George Orwell -- "Politics and the English Language"

There's one must-read by George Orwell -- which we aren't reading in this class, so I'm leaving that up to you.  That, of course, is 1984.  Along with another numerically titled work -- 2001: A Space Odyssey, this book gave me an undying respect for, and fear of, advanced technology (and covert surveillance).

1984 was about the future -- and it still is, although in many ways it is 1984.  Remember, that smart phone you love so well, that you can't do without -- yes, let's admit it, to which we have become addicted -- knows where you are at every moment, and remembers everything you've texted (and will, long after you're dead).

Remember this commercial?  Of course you don't, you weren't even close to being born yet.  It's ironic, because here Apple is promising to free us from Big Brother, and now Apple is Big Brother.  (Or could that Apple insignia be the sign of the Beast?  Just sayin'.)

But as I say, we're not reading 1984.  We will be reading Orwell's essay on "Politics and the English Language".  Please leave your comments below.  I would suggest that you don't get hung up on some small details of language that Orwell presents.  He admits that he breaks many of them himself and that one should rather than "say anything outright barbarous".  Focus more on how language affects thought and communication.

New Frontiers of Warfare

Leave your comments to this article here.  Take a look at what others have to say.  Feel free to respond to them, too.

Welcome!

     Welcome to the Outside Reading Blog (and I certainly hope that you will be doing some of your summer reading out of doors).  Below you will find three blog posts -- one for each assigned text.  As you read,check in from time to time and leave a "Comment".  (Make sure to leave your name at the same time, so that you can receive full credit.)  You don't have to say anything profound -- asking questions is good, too.
     I may peek in from time to time, but I will pretty much stay out of these.  These pages should be a virtual readers' group.  You must make a minimum of one entry per text.  But while that would be "adequate", to be "good" or "exceptional", you will want to do more.
     You will also find a page with some suggested topics for the five-paragraph essay.

     Be sure to bookmark this page, as we will also use it from time to time during the course of the semester.

The Assignments

You will have two academic responsibilities to go along with your summer reading.

1)  The Blog.  You are asked to  respond as you read these three selections by leaving a comment on the post devoted to each work.  Be sure to leave your name so that you will get credit.
You must comment at least once for each work.  However, you may want to comment more than once, if
a) you want to maximum your point total, and/or b) you just start to get into the spirit of the thing.  It's an open forum, a roundtable, a virtual readers' group.
So, feel free to inject your opinions.  Ask questions.  (I love questions.  In my ideal classroom, I rarely say anything but in response to a question).  Go ahead and banter with your classmates.  Have a little fun.  Relax.  It's summer.
I'll be eavesdropping, occasionally, but if there's something that you want to ask me, go through the school e-mail.

2)  The Paper.  This will demonstrate to me two things.  First, that you've actually done your reading -- although, truly?  It's hard to tell.  There are those ethically-compromised students who take shortcuts.  You know what I mean.  But really.  Would you rather go to a five-star restaurant, or read the review of it?  Would you rather travel to Paris or Rome, or read an article in the travel section about it?  Would you rather have the actual experience, or have someone else tell you about it?
Secondly, it will tell me about whether or not you can put together a nice "five-paragraph" essay.  Which, believe it nor not, can be an essential skill in life.  (For all sorts of useful suggestions on crafting the essay, go here.)
The paper will focus on Hedda Gabler & The Return of the Native.  Below are three suggested topics.

I.  Compare the Heroines.  Now, some people like to say "compare and contrast".  But don't forget that to "contrast" is an implicit part of "comparing".
For this assignment, I'm going to dictate the structure that I want to see.  This paper should be an eight-paragraph "five-paragraph" essay.  That is to say:

1) Introduction.
2) Quality #1, character #1.
3) Quality #1, character #2.
4) Quality#2, character #1 (or #2, if that works better).
5) Quality #2, the other character.
6) Quality #3 (probably the contrast), character #1 (or #2).
7) Quality #3, the other character.
8) Summary and conclusion.

Total length, 3- 5 pages.

II.  The Illicit Love Interests.
Both of our married protagonists have old lovers sniffing around.  Let's take a look at them.  Why were they attractive to our girls in the first place?  What attraction do they continue to hold (if any)?  This could get a little tricky, because it will be difficult to separate the men from the women.  Are you going to be examining the men, or how the women relate to them?  That's liable to make your paper fuzzy, when what you are going for is a laser-like focus.
I'm not going to require the same structure as in Topic I, but let me include a couple of stipulations.  1) Keep the boys separate.  Different work, new paragraph (even if the quality you're examining is the same for both).  2) This means it will be more than five paragraphs long.  Remember: Introduction (1), Body (?), Conclusion (1).

III.  Minor Characters.
To be honest, there aren't that many easily likable characters in these works.  (That's not to say you can't be sympathetic to Hedda and Eustacia. You can be, and you should be.  But as Mary Shelley reminds us, "all men hate the wretched", and these ladies have their miseries.)  But good ol' Diggory Venn, the reddleman.  Always loyal to Tamsin (although that loyalty does stir up a little trouble at one point).  And Thea Elvstead, that little curly-headed pip.  Don't you love her?
Now, where does the paper come from on this?  Good question.  It's not as obvious as in the first two cases, certainly.  But that's part of the overall process of wrighting a paper.  (That's right, wright.  It's not a typo.)  You've got to assemble what you know about these characters, then stare at it like those Magic Eyes until a pattern appears.  But I guess I'd start with "what purpose do these characters serve within their works?" or even "why are these characters so admirable"?

The Poetry Packet

The Universe wants you to read these poems.  That's the message I was given one afternoon recently, when I came across this essay by the poet Tony Hoagland, who thinks that English teachers are generally unsuccessful at teaching poetry in schools. Hoagland thinks that we're going at poetry the wrong way 'round.   He feels that contemporary poetry is much more vital and accessible, and that if we teachers got students turned on to contemporary poetry, you would then be more open to the "old masters".  Hoagland suggested twenty poems that we could be teaching to achieve that end.

Now while I feel there's something to be said for his way of thinking, I didn't agree with his choice of poems.  And, as I happen to be familiar with a lot of contemporary poets, I came up with a list of twenty of my own selections.  There are twenty different poets with all sorts of different backgrounds.

As you read these poems, I don't want you to analyze.  Just react.  Respond.  If you find a line that you like, blog about that.  If you have a question, blog it.  If you have something to say pertinent to the theme of the poem, blog it.  (Read the introductory poem "Introduction to Poetry" for more advice.)

By the way, I encourage all of you to drop by the Sunken Garden Poetry Festival this summer.  (Although I must warn you, they are now charging a $15.00 dollar admission fee.*  Well, considering I'll pay $50 dollars for a seat at Fenway, plus another $20 to park, plus gas and tolls -- it's still a great deal.  But poetry is for everybody -- not just the elites.)  Pictured above is the former Poet Laureate of the United States, Robert Pinsky, reading there in 2008.  Other Poet Laureates who have read there include Billy Collins, Philip Levine, and Natasha Trethewey.  Many of the poets in your packet are Sunken Garden alumni.  There's food and drink. live music, then a poetry reading -- all in a beautiful setting on a lovely summer evening.  One can hardly get more civilized that that.

* Update -- Well, they are and they aren't.  If you're 18 or under (like you), it's FREE!  If you're over 18 (like me) it's still $15.00.  And only ten if you buy your ticket online.  I went last night, and it was as lovely as ever (although it did seem to be more sparseely attended than in years past).

The Return of the Native

Imagine yourself being a lively, vibrant young person stuck with a bunch of hicks in an insular location where nothing ever happens. (It may not be that big a stretch.) What can you do to amuse yourself? What would you do to get out?
The Return of the Native is a traditional 19th century novel by one of the great English novelists, Thomas Hardy. You’ll find that it’s kind of slow-paced for our tastes. But stick with it. The characters are interesting, and the situations they find themselves in are compelling. Hardy liked to subject his characters to the vagaries of fate, and that is certainly in evidence in The Return of the Native.

Warning: this book starts off slow. Real slow. It's a loving description of Egdon Heath, the setting for this novel. (The chapter gives you some idea of what it feels like for Eustacia to have to live there.)

Try to get through it. The heath is an important character in the novel. But, rest assured, the whole book is not like this. Once we start getting into characters, and especially plot, you'll like it. However, if -- and only if -- you would find yourself giving up on Hardy, (or starting to consider alternative paths), you have my permission to skip ahead. Try a paragraph or two, or to the end of the chapter if need be. But then start in again. Stick with it. You'll be glad you did.

Looking into my crystal ball, I foresee that this will be the least popular of the summer reading books.  Well, tough.  I believe that a lot of AP teachers create their summer reading lists for their colleagues rather than their students ("See what my students are reading!").  I don't do that.  This is the most traditional of the summer reading books.  It's a good novel, historically important, and something you should be capable of at least bulling your way through, if not enjoying.

For what it's worth, I read it first when I was a senior in high school, and I loved it.  (Holden Caulfield even likes Eustacia, and he hates everything!)

Hedda Gabler

The year: 1890; the country: Norway. Hedda Gabler returns from her honeymoon to a house and life she despises, with a husband for whom she has no respect. Into this unhappy home bring two men who would each become her lover – one an upstanding judge, and the other a brilliant but dissolute man with a scandalous past.
Just a word of warning about Hedda. You probably won’t like her, but she’s a fascinating literary creation. She’s more complicated than you think (if my past experience is any indicator). The actress Kate Burton (daughter of Richard Burton, who was a great Shakespearean actor as well as a movie star and celebrity) called Hedda “a female Hamlet.” I’m not sure I‘d go that far, but she’s more than just a “mean girl“.
There are reasons for everything she does, (although sometimes they are dark even to her). Take the “bonnet incident”. I think you can take her at face value when she tells Judge Brack that she doesn’t know why she does things like that.
Here's the key do understanding Hedda: have you ever really wanted to do something, but then couldn't or wouldn't do it, because -- what would people say?!?  Like Hamlet, deep down she may be a coward.

(A still from Heddatron (Hedda Gabler with robots).  Cool.