With great appreciation, I thank you for sharing your confessional poems this week.
1. The Bell Jar essay is just around the bend (First Draft due Monday, Nov. 7th), so you should begin thinking about argumentative positions on the text. I strongly encourage you to consider how the feminist lens questions can give shape to a thesis. Once we finish the essay, I will collect The Bell Jar and grade your annotations.
Keep in mind: Feminist criticism is concerned with “…the ways in which literature (and other cultural productions) reinforce or undermine the economic, political, social, and psychological oppression of women” (Tyson). This school of theory looks at how aspects of our culture are inherently patriarchal (male dominated) and “…this critique strives to expose the explicit and implicit misogyny in male writing about women” (Richter 1346).
Remember, Plath illustrates economic, social, and psychological oppression of Esther (and perhaps others). Where do we see this in the novel? How does she illustrate these dynamics?
(Due 10/31) Thesis/Essay Pre-writing (I expect to see a great deal of thought put into this first formal stage of the process.)–In preparation for your essay, you must fill in the blank here: In my The Bell Jar essay I will explore Plath’s treatment of ___________. Fill in the blank with an element(s) that you would like to explore. Many of you will choose to explore her treatment of a specific theme, and that is fine, but know that you are not limited to theme here. then, develop the idea a bit. Naturally, I want you to WRITE OUT (in your binder) at least 5 quotations that are relevant to a discussion of your chosen element(s). Why did you choose this evidence? How do your quotations relate to one another? This is the first step of the process! The more thought and effort you put into this, the easier the entire process will be. Here is a sample:
2. The Bell Jar closing discussion–All pairs should ensure that they have finalized their discussion question, especially the presenting pairs.
3. 1984–We are starting 1984 next week, so if you would like to purchase your own copy, please do!
4. Personal Vocab–You should be at 30 by the end of next week. A collection is coming soon. Remember, your personal vocab should not be typed.
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