A How-to Manual

Here's a draft of the Power Point I'm showing you in class for the process we'll go through as we read these texts. I may need to revise it as we go along to make it work for us, but for right now this is the way I'm seeing the process.

A Literature Process

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The Results Are In

Here are the Classic Lit Groups. If you made your first choice clear, you got it. If you left it up to the fates, this is what the fates have decided for you. The Iliad has 2 groups, Oedipus has 1, and The Inferno, the most popular choice, has 3.

Each group will need to decide on a group leader (who will coordinate tasks), a recorder (who will keep the log and keep track of documents), and a speaker (who will present for the group as we go along). Groups with four people will also have a jack of all trades who will keep track of time for tasks as well as assist with research and keeping track of documents.

Recorder will keep a log for the group at GOOGLE DOCS, using the same log-in and password as we use for the blog.

ILIAD
Ellen
Miranda
Liam

Mario
Daniel G.
Brittany
James

OEDIPUS
Breyinn
Daniel A.
Bianca
Cerafina

INFERNO
Morgan
Emily
Cassidy

Bermuda
Jordan
Dalila
Reese

Victoria
Liz
Jillian

Phase One: The Big Picture

Each person will begin by making three documents to get you oriented to the big picture for your piece of literature. You can collaborate in any way that you like within your group, but each person will need each of the three pieces in your folder. Possible resources include Shmoop and Spark Notes.

A. A Character Map (at least 10 characters)

B. A Timeline or Plot Map (at least 10 plot points--try and figure out what are the 10-12 most important points)

C. A List of Important Facts that Create Context (at least 10 facts)

Note for ILIAD GROUP---It will help you understand The Iliad if you organize your character map by which characters are affiliated with the Greeks and which with Troy. Also, consider which are mortals and which are gods and goddesses.

Note for OEDIPUS GROUP----Your character chart will be shorter (less than 10 characters) and your plot is simpler, so I am going to ask you to do more with context. Check out these sites to learn more about Greek Theater and aim for 15-20 key facts:
The Origins of Theater
The First Plays
Types of Greek Drama

Classic Literature Choices

Choices, choices, choices-----
Here are some brief descriptions & lots of resources:

THE ILIAD BY HOMER

First published on a scroll in the 8th century BC, this is
the earliest known text of European literature.
In the mood for a war story? Want to take a closer look at a warrior's rage?

The Iliad on Shmoop
Characters in Iliad
Iliad Performance on YouTube
Virtual Iliad
Textbook
The Iliad On-Line
Free audio download of Iliad
Women in the Iliad
Iliad Game
Podcast on NPR comparing film Troy to Iliad


THE INFERNO BY DANTE
Written in the fourteenth century, this is part of a larger work, The Divine Comedy, in which the hero travels through hell, purgatory and heaven. The Inferno is the account of the hell tour. Many circles involved.
Feel drawn to hell imagery? This is the one for you.

The Inferno on Shmoop
The World of Dante--tons of good resources----
Textbook
Inferno On-Line
Danetworlds--a multi-media site
Inferno Webquest
Inferno Images
Hell--comparison among different cultures at Myth Encyclopedia
Compare to another hero in hell--The Myth of Sisyphus by Camus

OEDIPUS REX BY SOPHOCLES
An ancient Greek tragedy.
A plague hits the city. The king--Oedipus--must solve the riddle to lift the curse. Tragedy ensues. It's not pretty. Interested in issues of how much control each of us has over our own destiny? This is the play for you.

Short short version of Oedipus on YouTube
Oedipus on Shmoop
Greek Choral Reading
Oedipus lesson at PBS including Full & Reader's Theater version of Oedipus Rex
Textbook
Film of Oedipus Rex--(1984)

Looking Ahead to Classic Novels

Here are works of classic and near-classic world literature that can be used for your December project or paper. More details on this project will be forthcoming. If you know you're going to need some time to read your classic, I'd suggest you begin now with this as your book of choice. You could, if you like, read it once now, just to get the plot and big ideas, and reread selected sections later.

I'd also suggest that you use a bookmark to make notes--on characters, key quotes, pivotal scenes--anything which will help you understand the book--and might help you write about it later. If you already have a good idea of how you might want to do a creative project on your book talk to me. Then you can be more focused in your notes as you're reading. You will have the option, when the time comes, of doing individual or collaborative projects.

The essential first step here, after exploring these novels a bit, and writing brief summaries of five (this an in-class activity) will be to choose your book, figure out how you can get a copy, and begin reading. Need help finding one of these books? Talk to me. Having trouble choosing? Consider reading more than one.

SIGN UP SHEET IS HERE
(Sign up using first names only--or pen names.)

1984 by George Orwell
A dystopian novel published in 1949.
Deals in a more in-depth way with many of the issues raised in The Hunger Games--totalitarian regimes and how an individual can and might respond in the face of such.
Digital booktalk
1984 on Shmoop
1984 at Amazon

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
More than a movie with Keira Knightley, this classic novel published in the early 1800's was ahead of its time in looking at marriage and at issues between women and men. It's funny too.
A short booktalk
Short short summaries
Pride and Prejudice on Shmoop


Night by Elie Wiesel
This novel, based on Nobel Peace Prize Winner Elie Wiesel's experiences in a concentration camp, is a powerful classic read and appreciated by many sophomores in World Lit classes. I have multiple copies of this.
Elie Wiesel at NPR talking about the importance of bearing witness
Night at Amazon
Night on Shmoop
Digital booktalk


The Color Purple by Alice Walker
This novel, which focuses on African-American sisters in the 1930's received both the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award in 1982. Written as a series of letters, the topic of siblings is something I thought many of you might find appealing. Has some explicit content--and deals with tragic early circumstances--but ultimately is a about the healing and empowering potential in relationships.
Book review
The Color Purple on Shmoop

We Were the Mulvaneys by Joyce Carol Oates
Another well-written novel about family. Contemporary. The story of what happens when a happy family falls apart. Could tie in well with the Persephone myth.
Book review




Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
This novel, another excellent read, published in 1937, inspired Alice Walker's A Color Purple. It's a Great Read at the Forsyth County Library and the National Endowment for the Arts this fall. The public library has multiple copies.
The Big Read
Book Review
Their Eyes Were Watching God on Shmoop


Lord of the Flies by William Golding
Like Night, this is another classic novel often read in high school. And, like Night, its author is a Nobel Prize winner. Think of this as a kind of Survivor tale with British schoolboys stranded on an island. Not a pretty story.
Digital booktalk
Review
Lord of the Flies on Shmoop

Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan
Interested in issues between mothers and daughters? Interested in the importance of stories? This novel follows four Chinese women and their Chinese-American daughters through a series of lyrical and beautifully written short stories. It deals, among other things, with the importance of stories for passing on culture from one generation to another.
Joy Luck Club at Amazon

The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende
This popular and critically acclaimed novel, first published in 1982, follows three generations of a family in Chile. Combines politics, family, romance and magical realism.
Book Review
House of the Spirits at Amazon

Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
A gothic nineteenth century novel with strong chords of romance and the supernatural. Twilight lovers may find this one appealing.
Wuthering Heights on Shmoop
Text available online



Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
First published in 1985 in Spanish, it was later translated into English. This fourth novel, again by a Nobel Prize winner, contains, like House of the Spirits, elements of magical realism.
Love in the Time of Cholera at Amazon



Siddhartha by Herman Hesse
This is yet another novel often read in sophomore World Lit classes. It follows the inner spiritual journey of a young man in India who encounters the Buddha. A great choice if you're interested in spiritual quests. I have multiple copies.
Siddhartha on Shmoop



Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer
This is the only book on the list that's not a novel (though Night is based on a true story). First appearing as an article in Outside magazine, this narrative describes the inner and outer journey of a young man who went into the wilds of Alaska. Heartbreaking story. Beautifully written. Meshes beautifully with our study of hero's journey. I know at least one student in the class is choosing this one--has already chosen it.
Excerpt
Book summary
Into the Wild on Amazon

The Hero & Heroine Gallery

Hercules & Peter (final)

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Moses and Max- A Hero's Journey

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Jonah & Anakin Final

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Achilles & William Final

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Jamal & Odysseus

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Frodo & Perseus

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Sacrifice: A Hero's Call

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Odysseus & Gerald

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Reality or Myth

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Persephone & Sayuri

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Psyche & Noah

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Ender & Odysseus

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Psyche & Aerin

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Serenity

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A Time for Sharing

I'm thinking the best way to get these slide presentations in one place for presenting and viewing is to load them to a SlideShare account that I've created for our class. Even if you trust your flash drive I'd like you to upload them so I can review them on-line following your presentation. Thanks.

Here are the steps:

1. Go to Slideshare
2. Log in with the username and password for our class (same as blog)
3. Click on upload along the top of the page
4. Choose single upload
5. Upload your powerpoint----and there you have it---no flash drive worries--you can just go to this site during class and show the presentation from there. You will want to check and make sure that it transfers without any problems.

Transformation, Transformation, Transformation

While thinking about your hero or heroine's transformation, it might be nice to have a rich vocabulary for transformation.

Remember. It's not just about what they do--or what happens to them--it's also about how they are changing as all of this is happening--and how perhaps they are changing the world around them.

Consider these synonyms for transformation:

alteration, mutation, conversion, metamorphosis, transfiguration, transmutation, sea change; revolution, overhaul; remodeling, reshaping, redoing, reconstruction, rebuilding, reorganization, rearrangement, reworking, renewal, revamp, remaking, remake; transmogrification, morphing.

What Do These Two Have in Common?

&

The Model Rough Draft Slides on Dorothy & Odysseus for the Hero/Heroine Project can be found at my school website under Useful Documents. (I had trouble getting them to upload here.)

You can certainly go above and beyond the template/notes that I provide on the model draft, but this will give you a good basic outline from which to work.

Heroes and Heroines are Multiplying

We are beginning to choose our classic and contemporary heroes and heroines. Here's a sampling of which heroes and heroines made the cut.

• The Greek Guys: Herakles, Jason, Perseus, Odysseus, Achilles, and Prometheus
• The Greek Women--these are goddesses, actually, who live out a heroine's story: Persephone & Psyche
• The Biblical Guys: Moses & Jonah
• and, last but not least, the Brits: Arthur & Beowulf

Contemporary heroes and heroines really run the gamut--a wonderful diversity:

• Ender, of course
• Katniss from the Hunger Games, of course
• Jamal in Slumdog Millionaire
• Atticus in To Kill a Mockingbird
  
• Antwone Fisher in the movie of the same name and in the memoir, Finding Fish
• Frodo
• Anakin
• Luke Skywalker, maybe
• Elizabeth Bennett from Pride and Prejudice
  
• Emma, another Jane Austen heroine, maybe
• The Dark Knight, maybe
  
• Sayuri, in Memoirs of a Geisha
• Memphis Raines in Gone in Sixty Seconds (I feel better knowing now that he stole the cars to save his brother's life.)
• Annie, in The Invisible
• William, in A Knight's Tale
• Elaine, in Avalon High
  
• Someone in The Rocky Horror Picture Show
• And more . . .

A motley and wonderful cast-------let the voyage begin-------