I would highly recommend The Time Machine by H.G Wells because the idea of the future is much different than anything I have ever read or heard of. When you think about the future you think about how much the world is evolving and the new technology and discoveries. Wells however, sees it differently. He explains that the world will eventually die and intelligence will come to a minimum. I found this book to be very interesting and lead me to think that the future may not always be what you expect it to be. I especially recommend this book to anyone who is close minded about the negativity the future holds because it would open their eyes to what the world may become, whether it is good or bad.

Dear Students,

First of all, I wanted to thank you for all of the work that you put into your essays.  They were, for the most part, incredibly creative and insightful.  I learned a lot from them, and for that I am most grateful to you.  I hope that as a class we may have a chance to discuss these essays since they are, as far as I am concerned, the best way to review what we have done and questions that have been raised and considered over the course of this semester.

We will spend the next two classes preparing for the final exam, which you will take in class next Monday, May 21.  For this exam, you will write an in-class essay on one of three topics.  To prepare for this exam, it would be a good idea to look over your class notes and assignments, as well as the stories that we’ve read and discussed this semester.

The exam will be graded on the following:

• The thoughtfulness and sophistication of your analysis based on the guidelines of the exam question
• The accuracy of your use and application of terminology and concepts used in discussing the story/stories
• The use and discussion of textual evidence to support the points you make

Dear Students,

For those of you interested in continuing your reading of postmodern fiction, I thought I’d post a couple of suggestions for your summer reading.  Here are a few:
“Literary Devices” by Richard Powers

Calvino, Italo.  If On a Winter’s Night a Traveler

Barthelme, Donald. 60 Stories

Daitch, Susan.  L.C. (this novel may be of particular interest to those who are also interested in painting since the book is about a diary kept by an alleged mistress of Eugene Delacroix)