AP English Blog II

THE AMERICAN DREAM

2009-01-19T20:50:00.005-05:00

Final Post

Due FEB 2 Beginning of school

I will grade this in class Monday--so you can post over the weekend.
NO additional time will be provided in class to BLOG

DON'T GO INTO THIS BLOG UNTIL YOU HAVE FINISHED THE BOOK.
PS--if you are here for hints on the quiz...read the book instead:)

Did anyone in the Great Gatsby earn his/her American Dream?
Does the American Dream still hold true today for you in our society?

For help on "American Dream" feel free to bug Mrs. Nayback, Mrs. Quinn or search online. PLEASE do not attempt to blog information that you yourself do not write
(i.e. don't just copy and paste from a website) I want your own thoughts about the book!

Crimes

2009-01-19T20:48:00.002-05:00

Post #4

Due before the end of January IN CLASS.

What crimes (in your opinion) are the worst in the Great Gatsby. What crimes should have been overlooked? Does the time period or your feelings for Gatsby influence your decision?

GATSBY and Film

2009-01-15T13:48:00.004-05:00

POST #3

Due FRI Jan 23 or sooner. Don't forget to give SPECIFIC detail and to respond to each other. There will be 5 posts in all.

Read chapters 1-6, also after viewing some of the film (from these later chapters) in class

Compare your impressions of the characters in the film with what you envisioned in the novel. What would you have changed? What symbols do you see done well in the film that Fitzgerald would have appreciated?

WEEK 2 BLOG ENTRIES

2009-01-15T13:44:00.005-05:00

POST #2

Instructions, one post due by THURS. Jan 22 or sooner. Don't forget to give SPECIFIC detail and to respond to each other. There will be 5 posts in all.

Reading chapters III-V

Describe your first encounters as a reader with Gatsby. What about him rings true? False? Compare him to any other "famous" person you have personally met. It can also be someone who has a lot of social respect that you were awed to meet or be in the presence of.

WEEK 1 Gatsby Blogging Instructions

2009-01-09T10:21:00.006-05:00

POST #1

You will be expected to respond to 5 different entries over the next 3.5 (or so) weeks. For full credit you are expected to answer in complete sentences, use SPECIFIC detail or quotes from the text to reinforce your opinion and you must correspond with your classmates. Please don't just say "I agree" or "I disagree" say why! Overall Blogging will be worth 50 pts. Some of you have extra credit from responding to drafts, but e.c. cannot fully replace if you did not respond on time. Please watch typos:)

First Assignment: due January 16 before end of class time--should include readings from chapters 1-2 or further. Please try to BLOG if at home. If no computer, bring written materials to show me in class Monday if too many snow days. (BLOG MODIFIED 1/15 DUE TO SNOW DAY)

What do you honestly think about the narrator (NOT Gatsby) and how he describes people and his current situation. You may some some references from the film, but I am more interested in the book!

SUPER MYSTERIOUS DRAFT #2

2008-12-12T12:17:00.001-05:00

Rough Draft – Pregnancy

Unwanted pregnancy is a serious problem amongst women today. There are so many situations in which a woman gets pregnant without ever having wanted a child. There are so many unsafe places where helpless women get raped and have a child as a result. What woman would want that baby? The problem is, that unwanted child has to live in a difficult situation. There is either no father, a negligent mother, or both, and that child has to live with that as well.
In society today, women have options to handle an unwanted pregnancy. There is adoption, in which you give your child to a family that might not be able to have a child of their own. Another option is abortion, where you terminate your pregnancy altogether. In A Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood, there is a good example of what could happen in the future. In the story, society has changed dramatically. Men are the rulers and women are meant to simply stand off to the side, raise babies, or serve the men. The futuristic novel is told from the point of view of Offred, a woman taken away from her family and friends all because she is capable of having children, unlike the Wives. This story represents what may happen in a few hundred years. We could never predict for sure, but what if forced pregnancy becomes the main focus in the future? In A Handmaid’s Tale, having a baby raises your status. Because of a lot of the Wives have lost their ability, the handmaids, such as Offred, are used only for their fertility. If they are unable to reproduce, they are sent away and a new woman is brought in. This book is a very feminist one, because it portrays the man as the enemy and women as the victims. In a way, that is generally the same as it is today. If a man gets a woman pregnant, how easily could he abandon her? The woman has to live with that pregnancy, she can never just run away.
In Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley, pregnancy is a huge issue, but in a different way than you would expect. The people in this novel have no care for individuality or having an identity, therefore they create babies in test tubes, and make them all so similar that they don’t need names. They train humans for one job only, not giving them the option of doing what they want to do, and punish them at a very young age not to like flowers or music or anything that could encourage their individuality.

Scarlet "Sins"

2007-12-18T09:54:00.000-05:00

What is the worst thing that you ever done?
(that you would feel comfortable mentioning on the blog)

What is the worst thing (so far) that has happened in the book?

Societal Problems

2007-10-01T13:53:00.000-04:00

What societal problems exist in your novel? Explain to people who may not have read your book. Are these problems still ongoing today?