Saturday, January 28, 2012
What are you going to write, and how
By sometime on Monday, you should all post here an account of your preliminary plans for writing in this course. The total for the course ought to be the equivalent of between 15 to 20 pages of edited, revised, worked over text; but you can approach this task in any way you like. You do not need to say right now what you will do for the whole course, onl for the first seven weeks (by midterm).
I would like to see at least 100 words toward this end -- posted here. Please DO NOT comment on my post, but post your own entry. If you have gone through the short process of becoming an author of this blog -- just follow the link in the email I sent you last week -- then there will be a button at the top of thge page that says "new post." Click away and compose your own post, which will then become part of the blog. Everyone likes pictures. Only about half of you have verified your invitation to become authors on this blog, so everyone will need to do that.
More tomorrow!
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I'm not quite sure how to start a new post, so instead I will do a comment for this post. I would like to use this blog/site to express my opinions although they may be somewhat subjective. However, I would like to analyze Danny's relationships with those around him and his inner motivations in order to see Danny's progression of "self." In other words, is Danny a naturally insincere kind of person or is he hiding his true self as a survival mechanism? In some sense, I feel that Danny is more "human" version of the Green Grocer. Let me know what you all think.
ReplyDeleteYou will find more characters to analyze in the same way as we move forward with the other novels.
DeleteI am going to write about sexual identity in Czechoslovakia during the time frame of this book 1949-1970's (?)and relate that back to the characters in the book. I would also like to do some sort of multimedia time like of the change in sexual identity and major events in the book. I am not quite sure how the time line would be counted in terms of the 15-20 pages.
ReplyDeleteMaybe you could think about writing this paper in sections, corresponding to the three novels, with a thread based on research running through the three. That might help in structuring your time.
DeleteI would like to use this blog to use Havel's description of ideology and the Green Grocer as well as how the characters in The Miracle Game act to compare to different groups in society today which I have observed. For example, I went to an all girls high school and noticed a way which every girl was expected to act no matter how they felt about the way they were acting/dressing/talking/etc. I'm not sure how I could connect it to Beloit College, but I'm sure I can find another group to compare it to.
ReplyDeleteI think this is a very interesting potential project. You should probably read ahead in Havel so you have a fuller sense of what he has to say, which will help you frame your approach to your own social experiences. I'd love to see some sort of interesting medium in which for you to write (confused grammar there!): what about Gossip Girl?
DeleteFor the writing assignment I would like to create some form of scrapbook describing the characters of the books we read, conflicts they are faced with and the solutions they come up with to overcome the problems. I will also include important historical events that surround the characters of the books and write a brief description of the actual events. Doing this will help me remember and understand the material we read a lot better.
ReplyDeleteI want to do this for at least the first couple of novels we read and see how well it works out.
Great idea! Let's think of a format in which you could do this. A blog would be good, or Tumblr: I like these because then your work could be a resource for others.
ReplyDeleteIm thinking about a journal entry for the first half where I will detail what we have learned or read, and then I will put my feedback into it. The way im looking at this is kind of the way in which we read diaries of the past. Give it that personal account feeling. I want to wait until we read more of the other novels to do something more creative with the characters and ideas. Sorry this is a comment, im having a hard time understanding the this blog system.
ReplyDeleteI would like to explore my family’s history into more detail - it is a rich history of countless obstacles (quitting membership in the Communist Party, support of Charter 77 and subsequent emigration, forced collectivization of a family farm, etc.). There are many more things that, unfortunately, still remain a mystery to me or that I do not have a clear account of. Sadly enough, the coverage of historical development of the Czech nation after WWII is not given enough (if any) room in regular history classes (at least in my experience), which gives me another reason to inquire into the history of my own family and try to decipher the country’s development through my own lens. Through direct interaction (personal correspondence, Skype interviews, personal accounts), I would like to create an authentic mosaic of what life was like for people during the communist regime (I assume most of the accounts will cover the 60s, 70s and 80s). If I do receive enough valuable information, I would like to transform the ‘family facts’ into something more literary/artistic, such as a collection of monologues/dialogues that could be potentially performed in public.
ReplyDelete