Final Post

Hello Guys,

Well, I'm sad to say that now that our class has come to an end, this will be my last post. I will be returning your last essays to you this week, as well as a progress report to your parents.

It has been a huge honor being your teacher, and I have enjoyed reading and discussing books with you over the year. I look forward to our summer class, we have some great reads ahead of us! Enjoy your break until that class begins. During the break try to read A Thousand Splendid Suns, its supposed to be amazing!

Take care,

Mrs. Severson

See you there?

Well, today is my last day in Chicago! Tomorrow I head to Pennsylvania and then will be in San Luis Obispo! Your moms are working out a time for us to all meet and discuss Kite Runner and your overall experience this year. I am really excited about having a "live" discussion with you and getting caught up.

In preparation for this Tuesday I want you to come up with your question for me about Kite Runner as well as the essay question you want to answer for your essay. Remember, for this essay, you are writing your own question. Come to the meeting with your essay question written down, and I will give you my feedback regarding it. We will finalize each of your essay questions during our meeting, and then you will e-mail me your essay like always.

Bring Kite Runner to the discussion, just in case you need to reference it during our chat. I am looking forward to seeing you all again, and know that we will have a great discussion about this wonderful book!

See you Tuesday!

The Kite Runner

I am really excited about our next book, The Kite Runner. We have two weeks to read this book, with your essay due on May 16th. So take your time and enjoy it! I will post the questions on Monday. Have a good weekend.

Cry, The Beloved Country

This is a powerful and moving story of sin and redemption, hate and love, fear and strength, bitterness and forgiveness. It is written in a beautiful and gentle voice that draws you into the dramatic plot and human characters. One of my favorite things about this book are the incredibly human and flawed characters. Some are striving to do the right thing, while at the same time resisting the temptation to hurt and hate those around them. At different moments they succeed and fail, and as a reader you feel their successes and failures. Your essay assignment is going to be exploring in depth a character from this book. So pay close attention to the characters.

The plot is an ageless one - that of a prodigal son. It might be a good idea to review the story of the prodigal son which can be found in Luke 15:11-32. The two stories are not identical, but the author’s familiarity with the Bible story certainly influenced this story. I know you are going to find this story compelling. It is a heartbreaking story that still shines with hope.

In order to get the most out of this book, it is helpful to know a little about apartheid South Africa. Apartheid was a system of segregation established and enforced by the government of South Africa. Both Blacks and Whites resisted, as you will see in the book. Some, like Bishop Tutu and Nelson Mandela, wanted peaceful resistance, but others preferred violent methods. In this story, you will see each type of person and their fight against apartheid.

If you watch on YouTube the four videos titled “Witness to Apartheid Part 1, 2, 3 and 4” that are linked here, you will learn quite a bit about South Africa. These four videos are an accurate portrayal of the system. I cannot recommend any other video’s because I have not previewed them. But be careful about what you watch. There are many people who deny the seriousness of apartheid, just like there are people who deny the Holocaust. Also, don’t bother reading the comments, they are just full of ignorant people saying ignorant things.

If you do not have time to watch all four of the videos, watch the second and third one. I think it is tragic how ignorant the White people are about the living conditions of the Blacks. You can also see in this video how after a while, some Black people are tired of resisting peacefully and are beginning to think that violence is the only way to bring down the system of apartheid. In the third video we see how a White man suffers because he has supported the Black community. At the end of part 3, and beginning of part 4 you see an Afrikaner explain very eloquently how growing up in South Africa among the racial division causes one to become blind to it. You can also see the torture endured by those arrested. This part can be disturbing, so view at your own risk.

After you watch the video’s, please leave a comment here so we can discuss your reactions. I will post the comprehension questions next.

(The painting above is titled The Return of the Prodigal Son, and was painted by Pompeo Batoni in 1773. I think it is a beautiful interpretation of the story.)

Movie Recommendation

I would like to recommend that AFTER you have finished the book, you rent the movie Of Mice and Men. The film stars John Malkovich and Gary Sinise, who also directed it. Filmed in 1992 on the Central Coast, I think you all will really like it. Maybe the three of you can get together this weekend and watch it. The movie does change some scenes, but the dialog is right out of the book. If you do end up watching it, please post and tell me how you liked it.

I know every family has different standards when it comes to movies, so please talk this over with your parents first. I just watched the movie a week ago, for the second time, so if your parents have any questions about the content, they can e-mail me. It is rated PG-13.

Have a good weekend. I'm off to Oregon for my nephew's first birthday!

Keep Up the Good Work!

Hi Guys,

My sister, who has her degree in English Lit, visited the blog the other day. I had told her about what we were doing, and she was curious to see it. Well after reading through most of it, she called me all the way from Scotland, where she lives, to ask me how old you all were. She was so impressed by the level of books you were reading and the way you were discussing them and clearly understanding them. You all really impressed her, and she knows what she is talking about. She has read all the books we are reading, so she enjoyed seeing your opinion of them.

I just wanted to tell you that little story by way of encouragement. You all are working very hard, and it shows in the level of work you continually produce. I could not be more proud of you guys! Great job!

New E-mail Address

I'm so sorry about this, but I created another new e-mail address and am hoping it will be more reliable! Here it is, hilaryseverson@gmail.com. Please change your address book. Thank you and I apologize about all the problems earlier.

Reading Schedule

Here is the reading schedule for the rest of the year. I have also included the date that the essay is due. Since it is only a five paragraph essay, an entire week will not be needed to write. Thus you have over a week to read each book. The longest book we will be reading is Catch 22, which is around 420 pages, so the extra time will be nice for this title. You will have only one week to read Animal Farm and write an essay about it, because the next week is Easter break. I did not want to split up the reading and the assignment, plus we needed to finish things up by May 23rd. Anyway, please look it over and let me know if you have any questions by leaving a comment.

Picture of Dorian Gray 1/7
Essay due 1/18
Heart of Darkness 1/21
Essay due 2/1
Metamorphosis 2/4
Essay due 2/15
Of Mice and Men 2/18
Essay due 2/29
Catch 22 3/3
Essay due 3/14
Animal Farm 3/17
Essay due 3/21
Cry the Beloved Country 3/31
Essay due 4/11
Lord of the Flies 4/14
Essay due 4/25
Flowers for Algernon 4/28
Essay due 5/9
Brave New World 5/12
Essay due 5/23

List of Books

List of Books

December 9, 2007

Here is the list of books we are going to read this semester. I am very excited about this list because the books are all so different. We are going to examine many interesting themes, including mercy killing, beauty, social structure, military complex, etc. Some of these books I have read, and others are new. So I am excited about discussing and exploring these books with you. Below is the list of books in the order we are going to read them.

Picture of Dorian Gray

Heart of Darkness

Metamorphosis

Of Mice and Men

Catch 22

Animal Farm

Cry the Beloved Country

Lord of the Flies

Flowers for Algernon

Brave New World