grades have been submitted

I don't know when they will be viewable, but I have submitted the grades.

Have a good break and good luck on your educational journey.

Final Tuesday, December 9th

EWRT1A-37: 4-6 p.m.
EWRT1A-63: 6:15-8:15 p.m.

Bring:

• paper
• pens
• copy of Fun Home
• Reading Responses 7-10
• yourself

Did Alison Bechdel betray the memory of her father?

This question came up in section 37. As the quotation (from this article) below shows, Bechdel has been confronted with this.

When I interviewed Bechdel in 2012 for The Times of London, Bechdel told me that at one reading event for Fun Home, a man had stood up, a friend of her father’s, clearly upset, she thought, “because I had betrayed my father’s memory by writing about him.”
The gentleman had news to impart: The man and her father, who died aged 44, had a friend in common, the doctor on call when her father arrived at the hospital. “I learnt my father was alive when he got to the emergency room. I’d always thought he’d died instantly,” says Bechdel. “Over 20 years later I find this out on stage, in front of 200 people.”

And from another article, Bechdel herself says this:

She admits to vetting material according to her subjects’ sensitivities and also that her father was more playful than she drew him in Fun Home. “It feels kind of bad I didn’t provide a three-dimensional picture of him.”

And as I mentioned in class, one of her brothers was not happy with her portrayal of Bruce.

John feels that she has been too negative about her father, while Christian “is not completely functional in the world” and has obsessive compulsive disorder. Bechel and her mother both had the disorder as children. “I think we all have Asperger’s,” Bechdel says.

Just some food for thought.

EWRT1A Essay 3 due Thursday

Here are some thoughts on Essay 3 in light of the first drafts I have read.

• Have a specific thesis statement. Vague thesis statements are almost impossible to prove. This is especially a problem for people who chose prompt 1. "Words and pictures add depth to Fun Home" is not a very analytical thesis and would be hard to actually prove.
• You don't have to write a three point thesis statement. I know some of you are more comfortable with this, but given the page limit and the need for synthesis, having a three point thesis makes students rush through their examples. In other words, a three point thesis often makes for a weaker, less developed essay.
• Name the texts you are analyzing in your introduction. The focus of this essay is on Fun Home and at least one other text. So make that clear when you introduce your readers to your essay.
• Show and explain the points of comparison between the texts. Name what Fun Home and the other text have in common and explain that when you provide the examples.
• Obstacles and assets are effects. This is the same point I made about Essay 2. If something is an obstacle then it holds someone back. So in order to demonstrate it, you need to show that effect on the person. Just saying someone's mom was mean does not show the effect that had on the person.
• MLA citation is required. This means both in-text citation and a correct works cited list.
• Two drafts are required. Even if you didn't turn in a first draft, it is still required. And a draft is a real attempt at an essay. A paragraph is not an essay and so is not a draft. 

As always, if you have any questions ask me, either in person or via e-mail.