Final Essay: Literature 2009

Christmas Carol: Teaching Young Children

There are many ways to introduce reading into EFL classrooms. Most of the time this is done with students who have already a little background knowledge of the target language. The purpose of this essay is to show that young children also can be introduced to the process of reading by selecting appropriate books/stories and activities to work with inside the classroom. To accomplish this goal the activities will be developed according to a specific story "Christmas Carol" by Charles Dickens.

According to Bernice Cullinan, to become a good reader requires three main characteristics: they need to be surrounding by books, parents should read to children frequently and also, connect books with real life. This is the idea behind introducing reading into young children while they are starting to study English as a foreign language. This decision should include ways of promoting that reading can be enjoyable and helps develop understanding of the world.

Following this idea, Christmas Carol is a classic which can be shown to students in any Chilean classroom. It is a story which has as a main character Mr. Scrooge, a very greedy man who does not enjoy Christmas time. The story begins when his recently death friend appears as a ghost telling him that he will receive a visit during Christmas eve. There will be three ghosts which will show him the Past, Present and Future Christmas. After experiencing all these journeys recalling parts of his life, Mr. Scrooge understands the importance of enjoying Christmas and changes his attitude towards this holiday forever.

This story seems appropriate for young children and it will depend on the way teachers present this reading and activities that students enjoy this experience. Teaching young children requires an important amount of activities that contrast students short attention span, and include visuals and gesture in order to accomplish an effective understanding of the story. Therefore, in this part there will be presented three activities which have as goal to promote students' enjoyment and engagement before, while and after reading.

Before reading it is fundamental to establish rapport with your students and the story box seems a good activity to begin with. According to Rita Collins in his article "Using story Boxes in Language Learning" story boxes allow students to explore the objects inside the box which will help them to create some images before reading. This idea brings realia into the classroom as a way of giving students the opportunity to use their senses in their learning process. For instance, before reading this tale the teacher can talk about the objects inside the box; some of them could be a Christmas tree, some coins, a toy of a ghost and a picture of an old man. Then, the teacher can ask students questions about the objects such as what is this? Have you ever used/seen/touched the object? and so on. This activity permits students to think about these objects and see how they are or not related to their own lives. The idea is to prepare students to be more focus on the reading considering their background knowledge related to the story.

Reading activities should always consider students enjoyment. According to Robin Campbell when there is pleasure involved in activities, students will play and learn at the same time. This is a natural process where students get connected to their previous experiences. For this reason, reading aloud should be an activity to promote students engagement to the story. This activity allows the incorporation of dialogue between teachers and students; the teacher has the role of asking questions, using the illustrations to create an interactive class which consequently will encourage students enthusiasm and enjoyment of the story.

After reading and according to the characteristics of most young children it would be excellent to introduce art: for example, a collage. Creating a collage will permit students to express their ideas about the story by using pictures, words and any other material which can be cut from magazines and newspapers. Students are free to arrange their pictures in any way it shows their understanding of the story. This is an excellent possibility to share what they have done to the rest of the class and how they interpret the reading/listening of the story. For instance, they could bring pictures relating their own feelings towards Christmas day.

Reading for pleasure should be an activity presented in every single classroom. The constant exposure to books will promote students habit to read and express their ideas towards stories. Moreover, if parents and teachers give them the opportunity to relate them to their real life, reading will become an enjoyable activity inside and outside the classroom. Any type of stories could be appropriate, especially if we consider that most Chilean students do not read constantly. Teachers can use stories inside the classroom as a way of improving language skills and promoting different ways of resolving conflicts.

In conclusion, this paper tries to contribute in a way to include reading into EFL classroom because some teachers do not take the time to prepare or plan activities based on literary works. English teachers need to consider reading as a tool which increases the understanding of the target language. Meaningful activities will always engage students into learning and discovering more than what it is presented in class. Therefore, age and proficiency level should never be an impediment to the incorporation of variety of activities in the classroom. Teachers must trust students abilities. There are many ideas that can be introduced into the class, teachers only need to know their students, their interest and likes, and manage the English program and language proficiency in order to accomplish school, teachers and students goals.

Bibliography:

Campbell, Robin. Read-Alouds with Young Children. Newark: International Reading Association, 2001.

Collins, Rita. "Using Story Boxes in Language Learning". Forum 2009: 18-21.

Cullinan, E. Bernice. Invitation to Read: More Children's Literature in the Reading Program. Newark: International Reading Association, 1992.

Tompkins, E. Gain and Lea M. McGee. Teaching Reading with Literature. New York: Macmillan Publishing Co, 1993.

OUTLINE: Final Paper_2009

Christmas Carol:

Introducing literature to young children

I. Introduction:

There are many ways to introduce reading into EFL classrooms

a. Thesis:

There are different activities which can be used to introduce reading to young children

II. Body:

Christmas Carol story

Activities to introduce reading to young children

Examples

III. Conclusion:

Literature can be adapted and introduced to any EFL classroom

"September 1, 1939" by W.H Auden

W.H Auden was one of many people who were hopeless by the events that were happening in 1939. Reality was not what you wanted to see and the future became vague.

I believe he wrote because he needed a way of keeping hope. He could see how the world was becoming apart but he had a need to save all those images about a better world.

He believed that the only way to save us is by loving each other. Through love we can be reeducated and understand the importance of seeing everybody as an equal in order to keep peace and love among us.

The way he wrote and the words he chose to express his feelings are still appealing to our own reality nowadays. He wrote about problems that we still have and do not know how to face.

This is one of the aspects why I would use this poem in a EFL classroom. So students can appreciate how societies still don't learn from their mistakes, and we should start to helping by learning from our own mistakes. Look at ourselves and learn from the best and worts that we can do to each other.

Ivette: The rocking-horse winner

It is really amazing to see the way the author mixes his own life with an irreal one. This is possible to observe in both stories.The most noticeable in the stories is the existence of a very complex issue for society which is the desire of money. In the first tale, the protagonist is a boy that suffers because of the conflicts that the wish of money brings to his family. That is why he hides his sad feelings by gambling for money.The second story is focused on the relationship between life and death. The relationship is mainly presented by the inhuman work world of the mine and the beautiful and vulnerable, natural world. For example, the important things that we can lose if the attention is payed to money instead of love relationships. Thinking on what is happening in our society, it is part of our common sense notice that money cannot buy happiness and it represents a harmful force as well as alcoholism. Nowadays is really common to observe children working in the streets or even worse begging for money. Is that what we want for our children? I am totally sure the answer is no. So, I think that our effort in schools can make the difference. If we contribute children to be comfortable at least when they are learning, things can improve. D.H Lawrence points out very contemporary issues. I really enjoyed reading both stories because of the many issues that they bring, and that make sense in our society.

I really believe Ivette was able to give the main idea of both short stories. Although it can be appreciated that she described more the rocking-horse winner over the second short story. I think this decision had to do with the interesting topic this story develops and how well it can be connected to our own reality.
I totally agree with the idea of happiness beyond econominal issues. However we need to consider that money rules our life. We need to be aware of the decisions we take in order to keep or gain more money. Nowadays most people are capable of almost anything to "rise in social/economical class". This is the moment when we as future teachers need to do something about it. As Ivette pointed out "we need to make an effort to do things differently". I beleive we need to start from giving a good example to our students and teach them values according to our beliefs and the society in which we live in.
Finally I would like to say that maybe this post could be improved by giving a more explicit relation between both stories because I think the author notoriously takes aspects of his society and values from his own experience, which he beleives are important to share with the readers.

"The Waste Land" by T.S Eliot

T.S Eliot was born as an American citizen however he decided to become a great British poet in those years. He experienced what a post war period was and the decline of human beings as a community.

“The Waste Land” is one of his well-known pieces of work in which consist in 5 different stories, being told by many different narrators. What I think the author tried to develop was the idea of many people being affected by the inclemency of war and how everybody felt: lack of hope and regrets of what had happened.

According to Wikipedia.com “The Waste Land” takes into consideration 5 traditional elements: earth, air, fire, water and aether. The first element, EARTH has a direct relationship with the burial and understanding the importance of land as the place where people exist. Then, AIR is represented by the many voices or narrators that this work has, implying that there is a developed intellectual mind behind the creation of this work. FIRE is represented by the passion the author put in this work, understanding that the only way of writing all those complex feelings is by feeling them yourself. WATER represented by the use of images of sea and a voyage. And finally, AETHER as the material that fills all the region of universe, this means that even though you talk about a waste land there must be something in that place besides nothingness.

2 short stories by D. H Lawrence

These are two everyday objects which can be found in any place or story. However, D. H Lawrence has the ability to transform them into the main objects of his stories which have a fundamental role of keeping strong feelings within them.

On one side, Chrysanthemum is a flower that may grow in many parts of the countryside. But, for Mrs. Bates they were the memory of a promise that never was completed, a process of suffering and the end of his husband’s life.

On the other side, Rocking-horse is a toy which usually is related to boys’ entertainment. But for Paul this was the beginning and the end of his life. He got so much immersed with it, that his life depended on it and what was the result? Death

Imagination and creativity are part of this author's work. He created new roles for those objects that are very well-known but he gave them a new set of actions which influence the past, present and even future of his characters. Being creative is part of writing, and having the ability to take your readers to new worlds and see whatever that the author sees, it's what makes you successful.
It has been awhile since I don't get engaged with a good short story, and this was the case. After discovering Dickens, I must say D.H Lawrence is an author that I will read and recommend to my friends, colleges and students.

"The Mark on the Wall" by Virginia Woolf

As we have seen in other works, Virginia Woolf is a woman who has the time and intellect to reflect about anything that crosses her mind. This time she refers to the mark on a wall she is looking at while reading.

She starts to describe every single detail which seems important to understand what is that mark and why it is there.

After some analysis, she tried to connect her train of thoughts with something related to this mark. It seems she never trust her sight because every time she looks at this mark, it changes.

What I believe she does is trying to see beyond her eyes. She sees with her eyes and with her mind at the same time. She connects every thought with her life, taking anything that surrounds her into part of her writing. This is one of the reasons why she prejudices what she sees based on her thoughts which stop her to see who makes the mark: a snail on the wall.

The best idea that I believe represents Virginia Woolf's works is the subjectivity in which the writer creates his/her work. Every single part of our life is worth it to be printed in a book and nobody has the power to say which experience is more important than another. Writing is an art, but we can all be artists.

"Oliver Twist" Charles Dickens

If you believe in fate, you shouldn't run. It will get you no matter what you do.
This is the reason why I picked this picture. I believe Dickens imagined Oliver after seeing so many children hoping for a better life without having the opportunity to do anything to change what they had.
In those times, children were considered and viewed as “small men”. Due to the fact that Modernity was changing what was known as “city”, children needed to be part of the society in all terms. You must find something to do and be useful or you would be one of those sitting outside the building and never stand again.
Young thieves were his friends, but he had the gift to see through people’s eyes. So, after everything he experienced during his time in London, at the end he was truthful and gentle with who took care of him.
Part of the movie seemed obvious. I was hoping to see some changes throughout the plot. However, and after expecting that he was discovered and saved, I was glad to see him as a young smart boy in the final scenes.
We do not deserve happiness; we have the right to experience it. Oliver Twist had a life that nobody wants for our kids; nevertheless he obtained what we all wish for: live a happy life and be loved.

"The signal man" Charles Dickens

Does a person who live isolated be remembered when he dies??

The signal man is one of those people who live by himself, doing his job. His responsibility was over the top; not only to give way to the trains, moreover to prevent accidents from happening. After the visit of this misterious person/ghost, the signalman clearly focusses his purpose of life to avoid certain situations that can cause harm to others; worrying about his job obsessively.

Do these ideas seem real??

Nowadays we are living in a world which promotes and permits individuality. We can communicate with each other but not by talking; a phone call, an email or a SMS. For instance, this person was living something we experience day after day: people doing their job, being more worried about the task than the people who they relate with.

The story is very descriptive and makes you think. However, I am not thinking in how Dickens portrait his reality into this story (neither Modernity). I am more interested in the way this story can be applied into situations we live everyday.

To improve our way of living, we need to start by caring about others. This caring must be based on respect but also truth. I am sure we can make a better world. The problem is: we have not created a "we", yet.

"Frankenstein" Mary Shelley

Mary Shelley was not known as the owner of this master piece. The only aspect that did not allow her to say from the beginning that she created Frankenstein was that she was a woman.
She had a really difficult like and her family was very unusual. She was raised in an environment that allowed her to dream and create new characters and new ideas taken from what she could see and think.
I believe one of the main feelings that she developed in this novel is the relationship between love and family. Victor gave life to a creature that did not know anything about this world, and when he saw him for the first time, he rejected him. In these days this act is penalized by law; any parent who does this is rejected by the society and punish by the law. Nobody has the right to give life to a creature and then live it alone. So, this makes me wonder....was this usual in M. Shelley's time?? Was maternity seen in a different way in those times? were men involved in this process?
I started reading Frankenstein without knowledge about the novel. I've never watched a movie neither read a book. So, at the beginning was only a descriptive way of reading. However, after sharing experiences and ideas with my classmates I saw how much feelings arouse from me when thinking in this creature being born without a family and being raised by himself.
Maternity is something that must be taken seriously in order to have in the future better people to change this world.

"I WANDERED LONELY AS A CLOUD" W. Wordsworth,

The first image that comes into my mind is a colorful summer day in the woods. I am glad to acknowledge that happiness is also a good topic to write about. This is why I believe this part of the poem: "A poet could not but be gay, In such a jocund company" is kind of ironic. Wordsworth demonstrates by this writing that he can do it. He can be the one to open nature to poetry, to show those colorful feelings that he sees in his life. We need in this world more of these writers to improve our living style and the relationships with other human beings.

I am not sure about what daffodils mean, but it is one of the things which provokes him happiness and joy. I see more than feel. My eyes worked better than my heart with the colorful images that he described and I interpreted.

I am happy to find out that there are many common objects that provokes feeling into sensitive people such as Wordsworth.

"When I have fears that I may cease to be" by John Keats

There are many feelings that we as human beings are allowed to feel. I believe most people avoid suffering which it may sound natural, but How are you going to enjoy happiness if you have never been sad??

This poem made me reflect about the power of human beings. There are some people that can take whatever comes to their life while others make a storm in a tea cup. We are all different; we try to live our lives in the best way we can, but why do we avoid sufffering? Is it natural? Is it cultural?

The author stated that he feels fear of losing what he is and he has. He tries to express his feelings through these lines. I wonder what do I fear the most?

This poem keeps me wonder about the importance of living your life day after day instead of waiting for that perfect moment that may be never come.

Kubla Khan by Samuel Coleridge

“Poetry is an art…of representing, in words, external nature and human thoughts and affections, both relatively to human affections, by the production of as much immediate pleasure in parts, as is compatible with the largest sum of pleasure in the whole”.

Poetry is more than a text. It is a way of representing your feeling through words. It’s a way of showing other worlds to people who don’t see beyond their nose. But, who is the one in charged of telling these stories? Where are places in which these stories and feelings occurred?
Samuel Coleridge is one of those men who were allowed to tell his own stories, a man who found into Poetry a way of expressing his own self to the rest of the world. The one who could take a pen a write about those other places nobody had seen until he found them.
To me Poetry is a complex art. It wants to express the author’s feeling at the moment of writing but sometimes, it does not find a feeling in the audience’s hearts. This is the reason why I believe there is a book for everybody, there must be a poem for every feeling.

"The little black boy" W. Blake

To distinguish colors we need to be able to see. Most people are allowed to see biologically, although not everybody has the skill to see through things. This is the reason why I believe William Blake had the gift to put into words those elements he could perceive in human beings. He incorporates nature as the basis of every human being, for instance, showing a relationship between a mother and her son. At the same time, he describes some important elements that are involved when talking about the time: the present where the story is being told and the past where the story took place. Finally, the author ends his work with the development of some ideas that are tangible as a hug or a kiss and intangible, represented by the love the both characters feel for each other. How can love be represented?? In this case, by a mother taking care of her son and the baby being as calm as the environment allow him/her to be. Can you see through this picture what I just tell you in my own words?

Ways of helping students enjoying reading

Reading is one of the four skills considered to be essential in order to acquire a language. However we should ask ourselves how often is this skill used in classrooms? We as future teacher need to be aware of the importance of bringing literature into the classroom and the ways in which students can enrich their lives. If teachers can and have the ability to make their students open their minds to new worlds, they will discover that literature can be enjoyable too.
Thus, the following question comes out: How and why to include reading into the classroom? Children are eager to share their personal experiences with others. When they enter school and become students, it seems that this institution, based on the class lessons, does not consider children’s personality and natural curiosity they brought from home. This is reason why, it is fundamental to know that books bring new stories and experiences into everybody’s lives. Literature should be included into EFL classroom and presented to students.
As Jacqueline Kennedy said “There are many little ways to enlarge your child's world. Love of books is the best of all.” Throughout this research, three different strategies will be presented regarding to how to introduce literature into the classroom in order to motivate students to read more and enjoy it.

The first strategy is based on the idea of a classroom turning into a community of readers. The purpose of this idea is using the four skills in order to respond to literature in the classroom, and enriching students’ personal experiences by communicating their ideas to their classmates. According to Tompkins (2001), literature allows students to learn about the world and be transported into new lands to experience different lives than their own. Based on this idea, he proposes literature-rich classrooms as a strategy, in which the classroom becomes a place where students can read, talk, write and discuss about literature, creating a community of reading. This idea would be particularly interesting in an EFL classroom, considering that teachers need to teach a new language. In the complexity of teaching new words and concepts, this strategy would allow teachers to interact with the students in such ways that they would feel part of the learning process. Using this strategy in the classroom will allow students to choose what to read, helping them to become more independent and responsible learners.

Reading allows students to learn in a different way and at the same time, develop social-cognitive skills. The second strategy is based on promoting discussion groups in the classroom founded on readings will permit these students to develop communicational and interactional skills. According to Evans (2006) students enjoy more participating on these groups because they get engage into the discussion which promotes more reading into the classroom. Following the same idea, Tompkins (2001) states that as people read, they create imaginary places which contains feelings and thought that are part of the readers own world. This is called an aesthetic experience, according to the Cambridge Advanced Dictionary is a concept related to beauty and enjoyment of an activity. In this case, the purpose of these discussion groups is to give students the opportunity to talk, reflect and discuss about topics or stories presented through literature, and that they can relate to their own experiences. Evans introduces that there are a variety of models to form these discussion groups; but there are some elements in common: reading, discussion of ideas and opinions, and considering students’ feeling that appear through the reading.
In order to promote reading motivation in the students, they need to take an active role in classroom activities. Consequently, teachers should consider the idea of including students’ perspectives and expectations into their planning. Students know what kind of stories they like or not. Even more, they have some prior knowledge about literature that can be used in the lessons. This is why it seems appropriate to introduce Tompkins (2001) types of reading activities in the classroom, for instance, reading aloud, shared, guided and independent reading.

The third and final strategy is based on the idea of introducing folk into the classroom. According to Young (2003) bringing folk into the classroom will allow students to appreciate more their own culture. Since the purpose of folk is to teach social behaviors and manners to the readers, the students are going to enrich their lives by using these types of stories to learn a new language. The use of this strategy will bring common sense into the classroom but also creativity; students can learn from reading these stories but also by bringing their own into the classroom. The creation of this type of stories by the students dealing with their personal lives and their closest surroundings can enrich a classroom.
The purpose of everything a teacher does should include personal interests and likes. This is the reason why if students learn how to enjoy reading it will create the mood in which students will use this skill in more than just a language class. To include it into the classroom is necessary to find special ways of doing it and also, the teachers’ disposition to innovate in the lessons. The purpose of this essay was to show that there are many ways of presenting literature into the classroom but also, to support the idea that students should read. Students need to learn how to develop their own skills using the teacher’s guidance, but also knowing that they have enough resources and abilities to do it on their own.

In conclusion, reading is an essential skill when teaching students not only a new language, but in the general sense of the word. It helps them to expand their knowledge, develop their personality and express their thought and ideas. Group discussion and the analysis of different literature genres can show the diversity of choices that students have at the moment of choosing a story that will meet their needs and that will capture their attention, which is the exact point where literature becomes the teacher’s ally. Classrooms need to become communities in which students can learn from the interaction among their peers and the teacher and reading provides the perfect opportunity to achieve this.

References:
“Aesthetic” Cambridge Advanced Dictionary. 13 July 2009. Cambridge University Press 2009.
Evans, Karen. Literature Discussion Groups in the Intermediate Grades. Delaware: International Reading Association, 2006.
Tompkins Teaching Reading with Literature. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company, 2001.
Young, Terrell. Happily Ever After: sharing folk literature with elementary and middle school students. Delaware: International Reading Association, 2003.

Ways of helping students enjoying reading

OUTLINE

introduction: why and how to do it

Body: literature-rich classrooms

literature discussion groups

bringing Folk to the classroom

conclusion: enjoy reading; students' interest; teachers' role in the classroom

Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen

Chapter 35.

Elinor’s curiosity to see Mrs. Ferrars was satisfied. She saw all the difficulties her engagement with Edward would have. On the contrary, Lucy was so happy to meet them. Both of them were talking about the meeting when the servant entered and announced Mr. Ferrars visit. He walked into the room and felt the awkward situation that was happening. Elinor tried to be as polite and educated as she can and tried to avoid the weird looks of Lucy. When Marianne entered the room the mood immediately changed. She was so happy to see Edward that all her problems went away. After awhile, Edward announced his departure and Lucy went with him. Marianne kept wondering why Lucy is always around, while Elinor understands this situation from the secret she kept painfully.

Chapter 36

The newspaper announced the deliver of Mr. Palmer’s son. So, Mrs. Jennings changed her schedule. Mrs. John Dashwood sent invitations for everybody to attend a dance party at her house, sending her carriage to pick them up. At this party, Elinor met Robert Ferrars who talked about how nice would be to live in a small cottage. Mr. Dashwood thought on inviting his sisters to stay at his home, however his wife said NO in such a way that he did not doubt. She said she already thought about inviting Miss Steeles to stay. She sent a letter to materialize this invitation; leaving the possibility of inviting the Dashwood’s in another moment. Lucy was so happy just to imagine staying near Edward’s family.

Can love be locked up in a casket?

The merchant of Venice is one of the well-known plays of William Shakespeare. The 2004 movie performed by Jeremy Iron and Robert De Niro brought into life this famous play, showing Shakespeare point of view about love and friendship. In Venice, Antonio signed a contract to help his friend Bassanio to get a loan from Shylock in order to go and marry her love Portia. This love story became a tragedy when Shylock, the one who lend the money, demands Antonio to pay back with a pound of flesh his incomplete contract.

Bassanio asked Antonio for money because Portia, his love, is a rich heiress which has her destiny signed by a promise done to her father: she is going to get married with the one who can discover in which of the three caskets –gold, silver and lead- is her portrait. All these caskets have an inscription note which tells the value of each casket to the man who is willing to take a chance and open one of them. “Man and woman are two locked caskets, of which each contains the key to the other”

Firstly in trying to open one was the prince of Morocco. This character seems to be a valiant and secure man who is willing to try this lottery in which Portia is into. His decision was based on the idea that he deserves to be with the rich heiress, so he chose the golden casket which is not the one. Secondly, the Prince of Aragon comes to choose a casket. This character is performed as a selfish man who believes he is better than the rest to deserve Portia. He chose the silver casket which was not the one. With this scene the audience discovers that the leaden casket is the right one. Finally, Bassanio, confident of his fortune, goes and takes his turn in choosing the casket. The uncertainty of this situation makes Portia doubt about his fortune. However, at the moement he arrived to Belmont, he asked her to trust and lead him to the caskets. Looking at all of them, Bassanio trusts in his true love and chooses the leaden casket, the one which has Portia’s picture and the one which allow him to marry her.

This part of the story is well developed along with the perfect images from Venice and the situations that were happening there: Shylock loosing his daughter and with her, his mind becoming his goal the pound of flesh from Antonio as revenge. You will be impressed by the performance of these two actors mention at the beginning: both of them acquire the right mood for their characters and the performance needed to understand what happens at the end of the film.

The climax of the movie occurs in the trial. All the characters take part of it, each one of them defending Antonio’s life and trying to help Shylock see what was wrong about his decision. Justice is been done by people, so we have to start for being fair to our souls and our hearts. What happens in those scenes, you ask spectators need to judge. The only thing that I can provide you with is telling you how well this movie is done and how the argument is close to the book.

This movie is a love story, but not only a couple in love. It is about romantic love, family love, love for your beliefs and the place you live. It is a two-hour movie which shows the true play written by Shakespeare, along with the good performances directed by Michael Radford.

Outline_ Film Review

Can love be locked up in a casket?

1-Promise done: Portia to his father

2-Open a casket and find love

3-Love between souls not titles

4-After all, love always wins

Letter to Sir Walter Raleigh

Reading this letter was a challenging task. Most of the words are known nowadays, but I felt there was some information missing. I felt I did not get the whole idea from the letter, neither the purpose.
I believe the author wanted to use a historical character to develop his story of a noble and virtuous gentleman. At some point, this story is called an allegory because it tried to make a figurative representation of something else; something abstract that it is better understood by using what we know as allegory. For instance, using some well-know character to interpret the main values or virtues of this invented gentleman who is the main character of the story or the usage of king Arthur who we all know from real and fictional stories.
Moreover, Sencer used many characters such as King Arthur and some knights to show some characteristics that he considered important: virtuosity, bravery, honorability and nobility. The author used 12 knights to represent 12 different vales and their opposites to improve his story.

I think this choice was be made base on the common knowledge the society had about this stories, for example, King Arthur's.

I am not sure why he wrote this letter, however, I am going to make a guess. Mr. Spencer would had written to Sir Walter Raleigh because he wanted to show respect to him and at the same time, validate his work in front of his eyes.

What do women desire the most?

The Canterbury Tale we read showed to us what I woman from the 14th century wanted. How different she was from the rest of them, and how truly she tried to be with her heart and desires.

Women desire the most what is in their hearts, and because we are all different human beings, we must have different desires inside of it. Some of us may want be understood, some others be safe and loved; a group may want to be respected and independent and some others feel free to do what they want.

However, most women would wish to receive and give love; receive appreciation for what they do and in my personal case, be remembered for the ones I loved. I want my life to be important for somebody else. I want to make a change, but what I want the most is to be remember for what I did and what I could change in other’s lives: my future students, my friends and people I can meet along the way.

Is that much to ask? Can I be remembered as I want? I have to do my best to live a life that has the characteristics of a good life, being myself and respecting others as I wanted to be respected.

What do we mean by truth?

As Mr. Chaucer wrote, the truth has to do with the reality in which you live. I think he called his poem “Truth” because it was a way of showing what he saw in those days and what most people believe was real.
For example, when he talked about “For greed entails hate and social climbing uncertainty…” I believe he tries to show a social issue that happened in the past, and that also has an influence in the present. Having money is equal to having power and it is something that most people want to accomplish to be successful; it seems to be an element from our days but we can see it was an issue already in the past, as part of a big truth.
My feelings about this poem have relationship with what I interpret from Chaucer point of view about religion. At the beginning I was confused, I was not sure if he was criticizing religion or making fun of it. Then, I just figure out that he was showing the role it played in society. So now, I am still confused. I know what he wrote but I am not quite sure if I know that he felt. Poetry is an art, it is written by one but interpret by many.

My definition of an Epic Poem

An epic poem is a story; a fictional situation set in the past. It can be written now or then but it uses an outstanding character who has the courage to confront anything to save someone else. I believe there must be a hero and a difficulty to solve and a message for everyone who reads it. Although, the story is the same I think the message is going to be received/perceived in many different ways.

Being an active reader will be always important because an epic poem could be very different from our own lives, however, we can use our experiences to make it ours.

Teaching Literature, teaching anything.

The understanding of human beings has to be reflected and passed on by someone who can perceive itself as part of this group and has the courage to see the world from a different perspective. In this particular case, Todorov suggests that through literature people can accomplish this understanding of human beings.

“Since the object of literature is the human condition itself, the person who studies it and understands it will be become, not a specialist in literary analysis but an expert in being human” (Todorov, 2007)

If teaching literature requires a special sensibility to perceive other human being, the person who is in charge of teaching it must use all their senses to capture humans’ essence. Moreover, this should be a person so keen that will transmit all his/her knowledge to others thinking in having a better world.

Teachers need to be responsible of the power literary works give to them and the knowledge this give people about humans. A teacher with this power will enter his/her classroom with the knowledge of what to teach to students to make them grow in all the aspects a human beings can grow.

Every person who wants to become a teacher needs to be aware of the role he/she has; being a guide and support students decision will contribute to be aware of the role we all play in this world.