The Things They Carried "trailer"

A "movie trailer" based off the book The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien created by students participating in Books Inspiring Film.

Blog #3 Assignment

CHOOSE OPTION A Or OPTION B

OPTION A

In your own blog, pick any character from Tim O’ Brien’s “The Things They Carried” except for the character of Jimmy Cross and analyze this character and the information we get about him in the story. Discuss what we learn about his personality, his interaction with others, and the things he carried. Discuss also whether this is a static, dynamic, flat, or round character and justify your decision. Finally briefly explain why you chose to focus on this character (what you found engaging, puzzling, relevant to you etc). Post your reply by the deadine (4/8) and then reply to a couple of your classmates' posts on this assignment by 4/13. Per the syllabus, Blog entries will be 250 words or more. Responses have no word limit but should be more substantial than "I agree." Remember that you can respond to as many as you want but you only get credit for the first two. Also, once a blog entry has four responses, your response to it will no longer count for credit. Full credit will be given only to those who adhere to the posting and the reply deadlines.

OPTION B

We read Hemingway’s “A Clean, Well Lighted Place” and what the café means for the main character and the old waiter. In your own blog, discuss what your personal refuge/haven is when you need such a venue. In your post, you should help us understand the following: 1) At what times and why you need such a place 2) What that place feels like to you when you are there and 3) how the place is similar to or different from the café in the Hemingway story (focus on the function, not the décor). Post your reply by the deadline (4/8) and then reply to a couple of your classmates' posts on this assignment by 4/13. Per the syllabus, Blog entries will be 250 words or more. Responses have no word limit but should be more substantial than "I agree" or ‘I like it.” Remember that you can respond to as many as you want but you only get credit for the first two. Also, once a blog entry has four responses, your response to it will no longer count for credit. Full credit will be given only to those who adhere to the posting and the reply deadlines.

Blog #2 Assignment

In your own blog, post your thoughts on John Steinbeck's use of symbolism in 'The Chrysanthemums." How does the writer use particular symbols and symbolic actions to communicate to the readers the desires and thoughts of the characters, as well as other unspoken truths about the characters in the story? You should title your response "Assignment #2--Symbolism in Steinbeck." Post your reply by the deadine (3/25) and then reply to a couple of your classmates' posts on this assignment by 4/6. Per the syllabus, Blog entries will be 250 words or more. Responses have no word limit but should be more substantial than "I agree." Remember that you can respond to as many as you want but you only get credit for the first two. Also, once a blog entry has four responses, your response to it will no longer count for credit. Full credit will be given only to those who adhere to the posting and the reply deadlines.

Blog #1 assignment

Scroll down on the left side. Click on the link “follow” A new page pops up. Here, if you already have a google account, use this to log in. Otherwise, click on Create a new Google Account and then fill out the information on the new page to create an account. Once the account has been created, the option to follow the blog will appear. Choose “follow publicly.”


You have now created your own google account and linked to the class blog. Go on to https://www.blogger.com/start and create your own blog page. Write a short paragraph about yourself as your first post to your own page. You will post your own blog entries (responses to the assignments/prompts) there (your own blog page) and people will also be able to post their comments on your blog. Remember that these are all public forums. Personalize your blog if you wish, but only include information you are comfortable with everyone knowing. When you have your gmail account and your blogger address, post both under this (as comments) so I can add your name to the direct links of the class blog, making it easier for others to find you. You will find the assignments on this page and you will post your responses on your own blog. The only time when you will post your response here (as a comment) will be for this first assignment. Please post your name as well, so I will know to which student each blog belongs.

Interpreting Our Lives

“We tell ourselves stories in order to live. . . We interpret what we see, select the most workable of multiple choices. We live entirely, especially if we are writers, by the imposition of a narrative line upon disparate images. . . .” Joan Didion, The White Album

The selections chosen for this Composition II section center around the epigram by Joan Didion and its idea that narrative (in all its forms), born out of the human desire to make sense of our experiences, defines the essence of literature. Literature is, nonetheless, its own reward even without such quests and we will examine both the pleasure we get from the written word and the satisfaction, puzzlement, and wonder we draw from the subject matter of the literary text.