The Avengers by Ryan Nicol

Meetings

25285rn — 2024-01-03 16:47:59 UTC

Meeting 1 Date: Jan 11, 2024
Pages / Section: “Class Picture”

Meeting 2 Date: Jan 22, 2024
Pages / Section: “On Fire” to “Frost”

Meeting 3 Date: Jan 31, 2024
Pages / Section: “Übermensch”

Meeting 4 Date: Feb 8, 2024
Pages / Section: “Slice of Life” to “The Forked Tongue”

Meeting 5 Date: Feb 26, 2024
Pages / Section: “Bulletin” to “Master”

Notes

25285rn — 2024-01-03 16:47:59 UTC

Section/Pages: “On Fire” to “Frost”
Members Present: All

Discussion Highlights:
- We discussed the role of smoking later in the novel and how it could play into the story, especially with the boy who got expelled able to tell on the narrator.
- We agreed that as for the audience with Frost goes, this cannot actually be it. The narrator has to be important in here somewhere, even if he didn’t win the contest.

Agenda Topic 1 (Franco Ferazzoli)

25285rn — 2024-01-03 16:47:59 UTC

Agenda Topic 3 (Ryan Nicol)

25285rn — 2024-01-03 16:47:59 UTC

“I was afraid the other boy had given me away, not to save himself—no chance of that—but in a fit of clear-cutting confession, or resentment at my escape. He didn’t, though. He went out the gates alone” (Wolff 31).

Agenda Topic 4 (Charles Reina)

25285rn — 2024-01-03 16:47:59 UTC

Meeting Reflection

25285rn — 2024-01-03 16:47:59 UTC

1. We are reading much quicker during the workshop periods than we did in our previous trimester 1 groups.

2. We predict that someone will get kicked out for smoking, likely due to someone with information or evidence telling the school administration.

Notes

25285rn — 2024-01-03 16:47:59 UTC

Section/Pages: “Übermensch”
Members Present: All

Discussion Highlights:
- We discussed our quotes from the journals, and why they’ll be important in the near future as the story progresses.
- We came to the collective conclusion that the next contest will probably be the one the narrator wins, or the one that is most impactful for the story moving forward. It has seemed each time like the narrator would win, but he has not. This is simply the idea that, really, Wolff can’t keep getting away with this.

Agenda Topic 1 (Franco Ferazzoli)

25285rn — 2024-01-03 16:47:59 UTC

Agenda Topic 3 (Ryan Nicol)

25285rn — 2024-01-03 16:47:59 UTC

Agenda Topic 4 (Charles Reina)

25285rn — 2024-01-03 16:47:59 UTC

Meeting Reflection

25285rn — 2024-01-03 16:47:59 UTC

1. One weakness that our group is demonstrating is adding to our journals during the book club meeting rather than while reading. If we all journal while reading, we’ll have more time to discuss.
2. One thing that our book club can do to prepare for the bigger assignments down the line is think about the different types of projects that can be done, as well as the reflection essay, and tailor our journals toward details that we may include.

Notes

25285rn — 2024-01-03 16:47:59 UTC

Section/Pages: “Slice of Life” to “The Forked Tongue”
Members Present: Franco Ferazzoli, Tristan Konefal, Ryan Nicol

Discussion Highlights:
- We predicted that Hemingway would choose the narrator’s writing.
- We came up with a few themes that we think will make for a very good reflection essay.

Agenda Topic 1 (Franco Ferazzoli)

25285rn — 2024-01-03 16:47:59 UTC

Agenda Topic 3 (Ryan Nicol)

25285rn — 2024-01-03 16:47:59 UTC

I think an interesting theme to focus on is the idea of perfection, and that every single person lacks it in some capacity. “The people I knew, and the families I knew, were all more or less beset.” This is a good theme to connect to our own lives, because no one has truly experienced perfection, and we often see people acting perfect when they aren’t—particularly with the rise of social media.

Meeting Reflection

25285rn — 2024-01-03 16:47:59 UTC

1. We are really making progress with the book and will likely finish it at the end of the next workshop period.
2. We have enough journals at this point for the submission. We will try and make sure they are good enough to be submitted, then begin thinking about the reflection and creative project.

Notes

25285rn — 2024-01-03 16:47:59 UTC

Section/Pages: “Class Picture”
Members Present: All

Discussion Highlights:
- We discussed how the beginning of the story talks about how school was in the 1960’s and we contrasted to how it is today. We talked about the aspects of the classes, and teachers that were mentioned in the beginning of the book.
- We predicted that based on the flow of the book, the narrator is probably the most likely to win the writing contest over the other three. Maybe it’s not as good as he hoped?

Agenda Topic 1 (Franco Ferazzoli)

25285rn — 2024-01-03 16:47:59 UTC

Agenda Topic 3 (Ryan Nicol)

25285rn — 2024-01-03 16:47:59 UTC

Agenda Topic 4 (Charles Reina)

25285rn — 2024-01-03 16:47:59 UTC

Meeting Reflection

25285rn — 2024-01-03 16:47:59 UTC

1. The discussion went well, and we were all able to share at least one major thought from our journals.
2. In the future, we may want to read at least two chapters during a workshop period instead of just one, so we have little to no reading to complete at home.

Rule 1

25285rn — 2024-01-03 16:47:59 UTC

Show up to class as much as possible.

Rule 2

25285rn — 2024-01-03 16:47:59 UTC

Try to keep pace with everyone else in the group, and read at home if you need to catch up.

Rule 3

25285rn — 2024-01-03 16:47:59 UTC

Respect what everyone else has to say.

Members

25285rn — 2024-01-03 16:47:59 UTC

Name: Franco Ferazzoli
Email: 25130FF@chaminade-hs.org

Name: Tristan Konefal
Email: 25215TK@chaminade-hs.org

Name: Ryan Nicol
Email: 25285RN@chaminade-hs.org

Name: Charles Reina
Email: 25323CR@chaminade-hs.org

Name: Salvatore Salamone
Email: 25439SS@chaminade-hs.org

Book Choice

25285rn — 2024-01-03 16:47:59 UTC

Agenda Topic 2 (Tristan Konefal)

25285rn — 2024-01-03 17:16:01 UTC

Agenda Topic 2 (Tristan Konefal)

25285rn — 2024-01-03 17:16:30 UTC

“Some of the masters were sore enough about this to let the story of their failed protest to sift down to steerage.” This quote is important because they felt this and thus was the reason they invited a particular person to help the masters.

Agenda Topic 2 (Tristan Konefal)

25285rn — 2024-01-03 17:23:27 UTC

Agenda Topic 2 (Tristan Konefal)

25285rn — 2024-01-03 17:27:30 UTC

Closing Reflection: I do recommend this book to students that go to a private school. When going to a school like that you can relate heavily to the book and learn personal growth from the book.

Book Club Cloud

25285rn — 2024-01-03 17:38:57 UTC

Agenda Topic 5 (Salvatore Salamone)

25285rn — 2024-01-11 17:14:46 UTC

Agenda Topic 5 (Salvatore Salamone)

25285rn — 2024-01-11 17:15:01 UTC

Agenda Topic 5 (Salvatore Salamone)

25439ss — 2024-01-22 17:07:44 UTC

Notes

25285rn — 2024-02-26 16:45:17 UTC

Section/Pages: “Bulletin” to “Master”
Members Present: All

Discussion Highlights:
- We found the ending expected at first but it turned wildly unexpected once he was unable to actually get the audience with Hemingway.
- We had similar opinions on the book. It wasn’t as exciting as we anticipated, but it got more exciting towards the end with rapid changes and jumps in time, despite being generally boring overall.

Franco Ferazzoli

25285rn — 2024-02-26 16:45:42 UTC

I did not enjoy this book as I expected. I found it to be pretty boring. I thought over time I would enjoy it more and more but that was not that case. This story took place in an all boys school and from that point I knew I was going to be pretty uninterested. It also goes on to talk about the school organizing a competition and the prize of winning this competition is a private audience with an author that is unknown. The characters will to win this competition creates a tense feeling between characters. I would not recommend this book to anyone in my family or my friends because I know they won’t like it either.

Tristan Konefal

25285rn — 2024-02-26 16:45:55 UTC

When first looking at the book and reading the summary of it too see what it was about it looked interesting. However, when I started reading the book I found it to be a little boring for what it was about. Within the book and my life there was some relations with the private school and it being all boys, but however not as much as I thought there would be. Overall, I liked the book but not as much as I thought I would. This book is good for those that go to an all boys private school and that relate to a similar setting.

Ryan Nicol

25285rn — 2024-02-26 16:46:05 UTC

I originally found the book boring and repetitive, but my opinion changed towards the end when it started rapidly changing. At first, there was writer after writing coming to the school with a failed attempt after failed attempt by the narrator to win the contest. We were expecting, based on general novel progression, that he would win eventually. What we didn’t expect at all, however, was the method in which he won and the consequences thereafter. I found the ending in general to be interesting, full-circle and ironic, with the narrator being asked to return as a writer for a visit, and I found the story of the dean at the end to be a good addition to the final parts of the book.

Charles Reina

25285rn — 2024-02-26 16:46:20 UTC

I liked it but not as much as I thought I was going to. It takes place in a boys prep school. I thought much of the story was dedicated to talking about the guest authors who were invited to the school. First, Robert Frost, then even more about Ayn Rand, then even more about Ernest Hemingway. The main event occurs over two thirds of the way through the book, which feels latish and makes the end of the book feel rushed, and I think the main event was interesting and could have used a little more exploration, leaving me not quite happy with the ending. Overall, I would give this book a 3 out 5, and would recommend it to those who can relate to the setting of the story, like those who go to an all boys school.

Salvatore Salamone

25285rn — 2024-02-26 16:46:37 UTC

I was not the biggest fan of how the book took place in an all boys school. The plot was not all that exciting and there was no point that the book had hooked me into reading more. One of the most striking aspects of the novel is Wolff's ability to capture the nuances of the protagonist's voice and perspective. As Wolff navigates the hallowed halls of his prestigious school, grappling with his own insecurities and aspirations. Wolff's prose is both elegant and understated, allowing the emotional depth of the story to shine through without ever feeling dramatic.

Agenda Topic 1 (Franco Ferazzoli)

25285rn — 2024-02-26 17:07:21 UTC

The book had a deeper meaning to it and some themes to go along with it underlying the main message.

Agenda Topic 2 (Tristan Konefal)

25285rn — 2024-02-26 17:07:46 UTC

The book had a slow start, but the ending got more interesting with the changes that came such as the consequences he faced in his life.

Agenda Topic 3 (Ryan Nicol)

25285rn — 2024-02-26 17:08:03 UTC

After expecting the narrator to win the whole time it really wasn’t that surprising, but what was surprising was the consequences he faced and how his life turned out as a result.

Agenda Topic 4 (Charles Reina)

25285rn — 2024-02-26 17:08:15 UTC

The book was decent, I thought the ending was going to be more entertaining.

Agenda Topic 5 (Salvatore Salamone)

25285rn — 2024-02-26 17:08:29 UTC

Explained how I was not the biggest fan of the book and what it had to bring but the author did a good job with certain points and ways of trying to get us to relate to parts of the book.

Meeting Reflection

25285rn — 2024-02-26 17:11:19 UTC

1. Overall, while we did not enjoy the book club experience that much, we got a lot done and did a lot more discussion than the last trimester.
2. At this point, we will begin thinking about our reflections and creative projects that will need to be submitted very soon.

Franco Ferazzoli

25285rn — 2024-03-05 16:57:53 UTC

Collection of poems

Tristan Konefal

25285rn — 2024-03-05 16:58:01 UTC

Collection of visual images and designs

Ryan Nicol

25285rn — 2024-03-05 16:58:13 UTC

Collection of visual images and designs

Charles Reina

25285rn — 2024-03-05 16:58:21 UTC

Collection of poems

Salvatore Salamone

25285rn — 2024-03-05 16:58:30 UTC

Collection of visual images and designs