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monday, september 25 (3)

Today, after a short quiz, I'd like to look closely at the first two chapters of Part Two. What are the biggest changes we see in Raskolnikov from Part One?

Please do remember that Part Four of the novel is due next Monday.

tuesday, september 26 (4)

Today I'd like to look closely at Chapters 4 and 5 in Part Two and Chapter 3 of Part Three. You're going to break into groups to catalogue Raskolnikov's reactions to the actions and speeches of the other characters, as well as any emotions associated with those reactions. This is designed to help you see how a series of small actions within the plot of a novel shape your response to a character. See if you can't find the vital action of the section you're assigned just as a theatre director would try to find when staging a play. Your report can take any form you'd like, though you might consider setting up a chart like the one in the image to the right. At the end, you'll write a sentence or two about what the exercise helped you discover about Raskolnikov. There are, at least, 15 actions I've been able to identify in Chapters 4 and 5 of Part Two, for instance -- putting his head on a pillow, turning toward the wall, etc -- that respond to a stimulus and correspond with an emotion. Half the class will do pages 131-54; half the class will do pages 222-35. Below are some sample responses from the example to the right.

"We've been writing [Raskolnikov] off like he is not capable of true human relationships and never has been, but in seeing his true emotions and soft side flash up in his interaction with his mother and sister and in his sentimental recalling of his first love, I believe there is more to Raskolnikov."

"This exercise helped me to see the impulsiveness and randomness of Raskolnikov's actions... he is not mentally present... His subconscious takes over, especially at the moment of the knife."

"[T] he act itself, not the consequences of being caught, causes him the most guilt and anxiety."

"We see in this chapter that while Raskolnikov can appear to function like a normal person to a limited degree, he still retains the scars of his actions, evident in his false, alienated smile and his not-so-subtle references to the murders. He has gone, for better or worse, from incapacitated by guilt and shock to almost emboldened by it."

WEDNESDAY, september 27 (5)

Vocabulary Quiz: Crime and Punishment, Part 3

Presentation of the actions and emotions.

thursday, september 28 (6)

Presentation of Raskolnikov's actions in II.5 and III.3. Then we'll begin discussing our introduction to Sonya and what the events of the end of Part Two do to Raskolnikov.

friDAY, september 29 (1)

Your next major assignment of the year will be due Monday, October 9; it's in four parts and will be worth 100 points. It's the next step toward your major piece of writing--1200 words--on Crime and Punishment that you'll soon complete once you've finished reading the novel. What I expect you to submit on the 9th:

(1) A thesis that clearly defines the topic and the debatable claim associated with it, one that can be argued using evidence from the text. See CEA, pages 93-105 for help with thesis statements.

(2) A list of what you think your thesis demands you do in order to show it fully in your essay--that is, a list of topic sentences.

(3) A full revision of your first body paragraph with changes in red. I'd like you to include in the packet you submit the body paragraph I handed back to you.

(4) A second body paragraph that includes a topic sentence with nothing undefined, that appropriately incorporates plot details and extends elaboration; that blends all textual support, adds necessary transitions using logic and word glue, and maintains maintaining topic focus by including a topic string.

More to come Monday, but I wanted you to have the rough sketch now so there are no surprises. This weekend would be a good time to get a head start.

monday, october 2 (2)

Today, after a reading quiz, we're going to spend some time working through a few of your body paragraphs. On the whole they were good, but there are still some students committed to summarizing as much of the novel as they can for me. And then there are those who fall in love with every generalization they come across.

tuesday, october 3 (3)

Crime and Punishment discussion, Part 4

Today we'll divide into groups, one for each of the first four chapters of Part Four. Your task is to find the essential question from the chapter, be prepared to ask the class that question, and have your own answer prepared with passages from the chapter that you think develop the response.