Today’s a biggish day. Our rough drafts of the Compare/Contrast essays are due.  But first… I want us to have a short 30 minute graded discussion on the similarities and differences between the two novels.  Some possible topics of discussion.

• The beginning/ending
• The protagonist
• The supporting characters
• The types of dystopias
• Plot
• The author’s purpose (i.e. why is he/she writing this)

Then, we’ll write a quick body paragraph in class before doing the peer edit. The peer edit:

Reader 1:  Does the writer have all of the parts?  Does each paragraph have a) topic sentence b) a set up for #1 quote c) the first quote/evidence d) setup for #2 quote e) the 2nd quote f) a 2+ sentence discussion. Reader 2: The same as Reader 1 Reader 3: Check for grammar issues and evaluate how well the discussion explain why the similarity or difference is important.

HW: Final draft due Thur

We’ll start with the quiz, our last on the dystopias, I think.

Next, we’ll get small groups together to work on exploring themes and how they are explored in the novels.  We’ll research and then we’ll present.

Finally, I’ll go through our next paper F451/Anthem Compare/Contrast and explain what I’m looking for.  I hope to give you time to work on the pre-write in class. Get the .pdf version of my talk on literary analysis paragraphs here.

HW:  Anthem–Finish the Book, F451–to pg. 136

So, we’ll give you about 10 minutes to get set and then we’ll film your :30 ads/plays.  I’ll be grading you on 1) demonstrating some knowledge of the book and 2) demonstrating some knowledge of advertising techniques.

Next, I’ll give back the quizzes and talk a bit about the themes and ideas the novels and how someone might comment on them.

F451–>Themes: Censorship, anti-intellectualism, literacy, totalitarianism, propaganda, technology, consumerism, rebellion, society

Anthem–>Individualism vs. collectivism, technology, education, society, peer pressure, work, totalitarianism.

Anthem Questions

1. Why does Equality think that Liberty is different than all of the rest?
2. Why is it bad to be “too” happy in this society?  (46)
3. What’s so scary about the Uncharted forest?
4. What did the man do to deserve being burned at the stake? What does Equality imagine happened when he saw him?
5. What does Equality learn with the crazy frog’s leg?
6. Why is the conversation between Equality and Liberty forbidden? What do they tell each other?
7. What decision does Equality make on pg. 70 and why?  What do you think will happen?
8. Prediction:  How will this story end?

F451 Questions: Section 2

1)    Pg.68  Montag reads a quote “It is computed that eleven thousand persons have at several times suffered death rather than submit to break their eggs at the smaller end.”  What do you think that means?  Why did Montag read it?
2)    Pg. 74.  Why does Mildred prefer her “family’ to books?  Is she right?
3)    Read quote beginning “Jesus God…”  (pg. 73) What doe we learn about the political and military situation?
4)    Who is Faber and why does Montag want to talk to him?
5)    Who is the White Clown and why does Montag want to know if he loves Mildred?
6)    How does Denham’s Dentifrice drive Montag crazy?  What does this passage show about how advertising affect people?
7)    Why does Faber consider himself a coward?  What does he give Montag?
8)    What plan do Faber and Montag cook up?  Do you think it will work?

HW:  F451–> Finish section 2 (Pg. 110).

Anthem–> Read pages 62-87.

So, we’ll start with peer edits of our Sci-Fi Story. You need two readers. Here’s how it works.

Reader 1: Read the story looking for a suspenseful story with a clear what-if.  Tell the writer what you think the what-if is and how it caused the dystopia. Also, comment on how the writer uses sensory details so that we can see, hear, smell, etc. what is going on.

Reader 2: Look at the beginning and the ending. Does it start in an interesting way–right in the middle of the action?  Is the ending surprising yet plausible? Make suggestions for improvement.

Afterward, we’ll take some time to write a bit.  Remember, the final printed out version is due on Tuesday.

Next, we’ll take a look at F451 and Anthem and try and figure out what the writer is trying to say and whether we agree. We might try to have a little full-class graded discussion.

F451 quotes

Anthem:

1) “My dearest one, it is not proper for men to be without names. There was a time when each man had a name of his own to distinguish him from all other men. So let us choose our names. I have read of a man who lived many thousands of years ago, and of all the names in these books, his is the one I wish to bear. He took the light of the gods and he brought it to men, and he taught men to be gods. And he suffered for his deed as all bearers of light must suffer. His name was Prometheus.”

2) I owe nothing to my brothers, nor do I gather debts from them. I ask none to live for me, nor do I live for any others. I covet no man’s soul, nor is my soul theirs to covet.

I am neither foe nor friend to my brothers, but such as each of them shall deserve of me. And to earn my love, my brothers must do more than to have been born. I do not grant my love without reason, nor to any chance passer-by who may wish to claim it. I honor men with my love. But honor is a thing to be earned.

I shall choose friends among men, but neither slaves nor masters. And I shall choose only such as please me, and them I shall love and respect, but neither command nor obey. And we shall join our hands when we wish, or walk alone when we so desire. For in the temple of his spirit, each man is alone. Let each man keep his temple untouched and undefiled. Then let him join hands with others if he wishes, but only beyond his holy threshold.

For the word “We” must never be spoken, save by one’s choice and as a second thought. This word must never be placed first within man’s soul, else it becomes a monster, the root of all the evils on earth, the root of man’s torture by men, and an unspeakable lie.

3) Here, on this mountain, I and my sons and my chosen friends shall build our new land and our fort. And it will become as the heart of the earth, lost and hidden at first, but beating, beating louder each day. And word of it will reach every corner of the earth. And the roads of the world will become as veins which will carry the best of the world’s blood to my threshold. And all my brothers, and the Councils of my brothers, will hear of it, but they will be impotent against me. And the day will come when I shall break the chains of the earth, and raze the cities of the enslaved, and my home will become the capital of a world where each man will be free to exist for his own sake.

HW: Sci-Fi Story due Tues

Image Credit: themes.dreamstime.com

We’ll start by getting some time to create our Dystopia presentations and presenting them.  How can a writer use this form to send a message about how current society operates?

Then, I want us to take a liitle look at the quiz on F451/Anthem and see what worked and what didn’t.

Next, we’ll answer some questions about our books and check to see if we know what’s going on.

F451

1. What has happened to Clarisse?
2. Explain who Professor Faber is and why Montag visits him.
3. What are Faber’s reasons for the fear this society has for books?
4. Montag gets Faber to help him.   What is their plan?
5. Read the paragraph on pg. 86 starting “You can’t guarantee…” and explain Faber’s argument.  What does he mean by the reference to Caesar and the ending part about heading “for shore.” ?

Anthem

1. The old locks and lack of guards in the Palace of Corrective Detention indicate that prisoners never tried to escape. Why not?
2. Explain the four reasons the Council rejects Equality’s invention.
3. What are the real reasons behind the Council’s rejection and fear of the gift?
4. What does Equality mean, at the beginning of  chapter vii, when he says, “We are old now, but we were young this morning”
5. What is Equality experiencing for the first time in this chapter, and what does he feel as a result?

Finally, we’ll talk about our first paper assignment.  Rough draft next Thursday (25th). Final due on September 30th.

HW: Read pages 92-110 in F451 (Finish Sand and the Sieve) and 81-93 (Anthem