Announcing for spring 2011
Understanding Literature, Part 2 Novel and Drama
Texts:
Holes by Louis Sachar (any edition)
The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane (any edition)
Hamlet by William Shakespeare (the No Fear Shakespeare edition from Barnes and Noble)
Dates: January 20th through April 28th
Spring Break: March 17th
Location: Wellspring Church, Awana activity room 7300 Smithfield Road North Richland Hills, TX 76182
Day and Time: 1:15-3:00 on Thursday afternoons
Cost: $140 for the entire semester. No deposit required.
Focus: During this spring semester, we will be looking at the figurative elements that add life and literary value to longer works. From Holes, we will learn about symbolism, irony and narrative framework. The Red Badge of Courage will let the students explore realism and naturalism and irony even further. Hamlet contains rich allusions, irony, symbolism, and dramatic elements such as monologue, asides, and theatrical conventions. Thematically, all the stories work together to show people who are in over their heads and how they handle the pressure of situations they wish they could escape.
We will cover Holes and The Red Badge of Courage between January 20 and the end of February. Hamlet will start in early March and go through April. In class, I plan to show selected scenes from The Royal Shakespeare Company performance of Hamlet starring David Tennant and Patrick Stewart. Instead of tests this semester, students will be writing more essays (at least three full essays, and probably four) in addition to brief written responses to specific questions. We will also have quizzes over the reading assignments to check for comprehension during the semester.