FINAL PAPER – COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS: “THE USE OF . . .”
Task: to analyze, in a comparative manner, two (or three) stories, as to their use of a
single element of fiction. One of the stories must come from the following list (your story from paper 1 is off limits):
The Student’s Wife – Raymond Carver
A Wagner Matinee – Willa Cather
The Enormous Radio – John Cheever
We Didn’t – Stuart Dybek
Constant Pain in Tuscaloosa – Barry Hannah
In the Cemetery Where Al Jolson Is Buried – Amy Hempel
Rules of the Game – Amy Tan
Everyday Use – Alice Walker
A Worn Path – Eudora Welty
The Man Who Was Almost a Man – Richard Wright
The other may come from any of the stories that were assigned during the semester. Feel free as well to use one of your blog assignments as a springboard to this paper, assuming you develop it significantly. After you have chosen your stories, read and re-read them closely, taking note of the elements in them that make them what they are, then choose one of the elements of fiction that were the basis for organizing our readings (Plot, Character, Point of View, Symbol, Form, Allegory, etc.) and analyze the stories’ use or lack of that element, taking into account how the fiction element you chose manifests itself in each of the stories as well as comparing the two.
Requirements:
o You must support your own assertions with specific details and explanations thereof.
o Do not spend long paragraphs only describing the texts’ elements, similarities, or differences. Try to begin each paragraph with an argument about the texts. In other words, always answer “so what.”
o Show your work. Saying something doesn’t make it so. Be sure you slow down and explain your reasoning, step by step.
o Explain the evidence and its relevance to your argument/idea–a reader may not be able to follow your thinking, so explain it to them. Quote the text extensively, but, remember not to rely only on the quotes (never leave a quote to explain itself) to do all of the work, as your reader may interpret the quote differently than you.
Essays should demonstrate clear analysis, sound organization, and evidence in the form of reasoning and close-reading.
Grades will be determined as follows:
Topic/Purpose Development 50%
Organization and Support 30%
Style and Mechanics 20%
When you have completed your essay blog post, and are ready for me to evaluate it, please submit a link to your blog in the space provided at the right of the assignment page. Also attach it as a Word Document on the assignment sheet as well: this is so I can make comments and return the document to you. If you have questions about this assignment, please feel free to contact me at jjoelthomas@netscape.net.
A recommended process:
1. Take extensive notes (on paper or in the margins) of the story
2. Reread the story again, noting dominant or important patterns that relate to the fiction element(s) you are focusing on.
3. Freewrite on the topic for 10-15 minutes, letting yourself write anything that relates. Some of these “gut” responses may translate to the final draft, or illuminate other ideas.
4. Look over your notes and review parts of the poems again, noting patterns and differences between the 2 texts.
5. Draft some body paragraphs in which you lay out evidence (examples of elements) and interpret them.
6. Let it sit for a day or so, if possible. Reread your draft to see what it is adding up to; find more/further evidence in the text you had yet to consider.
7. Revise and edit, making sure you have fully supported your ideas with evidence (quotes and reasoning) and explanations.
Form: The paper should be 5-7 FULL pages in length, and may use secondary sources—
but be sure to document your sources using MLA style. When you turn in your paper, post it on your blog AND submit a word attachment on web ct and/or to my email address. Any questions feel free to email me at jjoelthomas@netscape.net.
Due Dates:
Paper proposals due: April 21
Final Paper due: April 28
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Friday, February 15, 2008
Paper #1
Paper #1 – A Focused Close Reading
While it is true that there are many different critical lenses with which we can view, appreciate and analyze literature, and while it is also true that comparison between authors, texts and eras, as well as the survey and recognition of existing scholarship/criticism regarding any particular text, can be beneficial modes of the study of literature, the foundation to the appreciation and study of literature begins with close reading. Close reading involves taking a text or a passage of a text and “putting it under the microscope,” trying to come to an understanding of the elements that make the text what it is—how it makes its meanings or represents its themes/ideas. Many times a checklist of sorts can be produced to help guide us through the process of a general close reading. That said, it is easy to see how close reading is the foundation for Literary Analysis; it lays the groundwork for other forms of analysis (critical, contextual, etc.). Focused close reading brings us that much closer to a true literary analysis in that through the focusing upon “certain” elements that are deemed important, dominant, or defining about a text, one formulates a thesis of sorts (The use of Point of View in “Hills Like White Elephants” or the use of Setting in “Heart of Darkness” for example).
Your task will be to choose a story from the following list:
The Student’s Wife – Raymond Carver
A Wagner Matinee – Willa Cather
The Enormous Radio – John Cheever
We Didn’t – Stuart Dybek
Constant Pain in Tuscaloosa – Barry Hannah
In the Cemetery Where Al Jolson Is Buried – Amy Hempel
Rules of the Game – Amy Tan
Everyday Use – Alice Walker
A Worn Path – Eudora Welty
The Man Who Was Almost a Man – Richard Wright
then—write a focused close reading of that text. In other words read/re-read the text, decide which element/elements of fiction to focus your reading on, and examine how those elements contribute to the text’s overall meaning(s). I will provide you with some handouts that detail the close reading process in varying amount of detail for those that are interested.
This assignment sheet, along with the essays about close reading will be posted on our WebCT homepage, as well as on the class blog.
DUE DATES: Paper Proposal/Progress paragraphs: Sunday, 2/24
Final Draft: Sunday, 3/2
Requirements:
o You must support your own assertions with specific details and explanations thereof.
o Do not spend long paragraphs only describing the texts’ elements, similarities, or differences. Try to begin each paragraph with an argument about the texts. In other words, always answer “so what.”
o Show your work. Saying something doesn’t make it so. Be sure you slow down and explain your reasoning, step by step.
o Explain the evidence and its relevance to your argument/idea–a reader may not be able to follow your thinking, so explain it to them. Quote the text extensively, but, remember not to rely only on the quotes (never leave a quote to explain itself) to do all of the work, as your reader may interpret the quote differently than you.
Form: 1000 - 1500 words (4-6 fully-typed pages); 12-point Times New Roman. Do not use outside sources unless you properly cite them. MLA style for both primary sources (the story) and secondary sources (if you choose to use them, though they are not assigned nor required). When you are finished, post your essay to your blog, as well as submitting a word.doc. As always, blog posts should be free of proofreading and grammatical errors.
Essays should demonstrate clear analysis, sound organization, and evidence in the form of reasoning and close-reading.
Grades will be determined as follows:
Topic/Purpose Development 50%
Organization and Support 30%
Style and Mechanics 20%
When you have completed your essay blog post, and are ready for me to evaluate it, please submit a link to your blog in the space provided at the right of the assignment page. Also attach it as a Word Document on the assignment sheet as well: this is so I can make comments and return the document to you. If you have questions about this assignment, please feel free to contact me at jjoelthomas@netscape.net.
A recommended process:
1. Take extensive notes (on paper or in the margins) of the story
2. Reread the story again, noting dominant or important patterns that relate to the fiction element(s) you are focusing on.
3. Freewrite on the topic for 10-15 minutes, letting yourself write anything that relates. Some of these “gut” responses may translate to the final draft, or illuminate other ideas.
4. Look over your notes and review parts of the poems again, noting patterns and differences between the 2 texts.
5. Draft some body paragraphs in which you lay out evidence (examples of elements) and interpret them.
6. Let it sit for a day or so, if possible. Reread your draft to see what it is adding up to; find more/further evidence in the text you had yet to consider.
7. Revise and edit, making sure you have fully supported your ideas with evidence (quotes and reasoning) and explanations.
While it is true that there are many different critical lenses with which we can view, appreciate and analyze literature, and while it is also true that comparison between authors, texts and eras, as well as the survey and recognition of existing scholarship/criticism regarding any particular text, can be beneficial modes of the study of literature, the foundation to the appreciation and study of literature begins with close reading. Close reading involves taking a text or a passage of a text and “putting it under the microscope,” trying to come to an understanding of the elements that make the text what it is—how it makes its meanings or represents its themes/ideas. Many times a checklist of sorts can be produced to help guide us through the process of a general close reading. That said, it is easy to see how close reading is the foundation for Literary Analysis; it lays the groundwork for other forms of analysis (critical, contextual, etc.). Focused close reading brings us that much closer to a true literary analysis in that through the focusing upon “certain” elements that are deemed important, dominant, or defining about a text, one formulates a thesis of sorts (The use of Point of View in “Hills Like White Elephants” or the use of Setting in “Heart of Darkness” for example).
Your task will be to choose a story from the following list:
The Student’s Wife – Raymond Carver
A Wagner Matinee – Willa Cather
The Enormous Radio – John Cheever
We Didn’t – Stuart Dybek
Constant Pain in Tuscaloosa – Barry Hannah
In the Cemetery Where Al Jolson Is Buried – Amy Hempel
Rules of the Game – Amy Tan
Everyday Use – Alice Walker
A Worn Path – Eudora Welty
The Man Who Was Almost a Man – Richard Wright
then—write a focused close reading of that text. In other words read/re-read the text, decide which element/elements of fiction to focus your reading on, and examine how those elements contribute to the text’s overall meaning(s). I will provide you with some handouts that detail the close reading process in varying amount of detail for those that are interested.
This assignment sheet, along with the essays about close reading will be posted on our WebCT homepage, as well as on the class blog.
DUE DATES: Paper Proposal/Progress paragraphs: Sunday, 2/24
Final Draft: Sunday, 3/2
Requirements:
o You must support your own assertions with specific details and explanations thereof.
o Do not spend long paragraphs only describing the texts’ elements, similarities, or differences. Try to begin each paragraph with an argument about the texts. In other words, always answer “so what.”
o Show your work. Saying something doesn’t make it so. Be sure you slow down and explain your reasoning, step by step.
o Explain the evidence and its relevance to your argument/idea–a reader may not be able to follow your thinking, so explain it to them. Quote the text extensively, but, remember not to rely only on the quotes (never leave a quote to explain itself) to do all of the work, as your reader may interpret the quote differently than you.
Form: 1000 - 1500 words (4-6 fully-typed pages); 12-point Times New Roman. Do not use outside sources unless you properly cite them. MLA style for both primary sources (the story) and secondary sources (if you choose to use them, though they are not assigned nor required). When you are finished, post your essay to your blog, as well as submitting a word.doc. As always, blog posts should be free of proofreading and grammatical errors.
Essays should demonstrate clear analysis, sound organization, and evidence in the form of reasoning and close-reading.
Grades will be determined as follows:
Topic/Purpose Development 50%
Organization and Support 30%
Style and Mechanics 20%
When you have completed your essay blog post, and are ready for me to evaluate it, please submit a link to your blog in the space provided at the right of the assignment page. Also attach it as a Word Document on the assignment sheet as well: this is so I can make comments and return the document to you. If you have questions about this assignment, please feel free to contact me at jjoelthomas@netscape.net.
A recommended process:
1. Take extensive notes (on paper or in the margins) of the story
2. Reread the story again, noting dominant or important patterns that relate to the fiction element(s) you are focusing on.
3. Freewrite on the topic for 10-15 minutes, letting yourself write anything that relates. Some of these “gut” responses may translate to the final draft, or illuminate other ideas.
4. Look over your notes and review parts of the poems again, noting patterns and differences between the 2 texts.
5. Draft some body paragraphs in which you lay out evidence (examples of elements) and interpret them.
6. Let it sit for a day or so, if possible. Reread your draft to see what it is adding up to; find more/further evidence in the text you had yet to consider.
7. Revise and edit, making sure you have fully supported your ideas with evidence (quotes and reasoning) and explanations.
Friday, February 8, 2008
Setting - Where are we and how did we get here?
Setting on its most base level seems quite simple - it is the place and time of the story. On the primary level setting is an important as aspect of the "populating" of a story, that is, the things in a story that lend it the ability to suspend your disbelief, to cause you to forget that what you are reading is a fiction and to invest in the characters and the narrative. Part of that involves filling this fictional world with a setting that readers can "see" and that supports our imaginative conception of the "world" a given story takes place in.
But setting should also serve a dramatic purpose, if it is going to maximize its usefulness as an element of fiction. The stories that best use setting use it in a dual capacity. Think of Hawthorne's Young Goodman Brown - this story, at its outset, describes a Puritan street in a town, but it is not until Brown enters the forest that the setting is fully rendered and used to help turn the forest (the wild) itself into a sort of a character. "The Open Boat," by Crane is an example from this week's reading. Obviously, setting plays a large part of the story. They are drifting at sea in a life-raft. The place, or physical surroundings, cannot help but play a large part in the story, after all, the setting is part of the conflict/complication in this story. But ask yourself what purpose the setting serves when the boat comes within view of land - the setting is described there as well, and it has an effect upon the characters and subsequently upon our reading(s) of the story.
That is to say, setting can also affect characters' motives/actions/emotions, as well as being the basis for conflict. In Richard Ford's "Great Falls," think of the part that "place" plays in the developing conflict between the mother and father.
Setting is a major force when used to its utmost advantage - it can help drive the conflict and can even affect characters, sometimes it can even be seen as a character of sorts - and it is often an overlooked part of the story - kind of like good bass players in rock and roll bands. you almost never notice them until they are removed from the mix.
But setting should also serve a dramatic purpose, if it is going to maximize its usefulness as an element of fiction. The stories that best use setting use it in a dual capacity. Think of Hawthorne's Young Goodman Brown - this story, at its outset, describes a Puritan street in a town, but it is not until Brown enters the forest that the setting is fully rendered and used to help turn the forest (the wild) itself into a sort of a character. "The Open Boat," by Crane is an example from this week's reading. Obviously, setting plays a large part of the story. They are drifting at sea in a life-raft. The place, or physical surroundings, cannot help but play a large part in the story, after all, the setting is part of the conflict/complication in this story. But ask yourself what purpose the setting serves when the boat comes within view of land - the setting is described there as well, and it has an effect upon the characters and subsequently upon our reading(s) of the story.
That is to say, setting can also affect characters' motives/actions/emotions, as well as being the basis for conflict. In Richard Ford's "Great Falls," think of the part that "place" plays in the developing conflict between the mother and father.
Setting is a major force when used to its utmost advantage - it can help drive the conflict and can even affect characters, sometimes it can even be seen as a character of sorts - and it is often an overlooked part of the story - kind of like good bass players in rock and roll bands. you almost never notice them until they are removed from the mix.
Friday, February 1, 2008
Plot - its story
Plot is the plan of a literary work, in our case, short stories. but it suggests more than merely explanation of the sequence of events; there is also causation (cause and effect) a pattern of relationships between events - this happens because of this and so on. Though many use the words "story" and "plot" interchangeably, let us distinguish between the two.
A "story" is a string of events put down in chronological order. A "plot" is a series of events arranged so as to illuminate their dramatic, thematic, emotional experience. If a "story' is concerned with "what" happened, a "plot" is concerned with "what, how and why." That is not to say that a plot doesn't have a beginning middle and an end - it does, which is why we so often use the words story nd plot interchangeably. The beginning is where the conflict happens, the middle ofers us a series of complications, and the end resolves the conflict to a greater or leser degree. Ultimately, it is that sense of causation from one event to another that drives the plot. "The Queen dies and then the King dies" is not a plot - "The Queen dies and then the King dies . . . of grief" is.
Suspense is also a vital aspect of the entertaiing or satisfying plot; we should want to know what happens next, and be surprised by the incidents, but also know that each new evetn grows logically out of the earlier.
It needs to be mentioned that "plot" is artificial. Discerning a pattern in the muddle of huamn life is a willed creaive act. A story with a beginning, middle, and end, with its various events bound together by cause and effect, exhibiting some view of morality or universality (typical experience) is an artifice, albeit one that has the ability to entertain and even teach.
A "story" is a string of events put down in chronological order. A "plot" is a series of events arranged so as to illuminate their dramatic, thematic, emotional experience. If a "story' is concerned with "what" happened, a "plot" is concerned with "what, how and why." That is not to say that a plot doesn't have a beginning middle and an end - it does, which is why we so often use the words story nd plot interchangeably. The beginning is where the conflict happens, the middle ofers us a series of complications, and the end resolves the conflict to a greater or leser degree. Ultimately, it is that sense of causation from one event to another that drives the plot. "The Queen dies and then the King dies" is not a plot - "The Queen dies and then the King dies . . . of grief" is.
Suspense is also a vital aspect of the entertaiing or satisfying plot; we should want to know what happens next, and be surprised by the incidents, but also know that each new evetn grows logically out of the earlier.
It needs to be mentioned that "plot" is artificial. Discerning a pattern in the muddle of huamn life is a willed creaive act. A story with a beginning, middle, and end, with its various events bound together by cause and effect, exhibiting some view of morality or universality (typical experience) is an artifice, albeit one that has the ability to entertain and even teach.
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Point of View - A Few Words
When reading fiction, Point of View is probably one of the first things that is (should bee) noted, it is often the first things encountered and can be established as early as the first sentence in some cases. It has its effects upon many aspects of the story, including how information is conveyed to the reader, how reliable a narrator is, establishment of the "point-of-view-character, or the character through which the story is filtered, and even how we are asked to know and relate to the characters and the ideas given to us during the course of a given story.
Simply put, POV refers to the way a story is told, and its deft handling is paramount to the successful story. If the chosen POV is not right for the complete dramatic ordering of the subject matter, the story will not reveal all its possibilities to the author, and the story will be incomplete. Ultimately POV (which is the most subtly complex element of fiction)concerns the relationship between writer, characters, and reader.
Broken down into its base components/ideas, POV looks like this:
first-person narrator - (identifiable by the pronoun "I") one of the story's characters relates the story's action and events. This character may be the protagonist (the "I" telling "my" story), and would be considered the "central narrator," as that character is central to the story being told (think of Updike's A & P). The character may also be a "peripheral narrator" - a first person narrator who is telling the story about someone else, a narrator who himself/herself does not figure prominently into the story but knows and relates the story's events and action (Faulkner's "A Rose for Emily" comes to mind. A first-person narrator lends immediacy and a strong voice to a story, but can also be considered "unreliable" as a narrator. This is because we are getting a one-sided story, and the narrator's propensity toward truth, sanity, etc. could be questioned. The authority of the first-person narrator is limited. It is a biased report that we are receiving, but this "bias," or unreliability, can be used by an author to great effect. Think about the cliche, "There are two sides to every story."
third-person narrator - in which the author is telling the story, or the narrator is a non-participant (identifiable by the pronouns "he," "she," "it," "they"). This POV can be subdivied by the degree of knowledge a narrator/author posseses.
"third-person omniscient" is when the teller knows everything there is to know about all the characters, the setting, background, etc. It is often considered lofty and a bit distant (think of classical epics - Homer, Virgil, etc.). Tolstoy's "The Death of Ivan Ilych" is one example. However, the omniscient narrator is used less and less, if one examines a time-line of fiction--modern literature's movement downward from the heroic to the common character, from external action to the psychological action of the mind, has contributed to this lessening of the use of the god-like stance of the omniscient narrator.
"third-person limited" (or sympathetic) is confined to revealing the thoughtd of a few (usually one) character(s). This characters is known as the "point-of-view-character." This method was first developed in fiction by Gustave Flaubert - it alows for a more interior, more subjective view of characters and event. Think of Anton Chekhov's "Gusev" as an example. Henry James came up with another theory about limited omniscience narrating. He referred to certain characters in his stories as the "central intelligence." Stories told this way are not always about a single character, but they do involve a character, placed at the center of the action, through whom the author registers and evaluates everything that happens, including what happens to and within the character. In this type of story (James Joyce's "The Dead" as an example), the character's psyche is the stage for the drama.
"third-person objective" is just what it sounds like - a story in which the narrator remains coimpletely objective, and the only info give to the reader is that which is readily and physically observable by the narrator. In third-person objective, the narrator renders explicit, observable details and does not have access to the internal thoughts of characters or background information about the setting or situation. A character's thoughts, for example, are inferred only by what is expressed openly, in actions or in words. This point of view is also known as third-person dramatic because it is generally the way drama is developed. (Hemingway's "Hills Like White Elephants" is the famous example).
second-person narrator- the second person (identifiable by the pronoun "you") is rarely used in fiction since a forced identification of the reader with the fictional world is difficult to sustain.
Hopefully this will help as you read through the stories for the course. Keep an eye on this blog for further words on the elements that we will be studying i conjunction with these stories. Remember, POV will be something to consider beyond the scope of the two weeks of the syllabus devoted to that element.
Simply put, POV refers to the way a story is told, and its deft handling is paramount to the successful story. If the chosen POV is not right for the complete dramatic ordering of the subject matter, the story will not reveal all its possibilities to the author, and the story will be incomplete. Ultimately POV (which is the most subtly complex element of fiction)concerns the relationship between writer, characters, and reader.
Broken down into its base components/ideas, POV looks like this:
first-person narrator - (identifiable by the pronoun "I") one of the story's characters relates the story's action and events. This character may be the protagonist (the "I" telling "my" story), and would be considered the "central narrator," as that character is central to the story being told (think of Updike's A & P). The character may also be a "peripheral narrator" - a first person narrator who is telling the story about someone else, a narrator who himself/herself does not figure prominently into the story but knows and relates the story's events and action (Faulkner's "A Rose for Emily" comes to mind. A first-person narrator lends immediacy and a strong voice to a story, but can also be considered "unreliable" as a narrator. This is because we are getting a one-sided story, and the narrator's propensity toward truth, sanity, etc. could be questioned. The authority of the first-person narrator is limited. It is a biased report that we are receiving, but this "bias," or unreliability, can be used by an author to great effect. Think about the cliche, "There are two sides to every story."
third-person narrator - in which the author is telling the story, or the narrator is a non-participant (identifiable by the pronouns "he," "she," "it," "they"). This POV can be subdivied by the degree of knowledge a narrator/author posseses.
"third-person omniscient" is when the teller knows everything there is to know about all the characters, the setting, background, etc. It is often considered lofty and a bit distant (think of classical epics - Homer, Virgil, etc.). Tolstoy's "The Death of Ivan Ilych" is one example. However, the omniscient narrator is used less and less, if one examines a time-line of fiction--modern literature's movement downward from the heroic to the common character, from external action to the psychological action of the mind, has contributed to this lessening of the use of the god-like stance of the omniscient narrator.
"third-person limited" (or sympathetic) is confined to revealing the thoughtd of a few (usually one) character(s). This characters is known as the "point-of-view-character." This method was first developed in fiction by Gustave Flaubert - it alows for a more interior, more subjective view of characters and event. Think of Anton Chekhov's "Gusev" as an example. Henry James came up with another theory about limited omniscience narrating. He referred to certain characters in his stories as the "central intelligence." Stories told this way are not always about a single character, but they do involve a character, placed at the center of the action, through whom the author registers and evaluates everything that happens, including what happens to and within the character. In this type of story (James Joyce's "The Dead" as an example), the character's psyche is the stage for the drama.
"third-person objective" is just what it sounds like - a story in which the narrator remains coimpletely objective, and the only info give to the reader is that which is readily and physically observable by the narrator. In third-person objective, the narrator renders explicit, observable details and does not have access to the internal thoughts of characters or background information about the setting or situation. A character's thoughts, for example, are inferred only by what is expressed openly, in actions or in words. This point of view is also known as third-person dramatic because it is generally the way drama is developed. (Hemingway's "Hills Like White Elephants" is the famous example).
second-person narrator- the second person (identifiable by the pronoun "you") is rarely used in fiction since a forced identification of the reader with the fictional world is difficult to sustain.
Hopefully this will help as you read through the stories for the course. Keep an eye on this blog for further words on the elements that we will be studying i conjunction with these stories. Remember, POV will be something to consider beyond the scope of the two weeks of the syllabus devoted to that element.
Sunday, January 13, 2008
Hemingway's Hills Like White Elephants
For those of you who have trouble getting the text right square off the bat, I will copy a version of Hills Like White Elephants here on the blog. But make sure to get the text ASAP.
Thanks, Jamie
--------------------------------
Hills Like White Elephants
Ernest Hemingway
The hills across the valley of the Ebro were long and white. On this side there was no shade and no trees and the station was between two lines of rails in the sun. Close against the side of the station there was the warm shadow of the building and a curtain, made of strings of bamboo beads, hung across the open door into the bar, to keep out flies. The American and the girl with him sat at a table in the shade, outside the building. It was very hot and the express from Barcelona would come in forty minutes. It stopped at this junction for two minutes and went on to Madrid.
"What should we drink?" the girl asked. She had taken off her hat and put it on the table.
"It's pretty hot," the man said. "Let's drink beer."
"Dos cervezas," the man said into the curtain.
"Big ones?" a woman asked from the doorway.
"Yes. Two big ones."
The woman brought two glasses of beer and two felt pads. She put the felt pads and the beer glasses on the table and looked at the man and the girl. The girl was looking off at the line of hills. They were white in the sun and the country was brown and dry.
"They look like white elephants," she said.
"I've never seen one," the man drank his beer. "No, you wouldn't have."
"I might have," the man said. just because you say I wouldn't have doesn't prove anything."
The girl looked at the bead curtain. "They've painted something on it," she said." What does it say?"
"Anis del Toro. It's a drink."
"Could we try it?"
The man called "Listen" through the curtain. The woman came out from the bar.
"Four reales."
"We want two Anis del Toro."
"With water? "
"Do you want it with water?"
"I don't know," the girl said. "Is it good with water?"
"It's all right."
"You want them with water?" asked the woman.
"Yes, with water."
"It tastes like licorice," the girl said and put the glass down.
"That's the way with everything."
"Yes," said the girl. "Everything tastes of licorice. Especially all the things you've waited so long for, like absinthe."
"Oh, cut it out."
"You started it," the girl said. "I was being amused. I was having a fine time."
"Well, let's try and have a fine time."
"All right. I was trying. I said the mountains looked like white elephants. Wasn't that bright?"
"That was bright."
"I wanted to try this new drink. That's all we do, isn't it--look at things and try new drinks?"
"I guess so."
The girl looked across at the hills.
"They're lovely hills," she said. "They don't really look like white elephants. I just meant the coloring of their skin through the trees."
"Should we have another drink?"
"All right."
The warm wind blew the bead curtain against the table.
"The beer's nice and cool," the man said.
"It's lovely," the girl said.
"It's really an awfully simple operation, Jig," the man said. "It's not really an operation at all."
The girl looked at the ground the table legs rested on.
"I know you wouldn't mind it, Jig. It's really not anything. It's just to let the air in."
The girl did not say anything.
"I'll go with you and I'll stay with you all the time. They just let the air in and then it's all perfectly natural."
"Then what will we do afterward?"
"We'll be fine afterward. Just like we were before."
"What makes you think so?"
"That's the only thing that bothers us. It's the only thing that's made us unhappy."
The girl looked at the bead curtain, put her hand out and took hold of two of the strings of beads.
"And you think then we'll be all right and be happy."
"I know we will. You don't have to be afraid. I've known lots of people that have done it."
"So have I," said the girl. "And afterward they were all so happy."
"Well," the man said, "if you don't want to you don't have to. I wouldn't have you do it if you didn't want to. But I know it's perfectly simple."
"And you really want to?"
"I think it's the best thing to do. But I don't want you to do it if you don't really want to."
"And if I do it you'll be happy and things will be like they were and you'll love me?"
"I love you now. You know I love you."
"I know. But if I do it, then it will be nice again if I say things are like white elephants, and you'll like it?"
"I'll love it. I love it now but I just can't think about it. You know how I get when I worry."
"If I do it you won't ever worry?"
"I won't worry about that because it's perfectly simple."
"Then I'll do it. Because I don't care about me."
"What do you mean?" "I don't care about me."
"Well, I care about you."
"Oh, yes. But I don't care about me. And I'll do it and then everything will be fine."
"I don't want you to do it if you feel that way."
The girl stood up and walked to the end of the station. Across, on the other side, were fields of grain and trees along the banks of the Ebro. Far away, beyond the river, were mountains. The shadow of a cloud moved across the field of grain and she saw the river through the trees.
"And we could have all this," she said. "And we could have everything and every day we make it more impossible."
"What did you say?"
"I said we could have everything."
"We can have everything."
"No, we can't."
"We can have the whole world."
"No, we can't."
"We can go everywhere."
"No, we can't. It isn't ours any more."
"It's ours."
"No, it isn't. And once they take it away, you never get it back."
"But they haven't taken it away."
"We'll wait and see."
"Come on back in the shade," he said. "You mustn't feel that way."
"I don't feel any way," the girl said. "I just know things."
"I don't want you to do anything that you don't want to do "
"Nor that isn't good for me," she said. "I know. Could we have another beer?"
"All right. But you've got to realize "
"I realize," the girl said. "Can't we maybe stop talking?"
They sat down at the table and the girl looked across at the hills on the dry side of the valley and the man looked at her and at the table.
"You've got to realize," he said, "that I don't want you to do it if you don't want to. I'm perfectly willing to go through with it if it means anything to you."
"Doesn't it mean anything to you? We could get along."
"Of course it does. But I don't want anybody but you. I don't want any one else. And I know it's perfectly simple."
"Yes, you know it's perfectly simple." "It's all right for you to say that, but I do know it."
"Would you do something for me now?'
"I'd do anything for you.'
"Would you please please please please please please please Stop talking."
He did not say anything but looked at the bags against the wall of the station. There were labels on them from all the hotels where they had spent nights.
"But I don't want you to," he said, "I don't care anything about it."
"I'll scream," the girl said.
The woman came out through the curtains with two glasses of beer and put them down on the damp felt pads.
"The train comes in five minutes," she said.
"What did she say?" asked the girl.
"That the train is coming in five minutes."
The girl smiled brightly at the woman, to thank her.
"I'd better take the bags over to the other side of the station," the man said. She smiled at him.
"All right. Then come back and we'll finish the beer."
He picked up the two heavy bags and carried them around the station to the other tracks. He looked up the tracks but could not see the train. Coming back, he walked through the barroom, where people waiting for the train were drinking. He drank an Anis at the bar and looked at the people. They were all waiting reasonably for the train. He went out through the bead curtain. She was sitting at the table and smiled at him.
"Do you feel better?" he asked.
"I feel fine," she said. "There's nothing wrong with me. I feel fine."
Thanks, Jamie
--------------------------------
Hills Like White Elephants
Ernest Hemingway
The hills across the valley of the Ebro were long and white. On this side there was no shade and no trees and the station was between two lines of rails in the sun. Close against the side of the station there was the warm shadow of the building and a curtain, made of strings of bamboo beads, hung across the open door into the bar, to keep out flies. The American and the girl with him sat at a table in the shade, outside the building. It was very hot and the express from Barcelona would come in forty minutes. It stopped at this junction for two minutes and went on to Madrid.
"What should we drink?" the girl asked. She had taken off her hat and put it on the table.
"It's pretty hot," the man said. "Let's drink beer."
"Dos cervezas," the man said into the curtain.
"Big ones?" a woman asked from the doorway.
"Yes. Two big ones."
The woman brought two glasses of beer and two felt pads. She put the felt pads and the beer glasses on the table and looked at the man and the girl. The girl was looking off at the line of hills. They were white in the sun and the country was brown and dry.
"They look like white elephants," she said.
"I've never seen one," the man drank his beer. "No, you wouldn't have."
"I might have," the man said. just because you say I wouldn't have doesn't prove anything."
The girl looked at the bead curtain. "They've painted something on it," she said." What does it say?"
"Anis del Toro. It's a drink."
"Could we try it?"
The man called "Listen" through the curtain. The woman came out from the bar.
"Four reales."
"We want two Anis del Toro."
"With water? "
"Do you want it with water?"
"I don't know," the girl said. "Is it good with water?"
"It's all right."
"You want them with water?" asked the woman.
"Yes, with water."
"It tastes like licorice," the girl said and put the glass down.
"That's the way with everything."
"Yes," said the girl. "Everything tastes of licorice. Especially all the things you've waited so long for, like absinthe."
"Oh, cut it out."
"You started it," the girl said. "I was being amused. I was having a fine time."
"Well, let's try and have a fine time."
"All right. I was trying. I said the mountains looked like white elephants. Wasn't that bright?"
"That was bright."
"I wanted to try this new drink. That's all we do, isn't it--look at things and try new drinks?"
"I guess so."
The girl looked across at the hills.
"They're lovely hills," she said. "They don't really look like white elephants. I just meant the coloring of their skin through the trees."
"Should we have another drink?"
"All right."
The warm wind blew the bead curtain against the table.
"The beer's nice and cool," the man said.
"It's lovely," the girl said.
"It's really an awfully simple operation, Jig," the man said. "It's not really an operation at all."
The girl looked at the ground the table legs rested on.
"I know you wouldn't mind it, Jig. It's really not anything. It's just to let the air in."
The girl did not say anything.
"I'll go with you and I'll stay with you all the time. They just let the air in and then it's all perfectly natural."
"Then what will we do afterward?"
"We'll be fine afterward. Just like we were before."
"What makes you think so?"
"That's the only thing that bothers us. It's the only thing that's made us unhappy."
The girl looked at the bead curtain, put her hand out and took hold of two of the strings of beads.
"And you think then we'll be all right and be happy."
"I know we will. You don't have to be afraid. I've known lots of people that have done it."
"So have I," said the girl. "And afterward they were all so happy."
"Well," the man said, "if you don't want to you don't have to. I wouldn't have you do it if you didn't want to. But I know it's perfectly simple."
"And you really want to?"
"I think it's the best thing to do. But I don't want you to do it if you don't really want to."
"And if I do it you'll be happy and things will be like they were and you'll love me?"
"I love you now. You know I love you."
"I know. But if I do it, then it will be nice again if I say things are like white elephants, and you'll like it?"
"I'll love it. I love it now but I just can't think about it. You know how I get when I worry."
"If I do it you won't ever worry?"
"I won't worry about that because it's perfectly simple."
"Then I'll do it. Because I don't care about me."
"What do you mean?" "I don't care about me."
"Well, I care about you."
"Oh, yes. But I don't care about me. And I'll do it and then everything will be fine."
"I don't want you to do it if you feel that way."
The girl stood up and walked to the end of the station. Across, on the other side, were fields of grain and trees along the banks of the Ebro. Far away, beyond the river, were mountains. The shadow of a cloud moved across the field of grain and she saw the river through the trees.
"And we could have all this," she said. "And we could have everything and every day we make it more impossible."
"What did you say?"
"I said we could have everything."
"We can have everything."
"No, we can't."
"We can have the whole world."
"No, we can't."
"We can go everywhere."
"No, we can't. It isn't ours any more."
"It's ours."
"No, it isn't. And once they take it away, you never get it back."
"But they haven't taken it away."
"We'll wait and see."
"Come on back in the shade," he said. "You mustn't feel that way."
"I don't feel any way," the girl said. "I just know things."
"I don't want you to do anything that you don't want to do "
"Nor that isn't good for me," she said. "I know. Could we have another beer?"
"All right. But you've got to realize "
"I realize," the girl said. "Can't we maybe stop talking?"
They sat down at the table and the girl looked across at the hills on the dry side of the valley and the man looked at her and at the table.
"You've got to realize," he said, "that I don't want you to do it if you don't want to. I'm perfectly willing to go through with it if it means anything to you."
"Doesn't it mean anything to you? We could get along."
"Of course it does. But I don't want anybody but you. I don't want any one else. And I know it's perfectly simple."
"Yes, you know it's perfectly simple." "It's all right for you to say that, but I do know it."
"Would you do something for me now?'
"I'd do anything for you.'
"Would you please please please please please please please Stop talking."
He did not say anything but looked at the bags against the wall of the station. There were labels on them from all the hotels where they had spent nights.
"But I don't want you to," he said, "I don't care anything about it."
"I'll scream," the girl said.
The woman came out through the curtains with two glasses of beer and put them down on the damp felt pads.
"The train comes in five minutes," she said.
"What did she say?" asked the girl.
"That the train is coming in five minutes."
The girl smiled brightly at the woman, to thank her.
"I'd better take the bags over to the other side of the station," the man said. She smiled at him.
"All right. Then come back and we'll finish the beer."
He picked up the two heavy bags and carried them around the station to the other tracks. He looked up the tracks but could not see the train. Coming back, he walked through the barroom, where people waiting for the train were drinking. He drank an Anis at the bar and looked at the people. They were all waiting reasonably for the train. He went out through the bead curtain. She was sitting at the table and smiled at him.
"Do you feel better?" he asked.
"I feel fine," she said. "There's nothing wrong with me. I feel fine."
Saturday, January 12, 2008
Tenative Course Schedule
This schedule will evolve as the class progresses. Changes will be announced both on my blog and on WebCT. Full instructions for the items on this list, including page numbers will be posted as they become available. Unless otherwise noted, all blog assignments and discussion questions will be assigned on Monday and due by Sunday. All readings unless noted will be from the Norton Anthology of Short Fiction. Other readings will be provided in handout form/online at my blog and on WebCT.
WEEK
1.14
Course intro (review syllabus, policies and visit http://intro2fictionhouston.blogspot.com)
Reading:
Writing About Fiction (xxi - xxix)
(look over) Glossary of Critical Terms (1718 - 1723)
“Hills Like White Elephants” by Ernest Hemmingway
Discussion online
blog assn. Getting Started on Blogger (Due 1/20)
1.21
[Point of View]
Reading:
“A & P” by John Updike
“Gusev” by Anton Chekhov
Hemingway, An interview (1640)
Frederick Busch on Hills Like White Elephants (1685)
Discussion online
Blog assignment: Due 1/27
1.28
[Plot]
Reading:
“An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” – Ambrose Bierce
“Me and Miss Mandible” - Donald Barthelme
“Gorilla, My Love” – Toni Cade Bambara
Bambara, What Is It I Think I’m Doing Anyhow? (1620)
Discussion online
Blog assignment: Due 2/3
2.4
[Setting]
Reading:
“The Open Boat” – Stephen Crane
“Great Falls” – Richard Ford
Allan Gurganus on The Open Boat (1689)
Charles C. Walcutt, [Stephen Crane: Naturalist] (1714)
Discussion online
Blog assignment: Due 2/10
2.11
[Setting cont.]
Reading:
“A Rose for Emily” – William Faulkner
“Babylon Revisited” – F. Scott Fitzgerald
Faulkner, An Interview (1636)
Discussion online
Blog Assignment: Due 2/17
(Paper #1 assigned)
2.18
[Character]
Reading:
“Sonny’s Blues” – James Baldwin
“A Good Man is Hard to Find” – Flannery O’Connor
O’Connor, The Nature and Aim of Fiction (1658)
Discussion online
Blog assignment: Due 2/24
2.25
Discussion online – Paper Proposals/Progress
PAPER #1: DUE 3/2
3/3
[Character cont.]
Reading:
“The Death of Ivan Ilych” – Leo Tolstoy
Gary Saul Morson, The Reader as Voyeur: Tolstoi and the Poetics of Didactic
Fiction (1701)
Discussion online
Blog assignment: Due 3/9
3/10
[Symbol]
Reading:
“The Yellow Wallpaper” – Charlotte Perkins Gilman
“Bliss” – Katherine Mansfield
“The Chrysanthemums” – John Steinbeck
Discussion online
Blog assignment: Due 3/16
MARCH 17 – 21 [SPRING BREAK – NO CLASS]
3/24
[Allegory]
Reading:
“Young Goodman Brown” – Nathaniel Hawthorne
“The Lottery” – Shirley Jackson
Edgar Allen Poe, Review of Hawthorne’s Twice Told Tales (1702)
Discussion online
Blog assignment: Due 3/30
3/31
[Allegory cont.]
Reading:
“The Metamorphosis” – Franz Kafka
Stanley Corngold, Kafka’s The Metamorphosis: Metamorphosis of the Metaphor
(1686)
Discussion online
Blog assignment: Due 4/6
4/7
[Form]
Reading:
“The Dead” – James Joyce
“The Use of Force” William Carlos Williams
C. C. Loomis Jr., Structure and Sympathy in Joyce’s “The Dead” (1694)
Discussion online
Blog assignment: Due 4/13
(Paper #2 assigned)
4/14
[Form cont.]
Reading:
“The Things They Carried” – Tim O’Brien
“The Story of an Hour” – Kate Chopin
“Girl” – Jamaica Kincaid
Discussion online
Blog assignment: Due 4/20
4/21
Paper Proposals/Progress/discussion
Semester wrap-up
PAPER #2 DUE 4/28
WEEK
1.14
Course intro (review syllabus, policies and visit http://intro2fictionhouston.blogspot.com)
Reading:
Writing About Fiction (xxi - xxix)
(look over) Glossary of Critical Terms (1718 - 1723)
“Hills Like White Elephants” by Ernest Hemmingway
Discussion online
blog assn. Getting Started on Blogger (Due 1/20)
1.21
[Point of View]
Reading:
“A & P” by John Updike
“Gusev” by Anton Chekhov
Hemingway, An interview (1640)
Frederick Busch on Hills Like White Elephants (1685)
Discussion online
Blog assignment: Due 1/27
1.28
[Plot]
Reading:
“An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” – Ambrose Bierce
“Me and Miss Mandible” - Donald Barthelme
“Gorilla, My Love” – Toni Cade Bambara
Bambara, What Is It I Think I’m Doing Anyhow? (1620)
Discussion online
Blog assignment: Due 2/3
2.4
[Setting]
Reading:
“The Open Boat” – Stephen Crane
“Great Falls” – Richard Ford
Allan Gurganus on The Open Boat (1689)
Charles C. Walcutt, [Stephen Crane: Naturalist] (1714)
Discussion online
Blog assignment: Due 2/10
2.11
[Setting cont.]
Reading:
“A Rose for Emily” – William Faulkner
“Babylon Revisited” – F. Scott Fitzgerald
Faulkner, An Interview (1636)
Discussion online
Blog Assignment: Due 2/17
(Paper #1 assigned)
2.18
[Character]
Reading:
“Sonny’s Blues” – James Baldwin
“A Good Man is Hard to Find” – Flannery O’Connor
O’Connor, The Nature and Aim of Fiction (1658)
Discussion online
Blog assignment: Due 2/24
2.25
Discussion online – Paper Proposals/Progress
PAPER #1: DUE 3/2
3/3
[Character cont.]
Reading:
“The Death of Ivan Ilych” – Leo Tolstoy
Gary Saul Morson, The Reader as Voyeur: Tolstoi and the Poetics of Didactic
Fiction (1701)
Discussion online
Blog assignment: Due 3/9
3/10
[Symbol]
Reading:
“The Yellow Wallpaper” – Charlotte Perkins Gilman
“Bliss” – Katherine Mansfield
“The Chrysanthemums” – John Steinbeck
Discussion online
Blog assignment: Due 3/16
MARCH 17 – 21 [SPRING BREAK – NO CLASS]
3/24
[Allegory]
Reading:
“Young Goodman Brown” – Nathaniel Hawthorne
“The Lottery” – Shirley Jackson
Edgar Allen Poe, Review of Hawthorne’s Twice Told Tales (1702)
Discussion online
Blog assignment: Due 3/30
3/31
[Allegory cont.]
Reading:
“The Metamorphosis” – Franz Kafka
Stanley Corngold, Kafka’s The Metamorphosis: Metamorphosis of the Metaphor
(1686)
Discussion online
Blog assignment: Due 4/6
4/7
[Form]
Reading:
“The Dead” – James Joyce
“The Use of Force” William Carlos Williams
C. C. Loomis Jr., Structure and Sympathy in Joyce’s “The Dead” (1694)
Discussion online
Blog assignment: Due 4/13
(Paper #2 assigned)
4/14
[Form cont.]
Reading:
“The Things They Carried” – Tim O’Brien
“The Story of an Hour” – Kate Chopin
“Girl” – Jamaica Kincaid
Discussion online
Blog assignment: Due 4/20
4/21
Paper Proposals/Progress/discussion
Semester wrap-up
PAPER #2 DUE 4/28
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