Congrats you have finished your first deadline for your summer assignment…and I hope all of you plan to stick with this class until the end. I see a ton of potential, and I cannot wait to see what happens from here.
As you head into your second deadline, take note of the analysis needed for your Book Chat and Essay #1.
Let’s chat for a second.
And, let’s answer the overwhelming, but much needed question of … “Why?”
Why?
As honors students, and as future leaders and thinkers of tomorrow… we need to constantly be asking the question of “Why?”. Why did the author use this particular setting in their novel? Why did God make the sky blue and not red? Why can people be so passionate about issues that can bring so much harm?
Why?
TH White didn’t just write his novel as a “fun story to entertain small children”. He wrote them with a mission… let’s call it his “Why Mission”. All authors have a deeper story to tell… they wanted to entertain… yes. But, they wanted to make sure that their readers were left thinking about something much greater and much more important. What were those ideas? What was the main points?
Let’s take a moment and talk about books you have read….
Was The Giver really just about a Utopian society, or was it a canvas in which Lowry painted pictures of the world’s most sinister evils… war, pain, euthanasia, socialism, communism, arranged marriages, or government control of child regulation. And, Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet , was he just writing a play about two teenagers playing a love game? Or was there a hidden message. A message about stereotyping of genders or the ever going issue of the “Love versus Loss”.
Now, let’s look into the novel that we just completed.
Keep asking yourself “Why?” As you start writing your final essay… look beyond the basic. What was the author’s “Why Mission”? What did they want you to ponder? To walk away thinking about? I bet you it was more than “I read a cool story about kings and queens”.
Remember: Don’t just ask yourself what happened? But, ask yourself… Why did it happen? Why did the author create this setting? Why were the characters placed in these situations? For example, it is not enough to know that Lancelot is a knight, but the real question is: Why was Lancelot chosen as THE knight? Why not Kay?
We are off to a good start. I think this year is going to be fabulous… And, I cannot wait to take the journey with you.
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