New York Times Review:
https://www.nytimes.com/books/98/09/20/specials/obrien-carried.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/24/books/review/tim-obriens-things-they-carried-read-by-bryan-cranston.html?_r=0
https://web.archive.org/web/20130507102842/http://www.hks.harvard.edu/ksgpress/bulletin/spring2003/features/things.html
http://www1.umassd.edu/corridors/bestessay25909.html
http://www.theparisreview.org/blog/tag/the-things-they-carried/
http://bookcritics.org/blog/archive/nbcc-reads-david-abram-picks-tim-obrien-who-tells-the-truth-about-war
http://www.thenewcanon.com/the_things_they_carried.html
http://core.ecu.edu/engl/whisnantl/4300/michele.htm
http://biblioklept.org/2013/11/11/review-tim-obriens-novel-the-things-they-carried-read-by-bryan-cranston/
NPR Article:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=125128156
A link with many articles:
http://www.literaryhistory.com/20thC/Obrien_Tim.htm
Wednesday, March 30, 2016
Tuesday, March 29, 2016
Extra Credit Chance
If you attend the above event and write a one page reaction--I will give you extra credit for the final paper.
Monday, March 28, 2016
Essay 3
APRIL 18 BRING IN DRAFTS FOR REVIEW
1141
APRIL 20 FINAL PAPER DUE
1)
Explain
the role of God and/or religion in (at least TWO) “A Good Man is Hard to Find”,
“A Very Old Man With Enormous Wings” and Life
of Pi. Use examples from the texts along with outside sources to support
your thesis.
2)
The issue
of whether The Misfit had grace or not was discussed in class. Pick a side of
the argument and defend your thesis with outside sources and examples from the
text.
3)
Explain
the role of magical realism in “A Very Old Man With Enormous Wings” and Life of Pi. Pick out three examples from
these two and explain how they can be described as magical realism. Use
examples from the texts along with outside sources to support your thesis.
"Hills Like White Elephants"
4) As we discussed in class, men and
women talk to each other in very different ways. Using “Hills Like White
Elephants” as proof, describe how this man and woman in the story are a good
example of that difference. How do they differ? What is their relationship
like?
5) We also discussed what the couple was talking about. Some people
believed it was an abortion while others were not convinced. Pick a side of the
argument and use an outside source that backs up your stance.
"The Things They Carried"
6))
When Jimmy Cross understands that Ted
Lavender is really dead, and that he might have prevented it, his whole outlook
changes. Before, he couldn't get Martha out of his head. He was a daydreamer
and a lover more than he was a soldier, and he thought often about that. But
afterward, he understands that when someone dies, that can't be changed. It
makes him realize his duty, and he is suddenly able to distance himself from
everything that used to be important in his life. He understands that he is now
living in another world and that he is a soldier whether he wants to be or not.
In this essay, show how Jimmy Cross changes over the course of the story.
7)
Choose one of the characters and
describe how the things he carried (emotional and physical) help tell the
reader about the person he is.
Wednesday, March 23, 2016
"A Very Old Man With Enormous Wings"
Magical Realism:http://www.princeton.edu/~achaney/tmve/wiki100k/docs/Magic_realism.html
http://www.english.iup.edu/pagnucci/courses/121/definitions/litdefinition-magicalrealism.htm
This article discusses "A Very Old Man With Enormous Wings" and magical realism:
http://mockingbird.creighton.edu/NCW/marquez.htm
Here is a list of fairytales that you may want to reference:
http://ivyjoy.com/fables/
http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~spok/grimmtmp/
What makes a story a fairy tale?
http://www.voxmagazine.com/blog/2012/10/what-makes-a-fairy-tale/
http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=jkSzkr4UWDgC&oi=fnd&pg=PP1&dq=what+makes+a+story+a+fairy+tale&ots=5INIgjj9fI&sig=-bBpPAXuosHCiUyBu3uFbQmYHOA#v=onepage&q=what%20makes%20a%20story%20a%20fairy%20tale&f=false
http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=-AR9FEgly9wC&oi=fnd&pg=PA64&dq=what+makes+a+story+a+fairy+tale&ots=AcMzBieWQS&sig=UY-nsUqv1cfOsWdlWoEEM7Nr7A8#v=onepage&q=what%20makes%20a%20story%20a%20fairy%20tale&f=false
http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=1esOc6GGtOsC&oi=fnd&pg=PA2&dq=what+makes+a+story+a+fairy+tale&ots=0d0nbXFdyu&sig=XK7cnjf_z8L06Q5aEzwxBNZbBss#v=onepage&q=what%20makes%20a%20story%20a%20fairy%20tale&f=false
"A Very Old Man With Enormous Wings"
http://www.academia.edu/1000317/Marquezs_A_Very_Old_Man_with_Enormous_Wings_and_Bambaras_The_Lesson
http://litmed.med.nyu.edu/Annotation?action=view&annid=12287
Author's Obit:
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/18/books/gabriel-garcia-marquez-literary-pioneer-dies-at-87.html?_r=0
http://www.english.iup.edu/pagnucci/courses/121/definitions/litdefinition-magicalrealism.htm
This article discusses "A Very Old Man With Enormous Wings" and magical realism:
http://mockingbird.creighton.edu/NCW/marquez.htm
Here is a list of fairytales that you may want to reference:
http://ivyjoy.com/fables/
http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~spok/grimmtmp/
What makes a story a fairy tale?
http://www.voxmagazine.com/blog/2012/10/what-makes-a-fairy-tale/
http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=jkSzkr4UWDgC&oi=fnd&pg=PP1&dq=what+makes+a+story+a+fairy+tale&ots=5INIgjj9fI&sig=-bBpPAXuosHCiUyBu3uFbQmYHOA#v=onepage&q=what%20makes%20a%20story%20a%20fairy%20tale&f=false
http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=-AR9FEgly9wC&oi=fnd&pg=PA64&dq=what+makes+a+story+a+fairy+tale&ots=AcMzBieWQS&sig=UY-nsUqv1cfOsWdlWoEEM7Nr7A8#v=onepage&q=what%20makes%20a%20story%20a%20fairy%20tale&f=false
http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=1esOc6GGtOsC&oi=fnd&pg=PA2&dq=what+makes+a+story+a+fairy+tale&ots=0d0nbXFdyu&sig=XK7cnjf_z8L06Q5aEzwxBNZbBss#v=onepage&q=what%20makes%20a%20story%20a%20fairy%20tale&f=false
"A Very Old Man With Enormous Wings"
http://www.academia.edu/1000317/Marquezs_A_Very_Old_Man_with_Enormous_Wings_and_Bambaras_The_Lesson
http://litmed.med.nyu.edu/Annotation?action=view&annid=12287
Author's Obit:
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/18/books/gabriel-garcia-marquez-literary-pioneer-dies-at-87.html?_r=0
Tuesday, March 15, 2016
A Good Man Is Hard to Find
Links on Southern Culture:
Folow this link for a collection of links about the story:
http://www.literaryhistory.com/20thC/O’Connor.htm
More on "A Good Man is Hard to Find":
http://web.a.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=9&sid=7a0d2f82-11ba-4046-80b7-8b3557846338%40sessionmgr4002&hid=4214
http://web.a.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=7a0d2f82-11ba-4046-80b7-8b3557846338%40sessionmgr4002&vid=11&hid=4214
http://commons.pacificu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1038&context=casfac
http://dsq-sds.org/article/view/607/784
http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/ejournals/old-WILLA/fall95/Haines.html
O'Connor reading the story and commentary:
http://www.openculture.com/2012/05/rare_1959_audio_flannery_oconnor_reads_a_good_man_is_hard_to_find.html
http://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2011/jul/05/fresh-look-flannery-o-connor-cartoons
More on "A Good Man is Hard to Find":
http://web.a.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=9&sid=7a0d2f82-11ba-4046-80b7-8b3557846338%40sessionmgr4002&hid=4214
http://web.a.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=7a0d2f82-11ba-4046-80b7-8b3557846338%40sessionmgr4002&vid=11&hid=4214
http://commons.pacificu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1038&context=casfac
http://dsq-sds.org/article/view/607/784
http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/ejournals/old-WILLA/fall95/Haines.html
O'Connor reading the story and commentary:
http://www.openculture.com/2012/05/rare_1959_audio_flannery_oconnor_reads_a_good_man_is_hard_to_find.html
http://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2011/jul/05/fresh-look-flannery-o-connor-cartoons
Four collections of essays provide a good range of criticism on O’Connor (These would be found in the Literary Criticism section of a book store or library):
1. The Added Dimension: The Art and Mind of Flannery O’Connor, edited by Melvin J. Friedman and Lewis A. Lawson (1966; rpt. Fordham University Press, 1977).
2. Critical Essays on Flannery O’Connor, edited by Melvin J. Friedman and Beverly Lyon Clark (Hall, 1985).
3. Flannery O’Connor, edited by Harold Bloom (Chelsea House, 1986).
4. Realist of Distances: Flannery O’Connor Revisited, edited by Karl-Heinz Westarp and Jan Nordby Gretlund (Aarhus, 1987).
The Grandmother:
The Misfit with the grandmother:
Taking the family to the woods:
The author:
Monday, March 14, 2016
Monday, March 7, 2016
In Class March 7
1) What kind of impact does “the
temp” have on the office? What ends up happening to the employees?
2) How is the lighter symbolic of her effect on the office? (Think about
the function of a lighter)
3) How does the
ending of the story change how the temp is viewed? What does it reveal about
her?
4) What does
this story say about an individual’s appearance and how it can influence others?
5)
What
similar effects did both the drowned man and the temp have on the people in
their stories?
“The way we’re working isn’t working. Even if you’re lucky
enough to have a job, you’re probably not very excited to get to the office in
the morning, you don’t feel much appreciated while you’re there, you find it
difficult to get your most important work accomplished, amid all the
distractions, and you don’t believe that what you’re doing makes much of a
difference anyway. By the time you get home, you’re pretty much running on
empty, and yet still answering emails until you fall asleep” (Schwartz and Porah).
“But many social
scientists and others who study the science of stereotyping say there are
reasons we quickly size people up based on how they look. Snap judgments about
people are crucial to the way we function, they say — even when those judgments
are very wrong” (Belluck).
All three of the stories we will
look at this week have “Magical Strangers” changed these new environments.
Their appearance played a major
role in their acceptance and elevation in these stories:
The drowned man ---------------à The Village
The Temp ---------------àThe Office
Edward Scissorhands
--------------àThe Suburban Town
_______________ _________________________
_________________________ _________________________
_________________________ _________________________
1)
Does the drowned man create conflict in the
village, or bring the village together? (Your answer might change depending on
which part of the story you're examining.)
2)
Flowers are mentioned in the
beginning of the story and at the very end; what do the flowers represent to
the people of the village? How has that changed since the arrival of the
drowned man?
3)
How does the drowned man give the
villagers a stronger sense of identity? Why is this important to people?
This week we will look at “The
Handsomest Drowned Man in the World”, “The Temp” and Edward Scissorhands in class.
All three of these stories contain individuals that become part of a community
in some way and have profound effects of the people. In “The Handsomest
Drowned Man in the World” it is a corpse that washes ashore that gives the
townspeople a new way of looking at their lives, in “The Temp” it is a temp
hired in an office that changes the atmosphere of the work environment and
in Edward Scissorhands it
is a unique young man that forces a rather boring town to see how boring and
judgmental they really are. This week pay attention to what these “magical
strangers” force the people in the stories to look at it in their lives.
The Importance of Appearance
“In traditional
societies, clothing reflected ones rank and place in society, and identified
one. Its function was not merely to clothe a naked person but also to
beautify him or her. While it always reflected ones outward place it also
reveals something on ones internal character. Thus clothing was both protection
from the elements and an expression of spiritual and cultural identity”
“Just like one can
determine the ripeness or rottenness of a fruit based on its appearance, one
can usually draw conclusions on one’s inner character from how they present
themselves” Agree?
“But recent research suggests that we may need
to adopt a more cynical attitude. It turns out that a candidate’s appearance —
not beauty, but a look of competence — can generate a far greater vote swing
than we previously thought. Furthermore, this effect is not only powerful but
also subliminal. Few of us believe that appearance determines our vote, yet for
a significant number of us, it may” (Mlondinow).
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