Writing a Paragraph Analysis— Here’s the information from the book (if you need it) to help you write your paragraph analysis. Remember, these are due on Monday! » In the opening sentence, include the title, author, and subject of the story. » In the body sentences, briefly describe the elements (character, plot, setting, symbols) of the story that reveal the theme. » … 

We concluded our collection of Vocabulary #4 today, and turned in papers. As far as we’re concerned right now, this was the last BYOV vocabulary for the year. The rest of the time, we worked on odds and ends—2nd Period heard a few words about the nature of dictionaries in general, and took a quick look at the Onmificient English … 

Both classes began collecting Vocabulary #5 today, and we made it through about number seven or eight, which, by our standards, is pretty respectable. We’ll finish tomorrow, turn papers in, and expect a quiz on Friday. 😐 

Just in time for the Halloween weekend, 2nd Period read (or, actually, “heard,” I guess) Edgar Allan Poe’s “Masque of the Red Death” with an accompanying slideshow. We talked briefly about how the ideas from the past few days (and even Tom Benecke!) tied into the story, and we’ll solidify those next week. Alas, for 6th Period! An impending Rally for … 

In 2nd Period, we turned in “Write Like a Dead Man” sheets, and continued examining the Dance of Death with a quick spin through Hans Holbein’s Dance of Death, noticing the moral lessons that could be “read” in the pictures, as well as our omnipresent hourglass. 6th Period began what 2nd started yesterday, with a brief interruption to get our … 

2nd Period moved on today—leaving Tom Benecke at the movies with his wife (we assume he made it safely, and wasn’t run over by a bus, or didn’t fall down an open manhole) we wandered back to plague-time in the Middle Ages, and looked at some pictures: namely Bruegel’s The Triumph of Death, a cadaver tomb, and introduced the Latin … 

2nd Period completed their discussion of “Contents of the Dead Man’s Pockets” today, talking about the main thematic idea in the story: There are more important things in life besides collecting money and prestige, and oftentimes we have to be shaken around pretty hard before we’re able to stop and look at our lives with a different perspective. This lead, … 

Today, 2nd Period continued with a discussion of “Contents of the Dead Man’s Pocket,” which focused on the symbolism of the yellow paper, and how it shifts in meaning in the course of the story, therefore making the ending, perhaps, not as Bad as we Might Have Thought. (Or, at least, it kind of makes sense. 😛 ) 6th Period, ever behind the … 

Back to the split-shift: 2nd Period continued a discussion/explication of the Hero’s Journey in “Contents of the Dead Man’s Pocket,” with an unintended intrusion by William Shakespeare. 6th Period started to do the same, until we were reminded that we had never finished collecting Vocabulary #4! 😯 So we did that instead. Assignments? “Babylon” allusion essay rough drafts should be …