Hey everyone.

Here is the example entry that I created for the Book of Letters. As you can see I am expecting some fairly sophisticated work. I am well aware from all the assignments that I have marked thus far, that you are all capable of a high level oftextual analysis and I expect to see it in this assignment.

Here is the sample:

C is for the cup that Bilbo stole from Smaug.

Bilbo, up until the point when he stole the cup, had not been overwhelmed by a desire for riches and treasure like the dwarves. However, at the sight of Smaug’s vast hoard Bilbo suddenly fell victim to the greed and desire that had inspired the dwarves to pursue their quest, “Bilbo had heard tell and sing of dragon-hoards before, but the splendour, the lust, the glory of such treasure had never yet come home to him. His heart was filled and pierced with enchantment and with the desire of dwarves…” (p.250). Falling victim to the allure and spell of the dragon’s treasure, Bilbo acts rashly and steals the cup without thinking through the potential consequences. Symbolically, if Bilbo represents the humanity that lies in all of us, then Smaug’s treasure symbolically represents greed’s ability to overpower even the most well-intentioned and honest individuals. By stealing the cup, Bilbo hopes to demonstrate to the dwarves that he is in fact a powerful individual capable of achieving great feats, “more like a grocer than a burglar’ indeed! We’ll hear no more of that” (p.251). Although he does manage to achieve this goal, we must consider the negative qualities of this desire. Although Bilbo may represent all that is good in humanity, he still falls victim to one of the most basic of human weaknesses - the lust for money and the power that goes along with it.

This is a little longer than 150 words but keep in mind that 150 is a minimum and there is a good chance that you will go over. As you can see from the above entry I expect you to use quotations from the text and to use what we have learned to bring new meaning and insight to the words that you have chosen. They should have an identifiable link to main themes and ideas in the story. If you choose an obscure word then I will expect you to be able to demonstrate how it relates to the main ideas in the book.

As for the request for bonus marks for completing X and Z, I have decided NOT to allow it. This project requires a lot of thought and work, I want you to put all your energy into making the required entries the best possible. So, to repeat, there will be NO bonus marks for completing X and Z.

There was also a questions about how the book should be assembled. I am very open to creativity for this project. You can "bind" the book however you want. It can be attached from the top or side or wherever you want. But it should be a book of some kind. If you have a creative idea, run it by me just so that we're on the same page.

I will bring a mock up of the above entry to class on Tuesday but I want to be clear that this is a creative assignment and you are free to interpret the entries as you see fit.

See you on Tuesday