Hello class! This week is our first week with The Blind Assassin, and I for one am entranced. In her Master Class trailer, Margaret Atwood said something like: "There's only one rule of writing: HOLD. MY. ATTENTION." As I mentioned earlier, she certainly seems to be walking the walk. In this blog post, I'll discuss:
Plot IntricaciesY'all this plot structure is amazing. It reminds me of so many things: those Russian nesting dolls, where you open a doll-shaped box to find another doll, then another, then another. A spider web spun by a master spider. A kaleidoscope. Basically, the title of our book, The Blind Assassin (1), is also title of a book within a book: dead Laura's posthumous masterpiece The Blind Assassin (2). However, the story of The Blind Assassin (2) is the story of a man and a woman falling in love as the man tells pieces of a story he is creating for the woman, The Blind Assassin (3). Even though we are looking at characterization in this week's dialectical journals, it's no secret that all the elements of fiction work together. I encourage you to start thinking about plot and how Atwood chooses to unfold her narrative now, because it's amazing, complex, and I've never seen anything quite like it. One way to do this is to ask yourself the question: why this scene? Why now? Also: how do each of the big sections work together to advance the plot? I've been thinking about that 2nd question, and at this point, here are my thoughts: Section I: Sets up the seed of conflict and mystery to drive the rest of the of the book. Three vital layers. Section II: The Blind Assassin, love story in the past, the way fictions guide our lives Section III: Navigating the past through Iris's memories. Trying to find the cause. Claim Guidelines, ConsolidatedEach week of Unit 3 you will write one claim, the best possible claim you are capable of writing. Here, in one place, are all the guidelines we've discussed over the course of the 1st cycle to help us craft strong claims, along with links to the original blog posts:
Writing Workshop ReminderRemember, your first writing workshop must be completed by Friday. On Monday's Content Hour, we'll be doing the 2nd half of our first writing workshops.
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AuthorI'm a Houston high school teacher. Welcome to my adapted, socially-distanced, quarantined AP English Literature and Composition classroom. Archives
May 2021
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