THIS WEEK, STUDENTS WILL FINALIZE THEIR THEME novel choice. Remember, while I hope you enjoy reading the text, primarily you are studying it as the basis of a thematic research paper. If the novel itself is the author’s response to a question, what question does the novel answer? Using that question, you will research what other American writers and artists have done on that same topic, theme, or question. Your research, completed publicly with your peers, will state your findings after an established period of time. The paper is not an end, in and of itself, but merely a point in time on the continuum of research on American literature, but New Trier students, over the decades past, and the decades future.

MONDAY

Lecture on junior theme novel choices. From there, we will begin discussing chapter ten, “Liberty Paints,” and will use the recent news about the governor from Virginia’s racist yearbook pictures as a lens for understanding the Invisible Man’s experience.
HW: Why does Brockway support the company, and not the union workers, when they are fighting for better wages, work conditions, and working hours?

TUESDAY

Individual analysis of chapter 10, the IM at Liberty Paints. Part lecture and part small group work.
HW: Finish the worksheet for class tomorrow. Read chapter 11.

WEDNESDAY

An overview of chapter 11, in which the IM suffers electro-shock therapy. We will also complete the worksheet started on Tuesday.
HW: Read the first part of chapter 12.

THURSDAY

Day one of an introduction to Song of the South and Joel Chandler Harris’s Uncle Remus Tales. We will look at Brer Rabbit as the trickster figure, one who attempts to escape the brutal and omnipresent threat of white American racial oppression.
HW: Finish reading chapter 12.

FRIDAY

In library. Today, students will a) finalize their novel choices and b) begin gathering journal articles about their novel. Rather than book reviews, students should look for longer sources that describe the themes of the novel, or analyze it in greater depth.
HW: Read chapter 13 in IM.