Lesson 6.06: Don't Rock the Boat

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A dialectical journal is a type of journal that allows you to have a conversation with the text you are reading. The journal is meant to help you develop a better understanding of the selection that you are reading. Use your journal to reflect on your personal responses, to record your ideas about the theme, to prepare for essays or tests, or to gather textual evidence for your essay.

To begin, choose passages that stand out to you as you are reading. Record them in your dialectical journal. Then provide questions, comments, and/or explanations. Look for quotes in your text that seem significant, powerful, or confusing to you. For example, you may choose

• an effective literary device,
• a personal connection,
• an important symbol to theme,
• a confusing vocabulary word or passage, or
• an important setting, event, or character.

Responding to the passage you have selected is easy. You just need to be specific and detailed. Some sentence leads could include the following:

Why did...
Who is...
This setting reminds me of...
This character reminds me of...because...
If I were (character), at this point, I would...
What would happen if...Now, I understand...

This idea/event seems to be important because...
The language makes me feel the author is...
When the author does..., it creates a... tone that...

The details create / show...
The...is compared to a ...and it really makes me see how...
The symbolizes...and it...(the effect)
With the..., the author creates an image of...that...

You must label your responses using the following codes:

• (Q) Question - ask about something in the passage that is unclear
• (C) Connect - make a connection to your life, the world, or another text
• (P) Predict - anticipate what will occur based on what's in the passage
• (CL) Clarify - answer earlier questions or confirm/disaffirm a prediction
• (R) Reflect - think deeply about what the passage means in a broad sense - not just to the characters in the story/author of the article. What conclusions can you draw about the world, about human nature, or just the way things work?
• (E) Evaluate - make a judgment about what the author is trying to say

This example is from Lord of the Flies by William Golding.
Textual Evidence
"A stain in the darkness, a stain that was Jack, detached itself and began to draw away. 'Allright. So long.' The stain vanished. Another took its place."

Thought
This metaphor compares Jack to a stain, to something that mars, contaminates, and spoils. Since darkness is mentioned, it makes me think that Ralph sees Jack as evil. Biblical allusions are all over the place in Lord of the Files, and this makes me think the reference to darkness also shows that Jack represents sin and the dark side of human nature. Jack being a stain, I completely understand but who or what is the other stain? The entire next paragraph is about Roger. Is Roger a stain too?

Code
Reflection, Question

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Read "The Open Boat."

You may listen to it as well.

Give yourself plenty of time to read and listen to the story. You will have an open dialogue with this text.

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