Tuesday, 10/21/14: A Piece of Chalk? Who'd have thought!

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  • Please take this anonymous school survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/JTVXFS6
  • Grammar (please copy/fix the following sentence): And I stood their in a transe of plesure realising that this Southern England is not only a grand penninsula and a tradition and a civilisation it is something even more admirable.
    • Today, you will see the answer in your reading (so check it when you find the sentence).
  • Our next elements to consider in story composition are atmosphere and tone (please define both in notes).  At first glance, they may appear to be the same thing as they both have something to do with feeling.  But, in literature, there is a distinction.  Atmosphere tells us the way a story makes the reader feel.  Tone tells us the attitude the narrator has toward his subject and us
* You'll be reading an essay.  Here are some introductory remarks to assist you.
  • G. K. Chesterton (1874--1936) is staying at a house (perhaps a friend's?) in the country and decides to go out on the downs (rolling grass hills) to draw.  
  • He has a few chalks but needs to get some paper.  He likes to use brown paper for chalk drawings. 
  • He informs the reader that he is not going out to draw "Nature," which was the common thing to do in that day.  
    • Chesterton breaks off onto an idea that though ancient poets might not have described nature as some do closer to his day, it is not because they were less blessed by it.  In fact, they probably drank it in more deeply in times past.
  • He realizes he has no white chalk.  
    • The color white causes Chesterton to meditate on things many people assume to be blank, void, neutral, unimportant, or dull.  Some people see the color white, sexual purity, and virtue in general as falling into this dull zone.  Chesterton knows otherwise. 
    • Chesterton recalls his location, and all is well.  
  •  If you finish early, you may do Journal 11 (otherwise you will work on it in class, tomorrow): Atmosphere and Tone
    • Atmosphere
      • What feelings communicate to you?  Is this a scary environment?  A safe environment?  A jovial environment?  Is this a dull world of walking and chalk?  A wonderful world of walking and chalk? A deadly world or walking and chalk?
    • Tone
      • What is Chesterton's attitude toward brown paper?  Nature?  The color white?  White chalk?  England, generally?
      • How does Chesterton seem to view the reader?  Does he seem to be an intellectually superior Brit?  Does he seem timid?  Does he seem frank?  Do you picture him smiling or scowling or laughing or sneering or blankly staring? 
  • Discussion:  
    • Compare notes
    • Let's discuss
 * If you finish early, read our next tale: "The Wing of Dalua" by Hilaire Belloc.
 HW: Finish Journal 11

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