Your Short Story: A Christmas Blessing

Quarter 2: A Christmas Blessing 

• Background: You have now read many tales.  We ought to love what is beautiful, good, and true.  Yet the world is so often full dark challenges to what is noble and right.  The legends of old often explored this in song and story, perhaps as a kind of imaginative practice for the young.  In this assignment, we will seek to bless a young girl or boy with a nicely woven tale paired with a related gift. 

• Prompt: Write a mighty tale of nobility, courage, and grace.  Your story must 

• be full of adventure,
• teach something noble, 
• and include references to the physical gift (such as a ball or sword) that you will give this child. 
• In general, your work will be descriptive.  Please read this overview of the basics from Purdue University on descriptive writing. 

• Outcome

• Choose a child (or person) to bless.
• Think of a fitting gift (purchased or made by you).
• Write your adventure.  Make it look old and cool. 
• Make a map.  Make it look old and cool.
• Hide the gift during Christmas break.
• Present the legend and map to the child.
• When you return from break, tell us all about it! (Extra credit if you document the event)

• Examples
• Holly Minarik
• Sierra Myer 
• Stunning Picture Book 1
• 2
• 3
• Beautiful Pencil Work
• More

Format

• Typed MLA (12 point, Times New Roman, proper margins, etc.)
• One change to MLA: Single space poetry (double space prose as usual)
• Or handwritten in pen for certain cases only (maps, letters, etc.) 
• All poetry must be single spaced and punctuated according to modern MLA usage.  
• All prose must be double spaced and punctuated according to modern MLA usage. 
• Submit your work to Turnitin.com and hard copy please.

Requirements

• Two or more pages (double spaced, at least 850 words)
• Less than 2,100 words (fewer than five pages)
• Your story must include all the steps of Plot and feature at least one literary device (Indirect Characterization, symbol, allegory, POV, allusion, anagnorisis, conflict, etc...)
• Example Contest Winner from Bookshop Santa Cruz: "Among the Trees" by Breanna Eddy 
• Rough Draft Due Monday 12/09 (midnight, submitted to turnitin.com)
• Peer Edit Monday 12/9
• Final Draft Due Wednesday 12/11

Your Grade

• If you are short of the minimum, you will earn no more than a D. When completed, the story should be free of typos and grammatical and spelling errors. In general, 2 errors or fewer on any page =A-, 3-5 errors on any page=B-, and 6 or more errors on any page =C- or lower. Failing to adhere to the themes or neglecting to meet any of the other standards on this handout will result in a significantly lower grade. Fragments and run-On sentences are major deductions.
• You may not include pieces written for other classes (past, present, or future) or for other assignments in this class. You will fail this assignment if you do so.

Start it early, and write something you are proud of.  Work to make it wise in its theme, rich in its descriptive imagery, and clever in its execution. Consider all the tools of the writing craft that we have examined in other stories. 

How can I get started? 

• Identify a protagonist; think of people you actually know.  Change them up a wee bit. 
• Identify an antagonist (character, internal conflict, natural force, or other combination). 
• How will you generate tension between the protagonist and the antagonist (or external conflict)? 
• Share ideas. 
• Work in class. 

Short Stories

Middle East and Mediterranean

• Esther

• "Ali Baba and the Forty Robbers"

North American

•  The Oral Tradition in the Modern World

• Washington Irving
• "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" 
• "Rip Van Winkle"
• Edgar Allen Poe

• "The Masque of the Red Death" (1842)

• Richard Connell
• "The Most Dangerous Game"
• O. Henry

• "The Gift of the Magi": Bright

• Stephen Vincent Benét (pronounced bih-NAY)

• "By the Waters of Babylon": Sci-Fi

•  Louis L'Amour

• "Trap of Gold": Adventure

• Alice Walker
• "Everyday Use"  
• Amy Tan
• "Two Kinds"

• Jon Krakauer 
• "Into Thin Air" 

• Contest Winner from Bookshop Santa Cruz: "Among the Trees" by Breanna Eddy 

South America

• Jorge Luis Borges
• "The Book of Sand"
• Gabriel Garcia Marquez
• "A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings" 

British

• Arthur Conan Doyle (1859-1930)  

• "The Adventure of the Speckled Band" 

• "The Adventure of the Blanched Soldier" 

• Rudyard Kipling

•  "The Man Who Would be King"

• Hilaire Belloc

• "The Mowing of a Field" (1906) 
• "The Wing of Dalua"

• G. K. Chesterton (1874--1936)

• "A Piece of Chalk" (1909)
• More essays:
• A Defense of Nonsense (any essay in this collection)
• "The Blue Cross"(audio version) (the first of a series of Father Brown detective stories). Here are more tales:
• The Innocence of Father Brown
  The Wisdom of Father Brown
  Father Brown (from Collected Works)
   
•  

•  W. W. Jacobs

  • "The Monkey's Paw"

• Adelaide Casely-Hayford

  • "Mista Courifer" (1961)

• Doris Lessing  
• "Through the Tunnel" (or here as a .doc) 

  Russian

• Leo Tolstoy

• "How Much Land Does a Man Need?" 

Monday 11/16 ~ What's behind the masque?

DUE: Comparative Literature Essay

LIT NOTES ~ Add these definitions to your journals section.

• Allegory
• Symbol

SHORT STORY #5 "The Masque of the Red Death "

                                  by Edgar Allan Poe

• EQ: What is allegory?
• Who was Poe? What other works from Poe have you read?

Journal 30 
1. Using the SAT vocab list, write a brief paragraph using at least eight words (see list below).
2. The rich and powerful might build walls around their sprawling estates to block out the upsetting parts of life. What realities of life must people face no matter who they are?
3. Google search: What are the symptoms of the pneumonic plague?
4. Consider the Allegory feature. Define as many symbols as you can, bullet-point style. What is the "story below the surface" if you translate each symbol? (Include at least these: Prince Prospero, the abbey, the gate, the masquerade, the ebony clock and TIME, the winding hallway, all the different colors of rooms, & the intruder)

SAT Vocab from Masque

1. profuse - plentiful
2. sagacious - wise
3. voluptuous - characterized with luxury or pleasure
4. contagion - the spreading of disease
5. imperial - majestic
6. emanating - coming forth
7. sedate - calm; quiet
8. pervaded - spread throughout
9. piquancy - a pleasantly sharp or appetizing flavor
10. phantasm - a figment of the imagination; an illusion
11. cessation - ceasing or stopping
12. disapprobation - strong disapproval, usually on moral grounds
13. propriety - quality of being proper
14. tangible - something that can be touched
15. impetuosity - impulsive or rash 

HW: Finish Journal 30

Block Day 11/12-13 ~ Comparative Literature Essay

Short Story
Finish going over "By the Waters of Babylon"

Grammar/Roots Quiz

Comparative Literature Essay

• Prompt: Compare two of the short stories we've read in class using the lens of any literary device or writer's tool as your point of comparison. The main goal is to examine the writer's craft.
• Some "lenses" to consider: conflict (internal or external), irony, theme, plot, organizational structure, point-of-view, characterization (direct or indirect), imagery/description, tone, allusion, transitions, allegory, symbolism, etc...)

Take a look at a few thesis statements. Notice that only the third is specific and meaningful beyond summary.

• There are ways in which the two poems are similar, but they also have many differences.
• Auden’s and Whitman’s poems are mostly different: Auden’s rhymes, and is about a lover who has died, while Whitman’s is free verse and addresses a multitude of ideas.
• Though significantly different in form and in focus, both Auden’s and Whitman’s poems communicate their ideas chiefly through imagery of the commonplace and the everyday.

A couple of other thesis examples:

• Although Jackson and Bartlion both urge the reader to consider the life lessons presented in nature, they differ in writing approach: Jackson relies on personification, while Bartlion employs visual imagery. 
• While Odysseus and Achilles are both frequently tested by hostile forces and combat, they differ in their behavior during critical situations as seen in their views of the warrior code and treatment of others who are in battle with them. 

HW: Start reading The Power of One!

Wednesday 11/11/15 ~ Weeping by the waters...

*Before we get started, take a minute to leave me a teacher review.

ROOTS

• mega - great
• mem - remember

SHORT STORIES

• Work with a partner to review the questions to Journal 29.
• Discuss

GRAMMAR

• EQ: How can I make my thesis clear even though it is a complex and sometimes wordy sentence? 
• Notes: Click here to find rules about Parallel Structure. 
• Practice the skill here.
• Consider writing an essay that makes a point by comparing two stories. What stories would you like to use? What part would you like to compare? Write a thesis using CAB style and parallel structure. 

HW: Study your grammar (agreement & parallel structure) and roots (gest-mem).
Get ahead by starting The Power of One or begin writing your short story!

W. W. Jacobs

Middle East and Mediterranean

• Esther

• "Ali Baba and the Forty Robbers"

North American

•  The Oral Tradition in the Modern World

• Washington Irving
• "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" 
• "Rip Van Winkle"

• Edgar Allen Poe

• "The Masque of the Red Death" (1842)

• Richard Connell
• "The Most Dangerous Game"
• O. Henry

• "The Gift of the Magi": Bright

• Stephen Vincent Benét (pronounced bih-NAY)

• "By the Waters of Babylon": Sci-Fi

•  Louis L'Amour

• "Trap of Gold": Adventure

• Alice Walker
• "Everyday Use"  
• Amy Tan
• "Two Kinds"

• Jon Krakauer 
• "Into Thin Air" 

• Contest Winner from Bookshop Santa Cruz: "Among the Trees" by Breanna Eddy 

South America

• Jorge Luis Borges
• "The Book of Sand"
• Gabriel Garcia Marquez
• "A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings" 

British

• Arthur Conan Doyle (1859-1930)  

• "The Adventure of the Speckled Band" 

• "The Adventure of the Blanched Soldier" 

• Edgar Allan Poe
• Click here for a bank of stories.

• Rudyard Kipling

•  "The Man Who Would be King"

• Hilaire Belloc

• "The Mowing of a Field" (1906) 
• "The Wing of Dalua"

• G. K. Chesterton (1874--1936)

• "A Piece of Chalk" (1909)
• More essays:
• A Defense of Nonsense (any essay in this collection)
• "The Blue Cross"(audio version) (the first of a series of Father Brown detective stories). Here are more tales:
• The Innocence of Father Brown
  The Wisdom of Father Brown
  Father Brown (from Collected Works)

•  W. W. Jacobs

  • "The Monkey's Paw"

• Adelaide Casely-Hayford

  • "Mista Courifer" (1961)

• Doris Lessing  
• "Through the Tunnel" (or here as a .doc) 

  Russian

• Leo Tolstoy

• "How Much Land Does a Man Need?" 

Tuesday 11/10/15 ~ Short Story #4: By the Waters of Babylon

Go over Fish Cheeks questions. How does Tan show and not tell?

EQ: What effect does POV have on the our stories so far? Why would an author use the unreliable pov?

LIT NOTES: Do you know your point of view? If you don't, now you do. Add this to your notes in your journal section. 

• First-person point of view
• Why don't we talk about second person?

• Third-person point of view
• limited
• objective or dramatic
• omniscient

• Unreliable

SHORT STORY #3  

Journal 29: "By The Waters of Babylon" by Stephen Vincent Benét 
*This was published in 1937 in The Saturday Evening Post. 

SAT Vocab: As you read, list at least five words that are new to you.
1. To understand what is really happening in this story, you have to draw conclusions based on the writer’s clues and your own experience and knowledge. What do you think John is really seeing (and how are you able to tell) when he describes each of the items below? (You might want to work with a group to solve these puzzles.)

• the Great Burning
• Ou-dis-sun
• the statue of a man named ASHING
• the temple in mid-city with a roof painted like the sky at night
• the caves and tunnels where John thinks the gods kept their slaves

2. Find a place in the story where John achieves a breakthrough, and explain what he discovers. How does the first-person point of view help you appreciate his breakthrough?

3. Explain how the words of Psalm 137, verses 1-6, connect with Benét’s story.

• "Longing for Zion in a Foreign Land"
  1 By the rivers of Babylon,
  There we sat down, yea, we wept
  When we remembered Zion.
  ² We hung our harps
  Upon the willows in the midst of it.
  ³ For there those who carried us away captive asked of us a song,
  And those who plundered us requested mirth,
  Saying, “Sing us one of the songs of Zion!”
  ⁴ How shall we sing the Lord’s song
  In a foreign land?
  ⁵ If I forget you, O Jerusalem,
  Let my right hand forget its skill!
  ⁶ If I do not remember you,
  Let my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth—
  If I do not exalt Jerusalem
  Above my chief joy.
   

4. Near the end of the story, John says, “Perhaps in the old days, they ate knowledge too fast.” What do you think he means? Are we “eating knowledge too fast” today? Explain.

5. Benét wrote this story in 1937, before the first atom bomb was invented. World War II and the Cold War are over now. Do Benét’s warnings about the complete destruction of a civilization still have relevance today? Why?

6. Do you think Benét made the secret of the Place of the Gods too easy to guess, or too hard, or were the clues just difficult enough? Explain.

7. What is the narrative perspective of this story?  How does this perspective play a role in the reader's experience and theme of the work?

HW: Complete the reading and Journal 29 (10 pts. tomorrow)
*Study your grammar (agreement) and roots (gest-mem) for block day.
*Get ahead by starting The Power of One or begin writing your short story!

Blood Brothers Essay Prompts

Hey! Just in case you need the essay prompts for Blood Brothers, here they are:
*NOTE: You have until Friday 11/13 to get your points for a thesis rewrite.
*Rewrites must follow CAB style.

Option A

 “If there is a problem somewhere,” he said with his dry chuckle, “this is what happens. Three people will try to do something concrete to settle the issue. Ten people will give a lecture analyzing what the three are doing. One hundred people will commend or condemn the ten for their lecture. One thousand people will argue about the problem. And one person—only one—will involve himself so deeply in the true solution that he is too busy to listen to any of it.”

“Now,” he asked gently, his penetrating eyes meeting each of ours in turn, “which one are you?” (Chacour 134)

The words of Father Longere had a deep impact on Elias. By the end of the novel, had Elias become the “one person,” the activist that Longere says will bring real change? If so, how has he proven himself? If not, what else must he do to enact this identity?

Option B

Silent, still, I lay there, aware for the first time that I was capable of vicious, killing hatred. Aware that all men everywhere—despite the thin, polite veneer of society—are capable of hideous violence against other men. Not just the Nazis or the Zionists or the Palestinian commandos—but me. I had covered my hurts with Christian responses, but inside the anger had gnawed. With this sudden, startling view of myself, a familiar inner voice spoke firmly, without compromise: If you hate your brother, you are guilty of murder. Now I understood.

I was aware of other words being spoken. A Man was dying a hideous death at the hands of His captors—a Man of Peace, who suffered unjustly—hung on a cross. Father, forgive them, I repeated. And forgive me, too.

In that moment, forgiveness closed the long-open gap of anger and bitterness inside me. From the time I had been beaten as a small boy, I had denied the violence inside me. Now . . . the taming hand that had taught me compassion in the border of West Germany had finally stilled me enough to see the deep hatred in my own soul.  (Chacour 172-173)

What effect does this realization of his own rage have on Elias’ views on the role of violence in the process of making peace?

Monday 11/9/15 ~ Story #3: Fish Cheeks

ROOTS

• mar, mari, mer - sea, pool
• matri - mother
• medi - half, middle, between, halfway

EQ:  What is the difference between direct characterization and indirect characterization?

LIT NOTES: Click here to get the definitions and a pneumonic trick.



SHORT STORY #3: Fish Cheeks by Amy Tan
*First discuss: Agree, Disagree, or Somewhere in the Middle?

1. My parents generally give me wise advice.
2. I like having friends over for dinner with my family.
3. My parents are embarrassing.
4. My parents have had a deep influence on who I am today.
5. I can remember a time when I tried to change myself to fit in.

*Journal 28: Fishcheeks by Amy Tan
Part A: Use the STEAL chart to explain the characterization in Fishcheeks
Part B: Answer the "Questions on Writing Strategy" section from the text.

HW: Finish Journal 28

Block Day 11/5-6 ~ Short Story #2: Through the Tunnel

ROOTS

• man - hand
• mand - command

MEMORIZATION

• Beatitudes Quiz!
• When you finish the quiz, complete Journal 27 below.

SAT Vocab - Write a sentence using FIVE of these SAT words. 

1. Contrition - a state of feeling crushed by guilt
2. luminous - bright or shining
3. supplication - the action of asking or begging for something earnestly or humbly
4. sputtering - spitting or spraying
5. beseeching - urgently requesting someone to do something
6. minute - tiny
7. clambered - to climb, move, or get out of something in an awkward or laborious way
8. incredulous - unbelievable
9. gout - a type of arthritis

SHORT STORY #2: Through the Tunnel

Journal 27
1. Have you ever taken a risk to prove yourself before? Do you find it convincing that Jerry takes such a large risk and survives? Why/why not?
2. Write a sentence using FIVE of the SAT words from the list above.
3.Write an overview of the plot of Through the Tunnel using the bold terms from yesterday's notes (exposition, complication, rising action, climax, epiphany, falling action, denouement).
4. What similarities in THEME are shared between this story and Two Kinds?
5. Write a thesis that answers one of the two prompts (see notes below):

• Compare/contrast the approach of the mothers in the stories Two Kinds and Through the Tunnel. 
• Compare/contrast the two messages about growing up in Two Kinds and Through the Tunnel. 

_________________________________________________________________________________
Writing Instruction
*Essays back

Notes: What makes a good thesis?

For starters: Are these Strong Thesis Statements?

1. The myth, Midas, has a great lesson.
2. My essay is about the lesson on greed in Midas. 
3. While greed is universally known to lead to disaster, Midas is one Greek myth that shows the painful effects of greed on the individual, the family, and society

How do you write a STRONG Thesis Statement?
      *In this case, strong means clear and specific.

1st -Figure out the question.
         What traits make a hero universal hero?
         Why has the hero changed?
         How has the hero changed since Greek times?
         Which traits do I view as the true hero?
         
2nd - Answer the question.  
  One possible format to use is the CAB thesis:

       Contest
                   Although the Greek heroes were often demigods and quite selfish,
          Assert
                   they do have some major similarities with the typical modern hero
          Because
                    because they share the traits of self-sacrifice, loyalty and courage.

3rd - Check it.

• Did I take a debatable position? No Summary!!!
• Is my thesis specific enough? Avoid general words. For example, if you contain words like "good" or "successful," then state what makes it good or specifically what the standard for success is.
• Does it pass the "So What?" test? If not, you may need to clarify, connect your ideas to a larger issue, or narrow your topic down somehow. 
• Does my thesis match my body paragraphs? If the topics of your body paragraphs do not match your thesis, then one of them has to change. It is ok to change your thesis. This often happens as your write and think more deeply about a topic. For this reason, many people write the introduction to the essay last. 

For more help, go to this website.
For more practice, go to this website.

HW: Complete Journal 27

P.S. If you want to regain five points on your essay grade, you may rewrite your thesis as a CAB style thesis (Only grades B and below are eligible). Points must be redeemed in person during flex next week.

Wednesday 11/4/15 ~ Through the Tunnel

ROOTS

• macr, macer - lean
• magn - great

SHORT STORIES

• Review Two Kinds: Conflict? Theme? 
• Take notes on plot:

Plot - a general pattern of events that takes place in the narrative and the resolution of the conflict between the protagonist and antagonist .

• Beginning
• exposition
• complication or inciting incident (the antagonist presents an obstacle to the protagonist)
• rising action which features 
• crisis points

• Middle
• climax or ultimate crisis 
• there may be a black moment (darkest point of the climax)
• the protagonist may experience an epiphany, sudden realization, clarification, or anagnorisis

•  End
• falling action, denouement
• resolution
• open ending
• closed ending

Story #2: Through the Tunnel  by Doris Lessing

• Click here for the story.

JOURNAL 27: Through the Tunnel

1. Have you ever taken a risk to prove yourself before? Do you find it convincing that Jerry takes such a large risk and survives? 

HW: Complete Journal 27 (#1) & read Through the Tunnel

*Also, buy The Power of One and study the Beatitudes.

Tuesday 11/3/4 ~ Two Kinds

MEMORIZATION ~ Quiz on block day!

ROOTS

• locut, loqu - talk or speak
• luc, lum, luc, lus - light

GRAMMAR
Practice Pronoun Agreement


SHORT STORIES

• Short Story #1 ~ Two Kinds
• Complete Journal #26 from yesterday.

Journal 26

1) Meet the Author ~Write down 5-10 bullet point notes about the life of Amy Tan.
    *Start here or here.
2) SAT Vocab ~ Record one sentence that uses at least four of the above SAT words.
3)  List the internal and external conflicts in Two Kinds.
4) What would you say the THEME is for this story?

HW: Finish Journal 26

• Have you bought The Power of One yet? (Make sure it is the young reader's condensed edition ISBN# 0-385-73254-6
• Can you recite the Beatitudes? 

Finals Study Guide

Here's a study guide list for starters....

Roots & Prefixes

• Prefixes (Dominus-Mortis)
• Roots (Gest-Pac)

Grammar

• Complex sentences (how to use a semi-colon, colon, and conjunctions to combine sentences)
• Parallel structure
• Pronoun agreement

Writing Instruction

• What makes a good thesis statement? What is CAB?
• What is a TIED paragraph?
• How can you use the TIE method to incorporate quotes? 

Short Stories and Vocab

• Be able to identify which story is being discussed or quoted:
• "The Masque of the Red Death " by Edgar Allan Poe
•  "By The Waters of Babylon" by Stephen Vincent Benét 
• "Fishcheeks" by Amy Tan
• "Through the Tunnel" by Doris Lessing
• "Two Kinds" by Amy Tan
• 
  
• Know these Literary Devices:
• Allegory
• Symbol
• Irony
• Theme
• Tone
• Allusion
• Conflict (internal and external)
• Point-of-View (first, various versions of third and unreliable)
• Direct Characterization
• Indirect Characterization (STEAL)
• Plot (exposition, complication, rising action, climax, epiphany, falling action, denouement)

SAT Vocabulary

From Two Kinds

1. prodigy - child of highly unusual talent or genius
2. lamented - said with regret or sorrow
3. listlessly - without energy or interest
4. mesmerizing - fascinating
5. discordant - clashing; not in harmony
6. dawdled - wasted time; lingered
7. stricken - heartbroken
8. fiasco - total failure
9. nonchalantly - without interest or concern
10. betrayal - failure to fulfill another's  hopes

From Through the Tunnel

1. Contrition - a state of feeling crushed by guilt
2. luminous - bright or shining
3. supplication - the action of asking or begging for something earnestly or humbly
4. sputtering - spitting or spraying
5. beseeching - urgently requesting someone to do something
6. minute - tiny
7. clambered - to climb, move, or get out of something in an awkward or laborious way
8. incredulous - unbelievable
9. gout - a type of arthritis

From The Masque of the Red Death

1. profuse - plentiful
2. sagacious - wise
3. voluptuous - characterized with luxury or pleasure
4. contagion - the spreading of disease
5. imperial - majestic
6. emanating - coming forth
7. sedate - calm; quiet
8. pervaded - spread throughout
9. piquancy - a pleasantly sharp or appetizing flavor
10. phantasm - a figment of the imagination; an illusion
11. cessation - ceasing or stopping
12. disapprobation - strong disapproval, usually on moral grounds
13. propriety - quality of being proper
14. tangible - something that can be touched
15. impetuosity - impulsive or rash