Posted on June 24, 2009 at 9:41 am
Good cite, Laura. I totally forgot that “Dairy Queen” was supposed to be an English essay. Until anyone else finds another citation, let’s go with your conclusion: D.J. is the exception who proves the rule.
Posted on July 8, 2009 at 8:55 pm
If it’s not contrued as an English essay, but IS English class centric, would you still count it as a part of this theme? If yes, then The Wednesday Wars could qualify. Holling Hoodhood is obviously v. clever, but he’s in a regular, non-honors English class. And the essays that make up My Most Excellent Year are all composed in a regular level English class, albeit by exceptional students.
Posted on July 9, 2009 at 9:48 am
Thanks for the additional citations, Margaret. I’m ashamed to say that I’ve never read The Wednesday Wars, so I can’t really comment on that one. I am interested in your note that Holling Hoodhood (from TWW?) is “obviously v. clever” and that the essay writers in “My Most Excellent Year” are “exceptional.” Again, I wonder why we characterize these writer/narrator/characters as such “exceptions”.
Posted on June 23, 2009 at 11:59 pm
How about DJ Schwenk from Dairy Queen? She’s writing her narrative so she won’t fail English. But that’s all I can come up with right now, so maybe she’s the exception that proves the rule.