1. Existentialism
Because nothing says holiday spirt like questioning your own existence…

2. Today in AP
Vocab quiz #7
You have 10 minutes to prep. Sentence structure today is chiasmus (or antimetabole) sentences: aka-being able to word-say in the reverse-ey.
Acceptable: synonyms, rephrasing, direct re-use of words, denotative use.
I went to the doctor five days ago; yes, last week I went to the hospital.
He told me he isn’t coming back; he’s not returning, he said.
We ate all the leftovers so quickly; speedily we polished off all that food.
The police told everyone to lay flat on the ground, so we all went prostrate (now you can’t use that one :p)
The capacious girl was very unpredictable and she was moody like a storm.
Ask not what Ms. Reynolds can do for you, but what you can do for Ms. Reynolds
Not Acceptable: Vague/ alluding to word or meaning.
They attempted to mitigate the damage but couldn’t figure out the loss.

3. Human condition connections for existentialists…their great questions
“Why am I here?”
“Does what I do matter?”
“I don’t believe in the system, but how do I live without it?”
“Is there a meaning to life and, if so, am I meant to find it?”
“What is living authentically?”
“By challenging my believes, do I destroy or strengthen them?”
Plato: “How can humans live a fulfilling, happy life in a contingent, changing world where every thing they attach themselves to can be taken away?”

4. Franz Kafka
The "fathers" of the "movement (it gets a bit theological, but hang in there)
Key terms: Essentialism, Absurd, Absurdist, Nihilist(ism)
A bit more dry, but still good info -more notes.

5. Existentialism Read “The Myth of Sisyphus” and then Camus explanation.
Discuss why Sisyphus must now be “happy”
Sisyphus -Sam Beckett, “Waiting for Godot” and Albert Camus
Absurd Hero: “Sisyphus is the epitome of the absurd hero because he is able to recognize the absurdity of the human condition, abandon hope, find happiness in material reality, and ultimately find meaning in the struggle itself.”
-Benjamin Rivière

6. Human condition connections for existentialists…their great questions
“Why am I here?”
“Does what I do matter?”
“I don’t believe in the system, but how do I live without it?”
“Is there a meaning to life and, if so, am I meant to find it?”
“What is living authentically?”
“By challenging my believes, do I destroy or strengthen them?”
Plato: “How can humans live a fulfilling, happy life in a contingent, changing world where every thing they attach themselves to can be taken away?”
Consider these while reading the three stories by Kafka…
Annotate and come back with thoughts and questions.

7. Today in AP Discuss the three short Kafka stories and guiding
Themes/motifs/ideas of Existentialism and the Absurd.
What is an existential crisis??
Independent reading: Chapter 1 of “The Metamorphosis”
and study guides. #thatguysbugginout #Kofkroach
Didn’t finish? It’s

8. Today in AP “The Metamorphosis” Day 2
Consider the following quote from the play “Endgame” by Sam Beckett:
“Grain upon grain, one by one, and one day, suddenly, there’s a heap, a little heap,
the impossible heap.
What is the paradox? What is the meaning of the quote? What is the image?
As you read:
Analyze the use of time, clocks, timetables and how Kafka manipulates time and setting to create urgency and panic.
Consider the structure and pace of events
Infer about his relationship with his parents (past, present, future) How do they also metamorphos? How do the changes in Gregor balance the changes in the family and how does this connect to the Absurd in existential theory.
Existential chiasmus sentence :-P

9. “The Metamorphosis” Day 3
Finish “Metamorphosis” and study guide Due next class.

10. Today in AP What was “Metamorphosis” about really
Today in AP What was “Metamorphosis” about really? Let’s talk about those connections to the human condition.
Find three passages in the novella that you feel speak to the human condition in a existential way.
Copy each passage and then write a few sentences of analysis for each one making sure to cite the page number and a clear connection to the human condition!
Discovery Ed breaks it down for us as well.
And then Kafka Kahoots!!!
Homework: Please look over Hamlet and come back prepared to begin discussing it. Have a great holiday break!!!