Resume/College essay

Resumes were due today. Students will begin working on college essays/cover letters next week.

Facebook

Today we discussed the dangers of Facebook and how employers can check the pages of prospective employees. We discussed specific blunders that can get people fired.

College Essays

We are currently working on a college essay/resume unit. Students will be working on these assignments throughout the week.

The Things I Carry

Students completed questions for Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong and began brainstorming and drafting their TTIC essays. Here are the questions: Names: __________________________________ The Things They Carried: chapter questions - 20 points Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong 1. This story plays with truth. O’Brien tells us, “I heard it from Rat Kiley, who swore up and down to it’s truth, although in the end, I’ll admit, that doesn’t amount to much of a warranty” (101). How does O’Brien engage you in a story which, up front, he’s already admitted is probably not “true”? How is this a “true war story” even though it is fictional? 2. How does O’Brien use physical details to show Mary Anne’s change? (Think of her gestures, her clothes, her actions.) How, specifically, has she changed? And why? 3. Why do you think O’Brien keeps stopping the story so that other characters can comment on it (i.e. page 108)? How do these other conversations add to Mary Anne’s story? 4. Does it matter what happened, in the end, to Mary Anne? Would this be a better story if we knew, precisely, what happened to her after she left camp? Or does this vague ending add to the story? Either way, why? 5. Why do you think she changed? What did the change symbolize?

Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong

Today we read and discussed SSTB in class. Our focus is still on story truth vs happening truth. We will begin drafting the Things I Carry essay/poem tomorrow in class.

Big Fish questions

Students worked in groups responding to the following handout: The Power of Symbolism Edward Bloom loved to tell the story of the day his son was born. He said he’d been trying to catch a certain big fish his whole life. On the day his son was born he was out fishing, and he caught sight of the big fish again. He used his wedding ring as bait, and the fish chomped down. He was then in a predicament—his wedding ring was in the jaws of this great fish. What would he do? Finally, the fish tossed back the ring and swam away. [Q] Why does Edward enjoy telling this story? What does it mean to him? Will is angry when his father tells this story at Will’s wedding. He tells his father he’s just a footnote in the story, and anyway, Edward was on a business trip to Wichita, not on a fishing trip, the day Will was born. [Q] Why does Edward tell this story at Will’s wedding? What does the story reveal about Edward’s feelings for Will? [Q] What does the big fish represent? What meaning(s) does it hold for Edward? For each of the following items, provide what you feel actually happened. Consider what the core truth of each story is and why these people were at Edward’s funeral. Carl the giant The first visit to Spectre The werewolf The courtship of Sandra The double torso woman and his experience during the war Norther Winslow (bank robbery) The second visit to Spectre

Big Fish

We are currently viewing the film Big Fish and discussing how it presents the ideas of story truth vs. happening truth.