Wednesday, January 31, 2007

Milton's Philosophy

Apply Milton's philosophy(p. 435) "human beings have been given the freedom; ability to choose" to Paradise Lost, and to your own lives.

Monday, January 29, 2007

Scribe 1/29

We started today by seeing the last Hell presentation, that we were unable to see on Friday.

Then we all got out of our desks and sat in front of the projector while Smith scrolled through the comments on the blog from the weekend before. That way we could see what other people said about why God allows evil to exist, and come up with our own ideas and theories on the question. Here is some of the stuff that we discussed:
- Adam and Eve allowed sin to enter the world
- Hamlet: perceives people as evil, wonders if they are truly evil or just his perception
- What is evil? Are there different degrees?
- Evil depends on peoples' perception; everyone's evil is different
- Murder is evil, but killing for country is justifiable?
- Why do People allow evil to exist if they are the ones responsible for evil
- We learn from evil; If there was no evil people would not know the difference between good and evil, they need it to truly understand what good is

After this discussion we got our purple books and turned to page 416, an excerpt from the book of Genesis from the Bible (Genesis 1-3 to be exact).
This involved God's creation of Earth and Man, and the resulting fall of humanity into sin through Adam and Eve's action of eating an apple from the Tree of Knowledge. It also told of God's resulting punishment of such action.
- seems to say "don't question; just accept"
- We don't know God exists, we believe he does
- Snakes punishment: slither on belly for eternity
- Woman's punishment: painful childbirth

We then read pages 435-437 in the same book, which was some background information on John Milton, the author of Paradise Lost. We were unable to finish this so we will finish on Wednesday at the beginning of class.

I feel I should mention that we will have a substitute on Wednesday, and Smith expects us to be at our absolute best behavior.


HW: Have the Picture of Dorian Gray, by Oscar Wilde, by Friday
work on the semester project

Friday, January 26, 2007

Scribe 1/26

Donuts!! Ya!
Homework: Blog
Got quizes back- Check Grades
Hell Presentations
Jeff/Goerke- Good Presentation
-5 Layers of Hell = Cowards, Selfish, Traitors/Betrayers, Fraudulent, Violent
- Well presented through powerpoint
- Surprised by the punishments which seemed harsh and morbid- wasn’t what had been expected from this particular group
Levi’s Group- B-ball Boys
-All souls drown in fiery water
-Devil sits on top of water and pushes all those who try to escape back into the water (like bopper games at arcades)
-No levels
- Interesting concept, Unique to project. Could have had a little more detail.
Melissa, LeAnne, Jess, Amy
-Cubby system of hell- each sinner has specialized compartment in hell which is specific to the sinner
-Devil= Giant who places each sinner into their cubby
- Could have been presented better- good concept but lacked organization in the presentation
Nathan, Matt, Mark, Scott, Kurt
- Hell is viewed as being an up-side-down cone in which the worst sinners are found at the point of the cone
-Basically 3 layers
- Well presented! The levels were very well explained and the punishments were very well thought out.
Kyle and Adam
- 5 Catagories of sin = No Mans Land, Sins of the Flesh, Cruelty, Antenora, Trechery
-Sins organized as a ring of islands
- Well presented- very historical “famous” people mentioned as those to be added to each island. Good idea, good concept, well presented.
Ashley G’s Group
-3 general layers of hell
- Opposed Dante by making every layer full of pain and suffering- no eye for eye concept
- Very morbid in punishments!
- Good presentation- kept peoples attention
Ashley/Katlyn
- Hell found under suburbia
- Theft encompases all of hell
- Sub-Catagories of hell: Betrayal, Murder, Rape
- Idea of hell being located directly under “every day” life is kind of unnerving
- Presented in precise fashion. Could have been more detailed in description of punishments as well as people being placed there. They had possibly one of the most unique thoughts however with their willingness to punish a sinner once, then “try” them to see if they had learned from their punishment. If they had learned, then they would be able to go to heaven. If not, they would continue the punishment-trial process for as long as it takes- very good, creative idea!
Andy, Sunny, Alex, Marie
- 6 layers of hell
- Must climb a volcano and jump into it to enter hell- you sink more/less depending on you sins. The more you sink, the lower the layer of hell you end up in.
- Very creative and well presented! I enjoyed Sunny’s explanation as he took off his glasses to get the point across! Good job!
One last note- Paris Hilton is NOT liked in this class- according to us, she would be swooning in hell!

Justify the Ways of God to Man

Milton's purpose in Paradise Lost is to "justify the ways of God to man." Why does a just and good God allow evil to exist? What is the source of its power to fascinate?

Wednesday, January 24, 2007

Scribe 1/24

No Donuts today! Big Bummer.

The homework for today is to work on the presentation. The requirements are listed below:

Dante’s Hell in the Modern World

Answer the following questions in a typed paper along with creating a visual interpretation of your answer and perception of Hell for the modern world.

Dante carefully classified sin and assigned various levels of Hell to specific sins. The punishments he meted out to the sinners often peculiarly suited their offenses. Suppose Dante asked you to create your own interpretation of Hell based on the sins we now see.
What categories of sins would be the most prevalent?
How would these sins be categorized and arranged? What would be the worst? Why?
What would be the particular punishment for each sin?
What would be the justification for that punishment?
What would Hell look like? Why?
If you had to assign well-known people to the various categories, who would be there? Why would they be there?

Most importantly, throughout this project, I expect to be dazzled and amazed at the level of thought and consideration you or your group puts into assignment. Blow me away!!!

Also, today we worked on the rubric for the Semester Project. This is what we came up with:

Semester Project
- What is the meaning of life?
- What is your philosophy on life?
- What is important to learn about life?


We decided for the semester project that…
- It will mainly be a presentation with a reflective paper on the process itself and how it affected you personally and professionally (academically). Paper is a reflection of the process
- You have to pull experiences from all aspects of your life
- We are doing it in groups of 4 to 5 people
- We are going to be presenting the last two days of classes
- Each group is allowed to choose which ever one of the three choices above, and alter it if they want to, but you have to get it checked off with Mrs. Smith.

Guidelines for the presentations are…
Four textbook references
(2 from senior year readings, and 2 from any other readings) _____/ 50
Four personal life references _____/ 50
Creative, captivating _____/ 50
Originality:
how you present your information (visual representation)(clarity and focus)/ how you answer the question? (organization: intro, points, body) _____/ 100
Letter to Smith _____/ 50
Outline and thesis check _____/ 25

Monday, January 22, 2007

Scribe 1/12

Scribe-January 12, 2007-Amy Bryan

Today the agenda was to discuss the blog, discuss the semester project, take the quiz on Dante’s background, to take more notes on Dante’s layers of hell, and to read cantos 1,3, and 5.

Blog
-We discussed if death was really the worst sin.
-We also brought up emotional torment. If you were to rape a person, you would have to live with the fact that you took a piece of innocence from them, and you would have to live with what you did
- To go along with living with your sins, Jeff brought up the fact of pulling the plug on a loved one, and how somehow someway you would still feel responsible for killing that person even if they did request it.

Semester Project
- What is the meaning of life?
- What is your philosophy on life?
- What is important to learn about life?

-We decided for the semester project that…
- It is not paper based, it will mainly be a presentation
- You have to pull experiences from all aspects of your life
- We are doing it in groups of 4 to 5 people
- We are going to be presenting the last two days of classes
- We will be creating our own rubric
- Each group is allowed to choose which ever one of the three choices above, and alter it if they want to, but you have to get it checked off with Mrs. Smith.
- Some of the guidelines for the presentations are…
- You have to have four textbook references ( 2 from senior year readings, and 2 from any other readings)
- You have to have four personal life references
- It has to be creative
- It has to be captivating
- It has to be organized
- You have to have a clear intro and conclusion
- You have to have a visual representation (power point)
- It has to be original
- You have to turn in your outline and thesis/question ahead of time to Mrs. Smith.

The Quiz- Mrs. Smith offered us either the gates of heaven or to take the quiz with a partner and so we chose to take it with a partner.

HOMEWORK: Our homework was to read all the cantos mentioned (1,3,5) and to answer the questions on the sheet that she gave to us.

Saturday, January 20, 2007

Scribe 1/19

Agenda:

  • Dantes Layers of Hell Notes (7-9)
  • Rubric finalized, group thesis decided & beginnings of outline(We didn't get to this)
  • Check out the big purple books-Read Canto 34
  • Review Notes

HW:

  • Buy picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
  • Quiz/Test Monday

In class:

  • We recieved the big purple books and began reading Cantos 34 on page 394, a few notes:

We learn that this is the 9th layer of hell and the people who reside here are the betrayers of relatives, country, guests, and the emperor

Dante also sees Satan and he's larger than life and we also learn that he has 3 different names including: Lucifer, Beezlebub, and Dis (Does this have anything to do with Christian Trinity?)

There is ice everywhere and people are frozen and covered with ice in all different positions and with different body parts sticking out from the ice. (Why does Danted use coldness? Maybe it is so cold that it burns?)

Satan has 3 heads and each one contains the worst betrayers in his mouth including Judas, Brutus, and Cassius. Each head also contains its own color and description: Judas (who suffers the most) is red, Brutus is black and represents the betrayer of friends, and Cassius is yellow and is described as sinewy and the betrayer of a leader.

In order to escape hell, Dante and Virgil climb up Satan's legs.

The must climb up his legs because he is upside down with his arms extended, much like an upside down cross, which is a symbol usually used to describe Satan worshiping. He came in this position as he fell from heaven. On his fall from heaven he creates a mountain, a hill, and the cruxification of Christ.

Satan resides in the Center of earth, and was used by Dante to explain the term "Hell on earth."

When Dante comes up from hell he sees the stars, which offer him hope and remind him of Heaven.

Now is the part you are all waiting for... The long list of notes!!

I think that we left of after the Wrathful and Sullen which was layer 5

STYX

THE WALL OF CITY OF DIS

6.Heretics

  • 3 Furies ath the Gate
  • Gates open because of Heaven's decree
  • City of Tombs-Flames in open graves
  • Arch-Heretrics believe in temporal happiness

PHLEGETHON

7.The Violent-Agaisnt neighbor (Plegethon) (Legend says this is where Christ descended into hell)

  • River of Blood
  • Minotaur- guard of this circle
  • Centaurs-shoot arrows at shades who try to come to the surface
  • both of these were half man/beast

Against themselves- Suicides and people who were agaisnt their bodies

  • Wood of Suicide
  • Harpies (fairies) tear at trees, that is part of their punishment
  • exist as trees

Against God, nature, or art

  • Blasphemers

spoke against something sacred

  • Sodomites
  • anal copulation with another/copulation with an animal

  • Usurers
  • lending money at excessive interest rates
  • area of burning sand
  • rains flames
  • stream of flowing blood

Dante recieves a warning of his future

8.Fraud

  • Abyss here
  • Geryon visits waterfall
  • face of an honest man, body of a serpent

10 Groups called Bolgia

1.Pimps & Seducers

  • Ex. Jason
  • Lashed at with large whips

2.Flatterers

  • Wallow in excrement

3.Simonists

  • tried to buy holy spirit
  • upside down hole where their feet stick out and are engulfed in flames
  • perverted baptism

4.Soothsayers (Diviners, Astrologers, Magicians)

  • distorted bodies
  • Ex. Tiresias

5.Grafters (someone who acquires money or gain in an unfair way)

  • lake of boiling tar

6.Hypocrites

  • wear cloaks lined with lead, must walk at a steady pace

7.Thieves

  • serpents chase after the naked people

8.Decievers(Fraudulent Counselors)

  • flames burn all around, within each flame are souls

9.Sowers of Scandal & Schism

  • Shades are torn apart, healed, and ripped apart over and over

10.Forgers-falsifiers of metals(alchemists), persons (counterfeiters), words (falsifiers)

  • sinners are plagued with different types of illnesses
  • Ex. leprosy, thirst

9.Treachery- looks like a sheet of ice

  • Dante encounters 2 souls squeezed in a hole, and one is chewing on the head of the other

CAINA

  • traitors to kin
  • named after Cain for killing his brother-punished by being in ice, with only face above to show the pain

ANTENORA

  • traitors to country, city, or political party

PTOLMEA

  • traitors to associates
  • hospitality
  • sinners who are frozen with head above ice with frozen tears

JUDECCA

  • Traitors to masters/lords
  • bodies are still alive on earth but possessed by demons
  • Ex. Judas

COCYTUS

LUCIFER

  • body half frozen
  • Wings like a bat
  • 3 faces: each stuffed with the worse traitors

RED: mocks primal love with hatred(Judas)-worst punishment

YELLOW:Parodies divine omnipotence with impotence (Caius Cassius Longinus-betrayed Caesar)

BLACK: Perverting highest wisdom with ignorance (Marcus Brutus)

To exit hell- they must climb down hairy Lucifer to center of earth at which point you will begin climbing back up.

www.arches.uga.edu/~redman/hellhigh.html

www.4degreez.com/misc/dante-inferno-test.mv

ENJOY!! That took forever!

Thursday, January 18, 2007

Scribe 1/17

Because it was a Wednesday today, we started with some delicious Lamar’s doughnuts. Smith then showed us a flash website which virtually goes through Dante’s layers of hell and has some great visuals. She also gave us some other helpful sites.

LINKS:
Dante’s Inferno: Virtual Tour
Reading Dante’s Inferno online
Find out what layer of hell Dante would list you under

Next, we conversed about our readings of Cantos 1, 3, and 5. We did this for the rest of the hour.

NOTES (these are a few notes I jotted down during our conversation):

¨ What do you think?
Dante is sick – maggots eating faces
It is descriptive, causing the reader to not want to go there
Symbolic Retribution (represent person’s sins)
Lust and personal passion had to deal with others’ problems
Emphasized how horrible it was
Virgil uses divine power to pass hell’s guards
¨ Virgil didn’t have to be judged by Minos because he is in a higher level
¨ Carnal passion over reason
Reading Lancelot, love eachother but husband gives his wife and her lover who gave in to sin
Cleopatra, Helen, Achilles, Paris – all there
¨ Why does love send you to hell?
Dante’s past and failure in love
Reason takes you further, faith takes you to heaven
Sin against God to divorce
Beatrice had impact on what Dante wrote
Dante is married yet still loves Beatrice; is he going to hell?
¨ Why does love send you to hell?
Hell is like a bottomless well, earth is grass, sky, etc., heaven is in the clouds with angels flapping by
Heaven and Hell are complete opposites
Purgatory is the only medium
¨ Marie brought up a book which has another take on heaven: The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom
¨ Another Connection to Dante’s Inferno: Wizard of Oz (process of going from hell to heaven)
¨ Dante wants to go up, but instead first goes through hell, whih represents how hard salvation is to obtain
¨ Canto 1: Three Animals
Lion of Violence and Ambition
Leopard of Malice and Fraud
She wolf of Incontinence
¨ Why these?
Lion – King of the Jungle and scary
Raging with hunger
Snakes were a good thing in religions during Dante’s time
FEAR – different reasons (memories)
Lion, Leopard don’t move
Fear drives everything in this Hell
¨ She wolf
More she feeds, the hungrier she gets
Evil feeds on evil, never be full
¨ Virgil; why him?
Virgil was Dante’s inspiration as a poet
Highest possible level with reason
Dante trusts/respects him
He can learn from and listen to him
¨ Symbolic Retribution
God has decided these punishments – shows his omnipotence and equality – He has justice
They get what they need
¨ Why are Charon and Minos mad at Dante?
¨ Satan’s message: Hope is gone
¨ Dante is crying or fainting, showing the fear and torment


Homework:
-Blog question featured below this

Tuesday, January 16, 2007

Canto FIve Question 5

Dante believed faith was the most important value in life. Next to faith, however, he saw reason as the highest human value. How do you define faith and reason? Which is more valid in today's world? Why? Give examples to support your position.

Thursday, January 11, 2007

Scribe 12/11

Scribe 1/10/07 Melissa BaileyToday:We started with eating donutsTurned in class expectationsDiscussed the following question:I have a question for the people who agree with me that there is a hell. After death, what happens to the people who were never intorduced to the concept of heaven and hell or right or wrong?Why does having to accept Jesus Christ play a role in whether or not your going to hell? It makes no difference. Are you saying that a Jewish person such as myself should be sent to hell automatically just becasue I don't accept jesus as anything?Then we read the first few pages of Dante's background:Notes:What does Dante already want to separate? Separation of the church2 political groups Blacks old aristocracy- tied to church White new money- feudalismKey definitions:Comedy- poetic compostion in a style between the nobility of tragedy and elegy.Visionary writing- guide who accompanies the soul- guide's resposibility for lightening the soul in meaningful places and being the protectorDante's journey is important becasue he is trying to find the balance between reason and faithLayers of Hell- Dante's opinionLight=ReasonNo light= no reasonAnte- HellNeutrals - opportunistsAcheron - Charon- ferryman1. Limbo -shades and virgil reside here -unbaptized or those that came before christ2.The lustful -minos decides what level you will to go - Cleopatra lives here3. The Gluttonous -Dante learns sinners can see past and future but not present -Rains on themHOMEWROK:Read the first 6 pages and back page, Allegory in packet, blog, QUIZ Friday on Dante Background

Wednesday, January 10, 2007

Wrongs of society

In your opinion, what are some of the greatest wrongs people can commit? (murder, theft, betrayl, revenge) What punishment would fit the crime? Make sure to react to one anothers' reponses.

Monday, January 08, 2007

Scribe 1/8

Katie A.

SCRIBE Jan. 8, 2007

-First we received our seating assignments.
-Then we talked about setting up a blogging account if you don’t already have one. To set one up you go to www.blogger.com and on the website there should be three easy steps showing you how to set up an account.
-Things to note while setting up account: Your user ID can be whatever you want, but you display name needs to be your first name and last initial.
-Also new students need to e-mail Smith so that she can give you posting privileges to do the scribe.
- E –mail her at asmith@lps.k12.co.us
-Also note that scribes need to be posted by 9PM of the night they were assigned.
-Then in class we assigned days for people to scribe, it is hanging up in the classroom.
-Then we assigned days for people to bring in donuts on donuts Wednesdays. You are with a partner and must bring enough donuts for 34 people.
-Note that you cannot bring in bad donuts. (King Supers)
-Then we went over Smith’s class expectations on her website which you can link through the AHS website.
-Then Smith gave us a list of the book we will be reading this semester. Which she recommends we buy. They are the following.
-The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde (we will need this in a couple of weeks)
-Importance of Being Earnest
-Brave New World by Aldous Huxlay
-Then Smith had us answer the following questions on a piece of paper to hand in during class.
-What do you want to do this semester?
-What do you want to accomplish?
-Goals for yourself? For this class? For me as your teacher?
-Then Smith had a discussion with us about how this semester should be more about learning and not all about grades.
-Then the class discussed a semester long project that Smith has assigned that is still open for ideas. She has two questions; what is the meaning of life? And what should you learn in life? Smith wants to know what is a better question to answer? What would be easier to relate to text? Should we work in groups? She wants any feedback we have, because answering the question will be our final.

HOME WORK:
-Go to www.smithewl.blogspot.com after setting up your account and answer the blog question. You answer it by clicking on “comments.”
- Make sure to read over the class expectations.
-Pick question you like for the final and have ideas on how you want to answer it.

H-E-Double Hockey Sticks

What is your concept of hell? What is the purpose of hell? Who goes there? Why? What happens to those who reside in hell? What does it look like? Where does your interpretation come from? Make sure to react to one anothers' reponses.