9B: Introduction to our graphic novels

Today we got into our reading groups for the next week or so and got an introduction to the stories you’ve chosen to read. In your groups, you were asked to read the article or story that thematically relates to your story of choice and do the following:

1) Identify what you think are the important quotes and passages in the text, and explain why you believe they’re important

2) Generate three deep questions or observations/thesis ideas that you got from the text

3) In your group, each of you should pose one of you questions to the group and write down their awesome responses

This work was handed in at the end of class.

9A: Joseph Campbell and the monomyth

To help you out with your stories we looked at Joseph Campbell’s monomyth — the idea that throughout time and cultures, all heroes (with super powers or no) all go on similar heroic journeys. Shorter version: Harry Potter, Katniss Everdeen, Odysseus and even you all go through the same stages of a heroic journey.

Here are Campbell’s own words about each stage: Monomyth shorter quotes. Check with students in class to to get more details from their notes.

If your story is a little short, or you’re not sure what your character should do next, check with the monomyth. What would another hero in another story do?

And here’s a helpful video that illustrates all that:

Freshmen: Peer revision and picking your book

Today we started off with you all picking what book (of five options) you’ll spend the next week or so reading. If you missed class today find me tomorrow to let me know which one you want.

Otherwise, we spent the day peer revising the first drafts and introductions to your hero stories. We’ll continue with this tomorrow.

Seniors: the witch queen and fate

Today we examined again how fate propels the characters and the plot of Macbeth. We were introduced to Hecate, queen of the witches, who tells the other witches that Macbeth has yet to learn his full destiny. By comparing Macbeth’s idea of what fate is/does in act 3 scene 1 to Hecate’s idea in 3.5 we can get a sense of why things might not work out so well for Mac.

Here’s the comparison sheet we used: Macbeth & Hecate on fate

9A: Reworking our Batman/Superman thesis statements, looking at introductions for your story

Today we took a look at those thesis statements we wrote last week and in small groups revised them to make them even better. Here are a few that were excellent after going through the revision process:

“Batman is a better representative of the American people because he dealt with tragedy like normal people might.” – Kevin Bui

“Like Batman, people in modern day America have dark sides. They can identify with a vigilante who takes on his problems realistically.” – Anton

“Batman represents human personality because he experienced actual tragedy.” – Huy

“Batman better represents America because the crime in the stories connect with crimes and criminals today.” – Jeffrey

“Americans can build confidence if they look up to their hero, Batman, because he has been through tragedies that people can relate to.” – Cathy

“Batman is more human because Superman only knows the American way, so only Americans can somewhat relate to him while anyone can relate Batman.” – Carlos

After getting that out of the way, we went over a couple things to note about your story that’s due tomorrow. Remember, you need to have an introduction along with. Good thing we went over introductions in class today.

Your introduction should do three things: explain your artistic direction/design, explain how you created your character and explain something about your story that isn’t obvious.

Here are some examples we looked at:

The introduction to Batman: Year One discusses how the idea to give Batman more of a background story came about: https://www.dropbox.com/s/p8tq9rk5pzc90dz/Batman%20Year%20One%20introduction.pdf?dl=0

The introduction to Icon discusses how the character was created:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/iuyuwu8o1ymhvba/Icon%20introduction.pdf?dl=0

The introduction to I Kill Giants explains how they designed what the main character would look like:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/tfhyu07xaa5sxrh/I%20Kill%20Giants%20introduction.pdf?dl=0

One more time, here’s the rubric for the assignment:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/laxp5nmdg9ihpm4/Hero%20creative%20writing%20rubric.doc?dl=0

Good luck!

9B: Re-working our Batman/Superman thesis statements

In small groups today we looked at the Batman/Superman thesis statements we wrote last week on that excerpt from Supergods. Your group members were supposed to help you rework your thesis to make it even better. Here are some examples of great ones that came out of class today:

“America seems to develop off of other influences and beliefs; our nation is known as a melting pot. Batman is the perfect depiction of that. America was founded off of justice, and Batman’s morals of righteousness and apprehending the wrong-doer are synonymous with our beliefs.” – Denezia

“Firefighters and policemen represent America with bravery and courageous acts. Superman acts with these same characteristics [and therefore better represents America].” – Desuray

“Superman represents America more than Batman because more people look to him proudly as a hero.” – Dennis

“Superman is more human because his background represents the average man’s.” – Julian

Remember that your rough drafts of your hero stories are due Wednesday.

9B: Developing your hero

Today Ms. Gummoe led the class in some exercises meant to help you develop your hero for the first draft of your story, which is due Wednesday. Ask Ms. Gummoe for a Facebook profile template to help you create your character.

If you’re still having trouble coming up with a hero, here are some helpful tips:

-Find a myth/story/legend/old story that you like that you could update or base a new hero on (like how Superman comes from Moses, or Thor comes from Norse mythology, or how Wonder Woman comes from Roman mythology)
-Is your hero a boy or a girl?
-How old is your hero?
-Where does he or she live?
-Does your hero have important friends or family? Are they alive or dead?

Take it from there. See Ms. Gummoe or I tomorrow if you’re still stuck.

Seniors: Banquo’s ghost

Today we finally finished III.iv – the scene where Banquo’s ghost comes back to haunt Macbeth. Read that if you missed class. We also watched Roman Polanski’s version of the scene, which does a great job of illustrating the setting and the reactions of the crowd that watches Macbeth react to seeing Banquo’s ghost.

For your second response paper, which is due tomorrow, there are a few ideas you can hone in on:

-New Historicism: how did the context of the times (and Shakespeare’s writing environment) impact how the play was written and our response to it?
-Freudian stuff: Is Banquo’s ghost real, or is it just a manifestation of Macbeth’s guilt-wracked mind?
-Manliness: why is Lady Macbeth always talking about gender?
-Supernatural: are there really supernatural forces at work here, or is it just because the characters themselves are supernatural that they keep talking about it?

Freshmen B: Developing your hero

Today Ms. Gummoe led the class in some exercises meant to help you develop your hero for the first draft of your story, which is due Wednesday. Ask Ms. Gummoe for a Facebook profile template to help you create your character.

Seniors: Macbeth III.ii, III.iii and III.iv

We started class reviewing a few of your peers’ writing from last week’s response papers. Here’s what a few people said:

Take a look at your peers’ writing. What ideas do they have that you can jump off from? Do you flat out disagree with an idea? Any new ideas jump out at you? Can you take one of these ideas a step further in thinking or logic? Do any of them help you understand the text or characters better?

“I’m confused on the Oedipus and Electra [complexes], Macbeth kills Duncan and they had a father-son friendship/relationship. So does this mean Lady Macbeth is the “mother” in some way?” – Brianna

“Going along with the topic of psychology, there is a term called ‘locus of control’ and it discusses about how people believe whether peoples’ lives are up to them (internal) or other factors (external). Other factors would be religion, luck, fate, etc…sometimes we feel like a higher power takes the burden off of us and it knows what to do when we don’t. Also, it makes us believe that sometimes things are “meant to be” despite how horrifying or devastating they can really be. Macbeth was told this prophecy, and so that led him to believe that it was righteous in a way to kill his close friend, Duncan.” – Yen

“Macbeth surpasses Lady Macbeth in a sense that he no longer carries the feeling of remorse and guilt which pierces through his conscious every day after Duncan’s death…Like most tragedies, Macbeth, the main character, has a fatal flaw in his character. Macbeth’s hamartia is the fact that he is too sharing in his ambition.” – Sara V.

“The absence of her son causes her to be lonely and seek comfort from her only companion, Macbeth. Because Macbeth is kind and tender-hearted like a child, she feels she has to protect him and take care of him as if it was her duty. This is why her ambition to gain power as royalty is so strong (stronger than Macbeth himself): it’s not for her benefit, but to want what is best for her husband, much like how a mother would want the best for her son.” – Vanna

Then we finished III.i, read III.ii and got through part of III.iv. Make sure you’re caught up for Monday, and think about what you could write for your next response paper, due Tuesday.