Third Letter
Due: 10/28 @ 8:30 a.m.
This letter should have 3 parts; you are required to do all 3.
Using Charlie’s description of Sam’s photograph on page 48 as inspiration, describe how beautiful something is without using the word ‘beautiful.’ So, lead into it, maybe, by writing “Have I ever told you how beautiful _______ is? It would be impossible to describe, but I’ll try.” And then do it. Charlie uses 46 words. You use whatever feels appropriate/necessary.
Charlie’s November 15 post (pages 50-53) describes how he feels people look happier in old photos, and then discusses the “glory days” in both a general and specific sense. He thinks his brother is probably living his glory days, that high-school football players scoring touchdowns are living theirs, that his dad lived his when he won the baseball championships, and that he may or may not be living his. Write about whether you’ve lived your “glory days” or not? How do you know? If you haven’t, explain how you know for sure, and then imagine what they will be like.
Using Charlie’s November 23 post as inspiration, start thinking about the upcoming holidays and tell your friend about your family. Charlie says he is “very interested and fascinated by how everyone loves each other but no on really likes each other” (56). Tell your friend something similar, beginning however you like (I can’t believe how/I’m always surprised when/I’m very fascinated by how). Then go on to describe a typical holiday scene, including details of a family member (as Charlie does with his grandfather). If you don’t spend much time with family over the holidays, then complete this section describing whatever it is you do.
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
SECOND LETTER (Assignment)
Second Letter
Due: 10/7 @ 8:30 a.m.
In this, your second, letter, tell your friend some stories about your family and your friends that helped you learn something(s) about life, love, and/or yourselves. Use as inspiration Charlie’s description of his family members on page 5 and what he learns about his Aunt Helen (which is still technically a mystery); the sister-boyfriend incident on page 11 where he learns about standing up to bullies; the heartwarming M*A*S*H* final-episode scene between pages 16-19 where he learns that his family has it better than most and that his dad cries; his conversation with Sam and Patrick on pages 21-23 where he learns about girls; his first real party on pages 34-38 where he learns what it means to be high and that others think of him as a wallflower (and what that means); and his car rides with Sam and Patrick on pages 33 and 38-39 where he learns what it means to feel infinite.
You are not required to emulate any of Charlie’s language specifically, though you are free to model his sentence structure if it helps you find your voice. Specifically, then, your assignment is to:
-Tell a family-related story/anecdote or give a family description that somehow leads to you understanding something you didn’t before. Tell the story; explain its significance.
-Tell a friend-related story/anecdote or give a description of your friend(s) (or you with your friend(s)) that somehow leads to you understanding something you didn’t before. Tell the story; explain its significance.
-Find the best way for you to work in your definition of what it means to feel infinite (the one we wrote in class). You could tack this onto the end of one of the above stories (if it’s relevant); you could tell a new story that relates; or you could simply admit to your friend that you’re reading a book for class that mentions it, and you wanted to share your definition and what it meant to you.
Unlike the first letter, this one needs to be a bit longer. No less than 150 words, probably more.
Review the requirements for all letters in the first prompt if you need to.
Due: 10/7 @ 8:30 a.m.
In this, your second, letter, tell your friend some stories about your family and your friends that helped you learn something(s) about life, love, and/or yourselves. Use as inspiration Charlie’s description of his family members on page 5 and what he learns about his Aunt Helen (which is still technically a mystery); the sister-boyfriend incident on page 11 where he learns about standing up to bullies; the heartwarming M*A*S*H* final-episode scene between pages 16-19 where he learns that his family has it better than most and that his dad cries; his conversation with Sam and Patrick on pages 21-23 where he learns about girls; his first real party on pages 34-38 where he learns what it means to be high and that others think of him as a wallflower (and what that means); and his car rides with Sam and Patrick on pages 33 and 38-39 where he learns what it means to feel infinite.
You are not required to emulate any of Charlie’s language specifically, though you are free to model his sentence structure if it helps you find your voice. Specifically, then, your assignment is to:
-Tell a family-related story/anecdote or give a family description that somehow leads to you understanding something you didn’t before. Tell the story; explain its significance.
-Tell a friend-related story/anecdote or give a description of your friend(s) (or you with your friend(s)) that somehow leads to you understanding something you didn’t before. Tell the story; explain its significance.
-Find the best way for you to work in your definition of what it means to feel infinite (the one we wrote in class). You could tack this onto the end of one of the above stories (if it’s relevant); you could tell a new story that relates; or you could simply admit to your friend that you’re reading a book for class that mentions it, and you wanted to share your definition and what it meant to you.
Unlike the first letter, this one needs to be a bit longer. No less than 150 words, probably more.
Review the requirements for all letters in the first prompt if you need to.
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Yes!
Enthusiasm about this letter-writing project! Yes!
A few notes, though:
-By my count, 2 of you STILL HAVEN'T CREATED BLOGS and sent me the link. This is no good. You must know who you are. Get this done!
-Make sure you post your letters to the blog you created, not to the team blog.
-If you don't follow the prompt, you won't get credit. At least one of you did not follow the prompt in any way.
-Feel free to use paragraph breaks in these letters. I guess you don't have to, but it might help separate your ideas and ease some of the stress on the eyes of your readers. If you're trying to use different paragraphs while posting and it shows up as one, you can always try the HTML code. I can't show you exactly here, because if I do, it will just give me a new paragraph. but you're going to use the left-facing triangle < then the letters br (stands for break), then the right-facing triangle >. No spaces between them. This will give you a break in your text.
-Consider reading some of your classmates' posts and leaving them comments below their posts. I think it will help everyone to know that someone besides me is reading.
Yes!
A few notes, though:
-By my count, 2 of you STILL HAVEN'T CREATED BLOGS and sent me the link. This is no good. You must know who you are. Get this done!
-Make sure you post your letters to the blog you created, not to the team blog.
-If you don't follow the prompt, you won't get credit. At least one of you did not follow the prompt in any way.
-Feel free to use paragraph breaks in these letters. I guess you don't have to, but it might help separate your ideas and ease some of the stress on the eyes of your readers. If you're trying to use different paragraphs while posting and it shows up as one, you can always try the HTML code. I can't show you exactly here, because if I do, it will just give me a new paragraph. but you're going to use the left-facing triangle < then the letters br (stands for break), then the right-facing triangle >. No spaces between them. This will give you a break in your text.
-Consider reading some of your classmates' posts and leaving them comments below their posts. I think it will help everyone to know that someone besides me is reading.
Yes!
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
I agree
I agree with Rain, I usually do not do this stuff, but I felt good after the first post. I think each one will get better and I can get to know my classmates better through doing this.
I like this
This whole blog thing was such a good idea. It feels really good to be able to share things that you otherwise would have just kept to yourself. I probably sound stupid, but i really like it.
Rain
Rain
Sunday, August 23, 1992
Favorite Lines
What are some of your favorite lines from the first section?
(PLEASE respond as a COMMENT -- Let's save posts for my prompts and your own original thoughts about the novel.)
Some of mine are:
"And I want you to know that I am both happy and sad and I'm still trying to figure out how that could be" (2).
"'Do you always think this much, Charlie?'
'Is that bad?' I just wanted someone to tell me the truth.
'Not necessarily. It's just that sometimes people use thought to not participate in life.'
'Is that bad?'
'Yes'" (24).
"'Charlie, we accept the love we think we deserve'" (24).
"And finally he found this really amazing song about this boy, and we all got quiet.
Sam tapped her hand on the steering wheel. Patrick held his hand outside the car and made air waves. And I just sat between them. After the song finished, I said something.
'I feel infinite.'
And Sam and Patrick looked at me like I said the greatest thing they ever heard. Because the song was that great and because we all really paid attention to it. Five minutes of a lifetime were truly spent, and we felt young in a good way. I have since bought the record, and I would tell you what it was, but truthfully, it's not the same unless you're driving to your first real party, and you're sitting in the middle seat of a pickup with two nice people when it starts to rain" (33).
"And in that moment, I swear we were infinite" (39).
(PLEASE respond as a COMMENT -- Let's save posts for my prompts and your own original thoughts about the novel.)
Some of mine are:
"And I want you to know that I am both happy and sad and I'm still trying to figure out how that could be" (2).
"'Do you always think this much, Charlie?'
'Is that bad?' I just wanted someone to tell me the truth.
'Not necessarily. It's just that sometimes people use thought to not participate in life.'
'Is that bad?'
'Yes'" (24).
"'Charlie, we accept the love we think we deserve'" (24).
"And finally he found this really amazing song about this boy, and we all got quiet.
Sam tapped her hand on the steering wheel. Patrick held his hand outside the car and made air waves. And I just sat between them. After the song finished, I said something.
'I feel infinite.'
And Sam and Patrick looked at me like I said the greatest thing they ever heard. Because the song was that great and because we all really paid attention to it. Five minutes of a lifetime were truly spent, and we felt young in a good way. I have since bought the record, and I would tell you what it was, but truthfully, it's not the same unless you're driving to your first real party, and you're sitting in the middle seat of a pickup with two nice people when it starts to rain" (33).
"And in that moment, I swear we were infinite" (39).
Monday, June 22, 1992
FIRST LETTER (Assignment)
Requirements for all letters:
- Put the date at the top of your letter.
- Begin “Dear friend,” and end with “Love always,” (or a similar salutation that you
use consistently) + your pseudonym.
- At least 100 words (though try to write more).
- Posted by 8 a.m. on date specified.
Keep these features in mind about Charlie’s writing and emulate them when appropriate: He is literal and regularly “reports” on his life; he writes how he talks and is very conversational (using a lot of second person – “you”); he jumps around a lot and goes on (connected) tangents; he almost always describes things in terms of how he feels (his emotions); he is randomly deep/philosophical.
FIRST LETTER
Due: 9/18
First, mirror Charlie’s first letter by writing these exact lines with your own content:
- “I am writing to you because ___________________. “
- “I just need to know that ________________.”
- “I think you of all people would understand that because _______________.”
- “So, this is my life. And I want you to know _________________.”
Then tell either a recent or past story that reveals something about your character.
End with “The reason I wrote this letter is because ________________.”
Your goal here (as in every post) is to use Charlie (what he says as well as how he says it) as inspiration for your own letters. As much as possible, make these letters sound natural. So, don’t just string those 4 statements above next to each other if it sounds awkward – work them into as real of a letter as possible.
You will all do so great. I just know it. Good luck figuring things out.
REMEMBER TO POST YOUR LETTERS ON YOUR OWN BLOGS!
- Put the date at the top of your letter.
- Begin “Dear friend,” and end with “Love always,” (or a similar salutation that you
use consistently) + your pseudonym.
- At least 100 words (though try to write more).
- Posted by 8 a.m. on date specified.
Keep these features in mind about Charlie’s writing and emulate them when appropriate: He is literal and regularly “reports” on his life; he writes how he talks and is very conversational (using a lot of second person – “you”); he jumps around a lot and goes on (connected) tangents; he almost always describes things in terms of how he feels (his emotions); he is randomly deep/philosophical.
FIRST LETTER
Due: 9/18
First, mirror Charlie’s first letter by writing these exact lines with your own content:
- “I am writing to you because ___________________. “
- “I just need to know that ________________.”
- “I think you of all people would understand that because _______________.”
- “So, this is my life. And I want you to know _________________.”
Then tell either a recent or past story that reveals something about your character.
End with “The reason I wrote this letter is because ________________.”
Your goal here (as in every post) is to use Charlie (what he says as well as how he says it) as inspiration for your own letters. As much as possible, make these letters sound natural. So, don’t just string those 4 statements above next to each other if it sounds awkward – work them into as real of a letter as possible.
You will all do so great. I just know it. Good luck figuring things out.
REMEMBER TO POST YOUR LETTERS ON YOUR OWN BLOGS!
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