"The Ones who Walk away from Omelas"
As you know, you should be reading the story for class on Friday. Post comments and reactions and questions about the story here.

More silly women... and what we must do to keep them in their place.
Edelweiss brought this in. It's a quiz about the roles of women according to the Bible. You might want to check out the answers.



www.landoverbaptist.org/news0301/roleofwomen.html



(By the way, the Chicago Board of Ed considers this website "tasteless," so you won't be able to access it from any of the school computers.)

"Women's Brains" and "The Yellow Wall-Paper" Discussion Questions
(optional for turning in, but questions will be addressed in class Wed. Post responses here for extra credit.)


1. Discuss the portrayal of the narrator of the story from three perspectives: how her husband sees her, how she sees herself, and how you, as the reader, see her.
2. Make connections between the story and "Women's Brains." Discuss several connections that are going on.
3. Are "Women's Brains" and "The Yellow Wall-Paper" statements for or against feminist ideals?

Ah, those pathetic little women's brains...
Reactions to the pre-reading? To the whole essay? Post them here!

[anyone lived in a pretty how town]
Anticipation guide comments and other thoughts on [anyone] can be posted here.

And now for little Effie's head...
Thoughts about Effie so far? Post thoughts and/or your "thinking through writing" for tomorrow's class work here.



P.S. I am working on the College Writing page with assignments and texts, but I'm having some problems. It'll be up a.s.a.p.

e. e. cummings from in class today
In class today, we started interacting with e. e. cummings's poem [brIght]. If you had further comments about it, feel free to post them here. Meanwhile, here is my free write on it from class today:



What is with the stupid capitals? They follow an order.... Sort of .... Starts with "I"... is that significant? Something to do with the self and .......ok... so we start with I, the self I think and then the one other weird word to start is "star" which eventually gets revealed as the capitals in "bright" shift and then letters disappear.....


Am "I" bright? Self-important?

Versus the star at first which are around me and I don't notice so much until later after I lose myself... my self-importance?

But then there's this other stuff..... "soft" "calm" "holy" ok... holy obviously I associate with a higher being, a god..... again, something outside myself, something that controls the stars........ controls me.....

"deep" and "big" could also go with the "holy," my idea of a god would be "big" (omnipresent, always there) and "deep" because really s/he would be the most significant being in existence....


The alone is troubling............... "yEs" and "alone"


Is "who" asking who is "god?"

Ok.... Read through again here................... The parentheses are bugging the heck out of me. Is god lonely?

"near" seems to be an oddball.... What is near? Stars aren't... is god? "eyes........ I thought I say an eyes in here...........................no, just that yEs makes me think of eyes...............why are there shifting capitals in the yes too? And the who? They don't spell anything do they? IRBGSEHYOHTW um, no................................................is someone who is "holy" the... no, I don't think so.

Ok.... I really think I have something with the loss of self-importance but I can't figure the rest. You'd think with the calm and deep and soft and near that you'd feel a sense of peace with this poem, but I don't... the end is disturbing. This is sort of like "a leaf falls" because there seem to be those two basic ideas happening again.... Being at one with the universe and being totally alone in it. But this time I think the loneliness is the dominating feeling because of that last line which is so overwhelmingly sad..... especially if it means that god is lonely..... that doesn't jive with the whole loss of self-importance thing though because if we/I had truly lost it, god would be more important to me......


I like the idea of a puzzle (thank you, Lucia)...... we're always trying to figure it out... religion, significance..... our own significance....hmmmm

Vogon Poetry
Line up your contestants here for the Vogon Poetry and "Worst Poetry in the Known Universe" awards!

Feel free to comment on each other's work/ideas.

"A Modest Proposal" and Satire Comments
Reactions/responses to Jonathan Swift and/or the satire in Hitchhikers?

Any ideas about what is being satirized in each book and why?

The galaxy stretches before you...
On behalf of the Megadodo Publication Corporation of Ursa Minor, we would like to welcome you to your reading of that wholly-remarkable book: The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.

As you begin your journey, please check that you have the following:

~a towel
~your copy of the Guide
~30 Altarian dollars (or the equivalent in the form of currency you prefer)
~a completed copy of the "Anticipation Guide" for the book

[Note: For those of you formerly of the planet Earth, it might also give you some consolation to bring your digital watch although, as you will find while traveling in space, time is relative and your digital watch is nothing more than a glorified security blanket. Let's face it, Earth time and technology mean nothing whatsoever...]

Now sit back, turn on your "thumb," and let the wonders of the galaxy unfold for you amid our "pages."

(P.S. It is recommended that you reach the end of page 75 by Monday.)

(P.P.S. Also, all postings to this blog accrue extra credit, and while not as useful as Altarian dollars for traveling the galaxy, you might find this currency has some value on certain planets in certain classrooms. Postings are to be done at the poster's own risk for the management cannot assume responsibility for any damages; disappearances--temporary or otherwise; transformations--temporary or otherwise; technical difficulties; nor other highly probable or improbable occurrences that may occur during your reading, writing, or discussion of the Guide and its significance. Thank you and have a nice day.)

(P.P.P.S. Despite what our lawyers might say, just remember: DON'T PANIC.)