images, creating that chart, and then discussing what emotional response the author evokes using this language, and then drawing some conclusions about what Gorky wants his reader to know and better understand by viewing the world through this lens.

• HW: Write a two sentence answer to the question, “What is the implicit message/claim that Gorky wants his reader to understand (via the images in part one)?”

TUESDAY

• After reading aloud last night’s homework, we will turn our study to part two, a character analysis of Chelkash and Gravilla. I will also review MLA citation rules for quotes.

• HW: Finish the questions. for part two. All six questions require a quote that demonstrates MLA format, due tomorrow.

WEDNESDAY

• Today we will create a plot line. What are the significant moments that lead to the story’s dramatic conclusion? Select only those plot points that relate to the overall theme, or lesson, of the story (namely, what Gorky wants his readers to understand about industrialization, greed, humanity).

• HW: Finish the plot line for class tomorrow.

THURSDAY

• Vocabulary day! We will begin work on a very large crossword, today individually.

• HW: Spend half an hour working on the crossword.

FRIDAY

• Second and last crossword day on ‘Chelkash.”

• HW: Writing a one page (typed, double spaced) answer to this question: What does Gorky want his reader to know and better understand about life, as a result of reading his story, “Chelkash”?

Week 7 syllabus abbreviated: October 7 and 8

THIS SHORTENED WEEK WE’LL use to tie up some loose ends, including work on “The Machine Stops” and “The Neighborhood.”

MONDAY

• Finishing the film clips from Chaplin’s Modern Times, and reading a bit more from “Chelkash.”

• HW: Writing your machine poem, due tomorrow.

TUESDAY

• In class discussion of “The Neighborhood”

• HW: Read all of “Chelkash.” While reading, annotate for an answer to this question: “What makes a person good or bad in a society?”

WEDNESDAY

• No school for Fall Break.

• HW: Read “Chelkash”

THURSDAY

• No school for Fall Break.

• HW: Read “Chelkash”

FRIDAY

• No school for Fall Break.

• HW: Read “Chelkash”

Modern Times poem

A link to the scenes we watched in class.

Having watched two scenes from Charllie Chaplin’s iconic American film Modern Times, write a poem that answers this question: How do machines effect [our] lives? You have four main criterea for your poem, which is due Tuesday, 10/8. The poem should:

• contain sensory images

• use connotative language

• show distillation of language

• be at least 20 lines long, but shorter than one page

These are to be typed and stapled to your notes on Modern Times, to be collected Tuesday 10/8. Need to watch the scenes from the film? Click on the image above.

"The Machine Stops" Paragraphs

Post your paragraph on E.M. Forster’s short story here, as a comment to this blog entry. If you have any issues posting these, keep a screen shot of the issue you’ve encountered. We will start class tomorrow by sharing these in small groups, and troubleshooting the issue(s).

The above image, a still from Charlie Chaplin’s Modern Times, will take you to the audio to Forester’s 1909 short story.

Week 6 syllabus: September 30 forward

ANNOTATION WILL BE THE FOCUS for our study this week. In small group, we will compare your written notes from “The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas” and “The Machine Stops” in small groups. Which words have you circled? What questions are written in the margins? What did you write in response to the question, “What makes for a good society?” We will compare notes in small groups. Also this week: initial grade reports.

MONDAY

• No school for Rosh Hashanah holilday. No homework this weekend, except for the reading of “The Neighborhood,” which we will begin discussing on Monday.

• HW: Finish reading the short story.

TUESDAY

• In class analysis small group character analysis of “The Neighborhood,” looking at the Lynches, the narrator, and the other neighbors. How are they similar in actions and beliefs? How are they dissimilar?

• HW: Post your paragraph on “The Machine Stops” for class tomorrow. (The question: step outside of the story for a moment, and reflect on Forster’s intentions. What is he saying about humanity through this story? Write a one paragraph response, and include a direct quote in support of your answer. )

WEDNESDAY

• Reading through paragraphs, and selecting the ONE paragraph that is MOST similar to your own—in terms of style, in particular. Which writer shares the same structure? The same stylistic traits? Look for similarities, not differences, for this one. Choose that paragraph and make a comment with your name and period by the end of class.

• HW: In preparation for class tomorrow night, show your parent our class blog and ask him/her/they to read your paragraph before class.

THURSDAY

• Back to school night. We will look at a couple of the paragraphs selected by students, and revise your own paragraph for those same issues.

• HW: Begin reading “Chelkash” by Maxim Gorky.

FRIDAY

• Reading day. We will delve into last night’s short story. We will likewise watch a clip from Chaplin’s iconic film, Modern Times.

• HW: Continue reading “Chelkash,” , reading and annotating pages. 80-93 for homework for class on Monday.

"The Neighborhood"

Here’s a link to the short story you should have printed and read by class on Tuesday. Remember to annotate: circle vocabulary, write the reader’s questions, and keep notes to answer this question: What makes for a good neighborhood?

The story is here.