Hour of the Star by Clarice Lispector

          The Hour of the Star  by Clarice Lispector

Blog Groups Listed Below!

Adam, Sarah G., Dante, Gabrielle, Maleane, Jared, Kaylee, Eirik, and Nick! 
What a handsome group!  
Tres Chic!

` Reading Guide and Journal Entry Guidelines

Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday
APRIL  25 Ext UNITY	ODD                    26 SBAC	EVEN 27 Ext 4/5	ODD  28 SBAC	April    29 TEACHER GRADING DAY
EVEN  MAY 2 (Ext 6-7)	ODD 3 Finish No Exit Presentations HOTS Packet and research topic HW: Research your topic	EVEN     4 (Ext 1-2)	ODD 5  Background Presentations START CLOSE READING ASSIGNMENT HW: BLOG on Journal #1	EVEN     6 (Ext 3-A)
ODD 9 CLOSE READING DISCUSSION (one pages 1-21) HW: BLOG on  #2	EVEN    10  (Ext 4-5)	ODD 11 Vocab Test #11 HW: BLOG on Journal #3	EVEN   12 (Ext 6-7)	ODD 13 HW: BLOG on Journal #4
EVEN  16 (Advisory 90)	ODD                  17 VOCAB #12 HW: BLOG on Journal #5	EVEN   18 (Advisory 90)	ODD 19 FISHBOWL HW: Reflection	EVEN 20 (Advisory 90)
ODD 23 Fishbowl Reflection Due Vocab Test #12 (LAST ONE!!!!) Lispector Interview	EVEN   24 (Ext 1-2) SBAC MATH	ODD                  25 SBAC MATH	EVEN                    26	May 27 NO SCHOOL STAFF DEVELOPMENT DAY
MAY          30          NO SCHOOL MEMORIAL DAY HOLIDAY	ODD            31 Hour of the Star Supervised Write	EVEN                    1	ODD  2Start Written Assignment—Process, Seniors Discuss, Folders, etc.	EVEN                    3
JUNE 6  ODD Written Assignment	JUNE 7  EVEN (Ext 6-7)	JUNE 8  ODD Written Assignment	JUNE 9 EVEN (Ext 1-2)	JUNE 10 Written Assignment
JUNE 13	JUNE 14 Period 2 Final (Then 4, 6, 1, 3, 5, 7)	JUNE 15 Periods 1 and 3 Finals	JUNE 16 Periods 4 and 6 Finals	JUNE 17 Periods 5 and 7 Finals

YES—we will have a final exam!  I will tell you more about it later!
Journaling:  Your blog will look a bit different from previous works as we explore Hour of the Star.  Rather than a blog about whatever you want, you will have six (6) separate entries to complete.  The due dates after each should be adhered to as your responses and reflections will fuel class discussions.

Background Information—After reading/annotating the reading about Clarice Lispector, write a reflection . . . what insights have you gained from this reading?  How does knowing Lispector’s background affect your interpretation of the novel?

1.        Passage Analysis Discussion Prep—After color-marking your assigned passage and discussing it with your partner, write a reflection analyzing the significance of the details/patterns you noticed in your passage.  What affect does the use of these details have on the reader and/or the story as a whole?

2.       Class Discussion—Answer three to five questions from the “Guided Study Questions” and find evidence to support your responses. 

3.        Biblical References—Identify 5-10 Biblical references; look up each reference; explain what it is and what it might mean in context of the novel as a whole.  .

4.       Many have noted that Lispector’s novel explores the dehumanizing effect of the urban world, particularly on the poor.  One of the ways she emphasizes this is through Rodrigo’s cold treatment of Macabéa as a person and as a creation of his.  Identify at least six (6) moments in the novel when Lispector does this.  For your journal, analyze her deliberate “objectivity” of Rodrigo to underscore the dehumanizing impact of the urban world. 

5.        In most 20^th century Experimental Novels there is an “anti-hero,” often not very likeable and possessed of an “ordinariness” or “less than ordinariness.”  Yet the work is also very complex with “action” deriving from the internal conflicts of the vast psychological world within a character.  Irrationality abounds.  He is motivated by deep unconscious sources of his nature.  –Given this description of the Experimental Novel, select four (4) examples that support Hour of the Star as Experimental and explain each. 

Guided Discussion Questions

1.        What was Lispector’s purpose in writing this book?  What is the theme?

2.       What is the significance of the beginning, where Rodrigo talks about the beginning of the world?  How does that relate to the rest of the story?

3.        Was Macabéa happy?  Are we meant to feel sorry for her?  If she is self-content, is she so pitiful after all?

4.       Why do you think Macabéa “loved” Olímpico?

5.        What is the reason for Olímpico’s character in the story beyond the obvious reason of adding to Macabéa’s terrible life?

6.       Why does the author sometimes use “He”/”She” when Macabéa and Olímpico are talking, but sometimes use just a hyphen?  Why in some places, but not in others?

7.       What does Macabéa’s death represent?  How does it fit in with the overall message of the book?

8.       What is the significance of dying a virgin?

9.       What is the significance of the reference to Julius Cæsar (“Et tu, Brute” p. 84)?

10.     What is the point of Rodrigo’s introduction?

11.      Is Rodrigo the protagonist of this novel?  Or is it Macabéa?

12.     What is the significance of Rodrigo’s use of syntax (complex sentences, use of dashes/hyphens, unusual use of punctuation, like colons, etc.)?

13.     How are the philosophical thoughts presented throughout this story reflected in the plot of Macabéa’s story?

14.     How are the philosophical thoughts reflected in Rodrigo’s narration?

15.     How is Latin American culture reflected in this novel?  If Macabéa were an American woman, would the story change in any way?

16.     What role does gender play in the story?  Why is the narrator male?  Is there cultural and/or thematic significance for the gender roles?

17.     What other questions would you like the class to discuss?

BLOG GROUPS 2016
Period 5
Group 1:  Katie, Eirik, Nam,  Morgan, Brittany, Jared, and Maleane
Group 2:  Kaleelah, Adam, Isaac, Abhi, Sarah G., Issabell, and McKenna
Group 3:  Gabrielle, Cullen, Dan, Avery, Bella, Emily, Esther, and Katja
Group 4:  Elicia, Dante, Felix, Kaelin, Al, Nick, and Sarah P.
Group 5:  Noah, Ariel, Cyan, Hajir, Zeyad, Justin, Jack, and Rishi

Period 7
Group 1:  Nathan, Rebekah, Gabriela, Maya, Alicia, Jessica and Amber
Group 2:  Chris M., Thomas, Andrea, McKenna, Kaylee, and Casey
Group 3:  Kris M., Elise, Jin, Diana, Karim, Sophia, and Holly
Group 4:  Brady, Rachel, Delfina, Laurel, Elliot, Molly, and Kylie

Quirky Quotes from Clarice!

"My history is that I have no history"

“I write and that way rid myself of me and then at last I can rest.”

“Love is now, is always. All that is missing is the coup de grâce- which is called passion.”

“I do not know much. But there are certain advantages in not knowing. Like virgin territory, the mind is free of preconceptions. Everything I do not know forms the greater part of me: This is my largesse. And with this I understand everything. The things I do not know constitute my truth.”

"I, who live sidewise, I’m to the left of whoever comes in. And in me the world trembles."

"Do you know that hope sometimes consists only of a question without an answer?"

"Oh! My love, don’t be afraid of neediness: it is our greatest destiny."

Cartoon images from http://tecidovivo.blogspot.com/2010/12/9-de-dezembro-clarice-lispector-tecido.html