OSLIS and Multnomah County Library Resources

Places for research for your Stranger essay :

1.      multcolib.org  (you must have a library card for this to work)

   Ø  click on research

            Ø  scroll down to select research tools

            Ø  click on one of the following databases and begin your search:  Academic One File,

                      Academic Search Premier, Biography Resource Center, JSTOR, Literature Criticism 

                      Online, Literature Resource Center, Historical Abstracts (you may find other databases on                   this site that are helpful)

  2.      oslis.org

•  login from home
• login user name: port
•   password: oslis

The Stranger Essay Options

The Stranger

Essay Topics

Assignment:  Write an essay (3-5 pages) that covers one of the topics below.  Keep the following in mind:

Ø Be specific

Ø Have a clearly stated thesis.  Answer your prompt’s question.

Ø Support your thesis with specific facts from the text and from secondary sources, including quotes and page citations.

Ø Use MLA style

Remember!  You have done a lot of work with this novel over the past several weeks.   That work can help you develop your thesis and your paper.  Use your sticky notes and your journal to find specific quotes and passages that struck you.  Use the individual class assignments as guides for your thoughts.

One more thing:  Don’t summarize.  Yes, sometimes you need to summarize a bit for clarity, but spend most of your time doing analysis. 

1.   Research the philosophy of Absurdism (coined by Camus) and analyze its relevance to The Stranger: Secondary sources must come from books, multcoed.org databases or OSLIS.  Cite all sources.

2.   Research Camus’s life and beliefs and write an essay in which you demonstrate how The Stranger reveals and explores what was of importance to the author. Secondary sources must come from books, multcoed.org databases or OSLIS. Cite all sources.

3.   Research the historical relationship between France and Algeria and analyze The Stranger as a postcolonial critique of that relationship. Pay particular attention to the role of Arabs in the novel in your essay. Secondary sources must come from books, multcoed.org databases or OSLIS. Cite all sources.

4.   Read Nausea by Jean Paul Sartre, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey, or Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer, and compare the author’s perspective of Existentialism to that of Camus using your own opinion and secondary sources for support. You must not have read the novel before this assignment.  Secondary sources must come from books, multcoed.org databases or OSLIS.  Cite all sources.

5.     Compare and contrast contemporary Existentialist excerpts from film to Camus’s piece.  How do people today reflect and interpret Camus’s work?  What do they see right and what don’t they get in your opinion?  Possible pieces to consider: Pulp Fiction, Into the Wild, No Country for Old Men, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.  There are more that I found at IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/list/8Iapaxq39RQ/. Check with me before you start this essay. Cite all sources.

6.   Analyze the difference between the concepts of “Justice” and of “Law,” and write an essay in which you explore whether justice is served by the end of The Stranger. You may choose to write this as a persuasive essay in which you attempt to convince your audience one way or the other. (Feel free to pretend to be a lawyer who represents Meursault more capably than the one the court appoints!)

7.   Consider the importance of personal, moral, ethical, and civic responsibility in your own life and analyze how well Meursault handles his responsibilities. The essay asks you to balance personal exposition and literary analysis.

8.   Determined to remain true to himself, Meursault finds himself at odds with a society. Compare and contrast the The Stranger with (an)other literary text(s) you have read. Be sure to keep in mind the historical and geographical origin of the texts as you explore their similarities and differences.

Only Essay Topics Having Further Research or Reading Can Achieve an Exceeds Score (choices 1-4)

The Stranger Reading Schedule

Read to page 59 by Tuesday, November 25th.
Read the rest of the novella by Tuesday, December 2nd.
Your sticky note journal is due on Dec. 2nd.

America at a Crossroads Make-up Work

America at a Crossroads

Write down 5 observations/questions/comments you have after each segment in this video.

Homework for Nov. 18

Revise and edit your personal/college essays for Thursday.  If you can't get it done by then, turn it in on Monday.

November 3rd Homework

Edit and revise your personal/college essay.  Bring your final draft and all other drafts to class tomorrow.  Be prepared to read at least one paragraph of your essay.

Discussion Directions

WOW

Student-Led Group Discussion Directions

Before the Discussion:

1. Form a group of four people.  Your group will be assigned a Thursday where you will have to provide texts that focus on a specific issue related to what we are currently studying or have studied during the year and a discussion technique that allows all voices to be heard in the classroom.  You become the moderators for the discussion.  Any printed text must be copied and given to your teacher by Friday the week before your discussion.  Be sure to vet your issue with the teacher beforehand. 
2. Your classmates will be required to read and mark the texts in preparation for the week’s discussion.  (I expect the group to have read them as well.)
3. Your texts don’t all have to be written texts like articles or the current novel we are reading.  They can be visuals that are easily copied or ones found on the Internet that are projected.   Be inventive.  If using a written text other than the novel, limit the text to two pages.  One to two different sources should be enough. 

Roles For the Moderators During the Discussion

1. You are required to have a warm up exercise and to monitor the discussion as the class progresses.  In essence, you are the teacher for the day.  Try to maintain a neutral position and allow the students to talk rather than have you lecture.  In other words, stay out of the discussion as much as possible unless your discussion technique requires more interaction from the moderator.  Have one person keep track of who has spoken and who has not. (Ask me for a class list to mark your tallies.)  All students are required to make at least one comment during the discussion so insure that this happens.  Best teaching practices suggest that small group discussions work best.  See the list of discussion strategies at the end of this document.

Roles for the Classmates 

1. Read all the materials assigned to you before the discussion.
2. Mark the texts with pen in hand. 
3. Contribute at least one comment per discussion.
4. After the discussion, reflect on what was discussed in a discussion journal, which can be a spiral or three-ringed notebook.  Reflections should be at least one page long.  If you use a composition notebook, your reflections should be at least a page-and-a-half. You will be responsible for keeping track of your journal.  I will grade journals at the end of fourth quarter after our last discussion.

Discussion Strategies

Here is a list of a variety of discussion strategies you can choose from to help guide your discussion.  If a previous group used a discussion strategy, say Socratic seminar, then find a different one that will best fit your topic.  I have posted these on the blog, so you can find the links there.

Socratic Seminar

Fishbowl

The Futures Wheel

SeedDiscussion

Silent Discussion

Gallery Walk

Academic Conversations