There are two themes we have been focusing on as we read Cyrano de Bergerac:
Which theme (a.k.a. Ideas about life) resonates with you most? How can you apply it to your own life?
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Compare the love story in Cyrano de Bergerac to another love story you are familiar with (such as a fairytale like Beauty and the Beast, etc.). How are the stories similar? How do the themes in each story connect?
The sonnet we analyzed in literature class the other week (Shakespeare’s Sonnet 130) is about love. Unlike a lot of romantic poetry, this poem spends the first 12 lines describing all of the ways his beloved falls short of perfection. It is not until the last two lines that he declares that he loves her. In other words, he lists all of her flaws and then states that he loves her despite them. What do you think of this idea, that in order to really love someone, we have to both acknowledge his/her flaws AND see past those flaws? How can a person do both at the same time? Explain your response, giving specific examples to support your answer.
Poetry and music are closely related - they both use words to paint a picture and entertain their audience. Consider how many songs have to do with love (romantic love, platonic love, love for God or for a child or even for nature). Since this play focuses so much on poetry and the beauty of language, share a poem or song you enjoy that has to do with love. Think of songs/poems whose words you find particularly fun, beautiful, or profound. What lines speak to you most? What about this song do you enjoy so much?
What did you do over spring break? What was the worst and best part of your vacation?
If you could change one thing about yourself, what would you change? Why?
If you had to choose between dating someone who was physically attractive and someone who was smart/witty, which would you choose? Which do you think is more important? Why?
How important is family loyalty? What obligations do we have to be loyal to our “blood”? Support your answer with specific examples from real life and the play.
Writers help the audience get to know a character by what the character says, what the character does, and what others say about him/her. Consider the character you are portraying in your performance of Antigone. What do you know about your character’s physical appearance? What does your character say to others? How does your character behave toward others? What do other people have to say about your character (or how do they react to him/her)?
Tiresias arguably has the most important line in the play:
“[T]o err is human, and he alone is wise and happy, who, when ills are done, persists not, but would heal the wound he made.” In other words, for a person to be both wise and happy he/she must learn how to own up to mistakes. Think of a time in your life when you (or someone you know, either in real life or in another story) made a mistake. What happened? Did you swallow your pride and own up to the mistake, or did you dig in? What did/should you have learned from that experience? At the beginning of this play, three characters have to make a decision about whether to obey the rules. Ismene and Creon decide that they must follow the law, even if (for Ismene) it means not honoring her brother’s dead body, or (for Creon) that he has to put his son’s fiancée to death. Antigone decides that it is better to break the law, even if the consequence for her is death. What would you do in their situations? Describe a time where you or someone you know had to decide whether to follow your conscience or obey the rules. What did you (or this person) do? Looking back, was it the right thing to do? How do you know?
Look up the word “pride” in the dictionary. In what way can pride be a good quality? In what way can it be bad? Give an example of each.
Go back through the collection of Maya Angelou poems we read and choose one to react to. What images in this poem stick out to you (What do you see/hear/smell/touch/taste?)? What do you think the poet is trying to say? What idea or a lesson should we learn from this poem?
There is nothing more crippling to a human being than for that person to think of himself/herself as a victim. You’ll notice that the writer of this story does not see himself as a victim, even though he CERTAINLY was a victim! Mr. Douglass chose to make the best of his circumstances and sought to better himself instead of wallowing in self-pity. How did he avoid the temptation to see himself as a victim? How can a person avoid the temptation of blaming others for his/her lack of success, and instead choose to be the best he/she can be despite the obstacles?
This week we discussed the three categories of persuasive techniques: logos (logic, facts, reason), ethos (ethics, values, morality), and pathos (emotion, language, story). Which of these three techniques do you tend to find most persuasive? In other words, when someone is trying to persuade you of something, are they more likely to convince you with facts, with morals, or with feelings? Explain why you think this is the case by providing specific examples.
In chapter 2 of Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, Douglass talks about the songs of the slaves. Many non-slaves mistakenly took the slaves’ singing as a sign that they were happy, but Douglass tells his readers that “They told a tale of woe which was then altogether beyond my feeble comprehension; they were tones loud, long, and deep; they breathed the prayer and complaint of souls boiling over with the bitterest anguish. Every tone was a testimony against slavery, and a prayer to God for deliverance from chains,” (p. 18). Listen to one of the songs below and react to it: What words, phrases, or images stick out to you as you listen? What does the song remind you of?
What is your favorite quote, Bible verse, or anecdote about gratitude? Explain what it means to you.
Go back through the collection of poems we read along with Lord of the Flies and choose one to react to. What images in this poem stick out to you (What do you see/hear/smell/touch/taste?)? What do you think the poet is trying to say? What idea or a lesson should we learn from this poem?
Golding deliberately created a story featuring young, prepubescent boys. Do you think the story would have turned out differently if it were a group of young girls? What if it were grownups rather than children?
At the beginning of the story, Jack is unable to kill a pig because of “the enormity of the knife descending and cutting into living flesh; because of the unbearable blood.” As the story progresses, it becomes easier and easier for Jack to kill, as we see in chapter 8 with the violent killing of the sow. Part of his bravery comes from wearing the colored clay on his face, like a costume. Why does this mask make it easier for Jack and the boys to kill? In what way does anonymity (wearing a mask or costume) allow people to do things they would not otherwise do? Where have you seen this play out in real life or in history?
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Composition: 8th GradeGuidelinesThe whole purpose of this assignment - whether you're reacting to an idea, sharing your own story, or analyzing the reading - is to discuss the ultimate issues of life. With that in mind, make sure that you: Archives
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