Journal Topics, English 1B

Journals are your chance to practice expressing your thoughts about literature without being bogged down by mechanics and such.  I'd still like to see quotes and textual evidence supporting your critical response, but I don't watch for spelling or mechanics here.  I only grade based on how thorough your response is. 

NOTE: Journals 7-10 will be done slightly differently than all the others.  I will only collect them at the end of the semester, not in class.  Ignore what I said in class and turn them all in as part of the final journal.

Requirements:

• Each answer should be at least 200 words long.
• Each journal entry will be submitted at the end of the class, stapled together as if they were one paper (no binders or folders, please!).
• Each entry is worth 10 points.
• The journal is due the same time the final paper is due

Topic 1: There are many novels and poems out there that may be a good read, but they aren't necessarily literature.  What do you think makes a piece of writing become literature? 

Topic 2: Discuss the two sonnets, "My Mistress Eyes" and "What Lips."  Define a sonnet and discuss the key elements of the poetry form in relation to these two poems.  How does form, for example, play a part in the delivery and meaning in these pieces?

Topic 3: Compare "A Rose For Emily" and "The Story of an Hour."  What makes them similar?  How do the mindsets of the women protagonists differ or prove to be the same?

Topic 4: What are the two driving symbols and themes found in Being There?  Discuss.

Topic 5: Apply a critical approach to any one piece of literature we have read in class so far.

Topic 6: Apply a completely different approach to a completely different piece of literature we've read in class.

Topic 7: From American Beauty, discuss Ricky Fitts as a mentor character.  Who does he mentor, and what lessons does he teach his "student"?

Topic 8: From American Beauty, discuss Lester's desire to be with Angela.  What changes does Lester undergo to get closer to Angela?  What lessons does he learn while he's on a quest for this teenage beauty?

Topic 9: What is significant about the title of the film, The Big Lebowski?  Why is it named after a minor character in the film instead of "The Dude"?  How might the misdirection found in the title be indicative of an important element of the film?

Topic 10: What was your favorite piece of literature in class this semester (it could be a poem, play, film, or piece of fiction)?  What did you like about it?  Conversely, what was your least favorite piece of literature?  Why?