Honors - Fear and Memory

In Life of Pi, Pi Patel says the following about fear: "[F]ear, real fear, such as shakes you to your foundation... nestles in your memory like a gangrene: it seeks to rot everything... . So you must fight hard to express it. You must fight hard to shine the light of words upon it. Because if you don’t, if your fear becomes a wordless darkness that you avoid, perhaps even manage to forget, you open yourself to further attacks of fear because you never truly fought the opponent who defeated you" (Martel 161-162).

Think about this message. Please write a reflection of approximately two paragraphs on this quotation. What does Pi mean by telling people to "shine the light of words" on their fears? How can fear settle in memory "like a gangrene"? Do you agree or disagree with Pi? 

This post will be graded as a 10-point quiz.

CP - "Life was rotten, there were no heroes..."

In Chapter 16, young David Caroni meets with Brother Leon. By the end of the conversation, Caroni realizes the following: "that life was rotten, that there were no heroes, really, and you couldn't trust anybody, not even yourself" (Cormier 115).

On your blog, please do the following:

1. Explain why Caroni has come to this conclusion. What does he mean? Find at least 1 piece of textual evidence to support your answer. (One paragraph; please follow rules of formal writing--no first person pronouns, use present tense verbs, use correct citations.)

2. Write about whether you agree or disagree with Caroni. Why do you feel the way you do? (One paragraph; first-person pronouns encouraged, as this is personal reflection.)

CP - Chapter 11 - Archie and Brother Eugene's room

This assignment is for you to complete after we discuss Ms. Meyer's observations of the Archie/Brother Leon blog post.

First, review your summary for Chapter 11 of The Chocolate War (p. 70-74). Then review the chapter as needed.

On your blog, write a one-paragraph response to the following question:
What is Archie’s opinion of the Assignment in Brother Eugene’s room? 

Begin your paragraph with a clear topic sentence. Follow all “Freshman 5” writing guidelines.

Freshman 5 Writing Guidelines

1. No first/second person pronouns
2. Use correct tense (literature=present, history=past)
3. Use correct citations
4. No casual language (contractions/slang)
5. Use commas correctly

DUE: next class meeting

Per. 7: Wednesday, Nov. 28

Per. 6: Tuesday, Dec. 4

CP - Teachers vs Students in The Chocolate War

In Chapter 6 of The Chocolate War, Brother Leon tells the class that "a certain discipline must be maintained in school. A line must be drawn between teachers and students. We teachers would love to be one of the boys, of course. But that line of separation must remain" (Cormier 41). In a well-developed paragraph, please answer the following question: Are Archie and Brother Leon similar to or different from one another? In your response, which should include 1-2 pieces of textual evidence, you should consider Chapters 4, 5, and/or 6.


Some reminders before you write:

• Do not use first- or second-person pronouns. (No "I," "we," or "you.")
• Use present tense verbs when writing about literature.
• Begin your paragraph with a clear topic sentence that answers the question.
• Cite all textual evidence with an appropriate MLA citation. There is an example in the question above.

Honors - Is religion darkness or light?

In Chapter 4 of Life of Pi, Pi says he knows that "zoos are no longer in people's good graces. Religion faces the same problem. Certain illusions about freedom plague them both" (Martel 19).

When Pi describes his first meeting with Satish Kumar, the biology teacher at Petit Seminaire, they have the following exchange:

"Religion will save us," I said. Since when I could remember, religion had been very close to my heart.
"Religion?" Mr. Kumar grinned broadly. "I don't believe in religion. Religion is darkness."
Darkness? I was puzzled. I thought, Darkness is the last thing that religion is. Religion is light. Was he testing me? (Martel 27)

In a well-developed blog post of 1-2 paragraphs in length, please answer the following questions:

• Does religion provide freedom or restrict freedom?
• Is religion better characterized as darkness or light, and why?

This post should be a personal reflection on a complex idea presented by the text, so it is appropriate to use first-person pronouns. Please cite textual evidence, real-world examples, or both in your response.

Honors - A Theory of Writing

Yann Martel begins his 2001 novel Life of Pi with an Author's Note, with an author character revealing both what lead him to Pi Patel and many ideas about writing. Identify one of these ideas, explain what the author character means, and respond to the truth of that idea, citing a specific example from your own reading experiences that either proves or disproves the idea.

CP - Advantages and Disadvantages of Conformity

Describe a specific example of a time you have conformed with a group. In this instance, was conformity an advantage, or a disadvantage? If you could relive this situation, would you make the same decision--why, or why not?

Remember, your blog entries should be at least one well-written paragraph in length.