Heroism, Humanism & Hijinks: Literature in Action - Week 2, Period 5

[no-toast-thanks.livejournal.com]

"Welcome back," Thursday greeted as she handed out a few sheets of paper. "What you'll find on this paper is an explanation of nursery rhymes and a list of several popular nursery rhymes," she explained. "We'll use these as a warm up. Nursery rhymes are taught to young children to introduce them to reading and understanding narrative. Pick a nursery rhyme from the list. Now I want you to pretend that you're a part of the rhyme. How would you react? What would you do to interfere if you had the chance? You can do this alone or in a group."

At the end of class, Thursday dismissed them, but not before telling them about next week's class. "Next week we're moving into the action part of this class. Please make sure you have read Jane Eyre by then."


[OOC: So sorry about posting this late. I forgot to post it before falling asleep. Also, you the player do not have to read any of the books. I'll provide a brief synopsis and character list.]

Comments

Re: Nursery Rhymes and You

[bookwormwood.livejournal.com]

"Well Humpty Dumpty was never specified as an egg. So maybe if there were just a few people that where good surgens there they might just have to fix a PERSON named Humpty Dumpty. I really don't think it was a good idea to send the King's horses as the first people to try to put him back together. A good doctor is really all he needed."

Re: Nursery Rhymes and You

[no-toast-thanks.livejournal.com]

"Good," Thursday said. "You're right about the egg. People have their own perceptions of a rhyme and they build up over time in popular culture until people will swear to you that Humpty Dumpty was an egg even though it doesn't say so. He could be, or he could be a regular person. What would you do if you were there? Would you change the course of the rhyme and find a way to stop Humpty from falling or to get him help after the rhyme is done? Or would you let the rhyme run as it should?"

Re: Nursery Rhymes and You

[bookwormwood.livejournal.com]

"Well if I was there I might suggest he didn't sit on such a high wall. I mean... it would be pretty foolish to sit up high enough to totally smash on the ground... This poem is actually pretty gresome.." She raises an eye as she thinks of it.

Re: Nursery Rhymes and You

[no-toast-thanks.livejournal.com]

"And yet it's one of the first rhymes that children learn," Thursday replied. "Consider for a moment if the wall wasn't literal. What happens to the rhyme then? Does Humpty suddenly become less of a victim?"

Re: Nursery Rhymes and You

[bookwormwood.livejournal.com]

"So it's a not literal wall... rather an emotional wall where he would be falling into despair with no hope of ever recieving proper therepy...?"

Re: Nursery Rhymes and You

[no-toast-thanks.livejournal.com]

"That certainly could be the case. Or the wall is a metaphorical one where he can't choose between two sides, so when he finally does fall, the king's horses and men can't save him. Or Humpty could even be the king himself, sitting upon high over all of his subjects, but when he falls, even his subjects can't save him. My point is this - fiction has to be approached with an open mind. You never know what you'll find in the gaps between the text."

Re: Nursery Rhymes and You

[bookwormwood.livejournal.com]

"I completely agree! This was fun." She grins. Yay favorite class!

Re: Nursery Rhymes and You

[no-toast-thanks.livejournal.com]

"I'm glad you enjoyed it."