1B.journals.fall.07

Journal #3

Love

In his short story What We Talk About When We Talk About Love, Carver poses several versions of the definition of love. Some questions to ponder:

What is your definition of love? Has it changed over the years?
Have you ever been in love? How did you know it was love?
How did the experience hold up to your definition? Did the relationship change? If so, was it still love?
If you never have been in love, can you describe the person that you imagine you'd fall in love with? Do you believe in "true love" - romantic soul mates?
Do you believe in love at first sight? Why or why not?

Journal #6

Samhain

In honor of Samhain: During the pagan holiday of Samhain, the faithful would spend time reflecting on their lives as they readied themselves for winter. They would decide what they wanted to leave behind or cull from their lives, and what they wished to invite into their lives for the coming year. In honor of Samhain, this journal will ask you to observe your own Day of Reckoning. What are you done with in your lifewhat do you want to put behind you forever? What would you like to invite into your life in the coming year? Where do you see yourself a year from now? What will you have accomplished?

Journal #8

Family
At its heart, Hamlet is a story of familial relationships gone awry. What about your family? Who are the members of your family, and what is the nature of your relationship with them? Has your relationship with any of them changed over the years? Would you like any of the relationships to change? What are the major conflicts in your family and how do you/they deal with those conflicts? Have you ever confronted any of the conflicts or, like Hamlet, have you refrained from confrontation?

Journal #9

Death

At several points in the play, Hamlet thinks about death – his own and the death of others. What are your thoughts about death in general? Do you think about your own mortality very often? Have you ever experienced the death of a loved one? How did it affect you? What do you think happens to us after we die? What were you taught in your life about death and the “afterlife”? Do you accept what you were taught, or do you have lingering questions?

Journal #10

Perfect Vacation

Ideal Vacation. Now that you've done all the work, congratulate yourself with a perfect vacation! If time, money and responsibility to others in your life were no object, where would you go and what would you do? Treat yourself with this imaginary vacation: include all the sights, sounds, textures, tastes and smells. Let your imagination run wild. You are on vacation, after all

	Journal Guidelines The journals are informal responses to the readings, or to other specific questions or ideas presented in the class. I will provide ideas for topics, but you are free to write about whatever you want in response to some aspect of the class. The journals are intended to be a way for you to explore ideas that you might later wish to express in a paper or a discussion. I will not censor these journals in any way, nor will I grade them on content or grammar (though, like the seminars, they must be coherent and display some measure of critical thinking about the question at hand). I will collect your journals periodically. You may also wish to share your journals with the other students. I must be frank and say that the journals are always the mos t interesting assignments for me to read; they are the perfect forum for you to express your individuality without worrying about form, appropriate content, grammar or other "Englishy" concerns. The journals are where you write about what's really on your mind, in your own individual style.
	Journal #1 The Presence of a Stranger In Steinbeck's The Chrysanthemums, his main character reacts strongly and uncharacteristically to the presence of a stranger in her garden. Has a stranger ever provoked strong feelings in you? Some questions to ponder: Have you ever adored someone from afar? What was it about that person that attracted you? Did you ever get to know him or her, and if so, did your impression change? Did you ever take an instant dislike or distrust to someone? What was it about that person that raised your hackles? Did your feelings ever change? Have you ever formed a strong first impression of someone that you later got to know fairly well? How did that person measure up to your expectations? When you later got to know him or her, how did you feel about that first impression you made? Did you ever tell that person what you first thought of him or her? Why or why not?
	Journal #2 Violence In both The Things They Carried and The Lottery, violence is a major theme. What is the role of violence in your life? Some questions to ponder: What is your relationship to violence, in all or any of its forms? Have you ever discovered a capacity for violence in yourself? Have you ever had cause to turn to violence for anything? Have you been subject to or witnessed any violence that has shaped your views? What do you think about violence in the media?
	Journal #3 Love In his short story What We Talk About When We Talk About Love, Carver poses several versions of the definition of love. Some questions to ponder: What is your definition of love? Has it changed over the years? Have you ever been in love? How did you know it was love? How did the experience hold up to your definition? Did the relationship change? If so, was it still love? If you never have been in love, can you describe the person that you imagine you'd fall in love with? Do you believe in "true love" - romantic soul mates? Do you believe in love at first sight? Why or why not?
	Journal #4 Dreams and the Subconscious Do you believe that your dreams are a direct window into your subconcious mind? Describe a dream that you've had sometime in your life that stayed with you. Some questions to consider: What were some of the images, symbols or plot components? How would you interpret the dream - in other words, why did you have it, and why did it stay with you? What were you struggling with psychologically at the time? Might the dream, or series of dreams, been your body's way of trying to resolve that particular psychological struggle? If so, explain. If not, explain where you think dreams come from, and why we have a need to dream.
	Journal #5 Religion Some people object reading Harry Potter because they think it contradicts one or more of their religious beliefs. What are your thoughts on this controversy? Some questions to think about: What has been your experience with religion? What were you taught as as child about religion? Do you accept what you've been taught, or have you felt conflicted about it? If you currently practice a particular religion, what is it, and what is your relationship to that faith? Have you ever considered the difference between spirituality?
	Journal #6 Samhain In honor of Samhain: During the pagan holiday of Samhain, the faithful would spend time reflecting on their lives as they readied themselves for winter. They would decide what they wanted to leave behind or cull from their lives, and what they wished to invite into their lives for the coming year. In honor of Samhain, this journal will ask you to observe your own Day of Reckoning. What are you done with in your lifewhat do you want to put behind you forever? What would you like to invite into your life in the coming year? Where do you see yourself a year from now? What will you have accomplished?
	Journal #7 Home Up until the end of the novel, Huck considers the river to be his home; it is where he feels most himself, where he considers himself to be happiest. Do you have a place that you consider home, the way Huck considers the Mississippi River home? Do you consider your childhood home to be that place? Where do you live now? If you can't identify anywhere you've lived, past or present, as "home", what kind of place do you imagine you'd be able to spend the rest of your life?
	Journal #8 Family At its heart, Hamlet is a story of familial relationships gone awry. What about your family? Who are the members of your family, and what is the nature of your relationship with them? Has your relationship with any of them changed over the years? Would you like any of the relationships to change? What are the major conflicts in your family and how do you/they deal with those conflicts? Have you ever confronted any of the conflicts or, like Hamlet, have you refrained from confrontation?
	Journal #9 Death At several points in the play, Hamlet thinks about death – his own and the death of others. What are your thoughts about death in general? Do you think about your own mortality very often? Have you ever experienced the death of a loved one? How did it affect you? What do you think happens to us after we die? What were you taught in your life about death and the “afterlife”? Do you accept what you were taught, or do you have lingering questions?
	Journal #10 Perfect Vacation Ideal Vacation. Now that you've done all the work, congratulate yourself with a perfect vacation! If time, money and responsibility to others in your life were no object, where would you go and what would you do? Treat yourself with this imaginary vacation: include all the sights, sounds, textures, tastes and smells. Let your imagination run wild. You are on vacation, after all
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