Joseph Campbell's "Hero Journey"
Joseph Campbell, seen below in the 1950s, breaks reporter Bill Moyer’s brain in an interview about his “hero journey” concept.
Paragraph on "Doors Opening, Closing Upon Us..."
As a comment, post your entire paragraph about the aforementioned poem, one that explains what the poem means. Remember, your paragraph should include a direct quote! After posting, read other students’ paragraphs, selecting the three best paragraphs (IYO).
Second Semester Final, Easton's 3 Level English
Your final assignment is in two parts.
First, read and annotate the short story, “ Vaccine Season” by Hannu Rajaniemi. It is a science-fiction short story about a (dystopian or utopian, depending on your p.o.v.) teenaged Norwegian boy who enjoys the benefits of mandatory vaccination, and wants his grandfather to live a longer, more perfect, and happy life, too.
Remember when annotating, you should a) circle vocabulary, b) write out your questions, and c) keep thematic notes in the margins. For this text, pay attention to what the writer says about how technology changes the way we live. Are these medical advancements improving society, or destroying what it means to be human? Is the main character’s decision an act of mercy or one of selfishness?
Audio for the story is here.
PDF of the story is here.
Second, write a multi-paragraph response that answers the following question. Use everything we’ve studied about writing and paragraph structure to craft your response. Take time to pre-write and organize your ideas before drafting your response. If possible, leave time to proofread your response and to read your draft out loud, and make changes accordingly.
Does the Grandfather’s decision to leap into the churn—saving his grandson, and becoming “infected” the vaccine—change your view of whether or not it was right for the boy to come to the island in the first place?
You should submit both your annotations and your written response as separate assignments on Canvas. The annotations should be submitted as a file (either notability pdf, or a picture of your paper and ink notes via Genius). The written answer should be submitted as text, copied and pasted into the text submission box.
Questions? Mr. Easton will be in the classroom Zoom room during the final. ALL submissions are due NO LATER THAN 12:15 pm today (that’s 1.5 time, in case anyone has extended time via an IEP or 504).
Remember, these will only be graded IF THESE IMPROVE YOUR SEMESTER GRADE OVERALL.
Finny Paragraph
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 before Winter Break.
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.
Avoid rhetorical language like, “One quote that illustrates this is…” or “An example of this is…” or “This quote shows that….”
Pay attention to verb usage. When possible, use active verbs, avoiding: is, am, are, was, were, be, being, been, do, doing, does, should, could, would.
Post your paragraph as a comment to this thread.
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:
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
Paragraph on "Chelkash"
You should post your first draft of the “Chelkash” writing assignment here, whether that’s one longer paragraph or a couple of paragraphs.
Remember to submit first and last names. That should work automatically if you’re logged into the free squarespace account.
Problems posting? Send me an email, and I can help you troubleshoot.
Paragraph on "The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas"
Please post your paragraph here. Remember, if you log into squarespace as a guest, please include your name and SCHOOL email address.
Revision of Paragraph on "Doors opening"
After signing up for a squarespace account (use your New Trier email address), log-in and attempt to post your revised paragraph as a comment to this posting.
The theme of power within The Wizard of Earthsea
Sparrowhawk does battle with his Shadow.
My colleague and friend Mr. O’Connor suggested this theme to me. He said that he was interested in exploring the dynamics of power within Le Guin’s novel. Who, in this world she has created, has power? To what end is that power used? Who is powerless within the society? How do they struggle as a result?
He asked his classes the following: “Who holds power? What are the means of obtaining power? The limits, duties, and obligations of power? Who is denied power and why?”
Identify and post as a comment to this blog entry ONE quote from WOE that says something on the theme of power. Include quote marks, and add citation inside parenthesis, using this format:
“ Xxxx x x xxx xx x x xxxx x x x xx x x xxxxx xxxx xxxx” (Le Guin 23).
Our Last Syllabus
WHY DOES SHAKESPEARE’S ROMEO & JULIET withstand the test of time? What are the timeless lessons for us as a) young people in love; b) friends who have other friends facing a crisis; c) family members who want to help our relatives; d) leaders whose job it is to counsel those younger or more inexperienced; e) parents who know their children are making a mistake, or; f) children who want our parents to let us make our own mistakes?
MONDAY: GREY DAY/OFFICE HOURS
Today is a grey day, and you can meet with me during Zoom office hours 12:50 and 1:50 pm. Check Canvas for the link to Zoom.
Wednesday, May 27
Starting with a Zoom meeting. First period will meet at 10:10 am, and second period at 11:20. Links are posted on the Canvas syllabus.
Discussion of soliloquies in Romeo and Juliet;
We will also watch a few versions of these performed.
Presenting summer reading for this year.
HW: Watching a film version of the play for our next class.
Friday, May 29
No Zoom meeting today.
Today you should watch Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet! I'm posting two options for you:
The musical, more contemporary Baz Luhrmann version starring Claire Daines and Leonardo DiCapreo, can be accessed on this google drive link.
The more traditional, BBC version featuring Prof. Snape and Hans Gruber actor Alan Rickman as Tybalt, is on this google drive link.
These are large files. Depending on the device you're accessing the movie with, you may have to download the file, watch, and then delete the file.
Tuesday, June 2
Starting with a Zoom meeting. Check the syllabus on Canvas for a link.
Q&A on the film version of Romeo and Juliet.
Reviewing directions for our last assignment (advice to next year’s freshmen English class).
HW: Record and upload a video of yourself, sharing advice on a) surviving Mr. Easton’s English class; b) surviving life at New Trier High School, and; c) how to get along during Covid-lockdown. NOTE: You can drop the video files to the shared Google folder, linked from the Canavas syllabus.
Friday, June 5
Official last day of school.
Individual conferences with students, but only as required (for missing or incomplete work)
Week 7 Syllabus: May 18
WHY DON’T—OR CAN’T—PARENTS UNDERSTAND? That’s the core issue as our play opens. Romeo is helplessly in love with Rosaline, but nobody—certainly not his parents, and not even his friend Mercutio—can understand the depth of his love. When Romeo shakes off that love for another, Juliet—the misunderstanding increases double-fold. Because not only is Romeo’s love exaggerated—it’s hypocritical, as he ditches one true love for another “true-er” love. Do we empathize with Romeo? Should we? How about Juliet? Are these characters sympathetic, or pathetic?
MONDAY: GREY DAY/OFFICE HOURS
Today is a grey day, and you can meet with me during Zoom office hours 12:50 and 1:50 pm. Check Canvas for the link to Zoom.
TUESDAY: BLUE DAY
Starting with a Zoom meeting. First period will meet at 10:10 am, and second period at 11:20. Links are posted on the Canvas syllabus.
Today students are taking the STAR reading assessment.
HW: Finish this assessment by class on Thursday.
WEDNESDAY: GREEN DAY
No class today.
THURSDAY: BLUE DAY
Starting with a Zoom meeting. Check the syllabus on Canvas for a link.
We will watch a documentary on the life of William Shakespeare. Students will take notes.
HW: Finish the R&J_Act_1_Image assignment, and read through Act 2 of the play.
FRIDAY: GREEN DAY
No class.
Remote Learning Feedback
I want to invite all scholars from 1st and 2nd period to write about their experience with remote learning. What has worked well? What hasn’t worked well? What ideas do you have to improve remote learning?
As New Trier plans for next year’s classes, we would like student input on this experiment we’ve undertaken.
And as Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes is prone to say, “Pray, be precise as to the details.”
Week 6 Syllabus: May 11
WHAT MAKES FOR A GOOD LOVE STORY? We turn from one of the oldest love stories with a happy ending, to one of the most famous love stories with a tragic ending. Unlike Odysseus and Penelope, Romeo and Juliet never have a happy reunion, get to experience wedded bliss. Like them, they are bonded by a love so deep that neither war nor impossible odds can keep them apart. But their love has a much, much shorter arc than the ancient Greek king and his wise and crafty queen. Nonetheless, like Odysseus and Penelope, their pure love becomes a legend that transcends place and time. Keep the themes of forbidden love, fate, and death in mind while reading selections from Shakespeare’s first tragedy.
MONDAY: GREY DAY/OFFICE HOURS
Today is a grey day, and you can meet with me during Zoom office hours 12:50 and 1:50 pm. Check Canvas for the link to Zoom.
TUESDAY: BLUE DAY
Starting with a Zoom meeting. First period will meet at 9 am, and second period at 10:10. Links are posted on the Canvas syllabus.
We will watch all of the part one crash-course.
We will read, carefully, the prologue to the play.
HW: Read the introductory materials to the play in Canvas files, “R&J_Intro.”
WEDNESDAY: GREEN DAY
No class today.
THURSDAY: BLUE DAY
Starting with a Zoom meeting. Check the syllabus on Canvas for a link.
We will watch a thirty minute documentary introducing approaches to reading Shakespeare’s R&J.
HW: Read Act 1 of the graphic, serialized version of the play off Canvas.
FRIDAY: GREEN DAY
No class.
Week 5 Syllabus: May 4
WHAT MAKES FOR A GOOD LOVE STORY? It is not a stretch to say that Homer’s Odyssey is one of the earliest, written love stories. The Trojan War is over Helen, who is famously known as “the face who launched a thousand ships.” The back-story to the conflict occurs at a wedding celebration, and is sparked by Paris’s deciding which is the most beautiful goddess—Hera, Athena, or Aphrodite (called the “Judgement of Paris,” it determines which sides the Greek gods and goddesses allign, Greek or Trojan). Odysseus’s chief aim is to return home to his wife, family and kingdom. This week we will finish revising our Odyssey paragraphs, discuss the Greek view of love, and transition to Shakespeare tragic love story, the play Romeo and Juliet.
MONDAY: GREY DAY/OFFICE HOURS
Today is a grey day, and you can meet with me during Zoom office hours 12:50 and 1:50 pm. Check Canvas for the link to Zoom.
TUESDAY: BLUE DAY
Starting with a Zoom meeting. In the even New Trier’s Canvas page is down, 2nd period can access our Zoom via this link here.
We will finish reviewing paragraphs written about Odysseus and Penelope’s bed.
Then having a class-wide discussion about evidence that illustrates that Homer’s epic poem is , indeed, a love story.
HW: Compiling 6-8 pictures of annotations. These should illustrate your best insights into the poem’s meaning. While you do have annotations through the first half of the next, you might have to choose passages in the later half to re-annotate. Choose passages that reflect your dialogue with the text about meaning, and submit these to Canvas as a pdf no later than one week from today.
WEDNESDAY: GREEN DAY
No class today.
THURSDAY: BLUE DAY
Starting with a Zoom meeting. Check the syllabus on Canvas for a link. First period begins at 10:10, and second period at 11:20.
Introduction to reading Shakespeare. We will watch a short, 8 minute modern telling of Romeo and Juliet. I will lecture about how to approach and read the play, along with providing some tips on how to manage the Elizabethan phrasing and wording. We will close class with a video overview of the play.
HW: Complete the Odyssey annotation assignment, posting the pdf including your pictures to Canvas.
FRIDAY: GREEN DAY
Continue exploring some of the Romeo & Juliet resources I’ve posted so far, especially the Folger Library site which has both the audio and the text for Shakespeare’s tragic play.
Week 4 Syllabus: April 27 forward
SO WHAT ARE WE TO MAKE OF THIS HERO, Odysseus? On one hand, he presents traditional heroic values in that he is brave, takes action to save others, is creative in defending himself and escapes peril time and time again. In this way, Odysseus = hero. Seen another way, Odysseus unnecessarily complicates his return home by lying (to Penelope and his father, stubbornly refuses to give way to the Gods (boasts of blinding Poseidon’s son, refuses to peacefully accept Athena’s command to forgive), and to our modern eyes, is in the least complicit in marital infidelity (with respect to not staying “true” to his wife, when she has successfully resisted the suitors advances. What is Odysseus, then? Is he flawed? Or is he merely faceted? This week, we end our study of Homer’s Odyssey.
MONDAY: GREY DAY/OFFICE HOURS
Today is a grey day, and you can meet with me during Zoom office hours 12:50 and 1:50 pm. Check Canvas for the link to Zoom.
TUESDAY: BLUE DAY
Starting with a Zoom meeting. Check the syllabus on Canvas for a link. First period begins at 10:10, and second period at 11:20.
We will review the paragraphs written about Odysseus and Penelope’s bed, discussing some of the stylistic problems I’m seeing.
HW: Watch part one of the film version of Homer’s Odyssey. Note that this version ignores the poem’s timeline, disposing of en media res. You may have to download the video to watch it. Please delete the file when done viewing. The link is here.
WEDNESDAY: GREEN DAY
No class today.
THURSDAY: BLUE DAY
Starting with a Zoom meeting. Check the syllabus on Canvas for a link. First period begins at 10:10, and second period at 11:20.
We will continue to discuss some of the writing conventions and stylistic issues I’m seeing in “The Tree” paragraphs. Once done, students will begin revising these, in the least minimizing vague words, to be verbs, and rhetorical language. We may use break-out Zoom rooms to identify these and review body paragraph structure.
HW: Watching the second and last part of the film version of Homer’s Odyssey. That link is here. Note: the captioning is slightly off at the start of the video. There’s nothing I could do to correct that, but within a minute or two it resolves itself.
FRIDAY: GREEN DAY
Begin exploring some of the Romeo & Juliet resources I’ve posted so far, especially the Folger Library site which has both the audio and the text for Shakespeare’s tragic play.
The Tree
Homer’s Odyssey is thick with symbolism. From the more obvious—water as a symbol for purification from sin and rebirth, or birds and symbols of the Gods’ will, to the more sublime—Polyphemos’s one eye as a symbol for his limited observation of nostos, or Argos’s death as a symbol for his master’s return and ultimate act of insult, mythology is full of symbols.
The most obvious symbol in our story’s end is the olive tree around which Odysseus and Penelope have build their home, a tree which serves as a bed post in their marriage bed. Having read nearly all of the Odyssey, how do you interpret this symbol?
Write one paragraph that a) follows argumentative structure (claim, context sentence for quote, direct quote, commentary with explanation and additional evidence), and b) provides insight in the epic poem’s theme. Put another way, what do we learn from this Odyssey, and how does the tree illustrate that lesson?
Take 10-15 minutes to write that paragraph right now, and then copy and paste it as a comment into this thread.
Week 3 Syllabus: April 20 on
ONE MIGHT ASSUME THAT THE REUNIFICATION of Odysseus and Penelope would mean the end of Homer’s tale. But it isn’t. The slaying of the suitors and servants who befriended them enrages their surviving families—understandibly so. How has Odysseus’s actions nearly lead to a civil war within Ithaca? Furthermore, why does Odysseus need to test his father Laertes, to see if he will recognize him? What purpose does this test serve? Is that a strength or failing of Odysseus?
MONDAY: GREY DAY/OFFICE HOURS
Today is a grey day, and you can meet with me during Zoom office hours 12:50 and 1:50 pm. Check Canvas for the link to Zoom.
TUESDAY: BLUE DAY
Starting with a Zoom meeting. Check the syllabus on Canvas for a link. First period begins at 10:10, and second period at 11:20.
Check in will be completing “The Tree” writing assignment on squarespace.
How, in book 23, is Penelope behaving “like Odysseus”? What similarities do we see between her and Odysseus? Why does she feel that she must test him?
HW: Read book 24, the last of Homer’s Odyssey.
WEDNESDAY: GREEN DAY
No class today.
THURSDAY: BLUE DAY
Starting with a Zoom meeting. Check the syllabus on Canvas for a link. First period begins at 10:10, and second period at 11:20.
Looking back at book 24 carefully. What does the suitors discussion with Achilles and Agamemnon reveal about the ancient Greek values? Why does Odysseus choose to test Laertes, when the memory of his lost son is clearly so painful? And what does that reveal about ancient Greek values?
HW: Read four sections from the following podcast transcript about Homer’s Odyssey, starting with “The Odyssey’s End” through and including the section, “Heraclitus and the Homeric World View.” That’s toward the bottom of that web page: it’s located here.
FRIDAY: GREEN DAY
We will watch a film version of the Odyssey next week, as we transition to our final text, Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet. You will NOT have to purchase a hard copy of the text for our study of the play.
Globe Player: Shakespeare Lives
Star Cross'd: a contemporary take on Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet
Star Cross’d is the second in the British Council’s series of films for Shakespeare Lives 2016. Poet and illustrator Laura Dockrill’s contemporary take on Romeo and Juliet is set on a windswept English beach, where ‘two houses, both alike in common crime’ wage an ice-cream war. Will true love win out, over the tutti frutti?