Week 04 - Journals and Homework

We will begin work on a mock trial this week. The object is to identify who is most guilty of Dantes's unjust imprisonment and to mete out appropriate justice to each. The defendants in this trial will be: Villefort, Mercedes, Fernand, Caderrouse, Danglars, Napoleon Bonaparte, and Dantes himself. The chief magistrate will be (in a twist of the impossible) Edmond Dantes in his role as the Count of Monte Cristo.

We are beginning work on narrative essays this week. As part of that goal, each journal this week should be presented in the form of a short (1-2 pages maximum) story.

9 / 8 - Have you ever had a pet? If so, tell me a story about it- first trip to the vet, a game that it likes to play, or a time you were exceptionally worried about it. If not, what kind of pet would you like to have? Tell a story about something you would do with that animal. Finally, if you have no interest in pets, explain why you feel that way.

CMC pp 131-143

9 / 9 - Tell me a science fiction or fantasy story with yourself as the protagonist. This should be a short story, so you need to pay attention to what details the reader absolutely needs written out and what can be implied- too much detail will get in the way of getting the plot written, while too little will make the setting too amorphous and confusing.

CMC pp 143-161

9 / 10 - Free Write

CMC pp 161-174

9 / 11 - Tell me an embarrassing story (must be school-appropriate). When did this happen? How has it affected you? What would you say is the moral behind your story?

Review CMC pp 1-174

9 / 12 - Quote: "I write entirely to find out what I'm thinking, what I'm looking at, what I see, and what it means. What I want and what I fear." --John Didion (1934- )