Minority Report Thesis Statements

Calling all thesis statements to the blog!

Live Blogging! End of The Kite Runner

See reminders below on the post below.

Live blogging! The Kite Runner: Chapters 21 and 22

Reminders:

(1) Please reference by name to whom you are responding. Ex: I agree with Clay's comment about Gatsby's childlike approach to love, but I think we need to give Gatsby more credit because he is the only character in this novel who stays true to his love.

(2) Please use correct punctuation and spelling (as always).

(3) Hit the F5 key to refresh. You will need to do this continually in order to see everyone's comments.

(4) Try to find a balance between listening to the inner circle and having your own blogging discussion on the outer circle. Please don't abandon the inner circle altogether.

Upcoming Macbeth Essay: The Thesis

Because we were rushed at the end of our shortened class today, I'm going to reiterate the directions here:

Please select one of the following five questions to brainstorm and develop into a thesis statement (you may stick with the same question you used for your Act 1 summary response, or you may switch topics):

1. Do women have to be masculine in order to be powerful?
2. What impact do dreams or dream-like states have on our waking lives?
3. To what extent is ambition healthy? When does it become destructive?
4. What drives people over the edge? What causes them to lose control of themselves?
5. Do we control our own destinies, or do our destinies control us? Is there such a thing as fate?

The big difference between this essay and your earlier summary responses is that you are eventually going to turn the question into a five paragraph essay in which you compare Macbeth to another person or text of your choice. Here are the official directions I put up on the PowerPoint today:


Over the next week, you will be writing a 5-paragraph essay in which you respond to one the five questions that you responded to in your Act 1 summary response.
The two big differences are as follows:

1. You must address different acts of the play (not just Act 1).

2. You must compare a situation, conflict, or character from Macbeth to another situation, conflict, or person from the media, from another play or novel, or from history.

As you brainstorm and develop your thesis, start considering whom or what you'd like to compare to Macbeth. Hitler? Romeo? Oprah? Get creative. When you have developed a thesis, please post it on this blog.

As always, please post by Thursday 10 pm.

Independent Reading Ideas

I'd like you to post one or two ideas for your independent projects. Think about what you've done in the past that you've liked, or something you've never had the chance to do but would love to try. As you post your ideas, please address the following questions:

1. What should be the goal of our independent reading projects? In other words, why are we doing them? For what purpose?

2. What criteria should we use to assess how "good" an independent reading project is?

Thanks for your ideas!

Making Your Own Prophecy

Based on Macbeth's transformation throughout the play, what do you think is going to happen to him in Act 5? What do you think will happen to Lady Macbeth, or Fleance, or Macduff? Be sure to explain your thinking--defend your prophecy with evidence from the play.

Seizing Macduff's Castle

Why do you think Shakespeare includes Act 4, scene 2 in the play? We have never met Macduff's family, and we don't know Macduff particularly well. Why is this scene important to our understanding of the play's central characters and themes?