Week 6

On the Road to Yosemite, CA Welcome back to class. Hope you had a good weekend. Today I'll return last week's work and look to you for the summary/responses to "Think the Best,"  by P.M. Forni or the Hurricane Sandy anniversary piece from the New York Times You all wrote well on the midterm, and I am pleased. We will discuss the graded work in class, and I'll review with each of you, as needed. We may be doing a book or article review today that represents a combined review of narrative elements and writing about a text, including the use of direct quotation. If we do, we will work in small groups for the reading and discussion part of the assignment, and then each of you will write a review. This is an unscheduled work, and does not appear on the syllabus. Nonetheless, it will count for a participation grade, that is if we actually get to it. -------------- If we were given the chance to rewrite some chapter in life, or to relive some moment now resigned to the past, what revisions would we make, or what insight would we bring to the moment now? What lessons are there in wondering, what if . . . ? What if we could time travel? We can in some senses. We can pretend that we had been born in a different era and imaginatively enter into the lives of those who have lived before us. Thanks to the research of scientists and historians of every stripe, the past unveils its secrets, and is now recorded in new layers of story and imagery, all adding to our knowledge of life on this planet and in this universe. We may learn how other human societies lived and what they believed, how they and other species have met the challenges of life, how they at whatever time did navigate, nourish and reproduce themselves, defend themselves and their young. If you were given a day, week, month, or year to live wherever and whenever and however you chose, what choice would you make? We can say, had I known such and such a thing, I might never have done what I did. Sometimes we rewrite the past with our inner voice, as a means of understanding what has worked and not worked for us, thus reshaping our thought and behavior as we move forward in life. What if we were still stuck in outmoded ways of thinking and behaving? What if the possibility for personal change were to be taken from us? Transformation begins with our thoughts, and with the language we use to express ourselves. Thank goodness we can imagine possibilities beyond the given or present! Essay 6: In 350-500 words you are to explore a hypothetical scenario; that is, one that you imaginatively enter into, with whatever sure knowledge makes it all plausible and meaningful as an essay. You are writing non-fiction, remember, seeking to show a truth. You might think in terms of the difference made if one or another event had occurred (or not) in your personal life or in history. What effects on the past, present, and/or future do you imagine in this hypothetical scenario? How might the past look, how might today be different, and how might the future look? This essay assignment provides good practice with verbs–past, present, future–and in using comparison and contrast mode. It is helpful, too, to speculate on the possibilities life presents, and withholds. You will likely use the subjunctive mood and conditional (modal) tense forms as well as simple and perfect tenses. Again, imagine that you had been born under or into circumstances other than those you were born into; for example, a different place and/or historical era, a different family, a different body (or species), and so on. Describe what your childhood was actually like, and what it might have been like (under the changed circumstances); what your present life might be like (as opposed to what is actually happening); imagine your future, actually or hypothetically. Or look at any important decision you made or did not make and trace the consequences of having taken an opposite track. If we had the chance to do things differently, if we had superpowers, the omniscience of a goddess, what would we do with these?  Of course, we don't have superhuman powers, and we must make do with what we have–but there are insights that reflection brings on what might have been, or what might be . . . that are within our grasp. Checklist: *Title the essay. *Proofread to make sure you have a clear central idea and adequate support. *Remember your audience and write on a matter of intrinsic or practical importance. *Edit your sentences for clarity of expression and grammatical correctness. Note: –The use of narration and description, with scene setting, vivid detail and action, will make readers see and feel the particular experience(s) and ideas you have in mind. – Comparison/contrast mode will show the actual versus the imaginary, and make it clear that your focus is hypothetical.   You might start in this way: Had I been born an only child, instead of being born the fifth child of six, I might have got more attention than I did.  I might have been spoiled!  My parents had little time for me, as it was, with so many to care for. Or: If I were sixty-five (you can fill in any future age) and to at my life, what would I want to see I had accomplished Or:   If I could do one thing differently, rewrite the past, I would go back to the time . . . Or:   If we were to walk, fly, or swim the proverbial mile in the life of (fill in whatever human, animal or insect subject interests you) we would discover . . . Or: If we were to travel to the ends of the earth and back, we would discover a great deal about life on this planet, including the fascinating  . . . Essay 7 will require homework. It involves hypothetical formulations of thought and verb tense usage that may be fun and challenging for many of you. A description appears below. We will practice the tense usages in class and then have a go at writing the piece. A have photocopied a text by Alain De Botton to illustrate the manner in which you are to frame this piece. Below is a description of just what I mean when I say subjunctive mood, or hypothetical/speculative stance.