The Fifth Child

We continued discussing the first half of the novel today.

The Fifth Child

Students discussed some of the following questions from the first half of the novel: 1. Sum up the story David tells and its possible significance. (43) 2. “No, he couldn’t see it. Rather, he wouldn’t – that was the point. Not only he, but all of them, they wouldn’t see how different this was.” Who are “they” and what is it they won’t see? What reasons for this blindness can you suggest? (47-8) 3. Give an account of Harriet’s first impression of and reaction to the new baby. (48) 4. “Neanderthal baby” – “...the genes have come up with something special this time.”- “What is he?” How do Dorothy, Alice, and David react to Harriet’s question, and to Ben in general? –What do you think he is? (53) 5. How does Harriet behave at Dr. Brett’s? Why? (54) 6. Comment on Dr. Brett’s reaction. (58) 7. Sum up the incident when Paul’s arm is sprained. What is your reaction? (63) Students are to finish the novel by Monday and complete the following questions: The Fifth Child Final questions-Due Monday 10/28 1. Comment on Dr. Brett’s reaction to Ben. 2. Explain what Dorothy is trying to say on pp.69-70. 3. What does the narrator tell us about the distinction between the world of children and grown-ups? Do you agree? May this scene be interpreted in symbolic terms? 4. Comment on Harriet’s behavior on pp. 76-78. 5. Make a list of arguments for and against taking Ben home. 6. How does the family react to Harriet bringing Ben home? 7. Pick out sentences describing Ben during the time of his “re-education ”. How do they make you feel about Ben? 8. Give an account of how the school copes with Ben. 9. What do you think of the way Harriet copes with Ben on p.101? 10. In what way have David and Harriet changed?

The Fifth Child

Students received copies of The Fifth Child and are expected to read through page 65 by Monday. Students also must complete the following 2 assignments by Monday: Doris Lessing’s The Fifth Child Vocabulary through page 43 Due Monday, October 21 1. top page.3 – obsolescent – 2. top 3 – fastidiousness – 3. top 3 – abstemiousness – 4. mid 3 – ornate - 5. mid 4 – judiciously – 6. mid 5 – matily – 7. mid 9 – capacious– 8. top 12 – commodious – 9. top 13 – annul – 10. top 13 – absolve – 11. mid 14 – parsimony – 12. bot 18 – progenitive – 13. top 20 – obstinacy – 14. top 22 – dolefully – 15. top 26 – facetious – 16. top 26 – histrionic – 17. bot. 36 – reticent – 18. mid 40 – jocular – 19. bot 41 – chimera – 20. bot 41 – borzoi – 21. bot 43 – peregrination – The Fifth Child Pgs 3-65 David and Harriet meet and marry 1. What is your first impression of Harriet? Provide examples for support. David? 2. What do we learn about Harriet’s and David’s backgrounds? In what way are their backgrounds important? 3. What kind of house do they buy? 4. How do David’s parents react to the house and the life they are dreaming of? 5. What does Harriet’s mother, Dorothy, think about their plans? 6. The whole family seems to be reacting negatively to their dream. Is it possible to detect the narrator’s attitude? Are Harriet and David able to live up to the dream so far? Four babies and family life 1966/67-73 7. What sort of family parties do they have? 8. What is Dorothy’s attitude to their lifestyle? 9. How does Harriet look upon her sister’s Down’s syndrome baby? 10. Harriet says, ”this is what everyone wants, really, but we’ve been brainwashed out of it.” James replies, ”You are quite wrong, Harriet. The opposite is true. People are brainwashed into believing family life is the best. But that’s the past.” – Do you agree with either of these statements? 11. What does the discussion about schools tell us about the characters? The fifth pregnancy 12. How does the new pregnancy affect Harriet’s and David’s relationship? Give examples. 13. Explain and comment on Dorothy’s reaction and the things she doesn’t say. 14. Describe the family’s reaction to Harriet’s pregnancy. 15. Pick out words and expressions used about the pregnancy, the fetus and Harriet’s reactions to it. What does the choice of words tell us about the pregnancy?

essay

We continued working on the essay in class. It must be submitted through Turnitin by 11:59 on Friday.

Essay

Students will spend the rest of the week in the library working on their Frankenstein essay.

Frankenstein essay

Today students received the essay assignment for Frankenstein and instruction for using Turnitin. We will be spending all of next week working on the essay in class. Frankenstein Essay-100pts Requirements: • Must be an argument • Must have at least 4 examples • Each example must contain apt and specific references to the text • Must be completed in class • MLA format • Must have a works cited page Consider some of the topics we covered in class • Alienation from society • Parental neglect • Abortion • Irresponsible science/pursuit of knowledge o Cloning o Embryonic stem cells o Plastic surgery o GMO’s o Human genetic engineering Also consider some of the articles we discussed in class (posted on my blog). If you wish to cover a topic not on this list, please draft a thesis for my approval.

Debate

Today we finished our final debate. The topic was: What is the central problem in the novel? a. Victor Frankenstein discovered a power which humans should not possess. b. The people around the creature were not adequately prepared to deal with this new technology.

Debate

Students will be spending the period debating topics related to Frankenstein Tuesday through Thursday. Yesterday the topic was: What is the right decision? 1. Kill the creature 2. Create the female Today students debated the following: Which is better? 1. Push the boundaries of science/medicine 2. Be content with what we have now