Author: Professor Sean Scanlan (Page 3 of 4)

Hi Class,

For Wednesday, we will review:

1–Alan Lloyd-Smith article on American Gothic

2–Ellison’s “Prologue to Invisible Man”

3–Kafka’s “The Hunger Artist”

4–We will also get a start on the Midterm Essay

Best,

Prof. Scanlan

Hi Class,

For Monday:

1–Please be ready to talk about the main characters of Bartleby: the lawyer/narrator, Turkey, Nippers, Ginger nut, and Bartleby.

2– Be ready to address this question: does the lawyer redeem himself or Bartleby? Does Bartleby or the lawyer redeem himself at the end? Does the concept of guilt and confession help us make sense of the story?

3–In your notes, please define: Modernity and Modernism.

4–Lastly, read the short story “The Hunger Artist” by Franz Kafka.

Please note: I’ve changed our weekly schedule: I swapped out a couple of readings and I’ve pushed off Quiz 2 to late October.

Best,

Prof. Scanlan

Hi Class,

Thanks to all students who attended today’s Monday/Tuesday class.

For Wednesday, please review Melville’s story: Bartleby the Scrivener. We will discuss the ideas of allegory, the gothic, and redemption in the story. Please write down any questions that you have.

**Use the regular Zoom link: for information see the Sept. 2 post below.

See you soon!

Prof. Scanlan

Hi Class,

I was very impressed by your contributions today! I’m hoping for more of the same next week.

REMEMBER:  We have class on Tuesday and Wednesday of next. There is no school on Monday (Yom Kippur). Tuesday follows a Monday schedule. So I will see you at 8:50 on Tuesday, Sept. 29.

Homework:

Read “Bartleby the Scrivener; Or, a Tale of Wall Street” by Herman Melville and “A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner. The Melville story is longer, so reserve adequate time to read it and take notes.

Then write and post Coffeehouse Post #3. For this post, answer these two questions: can you identify a paradox within the stories? Second, which characters, if any, are redeemed? (what is the redemption about? and who does the redeeming?) 300 words total.

Best,

Prof. Scanlan

Hi Class,

Nice job with the discussion and your questions.

For Wednesday, please review “The House of Asterion” and “A Very Old Man With Enormous Wings” and then prepare/write a paragraph in which you describe what you think the story is an allegory for. I will go around the room and ask you each student to discuss their ideas.

Also: look up these terms: Focal point, focalizer, sarcasm, paradox, redemption

**It may help to use a literary dictionary. Here’s a link to the Oxford Dictionary of Literary Terms (you may need to be logged in to City Tech library to use this): The Oxford Dictionary of Literary Terms (4 ed.)

More help on Allegory: an allegorical narrative illustrates a larger, more complex lesson or truth related to the actual world. From the Oxford Dictionary of Literary Terms: In written narrative, allegory involves a continuous parallel between two (or more) levels of meaning in a story, so that its persons and events correspond to their equivalents in a system of ideas or a chain of events external to the tale.

Best,

Prof. Scanlan

Hi Class,

Here is your homework for Monday’s class:

1—Define these three terms:

-Allegory

-Flashback

-Irony and Dramatic Irony

2—Read two stories (in Readings menu tab; make sure to take notes and write down questions. I will ask you for questions on Monday):

• “The House of Asterion” by Jorge Luis Borges

• “A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings” by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

3—Write Coffeehouse Post #2. After reading these two stories, briefly describe the three Gothic Elements in the two stories (300 words), and then post to the Category: Coffeehouse #2.

Gothic Elements:

Characters: Heroes and Villains, Thieves and bandits and mysterious people, maidens and old women

Plot Points: the night journey, the trap, the escape, the miraculous survival, death/near death, the dream, the nightmare, the return to normalcy

Settings: castles, crypts, churches, graves, old houses, underground, basements, attics, forests, darkness or dark spaces, bleak or stormy settings—especially windswept, cloudy landscapes

*Remember: class time now at 8:50.

*I will have quiz 1 graded by Monday and we will go over the answers.

Have a good weekend,

Prof.  Scanlan

Hi Class,

UPDATE: Quiz 1 is due by 5pm on Tuesday, Sept. 15.

1–I will begin class at 8:50am on Monday, 9/14. That way we won’t be so rushed to end class on time.

2–Monday’s Office Hours (2-3pm) Link:

https://zoom.us/j/95340975796?pwd=TVFueXFDc25MVFZab001UUdHb3NIZz09

Meeting ID: 953 4097 5796
Passcode: 207295

See you all at our new time!

Best,

Prof. Scanlan

Hi Class,

•  Thank you so much for your questions and comments. I think I will start class ten minutes earlier on Monday. I feel too rushed by starting at 9.

  •  Almost everybody is now a member of the class! Thanks. And keep working on that first Virtual Coffeehouse post if you have not finished posting it yet.

  •  For Monday: In preparation for Quiz 1:

1–Read “Young Goodman Brown,” “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge,” and “The Yellow Wallpaper” (Readings menu tab)

2–Review key concepts:

–5-part reading tool

–-Spirit of Perverseness

–-Gothic definitions: CG Irony

Cheers,

Prof. Scanlan