The Three Musketeers- Historical fiction adventure novel

Do you love reading stories about political intrigues? Do you enjoy adventure stories? this sounds like I am talking about the new "James Bond" movie doesn't it?  Before Bond and J.J. Abrams, there was Alexandre Dumas.  This may be the writer for you!

My last day with Nina in Paris found me at the Louvre.  This building now houses a famous art museum, but did you know that the original building was the official residence of the French monarchy until Louis XIV moved to Versailles?

This is the famous setting for Dumas's adventure novel, "The Three Musketeers." They face death in their loyalty to their king, Louis XIII, and to each other!

If you look through the controversial glass pyramid which covers the museum's reception area, you can see the original building.  

Loyalty, friendship, politics and, of course, a love story....all in ONE novel!  Pick it up, you will love it!

I am flying home tomorrow....talk to you next week!!!  And...see you online!

Thank you for writing!

Anonymous,

I felt as if I were in a painting.  Oh, to be painted by a French painter like Monet!

Nichole,

You are so right.  Great literature is timeless, isn't it?  It's themes are relevant to any age and time!  that is what makes it great! It reaches beyond the present time to touch us and make us think more deeply about our lives!

Thanks for writing, fellow Paris fan!

Hi Ms. Heflin- English I teacher- Yes, I agree with you about the Louvre....the Mona Lisa is tiny, but powerful, isn't she, as she draws crowds of people speaking speaking so many different languages all around her! Paris IS magical....an amazing city! If anyone wants to read an fab story about children who get lost in an art museum in NYC, read "Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler." Those two children live Ms. Helfin's and my dream of getting lost in the Louvre Museum! Thanks for writing, Amy!

The Short Story- "The Necklace"

Do you love to tell stories that stun your friends?  Are you the kind of person that LOVES being shocked?  Then short story writing may be your forte.

For those of you who read "The Necklace" in Module 4, this will be familiar....

In our short story, "The Necklace," the protagonist, Mathilde, finds out a shocking truth after 10 years of hard labor paying back a lost necklace.  It was  here, in a park in Paris, like this one, that she must hear the truth that will change her entire perception of her life.  What is  Guy de Maupassant trying to say to us as Mathilde takes her walk in the park after a long working day and meets her friend for the first conversation they have had in 10 years?  What is he teaching us about the level of contentment in out own lives?   

Theme: When we do not appreciate what we have, we live our lives in misery- inside and out!  When I get that little greedy feeling inside, I think of her.

Have you ever felt like Mathilde?

Authors of short stories use devices like characterization and setting to bring to light shocking truths about human existence. 

Read "The Necklace" in Module 4!

 Nina, my daughter, as Mathilde!

As you can see....no matter where I travel, I find sweet spots to sit with a good book!   Inviting, isn't it??  Wish you could join me!  

"Les Miserables" The Novel: Characterization

Have you ever known someone who could not accept that the world was not as he saw it?  A person that had to change in a changing world?  Inspector Javert in "Les Miserables" was a symbol of a society that needed to change during  the French Revolution.  

Javert pursued Jean Valjean for decades, trying to bring him to "justice."  Jean Valjean, however, had changed. This former criminal had become a man of goodness and charity. When Javert had this man in  custody, he was faced with a choice. Should he let this man free, now that he was a man who lived only to help others, or, should he follow his rigid sense of justice, and take him to jail? 

Nina and I walked by the "quay" of the Seine thinking of Javert and his final decision. It is a beautiful scene that symbolized the changes taking in France in the 1700's.

REad "Les Miserables"  by Victor Hugo.  You will be entranced!

Shakespeare and Company is one of the most famous English Language bookstores in Europe!  It is precious and packed full of books...my kind of place!!

I have also included pictures at Giverny. The gardens of Monet, a person who wrote of beauty with paint, rather than words.  As you can imagine, the beauty took my breath away!

Thanks for your lovely comments!!!!

Thanks to all of you who posted comments...my students, fellow teachers and family!! It is so fab to connect with you!

Victoria, 

Hi! Yes, I am staying in a hotel close to the metro. It overlooks a beautiful building with plants and geraniums sunning themselves in their French balconies.  When I return home, I will be planting geraniums....many geraniums!  Hope your cat and puppy are well!

Hannah,

Howdy...Paris is a dream!!  Absolutely amazing!  I love seeing the sights we have read about in books.   The picnic by the Seine yesterday made me think of the characters in books such as "Les Miserables" and "The Three Muskateers."  Just wanted to get a out a sword and start fencing by the banks of this "fleuve."  Say hi to your family!

Girl from YL...my sis!!  So glad you enjoyed the bells.  You know us...Nina and I were completely entranced!!!  And, I have my baguette in my purse!   Kiss to Sam!

Mom of girl from YL...my Mami!!  Si Mami...entramos al Sacre Couer ayer y pense en ti y nuestro viaje a Galicia.   Te mando muchos besos, Tu hija y nieta que te quieren

Dearest Zanegood family,

Yesterday, as I stood across the Parc du Trocadero gazing at the Eiffel Tower, I thought of you all. The tower stood over the city like a mother, with pride and love for her child!  Thank you, Ms. Zanegood, for your support taking care of my babies at FLVS!!

Anonynous,

Thank you for your kind post....I am glad you could appreciate the beautiful view of the Notre Dame.   As a fraconphile, I am sure the Cathedral would love to have you here, as well. 

Paige,

You WILL come here one day and you will love it. As a lover of literature and all things beautiful, paige, it is your kind of city!!  A hug to your family!

The Hunchback of Notre Dame- The Novel- Setting

Quasimodo's only friends...the gargoyles of the Cathedral !

Bonjour my students!!  I saw an amazing site today...The setting of "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" by Victor Hugo.

Hugo so loved this The Cathedral of Notre Dame that he lovingly described it in exquisite detail in his novel.  In fact, he always insited that the Cathedral was the protagonist of his novel.  The human protagonist is Quasimodo, a hunchbacked ringer of the Cathedral bells.

Ding! Dong! Ding! Dong!  Click "play" and you will hear the tolling of Quasimodo's bells.

This setting symbolizes one of the conflicts in the story.  The beauty and purity of the church contrasted with the hideous gargoyles.  In this way, Quasimodo was torn between his loyalty to the church and his love for the gypsy girl, Esmeralda.  

If you are a writer who loves to picture details for the reader- who loves to plan out a plot that includes Exposition, Rising Action, Climax, Falling Action and Resolution...then novel writing is for you!!

Washington D.C.- The Political Cartoon

Copyright © 2009 Universal Press Syndicate
Ohhhhhhh... Washington DC.....The Budget, Freedom and the American Way.  So many people....so many opinions!   

Do you like to give your opinion?  

Do you like to dabble in irony?

Do you like to draw?

Well, the genre of Political Cartooning may be for you! 

What is the cartoonist's opinion in the above cartoon?

Orlando- Travel Writing

Ahhhhh…Orlando….the if Paris is the center of fashion, then Orlando is the center of tourism. Travel writing here is a huge business. Are you great at persuading people? Then the Orlando writing scene is for you!! Travel writing IS persuasive writing. How do you convince people from ALL OVER the world to visit your city? If you were to write a travel book or blog about a place, where would that place be?

As a travel writer, are you the kind of writer that can make...yes....even mushrooms sound exciting:

"Wild mushrooms thrive in the damp meadows and woodlands in autumn." (DK Travel, France, pg. 302)

Coming Soon!

Hello my amazing students! Check back to my blog on Tuesday to join me in my search for all things literature!! Au Revior!