Category Archives: Connect

Use this post for posts that explain how the story connects to the world beyond the story – either to other stories, or to real-life situations and experiences.

The Pathway of Evil “Young Goodman Brown

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In the story Young Goodman Brown, Hawthorne mentions the word evil at the end of the story where Goodman is at the ceremony. The devil is welcoming his new followers which Goodman and Faith, the way Hawthorne uses the word evil to create suspense is at the part when the devil said ” Evil is the nature of mankind. Evil must be your only happiness. Welcome, again my children, to the communion of your race!” Also when Goodman said “Herein did the Shape of Evil dip his hand and prepare to lay the mark of baptism upon their forehead, that they might be partakers of the mystery of sin. I believe Hawthorne want to show the readers that evil is everywhere and the people you think are good in the outside are actually bad people in the inside. In the beginning of the story Goodman calls the person he travels with” friend” which I believe was the devil because the way he explains the staff that he caring and then the traveler knew his grandfather and father. The traveler said that he helped them both and they were his good friends. After that there was the minister and Deacon Gookin which are supposed to be religious man spreading the word of God but find out that they are walking the same dark pathway as Goodman, show they are follower of the devil. Meanwhile the next person Goodman see is the old Christian lady Goody Cloyse and he finds out that she is a witch and is friend’s with the devil, the more farther Goodman goes thought the dark forest the more evil people he sees that live in his village. The only thing that keeps from falling to darkness was his wife Faith, but once he saw her walking the same pathway everything change, he tried to call her to him but then she vanished into the forest. At that point Goodman gave up on God and his faith. Once Goodman made it the end of the  forest where the ceremony is located, you can see that God tries to save Goodman when it said ” His own dead father beckoned him to advance, looking downward from a smoke-wreath, while a woman with dim feathers of despair, threw out her hand to warn him back.” It was too late Goodman was trapped and he try help his wife and himself to resist mark of the devil but she was ready to be baptized with the mark.

The story that I find that is connected to Young Goodman Brown is the story of Adam and Eve. The similarities of Goodman Brown is Adam and Eve both did not follow the path of goodness, righteous, what god presented it to them and the devil walk them to the wrong path. God told Adam and Eve not to eat of the apple she listen to the devil saying that why god is not giving you this knowledge she was tempted to eat it and disobeyed and they were thrown out of the garden of Eden because not following or listening the right path. Young Goodman Brown follows the same purpose because Gods Warning was told in faiths dream to not go to the journey but to stay with her. Goodman does not listen at all so he get tempted by the devil the further into the forest. Adam one life line was Eve the moment he trusted her and ate the apple he committed sin. Goodman one life line to stay with God was to stay with his wife Faith the moment he saw Faith following the same path as he, he gave up on God and received the mark of the Devil. At the end of both stories Adam and Eve regretted what they both committed and they both got kicked out of the Garden of Eden. Goodman regretted what he did from that episode and he lost faith in everything from that he died alone.

 

 

Rip Van Winkle Blog Connect

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Rip Van Winkle details a man’s escape through the wilderness, encountering mysterious presences as he wakes up 20 years to find a new world and many changes to his own life. There have been many stories in which the wilderness acts a figurative and sometimes literal portal to the supernatural that changes the characters in a unusual and at times scary way. One story that comes to mind, is the “Young Goodman Brown:” by Nathaniel Hawthorne. It details good matured and well loved man just like Rip Van Winkle, who descents into the woods as a escort to a mysterious old man. As his journey goes the character Goodman Brown sees things that questions his very faith and love in humanity. He emerges out of the woods a changed man with a darker view of life that also affected his relationship with his loved ones. The concept of the wilderness hold supernatural ideals, said to be where all forces come to roam. Rip Van Winkle finds out that the old men in the woods were ghosts of Henry Hudson’s crew who vanished. Similarly in Young Goodman Brown, the main character encounters many anomalies that tricked his mind, such as seeing his wife and townspeople in a satanic ritual, without the idea of whether it was real or not. After their journeys through the wilderness, their own personal perception on life changed because of what they experience and the way it affected their loved ones interact with them. Rip emerged embracing life and its shortcomings, though Goodman Brown emerged with the darkness and lack of faith consuming him that he isolates himself and abuse the love of wife and townspeople. “He assured the company that it was a fact, handed down from his ancestors the historian that the Catskills Mountains had always been haunted by strange beings”

Connect “Everyday Use”

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Alice Walker’s, “Everyday Use” is a piece of literature that embodies varies literary elements such as, introduction, rising action, climax, falling action and style to help readers better comprehend the writing as a whole. Walker tells the story from the point of view of Mama, who is the mother of Dee and Maggie. The climax of Walker’s story is when Mama said, “when I looked at her like that something hit me in the top of my head and ran down to the soles of my feet. Just like when I’m in church and the spirit of God touches me and I get happy and shout”. Before I get into why Mama felt that way, let’s backtrack a bit. Dee returned home with the intent to only acquire some quilts that clearly has deep meaning for the family. The quilts are a symbol of their heritage and Dee wants to take the quilts that are supposedly meant for Maggie. Dee insults Mama and stated that Maggie shouldn’t be handed down the quilts because she “can’t appreciate these quilts!” The climax, which I stated before, is the emotional high point of the story because that’s when Mama realizes that Maggie was willing to give up the quilts to her sister, who has gotten everything before in life. Mama then feels for Maggie and tells Dee to take the other two quilts that wasn’t Maggie’s and leave. Mama gives the precious family heirloom to Maggie, despite Dee asking for them. A lot of people can relate to the Walker’s climax because most people have had a dramatic or suspenseful event in their life. One climatic moment I have had in my life is I was nearly hit by a car while crossing the street. I was leaving home after an argument with my mother and a few blocks away a car was speeding and it ran a red light. I was almost across the street when it came about a few feet from hitting me. It would have been fatal, but I thank God that it wasn’t my time. After that event I have had a different outlook on life. Life is short and you never know when it’s your time, so enjoy your time in this world and spend it with the ones you love. “And then the two of us sat there just enjoying, until it was time to go in the house and go to bed”. Walker ended the story with this quote and this connects to my experience because spending quality time with loved ones is extremely important because you will regret it if you don’t.

HW for September 7; Blog Posts, step-by-step

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Dear class,

Great discussion today.  Below is the homework for September 7, followed by blog instructions and reading questions.

1. In light of the CUNY standard of 3 hrs of out-of-class prep time for a 75 min session, the following includes a suggested breakdown of how you might spend those 3 hours of HW/prep.

-Read and take notes on “The Elements of Fiction” (1 hrs)

-Read “Everyday Use,” taking margin notes using reading questions (see below) and plot graph (ENG 2001 plot graph F16) (1-1.5hrs)

-do blog, or comment (30 mins-1hr).

-Print out + bring Charters, Walker, and the Plot Graph (with notes) to class.  (Your plot graph does not have to be exhaustively detailed, but it should show some attempt to break down “Every Day Use” into its parts.)

There will be a quiz on “The Elements of Fiction.” If you’ve read it carefully, you will be fine!

2.  As noted in class, Blog Group 1 is up to post for this Wednesday.  Whether you’re in that group or not, please make note of the following steps, as they include commenting instructions.

a. Read the Guiding Questions below and select ONE Blog Prompt.

b. Blog prompts are divided in to 3 categories: Clue (explain how a passage offers a clue to the story as a whole), Connect (connect the story to the world outside the text), or Create (do a creative writing piece, followed by a brief explanation of how your piece directly responds to the original story), .  By the end of the semester, you should have tried at least one of each category.

c. Go to “Posts” and “Add New.”  Write a 300 word post, by 5 pm the day before class.  The post should feature the minimum # of quotations, directly respond to the prompt, and adhere to professional standards of civility and proofreading.

d.  Create posts should include both a creative writing section and a brief explanation/analysis, explaining how your piece is directly rooted in the text.  If you write a creative writing piece that either has nothing to do with the original story, or directly contradicts it, you’ll be penalized.

e. Before posting, select your category: Clue, Connect, or Create.

f. Post!

g. The rest of the class now has until 10 am the following morning to post a comment.  Comments should be 100-150 words and should directly respond to a point in the original post.  Again, standards of civility and professionalism are expected. You are expected to post 14 comments, approx. one per week, throughout the semester.

g.  Remember, blogs and comments are part of a process.  They grow out of engaged in-class participation, and they lead to better, more thoughtful papers.  Conversely, if you’re not doing the blogs, it will affect both your blog grade and, in all likelihood, your papers.

3.  Below are the reading questions and prompts for Wednesday’s class.  I suggest reading these questions before you start “Everyday Use.”

 

  1.  Which Elements (e.g. Style, Character, POV) were most appealing in “Everyday Use”?  Which Elements were the most troubling or confusing?  Blog prompt: clue.  Write about one appealing and one troubling/confusing Element in “Everyday Use.”  Refer directly to at least one quote from the story for each Element.  Explain how that quote offers a clue to why your chosen Element is appealing or confusing.

2. Ann Charters defines the rising action of a story as “the dramatization of events that complicate the situation and gradually intensify the conflict.”  Locate moments or actions that intensify the conflict, or complicate the situation, in “Everyday Use.”  They could be a comment that Dee/Wangero makes, or an action that Ma Johnson takes, or even one that she doesn’t take.  Blog prompt: create.  Pick one “rising action” moment in “Everyday Use.”  Pretend you are Wangero/Dee.  If you were writing an email to a friend about that moment in your visit home, what would you say?  What feelings did that moment spark in you?  As you create this imagined response, refer directly to at least one quote from the story.

3. Ann Charters defines the climax of a story as its “turning point,” its “emotional high point.”  After the climax, “the pace of the narration [tends to] break off dramatically.”  What single moment would you identify as the climax of “Everyday Use” and why?  Blog Prompt: connect. Think of a climactic moment in your own life – a moment of maximum drama or suspense.  It could be taking an important exam, or waiting to hear news from the doctor, or avoiding an accident.  How does that moment resemble, or differ from, the climax of “Everyday Use”?  Refer directly to at least one quote from the story, explaining how that quote helps you connect the story to your own experience.

best,

Professor Kwong