The Giver Chapters 1-2

We talked about "values" in class today.

Students were give a piece of paper in which they
listed their top 3 things that they could not live
with out.

We then had an auction in which students had $100
in play money and they could each buy one value.

The most popular value was sleep.

HOMEWORK
-Answer the 3 Q s from the chalk board
-read chapter 3

Chapter 1

Jonas is troubled by the approaching month of December. It is not, he determines, the frightened feeling that he had when a strange aircraft passed over his community and all of the citizens had been ordered by loudspeaker to go indoors. Jonas, unlike his friend Asher, who frequently confuses his language, is very precise with the words he chooses and determines that, in addition to feeling eager like the other Elevens, he also feels apprehensive.

That night, Jonas and his family have their evening telling of feelings. His younger sister, Lily, shares her anger at a child from a visiting Childcare group from another community. The family encourages Lily to see that the visitor may not have understood the rules of their community and to feel pity for him rather than anger. Next, Jonas's father reveals his worry about a newchild at work who may be released from the community. He tells the family that he has asked to bring the newchild home in the evenings for some extra care. When Lily suggests that they might keep the newchild she is reminded of the rules that state that each family will have one male and one female child. Jonas's mother shares her feelings of frustration and anger at a man she has had to punish twice in her position at the Department of Justice. She is fearful of the event of a third transgression, for which he would be released from the community. Lastly, Jonas reveals his apprehension about the Ceremony of Twelve, which is coming in December.

Chapter 2

After revealing his feelings of apprehension, Jonas and his parents have a private discussion. Jonas reflects on his memories of the ceremonies of previous years, such as the day his sister was named and assigned to his family. Jonas's father discusses his own Ceremony of Twelve and his Assignment as a Nurturer. He and Jonas's mother try to ease Jonas's concerns by assuring him that the Elders make Assignments carefully. They also remind him that the Ceremony of Twelve is the last Ceremony and that it marks his transition from his childhood to training for adult life.

Today's Lesson

We will be in The PC room and I will divide the class into 5 groups of 4 students.

http://www.acorncommunity.org/

http://www.thefarm.org/index.html

http://www.twinoaks.org/

http://www.victorycities.com/

http://www.thirdway.com/menno/

HOMEWORK

-Finish Utopia PC research questions use A4 or B5 paper
-Read chapter 2 THE GIVER
-Do vocabulary workbook ch 1-2 QS
-Do Study Guide book Qs ch 1-2

Welcome back!

We worked in groups and did a survey about what is important in society.

HOMEWORK: -pages 1-2 of the class handout.

About: The Giver

Jonas, an Eleven, is apprehensive about the approaching Ceremony of Twelve. His friends Asher, Fiona and the others of his year seem to naturally fit into a certain Assignment. His mother and father are both matched well to their Assignments and even his little sister Lily demonstrates some early inclinations to where she might be Assigned. He, however, has never felt a particular draw to any one thing.

Jonas's community is ordered by tight rules, and multiple transgressions will result in Release from the community to Elsewhere. Newchildren who do not develop as expected and the Old are also Released. But Jonas is not concerned with those things. He is a good student and obeys the community rules, except for one instance of being singled out for removing an apple from the recreation area.

At the long anticipated ceremony of Twelve, Jonas is shocked when the Chief Elder announces that he has not been Assigned, but rather Selected as the community's next Receiver of Memory. It is a very rare event and a position of great importance.

Chapter 26

chapter 25 audio The catcher in the rye

Chapter 26

Chapter Twenty-Six:

Holden ends his story there. He refuses to tell what happened after he went home and how he got sick. He says that people are concerned about whether he will apply himself next year. He tells that D.B. visits often, and he often misses Stradlater, Ackley, and even Maurice. However, he advises not to tell anybody anything, because it is this that causes a person to start missing others.

Analysis:

Salinger leaves the actual events of Holden's presumed suicide attempt and hospitalization ambiguous; Holden only uses euphemisms such as "getting sick" to describe what has happened to him, but the implications are clear. Yet even more ambiguous than what happened to Holden is whether or not Holden will recover from his difficulties. Holden seems to harbor some sense of regret over what has happened; he claims that he even misses Stradlater and Ackley, and has used the telling of his story as a form of penitence for his behavior. Nevertheless, while looking back on his situation Holden still harbors some of the same suspicions and deep cynicism that afflicted him throughout the novel, as shown when he dismisses the question whether or not he will apply himself. Salinger ends the novel inconclusively: he gives no strong indication what Holden has learned from his difficulties, if he has learned at all, and allows for a strong possibility that Holden will continue his self-destructive and suicidal behavior.

Chapter 25

We covered this chapter today. We listened to a
portion of the audio and answered some questions
as part of a class discussion.


HOMEWORK:
-do chapters 25-26 Qs
-start reviewing for final exam

FINAL EXAM ON FRIDAY!

Chapter Twenty-Five:

When Holden gets outside, it is getting light out. He walks over to Lexington to take the subway to Grand Central, where he slept that night. He thinks about how Mr. Antolini will explain Holden's departure to his wife. Holden feels some regret that he didn't come back to the Antolini's apartment. Holden starts reading a magazine at Grand Central; when he reads an article about hormones, he begins to worry about hormones, and worries about cancer when he reads about cancer. As Holden walks down Fifth Avenue, he feels that he will not get to the other side of the street each time he comes to the end of a block. He feels that he would just go down. He makes believe that he is with Allie every time he reaches a curb. Holden decides that he will go away, never go home again and never go to another prep school. He thinks he will pretend to be a deaf-mute so that he won't have to deal with stupid conversations. Holden goes to Phoebe's school to find her and say goodbye. At the school he sees "fuck you" written on the wall, and becomes enraged as he tries to scratch it off. He writes her a note asking her to meet him near the Museum of Art so that he can return her money. While waiting for Phoebe at the Museum, Holden chats with two brothers who talk about mummies. He sees another "fuck you" written on the wall, and is convinced that someone will write that below the name on his tombstone. Holden, suffering from diarrhea, goes to the bathroom, and as he exits the bathroom he passes out. When he regains consciousness, he feels better. Phoebe arrives, wearing Holden's hunting hat and dragging Holden's old suitcase. She tells him that she wants to come with him. She begs, but he refuses and causes her to start crying. She throws the red hunting hat back at Holden and starts to walk away. She follows Holden to the zoo, but refuses to talk to him or get near him. He buys Phoebe a ticket for the carousel there, and watches her go around on it as "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes" plays. Afterwards, she takes back the red hunting hat and goes back on the carousel. As it starts to rain, Holden cries while watching Phoebe.

Chapter 24 The catcher in the rye audio

Mr. Antolini

Mr. Antolini is the adult who comes closest to reaching Holden. He manages to avoid alienating Holden, and being labeled a “phony,” because he doesn’t behave conventionally. He doesn’t speak to Holden in the persona of a teacher or authority figure, as Mr. Spencer does. He doesn’t object to Holden’s calling him in the middle of the night or to Holden’s being drunk or smoking. Moreover, by opening his door to Holden on the spur of the moment, he shows no reservations about exposing his private self, with his messy apartment, his older wife with her hair in curlers, and his own heavy drinking.

Mr. Antolini’s advice to Holden about why he should apply himself to his studies is also unconventional. He recognizes that Holden is different from other students, and he validates Holden’s suffering and confusion by suggesting that one day they may be worth writing about. He represents education not as a path of conformity but as a means for Holden to develop his unique voice and to find the ideas that are most appropriate to him.

When Mr. Antolini touches Holden’s forehead as he sleeps, he may overstep a boundary in his display of concern and affection. However, there is little evidence to suggest that he is making a sexual overture, as Holden thinks, and much evidence that Holden misinterprets his action. Holden indicates in Chapter 19 that he is extremely nervous around possible homosexuals and that he worries about suddenly becoming one. We also know that he has been thinking about sex constantly since leaving Pencey. Finally, this is not the only scene in which Holden recoils from a physical approach. He is made very uncomfortable when Sunny pulls off her dress and sits in his lap. Even when his beloved sister puts her arms around him, he remarks that she may be a little too affectionate sometimes.

Holden regrets his hasty judgment of Mr. Antolini, but this mistake is very important to him, because he finally starts to question his own practice of making snap judgments about people. Holden realizes that even if Mr. Antolini is gay, he can’t simply be dismissed as a “flit,” since he has also been kind and generous. Holden begins to acknowledge that Mr. Antolini is complex and that he has feelings.

Chapter 24

We talked about a very important chapter today.
Remember that the advice of how Holden is falling
that Mr. Antolini is taking about is about Holden
falling off the cliff and becoming an adult.

HOMEWORK:
-read chapters 25-26
-do chapter 24 Qs

Chapter Twenty-Four:

Mr. Antolini had married an older woman who shared similar intellectual interests. When he arrives at his apartment, Holden finds Mr. Antolini in a bathrobe and slippers, drinking a highball. Holden and Mr. Antolini discuss Pencey, and Holden tells how he failed Oral Expression (debate). He tells Holden how he had lunch with his father, who told him that Holden was cutting classes and generally unprepared. He warns Holden that he is riding for some kind of terrible fall. He says that it may be the kind where, at the age of thirty, he sits in some bar hating everyone who comes in looking as if he played football in college or hating people who use improper grammar. He tells Holden that the fall that he is riding for is a special and horrible kind, and that he can see Holden dying nobly for some highly unworthy cause. He gives Holden a quote from the psychoanalyst Wilhelm Stekel: "The mark of the immature man is that he wants to die nobly for a cause, while the mark of the mature man is that he wants to live humbly for one." He finally tells Holden that once he gets past the things that annoy him, he will be able to find the kind of information that will be dear to his heart. Holden goes to sleep, and wakes up to find Mr. Antolini's hand on his head. He tells Holden that he is "simply sitting here, admiring‹" but Holden interrupts him, gets dressed and leaves, claiming that he has to get his bags from Grand Central Station and he will be back soon.

Chapter 23 the catcher in the rye audio

Chapter 23

We talked about chapter 23 and answered some
questions in a class discussion.

HOMEWORK:
-read chapter 24
-do chapter 23 Qs
-Study for vocab. test ch 16-20

VOCABULARY TEST THURSDAY

Chapter Twenty-Three:

Holden tells that Mr. Antolini was his English teacher at Elkton Hills and was the person who carried James Castle to the infirmary. Holden and Phoebe dance to the radio, but their parents come home and Holden hides in the closet. When he believes that it is safe, Holden asks Phoebe for money and she gives him eight dollars and change. He starts to cry as he prepares to leave, which frightens Phoebe. He gives Phoebe his hunting hat and tells her that he will give her a call.

Chapter 22 the catcher in the rye

Chapter 22

Today we talked about and listened to a bit of chapter 22.
Chapter 22 is a great chapter because we understand
the title of the book here.

HOMEWORK:
-read chapter 23
-do chapter 22 Qs
-finish vocabulary puzzles

*VOCABULARY TEST ON THURSDAY 5 min. TEST

Chapter Twenty-Two:

Phoebe tells Holden that she thinks his scheme to go out to Colorado is foolish, and asks why he failed out of yet another school. He claims that Pencey is full of phonies. He tells her about how everyone excluded Robert Ackley as a sign of how phony the students are. Holden admits that there were a couple of nice teachers, including Mr. Spencer, but then complains about the Veterans' Day ceremonies. Phoebe tells Holden that he doesn't like anything that happens. She asks Holden for one thing that he likes a lot. He thinks of two things. The first is the nuns at Grand Central. The second is a boy at Elkton Hills named James Castle, who had a fight with a conceited guy named Phil Stabile. He threatened James, who responded by jumping out the window, killing himself. However, he tells Phoebe that he likes Allie, and he likes talking to Phoebe right now. Holden tells Phoebe that he would like to be a catcher in the rye: he pictures a lot of children playing in a big field of rye around the edge of a cliff. Holden imagines that he would catch them if they started to go over the cliff. Holden decides to call up Mr. Antolini i, a former teacher at Elkton Hills who now teaches English at NYU.

Chapter 21 the catcher in the rye

Chapter 21

We listened to the audio for the chapter and worked in groups
trying to understand the chapter together.

HOMEWORK:
-read chapter 22
-do chapter 21 Qs
-study for quiz chapters 16-20

TEST PERIOD 1 FRIDAY!

Chapter Twenty-One:

Holden returns home, where he is very quiet as not to awake his parents. Phoebe is asleep in D.B.'s room. He sits down at D.B.'s desk and looks at Phoebe's stuff, such as her math book, where she has the name "Phoebe Weatherfield Caulfield" written on the first page (her middle name is actually Josephine). He wakes up Phoebe and hugs her. She tells about how she is playing Benedict Arnold in her school play. She tells about how she saw a movie called The Doctor, and how their parents are out for the night. Holden shows Phoebe the broken record, and admits that he got kicked out. She tells him that "Daddy's going to kill you," but Holden says that he is going away to a ranch in Colorado. Phoebe places a pillow over her head and refuses to talk to Holden

Chapter 20 audio the catcher in the rye

Chapter 20

We listened to a bit of the chapter and then we worked in groups
and answered some questions.

HOMEWORK:
-read chapter 21
-do chapter 20 Qs

Chapter Twenty:

Holden remains in the Wicker Bar getting drunk. He continues to pretend that he has been shot. Finally, he calls Sally, but her grandmother answers and asks why he is calling so late. Finally, Sally gets on the phone and realizes that Holden is drunk. In the restroom of the Wicker Bar, he talks to the "flitty-looking" guy, asking if he will see the "Valencia babe" who performs there, but he tells Holden to go home. Holden finally leaves. As he walks home, Holden drops Phoebe's record and nearly starts to cry. He goes to Central Park and sits down on a bench. He thinks that he will get pneumonia and imagines his funeral. He is reassured that his parents won't let Phoebe come to his funeral because he is too young. He thinks about what Phoebe would feel if he got pneumonia and died, and figures that he should sneak home and see her, in case he did die.

Chapter 19 audio