This Is Not a Story To Pass On: February 21, 2020

Focus: Why is Beloved not a story to pass on?

1. Warming up with our Valentine of the Day and some of Katie's watercolors

2. Offering you each a little gift and using that gift to examine Beloved's conflicts and tone

• What conflicts are exposed at the beginning of each part?

• What happens to these conflicts by the end of each part? If they're worse, what makes them worse? If they're resolved to some extent, how did they get resolved? 

• How would you describe the tone of each part (based on the last inch of each part)?

• What are the THREE most important symbols, motifs, or spaces in each part? How do they connect to the driving conflict of each part?

3. Listening to the final chapter of Beloved with a close reading of "This was not a story to pass on" to unearth themes

• What is this story really about?

• Why is it not a story to pass on?

4. Perusing and commenting on each other's Big Question Blogs to complicate our themes

Remember: If it could be written inside a chocolate Dove wrapper or sewn on a pillow, it's not a complicated enough theme.

Too simple: Morrison in Beloved shows that we shouldn't let our past control us.

Nice and complex: Morrison in Beloved delineates the ways in which the past can overcome the present when we allow either shame or pride to displace hope.

HW:
1. By beddy-bye time:

• Send me your thesis statements and project plans (or swing by for a quick conference).

• Completing this task will be part of your Responsibility and Work Habits grade (for completion, not quality).

2. BY TUESDAY, FEB 25: Please turn in your signed proposal and have a copy of your Book Club Novel in your hands.

3. MONDAY, MARCH 2-TUESDAY, MARCH 3 (that's 2 weeks from today): Projects and papers are due.