Book Review "When Women Were Priests"

Here is the book review I wrote for my History of Christianity class. I did not change anything for this post -the professor asked that we use headings for the chapters, so I left those in.

Torjesen, Karen Jo. When Women Were Priests. New York: Harper Collins, 1995. Print.

In the novel, “When Women Were Priests,” Karen Jo Torjesen explores the roles of women within the early Christian church. She looks at the ways Greco-Roman culture influenced gender roles in the early Christian community, and how views of women went from bad to worse. The movement of the church from a private to a public entity played a large role in the process of renunciation of women leadership. Torjesen reviews several different sources to prove that women were once capable leaders of the church.

In 1976 the Vatican published a document claiming that women cannot lead a church because their bodies are not like male bodies, therefore it would be sacrilegious for a women to perform the sacred roles that priests are asked to (intro. 3). On the other hand, in 1976 the Episcopal Church in the United States decided to allow women priests, but it was not until 1992 that the Church of England followed suit (intro. 2). While, today, we see many Churches allowing women leaders, the idea of women priests was still an issue during the time that Torjesen wrote this novel. Torjesen is asking her readers to think differently about the role of women within the church and to see both sexes as equals.

Preachers, Pastors, Prophets, and Patrons

Torjesen starts the book off with evidence that women were priests during the first few centuries of Christianity. There are different pieces of art that show women as priests. One is a mosaic that hangs above a basilica in Rome that depicts four female figures, one of which is Bishop Theodora. The inscriptions on graves can also show that women were priests; one such marker titles a woman named Epiktas as a presbyter (9-10).

Turning to the bible for support, one finds Lydia who is a woman who defies our beliefs of ancient women. Lydia was a merchant who traveled for business. She also ran a household and owned slaves. Paul’s letters are also biblical proof of women leaders as he writes to the women who founded and ran the church at Phillipi (15).

Household Management and Women’s Authority

There was a change in views of women leaders because during this time Christians were being condemned by Roman society. In an effort to gain credibility with the Romans, Christians decided to take on their cultural views, which ended badly for women (38). There is proof of women running churches and having a role in society regardless of other indications that women were heavily suppressed. In the next chapter, Torjesen addresses this contradiction.

Women were quite capable and were allowed to run a trade as well as a household (which required much more work than it does today). There is a conflict between what really happened in society and what people saw as ideological. According to Aristotle, men are the head of the household, and women are subordinate to men. During the first and second centuries of the Common Era, women could get around the rule of a man by choosing a tutor who acted as her “guardian.” Emperor Augustus declared that women who had at least three children were legally independent (58-62). An ancient Egyptian marriage contract has been found that puts the man and wife on equal terms. The contract states that either man or wife may dissolve the marriage if deemed necessary, and neither may commit adultery. If one accuses the other of adultery or any other crime, a case must be presented to a group of jurors who will consider the evidence and decide the legitimacy of the charge (66-7).

It is true that women were viewed as keepers of the household; however, that notion required a lot more work than it does today. Running a house usually included running a trade of some sort, as well. The wife was in charge of all of the slaves and other forms of work within the house, including the children. She was in charge of raising the children, and making sure they were educated. Women were also in charge of the finances. Torjesen compares running a house to running a small factory (69). All of the duties required of a housewife were also required of a priest. Since women are already capable of running a house, it only makes sense that they can also run a church (76-80). While women are the ideal household managers, the task of taking care of the home was not restricted to women alone. There are cases of men running houses, as well (80-1).

Patronage and Women’s Power

Torjesen continues throughout the next chapter to show the legitimacy of the authority that women had in the early centuries of the Common Era. These women contradict the common views that women were suppressed during the early centuries. Lucilla was known for keeping and kissing a martyr’s bone. The archdeacon, Caecillian censored her and forbade celebrating martyrs in a spiritual way. Lucilla used her social standing and power to start a “church of Martyrs.” This church remained intact until the seventh century (90-1).

Women who had authority were known and recognized as patrons. These patrons were generous with money and gifts, and they acted as benefactors in many cases. Emperor Augustus’ wife was the most powerful political figures in first century Rome (88). She gave dowries to daughters of men who needed financial help, she helped those who were injured or left homeless because of fires, and she sent gifts to the Jewish temple in Jerusalem (94-5).  

Proof of these endeavors lies in the early statues and awards that these female patrons were awarded. They were sometimes even given divine status for their good work within the community. Torjesen uses this information to contradict the notion that women were to be kept in the private domain of the household because in order to offer this much to their community, the work had to be within the public domain (103-6).

Public Women, Private Virtues

Torjesen moves on to the next chapter, showing how sexism worsened, and contradicting the social authority that women had in the first two centuries. Men and women had different “virtues” that were required of them. According to these virtues, men were to exhibit courage, justice, and self- mastery. These virtues tied men to the public sphere. Women were to remain silent, obedient, and chaste. A woman was to do everything she could to protect her innocence and prove that she was chaste. These virtues meant that women were to remain in the house, a private sphere (115-18). Notice that these virtues placed upon the female would not allow her to be a patron (public work) or to engage in many of the duties that were required of running a household. Biblical scripture was used to silence women and force them to stay within the house. One of many examples says to “Let wives be submissive as is appropriate in the Lord” (Col. 38:18).

These views were placed on Christian woman, mainly because it was believed that a woman was lustful and could not control herself, especially if she had authority and was a public woman. Montanists, Gnostics, and Arians all had public women. They were called heretics because they allowed women into the public domain, they allowed women leaders, and they did not feel as though a public woman had issues with controlling her sexual desires (122).

A Woman’s Honor is Her Shame

The next chapter deals with the notion of female shame. A woman’s shame is her inability to control her animalistic sexual desires. Paul said that women prophets should wear a veil so as to acknowledge their shame and inferiority to men (144-5). Women’s virtues were now being used against them. The didascalia is a set of disciplinary procedures and code for church organization from the third century, and it stated that widows who were benefactors to the church were not to “run around” ministering to or baptizing others. They were to acknowledge their shame and stay at home. As time wears on, women are increasingly put under the control of men. They were once honored for their public duties, and patronage, but in the third century, even a female benefactor is looked down upon because of her gender.

When the Church Goes Public

Constantine’s conversion did a lot of good for Christians, but negatively affected women. When he came to power, the Church no longer had to hide from Roman persecution. Initially, Christians met in house Churches. Since the house was the woman’s domain, women were usually the leaders of the church, but when the Churches went public, the cultural gender virtues were still applicable – women were to remain in the private sphere.

Constantine also gave public authority to Churches. The Bishops’ courts, for example, were given as much power as the municipal courts (157). Roman law increasingly influenced the Christian Church. Torjesen uses documents from Tertullian as an example of the worsening treatment of women. Tertullian argued that it is wrong for women to teach, baptize, or perform the Eucharist because women have no authority and do not belong in the public domain (161-64). He also demanded that women, even virgins, wear a veil when they are in public to demonstrate their acknowledgement of their inferiority. Women were only allowed to wear minimal gold or other colors in their clothing, and no jewelry or makeup (167-68).

Women did try to fight this by begging men, the only ones who had a right to vote, to vote against these rules. Women wanted to be able to wear their colorful clothing and jewelry to show their social status. This, of course, did not work. According to Tertullian, Paul (from the bible) and others, women were to be as plain as possible, and wear a veil in public to show that they recognize their own shame.   

The Penetrator and the Penetrated

Torjesen continues to use Roman cultures to explain how and why Christian women went from being leaders to being cast away and hidden inside the house. In Roman culture, a woman’s sexuality determined whether or not she was a good woman. These views were upheld in the second century, and it was not until later on (fourth and fifth centuries) that they infiltrated Christian society.

In the second century, Plato mentioned that the purpose of sexual activity is to procreate. Any use of sexual intercourse without the desire of procuring children is wrong. His ideas did not take hold until later, when Christians took up the notion of abstinence and honoring sexual chastity (191-92). However, this notion was upheld for certain women. Such women were the wives of men. Husbands were allowed to have parties in their homes where many slaves, entertainers (both sexual entertainers and those who entertained with the arts) and concubines were present. While these Symposiums, as they were called, took place, the man’s wife and daughters were to remain chaste and stay away from the room in which the Symposium was taking place. Torjesen discusses the sexual escapades of men in Roman society to show where the ideas of male dominance came from.

Torjesen also discusses the meanings of sexual dreams in Roman society. Artemidorus Daldianus was a second century sexual dream interpreter. I will not detail what these dreams were and what they meant, but it is important to know that it parallels social experience and male dominance (183).  It also shows that, in Roman society, women were seen as having an animalistic libido in which they must keep under control by remaining chaste, while men were able to be free with their sexual desires.

Sin is a Sexually Communicable Disease

During the time of Roman persecutions, women were able to redeem themselves by giving their life to martyrdom. Later on, asceticism took its place. By claiming a life of chastity, women were able to procure a holy life for themselves. Both men and women became ascetics and created communities of monks and nuns. In the sixteenth century, it became clear that these communities were corrupt (233). Because monastic life was previously deemed as holy as a human could become, when it was found to have been corrupted, people started looking at the bible differently.

Martin Luther said that, according to Genesis, men and women were created equally, and because they were created as companions, sexual desire must not be evil. In fact, marriage and having children would bring one closer to spiritual holiness (234-36).  Some people did not believe Luther’s new interpretation of Genesis, but some did believe him and left the abbies and monasteries for a life of marriage and children. Even though Luther opened the door for women, and curbed the ideas on woman “shame”, he did not agree that men and women were completely equal. In Genesis, it is said that Eve was given to Adam to be his helper, and so women are still subordinate to men, but on a different level than that of earlier centuries (239-241).

What if God Had Breasts?

The book ends by going back in time, to very early European society. There was a time when women and men were equal. There was no hierarchy in society and everyone worked together. This society also had no weapons. Archaeological excavations have shown societies where men and women have the same size of burial sites, and the same amount of goods buried with them. The gods of this time were mostly women, none of whom were depicted with weapons. These goddesses were representations of the power of “life and creativity” (252-4). Nomadic warriors moved in on these peaceful tribes, bringing weapons and angry gods who were always depicted with a weapon of some sort. These warriors brought into Old European society a hierarchy, male domination, and angry gods. Life was no longer peaceful. Women were no longer equal to men.

Torjesen uses biblical passages that refer to God as a female figure. In many passages, God is portrayed protecting his (or her) children as a mother would protect her own (Hos. 13.8, Ps. 17.8, 36.7, 91.4). She ends the chapter, and the novel, by demanding a return to the Old European views of an equal society within the Christian religion (268-69).

Throughout the book, Torjesen portrays the rise and fall of women in the Christian church (as well as Greco – Roman society) with the use of artwork – mosaics, paintings, and pottery as well as funerary materials –grave inscriptions, the goods buried with women, and the size of burial plot juxtaposed with the size of a male burial plot. She shows how the bible has been used to portray both sides of the story, with the idea of Adam and Eve and original sin, to the idea that they were created as companions, and sexual desire should not be something to be ashamed of. She also uses quotes from men like Tertullian, John Chrystosom, Thomas Acquinas, Aristotle, and Plato. The early Greco –Roman culture is used to supply a base idea of how these views of women entered Christian society. This diverse range of sources lends to a novel that has been thoughtfully pieced together to give a thorough account of the high and low points of women within the Christian church.

End of Semester

It's the end of the semester - with one day left (I only have one final to take!) I'm beginning to plan my summer. I hope it includes lots of writing and blog posts! I'm downloading Everquest right now. Everquest is where my fantasy world begins. A lot of the inspiration I get for my stories comes from Everquest-- and a few random dreams.

I also have plans to work with a professor on a research project. I won't say what we are researching just yet, but you can bet that there will be upcoming information about it. I have a list of books that I want to read this summer. Right now I'm working on "The Hunger Games" and I hope to read some more Ernest Hemingway since I liked his "Garden of Eden" so much. I'm also signed up for a class (I hope it doesn't get canceled *crosses fingers*).

Ernest Hemingway "The Garden of Eden"

I know that I have read Ernest Hemingway in high school, but that was such a long time ago... This semester I read "The Garden of Eden" with my American Lit class. "The Garden of Eden" is a truly fascinating novel that portrays modernity in a simplistic writing style that provokes deep thinking- Hemingway  was a genius. The writing is so simple and is written mostly in stream of conscious which makes it hard to understand. The novel portrays modernity and feminism in extravagant ways - you just have to read this one.

Another interesting point about this novel, and a point that brings up much debate, is that it was published after Hemingway's death, and the original manuscript is much longer than the published form. Some critics go as far to say that the editor added in his own ending - not Hemingway's.

I'm writing an analytic paper for this class. My assignment is to find and read three (peer reviewed) articles. Each article must be from a different decade; then I will compare the articles and think about the difference in what people are saying between each decade. I like this assignment, but for obvious reasons, one flaw remains. One article from each decade does not even begin to represent a whole decade's worth of critic commentary. I would love to look further into this and see what the critics are collectively writing about as each decade changes with its values and interests. I simply do not have enough time to do this.

My articles are about:

Modernist temorality (modernists had a hard time dealing with.. time.. it was an obsession for them) - 2010

Feminism and writing with the body - This was a really interesting article about Catherine (the main female character in the novel) and how she deals with her seemingly artistic inabilities by being artistic with her body. She does some pretty radical things with her hair and her clothing choice. The author claims that art is usually phallogocentric, and women should write and write about their body. - 1993

The original manuscript and the ending of the novel - this article was a little disappointing because it mostly provides a summary of the manuscript. Its analysis lies in that the author claims the ending was not Hemingway's ending. -1989

I hope my paper goes well.

Completely and Utterly a Nerd!

I've been doing a lot of research lately about non-traditional texts from an educational standpoint (secondary English). The two areas I've focused on is graphic novels/comics, and film adaptation. For me, conversation is everything. I do not really genuinely enjoy these mediums (as I study comics, I'm liking them more and more, I just had a pre-conceived notion about them that has been projected onto me by society). I'm studying them so that I have more knowledge about them and the confidence in that knowledge to teach others about them. When I teach students about film and comics, things that students are interested in, the conversation is going to be alive (hopefully). I would much rather teach a class something that I dislike and have a genuinely intellectual conversation, than teach them something I absolutely love, but they will not discuss with me.

As I'm entering the educational scene as an educator, I'm beginning to think about research - I love to do it, but what will I research when I'm done with college and don't have a billion research papers to do about specific novels, and authors, and pedagogical practices? Lately I've been feeling a little down because I have not found my place yet. Then it came to me: FANTASY (with the opera noises and lights and everything). I enjoy reading fantasy, it's something that I do for fun. Why can't I research and write about it? Why can't I write an analytic essay about my favorite fantasy novels the same way I would write about a Charles Dickens novel? Just today I was talking to my boyfriend about stylistic differences between my favorite author's first book (published in 1994) and his last book (published in 2011). He didn't say too much on the topic, and neither did I (I didn't want to bore him) but why don't I just write an essay about it? I think I will. Updates will be made available via blog, so keep reading. :-)

My Fantasy World

I have recently set some time aside for my fantasy story. I tried bringing it to an end, but before I knew it I was opening up a new plot. My fantasy world continues to grow, but needs some major editing. I want to quit with fantasy for a second and write a non-fantasy adventure story; however, last time I did that it had a tiny fantasy twist to it. I guess I'm just stuck in my fantasy world.

Foucault

Sadly enough my Foucault paper was a little dissapointing. Instead of bein a traditional paper, it was broken up into sections. I did have fun doing the research, but it was really hard to categorize him for the different sections of my paper. For example, I had to figure out whether he was an idealist, realist, exisitentialist, or perennialist. It was hard to pinpoint because as a post-modernist, he refused to be labeled. Existentialism broke out after the war, and Nietszhe had a lot to do with existential thought- that is almost all of my proof that Foucault was an existentialist. Maybe if I had the time/capacity to read his works rather than a summary published by Cambridge, I woud have been better off.

Foucault's most interesting theory is about the truth of knowledge. He claims that there is no truth in knowledge and people who are in power deliberately say things in certain ways to make you believe what they want you to believe. He does not have any straight literary theory, but he does have a theory of an "author function" where when you read, you don't think about why the author wrote this text, you think about how the author is conveying the culture of his/her time.

I'll be writing more on Literary theory in the fall when I take a class on lit theory.

Comics - new paper (Aren't I supposed to be on Spring Break?)

Spring break started for me today as I have no classes on Fridays. I have much research to do and since research is normally referred to as "work" I decided to spend my first day of spring break relaxing. I was watching tv and soon became bored. (tv really cannot hold my attention for very long.) My mind started floating to one of my research papers, one that I am particularly interested in.

This paper is for my senior seminar class on graphic novels. I am supposed to engage myself in Hillary Chute's "Comics as Literature? Reading Graphic Narrative." The first time I read this article I found it very tedious, and I had to ask my boyfriend to read it with me just so I could summarize the main points of the article.  After a few months of studying and reading graphic novels (or narratives) and reading this article for the umpteenth time, I'm really starting to get a grasp on everything that Chute approaches. I'm even making little notations in the margins of other interesting topics within the article to look into and see what other critics are saying about it. (Like the difference between a graphic novel and a graphic narrative, for example.)

One of the topics Chute addresses in this article is the history of comics, and how comics represent history. Scott McCloud goes into more detail than Chute does about the history of comics in his book "Understanding Comics." I will use information from both Chute and McCloud, as well as other articles that I can find, to look into this. I do not want to summarize the history of comics but I want to focus on "Medieval comics."

I know that some medieval works have illustrations with the text (probably because a lot of people were illiterate). The Book of Kells, for example is a copy of the bible with pictures illustrating the stories within the text. The story can be told through the pictures alone, or one can read the text. Medieval musical manuscripts also have pictures. Some  of the manuscripts have the musical scores, poetry, and pictures to tell a story. I'm going to look around and see what other medieval works I can find that include pictures with the text. Who would have thought that comics existed in the Middle Ages?

I have to connect my thesis to the texts we have been reading in class, which is going to be tough. I have not figured out how I will link it, but I'm going to use Kyle Baker's "Nat Turner" as a bridge. "Nat Turner" is a story about slave rebellion. Baker draws the story with pictures, but uses text from the historical documentation of Nat Turner's confessions, which was dictated by Nat Turner when he was in prison.

I've come across another problem. If I am focusing on historical texts, that means I'm treating the Book of Kells as a historical text. Also, that means that I cannot use fictional texts written by Medieval writers that would have been illustrated. I need to come up with a way to either make it universal so I can include fictional works, or find more non-fictional texts from the Middle Ages that I can use within the umbrella of "comics" or "graphic novels."

I have much work ahead of me, and plenty of time to do it; however, I am spending my "relaxing day" doing research. Maybe research is what I consider a fun, relaxing activity. 8-)

Thousands of Words

This is a piece that I wrote several years back:

Thousands of Words

If you asked I would write you a thousand words and then I would write a thousand more. I would write tales of war, Knight ship, and more. I would write of princes and princesses and all their galore.  I would write life and beauty and so much more. I would write the ocean so deep that you wouldn’t know it was that you were looking for. I would write my imagination and you would hunger for more. I would write with a mad burning desire and include all of its gore. I would write of memories past and so much more. I would write the future and what happened before. Yet it wouldn’t be enough because I would write thousands of words and so much more.

"Every Day is a Winding Road"

As I make the last final turns on the road to becoming an English teacher I realize that I'm always thinking about new lessons and units that I should plan. I'm also always applying the things that I do to my future classroom. For example, I was watching "Edward Scissorhands" and started thinking about how cool it would be to watch that after reading Frankenstein, not only thinking about similarities/differences between the novel and the movie, but actually reading the film. "Donnie Darko" would work great if I were teaching Freudian psychology (which sounds really exciting! but not practical for a high school classroom).  I'm now coming up with ideas and activities on how I could incorporate movies, t.v. shows, video games (yes, video games) into the classroom. I was working on a reading assignment for class and decided that I should plan a real life issues unit because that would be a unit that a lot of high school students need (the assigned book I was reading had nothing to do with the idea of this unit).

Along the same lines of applying everyday life to pedagogy, as I make the last final turns on the road to becoming an English teacher, I have to write a philosophy paper. What I am doing is researching Foucault's philosophy and applying that to the English classroom. I'll be thinking about how his philosophy (postmodern) will fit into critical theory when looking at Literature. I hope, too, that his philosophies can also be applied to more technical aspects of the classroom, but I'll just have to see what Foucault's belief systems were.

I hope to keep writing an update on this paper. I know- I usually get excited about my next paper, or writing project that I think of, I hop on the blog and post, then I don't go through with the upkeep  (or the project). I really want to get into the habit of meta cognition - thinking about what I'm thinking about (and writing about for that matter). This topic is something that I'm committed to, and I have to write the paper for a class, so there is no going back. I hope that I can keep up with it; knowing that I'm not disappointing anyone does not really help with getting myself to post.

Lyrics for my Bro

My little brother is a natural at the guitar and he's awesome at it. I've come up with some lyrics for a song, and he's working out a tune to go with it and I'm working on making it longer. This is what I have so far:

I've got this guitar in my hand
and I'm makin' my plan
Go ahead and tell me I can't
I'll just show you I can

I'm on my way to the gold
I've got plenty of goals
I won't give in 'till I've won
Won't stop 'till I'm done

I've got this guitar in my hand
and I'm growing into a man
So let me be who I am
I've gotta take a stand

Whether you like it or not,
This guitar's takin me places
Even if I'm movin in little spaces

I'll keep truckin' a long
'till I find a place where I belong
I won't be a nobody forever
Won't be a nobody while
this guitar is in my hand.

I've got this guitar in my hand
and it's takin' me places
I'll travel the country
you'll see my name in big lights

and even if you don't
you'll know that
I've made somethin' of myself
With this guitar in my hand

I've made somethin' for myself
With this guitar in my hand

Update on My Fantasy Story

I've been thinking about some of the major characters, and I've decided to change the Prince of Innoruuk's name to Zornn, it's German for wrath. Also, more work on Zornn is forthcoming. I wanted to make him a more complex character, so I've created a background to round him out a bit. Then I realized that I'm 50 (thats a guess) pages in, and now I have to go back and critically read those pages so as to make sure everything lines up and there are no contradictions with his character. I'm also changing Luclin, the moon goddess to Neonah, and I'm working on a new name for the gods of Tunare (forest gods). I hope that I get a chance to make these changes soon and expand my story. Spring break isn't too far away; however, my professors like to assign papers during spring break. We'll see what happens.

The Wordless Novel

What are you doing when you study a wordless novel? You can't read it because there are no words; however, the process entails a lot of decoding and interpreting, especially when your "reading" novels like "Graphic Witness" (a composition of four stories drawn as woodcuts by four different artists). There is a lot of blank space that the viewer has to fill on his/her own, which requires an imagination, and critical thinking. Most people would agree that these skills are useful to (high school) students who will soon go out into the world on their own.

Aside from the educational experience, I think it is fun to "read" a wordless book. It can be frustrating at times because one has a difficult time figuring out the artist/author's intent of the story line, but don't we, as readers, usually twist the story line anyways to fit which ever lens we are viewing the novel with anyways? For example, if you are taking the Freudian approach to a novel, you have to really look in between the words to relate the story to the aspects of a Freudian reading. That's besides the point -- "reading" a wordless novel is a challenge, but a challenge that I enjoy. I wouldn't sit and look at one for leisure unless  I were in a book club, or had a few friends in which to discuss the novel with because I think that's what really makes it: Discussing one's views on how to interpret the pictures and the spaces in between. It is also really cool if you are into art. There is a history behind the art of woodcuts, and they are nice to look at. I think wordless novels and graphic novels are becoming apart of our culture as far as books and art goes and everyone should at least try it out.

Lists

Most people come up with "to do" lists comprised of household tasks to take care of and errands to run. I am one of those weird people who turns everything into a list. My most recent list is a list of things to research/write about:

1. Work on fantasy story
2. Multi-Genre Medieval narrative
3. Nymphomania (I feel like this one needs explaining: I have a friend, who, at one point in time was very intrigued with prostitution in European countries. After hearing her talk about it, a lot, I thought it would be interested to look into it and see what it was like in the Victorian era. My interest also came from the fact that I have taken a Victorian literature class where we discussed prostitution and female repression. [Freud])
4. Art in Virginia Woolf's To the Lighthouse
5. The Lighthouse in Virginia Woolf's Too the Lighthouse
6. A lesson plan on Real Life Issues (cutting, bulimia, anorexia, etc.)
7. A lesson plan that includes video games (yes, video games)
8. Research on including video games in an English classroom (Thanks to Dr. Binns, video game scholar, I have a very long list of resources.)
8. Research on using television, movies, and graphic novels in an English classroom

This list should keep me busy for a while :-)

The Turn of the Screw by Henry James

When you read this story, you begin by thinking "it's a ghost story." As the reader immerses him/herself into the story, he/she realizes that it is not just a ghost story. It is far more complex. The novella is full of ambiguities and leaves the reader wondering what the heck is going on. There are several conversations that are not clear, or full and several topics that are just left hanging there with no care as to whether or not the issue is resolved. Once you begin to really analyze the novella, in hopes to clarify a few things, you find yourself asking more and more questions. The book has two main arguments - are the ghosts real? or are the ghosts figments of the governess' imagination. Every piece of evidence that proves one also disproves the other, which is what makes this novella so fascinating. If you are one who cannot accept cliffhanger endings or needs closure, this is not a book for you; but if you enjoy the complex, the obscure, and the unknown, this is an excellent novella to read.

School Stuff: Watching T.V. in the English Classroom

To all parents out there - what would you do if your child came home from school and said "I have to watch T.V. for my homework" ?

I could see some parents saying "quit joking around and get your homework done." I could also see parents getting upset because their child is watching T.V. for homework instead of reading Shakespeare or The Great Gatsby.

Why not let students watch T.V. for homework? You can analyze T.V. in the same way that you analyze novels, poetry, and other literary forms. They already watch countless hours of T.V. daily, so why shouldn't we show them how to turn a brain numbing segment of their life into an exercise in critical thinking? The world of T.V. and other media forms could be so different for them.

I'm getting pretty excited about learning how to add media into the English classroom; currently I'm developing a lesson plan where the students will watch Gilligan's Island and compare it to Lord of the Flies. For homework they will watch a T.V. show, and fill out a worksheet that asks them to contemplate things like setting and what it accomplishes or doesn't accomplish for plot, stock characters, character development, and how the T.V. show they watched relates to any literature they have read for any English class.