Journal 9-7-2011

1. Journal9-7-2011 Think about children’s stories that you have read. When you look deeper, are their underlying messages- more than just “themes”? Like, the story is this but really it is talking about this. Think about and write about one.

2. Let’s SALSA • *Show actions that facilitate learning for the self and others • *Actively participate and be cognitively present • *Learn to be open to new learning • *Study even when you think you don’t need to study • *Act with a positive attitude

3. Word of the day! Write it! • Allegory is a form of extended metaphor, in which objects, persons, and actions in a narrative, are equated with the meanings that lie outside the narrative itself. The underlying meaning has moral, social, religious, or political significance, and characters are often personifications of abstract ideas as charity, greed, or envy.Thus an allegory is a story with two meanings: a literal meaning and a symbolic meaning.

4. Cutting “Leuss” With Dr. Seuss • You should already realize that the literature you read in school conveys themes and lessons that apply to various life situations and experiences. • It may surprise you; however, that young children's stories also impart important themes and lessons. • The Dr. Seuss books are particularly good examples of this. You will discover some of the themes of Dr. Seuss's major books. • By listening to a Dr. Seuss story, you will see how, despite being written for young children, Dr. Seuss' books contain powerful messages about important themes in American history and society.

5. ASSIGNMENT • Look at the story of The SNEETCHES. What is this an allegory about? • When you figure that out, what aspects of The SNEETCHES mirror events or objects of that what you wrote in the first bullet point? • Find at least two and write an individual paragraph on each.

6. The Sneetches • Take your notes as you watch. • This video is about 12 minutes long, so pay attention! You will have time after viewing to work on your assignment. • Play clip

7. The Sneetches provided an insight into Seuss' own personal beliefs on a turbulent period of time in American history. The Sneetches begins by stating the background of the area the story took place in: it was a blatantly racist territory with two classes of Sneetches. One class had stars on their bellies and the other did not. Therefore, the "star-bellied Sneetches" believed in their superiority merely because of their added stars.

8. The Sneetches described Dr. Seuss' stance on the American Civil Rights movement of the 1960's. Obviously, Dr. Seuss believed in the senselessness of racism and saw it as a blemish in an otherwise-powerful society. • The star-bellied Sneetches represented the white Americans while the plain-bellied Sneetches represented the African Americans. The message of the story is not meant to completely parallel the exact outcome of the segregation problems; at the time the book was published, segregation was at its peak an accepted facet of society. Dr. Seuss instead wrote the book to cure the new American generation of the sad sickness of racism and to vocally express his stance on the situation American society was in at the time.

9. The "evil entrepreneur" represented a savior to the society who did not truly intend to be a savior. Dr. Seuss meant for the entrepreneur to represent the equal-taxes, equal-rights anti-segregation beckoning to the government in the 1960's. • All the Sneetches paid money to suit their own needs; in the Deep South, citizens bribed government officials to vote against anti-segregation laws. The African Americans stated that since they needed to pay the same taxes that whites did, they should have the same rights. In the end, all the money was lost, but the territory was united.

10. Allegory of…? • The Sneetchesis an allegory of the holocaust/racism.

11. Timeline of Dr. Seuss • The next few slides are an overview of Dr. Seuss’ life. • Let’s look and see what inspired him to write these stories

12. Theodor Seuss Geisel: A timeline • March 2, 1904 – Theodor Seuss Geisel was born in Springfield MA • 1925 – Graduated from Dartmouth College. Proceeded to Oxford University with the goal of getting a doctorate degree in English Literature, however he discovered that studying about literature was not for him. Met Helen Palmer. • 1927 – Married Helen Palmer. Returned from Europe and began working for Judge, the leading humor magazine at the time, writing humorous articles and cartoons. He was also writing and drawing for Life, Vanity Fair, and Liberty magazines. He was also hired by Standard Oil to draw humorous ads about Flit Insecticide. He spent 15 years in advertising. • 1936 – On a trip to Europe, through the rhythm of the ship’s engines, he was inspired to write And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street. It was published in 1937.

13. 1943 – Although he was not an advocate of war, he was disturbed by what he saw happening in Europe and in Asia. He provided from 3 to 5 political cartoons per week to PM magazine. He felt, however, he needed to do more for the war effort. • 1944-45 – Joined the army and went to Hollywood to write for Frank Capra’s Signal Corps Unit and to do documentaries such as Hitler Lives and Design for Death. • 1948 – Moved to his home in La Jolla. Billboards and construction disturbing the peace of his community triggered an awareness and concern for the environment. • 1954 – Because of a Life article on illiteracy amongst school children, he became concerned about books available for children to learn to read. • 1967 – Helen Palmer Geisel died. • 1968 – Married Audrey Stone Diamond.

14. 1970’s – Through the influence of his second wife, Audrey, he began to address much bigger issues in his books than in the past. • 1980’s – The build-up of nuclear arms and the heating up of the Cold War during the Reagan administration caused him a great deal of concern. • September 24, 1991 – Theodor Seuss Geisel died.

15. question From your journal and now that you have seen this first hand, now do you see underlying messages in those books? If not, go home and see if you have one!

16. So, what does this have to do with The Crucible? • The events in the play itself are an allegory for the intolerance of McCarthyism. • For a decade spanning the late 1940s to the late 1950s, the American government was intensely suspicious of the possible influence of communism on citizens and institutions. The FBI accused thousands of people of “un-American activities” and monitored many more; these people’s careers and personal lives were frequently destroyed. More often than not, there was little to no evidence to support the accusations. Nevertheless, the FBI and various government groups involved in monitoring or accusing individuals, such as The House Un-American Activities Committee, enjoyed widespread support from the American population. • Similarly, in The Crucible, there is little evidence that much witchcraft activity is going on, but once accusations started flying, many innocent people get caught in the web of hysteria. Lives are destroyed and people die based on zero evidence.