Madonnas of Leningrad Quiz

AGENDA:

What did you think of the master class yesterday?

Work on your short story.

Take vocabulary quiz.

Madonnas of Leningrad Reading Quiz:

In a strong well-developed paragraph, respond to the following question citing or quoting from the text to support your opinion.  Use a separate Google document for your answer and print it out.

A central mystery revolves around Andre's conception. Marina describes a remarkable incident on the roof of the Hermitage when one of the statues from the roof of the Winter Palace, "a naked god," came to life, though she later discounts this as a hallucination. In her dotage, she tells her daughter-in-law that Andre's father is Zeus. Dmitri offers other explanations: she may have been raped by a soldier or it's possible that their only coupling before he went off to the front resulted in a son. What do you think actually happened? Is it a flaw or a strength of the novel that the author doesn't resolve this question?

HMWK:  Finish reading the book for Monday's class

Work on stories

AGENDA:

Continue to work on your stories.

Tomorrow, Omar El Akkad--Master class.

Vocabulary.com---Take SAT words #1--25 words--practice and quiz

HMWK: Read to pg. 150 for quiz on Thursday

Madonnas/Short Story/Memory Palaces

AGENDA:

a poem about the Hermitage:

http://academyofamericanpoets.cmail19.com/t/ViewEmail/y/DECD1522D2AE0C9D/F4421A50941B6C7305AF428974F65BCD


How to Build a Memory Palace:

https://www.wikihow.com/Build-a-Memory-Palace

https://litemind.com/memory-palace/

From your reading of Madonnas, write a response to the following questions and post on the blog in comments.

1. The historical period of The Madonnas of Leningrad begins with the outbreak of war. How is war portrayed in this novel? How is this view of World War II different from or similar to other accounts you have come across?
2. Even though she says of herself that she is not a "believer," in what ways is Marina spiritual? Discuss Marina's faith: how does her spirituality compare with conventional religious belief? How do religion and miracles figure in this novel? What are the miracles that occur in The Madonnas of Leningrad?
3. A central mystery revolves around Andre's conception. Marina describes a remarkable incident on the roof of the Hermitage when one of the statues from the roof of the Winter Palace, "a naked god," came to life, though she later discounts this as a hallucination. In her dotage, she tells her daughter-in-law that Andre's father is Zeus. Dmitri offers other explanations: she may have been raped by a soldier or it's possible that their only coupling before he went off to the front resulted in a son. What do you think actually happened? Is it a flaw or a strength of the novel that the author doesn't resolve this question?

Madonnas of Leningrad cont.

AGENDA:

Continue working on short story.

Finish grammar packets for grade.

New vocabulary list on vocabulary.com

HMWK:  Read Madonnas of Leningrad to pg. 105 for Friday

Vocab/Grammar/Madonnas of Leningrad

AGENDA:

Vocabulary:  Practice vocabulary on vocabulary.com.  Take test online when you feel you are ready to!

Grammar packet:  Turn in grammar packet today.

WRITING:  Work on short story.

MADONNAS:
Post a response to questions 1-3 from earlier post of discussion questions.

1. The working of memory is a key theme of this novel. As a young woman, remembering the missing paintings is a deliberate act of survival and homage for Marina. In old age, however, she can no longer control what she remembers or forgets. "More distressing than the loss of words is the way that time contracts and fractures and drops her in unexpected places." How has Dean used the vagaries of Marina's memory to structure the novel? How does the narrative itself mimic the ways in which memory functions?
2. Sometimes, Marina finds consolations within the loss of her short-term memory. "One of the effects of this deterioration seems to be that as the scope of her attention narrows, it also focuses like a magnifying glass on smaller pleasures that have escaped her notice for years." Is aging merely an accumulation of deficits or are there gifts as well?
3. The narrative is interspersed with single-page chapters describing a room or a painting in the Hermitage Museum. Who is describing these paintings and what is the significance of the paintings chosen? How is each interlude connected to the chapter that follows?

Madonnas/American War short story

AGENDA:

Continue to work on SHORT STORIES!

If you have not turned in a first draft, do so for mid-marking period grade!

Work on grammar packet and vocabulary.

Madonnas

Agenda:

New vocabulary list for Reading and Writing for Self-Discovery:

http://vocab.com/join/3Y4EPAG

Check Vocabulary.com under Creative Grammar and Style for Practice SAT Words: Tone.  Practice words.  Quiz on Thursday.

Grammar Review: Complete Unit 1 Review packet at your speed for next Monday.

Work on short story.

HMWK: Read pg. 43-80 for Thursday.  Use summary and analysis in Google Classroom/Class folder to support your reading!  Look for pdf  Madonnas of Leningrad.

Madonnas of Leningrad

AGENDA:

Grammar: Go to links.  Find Grammar Workbook. Go to pg. 69 in pdf.

Go to library.   Return American War.

Read opening pages of novel.  Continue to work on your short story.

HMWK:  Read to pg. 43

Madonnas of Leningrad

Debra Dean Madonnas of Leningrad

Art work:
https://kingmadonnasofleningrad.weebly.com/marinas-memory-palace.html

 Writers and Books website:

wab.org/events/allofrochester/2012/index.shtml

NPR Interview:

www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5313845

A discussion with Debra Dean:

 conversationsfamouswriters.blogspot.com/2006/03/debra-dean-madonnas-of-leningrad.html

Here are the paintings:

teacat.shawwebspace.ca/photos/view/paintings_in_the_madonnas_of_len

Reading Group Guide  (contains spoilers)

Introduction
In this sublime debut novel, set amid the horrors of the siege of Leningrad during World War II, a gifted writer explores the power of memory to save us... and betray us.

Questions for Discussion

1. The working of memory is a key theme of this novel. As a young woman, remembering the missing paintings is a deliberate act of survival and homage for Marina. In old age, however, she can no longer control what she remembers or forgets. "More distressing than the loss of words is the way that time contracts and fractures and drops her in unexpected places." How has Dean used the vagaries of Marina's memory to structure the novel? How does the narrative itself mimic the ways in which memory functions?
2. Sometimes, Marina finds consolations within the loss of her short-term memory. "One of the effects of this deterioration seems to be that as the scope of her attention narrows, it also focuses like a magnifying glass on smaller pleasures that have escaped her notice for years." Is aging merely an accumulation of deficits or are there gifts as well?
3. The narrative is interspersed with single-page chapters describing a room or a painting in the Hermitage Museum. Who is describing these paintings and what is the significance of the paintings chosen? How is each interlude connected to the chapter that follows?
4. The historical period of The Madonnas of Leningrad begins with the outbreak of war. How is war portrayed in this novel? How is this view of World War II different from or similar to other accounts you have come across?
5. Even though she says of herself that she is not a "believer," in what ways is Marina spiritual? Discuss Marina's faith: how does her spirituality compare with conventional religious belief? How do religion and miracles figure in this novel? What are the miracles that occur in The Madonnas of Leningrad?
6. A central mystery revolves around Andre's conception. Marina describes a remarkable incident on the roof of the Hermitage when one of the statues from the roof of the Winter Palace, "a naked god," came to life, though she later discounts this as a hallucination. In her dotage, she tells her daughter-in-law that Andre's father is Zeus. Dmitri offers other explanations: she may have been raped by a soldier or it's possible that their only coupling before he went off to the front resulted in a son. What do you think actually happened? Is it a flaw or a strength of the novel that the author doesn't resolve this question?
7. At the end of Marina's life, Helen admits that "once she had thought that she might discover some key to her mother if only she could get her likeness right, but she has since learned that the mysteries of another person only deepen, the longer one looks." How well do we ever know our parents? Are there things you've learned about your parents' past that helped you feel you knew them better?
8. In much the same way that Marina is struggling with getting old, her daughter, Helen, is struggling with disappointments and regrets often associated with middle-age: her marriage has failed, her son is moving away, she may never get any recognition as an artist, and last but not least, she is losing a life-long battle with her weight. Are her feelings of failure the result of poor choices and a bad attitude or are such feelings an inevitable part of the human condition?
9. In a sense, the novel has two separate but parallel endings: the young Marina giving the cadets a tour of the museum, and the elderly Marina giving the carpenter a tour of an unfinished house. What is the function of this coda? How would the novel be different if it ended with the cadets' tour?
10. What adjectives would you use to describe The Madonnas of Leningrad? Given the often bleak subject matter - war, starvation, dementia -- is the novel's view of the world depressing?