Comparison—due January 29

In what ways is The Shawshank Redemption similar to anything else (movie, show...) you've ever seen? Answer with 300+ words.

Autobiography—due January 28

How does the narrative relate to your life?

Take a theme (hope, truth, friendship, toughness, planning, giving, overcoming, doubt, hopelessness, regret) from the film, perhaps, and apply it to your own life, autobiographically. Include 400+ words.

Joseph Campbell—due January 26

 

Joseph Campbell from brittanica.com

How does The Shawshank Redemption fit Joseph Campbell's "hero's journey"? (Google it.) Include 400+ words.

Lists—due January 22

1. In an order that you specify, list the people. Explain your list.

2. In an order that you specify, list the places. Explain your list.

3. In an order that you specify, list the plot events. Explain your list.

4. In an order that you specify, list the powerful film angles/techniques. Explain your list.

Shawshank Stems—due Jan 22

 Use the stems on the right to write 300+ words about the film.

Hope—due January 21

How is this narrative about hope? Answer with 450+ words.

Pick a Vignette—due January 11

Pick a vignette we have not read yet. Read it, then answer these questions with 300+ words:

1. What does this vignette do/show/communicate? What is its main idea?

2. What description is cool or different?

3. How does this vignette fit with the other vignettes near it in the book?

Your Childhood—due January 5

Write a vignette (similar to the ones Cisneros has written) about an odd childhood memory.

Metaphors & Similes—Due January 5

Type three similes or metaphors you find in the book. Type them exactly as Cisneros wrote them. Include their page numbers.

Then, create six of your own, making connections to your own life.

(Pictured is Toni Morrison, the metaphor master.)

The House on Mango Street—due December 16

Select four or more stems from the right of this blog. Write 300+ words about any part of this book so far.

Then, imitate the vignette entitled "Hairs" (pages 6-7). Write in the same style with the same length—with the same literary devices that Cisneros does.

Personal Purpose Statement—due Friday, December 11

 Andyandrews.com examines personal purpose statements. He's an impressive man with impressive goals.

You're a senior. People will ask about your purpose. And rightly so. They want you to live lives of purpose and prosperity. They want you to contribute.

This week, you will answer these questions:

MONDAY: 1. What is important? What/whom do you value? How is your life connected to those things?




TUESDAY: 2. Where do I want to go? You can answer this many different ways. Your answer may involve a spiritual, mental, or physical destination. It might describe your career arc.




WEDNESDAY: 3. What does “the best” look like for me? Describe your best possible result. This isn’t the time to be realistic. This is the time to dream.




THURSDAY: 4. How do I want to act? How do you want people to describe you? Think of a few words you would want to come to mind when people think about you.




FRIDAY: 5. What kind of legacy do I want to leave behind? Imagine you’re 100 years in the future. What does the impact you’ve left look like? How is your Butterfly Effect still touching lives?

Survive vs. Live—due December 7

 "I don't want to survive. I want to live!" —Captain

When do you survive?

When do you live?

Answer both while totaling 450+ words.

Carry the Fire—due December 4

How do you carry the fire on a daily basis? Why bother? Write 400+ words.

Also, how does WALL-E carry the fire? Write 150+ words.

Juxtaposition—due December 3

1. Juxtapose The Road & WALL-E. List similarities. List differences. Explain your logic.

2. Select from the stems on the right to write 200+ additional words to show you're thinking critically.

Philosophy/Abstraction & Georgia Guidestones—due November 30

1. Type 4 philosophical, abstract sections word-for-word (verbatim) from the book. Include page numbers. These are not concrete parts of description or verbal dialogue, but reflections on existence. Are these parts cool? Interesting? Necessary? Why?

2. Research and read about the Georgia Guidestones. Presume the dad and boy were looking for these. What do the Guidestones say? How valuable and viable are the Guidestones in the apocalypse the novel presents?

Total 400+ words.

"There are people and we'll find them. You'll see" (244). —due Nov 18

 

Read pages 220-245, then write about the word "gregarious."

Are you gregarious? Why are some people gregarious? Using your own words, define "gregarious." Why do we like to interact with others? What is interpersonal communication so valuable and important?

Include 300+ total words.

Topics—due November 13

 

Read pages 188-205, then pick 1 or 2 to write 250+ words:

1. Ely

2. boy's dream

3. train

4. no propane

5. dad's cough

6. "blue" ocean

7. "pitiless dark" (187)

8. infant

9. Something else up to page 205.

Worth It—due November 9

What makes life worth living for you? Respond with 200+ words.

One Sentence—due November 5

Pick one sentence from the novel. Type it here. Include the page number. Connect your life or a memory to that sentence. Type until 12:23.

Favorite & Least Favorite—due November 4

1. Type 200+ words about your favorite part of the novel so far. The happiest, best, most pleasant, most decent, most ethical.

ALSO

2. Type 200+ words about your least favorite part of the novel so far. The saddest, worst, most uncomfortable, most depraved, least ethical.

You Pick—due Oct 28

 "How does the never to be differ from what never was?" Write about that line.

Discuss a luxury you would miss. They enjoy cocoa as a final luxury, for example.

Match the description on page 38. Describe something you know.

"Who is anybody?" (49). Write about that quote.

"There is no later" (54). Write about that.

Include 100+ words.

Remember—due October 22

 True? Why?

"We remember what we want to forget and forget what we want to remember."

Extra Credit—due October 20

 

Type about something interesting.

Cool Hand Luke—due October 19

1. When do you conform? Why?

2. When do you rebel? Why?

3. When is conforming the cool/smart move? Why?

4. When is rebelling the cool/smart move? Why?

Favorite Scene & Character—due October 15

What is your favorite scene, and why?

Other than Luke, who is your favorite character, and why?

Podcast reaction—due September 29

 

React with 300+ words to the podcast using at least one stem from the right side of this class blog.

Stems—due September 25

 

Pick two stems from the right side of this class blog to write 300+ words about Beowulf. Fill in the blanks, then respond. Include the numbers (1-11) of the two stems you select.

Define "Hero"—due September 22

 

Define "hero".

Write about fear—due September 21

 

Write about fear.

Describe Something—due September 16

 

We are working on Adjectives in No Red Ink, so use as many adjectives as possible as you describe something—just one thing—with as much detail as possible in 300+ words.