To recap a few OpenLab-related items from class last week and today:
- You can comment on glossary posts as well as the posts by the five students on for the day
- You can comment more than once per class, but make sure at least one meets the 100-150 word requirement
- You can write a blog post even if you’re not one of the 5–it would be on top of your regularly scheduled blog posts, though
- You can add more than one word to the glossary per week–the more you add, the more we’ll all learn!
- Please add a tag with the letter of your word to help us create a way to index our glossary (which we can’t alphabetize, unfortunately)–and go back and edit your previous glossary posts to add those tags
- I’ve added the functionality to allow you to edit your comments. Please let me know that you can!
The group tasked with writing blog posts (300 words) by 5:00 Tuesday is the last group to post in the first go-round. Everyone else should comment (100-150 words for the required comment, any number for additional comments) by 10:00am on Wednesday. Once this final group has a turn, we can consider what works and what needs improving as we start our next round. If there’s anyone else who missed their turn to blog, jump in for Tuesday as well–but that doesn’t excuse you from commenting this time, too, since you were supposed to be on as a commenter for this class!
As always, remember to include a title that reflects what youâre writing (it shouldnât be able to apply to everyoneâs post and can certainly be longer than one word), choose appropriate categories and tags (or add if you want a tag that isnât there already), write at least 300 words, proofread, and publish! If there are links or media you want to include, please do. Commenters, remember to proofread, too, and to take the opportunity to edit your comments after you publish them if necessary–we looked at how to do this in class on Wednesday. If you want to leave additional replies, you donât need watch the word count, but you should still proofread!
New topics:
When you think of “The Metamorphosis,” can you picture it? Do you have a visual sense of the story? What provides that sense, or what would you need to have that sense if you don’t? After you consider that, you might compare the sense of the visual to other stories we’ve read so far. Or you might compare what you’ve envisioned with this short video featuring images from a graphic-novel adaptation of “The Metamorphosis.”
“The Metamorphosis” is translated from Kafka’s German “Die Verwandlung.” As you read, especially as you pay particular attention to the ways the story is crafted using particular words, consider that the words are the choice of a translator. If you are comfortable writing in another language, try translating your favorite passage from “The Metamorphosis” into that language to share with the class. Or, if you can read German, look online for a copy in German and try to translate a passage into English. What kinds of choices did you need to make to translate that passage? Is there anything that isn’t exactly the same as the version you read? Commenters who can read that language, what do you think about the translation, and would you have made the same choices?
There is a word, kafkaesque, based on Kafka’s writing. What do you guess it would mean, and why, based on reading “The Metamorphosis”? After you guess, look for the definition. Explain using details from “The Metamorphosis” why that’s the definition of the word. (Kafka’s is not the only author to have his name turned into an adjective, but it’s one more widely used outside of an English class. Faulknerian is also a word, but with a narrower usage).
Most of these topics are from last time, but still valid topics for blogging:
We have been looking at the effects of the non-linear order of time in “A Rose for Emily” on Monday, but you might take the opportunity to consider what effect the sequencing has. How does the order affect your understanding of the story and your experience with it? What would be gained or lost if it were linear? What do I mean by linear? I mentioned in class the film “Pulp Fiction,” which plays with order in a very effective way. Are there other texts–written, filmic, etc–that do this that you want to call attention to?
What does gothic mean? What is Southern Gothic, specifically? Wikipedia might be a good place to get a definition and explanation of what Southern Gothic is. How is “A Rose for Emily” an example of this? You might add that as your vocabulary word as well.
The narrator in âA Rose for Emilyâ is different than others we have encountered. What term would you use to identify the narrator? is it a reliable narrator? Use evidence from the story to show why you say reliable or not.
What themes do you think “The Metamorphosis” introduces to us? Choose a particular passage that deals with that theme and reflect on it.
How do you deal with the outrageous situation presented in “The Metamorphosis”? Choose a passage that represents that and explain your reaction.
In what ways can we read “The Metamorphosis” metaphorically? What does metaphorically mean? Present one way it is a metaphor and explain that for us.
