The Last Samurai / Critical Lens - Intro / Pigs - Chapter 11

Grade 12

• Yesterday: finished notes on the hero journey
• Today: collected essays
• Started The Last Samurai
• Students need to take notes and prepare to write an essay applying the hero journey and the four functions of myth to the story.

Grade 10

• Critical Lens interpretation, continued (We did this yesterday also.)

"It is not what an author states, but what he or she whispers,that is important." (borrowed from Logan Pearsall Smith)

This means that authors don’t directly state what they are trying to tell you. They make you read between the lines to find the theme.

• Went over the formula for completing the introduction to the critical lens essay, then applied the formula to the quotes already interpreted. Example:
• According to Logan Pearsall Smith, "It is not what an author states, but what he or she whispers, that is important." In other words, authors don’t directly state what they are trying to tell you. They make you read between the lines to find the theme. Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare, and Speak by Laurie Anderson, illustrate the truth of this theme.
• Note: Students who are confident writers are encouraged to write the paragraphs in their own words, without the formula, as long as all the important information is included.
• Short stories due tomorrow.

Grade 9

• Journal: What was your personal reaction to this chapter? Why did you react this way?
• Read and discuss portions of chapter 11.
• HW: Chapter 12 and reading log. Reading logs may be checked tomorrow.