For Tuesday (after Spring Break!): Maus, Chapters 4-6

 No questions for the Break, but do keep reading the first part of Maus, which consists of Chapter 4 "The Noose Tightens" (in case you didn't finish it for last time), Chapter 5 "Mouse Holes" and Chapter 6 "Mouse Trap." We'll have an in-class writing over this when you get back to class, so bring your book, since you might want to use it!

Here are some ideas you might consider as you read:

* How does Spiegelman try to offer proof of his father's experience throughout these chapters? Why does he want us to know that this book isn't fiction, but an actual history of an actual man?

* What qualities and philosophies help Vladek survive during their time in the Jewish ghetto? Does Speigelman make his father seem occasionally too smart/capable in the book? Does he emerge as a typical 'hero'?

* Similarly, why does his mother take a back seat in his story? Why do we see so little of her in the comic? 

* Why do so many people seem to turn on one another in ghetto? How does Vladek, to a lesser degree, also have to betray his own family?

* One of the most startling passages of the comic is the inclusion of an earlier Spiegelman comic, Prisoner of the Hell Planet, which features some of the main characters of the comic in human form. It's also drawn completely differently and has a much more violent, scary tone than the comic itself. Why do you think he includes this in the book? Do you think it's necessary? (it's one of the main reasons the book is banned from school districts today)

* Why does Artie call his father a "murderer" in the final pages of the book? Though he's not being literal here, is there any truth to this accusation? 

Enjoy the break! 

For Thursday: Speigelman, Maus, Chapters 1 to 4

I introduced Maus and some of the controversy surrounding it in class on Tuesday, and now want you to experience it for yourself. So read Chapters 1 "The Sheik" to Chapter 4 "The Noose Tightens" for Tuesday's class. Here are a few questions to get you thinking about the book before class...

Answer two of the following:

Q1: We discussed the metaphor of mice and cats in class on Tuesday, where Spiegelman said he was inspired by the Nazi's comments that Jews were "rats" and "vermin." But besides the metaphor, why do you think the comic is drawn not only in black and white, but in such a rough, cartoony style? Would it have been more effective if it were in color and more realistic-looking? Does the style somehow aid the metaphor?

Q2: Why does Artie have such trouble relating to his father in these early chapters? What seems to be their biggest conflict or argument? Is this a generational issue, or does it have something to do with Vladek's war experience, do you think?

Q3: Why do you think Artie shows us the early days of Vladek's romance with Anja? Does this make Vladek look like a sympathetic character? Do you think Vladek would have approved of this characterization (since he tells Artie at one point not to record some of his stories, such as the one with Lucia)?

Q4: According to these chapters, why didn't the Jews of Poland and elsewhere resist the gradual cruelties and dominance of the Nazi regime? In other words, why did so few of them fight back? You might consider how Anja refuses even to send her children away to safety, even though at this point the 'noose' is tightening around them. 

Remember, Paper #2 is due Thursday @ 5:00 (see post below)

If you missed class on Tuesday, just remember that Paper #2 is due on Thursday, so we won't have class. Instead, make sure to get something to me (as finished as possible, as good as you can in the time) by around 5pm. A little late is okay, just not very late. 

I gave everyone the handout below to remind you about incorporating quotes and doing proper citations. Keep this handy in case you forget how to do it! 

Come back on TUESDAY, and we'll do a Writing Workshop to give you ideas about the next book and some other ideas about writing in general.

MLA Citation for Paper #2

When citing a poem in your paper, be sure to introduce the poem and the poet, and the cite the page number from your book. Always give enough context so that we know where the lines come from, and always explain why the lines are significant to you (what they mean or explain).

For example:

In Tina Chang’s Poem, “Story of Girls,” she describes an incident where her brothers held her down for an hour while devising various cruel ways to torture her. But when she thinks back to that incident today, she remarks, “Oftentimes it’s the quiet cousin I think about” (60). This is important because…

And when using Humans of New York, be sure to introduce the book and the image itself through description, and cite the page number. Try to avoid saying, “on page 232, there’s that picture of the old man who says…” Be more descriptive so we can see the picture as clearly as you can.

WORKS CITED

In general, include the author, the name of the poem (if you’re using poetry), the title of the book, and the publication information (which you can find on the inside cover).

Chang, Tina. “Story of Girls.” American Journal: Fifty Poems for Our Time. Minneapolis: Graywolf Press, 2018.

Stanton, Brandon. Humans of New York: Stories. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 2015. 

For Tuesday: American Journal, Last Poems!

Here are a few more poems to read to give you ideas for Paper #2, and to read/enjoy in general. Again, you can read ANY of the poems in the book, but these are ones that I hope to discuss in class, and I feel are a little easier to get into than the rest. But they're just suggestions--read more if you like!

POEMS: Trethewey, Elegy (83-84); Young, Crowning (86-87); Ewing, Requiem for Fifth Period and the Things That Went On Then (90-93); Phillips, Mercy (96-97) Sacfidi, For the Last American Buffalo (pp.107)

Answer TWO of the following:

Q1: What theme do you see connecting some or all of these poems? The chapter is entitled "One Singing Thing," which comes from the poem on page 107. What do you think that means? 

Q2: Two of the poems, "Elegy" and "Mercy" are about remembering one's parents now that the children have become parents themselves. What regrets does each poet seem to have now that they're grown up, and see their parents differently now? What might one or both of them have done differently?

Q3: Many of the poems in this section are about children as well. What are the poets trying to show us about children and childhood in this poems, esp. one like "Requiem for Fifth Period"? What do we miss (or misunderstand) about childhood now that we're adults? What do we forget?

Q4: In the last poem, "For the Last American Buffalo," the poet says, at the end, that the world doesn't care whether we live or die. Nevertheless, he says, "Tell is you do and why" (107). What do you think he means by this? Why should we tell the world--or anyone--that we "do and why"? 

Paper #2: The America We Don’t See (due March 2)

Paper #2: The America We Don’t See

INTRO: For this paper, another ‘conversation’ paper, I want you to consider how poetry and pictures can help us see the normal, everyday world in a different light. We get up, get dressed, and go to work or school and think “same thing, different day.” But every day could be wildly different based on how we see it, and even the most normal experience could hold incredible tragedy and power…for you, or for the other people around you.

PROMPT: Use the poems in this book to start a conversation about something that most people don’t see or think about on a daily basis, but is actually very common. It could be violence, death, mental health, divorce/break-ups, war, isolation, personal safety, etc. etc. Why don’t we talk about this more often, or how do we talk about it in ways that aren’t helpful or useful? Why is it easy to avoid talking about it? What is the danger of not talking about it? Make sure we understand “why this matters,” and more importantly, why YOU think it matters.

CONVERSATION REQUIREMENTS

·      Use 2-3 poems to develop this conversation, quoting from them and showing how the poems help us ‘see’ this conversation more clearly.

·      Use 1-2 stories from Humans of New York that you think also shed a light on this conversation, either from the stories themselves, or even just the pictures. How could one of the images become a metaphor for this topic?

·      OPTIONAL: you can also use outside sources on the topic to help you discuss this issue, though you don’t have to. It might add to your conversation, but you’re only required to use the 2 books in class.

·      Be sure to introduce every poem and HONY story with context: the poet/title, or the person in the story. Cite page numbers for quotations.

·      A Works Cited page that lists both books in class. For example…

·      Purupra, Lia. “Proximities.” American Journal: Fifty Poems for Our Time. Minnealpolis: Graywolf Press, 2018.

 DUE THURSDAY, MARCH 2^nd BY 5PM [no class that day]

For Thursday: American Journal: Layli Long Soldier, "38"

NOTE: If you want to learn more about the historical events the poem talks about, click on this link: https://blog.nativehope.org/the-untold-story-living-the-dakota-38-memorial

There's only ONE poem to read for next time, but a longer one. It tells a story (sort of), and is about history, but is also full of personal insights and metaphors. It's a fascinating poem about a little-known event in our nation's history that was understandably not included in many history textbooks until relatively recently. 

Answer TWO of the questions below:

Q1: In this poem, Layli Long Soldier writes that "Here, the sentence will be respected," and "Everything is in the language we use." Why is she being so careful with her language and in defining so many words/terms? Why does she want us to understand the "how" and "why" of language?

Q2: If you could hear her read this poem, what do you think her TONE would be? In other words, how would she read this poem? What message is she trying to convey by the way she is writing? Is it sad? Bitter? Sarcastic? Ironic? How can you tell?

Q3: What do you think she means by the statement, "Real" poems do not "really" require words? Why is this sentence italicized and given quotations? Is her poem not a "real" poem? And if not, what would a "real" poem be?

Q4: She calls the Ride of the Dakota 38 a memorial that is more important than a plaque or an object because it is also an act. How could a poem also be an act, rather than an object? How does poems, like rides, act? 

For Tuesday: American Journal, poems from Part III: "Words Tangled in Debris"

For Tuesday, we won't have any questions, but we WILL have an in-class writing response over one of the poems below. So be sure to read the following...

* Who's Who (53-55)

* Minimum Wage (56)

* Proximities (57-58)

* Story of Girls (59-60)

* Fourth Grade Autobiography (61)

* The Long Deployment (64)

* From Personal Effects (65-66)

* We Lived Happily During the War (67)

Here are some tricks to reading poems, as we've discussed in class: 

1. Remember, some poems have a kind of story or plot, but most don't. You have to figure out what the situation/context is based on the metaphors. So look for an intersting metaphor and try to figure out why the poem puts 'this' in terms of 'that.' 

2. Also try to figure out who's talking, and who they're talking to. Most poems create a character, and understanding who this character is helps you understand the poem.

3. Think about the Title. What is is referring to? A line in the poem? Is it another metaphor? Does it make sense after you read the poem? Would it help you re-read the poem with that in mind? 

4. Look for repetition as well. Repeated words or phrases are often clues to what the poem is about, or how we can understand #2. 

5. Read it OUT LOUD. You will hear things you won't see on the page. You'll hear the music, the rhythm, and the mood of the piece. The way a poem sounds is often the key to what it's about. 

Good luck, and see you next week!