Week 6 Wrap Up

We are already done with the first six weeks – wow! That certainly flew by. And unlike last year, I feel like I actually have taught my students a few things. One of my young ladies took the SAT on Saturday, and reported to me this morning that some of my vocab words were on the test. Score.

We wrapped up the Crucible last week; the test was a creative essay. Students had to choose one of the characters and write a piece from that character’s perspective, using details from the play. Their options were:

– Reverend Hale. Compose a resignation letter to Deputy Governor Thomas Danforth, describing your experience with the trials in Salem and your personal reasons for resigning from the case. Include at least one direct line spoken by Hale in your letter, but work it in so it sounds as if it is part of the letter. Use proper letter format. Due to the nature of letter-writing, you may use second person. Remember, you are making an argument for why you can no longer be part of the trial.

– Mary Warren. Using your knowledge of the play, compose Mary Warren’s deposition given to Governor Danforth in the third act. Explain what has occurred, and describe how you arrived at your current point of view as of Act III, line 727. Include at least one direct line spoken by Mary Warren in the play, but work it in so it sounds like part of the deposition. Remember, you are making an argument for how and why you have arrived at your current decision.

– Abigail Williams. Abigail Williams disappears mysteriously at the beginning of Act IV. Let’s pretend she wrote one last letter to John Proctor, explaining everything. Compose this farewell letter. Explain your motives and processes, and reflect on your relationship. Express any emotion you feel fits Abigail’s character. Include at least one direct line spoken by Abigail Williams in the play, but work it in so it sounds like part of the letter. You get to decide what Abigail tells John, but most likely she wants him to think well of her.

– Reverend Parris. Reverend Parris is certainly in rough shape by the end of the play. During the 16 months of the Salem Witch Trials, 19 people were hanged and one was pressed to death. As Samuel Parris had been an active prosecutor, his parish brought charges against him in 1693 (the trials ended earlier that year). Parris apologized for his errors in an essay called “Meditations for Peace” in November 1694. Write what that apology letter might have sounded like, explaining Parris’ point of view throughout the piece, any motivations he may have had (be brutally honest!) and actions he took, and attempting to apologize for his actions.

I need to finish grading them tonight, but the ones I’ve read so far were very entertaining.

At the end of last week we began The Scarlet Letter. As I was describing the love triangle of Hester Prynne, her husband, and her unknown lover, students again made the comment about how everything we read seems to deal with love triangles and adultery. I said that perhaps much of American history was based on such triangles and love, and gave Benjamin Franklin as an example – “Franklin was often known for being well-liked among women. He was probably a player.” To which one young man, without missing a beat, says, “Well duh – how else do you get on the $100 bill?”

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