As you are reading this text, you may have the tendency to sometimes think, "Well, duh!" I mean, some of this is common sense and some symbolic elements like the seasons are so archetypal that they are almost ingrained in our intellects. However, for the purpose of AP literature, these are all ideas of which you need to be carefully aware as you read. For the first week of posts, I would like for you to choose at least two different chapters and apply the ideas presented in those chapters to works you have previously read. On the AP exam when you discuss works, they must be works of literary merit, typically the classics that you've been reading throughout high school in your English courses. For this discussion, however, you can extend your discussion to works of popular fiction; for instance, I imagine some of you will connect the chapter on vampires with ideas in the Twilight series, and that's ok. My focus here is to get you thinking about the ideas in Foster's book and to stretch your analytical skills without overloading your brain too much (it is summer, after all). Hopefully this book will live up to its subtitle and you will find it "lively" and "entertaining." I look forward to reading your responses. They should be posted by June 12th.
A couple of reminders:
1) I'm looking for careful thought in terms of the ideas I ask you to consider. Remember that although this blog is set up to encourage a dialogue, you are being graded, so the focus and language should remain academic.
2) In addition to addressing the ideas I've posted, you may also find it beneficial to read others' posts and comment on what your classmates have said, but I'm looking for extensions or rebuttals of others' comments, not a simple "agree" or "disagree."
3) The inevitable question..."How long does this have to be?" Well, I tend to be long-winded because I love to talk about literature, but let's just say that your post should take between 20-30 minutes to compose each week - kind of like an abbreviated essay, but not so tight in terms of form or structure. I want to see that you have been engaged in the reading and that you are making sense out of what you have read, and I obviously want to see evidence that you are making connections with things you've read before.
Please feel free to ask questions of me within the blog, or if you'd rather do so privately, email me at williamsholly@hotmail.com. I look forward to "talking" with you all this summer.
A couple of reminders:
1) I'm looking for careful thought in terms of the ideas I ask you to consider. Remember that although this blog is set up to encourage a dialogue, you are being graded, so the focus and language should remain academic.
2) In addition to addressing the ideas I've posted, you may also find it beneficial to read others' posts and comment on what your classmates have said, but I'm looking for extensions or rebuttals of others' comments, not a simple "agree" or "disagree."
3) The inevitable question..."How long does this have to be?" Well, I tend to be long-winded because I love to talk about literature, but let's just say that your post should take between 20-30 minutes to compose each week - kind of like an abbreviated essay, but not so tight in terms of form or structure. I want to see that you have been engaged in the reading and that you are making sense out of what you have read, and I obviously want to see evidence that you are making connections with things you've read before.
Please feel free to ask questions of me within the blog, or if you'd rather do so privately, email me at williamsholly@hotmail.com. I look forward to "talking" with you all this summer.
