Assignment for Sedaris Essay

David Sedaris’s brand of “deadpan” humor doesn’t draw attention to itself, but instead delivers jokes in the same tone as the rest of his essay. The result is that every line in this story, concerning such topics as insecurity and hostility, becomes equally capable of producing a humorous effect. 

After reading “Me Talk Pretty One Day,” in a response of 150-200 words discuss how Sedaris infuses humor into such a serious topic as the difficulty (or even inability) of humans to communicate. Do you feel his humor is successful? Why or why not? Use specific details from the essay to support your opinions and conclusions.

David Sedaris, "Me Talk Pretty One Day"

Here's a link to where you can read David Sedaris' essay "Me Talk Pretty One Day" online, if you still don't have your copy of The Writer's Presence yet:

http://www.macobo.com/essays/epdf/Me%20Talk%20Pretty%20One%20Day%20by%20Sedaris.pdf

Great Gatsby Historical Background Powerpoint

Here's a link to where you can view the Powerpoint from class yesterday:

http://portal.sliderocket.com/CEQIN/great-gatsby-_pdf_

Oh no!

The Great Gatsby movie release date has been pushed back to Summer 2013 :(

Read about it here:

http://community.sparknotes.com/2012/08/07/the-great-gatsby-is-pushed-back-to-2013

College Admission Essay Websites

To help you out with your search for college admission essay topics, I've compiled a few websites of either a) actual colleges that have posted their essay topics for this year, or b) collections of past college essay prompts. You do not have to choose a topic from only these websites; these are just to help you get going and to get you thinking. Feel free, of course, to use one if it interests you.

University of Georgia
Georgia Institute of Technology
Georgia College and State University (in Milledgeville)
University of Florida
University of North Carolina
University of Virginia
Common Application (Many schools, such as Emory and Vanderbilt, use the Common Application for admission, usually with a supplement of their own. Find out more at: https://www.commonapp.org/)

Collections of College Essay Topics:
http://hpregional.org/departments/english/mhassenplug/100%20topics.html
http://www.cnn.com/2009/LIVING/wayoflife/11/19/mf.offbeat.college.essays/
http://www.fastweb.com/college-search/articles/72-sample-essay-questions-for-college-apps

Carver, "My Father's Life"

For homework tonight, read Raymond Carver’s essay “My Father’s Life,” which includes the poem “Photograph of My Father in His Twenty Second Year.”  Then answer the following prompt:

What themes does Carver announce in these pieces? How does he expand our understanding of American culture?What parts of each piece of writing (essay and poem) communicate most clearly to you? Just begin with a short quote and then tell how that quote means something to you.

Create about 300 words worth of writing. Your audience is your peer group and the BC community. Pay attention to grammar and spelling, but what’s most important is the quality of your ideas and the sincerity of your response.

This will count as part of your Low Stakes Writing grade, as a pass/fail grade. No late work, no excuses.

Readings This Week

For those of you who don't have your copy of The Writer's Presence yet (which you NEED to have BY FRIDAY), here are links to the readings that we will be discussing in class this week. Each story deals with topics related to family:

Judith Cofer, "Silent Dancing":
http://www2.hawaii.edu/~facoba/readings/cofer.htm

Raymond Carver, "My Father's Life":
http://public.wsu.edu/~hughesc/raymond_carver-fathers_lif.htm

Amy Tan, "Mother Tongue":
http://teachers.sduhsd.k12.ca.us/mcunningham/grapes/mother%20tounge.pdf


Also remember you find yourself a copy of The Great Gatsby ASAP! You'll need to have chapters 1-3 read soon (by next week). Need to have Chapter 1 read BY THIS FRIDAY.