The Cellar  

Go Back   The Cellar > Main > Home Base

Home Base A starting point, and place for threads don't seem to belong anywhere else

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 03-01-2012, 01:11 AM   #1
Aliantha
trying hard to be a better person
 
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Brisbane, Australia
Posts: 16,493
Animal Farm

I'm going to assume that with the level of education on this site, most of you would be familiar with the novella Animal Farm by George Orwell.

Today, Aden showed his introduction for a paper he has to write, to his teacher, who told him that Animal Farm is not an allegorical piece of literature.

What do you say?
__________________
Kind words are the music of the world. F. W. Faber

Last edited by Aliantha; 03-01-2012 at 01:21 AM.
Aliantha is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-01-2012, 01:26 AM   #2
Sundae
polaroid of perfection
 
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: West Yorkshire
Posts: 24,185
Unless they have changed the meaning of the word allegorical behind my back, I say his teacher is talking out of his/ her arse.
Sundae is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-01-2012, 01:28 AM   #3
Aliantha
trying hard to be a better person
 
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Brisbane, Australia
Posts: 16,493
That's what I thought.

His teacher wants him to say it's satirical, which is also true, but not the only truth imo. I'm thinking about having a chat with this teacher if Aden has no joy on his own.
__________________
Kind words are the music of the world. F. W. Faber
Aliantha is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-01-2012, 01:31 AM   #4
Sundae
polaroid of perfection
 
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: West Yorkshire
Posts: 24,185
It's such an extraordinary thing to say, is there any chance Aden might have misunderstood the criticism? I know you have a bright boy, but I also know that things can get unintentionally twisted between school and home.

I agree it's worth a quick word with Teach though.
Animal Farm is usually an aide to describing allegory.
Is A Pilgrim's Progress just a nice story?
Sundae is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-01-2012, 01:40 AM   #5
xoxoxoBruce
The future is unwritten
 
Join Date: Oct 2002
Posts: 71,105
I worry about a person, especially a teacher, who doesn't understand why it's allegorical, he/she obviously didn't understand what the book is about.
__________________
The descent of man ~ Nixon, Friedman, Reagan, Trump.
xoxoxoBruce is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-01-2012, 04:05 AM   #6
ZenGum
Doctor Wtf
 
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: Badelaide, Baustralia
Posts: 12,861
I officially say ... WTF?
__________________
Shut up and hug. MoreThanPretty, Nov 5, 2008.
Just because I'm nominally polite, does not make me a pussy. Sundae Girl.
ZenGum is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-01-2012, 04:10 AM   #7
ZenGum
Doctor Wtf
 
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: Badelaide, Baustralia
Posts: 12,861
And let me just add:

Name:  note.jpg
Views: 278
Size:  46.2 KB

He is not alone.
__________________
Shut up and hug. MoreThanPretty, Nov 5, 2008.
Just because I'm nominally polite, does not make me a pussy. Sundae Girl.
ZenGum is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-01-2012, 04:42 AM   #8
Aliantha
trying hard to be a better person
 
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Brisbane, Australia
Posts: 16,493
Yeah, this is pretty much what I expected. I knew he was right, but was just so dumbfounded by what his teacher said to him.

I've suggested that he continue on his current course, and we'll see how he goes for marks in the end.

It is only first draft stuff, but as I said, I thought it was really good and that he'd obviously put a lot of thought into what he wanted to say.

We'll see what the teacher has to say when he hands in the whole first draft for revision in a couple of weeks.
__________________
Kind words are the music of the world. F. W. Faber
Aliantha is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-01-2012, 08:19 AM   #9
Beest
Adapt and Survive
 
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Ann Arbor, Mi
Posts: 957
A quick search of online dictionaries inicates to me that Animal Farm is pretty much the definition of allegory and satire.

I don't really see how something can be satire and not an allegory, by some defintions satire is more 'modern' and concerns ' the folly of man' whereas allegory is more 'spiritual'. Could be where the teacher is coming from but IMHO they are wrong to be splitting hairs when a child has found a subject to be enthusiatic about.

Somtimes once a grade has been given it is hard to get it altered, things are then recorded in a system which would take effort to change, it might be better and easier to get the teacher on board earlier, a stitch in time....
Beest is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-01-2012, 08:24 AM   #10
footfootfoot
To shreds, you say?
 
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: in the house and on the street-how many, many feet we meet!
Posts: 18,449
*cough*yet more reasons to homeschool*cough*
__________________
The internet is a hateful stew of vomit you can never take completely seriously. - Her Fobs
footfootfoot is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-01-2012, 08:50 AM   #11
glatt
 
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: Arlington, VA
Posts: 27,717
Quote:
Originally Posted by Aliantha View Post
His teacher wants him to say it's satirical, which is also true, but not the only truth imo. I'm thinking about having a chat with this teacher if Aden has no joy on his own.
I would encourage Aden to continue to work on the allegorical angle, but also devote some discussion to the satire as well. The teacher is right that it's satire, so it can't hurt to incorporate the teacher's comments, but it's also clearly allegory, so that should be discussed as well.

I bet it's a communication glitch. The teacher probably was trying to emphasize the satire, and said something that could be interpreted as dismissing the allegory, and Aden picked up on that and thought it was a clear refuting of the allegory, when maybe the teacher meant only to diminish it a little and focus on the satire. Unless the teacher has a history of being a tool, I would tend to think it's just a miscommunication. Teacher probably isn't that dumb.
glatt is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-01-2012, 09:00 AM   #12
jimhelm
a beautiful fool
 
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: 39.939705
Posts: 4,504
If the teacher is teaching about writing, he may be insisting on using the word Satire because it is a TYPE of fiction. Allegory is kind of like a simile... a tool, not really a genre, so much.

or maybe the teacher is a wanker.
__________________
There's a Shadow just behind me. Shrouding every step I take. Making every promise empty, pointing every finger at me. _tool
jimhelm is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-01-2012, 09:07 AM   #13
Spexxvet
Makes some feel uncomfortable
 
Join Date: Dec 2005
Posts: 10,346
The teacher is obviously a pig. Allegorically speaking, of course.

Quote:
Originally Posted by footfootfoot View Post
*cough*yet more reasons to homeschool*cough*
*cough* For every teacher like this there are ten parents less equipped to prepare their children for a productive adulthood *cough*
__________________
"I'm certainly free, nay compelled, to spread the gospel of Spex. " - xoxoxoBruce
Spexxvet is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-01-2012, 09:11 AM   #14
infinite monkey
Person who doesn't update the user title
 
Join Date: Mar 2011
Posts: 13,002
^whs^

My 7th grade social studies teacher was more than happy to let me grab the encyclopedia and school him on the correct pronunciation of Edinburgh. He was all like "Well I'll be...been saying it wrong for years!"

Maybe the teacher wants the kid to think outside the box (what an overused phrase I know) and not just regurgitate the whole allegory essay. Or, maybe it's a crappy teacher. I also had a 7th grade science teacher who told us when we chewed our fingernails they all ended up in our appendix.
infinite monkey is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-01-2012, 09:14 AM   #15
HungLikeJesus
Only looks like a disaster tourist
 
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: above 7,000 feet
Posts: 7,208
Well, he's certainly sparked discussion and interest, which is a sign of a good teacher.
__________________
Keep Your Bodies Off My Lawn

SteveDallas's Random Thread Picker.
HungLikeJesus is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply


Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
 
Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump

All times are GMT -5. The time now is 03:58 AM.


Powered by: vBulletin Version 3.8.1
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.