I would prefer not to. Unless it's a blog response...

How would you deal with someone like Bartleby?

No blog!

I apologize, but there will be no blog today. There will be one later this week.

Walden

Thoreau, during his two year seclusion, was able to break free from his shell by going within himself. I want you to discuss the idea of living "deliberately" as it is discussed by Thoreau. Make sure to refer to several passages (this means you will need to quote in your response) and discuss what your understanding of living "deliberately" is in terms of what we have read.

Emerson's Nature

We are going to get a little creative with this blog response. Now that you have read the excerpt from Nature, I want you to think of a natural scene. It could a forest, a beach, or whatever comes to mind. Now I want you to think of two of the elements you see in the scene. This could be a tree, a leaf, or anything you see. Go ahead and describe that element. Once you have described the element I want you to write a poetic response to the element. This response can be a feeling or a thought. If Emerson was writing this blog response he might pick stars and write that they are "envoys of beauty" [that] "light the universe." He might describe that he feels: "reverence, because . . . they are always inaccessible."
The reason for this assignment is to have a better understanding of Emerson before our class tomorrow. Remember your name, and email me with any questions you might have (yoteach10@gmail.com).

The Masque of the Red Death

For this post I want you to respond to some of the symbols that are used in "The Masque of the Red Death". I know some of you are the type that wishes we could simply read stories and take it at face value. The issue with that, though, is that most authors WANT us to look deeper. The art of literature is the ability to convey a message poetically instead of directly.
Even though the story is short, it is filled with strong images. Now that you have read the story, I want to you to interpret the possible meanings behind the following aspects of the story. What could they possibly symbolize?
One sentence is not enough to show me that you have put thought in to this post. Remember to write your name at the end. Go ahead and copy this list on to your comment and follow each with you interpretation.

The Red Death
The 7 colored rooms (What could each color mean? What do they mean all together?)
The clock in the black room (Include what it means when the clock strikes midnight)
The masked figure



-Mr. Heiderich