Category Archives: Discussion

Discussion, Midterm Exam

Preparing for the midterm exam essay

32 Comments

To prepare for our midterm exam, find below a draft of the essay portion. Included are five possible topics, though you’ll only find three there on the day of the exam. For our discussion, consider ONE of these topics and answer the following questions about it by Sunday night:

 

  • What does responding to this topic allow you to understand about each story?
  • How does the topic allow you to further explore the stories?
  • What does the comparison bring out about both stories?
  • What’s a draft of a thesis statement for one of these essays?

Vote for your top choice! Use the poll in the sidebar (or if you’re viewing the page from a smartphone, all of the sidebar material appears at the bottom on the screen, so scroll down).

 

Midterm exam draft:

In a well-developed essay, consider how two of the short stories we have read this semester (excluding the one you wrote about in Project #1) compare in their approach to one of the following issues, topics, or themes. Compare two examples from each story, using quotations from your quotation sheet as evidence to support for your thesis-driven essay.

  1. the significance of setting details, including their symbolic significance
  2. the intricate relationship between freedom and death
  3. Restriction or confinement as limiting or enabling
  4. Depictions of the grotesque or unnatural
  5. The treatment of Illness as transformation

Your essay should be 500-600 words—if you’re writing 5 words per line, that’s 5-6 pages in the blue book, fewer pages if you get more words per line. There’s no need to count all of the words: check to see roughly how many words you write per line on a few lines, then multiply that by 20 (lines per page) and the number of pages you have. When you include a quotation, even though it is already on your quotation sheet, I ask that you copy it into your essay. Rather than using whiteout or making a mess, when you need to make a correction, just cross out what you want to delete.

To get started, you should use the time before the exam to plan your three possible essays. On Wednesday, take time at the start of the exam to think about what you want to write, and use the blue book to write down notes before you start writing the essay. There’s no need to skip every other line, but you might want to skip a line or two between paragraphs to give yourself space to add in any additional words or sentences when you re-read your essay.

Don’t forget–there will be short-answer questions to start the exam.

If you have questions, feel free to ask them here.

0
Discussion, Midterm Exam

Discussion: Review for the Midterm Exam

21 Comments

As we think about the midterm exam, which will include both short-answer and long-answer responses, let’s start to put our readings from this semester in conversation with each other. To do this, let’s start to think about interesting points of comparison, and the ways in which each of our readings exemplify the elements of fiction we read about.

In the comments, write about a theme you see connecting two texts–either through a similarity or a difference, and what is significant about that connection. Consider what elements of fiction help make this connection more meaningful. I’ve added an example in a comment below.

In addition to writing your comment, reply to classmates’ comments with ideas about other texts that fit into the connection they’ve explored. This is a great way for us to work through all of the texts we’ve encountered this semester:

Margaret Atwood, “There Was Once” 1992

Gary Parks, “Elements of Fiction”

Kate Chopin, “The Story of an Hour” 1894

William Faulkner, “A Rose for Emily” 1930

Charlotte Perkins Gilman, “The Cottagette” 1910

— “The Yellow Wall-Paper” 1899

Susan Glaspell, “A Jury of Her Peers” 1917

Nathaniel Hawthorne, “Young Goodman Brown” 1835

Franz Kafka, “The Metamorphosis” 1915

Thomas Wolfe, “Only the Dead Know Brooklyn” 1935 (optional)

0
Discussion

Discussion: “The Metamorphosis” (again)

13 Comments

We again ran out of time for our discussion on Kafka’s “The Metamorphosis,” which benefitted our discussion of “The Yellow Wall-Paper” and “The Cottagette” but still leaves us needing to find class time for a face-to-face conversation about what happens if you should unexpectedly wake up as a giant bug.

To that end, I ask that this discussion focus on the burning questions we have about the story–any aspect of it, and any kind of question, whether for clarification or for discussion. Your comment should raise a question and include a passage (probably longer than a line or two) in which you see your issue at play. If someone raises the same question, you cannot simply add it again–instead, reply to them and push the question further. We will address as many as we can in class.

In the meanwhile, and since you have only re-reading to do, I hope your work on Part 1 of Project #1 is coming along. I’ll post instructions for that work in my homework post for the week. More information then.

0
Discussion, Week 5

Discussion: The Yellow Wall Paper and The Cottagette

Leave a comment

“The Yellow Wallpaper” is written in first person narrator as recognize by the use of “I” in text and the narrator is telling about what she sees, thinks, feels and what her experiences are in the story.  In the story, the narrator describes how she sees and thinks the house as “I would say a haunted house “(Pg 1) and she describes her feeling of someone is staring at her from the pattern of the yellow wallpaper in her bedroom as “There is a recurrent spot where the pattern lolls like a broken neck and two bulbous eyes stare at you upside down” (Pg. 4). I think it is an unreliable narrator because there are many areas that she mentions them but no further explanation are given and the sentence that gives me the narrator is unreliable is that when she talks about the smell as “I thought seriously of burning the house –to reach the smell. But now I am used to it. The only thing I can think of that it is like the color of the paper! A yellow smell” (Pg.9). I think this is the narrator’s distorted thinking and confusing me.

According to Merriam Webster dictionary, the meaning of the word “dystopia” is:  an imaginary place where people are unhappy and usually afraid because they are not treated fairly.    I think “The Yellow Wallpaper” is dystopian because the narrator is unhappy about the bedroom,   the work she is forbidden for taking care of her baby like other mothers, and not to write.

“The Cottagette” is also written in first person and reliable narrator since there is nothing confusing or distorted thinking. The meaning of the word “utopia” is:  an imaginary place in which the government, laws and social conditions are perfect. I think “The Cottagette” is utopian because everything in the story is perfect for both Mr. Matthew and Malda like they love each other, to get marry, the beautiful place they both like and most important thing that Malda doesn’t need to cook and Mr. Matthew loves her as a painter.

0
Discussion

Discussion: “The Yellow Wall-Paper” and “The Cottagette”

25 Comments

In class yesterday, we began talking about “Young Goodman Brown” but didn’t really get to “The Metamorphosis” at all. For our discussion this week, I’d like to offer the option that we try what Gavin suggested in class yesterday, that we return to previous discussions, in addition to starting the next discussion here.

To that end, please feel free to contribute something new to the discussion on “The Metamorphosis.”

Next, please contribute to our discussion here about “The Yellow Wall-Paper” and “The Cottagette” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman.

One topic for discussion is to comment on the kinds of narrators we find in these two short stories. In addition to identifying them using the terminology we have discussed on the site and in class, there is another aspect of the narrator we can think about: is the narrator of either story a reliable narrator or an unreliable narrator?

Another topic for discussion: we might use the words utopia and dystopia to describe these two short stories by Charlotte Perkins Gilman that we read. What do those words mean? Which story is utopian and which is dystopian? Why?

As always, you should spend 75 minutes reading the online discussion and contributing to it. Your work should be in the form of a comment either to the discussion post, or to another comment in the thread.

0
Discussion, Week 4

“Young Goodman Brown” and “The Metamorphosis”

Leave a comment

As Nathaniel Hawthorne’s, Young Goodman Brown story progressed it remained a mystery as to the exact reason for the journey of Goodman Brown.  There are hints that this journey was evil and was against his Christian principles.  While journeying through the woods with his companion Goodman Brown expressed doubt about continuing and expressed guilt and shame.  He especially wondered how his moral and spiritual advisors, Goody Cloyse , Deacon Gookin and the  pastor of Salem Church would feel about him making this journey.    The thought of them reproaching him was strong enough for him to hesitate.

A defining moment in the story occurred on page 6, second paragraph when Deacon Gookin said, ” I had rather miss an ordination-dinner than tonight’s meeting.”    “……besides several of the Indian powwows, who after their fashion, know almost as much deviltry as the best of us.”  I felt this was a defining moment because this is the point where Goodman Brown realized these people that he held in such high regard and who professed themselves to be good Christians were actually evil hypocrites.

It is almost possible to visualize Goodman Brown in his hiding place in shock and disbelief about what he overheard.  The evil journey he was reluctant to continue on was being spoken about with great anticipation by the people he looked up to for spiritual guidance.

The devil meeting Goodman Brown participated in along with his Pastor and Deacon appears to be a dream and better yet a nightmare.   If this incident really occurred as Goodman Brown slept it is unfortunate that  he was unable to decipher real from unreal and allowed himself to live a life of sadness and mistrust with loss of his Christian beliefs.

In Franz Kafka’s “Metamorphosis,” this story too has a nightmarish quality.  The transformation of Gregor Samsa into a vermin is unrealistic and impossible.  The term kafkaesque  describes the particular writing style of Kafka.  His stories tend to have a nightmarish quality that tend to be surreal and appears to be from a subconscious origin.  In the case of Samsa he was probably thinking subconsciously about his life and the overwhelming responsibilities he had.  As a young man he must have wondered what it would be like to be free of all his obligations.  He was trapped in a job he hated but could not leave because of debts owed to his boss by his father.  I thought this was a nightmare he was having because of anxiety about wanting to  free himself from his responsibilities.  He was worried about how helpless he would be to his family if he quit his job.   The nightmarish vermin state showed how quickly his family would turn against him if he was no longer able to take care of them.

 

0
Discussion, Week 3

“The Metamorphosis”

Leave a comment

While reading “The Metamophosis,” I was aware that the narrator had implied that Gregor Samsa was awake at the beginning of the story.   However, as the story progressed and he remained a disgusting vermin I thought it was one of those dreams where Samsa was only dreaming that he had awaken.

The situation presented by Franz Kafka in the story is indeed disgusting.   It is also quite disturbing and very unrealistic. Regarding the story metaphorically does make it more easily tolerated.   I thought the vermin state which took away all the human qualities and functions of Samsa that both himself and his family loved, and left him helpless and trapped was a symbol of issues Samsa was facing in real life.

As I  read the story I realized Samsa was under  a great deal of stress and anxiety because his mom, dad and sister depended on him solely financially.   He apparently hated his job, but could not quit.  However he was hopeful when he stated on page 14, “Well, there is still hope; once I’ve got the money together to pay off my parents debt to him – another five or six years…….then I will make the big change.”  Its as if he gained this vermin state where he is of no use to his family to see what their response would be like if he quit his job and was no longer able to provide for them.

I believe “The Metamorphosis,” is also an allegory, but in a different way than “Young Goodman Brown.”  The vermin state could be interpreted to have some moral meaning.   Before his transformation  Samsa appeared to be somewhat okay with the arrangement to take care of his family.   However, at such a young age he was also tired of this huge responsibility and financial obligation.  He felt trapped.   I think before he transformed  he was subconsciously thinking about what it would be like to be free of all the responsibilities he had.  He apparently needed to see how he would be treated if he could no longer bear the burden of the family.  The treatment he received in his vermin state has some moral meaning.   The family including his dear sister seem to turn on him rather quickly but when he earned money every one loved him and were comfortable and happy with him.  He was once their pride and joy but now with this transformation he was now a hideous creature that repulsed and shamed them.

As I read the story I could picture Samsa as a vermin.   I felt repulsed but at the same time I felt sorry for him.  I could easily visualize him waking up and discovering his new body and trying to figure out how it worked.  The story reminded me of a Science Fiction movie.  The use of the word kafkaesque indicates the nightmarish qualities of the story.   Because of these qualities I kept reading the story anticipating that Samsa was about to wake up, but he never did.

0
Discussion, Week 3

“Young Goodman Brown”

Leave a comment

In the story “Young Goodman Brown,” by Nathaniel Hawthorne the type of narration used includes third person omniscient.   With this type of narration the narrator gives the reader information from anywhere in the story.  Therefore, the narrator is able to give information even when the setting changes.   The narrative style is also third person limited because the narrator is only able to give information about what is in the mind of the point-of -view character, Goodman Brown.  The narrator does not have access to the thoughts of other characters.  The narrator does have access to the feelings of some of the flat characters.  This is noted on page 8 where the narrator stated, “… and fair young girls who trembled lest their mothers espy them.”

The narrator begins to tell the story from the setting of Young Goodman Brown’s home as he is about to leave home on his mysterious journey.  The setting changes as Goodman Brown continues on his journey through Salem Village and into the woods.  On page two Hawthorne wrote,  “He had taken a dreary road, darkened by all the gloomiest trees of the forest.”   The narration continues even when Goodman Brown leaves the setting of his fellow traveler and hides in the bushes.  While he is hidden the narrator gives narration from Goodman Brown’s hiding place  and also from the Goodman Brown’s companion and Goody Cloyse.

The wording of the story indicates this is truly third person as the narrator does not take part in the story.  For example, Hawthorne wrote,  “Friend, said he…” on page 5.  On page 1, “Poor little faith thought he.”  Also on page 7, “My Faith is gone!, cried he.”

Third person limited narration continues when the narrator gives an insight into the thoughts and feelings of Young Goodman Brown. This on page 5 when Goodman Brown had apparently changed his mind about continuing his unchristian like journey.   “The young man sat a few moments by the road-side, applauding himself greatly, and thinking with how clear a conscience he should meet the minister on his morning walk, nor shrink from the eye of Deacon Gookin.”

The narrator has not given readers an understanding of why Goodman Brown decides to go an this journey that he knew was   against his christian values.  He came to his senses and does restrain himself for a moment from going further, but when he saw the pink ribbons belonging to his wife her presence there propelled him onward.   Goodman brown is rather naive because along the journey he hid himself from the sight of Goody Cloyse, his pastor and the deacon.  All of whom he had no doubt were good christian.   His companion laughed at him on page 3 when he said, “…how should I meet the eye of that good old man, our minister, at Salem Village?  Oh his voice would make me tremble, both Sabbath-day and lecture-day.”   His companion laughed because he knew these people were all hypocrites who professed Christianity but who were also devil worshipers.  He also knew all these  people  would be in attendance when they reached their destination.   Goodman Brown at this point was in for a surprise.

 

0
Discussion

Discussion: “The Metamorphosis”

11 Comments

My apologies for any confusion, and for my delay in posting. Since our schedule is a bit off, with Wednesday following a Monday schedule, you don’t have a homework post until after this online discussion.

For our discussion this week, let’s think about our experience reading Franz Kafka’s “The Metamorphosis” by each focusing our comment through a particular passage. Some possible topics to address here:

How do you deal with the outrageous situation presented in “The Metamorphosis”? Does it help to read “The Metamorphosis” metaphorically? What does metaphorically mean? If “Young Goodman Brown” can be read as an allegory (refer “Elements of Fiction” for a description of allegory and allegorical fiction), can “The Metamorphosis” as well?

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).

I look forward to this discussion with you!

0
Discussion

Discussion: “Young Goodman Brown” and narrators

18 Comments

I hope you enjoyed Thursday’s holiday and have some good plans for Monday’s holiday as well. Remember that since Monday is a holiday, we do not have a discussion due Sunday night. Since Wednesday follows a Monday schedule, you’ll contribute to our online discussion by Tuesday night.

For this discussion, I want us to start thinking about our first formal assignment, Project #1. Read through the instructions and start brainstorming about what you might want to work on. Not sure yet? That’s fine, too. We haven’t finished reading all of the stories you might want to focus on. If you have questions, thoughts, or comments about the assignment, please use the commenting space on that page so we can read and reply to each other there. I am happy to revise the language of the assignment to make it clearer and more understandable.

Since a major aspect of this project is thinking about a story’s narrator and what affect the type of narrator has on the way we experience the story, let’s think about the narrator in “Young Goodman Brown” as well as the other stories we’ve read so far. If we look back at our list of different types of narrators, what do they offer us as readers as we enter and live in a given story world? Think about the definitions of the terms to help you understand what the narrator does and can’t do in a given story:

  • first-person narrator
  • second-person narrator
  • third-person narrator
    • third-person limited
    • third-person omniscient
    • third-person objective

I’d like us to add a few other terms to our list. They come from narratology, the study of narrative, and sound more technical than these other terms:

A narrative is heterodiegetic if the narrator is not a protagonist or if the narrator  exists in a different sphere than the protagonist. Third-person narratives are most commonly associated with this term, but other narratives can be, such as you-narratives, they-narratives, and one-narratives.

A homodiegetic narrative is equivalent to a first-person narrative. If the narrator is the main protagonist, such as in an autobiography, that is called an autodiegetic narrative. That style of narration is different from a peripheral first-person narrator, in which a first-person narrator is a minor character. First-person narrators, whether homodiegetic or autodiegetic, are inherently limited in their perspective and are potentially untrustworthy.

These definitions come from Monika Fludernik’s An Introduction to Narratology, 2009, and draw on the work of Gerard Genette and Franz K. Stanzel.

To make them a little clearer, here are the building blocks of those words: diegesis refers to the story world. Hetero- means different; homo- means same; auto- means self. Therefore, we have someone different than the story world telling a heterodiegetic narrative, someone in the same story world telling a homodiegetic narrative, and even more specific than that, we can say that when the narrator in the story world is the protagonist, or main character, we have an autodiegetic narrative.

Getting back to our discussion here, what kind of narrator do we find in “Young Goodman Brown,” and what effect does that have on our experience in reading the story? What other narrative styles have we encountered in the other stories we have read, and how did those affect our reading experiences?

 

 

0