The Secret Life of Walter Mitty

Have you ever been caught daydreaming, or wishing you could be wisked away from your boring life to one a little more adventurous, or even dangerous? This Christmas, a movie starring Ben Stiller is coming to theaters, entitled The Secret Life of Walter Mitty. The movie is based loosely from a James Thurber short story by the same name. For a credit recovery grade (classwork or participation), read "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty" on page 624 of your textbooks, and do A-B and #1-6 on page 631. This would replace a zero with a full-credit grade, or add points to a low grade. If you are interested, you can download an audio file (from Audible.com) of Ben Stiller actually reading the original short story his movie is based on, and read along! See link below. Ben Stiller Reads "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty"

Varsity Defensive End Kicked Off Team and Suspended For Writing a Poem

Poetry can be a powerful tool to express one's feelings. Confessional poets such as John Berryman, Sylvia Plath, or Anne Sexton often wrote poetry as a form of therapy, a way to vent one's frustrations about the world. This one particular student and varsity football player at an Ohio public high school was only writing a poem for an English class assignment, but it got him in hot water with his coach and principal. Is it fair that this student was kicked off the team and suspended from school for writing something he was passionate/frustrated about? Especially if it was for a class assignment? Read the following article, and we will discuss in class whether his poem was slander/harrassment or his freedom of speech. Defensive End Kicked Off Team For Writing a Poem

Emily Dickinson Writes About Her Man

As discussed in class, Dickinson had a few unrequited loves (the lawyer and the reverend), which possibly affected her reclusive nature. In her poem,I Cannot Live With You (640), we see a more confessional, yet still cryptic, poem about a love that cannot be. Read the poem, and the corresponding article if you have time, and look for the clues in the poem that would help you infer that she is indeed writing about one of the unattainable men in her life.

By the way, this picture of Emily is the only authenticated photo of her after childhood. Some people say she has an eerie, sly look about her that suggests that her secretiveness is her strength, like she has one over on us. Or she's just a kooky recluse.

The Awakening for Your E-Reader!

If you would rather read our novel The Awakening with your e-reader instead the tattered books I had to assign, there are two links here you can choose from, the PDF Version and the Word Document Version. Many thanks go out to Landon Clark for setting this up for us!

To My Old Master

In connection with Frederick Douglass' autobiography and Jim's experiences in the novel Huck Finn, here is a letter written by a freed slave to his former master, at his request that he come back to work on his farm. Letter to My Old Master As you read the letter, look for the following: 1)What humorous sarcasm does Jourdon use toward his former master? 2)What is the deal Jourdon would be willing to make with his former master should he come back to work for him? 3)Why do you think the newspapers of this time period would want to insist to their readers that Jourdon dictated this letter?

Reality and the Real World, "Mountain Man" Style

For homework reading for Monday, September 16th, here is the Eustace Conway article file. Eustace Conway Article (You will be directed to Box.com to view the article) Things to think about while reading: Based on what we discussed about his life in class, how has his lifestyle changed since the age of 17? What is oxymoronic or contradictory about his philosophy of life and what he is doing right now in his life?