I'm falling behind!!!!! pp. 24-31.

What is exciting for me about this section is the way that we can see the efforts of writers creating political action.  You know, "The pen is mightier than the sword" and all that.

I must point out the beauty of the transition on p. 26.  the third paragraph ends with " 'their contributions usually summarized in obituaries' ".  And the next paragraph begins, "An obituary might as well have been written for the National Cancer Institute."

It is this kind of transition-among others- that we must try to emulate.

"disease of the chest wall".  Man.

Golden line:  "The illness lived on the borderlands of illnesses, a pariah lurking between disciplines and departments--not unlike Farber himself."  I'm trying to figure out if what we are seeing here is a Zeugma.  Your opinion?

And I can't help but note the irony in the idea that Farber was successful because of his isolation.

And I am kind of wondering what the hematological riddles of other decades were.

So now we've got Lucy Wills ( a woman finally) and George Minot and Yellapragada Subbarao.

Another one of my favorite lines:  "But Subbarao was a foreigner, a reclusive, nocturnal, heavily accented vegetarian who lived in a one-room apartment downtown, befriended only by other nocturnal recluses such as Farber."  Hilarious that "vegetarian" is listed in the catalogue of what seem to be eccentricities.  But this sentence creates some strong imagery to establish the character type.

This is pathetic entry, I know.  But it is so late. And I am so tired.  Especially because I saw Gatsby for the second time tonight and that is an emotionally draining experience- in a good way.  But now, all I can think about is DiCaprio :)

One of my favorite lines from the Gatsby film is when Daisy says to Tom:  "Why don't I make you a drink so you don't seem so stupid to yourself."  And then the scene at Carraway's cottage, when Gatsby brings all of those flowers and cakes and then goes and stands in the rain?  So good.

pp 17-24

More Carla and then some background on Sidney Farber.  And back to the beginning of the science and discovery of treatment.

I love that the next section which begins on p 21 is titled, "A monster more insatiable than the guillotine".  This ties so nicely into our themes for AP Lang.  The entire syllabus is structured around one monster or another.  Junior year in and of itself is a monster.

Here's a vocab term:  Zeitgeist.  It means "the spirit of the times".  How does that relate to the info in this next section?

"The public willingly spends a third of that sum in an afternoon to watch a major football game" (24).  Some things will never change.

All of the information about Fortune, The New York Times, Time and Life is especially relevant to us as well as we will all be bringing about awareness in regard to some monster this fall in the shape of a Monster project.  When I say that, I mean it's huge and it's about a monster.

pp. 11-17

So, now we know who Sidney Farber is. And we've met Virchow and Bennett and Biermer and I hope I'm not leaving anyone out.

Golden Line:  "He felt trapped, embalmed in his own glassy cabinet" (12).  What I love about this sentence is that in the previous paragraph Mukherjee takes much trouble to describe the work of Farber.  He mentions the jars and the embalming fluid and then one paragraph later he uses that imagery to describe how Farber feels about being a pathologist.  That, my friends, is craftsmanship.  The author has used the content, the nature of the content to describe a new idea in a way that is relevant to the work of Farber.  I feel like I'm talking in circles here.  But do you get the idea?  Mukherjee does this kind of thing throughout the book.  Watch for it and share it with the rest of us when you find what you think might be an example.

Here's an interesting idea: text structure.  No, really.  It is interesting.  Remember the phial of aminopterin.  Pay attention to when it comes up again...and again.  and let me know if you can decide on an organizational structure for this book. Pay attention to when we return to Carla.

I loathe the word 'pus.'  Disgusting.

I could write all day.  What are your thoughts about this section and the "suppuration of blood"?

Did anyone notice the use of questions?

I also like to keep track of all the times that Mukherjee personifies Cancer.  It is, after all, a biography and he told us why in his prologue.  I think it is important to check for consistency on this point.  One way that an author establishes ethos is to deliver on promises made.

Your turn.

The Author's Note and Prologue

I think that one of the things that makes this work such a rich and multi-layered read are the number of quotations that the author has included to open each new section.  It is interesting to think about how the quotations that he has chosen add to the meaning of the section that they precede. Do you notice any patterns as we open with this short excerpt?

And the information that we get about the author's exigence (vocab term: someone look it up and tell us what it means and how it applies to this book), his purpose and intent, the initiating questions that guide the research and the composition are valuable to us as writers and readers. I'd love to hear someone who agrees with this contribute an explanation about why they believe this to be true.  If you don't agree, I don't want to hear from you. I'M KIDDING, OF COURSE.  OF COURSE.

And it strikes me that it is never a bad idea to begin with a narrative.  
What are your thoughts on any or all of this?  It's a deceptively short section--7 measly pages--but there is so much contained within.

Another vocab term:  ethos.  Anyone wanna take a stab at how this is established in these first seven pages?

Can't WAIT TO GET A REPLY!  I'll limit the caps in future posts.  I promise.

I posted this on the Facebook page as well.  So, if you are more comfortable with that format, comment there. It's called "Mrs. McAllister's AP English Language and Composition"

Facebook Page

Mrs. McAllister's AP English Language and Composition Page

We might as well try this, too.   Search for it on Facebook.  It might be a more manageable forum.  I'll keep both going for awhile and we'll see.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Mrs-McAllisters-AP-English-Language-and-Composition/97554487855?fref=ts

Tomorrow......

we start.  In the early evening....let's say by 7 pm, I will post some comments, notes, observations, questions, appreciations, about the first seven or so pages and then we'll see what comes of it.