THE THINGS THEY CARRIED; "Speaking of Courage"; lesson plans

Read the Greek myth about Icarus and Daedalus

Examine the Brueghel's painting of Icarus

Read the W.H. Auden poem "Musee des Beaux Arts"

Is there a similarity between the people of Norman's town and the people in Brueghel's painting
and Auden's poem?

The myth of Daedalus and Icarus

The myth of Daedalus and Icarus is one of the most known and fascinating Greek Myths, as it consists of both historical and mythical details.

While in Crete Daedalus created the plan for the Minoan Palace of Knossos, one of the most important archaeological sites in Crete and Greece today. It was a magnificent architectural design and building, of 1,300 rooms, decorated with stunning frescoes and artifacts, saved until today. The sculpture of Ariadne in Knossos and many others in Elounda and Karia are also his.

King Minos and Daedalus had great understanding at first, but their relationships started deteriorating at some point; there are several versions explaining this sudden change, although the most common one is that Daedalus was the one who advised Princess Ariadne to give Theseus the thread that helped him come out from the infamous Labyrinth, after killing the Minotaur.

The Labyrinth was a maze built by Daedalus; King Minos wanted a building suitable to imprison the mythical monster Minotaur, and according to the myth, he used to imprison his enemies in the labyrinth, making sure that they would be killed by the monster.

Minos was infuriated when found out about the betrayal and imprisoned Daedalus and his son Icarus in the Labyrinth.

The flight of Daedalus and Icarus

Icarus was the young son of Daedalus and Nafsicrate, one of King Minos’ servants. Daedalus was way too smart and inventive, thus, he started thinking how he and Icarus would escape the Labyrinth. Knowing that his architectural creation was too complicated, he figured out that they could not come out on foot. He also knew that the shores of Crete were perfectly guarded, thus, they would not be able to escape by sea either. The only way left was the air.

Daedalus managed to create gigantic wings, using branches of osier and connected them with wax. He taught Icarus how to fly, but told him to keep away from the sun because the heat would make the wax melt, destroying the wings.

Daedalus and Icarus managed to escape the Labyrinth and flew to the sky, free. The flight of Daedalus and Icarus was the first time that man managed to fight the laws of nature and beat gravity.

Icarus death

Although he was warned, Icarus was too young and too enthusiastic about flying. He got excited by the thrill of flying and carried away by the amazing feeling of freedom and started flying high to salute the sun, diving low to the sea, and then up high again.

His father Daedalus was trying in vain to make young Icarus to understand that his behavior was dangerous, and Icarus soon saw his wings melting.

Icarus fell into the sea and drowned. The Icarian Sea, where he fell, was named after him and there is also a nearby small island called Icaria.

Musee des Beaux ArtsW. H. Auden About suffering they were never wrong, The old Masters: how well they understood Its human position: how it takes place While someone else is eating or opening a window or just walking dully along; How, when the aged are reverently, passionately waiting For the miraculous birth, there always must be Children who did not specially want it to happen, skating On a pond at the edge of the wood: They never forgot That even the dreadful martyrdom must run its course Anyhow in a corner, some untidy spot Where the dogs go on with their doggy life and the torturer's horse Scratches its innocent behind on a tree. In Breughel's Icarus, for instance: how everything turns away Quite leisurely from the disaster; the ploughman may Have heard the splash, the forsaken cry, But for him it was not an important failure; the sun shone As it had to on the white legs disappearing into the green Water, and the expensive delicate ship that must have seen Something amazing, a boy falling out of the sky, Had somewhere to get to and sailed calmly on. Speaking of Courage” page 137 Valor: (noun) courage, bravery Valiant (adjective) brave, to have courage The valiant mother saved her child from the flames. To win the silver star a soldier must show valor. 1. What happened to Kiowa? 2. What time, the year and the season, does the framing part of the story take place? Is Norman in the army or is he a civilian? 3. Why does O’Brien use Norman Bowker’s drive around a nondescript lake as a framing device for Kiowa’s death? 4. What is the common object in both stories – the framing story and Kiowa’s death? 5. Describe the people who live in Norman's town.  6. What happened at the A & W rootbeer stand? 7. What is the reason Bowker could not save Kiowa?

Pieter Brueghel, The Fall of Icarus Oil-tempera, 29 inches x 44 inches. Museum of Fine Arts, Brussels.

September 29, 2014 - October 3, 2014 American Literature

 

 Monday, September 29^th:

First Period:

THE THINGS THEY CARRIED

Go over how to write the “The Man I  Killed” Essay

Example of how to do quotations:

Tim O’Brien is crouched in a  catatonic state of shock, not moving, not speaking. Kiowa, concerned about the emotional state of his army buddy, says to him, “Hey, you’re looking better.” Then he says, “C’mon, talk!”  O’Brien does not say that he is in such a state of shock that he cannot speak, rather he reveals his extreme state of pain by having Kiowa try to encourage him to “snap out of it”.

A quotation needs three elements:

An introduction

The quotation itself

A comment on the quotation

This essay will be due on Thursday, October 2^nd.

Period 2:

THE THINGS THEY CARRIED

“Speaking of Courage”

page 137 - 154

Valor: (noun) courage, bravery

Valiant (adjective) brave, to have courage

The valiant mother saved her child from the flames.

To win the silver star a soldier must show valor.

1. What happened to Kiowa?

2. What time, the year and the season, does the framing part of the story take place? Is Norman in the army or is he a civilian?

3. Why does O’Brien use Norman Bowker’s drive around a nondescript lake as a framing device for Kiowa’s death?

4. What is the common object in both stories – the framing story and Kiowa’s death?

5.Describe the people and the town that Norman is living in.

6. What happened at the rootbeer stand?

7. What is the reason Bowker could not save Kiowa?

Tuesday, September 30th:
1st Period:
THE THINGS THEY CARRIED
Work on the essay
The essay will be due on Thursday, October 2nd.

Went over prompt again.

Went over the first paragraph again.

Acted out “The Man I Killed” to illustrate the use of dialogue to show O’Brien’s emotional state after killing a young man.

Discussion of the internal process of O’Brien’s obsessing: repetition of details, back story for the Viet Cong soldier. We infer O'Brien's emotional state by the other soldiers' dialogue to him or by what they say to him. 

2^nd Period:

THE THINGS THEY CARRIED

“Notes” and “In the Fields”

Read:

The Myth of Icarus

W.H. Auden’s poem “Musee des Beaux Arts”

Analyzed Brueghel’s painting “The Fall of Icarus”

Read and discuss:

“Notes” and “In the Fields” pages 155 - 165

Discussion: What is true?

Wednesday, October 1st:
1st Period:
THE THINGS THEY CARRIED
In the library today to work on essay

2nd Period:
THE THINGS THEY CARRIED
"Speaking of Courage"
Answer the questions from Monday on "Speaking of Courage"
The questions will be due tomorrow.
Read "In the Field" from page 164 to page 173.

Thursday, October 2nd:

THE THINGS THEY CARRIED

Collect the essay for “The Man I Killed”

Read “Ambush”; pages 131 - 134

Vocabulary:

Ambush: to attack or be attacked unexpectedly

Motif: a recurring symbol which appears repeatedly in a work of art or a piece of literature. It represents more than the face value of the object.

Questions:

1.     What does O’Brien mean when he writes on page 133, “Almost certainly the young man would have passed by. And it will always be that way.”

2.     Do you think this was the actual occurrence of events in the death of the young man?

Discussion

Read “Style”; pages 135 – 136

Discussion

1. Why was the young girl dancing?

2. What was the men's attitude towards the young girl?

Read “Speaking of Courage”; pages 137 – 139

Discussion

Period 2:

THE THINGS THEY CARRIED

“In the Field”; pages 173 – 178

Discussion

Who is responsible for Kiowa’s death?

“Good Form”; pages 179 - 180

These questions relate to Tim O'Brien's story about his role in the death of the young Vietcong soldier:

1.  According to O'Brien, what is the happening-truth of O'Brien's role as a soldier in Vietnam?

2.  What is the story-truth of O'Brien's role in the death of the young man? 

3.  What power do stories have? What can they allow O'Brien, and by extension, everyone do? 

4.   Did O’Brien kill someone?

Friday, October 3rd:
1st Period:
THE THINGS THEY CARRIED
Read 21 pages a day
Reading journals

2nd Period:
THE THINGS THEY CARRIED
Read 21 pages a day
"Night Life" and "The Lives of the Dead"
Reading journals

Monday, September 22, 2014

Monday, September 22^nd:

1^st Period:

Read the NPR story about Dang Thuy Tram, Viet Cong Doctor

Read “Stockings” (page 117)

Went over the vocabulary from “Stockings”(page 117)

1.     Eccentricities

2.     Ironic

3.     Ambush

4.     Talisman

Discussed how Henry Dobbins was like American: naïve, sentimental, not understanding of irony, plodding, fat roll around belly.

Worked on the character chart for Henry Dobbins.

2^nd  Period:

Went over the essay format, including the concluding paragraph.

Ray knocked over his huge cup of coffee so I spent a good portion of the time supervising clean up.

Allowed class to work on essay.

4^th Period:

New class.

Took roll

Passed out and went over the class syllabus

Went outside to do “Zip, Zap, Zum”

“1,2,3,4,5”

Had Tessa, Stephanie and Keyla here to do.

Introduced them.

Life savers.

5^th Period:

Read, improvise and act out the final two scenes:

Act 4, Scene 5

Act 5, Scene 3

6^th Period:

Warm-ups

Music

Break into groups, improv scenes

Essay for "The Man I Killed" from THE THINGS THEY CARRIED

 Title of the essay is: Literary Analysis of "The Man I Killed"

Prompt:

How does Tim O'Brien use dialogue, repetition and imagery to convey the emotional state of the narrator?

THE INTRODUCTORY PARAGRAPH:

You must have the author's name in the opening paragraph. The author's name is Tim O'Brien.

You must include the title of the book, which is THE THINGS THEY CARRIED.

You must include the title of the chapter, which is "The Man I Killed."

Do not use informal tone.

You may use information about the Vietnam War or the effects of killing on the soldiers as part of your introduction.

 Please work the prompt into the introductory paragraph. You may use a quotation to introduce your essay.

Please state the three main points which will be discussed in the essay:

1. Tim O'Brien's use of repetition

2. Tim O'Brien's use of dialogue

3. Tim O'Brien's use of imagery

And state how all three are used to show  O'Brien's emotional state after killing a young Viet Cong soldier.

The opening should be about a third to a half page long.

THE BODY PARAGRAPH:

Each new paragraph should have a "mini-topic" sentence, followed by a minimum of two supporting sentences.

You MUST include evidence (quotations or paraphrasing) to support your thesis.

YOU MUST INTRODUCE THE QUOTATION OR EXPLAIN THE SITUATION SURROUNDING THE PARAPHRASE!!!!!!

After you include the evidence, then you must comment on the evidence or, in other words, show how the evidence supports what you are claiming.

Example of how to do quotations:

Tim O’Brien is crouched in a  catatonic state of shock, not moving, not speaking. Kiowa, concerned about the emotional state of his army buddy, says to him, “Hey, you’re looking better.” Then he says, “C’mon, talk!”  O’Brien does not say that he is in such a state of shock that he cannot speak, rather he reveals his extreme state of pain by having Kiowa speak and it is what Kiowa is saying to him, "I'll give you five minutes to snap out of it" and "Get it together, man" that shows the state the character is in. 

A quotation needs three elements:

An introduction (This is what you write, and it is like the bun.)

The quotation itself (This is what you copy from the book. It is the meat.)

A comment on the quotation (This is what you write, and it is the other piece of bun the meat rests on - or veggie patties, if you're vegetarian.)

You then write a tidy transitional sentence to move on to the next claim or topic.

THE CONCLUDING PARAGRAPH:

Please do not write "In conclusion".

Briefly recount (no more than one sentence per point) the major points in your essay: O'Brien's use of repetition, dialogue and imagery, and how they showed the narrator's emotional state.

Use the concluding paragraph as a final "wrapping up", which means to simply review the main points supporting your thesis, and to state in one sentence how they support your thesis.

Do not introduce new information,

Do not use quotations, particularly new quotations.

The concluding paragraph should be about a third of a page long.

PREPARATORY WORK for the Essay:

The following are preparations you may do to rally all the information you may need to write this essay.  The preparations include:

1.    Finding ten repetitive phrases describing the young Viet Cong.

2.    The dialogue Kiowa and Azar say to O’Brien

3.    The description of the young Viet Cong

4.    The backstory O’Brien created for the young Viet Cong.

Skim “The Man I killed” for ten repetitive phrases (you only have to write the phrases once) and then write the number of times they are repeated next to them.

1. “His one eye is shut and the other one was a star shaped hole.”(3 - 5)

2. “He’s got child like wrists.”(2)

3. “He loved mathematics.”(4)

4. “His eyebrows were thin and arched like a woman’s.” (2)

5. “He had a gold ring on the third finger of his right hand.” (3)

6. “His upper lip and teeth were gone.” (2)

7. “Long shapely fingers.” (4)

8. “He had smooth skin.” (2)

9. “He was a slim, dead, almost dainty young man.” (3)

10. “He had clean finger nails.” ( 2)

Tim O’Brien stared obsessively over every detail of the young man’s face, chest, fingers, legs. The American soldiers’ fire power gave them god-like powers – they literally had the power of life and death. This was the first man he had killed and this murder traumatized O’Brien.

Next, find and write down the dialogue that the other soldiers say to Tim O’Brien.

How does the dialogue suggest Tim O’Brien’s  emotional state? How does the dialogue suggest what Tim O’Brien is doing?

Dialogue:

1. Azar: “Oh, man, you ****trashed the *******. You scrambled his sorry self, look at that, you did, you laid him out like Shredded ****Wheat.”

2. Azar: “Oh, man, you – ******* scrambled his sorry self.”

3. Kiowa to Azar: “Go away.” (2)

4. Kiowa: “Just forget that crud….No sweat, man. What else could you do?”

5. Kiowa: “I’m serious. Nothing anybody could do. Come on, stop staring.”

6.“All right, let me ask you a question….you want to trade places with him? Turn it all upside down – you want that?”

7. “Tim, it’s a war. The guy wasn’t Heidi – he had a weapon, right? It’s a tough thing, for sure, but you got to cut that staring.”

8.“Maybe you better lie down a minute.”

9.”Take it slow. Just go wherever the spirit takes you.”

10. “Listen to me…you feel terrible, I know that.”

11. “Okay, maybe I don’t know.”

12. “You okay?”

“I’ll tell you the straight truth….the guy was dead the second he stepped on the trial, understand me…..So listen, you best pull your ****together. Can’t just sit here all day.”

13.“Five minutes, Tim. Five more minutes and we’re moving out.”

14.“Hey, you’re looking better. All you needed was time – some R&R."

15.“Come on man, talk.”

16. “Talk.”

“Stop staring.” (4)

The story ends with Tim O’Brien doing what?

Reread the chapter and make a list of all the concrete details Tim O’Brien notices about the young man he shot and killed. You must have at least ten concrete details.

Example: “….His eye was a star shaped hole.”

1.              He had thin arched eyebrows like a woman.

2.              There was a slight tear on the lobe of one ear.

3.              A gray ammunition belt

4.              His left cheek was peeled in thin ragged strips.

5.              His forehead was lightly freckled with small dark freckles.

6.              His jaw was in his throat.

7.              His upper lip and throat were gone.

8.              His chest was sunken and poorly muscled.

9.              His neck blood went to a deep purplish black.

10.          He had bony legs.

11.          And long shapely fingers.

Now find ten discrete elements of the backstory Tim O’Brien created about this young man:

1.                Born in 1946

2.               His father and two uncles and neighbors joined in the struggles against the French.

3.              He probably wanted to be a teacher of mathematics.

4.              He was afraid of disgracing himself and therefore his family and village.

5.              He prayed with his mother that the war would end.

6.              He fell in love with a seventeen year old girl.

7.              He never wanted to be a soldier.

8.              He pretended to be excited for war.

9.              He attended a university in Saigon in 1964.

10.          He knew the war would take him.

11.          He fell in love with a classmate.

What are the similarities between Tim O’Brien and the young man he killed?

Vocabulary:

 Dainty: delicate, fragile

How does the author use repetition to create the narrator’s emotional state?

September 22, 2014 - September 26, 2014 Weekly Agenda

Monday, September 22nd: 

1st Period: 

Vocabulary: 

Speculates: to guess, to postulate, to create a theory without complete evidence.

Vouch: to attest to, to say with certainty that something is true, to stand up for, to act as a character witness for.

Fluke: coincidence, a stroke of luck.

A grain of salt: to accept a story but with a touch of skepticism

Endorphins: “feel good” hormones, which are released by the body when one exercises, etc.

Question:

Do you believe the story of Mary Ann Bell in "The Sweetheart of Song Tra Bong? Why or why not?

According to Tim O’Brien, is the story true? Does it matter?

Show the NPR story of Dang Thuy Tram, a real Vietnamese doctor-hero, who was killed in a firefight by Americans.

Are men and women the same or different when it comes to war?

Discussion

A True War Heroine: Dang Thuy Tram 

2nd Period: 

Continued instruction on the essay: 

The Conclusion 

The essay will be due on Wednesday, September 24th. 

Read THE THINGS THEY CARRIED

"Ambush"; page 131

Journal

Discussion 

Tuesday, September 23rd: 

Regular Day 

Vocabulary Workshop, Unit 3 is due today

1st Period:

Read THE THINGS THEY CARRIED

"Stockings"; page 117 

Vocabulary:

Eccentricity: peculiarities specific to a person.

Examples of eccentricities:

A person must follow a set routine every day or will become upset.

Or dressing up your pets as people, giving them birthday parties, and throwing weddings for them.

Maci liking  armpits.

Or someone from Texas affecting an English accent.

Vocabulary:

Detonate: to explode, as in a bomb.

Talisman: a symbol which is believed to have magical powers, or give comfort or protection to. Many times a talisman is a religious symbol.

"Church"; page 119

Read “The Church”;

Discussion: What is ironic about the two Vietnamese priests cleaning the soldiers’ guns?

Why did the priests like Dobbins so much?

Was Dobbins respectful to the priests?

Why is Dobbins’ last lines ironic,“All you can do is be nice. Treat them decent, you know…” ironic?

For tomorrow:

Reread the description and actions of Dobbins.

How is Dobbins a symbol of America. How is Dobbins' behavior typical of the cultural, military and political impact of America on the rest of the world?
Dobbins is emblematic of American foreign policy: blundering, clumsy, tone deaf to nuance, subtlety, irony and culture. Throwing money is seen as a solution to all problems, and failing that, then war and violence is used.
Many monks are pacifists and are against all forms of violence. There were incidents of Buddhist monks setting themselves on fire to protest the Vietnam War.

2nd Period:
Collect Unit 3 vocabulary

Work on essay; due tomorrow

Wednesday, September 24^th:

THE THINGS THEY CARRIED

Finish reading “The Man I Killed”

Skim the chapter again and write down at least ten descriptions of the young man. The descriptions must be concrete:

1.     “His jaw was in his throat.”

2.     “The other eye was a star shaped hole.”

3.     “His neck was opened to the spinal cord.”

4.     “His skin on the right cheek was smooth and fine grained and hairless.”

5.     “The blood at the neck had gone to a deep purplish black.”

6.     “The yellow part of the star seemed to be getting wider, spreading out at the beginning of the star.”

7.     “His chest was sunken and poorly muscled – a scholar.”

8.     “His eyebrows were thin and arched like a woman’s.”

9.     “He had bony legs, narrow waist and long shapely fingers.”

10. “Clean fingernail, and clean hair.”

11. “His upper lip and teeth were gone.”

12. “He had a tear in the lobe of his ear.”

13. “He wore a black shirt, black pants, a gray ammunition belt, a gold ring on the third finger of his right, and rubber sandals.”

14. “His wrists were the wrists of a child.”

15. “”His clean black hair was upward into a cowlick at the rear of his skull.”

16. “His forehead was slightly freckled.”

17. “The skin at  his left cheek was peeled back in three ragged strips.”

18.  “Slim…dainty young man.”

19. “The star-shaped hole was red and yellow.”

Now, go back and skim “The Man I Killed”, write down the most repeated descriptions of the young man and write the number of times it is repeated:

1.     “He’s got child-like wrists.” (2)

2.     His one eye is shut and the other one was a star-shaped hole.”(3 – 5)

3.     “He was dainty.” (6) (Indirect references to the young soldier’s daintiness.)

4.     “Frail, and delicately boned.” (2 – 3)(Indirect references.)

5.     “The upper lip and teeth were gone.” (2)

6.     “His eyebrows were thin and delicately arched like a woman.” (2 )  (Indirect references.)

Now, go back and find the fictional back story for the young man O’Brien killed:

1.”He had no stomach for violence. He loved mathematics.”

2. He was born in the village of My Khe.

3. “At school, he was sometimes teased by the other boys for how pretty he was.”

4. “At school they mimicked his woman walk.”

Finish for homework!

Period 2:

THE THINGS THEY CARRIED

The essay on the literary analysis of "The Man I killed"  is due today! Please turn it into me either in class or no later than midnight tonight!

For those of you who have finished the essay, please work on the following in class.:

WRITER’S CHOICE; pages 513 – 514; “Prepositional Phrases”; exercises 1, 2 and 3.

For exercise 1: write the entire sentence, underline the prepositional phrases and draw an arrow to the object of the preposition.

 Example:

1.     In the late 1920’s, Thurgood  Marshall pursued a law career.

Exercise 2:

1.     Pursued – adverbial.

2.      

How to do exercise 3:

1.     The reveler (partiers) set off fireworks.

After the party, (adverb) the revelers on the beach  (adj.) set off fireworks.

Thursday, September 25th:

No school today!

Friday, September 25th: 

1st Period:

THE THINGS THEY CARRIED

Finish reading "The Man I Killed"

Skim “The Man I killed” for ten repetitive phrases (you only have to write the phrases once) and then write the number of times they are repeated next to them.

1. “His one eye is shut and the other one was a star shaped hole.”(3 - 5)

2. “He’s got child like wrists.”(2)

3. “He loved mathematics.”(4)

4. “His eyebrows were thin and arched like a woman’s.” (2)

5. “He had a gold ring on the third finger of his right hand.” (3)

6. “His upper lip and teeth were gone.” (2)

7. “Long shapely fingers.” (4)

8. “He had smooth skin.” (2)

9. “He was a slim, dead, almost dainty young man.” (3)

10. “He had clean finger nails.” ( 2)

Tim O’Brien stared obsessively over every detail of the young man’s face, chest, fingers, legs. The American soldiers’ fire power gave them god-like powers – they literally had the power of life and death. This was the first man he had killed and this murder traumatized O’Brien.

Next, find and write down the dialogue that the other soldiers say to Tim O’Brien. How does the dialogue suggest Tim O’Brien’s  emotional state? How does the dialogue suggest what Tim O’Brien is doing?

Dialogue:

1. Azar: “Oh, man, you ****trashed the *******. You scrambled his sorry self, look at that, you did, you laid him out like Shredded ****Wheat.”

2. Azar: “Oh, man, you – ******* scrambled his sorry self.”

3. Kiowa to Azar: “Go away.” (2)

4. Kiowa: “Just forget that crud….No sweat, man. What else could you do?”

5. Kiowa: “I’m serious. Nothing anybody could do. Come on, stop staring.”

6.“All right, let me ask you a question….you want to trade places with him? Turn it all upside down – you want that?”

7. “Tim, it’s a war. The guy wasn’t Heidi – he had a weapon, right? It’s a tough thing, for sure, but you got to cut that staring.”

8.“Maybe you better lie down a minute.”

9.”Take it slow. Just go wherever the spirit takes you.”

10. “Listen to me…you feel terrible, I know that.”

11. “Okay, maybe I don’t know.”

12. “You okay?”

“I’ll tell you the straight truth….the guy was dead the second he stepped on the trial, understand me…..So listen, you best pull your ****together. Can’t just sit here all day.”

13.“Five minutes, Tim. Five more minutes and we’re moving out.”

14.“Hey, you’re looking better. All you needed was time – some R&R.”

15.“Come on man, talk.”

16. “Talk.”

“Stop staring.” (4)

The story ends with Tim O’Brien doing what?

Period 2:
TURN IN YOUR ESSAY!!!!!

THE THINGS THEY CARRIED
Read "Ambush"; pages 131

Discussion

1.     What does O’Brien means when he writes on page 133, “Almost certainly the young man would have passed by. And it will always be that way.”

2.     Do you think this was the actual occurrence of events in the death of the young man?

Read "Style", page 135

Reading journal

Discussion 

 Why was the girl dancing?

2.     What was the men’s attitude towards the young girl?

Read "Speaking of Courage"; page 137 - 138

Reading journal

Discussion