Meetings for Essay

I will be making myself available for questions about the essay on Monday, August 25, at 7pm and Wednesday, August 27 at 7pm at the Bedford Branch Library next to the junior high. If you have specific questions or need clarifications, I will be glad to address these at the above meeting times. I can do it by email, too, but face-to-face is often better. This is by no means mandatory. I am just providing an opportunity for you to have some answers before you start writing. I will not have time to look at any essays before school starts, but I can answer specific questions about the prompt or my expectations for the essay.

School Email Password Reset

If you need your new login info for the school email, I can get that for you. Just send me an email from another account or private message me on facebook or twitter. I can give you the info you need.

Possible Comment Posting Issues

The school has inadvertently reset all the passwords for your Bedford email accounts, so those of you using that account to comment on the blog will not be able to post. This does not exempt you from posting, of course. You will just have to use an alternate email to send the comments to me via email...or you will need to set up another account using a different email. If you do so, just make sure your user name is something that includes some version of your name so that I can easily identify you when giving credits for the posts. This will most greatly affect those of you who are procrastinators, of course. Those who are not will have plenty of time to post using these alternative methods.

If you use an email account other than  the one from the school, your ability to post will not be affected.

As for your school emails, you will be given instructions on what your passwords have been changed to when you return to school so that you can reset them and use the accounts upon your return.

Paper Questions

I will be meeting with students tomorrow night (Monday, August 11) at the Bedford Branch Library at 7pm to field questions about the essay. If you can make it, you are welcome to come and ask questions. If you can't make it tomorrow night, don't fret. I will do this once more before school starts, and you can always ask questions via email...just make sure they are specific questions.

Another Note for Your Posts

As you can see, there are only four sections up here for this section of the novel...and you are required to comment five times...But I don't want you to think you have to do one comment in each one. You can do two or three comments under one heading, as there are many questions you could possibly address.

As long as you have five comments, I don't care which headings they fall under.

Sound familiar? 

Curious Incident: p. 223-226, or Appendix

Photo credit: http://www.met.reading.ac.uk

There is clearly significance to the fact that Christopher adds this appendix to his story. What can you discern from this in terms of symbolic meaning? What does Christopher solve besides this math problem?

Curious Incident: p. 198-221, or chapters 229-233

Photo credit: http://www.hoe-waar.be

What do you make of Christopher's dream here? What is significant about it? Why do you think it makes him happy?
What is your take on Mr. Shears' reaction to having Christopher stay with them? What does this tell you about him? What does it tell you about the relationship between the couple?
What is your take on Christopher's mother? How is her behavior awkward or unmotherly? How is she motherly?
Christopher is bent on taking his math test. What does his persistence on this matter tell us about him?
Why doesn't he empathize with his mother's situation at all?
Christopher's mother essentially steals Mr. Shears' car to take Christopher back home. Why is this significant? What does her move back there indicate?
Do you think Christopher and his mother will have a better relationship now, or not? What details inform your choice?
Do you think Christopher will ever trust his father again? What details inform your answer?
Why was the math test so important but the results so much less important?
What is significant about Christopher receiving a dog to replace Toby?

Curious Incident: p. 179-198, or chapter 227

Photo credit: http://www.sunnewsnetwork.ca

What do you think of Christopher's coping mechanisms at the train station? Which one do you find particularly clever? Which one doesn't make sense to you?
Christopher's close call while retrieving Toby seems to be intense to everyone but him. What reactions during this situation help us understand some of his limitations? What is his focus? What is the focus of those around him? What is the difference between these areas of focus and what does this difference tell us?
What do the reactions of the people who are trying to help Christopher tell us about them or society in general?
A lot of detail is given about Christopher's time in the train station, but not so much detail is given about his time on the tube (subway). Why do you think that is? What is the significance of the details he does give us about his brief ride on the tube?
London is a very large international city, yet Christopher is much more calm navigating the city than he is at the train stations. Why do you think this is the case? What tools does he use for navigation here that he can't use in the train station?
Once Christopher finds his mother and Mr. Shears, it is not long before his father shows up. This is a very emotionally charged atmosphere, yet Christopher seems to tell this part of the story like a reporter. What accounts for his detachment from the chaotic emotional landscape that he finds himself in here?
The three adults have very different points of view and reactions to the situation at hand. Explain one adult's emotional state and how it is justified or unjustified, using examples.