First Blog Post Assignment of 2009--"The Box"

We have spent the past week and a half discussing questions surrounding identity. As part of those discussions, we have read several stories, listened to music, performed poetry, written in journals, and created identity collages to express your own unique cultural identifiers. We have also discussed various examples of "the box," which is a metaphor for any obstacles or barriers that might isolate, frustrate, enclose, or sometimes protect someone from a larger world.

Think back over everything we have read so far for this unit ("Theme for English B," "High Yellow White Trash," "American History," "Crickets," the "Phone Booth" poem, "and "Sylvia's Story" from National Public Radio). Your task now is to write and post a comment in this forum in which you describe a connection between TWO of these works, focusing on the role of "the box." Think about how different characters face similar or different challenges. Think about similarities or differences in the kinds of disguises characters wear. Do you think these characters will escape from their boxes?

When you have made a connection between two works, write a post describing that connection. Make sure to mention specific characters/narrators, and to be clear about how the "boxes" they experience are similar. Your post does not have to be long; three or four sentences is plenty. You should feel free to respond to your classmates' posts, as well as to ask your classmates questions.


*** Remember to use your first name, "Nekrosius," and your class period number when you sign your post (do NOT put your last name). Also, if you choose to respond to what another classmate wrote, please do so in a respectful manner.

Back To School

Hello All,

The weather is (unseasonably) growing cooler, the days are growing shorter, and the soccer team has started practice, all of which means school must be right around the corner. For students and parents who have found there way here prior to the start of school, you can look forward to periodic posts of interest and occasional assignments for my advisees and Humanities students throughout the year. In the meantime, if you have done anything interesting over the summer that you'd like to share, feel free to do so. Among various other travels, I spent a couple of weeks out in New York this summer to catch up with friends and family. Here are some of the better pictures from the trip:

The Brooklyn Bridge, from the Manhattan side




The Gowanus Canal Superfund Site in Brooklyn (it did look like it needed some cleaning up, but it did not look all that fun)




Excellent dinosaur skeleton at the museum of natural history--my favorite museum





Sunset on Long Beach