This is an immersion French course, which means we are absolutely not allowed to speak English. We watch movies and read picture books to learn about France and Francophone culture. We read iconic French stories like Les Misérables and Beauty and the Beast. The class also involves making an original short film entirely in French. We have written multiple short essays as well.
FAIRY TALE
This is a short story that we wrote after reading Beauty and the Beast. It is about an ogre named Shrek who lives in the woods and loves onions. He eats onions for all three meals every day. One day, his favorite onion is stolen, and he suspects that the Three Little Pigs did it. He consults his two best friends – Harry Potter and Jean – to try to find the Three Little Pigs and take revenge. A long journey ensues, and during the journey, one of Shrek’s friends ends up being killed by a frog named Snape. In the end, they find the hideout of the Three Little Pigs, but see nothing but pork bones and a wolf laughing. Shrek then has a flashback to a dream he had many nights earlier, where he sleepwalked to his kitchen and ate a large onion. He realizes he ate his favorite onion that night, and his mistake has cost his friend’s life. In this way, Shrek discovers the moral of the story – revenge is never worth it.
I think this fairy tale is a profound exploration of life and arrogance. It was nice to explore such a deep topic with complex characters like Shrek.
AZUR ET ASMAR ESSAY
This is an essay about the film Azur et Asmar. This is about two friends of different cultures who work together to find a fairy. We were required to write a summary of the story from the point of view of one character. I chose Azur’s friend, Crapoux.
Crapoux is a tramp who has tried and failed to find the fairy in the past. He hides his eyes in public since he is a stranger to Arab culture, and Arabs are superstitious when it comes to his blue eyes. He is mostly a comic character, which is why it was interesting to write the story from his perspective.
This is the full essay in French.