What's the Story?

A Tale of Two Cities has a strong sense of duality.  This is a quality that it shares with Great Expectations, according to the lecture in class today.  The key opening lines ("It was the best of times, it was the worst of times...") are some of the most memorable in literature.  From the start, Dickens primes the reader for what is to come.  There are two cities, two time periods (Dickens's present, and the historical time frame of the story), and a multitude of comparisons between these pairs.

So, what does this say about what the story is?  Why did Dickens write it?  There is strong indication that Dickens saw parallels between 1775 and his own time, particularly when it comes to the subject of revolution and "mob rule", as pointed out in the lecture previous to this post.  These contrasting elements serve multiple purposes.  On one level, it allows Dickens to easily relate a historical story to modern readers.  On another, it provides him with a structure through which he can highlight specific aspects of society (the disparity between the wealthy and the poor is a major one).

A particularly striking example is in chapter five, "The Wine-Shop".  The chapter opens with a cask of wine breaking open in the streets.  For a few precious moments, the crowd is overcome in manic joy.  However, once all the wine is lapped up and only mud is left, the citizens retreat back to their dreary, depressing lives.  As far as the core of the plot goes, this adds very little.  Its sole purpose is the establish an environment in which both extreme joy and sadness can exist closely together.

Further support comes in the form of Lucie's relationship to her father.  In many ways, Lucie is a foil for Dr. Manette, at least upon their introduction.  While Lucie is described as an embodiment of youthful beauty, her father is a decrepit shell.  One is full of life, the other drained of it.  And yet, despite their differences, they are brought to an emotional level upon meeting each other -- there is much sobbing and confusion to be had.

A Tale of Two Cities: Lecture Notes

These notes are on this lecture by Dr. Tony Williams.

• Personal significance to Dickens
• The Frozen Deep, amateur production by Dickens and friend
• Dickens returns to themes of self-sacrifice in A Tale of Two Cities
• Lucie a reference to Lucy, a woman he fell in love with
• Dickens's Crisis
• Publications, public readings for profit, tours, etc.
• 1868 separated from his wife
• London
• Both a source of revulsion and inspiration for Dickens
• City of extremes in wealth
• Paris
• Made a huge impression on Dickens
• "The most extraordinary place in the world"
• Awed by the novelty and character
• Not as sprawling or uncontrolled as London
• The Opening
• Dickens emphasizes the similarities between the two cities
• Duality of the introduction
• Sets the reader back in time, but also parallels modern times
• Published 1859, refers to events in 1775
• Revolution
• Dickens feared mob rule, like many people of the age
• Hence, the theme of revolution in A Tale of Two Cities
• Written in installments for publication
• Episodic
• Dickens wrote as he went, and wrote in response to reader reactions
• Cliffhangers
• The Personal Story
• Beginning of Chapter 3 contains an uncharacteristic narration from Dickens
• personal intensity

I didn't finish the last three minutes of the lecture.  The speaker was indicating that he was about to discuss the end, and I heard the word "guillotine" before I closed the tab.  I'm not sure if he was speaking figuratively or not, but I did not stick around to find out.  A Tale of Two Cities may be a well known story, but I still don't know how it ends.  I'd prefer to keep it that way, at least until I get around to finishing the book.

Dickens Map

Reading Schedule

I have about 250 pages left to read of A Tale of Two Cities (yeah, I know; blame AP Gov) so I plan on reading 30-40 pages a night for the rest of this school week, then getting any pages leftover done during the weekend.

AP Questions

The following are five AP Questions that I hope to be able to answer after finishing the book.  They're from Oprah's website, but "developed" by Penguin Books, so I'll accept that as enough validity for me.  The questions seem fairly in depth.

1.  A Tale of Two Cities opens with "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times..." one of the best-known passages in English literature. What does Dickens mean by setting the stage with such polarities? For whom was it the best and the worst of times? Dickens wrote A Tale of Two Cities in the late 1850s. Why does this passage continue to be quoted today? In what ways does our own present period merit such an assessment?

2.  The novel takes place, as its title suggests, in two cities: London and Paris. What are some of the differences between these two cities? Between their denizens? What about characters who travel—or move residence—from one to another? How are the cities themselves divided in two?

3.  Dickens seems to have great sympathy for the poor, the sick and the powerless, but not all such characters are portrayed sympathetically. What does that say about his sympathies? Where does he intend our sympathies as readers to lie?

4.  Why was Charles Darnay able to see the unfairness of the class structure that benefited him and then able to extricate himself from it? Are there other characters as capable of seeing beyond their own circumstances?

5.  Sydney Carton's background is alluded to, though we never quite learn the source(s) of his disappointment and degeneracy. What might have happened in his past?

Evaluation

I don't see any reason not to test my understanding of the book by simply revisiting these questions.  As far as class evaluation goes, I think a Socratic seminar in which people present their best discussion question (and answers!) would be beneficial.  A post-discussion write up should aptly demonstrate expertise.

LIterary Terms 31-56

Here's the Prezi that Justin Thompson and I made for this week's words.

Dialect: the language of a particular district, class or group of persons; the sounds, grammar, and diction employed by people distinguished from others

Dialectics: formal debates usually over the nature of truth

Dichotomy: split or break between two opposing things

Diction: the style of speaking or writing as reflected in the choice and use of words

Didactic: having to do with the transmission of information; education

Literature Terms 6-30

Justin Thompson and I created a Prezi for these.  Check it out!

Analogy: a comparison made between two things to show the similarities between them

Analysis: a method in which a work or idea is separated into its parts, and those parts given rigorous and detailed scrutiny

Anaphora: a device or repetition in which a word or words are repeated at the begining of two or more lines, phrases, clauses, or sentences

Anecdote: a very short story used to illustrate a point

Antagonists: a person or force opposing the protagonist in a drama or narrative

Poetry Analysis

1.  "We Real Cool" by Gwendolyn Brooks

We real cool. We

Left school. We

Lurk late. We

Strike straight. We

Sing sin. We

Thin gin. We

Jazz June. We

Die soon.

This particular poem was striking both in terms of visuals and theme.  The poet accomplishes a complex mixture of morose humor and tragic mourning in remarkably few words.  At the poem's end, the reader appropriately feels left hanging due to the lack of an end-of-line "we".  In just two words, the poet abruptly switches the entire tone of the poem.  Going back and re-reading in the context of the end is surprisingly morbid.

Saint Crispin's Day Sonnet: Video

Here's our "performance" of the sonnet/dialogue we wrote, complete with realistic props and professional acting.

Making a Case for Memorization Alternatives

When Kris and I pitched our idea to Dr. Preston (admittedly, it was on the day of presentations, after we had gone through with it...) his main concern was that although it adhered to the idea designing our own course, our method could potentially set a dangerous precedent for short-cutting.  This post is an attempt to alleviate some of those concerns, as well as explain how we came up with our solution.

Yesterday afternoon, Kris Green and I came up with an alternative to memorizing the Saint Crispin's day speech.  This was the result of a conversation we were having about whether memorizing poems was an effective learning strategy.  It started out as us complaining about it, but it eventually turned into a legitimate assessment.

Before going any further, I'll be frank.  Time saving was definitely the primary motivation for our decision to seek an alternative.  However, it was not a matter of laziness or an unwillingness to do work.  By the time we came up with the idea, I had memorized almost half of the speech.  Granted, having half of the poem memorized the day before is not an ideal spot to be, but rest assured that I would have pulled the late-night memorization spree if I thought it was necessary (this is what I did for To Be or Not To Be, after all).

Saint Crispin's Day Sonnet Dialogue

This is a sonnet that Kris Green and I wrote. We decided to do something different and follow the sonnet structure while making it into a dialogue. This is a hypothetical conversation between Westmoreland and the King. Obviously, this is not word-for-word what happens in the play, but we did our best to capture the essence of the speech.

W: O that we had but one ten thousand more.
K: For what need have we for that kind of man?
W: We are outnumbered, almost ten to four!
K: No matter, they are not of our brave clan.
W:  Some say it be sin to covet honour.
K: Better honour than avarice and gold.
W: Despite this, it doth make my gut feel sour.
K: Die for glory now, or wait till you're old.
W: Right, now.  Let us write a tale for the ages.
K: Our men shall bear these honourable scars,
W: It is with blood that we will ink the pages,
K:The myth shall be told in lyrics of bards
K: A tale of we few, we happy few, away
K: Fighting for glory on Saint Crispin’s Day!

W = Westmoreland
K = King


Check out the video here.

Literature Terms 1-5

Allegory: a tale in prose or verse in which characters, actions, or settings represent abstract ideas or moral qualities; a story that uses symbols to make a point
And now, I said, let me show in a figure how far our nature is enlightened or unenlightened.

Alliteration: the repetition of similar initial sounds, usually consonants, in a group of words
Dastardly definitions and sordid sentences.

Allusion:  a reference to a person, a place, an event, or a literary work that a writer expects a reader to recognize
[see "anachronism"]

Ambiguity: something uncertain as to interpretation
"Wow, so annoyed right now..."

Anachroism:  something that shows up in the wrong place or the wrong time
Dinosaurs on a spaceship!

Spring Semester Plan 1

When making goals for this semester, I was mistaken about the point (as were some others, apparently).  While doing more work for the Collaborative Working Groups is genuinely something that I want to accomplish this semester, it is hardly the type "dream big" goal that we discussed in class.  Besides that, it wasn't very specific.  So, here's my revised goal.

A year ago, I started working on a small computer game with a group of people.  Mechanically, it wasn't terribly complicated (meaning that it is certainly feasible).  We slung around some neat ideas and laid down the groundwork for it, but school became problematic near the end of the semester and work petered off.  I'd like to finish it.  Although not all of the group is available, Justin Thompson also plans to work on it.  Funnily enough, it seems that he has a similar goal for the semester, so perhaps that is where the Accountability of this S.M.A.R.T. goal will come from.

AP Prep Post 1: Siddhartha

1.  In the novel, Siddhartha encounters several people who aid him in one way or another toward achieving enlightenment.  Can you discuss at least one important person on Siddhartha's journey who aids in his self-discovery?
(Source -- Mrs. Armstrong and Mrs. Braasch)

I don't have the answer to this one, despite having read the novel before.  Obviously, it requires some more knowledge of the characters.  I decided to include it anyway because it provides an interesting foil to our in class discussion.  The moment of Siddhartha's awakening is accompanied by the realization that he is completely alone.  Analyzing the people that used to be part of his life and why they are no longer there is a potentially enlightening (pun entirely intended) discussion.

The following questions are taken from here.  They're (AP) student made, and there's a ton of them.

What's In This For Me?

With the new year and the new semester, it is time to set some goals.  In the few years that I have made a New Year's resolution, I have been notoriously bad at following through for more than a few weeks.  The problem, I found, was associating the goal with New Year's day.  After that holiday spirit wore off and I was back at school, I was back into my daily schedule and quickly lost interest in the resolution.  So, I'll be writing goals for the year of 2013, even after it's not exactly a "new" year anymore.

I've said on other occasions that I particularly enjoyed the collaborative working groups in this course. Consequently, I have "joined" a small handful of them.  Unfortunately, I have not been nearly as active in them as I would like (which is entirely my fault).  This is not for lack of interest.  My problem is that there is a fairly wide variety of things I am interested in, so when I am confronted with the opportunity to join a relevant group, I am quick to accept.  Because of this, I can't devote as much time as I would like to them.  I am sure other members of the groups have become irked with my deadline issues.

This can be solved in two ways.  The first is to simply cut down the number of groups I participate in.  Theoretically, this should free up more time.  However, my time management (or rather, my lack of it) is probably a more significant issue.  The more responsible solution would be to stop procrastinating on things.

I'm pretty sure this has been my New Year's resolution for the past couple years, which is incredibly ironic.  Also, the fact that I am posting this at 10:00 PM on the last day of break does not bode well (but it could be worse!).  Regardless, I'll do my best to get out of such bad habits, as they are clearly detrimental.