Thursday,+November+10

Bell Ringer
[|Click here] to browse through the analytical chunks you and your classmates wrote on The Awakening. Talk with your small group to select one that you think I should talk about with the class. Maybe you think the idea and commentary is particularly thought provoking. Maybe you think the writing is especially sophisticated and eloquent.

As you are doing this, please show me your book annotations for a quick homework grade.

Prepare for Discussion
Take a moment to look through the discussion starters and prepare a response. For thorough discussions, connect page numbers with your responses in order to incorporate text support.

Discussion Starters: (But feel free to take conversations in different directions!)

 * What is different about her relationship with Alcee Arobin than with Robert Lebrun? What is similar?
 * What would Edna's view of a perfect marriage be? Does such a thing exist?
 * Why on Earth does Edna flirt and sleep with Arobin right after finding out that Robert will be home soon??? (You caught that, right?)
 * How would this book be different if it centered on Mr. Pontellier's awakening and quest for personal and sexual fulfillment? Or rather, would it be different?
 * In Chapter 27, Edna tells Alcee that Mademoiselle Reisz felt her shoulders for wings, explaining, "The bird that would soar above the level plain of tradition and prejudice must have strong wings. It is a sad spectacle to see the weaklings bruised, exhausted, fluttering back to earth." What does Mademoiselle mean by this? How might this quote be significant?

Small Lit Circles
Number into small groups. Using a video camera to record your conversation, discuss your thoughts on the novel for 7 minutes. Use the discussion starters to fuel your talk, but feel free to allow conversations to drift in different directions (while remaining focused on the book).

Ch.6 Group Projects
Assign sentences. Look at teacher example. Work with your group on your sentence's analysis.

Homework
Read and annotate to chapter 34.