Favorite Narratives

My favorite story is Victor Hugo’s Les Misérables, which was published in 1862 in France. The title of the story can be translated as ‘The Miserable Ones’, because many of its characters suffer greatly throughout the novel. The characters struggle with many difficult questions, such as “What is true justice?,” “What must a person do to right their wrongs?,” and “What is forgiveness?” The novel centers around the character Jean Valjean, a man who when he was very young and very poor stole a loaf of bread to feed his family. For this crime (which some would say was not a crime at all), he was imprisoned for decades. He escapes from prison and makes a new life for himself as an honorable citizen, but must reckon with his past for the rest of his life. I love it because it is a story about redemption.

What is your favorite story? Explain why you like it so much.

Summer Adventures

Hello, 40D WRL! Welcome to our class blog. This is the place where you will brainstorm and share ideas with each other.

You may be wondering about my profile picture. This summer, I took a trip to New York City with my husband. We saw much of the city, including the Empire State Building, the United Nations, and Central Park, but one of the best things we did was attend a Broadway show. We saw a musical called Catch Me If You Can. Have you seen the movie with Tom Hanks and Leonardo DiCaprio? It is a touching story about a troubled teenager, Frank Abagnale, and the FBI agent who helped change his life, Carl Hanratty. Frank becomes a con artist, makes hundreds of thousands of counterfeit dollars, and successfully impersonates a pilot, a doctor, and a lawyer. That is, until he is caught. The musical adaptation of the film included very entertaining singing and dancing. It's incredible that people are so talented! You can see the playbill (the document that gives the biographies of the actors) in my picture.

Tell us about an adventure you had this summer.