Norton Anthology of World Literature

Your entries are for a blog about themes found in multicultural works of literature. The target audience is both aspiring writers and language arts teachers. Consider ways you may mimic professional blogs such as the use of hyperlinks, trackbacks, or visuals. You will submit each individual entry as a word document. Save your entries for the culminating project in Topic 8 when you create the actual blog.

Each blog entry should answer these questions:

What theme would you emphasize from this selection of readings?
For your readers who are teachers, how would you use this theme to teach this topic to high school students?
What elements of popular culture could you use to engage the students in the theme?

This assignment uses a rubric. Please review the rubric prior to beginning the assignment to become familiar with the expectations for successful completion.

1. Norton Anthology of World Literature

Read “This Way for the Gas, Ladies and Gentlemen,” by Taduesz Borowski, in Volume 2.

Read “Deathfugue,” “Aspen Tree,” “Shibboleth,” by Paul Celan, in Volume 2.

Read “God Has Pity on Kindergarten Children,” “Tourists,” “Jerusalem,” “An Arab Shepherd Is Searching for His Goat on Mount Zion,” by Yehuda Amichai, in Volume 2.

Read “The Daydreams of a Drunk Woman,” by Clarice Lispector, in Volume 2.

Literary Blog 1

 

 

Literary Blog 1:  The theme of choice

This week’s selections include”“The Metamorphosis” by Kafka, “The Guest” by Camus, in Volume 2, “Requiem” by Akhmatova,  and a selection from “Faust” by Goethe, in Volume 2.

 

The Theme :

The works studied this week examine the themes of powerlessness and choice: Camus’s “The Guest” and Akhmatova’s “Requiem” do it in a political context, and Kafka’s “The Metamorphosis” and Goethe’s Faust do it to some extent within the realm of the supernatural, however perhaps the best way to tackle this with young adolescent minds is to show that with action and determination there is always hope.

 

 

As for themes the sense that with action and determination there is hope.  Gregory was lazy, slovenly and just someone who accepted his fate without hope.  Had he taken action things might have been very different, and his family might not have despised him.  With Faust there is a choice, but still a sense of an inability to see the consequences of his actions. Additionally while there is a sense of resignation with Akhmatova, could this be built into the Russian psyche.  The sense that they had to accept their lot in life and be grateful for the crumbs?  Perhaps, but then how does that explain the Russian Revolution, and that fight for self-determination.  In the end it’s all about choice and the personal credo that one lives by.  Camu’s The Guest, perfectly illustrates this with the choice that was made to let the prisoner go and help him on his way toward success.

 

So, the theme of action and determination creating hope, while it may not be universal would certainly be something that high school students would relate to.

 

The Theme for high school students:

For high school students a great way to use this theme would be with impending graduation.

 

 

 

Could there be a more pivotal moment in the life of a child than graduating from high school, and while avoiding the universal themes of man’s inhumanity to man/himself/the environment/society, making these stories more relatable would be the theme of action and determination creating hope.  Certainly students who very often go off to college with little or no idea about how to manage themselves, their finances or their own study habits, could benefit from this idea.  That there is always hope – you just have to change what you do.

 

 

Popular Culture and engaging the students:

 

It would be tempting to look at suicide rates of freshmen college students.  However, that would not be approved by any administration.

Instead, I would look at the success rate of students.  Having students research how many freshmen enter the university of their choice, and how many drop out after the first year because of bad choices.

It would then be easy to direct the conversation towards action – study plans, finance plans, stress management, how to make good choices etc., and then look at determination.

Some great sites to look at:

There is a great Ted Talk about grit: https://www.ted.com/talks/angela_lee_duckworth_grit_the_power_of_passion_and_perseverance

This talks about how it is not intelligence that determines success, but rather determination and the ability to hang in there despite all the odds stacking up against you.  This Ted Talk combined with the various selections we have looked at would certainly create a powerful classroom discussion, and also provide great help to students as they embark on their academic careers.

 

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100.0 %Content
30.0 %Content Requirements: The post explores a theme found in this topic’s assigned readings of multicultural literature. The theme is not found in these assigned readings. The theme is a topic loosely connected to one or more of the assigned readings. The theme is developed in one or more of the assigned readings and relates to multicultural literature as a genre. The exploration considers how the theme is developed. The theme is recurrent in one or more of the assigned readings and relates to multicultural literature as a genre. The exploration explains how the theme is developed through specific examples. The theme is a defining idea found in multiple multicultural literature texts. The exploration evaluates how the theme is developed through specific examples and considers alternatives.
30.0 %Content Requirements: For your readers who are teachers, how would you use this theme to teach this topic to high school students? What elements of popular culture could you use to engage the students in the theme? The blog post omits or incompletely provides an explanation of how the theme could be used in teaching high school students. Blog post does not discuss elements of popular culture that could be used to engage students. The blog post inadequately provides an explanation of how the theme could be used in teaching high school students. The blog post’s discussion of elements of popular culture that could be used to engage students is weak and missing evidence to support claims. The blog post adequately provides an explanation of how the theme could be used in teaching high school students. The blog post’s discussion of elements of popular culture that could be used to engage students is somewhat limited and lacks some evidence to support claims. The blog post clearly provides an explanation of how the theme could be used in teaching high school students. The blog post’s discussion of elements of popular culture that could be used to engage students is strong and sound with appropriate evidence to support claims. The blog post expertly provides an explanation of how the theme could be used in teaching high school students. The blog post’s discussion of elements of popular culture that could be used to engage students is comprehensive and insightful with relevant evidence to support claims.
10.0 %Technical Requirements: The text includes elements found in blogs such as the use of hyperlinks, trackbacks, visuals, or references to other sites. The post does not have any additional features such as hyperlinks, trackbacks, visuals, or references to other sites. The post has poor additional features such as hyperlinks, trackbacks, visuals, or references to other sites. The post includes appropriate additional features such as hyperlinks, trackbacks, visuals, or references to other sites. The post includes good use of additional features such as hyperlinks, trackbacks, visuals, or references to other sites. The post includes a natural and professional use of additional features such as hyperlinks, trackbacks, visuals, or references to other sites.
15.0 %Concepts The content of the post fits the intended audience. The post does not related to professional writers and/or teachers. The post may reference writers and teachers, but does not make the content pertinent specifically to them. It references rather than connects with popular culture. The post includes information that may assist writers and teachers in their work. It draws connections to popular culture. The post includes information pertinent for writers and teachers. It draws specific examples to popular culture. The post includes insightful information for writers and teachers to develop projects and lessons. It draws multiple specific examples to popular culture.
15.0 %Mechanics of Writing (includes spelling, punctuation, grammar, and language use) Surface errors are pervasive enough that they impede communication of meaning. Inappropriate word choice or sentence construction is employed. Frequent and repetitive mechanical errors distract the reader. Inconsistencies in language choice (register) or word choice are present. Sentence structure is correct but not varied. Some mechanical errors or typos are present, but they are not overly distracting to the reader. Correct and varied sentence structure and audience-appropriate language are employed. Creative license is used strategically and sparingly. Prose is largely free of mechanical errors, although a few may be present. The writer uses a variety of effective sentence structures and figures of speech, and takes creative license strategically and sparingly. The writer is clearly in command of standard, written, academic English. The writer knows when to take creative license effectively.
100 %Total Weightage