the day was november 8th...

after a short delay in class due to an unexpected fire alarm, i quickly started the class by reciting my blog, a simple prayer by st francis, a man of simple words... i pointed out the simplicity of its rhetoric... pointed the division of 3 parts within it, and ... you know. i did a simple analyzation of the text... explained its significance to Cry, the Beloved Country. there are many behaviors of Christianity portrayed in that book, from conquering other lands to humbling themselves for other people's well-being... and by understanding this simple prayer, you can understand the priests Msimangau and Father Vincent... how they find strength in living in Hell, and why they continue to help the Umfundisi... why they so simply love others more than fear for themselves in Johannesburg...

then, we took an objective test on Cry, the Beloved Country. we, unless if i'm stupid, were struck dumb by petty questions, such as "How many husbands did the girl have; three or four?"... you know. easy questions that can easily give you a "C".. that test took the majority of the class time.

at the end of class, Mrs. Hillestad shared large photographs of the Great Depression to give us a better understanding of the book we're reading... some were photographs by the famous Dorothea Lange.. Mrs. Hillestad also shared a recollection of her past: tales of the jalopies told from her own father. Jalopies were vehicles in which families simply took everything they could and went cross country looking for a job. "imagine being told you have to leave, and all you can take with you is your car..." imagine. then, the bell rang.

you don't have to read the Grapes of Wrath over the weekend. Just turn in your Quarter 1 Goals: Evaluation next class.. happy 4-day weekend..