Hey guys!
Now that you have completed the dialogue activity and your narrative drafts, I am going to be spending a good deal of time with each of you individually on conferencing with your pieces. This is a time-consuming process, and is an important step to take before the rewriting process begins.
During this time, I would like you to complete the following assignment. On the surface, it appears quite morbid; however, with a little imagination, I think you can see that it is a worthwhile personal creative writing topic that ties in well with our current unit.
TASK
A eulogy is a speech or writing in praise of a person or thing. The word is derived from the Greek word εὐλογία (eulogia), meaning praise (εὐ meaning good or well and λογος meaning word, phrase, speech, etc).
The term "eulogy" may refer to a funeral oration given in tribute to a person or people who have recently died.[1] Eulogies may be given as part of funeral services, however some denominations either discourage or do not permit eulogies at services to maintain respect for traditions.
As a class, we have been privy to one of the greatest speeches ever given at a funeral - that of Mark Antony at the funeral of Caesar in Shakespeare's Julius Caesar. Simultaneously admonishing the conspirators in Caesar's murder, reminding the people of Rome of the debt they owed Caesar, and calling them to avenge his death, the speech is a remarkable example of how a person can be remembered at a funeral.
You are to write your own eulogy for this assignment. Think about it...if you had one last speech to give, and the people that mattered most to you were packed into the room, what would you say? What would you want to get across? Would you simply thank your family, or would you discuss and reflect on what your life was like and what you tried to do with it?
There are many eulogy websites out there to assist you with this assignment. I suggest that you Google two or three, read some famous eulogies, and get a sense of what I am asking you to do before you begin writing.
The length of this assignment is 700-1000 words. Here is the caveat - you will not submit your paper - you will be asked to give your eulogy in class, as a speech. Your assignment is due Monday, Nov. 3, and from that point on, I will be having each of you stand in front of the class and give your eulogy. YOUR SCORE WILL NOT REGISTER UNLESS YOU READ IT IN FRONT OF THE CLASS - SEE ME IF THIS POSES A SIGNIFICANT ISSUE, AND WE WILL ADDRESS IT.
2 comments:
To all the people that I knew in my life I am sorry that I left you; and to all the people that I didn't have a chance to meet, I am sorry that I could not know you. Our lives wouldn't have happy, or sad, or angry times without the people that we share our days with. So many memories were shared with friends and family that made my life an enjoyable experience.
Jordan, You are the funniest person I know. I can't actually believe that you are my sister. Most of the time you here stories of siblings fighting over stupid little things that didn't really matter, but you and I, were not like that. Every night you would sleep upstairs in my room, and we would talk about daily events that took place at school, or laughing about the stupid joke Mom had made earlier. There were endless accounts of Stanley yelling upstairs for us to shut our mouths, because it was 11 o'clock at night and we were still up cackling like hyenas; and then as soon as he left we would mimic his hillbilly's voice. I just want you to know that you were my best friend, and my light at the end of the tunnel at times. When everything in life seemed to be so unhappy, you would come up to me and find a way to make me laugh, and I will miss that. I am sorry that I couldn't find out what "grown up" life was like with you. I am sorry that I didn't get to baby sit your children when you had them, but I know that you are going to be a wonderful mother and a wonderful wife, and wonderful at whatever you do in life. I hope you make the right choices, and just don't forget about me, because no matter what, know that I'll always be there.
Dad, I am sorry that I never really knew you. I visited you every weekend throughout my entire life, and yet I couldn't tell you what your favorite color was or what kind of music you liked best, or better yet, why you left my own mother, and me.... for the other woman. In fact the only thing that I could say to you, was that I feel sorry for you. I feel sorry for you, just because you missed out on a lot in my life, and what could have been your life too. I can't honestly say that without you I was unhappy, or that there was a "missing piece" in my life, but I can say that because you were part of the reason I am alive, that I love you.
Stanley (AKA Step Dad Or Just Dad), I am so glad that mom found you. I have known you since I was four years old, and ever since the day of your marriage to my mother, I have called you Dad. I can remember Jordan and I saying to you, "Now we have the baby bears, the mama bear, AND the papa bear!" when we found out that you all were "officially" together. Every time I compared you to my biological father I always remember the time that I was visiting him, and I was talking about you, and I called you daddy, and he grabbed my arm, and said "Don't you ever call him dad. I am your dad. Not him!" I remember coming home and telling you what had happened, and then saying, "But it's okay, I'll just call you daddy behind his back." I find it quite sad that I feel more comfortable calling you "Dad", than I do him. You have been nothing less than a father to me, and you will always be the best father that I knew, in my heart.
Mom, I know that in my lifetime I have upset you on certain occasions that would have been good memories. I won’t go into details about them but I apologize for: My last vacation with you, shopping for my first formal dress, Mother’s Day, and all the other times I caused you stress. (That wasn’t supposed to rhyme.) I love you for being strong enough to care for me and love me through the hard times.
Zack, I know that we never got along very well, and I feel like it is mainly my fault. I know that little brothers, for some odd reason, come with a big old package of annoying, but I shouldn’t have shrugged you away every time you came up to me and asked me to play with you. I wish I could have taken back all the times you wanted me to go outside and play on the trampoline with you, or play a card game, or just anything. I shouldn’t have taken my time with you for granted. I feel like a lot of your stress in life was caused by your lack of support from me, when you needed it the most; and I apologize for all of it. Be good for mom and dad, and keep Jordan company, and remember that I love you.
And to all of my friends, I have to say that I couldn’t find anyone as cool as you. I’ll miss the “dangerous times” with Kati, the bus ride home with Mark, arguing constantly with Steven, daily phone calls with Nathan, laughing at Robbie, and inside jokes with Chelsea. Whether you were a shoulder to cry on or a smile at the end of a bad day, each of you have had such great impacts on my life in some way.
Just remember that a life lost, is another life gained, and that me being gone, has only given someone else a chance to experience the beautiful things that life has to offer.
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