The Gathering Blog # 1

Please read 98 - 131 respond to the following prompts or questions.  Use quotes when stipulated.

1.  How does the reader see poverty through simple details on pg. 98?  Cite 3

2.  Whose memories does Veronica steal on pg. 99?

3.  How does the reader know Veronica and the kids have gone to Ada's before? (100)

4.  Give the names of three horses on pg. 108.  Where are they?  What are they doing?

5.  "...every choice is fatal" (110).  Why is this so true?

6.  We get an example of kitsch vs. reality on pg. 111.  Cite and explain.

7.  Cite an example of interesting syntax on pg. 114.

8.  "...false intensities" are mentioned on 120.  Have you ever experienced a false intensity?  I've never heard the expression but it says so much about so many of our experiences.

9.  On 121 we see Liam never finding a home.  Find a quote to support this idea.

10.  Why do Liam and Veronica's paths diverge?  Think of lifestyle.  (123)

11.  How is Liam summed up on pg. 124?

12.  How is our narrator like St. Veronica?

13.  What was St. Dympna the saint of?  Why?  (128)

14.  There are some excellent bits of Ireland and Irish Language.  Please look up the following:
a.  "drab days of Lent" (105)
b.  Guiness (107)
c. "happy as Larry" (113)
d.  "biro" (114)
e.  "red lemonade" (116)
f.  "chunter" (125)

Blog # 2 - The Unbearable Lightness of Being

Please read 175 - 209 and respond to the following prompts in complete sentences.  Use quotes when stipulated.


1. Paraphrase Tomas's theory about Oedipus and communism.

2.  What were the two possible reactions to his decision?  Use quotes a support.

3.  Agree or disagree: "How defenseless we are in the face of flattery!" (185)

4.  Explain the following: "It is a tragicomic fact that our proper upbringing has become an ally of the secret police" (187).

5.  Why did Tomas quit the hospital and become a "window washer"(192)?


Happy Reading!

The Unbearable Lightness of Being - Blog # 1

Based on your reading, please respond to the following prompts.  Write in complete sentences and use quotes when stipulated.


1.  Is it weight or lightness that makes Tomas return to Prague?  Do you think he made the right decision?

2.  Give 3 examples of things that are heavy and have value.   Do the same with 3 things that are light.  Which are better?  Is it possible to say?

3.  What do you think about the following quote?  Is it true?  Are there multiple possibilities for love out there, as this quote suggests, or do you disagree with this notion?  Please do tell.
"Aart from her consummated love for Tomas, there were, in the realm of possibility, an infinite number of unconsummated loves for other men" (34).

4.  What does "Ess muss sein" mean?  How does it apply to our novel?

5.  How is the word "happened" used to explain the love between Tomas and Tereza?

6.  What did Tomas feel he was immune to until Tereza infected him with it?

7.  Do we see Tomas get jealous at all in this section?

Lost Paradise Blog # 1

Please read Chapter 11 and respond to the following prompts.
1.  The first page does a great job of delineating between "book" learning and "life" learning.  How is this accomplished?  Ultimately though, does life bring understanding?  (use only pg. 48)

2.  Define "moiety."  Don't worry if you struggle with it, Mr. Kelly didn't know it either.

3.  What is a "Pom"?  Look it up.  Who does sit apply to in this chapter?

4.  On page 51 who is "you people" and what are they looking for?

5.  I think the following quote is really true.  What do you reckon?  "...I had not understood, just as I had not understood the words of the songs I had listened to this morning, though I would take them with me for all time" (52-53).  I guess what I like about is that we often think we take answers or truth with us.  But what really sticks with me is what I don't understand...  How about you?

6.  Who wrote the book?  Does this come as a surprise?

7.  Why is the Sickness Country called what it is?

8.  What piece of news really caught Almut's attention?

9.  Who are the Aborigines "hanging around the big cities" and why did they end up there?

10.  What has cured Alma?

Blog # 6

Please read 270-289 and respond to the following prompts / questions in complete sentences.   2-4 sentences each should suffice.

1.  In my humble opinion, this chapter is hauntingly prophetic and serves as stinging social commentary on contemporary society.  Read the following quote and tell me if you agree.

“Yay, old Uns’ Smart mastered sicks, miles, seeds an’made miracles ord’nary, but it din’t master one thing, nay, a hunger in the hearts o’humans, yaya, a hunger for more…more gear, more food, faster speeds, longer lifes, easier lifes, more power yay” (Mitchell 272).

2.  Paraphrase the following line: “Second day fluffsome clouds rabbited westly an’ that snaky leeward sun was hissin’ loud’n’hot (Mitchell 272).

3.  The Fall is frequently referenced in this chapter; one time on 284.  What do you think it was?  Be specific.  I’m not sure, but I frequently think of fallout.  Look this up and thinking back on previous chapters, do you see any connection?

4.  “Judas” is mentioned on the bottom of 275.  Who was he?  What does the name mean today?  How does it apply to Zachery and the novel? 

5.  Why do the Valleymen think the Honokaa are savages (285)?  Give a specific example of when this has been witnessed in history.

Blog # 5

Read through page 225 and respond to the prompts below.
1.  Make a dictionary of 10 new words that have been created.  Give the word and its definition.

2.  Define a "pureblood".

3.  What is the definition of happiness given on 188?  Do you agree or disagree?

4.  What is "Soap?"

5.  What is "Papa Song?"

6. Paraphrase Orison's first lecture in "biomathematics."


7.  What does Orison have to say about "winners" and "losers"?  Do you agree?

8.  Paraphrase what is discussed about "social strata" on page 222.

9.  Are purebloods described as being tough?  Is this ironic?

10.  How can the following quote be applied to us, the human race? "My mind fumbled with such enormity and dropped it: how could I understand such a limitless world?" (Mitchell 207)

Blog # 4

Please respond to the prompts below in complete sentences.

1.  This chapter depicts big business as power hungry and ruthless.  Was this a fair representation?

2.  We talked about the different aspects of society seen in this chapter.  If you were to envisage yourself in one, which one would it be?

3.  Detail the connections we find between this narrative and the preceding ones.

4.  We've talked about moral dilemmas a lot this year.  Describe one from this chapter and write how you would you have acted.

Due: Tuesday, 9.20