fandomhigh | Heroism, Humanism & Hijinks: Literature In Action

Thursday was in the classroom before anyone else, prepared to watch as each student came in and signed in. The desks were arranged in a circle to encourage discussion, but there was still room for everyone to push the desks back and use the floor space if necessary.

The classroom itself hadn't been decorated yet, but give it time.

There was a copy of the syllabus on every desk.

"Hello," Thursday greeted. "I'm Thursday Next and this class is entitled 'Heroism, Humanism and Hijinks: Literature in Action'. If you're here for biology or a dance class, I'm afraid I can't help you. On your desks you'll find the syllabus for this class. We'll be covering a book a week, except for next week when we'll be studying nursery rhymes."

She took a moment to allow it to sink in. "Look around you. Get to know your classmates. You'll be relying on each other for the practical portion of this class. Let's start by going around in a circle starting with me and then on to my right," she nodded at one of the students. "Tell your name, where or when you're from and what your favourite piece of fiction is, whether it be a novel, play, poem or short story. I'll start. My name is Thursday Next. I'm from Swindon, England, 1989 in an alternate timeline from what I'm told is the local one. My favorite piece of fiction is Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte."

After the introductions were done, Thursday continued. "Good. I'm passing around a quiz. You won't be graded on this. It's a warm-up and it's to show me your level of understanding of the literature of the English language so I know what not to waste your time with. There are plenty of other things I can waste your time with. Take your time and feel free to ask me any questions you might have."

Class Roster

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One after the other so it collapses please.

Name, place/time of origin and favourite piece of fiction

Read the description and figure out who the fictional character is.

1. I call London my home and, in retrospect, I could be considered a drug addict from all the sniffing I did. It never affected by performance or stopped the police from calling on me when they needed my help. I have a companion who follows me around and records my every word and move.

2. I started out well-to-do and had several large manors to my name. By the end of the novel, my wife is dead, I've had my hand amputated and I've gone blind. I'm a hermit until my long-lost love chooses me over going to India, returns and we live happily ever after.

3. I'm a scientific genius, but I have no interest in life on land. What calls to me is beneath the surface, so it's lucky that I have a submarine. I've roamed the seven seas and have been known to take prisoners who end up adventuring with me. I'm not fond of squids.

4. I have talked to animals and been led astray by them. I have a tendency to eat and drink things that I shouldn't simply because they have labels telling me to do so. I've become quite attached to my head since a crazy monarch kept screaming at people to try to cut it off. I'm not particularly fond of tea anymore, at least not when it's served by a crazy man wearing a large hat.

5. I'm a Dickensian character, and thus I call London my home. I'm not a legitimate businessman, but I don't do any of the dirty work myself. I look out for the street kids and get them to do all of the pick-pocketing that funds my work. Some say deep down I must be a good man for taking in all of those kids, especially the orphan runt who isn't satisfied with one serving of food, but really I just like money.

6. Fairies and stage actors fill my life during the play I'm involved in. I'm involved from time to time, but mostly I just like to comment, cause mischief, stir up the fairies, mess with the mortals and give an outstanding final monologue.

7. All bar one of my friends are animals and we live in relative peace in the woods. Sometimes, however, my belly gets too full and I find myself stuck trying to get through the door to my home. All of my friends come to the rescue, even if it does take them a while to get the right solution. But no matter how many times I get stuck, I just can't give up my honey addiction.

8. My ship was taken over by pirates and, long story short, I ended up shipwrecked. ~~No, I don't own a volleyball.~~ I spend most of my time reading the Bible, dealing with cannibals and getting my newly-rescued servant to keep house for me.

9. I was one of many of the animals on Mr Jones' farm to take over and live in a communal peace. Unfortunately, being the pig I am, my wiggly-tailed friends and I decided to take over and kill off everyone who disagreed with me, making life miserable and reaping the rewards of the farm for myself. I'm named after a French leader, but I'm really a lot more Russian than I look.

10. I don't talk to many people, but I did save a young pig by teaching him to read, write and talk. I'm polite, well-mannered and have eight legs, but don't hold that against me.

Ask questions, make comments, you name it.

Have at it.

Plock.

Alec

Zack Addy.

"My name is Zack Addy, I'm from Michegan, in 1997, my favourite peice of fiction is Scientology: A History of Man by L. Ron Hubbard, it's rare to find a scientific parody of that magnitude."

"My name is Alec, I'm from Seattle, 2015," he began, then smirked slightly. "The only book I've really read is On the Road by Jack Kerouac, but it was pretty good. I guess that'll have to be my favorite, for now."

1. Sherlock Holmes
2. Edward Rochester
2. Captain Nemo
4. Alice
5. Fagin
6. Puck
7. Winnie the Pooh
8. Robinson Crusoe
9. Napolean
10. Charlotte

Thursday jotted down the name of the book. "I'm unfamiliar with that book. Are you fond of parody in general?"

"Scientific parody," Zack clarified. "There's something... cute about how they try so hard to come off as real science."

Alec didn't know any of the answers, so he just doodled on his page for a bit before turning it in.

The thought of someone only having read one book in their life did not compute with Thursday, so she tried hard not to think about it. It was one of those things you just had ignore and accept. Like time travel. "I can recommend others if you decide to spread yourself around."

"Rory made me a list of things to start with, but I'm up for anything if want to point them out, ma'am," Alec said, quite sincerely.

Thursday nodded. "I'll write down a couple of titles for you."

Naomi Wildman

"I'm Naomi Wildman," Naomi said, "I come from San Francisco, California in the year 2380 ... my favourite piece of fiction is called The Lost Letters of Aquitaine (ooc: because it's the mun's favourite novel) by Judith Koll Healey, and it's a historical fiction novel,"

[OOC: And because the mun was too lazy to look up the answers herself]

1. Sherlock Holmes
2. Edward Fairfax Rochester
3. Captain Nemo
4. Alice
5. Fagin
6. Puck
7. Winnie the Pooh
8. Robinson Crusoe
9. Napoleon
10. Charlotte

"I'm not familiar with that one." She jotted down the name of it. "Are you interested in historical fiction as a genre or just this novel?"

Molly Hayes

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6. Puck!!
7. Winnie the Pooh
8.
9.
10. Charlotte

"Thank you, ma'am." Alec figured he'd be spending a lot of time between classes doing some catch-up work.

"I haven't read any other historical fiction novels yet," Naomi replied, "I'm interested in a wide range of reading but this one is my particular favourite,"

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Heroism, Humanism & Hijinks: Literature In Action - Week 1 (5th period)

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