Practice without pressure...character analysis

In what ways was McCandless like Waterman and McCunn? How did he differ from them? Use at least two quotes in a paragraph that explores the similarities and differences between McCandless and each of the men.  Get to the essentials of their respective characters; don't limit your analysis to superfical differences.

Two to three sentences...responses...

I agree with ___________ because..._________.

and/or

I had somewhat different take on ____________ because _________________.



What are the essential ways that McCandless and Ruess were similar? Embed at least two quotes into a paragraph that examines and explains these two young men. Again, get to the essentials of their respective characters; don't limit your analysis to superficialities.  In short, what made them tick? 

Homework: Taking stock of what matters...One typed page, single-spaced 12 point font unedited journal entry...10 completion points...submit to turnitin.com; (no paper copy)...I will read, but will not grade.  In short, what makes you tick? What, in this life, matters most to you? What are you willing (perhaps gladly, perhaps reluctantly) to give up or sacrifice if necessary to get what you most desire? And what is it that you most desire to find and experience?

Practice without pressure...character analysis

In what ways was McCandless like Waterman and McCunn? How did he differ from them? Use at least two quotes in a paragraph that explores the similarities and differences between McCandless and each of the men.  Get to the essentials of their respective characters; don't limit your analysis to superfical differences.

Two to three sentences...responses...

I agree with ___________ because..._________.

and/or

I had somewhat different take on ____________ because _________________.



What are the essential ways that McCandless and Ruess were similar? Embed at least two quotes into a paragraph that examines and explains these two young men. Again, get to the essentials of their respective characters; don't limit your analysis to superficialities.  In short, what made them tick? What mattered to them? What were they more than willing to give up and what were they  most seeking to find and experience?

Homework: Taking stock of what matters...One typed page, single-spaced 12 point font unedited journal entry...10 completion points...submit to turnitin.com; (no paper copy)...I will read, but will not grade.  In short, what makes you tick? What, in this life, matters most to you? What are you willing (perhaps gladly, perhaps reluctantly) to give up or sacrifice if necessary to get what you most desire? And what is it in this life that you most desire to find and experience?

Quantum mechanics

Quantum mechanics suggests that we perceive at most a tiny sliver of reality. Of course we already knew that! We knew that the visible spectrum is only a small part of the spectrum of electromagnetic radiation. We knew that the universe is much, much larger than our ancestors believed.  And we already knew that we are made of things that are too small for our eyes to see. So how is it news that we only perceive a tiny sliver of reality?

It’s news because quantum mechanics says that the part of reality that we do not perceive is radically different than the part of the world that we do perceive. The difference is so profound that we still don’t fully understand how to talk about quantum reality. There doesn’t seem to be any direct analogy between quantum reality and the reality we perceive with our senses.

Before I explain the gap between our perceptions and reality, I want to state that I completely disagree with the idea that quantum mechanics forces us to accept an idealist view of reality. Idealism says that the physical universe is made out of our perceptions – in other words, out of spiritual reality.  Several early interpreters of quantum mechanics thought that it supported this idealistic understanding of reality. Why would they have thought this? The reason, quite simply, is that they didn’t know how to cope with the issue of quantum indeterminacy.

Quantum indeterminacy is the unavoidable fact that not all quantities can simultaneously have determinate values.  For example, if an electron has a location, then it simply has no speed – it is neither at rest, nor is it moving slowly, nor is it moving quickly.  There simply is no fact of the matter about its state of motion.  Similarly, if an electron is in a definite state of motion, then it’s not in any particular place – not here, nor there, nor anywhere.

Into The Wild HW: Read and annotate chapters 7, 8, 9 (61-97) for Monday

Find definitions and Into the Wild sentences for the following:

oxymoronic         denuded

1.       How is Krakauer able to corroborate (strengthen or support with other evidence) the events in the Detrital Wash?

2.       Refer back to the first map in the book for the events of the summer of 1990.  Then refer to the map on page 24.

a.       What happened in October 1990?

b.       November 1990?

c.        December 1990?

d.       What stymies McCandless’s passage to the Gulf of California and what “miracle” occurs on December 10, 1990?

e.        What happens on January 1, 1991?

3.       Who cares for McCandless in Slabs?  What are they like?  What sort of care do they offer Chris?  What is Slabs?

4.       Krakauer spins McCandless as being infatuated with Jack London.  Who is Jack London and what does Krakauer say about McCandless’s infatuation with him?

HW: Read Chapter 6 (47-60) and know the following vocab definitions (annotate them in the book too)

intangible (47)                      phantasmal (49)           burgeoning(56)                    virulent (59)         

anachronistic (47)               harangues (51)                     habitual (57)

wayfarer (48)                       endemic (52)                        derelict (59)

  

Why do you think Chris is so drawn to Tolstoy?

"Divine Soul" quote

Read chapters 4 and 5 for tomorrow 

    

  transcendent                         sonorous (4)                          plebian(18)                 unencumbered (22)

asceticism                             meandered (5)           nomadic(19)                     

unsullied (4)                          cursory (13)                  altruistic (19) 

1.What words of wisdom do you have scrawled in your bedroom?  On your refrigerator?  On your notebook cover?  In your car?  Write one down.

2.       What does Alaska represent to our country?  To you?
3. What is the relationship between nature and American identity?
4. What would a successful life look like for you?
5. What do you notice about the picture of the young man? Read the picture? What inferences can you make?
Transcendentalist writers like Thoroeau and Whitman were among a handful of authors who had a profound impact on McCandless.  A brief intro to the genesis of Transcedentalism is the following: 

In the 1830s, Ralph Waldo Emerson, a prominent Unitarian minister, left the church to seek a more meaningful religious experience. Emerson argued that individuals could discover truth and God within themselves without belonging to a church or holding to a particular set of religious beliefs. He began to lecture and write about religion and the world, and formed a discussion group with other men and women who had also broken from the church. This group of people accepted Emerson’s idea that truth “transcends” (or goes beyond) what people observe with their senses in the physical world. They called their group the Transcendental Club, and soon they established a new religious, philosophical, and literary movement. At first focusing on the “inner self,” many Transcendentalists later became involved in social reform. And so Transcendentalism was born.

In the words of Ralph Waldo Emerson, "We will walk on our own feet; we will work with our own hands; we will speak our own minds...A nation of men will for the first time exist, because each believes himself inspired by the Divine Soul which also inspires all men."

HW: Read the Author's Note: chapters 1-3 (3-23)

      transcendent                         sonorous (4)                          plebian(18)                 unencumbered (22)

asceticism                             meandered (5)           nomadic(19)                     

unsullied (4)                          cursory (13)                  altruistic (19) 

1.What words of wisdom do you have scrawled in your bedroom?  On your refrigerator?  On your notebook cover?  In your car?  Write one down.

2.       What does Alaska represent to our country?  To you?
3. What is the relationship between nature and American identity?
4. What would a successful life look like for you?
5. What do you notice about the picture of the young man? Read the picture? What inferences can you make?

HW: Read the Author's Note: chapters 1-3 (3-23)

Bring Into The Wild on Monday

Wesley

Skill-Building Revision Assignment for The Scarlet Letter paper

Focused Revision Option

Points: If you earned less than an A on your paper, you can earn up to ten points added to your essay grade (A- papers can earn an additional 7 points to move your essay points to what you would have earned (144 points) if you had received an A on the paper; students who received a B+ through a B- can earn an additional 10 points added to your essay grade).

Total Revision/Rewrite option

If you had a C+ or lower, I want you to research two or three areas that you most need to improve upon, and then rewrite your entire paper (either in response to the same prompt or a different one) for a new grade.  This means that although you only specifically research and annotate for two to three areas of weakness, you should fix anything that needs improvement since I will be holistically regrading your entire paper.

Due date: October 28, 2016 (no extensions)

Choose from the following revision assignments.

What are the areas you feel you need to work on?

1) Writing clear, concise prose

You might want to choose this if your major problems are related to wordiness/language clutter, filler words, vague or empty words, misplaced modifiers, awkward diction or syntax, excessive use of the passive voice and verbs of being.

2) Avoiding comma splices:

 If I circled commas and/or wrote “punc” or CS next to your paper. Comma splices occur when you incorrectly join two independent clauses with only a comma.  Sentence recognition problems (where they end) is the issue here.

3) Writing a focused, detailed and meaningful thesis statement and clearly connected topic sentences for each body paragraph

4) Properly punctuating citations and avoiding floating quotes (according to MLA guidelines)

5) Other problems with punctuation (e.g. proper use of commas, colons, semicolons, apostrophes, etc)

6) Unity and/or coherence: If you tried to talk about too many topics or had trouble creating smooth and coherent connections, this could be an area in need of improvement. Usually personal or societal connection papers focus on a particular central idea and support it with specific details.  Weaker papers use several ideas and support them with abstract or hypothetical examples (especially a problem with personal connections papers that were mistakenly built around a typical academic essay structure).  This problem may require a total or substantial rewrite.

7) Voice (especially a problem with personal connections papers that sounded and were structured more like traditional academic essays). Personal or societal connection papers which lack a focused central idea or concern also tended to have weak examples and weak voice.

8) Weak or abstract examples

8) Wrong structure/genre for the prompt you chose.  This problem may require a total or substantial rewrite.

9) Some other problem (e.g. redundancy, poor word choices, poor choice of supporting evidence, misinterpretation of the text, etc.)

Example Rationale Statement:

Rationale Statement:  I need to work on focusing my creating a focused and well-developed thesis statement that gives specific points that are later explained in my essay.  If I get a well-developed thesis statement, then it becomes easier to create good topic sentences in the body paragraphs.  For example instead of using a generic, even cliché statement, “portray how society casts views that can affect a person internally” I should be more specific, molding the thesis to portray the events that are laid out in The Scarlet Letter.  This is a top priority for my writing because if I can create a precise and to the point thesis statement, then it will be easier to create paragraphs that are not too generic.  I think that with my writing, if I do not have a specific topic that I am further analyzing then my work becomes repetitive and not specific enough.

Wesley

English III AP

November 4 2014

Rationale Statement:  I need to work on focusing my creating a focused and well-developed thesis statement that gives specific points that are later explained in my essay.  If I get a well-developed thesis statement, then it becomes easier to create good topic sentences in the body paragraphs.  For example instead of using a generic, even cliché statement, “portray how society casts views that can affect a person internally” I should be more specific, molding the thesis to portray the events that are laid out in The Scarlet Letter.  This is a top priority for my writing because if I can create a precise and to the point thesis statement, then it will be easier to create paragraphs that are not too generic.  I think that with my writing, if I do not have a specific topic that I am further analyzing then my work becomes repetitive and not specific enough.

Reflection: I always feel stronger after going through the comments left on my essay to see where my weaknesses are.  This assignment especially helped me because I got to focus in on one area that needed improvement.  I think I grew as a writer through this experience because instead of having the weight of rewriting the entire paper, I got to focus on what I really needed work on.  I now feel more confident in writing a well-rounded thesis statement.  Once I have the thesis statement down, the topic sentences become easier to form and my argument flows more smoothly because the thesis is specific and gives a strict guideline for my argument.

Thesis:

Original: Hawthorne uses the development and juxtaposition of Hester and Dimmesdale to illustrate the strong impact of others opinions and to portray how society casts views that can affect a person internally.

Improved:  Hawthorne uses the development and juxtaposition of Hester and Dimmesdale to portray the perceptions, created by society can have a lasting impact and ultimately change a person internally.

Topic Sentences:

Original: Through these internal changes in Hester, Hawthorne establishes the immense impact of others opinions, and how they can change a person.

Improved:  Hester has been picked away by the negative opinions of her neighbors reveling a change in her character, she does not allow herself to be broken down by raw comments thrown at her so a new, colder side emerges.

Original:  Even though Hester and Dimmesdale both commit the same crime, they are viewed differently in society’s eyes effecting both of them internally.

Improved: Hester and Dimmesdale commit their sin together, however they are judged separately which has a direct impact on them.  For Hester she is be built up, growing strong against the negative comments thrown towards her.  For Dimmesdale, he is slowly withering away from the guilt that is residing inside him for fear of what others may think if he does open up and tell the truth.

Example Source: 

Style & Clarity Guidance