School's Out for Summer!

Visual art and literature are very similar. The reason for this is that both literature and art have a message. Often this message concerns what it is to have a meaningful life. At other times, the message is political and the art is commenting on the way things are in the world and is inviting us to do something about it. But most people don't understand visual art. When they look at a painting or a photo,  they simply think of whether or not the picture is realistic or pretty. What I'd like you to do with the following two pieces of art is to ask yourself what the message of the art is. Then you are to pick one of the two pieces and write 1/2 page telling me what you think that message is.

"Migrant Mother" by Dorothea Lange              "Wheatfield with Crows" by Vincent Van Gogh
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Untitled by Robert Doisneau

Last day of class before your final!

Finish The Book Thief movie

Don't forget to review the book on Sparknotes or some other site to prepare for the test Thursday!

1. What role do books play for Liesel, Hans, Max, and in the novel as a whole?
Write 1 paragraph of at least 6 sentences

2.Discuss the theme of the individual vs. society, and how characters either conform to or rebel against societal expectations.
3. Ask yourself what role books play in the lives of the characters in Fahrenheit 451 and then write 1 paragraph comparing the role of books in Fahrenheit and in Book Thief.
Write 1 paragraph of at least 4 sentences

4.How does the novel explore the idea of family? How is family defined at the beginning of the novel vs. the end?

June 4

The Book Thief Sparknotes summary



Reread  Macavity: The Mystery Cat by T.S. Eliot and answer questions 1-6 page 609

Then read all three of the following poems and answer one question at the end of each--you choose which ones! Your answers should go on the same sheet of paper with the Macavity questions.
"There Will Come Soft Rains" by Sara Teasdale (page 652)
"I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud" by William Wordsworth (page 628)
"maggie and milly and molly and may" by e.e. cummings (page 653)

You might consider the following, too, if  you have extra time at the end, but you don't have to read them or answer questions:
"Solace"by Dorothy Parker (page 610) ("solace" means "comfort in a time of sadness")
"Ecclesiastes 3:1-8" (page 645)
"A Red, Red Rose" by Robert Burns (page 669)