Chaucer convey's many messages through The Canterbury Tales. Many of them have a lesson to be learned. These are called exemplums. Now it is your turn.
Tells us a story that involves a lesson that we should learn that speaks to the morals, culture, and time that you live in. This story could be personal, or it could be fictional. If you want to tell a story through poetic form that is fine as well. If you choose to tell a story that is true, do not throw others under the bus. Change names if need be.
Your story should have an intro, body and a conclusion. It should have characters, and conflicts. It does not have to be long.
EX: When I was in high school, my parents decided to paint the house. Our house was too tall for a ladder, so my parents had to rent a cherry picker. It is a truck that has a crane/arm that moves a bucket holding a person toward whatever direction you want it to go. So, my mom climbed into the bucket and my dad was at the controls. My sister and I stood watching as the rope unwound from around the spool allowing the bucket to move high up toward the eaves of the house. My dad looked at my sister and I and said, "Do not touch this rope. It will sever your hand or whatever is caught underneath it."
My sister, heard do not, and that was enough to encourage her to stick her finger under the rope. As my dad pulled my mom in from the top of the eaves, my sister stuck her finger under the rope. Her finger sliced. She pulled her hand out and the tip of her finger fell to the side. I rushed her into the house to wrap her hand and the finger in a cool compress. Fortunately, the doctor's were able to sew her finger back on.
The lesson--parents know more than you think. Pay attention to your surroundings and listen to those who know more than you.
With The Canterbury Tales, we will see how Chaucer describes the many pilgrims on the Pilgrimage. One of the ways that he will convey the characters is through indirect and direct characterization. For this week's blog, I want you to show me someone important to you.
Paint the picture of the character using a combination of direct and indirect characterization. Do not tell us their name or relationship to you. We should be able to tell by your descriptions.
Ex: Her hair was always long and perfectly manicured. Her dark brown eyes always spoke before her mouth. I remember when I got a bad grade in math. I cried the entire way home from school, but when I walked in the door, not a single word was spoken. She placed a homemade cookie in front of me and a glass of milk and sat down for our usual talk.
We have been analyzing many pieces of literature this year. Probably more than you would ever want:) This week, I want you to choose something in your world--television show, commercial, song, movie, video game.
Determine the purpose--the societal commentary being made. Explain to us what your choice is, then explain what the purpose is--define, persuade, explain. What action is wanted--what we should take away or do as a result? Finally give us some examples to back up your thinking.
Example:
The purpose behind the Audi Q3 commercial that deals with scripts and abandoning the script is to not only sell cars, but to persuade the viewer to believe that with this car there are no limits. Man writes his own destiny. The clip shows characters reading from a script when interacting with other people. It shows one man getting into the car and leaving his script behind and the partner who is left behind does not know what to do because his destiny has not been planned. This commercial appeals to the emotions of the viewer. It counts on free will and the desire for man to live without being told how to.
Warrior Traits--wisdom, physical strength, loyalty, courage. These are the traits we talked about in class last week in regard to Beowulf. We also discussed how these were valued and who we thought should embody these traits today.
Think about what traits you value in other people. What traits are a must in your friends and what traits are a must in one of the following: teachers, coaches, celebrities, athletes? Then, think about if these expectations are reasonable. Are the traits we expect others to embody the same traits we ourselves demonstrate and are they attainable? Explain how you see these traits demonstrated in someone close to you and why you think these traits are important to your relationships.
I love movies. I think you know this. I love going to movies, sitting at home to watch movies, and I love talking about movies. Movies, like books, provide me with an escape from the world. However, this escape is more than just a chance to veg out. It comes with learning. We, whether we want to or not, learn from the stage and screen. We take quotes, we pull moments, we examine relationships and we apply them to our lives. We hope to have the courage of the hero, the passion of the artist, the skill of the scholar. They are part of our pop culture and they make a commentary on society and in turn on the viewer.
For this week's blog, write about a movie that changed your view, reinforced your view, or made you think about your view on some aspect of the world. Give us the title, a little synopsis, and then explain the scene and what resonated with you.
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We have discussing the heroes we see in literature and in movies. We often times glorify those, but fail to recognize those individuals who are present in our lives that make a difference. Think about the people in your life and how they have impacted you.
Choose one person who you think has impacted you the greatest. It may be a grandparent, a parent, a neighbor, a teacher, etc. It could be anyone. Explain how they have changed yo in some way. Tell a story that shows how you have been changed or impacted by this person.
My example:
When I was a child, I would go to my my grandparent's house for Spring Break. I would stay without my parent and one of the things I looked forward to was going to the cemetery and going to breakfast. On our way to breakfast one morning, when I was about 13 years old, my grandmother and I saw an elderly woman who was walking down the sidewalk. As we were stopped at the light, we saw the woman fall. She just fell forward and landed on her face. My grandmother said,"When I pull over to the side of the road, you jump out and go over to that woman."
I didn't know what I was supposed to do. I was a kid. But, when my grandma pulled over, I ran across the street to the woman's side. He face was covered in blood. She was shaking. I tried to get her to lay on her side and rest, while the people behind me were calling the police and ambulance. My grandmother came over and started to talk with her. Slowly, she calmed down. The police arrived and the paramedics loaded her into their vehicle. I just stood there.
My hands were covered in her blood. My grandma told me not to touch anything. When we got to the restaurant, I went to the restroom to scrub my hands clean. We later called the hospital to check on the woman and were told that she had a bruised face and I think a broken nose, but she was going to be okay.
I can still remember the blood on my hands. I remember the helplessness I felt at not knowing what to do to hep this woman. My grandmother has since passed away. My heart is heavy when I think of her and the profound impact she had on me. This was just like her. She would go out of her way to help others and she cared deeply for people. She has passed this on to me. Through her example, I am a better person.
The way we see is often only through a lens we have not yet focused or through one that has been too focused and we cannot see beyond. Examine this picture. Determine what is going on.
Then write a post that explains how this picture is a metaphor for your book--either The Things They Carried or The Yellow Birds.
Be sure to give details to support your explanation.
Chaucer convey's many messages through The Canterbury Tales. Many of them have a lesson to be learned. These are called exemplums. Now it is your turn.
