Thursday, March 27, 2008

In-Text Citations: The Basics
Guidelines for referring to the works of others in your text using MLA style is covered in chapter six of the MLA Handbook and in chapter seven of the MLA Style Manual. Both books provide extensive examples, so it's a good idea to consult them if you want to become even more familiar with MLA guidelines or if you have a particular reference question.
Basic In-Text Citation Rules
In MLA style, referring to the works of others in your text is done by using what's known as parenthetical citation. Immediately following a quotation from a source or a paraphrase of a source's ideas, you place the author's name followed by a space and the relevant page number(s).
Human beings have been described as "symbol-using animals" (Burke 3).
When a source has no known author, use a shortened title of the work instead of an author name. Place the title in quotation marks if it's a short work, or italicize or underline it if it's a longer work.
Your in-text citation will correspond with an entry in your Works Cited page, which, for the Burke citation above, will look something like this:
Burke, Kenneth. Language as Symbolic Action: Essays on Life, Literature, and Method. Berkeley: U of California P, 1966.
We'll learn how to make a Works Cited page in a bit, but right now it's important to know that parenthetical citations and Works Cited pages allow readers to know which sources you consulted in writing your essay, so that they can either verify your interpretation of the sources or use them in their own scholarly work.
Multiple Citations
To cite multiple sources in the same parenthetical reference, separate the citations by a semi-colon:
...as has been discussed elsewhere (Burke 3; Dewey 21).
When Citation is not Needed
Common sense and ethics should determine your need for documenting sources. You do not need to give sources for familiar proverbs, well-known quotations or common knowledge. Remember, this is a rhetorical choice, based on audience. If you're writing for an expert audience of a scholarly journal, they'll have different expectations of what constitutes common knowledge.

Friday, March 21, 2008

Monday 3Rs students:

Here is a help for the movie.
Photos (see all 21 slideshow)

Overview
Director:Christopher Cain
Writers (WGA):Jill Mazursky (written by) &J.J. Abrams (written by)
Release Date:30 May 1997 (USA) more
Genre:Comedy more
Tagline:Even the fish are laughing!
Plot Outline:Two fishing fanatics get in trouble when their fishing boat gets stolen while on a trip. more
Plot Synopsis:This plot synopsis is empty. Add a synopsis
Plot Keywords:Box Office Flop / Smooshed / Critically Bashed / On Set Accident / Boat more
User Comments:Gone Tarded more
Cast (Cast overview, first billed only)

Joe Pesci
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Joe Waters

Danny Glover
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Gus Green

Rosanna Arquette
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Rita

Lynn Whitfield
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Angie

Willie Nelson
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Billy 'Catch' Pooler

Nick Brimble
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Dekker Massey

Gary Grubbs
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Phil Beasly

Carol Kane
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Donna Waters

Edythe Davis
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Cookie Green

Jenna Bari
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Gena Waters

Samantha Brown
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Tracy Green

Jeff DiLucca
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Mack Waters

Jamil Akim O'Quinn
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Gregory Green

Frank Nasso
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Young Joe

Raynor Scheine
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Glennmore
Create a character page for: AngiePhil BeaslyDonna WatersCookie GreenGena WatersTracy GreenMack WatersGregory GreenYoung JoeGlenn-----------more...
Additional Details
Also Known As:Gone Fishing (USA) (alternative spelling) more
MPAA:Rated PG for mild violence and language.
Parents Guide:Add content advisory for parents
Runtime:94 min
Country:USA
Language:English
Color:Color (Technicolor)
Sound Mix:Dolby Digital / SDDS
Certification:Iceland:L / USA:PG (certificate #34645) / Singapore:PG / Australia:PG / Germany:6 / Portugal:M/12 (video premiere) / UK:12 (video premiere)
Filming Locations:Beaufort, South Carolina, USA more
MOVIEmeter: 4% since last week why?
Company:Caravan Pictures more
Fun Stuff
Trivia:John G. Avildsen was the film's original director. After two weeks, he was fired, paid his $2 million dollar salary, and replaced by 'Christopher Cain' . more
Goofs:Continuity: When the two girls drive up to Joe and Gus as they are pushing their boat with trailer on the highway, the El Camino the girls are driving has no trailer hitch, but a short time later they are towing the boat on its trailer. more
Quotes:Joe Waters: Got the boat? Gus Green: Check. Joe Waters: Coupons? Gus Green: Check. Joe Waters: Beer? Gear? Dramamine? Gus Green: Check. Check. Check. Joe Waters: Insert Billy "Catch" Pooler tape. Gus Green: Check that too. Joe Waters, Gus Green: We're Goin' Fishin'!more
Movie Connections:Referenced in 1st Annual Mystery Science Theater 3000 Summer Blockbuster Review (1997) (TV) more
Soundtrack:
AP students:

Below is an essay I'd like you to read in regard to the film. You may use it to spark your own essays.

Journal of Religion and Film
Babette's Feast: A Religious Film
by Wendy M. Wright
Vol. 1, No. 2 October 1997
Babette's Feast: A Religious Film
by Wendy M. Wright
Abstract
[1] This paper explores the various ways in which Babette's Feast might be called a religious film. First, yet perhaps least significantly, the film's subject matter is overtly religious. It treats of a late nineteenth century Danish Christian sect, focusing attention on the tale of two pious women whose life experiences are defined solely by their religious beliefs. Second, the film explores reality through the foundational myth of Christianity and through literary and visual symbols that derive from that faith tradition. Especially it contrasts two modalities of Christian apprehension: one which sees religiosity as primarily a matter of moral living, demeaning sensual engagement in the created world; the other which acknowledges the "sacramental" texture and depths of the created order and discovers there the divine. Third, the film as a work of art, quite apart from its subject matter or its exploration of reality through the medium of Christian symbols, is in itself profoundly religious. This is meant in the sense that its artistry allows the viewer to apprehend reality contemplatively, to take a long, loving look at the real in such a way that the hidden, sacred dimension of reality is revealed.
Article
[2] What makes a film religious? I asked my class. Or rather, can you name a film you would assign in a course entitled "Religion and Film"? Jesus of Montreal? one suggested. Or how about Little Buddha? another queried. Yes, I suppose those titles might legitimately be found on a course-list for "Religion and Film". Yet it is something of a commonplace at the present to observe that many teachers of religion as well as their students approach films as they would approach a written text. They focus on the subject matter, attending to the narrative content of the film. If a film is about religion or religious people, especially if it sympathetically tells the tale of an exemplary religious figure like Jesus or Muhammad, it can be called a religious movie. Or, from a more nuanced perspective, if a film wrestles with topics usually considered the concern of religious thinkers -- the afterlife, hell, heaven, moral issues -- it might qualify as a religious film. Scholars and students of the cinematic arts and filmmakers themselves do not approach films in the same way. Cinema is a complex art-form that communicates many more ways than through plot, characterization and dialogue. Other concerns, for example the dramatic visual exploration of a foundational religious myth or the visual style of the film, art direction, musical score, camera work, might rightfully qualify a film as religious, even if its subject matter could not in any way be construed as such. I would like to consider the 1987 Academy Award winning film Babette's Feast (Best Foreign Film) in the light of the above observations, to examine the film as a superb candidate for that course-list for "Religion and Film".
[3] Director and writer Gabriel Axel based his 1987 film, Babette's Feast, on a short story of the same name by Danish writer Isak Dinesen. With some exceptions, especially of emphasis, the film is a close rendering of the original tale. The story treats of a sectarian group of persons whose entire lives have been shaped by their religious convictions. In accord with many viewers' common-sense notion of what makes a film religious, Babette's Feast would qualify because religious people and institutions are its overt subject matter. The characters pray, worship and conduct their affairs within the context of their faith. Moreover, the narrative is concerned with the inner-dynamics of the religious group over a period of years and takes a perspective on their manner of being religious. But let me offer here a summary of that basic story.
[4] Jutland, Denmark. The later part of the nineteenth century. Two elderly maiden sisters, Martine and Filippa, the daughters of a long-deceased prophet-founder of an austere Christian sect, maintain a simple life of piety and charitable works and carry on their father's memory by presiding over his small band of remaining disciples. As young women, we learn, the two sisters were very beautiful but, as worldly concerns were not valued in their father's austere religious vision, they never married. However, two men, both from outside their remote Danish village, had in the past crossed paths with Martine and Filippa in significant ways. First, Lorenz Lowenhielm, a dissolute young cadet, in summer exile at his aunt's Jutland home as a result of parental punishment for unbecoming behavior, is captivated by Martine's beauty, has an idealistic vision of a higher, purer life and wins an introduction to the pious circle where he hopes to make her acquaintance. But he soon finds himself at a loss in the rarified atmosphere and leaves, claiming that some things are impossible. The "world," he announces, will be his heritage and he vows to achieve all worldly success, a feat which he duly accomplishes. Next, Achille Papin, a famous opera singer, finds himself on the remote coastland in search of rest. The solitude plunges him into a bleak mood which is relieved only upon hearing Filippa's voice raised in angelic hymnody. Believing that her voice is destined to thrill the heart of Europe, Papin offers himself as vocal tutor and educates his pupil in the operatic repertoire. The frank sensuality of the musical lyrics soon convinces his pupil that she must terminate the lessons and Papin returns to the continent without her.
[5] Years later, the sisters content themselves with lives of piety. Their untiring work among the poor has, in the intervening time, been made possible with the help of a maid, Babette, who one stormy night fourteen years earlier had arrived on their doorstep, a refugee from the terrors of the French civil war whose husband and son had perished. In her possession was a letter of introduction from Achille Papin who, remembering himself to Filippa after thirty-five years and assuring her that in heaven she will be the great artist God intended her to be, implored the sisters to give refuge to Babette. They did and, at the film's present time, had lived with them for almost fifteen years, doing the work of a domestic servant and preparing the split cod and ale-bread that were the villagers' staple diet.
[6] The prophet's sect by this time has lost most of its early vitality. The few remaining members, all of whom are advanced in years, have fallen into the habit of quarrelling. Old disagreements have reawakened, and past sins cast a heavy pallor over the congregation. Their hymns -- "Jerusalem, my heart's true home," "never would you give a stone if a child begged for food" -- recall the pastor's eschatological vision of a world transformed but fail to kindle the former devotion and zeal. Hoping to heal some of the community's wounds, Martine and Filippa plan a simple celebration in honor of their father on what would have been his one-hundredth birthday. As the date approaches, Babette receives word that she has won one hundred francs in the French lottery thanks to a ticket an old friend of hers had renewed each year.
[7] Babette reflects on what to do with her winnings and requests of the sisters that they allow her to prepare, just once, a real French meal, and serve it for the pastor's celebration. Reluctantly they agree. Babette proceeds to order from the continent supplies the likes of which the sisters have never dreamed: wines, live quail and turtle. Martine and Filippa begin to fear that something akin to a witches' Sabbath is about to take place and they fearfully alert the rest of the disciples. All agree that they will attend the dinner with their minds on higher things, as if they had no sense of taste.
[8] The evening of the celebration arrives and one of the disciples, the aunt of Lowenhielm, announces that her visiting nephew, now a general, will join them for dinner. Babette is immersed in the astonishing, sensuous and elaborate preparations for her meal. The guests arrive, their somber, otherworldly dress and demeanor in high contrast to the sumptuous table set before them. General Lowenhielm alone, unaware of the group's strategy to remain disengaged, is overwhelmed by the exquisite fare which unfolds in magnificence before them, course by course and liquor by liquor. He speaks of a famous Parisian chef, a woman, who in the years before the civil war, was fabled for her culinary artistry. She had made dining a love affair in which there was no distinction between the spiritual and other appetites. Surely, the general remarks, these delicacies are the very ones he had savored at the fabled Cafe Anglais.
[9] Gradually, warmed by the fine wines and the general's example, the guests begin to respond, not only to the feast itself, but to one another. Old quarrels are healed, past sins genuinely forgiven. The general rises and, echoing the deceased pastor's words, acknowledges the reality of a world illuminated by love. When he departs he tenderly acknowledges to Martine that during the intervening years he had always been with her in love and friendship and that during this evening he had learned that with God all things are possible. The dinner comes to a close as the disciples leave and, illuminated by moonlight in the village square, they spontaneously join hands in a circle and dance. Inside, the sisters thank Babette for her feast and learn that she was the fabled chef of the Cafe Anglais and that she will not be returning to her native land for she has spent her entire lottery winnings on the meal. With Martine and Filippa aghast, she explains that she had given everything not simply for them but because within each artist's soul is the cry to be given the chance to be the best they can be. Filippa, echoing the words Achille Papin had spoken to her, promises that in paradise Babette will be the great artist God intended her to be.
[10] The film takes a decided perspective on its characters' religious devotion. While the sectarians are certainly not parodied, one feels sympathy for their earnest and good-hearted efforts, yet one feels something has been lost, something is clearly lacking. The disciples' moral uprightness has become small-minded pettiness, their close community insular, their luminous vision shriveled down to pious routine, even their ongoing works of charity feed the body but not the soul. Something must enter to release them for the realization of the fullness of life to which their doctrines point but which they merely await. Figures from the world enter, the cadet and the opera star, and seem to offer some fire that might enkindle but they cannot be integrated into the sect's world. The film takes an interesting perspective on these strangers from the south. In some sense the two gentlemen-callers represent the secular world and its values. They are not unsympathetic characters but they too are lacking. The young officer is a dreamer, a fact which has plunged him into a life of disorder. When he sees Martine he recognizes his own deeper self which yearns for something higher and better. Papin too, is moved in his depression to a vision of something finer, embodied in Filippa's angelic singing voice. He wants to nurture that and bring it into his world. But secular and sacred are estranged and neither achieves fullness.
[11] On the fundamental level of subject matter and narrative interest, Babette's Feast must certainly qualify as a film in which religion features prominently. The film-makers take a distinct perspective on their religious characters and their world. But there is much, much more to the religious vision of Babette's Feast than is evident in this common sense matter of subject matter, plot, character and dialogue.
[12] Any viewer could enjoy Babette's Feast as a simple narrative in which religious characters come to some sort of awakening. It could be experienced as a story about a group of rather stuffy, old-fashioned folks with a glum otherworldly view of things who, in a wondrous meal, are initiated into the delights of enjoying the pleasures of life. In this vein it could be viewed as a critique of religion itself. But one doesn't have to scratch the surface of the film very deeply to find this a limited view. For Babette's Feast is saturated with religious symbolism of the most specifically Christian kind and read through the lens of that symbolism the film is simultaneously an exploration of the foundational Christian myth of death and resurrection, a study of competing Christian views of reality, and an affirmation of the ultimate sacramentality of the created order.
[13] Within the first minutes of the film, the viewer is treated to a vision of the sect at worship, voices raised in song: "Jerusalem, my heart's true home . . . " Already the most fundamental Christian symbolism comes into play. Jerusalem, the image of a transfigured world where, at the end of time, all the deepest human hopes and longings will be fulfilled. There, according to Christian understanding, the eschatological banquet will be served. All that is partial will be completed, all sorrow turned to joy, all that is estranged be reconciled, all that is lost, found. The blind will see, the deaf will hear, the lame will leap for joy. All will be reconciled. The disciples live in anticipation of that other-worldly end-time in the new Jerusalem.
[14] And food, that pivotal Christian symbol, is introduced explicitly at the end of the congregation's first stanza. "Never will you give a stone to the child who begs for bread," they sing, echoing scripture. Already the irony is set up. These earnest believers, inhabiting a stony, barren land where their meager fare is unappetizing ale-bread and split cod (which has been visually presented to us hanging up to dry in the opening shots), beg to be fed at a banquet table of unsurpassed bounty. Babette's Feast is thus a thoroughly religious film in the sense that it plays with foundational Christian themes and imagery. The heavenly banquet. The redemption of the world.
[15] In fact, Babette's Feast is structured to recapitulate the central dynamic of the foundational Christian myth. It visually presents a movement from death to resurrection. And it does so by introducing a salvific figure who transfigures the main characters' world through a loving act of self-giving. Film theorist John R. May has suggested that a film's openness to a religious world view may be best be found in those dimensions of the formal structure that represent the visual analogue of religious questions. [John R. May, "Visual Story and the Religious Interpretation of Film" in Religion and Film, edited by John R. May and Michael Bird (Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press,1982), 23-43.]
[16] Thus the mythic pattern of ultimacy given a religious tradition and its myth -- whether it be sin/salvation, or ignorance/awakening or ensnarement/liberation -- can provide the basic structure of a film and qualify it as a film that is profoundly religious. Christianity's myth subverts the established reality by attending to mercy's unpredictability and violating the rigid boundaries that separate the created world and God. Babette's Feast is a wonderful visual analogy of this myth that undergirds the Christian faith.
[17] On still another level the film plays with Christian symbols. It seems to ask the question: what does it really mean to live the hope held out by the Christian faith? Does it mean that one is to endure the present world as a place of testing, where the forces of evil are loose, tempting one to turn one's eyes from a truer, not yet realizable fulfillment? Does discipleship consist of moral rectitude, avoiding sin and doing good works? Or is the Christian life perhaps about the realization, at least partially, of that fulfillment here and now? Is discipleship about celebration? About the recognition and embodiment of that final banquet? Is the world a sacrament, a visible means of access to what is yet invisible?
[18] The two possible views are hinted at in the film in the dialectic that occurs between the very austere practice of the little northern European sect and the sensuous, even decadent practices of others from outside (General Lowenhielm's frank lust for power and prestige, Achille Papin's aesthetic sensuality and love of fame, Babette's unabashed delight in the lush fruits of the earth). Martine, Filippa and their co-religionists have lived by a creed of moral righteousness in which religiosity consists of valuing the immaterial over the material. The things of the soul for them are paramount and soul and body are clearly demarcated. Romantic love, fine foods, aesthetic indulgence, high office and achievement are considered as negligible, even as sinister lures. This world is a passing place in which ultimate salvation is assured through the practice of works of charity, the restraint of "worldly" desires and constant vigilance against temptation. All the assumptions by which the sect has lived are challenged by those who come from outside, the chief of those being one who is literally washed ashore, a refugee French woman who asks to serve in exchange for a place to lay her head.
[19] In a limited sense the film echoes the old Protestant vs. Catholic controversy in which the classic Reformed doctrine of an utterly fallen world is compared with the orthodox Roman Catholic affirmation that the created universe, while marred by sin, is nevertheless still clearly revelatory of divine reality. But Babette's Feast is hardly a theological polemic and the strict contrast between the two views does not play itself out neatly. At the final feast, not only do the sober disciples awaken to the truth of abundance freely given in the very stuff of the good earth, but the general, who comes to the dinner seeking confirmation of his long-ago choice of "the world," finds instead that he had never lost his earlier, idealistic self. Instead, he has come full circle and for him and for Martine all is fulfilled, love is not lost but found. There too Babette, like Filippa, experiences the truth to which their friend and mentor Papin had alluded, that the artistry which would have been the fullest expression of their being, will in the end find expression. This is not merely a film about the sacred and the secular, about Catholic or Protestant theologies of the created order, it is a film about the reconciling of all things imaged in a banquet that feeds not only body but soul, that not only sustains but transfigures it. There, all the longings of the heart are met, all hungers filled.
[20] It is the final segments of Babette's Feast that are most saturated with Christian symbolism. The pastor's memorial banquet becomes a recapitulation of the Last Supper and, by extension, of the Christian liturgy and the eschatological banquet. With the general added to the remnant, they are twelve at table. With Babette in the kitchen preparing the food, they are thirteen. Even the progress of the supper mirrors the rhythm of the liturgical rite. The general's private examination of conscience serves as the anamnesis, the wiping away of past mistakes, a remembering in a new way. The gathered band then proceeds to recall the days of their early inspiration, when their prophet was with them and life was filled with promise and miracle. Then the banquet begins in earnest with Babette in the background, supplying a meal her guests scarcely have eyes to see or tongues to taste. But gradually as they are fed, they awaken to the miracle taking place in their midst. That miracle resides not only in the food itself but becomes embodied in the community gathered there. Not only are the sins of their past mutually forgiven, these past lapses are seen in a new transfigured light.
[21] Tenderly the husband and wife, rancorous for years over their youthful betrayal of her former husband, kiss one another in reconciled love. Wine flows freely. Food overwhelms in its abundance. The general rises to speak: "Grace makes no conditions, it takes all to its bosom and proclaims amnesty. That which we have rejected is poured out on us." When the guests finally leave the table they are created anew, their spontaneous circle-dance in the moonlit village square becomes a fitting image of the joy of the new Jerusalem, their heart's true home.
[22] Babette herself is clearly a Christ-image, coming mysteriously and humbly to live with the community, taking on the role of a servant, finally giving all she has to provide a banquet in which the most profound longings of the heart are answered and hungers filled. Wine is poured out in excess. Bread quite literally mirrors manna in the desert. The specialty dish of the Cafe Anglais, which is the centerpiece of Babette's meal, is a dish named "quail in a sarcophagus." Quail being a form of manna and sarcophagus meaning "flesh-eater," the film makes illusion to Jesus' discourse in John, "I am the bread of life . . . this is the manna that comes down from heaven . . . if you do not eat of the flesh of the Son of Man you will not have life . . . "
[23] In the manner of all fine art, Babette's Feast is neither slavish nor overly literal in its exploration of Christian symbols. There is not one simple reading of the film to make one point. Multiple interpretations emerge and the richness of the imagery takes on a life of its own, opening out to the ongoing interpretations of multiple viewers. Nevertheless, the film's symbolic matrix is clearly Christian. Whether one sees a critique of a Christianity which over-stresses moral rectitude or a vision of a universe that is essentially sacramental or the reconciliation of the world and spirit or the movement from death to resurrection, Babette's Feast is clearly a film that takes its life from the exploration of religious symbolism.
[24] Michael Bird has written that cinema is the art form most suited to the articulation of the transcendent dimension of reality. [Michael Bird, "Film as Hierophany" in Religion in Film, 3-22.] In his view (and he echoes the "realist" school of cinematic theorists) film has a special affinity with reality because it is so intensely physical and thus allows the viewer to encounter the physical with astonishing, detailed vividness. As it remains true to its inherent capacity to record the real, film brings the viewer into the presence of the real in a special way. It can allow the viewer to perceive reality as containing ineffable mystery. Cinematic art can focus our attention on reality so as to call up meaning from its inner depth. Reality itself can be experienced as a place of disclosure of the holy that is embedded in concrete times, places and events. The more specific, the more lovingly apprehended in its uniqueness a person or place is, the more possible it is for disclosure to occur.
[25] As a piece of cinematic art Babette's Feast is a profoundly contemplative film, especially if one defines contemplation as a long, loving look at the real. Deliberately paced, spare, even austere, in its presentation, the film invites the viewer into such a long, loving look. The narrative begins in the time just before the feast and then utilizes a series of self-contained flash-backs to introduce all the elements that will come together at the meal: the sisters and their history, the foreign figures of Lowenhielm and Papin, the evolution of the sect with its ascetic piety and its religiosity that looks to the fulfillment of human dreams in the next world, the story of the servant Babette's strange fated arrival and the years of her humble service.
[26] The scenes are presented in an almost iconic manner. They seem to function much like the visual depictions that one sees of scriptural stories in places of Christian worship. In such worship, specific moments are visually framed -- the Annunciation, the Visitation, the Crucifixion, the Ascension -- which then function liturgically not so much as pedagogical tools as enticements to contemplation, to the long loving look in which few gestures, few words, one moment, become infinitely rich and layered. These framed moments are religious symbols in the fullest sense of the term -- multi-vocal, resonate with implied meaning, allowing the contemplative viewer access to realms of knowing that discursive thought and analysis cannot. Axel's sparely wrought scenes invite that contemplation. Close attention to the actor's faces, a focus on the slight gesture, the meaningful glance heightens this iconic sense. When we arrive back in the present time of the narrative, we carry with us a pregnant sense of the weight and meaning that the participants bring to the table.
[27] But there is nothing melodramatic about Babette's Feast. Instead, the mood is restrained, the emotions highly internalized. Some of this restraint is the product of the director's vision realized through the acting but some of it is also due to the artful use of sound in the film. Throughout, there is little accompanying music, a feature of films most American filmgoers might find unusual. Everywhere one is aware of silence, punctuated only by the natural sounds of waves, wind, the opening and shutting of doors, the rustle of paper. Music is introduced in two major ways: in the hymn singing of the sect which gives us access to the deeply held longings and beliefs of the community and in the use of a solo piano which enters under a few significant scenes like a tremulous and poignant underline. Otherwise, as in contemplation, we are invited into a reality in which our own breathing is potentially as much a part of the experience as the breathing of the film's characters.
[28] The film's scenes and settings underscore this sense of contemplative awareness. The sisters' world is painted in a palate of grays, black and white. They inhabit a chilly, prudent world of tiny cottages huddled in a bare seaside landscape. The fierceness of the climate is ever present: bleak snow, blowing winds. Its austerity is perhaps most vividly depicted in the scenes of food preparation. Sinewy dried cod and pasty, glutinous ale-bread is served in functional wooden bowls. Most telling is the scene in which the sisters instruct the newly arrived Babette in the preparation of the gruel-like local cuisine. In contrast, the later scenes of the film in which Babette, having spent her lottery money on the ingredients for the meal, prepares and then serves the feast, are astonishingly sensual with color and texture. Fine linens drape the table festooned with gleaming silver candlesticks and elegant china. The food itself is a wonder: wicker baskets of quail, a giant turtle slick from the water, and graceful decanters of wine transform into steaming soup, pastries of lightness, sauces of unutterable delicacy, a gateau (cake) cradled in a nest of ripe fruits and drizzled with sweet liquor. At the end of the meal, there are glimmering grapes and figs that burst open with their own succulent ripeness. Sensual yes, but never overly so, for the filmmaker has managed to create visually a meal prepared by a woman for whom dining is a love affair in which there is no distinction between the spiritual and other appetites.
[29] Each concrete detail of the world in which Martine and Filippa live and the transfigured world that Babette creates for them are dwelt upon with loving attentiveness. The artistry of Babette's filmmakers allows us to gaze with contemplative awareness upon the world unfolding before our eyes. Reality has revealed its sacred depths. The fig, the bread, the wine are discovered to be more than they appear. It is nothing less than a sacramental vision of the universe. And as such, the film is profoundly religious.
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Videos


Overview
Director:Gabriel Axel
Writers:Gabriel Axel (writer)Karen Blixen (novel)
Release Date:4 March 1988 (USA) more view trailer
Genre:Drama more
Plot Summary:In 19th century Denmark, two adult sisters live in an isolated village with their father, who is the... more
Plot Synopsis:This plot synopsis is empty. Add a synopsis
Plot Keywords:Refugee / Based On Short Story / Soldier / Paris France / Piano more
Awards:Won Oscar. Another 9 wins & 6 nominations more
User Comments:Consuming passion? more
Cast (Cast overview, first billed only)

Stéphane Audran
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Babette Harsant

Birgitte Federspiel
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Old Martina

Bodil Kjer
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Old Philippa

Jarl Kulle
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Old Lorens Lowenhielm

Jean-Philippe Lafont
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Achille Papin

Bibi Andersson
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Swedish Court Lady-in-waiting

Ghita Nørby
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Narrator

Asta Esper Hagen Andersen
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Anna (as Asta Esper Andersen)

Thomas Antoni
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Swedish Lieutenant

Gert Bastian
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Poor Man

Viggo Bentzon
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Fisherman in Rowboat

Vibeke Hastrup
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Young Martina

Therese Hojgaard Christensen
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Martha

Pouel Kern
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The Minister

Cay Kristiansen
...
Poulmore
Create a character page for: Babette HarsantOld MartinaOld PhilippaAchille PapinSwedish Court Lady-in-waitingNarratorAnnaSwedish LieutenantPoor ManFisherman in RowboatYoung MartinaMarthaThe MinisterPoul-----------more...
Additional Details
Also Known As:Babette's Feast (USA) more
Parents Guide:Add content advisory for parents
Runtime:102 min
Country:Denmark
Language:Danish / Swedish / French
Color:Color (Eastmancolor)
Aspect Ratio:1.66 : 1 more
Sound Mix:Dolby
Certification:South Korea:All / Singapore:PG / Argentina:Atp / Australia:G / Chile:TE / Finland:S / Iceland:L / Peru:PT / Sweden:7 / USA:G / West Germany:6
Filming Locations:Copenhagen, Denmark more
MOVIEmeter: 9% since last week why?
Company:Panorama Film A/S more
Fun Stuff
Quotes:Old Lorenz Lowenhielm: [looking at himself in a mirror] Vanity. Vanity. All is vanity. more
Movie Connections:Featured in "Zomergasten: (#20.5)" (2007) more
Soundtrack:Don Giovanni more
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11 out of 12 people found the following comment useful:- Consuming passion?, 9 January 2002
Author: billy-44 from San Francisco, CA
"Babette's Feast" proves that not all film theories and formulas are true 100% of the time. Here's a story where there is no life-or-death conflict, no raging anger, no violent outbursts. Nothing blowed up real good, and there is nothing resembling a chase scene. The conflict is about the ways in which people can be nice to each other. Their personal differences of passion or conviction are not as important as the ways in which they can connect with each other.How shockingly refreshing.There is an undercurrent to this film that gives it the feel of a Garrison Keillor monologue, in that it is built around people's personal foibles and quirks.Even more refreshing is how "Babette's Feast" manages to be nice without becoming cloying, saccharine, facile, superficial or insincere. People's personal passions are portrayed not only from their own perspective, but from the perspective of the people they affect, with more realism than you usually get in film, yet also with sincere and infectious optimism.If you don't come away from "Babette's Feast" smiling and feeling better, then you must have been distracted from giving it your full attention. This is one of those very rare films that you can recommend to everyone you know. It is truly in a class by itself. Like Mary Poppins, "Practically perfect in every way."Utterly charming and subtly stunning.
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Thursday, March 20, 2008

History and Literature students:
Some helps on your papers are available here.
Citation in your paper follows the MLA style. For your purposes, this style means that you are following a system of parenthetical notes rather than actual footnotes or endnotes. Parenthetical notes are references to sources contained in brackets. Thus, if you were using material from With Love and Prayers, you would write (Jarvis 16). This means that you are using information in the book by Jarvis on page 16.
Of course, this is a simple entry. You may need to cite books that have two, three, or more authors. You may be using magazine articles, movies, or the internet. The internet, incidentally, has many sources to help your parenthetical citations. One site that I found simple in its approaches and explanations is a community college site at ccc.commnet.edu/mla. Just hit the first site that pops up after you enter that address. On the left side of the page there then appears “citing sources.” Click on that, and you’ll find some good information.
Be sure when we come together after break to bring your note cards with you. You will need the bibliography/Works Cited cards; we’ll be trying to put that together in class.
Some of you seem to be progressing rapidly toward the next draft of your paper, the draft you’ll bring Tuesday. Some of you have some obstacles to overcome in terms of writing; others of you have so far brought nothing to class. This project is a major part of your grade. We will have spent a large portion of both class time and homework time doing these papers. Work hard on this project. Bring your work to class each week.
Also, keep in mind that when you turn in the final draft of this project, you will also turn in the note cards, the outline, and the various drafts of the paper.
If you would like some help with your papers, I will be at Books-A-Million in Asheville at the following times next week: Tuesday, March 25, from 1--4 p.m. (1--2 p.m. for Tuesday classes, 2--3 p.m. for Wednesday classes; 3--4 p.m. for Thursday classes. ). I will repeat the same schedule on Wednesday, March 26 (I’ll bring lots of work of my own to do in case you’ve all got your papers under control). Some of my AP students may be coming at the same time, so be patient.
I hope you all have a glorious spring break and a lovely Easter and Eastertide.
May God bless all of you,
Mr. Minick

Monday, March 17, 2008

see all 21 slideshow)

Overview
Director:Christopher Cain
Writers (WGA):Jill Mazursky (written by) &J.J. Abrams (written by)
Release Date:30 May 1997 (USA) more
Genre:Comedy more
Tagline:Even the fish are laughing!
Plot Outline:Two fishing fanatics get in trouble when their fishing boat gets stolen while on a trip. more
Plot Synopsis:This plot synopsis is empty. Add a synopsis
Plot Keywords:Smooshed / Critically Bashed / Box Office Flop / On Set Accident / Boat more
User Comments:Dumb But Innocent, And That's Not So Bad more
Cast (Cast overview, first billed only)

Joe Pesci
...
Joe Waters

Danny Glover
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Gus Green

Rosanna Arquette
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Rita

Lynn Whitfield
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Angie

Willie Nelson
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Billy 'Catch' Pooler

Nick Brimble
...
Dekker Massey

Gary Grubbs
...
Phil Beasly

Carol Kane
...
Donna Waters

Edythe Davis
...
Cookie Green

Jenna Bari
...
Gena Waters

Samantha Brown
...
Tracy Green

Jeff DiLucca
...
Mack Waters

Jamil Akim O'Quinn
...
Gregory Green

Frank Nasso
...
Young Joe

Raynor Scheine
...
Glennmore
Create a character page for: AngiePhil BeaslyDonna WatersCookie GreenGena WatersTracy GreenMack WatersGregory GreenYoung JoeGlenn-----------more...
Additional Details
Also Known As:Gone Fishing (USA) (alternative spelling) more
MPAA:Rated PG for mild violence and language.
Parents Guide:Add content advisory for parents
Runtime:94 min
Country:USA
Language:English
Color:Color (Technicolor)
Sound Mix:Dolby Digital / SDDS
Certification:Iceland:L / USA:PG (certificate #34645) / Singapore:PG / Australia:PG / Germany:6 / Portugal:M/12 (video premiere) / UK:12 (video premiere)
Filming Locations:Beaufort, South Carolina, USA more
MOVIEmeter: 4% since last week why?
Company:Caravan Pictures more
Fun Stuff
Trivia:John G. Avildsen was the film's original director. After two weeks, he was fired, paid his $2 million dollar salary, and replaced by 'Christopher Cain' . more
Goofs:Continuity: When Mad Maggie bites the suitcase, some sticks and debris appear on her head. A few seconds later, they disappear without any movement of her head. more
Quotes:Gus Green: So after we paid for the Ranger Two Fifty C, the hotel room, fixing the Barracuda, food, clothes, ride home, we have a grand total of $42.00 profit. more
Movie Connections:Referenced in 1st Annual Mystery Science Theater 3000 Summer Blockbuster Review (1997) (TV) more
Soundtrack:Spring more
FAQThis FAQ is empty. Add the first question.

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10 out of 11 people found the following comment useful:- Dumb But Innocent, And That's Not So Bad, 2 June 2006
Author: ccthemovieman-1 from Lockport, NY, United States
This was "Dumb and Dumber" without the crudeness and profanity. That doesn't mean it's an award winner: it's pretty stupid, but it is refreshing to see a movie in which both Joe Pesci and Danny Glover star and never utter a profane word! Unbelievable! And you can add Rosanna Arquett to that list, too, and she wasn't exactly Mother Teresa in a lot of films.The professional critics totally lambasted this film, which wasn't altogether fair, either. It is refreshing in its innocence (something critics know nothing about) and it has its funny moments. Best of all it's entertaining. Yes, this is "Lightweight" with a capital "L" but I've seen a whole lot of films that were the opposite and total garbage. At least you watch this with your kids and have some laughs. What's wrong with that?
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Wednesday, March 12, 2008

Students:

Please keep in mind that the short essays on revolution are due the week of March 18th.


Revolution
Identify the following:
French Revolution: Voltaire Rousseau Causes of revolution Louis XVI Marie Antoinette Storming of the Bastille Danton
Declaration of the Rights of Man Jacobins Robespierre Napoleon


Russian Revolution: Karl Marx capitalism Friedrich Engels
Proletariat bourgeoisie The Communist Manifesto Das Kapital
Romanovs Communism Lenin Bolsheviks Alexander Kerensky Trotsky Stalin Ukraine Famine gulags

Additional: Names like Marx, Lenin, and Stalin are household names. Everyone knows a little something about them. Few Americans know much of anything at all about Antonio Gramsci. He is the leftist thinker who “won;” he advocated the capture of certain institutions--colleges and universities, parts of the government, the newspapers, and even some churches--by communism to win the cultural war. Google Antonio Gramsci, then read as you will about him. Be sure to read the article at www.freer
Define the following three concepts as precisely as possible: socialism, communism, fascism, and capitalism. Which of these definitions seem to apply to the United States today? (You will probably need to use two to cover all bases).
As you research, ask yourself what causes revolutions. What are the consequences of revolution? Write a short essay on your opinions of the usefulness of revolution.
Ray Bradbury, the author of such books as The Martian Chronicles and Fahrenheit 451, once called the United States “the most revolutionary country on the face of the earth.” In a short essay, either defend or attack that view.

Be aware that in the twentieth century many of the countries of the world--Mexico, Spain, Turkey, China, different nations in Africa, South America, and Asia--have all experienced revolution, most often with a communist government in mind.
History/Literature students:

Remember that the syllabus below will see revisions in the classroom.
Spring Syllabus/World History and Literature

March 18--20 (Immigration)
Test on Revolution.
Rough draft of research paper due.
Read A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
March 25--27
Spring break
Second draft of research paper
Read A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
April 1--3 (Immigration)
Finish A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
April 8--10 (A century of war)
When No One Sees, 72--78, questions #3, #4, #7
Final draft of research paper due
April 15--17 (The Middle East)
Middle East for Dummies, 7--30, 101--135
Yeats “The Second Coming” due.
Ancestors essay due.
April 22--24 (The Middle East)
Middle East for Dummies, 183-209, 313--318, 353--371
April 29--May 1 (Modern Thinking)
When No One Sees, 128--144, questions #2 (p. 143), #8 (p. 135
With Love and Prayers
Topics to be assigned
May 1--3 (Modern Thinking)
Topics to be assigned
May 8--10 Exam

Sunday, March 02, 2008

ASHEVILLE LATIN SEMINARS
SCHEDULE 2008--2009
MONDAY
11:15--1:05 Latin II (if needed)
1:15--3:05 3Rs

TUESDAY
9:00--10:50 Latin II (Preference given to students taking U.S. History)
11:15--1:05 U.S. History and Literature
1:15--3:05 Latin III
WEDNESDAY
9:00--10:50 3Rs
11:15--1:05 Latin I
1:15--3:05 U.S. History and Literature
(Note: preference in 3Rs and U.S. History on this day given to students taking Latin I)
THURSDAY
9:00--10:50 AP U.S. History/Advanced U.S. History & Literature*
11:15--1:05 AP Latin Virgil
1:15--3:05 AP English Literature
*This history course requires deeper study than the Tuesday/Wednesday courses.
Books: Please see the book list for the required reading.
Fees: The cost for the course is $10 per class meeting. There are seventeen classes the first semester, making the cost per class $170.
Registration fees: There is a fee due at the time of registration of $20. This covers the first two weeks of classes in August. The remaining $150 is due by the parents’ meeting in August. There may be an additional small fee for copying/special internet usage.
Calendar: Classes will begin on August 18. With the exception of the Monday classes, which will not meet on Labor Day but will meet on November 24, classes will not meet the week of Thanksgiving. Christmas break will run from December 18 to January 5.
Refunds: Students who drop out of classes normally do not receive a refund. Difficult family circumstances--moving, illness--will receive special consideration.
Spring semester: There will be 17 classes for the spring semester. Fees for this class must be paid the first week of classes following Christmas break
Book List 2008--2009
Numbers refer to the ISBN. Asterisk indicates texts that must match the exact ISBN number. See Latin texts on back of this sheet.
Three Rs
Poetry and essays on internet
The Long Winter 0060885424
Treasure Island 0486275590
Lord of the Flies 0399501487
Our Town 0060512636
Romeo and Juliet 0743477111
The Man Who Would Be King 0486280519
Carry On, Jeeves! 0140284047
Animal Farm 0451526341
Good Morning, Miss Dove (Written by a North Carolina woman some fifty years ago, this is a wonderful book about character and commitment. It is also out of print. You’ll need to obtain it at a used book site. See below. Do not order the Reader’s Digest Condensed Version. Do not order from an overseas seller. Try to find the book at the sites listed below or at a used bookstore).
U.S. History and Literature
The American Pageant 0669108103 (Used. See below)*
Young Goodman Brown 0486270602
O Pioneers! 0486277852
Up From Slavery 0486287386
Killer Angels 0345348109
The Chosen 0449213447
Glass Menagerie 0811214044
A Severe Mercy 0060688246
Education of a Wandering Man 0553286528
John Adams 0743223136
A Heart, A Cross and A Flag 0743250486
Selected internet readings
AP English Literature
ALL AP TEXTS MUST BE ORDERED BY THE ISBN BELOW. Used versions may be found on the internet or in secondhand bookshops.
Literature 0316488763 (Used. See below)
Education of a Wandering Man 0553286528
The Power and The Glory 0142437301
Wuthering Heights 0393978893
The Great Gatsby 0743273567
A Farewell to Arms 0684801469
The Sound and the Fury 0393964817
The House on Mango Street 0679734775
Hamlet 074347712X
AP U.S. History
The American Pageant 0669108103 (Used. See below)*
Young Goodman Brown 0486270602
O Pioneers! 0486277852
Up From Slavery 0486287386
Killer Angels 0345348109
The Chosen 0449213447
Glass Menagerie 0811214044
The Great Gatsby 0743273567
Education of a Wandering Man 0553286528
John Adams 0743223136
A Heart, A Cross and A Flag 0743250486
Added texts as needed
Selected internet readings
Both The American Pageant and Literature editions are out of print and must be ordered online. These books usually cost less than $5. A word about The American Pageant: the book contains a one-line reference to the earth being “several billion years” old, a sentiment not shared by all Christians. Otherwise, the book offers a fine narrative history of the United States--it reads more like a story than a textbook--and should help instill in students a love and understanding of history and the unique country in which we live.
AP students: for anyone taking both U.S. History and English Literature, please be aware that the literature textbook in AP Literature contains the play The Glass Menagerie.


You will find these books at greatly reduced prices at amazon.com and abebooks.com. All of the other books may also be purchased in used condition online. Local secondhand bookstores may carry some of these books as well.
I am currently working with the Encyclopedia Britannica to obtain an account that may be used by the students. There may be a small charge ($10 or less) for a year’s access to this valuable resource.
Latin Texts
Latin I & Latin II
Henle Text
Henle Grammar (Provided with 30 % discount at August parent meeting)
Latin III
Textbooks provided
Latin IV (AP Latin)
Texts and ordering information will be given to students in May.
MAGNUM OPUS
Synthesis Paper--AP English Literature
Due date: April 17
Suggested length: 2,500--3,000 words
Purposes: 1) To stimulate thorough, thoughtful review of the works we have studied this year and of the works you may use on the Advanced Placement examination; 2) To encourage creative thought as you find thematic and stylistic relationships in several literary works
Study the list of works and topics below. The topics are merely suggested direction; you are encouraged to pursue your own ideas. You may also include discussion of literary works you have studied in previous years in your classes or on your own, provided that the works are of “recognized literary merit.”
Refer to Literature, 1347--1358 for assistance in organization. Look to Literature too for helps on comparison and contrast.
Some guidelines and caveats:
1. You should discuss four to six works in your paper, though you will certainly need to review others as you prepare to undertake your project. An in-depth, integrated discussion of five work is preferable to a superficial discussion of eight or ten works.
2. Plan to turn in your notes and rough drafts with your final draft. You should combine these all in a folder. Keep a copy of your final draft for reference.
3. Some class time will be spent on this project, but you will need to do the bulk of the work on your own.
4. You may wish to consult secondary sources, though this is not required or even desirable. You must document any ideas you take from published sources.
5. Treat Cliff’s Notes and other such documents, whether found in print or online, like other secondary sources. You must document their usage. Footnotes from Cliff’s Notes or Spark Notes will not impress an instructor.
Main books this year
House on Mango Street
Look Homeward, Angel
The Road
Othello
Crime and Punishment
The Power and the Glory
Pride and Prejudice
Poems for consideration from Literature
The poems of William Shakespeare
The poems of John Donne
The poems of Sylvia Plath
The poems of Dylan Thomas
Eliot’s “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock.” and “The Gift of the Magi.” We expired in terms of “The Waste Land,” but for those enamored with Eliot, please feel free to use that poem as well.
Any of the other many poems which we read, discussed, or pondered in an essay.
Some general topics for papers:
Family in fiction and drama
The handling of time in literary works
The struggle to discover the true self
Breaking away from the past
“Strangers in a strange land”
Alienation
Religious ideas
Love and commitment
The individual vs. the demands of society
If you’re desperate for a topic, think of books, plays, or poems you love, and then consider the ideas and emotions that link them.
Since this paper is your last assignment in this course, it should represent your best work at this stage of your education. It will serve as your major review for the AP test. Take the paper seriously, plan your time and writing well, organize your subject, and write an essay that will leave you feeling proud of yourself--one that will “rock the socks,” as Forrest once wrote, of your teacher and anyone else who reads it!
Deadlines:
Topics: March 13
Thesis/outline: March 20
Rough draft: April 10
Final draft: April 24
Report to class: May 1
The assignments below are due on the dates shown.

March 3/5
Bring Elements of Style for review in class.
Descriptive essay: Describe a person in your house from an unusual point of view. Make the description meaningful (Example: your infant brother viewing your father; your cat viewing you, etc. The writing can be funny and will obviously be told first person).
Wizard of Oz, Chapter 17.
Journal 3x
March 10/12
Memorize assigned poem.
Read The Shining Company to the chapter titled “The Golden King and the Three Hundred”
Wizard of Oz, Chapter 18.
Journal 3x.
March 17/19
Begin Fifteen Year essay. Students who wrote this essay in a previous year will receive a new topic.
Read The Shining Company to chapter
Wizard of Oz, Chapter 19.
Journal 3x.
March 24/26
Spring break
March 31/April 2
Rough draft of Fifteen Year essay due.
Finish The Shining Company.
Wizard of Oz Chapter 20.
Journal 3x.
April 7/9
Fahrenheit 451.
Wizard of Oz quiz.
Journal 3x.
April 14/16
Fahrenheit 451.
Final draft of essay due.
Journal 3x.