October
16
ELA 10: Oct 16 Intro characters and themes for novel…
- We continued reading some of the introductory information to ensure students will understand the message of the author when they begin reading. The major theme for this novel is “man’s inhumanity towards man” – the idea that human beings can be so close-minded and hypocritical that they will go to extremes in the name of whatever their beliefs are, whether it be religious beliefs or otherwise.
- I want to stress carefully that this novel looks at the possible negative consequences of having a rigid belief with no room for compasion or understanding. I understand that there are several students of faith in this classroom and in no way do I want them to feel like this novel is attacking the idea of believing in a God, whether it be a Christian God or otherwise. I want to make it clear that the novel attacks the idea of a belief so black and white that it does not allow for change. The are two types of people really shown through this novel – one is a believer who has no love to share but only follows to the core what his faith commands of him, while the other is someone who understands the value of his faith and practices it with patience, understanding, and compassion. Which type of believer would you rather be? This is the message of the novel from the author.
- We read chapter one together aloud and I was pleased to hear students laughing and responding to the novel as it was read. I am hoping they’ll find this to be a very memorable novel. It certainly is a favorite of mine!
- Students have a unit test coming up on Friday. It will test them on skills, assignments or discussions we have had to date in the class.