Welcome to Freshman English! I consider it a huge privilege to study literature and writing with you this school year.

Course Rationale:

On day six of Creation, God created man in His image: just and relational. The effects of the Fall, however, left mankind in a flawed state of injustice and self-centeredness. Reflecting this broken state, literature often tells tales that bear witness to man’s inhumanity to man. Man’s story, however, doesn’t have to end in brokenness: Because of Christ’s redemptive work on the cross, we can choose an identity characterized by selfishness and injustice or by justice and love. Looking at story, the Freshman English course will identify the choices made by literature’s characters, and it will extend these choices to Santiago 2011-2012.

Big Ideas:

Justice v. Injustice {Micah 6.8}

• How do characters respond to acts of injustice?
• Who determines what is just and what is unjust?
• Analyze the characters responsible for unjust acts: What caused the acts of injustice? How could they have been prevented?
• How does a character’s social status influence interactions with others?
• How does a character’s worldview affect his/ her response to injustice?
• Is man capable of justice?

Identity

• What is man’s collective identity?
• On what do people (and characters) choose to base their identities?
• Personal question: What is the foundation of your identity?

Selflessness

• How does Christ reflect selflessness?
• How does/could selflessness impact Santiago 2011/2012?

Story

• Why read and write stories?
• How does the structure of a story impact its message?
• What does the author want the reader to understand (theme)?
• What can a Christian take away from a non-Christian piece of literature?

Literature:

• Assorted short stories
• To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
• The Last Battle by C.S. Lewis
• Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare
• Night by Elie Wiesel