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Summary for Lesson 1
In today’s class we began our work on My Family and Other Animals, thinking about the genre and historical context of the novel. We began with a great discussion of what the class did and did not like about the book, reflecting on its humour and use of characterisation. We then spoke about the genre of autobiography and the challenges of writing a book in this genre, including the risk of distorted memory, the protests of real life people and accurate chronology. The class then moved on to discussing the history that this book plays off- that of 1930s Corfu and 1956 Britain when it was published. We discussed what these key historical periods could reveal about the book, watching a short clip about the 1950s and thinking about what this reveals about why Durrell wrote the book when he did and in the way he did. Finally, the class thought about their own lives in an autobiographical way, discussing what the tone and themes of their autobiography would be and thinking of key amusing events in their lives that they may tell and whether they would fictionalize parts of their story. Fab work today everyone, really excellent ideas about this novel and its background throughout. I was really impressed by your sharp and keen understanding of the challenges of autobiography and how to mitigate them and thought you all engaged really well today. See you next week 🙂
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Summary for Lesson 2
In today’s class we continued our work on My Family and Other Animals thinking today in depth about character and perspective. We began the class with discussing the notion of Gerry as a character vs. Gerry as the author, with the class completing a research task to aid their thoughts on how to distinguish between the two ideas. We then watched an interview with him, thinking about the questions it raised. We spoke about characters, and the notion of ‘writers are always selling someone out’, applying this to the novel and thinking about the family’s representation. We touched on the power dynamics of the family and how this may have influenced the tone of the novel, before finally the class wrote some excellent pieces reimagining a scene from the book from a different character’s perspective, ruminating on how they would present themselves to the reader and what would differ from Durrell’s original account. The class were all fantastic today, coming up with great ideas and thoroughly analysing the dynamics and characterisation in the novel. Very impressive work and some really entertaining and fascinating writing- well done 🙂
Gerald Durrell documentary we watched a clip of: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l1MK6BKrc-U
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Summary for Lesson 3
In today’s class we finished our study of My Family and Other Animals, today completing some creative tasks and thinking about Durrell’s writing style. We began by discussing the title of the book, identifying the centrality of animals and their personalities within the novel. We read an extract from the book and analysed its themes and humour, before coming up with some creative writing based upon Durrell’s presentation of animal/human bonds. The class spoke about the reference to Hunchback of Notre Dame, analysing its implications, spoke beautifully on the subject of personification and then finally wrote some interview questions for the author. Amazing work today everyone- each and every one of you was engaged and involved throughout today’s class. Really creative and wonderful work- I was really impressed with you all today. See you next week 🙂
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Summary for Lesson 4
In today’s class we began our second book The Adventures of Tom Sawyer & Huckleberry Finn, thinking today about the historical context behind the book. We spoke about the use of racial slurs in the book and discussed how to treat 19th century language in the modern day with an understanding of the history it underscores. We spoke about US history in the 1870s and 80s and watched a video that detailed the context of the Reconstruction Era and Jim Crow laws. We learned about Twain’s life and linked this to the ideas he explores in the novel, and finally researched the three concepts of slavery, Sentimentalism and the Second Great Awakening, discussing what this tells us about the novel. Excellent work today class, you all came up with some wonderfully mature and thoughtful ideas on the history behind this novel and thought deeply about the ways in which the modern day reader can reckon with its ideas. Great work everyone, see you next week 🙂
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Context video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ZGaBrXSWi8
Mark Twain video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cMtBPa7hpsA&t=1s
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Summary for Lesson 5
In today’s class we continued our work on The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn, thinking today about character, genre and critical interpretations of the novels. We began with a discussion of character, which the class then used to inspire their own Twain-esque characters, before thinking about genre. We spoke about genres such as semi-autobiography, adventure, folktale and bildungsroman- honing in on this subject to think about how Twain subverts the genre of bildungsroman in order to criticise adulthood. We spoke about how the two novels intersect and contrast one another and the students shared thoughts on which was their favourite. Finally we dug into some critical analyses of the two books, considering the idea of morality in Huck Finn and how powerfully it communicates Twain’s ideas. The class then wrote some great pieces on the notion of ‘two worlds’ in the novels- the idea that the light and the dark that Tom and Huck contend with form the particular backdrop that makes Twain’s work part of the Great American novel canon. Amazing work everyone- well done for all your brilliant ideas throughout our lesson and I look forward to seeing you next week 🙂
Huck Finn video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WXKgBIiP8IA
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Summary for Lesson 6
In today’s class we completed our work on The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn, thinking today about satire, place & time in the novel and Twain’s views of writing. We began with a discussion of the satire in the novel, thinking this to the themes of religion, racism, adulthood and civilisation and thinking about the message Twain is sending. We learnt about the forward in the book that warns the reader against reading between the lines and discussed why Twain may have written this. We spoke about the character of Injun Joe and the xeniphobia evident in his portrayal. Finally, we discussed what makes these books classic novels and the class completed a creative exercise where they created a plot based on Twain’s that utilised specific time and place and touched on satire. Excellent work today class- really great ideas and contributions throughout. Well done for all your hard work and your concentration today- see you next week 🙂
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Summary of Lesson 7
In today’s lesson we began studying Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens. The powerpoint with all of the resources is attached below, which should be used to help plan and write the paragraphs assigned for homework. The powerpoint contains loads of information on the context of Oliver Twist, thinking about how the backdrop of Victorian England, ideas on social class, the workhouse and Victorian attitudes towards children have influenced the themes in the book, whilst also considering how we can connect the plot of the book to Dickens’ own experiences in childhood. We also discussed ideas around social class and the way Dickens plays with our assumptions about particular characters in order to make a greater political point about Victorian inequality. Excellent work today everyone- you all came up with some fantastic analysis of the context of the novel and thought deeply about stereotypes and the challenges Dickens presents to them. Well done everyone 🙂
Workhouse video we watched: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1MX_fSw8etY
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Summary for Lesson 8
In today’s lesson we continued studying Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens. The powerpoint with all of the resources is attached below, which should be used to help plan and write the diary entries assigned for homework. The powerpoint contains loads of information on the themes of the novel, model P.E.E. paragraphs discussing how themes are explored in the book, ideas on narrative voice and perspective and our work on character analysis and inference. Everyone worked really well today, I particularly enjoyed hearing the writing pieces everyone came up with at the end, which were beautifully Dickensian and delved deep into the characters in the novel. Really excellent analysis skills and creative work today class- it was wonderful to hear! See you next week 🙂
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Summary for Lesson 9
In today’s lesson we continued studying Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens. The powerpoint with all of the resources is attached below, which should be used to help plan and write the paragraphs assigned for homework. The powerpoint contains our work on character analysis, using both skills of inference and close textual analysis to find evidence for opinions formed on this basis, along with our ideas on the importance of villainy and villains in the novel and our thoughts on whether the book has a nuanced or more black and white view of morality. The students worked brilliantly today, I particularly enjoyed the work they completed on the genre of tragedy and their astute contributions on the way in which Nancy can be read as a tragic character. They touched on the social construction of crime brilliantly and used excellent evidence to back up their ideas. Well done everyone- see you all soon 🙂
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Summary for Lesson 7
In today’s class we started our next book, Oranges in No Man’s Land, thinking about the history and setting of the novel. We began with a discussion of what we liked and didn’t like in the novel, before moving on to thinking about the history of the Lebenese Civil War in the 1970s and 80s. We discussed what this book tells us about war and thought about the importance of the setting, analysing an extract from the novel to help us discuss this. We read a piece by the author about her experiences in Beirut and why she wrote this novel, and the class thought of some interview questions they would ask her. Finally we discussed how the presentation of war in this novel compares to war in other books they have read, and thought about the focus of these books and why it was important to learn about less acknowledged wars and histories. Fantastic ideas everyone, really well done for your astute and interesting analyses throughout class. See you all soon 🙂
Lebanon war video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q70bGTwk4VM
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Summary for Lesson 11
In today’s class we continued our work on Oranges in No Man’s Land, thinking about character and narrative. We began with a discussion of the character construction in the novel, moving on to discussing the way the narrative voice functions in this book. We spoke about how Ayesha as the narrator affects the way the story is told, thinking about how the sides of the civil war are portrayed. The class then completed a great hot-seating exercise, conducting an imaginary interview with Samar, before writing a passage of the book from her perspective. Finally, we discussed how we would change the ending to make it more fulfilling- which the class did creatively and really sophisticatedly, thinking of all manners of new perspectives to spin the novel around. Wonderful work everyone- well done and see you next week 🙂
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Summary for Lesson 12
In today’s class we completed our work on Oranges in No Man’s Land. We began with a discussion of what the class would call the book if they could choose, thinking about creatively interpreting the story with their own spin on it. We then completed some comprehension, discussing how Laird creates the vivid and powerful setting she does within the book and analysing the language, including examples of metaphorical language, narrative voice and personification. Then, in the final part of the lesson, the class designed their own plays based on the novel, identifying elements they had to include (i.e., costume, set design, actors, dialogue) and planning a play around this. They shared these excellently and then reflected on how to write a book review in preparation for the homework. Really creative and impressive work today and over the past 12 weeks everyone- it has been an absolute pleasure to teach you all as usual and I hope you’ve enjoyed our course! Keep up the amazing work you are all doing, I have really enjoyed all your ideas, contributions and discussions over this course and look forward to seeing you all again. Great work 🙂
Book review video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IhYF3v3zTeo
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