calendar

Since I now have to enter key dates in Managebac, that is where you also should look for the calendar and for deadlines and dates.

Monday/Tuesday

Choose one of the following (or devise one of your own) to present individually or in teams of two:

1. With a partner or not, make a case for or against

Boy Willie's rights to the piano

Berniece's rights to the piano

    Introductory arguments (generalities that you intend to prove)

    Presentation of evidence

    Visual aid to enhance arguments (not to replace or substitute for them)

    Closing arguments

2. With a partner or not, present an argument detailing the roles of dreams, visions, and mysterious monologues in the play. You must present with a visual aid that enhances your argument but does not replace or substitute for it. You must build a case for a purposeful role.

3. With a partner or not, present an argument detailing the role of songs in the play. You must use a visual or audio-visual aid. You must build a case for a purposeful role.

4. With a partner or not, present an argument detailing Berniece's role in the play with regard to her various relationships. You must use a visual or audio-visual aid.You must build a case for a purposeful role.

5. With a partner or not, develop a case on a topic of your own device. You must use a visual or audio-visual aid. You must build a case for a purposeful role. (ghosts? trains? prison? money? whiskey? marriage?)

6. With a partner or not, present an argument detailing the role of competing world/spiritual views in the play. You must use a visual or auido-visual aid. Build a case for a purposeful role.

Presentations should last for 8-10 minutes.

If you have wishes or desires to contribute to the rubrics and timelines, think of them for next class (Wednesday/Thursday). This will be a major grade for the nine weeks. Presentations due November 21-26.

ALERT

Blog assignments must be done by grade deadlines – before tomorrow, Friday!

Tuesday/Wednesday

What is the importance of music? Think of your personal experience with it and with your understanding of its effects on groups of people. Does it have a...purpose?

Wednesday

3. Classify the characters who have appeared so far with a brief description and some evidence of their character cited from the text. (Boy Willie, Lymon, Doaker, Berniece, Maretha, Avery, Wining Boy)

4. What or who are the "Ghosts of the Yellow Dog"?

5. Compare and contrast Boy Willie's attitude toward the piano with Berniece's.

6. Compare and contrast Doaker's railroad speech on page 18 with Avery's speech about the three hobos. Let your thoughts dwell here a while. Note the content and images of each speech. Which one seems to you the most authentic? Then look at Doaker and Wining Boy's convesation on Pages 28-30. Then read Wining Boy's "piano" speech on page 41. What conflict is Wilson setting up among these various viewpoints?

7. How does the allusion at the end of the scene influence your evaluation of Boy Willie's attitude toward the piano?

8. Combine with at least two others. Determine the crux of Act 1.i -- the absolute central moment. Then, with the others, prepare a tableau of the scene.

Tuesday

Vow today upon a stack of all you find holy never to say "it's basically saying" again in your life.

A commentary is not about what a poem "basically says" but about all the poem suggests during the process of the reading experience and then all it suggests in its totality after reading -- and it must be done with an emphasis on craft: HOW does it do that suggesting?

Tuesday

Today we tried a timed commentary. Good efforts, it appeared...

Next class meeting, have the play read and plan a TABLEAU of what you consider the most important part of the first scene (pages 1-28).

Monday

Consider what you find to be the very center, the crux, of the play's first scene. That is SCENE.

Plan a still-life demonstration of the tensions and stress-points in that moment. It is called (thanks, Mr. Chrismon!) a TABLEAU!

Tuesday

Today we finally completed class efforts at a practice oral. Expect a timed written commentary on October 8. We will meet as an entire class in the auditorium to conduct the commentary.

Next class period we begin work on August Wilson's play The Piano Lesson.