Blog #6: The Crucible through the eyes of a psychologist

For this blog entry you will need to use the handout we went over in class that summarizes the different psychological theories.

Pick one character or one part of Act 3.

Use one of the theories from the handout we went over in class to analyze that character or that scene. What insights do you gain by viewing that character or scene with this particular psychological lens? How can you explain the behaviors you observed or any characters' decisions? What are some questions that still remain for you?

Be sure to use specific ideas or parts of the theory as you discuss the character or scene you selected.

Be sure to analyze (pick apart) specific lines of dialogue from the play.

Don't forget to give your entry a title and include your name. And of course, proofread before publishing!

Blog #5: conformity and mass hysteria articles and The Crucible

You will be working with 3 different texts for this blog entry!
1. Read the two articles I gave you: "Why So Many Minds Think Alike" by Elizabeth Landau and "Terror's Hidden Ally" by Laura Spinney.

2. Write about something from the articles that you thought was interesting or even puzzling. You can center your discussion around one particular passage in one of the articles or some of the writers' most interesting points. Just be sure that you are talking about something specific from the text of the articles. No generalizations!!

3. After you have discussed what you found interesting or puzzling about the article, connect those ideas to something specific you noticed in Act I of The Crucible. You could connect to a specific character, quote, or exchange of dialogue. Again be specific; no generalizations!

Blog #4: Write about a character from act 1 of The Crucible

Pick one character from act 1 of The Crucible to write about. Look back at the scenes that character is involved in and what he/she says or does. Write about your interpretation of that character. What ideas do you have about his/her motives, fears, values, and point of view? What are some things you are wondering about? Based on what you have seen so far, what role will this character mostly likely play as events unfold. Be sure to discuss specific lines from the text of the play.

Blog assignment #3: "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God"

Write about an idea you have about the sermon, "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God."  Your idea doesn't have to cover the whole sermon -- it could focus on one specific passage or passages. Look for ideas from the class activities and discussions that surrounded our exploration of this text. Your idea needs to go beyond just a personal reaction.  Your idea should include an interpretation and analysis of specific textual details in the text of the sermon.
 
Develop that idea with specific details from the text.  Talk in detail about the examples you use and how they relate to your bigger idea.

Give your entry a title that fits your idea.  Also don't forget to include your name.

Blog assignment #1: a book I read...

Talk about a book you read that you found

interesting, provocative, or even mildly engaging.

Identify the title (and author if you remember), and then write a paragraph telling about the book. You could talk about the basic plot and characters if it is a fictional book or some of the topics or ideas if it is a nonfiction book. Be sure to discuss the parts that were most interesting to you as a reader. Also talk about why you would recommend this book to someone looking for an outside reading book--what makes it a good read? What kind of person would like this book?

Assignment #2 -- Use Imagery to Create Fear

Your second blog assignment involves writing a creative piece!

Describe a place or a situation that normally wouldn't be scary.  Use imagery and specific word choices to elicit fear or a sense of dread or anxiety in the reader.  Think creatively!

Let's look at some sample blogs

Below you will see some sample blog posts to Of Mice and Men.  Let's examine them to see what the writers did.  For each sample, what did the writer do that was effective?  What was not effective?  What makes a strong blog response?  What will you have to do as a writer when you start to blog in our class?

Sample #1

In chapter 5, Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck displays Lennie’s thought, actions, and ultimate effect on others, when Lennie is placed in a pressure situation. Chapter 5 takes the reader to the barn where we find Lennie has accidentally killed one of the pups. ”And Lennie said softly to the puppy, ‘Why do you got to get killed? You ain’t so little as mice. I didn’t bounce you hard.’ He bent the pup’s head up and looked in its face, and he said to it, ‘Now maybe George ain’t gonna let me tend no rabbits, if he fin’s out you got killed,” (p 85). That quote allows the reader to infer that Lennie responds very childishly when presented with a consequential situation. That inference is made by Lennie blaming the dog for dying, instead of blaming himself, much like a child does when they do something bad. The quote also shows everything revolves around the dream farm for Lennie. Another quote, that shows how Lennie responds in different consequential situations, comes when Curley’s wife wanders into the barn to find Lennie still struggling to find a solution for killing the puppy. Curley’s wife begins to converse with Lennie, but Lennie remembers George’s warning to stay away from Curley’s wife. ”I get lonely,’ she said. ’You can talk to people, but I can’t talk to nobody but Curley. Else he gets mad. How’d you like not to talk to anybody.’ Lennie said, ‘Well, I ain’t supposed to. George’s scared I’ll get in trouble.’ She changed the subject. ’What you got covered up there,” (p 87). Lennie then proceeds to answer Curley’s wife, forgetting all about George’s warning. From this excerpt the reader can infer that Lennie can be easily distracted and is somewhat gullible, very much like a child, these qualities of Lennie’s lead to trouble for Lennie. The inference is based on Lennie going from refusing to talk to Curley’s wife, because of George, to conversing with Curley’s wife the next line. A third excerpt, where Lennie response to pressure situations is exhibited, comes later in his conversation with Curley’s wife. Curley’s wife begins to almost seduce Lennie by letting touch Lennie touch her hair. ”Look out, now, you’ll muss it.’ And then she cried angrily, ‘You stop it now, you’ll mess it all up.’ She jerked her head sideways, and Lennie’s fingers closed on her hair and hung on. ’Let go,’ she cried. ’You let go,” (p 91). From the quote a reader can infer that Lennie panics when something occurs which Lennie did not foresee. That inference can be made from Curley’s wife beginning to struggle and Lennie only grips her hair harder. Also the reader can infer Lennie does not think rationally when in situations he did not foresee, because Lennie both suffocates and breaks Curley’s wife’s neck when Curly’s wife becomes frightened and starts to yell for help.

 

 

 

 

Sample #2

 

I liked the imagery and the detail it had. I could picture the scene unfolding. It helped me imagine the scene taking place. I also liked the way Lennie and George interact. It reminds me of a Bugs Bunny episode called "Bugs and Thugs". The scene was easy to follow, there weren't any bad things to say about it. There was nothing that could have been done better in my opinion.

 

Sample#3

The ending of "Of Mice and Men" saddened me a lot. Lennie was by far the character I liked to the most. He added humour and sadness into the book. I think George did the right thing in killing Lennie.   Lennie would only cause himself and the others around him more pain. The thing that justified George's choice to kill Lennie was that he wanted Lennie to be happy when he died. If he had let Curley shoot him, Lennie's last few moments would have been terrible. Even if Lennie was simply put in jail, he still wouldn't have been happy. Curley would have made sure Lennie was miserable in jail. People would have laughed at him and hurt him. George killed Lennie out of love.

 

 

Sample #4

John Steinbeck's award winning book Of mice and men throughout the 5th chapter exhibit the theme common theme of loneliness but also violence within innocence. This chapter strongly shows loneliness in one of the characters that hasn't been shown as much as others. On page 86 the book takes place in the barn where Lennie sits as Curley's wife appears the two begin to talk but as the book reaches page 87 Curley's wife opens up like Crooks did to Lennie and says, "I get lonely. You can talk to people but I can't talk to nobody but Curley. Else he gets mad." That was the first display of loneliness in this chapter but also the first time we really see this side of Curley's wife, she confesses her unhappiness in her marriage, her lonely life, and her broken dreams. When I read this Curley's wife went from a character that I didn't care about more specifically she doesn't even have a name but now knowing about her loneliness she begins to become more of a in-depth character that i thought could become a main character later on. This is when the theme of violence comes in. Lennie and Curley's wife have been talking about how Lennie loves to feel soft things and that why he always pets the pups and mice, but also so excited about the rabbits that he gets all worked up. Curley's wife doesn't see the violence within Lennie because he is such an innocent guy an tries to calm him on page 90 by saying "But my hair is soft, fine.'Course I brush it lots.That makes it fine. Here feel right here" as she lets Curley feel here soft hair. Come page 91 she gets angry for Lennie messing her hair up that she yells freaking Lennie out. Lennie reacted in a violent matter of shaking hold tightly to her hair until her neck accidentally snapped and she lie dead. This is really the first time the theme of violence has happened but to foreshadow I feel it will happen again due to Curley's rage at Lennie for the murder on his wife.